Challenge Atlantic City - TriathlonFull Ironman

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/531679878
I have never been ranked higher in the swim than either the bike (23) or the run(20)!
I concentrated on a calm steady swim. I thought that I started to the side and the back and did frequent sighting of the bouy's as I swam. Maybe the sighting and staying on course gave me the fast swim time? A number of people had problems with the currents, but I didn't notice the current until the second bridge "square" turn. I did feel like the bouy was moving toward me and my foot hit the cable.
It was great to swim in warm water compared to several of my previous triathlons when the water was very cold for a sleeveless wetsuit. Overall I was extremely happy when I exited the water

This was an excellent swim for me. I didn't want to go too fast because I have never done a 140.6 and I wanted to have energy for the next two events!

This was my first 140.6 so I took my time. You go into a tent and change your clothes so many of the above don't really matter. I changed into my regular cycling shorts with lots of padding! I didn't have a sore butt at the end! I put on lots of sunscreen and body glide.

The average of the top 10 in my age group was 5 min and 33 s.

Try to cut down on some of the time

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/531679884
The start of this bike course was excellent. My original goal for the bike was to average 17 mph which was 1.8 mph slower than the 40 mile cycle course of Devilman on 4 May 2014 in which I had a good run split for 8.8miles.

The first split was at the Hammonton exit from the expressway (maintenance yard) at 29 miles . The wind was blowing at your back and it was easy to average close to 20 mph. The road surface on the expressway shoulder was excellent for these speeds. You did need to stay off the rumble strips! I felt that this was a good speed and effort since on the return I would be going into a headwind.

The second split was directly against the wind 7mph SE so it was a little slower.
At third split I stopped at mile 50 for restroom break (less than 2min).

At mile 62 I stopped and added water to my 1hr and 3hr hammer perpeteum bottles. (3 min based on Garmin). In this split I could feel my knees aching (tiredness as opposed to pain). I did frequent stretches by standing on the pedals for a few rotations.

The last split from 82.5 to 112 (30 miles) was a grueling 2 hours. I was mentally tired and the wind speed (from weather underground) of 8-9mph with a max of 13mph and max gusts up to 19mph. I decided that I shouldn't push the bike in the last 30 miles since I had no idea what would happen in the marathon!

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KACY/2014/6/29/DailyHis...

Nutrition Plan:
1 medjool date/hr 33 calories
1 scoop of Perpeteum/hr 135 calories
1 oz hammer gel/ hr 94 calories
Total: 356 calories/hr




I know I went to slow on the bike based on how I started the first 3 miles of the run too fast. Next time I know I can push the end of the bike a little more. I also believe that I need a few more 100 mile bike rides before this distance event. I don't think I was quite ready for this distance. Perhaps instead of only one 106 mile ride I should do 2 or 3.

I also shorted my self some calories by only eating 3.5 dates.

After dismounting a support person takes your bike! I took my shoes off and ran in my socks to the changing tent to avoid running in bike shoes.

In the changing tent I took off my bike trousers and put on running cloths. The bike shirt was hard to remove since the zipper didn't go all the way down and it was a European form fitting shirt.

I noticed that my first toe was black and blue from my cycling shoes.

Added water to the 3 Nathan bottles that had hammer perpeteum powder in them.

The average time of the top 10 in my age group was 6 min 48s.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/531679898

I started off at what I thought was a comfortable pace, but after looking at my watch I would try to slow down to my goal pace of 10min/mile instead for the first 3.4 miles averaged 9:11.

After getting on the boardwalk my stomach was not settled so I tried a coke drink to help soothe it. My stomach would bother me on and off for most of the marathon.

At mile 8.64 I stopped for a toilet break.

At mile 11 started walking a bit - mind games - "how am I going to finish this?"
Did a walk run strategy from mile 11 to mile 20. Part of this was with another runner to help me move along. I was feeling better and we started running for longer stretches. Went to the toilet again at mile 17.23 (Garmin) for 1.5min waiting for my running buddy.

At mile 20 ran with Mike Mandola at a nice pace with small amounts of walking. At mile 21 we did 10 min/mile and it felt more like a run! Unfortunately it seemed like a long way to the Newport turn around (mind games). Near the end I got excited and the last full mile (mile 26 on Garmin) was 10:55 min/mile.
Then the best part was running through the finish with my family at the end!!

Nutrition Plan:
Perpeteum 1 scoop/hr 135cal/hr
1 oz gel/hr for 94 cal/hr
total: 229 cal/hr


2 aspects need more work: mental toughness and nutrition
When I do a new distance for the first time I play a mental game that I only need to finish to set a record for myself! (e.g. Eagleman half ironman). This causes me to not have the full concentration of a race of this distance.

I had issues with the gel on the run. The gel seemed to make me feel worse after taking it. Looking at the Garmin data It estimates that I burned only 100 cal/hr? Perhaps I was taking in too many calories with the gel and the hammer drink together? Perhaps I should cut out the gel and just use the hammer drink?

walked 1.6 miles back to the car


Bike was not enough long distance rides
Run was stomach issues and mental toughness


This was a very good event. The swim was excellent since it was only 1 loop and the water was warm. I didn't really notice any problems with currents.
The cycle course had a very efficient layout. The Atlantic City expressway was very smooth and there was no traffic crossings on these section because of the careful course design. The loop around the airport worked well. The Hammonton loop had nice views of the pinelands, lakes, and blueberry fields. The ride down the main street of Hammonton felt like a real bicycle race and the balloon arch was a nice feature.
The run course was great. I love running on the boardwalk even with all the people near the casino end. I think that the people help to keep my mind off of how tired I am. I really liked running to Lucy the Elephant for the first lap. It was a nice feature for a turn around point. Then the runs to Revel was nice since you could always see the sphere on top of the hotel. The number of people cheering on the boardwalk made the loops go much quicker!