EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was not a good swim for me. Surprisingly, the time was not as bad as I thought it was going to be considering how much side stroking I did to catch my breath. I thought I could realistically hit 37-38 minutes but would have been happy with sub 40. However, it just wasn't my day in the water. I'm not sure what happened and it could have been the result of a number of factors which included inconsistency in training leading up to the event, mental state due to family issues, lack of swim fitness, starting to fast, the choppy conditions, getting my goggles knocked off early and drinking some of the chop tank's salty water. Either way, it was a bad swim and I am very disappointed in my performance. I am concerned that I was not able to swim this distance straight through with Vineman Full coming up on August 1st.

I guess a lot of things need to be done. First, I need to increase my swim mileage over the next 5-6 weeks and try to stay consistent.

Once I got to my transition area I put my hands on my knees and took a break for a few seconds to catch my breath as i was spent. Got my wetsuit off and my bike shoes, helmet and race belt on fairly quickly. I then grabbed my nutrition products and stuffed them in my pockets for the ride.

I definitely took my time in T1 and the tough swim had a lot to do with that. I could have been a little quicker here for sure.

I was very happy with my bike split. My goal prior to the race was sub 2:40 and I accomplished that. I was averaging 22+ mph over the first 35+ miles and my legs were feeling great. However, as others have noted this is where I ran into a wall of wind that made it difficult to average 18+ mph. I dropped down my gears and increased my cadence and did the best I could hoping that a change in direction might eliminate the headwinds. But, that never happened. Also, I rented Zipp 808s for the race and they worked out really well. There were a couple of times where the crosswinds moved me side to side and it forced me to grip the bike a little harder but overall I was happy with the performance. Nutritionwise, I had two 24 ounce bottles of Gatorade Endurance with Carbo Pro over the duration of the ride which equated to roughly 750 total calories. I brought 2 gels but both fell out of my pocket early on.

Not much. Again, I am very happy with my time and effort. Only thing I can think of is that I may have ridden a little too hard into the wind over the last 15 miles which could have hurt my run legs a little.

Pretty quick T2. I got my socks, running shoes and hat on quickly and i was off.

Nothing

Ok run. My goal for this race was 1:53 and I did not reach that. My legs just weren't feeling it. Splits are as follows and these are based off the course mile markers:

1 0:07:51
2 0:08:06
3 0:08:23
4 0:08:51
5 0:09:16
6 0:09:39
7 0:09:08
8 0:08:51
9 0:09:00
10 0:09:23
11 0:10:14
12 0:10:42
13 0:08:29
0.1 0:00:58

There were a few disappointing miles specifically miles 11 and 12 that cost me some time. Had I been able to maintain roughly 9 minute miles there I would have been 1:55 and closer to my goal time of 1:53.

Push through the pain on miles 11 and 12! I am a little disappointed because I've run a 1:35 stand alone 1/2 Marathon and I feel like my run leg is too far off that pace. Not sure, maybe some longer bricks or more run mileage would fix this.

Sat down in one of the chairs in the finishing chute and drank some water and gatorade and just relexed for a few minutes. Then went to the finish line to see some friends come in. Also, grabbed some of the post race food but I couldn't eat that much as I was feeling a little nauseous. Hung around for a little while then packed up my things and headed back to the hotel for some rest and food.


Not sure. I felt ready to go for this race. My original goal was sub 5:30 and I accomplished that but realistically I thought I could hit 5:19. I was only a few minutes off and with a few minor fixes I can hit this and possibly sub 5:15. Overall, it was a good day and I am happy with the outcome. It was a huge PR over last years race although it's tough to compare due to the heat at last years race. Either way, much quicker this year.


This is a fantastic race. I've done two 70.3 races and both have been at Eagleman. The atmosphere and the volunteers are great!