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Lake Stevens 70.3 Triathlon World Qualifier - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lake Stevens, Washington
United States
WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) (Ironman 70.3)
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 27m 10s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 6/10
Pre-race routine:

Did the 5 hour drive the day before with my friend Conrad, and got into town with plenty of time to spare to get registered and then make the short drive to Lake Stevens to check in our bikes. Before we headed over there though, we stopped to get some things at a bike shop and while we were there, Heather Gollnick called Conrad to ask if we could pick up some things for her. Long story why she was calling us but we were glad to do it. Took her stuff back to the hotel and chatted with her and another friend and then headed for bike check in. Stayed the night at my brother's home which is about a 15 minute drive from the race. It was nice to be able to relax there and have a nice bed to sleep in.
Got up at 4:00 in the morning after a pretty good night's sleep and took out time getting ready. Bagel and raspberry cream cheese, banana, and glass of milk for breakfast and a cup of coffee on the way.
Event warmup:

Got transition set up pretty quick, listened to tunes on the MP3 for awhile, stood in the portapotty line for way too long and then it was time to head for the start. This was a wave start so didn't have much room to get in the water to warm up. Waited until about 10 minutes before my start time, got into my wetsuit, and waited. When my group was ready to start just jumped into the water and waited for the horn.
Swim
  • 43m 2s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

Started the swim really slowly, just to warm up and get in rhythm. After about the first 300 yards or so I felt pretty good and picked up the pace. I had started right on the buoy line and somewhere in here I made a nice little discovery. They had run a rope the length of the buoy line, about 8 feet under water, to tie the buoys off of. So here I had a nice straight line to follow all the way out to the first turn buoy! Obviously, sighting was not a problem. I was sighting really well before this but this helped a lot the rest of the race. Made the turns and headed back in, following my new friend, the underwater rope, and picked up the pace quite a bit. Hit the beach and headed for the bike.

What would you do differently?:

Should have tried to warm up somehow and been able to start a lot faster. I felt pretty strong on the way back in so I should have been able to swim this quite a bit better.
Transition 1
  • 05m 15s
Comments:

Had a bit of an issue in T1. Had to use the bathroom and couldn't find one with any toilet tissue. I looked in every one of them and finally found some in the last one. Took way too much time in this transition.
What would you do differently?:

Not have to use the facilities.
Bike
  • 3h 00m
  • 56 miles
  • 18.67 mile/hr
Comments:

This is a pretty hilly course. The first 3-4 miles are flat and then you turn into the hills and have a few little climbs and a lot of gentle uphills that really don't look uphill but when you look at your computer and the effort it's taking to average 15-16 mph, it's definitely uphill. A couple more climbs and then you level out a bit by the lake and even have some downhills. Then the fun starts! After making the turn past the lake there's a section of probably more than 2 miles that is that same gentle grade, only now you're going downhill. I ran out of gears here and was just spinning along at 35-36 mph for a bit. I liked that! Then another climb, a few rollers, and a short, steep downhill. I sat up on this one the first lap, because I wasn't too sure about the road surface or the turns, but on the second lap I hit 51 mph down this stretch! Whoohoo!! Right back into another uphill after this, some rollers, another climb, and then about 3 1/2 miles of flat to finish.
Just after starting the bike, I ran into BellinghamSpence and rode with him for a couple minutes. It was good to see a fellow BT'er out there!
About 8 miles into the second loop, the lead group of pros caught me. There were 5 of them in the pack, led by Luke Mackenzie, and they were drafting like crazy. There was maybe a bike length between each of them as they went by. Left me a bit disgusted when I saw that.
When I had about 10 miles left, I thought I could break the 3 hour mark for the ride and started to push a bit more. With 5 miles left, I was really close and pushed even harder. I knew this might haunt me on the run but I didn't really care, since this was a training and learning day. As it was, I hit my watch as I crossed the timing mat into T2 and it was exactly 3 hours. Kind of funny. I had a 1 1/2 minute negative split on the second loop so I was happy with that.
What would you do differently?:

Obviously, not push as hard on the bike. I was having some minor cramps in my right hammy on the last 10 miles and these would come back to haunt me. Overall though, since I'm not a good hill climber, I was happy with this time on this really hilly course.
Transition 2
  • 02m 49s
Comments:

Pretty decent T2. Kind of took it easy after pushing hard the last 10 miles of the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Run
  • 2h 36m 4s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

The wheels fell off quickly on the run. I had dropped my last two Endurolytes while on the bike, and hadn't taken enough of them to begin with which became a problem. I started getting hamstring cramps in my right leg within the first half mile of the run. I stopped and stretched, tried to shorten my stride, slow down, everything I could think of to ward them off but I could tell it was going to be a long run. Even so, I made it to the 1 mile mark in about 9:45 which was a little faster than my goal pace. Slowed down some more and then started cramping up in my left quad too. This wasn't good. I spent the rest of the first loop stopping 3-4 times per mile and stretching out the cramps.
The second loop didn't get any better. I was drinking Gatorade and eating bananas at every aid station but nothing was helping. The cramps were getting so bad that I had to start walking quite a bit. I could run a ways, stop and stretch, walk a bit, run, stop and stretch, repeat ad nauseum. But, eventually, I finished. Saw BellinghamSpence again toward the end of the run and he gave me a bad time about walking! Just had to grin and bear it!
What would you do differently?:

Well...not cramp up!! More Endurolytes on the bike and not push quite as hard on the bike. Maybe 10 minutes slower on the bike would equate to 20 minutes faster on the run?? Who knows? Again, I was using this race as a learning experience and training day so it's all good.
Post race
Warm down:

Got some pizza and cold water and found Conrad. He was totally jacked because he'd done a 4:36 and qualified for the 70.3 World Championships!! It was great to see him so pumped up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Leg cramps and more leg cramps. There's always the next race.

Event comments:

This was obviously not a North American Sports organized race. Too few aid stations on the bike and not enough port a potties. The crowd was ok and the volunteers were enthusiastic though and they were a great help. I get spoiled by seeing IMCDA though so it's not really fair to compare other races to that. Had a fun time and would do this race again.




Last updated: 2007-07-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:43:02 | 2112 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit: Orca Speedsuit
Course: Rectangular out and back.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:15
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
03:00:00 | 56 miles | 18.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Hilly.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:49
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:36:04 | 13.1 miles | 11m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course: Mostly flat with two small hills.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2007-07-10 10:33 PM

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Expert
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Coeur D'alene, ID
Subject: Lake Stevens 70.3 Triathlon World Qualifier


2007-07-10 10:41 PM
in reply to: #880444

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Champion
6931
5000100050010010010010025
Bellingham, Washington
Subject: RE: Lake Stevens 70.3 Triathlon World Qualifier

Love to hear the Heather Gollnick story....  Good to see you out there....I think I ran over some of your electrolyte caps on the second lap...

 You had a great ride, right on the 3 hour mark....They say it's one of the toughest bike courses.

2007-07-11 8:12 PM
in reply to: #880444

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Master
1480
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Plant City, FL
Subject: RE: Lake Stevens 70.3 Triathlon World Qualifier
Congrats on an awesome training day!!   You are so gonna kick a$$ in IMFL!! I can't wait to see you cross that finish line!!
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