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 04m 4s
Overall Rank = 255/1256
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 0/173
Pre-race routine:

Well, the pre-race stuff started on Saturday. We took a swim in Lake Michigan with TriingforSept. Met up with the Hangloose family and let the kids play in the Lake for awhile. Then we headed to the Hotel and checked in. My mother-in-law came all the way up from St. Louis to see me race. We only had one room, but we got lucky as another one opened up when we got there. So, our plan was for her to sleep with the kids. Big bonus, there, as that helped my get some sleep later.

After we checked in, the family was extremely hungry, so we left for the Chancery early. We ended up meeting up with the BT crew and had some good converstaions. Thanks to CindyK and MarkK for setting that up. Met about 30 BTers and that made the next day much more fun. HL and I then went to set up an area for our wives and children. Full cabana and all.

Got home went to sleep at 9:10. I was a little exhausted from the day. This turned out to be good, since I actually fell asleep. Slept until about 2:15. Had to go to the bathroom, and couldn't get back to sleep. Stayed in bed until 3am, and then hit the shower. Took my computer and bag with me and headed to the lobby to meet Hangloose and StartingtoTri. I logged on to check weather and I had my breakfast (water, clif bar, and bananna). Big shout out to Laura (StartingtoTri) for giving HL and I a lift down to the show. She wanted to get an early start, and HL and I were on the same page, so that worked out awesome.
Event warmup:

Not much of a warm-up. Walking the 1 mile up to the start along the beach did the trick for me. I did some stretching before the walk and once we got to the start, I did some swimming just to see how bad the waves were going to be.
Swim
  • 33m 44s
  • 1931 meters
  • 01m 45s / 100 meters
Comments:

Very good swim. I felt comfortable the whole time. I pretty much swam this one by myself, since I never found any good feet to stay with. When I did, their sighting wasn't good, so I left them. I took it as a warm up and tried to stay comfortably fast. Mission accomplished.

I enjoyed the swim in the big Lake and we were a little lucky in that the waves were nothing like the day before. Much wavier than an inland lake, but not bad for Lake Michigan.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I got off to a good start, and really found a good comfortable rhythm.
Transition 1
  • 01m 37s
Comments:

Good transition. With approximately 1300 people in the race and assigned transition areas, the transition area is big. So, a good deal of this time is jogging through transtion. Had the shoes in the pedals, so it was: wetsuit off, helmet and glasses on, and off to do 56 miles. Considering the length of the race, and I was trying to be cautiously fast, this time was good. I also went number one here, b/c, well, I had too and no one was around.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, pretty efficient.
Bike
  • 2h 33m 7s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.94 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike for me was awesome. I really stuck to my pacing plan and my nutrition. I nailed the full 2.5 hours here. My plan was to take the first 15 miles easy (thanks for the tip, Jorge!) and then find a groove. So, I let the hammerheads go at the beginning. When the people in my age group passed me, I just uttered, "nice swim" (under my breath of course - humor is great medicine).

I wasn't going to look at speed, just cadence and AHR, but I peeked at 15 miles and I was doing 20.8 and I was really just getting warmed up, so that felt great. My HR was like 135 and I felt I could go forever. Then, I slowly started to pick up the pace and then just dialed it back, if my HR got out of the zone.

The ride was very fun. The people of Racine really come out to watch. Nice scenery and just a fun ride. I was thinking I might catch Whizz around mile 50 or so, but when I saw her at mile 20, I knew I was having a good race, b/c she was moving at a good pace herself. I said something about her age (which was on her calf), which at the time I thought was funny, but probably wasn't. I did see tripletmom on the bike and tried to give some encouragement. I wasn't sure it was her, until she acknowledged. I caught up to sneaky Pete (PeterAK) at around 35 miles, I think. He was going good, too. He had got caught up in this pace line as it was passing him. I am pretty sure he didn't get penalized, as he definitely wasn't drafting. I actually tried to pass him but couldn't. I dropped back and then ended up passing him after another couple of miles. We talked a little bit, but not sure about what (that damn pace line?).

Another cool part of my ride was watching the pros come back in. They were flying. They had the motorcycles and cameras in front of them, so you knew when they were coming.

I took in 5 gels, 5 salt tablets, 24oz GE, 72oz of water, and a cliff bar.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I dropped my chance at one last water bottle at the 45mile mark. I think I could have used about 8-12 more oz, but I guess the bike was lighter coming in.
Transition 2
  • 02m
Comments:

T2 was OK. I took a little time to gather myself for the run and tried to go to the bathroom in one of my towels. I was unsuccessful. Oh well, I figured I could find a place on the run. I started to put on my socks, and there was only one there. Oh crap! I looked around under my towel, everywhere. A little bit of panic, here. For a second, I thought I would have to run the 1/2 mary w/o socks. Not good. I put on my fuel belt trying to think this over and then I saw it velcroed to my bike shoe on my bike. I must have attached as I was racking my bike. Whew, that was a relief.

This time could have been better, but I wanted to be sure I had everything for the run.
What would you do differently?:

Put the belt on during the jog through transition. I had the fuel belt, so that messed my timing up a bit. OK, though.
Run
  • 1h 53m 34s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 40s  min/mile
Comments:

Going into the run, I felt pretty good. I had kept the HR down, and I was properly fueled and hydrated. I probably felt too good, b/c I went out a little fast. My plan was to take the first 4 miles easy, and then pick up the pace from there. Well, I felt so good, I ended up do the first 6 miles in just over 49 minutes. I started thinking maybe I could break 5 hours! Well, it didn't take long before my HR was getting very high and my pace was slowing down. Darn it.

I ended up going to the bathroom at one of the porta potties along the way around mile 4. And that helped for the next couple miles, but I think my body was starting to rebel at exerting myself for longer than ever before. I saw David Thompson (winner of the event) coming in and he was just flying. I got passed by Lisa Bently, but I saw the motorcycle with camera, so I did a big "Love Life" symbol as she flew by. I am sure that will be left on the editing room floor, but would be cool to see if it makes the broadcast.

Mile 8 and 9 were tough, as my walks through the aid stations became even longer than the first walks. I kept seeing fellow BTers, which kept me moving forward. All triathletes are awesome, but BTers have a way to keep you motivated (probably b/c you don't want them to see you falling apart).

The last 3 miles, I was just kind of holding on. I wanted to push it in the last mile, but I couldn't.

Got to the last tenth of a mile, and as I was looking for my family when my son popped out to run the last 100m with me. And, he almost beat me in. Very cool pick me up. I found out later that my daughter was going to do the same thing, but she tripped and scrapped her arm up. She was pretty disapointed. I told her she could do it next time. Nothing a nice pink cookie from the food tent couldn't solve.

Run splits (unfortunately, I only got HR for 1st mile, and at the halfway point b/c I didn't have the Garmin HR strap on):

1m: 8:12, ahr 149
2m: 8:05 (feeling good)
3m: 8:18
4m: 8:10 (When I saw Dumpster here, he looked good to me, and I was in range, which told me I was having a good race)
5m: 8:11
6m: 8:16 (hit the HR split here and for the 1st 6 miles it was 153...I wanted to stay below 149 for the 1st half)
7m: 8:32
8m: 8:36 (minor calf cramps and some arch pain)
9m: 8:56 (hitting a bit of a soft wall)
10m: 9:08 (not dead yet)
11m: 9:05 (OK, 13.1 is a LONG way)
12m: 9:16
13m: 9:33 (not exactly the strong finish I was visioning the night before)
.1m: 8:24 (a little surge from seeing the crowd, my wife and kids and my mother-in-law)
What would you do differently?:

Stick to my plan and start out slower. Walk ALL aid stations. That is how I trained, but somehow thought I was OK. Even with that, I am satisfied with this run.
Post race
Warm down:

Talked with the family, kids, mother-in-law. Went to get some food. I got some ice for my foot (arch hurt), and then went to the Cabana. Talked with Coredump awhile about our races. Then he suggested a swim in the lake, so I took my son down there to cool off. Great idea, Dumpster! The lake felt awesome!!!

Got back in time to see Whizz, Jowisc, and HL finish. Listened to the live music, and then packed up the cabana and the family.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was a great race for me. Much better than I imagined (and trust me, I imagined some lofty times). I think I did much better than I expected for a first HIM. Minor mistake would be going out a little fast on the run, but I am not sure how much time that cost me.


Event comments:

Wow, what a great race and race venue. The beach and Lake Michigan are beautiful. The volunteers were amazing. They were everywhere. The people of Racine really embrace this event. If you are looking for an HIM to do in the Midwest, put this one on the calendar.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-01-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:44 | 1931 meters | 01m 45s / 100meters
Age Group: 14/173
Overall: 146/1256
Performance: Good
138 ahr. Good zone to be in for the swim.
Suit: Yes
Course: Out against the waves for the first 400m, then a right turn to follow the shore, and another right turn for about 300m into shore. A long sandy run to transition.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:37
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:33:07 | 56 miles | 21.94 mile/hr
Age Group: 44/173
Overall: 234/1256
Performance: Good
I didn't use the garmin on the bike, but hit my lap button every hour. My AHR for the hours were: 137, 140, 140. Upper Z2, little Z3 as per plan.
Wind: Some
Course: The course is fast. I never had to get out of my saddle. There are rollers and some small hills, but relatively flat.
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 92
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:53:34 | 13.1 miles | 08m 40s  min/mile
Age Group: 72/173
Overall: 420/1256
Performance: Average
See Run Report
Course: Double loop, couple of hills of note, otherwise pretty flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5