Timberman Triathlon Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Gilford, New Hampshire
United States
EndorFun Sports
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 26m 59s
Overall Rank = 291/1264
Age Group = M 25-29
Age Group Rank = 33/89
Pre-race routine:

4am wake-up. Did the normal morning routine with Big Breakfast Cookie, 20 oz gatorade, and instant oatmeal. Total calories up to race time clocked at about 600-700 for the HIM. My hydration was perfectly fine even with some wine drinking the previous night. If there is anything I do perfectly, it's eating.

5am arrived at the race site. The place is drizzling rain and cold (circa low 60s). Wasted some time seeting up transition and just mucking around. I do need to learn to calm down a bit and just sit and relax and enjoy the race atmosphere. I wasn't particularly nervous, but just anxious to get the race going.

Race time was pushed back to 7:15am. By 6:30pm I finished up the gatorade and also took my #2 at the port-a-johns. Tried #2-ing in the morning but couldn't get the bowels going at 4am.



Event warmup:

7am I was in the water warming up. I got a nice 15 minute swim warmup and it was the best 15 minutes of warmup yet for any race I have entered thus. The warm-ups were all 30-60 seconds bouts of warm-up strokes, drills, and kicking. I then just waded in the preparation area as the other waves went off first before Wave #7 was called.
Swim
  • 33m
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

The big key to success was finding a pair of nice feet. This was by far the best OW swimming performance yet for me because I was able to draft very well and feel relaxed throughout the process. It helps that Minnegaukee had good visibility that morning so I could see 10 ft in front of me. I drafted off two-three swimmers either because I was able to latch onto them or because I noticed my original race rabbit was significantly off-course with his navigation.


What would you do differently?:

Only problem with drafting occured when we caught up with subsequent waves, then there were too many feet. If anything, maybe if I can try to latch on two pairs of feet (a three-way) and draft in-between them come October, then things will be made!
Transition 1
  • 02m 17s
Comments:

No need to rush in the HIM. The seconds you gain here can easily be lost later down the line if you rush through T1. Was fast and smooth. At this distance, this is all you need.
What would you do differently?:

Have my transition stuff out of my plastic bags. I had shoes and T1, T2 stuff in plastic bags so they wouldn't get wet.
Bike
  • 3h 05m 25s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.12 mile/hr
Comments:

Tough bike session. The bike started off nice a tough with a climb immediately out of transition. This wasn't so bad as it gave me a chance to get warmed up. But my quads were incredibly tight during the first 10 miles for the bike. It was the same tightness I felt on the previous mornings ride.

Mile 7- Pffftttt!!!!! A nice whiz sound came from my front Zipps as I headed down the 11A highway. Crud, a flat. As I was just about getting warmed up, the air literally went out of my front tire due to a small glass shard in the tire. It took me over 10 minutes to get the tires dislodged, change the flat and back onto the bike. In the process, I sliced up my hand in the attempt to open up the clinchers. It was my first in-race tire change and took way longer than anticipated.

The rest of the bike ride was tough for me. It wasn't In knowing that I lost 10 minutes on the bike, I struggled to get back onto pace for the rest of the ride. I did manage to get into a pack and did some drafting for about 10-15 miles. If I learned anything, you can get away with quite a bit of drafting in these races so long as you take your turn up at the front as well!

The course itself was rolling hills and nothing I hadn't seen before. The steep climbs in the first & last 8 miles were fairly standard stuff and great practice for GFT.
What would you do differently?:

Not get a flat. Need more Big Gear and Hill Training. Need more time in the saddle.
Transition 2
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

Normal T2- Very smooth and efficient. Socks on, Shoes on, Go. Very simple.
What would you do differently?:

Once again, no need for bags in T2. I didn't want my stuff to get wet from the rain but who knew the weather would clear up?!!?
Run
  • 1h 44m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

Running for the bacon. The course itself was just amazing. While not technically difficult, the crowds and volunteers and extracurricular activities were A+++ all the way. The funnest portion of run occurred at the turnaround point where we ran through Cirque de Timber and It's a Small World aid stations. Hilarious and took my mind off the running, which wasn't so bad with my sub-8:00 min/mile pace. I was passing a lot of people who just ran out of gas on the course (of course I was helped by the fact that I had my 10-minute tire "break" on the bike segment). I finished the run strong, but not spent as I was doing Timberman for fun.


What would you do differently?:

Bike better
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, chilled out. Ate

What limited your ability to perform faster:

the bike

Event comments:

Best Half Iron I've done thus far. Actually, out of all the races I've raced, this ranks up there for festivities, atmosphere, organization, and fans. Timberman had to be the most fun triathlon out there, even better than the NYC Triathlon. The only other event I've done that has been this much fun was the NYC Marathon. Would do it again in a heart beat!




Last updated: 2005-08-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:00 | 2112 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/89
Overall: 257/1264
Performance: Good
AVG HR 145
Suit: Orca RFlex Sleeveless
Course: rectangular shape.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:17
Performance: Average
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
03:05:25 | 56 miles | 18.12 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/89
Overall: 733/1264
Performance: Bad
1st 28 miles- 1:37 AVG HR 130 2nd 28 miles- 1:29 AVG HR 123
Wind: Strong
Course: Out and back on Route 3, 11A, 11B, 107 Some nice hills in first 10 miles to wake me up.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 90
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:58
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:44:00 | 13.1 miles | 07m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/89
Overall: 109/1264
Performance: Good
Mile 1 Avg HR- 157 Mile 2 Avg HR 162 Mile 3 Avg HR- 164 Mile 4 Avg HR- 162 Mile 5 Avg HR- 164 Mile 6 Avg HR- 166 Mile 7 Avg HR- 164 Mile 8 Avg HR- 166 Mile 9 Avg HR- 167 Mile 10 Avg HR- 168 Mile 11 Avg HR- 171 Mile 12 Avg HR- 171
Course: Two loop out and back. Had to be the most fun half marathon I have ever run. Cirque de Timber and It's a Small World were completely unexpected, the aid stations were just AMAZING and always stocked with food/drinks/gels. Some nice climbs but nothing too difficult.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
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