Ironman 70.3 Raleigh - Triathlon


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Raleigh, North Carolina
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 30m 27s
Overall Rank = 333/1564
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 72/392
Pre-race routine:

Was actually really tired on Sat night from all the running around with kids stuff and the setup routine. But got to bed around 10:30 and slept relatively well...up a few times but I could get back to sleep. Finally up at 5:30 and picked up by Daryn at 5:45. Opted to leave the wetsuit at home given the RD said it was 79 the day before and was only warming up. That was a bad move in the end. Drove to the satellite parking and waited about 2 mins for the shuttle. That was slick. Not so slick was the lack of port-a-potties. How can you have 30 for about 2700 people? Long lines but they moved OK so I got to go to the bathroom. Then we ,mozied over to the swim start and found Bill. We three spent a few mins lamenting the lack of wetsuits! Then it was just about time to go, and good to because I needed to pee. Peed twice more on the swim!
Event warmup:

Peeing in the lake.Drank a lot of accelerade.
Swim
  • 38m 53s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

Ranks are all for men only.

Not a good swim. Started strong but navigated poorly for some reason. It felt really long but the water temp was perfect for no wetsuit. I had to swim around a lot of people in the earlier waves because I quickly caught some of them. It got pretty congested at times. Didn't push much at all on the swim and was content to just let the end come when it did.
What would you do differently?:

Swim harder? Bring the wetsuit? Scott swam 4 mins faster than me here and he was less than a min faster than me at BEaverdam, and he said he swam a similar race, so I figure the wetsuit cost me about 3 mins or so. In the grand scheme of things it is meaningless. But in the minutia those 3 or so mins cost me 10-15 places in my AG! Crazy!
Transition 1
  • 02m 34s
Comments:

Annoying transition. I saw Daryn come out of the water and said hey, t hen tried to catch him in T1 but some guy pulled out in front of me and walked out...it was too narrow to get by him so eventually I went over to another lane and made my way out. It took ages.
What would you do differently?:

Take a bazooka and blow the guy in front of me up.
Bike
  • 2h 47m 5s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.03 mile/hr
Comments:

Really liked the bike. Took it relatively easy, saving myself for the run. There were some significant climbs and rollers on this but thank goodness I was prepared for them having ridden most of the course. I tried to acknowledge all the spectators and the police holding up traffic and wished everyone I passed well. I'm sorta amazed how few people actually say anything back. Are you REALLY racing that hard that you dont acknowledge someone saying "have a good race"? I just thought that was weird.

Took a total of 3 GUs and race with the small aerodrink. Skipped the first aid station, got some Perform at the second and then kept topping it up. Prob got 400 -600 calories from drink and 300 from GU and I think that was OK.
What would you do differently?:

Not much- think I paced about right on this. With more riding I would be able to go harder but I didnt trust my bike fitness and knew the run was going to be hard. I enjoyed being able to run at BEaverdam so wanted that experience again. 13 miles is a long way to walk in agony!
Transition 2
  • 02m 8s
Comments:

PRetty methodical. Stopped for sunblock because I didnt wanna roast and really, the 10s wasnt gonna make or break my day.
What would you do differently?:

Not much- pretty methodical.
Run
  • 1h 59m 47s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

First time my run rank has been better than my bike and/or swim (edit, based on Scott analysis, my run was 59th, swim was 55th, so about equal)! I guess my taking it easy strategy paid off? I started the run very easy and slow, saving energy and trying to just be in the moment and plod along. Ran on the sidewalk when possible to grab some shade. Walked every aid station to keep hydrated but had no trouble starting back up until after mile 7, when it got a little trickier to get moving again. Did it though. Really had some GI distress around mile 8 and contemplated finding some trees but then had some, uhm, rather turbulent gas...again and again and things settled down after that. Lucky. Held things together until sometime around mile 10 or 11, then walked a little in between one or two aid stations. I was sick of perform at that point so switched to just water. Maybe I shoulda had a coke :-) Then just before Hillsborough I took a little walk and a guy came up and said "cummon, lets run this in together". So I started running and we chatted. He told me what the rest of the route was like and then said "now take those long legs and go". It was really nice of him...good guy. Then I turned onto Hillsborough and saw the finish off in the distance. By the time I got to the chute Bill caught me and said hi and told me to go finish ahead of him. I'd have liked to cross together but didn't have the energy to argue with his sportsmanlike gesture. High-fived Daryn on the way in, as well as some kids and then crossed and saw Becky and the boys. Walked over to see them and hugged the boys and just stayed there for a minute...pretty much spent.
What would you do differently?:

Other than just be faster, not much. Pretty happy with this- it was not fast, but I think I am the most happy about this run of any in a triathlon so far. It was tough and hilly and I mostly ran. So yay for that.
Post race
Warm down:

Luke had gotten carsick so we found some shade and then I got him a little diet coke. That helped. Couldnt stomach the food they had but got some pizza for the boys and sat with Daryn for a while. Tried to find Bill but he was missing in the crown, and I snuck into the Marriott to go to the bathroom.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness, general ability haha
No wetsuit cost a few minutes but whatever.

Event comments:

Really liked this. The ice and sponges on the run were amazing, the volunteers were fantastic, crowd support was fun on the bike, etc. Bit of a logistical pain with the two transitions and things being centered on Raleigh, but the satellite lots were great for me. I am actually thinking I will do this again next year! I swore I wouldn't. But I think I will. Great event. Better than White Lake, and about on par with B2B in my opinion. It was nice to do some training with Bill and Scott and got to know them a little better. And spending a lot of the weekend talking through the race with Daryn was fun. He had an amazing race so hopefully will come back and do it again.




Last updated: 2013-03-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:53 | 2112 yards | 01m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 55/392
Overall: 324/1564
Performance: Below average
Suit: None, but about 70% of the wave had one
Course: Big rectangle
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:34
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:47:05 | 56 miles | 20.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 88/392
Overall: 321/1564
Performance: Good
My garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/322320216 Lots of detail here...garmin file is easier to read. Average HR was 126 Split Elevation gain Loss time Ave HR 1 32 23 3:09 144 2 79 0 3:58 142 3 136 0 3:47 142 4 0 52 2:11 130 5 0 99 1:55 127 6 0 123 2:16 129 7 0 0 2:35 131 8 111 47 3:04 133 9 28 0 2:41 129 10 0 25 2:47 126 11 0 68 2:39 126 12 96 0 3:37 133 13 53 0 3:03 131 14 0 63 2:45 126 15 30 47 2:56 123 16 6 28 2:37 120 17 0 72 2:45 127 18 30 0 2:45 122 19 36 36 2:58 129 20 46 0 2:50 125 21 0 34 2:47 119 22 35 0 3:10 125 23 34 18 2:40 126 24 29 0 3:04 124 25 14 0 2:50 123 26 0 0 2:54 120 27 0 0 2:43 123 28 0 53 2:57 123 29 40 41 3:15 123 30 0 67 2:33 115 31 55 0 3:23 124 32 44 0 2:58 122 33 30 0 3:43 122 34 120 0 3:39 129 35 0 0 3:03 130 36 0 115 2:17 126 37 132 67 3:12 127 38 31 91 2:08 123 39 52 0 3:15 128 40 42 35 3:28 129 41 36 0 2:59 123 42 0 42 2:42 119 43 44 60 2:47 122 44 69 59 3:14 125 45 0 48 2:39 127 46 36 19 3:37 123 47 16 0 3:06 127 48 13 0 2:52 124 49 17 40 2:19 112 50 93 74 3:53 121 51 0 41 2:29 118 52 84 63 3:39 125 53 27 0 3:02 127 54 0 47 2:04 117 55 59 115 2:42 126 56 64 74 3:05 129
Wind: Some
Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/322320216
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:08
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:59:47 | 13.1 miles | 09m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 59/392
Overall: 278/1564
Performance: Good
Official splits 4.2 mi 4.2 mi 38:24 4:09:04 9:08/mi Mainly uphill to Merideth...gradual but constant 6.4 mi 2.2 mi 21:03 4:30:07 9:34/mi Lots of hills- some biggies 9.3 mi 2.9 mi 28:32 4:58:39 9:50/mi End of the major hills 13.1 mi 3.8 mi 31:48 5:30:27 8:22/mi kinda shocked at this because I walked some of this segment. Guess I finished fast? Total 13.1 mi 1:59:47 5:30:27 9:08/mi My garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/322320260 but it quit at mile 11.8 or something. Mile splits: 1 8:21 2 8:55 3 9:11 4 9:24 5 9:18 6 9:19 7 9:50 8 9:41 9 10:15 10 8:46 11 9:00 12 9:46 pace Average HR was 140
Course: Up for about 4 miles, then up and down some big climbs for 5 and then back to the start with a gradual downhill finish. Lots of hills. Lots of sun. Lots of aid stations but strangely the gaps were long between 4 and what seemed like mile 6. I missed having one between merideth and the art museum. Was loving the ice at that point
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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] 5