Ironman 70.3 Hawaii - Triathlon


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Kohala Coast, Hawaii
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 39m
Overall Rank = 810/1600
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 148/268
Pre-race routine:

This was my first HIM so was a bit nervous going in but my training was good and had been healthy since coming off the Lavaman a month earlier. Selpt surprisingly well but got up at 4:45 and showered and began sipping gatorade and ate a bagel with peanut butter and a bananna. At chomps about 20 min prior to swim start.
Event warmup:

Windmills, a couple of active stretches and got in the water very breifly to test goggles.
Swim
  • 42m
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

The new course set up was ok in concept but it was confusing and resulted in large pile ups at the turns. The first 200 yards was a complete brawl. Saw a jet ski pick a guy out with a broken nose. Guys were grabbing my timing chip, arms, legs. etc. Saw about 100 men ignore the first turn and head directly to the second. I had to veer about 25 yds to catch the first turn. I was feeling ok at this point so I dove under everyone and popped up on the other side of the mass. My back stretch was good and felt I was finally managing close to my typical avg 1:40/100yd. My turn home was good and was all alone the whole way in as I ignored the course markers where everyone else was piled up.
What would you do differently?:

Started either deeper or shallower instead of mixing it up in the middle. There was no Aloha swimming going on in this area.
Transition 1
  • 06m 10s
Comments:

I was planning to walk the long hill into transition but due to the slow swim I decided to run it. Felt like I fumbled with my arm sleves a bit and the bike mount is on a steep incline that was pretty clogged.
What would you do differently?:

Left my arm coolers balled up on my wrists and rolled them up my arms later.
Bike
  • 3h 16m
  • 56 miles
  • 17.14 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike was kind of ho-hum ok for the windy conditions. I bike in worse but was trying to stay within myself and keep my desent speeds reasonable due to the gusts. My fastest section was 38mph and right at that peak had a hard gust that made me feather the brakes a bit.
What would you do differently?:

Ridden a bit harder back down from Hawi despite the gusty winds. My avg speed on this course during training is 18.6 mph and was thinking my race pace would be closer to 20 but it's all abut the conditions on race day.
Transition 2
  • 04m 33s
Comments:

My neighbor and I arrvied at exactly the same time....as luck would have it. He went left and I took a gap to the right so it worked out. I took a bit more time getting my socks smooth given that it was going to be a wet run.
Run
  • 2h 30m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

I started out with quad cramps when I hit the grass...ok, as Macca says, "embrace the suck." I took a salt tab and started on my Gu Roctane drink and they abated by about mi 3. Everytime I hit the rough on the course I cramped. Since everyone had the same course I sucked it up and schuffled along. On the long cul-de-sac and the road to nowhere I was able to push my pace back to around 9min. At this point I was pushing my training partner who was struggling to keep it together. Since my day was all about embracing the suck I decided that I would have fun and run it in to the finish together.
What would you do differently?:

Know that I could have pushed harder to get through the cramps as it was more managable than it felt at the tmie.
Post race
Warm down:

Drink, eat, sit in the shade on the grass and chill.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swim start positioning, cramps on run, wind.

Event comments:

This was my first HIM and I jumped right into the deep end with the winds and difficult course. I've raced the Lavaman two other times, swum Hapuna numerous time, and ridden to Hawi several times so I knew what to expect. I may have to return next year just to redeem a relatively poor day.




Last updated: 2012-11-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:42:00 | 2112 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 129/268
Overall: 702/1600
Performance: Below average
Suit: Blue Seventy Swimskin
Course: Counter Clock Wise with buoys course buoys on right and turns buoys on left...confusing and not wide enough.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 06:10
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
03:16:00 | 56 miles | 17.14 mile/hr
Age Group: 144/268
Overall: 751/1600
Performance: Average
Wind: Cross-winds with gusts
Course: A little bit of everything on this ride. My ride to the first turn was ok and caught my training partner and backed it down a bit. The wind was gusty from the side on the way up to Kawaihae then ok for the climb to Hawi until the last 5 mi where it turned from the side into a headwind. Got a few sprinkles at the turn and had a tail wind for 5 mi again until it became a quartering headwind. The Kawaihae hill was especially slow as at this point it turned into a headwind and everyone came to a grinding crawl. Crowie said these were the worst winds he's biked in during a race.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:33
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:30:00 | 13.1 miles | 11m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 148/268
Overall: 810/1600
Performance: Below average
Course: Rolling golf squishy grass, golf cart path, and up and down with very little opportunity to establish pace. Bree Wee had a huge lead but got lost and ended up in 3rd just to show how much the corse is not straight or flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4