EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I started to the inside where there weren't many people. Everyone seemed to want to line up to the outside for some reason. Once I got underway I wished I had moved outside a little for some calmer water - it wasn't rough, but I was definitely catching the brunt of the chop compared to those to my right. I tried to move over a little, but the entire first leg was pretty physical. Some guy who was on my feet for a little while would actually grab my leg every time he hit me - like he was trying to pull my chip off or something. I waited for him to do it one last time and kicked as hard as I could - that was the end of that. Overall, my navigation was suspect out the outward leg, but dead-on after the turnaround. Form felt sloppy and I never felt like I got into a steady pace. My time was good, though so no complaints.

Nothing.

T1 felt like it took forever. Had some contact lense problems after I ran through the water the fireman was spraying at the swim exit, but that straightened out. I felt like the swim took no effort so I was really encouraged heading out on the bike with 5 minutes in the "bank" against my goal to be through T1 in 40 minutes.

AG: 54/141
Overall: 304/1170

Nothing.

This did not go as I had hoped. The first half was fantastic. My HR adjusted well from the swim. I quickly found a good steady pace but was immediately getting passed by seemingly hundreds of people. At times on the downwind leg I was going 23 mph and guys were blowing by me like I was sitting still. I guess I'm not as good on the bike as I thought. Everything was going well - I was eating and drinking a lot and my stomach felt good. Everything was going ok, until I came up on the last bottle exchange on Egypt Rd. and when I went to chuck my bottle, I realized it was still 3/4 full. I had forgotten to drink almost anything in the last 15 miles. Stupid mistake. I really felt like the headwind on Egypt Rd. sucked the life out of me and I was really uncomfortable in the last 10 miles. I really thought I'd have a better bike than this. Plenty of room for improvement here. This was slower than my Diamondman bike split last year and I've ridden a lot more. What's up with that?

Drink more and ride more.

Kinda funny that I ranked exactly 304/1170 on both transitions. What's the odds of that? I came out of T2 in exactly 3 hrs 30 min. so I had eaten up all the time I had put in the bank on the swim with my slow bike.

Here's where I paid for my hydration mistake on the bike. I carried a bottle of gatorade out of T2 with me to be sure I started the run with plenty of hydration. It sucked carrying the bottle while running, but this would turn out to be a good decision. I really felt like crap in the first 4 miles - just like I felt at Diamondman last year. I stayed positive as best I could and refilled the bottle at each of the first 3 aid stations and drank all of it - more than 60 oz. of water in the first 40 minutes of the run. I walked a couple times to get my HR down and to get as much water down as possible. All of the sudden, I started feeling good. I still couldn't push really, but my legs came around and I felt like I could actually run. I guess I had finally gotten rehydrated enough. I ran a solid steady pace all the way to the finish and enjoyed every minute of it. I knew my 5:30 goal was out the window so I just enjoyed being where I was and plodded away. This was the first triathlon run I've ever done that I felt good and enjoyed the moment. It made my day. I still walked the aid stations and drank two full cups at every one. The cramps were lurking in the last two miles so I was never able to open my stride even though I felt good enough. The last mile was the highlight of my life as a triathlete thus far - seeing and hearing the finish was too sweet for words.

Hydrate even more.

Walked off some pretty nasty cramps that set in the second I crossed the line. Chatted with my parents, Marianne, and the Crabs. Tracked Shelly down in the medical tent and talked with her for a while. I had hoped for a massage, but the wait was >45 minutes so I didn't even bother. Packed up and went over to the CMS post-race party where we hung out and cheered for the last few athletes as they passed.


Hydration. I also accept that my body does not do well with longer distances. I trained as well as I could. I missed my goal time by quite a large margin, but I still got a new HIM PR by 20 minutes. Plenty of room to improve so I'm looking forward to 2008 already.


Here's my best memories from the day:
*Seeing all the pros running into T1 - especially Ficker/Legh/Bell/Badmann
*The huge white swim start bouys with the huge Eagleman logos
*Lots of people cheering at the bike dismount
*Two volunteers on start and finish of the run cheering me on like crazy b/c I was wearing a CMS jersey
*Sean Reinke on the run course by himself, beer in hand, cheering like a madman
*Hitting my stride around mile 5 on the run
*Seeing Glenn and Shelly on the run
*Passing a few runners in the last miles that had most certainly passed me on the bike.
*A girl sitting on the hood of a white car a half mile from the finish cheering for every single person that went by.
*Seeing and hearing the finish line in the last mile and making the last two turns.