Ironman Maryland
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Ironman Maryland - Triathlon
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![]() Swim
Comments: Pretty cold water. I was comfortable with full suit and bare feet. I did wear earplugs and I pulled my swim cap down over my ears, and that helped a lot. ![]() Transition 1
Comments: At the pre-race briefing, it was emphasized how cold the weather would be, so I decided to change my plan and wear just a speedo under my wetsuit. This would mean a longer T1, but I'd be able to dry off. I opted to leave my warm clothes in my transition bag and changed into my race kit and got out pretty easy. I was able to jog out of transition without feeling winded. What would you do differently?: Nothing at all. The change tent was crowded, so I had to change everything but shorts outside, then I had to find a spot inside to change my shorts, and even with all that and wrangling my own bike, I still was happy with everything. ![]() Bike
Comments: Best bike I can ever remember. Very cold, I may have benefited from having at least arm warmers. After the first hour, I decided to dial back my hydration (48 oz/1st hour, then 24-30 oz/h after, all Gatorade). Nutrition was spot on; I had two gels on the half hour, and some food on the hour (Clif shot blox, yogurt pretzels, dried fruit & nuts), for 500-600 kcal/h. I did have a bike issue; my seat post was slipping, so I stopped after about a half hour to tighten it up. It slipped again within a few miles, so the rest of the ride felt not as comfortable as maybe it could have. Bottle handoffs were great, no issues there. I had enough nutrition to get through the ride, but I did stop at special needs to get snacks. I made (I think) just one bathroom stop, and yeah, it was well needed by that point. The winds were intense, but I don't remember ever being bothered by them or seeing my pace slip that much. I was hitting the 10 mile markers every 30 minutes pretty regularly, and my HR stayed mostly 135-140. I did break one rule (no new equipment). I had been training with a borrowed Rudy helmet that was just big enough for my head, but a few days before the race looked at the strap and said, I don't trust that to stay fastened the entire time. So I was going to wear my regular helmet. Then I got to the expo, and there was a Garneau aero job that just looked so sleek, and it fit like a glove, and it was 10% off, and I said, yeah, that's my new helmet. And it worked out great. (I did wear it around the house for a bit and then on my last test ride, and y'know, I've been wearing helmets for a while so I figured it was a worthy risk.) What would you do differently?: Figure out how to carry my snacks to avoid special needs unless necessary. Point-by-point checklist of bike a few days before the race. Race wheels. ![]() Transition 2
Comments: I felt great here. I just changed socks and shoes, and I didn't need to dry off or anything. To be honest, I really liked racking my own bike. What would you do differently?: Probably nothing! ![]() Run
Comments: And here we have the run. Same as before, not really my strength. Not yet. I ran more than I walked for a while, and by about 3-6 miles in had tried to settle into walk 2 min, run to a half mile, repeat. I took nutrition at most aid stations, alternating gu & water with gatorade & whatever. It was really pretty cold, but I didn't feel chilled until around mile 18, when I think I hit a wall. I walked all of that mile and maybe most of 19, until I got to run special needs, where I had a LS shirt and some snacks (Moon pie, dried fruit & nuts, yogurt pretzels). I put my shirt on and hammered all the food, and kept walking, and by mile 21 I was back to run/walking. The last few miles I was able to really pick up the run pace, maybe 8:00/mile for a minute or so at a clip, and it really felt good at that point. Then next thing I knew, I hit the final turnaround, and I just ran it home. I had to pee several times, and it wasn't little trickles either. But I didn't feel overhydrated or crampy. I think I may have been undernourished during the middle third; once the sun set, it got cold, and I think my caloric burn jumped a lot. My appetite wasn't really great, but I was able to enjoy the chicken broth. What would you do differently?: Wear warm clothes sooner. Take more nutrition earlier; I may have been getting 100 kcal/mile (400 kcal/h)? Probably not enough. ![]() Post race
Warm down: "WARM DOWN" LOLOLOLOLOLOL LOOK IT WAS 2 FRICKIN DEGREES OUT AT THE END I WARMED DOWN PRETTY MUCH RIGHT AWAY. Okay not really. I drank a bottle of water, tied my space cape around me and hustled over to pick up my morning clothes. By the time I got dressed I was so cold that I just started adding layers over what I was wearing, and it was just about enough. I had some pizza (objectively pretty crap stuff; cardboard with tomato sauce and "cheese", but at that point pretty much the best thing ever). I wanted to hang out at the finish, but I got so cold I just had to get back to my house. What limited your ability to perform faster: I think I did the best I could given my training. Next up, get the run under 4 h, then we're ready to attack Kona. http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=K... http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/maryland/r... Event comments: First time ever an Ironman was rescheduled, and they really really made it work. First class event as usual, only difference was no bike handlers (which I actually liked better). Plenty of swag, food, volunteers, party zones, yeah, I'll be back. Last updated: 2015-10-19 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
45F / 7C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 897/1361
Age Group = M4044
Age Group Rank = 147/187
Up at 4:00, eat 2x peanut butter sandwich, 3x hard boiled eggs, 2 cups coffee. Stay in warm places as long as possible; sat in car an extra 10 minutes with heat blasting, bundled up with extra layers, then stayed near other people and out of wind. Cold start! High winds, beautiful clear day otherwise.
Take it real easy.