Troika Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Spokane, Washington
United States
Troika
90sF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 56m 49s
Overall Rank = 23/200
Age Group = 19-24
Age Group Rank = 3/10
Pre-race routine:

cottage cheese and granola at 4am, back to sleep, arrived at medical lake just before buses arrived
Event warmup:

just got the wetsuit wet
Swim
  • 29m 21s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 23s / 100 yards
Comments:

good swim for me, finally broke 30...didn't have any luck drafting tho, got out in front early and then got dropped by the two leaders (who swam 26-27) so i was all alone, finally felt someone drafting within the last couple 100 yards, and got passed at the end
What would you do differently?:

nada
Transition 1
  • 01m 41s
Comments:

its T1, nothing to report
Bike
  • 2h 36m 7s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.52 mile/hr
Comments:

went out quickly on the bike...this was my first real 'mass' start, so I was actually 3rd overall for a couple of miles on the bike. Definitely not used to that kinda of competition, and when i got passed I attempted to stick with them, instead of just riding my own race, funny how everyone says 'race your own race' but its easy to forget

ended up making a mental mistake, took a water bottle from 1st Aid station, took a couple sips, and chucked it...so i rode the next 20 miles with about .25 of a water bottle. i could feel my lips getting dry and i knew i was gonna be in trouble soon, when i got to the next aid station i made sure to grab two bottles, but the damage was done, and it hit me hard the last 10 or so miles

oh, and there is a STEEP hill in the park that isn't really talked about, but its there, and its steep
What would you do differently?:

overall id say it was ok, i wanted 2:35, but its still an improvement from my PCT ride
Transition 2
  • 00m 29s
Run
  • 1h 49m 13s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

started the run with ~3:08 on the clock, so i needed a 1:52 run to break 5 hours, my main goal...i was a little nervous b/c i died on the last 5k at PCT and finished with a 1:51, so i knew I was gonna be cutting it close.

got a gel down within the first mile and then just started ticking off the miles. was going at a little under 8 minute pace (1:45 pace) so i felt great. it was a hot run, but i think we dodged a bullet, b/c it could have been a LOT hotter. thankfully, the aid stations had great volunteers and ice cold sponges. worked out a little routine of grabbing two, one under the hat, one down the shirt, and just ran to the next station where i switched out for fresh ones.

ended up going out in ~48 mins, so i just needed to run the return (mostly downhill) in an hour, started to feel confident that I could break 5.

got to the last 4 miles and i had 42 minutes to break 5. at this point a fellow AGer caught me. I could tell he was running a solid pace, and I might have been able to stay with him, but I decided that my goal of sub-5 was more important than AG places, so i 'let' him go.

ended up just cruising in, the last miles or so got pretty long, and it sucked having ppl on the course saying 'your almost there'...at that point almost there for me was 50 feet. so i was relieved when i saw the radio guy a couple 100 yards before the finish
What would you do differently?:

absolutely nothing. i might have been able to stay with that other guy, but im just not sure, i could have very easily blown up, and had to stagger in to the finish, so im happy that i was able to just cruise my way in...
Post race
Warm down:

hmmmm....ham

What limited your ability to perform faster:

rolling hills killed my legs, that and trying to keep up with the 2:18 bikers

Event comments:

under a new RD this year...only thing that I didn't like was the awards ceremony wasn't until 3 pm (when the course was closed), good for the slower finishers, but bad for the AGers who had to wait around for 3 hours




Last updated: 2009-02-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:21 | 2112 yards | 01m 23s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/10
Overall: 5/200
Performance: Good
Suit: xterra v3 full
Course: clockwise loop
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:41
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:36:07 | 56 miles | 21.52 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/200
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: short little out and back, then a big sweeping arc back to medical lake
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:29
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:49:13 | 13.1 miles | 08m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/200
Performance: Good
Course: out and back 1/2 marathon
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4