|
Raleigh, North Carolina
United States World Triathlon Corporation 70F / 21C Overcast |
Total Time = 5h 34m 28s
Overall Rank = 373/2345 Age Group = M40-44 Age Group Rank = 82/392 |
Pre-race routine:
In summary, I had a tough race.
I felt perfect nutritionally, maybe a tad bloated. Saw Sid Mitchener in the corral, he looked ready. Saw the Scanlons, they looked great, shared some funny comments about bodyglide. Good vibe out there. Logistics getting in on the buses were seamless. My tires were fine overnight, but I'm glad I deflated tires and took my pump, as it was a hot commodity. Oh, and it would've been nice to have water bottles for pre-swim; I couldn't find any, so I grabbed a nearly empty gallon jug out of TA.
Prerace nutrition: 3:45am-bagel with honey, banana, started on 24 oz. of Ironman Perform. Clif bar at about 4:45. Half a clif bar at 6:30. Honey Stinger at 7ish.
Event warmup:
1/2 mile jog up to the bathroom I used for FS Half, only to find it locked. Heard they were kicking out folks that used the woods....
SWIM
·
55m
34s
· 1931 meters
· 02m 53s / 100 meters
· 1931 meters
· 02m 53s / 100 meters
Comments:
Swim:
Looking at the swim course from the beach, I thought man that's a long way. I'm hoping the swim was long (but I doubt it; it is WTC after all), because I've never swam so slow in my life otherwise...2:52/100m. I could've accepted 2:35 or so, but wow. Oh, and my wetsuit was in the trunk of my car because I "assumed" it would not be wetsuit legal with prior day's water temp of 79F. They called it as 76.0 F morning of, which made it wetsuit legal. I was devastated for about 5 minutes, then sucked it up and just went out to enjoy the swim. It was a brutal swim for me. I sighted laser straight. It was very easy to sight, but it took me a second to catch the line at the first turn buoy. I felt like I needed a cigarette after all the contact in the water. I had a cramp in my quad starting at about 400m that stuck with me the whole swim, just a dull ache. As I rounded the first turn buoy, I breathed right and saw the first pink cap. Guess who it was? Mr. long reach himself. Good job Greg. I was shooting for 48:15, ended up with 55:34.
What would you do differently?:
Take my wetsuit no matter what.
Learn how to swim.
TRANSITION 1
·
02m
38s
Comments:
Had a fairly decent T1 of 2:38, was shooting for 2. The whole "putt stuff in bags" thing was disorienting to me (even though I'd done it before at Over the Mountain back in 2007), and I wanted to make sure my pump made it back to T2, so I tied the bag to the pump. Seconds wasted there. And it was a LOOOOOOONNNGGGGGG TA. I felt like I moved fairly efficiently through there though.
What would you do differently?:
Be thinking about T1 in the water.
BIKE
·
2h
38m 43s
·
56 miles
·
21.18 mile/hr
Comments:
Was planning for 2:44 so was pleased with a 2:38:43, but it took its toll on the run.
Bike nutrition: one bottle of Perform up front, 2 bottles of Gu Brew electrolyte tabs (double tabs) plus one salt stick tablet in each bottle). Four Honey stingers in a flask on the top tube, mixed with water. The other half of the clif bar from prerace at mile 28. Been using Honey Stingers for a year, but the Perform for only about 2 weeks. It was a gamble and I lost. Also have never doubled the Brew tabs or used Salt Stick caps. However, I did not experience any swelling, so water retention was not a problem. I only went through ¾ of the Perform bottle, and 1-¼ bottles of Gu Brew. Picked up 2 water bottles on course (one on Pea Ridge, one on Optimist Farm), and stuck each one inside my tritop for cooling. Began alternating water and the other two fluids, then was mainly water when my stomach rebelled.
The volunteers and spectators were amazing on the route. Lots of folks out lining Avent Ferry Road, just an amazing amount of people out enjoying the morning! Great great water bottle handoffs by the volunteers, can not say enough positives. Great job!
What would you do differently?:
Never try to make up lost swim time by pushing the bike.
TRANSITION 2
·
02m
8s
Comments:
Tough entry into transition. I was afraid I'd cramp coming off the bike, and I just about did. Managed to keep moving. Huge crowd at dismount line, which was at the top of a nasty 36 front/20 rear climb. I decided to change socks as mine from the bike were soaked, and that was a good 30 seconds spent.
T2 plan of 1 minute, ended up with a 2:08. It was a big TA and I had to run a long ways, both with the bike and after dropping it off. Did not stop for sunscreen.
What would you do differently?:
Get sunscreen on a day like this.
RUN
·
1h
55m 25s
·
13.1
miles
·
08m
51s min/mile
Comments:
The run felt like it might hold together, but nutrition crept up on me, and I went ahead and decided to walk every aid station. Stopped at mile 2 for #1 stop. Good move. It was really heating up, maybe mid to high 80s at that point, and my core temp was rising. There was very little shade for most of the run. It was blazing hot out at the Art Museum, and we had to do 2 loops out there which were brutal. It was a tough course. My legs were on the verge of total shutdown the whole time. I kept the pace just below shutdown. On the outbound leg I came upon Carolyn Fellowes-Gentry at St. Mary's School. We ran together for a bit, and I moved on ahead of her. At some point she passed me back (not sure where). I ran past a guy who was cramping just before Meredith, and I stopped to give him one of my salt stick caps.He was grateful. I kept one in reserve in case I just shut down. As we entered Campus drive, Linda Hatfield came roaring by me on the run. She just looked so smooth, but was doing work. Then as I entered the greenway, here comes Daryn just flying, on his way home. Wow. Quick stop for sunscreen at the greenway aid station. I walked up the big hill entering the museum. I walked a lot of the first loop out there too, but on the second lap I felt recovered, and cramps subsided. I ran by Jason Biggs on the second loop (he still finished ahead of me due to later start), and he said he was sick. Met Scanlon just after I crossed the bridge over 440, he looked fantastic. I walked the hill past the tunnel under Wade Avenue. A little further up I encountered Greg who was cramping. All I had to offer was encouragement and a salt stick cap, but he said he was good. As I exited Meredith on the way back, I again caught Carolyn, and we ran together for much of the rest of the course. I ended up pulling ahead of her at the finish, but I think it helped keep her going, and she got a Vegas slot. Gave my second salt stick cap to a guy cramping in front of State heading towards the museum. My legs were feeling good at that point, so figured I didn't need it. My friend Daryn Lambooy finished 2nd M40-44 and got a slot, as did Tara Wind formerly of Lifetime Fitness (now with WakeMed). Another new friend in Apex Scott Moomaw(who I've run and ridden with a bit) went 5:10.
It was fun wondering where Louis and I would meet. It turned out to be the perfect arrangement. I caught up to him in the finish chute on Fayetteville Street. He beat me fair and square by 4 minutes, one second. We would've crossed together, but I wanted to give him the actual and symbolic victory :).
My run plan was 1:39, and I ended up with a 1:55:25. I turned my fastest split in the home stretch. Last 4.1 miles were 18:51, 8:17, and 8:37, which included a long stop at aid station 3 (I had a coworker there I hung out with for a minute or so).
Run nutrition: plan was to carry the second flask of honey stingers. I did that, but only took one tiny sip to see if it would agree with me, and quickly decided to live off the course. Carried a bottle of Perform with me in my fuel belt handbottle. Alternated between that and water (and flat coke at mile 3). Ate a banana section at Meredith at mile 4, and an orange wedge. Water and ice in my tritop at the greenway aid station not far after. Banana wedge each time I passed the Art Museum aid station. Banana again passing the greenway station before Meredith. Water and ice every aid station. Orange slice again at the 5k to go mark.
My run plan was 1:39, and I ended up with a 1:55:25. I turned my fastest split in the home stretch. Last 4.1 miles were 18:51, 8:17, and 8:37, which included a long stop at aid station 3 (I had a coworker there I hung out with for a minute or so).
Run nutrition: plan was to carry the second flask of honey stingers. I did that, but only took one tiny sip to see if it would agree with me, and quickly decided to live off the course. Carried a bottle of Perform with me in my fuel belt handbottle. Alternated between that and water (and flat coke at mile 3). Ate a banana section at Meredith at mile 4, and an orange wedge. Water and ice in my tritop at the greenway aid station not far after. Banana wedge each time I passed the Art Museum aid station. Banana again passing the greenway station before Meredith. Water and ice every aid station. Orange slice again at the 5k to go mark.
What would you do differently?:
Never push the bike so hard that cramps appear ON THE BIKE. Have a plan B for when nutrition isn't working well. Wear a white hat that can cover my scalp AND contain ice. BONUS: That's exactly what the finisher gift is, a white hat!
POST
RACE
Warm down:
Got a water, then went straight for a beer and slice of vegan zPizza. Then went back looking for Louis and rockstar Daryn, but they had vanished (they said the same of me). I stayed there and cheered in every athlete I saw for the next 45-60 minutes. Saw my friend Kevin come in, high-fived him in the chute, along with Wade, Jason Biggs, Marc Primanti, lots of folks. Heard Jennifer James announced, and went to meet her at the chute exit. Took her to find shade, then a few minutes later Scottie finished.
Bought a few things at the expo, then ran into IRONCAROL (keyone). She finished this freakin' thing swimming the one-arm freestyle. I.AM.AMAZED.
What limited your ability to perform faster:
Poor wetsuit decision on my part, poor communication on the part of WTC in my opinion.
Piss-poor swimming performance.
Putting in a good bike split at the expense of a bad run split is a bad idea.
Event comments:
Could've used an aid station it seems between the last one past Meredith and the far one up at the Art Museum. That was a long stretch to me without anything, and there's a nasty stretch between.
Overall:
My goal for the race was a 5:14 (not accounting for heat). That was a pipedream, 5:30 would've been more realistic, so I'm pleased I suppose with a 5:34:28. I had a buddy starting one wave later at 7:26 (Louis Holdstock), and we were joking last week about where I'd catch him on the run(he outswam me by a large amount). I ended up coming up to him with about 300m to go on the run. I touched his back, and he looked over and smiled. We ran in together, but I hung back and let him cross 1 second ahead. It was the sportsmanlike thing to do :).
Thoughts:
Each of these events is a data point for me. I find out interesting things about myself each time. One thing I keep coming back to is the swim. I've got to figure this thing out if I'm going to keep doing these events. That will be my summer focus. I know I keep saying that, but I;m putting my money where my mouth is this time. Please force me to do that. Also, nutrition. It keeps blowing up on me. I've got to find what works and stick with it. Bike was comfortable first half, and a little too hard perhaps in the second. Mentally I was "trying to make up time" from the swim. That is a mistake. I did consciously back it off in the second half to save the legs a bit.
Next year?
The support on course was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Volunteers, staff, specators, law enforcement. Just a phenomenal effort on their part. Logistics were seamless once you got them figured out. I think I will do it again. It may be the ONLY race I do next year due to cost, but it will be fun to do again maybe. Only negatives were 1) not enough portapotties at swim start and 2) traffic impact. That's a wound that will take time to heal; there were a LOT of delays on the roads, but I believe it's the fault of the media AND the general public not giving a flip about it until they see a barricade/traffic cop in front of them.
|
Swimming
|
|||
|
00:55:34
| 1931 meters | 02m 53s / 100meters
|
|||
|
Age Group:
|
275/392
|
||
|
Overall:
|
1570/2345
|
||
|
Performance:
|
Bad
|
||
|
Suit:
|
none,
dammit
|
||
|
Course:
|
Triangular
with long middle section, right turns.
|
||
|
Start type:
|
Wade
|
Plus:
|
Waves
|
|
Water temp:
|
76F
/ 24C
|
Current:
|
Low
|
|
200M Perf.
|
Below
average
|
Remainder:
|
Below
average
|
|
Breathing:
|
Average
|
Drafting:
|
Average
|
|
Waves:
|
Below
average
|
Navigation:
|
Good
|
|
Rounding:
|
Good
|
||
|
T1
|
|||
|
Time:
|
02:38
|
||
|
Performance:
|
Average
|
||
|
Cap removal:
|
Good
|
Helmet on/
Suit off: |
|
|
Wetsuit stuck?
|
Run with bike:
|
Yes
|
|
|
Jump on bike:
|
No
|
||
|
Getting up to speed:
|
Below
average
|
||
|
Biking
|
|||
|
02:38:43
| 56 miles | 21.18 mile/hr
|
|||
|
Age Group:
|
132/392
|
||
|
Overall:
|
574/2345
|
||
|
Performance:
|
Good
|
||
|
Split
Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank 26
mi 26 mi 1:10:36 2:08:48 22.10 mi/h 56 mi 30 mi 1:28:07 3:36:55 20.43 mi/h
Total 56.0 mi 2:38:43 3:36:55 21.17 mi/h
|
|||
|
Wind:
|
Some
|
||
|
Course:
|
Sedate
first half, more hills in the 2nd.
|
||
|
Road:
|
Rough Dry
|
Cadence:
|
90
|
|
Turns:
|
Good
|
Cornering:
|
Good
|
|
Gear changes:
|
Good
|
Hills:
|
Good
|
|
Race pace:
|
Hard
|
Drinks:
|
Not
enough
|
|
T2
|
|
|
Time:
|
02:08
|
|
Overall:
|
Good
|
|
Riding w/ feet on shoes
|
|
|
Jumping off bike
|
|
|
Running with bike
|
Good
|
|
Racking bike
|
Good
|
|
Shoe and helmet removal
|
Good
|
|
Running
|
|||
|
01:55:25
| 13.1 miles | 08m 51s min/mile
|
|||
|
Age Group:
|
82/392
|
||
|
Overall:
|
373/2345
|
||
|
Performance:
|
Below
average
|
||
|
Split
Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank
4.2 mi 4.2 mi 35:14 4:14:17 8:23/mi 6.4 mi 2.2 mi 21:08 4:35:25 9:36/mi 9.3
mi 2.9 mi 28:49 5:04:14 9:56/mi 13.1 mi 3.8 mi 30:14 5:34:28 7:57/mi Total
13.1 mi 1:55:25 5:34:28 8:48/mi
|
|||
|
Course:
|
Rolling
for first 5 miles, then the hills started to come. Nasty little double loop
out at the art museum really sucked the life out of me. I rebounded on the
second half though and hung in there.
|
||
|
Keeping cool
|
Below
average
|
Drinking
|
Not
enough
|
|
Post race
|
|||
|
Weight change:
|
%5
|
||
|
Overall:
|
Average
|
||
|
Mental exertion [1-5]
|
3
|
||
|
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:
|
Good
|
||
|
Race evaluation [1-5]
|
5
|
||
United States
FS Series
56F / 13C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 43/182
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 9/41
Up for good around 6. Slept miserably, couldn't stop my mind from racing about the swim. I was very uncomfortable with my swim recently, and my mind would not stop fretting over it. Temperature, wind, pollen, etc. all weighing on my mind. Typical prerace meal of peanut-butter-banana-honey sandwich and OJ. Took an ibuprofen prerace (hip was dodgy), and drank my first cup of caffeinated coffee in several days. I was chipper at the race site for sure.
Left home approx 7:15, and was at Beaverdam by 7:50, going the slow way. Big snafu with entry(those that picked up packets Friday night got a parking pass, those of us that didn't had to pay $6). It was a mess.
Took my bike and gear straight to T1 and racked it, then walked to packet pickup and stood in line for ~15 minutes. Guy behind me drove down from Ohio, ended up winning our AG. He was on his way to practice swim in Florida, then next race is Augusta, then IM Cozumel. Strong chance he'll KQ this year. Anyway, got racked and set up, and started seeing everyone (Louis, Alan, Greg, Todd, etc.) Good camaraderie on the rack, helped a girl with taping her Gu to top tube, neighbor let me borrow ankle spray lube. Trip to the potty about 9:00, short run about 9:10, then put the wetsuit on. Went and dipped myself in the water for a few minutes, then got out for announcements/moment of silence, then we went down to swim start area. M sub-39 went first, we went next, all women went after us. Ate half a clif bar about 9am. Honey stinger 15ish minutes before expected start.
Short jog to first side road and back. Hip still not feeling right, so was hoping the swim and bike would warm things up. Not a promising test run though.