Ironman U.S. Championship - TriathlonFull Ironman

Wow, swim was a little crazy getting onto the barge, but ended up being great. Faster than I had thought I would go, even expecting a little current. Still crowded, even with the time trial start.
Water wasn't "clean" but wasn't too bad either.Smelled a little like old oil or exhaust to me.
Swim exit was steeper than expected. Wouldn't have made it up ramp without the volunteers. They had said it was stairs.

Get less water in my mouth.

Forgot how BIG the transition would be. I had made sure to know where my bags were, as you never know if volunteers will grab it for you. Jogged through with my suit after I was stripped and made it to the second tent. I had checked on which tent was which at bike check-in.
A volunteer bagged my wetsuit, goggles and swim cap, which made things easier. I had suntan spray in bag and sprayed it on. Hurt where I chaffed on my neck.
Rules said keep shoes in bag, so I did, even though I usually leave them on the bike. Worked OK.

Move a little faster???

I was a complete garage sale. At mile 25 or so, I heard something fall, and reached back to find that the top had come off of my bike repair kit bottle. I didn't worry too much, and put it into a jersey pocket.
At mile 35 or so, the whole kit fell out of my jersey. Luckily, it was at an aid station, so it wasn't littering. If I had remembered then, I would have stopped to grab my 5 bucks.
My nutrition worked well. a snickers bar, a milky way bar, 4 scoops of perpetuem, a pineapple rocktane, bananas from the rest stops and some cliff shot bloks. Stomach felt good.
I was doing my best to keep power steady-which meant slow and steady up the hills (seemed like I say each and every one of the 400 people pass me) and then ended up bombing it on the downhills.
Some slight cramping in my right leg near the end, but not too bad.

go faster?

After 6 hours without a stop, getting off the bike is tough. Volunteers were well organized and took my bike. I hobbled on my bike shoes to the grass and then took them off so I could jog.
Again, I had spent time figuring out where my bag would be and scooped it up no problem.
In the tent, a volunteer helped some, and I had them re-apply sunscreen for me. No water in the tend that I saw, but there was some as we headed out.

Move faster.

Run was well shaded and well supported in the park in NJ. Lots of people milling about on the NY side, but not much interest in the race until down by 116 or so.
I thought there were a good amount of aid stations and use ice and sponges to keep cold.
Used the C5 stuff in a flask for most of my nutrtition.
Stuck to my walk 1 minute every mile plan, and walked additional aid stations as needed. I tried to at least shuffle up the hills, an took as few "extra" walk breaks as possible. I felt good for first 12 miles or so, and was dying by 17.
I recovered and did OK for last 6 or so. Just focused on keeping my focus on my feet and no big plans.
Overall, I had my best IM run at the hardest of my 3 IMs. I am happy about that, but wish I had gone about 15 minutes faster!

Try to push a little.

Chocolate milk, a little stretch, ice on the quads, and find my family. they had chocolate chip cookies, but no pizza. How do you run out of freaking pizza in NY?


Training.


hard not to be happy about a PR. Plus, finishing in NY and near hotel-walk to hotel and then good food.
I was beat at the end, and am sore as heck today.
Not sure I would do it next year, but I wouldn't mind volunteering maybe.
Considering the location, I thought this was a well run, well put together race. Certainly a challenging course and I feel like I "earned" the title Ironman at this one.