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EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Cambridge, Maryland
United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
105F / 41C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 44m 20s
Overall Rank = 1263/
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 15/15
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4 a.m. and had breakfast at the Days Inn in Easton who were nice enough to bring their staff in at that time. My husband drove me to the race and dropped me off. Left my teenage son in the hotel room to sleep.
Event warmup:

I set up the teeny tiny-transition, got my wetsuit on and jumped in the water just to cool off.
Swim
  • 1h 00m 38s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

I had done a practice swim the day before and felt comfortable. I get to the race, and again, started out slowly and the breathing heavily started up again. Not sure what that is all about but every buoy felt like a zillion miles from each other. I had practiced ows and felt very confident before this race. Definitely choked.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure. But it had better be faster next time.
Transition 1
  • 07m 21s
Comments:

Took too darn long and walked out of transition. The transition area between bikes was very small so couldn't lay out the stuff like I'm normally used to.
What would you do differently?:

Transition is a way I can save time. Need to run in and run out.
Bike
  • 3h 39m 38s
  • 56 miles
  • 15.30 mile/hr
Comments:

Started out great. It was fun having the real fast ones pass me and many made nice comments that kept me at a great pace. Hydration, nutrition, all seemed fine. Then, at about mile 35, something happened. I bonked big time. I certainly had enough to eat and drink, stopped to pee (saw noone else pee at all during the race. What's THAT about?) but could hardly move my legs faster than 10 mph. In aero I was uncomfortable. The saddle was rubbing. My toes were getting numb. I looked at my watch and figured that it wasn't worth killing myself since I was going to DNF. Then looked again and decided I probably shouldn't. I have a road bike and people with tri bikes just seemed more comfortable. But then again, who knows how other people feel. I know one thing, I could not stand to drink anything sweet and the Infinit plan didn't work. I ate a cliff bar and an uncrustables from a bag that I grabbed to put in my cycling jersey after the swim. Way too awkward and couldn't get anything out.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure what happened. Not put nutrition in a ziplock bag and try to get it out during the ride. This definitely did not work. Need different hydration. Even though I got my Infinit with minimal taste, it still was too sweet for me and I almost gagged.
Transition 2
  • 08m 8s
Comments:

I had to abort my plan about running with a fuel belt. I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach it plus running with the fuel belt chafing for hours was a no go. Took one concentrated bottle just in cash which I didn't have the stomach to use ever. I had originally brought a bag of gels, etc, but ditched that too.
What would you do differently?:

Not have so much to do in transition, especially making decisions in that heat. Lube up more for chafing.
Run
  • 3h 48m 38s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 17m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

The run, ah, the run. Well considering I'm not much of a runner in any event, this was particularly brutal. I set my intervals for 3 min. run/2 walk which is what I did in training, but it was hard to keep that up. After I put ice in my hat, down my bra, down my back, dumping cold water on my head it helped for about 2 seconds. The volunteers were phenomenal-out there in this heat. Yeah volunteers! Very hard mentally and had nothing to give so just walked on the return. Could not even dig any deeper. Actually missed the formal cut-off time, but finished and received my medal of courage (and stupidity?).
What would you do differently?:

Probably just take the DNF considering race conditions. Not take in so much salt. Nothing I could do about not getting wet, but oy vey, the welts I have from chafing in places you can only imagine.
Post race
Warm down:

Went right to the medical tent because my fingers were so swollen. Wish it was as "easy" as getting an IV which there were plenty of, but the doctor urged me to go to the ER in an ambulance. I ditched the ER due to the long wait and contacted my physician in the car on the way home. I probably had too much salt. Thanks to Robert Vigorito, the race director, who moved me from the Athena division to AG because they left almost last and I would have been out on the course by myself for all those hours.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am an Athena athlete and 54 years old. Unfortunately, after having gone to two endocrinologists after trying to lose weight with no results, they told me that I'm just one of those people with a metabolism that can't lose weight. So that is my limiting factor. I am very heavy which makes this sport tough and was never an athlete growing up. Always "the fat kid". So that said, this is what I have to work with. It's frustrating because my training time doesn't translate to much better performance because of that limiter. I am very discouraged as I signed up for IMFL this year and am highly questioning both my abilities and capacity to withstand this kind of discomfort (pain) for this length of time which will be double in Florida. Gotta think about this, but not now. Also, bringing husband and teenage son to the race was a double edged sword. My husband did drive me to the race and did drive home, but having them there was draining pre-race.

Event comments:

This is a well-run race. Conditions were brutal but they did the best they could.




Last updated: 2008-06-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:00:38 | 2112 yards | 02m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 1457/
Performance: Bad
Suit: sleeveless
Course: Choptank River. Fairly calm, but why does that 1.2 miles always seem so far? Hard to imagine 2.4.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 07:21
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:39:38 | 56 miles | 15.30 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 1399/
Performance: Bad
Wind:
Course: Headwinds, tailwinds, hot
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 08:08
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Bad
Running
03:48:38 | 13.1 miles | 17m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course:
Keeping cool Bad Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5] 1
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2008-06-09 2:01 PM

Veteran
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Subject: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon


2008-06-09 2:49 PM
in reply to: #1454663

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Extreme Veteran
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Sea Isle City, NJ
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Way to persevere in extremely tough conditions. My hats off to anyone who finished that race yesterday. Don't let others label you by their standards. You are an athlete....pure and simple. You set goals and then you accomplish them. Great job.
2008-06-09 3:54 PM
in reply to: #1454663

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Alpharetta, Georgia
Bronze member
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Sounds like a tough day... but you were even tougher by finishing! Definitely be proud that you did - a lot of people would have thrown in the towel.
2008-06-09 4:05 PM
in reply to: #1454663

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Veteran
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Arlington, VA
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
You did great, Rhonda! The conditions were extremely tough, and you stuck with it. I still can't believe you ended up in an ambulance. You looked good in the last mile of the run.

I think you are every bit the athlete of those who may be quicker, thinner, different than you. Heck, most people would never think of doing a triathlon of any length, much less a HIM and in those conditions. On top of that, you not only tried, you succeeded. Way to go!
2008-06-09 5:42 PM
in reply to: #1454663

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Expert
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Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Enjoyed reading your race report. Way to stick it out. There is a lot to be said for getting out there yesterday and "doing" that race in those conditions. Cudos to you!!! Stick with it as these races make the other ones some much nicer!!!

Cheers,
Mike
2008-06-09 7:02 PM
in reply to: #1454663

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Expert
1168
10001002525
Lansdale, PA.
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
You go girl!

I was out there too, these race conditions were brutal and guess what...You finished. You said I am finishing in spite of your thoughts otherwise. That makes the sweet taste of victory that much sweeter!

My first race here 3 yrs ago was very rough when I started to run, I had all kinds of knee and leg pain. Instead of being discouraged I was motivated to come back and kick this thing's .

Jump ahead to last year and i knocked off 57 minutes and felt friggin' great at the end.

You can do this...again and will have a better experience. Think of the great lessons...Bet u didn't think you could do anything like this in that heat, bet you'll use body glide or vasiline in all those unmentionable places, take in a little less salt, get a better nutrition plan etc.

Stand up tall and proclaim that you did it and get back next year and kic this race's !!!!

Way to go!!!


2008-06-09 7:21 PM
in reply to: #1454663


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2525
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Congratulations on gutting it out. I'm in one elder groups too (55-59) & did Mooseman 1/2 yesterday in the same conditions (98 degrees on the bike, "cooling" to 94 by the end of the er, ah, "run". Like you, I was pretty disappointed in myself until I looked to at DNFs and realized that atleast I finished what I started.
2008-06-09 7:50 PM
in reply to: #1454663

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Champion
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Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon

I'm proud of you. You stuck with it during tough conditions and finished.

You can learn from what works and what doesn't work...it will make you stronger for your next race.

Don't be discouraged we learn a lot from tough races not as much from when things go well. 

2008-06-09 8:02 PM
in reply to: #1454663

Regular
227
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NorCal, near Lake Tahoe, Ca
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Reading these race reports I just shudder at those conditions. I am SO impressed that you finished. I know I would have thrown in the towel. GOOD JOB!
2008-06-12 5:21 AM
in reply to: #1454663

Veteran
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Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Just wanted to report that I'm fine. I did get pm from several but despite my black toenails on my big toes and some blisters, all is well. The swelling of my fingers went down fairly quickly. I guess I overdid the salt after all of the warnings.
Thank you for your concerns.
Rhonda
2008-06-12 5:51 AM
in reply to: #1454663

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Cycling Guru
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Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon

You finished and gutted it out through really tough conditions!

Great job Rhonda!  And keep up that attitude and figure out that nutrition and you will crush your IM.



2008-06-12 6:02 AM
in reply to: #1454663

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Extreme Veteran
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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon
Rhonda, you are such a blast to be around! Your easy and relaxed sense of humor made my Saturday so much more fun. Remember, it's just one workout at a time...one race at a time... You will be so ready for IMFL. And if you decide that maybe it's not your thing right now? Then enjoy doing different length races. There are tons of great ones to choose from!
You are a kick athlete, and don't forget it!
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