Playtri Half Ironman

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Playtri Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

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Irving, Texas
United States
Playtri Festival
65F / 18C
Sunny

Total Time = 6h 32m 3s
Overall Rank = 114/139
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 3/6

Pre-race routine:

This report will probably be long, so you are warned!

Friday morning, 4:15am...Stacie (luv2ride) and I left her house in Colorado to drive to Texas. Bikes were on top of the car and they looked so pretty :) It was snowy in CO, and all the way through New Mexico. Stopped in Raton, NM for gas and didn't realize that was also our exit to head east through NM, so we went south again on 25 for a few miles, made an illegal turn through the median, and went on the right route. Then onto TX. It's windy in TX. And you'll hear me say that many times. We were on a 2 way road with a 40 mph crosswind. We were fairly stressed about the bikes on the roof, so we pulled over and rearranged the car to get the (important) bikes in. We left Stacie's old bike on the roof as there wasn't room for it in the car, and she was giving it to her sister in TX. On that road, when a semi came toward us, we'd get a ridiculous wind that pushed the car! A little scary. But our bikes were now safe. Also the night before we left, we had heard about someone driving on I-70 through CO to IMAZ, who had their bike blown off their car, so we were nervous!

Every small town in TX has a Sonic, Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen. Interesting.

After 13 hours, we finally arrived at Stacie's sister's house. Stacie has a very nice family :) And her sister is an amazing cook. She bent over backwards to make sure we had the right foods to eat before the race.

Went to the practice swim and got to see the CO contingent. Funny that we were all there at the same time. Even got to see someone in my tri club who I didn't know would be there. We swam, biked and ran a little. It was windy. I was riding sbreaux's Hed Jet wheels and got pushed a bit.

Went back to Stacie's sister's house, ate dinner, went to bed. Got up at some crazy early hour. There was no wind. Yet. Went to the race. It was cold. As soon as we arrived in transition, it was windy again. I probably would have changed Scott's wheels to my regular wheels if I had time, but I didn't. I was blown off my bike in Boulder about 3 weeks ago, so I have an abnormal fear of wind these days.

Got my area ready, got to meet Jill (texmom), chatted with Stacie, Ovetta and Kristen (vertical_listing) who was the loudest spectator on the course!

Event warmup:

Not much. A little of Mark's dynamic stretching.

Swim

43m 35s
2112 yards
02m 04s / 100 yards

Comments:

I think the swim was short. But hey, I'll take it. :)

I got elbowed in the head by a guy. I hate starting before the men...the swarm! Swim was mostly fine, just slow. I don't know why I suck in OWS.

What would you do differently?:

More drafting, more OWS practice. Of course, it's April and CO water is pretty chilly right now.

Transition 1

05m 24s

Comments:

Super long-azz run from the water to the transition area. Finally got to my stuff and was shaking it was so cold! Could NOT get the darned arm warmers on with my arms being wet. Finally got going after a LONG transition. I even got to talk to Stacie's family and Kristen while I struggled to get my arm warmers on.

What would you do differently?:

Practice transitions more.

Bike

3h 29m 44s
54.2 miles
15.51 mile/hr

Comments:

This is where I had issues. It is windy in Texas. At one point, I felt like my back wheel was stopping all by itself...it did. Was able to unclip quickly without tipping over. My tube that was strapped into the Xstrap came out and lodged itself in between my rear brakes and tire. Shredded the tube. Fixed that and moved on. I used Scott's wheels which were great especially in the headwind. Not so good in the crosswind, but I was able to deal with it and not get blown over. Then something started rattling on my bike and got very loud. I was worried it was the wheels so I stopped to check and it was my CO2 cartridge sprayer hitting my seat post (not where it was supposed to be!). I thought I fixed it, but soon thereafter, the entire Xnut, CO2 cartridge and sprayer fell off the bike. No explosion at least. Also lost a Gatorade bottle off the back of the bike.

All that was on the first lap! And my problems continued. I hit a bump at mile 20-25, and my seat tilted up. I pushed on it MANY times and it would not flatten out. I rode my bike for about 30 miles with my seat tilted up at about 25 degrees! Nope, I'm not kidding.

Otherwise, I was disappointed with my bike split but I'll say it's windy in Texas and leave it at that. Plus having to get off my bike twice.

What would you do differently?:

DON'T DO ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY. This includes new equipment. Idiot. I installed an Xlab Flatwing the day before the race, and my bike was brand spanking new. I had ridden it all of 5 minutes before the race.

Transition 2

03m 23s

Comments:

I couldn't rack my bike by the seat since it was now tilted. Had to move it around and rack by the brakes.

What would you do differently?:

Move my azz a whole lot faster.

Run

2h 09m 55s
13.1 miles
09m 55s min/mile

Comments:

I was HAPPY with my run. My runs for HIMs have been horrible. My goal was sub 2:10 for the run and I did it. By 5 seconds.

Having the aid stations every mile was great. I walked a little of each...just enough to get down 3 sips of Accelerade and started running again. Gels at mile 3, 7, and 10. Accelerade at every aid station that I didn't have a gel.

Joked around with Ryan on the run course. Good times. He looked like sh*t. :) But still darned fast.

It's darn windy in Texas. Headwind on the way out x 2.

TMI alert: don't say you weren't warned. As I started running out of transition, I started peeing. Absolutely could not control it. No point in stopping at the port-a-john, I'm already peeing. BUT, I peed for a 1/2 MILE. I swear! Through transition, between the buildings, down O'Connor, across the street and part of the way to the first aid station! I just kept going and going. Must have had a liter or so in there. Good thing for the wind, I dried quickly. Except my socks. I had to run 13 miles with wet pee socks. Ick.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing, though I was supposed to increase my speed every 3 miles and I should have done that.

Post race

Warm down:

Finish with a smile. 6:32 is 22 minutes off my best HIM time. :) Hung out with Jill, Kristen and the CO crew - Stacie, Drew, Ryan, and Ovetta. Stacie and I packed up some stuff and decided to watch the awards for fun. Turns out Stacie won her AG, and I was 3rd in mine. Got a plaque and a case of Accelerade. :) Went to the parking garage and got naked to change my nasty clothes.

Tune up race for IMCdA. Good stuff. Glad to get it done!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

BIKE issues, WIND, WIND, WIND, and mental training

Event comments:

Good race. Rough roads. The volunteers were very sweet.

Last updated: 2007-09-20 12:00 AM

Swimming
00:43:35 \| 2112 yards \| 02m 04s / 100yards
Age Group:	0/6
Overall:	0/139
Performance:	Average
Suit:	Full
Course:	Out and back. But you could also cut the buoys short by swimming the wall.
Start type:		Plus:	Waves
Water temp:	70F / 21C	Current:	Low
200M Perf.	Average	Remainder:	Average
Breathing:	Average	Drafting:	Average
Waves:		Navigation:	Good
Rounding:	Average

T1
Time:	05:24
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
03:29:44 \| 54.2 miles \| 15.51 mile/hr
Age Group:	0/6
Overall:	0/139
Performance:	Bad
Wind:	Strong with gusts
Course:	Concrete roads through corporate centers, and other places that I don't remember. It was hillier than I expected it to be. The hills were short though. Kind of out and back, northwest of the transition and back, then south of the transition and back, so we got to see spectators a lot. The part with the choice of the Stacie-termed "bike swallowing pothole" or the gravel was pretty crazy!
Road:	Potholes Dry	Cadence:
Turns:	Good	Cornering:	Good
Gear changes:	Good	Hills:	Good
Race pace:	Comfortable	Drinks:	Not enough

T2
Time:	03:23
Overall:	Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike		Good
Racking bike		Bad
Shoe and helmet removal

Running
02:09:55 \| 13.1 miles \| 09m 55s min/mile
Age Group:	0/6
Overall:	0/139
Performance:	Good
Course:	Flat and windy. Out and back x 2. Aid station every mile.
Keeping cool	Good	Drinking	Just right