Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 68)

I hate to read that you did not have any fun. I had an Oly like that last year. It was a brutal swim for me (knocked around a lot) windy and cold bike, cramped legs for the run. I was just miserable and thought about not racing anymore EVER after that event. It takes a lot of mental strength to just keep putting one foot in front of the other when you feel like that. I'm impressed with your effort. The course sounds brutal.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It is a great reminder to me to just pace myself and not worry about any time goals for my race. You may wish you DNS now but you will be a stronger, better racer because of this race!

Now get some rest, relax, and recover!

Arkmann

Congratulations and don't be so hard on yourself!!! Despite all the setbacks in your training and the conditions on race day you still prevailled and completed the HIM. That's a fantastic physical and mental achievement in my humble opinion!!! The experience will definitely serve you well in future events!!! Well done

Thanks for the kind words ladies and gents.  It was definitely an eye opener regarding what my mind is capable of.  I learned a lot about myself yesterday.  Like JoePetto said, "Many times it is during the worst times that we learn the most about ourselves."  

Good luck to JC on his race today!

Wow...that was interesting.  Swim cancelled due to 30MPH winds and corresponding "unsafe conditions" in the water.  Pretty freakin lame but it was blowing and the water was wild...nobody was happy or could do anything.  But wow...the wind.  The ride out was 28/30 miles directly into an 18-30mph headwind and was the most challenging riding ive ever done.  I've never ever had to put that much in to my pedal strokes.  At about mile 10 on the bike my quads started cramping and I was pretty miserable riding in that wind and wanted to quit.  Toughed it out and rode...but only baout 10 of the 28 back were with a tailwind the rest in a crosswind.  Was hurting the whole way and it really was a cruel ride especially for the late starters like me.  I'm not an experienced cyclist...and was in so much pain.  That being said, I'm really happy with my race.

Here's my times- Bib Number 1666.

http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=neworleans70.3&year=2011

Awesome run for how much I was cramping and hurting but obviously not my best.  Pissed about the swim but the difficulty of the bike made up for it.  Just sucks that I can't call myself a triathlete and that this half IM is still kinda BS even though the 5+ hours I spent out there were incredibly difficult.  Will post more detail later but I am very happy right now! Got over the no swim...so great outcome considering the conditions!

Great job on your race. Amazing run, especially if your legs felt bad! On the bright side, just think of all the energy you reserved for the bike and run by not having to swim

Hey i just wanted to stop by and say hi, i just recently found the beginner HIM plan on here and am goign ot see if i can work it into my schedule for my first im in July.

Hip felt much better after a week of rest.  Very windy day for the 10K.  Set a goal of sub 45' and ran it at 44:56 (a PR) with negative splits of 7:25 and 7:06 for good measure.  A healthy dose of RecoverEase and 45 min recovery spin on the trainer really helped to flush the legs.

So, a little more about the race since I'm not going to write an RR soon as I'm busy with school and work.

First, I'm happy with my performance and overall finishing time.  For my first real multisport race, this was a good outcome.  

When I got to the race and heard the swim announcement over PA I was livid.  I, and everyone around me, was so annoyed and about everything imaginable was said about WTC, USAT, race directors, etc.  Everyone thought they could swim in this and wanted to.  After realizing there was nothing we could do about it besides be bummed.  Realized I had to do the best with what we had. I had been working on the swim, felt like I was awesome in my wetsuit, and definitely had to change my plans.  I knew my run would probably be the best leg regardless of what I did on the swim or bike so I opted to go pretty hard on the bike.  Though the times didn't show it, I was hammering in to the wind and when I had a tailwind.  

In doing this, I entered a world of hurt.  My legs started to cramp and hurt pretty badly around mile 12 or so.  They would really start to cramp and pulse if I stood up in my bike or stopped pedaling.  I was not used to putting this type of power in to my pedal strokes and have never ridden in that high of winds.  I was exhausted at the turnaround and could hardly use the tailwinds.  The real problem however, is that I still have not found a saddle that works for me.  I was in a tremendous amount of pain in my sit bones and tons of numbness and pain in my groin.  I need to get that taken care of.  So, regardless of how bad I wanted to stand and stretch because my a$$ hurt so much, I couldn't because cramps would really get bad.  I ended up riding it out and just tried to coast the way back.  I knew my bike split wasn't going to be great so I just tried to finish respectably.  I knew I was exhausted and after mile 35, what I did on the bike wasn't going to make me much fresher for the run so I kept trying to ride hard.

I got to transition and ran to my rack because walking made my legs cramp.  Got out of there pretty damn quickly after a little trouble finding rack and took some gu and water to go.  Pretty solid running but at mile 8, when I wanted to pick my pace up and go, I just didn't really have it. Knees and quads were pretty shot so I made it my goal to hold pace and not walk for any of it at all.  That I did accomplish.  Pretty happy with my finish and time, and it's done.

Though I want to do another HIM, I can't really travel to go do them and the reason this made sense was because it was in NOLA.  I will do the 5150 about a month from now in NOLA and then focus my training efforts on the Berlin Marathon, in September.   A few take away points and lessons learned from this race.

1.  You never know what to expect.  I expected flat and fast, I was wrong.  I expected to swim, I was wrong.  I had no idea I would be so rocked after the bike.

2.  Have your equipment worked out.  I am a broke college student who cant really be spending tons of money on stuff.  I have an old used bike that doesn't fit great, shoes that are 1.5 size too big (causes a lot of outer foot pain), and a very painful and ill fitting saddle. This stuff all made a difference.  I can't afford to replace the stuff, and was waiting till i finished a tri to decide if it was really worth it for me.  I'm happy I had the bike and any of the equipment period, because although it wasn't perfect, it got the job done, and it got me into triathlon and training.  Despite the equipment, it was ultimately up to me.

3. Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.  I planned for 2-3 gels an hour on the bike along with fluids.  I mixed Gu electrolyte solution in 2 24oz bottles and water in my aero bottle setup.  Took 6 or 7 gels with me.  In the last 2 weeks, I became aware of saltsticks but could not find any to buy.  My friend gave me 5, and I took all of them.  They helped tremendously but I ran out of them within 2 hours and could have benefitted from more.  My gu and drinking on the bike worked out alright. What this point really gets at is to keep track of this stuff. I had so many voices inside my head that I forgot when I took what and was supposed to take what.

4. Sponges on the run are awesome.  

5. I peed twice while I was running.  Wait what? How is that a lesson learned?  Like, while I was running.  Through my shorts.  It was pretty gross, but lines for the portapotties were like 3 long and stopping really hurt my legs and just wasn't happening.  I guess this falls in to never knowing whats going to happen.

Good luck with upcoming races everyone! I will still be around here.

Oh, by the way.  Here are the files from my garmin.  I started it a little late by accident on both bike and run.  

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79861341

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79861320

Welcome!

Congrats on your great race! Glad your hip is doing better!

Welcome, and congrats on your new bike! You will get the hang of those clipless pedals soon!

WOW - great run!

Sure is quiet today!

Switched up my nutrition this week to the powdered Ironman Perform. I'm trying to minimize the nutrition I have to take out on the course and figured the drink was a good place to start. I'll supplement with Hammer Gels and maybe a cliff bar!

I've never had a cliff bar but I took a Hammer nutrition bar on my long ride last week. I could barely choke that thing down. It wasn't the taste, it was the texture. Very gummy - lesson learned. It made me out of breath just trying to swallow!

I did the 4x10min intervals on the plan today and boy are my quads tired!  I'm also trying to figure out how to get some endurolytes into the country.  Might just try MexPost and see if it gets here or not.