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Lake Geneva Half Iron Man - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
United States
Lake Geneva Extreme Sports
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 53m 3s
Overall Rank = 6/128
Age Group = M20-29
Age Group Rank = 1/11
Pre-race routine:

All right, time for another--was the word "annoying?"--race report.

I woke up at 4:00 am after 5 hours of sleep. I left later than I should have and arrived at the race site about 45 minutes from the start. I retaped my base bar, because Willy's did a crappy job, then I taped some GUs and half of a banana to my top tube, pumped my tires and walked 1/3 mi. to transition with my bike. Of course pretty much all the transition spots were taken, but I sidled into one. It was a very rushed setup, and I actually skipped body marking because I had no time.
Event warmup:

Ha! For a 6:15 start, I got to the beach at about 6:10. Fortunately the start was pushed back to 6:30, so I sneaked in a bit of swimming. Still, I didn't get to stretch anything or do a run warmup, so I was a bit nervous.
Swim
  • 31m 11s
  • 2406 yards
  • 01m 18s / 100 yards
Comments:

As is my way, I had a plan "A"--what would happen if everything went perfectly--and a plan "B"--the minimum performance that I should be capable of no matter what. Here was the plan for the swim:

Plan A: 32 minutes.
Plan B: 35 minutes (accounting for choppy water).

Fortunately, the choppy water was absent today. The lake was nice and flat, and clear of course. So, I seeded myself near the front and to the side, as usual. That was a mistake this time, though. Right before the start, some dude crept up in front of me, and I was like "whatever I don't care" but then he was real slow. And what was worse, the people around me were pointing a bit right, when we needed to go left, toward the buoys. So, the first few minutes of the swim were a bit tricky as I tried to work my way back inside and up to speed. I think if I stayed in the front row I would have been able to break inside without anyone in my way.

After I got to my desired position, I just kept it steady. I drafted a bit on the way out, but not much. After the turn (it was out and back), I spent more time drafting, because at this point the HIM swimmers and Olympic swimmers merge together. I got behind a big guy and basically relied on him to lead me through the Olympic field. It worked well, and I just zipped right through it. I was surprised to see later that I was 5th out of the water. Not too shabby.
What would you do differently?:

My only issue was that my goggles were leaky. I stopped two or three times to empty them, and lost just a few seconds in the process. Maybe next time I'll use watertight goggles.
Transition 1
  • 01m 52s
Comments:

Actually I had the 4th fastest T1. That's kind of nuts.

The transition was standard. Rip off the wetsuit, clean the feet, and put on shoes, glasses and a helmet. Ta-da!
What would you do differently?:

Well, I should have left my sunglasses behind. They fogged up so I put them in my pocket for the rest of the race, then obsessed about what they were doing to my aerodynamics in there.
Bike
  • 2h 45m 27s
  • 56.27 miles
  • 20.41 mile/hr
Comments:

Plan A: 2:33 (22 mph) and 196 W
Plan B: 2:40 (21 mph)

The bike course was very flat, and the run was extremely hilly, so my plan was to hit the bike hard. It seemed any savings for the run wouldn't get a good return.

My little plans were way off though. Actually, my training for this race consisted of 4 weeks of "crash" training, and the 3rd week gave me too much fatigue. My legs and shoulders were tired for all of the 4th week and on race day. Right when I started the bike I could tell I was not going to do as good as I hoped. My quads were really aching, and it was mile zero!

Right away there was a pretty steep hill, and when climbing it I swear I had a heart attack. My heart was beating harder than it ever has before--I guarantee I was over 200 bpm. And my chest hurt so bad. It was like something I have never felt. I limped up the hill at 7 or 8 mph, standing in the 39x25 and seriously considering stopping and trying to get some medical help. After ascending the hill my chest hurt for about 30 minutes longer, and I had a lot of trouble getting into any kind of racing rhythm.

I remember seeing 4 riders ahead of me after getting up the hill. So I was like, "sweet, I might be in 5th place." Over the course of first 20 miles or so, I was continuously knocked back. 6th, 7th, 8th,...but that's okay, I was still in the top 10. And then finally someone picked me off and knocked me into 11th place. Dang! I looked behind me and there was no one, so I was determined to at least pace off of the person ahead of me. If she (yes, I was chicked!) got away from me I might have gotten lazy and let the pace slip even more. Unfortunately it was not easy to stay near this person. I was trying to drink, but my hands were frozen from the wind (the temperature was in the upper 50s) and I couldn't open the nozzle thing on my bottles. So I'm sitting up out of the aerobars messing with that, swerving all over the road. And I was putting sunscreen on my face, and trying to eat a banana that I had taped to my top tube and now couldn't remove. And meanwhile the person ahead of me never EVER got out of the aerobars, never took a drink or a bite of anything for miles, and just kept drifting further and further away. I looked at my average speed. It was down around 19 mph. I looked at my power. It was 187 and dropping. This was not looking good!

Then some kind of miracle occurred. At about mile 25 we hit a section that went gradually uphill, and I suddenly found my legs. The 10th place person was about 1/4 mile up the road--built up over several miles--and I closed the gap completely during that uphill. The 9th place guy wasn't too far beyond her, so I got him too. And then I just kept cranking at about 230 W for the next 5 miles. It was just one long interval, ultimately putting me into what I thought was 8th place.

After that the bike ride was quite easy, despite a few attempts at re-chicking. I kept my power above 200 and gradually got further from the people I had passed. Every time a hill came I gained a little more ground. My average power slowly climbed from 187, one tiny watt at a time, until it hit 196. That was sweet, because that was my goal! But my speed most definitely was not 22 mph. Maybe I'm not as aerodynamic as I thought.

Oh well, once I was at 196 W, I kept it there and ate and drank as much as I could to prepare for the run. My bike time of 2:45:27 was way beyond what I planned, but I was happy that I at least put out the power that I wanted.
What would you do differently?:

I think my problems for the first 20-25 miles were related to not warming up. Or maybe the swim took out more than I thought. I definitely have to get bottles that are easy to open with frozen fingers.
Transition 2
  • 01m 31s
Comments:

An excellent transition. I did a flying dismount and ran my little bike in. No problems.

12th fastest T2.
Run
  • 1h 33m 4s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 06s  min/mile
Comments:

Plan A: 1:35:00 (7:15/mile)
Plan B: 1:40:00 (7:38/mile)

Pretty good run. Muscular fatigue limited me, so it wasn't too much of a cardiovascular workout. I held back the entire time, because with the giant hills I couldn't tell how much I would need to leave in the tank for later.

I caught up with a woman doing the relay and ran with her for about half the race. I'm lucky I was with her too, because otherwise I would have gone off course. I was feeling strong on "Frank's killer hill" in the second half of the race, so I went ahead and did the rest by myself. It was actually a pretty uneventful run, which is a good thing. The only thing worth noting is that at mile 10 I decided to stop drinking at aid stations, and then by mile 12 my arms started tingling, so I had to drink again. Dehydration comes on quickly I guess.

So, in the end, my swim and run were both better than plan "A" and my bike was worse than plan "B." I'll take it.
What would you do differently?:

Well I should have pushed a bit harder, but I suppose winning my age group by only 40 minutes will have to do :)
Post race
Warm down:

Jumped back in Lake Geneva and swam around for like 15 minutes. Then I found a bar of soap at the bottom of the lake and decided it would be real funny if I washed up with it. So I lathered my whole body up with this mystery soap and had a nice little bath in front of some really creeped out beach-goers.

Then I cruised into a nearby restaurant for a burger and some beer (finally!).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was working on tired legs. And--oh yeah--I had a heart attack.




Last updated: 2009-08-31 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:11 | 2406 yards | 01m 18s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/11
Overall: 5/128
Performance: Good
Suit: Salamander Suit
Course: Out and back in deep water.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:52
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:45:27 | 56.27 miles | 20.41 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/11
Overall: 11/128
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course:
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:31
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:33:04 | 13.1 miles | 07m 06s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/11
Overall: 7/128
Performance: Good
Course: 4400 feet of climbing!
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? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2009-09-14 1:02 AM

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Expert
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Denver, Colorado
Subject: Lake Geneva Half Iron Man


2009-09-14 1:12 AM
in reply to: #2404349

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Pro
4100
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Wherever the trail takes me, WA.
Subject: RE: Lake Geneva Half Iron Man
Great race.  Fantastic Times
2009-09-14 12:17 PM
in reply to: #2404351

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Expert
1238
100010010025
Denver, Colorado
Subject: RE: Lake Geneva Half Iron Man
2009-09-14 12:28 PM
in reply to: #2404349

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Champion
7163
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Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!
Subject: RE: Lake Geneva Half Iron Man
The fact that you over achieved on that run is amazing.   And I totally agree the first hill out of T1 was the bomb.  Never saw 180 on my HRM before that hill.

Congrats on a great performance.

Suzy

Edited by SSMinnow 2009-09-14 12:28 PM
2009-09-14 1:15 PM
in reply to: #2404349

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Master
1732
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Delafield, Wisconsin
Subject: RE: Lake Geneva Half Iron Man
I must say, you are a little nuts...but fast! Congrats on a nice race.
2009-09-15 9:42 PM
in reply to: #2404349

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Elite
2793
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Denver
Subject: RE: Lake Geneva Half Iron Man

WAY DA SHOW UP AND BLOW UP!!!!!



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