5430 Long Course Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Boulder, Colorado
United States
5430 Sports Corp.
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 06m 47s
Overall Rank = 626/1100
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 104/143
Pre-race routine:

woke up at 3 a.m. loaded the car, had a english muffin with jelly and some coffee. Got the munchkin man up and we went to pickup my Belle. Left her house at about 4 a.m. and got to the reservoir at 5 a.m. Got body marked and got my stuff into transition.
Event warmup:

Ran down the road at the res and back. Stood on the dock and looked out at the swim bouy's and how far out they were. Got my wetsuit on. Did a little swim warmup in the water and waited for my wave to start. Watched the first pro come out of the water before my wave started. It seemed a bit different atmosphere than the Peak. This was more the hardcore people and more solemn at the beginning.
Swim
  • 46m 31s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 12s / 100 yards
Comments:

Good swim for me. I've never swam this far before. Never swam more than 1650 yards. So, I was a bit nervous. But, I was relaxed and did just fine. It was really hard to see at first. Everytime I looked up all I saw was the sun, so I tried to sight sideways with the swimmers around me. Was pretty ruff at first, lots of climbing over people, but after about 300 yards I found some room. Rounded the bouy's tight and got bumped into again. When I stood up at the end, I was a bit wobbly, but I was stoked at having made it.
What would you do differently?:

Just keep swimming
Transition 1
  • 01m 45s
Comments:

Wetsuit got stuck a bit on my heals. Actually, the zipper wasn't working too well and I was still a bit wobbly. Put my skull cap on and helmet and sunglasses and then stood there like I was forgetting something. Realized I was good to go, and then ran out of transition. I ran and jumped on my bike and pedaled off with my feet on my shoes. Got up to speed and put my feet in the shoes and was off. Pretty good.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, just trust the setup and go.
Bike
  • 2h 44m 51s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.38 mile/hr
Comments:

Heart rate was a bit high starting on the bike. I tried to just spin and have high cadence for the first 10 miles or so. Basically it was a gradual uphill, so I just tried to settle in. Going down the back stretch hit some high speed. When I hit mile 20 I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to push a little and make the second loop count. I played cat and mouse with 2 other guys for quite a while. One of them actually gave me a compliment and said I was pedaling good. He was on a really fast bike, so I liked the sound of that. The second loop I pushed harder on the uphill because I knew I could fly down the downhill. I hit 42.5 mph on the downhill. That was a blast! Fastest I've ever gone on my bike. Got back around and came into transition feeling good. Got out of my shoes and did the flying dismount well. Ran into transition barefoot.
What would you do differently?:

Take it a little easier and save some for the run
Transition 2
  • 02m 51s
Comments:

Got to my spot and racked my bike. Got the hat on, race belt on, amphipod belt on, put my right sock on and it was upside down, had to take it off and put it back on, got my other sock on and put the shoes on. Decided it would be a good idea to hit the port a pottie before my planned 2 hour run, so I did a pit stop. I think it was the right call.
What would you do differently?:

not much. the potty break added a minute at least.
Run
  • 2h 30m 50s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

This run basically sucked. I figured I could run a 9 min mile pace without too much of a problem and run about 2 hours. I was wrong. My first mile was 8.34, and then it just went downhill from there. I hit a wall after a couple miles and had to keep telling myself to just run. I was tired, I was overheating, I was hurting and then I walked. I think this was basically the product of lack of training and riding a bit too hard. I learned a lot out there. I came around on the first loop and wanted to stop. I saw my Belle and my munchkin man cheering me on and I pressed on. At mile 10 I looked at my watch and I was at 5:30. I decided I would run the last 5k in less than 30 min and picked up the pace. That lasted for a mile and then my body just started to shut down. When I hit the last half mile I could see the finish and picked up the pace again. I knew my munchkin man was waiting for me close to the finish. I got to the finish chute and he jumped out of the crowd and ran with me across the finish line. That was a dream come true for me. We crossed the finish line hand in hand. It was awesome!
What would you do differently?:

Train more. Do more long runs and long bricks.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked a bit and then just sat down. Then went into the reservoir to cool off. My body just felt overheated bad. I sat in the water for a good 20 min.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of long distance training

Event comments:

I'm very pleased with my nutrition strategy. I made the whole race without any bonking from nutrition mistakes. I didn't have any stomach issues. I was very happy about that.

On paper I thought I could go a lot faster, but this was my first HIM and I learned a lot about what this kind of race does to your body. It was a great experience and I definitely will be back next year to knock some time off my race time.




Last updated: 2008-01-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:46:31 | 2112 yards | 02m 12s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/143
Overall: 761/1100
Performance: Good
avg hr 162
Suit: full sleeve
Course: One loop counter clock wise.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:45
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:44:51 | 56 miles | 20.38 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/143
Overall: 405/1100
Performance: Good
avg hr 159
Wind: Little
Course: 28 mile loop times two with a little turn around in the middle
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:30:50 | 13.1 miles | 11m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/143
Overall: 764/1100
Performance: Bad
Mile 1 avg hr 156 - 8.35 Mile 2 avg hr 158 - 9.21 Mile 3 avg hr 157 - 10.44 Mile 4 avg hr 167 - 10.30 Mile 5 avg hr 161 - 11.26 Mile 6 avg hr 156 - 11.05 Mile 7 avg hr 155 - 13.22 Mile 8 avg hr 149 - 13.17 Mile 9 and 10 avg hr 151 - 25.40 Mile 11 avg hr 156 - 10.51 Mile 12 avg hr 142 - 14.37 Mile 13.1 avg hr 155 - 11.21
Course: 2 loops on gravel road around the reservoir. no shade, hard on the feet.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4