login
 Swim
Comments: The seas had a slight chop, but managable. Bouys were visible. No exit from water on second lap. (nice). Very shallow in areas.....could stand up if needed. Lots of support boats, divers, surf board etc. Not the clear caribbean water as advertised, lots of sargasso weed, but warm waters, nice overall swim course. What would you do differently?: Good swim. Next time need to swim harder, not hold back. Worried about the heat later on........  Transition 1
Comments: There is a long sprint from the water to T1 along the sandy beach and through the Wet and Wild water park. T1 will take longer than other races because of the distance covered. Showers at the entrance of the park. T1 in the parking lot of Wet n' Wild. T1 is set up well. Easy to navigate.  Bike
Comments: This course can be monotonous due to the fact it is straight, flat and no change in scenery. Be prepared to do some mental work. This is a hot course. Pray for a little rain...not too much. Other years there has been downpours. I was on track on fueling plan but backed off after first bottle of Perpetuem made me feel naseous. The heat can make your digestive system shut down. Stayed with water and shots of Hammergel. A friend competing stuck with her fuel plan and suffered on the run. Lots of stories of racers vomiting.......too much fuel for a system stressed with heat. What would you do differently?: Push harder. This was my first 70.3 and it is one of the hottest most humid races ever. Afraid to push hard......worried about the run. Which turned out to be OK. Also, spend more time training on flat course in the aero position. Home terrain hilly. My back and neck were aching by the end of the course. Bike too big? Must recheck fitting......Maybe a new bike...hmmm...... Transition 2
Comments: By now midday sun is beating down hard. Spectators are languishing under a tent/shade. Just walking in this heat is painful.......... What would you do differently?: Have spray on SPF sun lotion at T2. No lotion application available, as was promised at pre raced meeting. I put a plastic baggy of cream in a pocket for the run and applied. Another racer begged me for some. (Of course I shared!)  Run
Comments: Just when I thought it would be impossible to run in this heat, I was inspired to run from aid station to aid station. This is how I ran the entire course. 3/4 of the racers were walking. Most were walking. I took the three water baggies at each station. One to shower on my head, one to drink, and one to carry with me. This last one I punctured a small hole and had a continuous spray for my body. Ice was provided which I put in my race bra (saw others doing this too.)Again I cut back on fuel and concentrated on hydration/electrolytes. Lost my endurolyte packet on the course so double up on the gatorade provided. Comments from other runners: "Brutal!" "Hottest race ever!" What would you do differently?: Survived this race, so not sure what else I could have done. Finished strong and post race recovery was quick. Post race
Warm down: This event is well organized and supported and the post race tents were no exception. Lots of people in the medic tent getting IV'S and wrapped in cool towels. I went straight to the massage tent. Lots of food and goodies. Music, mariachis, good vibes all around. Cool showers were set up too. Organizers, announcers very upbeat and positive. What limited your ability to perform faster: Heat! Be prepared for a hot race. Rethink your fueling plans. We stayed a week pre race to acclimatize. (Many showed up the day before.)This was a good plan although hard to stay focused on training. (Hard to turn down the margaritas and to not spend the day laying in the sun!) Event comments: If you want a fun heat challenged race, I would recommend it.I rated it hard because the heat was overwhelming. Most athletes I talked to had their worst race times and walked most of the run.There are almost no spectators so be prepared to be self motivated. The best is post race at the swim up bar with fellow athletes in scenic Cancun. The host hotel is very nice but expensive due to extra fees and food expenses. I had a good experience and was able to mentally force myself to perform through the heat. For a first 70.3 however,....try something a bit cooler. Last updated: 2008-09-29 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
Mexico
Ironman 70.3 Series
90+F / 32C
Sunny
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 7/15
We arrived a week before the race and continued with our training plan. The first few days just walking in the heat and humidity was overwhelming even though we had "heat trained" in a heated room with trainers pre-race. We were intimidated at first riding our bikes on the hotel strip, no berms and crazy fast taxis and bus drivers. We asked around, but no one seemed to know where we should ride. We eventually got out and were pleased to see traffic move to the left and give us the right lane to ride. Very polite drivers! Better than in our home town. We went out to the swim course left of Wet and Wild, but Hurricane Ike had blown in piles of sargasso weed on the shore and shallows. Not inviting! I jumped in anyway and was immediately stung by a jelly fish. Not to worry.......a few days before the race, the beach area was cleaned and the swim was clear and comfortable. We swam in the host hotel pool and in the ocean in from of the hotel. We did a few bricks and ran midday to test our heat readiness.
Short swim warm up. Test goggles etc. I had a flat 10 minutes before start.I had a puncture in my tire and tube. Luckily, I brought a spare tire,tube and a floor pump. My friend's husband changed it as I was in panic mode. Make sure you have everything with you at T1...there is only one very busy mechanic. We didn't bring pumps from home and spent a day searching for a bike shop in Cancun. Didn't find one. Tip: Bring everything with you, tools spares, etc. The only bike stuff you will find is at the expo the day before the race. I bought a floor pump at the expo. There were only two and they were soon gone. C02 also goes fast!