Florida Challenge Triathlon - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Clermont, Florida
United States
Sommer Sports
Overcast
Total Time = 6h 40m 59s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

First, let me say that my times are from memory, rough estimates. I had the overall time, but my watch doesn't do splits. I'll update this when I finally show up in the official results.

Went to the restroom 3 times (!), got in the water, waited for the morons who'd left their cars in the way to move them so the race could start.
Event warmup:

None. I figured 70.3 miles oughta warm me up just fine..
Swim
  • 49m 11s
  • 2078 yards
  • 02m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

I felt much better before this swim than I did in August for the HOT; I told myself the swim wasn't much longer. I started from the outside, planning to stay wide and swim for the turn buoy. I got perhaps 100 yards out and couldn't settle my breathing. I knew I'd be OK if I slowed down and took more time to breathe, but that stupid little voice in the back of my head was going, "Panic attack! Panic attack!" I called on my mental reserves formed from years of ignoring my wife's comments I didn't want to hear and concentrated on gliding and breathing.

That worked like a charm, but by the time I sighted again I'd swum inside the line of the buoys, and wasted time zagging back out again. I neared the first turn and the guy on the boat yelled at me to swim out. I told him I was, I just couldn't swim a straight line. :)

The rest of the swim went beautifully, and I even looked at my watch a few times to make sure I was going to make my time goal, which was to at least beat the time of the full iron guys who were swimming 2.4 to my 1.2!
What would you do differently?:

Tie a sighting scope to my nose!
Transition 1
  • 04m 5s
Comments:

T1 went fine..saw Jess and Wendi; thanks for cheering me on, and taking the pictures!
Bike
  • 3h 07m 7s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.96 mile/hr
Comments:

I put a Profile drink bottle on for this race, and that thing needs a lid! It splashed in my face at every bump..I think I still have Gatorade in my nose.

I felt pretty good on the bike as far as pace and exertion went. I had increasing neck and shoulder pain setting in as the ride went along; I have a chronic problem since I fell off of a roof years ago (explains a lot, I know!). Usually I take Excedrin before racing but didn't have any this time. The pain was seriously wearing on me by the end of the ride and I couldn't stay aero for long.

I rode easy the first 30, keeping Peter's advice in mind, and stood up for the first of 3 rollers on Buckhead. That spiked my breathing and heartrate, so I decided to sit down for the rest. Got to Sugarloaf and watched people wobble at 3 mph on the bike..got off and walked up, which was a good decision, I think. I was passed by 8 people going up, and went by every one on the way down. :)

Finished the rest of the ride trying to go easy, with my quads and calves intermittently threatening to cramp. I still passed probably 100 people, and was only passed 3-4 times. I guess that's the benefit of being a slow swimmer in a later wave..lots of rabbits to chase! :)

What would you do differently?:

I don't think I got enough nutrition in on the bike, and it showed when I got to the run. I had a gel, 2 bananas, and Gatorade, which apparently wasn't enough to fuel my 195 lb ass through 6+ hours of effort. I lost my endurolytes, which might've helped the cramping.
Transition 2
  • 02m 15s
Comments:

Transition went fine; trotted out trying not to think about running around the lake!
Run
  • 2h 38m 23s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

I ran for the first 3-4 miles feeling OK, but then I pretty much started to bonk. I took another banana and that seemed to help, and I was able to continue running, or shuffling. My pace was slow, slow..10 minute miles. I didn't feel out of breath, I just didn't have any gas left in the tank!

Got back to the lake, and started walking the aid stops, drinking, and then arguing with myself about starting running again. I finally stopped running about 3/4 of the way around the lake, and didn't start again until James passed me. That got me going and I started the Minneola Shuffle again.

Finally got into town and eyed the hill up into town to the finish. Surely this was a cruel joke and the wheelchair would be right there. Nope..had to run it. I saw Jenn and Kira at the finish chute, and Wendi as well, and managed to run through without falling over, though it was a near thing! I had time to see the finish line banner and hold up my hands as I crossed, while thinking of how dorky I had thought other people were who did this, when finishing hours behind the winner. Hey, we're all dorks at some point, but I was a Half Iron Dork, which is worth capitalizing, anyway.
What would you do differently?:

Get more calories in! I am going to do some longer ride/run bricks and get this nutrition thing down before I do the next half. Oh yes..I'm already forgetting all of the pain and my mental self-flagellation at the stupidity of all this.
Post race
Warm down:

Collapsed in an ant pile..then got a massage. Poor unlucky masseuse had to pick the ants off of his table.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My JATO assist shoes were MIA.

Event comments:

While this was the single most painful thing I've done ever, I am already planning the next one. Either I have great drive, or extreme stupidity, I'm not sure which.

I have to say meeting Jess, Mike, Wendi, Haley, James, Jig, and Brett and having someone to cheer me on at transitions and the finish was awesome! The only thing that makes achieving something hard better is having friends to share it with. :)




Last updated: 2005-10-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:49:11 | 2078 yards | 02m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Triangle in Lake Minneola with good buoys. Man, that looked like a long way out in the lake!
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 04:05
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
03:07:07 | 56 miles | 17.96 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: Gentle rollers and some slight grades on the way out to Howey; then on to Hwy 19 with more traffic than I'd like. Mile 30 started the pain with the rollers at Buckhead, then Sugarloaf, then a few miles to recover before heading back into town.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:15
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:38:23 | 13.1 miles | 12m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course: Out and back on a trail with hills, then around the lake, back into town and up the hill to the finish.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4