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Ironman 70.3 Augusta
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Ironman 70.3 Augusta - Triathlon1/2 Ironman
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 Swim
Comments: Bwahahaha! That was almost like cheating! When I heard that the first pro was out of the water in 19 minutes, I did some quick math, and figured that meant it would take me around 38-40 minutes. Maybe a little less. Exactly what I had hoped for and what I expected based on my down river swim at Chattanooga. Swimming has never been so easy. Especially if I concentrated on a long, smooth stroke; I could literally feel myself whoosh down the river. Swam through a few weeds and actually stopped short once because I mistook one big tangle of weeds in front of me for a person. When I saw the buoys marking the turn, I thought to myself, "yeah, that felt fast." But I had no idea. When I jogged up the boat ramp, hubby was yelling something about 30 minutes. Pshaw! No way! He meant 40 minutes. I looked at my watch, and sure enough, assuming an on-time start, 30 minutes. Holy cow! What would you do differently?: Are you kidding? My swim was only 9 minutes slower than the winning pro! That never happens to me.  Transition 1
Comments: I actually thought this was slower. It was a bit of a run from the boat ramp to the wetsuit strippers right outside of the run in to transition. Part of that run was on the road. Oh, my poor, tender feet. Ouch, ouch, ouch! So, I walked that part. When I got to the peelers, they were standing in a muddy area. "Flop down," they say...and I hesitated. I didn't want to flop in the mud. Oh well. Down I went. Suit got stuck a bit on my hips (that's pretty funny given that I am not very hippy). I should have pulled it down a bit farther. Then, off to find my bike in a sea of bikes. The lady racked next to me was sitting on her bucket drying herself off. I stood, wiped the mud of my back, put on my sunglasses and helmet. Tucked my gloves in my shorts. Pulled my socks over my damp, grassy feet; pulled on my shoes, and I was off. I don't think she even had her shoes on yet. Yay me. I'm getting better at the transition thing. (And I watched so many people at the USAT Age Group Nationals try to do flying mounts and put their shoes on while on their bike and fail miserably, that I have decided it's not worth it. Scary.) What would you do differently?: Suck it up and run on the ouchy road.  Bike
Comments: Boo. I was not happy with my bike time at all. I was doing well the first third. I knew the hills in the middle would slow me down, but expected to gain back some time on the last third, which was more flat. It was not to be. I don't remember exactly how far in, but there was one very long, not very steep hill...straight into the wind. Then, pretty much a series of rollers after that. A lot into the wind. I don't think the wind was all that strong, but it really doesn't seem to take much to slow me down significantly. I also was trying to be mindful of not using too much energy to fight the wind. I am used to wind because it always seems to be windy here, so mentally, I deal with it okay. But I did start to let the frustration of my slowing pace get to me, and I started to really push it when I could. As a result, I was starting to feel a bit shelled when we headed back into Georgia, which also seemed to be into the wind. I know I can ride even this course closer to 3 hours, if not slightly under it. So, I was disappointed to not achieve that. What would you do differently?: More hill work. More power work. I still have a lot of work to do to get my speed and stamina up to where I want to be. Transition 2
Comments: Darn it. Wrong rack. Run back down, over one, and there it is. Helmet off, gloves off, hat on, endurolytes in back pocket, running shoes on, grab number belt, head out. And, hey. Not a ton of bikes on my rack yet. What would you do differently?: Go to the right rack the first time.  Run
Comments: Again. Not what I wanted. I just don't get it. I ran the first half of IMFL faster than I have run any of my HIMs. It's so frustrating. I came out on the run hurting from the bike. I tried to just make myself run a very slow easy pace, but run, and it felt like a losing battle. The aid stations seemed far apart (farther than the 1 mile I'm used to), so I set my watch for 10 minute run/90 second walk, knowing I could just hang on for 10 minutes at a time, especially with a generous walk break and the extra walking through the aid stations. On my first loop, I caught up with another Mississippi Heat team member on his second loop. We ran for a bit, then I lost him when I hit the porta-pot. The first loop was interminable. Even with all the people and hubby popping up in various places. But, something happend by the second loop, and I went from a 12 min/mile pace to an 11 min/mile pace. I was feeling better, and my running felt stronger. I still took walk breaks. Ran with a couple of other team members. My legs were hurting, but I knew if I had any hope of at least beating my overall previous best time, I had to hustle. What would you do differently?: Just HTFU and run more. Yeesh. Post race
Warm down: I started to feel slightly nauseous the last mile of the run and after I finished. So, I grabbed a beer, copped a squat with my team members, and felt better. What limited your ability to perform faster: I thought I had done enough. I hit all of my workouts. I worked hard. I made sure to ride hills. But it wasn't enough. Yes. This was a 13-minute PR, but I really wanted a 3-hour bike and 2:15 run. No doubt I worked the race hard, as I am sore all over. Event comments: Pretty well organized for a first-time, huge event. Venue is good. Course is good. I would have like to have seen water stations 1 and 2 on the bike closer, and I would have liked the run water stations to be closer to every mile. Maybe it was just me, though. I was so thirsty all day. I would definitely recommend this race to others, and I would do it again to see if I could improve on the bike course, at least. Last updated: 2009-02-24 12:00 AM
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 2009-09-29 4:15 PM |
Expert  1074   Madison, MS |  Subject: Ironman 70.3 Augusta |
| 2009-09-29 8:57 PM in reply to: #2432728 |
Veteran 260 Simsbury, CT | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta Congrats on the PR, that down stream swim must have been a blast!! |
| 2009-09-30 8:45 AM in reply to: #2433253 |
Expert 1074 Madison, MS | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta JRowe81 - 2009-09-29 8:57 PM Congrats on the PR, that down stream swim must have been a blast!! I tell ya', it was like body surfing! It's kind of sad to know that there is no way I will ever come close to that time again for that distance (unless of course I do that race again), but it was fun to be super fast one time! |
| 2009-10-01 2:23 PM in reply to: #2432728 |
Member 40 Lake Stevens, WA | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta Congrats! You did great!  Yeah, the swim sounds like the best part! I did a little downstream swimming this summer for a short distance in a local river...so just a little bitty taste...! |
| 2009-10-02 10:50 PM in reply to: #2433821 |
Champion 23360  Taser-World | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta |
| 2009-10-04 8:16 AM in reply to: #2432728 |
Veteran 306 | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta Congratulations on a great race! |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1940/3318
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 50/128
We got to Augusta on Friday evening. Too late to check in, so did that on Saturday morning. Or tried to anyway. We were on time for the first race briefing (mandatory for checking in), but the room was full so they closed the doors and started early. Had to wait for the next one scheduled to start at noon. It also began early due to a full room, but this time we were in the room. Anyway, I discovered that I am not nearly as uptight as many other triathletes. I mean, I know it kind of takes a Type A to do this stuff, but the lady next to me, had a folder labeled "Augusta 70.3" and another lady was interested to know whether there would be cola on the run course. Uhm. Yeah. Tell me where to put my bike and stuff, where to start, which direction to go, and where to finish. I am good. I am by no means knocking these folks. I just found it amusing. We all have our quirks. Mine happens to be pink toenails. After the briefing, on to the full packet pickup (yikes! millions of people!), a quick buzz through the expo (scored a pair of running shoes for a great price). Then, headed to the river for a quick swim. Discovered the wonders of the current. Checked in my bike. Headed back to the hotel to relax and grade papers. Had dinner an exit down from where we and the other 3,000 athletes seemed to be staying. Still a wait, but not so bad. Up early the next morning with no problems, and because my wave start wasn't until 8:30ish, I was able to enjoy a pre-race meal of yogurt and coffee. Hubby dropped me off at transition, I set up everything (darn tire didn't want to hold air at first), then got on the shuttle to meet him at the swim start. There were so many people, I was claustrophobic.
Nada. Just wriggled into the wetsuit and watched the other waves start. There was no opportunity to get in the water ahead of time, but as soon as they let us on the dock, I jumped in, and whoosh, immediately got swept downstream. The current was strong. This was gonna' be a fun, fun swim. Ready, set, go!