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Playtri Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

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Irving, Texas
United States
Playtri Festival
51F / 11C
Sunny

Total Time = 6h 10m 47s
Overall Rank = 101/139
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 18/21

Pre-race routine:

Brian and I checked into the Marriot on Friday after I picked him up from the airport after his week in Kona. We went to packet pick up, browsed the expo - Brian got an aero helmet - and then chilled in the room to get some needed rest because the night before our races usually tend to involve little to no sleep. On Saturday, we volunteered for the race. We were both on the bike course. Brian had a keen idea to wear our aero helmets while we directed the riders. So, we did. He was at an intersection and I was at the 5 mile turn around point with a bullhorn. I got a lot of strange stares, laughs and head shakes as the cyclists went by. I did mention to one unsuspecting group of slower female pelaton riders that I needed their opinion: "Does this aero helmet make my ass look big?" The howled in laughter all the way after the turn around and past me. I thought it was a well-timed and funny comment, too.
After the Saturday races, wewent to the open swim to swim the course. We turned around at the 4th buoy, which was about 650m out or so. We met up with several BT'ers out there (Dennis, Jonathon, Tim, Sabrina, John..it was great. After the swim, we went to the pasta dinner, which was not attended by many, oddly enough. The food was super tasty. We met up with Gary, Ken and his wife and Renee. They had a ton (literally) of leftover food and the Playtri peeps asked us if we wanted to bring some home. We took a bunch of baked ziti, salad and bread home with us. We will be eating that for a week. Seriously, the container I had weighed about 20 pounds. Back to the room and a decision was made to get everything ready and then...gasp...sleep! FINALLY, we managed to sleep some before the race. What a freakin' concept.
Up at 0430 and I spun some motivational music on my laptop. We had a room overlooking the lake and transition area, which was cool. We could see people milling around and arriving. We gathered everything up and headed downstairs around 0530, which gave us plenty of time to get marked, chips, eat 1/2 a bagel, sip a redbull and count, on one hand, the number of people without a wetsuit on. It was 51 degrees, which was 7 degrees warmer than the forcast.. I think the little bit of cloud cover helped, and I was happy to NOT see the temp in the mid 40's at race time. Brian's group went after the women's group, then mine took off 5 minutes later.

Event warmup:

No pre-swim needed or wanted. I swung my arms around like a windmill for a minute or two, stood in cold and wet grass under a pine tree and basically wanted someone, anyone, who had gotten in the water to scream out that it didn't feel cold. Nobody did, but that didn't stop me from taking the plunge. Getting a DNS because of an injury or equipment problem is one thing, but getting one for the water being too cold for my tootsies is quite another. I made the requisite small talk with people in my wave and we all laughed and tried to stifle our nerves.

Swim

36m 7s
1931 meters
01m 52s / 100 meters

Comments:

We jumped off a dock and floated for a few minutes before the GO! Washing machine start with a few kama kaze swimmers. I really think they just swim like that to use the other swimmers as a navigation tool. Stroke-stroke-BUMP-veer-stroke-stroke-stroke-BUMP-veer. It seems like a lot of wasted energy, if you ask me. Think of it as kids bowling...with the bumpers. The ball starts rolling and hits the bumpers, heads the other way and hits the bumpers...you get the picture. One of those jive turkeys managed to kick my right hand, which had my Ironman watch on it for total time chrono. After about 3 or 4 more minutes of swimming, I wondered if the kick had stopped my watch. Sure enough, as I checked it, it had stopped. Sonofabiscuit. I hit start again and kept swimming. Anyway, I still have issues with my breathing on the swim. I am a strong swimmer form-wise, but never seem to get into a good breathing rhythm in longer distances. I am going to eradicate that issue prior to IMAZ. I wound up playing leapfrog with a group from the wave in front of me on the way back, which was not very smooth. I came in strong the last 100m and wobbled up the stairs.

What would you do differently?:

Figure out how to breathe better. I am either blowing off too much CO2 or not inhaling enough, but it causes issues. When I am actually swimming, I am reasonably fast. The 10 second breaks to control my breathing every 100m or so are not helping. Still, my swim time wasn't horrid, but it could have been a few minutes faster. Oh, and next time, the Ironman watch on my right wrist will be turned upside down.

Transition 1

05m 17s

Comments:

3 girls stood there right after the swim exit ladder and excitedly asked if they could strip me. Ummm...please do? Wetsuit shed in 5 seconds and off for the 1st run portion of the race, which was 150 yards to the end of the transition area, into transition and another 150 yards to my rack, which was right by the bike exit. Aero helmet on and buckled, shoes on - struggled here with frozen hands/feet, mainlined a gu, stuffed 3 in my shirt, took a swig of either water, redbull or gatorade, I don't remember. Fumbled with my Garmin and finally got it on my left wrist after dropping it. I ran to the mount line and away I went.

What would you do differently?:

Not much, really. The frozen hands/feet issue isn't something I can control.

Bike

2h 58m 44s
56 miles
18.80 mile/hr

Comments:

The 1st 10 miles was into a headwind and my average speed was less than desirable. The next 10 miles, and I was a freakin' machine. I averaged over 24mph during that stretch. The the next loop, the same thing happened, only the winds had picked up. Thusly, my average speed of 18+ was not disappointing, but I know I can do better...especially when I throw my race wheels on my ride...muahahahaha
I hit a large pothole around mile 7 which somehow made me lose my loofa thingy in my aerobottle. Problems. Every other bump I hit the next 49 miles or so was a brand new water shower to my crotch and legs. Normally this wouldn't be a bad thing, but it was so cold with the north winds and my bike speed that well, I made intermittent checks on my package to make sure everything was still there. Yes, it was that cold. Seriously, every bump went like this: BUMP! SPLASH! FREEZE! I did figure out a way to fix it though. The squeamish perusers may want to stop reading this part of the report here.
I peed the bike.
I PEED THE BIKE!
Yep, I started having some pangs of needing to drop an uno, and then it occured to me that I didn't want to stop, and well, there weren't many portopotties to find, either. So, making sure there was nobody behind me and on a downhill (wind is a good wicker), I let loose. I thought my initial reaction would be EWWWW...but it came out as AHHHH. I looked down as I went to see where it was going, and it was almost a surreal view. Anyway, no bottle to pour on myself at that point (I had precious Gatorade in my downtube), so I spend the next mile slurping up the remaining water in my aero bottle and spitting it on myself. I am glad there are no cameras at these smaller races. At the bike aid station I screamed that I needed the lid pulled off of the bottle, but the guy didn't hear me and handed me a bottle that can best be described as child-proof. Not good on a bike when going 20mph and trying to be agile enough not to crash. So, instead of trying to go handless in that wind and at that speed, I gnawed the damn cap off. I figure, if I am going all cro-magnon man by peeing on myself, I can at least use the incisors as they were meant to be used. Cap off and I have a quick brain cramp and pour the entire bottle in my loofa-less aero-bottle. BUMP! SPLASH! FREEZE! I laugh out loud. I slurp and spit for the next mile until I feel washed off. I can't believe I peed on my bike before I even gave her a name. Maybe "Golden Shower"? Ewwww...But, I digress.

What would you do differently?:

I don't think I would do much except cram that damn loofa all the way down and sideways. I played leapfrog with 2 other Cervelo-Mafia riders and each time we passed each other we'd say, "see you in a minute". It was a nice way to pass the miles.

Transition 2

03m 52s

Comments:

It was a shorter run to my rack this time, and my legs felt good. Rack down, shoes off, running shoes slipped on, swig of some sort of liquid near my bike, running hat on and away I went! As I got near the transition exit, I popped 3 Advil and an endurolyte. I then realized I had nothing to wash them down with. Several painful gulps later and I think they made their way past my epiglotis. I did stop for a second to get a hug from Sue on the way out. Sorry if I got some of my sweat on her, Raegan, but boy howdy, that was a great way to start my run.

What would you do differently?:

I think I did everything the way I wanted to, although I did stop to use the portopottie at the exit.

Run

2h 26m 45s
13.1 miles
11m 12s min/mile

Comments:

ISSUES! Yes, I had my first bout with running issues in a race since my first ever triathlon. This time they were lower leg issues. Looking back, I credit this with not enough water intake on the bike. I had severe pain behind my tibia. Not shin splints, more like cramping. Simultaneously, my arches hurt like someone was putting a welding torch to them. I have never had this problem and had no idea how to correct it. I stopped briefly on mile one to stretch my calves to see if that would work. Nope. I hobbled, walked, cursed, smiled and then finally laughed. What else could I do? I wralked the first 3 miles in 40 minutes. FORTY! Normal time for that distance in a race is 27-29. At this point, I knew my sub-6 "aggressive" goal was out the window and just enjoyed myself. I got water at every aid station and some accel gel every other station. At mile 4 I tried the shuffle again, and had less pain! Yeah! I kept going and mile 5 was better, then mile 6 was better..I finished those 3 miles in 29 minutes and then my next 3 mile split was 28 minutes. I got my legs back. I was, evidently, a little dehydrated, because my legs came back after I sucked down 300 gallons of water. At this point, I was still going to miss my 6:00 aggressive goal, but meet my 6:30 goal. I was hungry. VERY hungry. I didn't like the accel gels too much, so I started picking up gu's people had been dropping along the way. I think I ate 8 gu's/gels on the run. That just freakin cracks me up, and I don't know why. I will add that I had a VERY large "Fastbreak" bar that I was planning on eating toward the end of the bike. I lost it somewhere in the last 5 miles of the bike, and I was VERY disappointed about that. Along the last few miles of the run, I did drink some coke and kept my pace slow. I did sprint the last 200m or so and was surprised to hear people cheering for me. I got my finishers medal and then went and inhaled a hamburger AND a hotdog.

What would you do differently?:

Hydrate more on the bike, not lose my loofa for my aerobottle and if I do, drink like a mo-fo when the run starts. I attributed the lower leg pain to lack of water. The arches probably just hurt from my unusual gait which was amended to dull the pain to the tissue behind my shins. I ran this same distance less than 2 weeks ago, staying in Z2 and finished that run 15 minutes faster. I know where my sub-6 time went out the window, and I am not disappointed at all. I finished!

Post race

Warm down:

As I mentioned, I got some grubbage and my medal and went to get a massage from Sabrina (Tim's wife) and it was my first ever. It hurt a little, but I feel great today, if not just a little sore. I highly recommend getting a post race massage! I stayed and chatted with Tim, Sabrina, John, Brian and some other BT'ers. Oh, I saw dgillen cheering when I was on the run...I thought it was great to see him out there. All the BT folks who showed up/raced/cheered..it was great to see.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I didn't hydrate enough on the bike, for obvious reasons. If I didn't have the leg issues for the first 3 miles, I would have easily broke 6:00:00

Event comments:

It was my first HIM, and I have no complaints! Bring on IMAZ!
:)

Last updated: 2008-01-18 12:00 AM

Swimming
00:36:07 \| 1931 meters \| 01m 52s / 100meters
Age Group:	0/21
Overall:	79/139
Performance:	Average
Suit:	QR Quick John(son)
Course:	In a canal with yellow diamond shaped buoys. Buoys to the left, wall to the right. Simple enough.
Start type:	Deep Water	Plus:	Waves
Water temp:	69F / 21C	Current:	Low
200M Perf.	Average	Remainder:	Average
Breathing:	Below average	Drafting:	Average
Waves:		Navigation:	Average
Rounding:	Good

T1
Time:	05:17
Performance:	Below average
Cap removal:	Good	Helmet on/ Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck?	No	Run with bike:	Yes
Jump on bike:	No
Getting up to speed:

Biking
02:58:44 \| 56 miles \| 18.80 mile/hr
Age Group:	0/21
Overall:	71/139
Performance:	Average
Wind:	Strong
Course:	It was 2 loops. I am terrible when it comes to directions, but I can marginally follow a bunch of orange cones, which I did.
Road:	Rough Dry	Cadence:
Turns:	Average	Cornering:	Good
Gear changes:	Good	Hills:	Average
Race pace:	Comfortable	Drinks:	Not enough

T2
Time:	03:52
Overall:	Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike		Good
Racking bike		Good
Shoe and helmet removal		Average

Running
02:26:45 \| 13.1 miles \| 11m 12s min/mile
Age Group:	0/21
Overall:	122/139
Performance:	Below average
Course:	Two winding loops, some of it through foliage, which provided ample bathroom breaks.
Keeping cool	Average	Drinking	Not enough

Post race
Weight change:	%
Overall:	Good
Mental exertion [1-5]	4
Physical exertion [1-5]	4
Good race?	Yes

Evaluation
Course challenge	Just right
Organized?
Events on-time?	Yes
Lots of volunteers?	No
Plenty of drinks?	Yes
Post race activities:	Average
Race evaluation [1-5]	3

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livestrong

2008-04-14 1:47 PM

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Subject: Playtri Half Ironman

Playtri Half Ironman

Playtri Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

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