Ironman Coeur d'Alene - Triathlon


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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
106F / 41C
Sunny
Total Time = 14h 24m 45s
Overall Rank = 783/2012
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 118/275
Pre-race routine:

Drove down to CDA on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, spent most of the time with final prep and hanging out at IM Village. With the concern over the heat, redid my nutrition plan with a significant change for the salt intake.
Due to the race being pushed 1 hour earlier (due to the weather concerns), had to get up at 3 am. As I had some GI issues coming out of the water, this probably should have been even earlier.
Ate a bowl of porridge, half english muffin with peanut butter and a Vega sport protein drink. Drove down to the race site and arrived at 4:15. Sipped on GU electrolite drink until the start. 30 minutes before starting, took in a GU gel.
Event warmup:

At first I thought there was no warm up swim. Grateful there was as it helped calm down my nerves a bit. With the rolling start, thought it would be a good idea to jump in the 1:15 group.
Swim
  • 1h 24m 16s
  • 3800 meters
  • 02m 13s / 100 meters
What would you do differently?:

Need to work on upper body strength. Perhaps get a different wetsuit as it feels quite constricting now.
Transition 1
  • 10m 34s
Comments:

Had to make a pit stop due to GI issues and get rid of some waste. I haven't had to do that for several races.
What would you do differently?:

Wake up earlier so I can clear my system before the race. Also, when changing my garmin watch from wrist to bike, I hit the next button so it looked like I was in T2 already. Needed to stop and fiddle with that until I got it back to the cycle settings.
Bike
  • 6h 33m 11s
  • 180 kms
  • 27.47 km/hr
Comments:

First lap felt pretty good. Kept the HR in a good zone (137) while the second and as the heat continued to rise, let off the gas to keep the HR in check (140.7). Very difficult to do as it became very hot on the course.
I felt I drank enough fluids as I was able to pee three times on the bike. 2 small and 1 significant amount.
What would you do differently?:

Possibly take in more salt and dowse myself with more water. Even though I don't feel like I pushed it on the bike, I suffered on the run more than I feel I should have. As I write this report, I have a head cold that I am dealing with. I wonder if all the AC before the race brought it on during the race and that is why I suffered on the run.
Transition 2
  • 08m 17s
Comments:

Took my time at T2 as I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed. With the heat, I should have used my water belt but elected to go without it. I also did not load my gels from my T2 bag in to my tri suit as they were very hot. I could not imagine taking those in. Lathered my feet in a lot of body glide.
What would you do differently?:

Put on my water belt.
Run
  • 6h 08m 27s
  • 42 kms
  • 08m 46s  min/km
Comments:

Started off a bit too strong so I dialed it back a bit. First km, did it in 5:59. Slowed down each km after that as I was focused on my HR. At the 8 km mark, my left ear plugged up. Really need to get this figured out before my next race because after that, I became very dizzy and out of balance. Had to walk/run quite a bit for the next several aid stations. Had to completely walk a few more kms. The last 8 km, I ran most of the time and pretty much only walked aid stations or one or two of the hills. Finished strong, perhaps a bit too strong as I needed some meds to settle down my stomach.
Had a plan to take in salt in every aid station. Did not do that as it was a new routine and forgot some of the time. Took ice on my head whenever I could and put some down the front of my tri suit. I was also inconsistent with the amount of nutrition I took in. I know I did not take in the gels I had planned on and at the special needs bag, my drink that I prepared was very hot so I threw it out. The last 8 km, I took in flat cola and that helped out a lot. I will look at doing that more early in the run.
What would you do differently?:

Stick to the nutrition plan.
Post race
Warm down:

After getting my finisher goodies, needed to sit down as I was very dizzy. My family found me and I chatted with them for a bit but needed to sit down again. The catcher that caught me, found me again and inquired how I was doing. I knew my situation was deteriorating, so I had him help me over to the med area. Once there, I threw up the contents of my stomach. I received some anti-nausea meds and was fine after that.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat. The air temperature was over 42C and the radiant heat off the ground was much more. This became a race of survival and finish and any time goals I was thinking off went out the window.

Event comments:

I would like to do this race again. I heard that this IMCDA 2015 race was the hottest recorded in North America and third in the world. I did not look at the clock when I finished and did not know my time until the next day. Out of the 4 that I have done so far, this was the hardest to do. The course is not that hard but the heat made it almost too much for me to handle. I heard there were about 370 DNFs on the course.




Last updated: 2015-01-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:24:16 | 3800 meters | 02m 13s / 100meters
Age Group: 165/275
Overall: 1192/2012
Performance: Below average
Found it odd that I swam much slower in the second lap than the first. It felt like the opposite and did not push it at all to keep the energy for the bike.
Suit:
Course: Two loop course with a short out of water run between loops. With the rolling start, did not really get any chance to draft off of others. I must have been quite a bit off course.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 10:34
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
06:33:11 | 180 kms | 27.47 km/hr
Age Group: 121/275
Overall: 752/2012
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Two loop bike course. Quite scenic and a nice ride.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 72
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 08:17
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
06:08:27 | 42 kms | 08m 46s  min/km
Age Group: 118/275
Overall: 783/2012
Performance: Bad
Two loop course with a few small rolling hills and one tough one that you have go up and over twice.
Course:
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %5%
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4