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Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon - Triathlon


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Cambridge, Maryland
United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
73.5F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 08m 32s
Overall Rank = 11/2400
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/
Pre-race routine:

Due to the passing tropical storm my wife and I decided that we would not take the Cape May Ferry down on Friday. So we got a bit of a later start on Friday morning and it was nice to take our time. The drive down was pretty interesting once we hit Maryland. The skies opened and it was teeming rain for the remainder of the trip.

I decided to make it one easy trip to packet pickup and then from there off to the hotel to give the kids a break and let them swim at the hotel pool. The trip was pretty effortless and we made great time despite the weather. We hit up the normal Mexican joint for dinner and I think this might be where I made a bit of a mistake. We asked for some hot sauce and they brought out this home made fire sauce. More to come on that later. With a great family dinner in our bellies we headed back to the hotel to let the kids swim one more time. They love the hotel pool. Can you blame them. Being in the water beats hanging out in a hotel room!

Saturday arrived quickly and we did all the same pre-race stuff that I've done for the last 3 years. Nothing different. The only difference was that my stomach was not happy with me. I'm guessing the hot sauce was not a great idea. I was a bit worried needless to say.
Event warmup:

Saturday afternoon I got in touch with Greg and Kenna and one of their friends. We got together on the run course and hit our bikes to ride the run course for a quick 12 mile warmup. With the pouring rain at the time it was a really messy ride. We made it out and back safely and then Greg and I hit the road for a quick 2 mile run. By now the rain had stopped and the sun came out to make it a typical Eagleman steam bath. The humidity was ungodly. Not my favorite conditions for any race.

We hit the transition area to rack our bikes and a lot of what you would expect was in Great Marsh Park. 6 inches of mud and water to trek through for most of our walk to the bike racks. There was just no place for the water to go and not enough sun to dry it out. Race day would prove to be more like a cyclocross race than a triathlon.

Back to the hotel, typical dinner. Stomach was feeling better and off to bed for an early rise. The short time there in Seaford DE and between Cambridge went way to fast this year.

Sunday morning came early. 3:20 AM. I was wide awake and figured I'd get up and get a jump on getting my normal shower and then head on down to the car to pack up all our bags. With my kids being a little older now it's interesting. They don't want to miss anything. So my daughter was wide awake at 4 AM and my son was half in and half out. Unlike when they were a little younger and they just slept right through us packing up the hotel and putting them in the car.

Off to the race site and ready to go...
Swim
  • 27m 55s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 19s / 100 yards
Comments:

My wave went off at 7:35 AM. I did a decent amount of chatting with folks pre-race and then at about 7:20 decided it was time to get my suit on. I was really taking my time as I though I had plenty of time. The suit was on and I made my way over to the boat ramp. Ops... I hear the announcer say...3 minutes until we start men. Is that my wave? Yup. Dude put your head on straight you've got only a few minutes to get focused and get in the water. Maybe it was a good thing as I didn't over think things but I typically like to be in the water early and get a few easy swimming efforts in.

In any event I made it into the water and positioned myself on the near right white buoy marker. Looked like straight enough shot to the first orange marker and honestly I like swimming the buoy line. No one near me and plenty of space. 5.4.3.2.1....Go!

I took off and didn't really put in the normal 50-100 meter sprint that I have done in the past. I did that for a few reasons. Namely no one was with me. I was clear of the entire AG within about 15 meters. Kinda odd.... I breath to the left so I could see the entire wave slightly falling back. So I settled into a very comfortable pace. The new wetsuit was perfect. Very comfortable and I honestly didn't even feel like I had it on. I felt great in the water. Breathing was perfect and it felt like a normal 70.3 effort to me. Catching the waves in front of me proved a little more challenging this year. Lots of people scattered all over the place. I made sure I stayed clear of running over anyone. I am not a fan of doing that to people and making the beginning of their days unsafe.

I rounded the last set of buoys for home and the return trip was much faster despite the sheltered area we were swimming in. At this point with about 100 yards to go I didn't care so much about time but I certainly wanted out of the water and I wanted to let it rip on the bike. Time to get this race started.

I came out of the water and the breakaway zipper on the suit was perfect. One quick pull and the suit was off and down to my waist.

I did have an issue getting it over my big feet but that's not unusual. My Blue Seventy was the same until I cut it a few years ago.
What would you do differently?:

Be about 5 minutes earlier to the swim start.
Transition 1
  • 01m 47s
Comments:

I made one mistake here. I was in isle N and my bike was not 10 yards from where you enter transition. For some dumb reason I entered on the wrong side of my row and had a really hard time spotting my ride. The Stealth Black bike is really hard to see when racked with other black bikes. ;) Maybe next race I'll opt for some balloons hanging from my spot.

Once I found the bike I grabbed all my stuff and was off. The transition area still under 2-6 inches of mud was a mess to get through. They changed up the transition area this year. 1st time I've ever seen it in this configuration. It was a really long run to the bike mount line this year. By the time I got there my legs were covered in mud as were my feet. I tired my best to drag my feet in the grass to get the mud off. Hit my bike and was off pretty quickly. No time time worry about being dirty.
What would you do differently?:

Not run down the wrong row. My wife took a great photo of my with this confused look on my face.
Bike
  • 2h 10m 3s
  • 56 miles
  • 25.81 mile/hr
Comments:

The ride started off the same as it always does. Over the first few miles there are a lot of turns and your in the town section before you hit the open roads. I really like to punch it here and power through that section. There are still a lot of people and a lot of race traffic and it can be dangerous in these areas. So I like to get out of there as fast as possible and then hit the open roads and go to work. I really don't put any caps on power/effort here but I guess maybe I should have backed off a touch. As it was pointed out to me there were several big surges in the first 10 miles in the 400-500 Watt range and I think I spent a considerable amount of time well above my 340 FTP as well. Oh well that's racing.

Once I hit the open roads I felt great. The new bike was comfortable and I felt like I was flying. Avg. Speed was coming up well above 26 MPH and power was hovering in the 300 Avg Watt range. Possibly a little to high but I honestly felt great.

At about mile 30 I roll up on Chris Thomas and he's got his head down and seemed to be a little unfocused. I realize it was him and yell, :...LETS GO MAN! GET ON IT!" Unintentionally, I scare the living crap out of him! Sorry Chris that was not my intent. Anyway I kept on trucking and looked back about 5 minutes later and he was right with me. Perfect. Chris is a freekin beast in this sport. The guy has done it all. So he was a perfect ally to be riding with at this point. For a small dude he's got a huge Power to Weight Ratio. So the last 40K of this bike we both rode together, legally, and swapped positions a few times. I'm pretty sure it helped both of us get though a few tougher spots of this ride.

At the half way point I reset my interval which I normally don't do on this course but I wanted to see my AP numbers. I decided at that point that I would drop things to the 280-285 range and see how that went. I was still feeling good but the later stages of this race get you. The roads become a mess and your lower back and hips can take a beating. I did start to fade a touch but it was worth it as I still had to run.

2 miles to go and I shut it down and made the last few minutes easy and a time to regroup and not make any mistakes in the turns back to T2.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I'm not one to pace things. It's a race after all.
Transition 2
  • 01m 32s
Comments:

Back through the mud and carrying the bike on my shoulder this time. Lots of fun after a hard ride.

My legs, again, covered in mud! Shoes on, garmin on, visor and out the door!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 1h 27m 15s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 06m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

Normally in all of my races since I started this sport I feel very good coming off the bike. I usually never struggle until later in the run. With the exception of 2008 Eagleman which might have been one of my most epic melt downs ever in racing.

From the very beginning of this run, I didn't have it. My legs were just not there. Looking back I'd like to put a finger on one or two things that may have been the cause. Was it those 400-500 watt efforts? Nope. I don't think so. I've looked at my 2011 & 2012 power files from this race. Almost 1:1 files despite averaging 10 Average Watts more this year.

My fitness this year is probably 5-10% better than last year across the board. If I had to blame one thing my guess is going to be the horrific humidity that we had out there. For me at 180 lbs it makes it tough. The tale of my bad run can been seen in the high HR numbers. I'd venture to guess that it was a combination of dehydration and weather (humidity).

Back to the run. Through the first few miles I was struggling to get into a groove. By mile 4 I came around and things felt much better. I still had Chris at about 30-40 seconds ahead of me at the 6.5 mile turn around and honestly felt like I would not lose much more time on him. He was 5 minutes ahead of me in the 40-44 wave so I knew I was placed ahead of him in the standing. I was using him to queue off of and pull me along. Then it happened. I saw Sami and he looked pretty dam good. I was told I looked good but honestly inside I was having an internal struggle with the heat, my breathing and trying to shift into another gear. I was also watching my run splits slip and knew that there was not much hope in willing myself to a faster run. Sometimes you just don't have it. You have to come to grips with that at some point and try to salvage a decent race. Slowing down was my option and trying to manage body temp at the aid stations with ice and water was my other option. Walking is not an option. The longer your out there the worse it can get. So priority one was getting off the course as fast as possible.

Once Sami caught me the conversation got interesting. We probably spent a half mile running together talking about how guys who are 180 lbs are not made to go fast in this weather. Gotta love that. In any event he took off on me and opened a gap and I was content at that point where I was. Well content would be the wrong word. I was hurting but happy to be getting closer to the finish.

The last 5K felt to me a lot like it did with temps about 10 degrees hotter in the previous years. I got a guy to hose me down with about 1.5 miles to go and honestly think things would have really gotten a lot worse for me over the last mile if he didn't do that. The usual down "hill" mile finish was not nearly as fun or enjoyable as it's been in the past.

I was glad to see my family standing just up near the finish line and gave a great high 5 to my son. He was excited. My daughter ran next to me on the other side of the barricade and could not have been happier. Glad they like this stuff and despite all the waiting around still get so get a little bit of enjoyment out of it.

Finished again...and wiped out.
What would you do differently?:

Who knows. I'll always give it my all from the sound of the gun. It's a race and I'm there to get the most out of myself physically and mentally. I put a lot of training in and doing anything less would be selling myself and my family short.

Certainly this run is not a good reflection of my fitness. In fact, funny how its now Thursday after the race and last night I ran 9 miles in the low 6:40 range. Glad to seem my run finally showed up! :)
Post race
Warm down:

Loosen up in the Choptank and cool off.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing

Event comments:

Tri Columbia constantly puts on a good Eagleman. Even with the change in mgmt at Tri Columbia they still get it down and do it right. My only comment is that it's a super long day for everyone. Especially, racers with families. Those of us sticking around for the awards and slot allocation had a very long wait this year. I realize there were lots of penalties that had to be scored and adjusted but getting out of there at 6:30 PM or later when I'm done racing before noon is not my idea of fun. Others had it worse. I only had a 3 hour drive. Some people I knew were driving back to New England or Ohio/Pittsburgh.




Last updated: 2013-05-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:55 | 2112 yards | 01m 19s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/
Overall: 21/2400
Performance: Good
Suit: HUUB Archimedes
Course: Rectangle swim with buoy's on right and right turns.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:47
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:10:03 | 56 miles | 25.81 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/
Overall: 11/2400
Performance: Good
Ride Time (Time Moving) 2:09:33 Distance, mi 55.98 Work, kJ 2176 Temperature, °F 75.80 Average Power, Watts 280 Average Cadence 93 Average Speed, mph 25.82 Average Heart Rate 150 Weight, lbs 179.9 VAM 72
Wind: Little
Course: Flat, Fast, Eagleman!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 93
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:32
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:27:15 | 13.1 miles | 06m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/
Overall: 11/2400
Performance: Average
Lap Data Lap Time Distance Pace/Speed AHR MHR 1 06m 11s 1.00 miles 06m 11s /mile 153 156 2 06m 21s 1.00 miles 06m 21s /mile 155 156 3 06m 19s 1.00 miles 06m 19s /mile 156 159 4 06m 26s 1.00 miles 06m 26s /mile 158 160 5 06m 29s 1.00 miles 06m 29s /mile 159 161 6 06m 33s 1.00 miles 06m 33s /mile 160 168 7 06m 36s 1.00 miles 06m 36s /mile 160 162 8 06m 35s 1.00 miles 06m 35s /mile 161 163 9 06m 45s 1.00 miles 06m 45s /mile 162 164 10 06m 54s 1.00 miles 06m 54s /mile 162 164 11 07m 10s 1.00 miles 07m 10s /mile 162 164 12 06m 57s 1.00 miles 06m 57s /mile 164 166 13 07m 00s 1.00 miles 07m /mile 161 163 14 01m 23s 0.08 miles 17m 50s /mile 157 163
Course: Out and back
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2013-06-13 9:32 AM

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Subject: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon


2013-06-13 10:27 AM
in reply to: #4775366

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Master
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
Damn fine race!
2013-06-13 10:32 AM
in reply to: #4775366

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
4:08 is a sick race Mike, congrats!
2013-06-13 12:39 PM
in reply to: #4775366

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Master
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
Well done, Mike. Just because it's a fast race doesn't mean it's an easy race, right?! Good seeing you as always and good luck with the rest of the season and Vegas!
2013-06-13 12:41 PM
in reply to: 0

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South Windsor, CT
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
congratulations on a fine race, despite your ever lofty goals...
you remain super speedy all the way around
very nice job pressing the run

(you may consider changing your bar tape-i have a black/red cervello p2, along with 100,000 others and my bike really blends, but i put red bar tape on and it now sticks out pretty well)

Edited by dtoce 2013-06-13 12:41 PM
2013-06-13 12:42 PM
in reply to: #4775366

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Master
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
great RR... awesome race bro.. congrats


2013-06-13 5:34 PM
in reply to: #4775366

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Wilmington, NC
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
Gotta do it and say I told you so. Over on ST I had said that water temp and suits would not be a big deal b/c you would just fly on the swim regardless.
Great race, way to still put a run together even if you were hurting.. Just so impressed/jealous of that swim bike combo you have going.

Did you take a Kona spot or Vegas for that matter?
2013-06-13 5:44 PM
in reply to: qrkid

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

Originally posted by qrkid Gotta do it and say I told you so. Over on ST I had said that water temp and suits would not be a big deal b/c you would just fly on the swim regardless. Great race, way to still put a run together even if you were hurting.. Just so impressed/jealous of that swim bike combo you have going. Did you take a Kona spot or Vegas for that matter?

Thanks.  I was in much better running shape than what that run split indicated.  I was really hoping for low 1:20s... On anther day maybe.

Passed on Kona.  Heading to Vegas.  Thanks again.

2013-06-13 7:15 PM
in reply to: #4775366

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

Way to stick it out and salvage an awesome race despite the conditions and you not having your best stuff.

2013-06-16 2:17 PM
in reply to: Jason N

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
Wow! You crushed it. Solid across the board. Really nicely done. Congrats.
2013-06-18 7:34 PM
in reply to: slornow

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Master
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Bedford, MA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon
Nice job, Mike. I'm already looking forward to you crushing that hilly course in Vegas - quite the contrast from MD! I'm thinking of doing Eagleman next year. I think I'd do pretty well there with a strong bike leg and decent run.


2013-06-19 7:21 AM
in reply to: natethomas2000

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon

Originally posted by natethomas2000 Nice job, Mike. I'm already looking forward to you crushing that hilly course in Vegas - quite the contrast from MD! I'm thinking of doing Eagleman next year. I think I'd do pretty well there with a strong bike leg and decent run.

 

Good stuff.  Then I'll see you out there on the race course next year! I've got one more year in me I think! 

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