Ironman Maryland - Triathlon

Pretty cold water. I was comfortable with full suit and bare feet. I did wear earplugs and I pulled my swim cap down over my ears, and that helped a lot.

At the pre-race briefing, it was emphasized how cold the weather would be, so I decided to change my plan and wear just a speedo under my wetsuit. This would mean a longer T1, but I'd be able to dry off. I opted to leave my warm clothes in my transition bag and changed into my race kit and got out pretty easy. I was able to jog out of transition without feeling winded.

Nothing at all. The change tent was crowded, so I had to change everything but shorts outside, then I had to find a spot inside to change my shorts, and even with all that and wrangling my own bike, I still was happy with everything.

Best bike I can ever remember. Very cold, I may have benefited from having at least arm warmers. After the first hour, I decided to dial back my hydration (48 oz/1st hour, then 24-30 oz/h after, all Gatorade). Nutrition was spot on; I had two gels on the half hour, and some food on the hour (Clif shot blox, yogurt pretzels, dried fruit & nuts), for 500-600 kcal/h. I did have a bike issue; my seat post was slipping, so I stopped after about a half hour to tighten it up. It slipped again within a few miles, so the rest of the ride felt not as comfortable as maybe it could have.

Bottle handoffs were great, no issues there. I had enough nutrition to get through the ride, but I did stop at special needs to get snacks. I made (I think) just one bathroom stop, and yeah, it was well needed by that point.

The winds were intense, but I don't remember ever being bothered by them or seeing my pace slip that much. I was hitting the 10 mile markers every 30 minutes pretty regularly, and my HR stayed mostly 135-140.

I did break one rule (no new equipment). I had been training with a borrowed Rudy helmet that was just big enough for my head, but a few days before the race looked at the strap and said, I don't trust that to stay fastened the entire time. So I was going to wear my regular helmet. Then I got to the expo, and there was a Garneau aero job that just looked so sleek, and it fit like a glove, and it was 10% off, and I said, yeah, that's my new helmet. And it worked out great. (I did wear it around the house for a bit and then on my last test ride, and y'know, I've been wearing helmets for a while so I figured it was a worthy risk.)

Figure out how to carry my snacks to avoid special needs unless necessary. Point-by-point checklist of bike a few days before the race. Race wheels.

I felt great here. I just changed socks and shoes, and I didn't need to dry off or anything. To be honest, I really liked racking my own bike.

Probably nothing!

And here we have the run. Same as before, not really my strength. Not yet. I ran more than I walked for a while, and by about 3-6 miles in had tried to settle into walk 2 min, run to a half mile, repeat. I took nutrition at most aid stations, alternating gu & water with gatorade & whatever. It was really pretty cold, but I didn't feel chilled until around mile 18, when I think I hit a wall. I walked all of that mile and maybe most of 19, until I got to run special needs, where I had a LS shirt and some snacks (Moon pie, dried fruit & nuts, yogurt pretzels). I put my shirt on and hammered all the food, and kept walking, and by mile 21 I was back to run/walking. The last few miles I was able to really pick up the run pace, maybe 8:00/mile for a minute or so at a clip, and it really felt good at that point. Then next thing I knew, I hit the final turnaround, and I just ran it home.

I had to pee several times, and it wasn't little trickles either. But I didn't feel overhydrated or crampy. I think I may have been undernourished during the middle third; once the sun set, it got cold, and I think my caloric burn jumped a lot. My appetite wasn't really great, but I was able to enjoy the chicken broth.

Wear warm clothes sooner. Take more nutrition earlier; I may have been getting 100 kcal/mile (400 kcal/h)? Probably not enough.

"WARM DOWN" LOLOLOLOLOLOL LOOK IT WAS 2 FRICKIN DEGREES OUT AT THE END I WARMED DOWN PRETTY MUCH RIGHT AWAY. Okay not really. I drank a bottle of water, tied my space cape around me and hustled over to pick up my morning clothes. By the time I got dressed I was so cold that I just started adding layers over what I was wearing, and it was just about enough. I had some pizza (objectively pretty crap stuff; cardboard with tomato sauce and "cheese", but at that point pretty much the best thing ever). I wanted to hang out at the finish, but I got so cold I just had to get back to my house.


I think I did the best I could given my training. Next up, get the run under 4 h, then we're ready to attack Kona.

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=K...

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/maryland/r...


First time ever an Ironman was rescheduled, and they really really made it work. First class event as usual, only difference was no bike handlers (which I actually liked better). Plenty of swag, food, volunteers, party zones, yeah, I'll be back.