Ironman World Championships 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

At the practice swim on Thursday the swells were the biggest I've ever swam and it shattered any little piece of confidence I had for this swim. I must have had the look of terror on my face prior to the start while waiting in the corrals as I had two competitors ask me if I was ok. I really wasn't and I really either wanted to get going or puke.

We were in wave 4 which did help as I didn't have to spend too much time waiting or I would have puked from the nerves.

I sort of ended up about right in the middle of the group at the start and got absolutely crushed in the washing machine. For the fist couple hundred I was just fighting for any swimming space I could find. I got one good elbow or foot which knocked my goggles off.

After a little while things settled out and I just moved along at my own slow pace. I tried to draft when I could, I caught some real slow swimmers from the wave before, and I just tried to push it the best I could. The sighting on the way in was a little tough as we were swimming east back to shore.

Exited and looked at my watch. It showed 36 something which beat my Timberman time by 4 minutes.

My time goal was sub 36, but I can't be too disapointed. I think I loose some form out there and my pull is weak. The swim something I will continue to work on this winter

My HR monitor had my highest HR of the day at 164. I swear that happend on the run from the water through the beach as I hit the ground running.

The volunteer strippers and changing tent guys were awesome and they took care of all your stuff helped speed things along.



nada.

Here's my take on the draft issue from my view of the race:

The biggest benefit (or disadvantage depending on your perspective) from starting in an early wave is a pretty empty bike course. I spent the entire ride passing M35-39 and W18-24. I saw exactly three packs. The first two was at the turn around heading the other way. The last was around mile 45 to 50 which was a group of 6-8 which contained the front of the M30-34 and some 40+ guys sucking their wheel. Since it didn't contain anyone from my AG I could care less about it.

I settled in very early to a comfortable pace and was basically slingshotting from one bike to the next. The south heading stretch was blistering fast and straight with a nice tailwind to move you along. The last 14 miles had a pretty significant headwind and it did slow down my average a bit.

For nutrition, I took one bottle of water with 6 scoops of cardo-pro and one bottle of Gatorade.




Looking and my times and HR (ave 145) I could have pushed a bit harder. I was consistantly passing people the entire ride so I thought I had one of the faster bikes. It turns out that it was slightly better than mediocre. Next year I'll know better.

No issues here

nothing

There are some crazy fast people in this world!

I started off feeling like I was running a 10 minute mile as people were blowing by me left and right. Then I looked at my watch at the first mile and saw 6:45.

Around the first mile I guy that I was passing decided to stick with me. We ended up pacing each other for the next 10 miles. It made for a very fun and comfortable run. I didn't keep accurate time of my miles but I'd check every mile to make sure I was around the 7 minute pace.

I did encounter some stomach cramps at mile 3 and it lasted for about 4 miles. But it was nothing that held me back much.

At each aid station I'd take a sip of water and dump the rest on my head. It was super cold and the best part of the run.

Oh yeah, They made us run up and down that bridge 4 times. It was a pain but it would have been too easy a run without it.

Comming back into the pier the crowds were full of energy and it was great to give high fives to friends and family members on both loops.

Also comming down the chute it just a cool experience. I didn't really have a set finish line pose plan so I went with the "uncoordinated dork" pose. Also the first person to greet me over the line was Chrissie Wellington. She gave a huge hug (or maybe I hugged her) and asked me how my day and race went. I told her I loved her smile.



I felt very fresh after the bike and I think I could have pushed it more on the run. I think getting passed early on put me into something below a race pace when I should have tried to turn it up a notch. But overall, I did set a PR on the run and I did it with relative ease.

Take a leak which I held the entire run.


What an amazing experience. I would certainly place it right up there as the best sporting event that I have participated. It was great to race with so many incredible, fit, elite athletes from all over the world.

The five coolest things that happend to me while I was there:

1. Run into Dan A. at the swim practice. What a great guy and amazing athlete.

2. Thursday dinner with Jorge, Dan, Jorge's friend and my family. It was cold as hell, the food was colder and they couldn't fill the coffee fast enough, but dinner with new friends is always cool.

3. Hug from Chrissie Wellington at the finish line. She is a hottie in person.

4. A family stopped me on the street in Clearwater and asked if I was doing the race. When I said yes they were awestruck as they were volunteering and never met a racer before. They had me take pictures with their daughter. And they talked about getting into running and biking. Sometimes our commitment to our sport inspires others to do the same and that is cool.

5. And the coolest...PRing a HIM by 24 minutes and having your family and friend there to celebrate over many beers.