Beach2Battleship Half Iron Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Wilmington, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 45m 44s
Overall Rank = 18/905
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/124
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 5AM, ate oatmeal, coffee, and a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Did all this in the bathroom of our small hotel room. Not optimal, but I didn't want to wake up the kids and wife.

Met Louiskie down in the lobby. We hung out for a bit, then boarded the shuttle and went to T1. Set up my bike, got everything ready, then Louiskie, Qrkid, and I went to the swim start. The ride over was COLD.

Qrkid, Louiskie, and I talked nutrition, current, and race strategy while wating for the start. Good times!

Had one Hammer gel before the race. 80 cals.
Event warmup:

No warmup, other than peeing in my wetsuit at the race start. Water was chilly! :)
Swim
  • 31m 47s
  • 1921 meters
  • 01m 39s / 100 meters
Comments:

Fast swim! The current is awesome. The funniest comment the RD made was "don't brag about this swim"! Ha!

Since I knew the current was strong, I made sure I did not push the swim hard. Just elongated my stroke, tried to breath, and kept at it.

Got PUNCHED in the nose HARD halfway through. I heard a crack, felt a sharp pain, and stopped to make sure my nose was not broken. I think I tasted blood, but can't be sure.

Towards the end, almost overshot the exit. It would have been easy to pass the exit and then have to swim upstream. Someone on a paddleboard pointed me to the finish and I made a dash to get there and pull myself up.

Time to start MY race!
What would you do differently?:

Eh, swim more leading up to this event.
Transition 1
  • 02m 19s
Comments:

Upon exiting the water, I figured that I needed to make up time. I sprinted HARD! Had my wetsuit in my left arm and just ran. I passed tons and tons of ppl that were walking or slowly jogging.

I had the 2nd fastest OA T1. I don't know that I could have gone any faster. I heard a few comments as I ran by. Motivated me to run faster. :)
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I was 1 second slower than the fastest overall T1 time. Rock on!
Bike
  • 2h 37m 28s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.34 mile/hr
Comments:

One of the best bikes I've had all season. Right hamstring was tender, for some reason, and I had to be careful not to push it too hard. I pushed it hard enough to not strain it more.

The first third of the course was great. I was easily riding 22+ mph. Goal was to lower HR during this time. Although I was racing, I really didn't care what anyone else was doing. I have to race my own race, I thought to myself.

About mile 30, I noticed it was ALOT harder to pass cyclists. These ppl were more my ability and anytime I passed one, they'd leapfrog me a few mins later. One guy, in particular, I played this game with until the final 5 miles. He's pass me, I'd drop back, then I'd pass him back.

I later found out his name was Jason. he was also in my AG! We continued to leapfrog, and talked a few times as we passed each other. He told me his Garmin was at the bottom of Banks Channel, and I told him my nose hurt. Ha!

Later, he asked me what i expected to run. Before I answered, I thought about this and answered him with what was my best guess. "7 min miles", I said...I may run slower, or faster...but can't be certain. I asked him what he was going to run and he said..."something close".

I had no idea where we were at in the race. I didn't figure it'd matter too much. WRONG!

After that exchange, he pulled off and I didn't see him again during this segment of the race. I got dropped. OA we were really close. Later, after the results were posted, I noticed one second separated our bike splits!

Nutrition: 4 Perpetuem tabs and 1 Hammer gel (213 cals)
Transition 2
  • 02m 3s
Comments:

Passed bike off to volunteer, then sprinted to my bag. Once I got into the tent, I noticed my socks were inside out...Crap! 5 seconds blown there! Still had a decent time and decent OA and AG placing.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 1h 32m 13s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

Started to run and felt absolutely great. Awesome! Pinehurst had been on my mind during the bike and I backed off considerably. I really wanted to save my legs for the run.

In the first few mins, I saw Jason. I ran by him, wished him well, then kept on.

The run was fine. Lots of shade, lots of water and nutrition, and lots of volunteers.

At mile 7, the OA winner blew past me. He was ROCKIN the run. I tried to keep up, and did for a short time, but then let him go. He was not in my AG, and I knew I couldn't keep up.

Around this time, I also passed a DOUCHE BAG. As I passed this one guy, I said, "Looking strong!" he was like, "F Off!"...I was kind of stunned and almost stopped running. What? did I hear that right? After that, I passed him, sped up, looked back, sped up a little more, then looked back again. I wanted him to know that I did "F off"...in front of him...

Then mile 9 came. Boy, that was rough. I could see Jason behind me on a staright away. I didn't know how far back he was, but it was enough for me to not be able to slack off. It was MISERABLE. I kept running, thinking how much it hurt, but I didn't want to slow down. I was going to fight for that spot...whatever it was.

Nutrition: 1 Hammer gel (80 cals)
What would you do differently?:

Good run, but I started off way to fast.

6:03 first mile split, 6:15 second, 6:23 third...
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, had a coke and orange crush, then a massage, then some food.

Wife picked me up shortly thereafter, and I went back to room, showered, then came back for award.

Total nutrition during race:

4 perpetuem tabs (132 cals)
2 gels (160 cals)
2 bottles water on bike (with 2 endurolyte tabs in each)
several waters on run

Not sure on cal content of endurolytes, but raced with less then 300 calories. Had a good breakfast, and ate well the week before. This nutrition plan worked great. Stomach never felt queasy or distressed.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training!!!!!!

Event comments:

Best race out there, bar none.




Last updated: 2012-01-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:47 | 1921 meters | 01m 39s / 100meters
Age Group: 70/124
Overall: 395/905
Performance: Average
Suit: Xterra Vortex
Course: Point to point swim, with current! Swim comparable to Augusta...FAST.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:19
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:37:28 | 56 miles | 21.34 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/124
Overall: 67/905
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: One loop. Road were smooth, with few exceptions. Fairly flat throughout, except when going over grates (bridges) or a few highway spots.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:03
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:32:13 | 13.1 miles | 07m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/124
Overall: 8/905
Performance: Good
Course: This course was OK. You ran out, had to run a few loops, then ran back. Lots of water stops, a few small, rolling hills, and tons of shade.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5