Baowolf's Gettin It Done Group! (Open) (Page 5)

Heading off to race tomorrow (Mighty Hamptons, bib 300). Thanks everyone for your help. Will post how I did!

Done! Time was 3:12 ... I was 32/41 for the group

Swim 0:41:00 27:20 min/km
T1 0:06:10
Bike 1:21:24 18.4 m/hr
T2 0:05:05
Run 0:58:19 9:24 min/m

Here are all the sortable results from my division on google sheets (public)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g424U_A6YtUSk9rMvu0ZIowVdDld...

Here were my questions for this group

1) The biggest challenge for me was (surprisingly) were between mile .5-2.5 on the run. I felt like cramping that entire stretch. I started out fine, and was actually running a nice even 9:30, about :30 slower than my target pace. Then everything started to feel like it was locking up in my quads and hams, particularly my left and I felt like I had to stop and stretch and massage it out.

Took me mile 2.5-4 to get my stuff together, and then I ran a 9:00 and 8:00 for my last 2 miles to finish strong. I felt I actually still had a little in the tank, but my muscles couldn't use it.

Any idea why that happens? Too much on the bike? Stretch more in transition? Did I go too fast to start my run? Someone else suggested I do the last few miles of the bike at higher cadence, lower gear to flush the lactic acid from my legs. That make sense?

2) I sucked on spotting on the return leg of the swim. The current was in my face, and I felt I got punched in the face every stroke. I looked at my GPS, I was pretty decent on the way out, but coming backI was like a drunk sailor looking for the next bar.

3) I was freaked during the swim. I couldn't bilaterally breathe every 3 strokes like I've been practiced in the open water. I just decided to go with 2 strokes and when I came up to spot to try and change the side I was breathing on. My heart rate was way up compared to my regular swim, but I am pretty sure I was no faster.

4) My transitions were clearly way too slow. Average was getting out 2-3 min and I was out in 6 and 5.

5) I was surprised I finished MOP on the bike. Never have had any formal training on the bike or ever been in any bike race of any kind before, and I did feel like I held my own out there.

That all said, I had a blast. My sense is that the crew that goes to this even has a higher concentration of regular triathletes compared to the NYC Tri, the only one I have ever been to, so that I didn't finish last in my group.

Would appreciate any wisdom from the group in processing my first one.

Thanks everyone
Mike

so i raced Ironman Maryland last weekend to finish up my racing season! It was a pretty impromptu signup; I felt great after copenhagen but wished i had a better time. so i kept my goal of sub-13 for IMMD, and finally reached it with a time of 12:49:49.

swim was 2 loops around a box in the choptank river. calmer than i thought, but we had the nice surprise of jellyfish scattered all over the water (which freaked me out). i only got a light sting on my left foot. toughest part was the last portion swimming to shore due to the current.

2.4 mi swim: 1:14:36 (i set a goal for 1:20)

i was way more prepared here in maryland than i was at copenhagen for t1 .felt very comfortable.

t1: 8:57

the sting on my left foot throbbed a bit during the bike but wasn't a bother. the wind was RELENTLESS going out, and got worse on the second loop. luckily that same headwind became tailwind and pushed me along quite nicely. i've never been on a flatter course. so flat. bike is the toughest mentally for me, in these distances. but i knocked off over an hour from my IMCPH bike. partially due to weather (instead of rain it was hot and 80 degrees), i didn't get a flat, and copenhagen had some rolling hills.

112 mi bike: 6:04:45 (18.42 mph) (i set a goal for 6:40)

t2: 9:16

the run was hot! flat as well, and i could tell i was getting a bit dehydrated because i didn't stop for a bathroom break at all! at IMCPH i must've peed like 3 times during the run. my run was slower but it was ok cuz i still finished under my goal time.

26.2 mi run: 5:12:15 (i set a goal of 5:00)

all in all it was a very satisfying race for me. i definitely pushed more on the bike than i did in copenhagen because i knew i could. in copenhagen i was holding back because i was worrie the whole time about the run. this time i just gunned it, and worried about the run when i got there. wish i scheduled 1 more race, cuz i'm less than 700 points from being an IM AWA in 2018!


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mike, great job at the mighty hamptons!

some thoughts:

1) i've definitely felt that lactic buildup all over my legs during sprints and olys. i think more brick workouts help so your legs get used to the feeling of running off the bike. i've gotten that feeling right above my knees, on my quads. i find that pouring ice water over my legs helps it out a bit.

2) that ows for ya!

3) some disagree with me, but i'm in the camp that thinks bilateral breathing is great for training, but not necessarily faster or beneficial in racing. most people are faster and more comfortable breathing on one side than the other. i've also read that your body needs more oxygen than even unilateral breathing can provide, so breath away when swimming :-) also i think steve told me a long time ago that heartrates during swim portions of tris can be off a bit because of the adrenaline of the race start.

Impressive. Thanks for the notes and thoughts!