HITS National Championship: Palm Springs - Half Iron Course
-
No new posts
General Discussion | Race Reports! » HITS National Championship: Palm Springs - Half Iron Course | Rss Feed |
HITS National Championship: Palm Springs - Half Iron Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman
View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Swim
Transition 1
Bike
Transition 2
Run
Post race
Last updated: 2012-09-20 12:00 AM
|
|
{postbutton}
2012-12-02 11:14 PM |
|
2012-12-03 5:55 AM in reply to: #4518872 |
2012-12-03 4:32 PM in reply to: #4518872 |
2012-12-03 7:04 PM in reply to: #4520077 |
2012-12-03 9:46 PM in reply to: #4518872 |
2012-12-04 12:33 AM in reply to: #4518872 |
|
2012-12-04 1:40 PM in reply to: #4518872 |
2012-12-06 7:21 AM in reply to: #4518872 |
2012-12-06 5:01 PM in reply to: #4518872 |
2012-12-10 2:53 PM in reply to: #4518872 |
General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
{postbutton}
General Discussion | Race Reports! » HITS National Championship: Palm Springs - Half Iron Course | Rss Feed |
United States
HITS Triathlon Series
60F / 16C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 40/218
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/
HITS Palm Springs Half Ironman
December 1, 2012
1st place age - 5:31:10
Swim - 32:41
T1 - 3:08
Bike - 2:39:02
T2 - 1:50
Run - 2:14:26
Palm Springs, CA is very pretty. Desert. Temperature at the start of the race was in the 60’s. High temperature was in the mid 80’s and sunny.
Race morning I ate my bagel with PB and honey, orange juice, and banana. The transition area at this race was very impressive. Plenty of room, nice “box” for the bike, and even a stool to sit on. Arrived early had had plenty of time to organize gear and rest.
The swim was a 2 loop course in a lake with a short run on the beach between loops. They kept the “rectangle” we were to swim tight due to lack of rescue boats in the water. The water was chilly (about 60-62 degrees). I wore full wetsuit, booties, and a neoprene cap. The half and full iron distances started together from the beach. There was a small area we all had to run through while on the beach and then into the water between a pair of cones that were fairly close together. This was a rough start. I tried to stay in the pack, but I hate being beaten around. We were to keep the buoys on or left. I swam on the outside of the crowd until things thinned out. Although I did get in the water to adjust to the temperature a bit before the start, I was still cold and it took a few minutes for my lungs to adjust. The first loop was slow and my stroke was choppy. I had a tough time finding a good rhythm. I started the second loop feeling better. I had trouble sighting the buoys due to sun glare and ended up swimming too far on the outside after the crowd had thinned. I finished the swim feeling okay. I knew it wasn’t one of my better swims, but I felt okay. I was comfortable with the extra gear (booties and neoprene cap).
The run from the beach to transition was okay. I liked having the stool to sit on in transition. It made remove of the wetsuit and general transition faster. It was warming up, so I didn’t need arm warmers. I had on a one piece tri kit that I wore under my wetsuit.
The bike course is flat and windy, but fast. The course was and out and back twice. Only a few turns. There were no refs or race personnel on the course. With this type of course, this lead to lots and lots of drafting. I made sure to keep my distance, but not many other people followed these rules. The female that ended up winning 1st place overall female drafted off of me the entire first loop. She was even chatting with me while she was on my wheel telling me that HITS usually doesn’t have anyone checking for drafting and that since we are going about the same pace, we could help each other out. I said, “No thanks.” She stayed on my wheel until the turn back at the park. I then slowed down to 16mph until she passed and went ahead and caught up with a pack of guys. There were guys in groups of 10 or more drafting. It was hot and dry. I finished my two bottles of fluid midway through the second loop and started drinking the Heed drink they had on the course. I finished the bike feeling great. The only “hill” on this course is going into the park.
Transition two went fine. Again, I liked the stool and “box” for the bike.
As I started the run course I was told that I was the 3rd overall female. I was feeling very strong the first four miles of the run. Flying. Around mile 5, my stomach started cramping and I started to feel nauseous. The turnaround was not until mile 7. About this time I was walking some and really feeling sick. I kept drinking Heed thinking I needed something. Around mile 8 I walked over to the side of the path and puked. Gross. I felt a little better and started running again. I puked a little more about a mile later. There were not enough aid stations on this course. There were no port-a-potties. Not good. I continued to run, jog, and walk the rest of the run course. Several females ran past me and I knew I lost my position, but I didn’t care. I was able to run through the finish line and then race to the bathroom. My tummy was not happy! During the swim and the bike I had been thinking that I wished I was racing the full iron instead of the half; however, during the run, I was thinking how happy I was that I was only doing the half and not the full. LOL. The run was 14.24 miles instead of 13.1. Race official later told people that they measured the course by the road and not by the actual run path. Not good!
The race did have a nice after party with food. They also had the awards ceremony for the half. I was very surprised I won 1st place in my age group. I beat the other girls in my age group by half an hour.
HITS Race review. The company has a lot of work to do. I had a fun weekend and I like the race weekend idea. They changed both the swim and the bike course and announced these changes at the pre-race meeting on Friday. They needed to spread out the swim course to keep it less crowded. Two tight loops for a half is silly. Transition area was great! The bike course could have used another aid station and have more than Heed and water provided. They also could have marked the post holes and rough patches better. They also could have had port-a-potties at the aid stations. The run course did not have enough aid stations. They were 1.5 to 2 miles apart. It was hot and dry weather. There were NO port-a-potties on the entire run course. The run course was over a mile too long due to the officials making a mistake in marking the course. The finish line and after party were nice. The location was nice. The finish medals were a generic HITS medal. It does not say what race, distance, or date. Overall, there were some nice things about a HITS race, but there are lots of things they need to work on.