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Ironman Oregon 70.3 - Triathlon


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Salem, Oregon
United States
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 37m 18s
Overall Rank = 817/2328
Age Group = Relay
Age Group Rank = 16/57
Event warmup:

Warm-up consisted of a 1.5 mile walk to the swim start.
Swim
  • 21m 44s
  • 2125 meters
  • 01m 01s / 100 meters
Comments:

I really wanted to try a down river swim and Oregon was my chance. How can anyone get lost in a down river swim?

At the athletes briefing they said the water was 65 and the current was strong but not as strong as a few weeks ago. We were informed that we needed to stay on the right side of the buoys, keeping them on our left. The last red buoy would be on our right as we turned towards the swim exit. Easy enough, right?

As we walked towards the swim start, I tried to catch up with the 33-35 start times. As I tried to sneak up, I heard a voice behind me telling me she was following me. I named her stalker. Her real name is Jamie, but stalker was more fun.

I lost Jamie when we got to the morning bag drop-off. They had us drop our bags according to our bib number, but no one could find the 4000s. I circled back to the U-Haul truck and found it there.

Great, I had lost my stalker, the person who said she was going to guide me to the 33-35 start times when I had to give up my glasses. No problem! I'll just ask fellow triathletes!

Most were kind. However, more than a few pointed to the signs and said, "It says on the sign." When I explained that I couldn't see the sign another person would then tell me what it said. Men were way more helpful than the women. Not kidding.

Just decided to go with whatever time was in my area and not worry about it.

Got to the dock and they told us we got to jump off or we could sit and slide. The starter said it was good to jump, as it was deep enough. So, I told the guy next to me good luck and have a blast and I jumped in.

And I promptly hit a rock, felt my toe bend back as far back as it possibly could bend, and a snap.

Popped up to the surface, turned around and told those behind me to watch for rocks because I was pretty sure I just broke my toe.

The started told me I shouldn't have jumped so deep. I asked, just how does one jump shallow. Then we all had a good laugh and I swam away.

Watching the rocks under me was kind of creepy so I tried to move to the left but I was afraid that I would go on the wrong side of the buoys. I stopped, looked around, and noticed two things:

There was only one swimmer with my and a kayaker. The swimmer had floaties on.

Not kidding. She was barely lifting her arms out of the water with each stroke.

I asked the kayaker if I was in the wrong spot and he said we were the only ones in the correct spot. Then I pointed to the lady I had just passed and her water wings. He may have said a few bad words as he asked how she got in the water with those things. It was incredibly strange.

I was expecting to feel a really strong current, but I really felt nothing. I tried to move more to the left, closer to the buoys, but they were pushing everyone to the correct side so I gave up. I just decided concentrate on a good catch and pull. (I'm evil - I like to pretend I'm grabbing the person's feet in front of me and pulling them under as I pass them.)

I ran over some guy swimming backstroke at some point. Dude, you have an 1:10 from when you start, not the last person. Just start with your expected finish.

Soon enough I found myself being pushed back towards the exit by a kayaker. I didn't see the red buoy and I was thinking the exit was past a bridge. Nope. It was before. There was no arch like usual, but as I got a lot closer, there were a few volunteers waving orange flags. Like I can see those, haha!

Waited a few seconds before my turn to exit. Got out and saw my toe was pretty much sticking out sideways. Reached down and popped it back into to it's proper position.

The only thing I could do was laugh. Because only I could break a toe in a swim start. But like I told my husband and coach, at least it wasn't my ankle again!

Swim distance for me according to my trusty Garmin was 2466.

What would you do differently?:

Not break my toe?
Transition 1
  • 11m 11s
Comments:

T1 was a really long slog and the concrete was kind of painful on my toe. So I walked.

Then I decided to pee before I got on the bike because there wasn't a line. (The line was 45 minutes before the race. Me thinks they need more port-a-potties!)

I also realized I was really hungry at this point. The long walk to the swim start and the wait burned through my pre-race food.
What would you do differently?:

Order pizza because it would have been at my bike before I got there.
Bike
  • 3h 10m 2s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.68 mile/hr
Comments:

Got off to a good start after the mount line, only to be caught behind two women riding side-by-side in an area with crappy road surface and no room to pass. A few people crossed the yellow line to get around them, but I'm too chicken. Someone finally told them off and they moved to the side.

I cannot tell you how much I loved this course. There were a few little rollers but there is oxygen in the air in Salem and I didn't even feel them. In fact, my HR never went above 140 at any time, including the hill people were walking.

There were a few places the road was rough and people lost there water bottles and aero bar hydration bottles.

I joked with a guy as I passed him going up a hill that Ironman probably collects all of the Oregon 70.3 bottles, clean them, and then resell them on the website.

As he passed my going down the hill he thought that we should just stop, collect the bottles, and put them on ebay.

The turn-around was a cluster. You had to go up a little bit of a hill and make a narrow left U-turn. A tandem bike crashed, causing a bit of a domino effect. I tried to unclip so I could put my foot down, but my cleat got stuck. But I didn't fall!

The return was into a nice little head wind. I was also beginning to hear my toe talk to me a lot more. I had difficulty keeping my focus at times. Thankfully the last "big hill" was not a big thing. In fact, when I got to the top I commented "That was it?!" A girl passing me said she liked my attitude!

I think the best thing about this course was we got to see the pros as they headed back into T2. This is the first out and back race I've ever done, and I've never seen the pros before on the course. I thought to myself they would be done with the run before I got to the turnaround!
What would you do differently?:

I lose my concentration a lot when I'm riding by myself in a race. So I start talking to horses and cows and even my bike. I need to work on the concentration thing.
Transition 2
  • 03m 22s
Run
  • 00m
  • 13.1 miles
  •  min/mile
Post race
Event comments:

This probably my favorite course and I would love to do it again.




Last updated: 2022-07-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:44 | 2125 meters | 01m 01s / 100meters
Age Group: 17/57
Overall: 712/2328
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Downstream River
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 11:11
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:10:02 | 56 miles | 17.68 mile/hr
Age Group: 24/57
Overall: 1390/2328
Performance:
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 03:22
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:00:00 | 13.1 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/57
Overall: 0/2328
Performance:
Course: Tim took over at this point and ran a great 13.1 miles.
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2022-07-15 10:04 PM

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Subject: Ironman Oregon 70.3


2022-07-16 5:50 AM
in reply to: #5281901

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Member
2098
2000252525
Simsbury, Connecticut
Subject: RE: Ironman Oregon 70.3
OMG that bike turn around, right? Who puts it on a hill?!

Hope your toe was just dislocated and not broken and healing up!

Sounds like you and I would get along great. I try to talk to people to keep myself entertained too. Most didn't want to hear it.
2022-07-16 7:18 AM
in reply to: #5281901

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Master
7712
50002000500100100
Orlando
Subject: RE: Ironman Oregon 70.3

Oh my - sorry about the broken toe, that's crazy! Thank goodness you didn't have to do the run. Congrats on a speedy swim and bike. Glad you enjoyed the course so much.

2022-07-16 10:31 AM
in reply to: amd723

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Master
8247
50002000100010010025
Eugene, Oregon
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Ironman Oregon 70.3
Sorry to hear about the toe! Hope it is "just" a dislocation. I agree--the whole swim thing is kind of a hot mess. I don't remember a dock or jumping in shallow water last year--I think we walked down steps into the water. I wanted to wear my mask till the start but was told I had to take it off about 50 yards before at a "final trash station". But then there was another discard bag right at the start. Stood around for 30+ minutes at the height of the Delta wave, packed in with all these strangers. People continuously running by and, in some cases, pushing and shoving their way to the front.

The long walk to the swim start, the chaotic self-seeding, the amount of time it took to get people in the water.....it was just annoying and gave me pause about doing the race again unless something changes. Personally I think they are banking on the scenery attracting lots of people, and not really thinking through the details. The bike course was also kind of chaotic last year. Turn-around was the same. I had to dismount when someone came up from behind and cut me off, even though I think there was a no passing zone there (there were others, and many people ignored them). Ugh. It's a pretty race but I really think they may need to tweak the venue for health and safety reasons.
2022-07-18 10:21 AM
in reply to: #5281901

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Ironman Oregon 70.3

Broken toe?!  Person with water wings?!  Backstroker?!  What an eventful swim!  Glad you made it to the bike OK-ish (popping your toe back in place = bad azz!) and were able to enjoy the course.   Congratulations!  Now heal up that toe. 

2022-07-18 12:16 PM
in reply to: #5281901

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Master
9705
500020002000500100100
Raleigh, NC area
Subject: RE: Ironman Oregon 70.3

Your poor toe!  How's it doing these days?

Great race report. It sounds like you had fun which is what it's all about. I'm glad that you didn't have to run!



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