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Marquee Triathlon - Olympic Course - DuathlonOther


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Red Rock Co.
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 58m 7s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Drove to AZ on Friday night after work. Rain on Saturday meant no time to get on the bike prior to racking Saturday. The swim was cancelled due to rain and the potential for E. Coli in the lake; I was okay with this but wanted to get some experience with the wetsuit. I was also nervous about having to do a 5k prior to the bike just due to my overall lack of fitness. Going into this I thought I'd be lucky to scrap by in 3 hours, so I'm really not too disappointed. Motivation has been lacking this year, but getting mono in January and not feeling fully recovered since has been tough going. I also knew nutrition would be an issue.

When I signed up for this race back in December I had every intention of racing the half-distance, but getting mono in January was a lot harder on me than I thought. Trying to fight off colds with a weak immune system lingered with me through mid-March, so going to the Oly distance just made sense.
Event warmup:

Some light stretching but really not much.

Loved getting there at 7-ish for my 8:09 start time.
Run
  • 27h 56m 50s
  • 3.08 miles
  • 9h 04m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

Decided to take this run very easy. Asked for a water at the aid station around mile 2-2.5 and ended up with the Ironman drink.
What would you do differently?:

Go a little faster.
Transition 1
  • 01m 24s
Comments:

Apparently the 3rd fastest T1 in my age group - I'll take it.
Bike
  • 1h 25m 12s
  • 24 miles
  • 16.90 mile/hr
Comments:

This is where my lack of training and nutrition preparation came into play. My nutrition plan was an aero bottle with Gatorade (150 cal), 4 fig newton's (220 cal) - only at 3, and a Gu if needed.

Took me a little bit to get going and my pace was slow. This was a flat course and a great preview of what to expect at IMAZ. My plan was to negative split and my pace in the first half made this plan easy to execute. Around mile 6-7 I started to cramp in my left calf so I shifted down and it subsided, shortly after I started to cramp in my right leg. I stood a couple of times and tried to stretch my calves, but until mile 18 or so I fought the cramping. I gulped down my Gatorade because of the cramping and by the turn around point it was gone, so I got a bottle of water at the aid station. After mile 18, I felt pretty good so I pushed it on the way in and took a gel.

What would you do differently?:

Nutrition.
I would sub the Gatorade for water and do 2-3 gels instead. Also maybe add salt tabs to my bento box, but this needs field testing first.
Transition 2
  • 01m 50s
Comments:

Could definitely feels the calf cramping when I was "running" my bike into T2.
Run
  • 1h 01m 44s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 09m 58s  min/mile
Comments:

The first two miles were rough... I'm guessing (since I didn't bother bringing my Garmin) that it took me ~24 minutes. I stopped once before the end of the first mile to stretch my calves against a lightpost. My lack of bricks really bit me too, my legs felt so heavy. I also spent about two minutes walking. After the first mile I started jogging again and my stomach was a bit upset and I thought I might need to stop, but I pushed through it. I took in half a gel and then decided to stick to water and the Ironman drink for the rest of the run. The last 4.2 miles were great, I found a good tempo and gently increased the pace all the way to the finish.

As I was coming up on the finish line I looked down to see that I was going to make it in under 3 hours which was a huge shock. At the 2 mile mark I had counted it out, so that was cool.
What would you do differently?:

If I hadn't had the stomach/GI issues, this would have been a great run. I think I did the last 4.2 miles in about 37 minutes which is a great run time for me.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed some pretzels, animal crackers, oranges, and drank half a muscle milk light. Had some trouble tracking down my Mom and Yogi (dog). Went to one of the tents to get stretched which was great.

Headed back to the hotel to shower and head back to San Diego.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training.

Event comments:

Everyone is right, Red Rock puts on a great race. The Aid Stations were well stocked and the fact that they made the decision to switch to a Du early on Saturday was great.

This was a great IMAZ preview. It really highlighted all the work I have ahead of me and my lessons learned list is long.
The bike course leading up to the Beeline is super flat so I think I'll be well served to spend time on the trainer or down at Fiesta Island - flat isn't something you'll find too much of in San Diego. Cadence and being able to push a high gear will be a key to success.
The run was a great test of patience and pushing myself through the rough patch at the beginning.
Nutrition is the biggest lesson I can take from this experience. Long duration runs and rides will be important going forward.
This was only my 3rd ever multi-sport race so sometimes it's hard to keep it all in perspective. Bring on IMAZ 2011.




Last updated: 2011-04-11 12:00 AM
Running
27:56:50 | 03.08 miles | 9h 04m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
T1
Time: 01:24
Overall:
Run with bike?
Jump on bike?
Getting up to speed and into shoes:
Biking
01:25:12 | 24 miles | 16.90 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:50
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:01:44 | 06.2 miles | 09m 58s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
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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