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Gulf Coast Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Panama City, Florida
United States
Gulf Coast Triathlon
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 01m 33s
Overall Rank = 137/1800
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 29/169
Pre-race routine:

Drove down with Jonathan22 and his girls on Thursday night. Tough trip after a long day at work, but we were glad to be there on Friday morning for an OWS and not feeling rushed all day. Waves were pretty big on Friday and so I wasn't expecting alot out of the swim Saturday morning. Checked in our bikes and had dinner with the NAMC crew then off to bed. Woke up at 3:45 to a coffee maker that wouldn't work (bad juju!) so we had to swing through Ronald's on the way to transition. My rack mate decided to have a yard sale with his Transition area so I politely asked him to move his stuff over under his rear wheel. Walked down to the beach and saw the first waves go off, met Sister Madonna Buder before the race started. She is a very sweet woman! Jumped into the water and warmed up a little prior to our wave starting out.
Event warmup:

Swam for a few minutes with Kraig and then got out an waited for the horn to go off.
Swim
  • 35m 38s
  • 2078 yards
  • 01m 43s / 100 yards
Comments:

Slower than last year by almost 2 minutes and 4 minutes off my target time. Given the conditions I will take it. That was by far the roughest swim I have ever done at GCT and this was my 5th time doing the race. I thought that it would be better once we got out past the breakers, but it was just one swell after another and constant up and down. Swam almost the entire time with J22 so that was one less person to reel in during the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really, I don't feel like this swim is an accurate reflection of how hard I have trained in the pool this year. It is more a function of the conditions.
Transition 1
  • 03m 5s
Comments:

In and out, this includes the run up from the beach.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.

AG Rank: 29/169
Bike
  • 2h 30m 30s
  • 56 miles
  • 22.33 mile/hr
Comments:

2 minutes slower than last year and 5 minutes slower than my target time. Again I think that this was more a function of the conditions than a reflection of my bike fitness. Comparing training data from last year and this year it shows quantifiable improvement, so I don't think that I was under or improperly trained. I also had the added incentive of chasing all of my fellow NAMCers that started before me. Caught Heather right before the turn around, Kraig right after the turn, caught Greg next and he hung with me for awhile which was cool. My bike computer died at mile 5 so I did some mental calculations and figured that I had to hit each 5 mile marker every 13 minutes to stay on pace.This worked out fine until the turn around at mile 30 where I dropped a minute between miles 30 and 35, and then 2 more minutes between 35 and 40. After that I HTFU and only dropped 2 minutes over the next 16 miles.
What would you do differently?:

Get a new battery for my computer before the race. It had been flickering so it is my own fault that it died.
Transition 2
  • 01m 15s
Comments:

Perfect transition.

AG rank:12/169
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 1h 51m 7s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

7 minute improvement from last year but still 13 minutes slower than my target time. I came off the bike feeling great as you can see from the first few miles. After hitting mile 1 in sub-7 I thought that it was going to be a banner day and sub 5 was going to happen. I finally caught Courtney at Mile 2, she looked strong and I could tell she was having a great race. Had the cloud cover stayed for 10 more minutes I would be writing this as a sub 5 finisher. Unfortunately the clouds moved out and the run course became an incinerator. I couldn't cool off as much as I tried. Since I was taking my splits at each mile I didn't have my total time up on the watch, I finally clicked over at Mile 11 to see where I was and knew that I really had to pick it up over the last 2.1 to go sub 5. At that point I pushed as hard as I had left, but it just wasn't enough.

Mile 1: 6:41 Avg HR 165/Max HR 170
Mile 2: 7:25 Avg HR 166/Max HR 169
Mile 3: 7:27 Avg HR 167/Max HR 169
Mile 4: 7:51 Avg HR 167/Max HR 172
Mile 5: 8:19 Avg HR 164/Max HR 170
Mile 6: 7:51 Avg HR 167/Max HR 171
Mile 7: 9:28 Avg HR 161/Max HR 169
Mile 8: 8:29 Avg HR 166/Max HR 171
Mile 9: 8:36 Avg HR 166/Max HR 171
Mile 10: 7:59 Avg HR 168/Max HR 171
Mile 11: 8:58 Avg HR 166/Max HR 170
Mile 12: 9:23 Avg HR 164/Max HR 173
Mile 13.1: 12:32 Avg HR 170/Max HR 174

What would you do differently?:

Maybe not back off at the beginning as much as I did. After running the first mile sub-7 I made a conscious decision to back off and slow down a little, had I known when the sun would come out and how hot it would eventually get I would have gone faster in the beginning. This is one of the few races where positive splitting the run isn't such a bad strategy. Since it gets hotter as the day goes on the faster you can go at the beginning of the run lets you "bank" some time for the inevitable slow down during the second half. Again I don't feel like this is an accurate reflection of my run fitness. I have been running my @ss off this year so I was a bit disappointed in this run.
Post race
Warm down:

I felt like I was going to bite it after crossing the finish line, I had a volunteer walk with me for a minute until I felt steady again. Walked back down to the NAMC tent to watch everyone finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Honestly it was the conditions. The rough seas, windy bike, and heat on the run were the factors today. I felt like I was perfectly trained and tapered for this race and performed to the best of my ablilities. We have had atypical weather the past 3 years at this race with calm seas, virtually no wind on the bike, and a hot run, but not crazy hot. This year was payback for all of that and then some. I fell short of my target of 5 hours but I am pleased with the effort and I am not going to beat myself up over 1:33. Looking back I can find that time easily, but hindsight is 20/20.

Big thanks to Jonathan22 and his 2 Mini-Me's for a great trip and congrats to Jonathan22, CourtneyM, KraigM, cornelius300, hblackmon, steamy, on a great race. Thank you to jlcornelius, ADollar79, and Marvarnett for their jockstrapping and moral support.



Event comments:

I love this race. It is the one that I do every year because of the fantastic job that they do putting the race on. That being said I think next year we are going to do White Lake for something a little different.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of our fellow athlete that passed during the swim on Saturday.




Last updated: 2008-01-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:38 | 2078 yards | 01m 43s / 100yards
Age Group: 48/169
Overall: 169/1800
Performance: Good
Avg HR-154 Max HR-169 I normally don't wear a HRM to swim so I don't know if these numbers are high or not, I didn't feel like I was going too hard so I suppose that they are where they should be. I am sure that the anxiety about the choppy water didn' t help.
Suit: Ironman Stealth
Course: Out 950yds, across 200, back in 950 yds, counter-clockwise
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: High
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:05
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:30:30 | 56 miles | 22.33 mile/hr
Age Group: 37/169
Overall: 169/1800
Performance: Good
Avg HR: 158 Max HR: 167 My bike LT is 167 and my plan was to ride at 155-158 bpm so I was spot on where I wanted to be. That being said my RPE was lower than the HRM was telling me I was working.
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: C shaped out and back with a short out and back at the beginning.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:15
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
01:51:07 | 13.1 miles | 08m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 31/169
Overall: 169/1800
Performance: Average
Mile 1: 6:41 Avg HR 165/Max HR 170 Mile 2: 7:25 Avg HR 166/Max HR 169 Mile 3: 7:27 Avg HR 167/Max HR 169 Mile 4: 7:51 Avg HR 167/Max HR 172 Mile 5: 8:19 Avg HR 164/Max HR 170 Mile 6: 7:51 Avg HR 167/Max HR 171 Mile 7: 9:28 Avg HR 161/Max HR 169 Mile 8: 8:29 Avg HR 166/Max HR 171 Mile 9: 8:36 Avg HR 166/Max HR 171 Mile 10: 7:59 Avg HR 168/Max HR 171 Mile 11: 8:58 Avg HR 166/Max HR 170 Mile 12: 9:23 Avg HR 164/Max HR 173 Mile 13.1: 12:32 Avg HR 170/Max HR 174 You can tell where the sun came out and the wheels fell off. I have also heard from Garmin users that the last 1.1 mile was actually 1.4 miles long and judging from my pace that sounds about right.
Course: Out and back through some neighborhoods and one lap around the Park of Doom.
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? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-05-12 8:09 AM

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Pro
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Woodstock,GA
Subject: Gulf Coast Triathlon


2008-05-12 8:21 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Extreme Veteran
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Jacksonville, FL
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
You ran a great race considering the conditions.
2008-05-12 8:23 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
1201
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Woodstock, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

Great job and very informative race report. 

2008-05-12 8:54 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
2314
2000100100100
Gulf Shores, AL
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Great job out there and I agree with you whole heartedly on the quality of this race. The conditions were brutal and you had a heck of a race!
2008-05-12 9:07 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Champion
5529
500050025
Nashville, TN
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
I think I am selling everyone on White Lake next year!!!!  Great job on a very tough day.  1.33 is nothing to complain about!  You had a kickass race. 
2008-05-12 9:13 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Extreme Veteran
452
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GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
great race in tough conditions!


2008-05-12 9:41 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Expert
696
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Sugar Hill, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Very impressive!  All I've read so far is how bad the conditions were yet you still had a great race.  Congratulations.
2008-05-12 10:41 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
1730
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Atlanta, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Congrats on a good race.  Good RR.  Good to learn from others!
2008-05-12 10:56 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Champion
7704
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Williamston, Michigan
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Great race..and awesome race report.  I have seldom read a race report with such an amazing self analysis with no self doubt.  Most of us need more of that attitude!!  THANKYOU!!
2008-05-12 11:07 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
2125
200010025
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

Like we agreed, you pushed as hard as your mind, body, soul, fitness and stomach would allow.  Great job. 

Now lets go crush Steelhead.

2008-05-12 11:08 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Champion
19812
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MA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

Brett sounds like a challenging race day that you adjusted and did well! 

I agree with Sue...great honest view on how your trained and performed and self acceptance of your performance given the conditions. Sue suggested I read this as I struggle with this.

Congrats!

Thanks for being a good example of what I'd like to feel like after I race.



2008-05-12 12:55 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
2479
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Atlanta, Georgia
Gold member
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
5:01 on that day is just awesome..Totally marinated in Right Sauce! I wish I could prepare for a race as well as you do..

Congrats -
2008-05-12 1:23 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
2638
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Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Wow, this was so fast! Seems like everyone melted on the run so for you to have raced as fast as you did is awesome. Way to go. Doug and I were marveling at your 5:01 - just amazing.
2008-05-12 1:33 PM
in reply to: #1395958

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Cycling Guru
15134
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Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Overall it was a solid performance and even though you did not hit some of the marks you wanted, it looks as if overall was a good consistent effort.  Congrats on the finish and the great time!
2008-05-12 1:34 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
1404
1000100100100100
Atlanta, Ga
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
5:01 on that day has got to be equal to a 4:50 or even better in better conditions. I know it's no consolation. Perhaps one more scoop of wheaties would have done it.
2008-05-12 3:40 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
1432
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Woodstock
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Extremely Impressive race! You gave it all and had an awesome race. Can't wat to see what you do at steelhead!


2008-05-12 6:47 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Pro
4216
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Sous Mon Diadème
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Awesome race report, Brett.  Congratulations on hammering it out in those brutal conditions.
2008-05-12 7:37 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
2379
2000100100100252525
Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Nice job, as always, Brett!  (psst, better watch out for that monster you're creating...)
2008-05-13 10:30 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Expert
931
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Smyrna, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Wow - great race, Brett! 
2008-05-13 12:03 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Not a Coach
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Media, PA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

Nice job toughing it out through the finish. 

You've got sub-5 in you easy.  Some better conditions and/or some better pacing and you should have it easily at Steelhead.  Good luck!

2008-05-13 2:09 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Veteran
255
1001002525
Atlanta, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Nice job! That's an impressive time for those conditions. Really, for any condition


2008-05-14 9:59 AM
in reply to: #1395921

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Expert
882
500100100100252525
Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

AWESOME race, maybe not what you had planned, but I think you were darn close to your goal, even with all the ridiculous conditions on the course! Congratulations!!

2008-05-15 12:56 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Master
1249
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Atlanta, GA
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon
Awesome race!!!  You looked strong when I saw you on the run, I would have told you that but 'dude' was telling me jokes!  It seems like you've done a great job putting it all together this year, it's only gonna get better come August 2!  Can't wait to race Steelhead with our wonderful group!
2008-05-15 2:23 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Champion
6962
500010005001001001001002525
Atlanta, Ga
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

Very impressive race and RR.  You guys were out in full force for this one.  When those clouds cleared and the temperature spiked, you held on and that says a lot!

If you don't go sub 5 at Steelhead, I'll be shocked.  I've got some pics of you I've got to send too.

2008-05-16 12:02 PM
in reply to: #1395921

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Extreme Veteran
456
1001001001002525
Dana Point, California
Subject: RE: Gulf Coast Triathlon

Well done my man...

 

I did that course (at least some of it) at IMFL in 2005...

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