Ironman 70.3 Vineman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Overall a quite good swim for me - kept my head down, and focused on my form and on maintain a consistent effort level. Somehow I was swimming straighter than last year, so wasted less time sighting and veering off course. I was 4 min faster than last year - with spending less time in the pool in the lead-up to the race, most of the speed was due to improved form over the last year.

Get in the pool more - I think better conditioning would improve my time further.

Fairly efficient T1. 1017/2172 overall and 104/269 in my division

Not a lot. It is worth taking time to clean and dry my feet.

Overall a great ride - although in retrospect I overcooked it a bit and didn't leave myself in a good position for a strong run. I felt strong and rode strong, and avoided any issues on the Chalk Hill descent (unlike last year)

Go easy and try to focus on riding with less effort instead of trying to beat last year's bike time.

Very good T1, mostly due to running wiht the bike through the long (.2 mi) entrance chute. 420/2172 overall and 65/269 in my division

Apply sunscreen, or at least have it there to put in my pocket

Started a little too strong, and with the lack of a reserve coming off the bike, I managed to run most of the first half (apart from aid stations and the short uphills), but lagged a lot in the second half, with increasing frequency and duration of my walking breaks. By mile 11-12 or so, it was clear I did not have it in the legs to do much (any) more running, but I still put on a burst through the last 1/4 mile or so.

Train more. Push less hard on the bike.

No real warm down, as this had happened already over the last 1-2 miles of the run!! I found some of the limited shade and stretched on the ground. Also got some food into me which was great.


Carrying more weight than last year. Also overall less training and conditioning, particularly in the run


Only challenges with this race were:
1. lack of shade after the finish (can be remedied)
2. time for shuttle back to T1 to pick up car and then return to T2 to pick up bike. Anyone should avoid the need to do this if they can (hard for race organizers to remedy this, I know)