Ironman World Championships 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Clearwater Beach, Florida
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 11m 1s
Overall Rank = 941/1254
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 38/51
Pre-race routine:

This was my first triathlon that I had to fly my bike to, so I was very nervous about the whole process of taking it apart, flying with it and putting it back together. But turns out it’s not that hard, I can practically do it with my eyes closed now :)

I stayed in a condo with other BTers (Alaina, Dan, JC) plus all of our support teams. This was a really fun aspect of this race for me. We did a practice ocean swim on Friday (bonus: we got to see dolphins right on the course!) We also made a big pancake breakfast and pasta dinner the day before.
Event warmup:

A bit of jogging and jumping jacks on the beach, watching the first pro (Andy Potts) get out of the water and getting excited! :)
Swim
  • 39m 6s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 51s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first ocean swim race, so I was worried about how salt water and the chop might affect me, especially since I tend to swallow a lot of water when I swim. But, aside from the fact that I managed to lose my swim cap somehow, the swim went pretty smooth and it was my best time for the distance.
What would you do differently?:

Not lose my swim cap - put it on tighter, would have probably saved me a minute
Transition 1
  • 03m 29s
Comments:

Wet suit strippers rock!!! Long transitions – you had to cover a lot of territory – running to the bag, then to the change tent, then back to the exit.
Bike
  • 2h 42m 41s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.65 mile/hr
Comments:

Personal best for the distance, but I can’t say I am proud of it. Drafting was pretty much unavoidable. I went on my own for about 20 miles and passed a few girls in my AG. Every minute I saw a huge group flying by in the other direction after the turn around. I just thought whatever, I am not fast enough to be up there with them anyway… Then all the girls that I passed caught up to me in one big peloton following a couple guys who were obviously faster. Yeah, maybe I could have shifted down and fell back but since everyone else was doing it, I just jumped on their tail. After about 20 miles, a course marshal motorcycle came by and gave a red card to two of us at the front, but didn’t bother with giving it to everyone. After that, people were less aggressive in their drafting. You can tell that I drafted on the second segment by the average speeds for 3 segments – 20.23/21.6/20.04.
Transition 2
  • 02m 39s
Run
  • 1h 43m 6s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

I was shooting for sub 1:40, especially since I did it in Troika. A little disappointed, but I deserved it. After breaking 1:30 in Jock and Jill half marathon back in September, I barely did any running. Figured I had that leg down, and focused on my swim and bike. Lesson learned – have to keep training in all disciplines, even in your strongest
What would you do differently?:

Do more running and bricks in my training
Post race
Warm down:

Delicious seafood dinner at Island Way Grill (highly recommend if you are ever in Clearwater). Then - drank lots of recovery beer and went out recovery-dancing at the Ironman party with all the folks that I stayed with. I think that helped, at least I’ve recovered really fast!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Perhaps, not training at all in September?

Event comments:

What a great weekend! Getting away to sunny Florida for a few days, seeing triathlon legends race like Andy Potts and the Hoyts family, and setting a new PR on top of it! AWESOME :)




Last updated: 2008-11-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:06 | 2112 yards | 01m 51s / 100yards
Age Group: 49/51
Overall: 1135/1254
Performance: Good
Suit: Full
Course: Rectangular, 1 loop
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:29
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:42:41 | 56 miles | 20.65 mile/hr
Age Group: 46/51
Overall: 0/1254
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Flat, 1 big loop
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:39
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:43:06 | 13.1 miles | 07m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 38/51
Overall: 0/1254
Performance: Good
Course: Mostly flat except for 4 times up and over the bridge, 2 laps
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5