Ironman 70.3 Steelhead - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Benton Harbor, Michigan
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
Sunny
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

The week prior to the race was a rough one. I work on a cruise ship two weeks out of every month which is less than conducive for IM training. I got off the ship in NYC and flew to my parents house in South Bend, IN on Friday night. Went to the expo on Saturday, got my bike from TriBike transport (the second time I have used them, I can't say enough good things) racked it and went back to my parents house. Went out to dinner with my best girlfriend who came into town to watch the race.
Event warmup:

My event warm up was walking/running to the starting line 1.2 miles down the beach! I know they said to allow time to get there...apparently I didn't allow enough. I got there just as my wave was in the staging area. Said good bye to my dad and in the water I went.
Swim
  • 55m 56s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 39s / 100 yards
Comments:

So swimming has always been my weakest of the three disciplines of triathlon, but I feel like I've made strides by swimming on Castaway Cay when the ship is in port. My wave was smaller than most races that I have done, so I just stayed to the back. When we got in the water things got interesting....every time I put my head in the water and swam, I got horrible vertigo. I didn't know what to do...I just doggie paddled for 1.2 miles. It was awful and really shook my confidence. I'm doing IM Florida in November and this CAN'T happen. I know that it's caused from stress...this has happened before. By IM these stresses will be gone, so that's a good thing.
What would you do differently?:

Swim MORE!
Transition 1
  • 06m 44s
Comments:

I was really out of it when I came out of the water. I needed a minute (or 6) to calm down after the vertigo. My T1 transitions are usually a lot better. I had to collect myself though so I'm not going to worry about it.
Bike
  • 3h 06m 21s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.03 mile/hr
Comments:

As I'm leaving transition, race belt breaks. I had to fumble around with it for a minute. I ended up just tying it in a knot and moving on. Coming from Florida, I am used to being in 90 degree weather. Needless to say, I absolutely froze on the first 15 miles of the bike. I mean froze to the point where I thought I wasn't going to be able to continue. I didn't know the roads weren't going to be closed so having cars flying by me on the course was a surprise. Maybe I should have gone to the athlete meeting. Anyway, coming up to the first water stop I saw the worst wreck I've ever seen on the bike. I don't even know what happened...it all happened so fast. I think it happened when a cyclist was trying to grab a water bottle from a volunteer. The guy flipped over his handle bars and literally slid across the pavement. As this is happening I have a guy on my right yelling "watch out" to me. It shook me to my core. I haven't ever experienced anything like it. I almost got off my bike and said "I'm done." Then I thought to myself I paid for the race entry fee, I paid to get my bike up here and I paid for my flight. Suck it up and get over it. It took me a about 10 miles to calm down and get into a good rhythm. Every thing seemed to be moving in slow motion. I saw my family at mile 27 and that helped a lot. Other than being shaken up and feeling like I was moving in slow motion I felt great on the bike. I saw my family again at mile 40 and was still feeling great. Just as a side note...I would never willingly DNF, I just was pretty shaken up.
What would you do differently?:

Not a lot, I know I could have pushed it more, but with vertigo coming out of the water, it was tough to get going.
Transition 2
  • 04m 32s
Comments:

I wish I had left out another pair of socks, my feet were freezing and I had to wear the same socks on the run. Went to the bathroom and was off.
What would you do differently?:

Leave out another paid of socks.
Run
  • 2h 51m 8s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

The last few races and bricks that I have done I have a horrible pain on the outside of my legs when I came off the bike. I try and stretch it out but nothing helps. I literally have to walk the first mile. It ends up going away, but it's very frustrating. I ran with a guy named Chris who used to work at Walt Disney World. What a small world. Of all the people racing, I find the other Disney person. He has done 5 full IM's so we chatted for a while and he gave me some advice. I felt like my run was really good, so I was disappointed with my time. I saw my best girlfriend back in the Whirlpool complex. I was not expecting it, so that was awesome. She told me I was looking strong. It was good to hear. Went for the other loop and saw her again. She said I was looking good and told me she saw a couple of people puking. I told her you see it all during IM. I was giving salt to a lot of other athletes. I was prepared for 95 degree weather, so I didn't take as much salt as I had planned on. I saw tons of people who were cramping up.
What would you do differently?:

I'm really not sure what I could have done differently except run faster.
Post race
Warm down:

Saw my family as I was running down the finishers chute. My brother and sister in law brought my 2 and 3 year old nephews and I got to give them high fives as I was running along. I loved that! It was awesome.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being on the ship the week before a race is tough. I was exhausted on Friday and just felt I started the race at a disadvantage. I will not be on the ship the week before IM Florida.

Event comments:

Overall, great race.




Last updated: 2012-08-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:55:56 | 2112 yards | 02m 39s / 100yards
Age Group: 56/
Overall: 1175/
Performance: Bad
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 06:44
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:06:21 | 56 miles | 18.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 04:32
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:51:08 | 13.1 miles | 13m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4