General Discussion Race Reports! » Ironman 70.3 Augusta Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Ironman 70.3 Augusta - Triathlon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Augusta, Georgia
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 59m 33s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Didn't sleep much the night before. Woke up at 4am, had a few bites of a bagel with honey and a banana. Drank water throughout the morning and had 1/2 cup of coffee about an hour before my swim start.

Got to transition early and took my time setting up. Was amazed at how many people were showing up with 15-20 minutes before transition closed. After transition headed back to the Marriott as my swim wave didn't go off until 8:56 am.
Event warmup:

A lot of stretching, some jumping around, singing, and practicing my stroke on land to get the arms warmed up. Splashed water on my face once we got to the swim dock so I could acclimate to the colder water a bit.
Swim
  • 25m 31s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 13s / 100 yards
Comments:

Excellent swim. The swim has been my biggest nemesis as I am prone to panick attacks when I am surrounded by other people flailing around me but not once during this swim did I have any panick or nervousness as all, which is interesting because I was a nervous mess an hour before my wave went off. The first 200 m or so was pretty crowded and I'm not aggressive enough / I am too considerate to just jam my way through people to get in front even though I was staying on their toes. Just took it easy and went with the flow of traffic until we passed under the bridges when more space opened up and then I got moving and into a nice rhythm. Eventually started hitting some of the slower swimmers from waves that started ahead so that slowed me down a bit but overall not a big issue.
What would you do differently?:

Hard to say with a great swim but maybe be more aggressive to get out front of people and not let them dictate my pace. I held back until things opened up because I just can't bring myself to swim over them or aggressively through them.
Transition 1
  • 05m 14s
Comments:

Felt a little nauseous coming out of the swim which might be due to the water I swallowed when I ran into a slower swimmer from a wave ahead of me. Had trouble getting wetsuit off as well.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. It's a long transition and I was just focused on pacing myself. Maybe get lucky next time and have wetsuit come off easier even though the stripper did her best to get it off me.
Bike
  • 2h 51m 24s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Really proud of my bike time. Started off realizing I left 1/2 of my nutrition (gels) back in transition as I forgot to stuff them in my jersey pockets so I knew I would have to be conservative on how hard I went given that stupid mistake.

Kept expecting bad hills but there were only maybe one or two long slow, gradual climbs that made me feel like I was working. The course was pretty jammed with people for the first 15 miles so I spent a lot of time passing and got jammed again later on some of the hills. One of the roads early on around maybe mile 20 was in really bad condition and it was going uphill. Not sure what the term is for the road damage but there were a lot of raised lines and it felt like rumble strips. A lot of people made jokes about it as we rumbled up that stretch.
What would you do differently?:

Not forget my nutrition. This may or may not have played a role in my issues on the run. I tried to compensate by drinking a lot of water at the aid stations and other than 1/2 of a banana did not use anything else they supplied as I had not trained with it.

Also had some bad discomfort on the saddle late in the ride, which has been happening with this new Adamo seat I have. Might need to go back to the bike shop and swap it out.
Transition 2
  • 07m 41s
Comments:

Took my time again and used the restroom.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe get a two-piece tri suit. The one piece was a royal pain getting down to use the restroom.
Run
  • 2h 29m 43s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

All I needed to do was have a 2 hr run to beat my stretch goal. That time would've been 15 minutes slower than my normal 13.1 times, which I had been running on very hilly routes where I train. As soon as I started the run I had severe lower abdominal cramps hit me and kick me in the stomach like a ninja turtle. I tried to ease into the run and started shuffling but the cramps were too much. This was pretty demoralizing as I immediately realized I wouldn't hit my time goal. All I could think about was how hard and long I had trained, how much I ran in my training, and how careful I thought I was with my nutrition only to have cramps hit me hard. My legs felt great and were ready to run only adding to the frustration. I did a run / walk mix for quite a while and even sat down at one point to try to massage them away. Took 3 salt tabs on the bike and one at the beginning of the run. Was plenty hydrated. Not sure what happened. With the cramps my suit felt really tight on me. Kept moving it around trying to loosen the area around my abdominals, unzipped the top a little, removed my heart rate monitor, etc but nothing worked.

The cramps finally subsided around mile 7-8 but my body was feeling fatigued as my cramps would seem to flare up with any nutrition I took in so I pretty much stopped taking in nutrition. Drinking water and then running just sploshed around in my stomach which never feels good so I did that at a minimum. The drink I brought with me (which I train with) no longer tasted good (probably drank too much of it on the bike) so I stopped taking that down.

Of course I was not the only person dealing with some sort of an issue and I'm thankful mine wasn't a severe injury so I ran/walked with some great people for several miles and then decided I was going to be the fastest "person dealing with some issue on the run". Started running more and set small goals for myself: run to the bridge, run to the next aid station, run through the heavy crowd area. Decided I was going to run at least one good mile as my legs still felt good so I ran my final mile in 8:13 (according to my run watch) and finished my day just barely beating my "bad day" goal.
What would you do differently?:

Unfortunately, I am not sure I can exactly pinpoint what caused my cramps. It's one thing if I couldn't run because my legs were fatigued to which I could then point to going too hard on the bike (which I didn't) or lack of fitness (which wasn't an issue) but having cramps of this severity immediately as I started the run is different.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around. Sat down. Pouted about my time. Threw a great pity party. Sucked it up and was proud I finished my first HIM. Congratulated people I met and ran with at times on the run course. It was really cool to see how happy they were so it made me snap out of it and be proud of my accomplishment.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Severe stomach cramps at the beginning of the run

I'll be honest, I'm pretty bummed right now because I trained so hard and knew I had the fitness to beat my main goal with some time to spare. However, I am proud that I stuck it out and finished. I feel like I have unfinished business so now I must decide if I want my redemption and do this again next year. I'm just impatient and don't want to wait a year so I'll look at the 70.3 schedule and see what might work for me earlier in 2014.

While disappointed in my overall time I am encouraged that I had a great swim and never panicked. Sure, it's point-to-point, downriver with a wetsuit but my problems have always been with dealing with the crowds. When I started this triathlon journey last year I couldn't swim to the other end of the wall and absolutely freaked out during the swim in two of the four triathlons I did last year. I put a lot into my swim training since then and have come a long way in fitness, technique, and confidence.

Event comments:

Overall, it was a great time on a fun course.

Logistically getting back to transition to get all of your gear and such is challenging but everyone has to do it so people are cooperative and helpful.

First HIM is in the books! Thank you, Augusta.




Last updated: 2013-09-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:31 | 2112 yards | 01m 13s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex Full
Course: Point-to-point swim, down river
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:14
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:51:24 | 56 miles | 19.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 07:41
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:29:43 | 13.1 miles | 11m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5]

{postbutton}
2013-09-30 10:04 AM


274
1001002525
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Augusta
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Ironman 70.3 Augusta Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Started by Jeepguy2358
Views: 4147 Posts: 19

2009-10-05 2:23 PM tahrens

Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Started by green_sea_urchin
Views: 3024 Posts: 7

2009-10-02 10:28 PM 3daywknd

Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Started by ironlib
Views: 3422 Posts: 14

2009-10-03 6:47 PM Slave Diver

Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Started by PerpetualEndurance
Views: 2938 Posts: 9

2009-09-28 11:46 AM ironlib

Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Started by FlyingTiger
Views: 2945 Posts: 9

2009-10-07 5:39 PM Swank guy
RELATED ARTICLES
date : March 28, 2012
author : packetron
comments : 4
My personal experience to complete the Ironman 70.3
 
date : October 8, 2009
author : brianyanowski
comments : 2
Some mistakes I made during the Hawaii Ironman 70.3. Don't be caught out on the course not knowing how or not having the equipment to change a flat tire.
date : July 1, 2009
author : mrmarkcole
comments : 37
Or why an Ironman 70.3 may not be your best choice for your first triathlon.
 
date : August 21, 2008
author : TriChica
comments : 8
I thought of all the times I didn’t attempt something I wanted to do because I was too afraid of trying something new or of failing completely.
date : August 21, 2008
author : vm354
comments : 1
How Pilates training helped a wanna-be triathlete realize the goal of completing a half-Ironman, Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island.
 
date : January 1, 2008
author : jgosse66
comments : 0
Here is my five step plan for getting mentally prepared for next year’s Ironman Newfoundland 70.3, or any other race that you may have.
date : October 4, 2007
author : jgosse66
comments : 0
It was the morning of Ironman Newfoundland 70.3, I felt queasy. I didn't want to eat or drink anything. I had a full blown case of the pre-race HEEBEE GEEBEES.
 
date : June 6, 2006
author : Ingrid Loos
comments : 4
A bad race left me smoldering, but time and a gentle breeze ignited my passion to race again.