Ironman France - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Nice,
France
Triangle Sports
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 15h 20m 4s
Overall Rank = 2296/
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 36/38
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 3 to try to eat a bar for extra calories. I got about 1/2 of it down and went back to sleep. I had brought with me from the states oatmeal to make and eat before the race. So just like every other race I made it the night before and heated it up the morning of. My stomach definitely had jitters so I ate my banana, hard-boiled egg and as much oatmeal as I could get down before I gave up. Drinking pedialite.
Event warmup:

I did a quick little swim to feel the water and remind myself I know how to swim. Then I found a spot on the beach (rocks) and waited to start.
Swim
  • 1h 28m 56s
  • 4156 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

I used the same plan I've used forever for the swim start. I hung back on the beach and went in after most people were in. It worked very well and I had less contact in this swim than in some smaller races. I just was amazed that I was actually doing my first Ironman swim. The water was clear enough that I saw the jellyfish that I stung my finger on in time to try to avoid it and so that was good. what a jellyfish was doing in the Medeterranean sea is anyone's guess. I was concentrating on my stroke and breathing for the whole swim. By the end of the first loop I was very nauseated from the rolling waves I guess or maybe drinking sea water. That was a bummer. Also I got confused at the turn around because I heard the announcer say it had been one hour and I forgot that the second loop was much shorter so I thought I might miss the swim cutoff. Luckily that wasn't the case. I had estimated my finish at 1:30 and I beat that. Yeah!
What would you do differently?:

I need to do a better job of swimming with my mouth closed that salty water gets yucky fast. I have heard that some folks take dramamine to avoid the seasickness feeling so I will try that too.
Transition 1
  • 11m 35s
Comments:

What was I doing for 11:35? I think this time had to start at the swim out mat because that's forever. Transition was huge. I did do a change of my shorts and I put on arm coolers but I felt like I was not wasting any time.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure actually but I would like to go faster here obviously.
Bike
  • 7h 57m 21s
  • 111.85 miles
  • 14.04 mile/hr
Comments:

So I'm very happy with my performance. I was nervous about this bike course because I have no hills to train on. But I did fine. It's a long ride :-) I stopped twice - once at special needs to refill my bottles, once to reapply chamois cream which for a nearly eight hour ride I think is pretty good. There are no porta-potties on this route ... it's bushes for everyone.
What would you do differently?:

Be less of a chicken downhill. But honestly I'm thrilled with how I did.
Transition 2
  • 12m 39s
Comments:

12 minutes. What was I doing. Who knows. The volunteer as I got off the bike said something like congratulations you have just completed a very hard ride. He was right. I was elated to be finished. I did change my socks and shorts and shoes.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure.
Run
  • 5h 29m 36s
  • 26.1 miles
  • 12m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

I wasn't sure how I would feel about the 4 loops but it's fine. As I learned at that point it's all mental and I just worked my way through it. I had no idea how I would feel or do at this point in the race since it was my first IM marathon. My plan was to just keep moving and that's what I did.

My watch died after the second loop. So I had no idea how fast or slow I was going. I got really scared that I was running super slowly like maybe 15 minute miles so I was really afraid to walk I just kept shuffling and it all worked out okay.
What would you do differently?:

This is the one area where I wasn't sure I'd trained enough. So I do wish I'd run more and done more strength work for the run. But I made it through and I'm very happy about that.
Post race
Warm down:

I stumbled into the athlete area and got some food because I was pretty sure that even though I had told my husband I would need to eat that he was thinking that meant after we walked back to the apartment :-) I was right.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Who knows. My goal here was to finish and I did that. I'm thrilled.

Event comments:

How can I not rank my first IM as Best? One benefit to finishing close to the end my kids got to see the fireworks show at the finish. They loved that.

It's a great race. I'm no expert on Ironman races but if you're up for a challenging course this is a good one.




Last updated: 2012-12-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:28:56 | 4156 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 31/38
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: full pro-motion suit
Course: Before the swim all 2800 athletes were standing around trying to figure out where we went in a full set of languages. You swim one clockwise loop and then pop out and go back for a shorter counterclock-wise loop. The question was did we need to stay on the outside of all the buoys on the way out, Nobody really knew but I didn't worry too much because I knew there would be 2799 swimmers in front of me to follow. Getting in and out of the water because of the rocky beach is tricky and not at all graceful. I practiced during the two days before and I had a plan that worked. My plan was to swim almost out of the water and then scramble up. It helped that during the race a strong volunteer grabbed me by the armpits and helped me up at the turn around. At the finish the volunteer was so strong I promise you they practically flung me up onto the mat :-)
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 11:35
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
07:57:21 | 111.85 miles | 14.04 mile/hr
Age Group: 36/38
Overall: 151/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: So this bike course is famous for being a challenging IM Course. It is also the most beautiful bike ride I've ever done. I had trained hard (in the flatlands of Florida) to be ready for the climbs and I was fine on all of them. Not the fastest but I never had to stop and I never felt out of my element. The descents were a different story. I was totally underprepared for those and was scared shitless as I made my way down the mountain. :-) I was also surprised by the fact that it was freezing and really windy on the top of the mountains. But beautiful. The volunteers were amazing. There was a fatality on this course this year. When I went by the helicopter was there to airlift the victim away. I didn't know he was dead but I knew it was bad because the helicopter was there. That was in my mind during the descents. Safety over speed. But I will admit that I don't have any descending skills so I could have gone much faster if I had any bravery in me at all. Just call me chicken little :-)
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 12:39
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
05:29:36 | 26.1 miles | 12m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 36/38
Overall: 157/
Performance: Good
Course: This is a 4 loop course up and down the Promenade Anglais in Nice. At every loop you get an armband and when you have 3 bands you go through the finish line. The course was great. The spectators were great. The portapotties were gross but that's like any other race.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %?
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5