Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Benton Harbor, Michigan
United States
CAPRI Events
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 05m 28s
Overall Rank = 878/1890
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 134/257
Pre-race routine:

My wife dropped me off, which was great because I did not need to worry about keys etc.
The race was scheduled to start at 7am, with transition closing at 6.45am.
I got there around 5.30am, so had plenty of time. Bike was already racked, so it was all about putting drinks and nutrition onto the bike, and setting up the transition area
Had 1 banana, 1 Clif Bar, 2 Red Bulls, some Gatorade

Event warmup:

As my wave was not starting until 8.14am, I was planning to hang around the swim finish and see the first swimmers come in.
Around 6.50 or so I heard the first people sayning that the swim was canceler due to the chop... turned out to be correct...;-(
So the race was shifted by 1 hour, instead of the swim we do a short run, more or less from the same starting place. It was unclear how they would time the waves etc, so we all changed and weere out at the start close to 8am
Swim
  • 18m 43s
  • 2112 meters
  • 53s / 100 meters
Comments:

I took it extra easy, to make sure I didn't spoil the whole event.
I finished more or less as the last of my age group, which was okay for me at that point
What would you do differently?:

Not sure if I could have pushed it a little harder, I still think that I had the right strategy

This change has cost me around 5 minutes easily against my age group!!
Transition 1
  • 02m 16s
Comments:

This transition was so much easier than my previous "real" triathlon transitions!
I wonder if it is because of the slow run I had done or whether swimming per se makes the transition hard (e.g. everything wet...)
What would you do differently?:

Felt comparably fast, but in comparison I was slow again...
Bike
  • 2h 36m 55s
  • 53.9 miles
  • 20.61 mile/hr
Comments:

I was on a roll!!
In the beginning, several folks of course passed me, but passed many more and just kept passing people! I couldn't believe that I averaging over 20, especially after the last disappointing 4 weeks!
I had a total of 3 ClifBars broken down into pieces, ate every 5 to 10 minutes, also had one gel
Only problem was the drinking: I had 1 Lemon and Lime Gatorade in the front bottle and had a total of 4 Orange Gatorades (one at each aid station). Around half time I recognized that my stomach did not tolerate the different Gatorade too well, so I drank slower. Also, the total amount turned out to be too much, see later...
What would you do differently?:

Make sure that I drink the right amount of either the right drink or water
Transition 2
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

When trying to get my left shoes out of the clip I got my heel stuck in the rear wheel (broke a spoke), couldn't get my right foot out on time and fell right before the dismount line
Nothing hurt, but my rear wheel was blocking so I had to carry my bike into transition

What would you do differently?:

Not falling off my bike...
Run
  • 2h 05m 37s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

It started pretty good, I met up with Ken from BT (youcandoit) and we had the same pace. That made the first half simply fly by!
Around mile 5 I started feeling my gut upset. I took a potty break around mile 6, which helped for a mile or so, but my stomach never settled down for the rest of the run.
Around mile 10, my right shoe was full of water (poored at least one cup of water over my head at every aid station!), and it was so bad that I considered taking another stop to poor out my shoe..but did not do it.

The last 1.5 or 2 miles my legs felt pretty heavy, I just couldn;t go faster than 10 mpm pace. I took a gel at that point, but I realized I should have taken food much earlier on the run!!
THe gel came too late, I was switching between walking and running for the last 1.5 miles
What would you do differently?:

First of all, dont screw up nutrition on the bike!
Then, continue with gels on the run
Also, be careful with getting water in the shoes, not sure how to avoid that though...
Post race
Warm down:

Not much, met up with my family, which was great to have them around!
Just a little stretching

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Was cheated out of the swim!

Too much and the wrong drink on the bike
No gels on the run


Event comments:

Too bad that we were not allowed to swim, it doesn't feel like a real Half-Ironman that way, also the bike was a little shortened
Otherwise it was real fun, the bike course was awesome!
I am looking forward to doing it again next year!




Last updated: 2008-05-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:43 | 2112 meters | 53s / 100meters
Age Group: 240/257
Overall: 1658/1890
Performance: Average
This was actually a 2.1 mile run Avg speed was 8:52 AHR was 155
Suit:
Course: We first ran up a hill, turned around and then finished exactly as we would finish the half marathon later on, which was nice to see the run course
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:16
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:36:55 | 53.9 miles | 20.61 mile/hr
Age Group: 140/257
Overall: 733/1890
Performance: Good
AHR 155 MHR 174
Wind: Some
Course: One big loop, just a few rolling hills Wind direction was perfect, just a little headwind on the way out, the last 15 miles back in were mostly tailwind and downhill!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 01:59
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:05:37 | 13.1 miles | 09m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 130/257
Overall: 895/1890
Performance: Average
AHR 158 MHR 171
Course: Went out, up a steep hill around mile 1, then two loops around the Whirlpool campus, incl 1 more hill on each loop, then back to the beach
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4