EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Cambridge, Maryland
United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
90F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 7h 35m 46s
Overall Rank = 396/453
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 55/62
Pre-race routine:

Wasn't planning to start this race since I didn't train for it. Not injured or anything, just wasn't motivated. I was confident in my swimming and running, but the bike would be difficult since I hadn't ridden outside since North East in August. Decided on Monday, June 7th, that I'd give it a shot and see if I could finish.

Drove to Cambridge on Saturday afternoon, went to packet pickup, racked my bike, then heading to the high school to camp for the night. Pre-race meal with other MD BTers. I ate a Boca burger, pasta salad, macaroni salad, and had a beer. Slept really well considering we forgot to pack the camp pads and were sleeping in a tent.

Got to the race site and heard the announcement that they weren't allowing wetsuits on the swim. Wasn't too concerned about it since I'm comfortable with swimming and would rather not deal with the wetsuit.

Decided to test out the water and I'm glad I did. Felt kind of cool and my heart rate and breathing were all over the place. Took a few minutes to settle down, but I got the initial freak out, out of the way.
Event warmup:

Swam a bit then just chilled until the start of my wave. I was in the last AG wave so it was a long wait. Drank water while I waited and ate a GU about 30 minutes before I started.
Swim
  • 57m 28s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 43s / 100 yards
Comments:

Felt good on the swim. Would have been way too hot in a wetsuit. Took it really easy and just enjoyed being out there. I like open water swimming. The water was calm, found my own space, and breathing was good.

The only thing is that I'm sensitive to the smell of boat/jetski fumes. About halfway through, I started feeling a little queasy from it.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Took my time since I knew it was going to be a long, hot day.
Transition 1
  • 05m 49s
Comments:

Stopped to pee at the porta pottie right after I got out of the water. Put on a lot of sunscreen since I figured I would probably be out there for at least four hours. The woman next to me told me to be nice to her when I passed her. I thought that was funny....she certainly didn't have to worry about ME passing her on the bike.
Bike
  • 3h 58m 46s
  • 56 miles
  • 14.07 mile/hr
Comments:

Ahhh, the bike. This was the part I was worried about. Got passed a lot early on, then I pretty much was on my own for most of the course. It was a long, lonely, hot ride, but I never considered stopping. My neck was starting to bug me about mile 20. Oy. Just kept pedaling.

I stopped around mile 30 to pee and refill my water. Really helped to get off the bike for a few minutes. Drank a lot of water and ate a GU every 30 minutes. I ran out of water with 6 miles to go and had to switch to watered down Gatorade. Ugh. Really wanted water instead of Gatorade.

So happy to finish the bike. I kept it really easy and my legs felt OK after I was done.
What would you do differently?:

Uh, bike training would help.
Transition 2
  • 04m 29s
Comments:

More sunscreen, grabbed a GU, and was on my way. Unfortunately, since there weren't any other runners leaving T2, I couldn't remember where the run out was. I probably lost 2 minutes or so trying to find it.

Mentally, wasn't in a very good place leaving T2. Considered just turning in my chip since everyone else was finishing and I was just getting started on the run. Just finished a lonely bike and about to start another few hours on a lonely course.
What would you do differently?:

Remember where the run out is.
Run
  • 2h 29m 14s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

Running through Cambridge was REALLY hard for the first few miles. So many people were on their way to the finish, I didn't see any other runners in front of me, and I started out with a negative attitude. Again, considered just calling it a day. I didn't even see another runner in front of me until I got to the barricaded section.

Started seeing other people I know out there (Christy, Steve, CJ, Slake, Becky) and that really picked up my spirits. CJ dumped ice water on me and it felt awesome. For some reason, I've never done that to try and cool off. After that, I was dumping ice and water on myself at every aid station. Took two cups of water at each station and ran with them & drank until the next aid station.

I did a lot of walking on the run. It was hot, but my legs and breathing felt OK. It was just difficult to run the whole time when everyone was walking. Saw Steve and Loki at the turn around. Big mental boost. Saw some guy approaching the turn around and he looked like he was running pretty well. Steve told me to not let him catch me... and I didn't. He must have faded pretty quickly because I thought for sure he was going to catch up to me.

Thanked all of the volunteers. One guy I'll always remember...middle aged, moustache, and he was picking up cups from the side of the road. He reminded me a lot of my cousin, Rick. I thanked him for being out there and he turned to face me, looked me in the eye, and said he really enjoyed being out there. I could feel his sincerity. Actually got a little choked up.

Made my way back into town, got sprayed with every hose that was out there. So excited to get to the last stretch. Wound up running into CJ and his buddy Scott again. Nice to see familiar faces out there. Came down the finishers shoot, heard people from the FeXY tent cheering for me (thanks Michelle & Scott!!) Felt great to finally make it to the finish line.


What would you do differently?:

Keep running. My body could have handled it, it was my mind that gave in.
Post race
Warm down:

Got medal, BIG bottle of water, hung out in the FeXY tent for a bit, tried to eat a muffin, but it was too soon to eat and made me feel a little nauseous. Packed up all my stuff and stopped at Wawa for a sub and some mac and cheese. It was tough sitting in the car on the way home. My legs were not happy to be squished into a small space.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training.

Event comments:

They really did a good job with this race. As one of the BOP people, they still had PLENTY of volunteers and water out on the course. Volunteers were friendly, encouraging, and always ready to hand out water and ice. Can't say enough good things about the organization and volunteers for this race.

So happy that I got out there and gave it a shot. It was a tough day because of the weather, but I had a long time to think about things and realized that I really do love this sport. No more racing without properly training. I'm ready to get back into it again. :-)




Last updated: 2010-06-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:57:28 | 2112 yards | 02m 43s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/62
Overall: 0/453
Performance: Good
Suit: None
Course: Rectangle, in the Choptank River. Everyone said it was long.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 05:49
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:58:46 | 56 miles | 14.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/62
Overall: 0/453
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Flat, flat, flat on smooth roads. Really is a nice course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:29
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:29:14 | 13.1 miles | 11m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/62
Overall: 0/453
Performance: Below average
Course: Flat and hot.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5