Delaware Diamondman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Bear, Delaware
United States
Piranha Sports
89F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 7h 01m 58s
Overall Rank = 226/269
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 1/3
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:15, tried to eat- threw up, then drank an Ensure. On the way to the race I was able to eat a banana, but man, was I nervous.
Event warmup:

Forgot my Photo ID so Andy had to vouch for me and I had to beg, borrow, and plead that they would allow me to race. That was my warmup.
Swim
  • 45m 2s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first swim in this wetsuit, and I really liked it except for the front wedgie. I pulled the suit up a bit too high. My swim was all about taking it slow and easy. Wanted to be done in just under 40 minutes. The time listed for the swim included exiting the water, doffing my suit, putting on shoes and socks, then running 1/4 mile to T1. I think I may have been swimming wide on this course. The buoys were very far apart and sighting was quite difficult. All in all though, I was satisfied. As I was getting out of the water, Andy was directly behind me and yelled at me for kicking him in the face. We got out of the water together, kissed under the inflatable arch, then went our separate ways.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 1
  • 01m 45s
Comments:

I almost ran out of T1 wearing my running shoes (from the swim). Had to re-rack the bike and switch into biking shoes. Again, I was taking it easy and just wanted to pace myself.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 3h 05m 10s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.15 mile/hr
Comments:

I made sure I was taking it easy by frequently checking my HR (kept it in the 150s) My goal was to stay at 18 mph and finish in 3 hours. I may have been slightly faster were it not for that dumb bridge, but all in all, I rocked! Exactly where I wanted to be, didn't get tempted to push it faster. Now, this was my longest ride to date, so by about 40 miles, I was starting to feel it. My hinie was getting tired and I was out of the aero position alot. I kept well hydrated and was excited to get off the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Bring a salty snack. I would have killed for saltines or pretzels. I never train with them, but on this ride I was craving salt. If I had another GU or something sweet I may have been sick. Anything salty, other than my sweat, would have been great.
Transition 2
  • 02m 45s
Comments:

I ran into T2 and yelled "SUNBLOCK!!!" I'm so fair-skinned that the bike nearly fried me. A nice woman came over to me, sprayed me down, and Zinc-Oxided my face. Bad part was that she wanted to talk, I wanted to get going. I really appreciated the help so I stood there for what seemed like an eternity listening to her give me instructions on not getting sunblock on my forehead or near my eyes. Oh well, It kept me going and she was very helpful. I applied more body glide under my arms since I suddenly realized I was quite chaffed. Grabbed my cold fuel belt (stored in a mini cooler with ice blocks- awesome idea Andy) and off I went.
What would you do differently?:

Bring my own sunblock next time.
Run
  • 3h 07m 18s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 14m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

Jeeez, what a hard run! When I first started, the chaffing was really bothering me so I was running frantically asking for vaseline, baby powder, diaper cream- Anything. Nothing. I guess I must have gotten sweaty very quickly, because by mile 1.5 I had forgotten about it. My goal was a 3 hour run, trying to go aid station to aid station. that was before I saw the canal. It was hot, dry, dusty, hot, rocky, hot, rocky, and dusty. It was a dirt path with rocks embedded in it. There were 2 worn tire marks in the middle where most of the rocks had been kicked away. Most, if not everyone, ran in the 2 tire paths to avoid turning an ankle on the rocks. It turned into a death march after a while. Another complaint was that the aid stops only had water, gatorade, and Gu. Not that of a deal, but by the time I was hitting the aid stops, the drinks were pretty warm. I hooked up with 2 girls on the run and we did alot of walking, talking, then occasionally running. At least I knew I was hydrated, because I actually peed in a porta potty at mile 3.5 (hot porta potty, eeeewww!) I scammed a Power Bar off a volunteer at one point and ate half of it. That was nice. After the turn around, I left the girls and did more running than walking, but man, it was a long, hot, dusty run. I was approaching the end and I heard the announcer giving out the awards- how depressing. Oh, and along the road leading to the end were lots of people leaving with their bikes in tow- also depressing. So I came through to the end of the run and surprisingly enough, I started to tear up as I came through the chute. I almost cried because I was just so happy and proud. Andy missed me finishing but we met up shortly thereafter. All in all, I was right where I wanted to be. I was hoping for a 3 hour run and was off by 7 minutes...
What would you do differently?:

More running, less walking
Post race
Warm down:

I laid on the grass in the shade, had a few mouthfulls of Gatorade and Coke. I approached the anouncer and asked what the winning Athena times were, and he said "there were no Athena finishers". I followed with, "I'm an athena", which was followed by "well, then I guess you came in first". He told me to get something to eat, sit and relax, and the awards would go out soon. Shortly thereafter, I got my first place open athena award, YAY!!! Of course, there were only 3 of us, and 1 was a DNF. SHHHH!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The extra 30 pounds I carry around.

Event comments:

The food was not the best, cut up hoagies and bags of chips. That's it. No massages, but lots of people being tended to by paramedics. Lots of people collapsed, I heard, and I saw 2 people getting IV drips when I came in. I actually expected more from Piranha Sports but hey, I got a finishers medal and trophy so I'm done complaining. It was a long day, but man, it was so worth it. I did a Half-Ironman!!!




Last updated: 2007-06-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:45:02 | 2112 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/3
Overall: 148/269
Performance: Average
Suit: Blue Seventy sleeveless
Course: Counter clockwise rectangle. Only 4 buoys made sighting very difficult.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:45
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
03:05:10 | 56 miles | 18.15 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/3
Overall: 210/269
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Out of T1 down 71 to make a loop, back to T1 for a long out-and-back.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:45
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
03:07:18 | 13.1 miles | 14m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/3
Overall: 239/269
Performance: Average
Course: 2 miles out to the canal, 4 miles on the canal, turn around and come back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4