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Firmman Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Narragansett, Rhode Island
United States
Firm Racing
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 12m 48s
Overall Rank = 28/64
Age Group = Relay Mixed
Age Group Rank = 10/30
Swim
  • 33m 26s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

Why, oh why, does Firm use a RECORDING of the National Anthem? It's so cheesy... especially for their 'premiere' event. You can't help but feel a little bit like a hick standing on the beach, staring at the pickup truck that's blaring out "Oh say can you see..." This was just one of the many annoyances I experenced with Firm during (and before/after) the race.

When the gun went off, I shook my friend Mike's hand and started making my way through the waves. It didn't take long before I ramped off of one and got about two feet of air, crashing face first into the water and knocking my goggles slightly askew.

No matter how many times I tried to fix them, I couldn't get a good seal on over left eye again. I spent most of the swim with it full of salt water. I was concerned it would be irritated when I got out of the water, but it turned out to be pretty harmless. Though sighting was a little harder than usual.

When I rounded the first buoy, I got pummeled and wound up taking a big gulp of ocean. It took 15 seconds of so to fight back the vomit.

One we got past the breakers, made that first turn and started swimming parallel to shore, things got much smoother. I felt great. I found a person to draft off of and stuck there. While they were probably a tad slower than me, I was more interested in saving energy and coming out of the water feeling good than shaving a couple minutes off my time.

Sighting was terrible! The bouys were so far away that it was hard to see them without my glasses. Especially with the waves obstructing them most of the time. By the last turn, I was at least 200 yards past the bouy, out to sea. But with the current, I made it up pretty quick.

I put out of the same exact swim split that I did at Patriot - 33:26. But this time, I wasn't tired at all. I felt great after the swim. Getting thrown around in the waves was incredibly fun. It was like a half hour rollercoaster ride. I loved it.

I also learned that the 'saltwater in your mouth' taste takes at least a couple hours to go away. That stuff is nasty.
What would you do differently?:

Get a better seal on my goggles. Practice peeing in my wetsuit while swimming.
Transition 1
  • 02m 59s
Comments:

Since I was doing both the swim and bike for the relay, we lost a couple minutes on the other teams here while I transitioned. But it was pretty quick. The wetsuit came off easy. Cleaned the sand off my feet with some water. Even kissed my mom & sister when I ran by. Good times!
Bike
  • 2h 52m
  • 56 miles
  • 19.53 mile/hr
Comments:

When I started the bike, I said to myself, "Uh oh... this isn't going to be good." My legs were tired. They felt like lead. I was getting passed by a bunch of people, which is pretty unusual for me on the bike. A couple of the faster looking guys... sure. But not everyone. I told myself to keep my cadence up and just keep moving. I popped a gel and starting rehydrating. Around mile 10, I started to feel better and my mile 15 I was back in action. I started passing droves of people on every uphill. I saw a bunch of people with flats and kept thinking to myself, "Man, I'm glad I changed that tire out the other day."

Then, at mile 16, as I was overtaking someone just as we got off the highway, I heard a noise that haunted my most of my rides last year. "POP Pingggggggg.... ping ping ping ping ping ping..."

I stopped pedalling and looked at the guy I was passing. He looked back and said, "Well that doesn't sound good." To which I replied, "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck."

I knew was it was because I had done the same thing 5 times last year with my old wheelset. I popped a spoke. A quick look back at my rear wheel verified this. It was completely out of true and rubbing the brakes on each revolution.

Immediately, I thought of my relay partner. It was her first triathlon. A $75 entry fee, a hotel, a 2 hour drive each way, waiting three and a half hours for me to finish. IT WAS HER FRICKING BIRTHDAY for crying out loud. "This can't be happening" I thought to myself. I pulled over to check out the damage. I snapped the broken spoke off my wheel and opened my brakes wide to see if it would stop rubbing. It didn't. So I got back on to see if it was at least rideable. It was.

So I threw my goal time out the window and told myself that I had to finish this thing, even if I was riding the brakes the whole way. This time, it wasn't about me. It was about the team. I spent the next 10 miles going very slowly... both on purpose (so I didn't die on the downhills or turns) and because I just couldn't go much faster.

Finally, like a mirage, the Narragansett Bikes support car appeared in the distance. I rode up, explained the problem and asked if they had any spare wheels, which they didn't. But the mechanic was able to open my brakes a little wider so they stopped rubbing. He quickly checked the rest of the wheel out and said "Good enough to roll!" With that, I was off.

Still cautious on the downhills and turns, I pushed hard where I could to make up the lost time.

I wanted to do 2:45 on the bike. I did 2:52. Not only am I incredibly happy with the time, considering what went wrong... I'm super grateful that I was able to get back to transition at all.
What would you do differently?:

Check on my spokes more often!
Transition 2
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

I pulled up to our rack in T2 and Helen grabbed the timing chip off my ankle like a pro. Within seconds, she was gone.
Run
  • 00m
  • 13.1 miles
  •  min/mile
Comments:

Helen busted out a 1:43:40 run!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Food, water, friends and family. I dove back into the ocean to cool off and then waited to see everyone finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Mechanical difficulties, having to transition to the bike during a relay and losing some fitness after a long first triathlon season. :)

Event comments:

A fun race worth doing once. But Firm does some things that annoy me. The race has so much potential, but it's lacking in the simple perks offered by Sun Multisports and Endorfun. Especially for what they charge.




Last updated: 2007-01-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:26 | 2112 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 19/30
Overall: 45/64
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:59
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:52:00 | 56 miles | 19.53 mile/hr
Age Group: 13/30
Overall: 33/64
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:42
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:00:00 | 13.1 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/30
Overall: 0/64
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-09-10 9:50 AM

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Subject: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon


2007-09-10 10:56 AM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon

Everyone talks about FIRM race being annoying.  I don't do too many of their race and I don't really know.

Good job sticking with the ride in spite of the mechanical problem.  And glad you didn't have any accident which might result from the broken wheel.  And look at that bike split! 

Sea water doesn't bother me.  I actually like it when I drink water after having sea water in my mouth - makes fresh water tastes sweet!  A bit of salt water is considered electrolytes!

Nice run split from your teammate, too!  Congrats. 

2007-09-10 11:48 AM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon

Nice job, can't believe the split you got on your bike with a broken spoke and no rear brakes.

I have to agree with you on Firm, for the price they charge to race, there is room for improvement.

2007-09-10 3:52 PM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon
Oh dear lord, Chris.  I can't believe you pulled off that bike split with a broken spoke.  That is incredible.  Correction: you are incredible!  Nice race- way to hold onto it for the sake of your relay partner.  Being a competitive triathlete isn't about what you do with the expected, but how you perform under unexpected conditions (and you shined.)  Congrats! 
2007-09-10 4:20 PM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon

Wow...Chris you never cease to amaze me.

When I first saw your times I was thinking...he should been faster than that on the bike....now I totally understand. Man I'm not sure I would have known what to do.

Last Firmman there were like 20 people I saw with flat tires.

I agree with your thoughts about the race..so much potential.

You rocked the swim and really pulled out a good bike split given what happened. Very cool your friend ran so well....

Long season for you of so many great accomplishments...can't wait to do IMLP with you...should be a great July 20th!!

2007-09-10 5:28 PM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon
Nice job, especially with the spoke.  You can beat me on the bike by 20 miuntes even with a messed up wheel.  I had similar queesy feelings on the swim.  Salt water definately does not taste good. 


2007-09-10 6:35 PM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon
chris, i am SO proud of you!!!! awesome swim time, and i totally hear ya on the salt water taste... i couldnt completely wash out the taste 12 hours later!!! and despite the broken spoke and having to slow down, you still ROCKED the bike!! what an INCREDIBLE race you and your partner pulled off. CONGRATULATIONS!

and thank you for ALL the support...seeing you on the bike was awesome... at that point i was becoming a little mentally down because i felt like i was getting passed ALL over the place, but i wound up passing a bunch of people who didnt pace themselves. oh and by the way, i had a broken spoke last week that the guy at fast splits noticed and pulled off for me!

seeing you and your wife and friends cheering me on during that last 1/4 mile sand run was amazing. i had walked a few steps cursing off Firm for having the sand run finish and ii definitely needed the extra support.

hope you got home safe... ill be posting a race report (as i can remember) on my blog rather than on this website.

CONGRATS again...IMLP 2008 baby, here we come!
2007-09-10 7:56 PM
in reply to: #957889

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Subject: RE: Firmman Half Iron Triathlon
Ah...why am I not surprised you held it together & managed decent times to boot? Sincere congratulations on a race that tested more than fitness...  
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