Ironman Oregon 70.3 - Triathlon

I put dive but actually you are told (in my case at the last minute) to JUMP off the dock (it's not deep enough?). I was all ready to dive at that point so I lost my balance and kind of fell into the water!

I followed the briefing instructions and swam towards Buoy 1. All of a sudden there was a big wave and the buoy started moving away from me. Popped up to look and a boat was towing it away. Why? if you have read my race review you will see that I had the EXACT same thing happen to me with Buoy 1 in 2021. WTF??

To be honest, I only saw about 1/3 of the buoys. Just like last time, I ended out in the middle channel of the river with only a few other people. Probably swam an extra 50 yards or so but we were passing almost everyone swimming to the side by the buoy line. I do not recommend this if you don't like being out in the middle of a big river, by yourself.

About halfway through I again got washed around (and swallowed a bit of the the Willamette) when a police or rescue boat with a flashing light passed at high speed. Started feeling a bit nauseous from the chop and was very glad to spy the buoy for the turn into the finish. (From the main channel, one has to start angling for it a few hundred yards out. Fortunately it is very large, and red). I was still feeling dizzy when I got there--I actually swam into it!



?????? I didn't deliberately choose the middle channel, just somehow ended up in it again after my encounter with the chop and the moving buoy. Maybe someday I will try to follow the buoy line and see what happens. Maybe kayak the whole stretch and figure things out when I can actually see where I'm going.

This was an enormous and nasty transition. About 30 yards up a very steep and rather slippery metal ramp (I couldn't really run it; no one else was), and maybe 500 more yards around a circle (??) at the top and then on a grassy strip outside transition (the entire length) before entering. My bike was right near the swim in, so I had a very long run to/from the bike out/in (which were the same). Ugh. Aside from that, I made pretty good time. Full wetsuit and big zone with the ramp, so it is what it is. Average T1 at this race is in the 7-10 minute range.

Redesign the swim course?? Move the whole thing to Cottage Grove or Hagg Lake??

I had to stop for about two minutes total to deal with bike issues. At about Mile 2, the water bottle cage on my down tube partially detached and was hanging at a 90 degree angle! Saved the bottle but was unable to get the cage back on, so I stuffed that bottle into the back pocket of my tri top and carried on. Later on, one of my back bottles ejected. So I had to stop twice to get fluids and switch bottles at the aid stations. Actual moving time according to Garmin was 2:53:50. I also had to slow down more than normal at the many railroad crossings to hold onto the back bottle. Shades of IM Malaysia. Shit! Probably cost me one, possibly two, AG spots.

Make sure the cage is fastened securely to the bike! This happened once before but I thought I fixed it. Seemed to be a combination of the cage not quite lining up with the bolts on my bike, and the bolts becoming stripped through lots of bumpy use. I replaced the bolts and got a new cage (which can be adjusted tighter or looser depending on bottle size) this morning. Don't use the narrower Polar bottles in the back cage. Plus...this is just an IM Oregon thing. About 80-90% of the bike course is on really rough rural roads, and they get LITTERED with ejected bottles and other items!

As good as I could make it. The main problem was that my legs really cramped when I got off the bike so I had a hard time doing any semblance of "running" with the bike to my spot (which was at the far end of a 2500 bike zone from the bike in/out), and then to the run out. It took about 4 miles for the cramping to resolve. Other than that, I was pretty efficient.

Probably go into an easier gear and get out of aero more in the last few miles of the bike, to get stretched out a little and ready for the run. But I was so PISSED about losing time on the bike that I didn't do that at all! Didn't slow down till I saw the dismount line!

It was actually a pretty good split for me and one of the best runs I've done in the last few years, but I didn't really feel that good at any point. Miserable cramps till about 3 1/2 miles and then I gradually got into a rhythm. I dealt well with the heat, hydration, and nutrition, but legs and energy levels felt sort of flat throughout. Maybe due to not much sleep the night before. I started getting sick of gu and anything sweet (but unable to swallow more than one potato chip per aid station) and found myself craving some strong iced coffee. But, despite how many stations this race has and how well-stocked they are, they didn't have that!

Reference bike comments--slow down in the last mile or so, loosen the gears, stretch out a bit. And/or stop and stretch in T2 or early on the run. Might have helped with cramping. And seriously, since we're in the US, what's to stop me from parking an iced cold brew at my transition spot and taking a swig (or a small bottle??) on the way out?!

Collected my swag, went to the athlete food area and got my healthy Oregonian feed (some kind of Asian salad with veggies, tofu, and sesame dressing--actually rather good), banana, and what was described as "your choice of salt delivery system"--potato chips for Mom. Then walked to the ampitheater, found Mom, ate, walked to a restroom, changed, and walked back to the car.


* Lack of sleep the night before.
*Bike drama. Cost me two minutes due to stops and probably at least another 3-5 due to having to slow down a lot at rough spots and diverting focus from maintaining race effort.
*Probably needed to slow down and stretch a bit at end of bike, in T1, and/or start of run, to minimize cramping on the run.
*Maybe just getting discouraged on the run. I saw women my age and probably older way, way ahead and knew I didn't have a prayer of AG podium. My AG (women's 50-54--I move up to 55-59 in January) was won in 4:42. OMG. First 6 went under 5 hours. The course is fast due to the swim (but the long T1 probably cancels out all but maybe 5 minutes of that) but not crazy fast. Yikes! The older people never get slower, the fast people just get older.


I have already reviewed this race (in 2021) and not a lot has changed. They have addressed some of the issues from their first year. The swim start is still a bit nuts (herding 2500+ people to walk 1.2 miles in semi-darkness through the woods) but now they start four at a time, so at least it's more efficient. Still the same issues with sighting and ambiguous course in the river. But hey, it's really fast!

T1 is awful, but kind of inevitable given the steep riverbank in the park and the popularity of this race. The bike course is beautiful and hazards are well-marked. Just be prepared for ejection drama due to rough roads and numerous railroad track crossings.

The run course has been changed somewhat and is now a bit shadier with a much more pleasant start and end (a dramatic pedestrian bridge over the river) and the entire run is now in the nature preserve near the river, with zero traffic. Volunteer support and run aid stations are outstanding, much more like a full IM. If you were a "complete" type athlete you could easily put lunch together from them. No complaints. Any improvements would require a change of venue.