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Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon
52F / 11C
Precipitation
Total Time = 6h 51m 1s
Overall Rank = 138/221
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 24/31
Pre-race routine:

Drove down to Annapolis to spend the night with Rutledge and Lorrie Webb. For dinner - we went out for a couple of beers at the Federal House. Had a Flying Dog International Arms Race (below average) and a local octoberfest (pretty good). For dinner we had burgers and the obligatory sweet potato fries. Before going to bed, I had a couple of glasses of water.

I think the most important part of this race report is the what would you do differently sections because there is a ton that I would do differently. The learning curve for this race was huge. While I learned a lot - it's clear that I need to change my approach if I'm going to improve my time next year. Before I went to bed, I re-packed all my stuff - but I never ran through a checklist of things I needed to do to be ready. Here is a quick shot at the list.

1. Attach my bib the night before
2. Put my food into individual bags - would be great if I taped the gus and bars to my bike
3. Divide equipment into sections - Swim, T1, T2
4. Read over race briefing to make sure I have taken care of everything
5. Think about taking a bucket to sit on in transition - it would be a good place to sit and could be used to carry equipment.
6. Put all equipment in car night before and leave keys by wallet
7. Add a head lamp to my tri bag - it was so dark in transition
8. Anticipate the weather and then add the required clothing to the transition practice. While I'd practiced putting on the wetsuit - I hadn't practiced putting on tights and a long-sleeved shirt/vest.
9. Need a pair of 2$ disposable flip flops. Had to leave my tennis shoes in transition and it hurt to walk in bare feet.
10. Need to figure out salt replacement pills
11. Need to buy a fuel belt. If I practice nutrition during practices, then I can talk the guess work out of eating and can use nutrition to improve my performance.

Race Day Morning - Woke at 4:45, ate oatmeal with bananas and blueberries, stopped at D+D for small coffee (I might be taking in too much caffeine - the coffee + caffeine may have been too much - I spent all day peeing.) and then drove to Centennial Park. I was totally dark in transition and got a little stressed as I tried to sort the stuff and lay it out. I also realized that I hadn't pinned my bib to my ace shirt nor had I put on my race number tatoos. Solved that problem by running down to info tent after transition closed (a volunteer had to put it in my bag). To solve the tatoo problem - I snuck into a bathroom while the OLY started. Called Heidi.



Event warmup:

Almost nothing... We stood around for almost 30 45 minutes before the HIM waves left. I killed the time by putting on my wet suit and taking my extra clothes back to the car. (While I was prepared for the worst - the weather was actually warmer than the 40 temps that had been predicted. They wouldn't let us in the water so my warm up consisted of stretching my neck to get a glimpse of Lance Armstrong and jumping up and down.
Swim
  • 32m 7s
  • 1584 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

A decent swim. We ran into the water in pairs of two every 3 seconds. I felt like I got off to a good start and really tried - at least in the first half of the race - to draft off other swimmers. My time might just be my fastest of the year.
What would you do differently?:

There are so many little things...

1. swim as far as I can before standing up.
2. Caring less about others - no need to stop and apologize when I run into someone
3. Preplan my approach - do I want to be on the inside or outside? How do I wat to approach the bouys.
4. Practice bi-lateral breathing.
Transition 1
  • 09m 43s
Comments:

It seemed like it took forever to get out of T1. Putting on the tights, socks, shoes, vest. Drying off was worth the extra minute due to the cold. However - my times in transition matched my competitors.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more. Practice for different situations - tights vs. no tights...
Bike
  • 3h 24m 53s
  • 56 miles
  • 16.40 mile/hr
Comments:

A decent ride... It was raining for about 3/4 of the course, which sucked. I tried to go really slow and averaged close to 14 mph for the first lap. The thought of how far I had to go really sapped my strength - so I played games in my mind to focus on the present. I peed 2 times which points to either the cafeine or taking in too much water.

One funny thing - Lance Armstrong passed me 2x on bike couse. Second time, I strayed from my lane to thank some drivers who were waiting to turn and as he flew by me - he yelled out, "Dude!". If I had strayed another foot to the left, I would have talken him out.
What would you do differently?:

I want to make better use of the down hills. I only really pushed the down hills on the second loop and not doing so the first time around cost me some time. I also need to practice keeping my hands down in the drops.
Transition 2
  • 04m 40s
Comments:

Came into T2 when Lance was doing his post race interview.
What would you do differently?:

Again, practice, practice, practice. I think I need to make transition part of my long workouts. After long rides - I should practice T2. After long runs, I should practice T1
Run
  • 2h 39m 38s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

I was surprised when the run started by how good I felt. I had to really work at slowing down. I had trouble keeping track of my run/walk splits because my watch kept switching fields... So I used the cones and steps to try to run the first 3 miles with 1 minute run for 1 each minute walking. I was also over hydrating and kept having to pee so I stopped drinking at each aid station. I also had a really upset stomach, so I stopped doing gus and tried to eat any solid food I could find. Had a couple of bananas and the cheese its I had with less than a mile to go were a life savers.
What would you do differently?:

I would make sure that I had a way of keeping track of my run/walk time. I also want to train more and move to a 9 min run1/1 minute walk pattern. For this, I need to focus more on brick workouts.
Post race
Warm down:

Loved the post race food and beer - almost cried when they handed it to me. Because I had to get back home, I didn't stretch. Ate my burger, drank my beer, grabbed by stuff, and hopped in the car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Sure - there are a lot of things that I want to do differently next year when I run a full Iron Man, but the fact is that I did it. I went from being 100 pounds over weight in November of 2012 and completed a HIM in 11 months later. Nothing pretty but an outstanding accomplishment. I also was really sick just a couple of days before which explains a lot of the tiredness. I should be proud of the fact that I never once thought about not doing the race.

Event comments:

This was a great race. It was well planned and there were tons of friendly people to help. I plan on signing up for one of the HIM in either Maine or CT




Last updated: 2012-08-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:07 | 1584 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 23/31
Overall: 135/221
Performance: Good
Suit: Borrowed
Course: A clockwise swim around the lake in the park.
Start type: Wade Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 09:43
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
03:24:53 | 56 miles | 16.40 mile/hr
Age Group: 22/31
Overall: 119/221
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Course was two loops of rolling hills. It started out in the park, then the ride continued down an really busy road for a couple of miles and then the loops began on less crowded rural roads. There were probably 3-4 really steep long hills )one of which was made better by a group of college students who danced around yelling things - my two favorites - the hill fairy dressed in wings and the woman in the cap and gown who said "You have graduated the hill..." The course was well marked. There were police officers at all major intersections and the best part - ARMY ROTC kids standing in front of every possible wrong turn - must have been 100 cadets out there.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 04:40
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
02:39:38 | 13.1 miles | 12m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 24/31
Overall: 138/221
Performance: Average
Course: The course also begins in the park but stays in it for the first 2 miles. Then it heads out of the park where the next two miles are on quiet suburban streets and then the last two run along a busy and HILLY road before heading back into the park.
Keeping cool Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2012-10-08 10:16 AM

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Subject: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance


2012-10-08 10:57 AM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
That is an amazing accomplishment! You surely have come a long way in a short 11 months!  Way to be mentally tough and strong.  Good luck on the IM next year!
2012-10-08 2:43 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
Great race and RR, congrats on finishing! I would like to do this race next year as my first HIM so from what I hear I guess I should start working on hills now. I saw the finishers medals for this event, they looked awesome!
2012-10-08 3:31 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance

dmbfan4life20 - 2012-10-08 2:43 PM Great race and RR, congrats on finishing! I would like to do this race next year as my first HIM so from what I hear I guess I should start working on hills now. I saw the finishers medals for this event, they looked awesome!

Matt - This would be a great first HIM for you.  The reason why the race was challenging for me was because it was a big ramp up in miliage from my OLY in July.  If you start training for it now - you will have no problems finishing.

It was a well run event and I had a blast.  You will too!

Good luck and let me know if there is anyway I can help you...

DQ

2012-10-08 5:41 PM
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Royersford, PA
Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
Nice Job!! That was one heck of a day with all the rain and wet pavement. I never even saw Lance only heard him on the PA just before the start and he was gone once i finished. However, still would have been cool to have seen him out on the course so consider yourself fortunate. BTW: I almost took out the men's winner at IMAZ the same way.

2012-10-08 8:21 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
very well done. I can't believe you managed it being so sick all week. Wow. And getting lapped by lance, that had to be icing on the cake.


2012-10-08 9:13 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
Hats off to you! It is a tough bike course. The Hill Fairy was awesome as were some of the crazy Army folks. Lance brought a ton of people out to the bike course which made it more fun on an otherwise dreary day.
2012-10-08 11:09 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance

Very impressive.  I thought you were biting off a lot when you went into this with like 12 weeks to ramp up for this race.  This only proves the sky is the limit and you can do anything you set out to do David.  Imagine yourself with a full 5 months to train for one of these.  Way to go.  Can't wait to hear about IM next year.

2012-10-09 9:22 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
Great race - it was an awesome day! Glad you were able to join us down here, and that you enjoyed the race while supporting a wonderful group. Hope to see you back next year!
2012-10-15 5:59 PM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance
Great race - and congrats on the HUGE weight loss!!
2013-02-08 5:15 AM
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Subject: RE: Half Full REV - Half 70 Mile Distance

Late to the party here, but midnight shifts give me plenty of time to snoop around!

 

Great RACE REPORT David!



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