Gulf Coast Triathlon
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Gulf Coast Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman
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![]() Swim
Comments: The water was perfect for this swim. No chop and great temperature. I had a fantastic swim the first 950 yd leg outbound. At the turn they didn't have any buoys between the turn out and the turn back in so it was hard to sight, not to mention the fact that my swim wave was orange caps so it was hard to tell what was a buoy and what was a fellow swimmer. After the turn the current seemed much stronger pulling eastbound and away from shore.To make matters worse there weren't enough (orange) buoys on the way in, making it hard to stay on course. The swim back in seemed like it took forever. I was fortunate not to encounter the jellyfish that several other people saw. Overall a good swim, about a minute faster than last year (although I was hoping for faster). What would you do differently?: Not much, I had a great stroke and sighted the best that I could off of the few buoys that were out there. It was tough to stay on course coming back in and I think that there is where I lost some time. ![]() Transition 1
Comments: This includes the run up from the beach. What would you do differently?: Nothing, I was in and out in a flash. ![]() Bike
Comments: Probably the best bike ride I have ever had in competition. I felt good from the get go and just went. I also had the incentive of my buddy Chris being in the wave behind me and trying to catch me on the bike. I am a faster swimmer so I figured I had about a 6:30 cushion on him. He is a monster on the bike so I knew he would catch me it was just a matter of when, so I was going to make him earn it. He did catch me at mile 48 (which is alot longer than I thought it would take), so I was happy with that effort. Eating and drinking were just right (no lost water bottles), and the effort was perfect. Overall a 12 minute improvement from last year. What would you do differently?: Nothing, except start the females and older men BEHIND the 25-45 men so there isn't as much traffic on the race course. I literally passed 1000 on the bike. ![]() Transition 2
Comments: I saw Chris leaving transition as I was coming in so I hurried out to try and run him down. We are about the same on the run (in an open race I am normally just a little faster) so I knew if I hurried I had a chance. What would you do differently?: Nothing ![]() Run
Comments: Ah where to begin...for those of you who know me or follow my log you see that this is well below my normal pace for a Half Marathon. All I can say is that it was so freaking hot out there I thought I was going to melt. I ran between aid stations and walked through each one pouring two ice water cups over my head and one cup of ice down my pants at each station. The sad thing is about a half mile out it had all evaportated and I roasted again. I knew that it was going to be close on breaking 5 hours and I promised myself that if I hit mile 12 at 4:53 or earlier then I would bury myself trying to break 5. I hit 12 miles at 4:56 so the dream was dashed once more. What would you do differently?: Maybe not go quite as hard on the bike. I didn't have nutrition or hydration issues or cramps, it was a matter of I just couldn't get my legs to turn over. I had a few brief times where I thought my running legs were going to come back, but they were gone just as quickly. I also think that I haven't been running enough, or doing enough longer runs. Something to work on for IM Louisville. Overall a 7 minute improvement from last year. ![]() Post race
Warm down: Walked over to the tent and had some free beer and pizza. Didn't end up in medical like last year which was a relief. What limited your ability to perform faster: Not enough long runs, heat and humidity. We haven't had this kind of heat in Atlanta (although it has been hot here), so I wasn't acclimated to the climate. I qualified for Nationals (that's twice this year) so I am happy about that. Overall it was a great race, I took 22 minutes off last years time. The only thing that would have made it better was to break 5 hours, but there is always next year Event comments: Gulf Coast is the only race I do every year for a reason, they do a fantastic job of putting on a race this big. I know that I can count on them to have everything that they say is going to be there. They only gripes about this year are 1) all the traffic on the bike course, and 2) not enough buoys coming back into the beach. Last updated: 2007-04-04 12:00 AM
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United States
Gulf Coast Triathlon
90F / 32C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 182/1646
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 52/221
Woke up about 4 am and had an Ensure (350cal) and a bagel. I also had a small cup of coffee which isn't normal for me (remember this later). Got dressed and went down to Transition to get body marked. Walked in and set up my area and then walked around and talked to friends and teammates that were there.
Went down to the beach and swam for about 10 minutes only to realize that I had to um....go...(coffee from earlier), so I jogged back up to the transition area to "lighten the load" and got back down to the beach in plenty of time for my wave. Swam a bit more with some accelerations to get the blood pumping.