Victoria Triathlon - Half Iron Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
The Subaru Western Triathlon Series
15C / 59F
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 12m 14s
Overall Rank = 58/255
Age Group = F 45-49
Age Group Rank = 2/22
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4, continued previous day's very mild diet, cooked orzo with almond milk and a few berries. Got out to the lake by 5:30 to set up transition area and wander around.
Event warmup:

In the lake about 15 minutes before the start, swam out to a buoy and back, noted that it was VERY BREEZY.
Swim
  • 34m 27s
  • 1900 meters
  • 01m 49s / 100 meters
Comments:

Really choppy. I didn't ever have my usual, "OMG, I just want to go home" thing, but never really settled down into a smooth swim. A fair bit of body contact and I drank some lake, but nothing terrible.

I rarely see *any* wind at the Elk at this hour and was really surprised.
What would you do differently?:

Think about *one* bit of swim technique that I can pull out and remember when the mayhem settles down.
Transition 1
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

Woohoo! tried shoes-on-bike for the first time and it worked out OK. The road shoes are fussy to do up, though.
What would you do differently?:

Time to get my tri shoes set up correctly. They're designed for this sort of thing. Also want to start to learn to jump on the bike.
Bike
  • 2h 47m 52s
  • 86.4 kms
  • 30.88 km/hr
Comments:

I deliberately rode this very conservately. Very, very. I have a history of crushing the bike and blowing up on the run. This was my first half-iron and I wanted to make sure the run wasn't going to be two laps of misery. On the whole, managed pace very well and am delighted.

Very, very windy from west-southwest made for challenging crosswinds with deep-dish wheels. Learned a lot about how to relax and flow through the buffeting. Some parts of the course were pretty exposed and all I could do was tuck into my helmet and be very small. Kept telling myself, "hey. everyone *else* is dealing with this breeze, too."

Course never became too crowded and folks did their best to avoid drafting when there was company. Whole vibe in my part of the bike course was fairly cheery as we leapfrogged each other as different strengths and weaknesses came into play.

Nutrition - started with one bottle of double-strength eload and one of water, and just exchanged water bottles as I went. Worked to get through the eload in the first hour and then switched to gu/water every 30 minutes. This worked well and my gut was fine. Although I am very tired of gu.

Pushed water a little, as was concerned about a dehydrating-bonk
What would you do differently?:

Well, I'd drink less. Didn't need all that water and my body just unloaded it. Also would double-check my son's loving but somewhat inept bar-wrap job. One of the aero-bars came undone on the way and was a bit of a distraction.
Transition 2
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

Best T2 Ever. I got out of the shoes and kept riding in from about 200m out - jumped off and ran it over the line. Only error - it was cloudy and I left my sunglasses on. By the end of the first lap, they bugged me so much that I flung them at a friend on my way by. Thanks, Bob.
What would you do differently?:

Try to remember to lose the shades.
Run
  • 1h 47m 11s
  • 20 kms
  • 05m 22s  min/km
Comments:

Slowed a little as I went but kept it dialed at "comfortably hard." Opened it up for the last 1.5 km. I suppose I could have run it harder, but for a first time out, I'm happier that I chose a pace that meant I didn't blow up. Took water at each aid station, nibbled at a gu over each 5k segment except the last, when it just seemed silly.

Poured water on my head to keep cool, which worked great. No overheating.

And, as ever, my run is my weakest leg, which annoys me, because I was a runner before I came over to the dark side.
What would you do differently?:

My forefeet fall asleep when I run off the bike. I need to look into why this happens.
Post race
Warm down:

As soon as I stopped, wet from all the water I'd dumped, the breeze ripped into me and I got sooooo cold. I had to go get dressed right away and missed out on my usual routine of stand-in-the lake to cool legs and then rinse salt from my hair. I think I'm going to pay for that.

Instead, wobbled around and spent 30 minutes on my feet before sitting to stretch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I *decided* not to push hard in my first HIM and think I just about nailed a good baseline for future growth and comparison.

Event comments:

There was virtually no protein - no milk, no recovery bars, no peanut butter - by the time the HIM got in. I was frantic and hope they'll have more for us next time.




Last updated: 2012-06-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:27 | 1900 meters | 01m 49s / 100meters
Age Group: 4/22
Overall: 75/255
Performance: Average
Suit: Orca full suit
Course: One lap, big box down to the rowing club and back. Some folks got caught out by a dogleg on the way back - the strong westerly didn't help matters any, and there was a bit of cross-traffic the whole way back. Do you know how hard it is to spot orange buoys when all the men in your wave have orange caps? That drove me *nuts*
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 18C / 64F Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:59
Performance: Good
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
02:47:52 | 86.4 kms | 30.88 km/hr
Age Group: 1/22
Overall: 51/255
Performance: Good
Beautifully even splits
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: 2 circuits of rolling Saanich peninsula roads. A little bit of everything.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 00:48
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:47:11 | 20 kms | 05m 22s  min/km
Age Group: 4/22
Overall: 101/255
Performance: Average
Two ccts of Elk Lake, which is, unfortunately only 10k around. So it's a 20k course.
Course: Mostly flat packed dirt trail with a few rollers here and there. It's my home turf and I know every root and rock on the way.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4