Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga - Triathlon


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Chattanooga, Tennessee
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 7h 32m 41s
Overall Rank = 2499/3645
Age Group = 55 - 59
Age Group Rank = 129/186
Pre-race routine:

Packed up the night before so up early, had a little breakfast then picked up Dud and Amanda to head to the venue. Aired up the tires and set up transition then boarded the bus to swim start.
Sat around for a couple hours waiting to start.
Event warmup:

Wrestling into my wet suit after a couple of years of not racing and adding a few pounds.
Swim
  • 23m 16s
  • 1650 yards
  • 01m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

Shortened swim due to extreme current. So the up river part was taken out and we just swam down river. I did ok, nothing extreme in one way or the other,.
Glad to be out of the water at the end.
What would you do differently?:

Train for the swim
Transition 1
  • 09m 25s
Comments:

Putting socks on is a challenge these days.
What would you do differently?:

I wasn't in a hurry
Bike
  • 3h 24m 13s
  • 56 miles
  • 16.45 mile/hr
Comments:

Had a pretty good ride, didn't pass as much as I used to and got passed more than I am accustomed to, but I have a long way to go to get back to the bike fitness I had in 2016. I did this course in under 3 hours with a mechanical then.
Also, being on my road bike I feel is a bit of a time penalty even though this course has some hills, there are plenty of miles to take advantage of aero.

Pretty uneventful ride other than a snake coiled up on the road later in the race. I didn't see it until I was just about on top of it. According to Facebook (so it must be true!) it was a rattlesnake. I couldn't tell if it was alive or not, but I do think it was alive.

Once back into town I just tried to stay within the pace I was at and tried to get ready for the run.

What would you do differently?:

Hours and hours on the bike.
Transition 2
  • 08m 29s
Comments:

Here I could have been a bit faster.
Run
  • 3h 27m 18s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 15m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

Once I got off the bike I could tell that my back needed to loosen up some. It didn't hurt, but was tight and uncomfortable. So I tried to walk at a steady pace. until it felt better.
Plus, I knew I was a bit behind on hydration as my mouth was dry. So I would run a minute, walk a minute. I wanted to get up the hill and to the first aid station before trying to run anymore.
From here it was a matter of beating the heat, taking advantage of the downhills and managing nutrition and hydration.
I knew when the weather forecast came out that in all likelihood that 13 to 14 minute miles were the best I could hope for. I struggled but by about half way I had managed to get into the 14's and kept it there for a while. A little breeze helped as well.
About 4 miles into the second loop I caught up to Dudley. We walked along for a bit, but at the time I was still feeling ok and Dud was struggling with the heat causing some stomach issues. So I ran on for a while.
Going over the bridge the second time over the bridge my right hamstring started to act like it was going to pull. So I stretched it and walked it for a bit. Tried to run the downhill to the bottom of the bridge, but no go.
Walked up to the last aid station and hoped to be able to run again.
I was able to run at a slower pace, but run never the less until I made the turn to finish at the split. Coming down the hill the other hamstring started to pull so I stretched it good, did some walking and headed to the finish. A couple of my TriCoach Georgia team mates were here to cheer us in and that helped push me to run and fortunately the legs held together till the end.
What would you do differently?:

My running leaves a lot to be desired. I am going to put the work in and see if I can get reasonably close to where I used to be.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and got out of the sun

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am happy despite being 90 minutes slower than 2016. With the back surgery and lengthy recovery just being able to do this again is a thrill to me.

That said, I am a competitive person and I need to lose the weight I put on during the back process and get back into better training habits.

I also struggle a bit with training in the early season since we started spending the better part of winter in FL. It shouldn't be so hard, but the combination of traveling more and everything else makes it a bit harder. I like this race so that needs to get solved.

Event comments:

I used a new product developed by a couple team mates and my coach for the ride portion. www.slayrx.com I thought it worked well on the bike, maybe I could have used a few more ounces. I am not a fan of carrying hydration on the run, but I need to rethink that as I wished I had the slayRX rather than living off the course. The product works well and the taste isn't over powering to save the gut.

After almost 3 years of back issues and recovery, it was great to be out on the course again. Highly motivating and enjoyable despite the heat.

The Chattanooga community as well as the surrounding areas are wonderful. The support they give this race shows and it is one of the reasons I love coming here to race!

The volunteers are also the best! The aid stations are all high energy and a much needed distraction!




Last updated: 2018-08-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:23:16 | 1650 yards | 01m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 109/186
Overall: 2074/3645
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Point to point in the river
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 09:25
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:24:13 | 56 miles | 16.45 mile/hr
Age Group: 118/186
Overall: 2258/3645
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: Loop through Georgia
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 08:29
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
03:27:18 | 13.1 miles | 15m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 129/186
Overall: 2499/3645
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
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] 5