Niagara Falls Barrelman Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon


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Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada
MultiSport Canada
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 27m 26s
Overall Rank = 206/863
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 19/73
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5:00 for the 9:00 race start. It was weird having that much time. I had my usual PB&J sandwich and coffee, but also had a banana and Clif bar closer to the start. Our group arrived at T2 early to catch the bus to T1. Two transitions was also weird, but it all ran smoothly.
Event warmup:

Just a few minutes in the water that was more of a goggles check. The swim is my triathlon warm up.
Swim
  • 41m 1s
  • 2200 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

This could have been a fast swim, but it was too crowded. I got bumped, swam over, knocked around, and punched in the head. I did my best to just swim through it all, but I was slowed mostly by traffic in front of me and I am not comfortable or confident enough to push my way through. It seemed like everybody stopped at the turns too. It was a mess. I felt good when I was able to find some room, but I was disappointed when I saw my Garmin time upon exiting the water. I was hoping to be around 35 minutes. My swim placement was the best I've had yet in a triathlon though. It's nice to be top third in my AG instead of bringing up the rear. I've worked hard on my swim.
What would you do differently?:

Not much I could do.
Transition 1
  • 03m 40s
Comments:

Kind of long run through transition, across the bottom of the stands, up the stairs, through transition. Plus we had to put all our swim stuff into a bag for transport to the finish. Not my fastest or smoothest transition with all the fumbling around, but I kept it moving.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster.
Bike
  • 2h 33m 34s
  • 53.5 miles
  • 20.90 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike ride was only slightly less crowded as the swim. I stuck to the watts my coach told me to stick to. The course was completely flat. 21 mph never felt easier and I was passing a lot of people. I stayed right on top of my nutrition. I do all of my riding on hills, and the constant flat pedaling in this race started to wear me out. My watts and heart rate started to slide after 40 miles and I did not fight to keep them up. I also felt the heat coming on fast. I came upon a lot of bike traffic the last 10 miles and I could not avoid coasting behind packs of other riders. The course was 2.5 miles short due to some late construction, and I was happy this was cut short. I wanted off the bike. Still my fastest HIM bike by a LOT.
What would you do differently?:

I could have benefited from some long constant spin sessions on the trainer, rather than the ups and downs that I usually ride. I am getting nitpicky though. 21 mph is 21 mph.
Transition 2
  • 02m 20s
Comments:

In one end of transition and out the other. No problem finding my rack and I was happy to see my gear bag made it. A little time wasted having to empty my bag and sort through my stuff.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 2h 06m 52s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

85 degrees with a heat index in the 90's. This run was pure misery. The run usually bails me out, but this one was total survival mode the entire time. I knew early on that I was in trouble. I never walk in my races, but I walked plenty in this one. I didn't even bother trying to run the uphills. This is the first time I've ever run/walked a race (I was doing 5:1). It's not like I crashed and burned, but it was more of a very slow but steady 13 miles. I know a lot of people were hurting because I was still passing people and didn't get passed a lot. It was nice seeing DW run by in the the direction as I was starting lap two. I was stopping at the aid stations to get multiple cups of water plus ice. I choked down three gels but could not eat my last one. On a positive note, it was a very neat course and I enjoyed the scenery despite my suffering. This was a rare race for me in that I didn't care about my pace or finish time...just finishing was satisfying enough.
What would you do differently?:

Not race in the heat? Not much I could do. 2:06 run is the slowest HM I've done out of 35 or so HM/HIM runs. I did what I could. I've done one Ironman and my run pace was faster in that one. My run placement was still top 25%, amazingly enough. I could do this run 30 minutes faster if the weather was only average.
Post race
Warm down:

A finish line volunteer poured two bottles of water over my head. I thank him for that. Then I stood under a large fountain of cold water for a few minutes. That was beautiful. Then I waited for DW to finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat. OMG the heat. This was the hottest race I've done. I went into this race thinking I had a real shot at going sub-5:00 with room to spare, but the heat just ruined me.

Event comments:

This has all the making of a very fast PR course if the weather cooperated. The event is well organized but with the increased field size they need to make some adjustments to thin out the crowds on the swim and bike. The aid stations ran out of ice after I finished, and while that did not affect me, it affected members of my crew who really could have used ice on the second loop of the run. The swag is nice (medal, shirt, finishers hat) and the F2C booth with recovery drinks at the finish expo was much appreciated. Overall this was a good event and I'd do it again if not for the eight hour drive.




Last updated: 2017-09-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:01 | 2200 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 27/73
Overall: 344/863
Performance: Average
Suit: Roka Viper Pro
Course: A rectangular clockwise course in a narrow canal used for rowing.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 03:40
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:33:34 | 53.5 miles | 20.90 mile/hr
Age Group: 25/73
Overall: 237/863
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Kind of an out and back and out course. Mostly through country roads that were not all that smooth. A few roads had major patching and potholes.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:20
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:06:52 | 13.1 miles | 09m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/73
Overall: 206/863
Performance: Bad
Course: Two laps around the Niagara Falls area. One of the nicest run courses I've done. A couple of uphills, a set of downhill stairs, and lots of tourists.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4