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Kinetic Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Spotsylvania, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
60sF / 0C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 33m 47s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

- I'm training for IM Lake Placid in July and this was my first half IM distance as part of the training plan to get ready for IM - I wanted it to be a good test of fitness and to give me an idea of things to celebrate and focus on over the next 10 weeks leading to Placid.
- Checked in at the site the day before and toured the venue, transition area, and race pattern.
- The night before I ate with my parents (who were down for the race!) at an Italian restaurant in the town I was staying in (which was about 30 minutes from the race). I couldn't RESIST having some of the fried sampler appetizer platter they had... and when my chicken parmagiana came out, it was also fried... but some scraping did the trick. I could save pigging out for another 24 hours.
- Spent the rest of the night going over the race day checklist, etc.
- Actually got a good nights sleep the night before the race... which is becoming a regular occurance for me.
- The morning of, woke up at 4AM - had a power bar, banana, and a sip of gatorade, showered, packed up the car, and was out the door at 4:45
- Blasted some loud pump me up music in the middle of farmland Virginia on the way to my first Half IM distance!
- Arrived at 5:15 and unpacked my bike and gear. I was literally the 2nd person in the transition area so I found a good spot on the rack and spent some time reviewing where I was. Better early than late! I tend to easily get lost in transition areas when I'm confused after swimming or biking.
- Picked up my chip and got body marked and was all set!
- Downed another granola bar and an PB (powerbar) Gel
- Gave my parents a hug, reviewed my expected times and took some pictures!
- Got in the water a bit to get wet shortly before the wave start.

Event warmup:

- A very light light jog, and some light dynamic stretching.

Swim
  • 39m 13s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

- First time having a beach start which was different and fun!
- New goggles made sighting a lot easier with zero fogging
- Enjoyed some great contact with other white capped swimmers
- Looked at my watch and was ~ 12 minutes at the first of 2 buoy turns which made me pumped.
- Since I was in the first wave, by this time some other color swim caps were beginning to swim over me.
- On the second line of the triangle took some time to go wide, have space, concentrate on swimming long, powerfully, and control breathing
- Third line of the triangle was spent focusing on sighting, avoiding other random buoys in the lake, and enjoying the moment!
- I came out of the water at 39 minutes feeling very satisfied and happy! The end of the swim is always a cool moment in triathlons to run towards the transition with everyone cheering (including my parents!)
Transition 1
  • 04m 25s
Comments:

- Pulled cap and goggles off in water and stripped halfway out of my wetsuit on the run to transition
- No problem finding my bike and gear from my prerace tour
- *Almost* put my bike shoes on before taking off my wetsuit. WTF!? Rolled eyes at myself, stripped the suit and moved on!
- At last months rainy tri I started using a plastic box that is about the size of a transition towel and about 10" tall. So I pulled off the top and put it on the grass upside down to stand on to dry my feet and put my socks and shoes on.
- Was wearing a tri suit so no other changing necessary
- Grabbed the helmet and ran out of T1 to the porty - Pee break #1
- Headed to the bike mount line and was off!

What would you do differently?:

- Smoke a cigarette and read the paper, jk - Seriously despite how organized I am, my transitions could not be slower if I tried!
Bike
  • 2h 58m 11s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.86 mile/hr
Comments:

- Although I bike to work daily, I'm admitedly a bike newbie having just purchased a road bike last July so this is definitely an area of opportunity for me.
- Upgraded to a tri bike in November so this was the second race using it and it served me well... really getting used to and comfortable in the aero position.
- For nutrition, I'm usually starving after the swim and I was. I planned to have a half a power bar around every 45 minutes and drink 1-2 aerodrink bottles of Powerbar perform. Thats what I'm training with and what they'll have on the course in Placid. The powerbars went great but I was happy to have an extra gel snuck in the bento when I was still hungry at the end. My aerodrink was premixed with PB perform and I carried a throw away water bottle with 8oz of concentrated PB perform so I could mix it with one of the water bottles handed out on the course. This worked great except for the fact that the water didn't mix well with the concentrate in the aerodrink so I ended up with a super syrupy first drink. Some bumps and moving the straw around did the trick.
- Had pee break #1 on loop 1 and pee break #2 on loop 2 - No portys on the course made it interesting to look for a place to stop. No peeing on the bike for me.
- I thought the course was great.. mostly flat with some rolling hills. Made it easy to just get into a zone.
- I got passed a lot at my pace but I spent some time reminding myself to race my own race, at my own pace, and enjoy the moment. The scenery was great, the weather was cool and misty, and it was fun!
What would you do differently?:

- In retrospect, looking back with my run results in perspective, I probably could have pushed a little faster paced overall. But not having raced this distance or not having done very many rides over 50miles at all made it difficult to estimate pacing.
- I could have driven part of the race course to know what to expect. I did "hold out for the hills" on the first loop expecting there to be some since I'm mostly training on hills... But after driving down to the race, I didn't feel like doing any more driving! Part of the plan for IMLP is to preview the course on my bike in a couple of weeks so this is a lesson learned.
Transition 2
  • 03m 19s
Comments:

- Before I made it into the transition area - Pee break #4 - What the hell! Maybe I overhydrated?
- Had a little bit of confusion finding my rack coming in from the opposite direction in transition but not as much as normal.
- Decided not to change out of damp socks - good choice!
- Ate an extra gel
- Put race belt on
- Grabbed Powerbar gels for the run
What would you do differently?:

- Should have taken the extra gel wtih me to eat while running and put my race belt on while running out of transition
Run
  • 1h 48m 41s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

- This was a very hilly 3 loop course through the state park and campground area.
- On the first loop I was feeling good, keeping a decent pace but was having trouble remembering what time I started the run out so didn't worry too much
- For nutrition I was planning on one gel per loop and water. This normally does it for that distance but was NOT enough! I ended up taking some random heed, flat coke, and hammer gel. I think the heed during the second lap was a BAD choice but the coke and gel on the 3rd lap seemed to be ok.
- Pee break #5 at the end of loop 1 and Pee break #6 on loop 2. I actually really just stopped drinking unless I needed it to wash down the gel. Not sure what the issue was here. It was a nice cool misty day so maybe didn't need to be drinking so much.
- The hills were hard but had a nice chat with one man who had an M-dot tattoo on his calf going up one of the particularly harder ones - he had just finished IMLP last year and was going up to volunteer this year. We both hoped for weather just like today at the race in July.
- Sometime during the 2nd lap I started (poorly) doing the math and realized I could come in under 6 hours. I was thinking I would be around 6hr 30 min going into this.
- Sometime during lap 3 I realized I could hit around 5hr 30 min if I pushed it... and thats what I did! I was excited to be feeling this good during the run and even more excited that I hadn't pushed too hard on the bike so I could enjoy pushing the pace this late in the game! By the time I got to mile 13, I was feeling so super pumped and excited that I sprinted that mile! Crossing the finish can sometimes be a little anticlimactic, but I live for that feeling during the last adrenaline filled part of a race leading you to the line!
- Very proudly finished faster than the standalone half marathon in March!
What would you do differently?:

- Take more nutrition (won't be an issue in LP as they will have the nutrition I'm using on the course)
Post race
Warm down:

- Collected medal (and more importantly free papa johns pizza certificate)
- Took some pictures with my parents and enjoyed some great post race war stories with my friends
- Consumed large amounts of watermelon, pizza, oreo cookies, gatorade, chips, and whatever else I could find!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

- Too many pee breaks!
- Although looking back at it, I could have pushed it harder on the bike, at the time, I felt like I was keeping a good pace that would allow me to have a decentish run. What I learned is that I have room to improve on the bike for sure, but I also learned that I LOVE the feeling of being able to have an awesome run no matter what (probably more than having an awesome bike followed by a crappy run).
- Overall, I was very excited... this was a great confidence boost (and also a reality check for sure that IM is not an f-ing joke) but if I continue to stick to the plan for the next 10 weeks, I will be successful!

Event comments:

I highly recommend this race. Good course - Small # of participants - Great organization - And nice venue.




Last updated: 2011-01-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:13 | 2112 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex Sleeveless
Course: Beach Start - Triangle
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:25
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:58:11 | 56 miles | 18.86 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: - Saw this described as a "two loop lollipop" - Up the (long) stick, around twice, and back down.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 85
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:19
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:48:41 | 13.1 miles | 08m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: - 3 loops (by the finish line the first 2 loops) - VERY hilly
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2011-05-15 3:40 PM

Veteran
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Subject: Kinetic Half


2011-05-15 5:18 PM
in reply to: #3500146

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
Congrats on your first half.  Enjoyed reading your report.  Best of luck with the rest of your season.
2011-05-15 6:24 PM
in reply to: #3500146

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Extreme Veteran
357
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Ft. Myers, Florida
Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
Great job, Congrats on getting your first! And yes, the IM is going to be a reality for you.Really enjoyed your race report and it is awesome that your parents could be a part of it.I love that your first HIM you came away knowing that it is a good thing to leave something on the bike course so that you can feel strong on the run. Lots of athletes will never accept that.
2011-05-15 7:21 PM
in reply to: #3500146

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Master
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Guilford, CT
Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
Great first HIM!  Paced well I think.  That's a strong run in your first.  Keep up the good work and I'll see you in Placid.
2011-05-15 10:47 PM
in reply to: #3500146

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Regular
304
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Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
Way to go!  You obviously are able to enjoy each element of the race.
I've found pacing across disciplines to be tough, but it gets easier as you do more races and bricks.
Good luck in New York.  You are well on your way to an awesome day. 
2011-05-16 8:02 AM
in reply to: #3500146

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Subject: RE: Kinetic Half

Great RR.  Rarely have I seen someone pace themselves so well at their first HIM.  Very well done.  As for transitions, they simply take practice.  The more races you do, the faster you will get.  As for the overhydrating, if I had to choose overhydration or dehydration -- I'll choose "over" everytime.  Overhydrating will cost you maybe 4 to 6 minutes in pee-breaks (less if you learn to pee on the bike )  Whereas dehydration can cause you minutes or hours, or a DNF.

But that's an amazing time for your first Half.  Very well done. 



2011-05-16 8:13 AM
in reply to: #3500146

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Master
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syracuse
Subject: RE: Kinetic Half

nice work here!

the best part is you NAILED the run in your first half....

shows good patience and pacing ability in relation to your fitness, must feel good to CRUSH your pre-race expectation of 6.30...

nice work and great confidence booster for LP!!!!!

2011-05-16 1:03 PM
in reply to: #3500146

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Expert
663
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Williamsburg, VA
Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
Congrats on your first HIM.  WAy to kill your expected finish time!! I did that race last year and really didn't enjoy that run. That hill coming out of the transition is a true killer of the legs so you did a great job on the pace. Have a great IM in July. I to plan to do a IM  to but FL in Nov.
2011-05-16 1:37 PM
in reply to: #3500146

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Veteran
217
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Fairfax, VA
Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
Solid race all-around, and way to exceed your expectations!
2011-05-16 7:37 PM
in reply to: #3502054

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Member
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Subject: RE: Kinetic Half
So happy for you Ryan!!! Really solid run (faster than your stand alone... wow!)
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