PrairieMan Long Course Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Grand Prairie, Texas
United States
Ironhead Race Productions
95F / 35C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 37m 44s
Overall Rank = 86/268
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 5/21
Pre-race routine:

Awake at 3:45 am. Ate breakfast - milk, oj, pancakes, ensure ~700 calories. Showered and headed out with a cup of coffee. Bags and bike were packed the night before.
Event warmup:

Set up transition area then ran around the venue for about 10 minutes. Chatted with all the BT'ers. About 30 minutes before the swim, gulped down a GU and headed to the water. Swam for about 10 minutes then the pre-race meeting started.
Swim
  • 40m 25s
  • 1931 meters
  • 02m 05s / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim went well. I like the deep water starts as it avoids the meley that can happen on a running beach start. I focused on swimming from red bouy to red bouy. This worked well and kept my navigation on course. I felt comfortable in the water and didn't have any problems, except that my goggles fogged up and I had to stop once to clear them. My breathing was fine. In the pool I bi-lateral breath. But, in an OW race situation I can't get enough air so I breath every 2 on the left.

Overall a good swim. I expected to see a time of about 35 minutes. When I saw 40 minutes at the swim exit, I thought either I had a bad swim or the course was long.

I saw Haley and Laurie at the swim exit. It's always cool to see people you know at these races. I was surprised to see Haley because she was supposed to be racing.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 02m 20s
Comments:

Nothing special here. Just the usual transition.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 2h 38m 23s
  • 55 miles
  • 20.84 mile/hr
Comments:

This course was flat and fast. I was surprised at how little crowding there was on the course.

I planned to ride in z2 and increase to z3 as the ride went on. The first few miles my HR was up at the top of z3 because in my mind I confused my running zones with my biking zones. Got that sorted out and dropped my speed and HR to where it should be.

Rode the first two loops in z2 then for the third loop picked up the pace a bit to z3.

On the bike I had one bottle of Perpetuem and 1.5 bottles of water with Nuun tablets.

The ride was pretty uneventful. Just rode the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 2
  • 01m 5s
Comments:

This was a quick T2. Left my shoes on the bike. Helmet off while running with the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 2h 15m 30s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Off the bike I felt great. I got into the run easily (after stopping at the port-o-let). I ran past the BT oasis and got a cold towel. That felt great - put it under my hat. I felt really good on the run and decided to run at high z2 or z3. At mile 2 I saw Chris Legh his final stretch to the finish line. Then, I didn't see another runner returning until mile 4; that's how much of a lead he had over the ametuers. Running across the dam was almost surreal. All I could see was a long flat stretch of concrete, heat waves coming off the tarmac and runners in the distance. I enjoyed this early part of the run. I felt really good and felt like I was going to have a great run. I didn't see a steady stream of runners returning until about mile 5. I saw Aaron and Andy on the run. Both looked strong.

Miles 2 & 3 were too fast. So, backed off to about a 9:30 pace and decided to try to maintain a HR of 157 - top of z2. This felt great until mile 9 when my stomach revolted and shut down. My stomach started cramping and whatever I drank wanted to go right through me. Had to make two port-o-let stops on the final miles to the finish. I'm not sure if it was my nutrition on the bike or the heat and too high of an intensity on the run. But whatever the problem, I need to figure it out before IMFL.

Ran back past the BT gang. Got squirted with a water gun - thanks Laurie. Got my cold towel. Kissed my wife. Then as I was running away I heard: "All together now. Aaaawwwwweeeeeee."

Kind of a crappy run...literally.


What would you do differently?:

Start out slower. I couldn't believe how good I felt off the bike. I think I was running too hard. Probably needed to shoot for low z2.
Post race
Warm down:

I was pretty spent at the finish. Walked around, drank Gatorade, and headed for the lake. The cool water felt good, but not as good as an ice bath. Ate some pizza and then made my way to the BT gang.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Stomach problems. Why? I think it was because the intensity on the bike and run were too high. I never average 21 mph on the bike in training. I should have backed off some on the bike and maybe I wouldn't have had the problems on the run. On the run, take it easy in the first miles and then pick it up in the final miles.

Event comments:

This was a nice local race, close to home. I'll definitely do it again.

Thanks to the BT jock strappers: my wife, swatson, tri_it_cajun_style, DerekL, jcagg90, Comet, Tri_Take_Me_Away, Chippy, Doughboy, sebjamesm, and Tracy (sebjamesm's wife). It's always motivating and just really nice to see and hear supporters.





Last updated: 2005-12-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:25 | 1931 meters | 02m 05s / 100meters
Age Group: 6/21
Overall: 106/268
Performance: Good
AHR - 154
Suit: None - no wetsuit, just a tri shorts and top
Course: Clockwise triangular course. Well marked with red bouys and yellow turn bouys.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:20
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:38:23 | 55 miles | 20.84 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/21
Overall: 67/268
Performance: Good
AHR - 145
Wind: Some
Course: 3 loop course. Flat and fast.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 89
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:05
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:15:30 | 13.1 miles | 10m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/21
Overall: 121/268
Performance: Bad
(mile, pace, AHR) (1, 10:22, 144) (2, 8:53, 155) (3, 8:56, 156) (4, 9:34, 156) (5, 9:35, 156) (6, 9:37, 159) (7, 9:42, 160) (8, 9:42, 160) (9, 11:00, 153) (10, 11:30, 150) (11, 11:52, 149) (12, 13:09, 149) (13.1, 12:23, 153)
Course: Modified out and back. The course went across a dam with no trees or shade.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
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