White Lake Half II - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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White Lake, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
86F / 30C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 03m 25s
Overall Rank = 161/310
Age Group = m40-44
Age Group Rank = 39/63
Pre-race routine:

Actually slept pretty well. Got up at 5am, ate PB english muffin some blueberry's and OJ. Pumped bike tires, packed up the car and drove the 1.5 miles to the race site. Once there I set up transition (I had a nice spot near a fence and had a lot of room to set up) Event had numbered spots on the racks so there was not a need to get there really early to get a good rack spot. Got my chip and body marking done then hung out in transition and talked to people for awhile. Ate a cliffs bar, a hammer gel and drank water.
Event warmup:

Didn't end up doing much because there was a delay for fog on the lake. The week before the HIM here had the swim cancelled because of fog and everyone was nervous that would happen again. Original start time was 7:00am for wave 1. They delayed that until 7:45 in hopes of the fog lifting. At about 7:30 it lifted and they said "hey we are going to start in 10 minutes" then they combined waves and shortend the time between waves from 8 minutes to 3 minutes. In any case I went from having 30 minutes to my start (wave 4) to 15. So I got my wetsuit on and hurried out to the start. Anyway didn't get much warm-up
Swim
  • 40m 6s
  • 1930 meters
  • 02m 05s / 100 meters
Comments:

Ok, so you do this race for the swim. It is a crystal clear lake and a great first OWS. None of that helped me! The wave start went fine. I was nervous after reading of people being kicked or climbed over. I had no issues. The water was so clear you could see everyone around you like you were in a pool and I think that helped. But with no warm-up and not much OWS swim practice after about 100 meters I got that "I can't breath" feeling and had to alternate between freestyle and side stroke until the first turn (600 meters) and that cost me a lot of time. Funny thing was I was still in the middle of my wave of caps. Lost a lot of time though! I finally pulled myself together after the first turn and had an average swim the last 2/3's. Just not the way you want to start your race. I got to the end of the pier (ladder finish) at 38 minutes on my watch. So I was 5-6 minutes slower then I had hoped and I am sure that was all in the first 600 meters. I had to wait for 2 other people to go up the ladder before me and then ran down the dock to cross the swim timing mat.
What would you do differently?:

Get more OWS practice in (it has been to cold here until the last week or so) and get a warm-up in. One way or another I have to get over that "panic feeling" on the start.
Transition 1
  • 02m 33s
Comments:

I was very happy with my T1. There was a long run (about 200 meters) from the swim finish to the transition area and that is probably 40 seconds of the time. I was able to get the wetsuit top off with cap and goggles safely in the sleeve and the bottom down to my waist (two piece wetsuit) so when I got to my rack I dropped the top and pulled the bottom of with no problems. Glasses and helmet on then socks and cycling shoes. I have not tried going without socks on this long of a run and it seems easier to get them on here then after the bike with tired legs. I also have not attempted the "flying mount" yet so the socks don't hinder me here. I had them all ready and powdered up so no issues getting them on wet. Grabbed the bike and took off.
What would you do differently?:

I don't think much. Flying mount or running harder to transition might cut a little but not much.
Bike
  • 2h 53m 51s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.33 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike started off great. No issues getting up to speed, and settled into a nice pace. My goal was 19-20 mph for the race. And a 10,20 and 30 miles I was doing better then that and felt good. The biggest issue was the road surface. Country roads that had a lot of bumps. Not many big potholes or anything like that but expansions joints so you went cu-thunk, cu-thunk, cu-thunk, down the road. OK at first but it beat up your arms legs and butt as time went on. One stretch from about mile 16-36 was nice and smooth and that was the best part of the race even with a small headwind (about 6-8 mph). But when you turned back onto the rough road at about mile 36 my butt said oh-no! Anyway struggled to keep the pace up and get back to transition. My legs felt ok but my butt hurt! There had been talk on BT about wearing a pair of bike shorts over your tri shorts and know I know why. Anyway I was almost done and the run is my strongest event so I pushed on. I had almost finished my 3 hour bottle of perpetuem and felt good with my nutrition and water on the bike. Finished the bike in the time frame I had hoped but was slower on the last 15 miles then the rest.
What would you do differently?:

More time in the saddle! This is the one area I tended to cut short during the training plan and I paid the price for it! I have only been riding since January and have come a long way on my bike fitness but have a ways to go still!
Transition 2
  • 02m 12s
Comments:

Again I was happy with my transition. Got to my rack and racked the bike with no issues. Helmet and glasses off. I did take time to spray sunscreen on because it was hot and sunny out buy now! Running shoes on and grab the hat and race number belt and run!
What would you do differently?:

Take a hammer gel or some other nutrition would have slowed the T2 but helped me a lot later!
Run
  • 2h 24m 46s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 03s  min/mile
Comments:

Ok, finally to my strength! I was looking forward to the run and making up a lot of ground on people here. Two weeks before the race my last long run workout I ran 13 miles in 1 hour 28 minutes so I felt confident in my running. I was looking to keep the miles between 7:45 and 8:00 for the first half and then see how I felt. Everything started as planned. Mile 1 was 7:41, mile 2 was 7:50 and mile 3 was 8:10 with a stop at the aid station for water. But this is where the wheels started coming off! In my pre-race plan I was going to take a gel and water at each 3 mile point. And then extra water as needed. I do the 10-13 mile runs at home with nothing so I felt this would be fine. But for some reason I didn't tke anything but water. I wasn't think right already at this point. The times fell way off around 10:30-10:50 for the next few miles. I just could not make my legs move. It wasn't a hurting thing it was just no energy or drive. At about the 5 1/2 mile point I passed the hotel we were staying at and our car was in the parking lot but nobody was outside. We had not planned for anyone to be there but for some reason it was a blow to my mental state. I stopped and walked for almost 1/2 mile to the next aid station. I was a little lite headed and finally realized that I had not taken any nutrition in. So at the aid station I took a gel and some water. I ran/walked to the turn around point and then back to the aid station. This time I took to e-caps and some heed. Then I ran/walked to the 8 mile aid station and ate another gel and water. At this point I started feeling a little better but was so far behind the power curve that I spent the last 5 miles running for about 3 minutes and walking for 1. It was a horrible experience because I never walk on runs but I just couldn't keep myself going. I did end up running the last mile with another runner who was having cramp problems and we worked together to get to the finish
What would you do differently?:

Stick to my nutrition plan and maybe even up it a bit! Also I think better bike fitness would leave more in me for the run
Post race
Warm down:

Water bottle, talk to my family and jump in the lake. Talk for a little while then get out of there because a Thunderstorm was coming!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I really think that bike fitness and not enough nutrition were my big factors. Overall I am happy to have finished and with this only being my second Triathlon (sprint in March) and only 5 months on a bike I have a long way to go. I will be back!

Event comments:

Delayed for fog at start, but Setup events does a nice job!




Last updated: 2011-01-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:06 | 1930 meters | 02m 05s / 100meters
Age Group: 34/63
Overall: 166/310
Performance: Below average
Suit: De Soto T1
Course: Clockwise triangle
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:33
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:53:51 | 56 miles | 19.33 mile/hr
Age Group: 36/63
Overall: 158/310
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Back country roads
Road: Rough  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:12
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:24:46 | 13.1 miles | 11m 03s  min/mile
Age Group: 40/63
Overall: 169/310
Performance: Bad
Course: Flat open road around the lake. No Shade. Out and back!
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4