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Miami Man 1/2 Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Miami, Florida
United States
MultiRace
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 49m 52s
Overall Rank = 493/677
Age Group = Clyde 200+ 40+
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Arrive for packet pick-up around 2PM Saturday after driving down from WPB and dropping the family off at the hotel. Check-in was smooth and I sought out one of the RDs to let her know that I was under-weight for my Clyde category (more on that later). Water temp on Saturday was a non-wetsuit legal 80.4 so I wanted to get a swim in to get used to the fresh water since all of my swim training had been in the ocean. The lake was supposed to be open until 4 for swimming but for some reason they shut it down at 3PM, just as I arrived. That had me PO'd.

Ate at a pasta joint on Saturday night and caught the Strikeforce fights on CBS. Hit the sack at 11 and was up @ 5AM. Ate a half bagel with peanut butter and slammed a Monster drink 'cause I didn't want to make coffee in the room and wake anyone up. My first caffeine in 3 weeks and boy did I feel it.

Made it to the race with my 3 buds, set up transition and found that the water temp had miraculously gone down 2.5 degrees to a now wetsuit-legal 77.9. Funny how that happens!
Event warmup:

We made it to transition around 6 and set up our stuff. I grabbed my suit and went down to the water to see the earlier waves go off and see how the water felt. It was pretty warm. Swam 50 yards and did some jumping jacks to get the HR up. Even though this was my first HIM I didn't really have any nerves.
Swim
  • 46m 59s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 13s / 100 yards
Comments:

Started from the left to get the shortest route to the buoy but let the more eager racers get a 5 second lead on me. Overall I felt smooth and comfortable for the whole swim, but a bit warm towards the end of Lap 1. I'd get in a groove and start feeling fast only to discover I'd forgotten to sight and was running off course. Overall the swim felt easy compared to the wetsuit-less, rough ocean swims I'm used to.
What would you do differently?:

Sight more frequently. And get some lessons one of these days.
Transition 1
  • 06m 31s
Comments:

Long run from the swim exit to T1, esp. to my rack position. Stowed my suit, put on my shoes and readied my bike gear and nutrition. I lolligagged a bit to get down most of a Clif bar and a Starbucks espresso double shot. More caffeine!
What would you do differently?:

Hurry, don't eat and practice transition a bit more.
Bike
  • 2h 59m 30s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.72 mile/hr
Comments:

Freakin' wind. I felt great about my bike fitness but we only had wind to deal with a few times over the past few weeks here in SoFla. I went out easy and high cadence and cruised when the wind was at my back. The crosswinds were considerable. According to NOAA we had 32 mph sustained winds with gusts to 38. Mostly headwinds on the return route and I was doing 14-15 in spots. My cardio felt great but my legs were getting destroyed by the power required to drive my bike fwd. My cadence dropped well below the 92-98 I'm used to. Developed some tightness in the quads the last 45 minutes that became pretty unpleasant by the time I made my dismount.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. My cardio could have handled more effort but then my legs would have been more fried than they already were. I felt I bike within my ability but the conditions overexerted my quads.
Transition 2
  • 06m 9s
Comments:

Rolling dismount and ran my bike into T2. Legs were very tight. Racked the bike and ate a quick gel along with some 'lytes and a sip of weak gatorade. Took a bit to get my shoes & socks on because I forgot to lay out my body glide and had to dig thru may bag to find it so I could rub it on the old tootsies. Sunglasses, visor and race number and I was off. Slowly.
What would you do differently?:

Run through my transition prep better and more often. I can't believe how slow this was; it felt like 3 minutes to me. The run out was pretty long, though.
Run
  • 2h 50m 43s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

Very rough run. I did two long bike/run bricks a couple weeks ago that had me feeling like a superman. Neither of them involved the kind of wind we had on this day so I was in new territory as far as my legs were concerned. I was hoping my legs would loosen up by mile two (they didn't). I saw my family around that time and joked with my wife that it was going to be the last time she'd see me smiling so she'd better take a picture. By mile 4 I has entered the pain cave and knew it wasn't going to get any better no matter what I did. I just tried to keep running. I'd stop to get some gatorade or ice or swallow some endurolyes, but pick it right back up. I might have walked a couple hundred yards the whole time when I let the pain get to me, but otherwise I just kept running. Slowly. I started cramping from my quads to my ankles by mile 9 so I ate a full pack of endurolytes at that aid station and that settled everything down.

I don't think I could run 13 minute miles on purpose, but that's what I ended up doing for the entire half-mary. Other folks were run/walking alternately and they were still as fast (slow?) as I was. No matter; the important thing was that I kept moving thru the pain and gutted it out.
What would you do differently?:

Before the race I was game-planning with my buddy Carl, telling him how I was going to keep smooth and steady on the run and then pick it up at mile 11 for a big finish. After I crossed the line Carl gave me a knowing look and said "so, how much did you pick it up at mile 11?" I really had nothing more to give on this run than I gave. The unfortunate part is that I felt like I had plenty of gas and cardio fitness to do more but my legs were just totally locked up.
Post race
Warm down:

Hit the gate and handed over my chip. There was a cooler at the finish that had recovery drinks and one of the bins was empty so I just stuck my head in the icy water. Twice. I sat in the grass for a few minutes and pulled my shoes off to see how my feet were looking. OK but for a dime sized blister on my big toe. I felt salty and gross so I stripped down to my shorts and jumped in the lake to rinse/cool off. Muuuuuch better. I didn't even stop long enough to look at my time. We just jumped in the car and scooted back home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Time & experience. This was my first HIM just 15 months after my first tri so I think building fitness over a period of years will help me improve.

Event comments:

I felt very confident with my training so I don't think there's anything else I could have done in terms of prep to perform better, aside from quitting my job and dedicating myself to training full-time. Ultimately I'm disappointed with my time since I fully expected to be in the 6 to 6:30 range. But for the crazy winds I think I would have hit my goal time. In the end I'm just happy to get this experience under my belt so I can train better for next year.

As it turns out I won first for the Clyde 225+ category. The problem is I weighed less than 225 on race day so I stole first from the guy who should have really won the AG. Like I said I split before even looking at my time or waiting for the awards, so I didn't find out until much later that night. My buddy who won Clyde 200+ (where I should have competed) stayed for the ceremony and grabbed the award when they called my name. I've emailed the RD asking to be DQd and for the actual winner's contact info so I can send him his award.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-07-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:46:59 | 2112 yards | 02m 13s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 397/677
Performance: Good
Suit: Farmer john
Course: Clear fresh water lake. 2 loops.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 06:31
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:59:30 | 56 miles | 18.72 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 272/677
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Out and back with a two-lap loop.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 06:09
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
02:50:43 | 13.1 miles | 13m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 501/677
Performance: Bad
Course: Two loops through the zoo and the park. Two rocky/gravely sections to navigate.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2009-11-09 4:12 PM

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Expert
838
50010010010025
West Palm Beach, FL
Subject: Miami Man 1/2 Iron Triathlon


2009-11-10 11:36 AM
in reply to: #2505586

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Master
2073
20002525
The Redlands, FL
Subject: RE: Miami Man 1/2 Iron Triathlon

Congrats....You did it...survived and finished...even the BRUTAL conditions...WTG...!!!

2009-11-11 10:50 PM
in reply to: #2505586

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Master
2158
20001002525
Subject: RE: Miami Man 1/2 Iron Triathlon
Great Report.

I was there, and my run sucked too.
I am also 15 or so months in from my first tri and this was my first HIM. I was miserable on the run, but about 30 minutes after, i was already planning for next year.
2009-11-16 7:32 PM
in reply to: #2505586

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Master
1795
1000500100100252525
Boynton Beach, FL
Subject: RE: Miami Man 1/2 Iron Triathlon
Nice race and kudos on the award comment. I had actually planned on racing the 185 clydes and knew a few weeks in that I was going to be close or under so went to AG. I had a similar run story, but at the end it did feel good to just finish.

Great report. Hopefully will see you out there training this off-season.
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