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Ironman 70.3 Austin
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Ironman 70.3 Austin - Triathlon1/2 Ironman
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 Swim
Comments: Not a bad swim considering I hadn't put in any long swim sessions this year. My swim stroke is definitely better than it was even last year and I'm confident I will continue to get faster. I was lucky to have pretty clean water for most of the swim. The worst congestion was when I caught the waves in front of me. I feel bad that I swam over several woman in the wave in front of me and one of them actually gave me a really good shove as I went over her. I took a really good line after the first turn buoy and stayed inside the buoys until I got to the turn buoy where I had to go around it. This was a good strategy as I pretty much swam right by the waves in front of me as they stayed to the outside of the buoys. Last turn someone in my AG passed me so I just stayed on their feet and costed into shore.  Transition 1
Comments: Took advantage of the wetsuit strippers as I got out of the water and got to my bike quickly where I had everything I needed on my bike. All I had to do was put my swim gear into the bag, put on my bike gear and I was off. My only issue was I droped my bike going around the corner to bike out. Water bottles and shoes all stayed on the bike so no big deal. Got on my bike after mount line and slipped my feet into the shoes and I was off.  Bike
Comments: I am surprised that I had the 12th fastest bike split in the AG as I dialed my bike WAY down as I wanted to avoid cramps on the run. Well, that didn't work. How dialed down was this? Well I rode at a 22.84 mph average for a 2:27:05 when I did the race in 2009. Clearly overbiking is not causing my cramp issues as I felt as though if I'd gone any easier on the bike I would have fallen asleep. It was a fairly uneventful bike. The short gravel portion of the ride was unexpected but the rough chipseal in certain sections was a given. I actually thought the roads were better than they were 2 years ago. Nutrition and hydration felt good although I think this is an area I need to look at again before going long. I switched to liquid nutrition for IMSG and that's where my cramping has started. I'll need to experiment to make sure I get this dialed in. I didn't take in as many calories as I had planned but I was still at around 300 calories/hour. I think the biggest problem was too much sugar in the liquid nutrition and Gatorade and not enough water to even out the sugar. Transition 2
Comments: Again, nothing great or terrible in T2. Just put helmet into bag. Put on hat and running shoes and I was ready. I did actually take a minute to stretch my hamstrings just as a precaution before I ran since I was so concerned about cramping even though I went really easy on the bike. Ya well, so much for not cramping.  Run
Comments: And this is where it gets really ugly. This is probably the closest I've ever come to DNFing in a race. I was mentally cooked and I was just so disapointed I just wanted to turn my chip in. If I didn't have to come back to the finish line anyway I probably just would've packed it in. I felt great on the first loop staying right on a 7:13/mile pace with very little effort. I was thinking to myself maybe going easy on the bike will actually pay off and I'll be able to have a run split in the low-mid 1:30 range. As I turned out after the first loop and started going slightly downhill my left quad locked up with a cramp. It's ALWAYS my left quad that cramps. I had to stop and work it out. I was so mad I threw my bottle of EFS on the ground and started cussing under my breath. I made sure nobody heard me because there were plenty of people around. I had to apologize to a woman standing near me as the bottle almost bounced and hit her. I worked out the cramp and at this point thought about just turning in my chip as I didn't want to go through another run cramping the entire way. I figured I could take short strides at an easy 8 minute pace and still come in under 5 hours so I started off again. At mile 6 my stomach started acting up. I did everything I could to keep from not "going" while I was running. I had to stop in a porta potty which I have never had to do during a race. Went a couple more miles and cramps came back. Finished the 2nd loop and stomach turned bad again and had to go into porta potty again. Now I started having some real issues. My legs were cramping and I couldn't run in a straight line. I had to walk to keep from passing out. With 2 miles to go I knew I wouldn't make it under 5 hours. I tried to jog very slowly and again after about 50 yards my head would start spinning and I'd nearly pass out. I've never felt like this before in a race. I had to walk the last 2 miles to the finish otherwise I wouldn't have made it. I did jog slowly as I got back to the crowd as my pride just wouldn't completely allow me to walk it in. This is the slowest I've ever run and the first time I've had real nutrition issues during a race. Heck, my IM run pace is faster than this. Worst run of my life and one I'd like to forget. Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster: I had 2 goals for this race. 1st was to PR breaking my HIM time of 4:45 with a stretch goal of finishing in the 4:30's which would have gotten me to my 2nd goal which was a podium slot. I guess it just wasn't meant to be and I've pretty much aired my thoughts to begin the report. I'm frustrated and upset at the result but I need to realize that 1 bad race is bound to happen at some point. I guess it's better to happen hear, now, rather than at my next qualifying attempt. I'll regroup, take a very short mental break, and start going with a tougher mental resolve to get back to where I want to be. Last updated: 2011-04-22 12:00 AM
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 2011-10-25 10:59 AM |
Extreme Veteran  492   Austin, TX |  Subject: Ironman 70.3 Austin |
| 2011-10-25 11:28 AM in reply to: #3737367 |
Veteran 290 | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Austin wow. sorry! It is encouraging to see that even exceptional athletes have bad days. I will be watching to see you get back up. Also, I am glad that you finished. It says something about you. Well done. |
| 2011-10-25 11:54 AM in reply to: #3737367 |
Master 1883  San Antone, Texas | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Austin I agree with Jimmy, its really impressive that you fought through the pain and haze and didn't give up. That says more to me than not meeting your goals. You'll get back up and hit that PR next time, and this experience will help you. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, eh?  |
| 2011-10-25 12:20 PM in reply to: #3737422 |
Extreme Veteran 492 Austin, TX | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Austin jimmy3993 - 2011-10-25 11:28 AM wow. sorry! It is encouraging to see that even exceptional athletes have bad days. I will be watching to see you get back up. Also, I am glad that you finished. It says something about you. Well done. Thanks, but I'm not sure I'd call myself an exceptional athlete. However, knowing that most people at some point have a disastrous race makes me feel a little better. I guess misery loves company. |
| 2011-10-25 3:22 PM in reply to: #3737367 |
Extreme Veteran 350 Houston | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Austin |
| 2011-10-25 7:09 PM in reply to: #3737367 |
Extreme Veteran 479 The Woodlands, TX | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Austin It was a rough day for most. Bike and run times in our group were nowhere near what they were the last couple of years. Definitely give yourself a pass on this one. Edited by hathecr 2011-10-25 7:09 PM |
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
Overall Rank = 201/
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 12/
Before I get into the actual race report I need to put some thoughts down so I can come back to this report later on as I start my next major push.
I've had a couple days to stew over this race and have actually contemplated giving up triathlon after my worst performance EVER. But, now that I've had some time to think about it I realize I need to figure out what has been causing my cramp issues in EVERY race of EVERY distance the last 2 years. Even IMSG where I qualified for Kona I had cramp issues. Kona, cramp issues. Every sprint and Oly this year, cramp issues. It's an ongoing theme and I need to figure it out. I'm perfectly fit and even dialed it WAY down on the bike this race and still had issues. I NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT!
Maybe I've just been lucky. I've reached every single goal I've set for myself the last 5 years. 3 years ago I said I'd train to Kona qualify in 2010. I did it. I knew this year would be a slower year after Kona as my son enjoys his senior year of football and baseball in high school. Maybe I just need to accept that I just wasn't in the same shape I was in last year and if I want to get back to Kona I need to use this race as motivation to do what I need to do to get back.
It's a real tough pill to swallow after such a miserable performance but maybe this will provide the mental toughness I need to get back to Kona. With shorter races this year I didn't have to put in the volume I put in last year and there were many days I would wonder how the heck I trained like I did last year. Mentally I just don't think I could've done it again this year. I've always wondered how professional athletes, in any sport, come back motivated the next year after winning a championship. As fans we often wonder how an athlete who makes millions of dollars loses their drive. I think I have a little bit of that understanding because frankly, if I'm completely honest with myself, I'm not sure I had 100% commitment to my training. And that's ok, I told myself this year was for my family. I just need to accept that now that the season is over and move on.
It's time to focus on what's ahead rather than what just occured in 2011. With the 2011 season done, I can now focus on my push for Kona in 2013. I'll have the winter to focus on major run volume. I'll have next spring and summer to focus on bike volume and then will really push for Kona through the winter of 2012. Yes, it's a ways away, but it was literally a 2 year plan to get to Kona last time. I've done it once, I need to prove it to myself I can do it again.
All right, onto this race. It wasn't pretty and it's the first time I've ever gone above 5 hours in a HIM. My morning routine is the same as it always has been and I was feeling really good coming into this race. I ramped up training with plenty of 60-80 mile rides and I felt ready.
I had my usual breakfast and met Lisa to drive down to the race together. We got there early and got everything set up and ready to race.
Didn't do much other than stretch. They only let the pro's in for a warmup swim so I made sure to get in the water 1st when our wave was called. I did a quick 100 yard sprint to get the heart rate going and came back to the start line with plenty of time to spare.