login
 Swim
Comments: My swim strategy was pretty simple. KEEP THE HR DOWN. For me, a 2m/100m pace doesn't take too much effort so that was my target pace. I was pretty much right on. The water was easily 85 degrees and was a refreshing way to start the day. I started on the outside and took my time wading in to prevent the washing machine as best I could. Turns out I prevented it a little too much as I stayed too far from the bouys to find people to draft off of. It did't help that the water was about as cloudy as swimming in oil so it was hard to see feet until I was on top of them. Sighting was pretty easy. The flat water in the lake alowed me to sight of the bouys instead of something on the horizon. With the wave start the turns wern't very crowded so no complaints there either. Mike and I swim about the same pace and got out of the water in about 38 minutes. All in all the swim was pretty uneventful. What would you do differently?: I would stick a little tighter to the bouys to find more people to draft off and prevent swimming further than I had to. I would also probably pick up the pace a little.  Transition 1
Comments: My T1s take a while because I like to wear socks in my tri shoes. This pretty much eliminates being able to have the shoes preclipped on the bike since I don't want to run in my socks. However, it saves me time in T2 since I already have socks on. Another factor that contributed to my slow time was the large transition area. It just took a long time to get from the water to my bike. Finally, I got into a little wrestling match with my UA shirt. I won, but not until after adding another 30 seconds to my time. What would you do differently?: Find a trisuit/jersey I like and wear it on the swim so I don't have to put a top on while im wet in T1. Learn to not be so much of a Nancy with the need for socks.  Bike
Comments: My bike strategy was to ride fast in order to help start the run as early (cool outside) as possible. The course was just awesome. The first 10-15 miles were perfectly flat along a highway. The concrete was in great condition and the air was cool and still. I was getting passed, but it was more an outclassing than a slow pass so I didn't feel so bad. Some of those guys and girls were incredible. Around mile 20 two things happened. One, the "hills" started and two, we ran into a cool fog that kept the body temp down and air cool. It felt great. As far as the hills go, you could definitly tell the people that train flat because they were out of the saddle huffing and puffing and hardly moving. I'm no climbing machine, but I don't think I got out of the saddle once. Unfortunatly, I got caught behind a line of slow people during this portion and lost some time. At the bottom of one of the hills a guy had just taken a pretty nasty spill. He was laying down and didn't look so good. A few miles later I reached the second turn around. I came back past the crash and the guy was standing, but was pretty banged up. Hope he heals quickly. I spent a few miles yo-yoing with a guy that would pass me on the the flats then i'd pass on the uphills. It threw my pace off. I finally dropped him around mile 30. A little ways after that there was a significant downhill. I was cruising around 35+mph and this guy that weighed about a buck twenty was obviously sucking my draft and came around side then cut me off. Thing is momentum says with 80 more pounds im going to end up going faster. I did. I pass him left about the same time another guy some up on my left. So there we were going 3 wide about 38mph down a hill. Thank god there wern't any potholes, flat tires etc. Around mile 40 I saw Mike for the last time after the last turnaroud. He had developed a decent lead. At mile 42 I realized I held back too much and turned on the jets back to town. I averaged between 23-24 and I think I may have been passed once in 14 miles. I don't have the roads to go that fast for that long back home, but I wish I did. I took down 2 water bottles, 3 gu's, and 3 Gatorades over the course and felt well hydrated and fed the whole time. What would you do differently?: Hammer on the hills like I do in training and drop the slow people that only go fast when it's downhill or flat. Transition 2
Comments: Racked the bike. Got sprayed with sunscreen and took off. What would you do differently?: Remove my sunglasses before getting sprayed with sunscreen.  Run
Comments: Hahahaha. It's funny that is says run comments as there was actually very little running going on. It was more like walking with occasional shuffling. My strategy for the run was to walk, crawl, or roll as required to finish the race. As I mentioned earlier, I had some severe ITBS over the winter and really only had about 2-1/2 months to prepare for this thing. My longest run prior to the race was about 4 miles, so I knew the run was going to be a disaster. IT WAS. By the time I got off the bike it was easily in the upper 80's. I ran about a mile before I accepted the reality that the heat/poor training was going to get the better of me. My plan was simple. Shuffle to the next aid station then walk the aid station plus 2 more minutes before going back to shuffling. That worked for a while. Then I started to notice that I was starting to hear my heart beating in my ears when I got really hot. I added one more rule..Shuffle to the next aid station then walk the aid station plus 2 more minutes before going back to shuffling AND walk when I could hear my heart beating. So the run walk went on until I was about at the end of the first lap. At the end of the lap I transitioned to a run before the crowd so I didn't look so sad. I don't think it fooled too many people though. I'm pretty sure I saw Nicole Deboom about that time too. By lap 2 it was about 95 or so outside and I think I was starting to go crazy because I was thinking that if I ran a little more this time I could break 6 hours. That lasted about 2 miles before I recalculted and thought it wasn't possible (PS - math is hard (and often wrong) when you're tired and overheated). I ran into Mike a few minutes later (he was on lap 3) coming the other way. He looked strong and we did a little finger raise hello and kept chugging along. About mile 9 I ran by the crowd again, this time my form a little less convincing than the last. But I was happy to be on lap 3. I also recalculated my time again. I was right the first time. I could have broken 6 hours with a little more running. Oh well, it was too late now. About mile 10 or so I think Marni Rakes ran by me (BT tatoo on left calf?) By the time I put 2 and 2 together she was way out of range. At mile 12 I had about enough and was walking again. Then some guy says, "What are you doing? This is the best part." With my new found motivation I ran the rest of the way. I got some spacing between me and and others to get a good finisher shot and announcement, but I suppose the announcer was having some tea or coffee and neglected to announce my name. Either way, I crossed the mat a HIM. What would you do differently?: Train for the run. Post race
Warm down: Got my medal and swag bag and stood in front of the cool zone fan for a few minutes to cool off. Mom, brothers, and sister came over to offer congratulations. Took a couple of photos then started to walk over the have some pizza. The walk to the pavillion was more of a hobble with my left knee acting up. I got a bag of ice from the medical tent and iced it for a while and enjoyed a few slices of pie. After 20-30 minutes of ice I was able to walk without too much of a limp. Grabbed my bike and bag from the transition area and rode to the car. What limited your ability to perform faster: The two major limiting factors were the heat and my limited training due to the ITBS over the winter. Training in 60 degrees didn't transfer well to the 90+ degree heat. When you throw that on top of my first half marathon and limited training you end up with a running disaster. Event comments: The race was extremely well organized. There were plenty of volunteers and there was always an aid station nearby. Only real issue was the aid station that ran out of cups on the run course. Last updated: 2006-05-10 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Ironman USA
97F / 36C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1222/1937
Age Group = 18-24
Age Group Rank = 56/81
INTRO:
(For those of you I don't know... No race info)
I re-entered the fitness lifestyle about 11 months ago after seeing a photo of myself taken at a party. I was about 30lbs overweight and looked every pound of it. Given my athletic background, I was disgusted with myself.
Within a few days I was back on the bike riding and running. About that same time I was saw an ad on ESPN or OLN about the Ironman. Athough I was familiar with the event, I logged on the internet to see what othertriathlon events were close to me. I found a super sprint a few miles away in August and I started a Joe-created training program. I DNF'd that race (you can read about it if you're interested), but I was hooked. My training progressed and I completed 2 more races last summer. Near the end of the season I signed up for HIM FL. My training program was set to begin in full force 1 January. Unfortunatly, I developed some severe ITBS in November and regular training didn't get back on track until March.
PRE-RACE ROUTINE:
(Race related)
THURSDAY:
My brother Mike(also participating) and I left Washington DC on the 18th and drove down to Valdosta, GA to visit a friend and break up the drive. Always good seeing old friends.
FRIDAY:
We woke up, had a Waffle House breakfast, and finished the drive with 3 more hours to Orlando, FL. We arrived at the Shades of Green resort(highly recommend for other military) around noon and got checked in. While wating for the rest of the family to arrive Mike and I went over to the expo walked around for a bit and registered. We went back to the hotel when the rest of the fam arrived and got stuff unloaded and bikes reassembled. After we got stettled, me, my dad, and brother went for a 12 mile ride to get stretched out. I was plesently suprised with the terrain and we clicked off about a 20 mph pace without a lot of effort.
SATURDAY:
Mike and I tried to take it easy. General laying around and pounding water and Gatorade. My dad was casually checking out Mike's bike when he noticed two small gashes in his rear tire. By this time we were already getting close to the bike check in cut off, so we went over and bought him a new tire and got the bikes checked in. Since we didn't have a lot of time he decided he'd chance it on the old tire and bring the new one as a spare (smart or not I dunno, but it turned out ok). We met the fam for dinner and ate a high-carb dinner and turned in about 9:30 or so.
SATURDAY NIGHT:
Like usual, I tossed and turned pretty much all night. Not that im so much nervous about the race, but more that im afraid the alarm won't go off or I think it's about to go off so I keep looking at it. Whatever the reason, it sucks.
RACE MORNING:
Mike and I arrived at about 5:00 or so, set up our transition areas, pumped up tires, etc. I went and got body marked and did some general aimless wondering after that. I know I saw Tyler Darby, but he looked a little preoccupied with his video documentary so I didn't want to bother him. Also, I think I saw Jess (tritakemeaway), but im not sure (pink shirt?).
I'm really not into warming up. I just stretch a little and try to focus on the day. About 10 minutes before the start the RD sang the Anthem and the pro's got started shortly there after. Mike and I were in wave 4 starting at 6:41.