Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Water was warm so not wetsuit legal. Could have chose to go off in a wetsuit only wave but that would have delayed my start another 45 minutes and also shortened my swim cutoff time. I am such a sucky swimmer I need all the time I could get. I am sure no wetsuit added to my swim time but I would rather swim with my age group. Swim went pretty good. Lost my road ID in the water. That stunk. Lake was nice and smooth. I was pretty bored with the swim toward the end.

More sighting on last half. Did lots o' zigging and zagging which costs me plety o' time

I must have stopped for tea. 5 minutes...wow. It was a long job from the water to the bikes but still. I wanted gloves and socks for the long ride so that slowed me a bit. Also, loading pockets with 50 pounds of Gu for the ride took some time. Had a gu in T1.

Not sure. Maybe tape the Gu to the bike and load them on the move.

Plan was to take it nice and easy on the bike so I had some legs for the run. Plan was also to beat 3 hours. I did a good job having a Gu every 30 minutes. I also used the big climb as an opportunity to take it easy and spin up the hill while eating my Clif Bar. Took advantage of the rolling hills and pedal on the downhills to keep the momentum going. Was impressed with the food handoff stations - it was like shopping at Walmart but on a bike. At mile 45 I felt like I was well ahead of pace to finish the bike by 3hrs and even have a few minutes buffer. However, Central Ave had different plans for me. This road had already had a rep on the forums but now I got to meet it. The first mile was so bad it was considered a no pass zone. It was so bad I am not sure it still falls under the classification of road. Pot holes everywhere. Must have been doing about 10 mph for that mile dodging and hopping holes. This road had plenty of casualties on the side of the road changing tires but luckily not me. Still my speed suffered. Once the no pass zone ended the road didn't improve much. We had to deal with just riding on the shoulder as the rest of the road was coned off. The shoulder was 50% potholes and you had to zig and zag in your 3 foot coned off area. Speed continued to suffer. Once you made it through that section you get rewarded with 3 railroad crossings. Nice! Meanwhile, I could see downtown Providence off in the distance and knew there was no way I could no get there by my goal time. I would need to make the 3 minutes up on the run.

Nothing. I believe I executed my plan but the course caused me to miss the 3 hour goal by 3 minutes.

Took my time letting my heart rate settle down.

Felt good for the first 4 miles of the run. Held back on my pace so I had some in the tank to finish. Was thankful for the globs of SPF 50 I put on because there was no shade and it was hot. Drank a full cup of water each mile and poured a full cup over my head. Also two sponges at each mile. After 4 miles started to feel 'it' so I had another gu. Not that yummy after taking one every 30 minutes for the past 5 hours but gave me the boost I needed. Last 3 miles were the toughest 3 miles I ever run. Last mile was basically zombie mode but I kept running.

Running hat needed. they gave me a free one at the end but i would have killed for it mid race.
Maybe one more strategically placed Gu (if I could possibly eat another GU).

Sitting on a curb for 40 minutes wondering if I was going to puke.


I believe 60 of the 70 miles really limited my performance.


Point to point transition was tough to set up by I knew what I was in for. Lake was not as bad as everyone that was complaining. 10 miles of Central Ave should not be in a race. Overall, well run race that I enjoyed and I really enjoyed Providence when I wasn't racing. Two tired thumbs up.