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Timberman - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Gilford, New Hampshire
United States
EndorFun
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 06m 37s
Overall Rank = 209/1492
Age Group = 35-39m
Age Group Rank = 33/205
Pre-race routine:

The resturants were packed the night before the race so I didn't get back to the hotel until about 9pm. Mike Caiazzo was staying with us so I got to bounce some thoughts and questions about racing and the course before heading off to bed at around 10pm.
Event warmup:

It was a little chilly so after I got everything set up and let nature take it's course, I put on the wetsuit and went for 10 minute swim. I hung out with Rob during the delay to reset the course buoys (could you place them any further out?. Also, I was so hungry before the race it completely pre-occupied my mind. All I could think about was getting to the bike halfway point because I heard they had food there.
Swim
  • 40m 47s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started right in the middle. Things were pretty calm and I got into a comfortable pace pretty quickly. I thought I drafted well, sighted well, and was swimming a good race. The last 3/4th of the course was a little choppy but nothing bad.

I look at my watch and saw 40:30. I almost puked in disgust. Granted, I a pretty bad swimmer but I haven't swam that slow in a long, long time. I saw Rob early on the bike and he mentioned that he swam so I knew something was up with that course.

Looking at the results, I finished mid-packish. That is fairly routine for me.
What would you do differently?:

Hire a swim coach. I'm in search for one right now and hope to have things set up within the week.
Transition 1
  • 02m 6s
Comments:

I'm happy with it. I don't have the rank but it seems faster than most and I had a pretty crappy transition spot.
What would you do differently?:

nada
Bike
  • 2h 38m 52s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.15 mile/hr
Comments:

With the 40+ min swim, I was determined to have a solid bike preformance. I was a little discouraged that breaking 5 hours was a long shot at this point but I thought with a strong bike I could make up some time.

I spun up the first couple hills to get my HR down as it was sitting in the low 160's and I just got myself in a comfortable pace. I started picking off people one by one until the first real long hill about 6 miles out. As I started pushing up it I hear a terrible squeaky noise from my bike. It was that unmistakeable sound of wheel rub...I pulled over about halfway up the climb and flipped open my brakes. Start up again and the sound was still there.....At this point I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from. I unhooked my back wheel and pull back the wheel from the seatpost cut out. The noise continued. I decided to just forget about it and continue on. Every hill the noise would come back.

I figured out what the noise was when I got home. It turns out that when the bike shop tighten my rear brake cable last weak then tighten it just enough to not rub on flats or roller, but it rubbed when during wheel flex with the up hill climbs even when I flipped open the brakes. Needless to say that little mistake cost me a bit on the ride and run.

At about mile 10, just at the start of the rt 106 cruise area, my bike computer died. So I relied on my HR and RPE to gauge how things were going. I kept my HR in the low 140's thoughout the out portion of 106 and I was passing at will at this point. I think I remember being passed about 3 times all day and I can't count the number I passed.

As a side note, I saw Bjorn going the other way somewhere around Loudon. He is my new bike here....whe I grow up, I want to bike like Bjorn.

Nutrition wise, I tried disolved lava salts in my Carbo-pro mixture. I had terrible stomach cramps the first two hours of the bike until I finished that bottle.

At the turn around, I continued to pass the pace line and occassional draft line. A couple notes of concern. First, I felt like I was putting threshold effort on the climbs coming back, but my HR wouldn't go about 149. Second, My quads were spent on the climbs the last 15 miles. I tried to stand and climb a few times but my legs lack power and were uncoordinated. Not sure why, so I need to figure that out.

Overall, I thought it was a good effort given the annoying things that were thrown at me.
What would you do differently?:

Triple check the bike to make sure everything is perfect. Don't put lava salts in my nutrition drink.
Transition 2
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

pretty good T2 for me. Only 27 seconds behind Simon Lessing or just about the time it take to put wet socks on.
What would you do differently?:

Not put my wetsuit on my socks.
Run
  • 1h 43m 6s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

I was pretty spent off the bike and I really was in no mood to run anywhere. Just started to move my feet and tried to put my mind into a better place. The first mile came at 8:22....blah. I thought to myself if this pace keeps up, I'm going to be out there all day. I pulled into the mile 1 porto potty, took some salts, drank some gatorade, dumped some water on my head and started off again. Mile 2 passed a 16 min. So things were looking better. My legs felt a little better on the down hill and I got into a relaxed pace. My HR hovered around the 149-153 range the entire run, which again I thought was low.

The best moment on the came at the end of the first loop when Desiree Ficker passed me on the run. A couple minutes later Kate Major did the same. They certainly gave me motivation to keep them in sight.

Leg number 3 was the worst of the 4. Twice, I had to stop for hamstring cramps and I couldn't tell if my body was numb with pain or just numb. A couple times I forgot which mile I was on. Each loop I would see Rob (huskyboy) getting closer to me and I was actually hoping he would catch me close to the end.

When I got to 2 miles out I knew it was basically downhill to the finish and I just gutted it out. I actually passed a few in my age group towards the end.

Overall, this was the toughest run I've experienced. I'm glad I didn't without stopping (except to rub out a cramp and take a leak).
What would you do differently?:

Re-evaluate my nutrition leading up to the race and during.
Post race
Warm down:

My legs were in all sorts of hurt after the race so I sat in the kiddie pool for a few minutes. After I went to the car, put on some warm clothes and grabbed a warm beer. That was the best damn warm beer I've ever tasted.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I didn't feel exactly 100% before the race and I think my overall nutrition and diet has something to do with it. I have hired a nutritionist who I will start seeing next week. I'm also determined to improve my swim, so I'm searching for a swim coach and will hopefully start that very soon.

Event comments:

Keith's races are the best. I got to toss some of my best one liners to Desiree Ficker during the rolldown. I made her laugh, even in front of her BF. I did hold back the "Hey, Desiree, I have a picture of you as the background on my computer at work, do you want to see?" line as I thought she might find that a little creepy.

Also, I picked up a Clearwater spot which was my ultimate goal as my wife parent and my folks both live in that area and it would be a great opportunity to have them experience an event with me.




Last updated: 2007-06-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:47 | 2112 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/205
Overall: 811/1492
Performance: Average
Suit: full
Course: clockwise rectangle.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:06
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:38:52 | 56 miles | 21.15 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/205
Overall: 140/1492
Performance: Good
Wind: Headwind
Course: Out and back with some decent hills the first 10 and last 15 miles
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:43:06 | 13.1 miles | 07m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/205
Overall: 251/1492
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back twice. First 2 miles are a steady up hill. Then it's down hill for .5 miles and flat for 1 mile. That .5 mile on the way back is a killer.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2007-08-20 2:51 PM

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Master
2006
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Portland, ME
Subject: Timberman - Half Iron


2007-08-20 3:16 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Pro
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MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

First off, I don't like how you say a sub 2 min/100 yd swim "slow". 

Then, imagine if you didn't have bike issue, how fast were you going to go?

And on the run, racing with some elites. 

Congrats on the Clearwater spot again.  So, what does huskyboy has to do for you after this race?

2007-08-20 3:58 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Master
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Cambridge, MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

Fantastic race for you out there, and your goal was met --  you're heading out Clearwater 70.3 in a few months!

Congrats, and I look forward to reading more about what you learn from the swim and nutrition coaches.  Clearly you've got the bike down pat!  Just fix that rear brake issue, and you're all set. 

How sweet that you got to say Hi to Desiree, too.  She ran an impressive race by all accounts, but of course I didn't get to see it as I was still riding (probably) when she finished!

Cheers,-Sunny

2007-08-20 6:16 PM
in reply to: #932808

Champion
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Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

Nice job staying just in front of Huskyboy all day long, you must have been the carrot for him to chase!  Yeah, my swim was at least 4 minutes slower than I figured, chalk it up to a mis-measured course. 

 

2007-08-20 10:23 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Champion
19812
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MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

Congrats on a super race and getting a slot to clearwater. Now starts the fun traveling to races adventure but hose you qualify for are sweeter~

Wicked fast bike split and you had brake rubbing issue...I can only imagine...you want to grow up to be like Bjorn..I'd take being like you

Swim/run is great too..funny how to you a sub 2/100 is slow...it is all relative.

Good luck with the nutrition and swim coaching. Very cool you and Rob were racing close together and it came down to the final miles.

Awesome! 

2007-08-20 11:50 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Expert
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Portland
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

Great race Jeff!

You are my bike hero!  As I told you, I am going to focus more on bike power over the winter and see if I can get bike splits closer to you next summer.

congrats on the Clearwater spot.  I couldnt be more jealous! 

 



2007-08-21 7:56 AM
in reply to: #932808

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Master
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Maine
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

One of these days, I will catch you... maybe I should have taken the Clearwater spot to have another shot at you...

Seriously though, I appreciate having someone like you to have some friendly competition with - makes the races a lot more fun/interesting. I probably would have been a few minutes slower on the run if I wasn't trying to make time on you. 

Great job toughing it out on a tough day!

2007-08-22 2:33 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

What a great race you had. You are incredibly fast even dealing with the issues you had. Congratulations on the Clearwater spot; that is quite an accomplishment.

Also, thanks for the good words on my RR.

Anthony

2007-08-22 6:29 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Veteran
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MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron
Congrats on the Clearwater spot- that's amazing!  So what I really want to know is, what are your best one liners?  I'm impressed that you had courage to shoot a few Desiree's way (and that you were smart enough not to tell her that she is your computer background!)  But, most importantly...great race and way to stick with it through the cramps on the run.
2007-08-22 9:31 PM
in reply to: #932808

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Coach
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Boston, MA
Subject: RE: Timberman - Half Iron

congrats on the race Clearwater slot but mainly cuz you made Desire laugh!

 

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