Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Wilmington, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
Precipitation
Total Time = 10h 45m 50s
Overall Rank = 62/525
Age Group = Military Male
Age Group Rank = 2/14
Pre-race routine:

Started out with a light dinner the night before, followed by 2 bottles (360 calories each) of Nestle Boost and a banana before bed. I had focused on getting good sleep during the week, and did not expect to sleep well at the hotel the night before my first Iron Distance Race.

I woke up around 0415, drank 2 more bottles of Boost, and 2 more bananas. So as not to start the day too early for my wife and daughter, I took a cab to the race site.

I got to T1, and had the Bike Tech guys air up my tires. I got body marked, used the porta johns, and tried to find some friends. I had more than enough time, but that was in my plan. I did not want to be rushed.
Event warmup:

I did not do any warmup, just waited until the last 15 minutes or so to change into my wetsuit, speed sleeves, and swim booties.
Swim
  • 51m 21s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 13s / 100 yards
Comments:

I knew the swim would be fast, but this current was crazy. I knew to push far left into the channel before making the first right turn around the bouy, but the current still pushed me closer to it than I would have prefered. During the first long stretch, I was swimming comfortable, and did not feel fast, except for noticing how fast buildings were passing by. I kept drifting to the right too far, and was out of the deeper water, but not too bad. I took the first left turn way too wide, and then ended up wide right for the second turn. Overall, it was still way faster than i could have hoped for.
What would you do differently?:

Pay more attention to current direction, and swim course setup to navigate it better, and maintain a tighter line through the course.
Transition 1
  • 06m 50s
Comments:

I skipped wetsuit strippers because I wanted to wear my swim booties for the long run back to T1. I stripped it down halfway right away so that I could rinse in the fresh water showers. I skipped the hot shower, because I felt I would just be cold once I left it.

When I got to T1, I grabbed my bag, went to the changing tent, and it was packed. Since I was not changing shorts, i said "forget it" and ran straight to my bike. I stripped off my wetsuit, booties and sleeves, and tried to dry off a bit. I put on socks and cycling shoes, and went to put my cycling vest on, and I had left it zipped (rookie mistake). I also had my nutrition items loose, instead of already in the vest pockets. In a flustered hurry, it was challenging getting them in there. I made a decision to not put on my tights or gloves, which would turn out to be a poor decision. I loaded my gear into the bag, and left it at my bike rack because the bad dump site was all the way back by the changing tent which I had skipped.
One trick I tried was too put hand warmers in my bike shoes before I left T1 pre-race, so when I put my shoes on, they felt very comfortable. That, along with socks and toe warmers kept my feet comfortable throughout the bike, which has been an issue in the past.
What would you do differently?:

Put on gloves, unzip vest, load nutrition in vest pockets.
Bike
  • 5h 45m 27s
  • 112 miles
  • 19.45 mile/hr
Comments:

The early part of the course was fine around town as I got settled in. I felt rushed and tried to settle down because I knew it would be a long day. I worked on staying around my goal of 170-175 watts. The first hour brought my average speed up above 19 mph. Then, in hours 2 and 3, the head wind kicked up and my hands were numb. This was the worst part of my whole race. I knew the winds were coming out of the NW, and eventually we would be turning, and I was just hoping I could hold it together until we got the slingshot back into town. I continued to focus on keeping steady power output, and trying to force nutrition. I think I ended up consuming about 1700 calories on the bike, and I was aiming for 400-450 per hour. At mile 51, the special needs volunteers really helped me out. They did everything for me so I did not even have to get off my bike. They traded my items out, and filled my bottles for me since my hands were numb. I kept riding, and eventually the winds shifted, and the day started to turn around. By this time in the course, I was looking forward to any uphill in order to stand up and stretch out. Because of this, I logged about 10.5 minutes total above threshold power, but I think my back appreciated it. This course was way flatter than the areas in which I train. I felt strong all the way through the bike ride, and never really felt too anxious to get off. Overall, I think I handled the rain and wind, and was able to keep my head and push through without letting it ruin my whole day. I made the decision to ride with my rear disk cover, and while it did get a bit wobbly on a few bridges, overall I feel like it was an advantage, and not too bad. I would use it again if I had the choice.
What would you do differently?:

Wear gloves.
Transition 2
  • 02m 55s
Comments:

I left my bike shoes on, becuase I did not know what the terrain would be like in transition, and I did not want my socks to pick up debris. The volunteers took my bike right away, and I got my bag and headed into the tent. The volunteers helped me to get my items switched around, i got my Garmin fired up, and fortunately I got satelites pretty quickly. I did not have my 4 hour marathon pre-programmed into the watch which was a small error on my part. I put on my single bottle race belt, added my visor and was done. The volunteer loaded my helmet and shoes into my bag so i would not have to. i strapped on my race bib belt, and decided to take off my cycling vest and just run with tri shorts and tri top.
What would you do differently?:

program watch ahead of time.
Run
  • 3h 59m 19s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

The run started out well, and i was running too fast, which i always do off the bike. I stopped at the first aid station so they could fill my bottle with Heed. They worked fast, but their cooler dispensed fluid very slowly and it seemed to take a long time. I started running again, and tried to build a lead on my "garmin ghost pacer". I hit the 6.55 mile mark with about a nice lead. I was feeling good, and very happy so far. I made the return to the half without any issues, and even got to see my wife and daughter at mile 10. I started the second loop, and my back and legs started to stiffen up as expected. My main goal was to keep running, regardless of pace. I made it back to the turn around again, and had only lost about .10 of my lead on my "ghost". I knew I was slowing down, but not enough to be concerned. I know how my speed fades, so that is why I always build a cushion. All was well until the middle of mile 22 when a freight train plowed through the course. According to my Garmin, I lost 6.5 minutes waiting for that train to pass. My legs got stiff and cold, and starting to run again afterwards was challenging. I should have taken a nature break during that time, but the urge did not hit me until right after I started running again. I had to stop at the next aid station port-a-john, which was frustrating. I kept trudging along, and tried to make the train my only walk break with the exception of a few slow downs to drink coke without dumping it on myself.

I tried to eat and drink during the run, but my stomach was getting a bit bothered. I had to make decisions on what to eat/drink at each aid station, but I tried to at least drink one cup of water at each one. The coke helped to settle my stomach, and I took some of my salt tabs for good measure. During miles 24 and 25, I got really hungry, and tried eating pretzels and bagel bits. They were very tasty, but challenging to eat while running, as they dried my mouth out very quickly, and were hard to swallow.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I ran the whole thing, and came in under my 4 hour goal, even with a train stop.
Post race
Warm down:

I saw my wife and daughter in the finishers chute, and my 5 year old wanted to finish with me. She came out, but was slow, so I hoisted her up on my shoulder and finished with her in a fireman's carry. The event photographers (hopefully) got a picture of her putting my medal on. It was great. I went to the warming tent for a bit, and then got my first ever post race massage. It felt terrific.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I feel my swim was faster than I could have dreamed, and my bike pacing was right on target. My Intensity Factor was .74, which was higher than the .67-.70 I was planning for. According to the book "Going Long", an intensity factor that high should have put my marathon at risk, because it fell in the range of "run a few miles, then walk it in". Fortunately I have a strong running base, and was able to keep plugging away the miles.

For my run, I may have been able to run faster, but my goal was 4 hours, and I wanted to keep that in site, and not risk it by going for anything faster.

Event comments:

My two complaints had to do with the train, but I am sure SETUP contacted them, and was told the trains would not be running. I blame the trains company for this, not the race organization.

My second complaint is that there was nobody checking bib numbers or bracelets on Sunday during bike pickup. I could have gone in there and picked out any bike I wanted, and nobody would have even known if I was a race participant or not.




Last updated: 2011-11-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:51:21 | 4224 yards | 01m 13s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/14
Overall: 217/525
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex 3 sleeveless with QR Speed Sleeves
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 06:50
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
05:45:27 | 112 miles | 19.45 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/14
Overall: 89/525
Performance: Good
First 60 miles had an average of 177 watts for 18.36 mph. Last 52 miles had an average of 175 watts for 21.4 mph.
Wind: Headwind
Course:
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 82
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:55
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
03:59:19 | 26.2 miles | 09m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/14
Overall: 79/525
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4