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Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
57F / 14C
Overcast
Total Time = 6h 50m 10s
Overall Rank = 1239/1328
Age Group = ATHENA
Age Group Rank = 9/11
Pre-race routine:

drink 3+ L/day of water, try and eat healthy, get in my taper workouts and stretch a lot.
Swim
  • 00m
  • 2112 yards
  • / 100 yards
Comments:

swim cancelled
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

no T1
Bike
  • 3h 53m 25s
  • 56 miles
  • 14.39 mile/hr
Comments:

Ow. So this course really hurt. In fact, my quads have never burned like they did on the hill around mile 5/6. It was also extremely technical, there was one corner that I took too fast and if there would have been another biker behind me, we certainly would have crashed. I got lucky.

In an effort to eliminate calf cramping on the run, I used a timer on my watch going off every 10 minutes (thanks Colleen!) to make sure that I was drinking enough fluid and getting gel. Every other 10 minute beep I would take gel. Once per hour, I took two Enduralyte pills. I went thru 1 1/2 bottles of sports drink and 20 oz water. I had probably 3 oz gel and 6 Enduralyte pills in total.

I was really happy with my shifting - when I had energy, I shifted in to the big ring for the flats/downhills and was able to shift into my easiest gear to get up *almost* all of the hills. Really pleased with my ability to maintain pace overall in a really tough course.
What would you do differently?:

A flat race. Oh wait, if I were doing it again, I would have done more and more hill repeats. I would have done squats to focus on strengthening my quads. I torched my quads on this race. Also need to learn how to take the Enduralytes better... i threw like 10 of them on the course as I was trying to eat 1. Fail.
Transition 2
  • 09m 5s
Comments:

I really took my time here. Hey, I was wiped out! I walked my bike to the rack which is unusual for me. Also, the port-a-potties by my bike rack were full with a line, so I went to the other side of transition to use those before leaving. I triple checked that I had everything and then I took off.
What would you do differently?:

I think I did the best I could considering my state at the time. I didn't want to hurry. My actual transition was pretty good, my slow times were walking my bike to the rack and then walking back/forth to the bathroom. I didn't really feel like running my bike, and I didn't feel like waiting in line, so I did the best I could.
Run
  • 2h 47m 40s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

So my main goals for the run were 1. Do it in under 3 hours. 2. Don't cramp up my calves. I have cramped my calves in pretty much every single race I've ever run (13.1+). Today I changed my nutrition, I took in more calories and electrolytes on the bike and took in electrolyte pills (1 every hour) and gel every 10 minutes under my tongue. I didn't take any water on the course - only powerade. I run/walk and I stuck fairly well to my walk breaks, but ran the full first mile without realizing that I forgot to set my beep-beeps for the run/walk. Then I had to walk a little bit more than I planned up the hills and run more than I planned in the downhill/flat. It all worked itself out to a PR on my half marathon at this race! YAH! Plus, super bonus, I saw almost everyone if not everyone on the team during this out and back which was really fun - everyone looked so great and it was a real energy boost!
What would you do differently?:

I'm super happy with my nutrition plan, but I should have done more running volume with more hill repeats. I slacked on this in the past months. But I guess I can't argue with results.
Post race
Warm down:

Eat cheesburger. Drink beer. Cheer for friends. Oh yeah, and stretch. Definitely could have done this better... really didn't want to. Am prepared to really feel this tomorrow.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not being a thin as Todd. HA!

Event comments:

It was the first race for Pocono. It will be better next year. They couldn't control the swim or the flooding, so I understand these things. Race morning they changed the start time from 7 AM to 7:25 AM. It was continuous change from the moment we got there on Friday till the race went off. Not that it wasn't executed well, but it's hard to deal with continuous change when you just want to count on SOMETHING during a race this long. Hard to mentally prepare in any way. Beautiful area though, really tough race, but a ton of fun. Would I do it again? Probably not, but that's not because of the race leadership, but rather that I have retired from hilly races. At least for a while...

As for the post-race activity? Only one comment; there was no free beer at the Oktoberfest celebration. To that I say, what the hell?




Last updated: 2011-10-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:00:00 | 2112 yards | / 100yards
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/1328
Performance:
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:53:25 | 56 miles | 14.39 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/11
Overall: 1253/1328
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: This course was hilly, and wet, and technical. It required concentration from the first mile to the last. There were a lot of people out on the course but I didn't have to worry about passing anyone since I started first in the amateur group.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 09:05
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:47:40 | 13.1 miles | 12m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 7/11
Overall: 11/1328
Performance: Good
Course: Somewhat hilly, not quite what I expected based on the elevation chart - man, I can never read those things right. It was actually not that bad though. They did have us run the 7 miles out on the shoulder which was broken pavement and gravelish mess, so that wasn't the best. Not much spectator support except at the start and finish of the run, but great well stocked aid stations.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2011-10-03 10:03 PM


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Subject: Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains


2011-10-03 10:26 PM
in reply to: #3710134

Master
10208
50005000100100
Northern IL
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains
Nice job getting through it!  I haven't heard of anything else as technical as this one.  It's not just the amount of climbing on this course, the style made it even harder.  Uphills were so inconsistent with the grade.  More power will help, but on this one knowing when and how much to apply, in addition to being sharp on the gear changes are significantly more important than on other courses.  That skill comes with more riding practice.
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