Ironman 70.3 Vineman - Triathlon

Lots of contact in the start of the swim. Tried to get a quick start, but had a person to my left that kept pushing me to the right. Finally slowed to let him go pass me, instead of through me. Had someone do the same thing to me after the turn. I think they thought they were cutting the corner of the course, but the giant lily-pad growth in the water made their route a bad idea.

Overall a great swim for me, only 15 seconds slower than my fastest. I think I went into auto-pilot a little after the turn and I could have pushed it harder.

My fastest T1 to date at Vineman

Not much more I could do to be faster, since I had to stuff my wetsuit into a bag to have it transported to the finish.

I think I started the bike a little too hard. Ride started out with clear skies, which is different than years past. Overall the temperature was down this year, which helped my to forget to drink as much as I should have and it cost me on the run later.

Ended up setting a 5 minute HIM Bike PR.

Drink, drink and drink some more. I have auto-lap enabled on my watch and I need to make sure I take a sip or two every time my watch buzzes.

Due to construction at the high school that is used for T2/finish we had an extra long run from bike dismount to the bike racks. Overall the total distance for T2 was almost 1/3 of a mile.

Was very glad I had a spare pair of socks in my T2 gear bag as the field our bike racks were located in was full of stickers/burrs. I had at least 20 stickers in one sock, so I switched out my socks for the spare set.

Nothing

I've been dealing with a calf strain for the last week, so was not going into the run expecting much. My calf felt fine during the long T2 run, so I was hopeful for a good run. Shortly after the 2nd mile I started to get a side stitch and some cramping. I was able to mostly continue running until around mile 5 where it became too painful to run for very long. I started walking a lot for the next couple of miles before settling in to a 1 minute run / 1 minute walk routine that I used until the finish.

Had a nice chat with Heather Jackson around mile 11 as she was standing in the shade cheering on the age groupers. She was still recovering from CdA so she skipped racing.

Drink more on the bike. I feel that the lack of fluids on the bike came back and bit me in the ass on the run.

As they say, there is no such thing as a good bike segment if it is followed by a bad run.

Waited for my wife to finish a couple of minutes after me and then did some stretching while eating our post race lunch.


Poor decision making on the bike.


Overall a great race. I did not like the T2 setup, but understand they had to adjust with the construction at the school. Heard from multiple people that their T2 gear was moved with one person having her shoes moved to a completely different row.