Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim canceled due to water conditions. Ran 2.1 in 15:01 (7:09 pace). Hilly. Didn't feel very good for this part of the race--felt slow. Should have warmed up a bit.

Already had on socks, sunglasses, and race # belt; so just had to change shoes and put on helmet.

Nothing.

Course had to be altered a bit at the start. My computer said 53.87 miles and 22.3 mph (2:23:43). But that probably cut short a bit of the course before I pressed start. The computer said 22.4 mph shortly before dismount. I think that the above distance and pace are probably pretty accurate estimations.
Took package of Shot Bloks, package of Sport Beans, few SaltStick caps, 2 bottles Infinit, small bottle of Heed, and about 1 bottle Gatorade Endurance.

Carry more Infinit. Only brought 1 bottle plus large compartment of aero bottle. Once I ran out course Gatorade was making my stomach sick (that and/or SaltStick caps I had never really used before). Switching to Heed in small compartment helped until that was gone. Last 15 miles or so were tough.

This was a very good transition. My bike was on the very end of the rack as far as possible from the bike entrance and dismount line. I'm not sure how I did it this fast. I had race number belt on (they required this, plus it was on from initial run), so just grabbed visor with watch buckled onto it, sunscreen, and bottle of Heed. Applied sunscreen while running then discarded bottle.

Nothing.

Felt really good for first 8 miles. Felt OK for next few but was just moving slower. Hurting pretty good (including bad side stitch) for last 2 miles. 8 miles was the point at which I ran out of HEED, discarded the bottle, and started to feel thirsty (just couldn't get enough from little course cups). But stomach had settled down after bike and was able to take 4 Gu packets without any problem. Took a few Salt Tabs.

Fuel Belt? Somehow carry enough liquid to get me to the end. That and get in even more nutrition (more Infinit on the bike and maybe even more gel on the run).

None


Something on the last few miles of the run. Would more cool sponges on the head, more liquid, more nutrition, more training, less bike intensity have helped this? I don't know.


I don't like how they start the slower age groups first. All of the passing on the bike was difficult and even dangerous. Other than that it's a nice course and a very nice area (I'd never been around there). Pretty well run, pretty good food & all that. I do wish that we had been able to swim. Water wasn't as choppy as at Gulf Coast, but someone died there and I'm not going to question the decision.