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Ironman Austria - Triathlon


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Klagenfurt, Karanten
Austria
World Triathlon Corporation
22C / 72F
Sunny
Total Time = 12h 47m 22s
Overall Rank = 1823/2869
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 197/338
Pre-race routine:

Arrived 3 days earlier - travelled by plane from Madrid to Graz, and then a van for about 1h to Klagenfurt. Went with the family and the kids, so had 3 days to enjoy the area, rented bikes to move around, fun swims on the lake and know the city a bit. Also plenty of time to spend on the race area to buy all type of gadgets and new gear to feel like I am "good". My family loved the atmosphere but my anxiety was increasing each day. Sent the bike through a courier and went to pick it up same day Eneko Llanos picked up his (he placed 2nd in the race), and while having a beer and frankfurters saw Frodeno (who won the race) running next to us the day before as if he was one more at the race (and not the Olympic champ he is). Attended the race briefing, that was fun and also useful.
The day before the race had early dinner (pasta and stiegl -lucky drink-) and went to be around 10:30 after getting everything ready for the day after.. And against what I though, slept pretty well. Got up at 4.30, dressed up with the trisuit and had breakfast (capuccino, a bowl of muesli with yogurt and 2 toasts with ham and cheese), and started sipping water. Went to the transition zone by bus, where place the bike computer, gels and enerybars and drinks in the bike and running bag, got my wetsuit on and walked to the lake 5 minutes.
Event warmup:

Watched first line the pros warm up, the blessing by the Father with entered the lake dressed as a Father, and the pros start. My warmup was really find a quite place, sit down and enjoy the atmosphere: this was my first ful IM and several times I looked around and though "yes, this is what I have been dreaming and working for in the last 8 months, and I am here finally!"
Swim
  • 1h 23m 40s
  • 3800 meters
  • 02m 12s / 100 meters
Comments:

The rolling start was really well organized, but obviously some kicking at the early meters was inevitable. Water was good in temperature and visibility, although not as clear as it seemed the day before from the boat (guess 3000 athletes in the water make a difference...). Did not get a nice swim rythm till about 500m went by. When reached the first buoy @1500m, realized that my Garmin was off (!!) so pressed Start and missed this first part. Then, all good, swimming in the channel was fast due to some current. Volunteers helping us out were great. I saw my family in the transition zone, was a big high to move fast.
What would you do differently?:

Improve my OW technique, I am so used the swimming in a pool that find difficult to get a good rythm in open water.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Had like a 500m run to the transition zone, had some difficulties trying to get my wetsuit unzipped but in this "long run" had plenty of time. Kept my trisuit on, got rid of swimming gear, got helmet, dry socks and cycling shoes, and out! But it took almost 10 minutes....honestly, was not in a big hurry, my goal was to get to the finish line and 5 minutes more or less would not ruin my experience
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, may be practice to remove the zip from the wetsuit
Bike
  • 6h 05m 31s
  • 180 kms
  • 29.55 km/hr
Comments:

Scenery was spectacular, some of the descents were a bit dangerous -I was a terrible accident on the 2nd loop- but this was my best part of the race. Organizers provided a sticker with the km where the aid stations were, and I found this tremendously useful: I grabbed iso in all of them (only drank iso during the bike) and ate every 20min religiously (half Cliff energy bar, gel or banana), plus a bottle of iso every hour.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Removed shoes and shocks, got dry ones on and running shoes, kept the sunglasses and changed the helmet for a visor. I thought it was very fast, but again, this took me almost 10 minutes (again) - got 4 of the left over gels (salty peanut Power bar) on my trisuit pockets
What would you do differently?:

not much
Run
  • 5h 04m 17s
  • 42 kms
  • 07m 14s  min/km
Comments:

This is may weakest area, so was ready to run "two 10k sections" and then walk the rest. This part was full of people, great crowd! Every 2.5km there was an aid station and I decided to drink iso and water or iso and cola at every station, plus slice of orange or slice of real pizza, while walking the aid station for about 200meters. I was feeling not as bad as I expected, so when the 2nd "10k" was over I kept on running. Decided to get LSD approach rather than run-walk-run... At km 30th decided to walk a full km, as I was really tired, and it was the worst decision I took all day, as trying to run again at 31 was really, really complicated. So decided I would not stop again till the end. Final 12km, even though I was tired, takes you again through the town of Klagenfurt, charity bell ring, the crowd really pushes you, and I had the vision of crossing the finish line that was becoming a reality, so just kept going. My wife and kids were volunteers at the finish line giving medals away, so could not wait for that moment. In the last km I had a brief moment of "wow, I am going to finish, and in a quite decent time!!" and kept smiling all the way through. When you turn left, you see the finish line (as in the thousands of videos I have watched all these years of IM tv) and behind, Maria, Jaime and Carmela cheering and with my medal in the air waiting, was just incredible!!
What would you do differently?:

Improve my running, need to be stronger in this discipline
Post race
Warm down:

As soon as I crossed the finish line and heard the so-wanted words "Juan, you-are....an ironman!!, got my medal from my wife, big hug from the family and got one of those metal blanket, as I was freezing. Went to the tent to get some food (pizza and chicken) and drinks (Stiegl, local beer). The area was too crowded and needed to get my bike to hand it over to the driver who would take it back to Spain, so decided to go for dinner with the family to have some bratswurg and frankfurts with more beer (yes, I had to rehidrate....). Then we went for the bike, found the driver to hand it over and took a taxi to the hotel. Long shower and in bed by 11.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Running could have been much better, but it was really good for my shape

Event comments:

This was my first Ironman, and was scared of being undertrained, of not being able to complete the distance and of the so many fears that newbies have. The atmosphere, the fans, the environment, the months of planned training (with the support of the BDAS group at this web) and very important, my family there with me, made me finish in a great time and had one of the best days in my life.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2016-11-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:23:40 | 3800 meters | 02m 12s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/338
Overall: 0/2869
Performance: Good
Suit: Speedo
Course: One loop - around 1500m inside the lake, left turn for a short 200m, back to the shore1100, and the last 1000m inside a narrow channel
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 22C / 72F Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
06:05:31 | 180 kms | 29.55 km/hr
Age Group: 0/338
Overall: 0/2869
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Two loops to an extremely fast bike course, mainly flat - yes there were 3 climbs with a cumulative altitude of 1300m, which honestly were just short climbs no longer than 2-3 km. I have been training long rides with 4 to 6 real climbs, so this was great.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
05:04:17 | 42 kms | 07m 14s  min/km
Age Group: 0/338
Overall: 0/2869
Performance: Average
Course: 2 laps to a strange circuit with an 8 shape, completely flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %0
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2017-07-07 1:44 PM

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New user
669
5001002525
Madrid
Subject: Ironman Austria


2017-07-08 11:33 AM
in reply to: #5223886

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Veteran
1677
1000500100252525
Houston, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman Austria

Great race, Juan....really great race!  I don't think you went in undertrained....and if you hadn't said that the last 11k were a bit of a struggle, I would never have known -- with you jumping over the finish line at the end, and all

I feel your pain about walking and then how much of a challenge (both physically and mentally) it is to start running again.  Way to push through it though!

2017-07-08 2:06 PM
in reply to: #5223886

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Extreme Veteran
1175
1000100252525
Langley, BC, 'Wet Coast' Canada
Subject: RE: Ironman Austria
Great race report, Juan.
Congratulations, Ironman!

2017-07-10 1:07 PM
in reply to: triosaurus

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Expert
4598
20002000500252525
Middle River, Maryland
Silver member
Subject: RE: Ironman Austria

Awesome race - congratulations Ironman!

2017-07-13 8:52 PM
in reply to: #5223886

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1941
100050010010010010025
, Vermont
Subject: RE: Ironman Austria
Fantastic job, Juan!!! I'm so proud of you! You didn't just finish, you crushed it!!! Well done!!
I can't believe you ate wursts and beer right after - that is impressive too! You have an iron stomach!
Relax now a little, you deserve it for sure.
Cheers!
2017-07-14 12:37 PM
in reply to: aviatrix802

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1007
1000
DeLand, Florida
Subject: RE: Ironman Austria

Congrats Juan!!  Great RR and absolutely FANTASTIC race!  Killer bike split!

I had the same issue when marathon training, btw.  Was using the run/walk method for training and for the long runs it just became harder and harder each time to start running after a walk break.  After run/walk training, ended up running my marathon nearly all the way start to finish.  Much easier at the long distance to run slow than to run/walk, at least for me...



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