Ironman 70.3 Raleigh - Triathlon

Decent swim- nothing special. Swam into lots of people from earlier waves and while it is nice to pass people, its also annoying to have to keep going around people. Quite a bit of contact early on and from the random people who just stop in the middle of the swim. I just couldnt aim right today and was off course a bit despite sighting a lot. At one point I swam smack into some guy who was just bobbing in the water. I apologized to Bob; he just stared at me. It was funny that I exited the water about 5 steps behind Scott. I used wetsuit strippers; he did not and he beat me out of T1 by quite a bit. Strippers were sloooow. SCott beat me out of the water by quite a bit last year (he was in a wetsuit, I was not) but generally we swim about the same speed, but it was funny to come out THAT close to each other. It was the start of a strong, strong day for him.

Swim straight. Otherwise a nice swim. Got kinda warm in the wetsuit. I wish the legal temp was 72 or something because 75 is pretty warm for a wetsuit in a long swim, but the time you save is worth the warmth.

FAirly slow T1- wetsuit strippers were slow and I was methodical but not quick. Wasted some time at the bike mount when they told me that I was mounting too soon, so I had to mosey up another 20 yards and try again. Overall a trivial time wastage.

Mount later (thats what she said). Dont use the strippers.

Ironman does the results as a rolling placing, so no idea how my bike split ranked as a stand-alone segemnet. All they report is that I was 40th at the end of the swim and 59th by the end of the bike. Really had a nice ride- was disappointed that we had the headwind because I was at about 21.5 average 25 miles in and then just slowed down from there. Felt great in the beginning but held back and didnt cook myself. The course is somewhat challenging- lots of hills but nothing major, but its about as hilly as you can get in this area. So much support out on the course though that it keeps it fun. Hated the packs of cyclists who were drafting- just don't do it folks. I actually wonder if you just ignore that you cheated when you tell your friends about your killer bike split? I like to know everything I did was "me".

Good ride given my fitness, etc. I just need to get stronger on the bike. The single water bottle with accelerade and then Perform from the course worked perfectly. I took 4 GUs along the way. No GI issues. I would do this again unless it was REALLY hot. I always had fluid to toss at the next refill point. Tried to get a GU down every 30 mins and drank sports drink for the rest...and grabbed some water at the aid stations to just change the scenery.

Methodical- nothing much to note. The sunblock appliers must have applied the sunscreen to my trisuit because everything that stuck out is burned!

Nothing

Solid run. Ran easy and controlled until about mile 8. Had a guy called STeve join me around mile 1 saying the run pace was good and he was going to join me. We chatted some, ran some and encouraged each other. It was nice. Then suddenly he was done and waved me on. About mile 8 and old annoying and ery painful upper cal/knee ligament issue flared up. It tried stretching it after a bit but that did nothing so I just bit the bullet and sucked up the (considerable) pain. I saw Scott and Bill several times and BIll finally reeled me in about mile 11. We ran together for a bit - very nice to have his company- and then he was gassed and waved me on. Scott was long-gone. Overall I only stopped to walk the mile 9 aid station and one other, and the minute to stretch. Thats by far the best for me ever and makes me think that the 1:45 that qrkid thinks I should be running is possible. qrkid, you might make me a believer in myself one of these days! Finished strong once I rounded the final turn- that final mile is awesome- tons (I mean TONS) of people lining the street, not just the finisher chute. It really carries you along. I heard :go Louis" and saw Matt Rees (random guy in my neighborhood) sitting having some coffee near the finish. Passed a guy down the chute and finished. I was done. STick a fork in me. And then I heard BEcky and Ryan yelling my name. Right around then Scott came over and told me about his 4:56 day- what a race for him! We chatted for a bit and then Bill finished. So we chatted some more. Then I went off to find some shade and sit in it. Phew, that felt good!

Figure out this tendon thing- its very unpleasant. But thats a PR for HIM and a PR on the run on a tricky course, so pretty happy. I think a 1:45 run is not out of the question for me, but the weather really played along on this race with the relatively cool run temps.

Warm down? Stretched a bit. Sat a bit.


Just overall fitness.


The IM guys took their game up a notch this year- wonderful support, loads of pre-race info, etc. Thanks Brian Myrick for all your responses to questions- it was great. The spectators and supporters/volunteers were amazing- best I have ever had. It was a really fun race, except for the painful parts, but those translate into memories in time, and thats OK.