Victoria International Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
Lifesport.ca
15C / 59F
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 27m 15s
Overall Rank = 55/111
Age Group = M25/29
Age Group Rank = 3/4
Pre-race routine:

Had a nice pasta dinner the night before, and went to bed at 9pm, the problem was I did not fall asleep until 2am. Even though I was just using this race as a training race to practice for my more important races I was nervous and jittery all night. I woke up at 3:45 am and had a bowl of oatmel w/ a banana and some peanut butter toast. Packed the car and drove up to the race about 45 mins away. Got there nice and early so I had lots of time to set-up and get ready. I actually ended up being ready quite early so I went and sat by myself and listened to my I-pod for 25 mins before the pre-race meeting which was good as it kept me calm and away from the stress of the transition area.
Event warmup:

Got in the water for a quick 5 minute swim before the start. I knew the water would be cold so I wanted to get used to it which was a good idea as the first time I put my face in the water it took my breath away!!!
Swim
  • 30m 19s
  • 1900 meters
  • 01m 36s / 100 meters
Comments:

I had a really good swim, I ended up seeding myself relatively high compared to where I seeded myself in races last year and it paid off as I had less traffic to swim through. I ended up swimming with a pack of about 5 other guys for the first lap and we were making some pretty good time and our navigation was pretty good. As we hit the second lap I pulled away with another guy for a bit. The pace was quick, but comfortable and we ended up swimming past some of the people who had gone out too hard. As we were coming back in I figured we would be around 33 mins, but when I saw my watch I was pretty surprised with the time. All in all a great swim for me who at this time last year was just getting comfortable with swimming in open water.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, this is my best swim in a race that I have had so far.
Transition 1
  • 02m 18s
Comments:

Decent transition, someone had thrown there stuff over my bike shoes though so I had to move there wetsuit off my stuff before I could head out.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to have shoes attached to bike.
Bike
  • 2h 47m 36s
  • 90 kms
  • 32.22 km/hr
Comments:

I went out with the plan to take the first lap easy and then to push a little more on the last three lasp. My nutrition plan was to take in only gels and gatorade and water. The first lap was good, although I got into a routine where I just kind of spaced out and forgot to drink any water for the first 30 mins. I finally remembered to have a gel and water after I passed a guy who was eating a bar which reminded me to take in some nutrition. At that point I was already 30 mins behind on my nutrition plan(not good.) The next 2 laps I pushed pretty hard, playing leap frog with this guy who I had been chatting to in transition before the race. He would take off on the flats, but he had trouble with any hills so I kept catching him on the hills, he finally took off towards the end of the 3rd lap. The last lap was alright although it was a little slower than the previous 2 laps. I tried to make up for my early nutrition problems, but it wasn't happening. Still, I ended up passing some people who had gone out too hard at the start, so that was motivating, and proved that my plan of taking the first lap easy was a good idea.
What would you do differently?:

Better nutrition plan, although it didn't really hurt me on the bike, it came back to haunt me on the run.
Transition 2
  • 02m 29s
Comments:

Not a very fast t2 in retrospect. Should have just grabbed nmy stuff and taken off, but it was slow for some reason. Will have to work on this.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more on my transitions.
Run
  • 2h 04m 35s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 05m 54s  min/km
Comments:

Here is where my lack of nutrition came back to bite me. I went out and actually felt pretty good for the first 2 km, I was holding a good comfortable 4:35 km pace, and was looking forward to holding this pace until the end. After I went through the first aid station, I knew I was in trouble, my pace was fading, and I couldn't push to go any faster. I kept slogging along, but I was leaking time per KM like I never have before. I went from running 4:30km's to 5:30 km's almost instantly. I made it through 6 km's at this pace and thought at least if I hang on like this I will beat my PB of 5:17. Then the cramping in my left hamstring and calf hit. So I came up with a new plan of walking 1 minute, running 9 minutes and grabbing what I could from the aid stations. That worked for awhile, but I could not seem to get any extra energy back, so I ended up doing walk 1 run 5. at the lowest point, I thought of dropping out, but I wanted to finish no matter what, so I stuck to my plan, walk 1 run 5. Finally, with about 2 km's to go, I felt a little better and ended up jogging the last 2km home however painful it was.
What would you do differently?:

Like I said on the bike, better nutrition plan. On the plus side, I tried something new in a B race, and it didn't work, so now I can plan for my A race keeping this in mind.
Post race
Warm down:

walk around for 5 mins, just to keep the legs loose, then hit the lake for 10 mins just sitting in the cold water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Poor nutrition plan, and maybe lack of sleep, although I generally avg not very much sleep the night before any races.

Event comments:

For a first time race this was really well done. I would recommend this series of races to anyone contemplating doing one. They still have 2 more on the table, A race in Sooke, and a race in Vancouver.




Last updated: 2007-05-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:19 | 1900 meters | 01m 36s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/4
Overall: 27/111
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: 2 laps in the water.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:18
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:
Biking
02:47:36 | 90 kms | 32.22 km/hr
Age Group: 2/4
Overall: 52/111
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: 4laps rolling hills.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:29
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:04:35 | 21.1 kms | 05m 54s  min/km
Age Group: 3/4
Overall: 70/111
Performance: Bad
Course: Gravel trail, 1 lap, some hills.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
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