Ironman 70.3 Timberman - Triathlon

This was a great swim for me. Found fast feet and was able to stick with them for the whole way. Was working at what felt like a 1:25/100 pace and swam 1:21/100, so the draft helps! I pulled around with a couple hundred left and went for it, and it was definitely harder just staying with him - and passing was quite the effort! (Course was longer than advertised, as it has been several times before - at least judging by both past results and averaging a bunch of different Garmins, previous racers, etc. - but that seems to happen at a lot of races).

Really enjoyed this one - I'm starting to like OWS every bit as much as the other sports (but still don't dig the pool as much as b/r).

Not much. This one went very well (no feet to the face, drafted the best I've done yet, used my legs only at the very end to get some blood to them - otherwise used my "zero-beat-kick" the whole way). Super happy...

Was thrown a little here, as it's apparently been a WTC 70.3 (not 140.6) rule for 2 years that no one but the pros may have shoes clipped to the bike to prevent anyone from doing a flying mount (and then the all-too-common flying crash).

They said anyone clipped in ahead of time would be assessed a time penalty, although many folks did it and didn't get penalties. An official actually suggested to a bunch of us setting up that we should do the same, but there was no question for me on this one (I don't draft, either!). Putting the shoes on at the mat and - much more so - RUNNING in them isn't something I was used to and had to stop and tighten them a couple times running out (my spot was way in the back). For clarity, I don't do a flying mount - more of a "I don't like to run in my bike shoes so I'll save some time and do a rolling mount" kind of thing. No biggie, but cost a few seconds... Some folks had, ahem, MUCH stronger feelings about this change, though.

The shoe thing and that there's just more stuff to grab for a HIM (two gel flasks to grab and tuck into my jersey pockets - in sprints and Oly's, I just put 1-2 gels in my pocket before the swim and didn't have to grab anything but my bike) were all that come to mind. Different is all - kinda enjoyable to mix it up, for me.

Not much. Went well enough, and running any harder would have sent my HR into the stratosphere! ;)

Very happy with this ride, as I was most concerned about going too hard on the hills, but kept it in check. I targeted an avg HR of 140-142 with max of 150 and was pretty much spot on (avg was 140), with a very consistent (for me) power profile the whole ride. 2.5 big bottles of dilute Skratch (1 full scoop per bottle - mmmmmm, pineapple!) and ~4.5 Powergels on the ride (from a flask that took some serious sucking to get anything from - OK, many jokes there).

The volunteers at the aid stations were just terrific, and there were more spectators than I'd expected - all cheering for the guy in orange. ;) Made for a fun ride!

As always, I said hi or some form of greeting to everyone I passed, and also something congratulatory/admiring to everyone that passed me. As usual (at least up here in the NE), only two people on the whole course reciprocated (I know we're RACING, but come on folks). :) Most people were definitely in race mode (this was the most tense group I've experienced yet at a race) from the minute transition opened until after the race, when most people relaxed and were more social.

If I smiled any wider on the ZOOMING downhills, I'd have broken my face. What a blast!!!

Oh, and I love love love having a power meter again! Data! Toys! FUN!

Other than the usual (train more beforehand), not much. This went pretty much just as I'd hoped.

First time I've put socks on in a tri, and that honestly kinda threw me off a little. Didn't take longer than it should have to do it, but I did find myself staring at my mat for a couple seconds after I got my shoes on wondering if I'd missed something or done something wrong! :)

Get a better transition spot? Not much, in truth - might have been able to shorten this by 15-20" (?), but it went smoothly.

Up front, gotta shout out to the volunteers and spectators - top notch!

Was just totally unsure how this one was going to go, as I suspected it wouldn't feel like an open HM (and, yep, I was right!). Like the bike, I metered this one by HR, targeting low 150's for the first half, gradually rising to mid 150's at the mid-point, then rising and trying to hold over 160 for the last 3.3 miles. Managed pretty close to that (average of 155), but couldn't hold over 160 for a long time (legs were pretty tired, even pumping my arms like a madman the last couple miles). I had a fairly consistent run across splits, which was great.

Belly revolted against gel at ~mile 2, so I tossed my flask away (it was like carrying a heavy little grenade anyway - oh, and next time I'll dilute it a little so I don't practically break a rib trying to suck that stuff out!) and decided to live off the course. The aid stations were so frequent that I had probably one or two too many drinks the first couple miles - managed to get that in control quickly, though (and tried Coke for the first time in a race - would have been better if it was flat, as the bubbles weren't great, but it was otherwise pretty tasty).

The first time I looked at my overall time for the race (or ANY time for any split, for that matter) was at mile 10 of the run. The last 5k, for me, is where I'll usually empty the tank on a HM, if I have anything left, so I stuck with that approach. I saw that if I could REALLY kick it in, I might break 5 hours (which is meaningless, but I needed something to fix on at that point). That, and I saw that I was catching a fellow in my AG who'd passed me earlier - also a motivator in a race. I did speed up (as much as I could) and managed to pass him, but not the clock...

Left it ALL out there.

I felt a fair bit of muscular fatigue and soreness, especially in my medial thighs, that kept me from turning over more quickly by the end of the run, so perhaps a bit more "Muscular Endurance" run workouts off the bike beforehand. Hmmmm... I'll have to look into good groin workouts.

As for what I'd have done differently **yesterday**? Not much. Went as well as I could have hoped for.

Basked in the golden glow of endorphins. Wandered a bit to find the massage tent (Massage Lady and Essential Oil Lady - sisters actually - you two are miracle workers!) and then a plate of food. Best. Chips. Ever.

Back to transition as it opened and packed up. Stretched out in the sun for a bit then met up with friends. Packed up the truck and met up at the beer tent, from where we heartily cheered the award winners (great beer tent placement - those Iron-folks were a-thinkin'). Did I mention they had a beer tent?

Walked over to Andy Potts and thanked him for an article he did in Runners' World on stride/cadence which I had found very helpful. He was just the shiznit - super gracious and seemed genuinely happy/psyched that the article helped (and we just kinda chatted about running - super cool). Totally normal guy, for a WICKED FAST MUTHA. :)

3 of us stayed after the awards for the Rolldown ceremony to see what it was about (this was my first WTC race). Turns out we each missed a spot at World's in Mont Tremblant by ONE person! Apparently it's always worth waiting for the ceremony (or finishing 10 minutes faster, which would have put me in the money), as there were spots in the M30-34 that actually went unclaimed, for instance. Last place in that group could have raced the WC if they'd stayed! Way cool thing to watch folks and their friends/families go ape-chit BONKERS when their name was called! Just kind of capped off a pefect day on a great and happy note.

I was (and am) just so grateful to be able to do this kind of thing. Called some folks on the drive home and thanked them (family, friends, etc.) for making the race possible - they were truly out there on course with me. With that, a huge shout out to BT, as well - I went into this race waaaay better geeked up on how to do a HIM than I had any right to, and BT takes 90% of the credit for that.

WOOT WOOT!


First and foremost, I am very happy with the results. But more so, I raced the race I wanted, and I said from the start that if I did that, I'd take any time that resulted (and I'm stoked with this one!). Nothing really limited me, other than the standard, "If I'd trained more" kind of thing, as I was fortunate enough to run a great race and leave it ALL out there. I think this was the max I could have done yesterday.

For the NEXT one, should the fates allow that, I'd do longer interval runs off a mid to long bike, as I felt like just a bit more muscular endurance on the run would have taken many minutes off my HM time. That, and perhaps a few more rides that went well over 60 (say 80-100 milers).


What a fantastic venue, course, group of volunteers, spectators and competitors, and day. This was my first HIM, but won't be my last, nor will it be the last time I do THIS race - just terrific.

I was fortunate enough to race almost exactly the race I wanted, and I'm also super happy with the results. Very family friendly vibe, and the beach location is nice, as were the amenities. Next time I'll book a place earlier and CLOSER to the event - which will help with the logistics, but a very well organized and executed race/event.

This one gets a top notch rating, for sure.