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Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Racine, Wisconsin
United States
HFP Racing
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 01m 41s
Overall Rank = 234/1256
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 31/113
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:10. Made coffee ( real coffee! ). Had a clif bar, and a green food odwalla type drink.

Drove to race site, found a parking spot close by on the streets, so we didn't have to park far away and take the shuttles.

Got to transition and did my setup. Pumped up tires, filled water bottles, walked around and said hello to everyone I knew.
Event warmup:

Went out for a 5 minute jog to loosen up, and shake off pre-race jitters.

Lubed up with bodyglide, then walked as far down the beach on the bike path as possible, then put on wetsuit to continue to the trek.

Got in the water and got a bit of swimming in to adjust the wetsuit and get my arms and shoulders loose.
Swim
  • 35m 57s
  • 1931 meters
  • 01m 52s / 100 meters
Comments:

Swim was good. Got off to a good start, and just swam fairly easy, looking for drafts. Got a good one and rode that for the first 1/2 of the swim, then lost him when we started catching earlier waves.

I focused on swimming easy and relaxed, to setup a good bike and run. Gave up a little bit of time here, but was feeling pretty good coming out of the water. There were a lot of orange caps behind me, so I did pretty well.
What would you do differently?:

Swim faster. Could have pushed the swim a little more, and not suffered too much.
Transition 1
  • 01m 20s
Comments:

Good T1. They had a timing mat at swim exit, but there's a run up the beach, which I thought would be in T1 time, rather than swim time, but it looks like that's not the case after all, as there's no way I ran several hundred yards through the sand and made it through T2 in 1:20.
What would you do differently?:

Levitate over the sand from swim exit to T1. :)
Bike
  • 2h 32m 7s
  • 56 miles
  • 22.09 mile/hr
Comments:

This felt like a good bike for me. This was the largest field to race here, so there were ( it seemed to me ) a few packs of riders out there. At one point, no less than 10 bikes went past me, all on each others wheels. Like less than a bike lengths separation. There was one girl who really cheesed me off. She was literally inches off the guy in front of her. They came by, and I decided to re-pass, after letting them get up ahead. As I went by I yelled out "Nice Fu(*&ing Draft!". She looked over, and gave me an evil glare. Whatever. I kicked it up a notch and rode off the front of their little group.

Two other times, a large pack came through, and I had to literally softpedal and sit up to avoid getting sucked into the pack. That was annoying, but both times, they were trailed by a draft marshal on a bike who was quite busy with recording numbers.

Nutrition was 4 scoops of perp, 2 gels, 2 endurolytes in seat tube bottle + 2 more gels + a bit of infinIT. Several bottles of water that topped off my aerobottle and then got dumped over my head.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, possibly pace this a little slower, aim for a more even ride. VI should have been lower as this was a flatter course. I think the changes in tempo due to avoiding draft packs may have affected that. I couldn't ride quite at the pace that I wanted to. That could possibly explain what happened on the run.
Transition 2
  • 01m 11s
Comments:

Good T2.

Apparently, the helicopter covering the race, hovered over ( or nearly over ) transition while shooting coverage of the leaders. The rotorwash wrecked havoc in transition. Kicked up sand onto everything, and blew towels, wetsuits, shoes, socks, etc. all over. Even knocked down a few of the racks ( which were empty, as all the bikes were still out on the course, thankfully ). Volunteers and relay racers ( including my mom and brother ) were able to get most everything put back where it belonged before everyone got back. Phew!



What would you do differently?:

Had a speedy transition. I'm pretty good at these.

I might helicopter proof my t-area, but I'm not sure how to do that short of a ground-to-air missile battery. :)
Run
  • 1h 51m 6s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

Pain. Pain. Pain. Not a very fun (or fast) run at all.

My quads were cooked on the second hill out of transition.

This was not the run I was expecting, based on what I've been doing in training. I didn't bike overly hard, but I just had lead legs on the run.

It was hard to keep from getting discouraged when the race started going south for me, but I managed to keep plugging away. I walked a few of the aid stations for a few steps to make sure I was able to get in enough fluids, as it was getting warm out there.

Tried to raise effort over the last 2 miles to at least squeak in under 5:00, but legs just did not have it. I kept it rolling though, and made it over the line just over 5:01.

Had 2 gels, several cups of inifinIT, several cups of water.
What would you do differently?:

Change into my Kenyan legs in T2.
Post race
Warm down:

Got two ice cold bottles of water. Drank one straight off. Then got my recovery mix from transition, mixed that with the second bottle, then went the lake to go soak my legs in the cold water.

Ran into the LMT that I got my pre-race massage from in Kona on the way down to the beach. She was hanging out with Heather Golnick who had just come back up from cooling off in the lake herself. She recognized me ( the LMT, not Heather Golnick ) and said hello so we talked for a bit. Heather was just kinda standing there. Heh. Then she had to go take care of her LMT duties, and the lake was calling my name.

Soaked in the lake for about 10-15 minutes, until I started shivering. Then came back up by the finish line and cheered in all of my friends and fellow BTers that I saw come across the line.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Someone stole my legs and replaced them with a defective pair.

Event comments:

The volunteers on course were awesome. Huge police and volunteer presence on the bike course. I don't think a single intersection was unmanned.

Post-race, left a bit to be desired. They ran out of food, so when I made it to the food tent after waiting for my friends at the finish, there was only some sugar cookies and bananas left. More did show up, so there were salty chips, muffins, and pbj sandwiches, but nothing that looked really good.

Also, I think the field was too big this year, as evidenced by the crowded conditions on the bike. No real climbs to spread things out, so you end up with the packs that are inherent to flat courses. Breaking the waves up might help some, but not sure how much.

They are adding a 101 distance next year, so we'll have to see how that plays into things.




Last updated: 2007-04-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:57 | 1931 meters | 01m 52s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/113
Overall: 266/1256
Performance: Average
AHR 150
Suit: Full
Course: Point to point swim, south along the shoreline.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:20
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:32:07 | 56 miles | 22.09 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/113
Overall: 213/1256
Performance: Good
Average Power: 199 Normalized Power: 211 VI: 1.06 Average HR: 148
Wind: Some
Course: Around and about through the area west of Racine. An out and back, that leads to a single loop.
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 89
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:11
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:51:06 | 13.1 miles | 08m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/113
Overall: 363/1256
Performance: Below average
AHR for run laps ranged from 148-151.
Course: Double out and back. Two hills at the start, but basically flat after those two hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-07-23 12:26 PM

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Pro
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St Charles, IL
Subject: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon


2007-07-23 3:48 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Champion
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Whizzzzzlandia
Silver member
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon

It's not how you feel, it's how you look... and I can tell you... You looked MAH-VELOUS on the run. You didn't look like you were ailing or having any troubles at all. But perhaps that's because I was side tracked with my own misery. I thought you looked just dandy.

You had an awesome swim... I saw ONE orange cap coming out of the water with us... and I knew "OH $HIT, I'm slower than I wanted to be... and he's gonna catch me sooner than expected..." Because I know you're always out with the leaders of your swim wave... and of course, there you were, 3 minutes into my bike, ZIPPING (pun intended!) past me along with other aero helmeted carbon fibered speed-dudes. 

You did great. I don't know what it was with the lead legs, but I felt them too. I eventually gave up on myself and was just hoping you reached your goal.  5:01 on a "bad" day? Take it.

Proud of you, as always. Kiss

El Dub 

 

2007-07-23 3:59 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Crystal Lake, IL
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon
Still a great job, Chris.  There was something about that course yesterday.  For the most part it seems like everyone had good rides and bad runs.  Must have been the water.
2007-07-23 5:24 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Expert
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Wellington, North Island
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon
A 5:01 on a bad day is pretty dang good. That run was brutal though.

And if you can tell me where you got your pair of Kenyan legs, I'm going to look into purchasing some for myself to change into T2. I could have used them yesterday.
2007-07-23 5:49 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Champion
7704
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Williamston, Michigan
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon
Well Thats pretty damn fast Chris...I'd ask how my legs got to Racine but mine don't run that fast.  I'd take legs that ran that fast in a heart beat.  I'll take those youkeep lokking for a fadter set ?  Awesome job
2007-07-23 6:06 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Master
1671
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West Bend, WI
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon

Ill take that slow run of yours- cuz it was faster than mine!!

I think you had a great race- good job



2007-07-24 12:16 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Regular
80
252525
Oak Park, Il
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon

I am doing a quick study on your race report as my race was a definite "how not to." I know you're disappointed but really, really nice work out there. It was especially cool to see your whole family joining in on the fun.

For 2008, I'm going to order a band to go with my LiveStrong...WWCD (what would coredump do).

2007-07-24 1:31 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Expert
1148
100010025
NW Suburbs, Illinois
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon

Great race for not having a great race (hope that made sense). 

It was definitely great to see you on the run, and glad I could push you a bit; in that friendly competitive way, of course.  It was funny b/c Hangloose was letting me know where you where at, and for a very, very brief moment, I thought I might catch you......So, you pushed me, too.  That is why I love that run course.  You can't let up, b/c too many people are pushing you. 

So, on my best day, I still have ground to make up on one of your bad days! 

Great job.

2007-07-25 12:04 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Elite
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In The Peleton
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon

Great race even if you were a little off your game.  Thanks for the encouragement on the run, it was great to see a friendly face and hear my name!

2007-07-25 1:37 PM
in reply to: #897177

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Extreme Veteran
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Olathe, KS
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon
Wow, for a "not so good" race, you really rocked it! Great job!

Nice to meet you at the dinner! BTW, I did NOT blowdry my newly washed cycling shoes. Although I was tempted... I'll just trust you on that one.

2007-07-26 12:29 AM
in reply to: #897177

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Master
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Ann Arbor, MI
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon
Awesome job on the race! I don't care if it wasn't what you had hoped for, you still did incredibely well and I'll take that time any day of the week! Congrats!


2007-07-26 1:36 AM
in reply to: #897177

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Elite
2468
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Racine, WI
Subject: RE: Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon

As always, it was GREAT to see you and your Dad, and to meet your mom (even though it was brief).  Are you contemplating the 101 next year?  Me, I'll stick to the half 'til I get the darn thing RIGHT...

You sure didn't look like you were hurting on the run course.  You hide it well   When you are done with your legs, can I borrow them?  Just once?  PLEEEEEASE????

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