Great Illini Half-Iron Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Neoga, Illinois
United States
Mattoon Beach MultiSport
86F / 30C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 5h 59m 59s
Overall Rank = 101/187
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 11/15
Pre-race routine:

Night before went into Mattoon and ate dinner. Got some supplies. Then got lost on the way back to the lake and ended up in some small town. Eventually found the way back. I decided to sleep in the back of the rental SUV. I slept about 4-5 hours -- just couldn't get comfy. Woke up at 5 when they turned on the lights in the parking lot. Nice. Got up, drove closer to the start area and got everything set up.
Event warmup:

I threw on the onesie, the goggles and the wetsuit and went for a quick warm-up swim. I forgot to pick up my timing chip so I ran back up to the pavilion to get one -- like 20 feet away. I wasn't the only one. Several people were running up there at the last second.

Oh yeah! I forgot the bento box and the straps for my aero bottle. So I put two UnCrustables and a sampler of Endurolytes in the left rear bottle holder.

And then the kicker. I used my EXTRA PAIR OF GOGGLES to strap down my aero bottle. So, you guys mock me if you will, but the extra goggs came in pretty danged handy. Take that beetches!
Swim
  • 47m
  • 1900 meters
  • 02m 28s / 100 meters
Comments:

Waded into the water and started swimming. Since I breathe on the left I had the sun in my eyes on the first two legs. Spotting was OK but I tend to go too wide around the buoys and ended up off course a little. Oh well I hate swimming anyway.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Basically I'm not that good a swimmer. I'm just happy that I beat my previous half-ironman swim time by 9 minutes. All good.
Transition 1
  • 03m 25s
Comments:

It's T1. I took it a little easy so I could get in an UnCrustable and had some Pepsi and some water. Made sure I was good to go on the bike and off I went.
What would you do differently?:

Not too much. Focus a little better.
Bike
  • 3h 02m 37s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.40 mile/hr
Comments:

Finished 103rd overall on the bike. So, you know, could've done better but I was actually feeling pretty good and wanted to save some for the run.
What would you do differently?:

No clue. Just ride lots to get faster.
Transition 2
  • 03m 10s
Comments:

Don't really remember much about T2. Just got in, took off the helmet, changed shoes and took off on the run.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It was fine.
Run
  • 2h 03m 44s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

Despite the shittiness of the run I still came in 71st overall on the run. That indicates to me the run was either long or it was more brutal than I thought.
What would you do differently?:

Don't know -- I thought I was good to go. I just couldn't keep cool and started hurting about mile 6 or 7. The finish couldn't come fast enough!
Post race
Warm down:

Crossed the finish line and just plopped down on a picnic table in the shade. Laid there for awhile, got a Coke and some pizza and then went and got my stuff out of transition.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat, I think.

Event comments:

Good race. WEll organized. The roads suck but that's not the fault of the organizers. The heat sucked, but again, not the fault of the organizers. Overall lots of fun.

My goal was a sub-6 and I made it by 1.45 seconds!!!




Last updated: 2008-09-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:47:00 | 1900 meters | 02m 28s / 100meters
Age Group: 11/15
Overall: 15/187
Performance: Average
Suit: Full
Course: Clockwise swim -- I hate clockwise because I breathe to the left. Anyway basically a three-point triangle.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:25
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off: 		No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
03:02:37 | 56 miles | 18.40 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 103/187
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: The bike had more hills than I'd expected. The roads were pretty danged sucky -- lots of potholes and rough spots. Of course the wind kicked in about mile 20 and I went from an average of 18.8 to about 18.1 by the turnaround. Sucked. The second dog leg was especially brutal. It started about mile 46 and went west then turned back north, unexpectedly. Ouch. Finally made it back to the main road and transition.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 03:10
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:03:44 | 13.1 miles | 09m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 71/187
Performance: Below average
Course: It was four 6.55-mile legs. The sun was beating down -- about 85-86 degrees, which made it pretty brutal toward the end. I was hurting after about mile 6. I ran with a woman for awhile -- we talked, which broke the monotony and made the miles go by. With about 3 miles left she said I had 30 minutes to go to make six hours. Then a guy who started in the same wave as me said `No, we have 26, let's go.' So I said by to Tiffany, my running buddy, and me and some dude took off. He was flying, I was barely running. I'd sprint and then walk the water stops, drink and take some endurolytes and then pour water over my head and then take off again. I sprinted, or tried, the last half mile and was VERY happy to see the finish. My kidneys, knees, calves and quads killed. I was having a hell of a time keeping my body temp down.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4