Ironman 70.3 Racine - Triathlon


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Racine, Wisconsin
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
78F / 26C
Overcast
Total Time = 6h 43m 24s
Overall Rank = 1560/2270
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 201/235
Pre-race routine:

This year after transition setup, we hung back at transition to watch the pro men come in from the swim. Our late wave start allowed plenty of time for this. Much better use of the time than waiting at the start line for 1:15 getting my nerves in bundles. Amazing watching how fast and efficient those guys are, everything is one fluid motion. On a typical day, my transitions are quite good, not pro good, but within top 10-20%, but today would not be that day.
Event warmup:

Walked down to start. Had about 10 minutes before our age group corralled, splashed water on myface to get the water temp sense. Watched how far out the sandbar went watching waves ahead of me. THIS IS KEY!! Always note how far out the sandbar goes before you start your wave!!
Swim
  • 42m 32s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 01s / 100 yards
Comments:

Oh what a swim.... From the beach it didn't look too bad. boy did that change quickly. Let me preface the rest of the race report with the condition that I haven't had time to train this year. Work has been nuts since May 1, and I haven't done more than 10 "workouts" between May 1 and race day.
That said, my swim strength, which is typically my strong suit, was not there. The first 200m was spent fighting through 2-3' waves coming into shore. It was quite tough, and I knew I was in for a very long swim time. Rounding the first bouy, the only benefit was being able breathe right to avoid getting every mouth full of water. I was taking extended breast stroke breaks, getting quite fatigued early on. Started to see signs of people in distress early on, many folks on the kayaks and bouys. Considered it myself for a while. By half way, my stroke form was crap, hardly able to get my arm out of the water in front of me. hard to sight with the waves. If you were not in strong swim shape, today was not going to be a great start to your day. I got to the shore for the finish and walked in. The beach looked like a war zone, racers stumbling in, very few running.
What would you do differently?:

Worst swim of my life. Only thing to do differently... Train. Guess I should get on that so I can finish Big Shoulders.
Transition 1
  • 04m 42s
Comments:

Being totally wiped out from the swim, I was in no hurry to rush through T1. Walked most of the way until the playground area. Spalshed feet in the little bit of water that was in the tubs. Used the suit strippers this year. They got the suit off much quicker than I would have been able to. Got to the bike after trying to get through the crowds in the row. walked bike out to road and hard a hard time getting clipped in. Once clipped I was off and up the hill.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more. Hurt that I hadn't been able to transition since Richmond.
Bike
  • 3h 09m 50s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.76 mile/hr
Comments:

After getting my legs, I felt great, cruising at 21-23 for the first 12 miles, noting that I had a tail wind. My strength would come and go. But I was comfortable, and holding a pace above 19. Hit a nice down hill stretch on the westbound about mile 10ish and pushed hard. Hit another strong stretch at the first 94 crossing. smooth concrete followed bya nice long flat. Kicked into gear and hammered. flew up the hill after 94 holding >22mph. That would be the last push I had in me. I felt strong in the moment, but turning around into the wind and encountering the terrible road conditions on the return trip, I was finished pushing for the day. About mile 30 random muscles in my legs started to cramp, calfs, hamstring, quads, all taking turns. I slowed way down, grabbed a banana at the final aid station, and settled into conservation mode. About mile 50 my left groin muscle went AWOL. I pulled off the road, dumped the bike and went into full on stretch mode. After a few minutes the cramp had subsided, but I cruised in about 15 mph the rest of the way.
What would you do differently?:

Train, train, train.
Transition 2
  • 04m 57s
Comments:

The "bad" notes above should really read "No" as none of those things happened. Surprised that is not an option, as most beginners don't do those things. I have in the past, but not today. Lots of negative thoughts, coupled with the cramps, being well behind all of my friends, I was ready to turn in my timing chip. Took everything I had to continue on with the run portion. Grabbed the remaining half of my gatorade bottle and walked out.
Run
  • 2h 41m 23s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Took quite a while to get out of the funk. Walked a good portion of the first few miles. did a good interval of walk/run to keep me going. Grabbed lots of pretzels and chips at the aid stations to get my salt content up. That and 1 cup water, 1 cup Perform. By the time I was at the turn around, I was definitely feeling better. Able to run up both hills on the second loop, though walked at the top, I felt stronger. Made a point of setting run goals, then trying to extend them when I could on the second loop. Tried to run the last 3.1, but that didn't happen. Last mile though I was able to kick it in. and finished strong, relative to the rest of the race. Finally able to have a smile on my face for the finish.
What would you do differently?:

See above.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed some food and laid down. Eventually went back into the water to rinse off and get the salt out of my face. That felt great, though a bit chilly w/out wetsuit.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Work, stupid, stupid work... Though it's nice to have a job, and be busy. While I enjoyed the latitude afforded by not being busy at the last job, the part about being laid off, really isn't something I want to deal with. Sure helped my training last year though.

Event comments:

Since my performance above is all on my lack of training, I'll critique the race itself. The t-shirts this year are quite a letdown. Look like any old shirt I could get at a local race. Heck, the local race shirt actually looks better this year. I know it's not much, but the race shirt for an Ironman race should look like it's from an Ironman race. The logo it pretty odd too. Background has a car tire tread in it? Didn't recall car tires being any part of the event, or noteworthy about Racine. Small bickering points, but thing's I've come to expect from this race.




Last updated: 2012-10-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:42:32 | 2112 yards | 02m 01s / 100yards
Age Group: 147/235
Overall: 888/2270
Performance: Bad
Suit: Xterra Vortex 4
Course: ~200m out. Right turn for approximately 1 mile straight shot south, then right turn for ~200m swim into beach.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: High
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:42
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
03:09:50 | 56 miles | 17.76 mile/hr
Age Group: 169/235
Overall: 1255/2270
Performance: Bad
Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank 30 mi 30 mi 1:32:25 2:19:39 19.48 mi/h 56 mi 26 mi 1:37:25 3:57:04 16.01 mi/h Total 56.0 mi 3:09:50 3:57:04 17.70 mi/h 169 1255 965
Wind: Some
Course: Meandering out and back. Lots of turns.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 04:57
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
02:41:23 | 13.1 miles | 12m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 201/235
Overall: 1560/2270
Performance: Bad
Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank 3.4 mi 3.4 mi 41:03 4:43:04 12:15/mi 6.6 mi 3.3 mi --:-- --:-- --/mi 9.9 mi 3.3 mi --:-- --:-- --/mi 13.1 mi 3.3 mi 6:43:24 6:43:24 04:07/mi Total 13.1 mi 2:41:23 6:43:24 12:19/mi 201 1560 1127
Course: Double out and back
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
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] 4