Ironman 70.3 Florida - Triathlon


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Haines City, FL
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 7h 00m 31s
Overall Rank = 1310/2008
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 215/322
Pre-race routine:

This race site was moved from the Disney World area further west to Haines City, which is approx 44 miles from downtown Orlando. It was an easy and trouble-free drive from Orlando to the race site. Parking was ample and we were allowed to bring our bikes into Transition on race-day morning.
3:45AM wake-up
Coffee / clif bar / bananas / gatorade
Less than an hour drive
Quick walk to body-marking then Transition set-up
Plenty of room in the transition area - where we could leave a bag off to the side. Every other age-grouper near me was helpful and friendly.
Porta-Potty line was long... Next time I will remember to bring my own toilet paper
Event warmup:

Warm-Up consisted of:
Waiting for port-a-potty line...
Easy stretching
Race process visualization:
anticipate bumps on the swim
walk-through putting bike stuff on
grabbing nutrition
It has helped me a ton
36 minute wait from Pro swim start 6:50 to my age group 7:26
Relaxed / stretched - was ready to go..

Swim
  • 44m 19s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 06s / 100 yards
Comments:

This race was moved up from May to April - led to cooler temperatures.
We were wet-suit legal - barely - first time that has happened in this race I believe.
I looped way outside - and still got bumped quite a bit.
Lost 8 minutes from previous 1.2 Mile swim times - had hurt shoulder so was essentially swimming with one arm.
I knew I was not going to have a great overall time - so I made decision to avoid contact - stay clear of buoys / inside track
What would you do differently?:

Bring wet-suit - even if it was questionable whether they would be allowed.
The buoyancy helps and perhaps I would have been more inclined to be more aggressive.
Transition 1
  • 05m 44s
Comments:

Quite a big Transition area -
Going into transition - run counter clockwise
Pro's were furthest away from "Swim Run-In" area and closest to "Bike Out" area - Race organizers did a good job of staging the Transition area relative to swim wave starts - led to considerably less chaos.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really - I took my time to remember nutrition / hydration
Walked bike with shoes on - not worth it to me to jump on bike - try to get shoes on while underway.
Risk of fall / real delay not worth potential 45 second T1 time gain

Felt like I walked with bike In & Out a considerable distance.
Bike
  • 2h 55m 54s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.10 mile/hr
Comments:

I left quite a bit in the tank on the ride.
The run portion is where I struggle. So, I held back.
My club does twice weekly bike-trainer sessions - so I felt very strong on the bike.
Drafting / passing / other racers was not too much of an issue - got a little crowded at points - but fortunately I did not see any crashes - a few flats - but no crashes - luckily
What would you do differently?:

Not much - felt like I had a high cadence with the tail wind - gearing was efficient.
Moved gears up to maintain high cadence on hills / head-winds.
I feel I did a good job of capitalizing on down-hills to boost overall MPH avg while staying in control and avoiding being reckless
Transition 2
  • 05m 22s
Comments:

Wow - the crotch gets beat up and the back gets sore after 56 miles.
Now it's to the fun part of the race.
Focus on the run - remember nutrition / hydrate / salt tabs
Loosen up the legs
Change socks / grab hat and away we go....
What would you do differently?:

Not too much.
Probably need a professional bike-fit to avoid pain in shoulder / numbness in fingertips during ride.
Allowing feeling to return to fingers may have slowed me down a bit in T2
Run
  • 3h 08m 47s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 14m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

See course description above.
Got a little hot - but all of the racers I saw had great attitudes and were having fun out there.
We're back of the packers - we enjoy ourselves & while we work very hard - don't take ourselves too seriously.
Weak knees forces me to be a speed walker - rather than a runner. My best 13.1 time in a half IM was 2:44 (2008 Gulf Coast Tri) - I wasn't fast when I could run... but a 23 minute difference in 6 years and not being able to run - really, I am okay with.
What would you do differently?:

Training, training, training.
Performance on race day is dictated by the prior 4 months.
If I up my training mileage, try to lose these last darn 10 pounds and really focus on perfecting my walk cadence / pace then I really think I can knock 20 minutes off of my time here.
Post race
Warm down:

Wow - that was tough
Just got water and caught my breath.
I admired my medal then grabbed my stuff to head back to Orlando and see the wife and kids..
6th half IM completed


What limited your ability to perform faster:

Me. Training.
Need to work on core.
Strong abs & core will make the bike exertion so much easier and allow for a faster run.
Need to be much more scientific on the nutrition / hydration.
That is the main issue that may prevent me from doing a Full IM - the nutrition aspect of it.

Event comments:

Great race.
Only real problem that they may be able to address is having road construction finished on 1 mile of run section by next year.
Would they consider reversing the bike course? Would that alleviate traffic issues or head-wind during the last section - I'm not sure - but it's just a thought I had.
We pay a premium to race a WTC - M-Dot branded race.
These guys do it pretty darn well. Moving thousands of people - racers and spectators - is pretty tough. These guys did a pretty darn good job of it.




Last updated: 2014-04-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:44:19 | 2112 yards | 02m 06s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/322
Overall: 0/2008
Performance: Average
Suit: None
Course: Lake Eva is relatively small - course was clock-wise - in an "M" Buoys on right - sun rose on our left (east.. duh) 4 minutes in between waves - 6th IM 70.3 and by far the most crowded and most contact.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:44
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:55:54 | 56 miles | 19.10 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/322
Overall: 0/2008
Performance: Good
HR was high 140's to mid 150's I guess - tried to take it easy. Head wind around miles 40 - 49; led to a little burn out / discomfort / deviation of "taking it easy"
Wind: Headwind
Course: Course was through rural Haines City / Polk County Surface streets close to race site were quite rough - no issues with storm grates / railroad tracks - no readily apparent tire popping hazards. Streets smoothed out considerably after 4 or so miles First half or so of race there was no real issue with traffic - Police did a good job of holding cars for race participants. Traffic became a problem around mile 35 (I believe) - this coupled with the head wind made me require pretty intense focus. Would almost make more sense for them to reverse the bike course - get on the more traveled roads earlier in the day and have more of a tail wind toward end of the race. Just my thought.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:22
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
03:08:47 | 13.1 miles | 14m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/322
Overall: 0/2008
Performance: Below average
Higher HR than on bike. Inefficient runner and it was getting hotter
Course: Course is 3 loops - along Lake Eva and surface streets very close to race start / transition / finish area. Spectators have a great area to view the laps as well as the finish-line. There was a large play-ground nearby so the kids could be occupied while the racer was out of sight. BAD ( I mean BAD) narrow / uphill / gravel / next to road construction approx 1 mile section on 10th Street - hope the road construction is finished by next year or the race organizers may need to really re-think this route. It was that bad. This was miles 1-2 (lap 1) 5-6 (lap 2) and 9-10 (lap 3) Hydration / Nutrition stops were well-staffed with great volunteers. Mostly spread out well.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5