General Discussion Race Reports! » Timberman - Half Iron Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Timberman - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Gilford, New Hampshire
United States
EndorFun
Precipitation
Total Time = 5h 42m 53s
Overall Rank = 987/
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 184/
Pre-race routine:

Liz, Chloe and I camped out at Gunstock Friday and Saturday. Gunstock was a great location and I'm glad I stayed there. Rain the night before the race made me very glad we had a decent tent and that I'd packed everything in the car to keep it dry. I felt very calm considering what was ahead of me and after a nice pasta meal and some campfire time with the girls, I went to bed round 9:30 and got a solid 7 hour sleep. I was up at 4:30 AM and started in on the bananas, toast and a Power Bar and sipped on my Infinit. I walked in the dark up to the bus loading area and we headed off to the race site. I was also very glad I had warm clothes as it was quite chilly at that hour of the morning.
Event warmup:

Arrived in transition, got a cup of coffee, got used to the bright spotlights and prepared everything I needed to. The way the transition was set up I was set up with my fellow 40-44 "mid life crisis" age group as one of my fellow racers opined. Gray hair, bikes more expensive than the pro's, lycra a wee bit too tight etc. I chatted with the guys nearest to me, including a Scotsman so we had some good Celtic banter going on. Did some stretching, met up with Liz and Chloe and headed to water for a pre race swim warmup.
Swim
  • 44m 42s
  • 1931 meters
  • 02m 19s / 100 meters
Comments:

I started out reasonably well, found some feet to draft off, but ran into major navigation issues. On several occasions I found myself inside the line of the bouys having to swim back. The chop seemed to pick up also and I felt I was struggling through a bit towards last third of the swim. I did my best kept a decent rhythm throughout and did not give up when I checked my watch and realized this was going to be a very slow swim.
What would you do differently?:

In truth this was a horrible swim for me, and I'm not happy with it. 7 minutes slower than my previous best at this distance in similar conditions. My goal was around 36 mins and I was too far off this. I need to be more disiplined about sighting in the longer races. More pool time and coaching needed.
Transition 1
  • 04m 13s
Comments:

Over 4 minutes? Yikes. So here's what I learned : a) get ALL your nutrition taped to the bike so you're not struggling to get the gels/bars into a wet Tri suit pocket with tired arms and b) put the race belt on last thing so it does not get in the way of trying to do a). I wasted 2 mins futtering around (my Scottish buddy came into T1 after me, said "hello mate!" and left before me) while I was messing around with all this.
What would you do differently?:

Find a way to put all nutrition on bike and nothing in Tri suit pockets. I had packed a Bento Box already but felt I needed more so had them ready in bags. Taping to bike is probably the way to go. Next time this has to be a ~2:30 transition.
Bike
  • 2h 56m 20s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.05 mile/hr
Comments:

I really enjoyed the ride despite the rain, and it went according to plan. My goal was to do sub 3 hours, not crash in the inclement conditions and I achieved that which was great! There were some tricky hills but I did not suffer on any of them and kept my heart rate around 145-150 for most of the ride. I passed quite a few people but was also passed by a lot as my overall rank would show, one of whom was Sam "The Man" who waved as he cruised on by looking strong. I deliberately avoided hammering and when I felt I was pushing it I reigned myself back in. Every 20 mins or so I asked myself "Could I do a half marathon right now if I got off the bike?" with the goal of having the legs to do a sub 2 hour half marathon. I ate like a fiend, probably too much, to avoid bonking and took down 2 bottles of Infinits/Carbo Pro (2 x 380 cals) plus 1 x Power Bars (220 cals) plus 2 bags of Power Bar Gel Blasts (2 x 130 cals) for a total of 1240 on the bike. At the point that I was finished my bottles I picked up a Gatorade from the support folks at an aid station, took a big swig of it and retched immediately. At the next station I chucked it and got some water instead. It's just not my drink, blegh! Support all over the course was amazing, and the general vibe and chat amongst the riders was great.
What would you do differently?:

If I had more long ride/long run bricks in the bank during training I would have felt more confident about having the base to push harder on the bike and look to do about 15 minutes faster. Overall I'm happy with the decision I made to pace myself with a view to not suffering during the run for my first HIM. This bike split was about racing smart for me and pacing myself to be able to run after it.
Transition 2
  • 02m 30s
Comments:

Pretty much in and out, I did not rush it.
What would you do differently?:

I'd invest in a pair of lighter Tri specific water running shoes, my Asics were soaked from the rain and felt heavy.
Run
  • 1h 55m 7s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt very good coming out onto the run and my legs quickly settled into a rhythm. That helped to greatly boost my confidence to get the job done. I said hi to Millman and some buddies from GC Tri looking good on the run. I had just one bad patch around mile 9/10 where I had a "side stich" pain and I just had to try to run it off. The course was challenging enough, but the conditions were very favorable, and the on course support was excellent. I took down 2 Espresso gels at start and middle of race and sipped water and coke throughout the remainder of the race. Happy with the consistency on each split. Crossing the line to receive a medal from Chrissie Wellington was pretty special and hugs from family even more so.

RUN SPLIT 1: 3.275 mi 3.275 mi (28:46) 8:47/mi
RUN SPLIT 2: 6.55 mi 3.275 mi (28:16) 8:37/mi
RUN SPLIT 3: 9.8 mi 3.275 mi (29:50) 9:06/mi
RUN SPLIT 4: 13.1 mi 3.275 mi (28:15) 8:37/mi

What would you do differently?:

Not much really I was pretty happy with how this run went considering this was the longest back to back ride & run I did this year.
Post race
Warm down:

Headed to transition, grabbed my gear, said hi to some GC Tri folks. We had to hit the road for an ardous 6 hour drive in torrential rain back to NY, so we hit the bus to Gunstock, had a quck beer and hit the road. Next time I do this race I will stay and make a 4 day weekend of it I think.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not much really. On the day I did the race that I'd trained for and my estimates were accurate.

Event comments:

Amazing race, fantastic local support, superb aid stations and really well organized. NH is a beautiful location to race I will definitely do this again. Meeting the BT folks and sharing their experiences this year on the forum was awesome. One slight negative; I think I was very lucky leaving early as I was only in line for about 10 mins to get back to Gunstock. I heard the line was over an hour later on.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-04-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:44:42 | 1931 meters | 02m 19s / 100meters
Age Group: 272/
Overall: 1684/
Performance: Below average
Suit: De Soto T1 Speed Tube/Speed Vest
Course: Rectangle clockwise, plenty of buoys marking the course and great clear water.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:13
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:56:20 | 56 miles | 19.05 mile/hr
Age Group: 239/
Overall: 1207/
Performance: Average
Wind: Cross-winds
Course: Hilly for approx 20 miles and flat/false flat for approximately 30 miles.
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:30
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:55:07 | 13.1 miles | 08m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 184/
Overall: 987/
Performance: Good
BIKE SPLIT 1: 28 mi 28 mi (1:24:59) 19.77 mph BIKE SPLIT 2: 56 mi 28 mi (1:31:21) 18.39 mph
Course: 2 loops of a rolling course, 2 x legg sapping steep hill sections around the 5 & 11 mile mark.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

{postbutton}
2010-08-25 12:36 PM

User image

Veteran
139
10025
Subject: Timberman - Half Iron


2010-08-25 2:56 PM
in reply to: #3063395

User image

Extreme Veteran
475
100100100100252525
Watertown, MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron
Great race Simon, thanks for sharing the report.  It's gotta be a great feeling hitting your fastest run split on the last leg, huh?  Don't worry about the swim, I had a tough time as well.  There were a ton of people on course when our waves went out and the conditions were far from ideal, real rough water especially in the later waves.  I went 2-3 minutes below my goal time, it's hard enough to navigate around slower swimmers in early waves without contending with big swells in the lake, adding those in made it a real tough first leg.

Great meeting you this weekend, and good luck with soon-to-be married life!

2010-08-27 7:51 AM
in reply to: #3063395

User image

Master
1641
100050010025
Cambridge, MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

Congrats on the race finish and nice run times!  You did really well throughout, and it's wonderful that your family and daughter could be there to cheer you on.  

 

Well done, sir!

I camped at Gunstock too and enjoyed being so close to the race site.  I may do Timberman again because somehow I missed my hug from Crissie...lol... but really, I think smaller races are more fun, less stressful.  I'll find another Half-distance race in MA or VT for next year, I think.  

 

Will you race Timberman 70.3 again? 

 

Cheers, -Sunny

2010-08-27 10:39 AM
in reply to: #3063395

User image

Master
1927
100050010010010010025
Guilford, CT
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron
Nice job out there!  I'll see you on the course in the future
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Timberman - Half Iron Rss Feed