2010 Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Benton Harbor, Michigan
United States
Steelhead
75F / 24C
Precipitation
Total Time = 5h 34m 28s
Overall Rank = 775/1898
Age Group = 45-49 male
Age Group Rank = 84/193
Pre-race routine:

Roomed with four other friends so getting ready on race morning was a bit of chaos. We stayed 1.7 miles from the race so we walked to the race from the room. Breakfast was two granola bars.it rained from the time we left the room all the way to the swim start before slowing down. It was miserable! With all of that I was late getting transition setup and the race official hurried the rest of the athletes out of transition before I had double-checked my setup.
Event warmup:

Really didn't have time for a warmup since it was a mile walk down the beach to the swim start and I had already walked 1.7 miles to the race from the hotel.
Swim
  • 42m 39s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 01s / 100 yards
Comments:

Chose an inside path to the first buoy. The first 50 yards were walking on the sand bar and then i swam. As soon as i started i felt my road ID bracelet come off so i grabbed it, stood up and put it back on and continued swimming. After that i just maintained a steady swim. There wasn't really any bumping of other swimmers to speak of except one guy who had horrible sighting and kept criss-crossing across my path and at one point ran into me. My sighting was very good based on the Garmin data.
What would you do differently?:

Work on getting faster.
Transition 1
  • 04m 25s
Comments:

I realized that i forgot my bike glasses and i had to search thru my tri bag to find them. I also didn't have socks by my bike shoes so i went without them. I had everything covered in black garbage bags so it was a little slower too.
What would you do differently?:

Get to transition earlier and don't miss my double-check of the setup.
Bike
  • 2h 38m 30s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.20 mile/hr
Comments:

Went out for first 3 miles a little slower but then picked up the pace to my goal watts of .85 LTP. I felt really good throughout the bike leg and the effort was moderately difficult. I had a little hip pain but I always have that and just flexing my leg helps that.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. Very happy with the way it turned out. It was my strongest bike effort to date and it was the strength of this race for me.
Transition 2
  • 02m 26s
Comments:

Good T2
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 2h 06m 28s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 39s  min/mile
Comments:

Because I had done so well on the bike it reeally took some of the pressure off of my run. I had it in my head at that point to just try to run a 2 hour run. Also by the run it had statred to get a little warm. The weather was cool sometimes and warm sometimes depending on the clouds. I took the first mile fast but it also had a big hill at the end of it which I jogged up. I decided to tone it back a little on the pace to roughly 9 min pace and see how that went for a few miles. About mile 5 I started to feel a bit more fatigue and then there was the 2nd big hill on mile 6. I walked a portion of it. I also walked through most of the aid stations as well. After I cleared the last big hill I picked up the pace and especially on the last mile so I could finish strong. I used only the nutrition from the aid stations which was water, gatorade, bananas and later in the run it was ice. Ice really seems to help. It forces me to take the water slowly keeping me from overfilling with fluids. I also dumped water over my head at every aid station to keep cool. Between the ice and the water I think I kept a very nice body temp and never felt overheated like Orlando.
What would you do differently?:

In retrospect I think I could have pushed a bit more to get under 2 hours and not walked as much through aid stations.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, talked to friends briefly and then went to my transition spot and sat down and even laid down for about 5 mins.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Transition preparation before the race.

Event comments:

This was a very well run race and I would do it again if it fits into my race schedule.




Last updated: 2010-06-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:42:39 | 2112 yards | 02m 01s / 100yards
Age Group: 130/193
Overall: 1577/1898
Performance: Average
Suit: Wetsuit
Course: Course was out about 100 yards and then parallel to the shore and then in to shore. Water was warmer than expected.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:25
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:38:30 | 56 miles | 21.20 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/193
Overall: 0/1898
Performance: Good
190 watts and 89 cadence. 140 avg heart rate
Wind: Some
Course: Course was slightly rolling for most with some hills primarily on the back half but a downhill stretch coming back into transition. The last half mile was too narrow and couldn't pass or speed up due to other riders. The last 1/2 mile was in a very narrow area which didnt allow any speed or passing.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:26
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:06:28 | 13.1 miles | 09m 39s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/193
Overall: 0/1898
Performance: Good
Summary 02:06:34 13.21 09:34 1 00:08:34 1.00 08:34 2 00:09:05 1.00 09:05 3 00:08:47 1.00 08:47 4 00:09:20 1.00 09:20 5 00:09:57 1.00 09:57 6 00:10:29 1.00 10:29 7 00:09:45 1.00 09:45 8 00:09:41 1.00 09:41 9 00:10:06 1.00 10:06 10 00:10:02 1.00 10:02 11 00:10:33 1.00 10:34 12 00:09:47 1.00 09:47 13 00:08:38 1.00 08:38 14 00:01:43 0.21 08:17 Heart rate was 157 average
Course: Rolling hills with three very big climbs. There were lots of aid stations though.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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