Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Wet suit legal! and thankfully the water had calmed down from the previous days and was perfect for a long swim. There were two sets of buoys (orange and yellow), so it was a little confusing - were we supposed to go BETWEEN them? My wave stuck to the outside of the yellow buoys, so I followed suit. However at the end of the rectangle I saw people swimming between the buoys, so I did the same. Good, strong, consistent swim, sighting every 6th stroke in the beginning and near the buoys, every 8th stroke on the longer stretches, breathing was comfortable; was able to draft off a couple folks for a short time until they drifted off course. About 100 yards from the end, I got a MAJOR cramp in my right calf - froze my leg all the way up my hip and down to my toes. Ouch! Tried to visualize sending blood and oxygen to the area to calm it down (ha, don't know if this really works, but it made me feel like it was, lol). Fortunately, it went away before I had to stand up (whew!, I never would have been able to walk). Noticed that I swam further to shore than most - I wait until my hand touches the bottom and then I stand - I was pretty close to shore before I stood).

The swim seemed long to me, but I thought that was just me. However, I heard from others that even the Pro's times were longer by about 5 minutes and many thought the swim was LONG.

My target was 45:00, so if this was a longer course, I did pretty good. All in all, I'm happy with the swim.

Gender 381 / 751

understand the course markings better - - may have been able to shave some time off - had I known we were allowed to go between the markers - instead of having to swim to the outside of the yellow markers.

transition was a muddy bogg - - awful! no issues getting wetsuit off and bike shoes on. Struggled getting my pony tail into my bike helmet (have to figure a faster way to deal with this). Ran with bike out of transition - looked for the dryest spots - but it was ALL a mess. Stamped my feet in the dry grass before trying to mount the bike. The bike was making a terrible noise - thought there was something wrong, dismounted on the side of the road to check - must have just been mud in the brakes. Got back on and eventually the sound stopped. Miraculously, I had no issues clipping in my speed play pedals.

consider carrying the bike over the mud? It was a long distance, so don't know if this is practical - since I'm carrying so much weight in frozen bottles. I did opt to not carry the extra water on the back and just grabbed water from the water stops.

Prepared two 24 oz bottles of malto (970 calories for a 4 hour ride). Consumed 31 oz of malto, 2 gels (at 1 hr and at 2 hr marks) and 24 oz of water. Total of 826 calories or 2.15/cal/lb/hr. (Froze one of the malto's and the water in insulated bottles, two days prior to the race - they were perfect when it was time to ride).

Took about 10 minutes after the swim for my HR to settle down to 138. Air temps were about 81 degree's and winds were 5 mph ENE.

My right leg/hip were bothering me (not awful, but not great either). Just kept a comfortable cadence.

Felt okay to let heart rate bump up a bit, so I let it stay around 140-144 a lot. To get nutrition in, I would let it fall a little for a short while. Towards the end, I let it go where ever it went (opted NOT to take the third gel, heart rate too high, didn't want it to impact the run). Took two salt tables at 1:45 (being very careful to monitor whether I was sweating or not - checking others riders as well to see if they were). Did not use bike gloves (in the heat my fingers start to swell and it bugs me when the gloves start to feel tight - no issues, even with sweaty hands the bar tape is sufficient).

My power tap holder broke in transition so I used black electrical tape to secure it to the aerobars for the race. Hap to tape over the power- so was not able to see the watts.

Felt like a pretty solid bike.

I kept checking my miles every 30 minutes to see how my pace was doing. at 30:00 I was at 8 something and at 1:00 I was over 17 miles - wow! At 2 hours I was over 34 and at 3 hours I was over 52 - so I knew I was making good time.


Gender 396 / 751


nothing. This was a good ride - - a PR for me :)

good transition - I always practice,so this went smoothly.

nothing.

Target HR was 148, Actual HR was 155.

Prepared four 8 oz. bottles of malto containing 310 calories (1.75 cal/lb/hr for 2 hours). Consumed 10 oz of malto, 2 gels (start of run and about 1.5 hr mark) and lots of water for a total of 296 calories or 1.25 cal/lb/hr. Felt about right - couldn't consume more - HR too high. Hydration: I felt okay and did not seem dehydrated after the race. I continued to drink water after the race, on the ride home and that evening.

Took it easy out of transition, walked 1 minute at the end of each of the first 3 miles. However, each time I started to run, my HR would jump to 152. Then shortened the walk time (mile 4,5,6 about :45 sec, mile 7,8,9 about :30 sec, about :10 after mile 12). I was getting hot (ice in sports bra and down the back of my shirt, cold water on my head, chest, face and arms). Right hip/leg really bothering me about mile 9, so took my extra strength tylenol. Not sure if it helped, but I was able to finish fairly strong. Pushed the run HARD. Seemed like a pretty consistent pace (just varied the walk time) Definitely can't do this pace for Ironman - will have to run more slowly in the beginning to KEEP the heart rate down. Hip/leg KILLING me after the race and on the ride home. Can't get comfortable - sit? stand? lay down? yeow!!


Gender 323 / 751


nothing - - it was a good run. PR for me - by a LOT!!!

All my prior half iron mans (4 of them) my run time was between 2:31 and 2:35 - this was 2:09 - - seriously better!!!

Even beat my half-marathon time!

the water truck was offering showers right at the finish line, so I jumped on in. It felt wonderful!!! Wandered over to the BATC tent. Kept moving, because my right leg/hip was sore and screaming at me. After a while, grabbed some food, (rice and beans, a salad and carrot cake). Waited around for friends to come in. Made two trips to the car to get all my gear back (needed to keep walking, so muscles didn't freeze up). Had a quarter pounder about 3 hours later on the ride home and pizza for dinner (REALLY blew my nutrient dense whole foods today).


My right glutes/hamstrings bugging me through the bike and the run (more so on the run). Screaming at me the whole ride home - could not get comfortable. Thank goodness I have cruise control - could not keep my foot on the gas pedal, ugh!!

I could finally breathe freely on both the bike and the run!! (allergy season seemed especially bad and LONG this year)

Had a major cramp in my right calf on the swim - froze my leg all the way up my hip and down to my toes. Stretched it out gently on the bike and was fine on the run.


It's taken me a few years to gather the courage to participate in this race. I've heard the stories of how bad the heat is and how tough the winds are. It was a solid race (and the conditions were ideal). The swag is great, the volunteers are awesome, love the crowds cheering the racers on. It can be complicated to figure out how to get to the race and get your gear in and out because you have to park so far away or take the shuttle. I was glad I had previewed the course twice in the month prior, so I was familiar with the local roads and the course.