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Ironman 70.3 Timberman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Gilford, New Hampshire
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
69F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 06m 14s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Breakfast at 4 am. Oatmeal, coffee and a banana in my hotel room. Also did some light stretching. My legs felt fresh and ready. I wore compression tights overnight, which seems to help. This was my first 70.3 so it's fair to say that I was getting a bit anxious at this point. I didn't sleep well at all.
Event warmup:

I set up in transition around 5:30. I had another banana and a PB&J on wheat bread. I also had a quarter bottle of Gatorade to pre-hydrate.
Swim
  • 35m 46s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 41s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim is my strength and this went pretty well. The start was packed with people (my age group is a big one) and the first minute or so was a bit frantic with thrashing and people bumping into each other. I decided to manage that by getting ahead of the pack and trying to catch people from the previous swim wave. I got into a good rhythm and just kept plowing ahead. I could have pushed harder, but the scope of the task ahead was on my mind so I kept a good tempo, but didn't push it.
What would you do differently?:

I probably could have taken a minute off my time if I had pushed harder.
Transition 1
  • 04m 14s
Comments:

I'm not super fast in transition. It's something I need to work on. I need to get some new tri-specific cycling shoes so I can clip them into the pedals before the race and use the elastic system to keep them level and jump on the bike in bare feet. My current road cycling shoes aren't easy to tighten on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster!
Bike
  • 2h 56m 34s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.03 mile/hr
Comments:

Again, in retrospect I wish I had pushed a little harder. I was cognizant of the upcoming run (not my strength) so there were a few times on the bike when I backed off a bit. One thing I'm not willing to do is exceed 40 mph on the downhills. I'm up for riding hard, but I was shocked at the number of guys who were pedaling HARD down some of the steepest descents. These races aren't worth getting killed or maimed. At those speeds (above 50 mph) one jagged pebble and it's all over.
What would you do differently?:

Push a little harder on the flat sections. I also might rethink my bike nutrition plan. I had two bottles of Gatorade on the bike and four gels. I grabbed a banana at one of the aid stations, but it might have been helpful to have an energy bar in my jersey.
Transition 2
  • 05m 18s
Comments:

I purposely took my time in this transition. I'm not a strong runner and I wanted to eat half of a Clif Bar and (importantly) hit the transition porta potty to pee! There were about four porta potties inside transition for this purpose. When I rushed over there were three in use. I threw open the door of the one marked "vacant" to find a guy in there "draining his lizard" (my 10-year-old son's phrase.) I waited for about 20 seconds and he promptly moved out of the way.
What would you do differently?:

I wonder if that porta potty stop was really necessary.
Run
  • 2h 24m 22s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

This is where I fell apart. The first 4 miles were fine, but then my lack of run training became apparent. On the uphill sections I felt my confidence wane and my legs begin to get heavy. I had some minor abdominal cramping and I couldn't tell if I needed more hydration, less sugar, more salt, or whatever. I ended up walking most of the fifth mile, which I knew was killing my overall time. When I got to the turnaround I decided to really push it. I did much better on miles 7 and 8, but during mile 9 I had to walk again. I now had pain in my left hip (totally new) and some pain on the outside of my right knee. At this point, running actually hurt. I was angry for not training better and trying to get to mile 10 so I could run (or shuffle) through the last 3.1. As always, when I got to the last half mile -- near the finishing chute -- I picked up the pace and finished strong. But I knew I'd had a disastrous run. Lesson learned.
What would you do differently?:

Like a lot of cyclists who get into triathlons, my running is weak. Cyclists tend to have over-developed quads and calf muscles, which leads to imbalances and weak running strides. I should have had someone help me with my run training to improve my stride and help me get to the point where a 10 or 12-mile run isn't too hard.
Post race
Warm down:

I iced both knees for about 30 minutes. I was beginning to get inflammation that I sometimes get on longer runs.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Bad run training. Had I kept my run under 2 hours (which I think is doable for me) I would have had a MUCH better race.

Event comments:

Overall I'm glad I did this race. I would like to do another 70.3, perhaps in a more interesting locale such as Quebec or Miami.




Last updated: 2013-07-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:46 | 2112 yards | 01m 41s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: Blue Seventy
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 04:14
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:56:34 | 56 miles | 19.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Hills! I am normally a strong hill climber, but this was definitely challenging. The biggest incline (around mile 11) was tough for everyone. I was in a pack of about 25 riders and we were collectively going about 8 mph for a few minutes. The middle of the course was much more flat and pretty enjoyable. On the flat parts I was able to keep a pace of about 25 mph.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 05:18
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:24:22 | 13.1 miles | 11m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course: Rolling hills. None too steep. Overall a nice course.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2013-08-20 3:19 PM

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Subject: Ironman 70.3 Timberman


2013-08-21 10:17 PM
in reply to: #4834676

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Master
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Timberman
nice job out there. congrats!
2013-08-22 11:59 AM
in reply to: #4834676

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Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Timberman

Congrats on a good race!  Sounds like it was good overall day for you.

As for getting better on the run, running lots helped me (almost daily - they don't have to all be long, just really consistent).  I'd bet that with even an extra run a week or so over the course of training and you'll hammer the next run!

Again, great job.

Matt

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