Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lubbock, Texas
United States
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 25m 6s
Overall Rank = 256/781
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 66/181
Pre-race routine:

Lubbock is a long ass drive up from Austin. Carey and I got a late start on Saturday and didn't get into town until about 8. The one cool thing on the ride up was seeing the wind farms near Abilene. They have those turbines up along this ridge and there are dozens and dozens of them. They're freaking huge. Anyway, we grabbed some Fazzoli's late and I loaded up on carbs. Got to bed about 11.

Got up at about 4:30. Ate a Clif bar, had some water and some Gatorade. Got to the race site and didn't expect all the traffic. It took 15 minutes to park. It looked pretty dicey driving in. There was a storm off in the distance and the wind was blowing at least 30 mph. Just after we got there, though, they announced that the storm was going to miss and the race would go off as scheduled. As the storm passed, the wind lessened, but it was still probably 15 mph.

Rack spots were assigned, which was a first for me, but not great since I was in the middle of the row. It was fine, though. I had to borrow some chain lube from Aaron because I had forgotten mine.

I saw Natasha Badman's bad-ass ride in transition. That bike is sick. For those that don't know, she rides a Cheetah. The frame is her hydration system and she has no bullhorns, just aero extensions. The extensions are hinged with the brake cables inside of them. She pushes down on the end of the extensions to apply the brakes.

Got marked and set and headed to the water.
Event warmup:

Saw Aaron and Bill in the water. Dove in and swam some brief stretches to get my blood flowing and get settled in. Nothing too extensive. My wave was 4th, so I watched the pros and two other waves and then walked across the timing mat to start my own.
Swim
  • 34m 24s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 38s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was a solid swim for me overall. I started out well and found some good feet to draft. Unfortunately, I lost them rounding the first bouy. I never found another really good pair after that, just some intermittent ones that either ended up being too fast or too slow. I really felt like my navigation was dead on, but on the back leg, it seemed a lot of people were way off to my right.

I definitely got a bit off course after rounding the last bouy. I wasn't exactly sure where the exit was and my goggles were a little fogged, so I was sighting off the remaining bouys, which didn't really lead straight to the exit. I had one of the kayakers guiding me back to the right.

Came out of the water feeling great. I don't think I ever got anaerobic and I felt relaxed the whole way. On all of my Olys and the one half I've done, there's been a point when I've really felt like crap and had to struggle through the rest of the swim, wondering when the hell it was going to be over. Not this time. That bodes well for doing twice the distance next month.
What would you do differently?:

Get there the day before to check out the course layout. The large bouys were great and easy to spot. Also, I don't know if it was intentional, but the bouys mostly seemed to line up with an easily viewable landmark up on the shore. That last turn was the only place where not scouting the course was an issue.
Transition 1
  • 02m 22s
Comments:

Another solid transition. I've said before that it may seem like I obsess over transitions, but it's so easy to gain a minute or more during them. I really doubt I'll ever be near the podium for my AG, but for those of you that are, they're one of your tickets to getting there.

Saw Bill in T1 and was amazed at how quickly he had gone through the swim. He yelled out "That's some fast water!" He needs to work on transitions, though!
Bike
  • 2h 50m 53s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.66 mile/hr
Comments:

Tough bike course! As soon as you get on the bike, you hit a 7.5% uphill, then a 8.9% downhill, followed by a 6.7% uphill again. I lost all my momentum from the downhill because I lost a bottle that I had to stop and pick up. Then you're in to 10 miles of flats before hitting another 5% downhill/uphill combo. A few more miles, turn around and it's back through the 5% again. Back to the flats (and wind) for about 10 miles before a long 2.9% downhill right into a triple play: 6.1% up, 6.1% down, 6.0% up. You get the idea. The hard part is the 8.9% downhill you enjoyed right at the beginning that you have to go back up at the 55.7-mile mark!

On one section, a fairly long and windy 6% downhill, a guy went down about 30 seconds in front of me. There were two racers stopped already, so there wasn't much I could do. He ended being okay other than some SERIOUS road rash. It turns out he was a friend of Aaron's. I can't believe he didn't break anything.

My bike split was slower than I expected or wanted. On the other hand, my average power was a strong 191 watts. It was actually 197 if you discard the 0's from when I was coasting downhill. I forgot to check my top speed, but it had to be damn near 50. I was really cruising on some of those downhills. I felt strong the whole way and kept right to plan on nutrition: 8 ounces of Gatorade Endurance every 10 minutes.

I also managed to pee on the bike for the first time ever. It's definitely not easy. I had to stand up and coast in order to do it, but it still beat stopping. Rinsing off after that was the only reason I had a water bottle with me!
What would you do differently?:

Not much really. I rode within myself on the hills, despite the people that rode past me on them. I kept a nice strong power output on the flats and kept the pace the whole way. The wind and hills are what slowed me down.
Transition 2
  • 01m 18s
Comments:

More goodness in T2. I got jammed up a bit at the dismount line since two people in front of me both stopped to unclip and were slightly blocking the way. I got around them without too much trouble.


What would you do differently?:

Maybe put on dry socks. My feet got pretty sore by the end of the run from the slightly gritty/wet combo of my socks.
Run
  • 1h 56m 9s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

About 1/10 mile out of transition, the BT jockstrap station was set up. Haley, Jess, and Carey had a wading pool with ice cold towels they were handing out and they all had inflatable floatie tubes around their waists. It was a great way to start the run. Thanks ladies! I also cracked up when I saw the sidewalk chalk another 1/10 mile on with "Have you hugged your jockstrap today?" in big letters.

This run course is just mean. After dealing with the hills and wind on the bike, you start the run with a very pleasant through the campground right on the edge of the lake. After about 3 miles, though, you go around a corner and then have to climb out of the canyon on a hill that's probably 7% or more. You hit a flat section for a bit and then head back into the canyon. You climb out of the canyon yet again and head out to the far end of the course. Since it's an out and back, you know that you need to make that climb one more time before it's done. There's a long two mile straight to the straight and I caught sight of Aaron's flag up ahead of me. He hit the turn around before me and we waved to each other and I knew I'd see him soon when I caught him.

I did that about mile 8. He looked good and I know that flag is a drag on him, especially the way the wind was on that course. He did get his own mention on ironmanlive, though. There was actually an update that mentioned him crossing the line.

I got Gatorade at each aid station and walked them so I could drink it all without dumping it. I used the sponges or water to dump over my head as well.

My pace was a little bit slower than I thought I could pull off, but still pretty good. I got to see the jockstraps one more time right before the finish. Haley offered me a beer, of course, but I passed.
Post race
Warm down:

After I crossed the line, I immediately headed back to the lake. I dove in to cool down and rinse myself off. I wouldn't have a chance to shower, so this was my only opportunity to clean myself before I got in the car for the drive home.

I met up with Jamie and some of the other Texas Iron folks and talked over the race. My only disappointment with this race was the post race food. There were bananas, watermelon, bagels, and a few donuts. That was about it. I passed on pretty much everything.

I grabbed my gear and headed back to the jockstraps to cheer some more people in. After a while, it was time to hit the road for the 6+ hour ride back to Austin.

I think the cruelest part of this race is that after you've finished and cooled down and are starting to stiffen up, you've got to climb that first 7.5% hill to get back to the parking lot and into your car. I got to follow that with the 6+ hour ride back to Austin. That wasn't fun.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not having years and years of base training under my belt.

Event comments:

This really is a great race. Everything started right on time, the swim course was very well marked, aid stations and volunteers were everywhere and the course itself, while challenging, is very well laid out. Racers got both a race shirt and a finisher's shirt along with a medal. Again, my only disappointment was the post race food.

I can see coming back to this next year.




Last updated: 2006-06-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:24 | 2112 yards | 01m 38s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/181
Overall: 456/781
Performance: Good
Suit: Promotion sleeveless
Course: Rectangluar counter clockwise.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:22
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:50:53 | 56 miles | 19.66 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/181
Overall: 268/781
Performance:
Wind: Tailwind
Course: One loop
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:18
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:56:09 | 13.1 miles | 08m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/181
Overall: 271/781
Performance: Good
Course:
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5