EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Took off as soon as they gave us the word. Started my watch about 10 seconds early so I would be focused on the start. I mean 10 seconds is it really going to matter?

Took off with one other guy and we stayed about a body length apart until the first turn. We were setting a pretty solid pace on the way out. Caught the wave in front of us by the half way point on the way out and passed almost all of that wave by the mid point on the way back. Started catching some of the other waves in front of them too. At that time navigating past some of the people was tough. People were just all over the place. Overall a little messy with breathing. Wound up swimming some breaststroke on the way in since there was such a big crowd. Overall pretty good and the time was good.

A few times I did get a huge wake off the wave runners. That is annoying as he!!. I wish they would back off with those things.


Nothing

Coming out of the water up the boat ramp I was in great shape. I pulled my wetsuit cord and it opened up. But for some strange reason I decided to pull the cord down too and I wound up pulling the whole zipper piece right off the dam suit. Dropped it on the ground. So I turned around to pick it up. Grabbed it and must have dropped my goggles. Got about 25 yards down the run and realized the goggles were gone. So I decided to not turn around for a $3 pair of sweeds. Got to the bike and the suit came right off. Put my helmet and glasses on, got some Infinit in me and grabbed my bike and was off. Shoes on the bike worked great. First race for this. Never not do it again. Had my shoes on in the first tenth of a mile and was rolling....

Not break my wetsuit and lose my goggles....

Started off strong and noticed a slight tail wind for the first 30 miles. Most of the roads were really nice. I was really in shock how nice they were. But when the roads were bad, man they were bad. Overall I stayed in a really comfortable gear and the idea was to race my own race and not hammer like I normally do. I think I did a good job with that. About 10 miles in I started getting passed by a few guys in my Age Group. These would prove to be the only guys out on the road that passed me all day. I just let them go and thought a few things. One, if they were really that fast then there was no use chasing them and two if they weren't that fast then they would come back to me later on the bike or on the run. At the 40K mark I was averaging 25.4 MPH and rocking along. Very comfortable, breathing was in check and I felt great. When we got to the back end of the course it was just brutal. The wind was a constant flow. No strong gusts or blasts but just a constant headwind. At one point I looked down and realized that I was only going about 22-23 MPH. For most of the ride I was 24.8-26.5. So right away I figured something was up. So I dropped down to the small ring and got in a much better gear. Held about 23.5 though most of the headwind. A few times during this section I got stuck in a traffic mess. A Ford F150 with a race car attached to it was going about 20 MPH and taking up a lot of the road. I must have passed them three times and then they passed me again. Then we got about 2-3 other cars all lined up and it was a mess. Finally we turned right and got out of that mess. Once the wind and course direction changed we got another nice tailwind section and I was again back in the 26-28 MPH range pretty comfortably and just hammering. I only had about 10 miles left so it was time to go and hold nothing back. The last 5 miles was into the wind again and I saw the PRO leaders at about mile 4 on the run. That was cool. Didn't realize that I was that close to them. So I got back towards T2 and I stared to shift into a lighter gear and get my legs loosened up. Got my feet out of my shoes and dismounted on the fly.

Ride harder. Nothing to lose by doing it other than blowing up on the run....

Perfect transition. Not really excited about the half marry coming up but knew there was a task at hand so I started to get my mind back in order for a run.

Drank some more of the water and Infinit that I had in transition.

Nothing

Right away I knew it was going to be a tough run. Got my HR under control quickly and then felt really full. Had to go to the bathroom but just could not go while running. I tried. So during the first mile I saw a porta pot and ducked in. I was only in there for about 20 seconds and it was additional time to get my HR down and re-compose. I still ran 7:00 for that mile with the bathroom stop so all was not lost....

Got back on track and got by mile splits down to 6:40s for the next few miles. Got water at every aid station. One for my head and one to drink. The water was so cold that when I dumped it on my head it took my breath away. Good god. So all was well and when I got to the turnaround I was really thankful. My legs were starting to feel it. My quads were starting to go. So I kept moving and was going ok. Between miles 7-8 is where the wheels started falling off. It started to feel like I had midgets running along side of me swinging baseball bats at my quads every step I took. Bad pain but I just kept on pushing and focusing on the task at hand. My mile splits started to drop off a little here and I knew it was going to be tough from there on out. Then my big mistake came. I started stretching at mile 8, or the aid station right after mile 8. I walked and drank and then stretched for about 10 seconds. Legs locked up and felt awful. Started running but just felt spent. Got to mile 10 and started talking to some guy in the 40-45 Age group. He was good enough to pace with me and we were back between 7:30s-8:00 min miles. We did that for about 1.5 miles. I really thank this guy, he helped me cope at that point. Then we got to the next aid station and I neededr to stop and drink. That was it. I ever saw him again. The last 1.5 was pretty much on my own. Great crowd support at this point really helped as well. Thanks to the people who were there and live right along the route. That misting sprinkler was money. Then the final turn and I could see and hear the finish line. Probably about 1/2 mile out. Just started to forget about my legs and push through. Came into the long finishing tunnel and was so happy. Saw my wife and daughter and was so happy. They announced my name and it was all over. They asked me if I was going to be ok and I initially said No but I was ok. Got my medal and got a water and huge Gatorade.

A long run and I really paid for the fast bike split. All in all, I kind of knew this was going to be a tough run. I really have not been putting the correct amount of run mileage in. That will change for Clearwater.


Mile Splits:
7:09
6:17
6:47
6:44
6:51
7:02
7:10
7:00
7:18
7:51
7:45
8:04
7:43


Add more long runs in to my training plan. My running has come a long way from last year when I was running with a torn calf and only putting in about 15 miles a month. But I still have a long way to go. I know I am capable of running closer to 6 min miles with the right training.

Hosed off and called it a day. My legs were just thrashed after it was over. Glad to have finished my first HIM. Qualified for Clearwater. Got a message and watched the awards.


Nothing overall. I put a lot of training in based on time avail.


Overall I would go back to Eagleman in a heartbeat. Great race with a great vibe. Very competitive Age Group race with blazing times and a super competitive PRO field. What more could you want?