Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Providence, Rhode Island
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 40m 24s
Overall Rank = 423/1651
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 64/199
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 3:30 had some coffee, a bagel, and some fruit for breakfast. TCB, quick wake up shower, got dressed and headed out around 4:30. I decided to drive to the start (as opposed to shuttle from the finish) since it would allow me to sleep about an extra half hour.
Event warmup:

The shuttle from the parking lot to the start was a show. The buses were stuck in traffic in the park since its basically a one lane road that was clogged up with spectators and athletes trying to get in and find parking. After sitting not moving for about 10 minutes we all just got off and walked the rest of the way. That, and the fact that because of the delay I only had about 10 minutes to set up T1, was my warm up.

My wave went off at 6:55 (6:00 was the first wave), so I had plenty of time to sit around and do nothing! Got in the water and swam a bit around 6:40.
Swim
  • 41m 11s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 57s / 100 yards
Comments:

The lake was closed to swimming on the Tuesday before the race due to high bacteria levels... e-coli (yummy). I wasn't real happy about the swim being held here to begin with. Every year it is closed multiple time due to the poor water quality. I made a conscious effort to not take in any water.

After the first turn the sun was directly in our faces so sighting was a bit tough on this section, but I did OK overall. For the most part I held a pretty good line, there were only 2 sections where I went off course a bit, but nothing horrible.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, this was actually a good swim for me. I was planning a 45 minute swim and when it was declared non-wetsuit I figured it would be a bit slower. So overall I'm very happy with this swim.


Transition 1
  • 04m 15s
Comments:

It was a bit of a run from the lake to T1, so I'm sure that added some time, I also went down the wrong isle for my bike. Well it was the right isle just the wrong side so that cost me a bit also.

The T1 area was pretty messy in some spots due to the heavy rain two days before. There was still some standing puddles of water and lots of spots were pretty mushy. Since I haven't mastered the flying mount and I use speedplay pedals, I was fairly cautious coming out of transition... trotting along tip-toed so I didn't clog up my cleats.
What would you do differently?:

Try to pay more attention to where I am. The buses got us to the lake pretty late so I only had about 15 minutes to set up and walk the transition.
Bike
  • 3h 06m 2s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.06 mile/hr
Comments:

This course was pretty tough for me. There was very little flat road, all rolling hills, with a few tough ones. I wasn't fully prepared for the constant up and down.

Additionally, the last 10 or so miles were absolutely horrible from a condition standpoint; potholes the size of kitchen sinks, patches of sand, railroad tracks, and on. This made it very tough to do much of anything other than trying not to flat for the last stretch.

The ride was slower than I had hoped, I was planning on coming in just under 3 hours, but the hills had other plans for me... I really need to work on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Train a bit more to build up some hill strength. My cycling has improved since I started ridding again, but I'm still below where I know I can be. I've got to put in some serious cycling effort this off-season. This was my biggest limiter in this race.
Transition 2
  • 01m 40s
Comments:

Not great, not bad just OK. I didn't run hard into or out of transition... more of a slow trot so I could've save 20 seconds or so I suppose.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, maybe run a bit harder through the in/out to save some time.
Run
  • 1h 47m 16s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

The course wasn't too bad, there was one continuous up hill for about a mile, from just before the 1 mile marker to just before mile maker 2. This section was tough both times. Also the heat was a bit of a factor especially given the fact that my wave didn't start until almost 7 AM.

Started the run at about 10:45, so it was starting to get pretty hot out. I took sponges at every aid station to try to keep cool. By the last few miles, nothing was helping I was just getting cooked.

Overall I did pretty well on the run, although the 2nd loop was much worse than the first averaging nearly a full 30 seconds/mile slower. I think a good portion of this was due to the heat taking its toll on me.
What would you do differently?:

Not too much. I think if it was a bit cooler out or if there was even a stitch of shade I could have made a sub 8:00/mile pace but overall I'm happy with the run.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around for 10-15 minutes in the shade and continuously poured water over my head to try to cool down. Then I stretch a bit, got a massage, had some chow and headed home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat for one, but lack of bike fitness was my biggest factor. I think that I was a solid 15 minutes slower than I could/should be. This will be my focus over the rest of the season and into the off season. If I get my bike strength in line, I should be able to go 5:15-5:30 for my next HIM.

Event comments:

Overall this was a good event. It was well managed, with a few exceptions, and the volunteers were fantastic. I did have a couple of issues though:

1) The decision to swim at Lincoln Woods. I'm sure this was because of the sponsor (Amica), since their HQ is in Lincoln, RI but damn. Really? a lake swim in "the Ocean State"? Not to mention in a lake that is locally referred to as "Goose Poop Pond".

2) There were multiple changes to the course that were not even mentioned during the race briefings. The three things I noticed were a change to the swim wave times (not a huge deal 5 minutes for me), three turns on the bike course (basically adding a block of about 1.5 miles), and a little jaunt into a parking lot on the run adding about 200 meters. I'm sure that the latter two changes were needed to adjust things for the proper distance, but at least tell your athletes about it.

3) The decision to have us ride over that God-forsaken stretch of Central Avenue. It was horrible.

4) Holding a point to point race where you need to take a shuttle to the race start and charging your athletes for it. Really, you couldn't cover this in the $250 entry fee?




Last updated: 2011-06-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:11 | 2112 yards | 01m 57s / 100yards
Age Group: 66/199
Overall: 514/1651
Performance: Good
Suit: None
Course: Rectangle beach start.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:15
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
03:06:02 | 56 miles | 18.06 mile/hr
Age Group: 86/199
Overall: 594/1651
Performance: Average
Average HR 150 Max HR 178 Average Speed 18.1 Max Speed 41.6
Wind: Some
Course: A meandering course from the lake west then south then northeast into Providence.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:40
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:47:16 | 13.1 miles | 08m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 64/199
Overall: 423/1651
Performance: Good
Average HR 164 Max HR 175
Course: 2 loop course through the East Side, downtown, and State House areas of Providence.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3