IOS100 - Triathlon


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washington, North Carolina
United States
FS Series
57F / 14C
Sunny
Total Time = 7h 15m 48s
Overall Rank = 23/46
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 4/7
Pre-race routine:

I slept horribly...dreams of sharks,crabs, jellyfish, etc. I awoke around 2am and struggled to get any more rest. I think I was a bit hungry too. At 4am I got up and ate 2 Bonk Breaker bars, and drank some Gu Brew, then at 4:45 or so tried to go back to sleep. Nothing doing. My alarm went off at 5:15, so Paul and I got to moving. We were out the door at 5:50 and at race site by 6.
Event warmup:

On the ride in from parking, I saw Jen having trouble with her chain. We found Scottie and worked on keeping it on the front chainring, came up with a good temporary solution that worked (she got 3AG). My only warmup was an easy run along Riverside back up to the bridge (where my favorite aid station would be) and back. Felt good, no issues. Took a stinger waffle at 6:15, and a ginsting at 6:45, sipping on Gu Brew throughout.
Swim
  • 1h 12m 51s
  • 3219 meters
  • 02m 16s / 100 meters
Comments:

The first 400m I was freaking out; everything was a shark. Guy bumped my leg and I was sure it was about to get chomped. After the first buoy, this other guy and I were on the same pace together for a bit, and he could not swim straight. He kept veering left into me (I was on the outside and sighting straight as an arrow). I finally stretched out my stroke a bit and put some distance on him.

At the end of lap 1, I stopped at the turnaround buoy and stood there for a good minute to see if I could watch Paul come out of the water, but he had a slightly slower swim than he planned, and wasn't right on my heels.

Note: I peed 4 times during the swim, at least! Right before the start, twice on the backstretch, once at the turnaround, once again on the backstretch, and then within the last 200m or so...make that 5! I was fully hydrated it seems.
What would you do differently?:

Given my fitness, this was a good effort. Not fast for sure, but left me feeling good coming out of the water to get on the bike.
Transition 1
  • 05m 57s
Comments:

Well, I planned on a 5 minute T1. The family was right beside me across the fence, so I was just chatting along with them, unaware that time was flying by...suit was massively stuck on my calves, armwarmers were inside out, I was a mess. Armwarmers were a last-minute idea, so I had not planned for them. Race adjustment 2. Finally, I got my act together and hit the road.
What would you do differently?:

Focus on the transition. I could've easily taken 3 minutes or more off here.
Bike
  • 4h 30m 17s
  • 88.43 miles
  • 19.63 mile/hr
Comments:

My plan was between 19.5 and 20mph average. Lap 1 I held a rolling average of 20.3 (was 2:12:40 at the turnaround). Lap 2 (plus transition plus mile 1 of the run) was 2:26:14. With a T2 of 1:30 and a mile 2 of 7:24, I'd venture to say lap 2 was in the 2:17 timeframe (matches up with the 4:30:17 above). That 2nd lap was a bitch.

I stuck to my plan though. I was not passed by anyone except on lap 2. It was Chris Lewis from Wake Forest, running disk rear and aero helmet. He stalked me for a few miles after the 18-mile turn, then came past very strong before we got to Bath. I rode up a bit to sit about 3.5 lengths back, to see what he was going to do. He slowed a little as we went through Bath, and I slowed too. He was just regrouping it seems, as once we made our 2nd left turn after Bath, he roared by for good, putting a good distance on me. I decided to stick to my plan, even verbalized it aloud, not to give chase again. Race adjustment 3. I've been a stronger runner than him, and I hoped I would have something left to offer on the run. Coming into T2, he had a 2:54 lead on me.
What would you do differently?:

Not stop on loop 1, but I REALLY had to pee!
Don't stop for the water bottle (learned that lesson on lap 2 when I took a bottle on the fly, refilled my own bottle on the fly, and then tucked the donor bottle into my tritop to drop at the next water station.)
Run some aero goodies (rode on the Vistas, with the clunky helmet. Everyone else it seemed was sporting all the goodies.
Transition 2
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

This was better. I took my last gel at the entry into Washington Park (about mile 87.5) and had already done housekeeping cleaning out the tritop pockets. I spun up my legs for about the last 1.5 miles, but was still very unsure what I'd have in them. Racked, helmet off, armwarmers out of tritop, shoes on, grabbed my water bottle/racebelt/visor combo (velcroed together with the pocket flap) and was on my way.
What would you do differently?:

This was pretty good. Not going to overanalyze a 1:30 after 4.5 hours on the bike.
Run
  • 1h 25m 11s
  • 10 miles
  • 08m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

Man, I was really hoping for sub 8 miles, but once I passed Chris, and saw I was holding some distance, I really eased off. I didn't realize I was also catching the other Chris, and that John was only 6 minutes ahead. Taking some time off the swim (the minute I waited at the turnaround), T1, and then pushing the run some more, who knows?
However, as I rounded the turn back in Washington Park, and saw the finish ahead, it was game on. I was yelling out in pure joy as I ran closer, then picked up the family and they ran in with me. I really enjoyed that.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure why the gut shut down, other than the effort on lap 2 of the bike. It was just a tough day for me at the end, and I did NOT want to 1)get caught by Chris again and 2)DNF.
Post race
Warm down:

Chatted with Lainey, the kids, then Scottie, Jen, and Tara Wind. Went to the water, looking out for snakes. Lainey paddleboarded (thanks Mike Beaman), the boys and I splashed around a little. Then I went up and got a beer and some pizza. Then another beer :). Felt really good, not the same feeling I had at White Lake 2008. I just had that low spot during the run that flat coke and pretzels helped.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swim comfort in open water. Swim comfort in shark-infested Long bike rides, long bricks off the long bikes. Nutrition planning? I felt pretty good for most of the race.

Event comments:

The only comments I'll add are some participant safety concerns; I don't recall seeing any EMS or first aid anywhere on the course, and there was a bike wreck in T2 that required a participant to take herself to an urgent care for stitches. They had to scramble for at least a first aid kit (this is all info relayed from my wife). That would be the ONLY suggestion I'd make; a well-defined medical location or EMS support.




Last updated: 2012-01-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:12:51 | 3219 meters | 02m 16s / 100meters
Age Group: 6/7
Overall: 0/46
Performance: Good
First lap was in 34:03. 2nd lap up to the T-mat was 38:48 (but I stopped short of the mat to talk with Lainey and the family).
Suit: QR full, gift from Carol
Course: Triangular clockwise in-water start, rounding the last buoy and starting again. I thought we would come out of the water between laps, so was hoping to grab a swig of Gu Brew for lap 2, but it was not going to happen. Race adjustment 1!
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:57
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
04:30:17 | 88.43 miles | 19.63 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/7
Overall: 0/46
Performance: Good
Rolling average was 19.8, but I stopped for the following on lap 1: pee break at mile 30, water bottle refill mile 38. Special needs exchange between laps. Lap 2 I did not stop; I took a water bottle on the fly at mile 62ish. Nutrion plan: One Gu Brew bottle every 22 miles, one water bottle mixed in over the same distance. Some sort of nutrition every 30 minutes/10 miles, whichever came first (in order); chocolate stinger, ginsting, waffle, gold stinger, ginsting, waffle, gold stinger, ginsting, gold stinger (at 87.5).
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Big figure-8 looking clockwise loop. First 18 miles pretty much straight on headwind, then when it turned right the tailwind helped a ton. Intermittent fighting of quartering headwinds the remainder, but pretty fast from there on. Gently rolling course, mostly good road surfaces except for a few White Lake-ish ones late in the course. Minimal traffic except right after Bath, but it wasn't bad. Good turn marking, good traffic control, no dogs to speak of, no rednecks throwing things at us. Beautiful section of fields along Hwy. 64 at about mile 20, where you could sit up and take in the view for a bit. Pretty section of swamp where I got to turtle-watch about 4 miles from loop end.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 85+
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:30
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:25:11 | 10 miles | 08m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/7
Overall: 0/46
Performance: Average
This is a little disappointing, but I was getting really hot, and my nutrition plan was falling apart; I wasn't processing nutrition, so race adjustment 4 was a switch off the plan of Honey Stinger at 30 and 60 minutes. I had Gu Brew in my bottle which was giving hydration and some electrolytes, but more importanly sodium. I was feeling the beginnings of leg cramps coming at about mile 3. So, I hit some flat coke and pretzels. Then it became a game of what was the right balance of coke, water, and Gu Brew. I did take a Honey Stinger at mile 6ish, as I felt my gut was starting to process, and that was without incident.
Course: 2 loops through Washington Park and into downtown along the waterfront, then back. Nice course, only one mild climb over the bridge at Haven's Gardens. Not very shaded for 60+%, and it was getting hot out there.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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?
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5