Ironman 70.3 Raleigh - Triathlon

The swim was not wetsuit legal. I considered this a good thing because I was worried about a wetsuit in warm water contributing to overheating later. I definitely felt faster this swim than in recent races. It was pretty crowded though so I swung wider than I would have liked for two of the three legs of the triangle. I finished with a 37:27 which was 24th AG. Since I did a 34:39 last year and that was 33rd, I guess a wetsuit is worth 3-4 minutes for a HIM. The average for the rest of the top 10 in my AG was 36:36 but one guy was super fast. Without him the ave was 37:45 so I didn’t hurt myself too much with my swim.

Went pretty smooth. My combined transitions were fastest in my AG.

The bike started out with a big hill through mile 5 that was a bit tough right out of the gates. But then after that it was fast for a while. I averaged 26.5 going down 64. Throughout the ride I kept thinking that I needed a fast bike to hit my goals so pushed myself the whole time. About mile 30 I started feeling it in my legs. Then as I hit the relentless hills on Optimist Farm and Lake Wheeler my legs really felt burnt. Also, my neck was really sore from being so tight in aero for so long. I’m not sure why it was worse than in the training rides but it was. I got passed by probably 3-4 guys in my AG on the bike. But in general, I was alone most of the time since we started so early. I really pushed myself with the nutrition / hydration. I managed to drink 3 bottles and I lost count but I think I ate about 7 gels. I also ate 2 salt tablets. My bike was 13th in my AG. My official pace was 22.3mph. The rest of the top 10 averaged 2:26 which is 23.0mph so I definitely lost time here.

Saw Dave Williams at cheering at the entrance to T2. I ran a few feet past my spot but realized it quickly so it probably only cost me a few seconds.

I felt pretty good starting the run. A usual I started running too fast. But the Garmin wasn’t getting a good signal so I didn’t know my speed until I finished the first mile, which showed on my watch as 7:20. I made myself back off and I tried to shoot for about 7:40. My official run split for the first 3.5 miles was 7:34.

Like last year, there were very few runners on the course for the first loop of the run. I saw a lot of the pros, including getting passed by the first place female pro toward the end of the first loop. It was warm on the first lap and pretty hot on the second lap. I don’t know what the temp was however it wasn’t as hot as I had feared. It definitely affected me but again, not as badly as I was thinking it might. I dumped ice down my top and shorts. Bill Bass and his wife were hanging out near NC State. It was definitely a nice pick-me-up to see them 4 times, especially the last time. The hills were worse than I remembered. You definitely feel them. I kept wondering how Edmund was doing. He started in the wave ahead of me. I finally saw him when I was coming back from the first lap. It turns out I passed him somewhere because he was behind me. He had a tough day because of a leg injury.

I stuck to 7:40 through mile 6, although my run split for miles 4-6.7 was 7:19. But a lot of that was probably downhill. I was passed by a 3-4 guys from my AG early in the run but I think I passed all of them back as they all either had to walk or slowed down significantly. I also passed most of the guys who had passed me on the bike. But then I was passed at about mile 5 by two guys from my AG. At mile 7 I tried to pick up the pace. But like last year I had a hard time going faster. I focused on keeping the turnover high and keeping my form. I managed to speed up a little on the downhills but I gave it back and then some on the uphills. I had some 8+ min miles. I could see the two guys from my AG a couple of hundred yards ahead and I wanted to pull them back but I just couldn’t. When I saw Bill about mile 10 I was in survival mode. I just focused on continuing to run. But with the end in sight I found some extra energy and managed a 7:27 for the last 3 miles. I finally looked at my total time when I was beginning mile 12 and it showed 4:44. I knew I was on pace to hit or come close to my goal time. As usual, the run down the street and the finishing chute were amazing. And this time was even better because Wendy, Abby, Dave Pulliam (brother in law), and Dawson (nephew) had gotten up early and hurried back from Washington DC, where they had been for a graduation party, to surprise me. They were there to cheer me as I finished. Coach Dave was there cheering at the finish as well. I had eaten 2 gels on the run and took a few swallows of water at almost every aid station through probably mile 10. I finished with a 1:39:52 which was a 7:37 pace. My run was 10th in the AG. Given the heat, I’m happy with my run. I ran a 7:39 last year.

I felt pretty good immediately after the race, about as well as any 70.3. Dave looked up my results while I was still in the finishing corral and told me I had a 4:51 and was 8th AG. I was really happy! My time was not technically a PR because I went 4:48 at Augusta. But that downriver swim cuts 10 mins off your time, so basically this was a PR. I hit my goal time on the nose and that includes a slower swim because of no wetsuit (I was shooting for a 32 min swim and instead I had a 37 min swim). But I made it up on the bike and basically hit my run goal right on.

I got cleaned up and hung around all afternoon waiting for roll-downs. I even had a couple of beers in a nice cool bar while I was waiting. Finally, roll-downs started about 4:30 and when they got to my AG and I ended up getting one of the two slots for Austria.


Again Raleigh was an amazingly planned and organized race. The volunteers were fantastic. I'm already looking forward to next year.