Rev3 Quassy Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Middleburry, Connecticut
United States
Rev3
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 26m 10s
Overall Rank = 194/625
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 42/149
Pre-race routine:

My family and I stayed at my cousin’s house who lives in the next town over, so we spent a lot of time with them, which was really nice.

A few details so I remember:
Race weight: 220#s. I really need to try to lose 10 more before IMLP, but I do love to eat and drink. It was funny to see “Big” Matty Reed in person. He’s the same height as me but 50lbs less. “Big” haha.
Pre race nutrition: 2am – 2 bottles Ensure (500 cals). 5am – 1 bottle Ensure, banana, coffee. Note: this was my first time trying Ensure and the 2am thing and I think it worked great. My stomach was rumbling before the race and I was a bit worried, but I felt great throughout the race and never felt deprived.
Equipment: Cervelo P2C, Neuvation wheels with wheel cover, latex tubes, Conti4000s, aero helmet, New Balance MR890 with socks for the run.


Event warmup:

The first thing I noticed walking around transition is how freaking fit everyone looked and how nice the bikes were. You could tell this was a different level race than I was used to. It looked like everyone was a Kona qualifier. That’s ok, though, I had a plan which was to use this as a mental race prep for IMLP rather than a competitive race. Plan was to swim hard, bike with no ego, and run a steady pace. Also, I did not want to torch myself as I'm headed to the IMLP training camp this next weekend.
Swim
  • 35m 29s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 41s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swimming has always been my weakest link. But i joined masters last year and I’ve been pretty consistent at going to practice 2 to 3 times a week since September. My previous best Half swim was 40:51, so a 5+ min improvement is very satisfying. This swim went well, except for the blinding sun when we turned the first buoy. I was swimming blind for much of that stretch. Otherwise, it was great and I felt strong coming out of the agua.

What would you do differently?:

pee prior to the race. beach starts limit your options!
Transition 1
  • 02m 24s
Comments:

T1 was fine. ran with shoes on, rather than flying mount. not sure if that cost me much at all. seems like the lower risk option without sacrificing much reward.
Bike
  • 2h 59m 11s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.75 mile/hr
Comments:

This was more of a mental test for me. Normally I like to hammer the bike as it is my relative strength. But I know that is not going to work in LP. So I stuck to the plan to stay in Z2 for the first 30 minutes and see how I felt. Well, it seemed like the whole world was passing me. Women from waves behind me were passing me. According to the results in the first 38.6 miles I lost 13 places in my age group averaging 18.5mph. But I stayed cool and just chugged along. I upped it to Z3 after about 30-40 minutes and was feeling good even on the huge hills. With 10 miles left to go I was feeling so good I couldn’t take it anymore and started pick up the pace just a little bit. This brought my last 17.4 mile pace to 19.2mph and I ended up passing 14 people from my age group in that stretch. I actually gained a spot from the start, re-passing all those folks that had passed me earlier, and I felt great. I loved this strategy.
Nutrition: 2 bottles IM Perform (made me burp a lot…I think I will try Infinit). 2 water pick-ups. 3 gels. About 600-700 calories total…felt perfect.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Transition 2
  • 01m 41s
Comments:

hopped off cleanly. took some extra time to put on socks for the run, but it was smooth.
Run
  • 1h 47m 24s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 12s  min/mile
Comments:

I have never felt this good on a run. And this was the hardest run I have ever done. It felt like we were scaling cliffs at time. Relentless hills. I came off the bike running what I thought was way too fast and did the first mile (mostly downhill) around 7min. Gave myself a good scolding and told myself to chill out and follow the plan. Plan was all based on HR: High Z1 for the first 3 miles, Z2 for the next 7, and then best effort for the last 3. Even with the hills I felt has though I was just clicking off the miles. It’s tough to explain in words, but most of the other runs I have done I have begged the mile markers to come more quickly. This run I remarked how quickly the mile markers were going by. It was weird. This was a HIM run PR for me of 4 min and the course was easily twice as hard.
Nutrition: Ate some GU chomps at the beginning. Took water for the first few miles. Then water/Gatorade for the middle. Towards last few miles I started taking some coke. Always dumped several waters over my head to keep cool. This all seemed to work really well as I had no cramping or stitches. The weather was perfect so i didn't overheat. I don't do well in heat!
Post race
Warm down:

ate 2 cheeseburgers and then rode the roller coaster with my daughter!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I’m really happy with this performance and I will be heading to IMLP with confidence. I still can’t fathom doubling the distances, but I know I can trust the plan. So much seems to come down to execution. This venue was great. It was a challenge for sure, but it was what I needed. And I loved the fact that the kids could hang out in an amusement park and ride rides while dad was out doing his goofy thing!


Event comments:

Rev3 is AWESOME!






Last updated: 2010-09-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:29 | 2112 yards | 01m 41s / 100yards
Age Group: 45/149
Overall: 229/625
Performance: Average
Suit: desoto t1
Course:
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:24
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:59:11 | 56 miles | 18.75 mile/hr
Age Group: 46/149
Overall: 0/625
Performance: Good
136BPM avg
Wind:
Course: really friggin hilly
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:41
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
01:47:24 | 13.1 miles | 08m 12s  min/mile
Age Group: 48/149
Overall: 0/625
Performance: Good
7:14, 7:59, 8:14, 9:11, 9:16,8:13, 8:22, 8:57, 7:51, 7:45, 8:22, 8:31, 7:34 154BPM avg
Course: Friggin hilly
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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