Ironman 70.3 Steelhead - Triathlon


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Benton Harbor, Michigan
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 17m 58s
Overall Rank = 340/2147
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 11/72
Pre-race routine:

I went up the day before to register. I drank water with 1/2 a Nuun active tab. I figured I would not go with straight water.

The morning of the race I got up a little after 3, which gave me close to 7 hours sleep. I had a breakfast of oatmeal, OJ, and coffee. I did some stretching and had a half hour drive to the race. On the way, I drank electrolyte (Nuun 1/2 strength and water). My biggest concern was hydration for this race, so II tried to prepare.
Event warmup:

I did a bit of swimming before the start.
Swim
  • 43m 52s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 05s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my worst swim so far. The surf was 1-2 feet and I had sighting challenges. I have neglected my swim this season as well, and with business travel, I missed weeks of swimming and had only two swims in the last 2 weeks before the race. One was a 46 minute swim in a small hotel pool. A couple times I mistook the red vest of a kayaker as a buoy, putting me way off course. I was counting on the extra speed wearing my wetsuit, but the water temp in Lake Michigan went up 3.4 degrees over night, making the race not wetsuit legal.
What would you do differently?:

I need to swim more, especially at higher intensity.
Transition 1
  • 04m 19s
Comments:

For transition, it was a long single file run to the bike start. I got stuck behind some walkers. Arg! It took a bit longer than isual due to getting the sand off my feet.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 2h 29m 37s
  • 56 miles
  • 22.46 mile/hr
Comments:

I killed this one. I had my fastest bike split ever by far for any distance I've been trying to break 22mph for any distance, let alone a 70.3.

My great hydration plan went out the window just after the 1st aid station. My plan was to drink water with Nuun for the first two bottles I carried with Stinger chews, and the change to Gatorade and water on the rest of the ride. Just past the 1st aid station going thru an intersection, I hit a bump and my full bottle bounced out. I kept going and then realized my other bottle had come dislodged and turned over in the cage and was empty! To add insult to injury, I got a yellow flag for littering! I had nothing to drink for 50 minutes until the next aid station (and penalty tent stop). I got water and Gatorade and sucked down the water fairly quickly. I finished my last Gatorade with about 5-10 minutes to go

I was really amazed with my pace. I was kind of zoned out through most of the ride. When I hit my second 5 mile split at just over 12 minutes, I was pretty shocked. The only 5 mile split below 22 mph was the penalty tent split.
What would you do differently?:

I need better bottle cages. The cheap water bottles don't fit tightly enough.
Transition 2
  • 03m 42s
Comments:

This transition was OK. At the end of the bike t was a slow single file for a bit and this gave me a chance to stretch my hamstrings. Typically, My hammys are super tight in T2 but this was not a problem for this race.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 1h 55m 51s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

Since I was messed up on my hydration plan, I figured I was toast for the run. By the run start it was 79°, mostly sunny and humid. I started with 2 10-oz bottles of Nuun and 2 of Gatorade endurance. I think I was drinking every 3-7 minutes throughout the race. When my bottles were empty, I refilled one with half water and half Gatorade. I had 3 of these. My stomach stayed not perfect, but pretty good. For the last couple of miles, I realized that my stomach was OK and the only challenge I had were my wasted quads. From my bike training mainly, I was used to this and was able to pick up the race for the last 2 miles, with my last mile being the fastest.
What would you do differently?:

Having knee issues in March messed up my run training fro march and April. This did not help. I also need to lose another 10 pounds. It's funny that I've been a runner since i was 15. Just under 9 minute miles I think of as very slow, but overall this run time was better than my bike time from an overall rank position. I think with better training and losing weight I should be able to do 8:30 to 8:45 pace.
Post race
Warm down:

I found a chair to sit down on and take off my shoes. I then went for a swim in the lake. My stomach was doing OK so I was able to eat afterward.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was SURE this race would be wetsuit legal. I've really worked on the bike this year and neglected my swimming. With a decent swim I would have placed in the top 10% and qualified for worlds. Next year. . .

Event comments:

Race day was OK,but registration the day before was pretty bad. I stood in line in the hot sun for almost 2 hours. I've never had that before. They needed more shade. They did bring the people in line a small bottle of water. having to go almost an hour between aid stations on the bike I thought was too long.

This was my 70.3 PR by about 8.5 minutes. The last time I did this race was in 2009 and I beat that time by 30 minutes.




Last updated: 2016-08-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:43:52 | 2112 yards | 02m 05s / 100yards
Age Group: 25/72
Overall: 960/2147
Performance: Bad
Suit: None
Course: Triangular course.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 76F / 25C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 04:19
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:29:37 | 56 miles | 22.46 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/72
Overall: 345/2147
Performance: Good
I did not wear my HR monitor for this race. I didn't want the distraction. Five mile bike split speeds: 20.9, 24.5, 23.4, 23.0, 22.2, 22.7, 22.6, 22.4, 22.2, 21.4 (this one included a penalty stop for littering when my water bottle popped out), 22.8
Wind: Little
Course: Country roads with some rough pavement in areas
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 03:42
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:55:51 | 13.1 miles | 08m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/72
Overall: 340/2147
Performance: Good
8:54 8:43 8:53 9:03 9:12 9:03 8:27 8:46 9:11 9:12 10:01 (I walked a short distance on the big hill here) 8:44 8:11
Course: Two loops mainly out int the country. Each loop had one quite large hill.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized?
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3