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Ironman 70.3 Augusta - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Augusta, Georgia
United States
Premier Event Management
87F / 31C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 32m 33s
Overall Rank = 744/3300
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 131/268
Pre-race routine:

After very little sleep the night before I got up just before 5am. I had my bags packed and was ready to go. After showering, I ate 1/2 bagel with pb and 1/2 banana. I left the hotel around 5:30 and headed to the shuttle bus pick up outside another hotel that would take us to transition. Then I waited, and waited. The bus shows up around 6:15. At this point I am getting a little nervous. My swim was goes off at 7:42 and I still have to take another bus back to swim start! We are moving along pretty good the unthinkable happens- we get stuck behind a damn train!!! Seriously??? This is not starting out very well. Finally I walk into transition and the announcer says "For all of you who have the start times before 8:00, you need to make your way to swim start now!" I make it to my bike, have stuff flying everywhere! I grab my wetsuit, googles and make a run to catch a bus back to swim start. Then there are the lines of people. I have to wait for three buses before I can get on one. At this point, I am beginning to panic. I still had to pick up my chip once I got to the start! Luckily I make it on time and get my chip, make my way over to the dock where all of the AG's were getting together. The national anthem plays and the pro men and women go off, followed by the physically challenged athletes - what an awesome sight to see. They are truly inspiring. I get my wetsuit zipped up, then they start the AG's. I was in the second wave. WOW, that was close!
Swim
  • 25m 58s
  • 2143 yards
  • 01m 13s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim was not very good. I never felt comfortable in the water. I usually like to swim about 200 to warm up and was never given the chance (not that I would have had time if I did). I'm sure my nerves were a little shot too.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe leave a little earlier? I don't know. Just some bad luck with buses.
Transition 1
  • 11m 36s
Comments:

I'll explain why such a long T1 in the bike section. We did have strippers! I like strippers. They are very helpful. Nice people. Fun to be around. Overall, I was making great time. Helmet, sunglass, shoes, etc. Should have been around 2:30.
What would you do differently?:

Hmmm..... see the bike.
Bike
  • 2h 48m 5s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.99 mile/hr
Comments:

So, as if I was not stressed enough from showing up right on time for the swim, I had a bunch of extra drama. Coming out of T1, I jump on my bike, make two pedal strokes and......nice, a flat tire!!!!!! I pull over to the side of the road to change it. The lady who is directing people where to go tells me to move because I was in everyones way, even though I was on the side of the road! I had to run with my bike back into T1, (350+ yds), back up to the front of T1, fix my flat and head back out. As I was running down the carpet, the bike tech guys saw my issue and told me they would be ready for me. I run my 1000 yds and get to them. They proceed to tell me that they cannot touch my bike since I had already left T1, but they could give me the supplies I need. I get all of my stuff apart, then put back together, and back out on the course. At this point, I have not had much luck today -hard time getting to the race sight, not a very good swim, bad luck coming out of T1 and all that went through my head, was "wow, eight months worth of training for a horrible race day." Mentally I was out of it. So, after cruising at about 20mph, I get to about mile 5 and I hear a "pssssss" sound and feel my backend kind get a little loose. My first thought was "not again!!" I stop and check my tire and it's fine. I did not even notice, but the wind had picked up and not being used to using 80mm wheels, it was kind of pushing me around a little. So, after I get going again, for some reason, the first thing that pops into my head was seeing Chrissie Wellington in the WC last year getting her flat and then zooming through the bike course. At this point, I say screw it! Let's just bust it's a$$! I was averaging 26 on the flats and just hammering it. I spun up the hills and recovered coming down. I was worrying about my nutrition beforehand, but it was spot on. Everything worked out perfectly. On one of the last sections of flats, I was just hammering it to get it back in and a guy yells "do it dude!" I look down and I am at 26mph flying by people. With about 4 miles to go, I open my bento box to get my last two Endurolytes for the run and off they go, like a kite in the wind - at that point, nothing surprised me. So I get out of the saddle and stretch the legs. Surprisingly, my legs feel great. They are not even tired! Thank goodness for taper week!
What would you do differently?:

Umm, not get a flat. That would have been nice.
Transition 2
  • 01m 57s
Comments:

Good T2. With 3300 contestants, it was a huge transition area. I was kind of in the middle.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 2h 04m 58s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

The run course was awesome. Coming out of T2, my legs felt great. They were not even fatigued, I knew I had made up some time on the bike that I lost changing flat. If I had a good run, I thought I may still be able to break 6 hours. I am going along for the first couple miles and they seemed to go by pretty quickly. I hear my Garmin go off after the first mile and I look down - 8:36 pace. Whoa, I need to slow down! Mile 2 was around 8:54 pace. During this time, I have my entire support crew (6 people) cheering me on at different points throughout the race. They were easy to spot since they were wearing shirts my wife had made. Check out the pics below. They are really cool! As I get to mile 5, I feel a blister developing on the ball of my right foot. Somehow a couple miles later it goes away, not sure how that happened, but I wasn't asking questions. The course had aid stations every 1.5 miles. They had GE, water, Powerbars, PowerGels, bananas and cold sponges - I love those things. My nutrition was right on. I take my first gel at mile 1.5 since that's where the water was. I take my second at mile 6. Still feeling good. I get to mile 7 and I start to have a slight problem - a blister is developing on my right heel. I was afraid of this, but the lady at the running store told me not to worry about it, I won't get blisters with these shoes. They were made to not wear socks with. Mile 8, left heel starts hurting- pretty badly too. By mile 9, I can't stand it. I'm sure most of it was from the water I was dumping on my head to keep cool, but it really hurts! Now, my quads were beginning to feel the effects of some cramps. At the aid station, I grabbed a banana, GE, water, everthing I could get my hands on. By mile 10, it all hit my stomach - like someone dropped a bowling ball in there. I walked for about 100 yds, then told myself, "you've only got a 5k left, you can do this." I start running again and get to mile 11. At this point, my legs are starting to get numb and I can no longer feel the pain from my blisters and I pick up the pace. Once I get to mile 12 I told myself "give it all you've got. Only one mile left." I can't say I sprinted the last mile, but it sure felt that way. The finish line was awesome. There were people three rows deep for the last 400 yds. I was the only coming down the chute and I hear "Here comes triathlete #278, Chris Dill from Greer, South Carolina" and everyone let's out a loud cheer. It was amazing. The main clock said 5:49 when I crossed the finish line but I knew they had thrown in a few extra minutes right before my wave. I knew I had broken 6 hours.
What would you do differently?:

Wear socks! Run faster to make my tee time at Augusta National. Damn!
Post race
Warm down:

Found my support crew, drank a bunch of water and Gatorade. Hung around for around three and a half hours after the race, but never found Barry. I hate that.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Flat tire, blisters, and late start. Overall being my first HIM, I have thrilled with my results. I was hoping to break 6 hours and to know if I did not get the flat, I could have been around 5:20. To me, that was unthinkable.

Event comments:

Being an inaugural event, there are things that will need adjustments, but with this race the only thing I would have liked to see were more buses race morning. Other than that, I had an amazing experience. Everything was on time. The race crew did a great job organizing the event with the town of Augusta. The volunteers were so helpful. I don't have any other M-Dot race to compare this to, but if they are better, I can't see how. Great job by all.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-10-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:58 | 2143 yards | 01m 13s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/268
Overall: 570/3300
Performance: Below average
Suit: Full Xterra
Course: Point to point swim under a few bridges parallel to the shoreline. Not much to it.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 11:36
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:48:05 | 56 miles | 19.99 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/268
Overall: 788/3300
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: One loop course with rollers and a few climbs. Fun course. I really enjoyed it. Seemed longer during my practice ride a week ago.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 95
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:57
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:04:58 | 13.1 miles | 09m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/268
Overall: 1018/3300
Performance: Good
Course: U-shaped course along the streets of downtown Augusta. Completely flat. Festive atmosphere, everyone cheering from the sides of the roads, their houses, the police officers directing traffic, the army volunteers. I could not ask for a better time.
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2009-09-28 9:31 AM

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Expert
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Greer, SC
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Augusta


2009-09-28 9:43 AM
in reply to: #2429456

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Champion
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Charlottesville, Virginia
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Awesome race Chris.  Way to get through the hassle to start with and finish strong.

Congrats!
2009-09-28 9:51 AM
in reply to: #2429456

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Veteran
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Boulder
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Great race dude. Nice shoe pic, my right one looked identical to that. Shower was not fun afterwards, so definitely goin with the socks next time.
2009-09-28 9:57 AM
in reply to: #2429456

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Elite
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Raleigh
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Chris:

Way to go! That was a great mental turn-around you did on the bike! Also way to plow through the pain on the run. What was the run course like?
2009-09-28 10:45 AM
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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Way to go!  You definitely had more than a few oppurtunities to quit but you stuck with it.
2009-09-28 11:07 AM
in reply to: #2429520

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Expert
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Greer, SC
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta


Edited by Jeepguy2358 2009-09-28 11:07 AM


2009-09-28 11:07 AM
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Expert
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Greer, SC
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
DougRob - 2009-09-28 10:57 AM Chris:

Way to go! That was a great mental turn-around you did on the bike! Also way to plow through the pain on the run. What was the run course like?


Thanks Doug.  The run course was flat.  It was U-shaped.  Pretty shady.  If you are looking for one next year, I highly recommend this race.
2009-09-28 11:14 AM
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Expert
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Missouri
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Great race Chris!  Congrats on a good finish, even with all the problems early on.

2009-09-28 11:33 AM
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Champion
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marietta
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
I was wondering what was up when I was watching you guys yesterday.  Damn!  Way to go man. 
2009-09-28 11:48 AM
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Expert
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Auburn AL
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Great race!  It was nice to meet you, but wished we could have spent a little more time hanging out.  Hopefully we'll be able to race together again sometimes

2009-09-28 7:21 PM
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Pro
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
GREAT race report, and an even better race!  Way to push through all the mental stuff, and get down to the brass knuckles of racing!  Congrats!  You CRUSHED 6hrs!

By the way the picture of your bike on your blog--- SCHWEET SETUP!!!


2009-09-28 7:50 PM
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Champion
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Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
WOW, I cannot believe you went throug the flat, the return to T1 and the psuedo second flat and still had such a stellar time.  Great to see!  Congrats Chris.

Suzy
2009-09-28 9:50 PM
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Veteran
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Your time was fantastic, but what I'm really impressed by is your mental discipline to focus on the bike (you could've easily gotten derailed by that unfortunate flat) and to fight through the blisters and pain on the run. WAY TO KNOCK IT OUT!
2009-09-29 9:11 AM
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Wow Chirs.  Awesome job out there.  So many obstacles starting off, but you really pulled it out.
Nice job!  What a 1st...hope all your future HIM's are less "eventful".
2009-09-29 10:20 AM
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Master
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Silverton, Oregon
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Awesome time, Chris! Congrats!!! Nice job staying in the game with all the early drama. Well played!!!
2009-09-29 10:24 AM
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Expert
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B'ham
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Dang Chris, way to not only deal with adversity, but give it a thorough a$$ whoopin!  Very nice race!!!!


2009-10-03 6:54 PM
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Veteran
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Impressive that you nailed your goal time despite the flat and the stripper show ;-)
Congratulations!
2009-10-03 9:05 PM
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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Congrats!  what a great job pushing yourself through everything.  
2009-10-05 2:23 PM
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Master
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Apex, north carolina
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Sorry my comments are so late. Fantastic job!   I second everything everyone said.  Unbelievable conditions and you still crushed it.  Very impressive.
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