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Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Cambridge, Maryland
United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
92F / 33C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 45m 3s
Overall Rank = 761/1749
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 114/204
Pre-race routine:

Get up and get ready. Eat 2 uncrustables and drink some Gatorade. Prep transition area after getting to race site. Tape three gels to the bike. Fill half water/half red gatorade mix into aero profile bottle and bottle on bottle cage.
Event warmup:

Stretches and talking with athletes. Relaxed and thought about having a great experience. The race was wetsuit legal at the last second, but I had mentally prepped for a non-wetsuit swim, so I stuck with that. This was a good decision for me because it made me relax and enjoy it rather than thinking about putting together a competitive time.
Swim
  • 40m 46s
  • 2000 meters
  • 02m 02s / 100 meters
Comments:

Bottom 25%? Really! I thought I swam better than this. On the positive side though, I felt fine coming out of the water and I didn't totally blow it. The practice swim the day before was really instructive in terms of making me concentrate on my sighting. I also knew that rounding the second turn buoy what my marker should be coming in. I was slightly off course from time-to-time but I made key adjustments and never got completely derailed.
What would you do differently?:

Next time I can wear a wetsuit I will. Even though the high level of salt in the water made me buoyant, I think its that much easier with a wetsuit for somebody like me that naturally sinks.
Transition 1
  • 02m 51s
Comments:

Nice transition for me. Everything went smoothly.

Avg HR: 159, Max HR: 170
Avg cad: 77, Max cad: 87
Bike
  • 2h 42m 26s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.69 mile/hr
Comments:

I actually expected to finish higher in my AG with this performance, but this just speaks to the fact that there are a lot of strong bikers out there.

For the first five miles I definitely a higher cadence and easier gear than typical because I wanted to warmup well. For the rest of the ride I used big ring 15 or 16 and rode at a cadence of 80-85 for the most part. I would stand up every 15 minutes or so and stretch out the legs.

While I definitely executed on my plan and stayed where I wanted to in terms of power output for the ride, I do think I benefited greatly from drafting. I was dropping back on passes, but I was also doing a lot of passing and riding up into a drafting spot throughout the ride. I think that if this were a solo effort I would have needed a bit more oomph in order to deliver this performance.

The intensity frequency and TSS numbers I turned in for this ride were just what I had planned, so I have to be happy with myself for that.
What would you do differently?:

Not pick up the gatorade I didn't wind up using at the bottle exchange.
Transition 2
  • 03m 43s
Comments:

Not bad at all. Maybe a bit slow getting the gloves off.
What would you do differently?:

Run more slowly coming out of the transition area.
Run
  • 2h 15m 18s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

And this is where it all fell apart. Since this was my first HIM, I didn't know that my body was going to freak out from lack of salt/K/electrolytes. I decided early into the run that the best plan for me was going to be to run .5 miles and then walk 15seconds or so. At the aid stations I would consume Gatorade (watered down, thanks!) and throw ice water on myself and put ice into my hat and/or down my trisuit. Great plan until mile 9 when both my calves simultaneously seized up on me. I had never experienced this sensation before so I wasn't prepared to deal with it. I spent the remainder of the race walking and running when I could. After running about 20 seconds I would inevitably get the cramps back and be forced into walking again. I even tried stretching on the side of the road a few times. This sucked. Sucked, sucked, sucked. I still managed to finish and hit my goal of a sub 6 time, but not in the way I had hoped. If you look at my HR data, it shows clearly that I wasn't stressed at all in the last four miles, with a HR floating mostly in the 140s rather than the 160s I had targeted.
What would you do differently?:

Execute a proper nutrition plan when it comes to salt/K/electrolytes.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk through and collect medal. Get some water. Feed myself and lay down in the shade. I started feeling better about 30 minutes after the race. A couple hours after I finished and while driving back to the hotel, my left hand experienced an unbelievably painful cramp, akin to the ones in my calves earlier. It was so bad that I had to pull over. I was unable to move my left index finger up and my muscle in my hand was totally in spasm.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nutrition! I need to do some reading and some research. I need to do a sweat rate test. I need to do more bricks where I bike 2 hours and then run 1 hour. I need to exercise in the heat more, which is hard to do when you've been outside in moderate weather all year prior.

Event comments:

I loved everything about this race and would definitely do it again. The pro forum was fun to attend. I loved the ability to tuneup the day before in the water, and on the bike. It would have been nice to stay closer to the event, but all things considered this was a great experience for a first HIM.




Last updated: 2012-02-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:46 | 2000 meters | 02m 02s / 100meters
Age Group: 168/204
Overall: 1362/1749
Performance: Average
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/188168426 Calories: 397C
Suit: None
Course: Open rectangle in the Choptank River.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:51
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:42:26 | 56 miles | 20.69 mile/hr
Age Group: 112/204
Overall: 656/1749
Performance: Good
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/188168427 max speed: 25.9 Avg HR: 149, Max HR: 164 Avg power: 150W, NP: 155W, Max Avg Power (20min): 166W IF: .82, TSS: 181.2
Wind: Some
Course: Flat as a pancake loop through MD countryside.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 84
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:43
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:15:18 | 13.1 miles | 10m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 118/204
Overall: 838/1749
Performance: Bad
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/188168431
Course: Out and back in limited shade.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2012-06-12 5:59 PM

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Subject: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon


2012-06-14 11:59 AM
in reply to: #4258526

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

Great job on your first half IM.

I never heard of getting a cramp in the hand. It's amazing how many muscles can cramp that you never knew you even had.

2012-06-14 12:12 PM
in reply to: #4258526

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Williamston, Michigan
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
Nice Job Randy You do know you are not supposed to draft?  Or was it one of those races with crazy packs and unavoidable?  Look at Lava salts powder.  I am a heavy salt sweater and it works great.  Hope you had fun
2012-06-14 1:43 PM
in reply to: #4258526


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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
This is a great job for your first half IM!  Congrats!  I think that is a strong bike performance as well.  The heat took many casualties on the run, including me!
2012-06-14 2:55 PM
in reply to: #4258526

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

Nice ride, do you use power analysis software that calculates cardiac drift, also called aerobic decoupling?  It looked like your heart rate gradually increased throughout the ride.  For the same power output throughout, this would indicate you're running out of juice. 

My ride plot from Sunday:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/187822388 

I use Golden Cheetah to do the analysis, can't beat the price (free!), and it finds aerobic decoupling.

I'm not quite sure why the heart rate dropped in the middle, power didn't seem to drop off much.

2012-06-14 3:15 PM
in reply to: #4262047

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

Nice race.  The conditions are brutal on the run at EM; it is always hot!!! -> a 2:15 there is like a 2:05 anywhere else.

Congrats!



2012-07-08 5:51 PM
in reply to: #4262047

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

I do use power analysis software, Golden Cheetah in fact. For this ride my aerobic decoupling was 3.86%, which is within the <5% rule Friel uses. My HR did drift up, but it got hotter throughout the ride, and it didn't drift up enough to worry me. My Z3 for the bike is up to 160bpm, so I was still there. My relative intensity was .812, which is pretty much what I was aiming for. If you follow my blog you'll notice that I'll post graphs from Golden Cheetah from time-to-time and comment on some of the data.

You really killed it on the bike. I was incredibly impressed with the amount of great cyclists and athletes at the race. It was really inspiring.

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