Ironman 70.3 Syracuse - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This year my support team got to the event a little late so I had my cell and keys with me along with my top layers of clothes. Normally I had these off to them before I practice swim. So in my waiting around I realized that I dropped my goggles. I instantly start to panic, I look around all over the beach. I then think where my spare pair is, and realize they are all the way back at the car and it would be one heck of a sprint to get there and back before my wave goes off. I'm looking all over the place and then figure I should start to head for the car when I actually come across them on my way off the beach just laying there in the sand. If I had to pee I'm sure I would have done it right there in my wetsuit on the beach but I was just so relieved that I didn't have to sprint to my care with a wetsuit on. I don't know what it is about the swim. I thought it was going to work out for me. This year they let the athletes stay in the water in this marked off area for the entire time. So I got in there and did my swimming and didn't have any problems. Then when it's time for my wave to go off I positioned myself right smack dab in the middle. I wanted to get the feel for what it was going to be like in Lake Placid. When the wave went off I was feeling really good after about the first 100M. I was getting hit, kicked, swam over. I thought I was dealing with it really well. Then as things started to spread out, I started having problems with my breathing and keeping my HR down. It was racing like no other, I just felt so constricted with the wetsuit that I just can't tell what it is that is happening. So I can only swim for a few strokes then I have to pause look around look for the buoys and then take another few strokes and repeat. At one point about half way down I just had to do some kind of front stroke. It wasn't until I got to the first turn around buoy that I started to feel a little more normal. I still felt like I was not breathing they way I would normally would but I seemed to be moving much better. I made it to the second turn buoy and started heading back to shore I was going ok going back. It wasn't until the last buoy that my left calve started to cramp. I'm not sure why it started to cramp because I wasn't really kicking my feet at all. (I can only imagine it was all the stopping and starting) So I try to swim with my toes point straight down and I can tell that it's not very efficient and I can hear my left foot kerplunk every time I kick. I was able to get the cramp to subside so I could finish my swim. I felt like man that swim had to have sucked worse then last year. I come to find out that I took off about a minute from last year. Not sure how that happened but I'll take it. (I didn't know I did better then last year until after the race and the wife told me my times) I'm surprised how well I handled forgetting about the swim since I thought I did so badly. It's one of those things that can ruin your entire mood for the entire race. I went to the wetsuit strippers got the suit off in no time flat and headed for transition

Figure out why I have such a hard time breathing in the water. This is only my third time swimming in the wetsuit this year, and they haven't gone well either. Last years swim at this race I felt it was my best swim yet. Even though my time was better here I could have done so much better if I could have relaxed and just swam. I'll have to think of something.

I used the wetsuit strippers so they got me out of the suit in no time. This is the first race that I was going to use the arm cooler compression sleeves. I didn't know if I should wear them during the swim (Under the wetsuit) or put them on in transition. I decided that knowing my swim is going to be 50/50 weather or not I have some kind of problem I didn't want this to be a factor so I decided to put them on in transition. I actually had them rolled up and put them on my aero bars so I actually put them on during the bike portion. The actual transition was pretty smooth, I was able to get my socks on with no problems, which is usually the only slowdown that I usually have. Put on my shoes, race belt, and helmet and off I went.

I don't think I would do anything differently. I got the aero helmet with the visor so I don't have fiddle around with sun glasses, which is one less thing that I had from last year.

I felt like I did a better job at managing the bike then last year. I remember catching myself as I started out on the bike where I was thinking about my swim time and thought I should push the bike a little. I'm glad I was able to keep myself from going any harder. I felt I took the hills really well even though at some points the quads started to burn. I didn't have to get out of the saddle at any point and I stayed in aero about 90% of the time. My legs felt really good coming off the bike.

When tossing the water bottle that I just picked up and dumped into my hydration system, trying to not and hit any of the volunteers would be good. I felt sorry for the one kid that I'm pretty sure I came close to hitting him with a partially empty water bottle.

I thought it went pretty good, though I only unclipped out of one side so it could have been a mess if my other foot didn't unclip when I needed too. It was a close call for a spill at the dismount line.

I think the only thing I could do is to remember to get my feet out of my shoes while I'm on the bike, I think this would save me a little bit of time but other than that I'm happy with my T Times

My bike portion this year seemed like it went perfect. My legs feel so good after the bike that when I look down at my Garming I'm doing 7 min/mile. Crap I'm not supposed to be doing 7 min mile off the bike. It felt like I was running slow but the watch kept reading 7.XX. I'm not sure how else to slow down. I may have to start off by walking a little bit so I can get my legs to not go so fast.

Run slower off the bike. I was doing 7 min/mile for the first 5 miles and then my body decided to slow things down.

had some water and chocolate milk. Then went into the water to see if it would help with the legs. Calves were toasted after the race.


not relaxing during the swim, and going to fast off the bike


They keep changing something about the course every year so it's hard to tell if I'm getting better or the course is just that much different. This is the third year that they changed the run course.