Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
46F / 8C
Overcast
Total Time = 4h 05m 29s
Overall Rank = 47/1885
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 7/166
Pre-race routine:

4-5 hrs of sleep every night the week before. 3 hrs restless sleep the night before. Have a chest cold show up on the drive down (doesn't let up for the race), I'm asthmatic to boot.

Morning of was just get up, grab my bags and go to T2 for the bus shuttle to T1. My hotel was next to the High School T1 was at. Not sure why more people didn't do this.
Event warmup:

Jog around the parking lot a few times, stretch as needed. Repeat as necessary. Start was Time trial and I was at the end. Eat energy items occasionally. Could eat more for this one as it is long-course and there was no swim (cancelled due to high water).
Swim
  • 00m
  • 2112 yards
  • / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim cancelled do to high water. It was flowing faster than my run pace and still pretty dirty.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe jump in just to feel like I did a tri.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

No T1
Bike
  • 2h 29m 46s
  • 55 miles
  • 22.03 mile/hr
Comments:

We started out by race #, I was a late entry and wound up with #1963 of ~2,000 people. Not happy with this as I was supposed to be in Wave 4 when there was still a swim. Spacing was a problem for me all over the course. It wasn't until ~35 miles in that I felt a little breathing room. I was catching other people so fast here. I don't think they're actually rude or selfish, just not aware of how fast someone can come up on them. I need to get a bell or a small recording to say "On your left". Started to lose my voice, passed near half the field.

I started off a bit easy for me to get used to the feel of the wet road and built up over the first couple miles. Power was really high, but didn't feel like it. I just kept going by feel and figured I'd back off if I tired some. Tried to negotiate the course as best I could in the wet conditions and with more of a crowd than I've ever had before (I've never done a WTC 70.3 before). It is no exaggeration to say this is the most technical course I've been on. Even if it was dry and there was more room. It is likely one of the most technical in the nation. Skill in negotiating the turns and terrain changes can most certainly beat someone with only a strong motor.

I was very frustrated after half an hour of always yelling out for people to move, and all the congestion. It wasn't much fun. Figured my speed would be terrible. Decided to stick it out and just see what happens since I came all this way. Things did get better, but not as much as I'd hoped. Then I saw my pacing. My speed sensor dropped out for a few miles early on, but speed and time start and stop together, so the pace would be accurate for the data it had. I saw 27.5 at 1:15, unbelievable with how I perceived things as going. I felt I could have gone so much faster if allowed to take the course as I wanted, in a much more optimal manner. I just kept riding for fun and would see where it got me.

I have no idea how I put out the power I was. I knew I could do bursts, but how many and how long I was holding them was incredible. I don't have normalized power on the Garmin, so just used average. I had planned to hit 250-260 or so. I wound up with 288 and felt great at the end. That's average, not normalized . Given the style of riding, NP should be noticeably higher (I still need to take the time to learn my analysis software!). Thought my FTP was about 315, so this is very high.
What would you do differently?:

Not really anything. Thought I'd be 2:35-2:40 in dry conditions, plus 10 min in wet.

In training going forward though, I need to get my seat position more foreward, get my body more flat. Also need to get my head down and out in front of me, looking more from the top edge instead facing straight forward. Head position was ok for today because I absolutely needed to see better with all the people around.
Transition 2
  • 02m 46s
Comments:

Took it easy at T2. Didn't want to do anything dumb. This may have cost me a couple spots in the overall, but I don't care.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, taking it easy put me in a good mental state for the run.
Run
  • 1h 32m 57s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 06s  min/mile
Comments:

Rankings may be my position in the race instead of only the run.

I started off at what felt easy, but definitely moving. Could not believe Garmin was telling me this was low 7's with that much power on the ride. Made sure to keep HR just under 170 for the first mile or so. Save it for the hills and later in the race. I have a tendency to push on hills, which isn't necessarily bad, but I don't want to let up once I reach the top, so effort keeps building as the run progresses.

Kept the easy feeling throughout. Since this was a race and I'm competitive, this varied dramatically from a normal easy run. HR was doing ok and it didn't feel like I was forcing things (unlike at Knoxville), so I just kept it up. Hills hardly bothered my at all. I adjusted my stride while on them so that effort was constant even though pace did drop. I let my stride out more on the down hill to gain a lot of ground. I train this way and have been doing so for a long time. Went near and broke 6:00/mile in a few places. Just went with the flow of the terrain.

Recognized Magali Tisseyre going by at one point, so gave her some encouragement. She was out front for the women and did end up winning.

Later in the run, after getting off the big downhills, I could feel various muscles acting up at times. Hamstring was new, but able to work it out. Calf made me nervous as this has given me trouble at times. Worked that one out. Quad soreness came on and kept increasing. Breathing and HR were fine, my legs just aren't used to going long due to my lack of run volume (and long runs) this summer. Toughed it out as best I could and mostly held pace and effort.

What's interesting is how this soreness felt. I normally feel very rubber-legged in tri running, but today I did not have that. I think it's from the training type I've been doing. This really felt more like the soreness that comes on in a long run the day after a long ride.

Kept the pace steady until mile 12, then picked it up some. Closer to 6:40 later in that one. The last quarter mile I really let the stride length out and bounded more. Pace was 5:56 with a best at 5:19. Crossed the line still going strong and actually not wasted. I couldn't push it aerobically for a couple things. One is that this was mostly downhill coming back. The other is that I didn't know how my quads would hold up to the increased effort. I wanted to but they were getting sore. I was already going much faster than the 7:30 or so I thought my overall would be near.
What would you do differently?:

Keep working on run volume.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk around and check stuff out. Stroudsburg has their Oktoberfest joined to the finish line area.

Went back to the hotel to clean up. Came back for the Awards. I didn't place high enough, but it's nice to see who's there. Ended up getting a Vegas slot through roll-down. There were 4 for my age-group and none of the top four took them. I knew right when they announced it I'd get one.

Event comments:

Race course has a lot of potential to make a name for itself as a demanding course. Race officials had to deal with a ton of crap dumped on them. Road work was severely behind. The hurricane dumped so much water into the area, and following rains did not help. The earthquake was almost forgotten. Not to mention the most whining from entrants in the history of an event. A lot of people in other places just did not pay attention and directed their energy to the wrong places.

I want to see this venue continue and some day go back to do the entire course in decent weather. It really fits my style.




Last updated: 2011-10-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:00:00 | 2112 yards | / 100yards
Age Group: 0/166
Overall: 0/1885
Performance:
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:29:46 | 55 miles | 22.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/166
Overall: 36/1885
Performance:
HR strap dried up before the race and was reading erratically. Stuck at 180 for some time, until I worked up enough sweat to thoroughly soak it. I just ignored it and went by feel, watching power at times too.
Wind: Little
Course: Frequent Rolling hills, very wet, lots of sections had rougher pavement but not as bad as was being described a few weeks ago. Course is very twisty and turning on narrow roads. My Subaru Impreza just fits in a lane in most places. A number of sharp or blind turns. This is not for the faint of heart, but if you have some skill, it can be a lot of fun. Temp and conditions were cold and wet. 46 at the start and probably broke 50 by the end. I just wore an Under Armour Heat Gear long sleeve and taped the vent holes on the shoes. Worked pretty well. Slight chill on the skin, but it didn't penetrate.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:46
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:32:57 | 13.1 miles | 07m 06s  min/mile
Age Group: 7/166
Overall: 47/1885
Performance:
HR was usually around 170. After a couple miles, it was always over 170.
Course: Mostly an out and back, trending upward out with larger hills at the far end. Warmer now, but not sure how much. Ditched the long sleeve and ran in tri-suit only.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]