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

Ironman 70.3 St. George - Triathlon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
St. George, Utah
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
55F / 13C
Precipitation
Total Time = 5h 46m 31s
Overall Rank = 603/~2700
Age Group = M50-54
Age Group Rank = 38/177
Swim
  • 32m 41s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 33s / 100 yards
Comments:

My slowest HIM swim yet. I guess I need to start training the swim again. Didn't train the swim much for my last HIM 5 years ago, and even less this time. The biggest issue was that my left calf muscle cramped up badly on the final segment of the swim, forcing me to hold my foot at a rigid 90 degree angle to relieve the pain while I finished the last few hundred yards. Also, I never managed to catch a draft off of anybody this time. Note to self: my same goggles from last time which leaked, they leaked again on this swim. If I'm reading this race report for the next tri in 5 years, REMEMBER TO ADJUST GOGGLES FIRST !!!
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Don't know my T1/T2 times, but this race had wetsuit strippers. That worked pretty well. Volunteers were awesome.
What would you do differently?:

Didn't bother practicing transitions. I'm really not sure if it cost me much, maybe a minute per transition max. I'll worry about it if I suddenly get 25% faster overall. :)
Bike
  • 2h 59m 56s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.67 mile/hr
Comments:

Was in a late wave (18/21). Dear god, there must have been 100 dropped bottles at least on the course in the first ten miles due to the rough surface on that section. One rider lost a bottle directly in front of me.

Apparently nobody bothers to stay right any longer. I ended up passing on the right a few times and over the yellow more than once. I guess if people are going to treat the bike like a casual Sunday ride going side be side and chatting, then you gotta do what you gotta do. There was little advantage to being able to slingshot because people were all over the course, and you didn't want to come up close on someone's wheel as you went around because of the water spraying behind every bike from the wet roads.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know what to do differently. Weather conditions were very tough -- cold, windy, and raining for most of the 56 miles. I left my arm warmers, gloves and riding jacket behind at T1 and just went out in the tri suit. I'd have been wet and frozen either way, so it was probably just as well.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Thank goodness I had the foresight to put a pair of dry socks in my T2 bag with my running shoes. Since the run ended up being dry, the dry socks were a godsend. Initially I racked my bike at the wrong spot about ten numbers away from my bag. I wasn't thinking super clearly due to being so cold and had a hard time reading the tag numbers.
What would you do differently?:

I forgot to pull my feet out of my bike shoes before arriving at the dismount line. I was so cold and completely soaked by that point that I was just on autopilot. Somehow many others managed to get a foil blanket to wrap up in, but I didn't see where people were getting those so I just went to my spot and transitioned.
Run
  • 2h 04m 7s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

Very hilly course. But I was better prepared for this HIM run than any of my previous ones, and it really helped out. I actually was passing more people than were passing me on the first 4-5 miles -- that was a first for me. Then it balanced out from mile 6 to 10. By the final three miles when it was a descent, my stomach went sideways and completely cramped in distress. I had to dial it back at that point, which killed me, because I gave up probably six spots in my age group over that last stretch. Oh well.
What would you do differently?:

I'm wondering if I had popped a couple of pepto bismol tabs about half way through the run if it might have helped. I've never tried that. But it seems like at every race I end up with an unhappy gut by some point on the run no matter what or how much I take in on the bike.
Post race
Warm down:

Warm down? Ha ha ha. Maybe dethawing would be a better description of this post-race.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Stomach cost me 5-6 minutes over last three miles of the run. I had the stomach flu at the start of taper week, so I can't be sure if maybe that didn't play a factor.

Event comments:

Ironman puts on a really great race. St George was a very neat town, and the community seemed to largely support this event, which was really appreciated -- people out in front of their homes cheering us on at many points of the race. Thank you St. George !! The course is very challenging. This was my first crack at it. I'm not sure if I will be back right away, but hopefully again at some point. This was as challenging a course as I would really ever want to face. From older race reports and conversations I had with other athletes, it sounds like this location can hit you with tough weather pretty much every year, be it high heat, winds, or cold rain. For accommodations, I was happy with the Quality Inn South Bluff. Room was really inexpensive, quiet and reasonably comfortable for the price, and those guys put a full breakfast out there by 3:30AM for Ironman participants. How cool is that?




Last updated: 2016-02-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:41 | 2112 yards | 01m 33s / 100yards
Age Group: 17/177
Overall: 0/~2700
Performance: Below average
Suit: Full wetsuit
Course: Three mostly equal legs on the swim counter clockwise out and around the island in Sand Hollow reservoir.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 60F / 16C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:59:56 | 56 miles | 18.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 41/177
Overall: 0/~2700
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Very hilly course. Climb up canyon at mile 40 was tough, uphill into a headwind, and being pelted with cold rain the entire way up. Some bike sections on the course were along the side of the road coned off from vehicle traffic and were a bit narrow. Lots of deep rumble strips in sections.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:04:07 | 13.1 miles | 09m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 52/177
Overall: 0/~2700
Performance: Good
Course: On this course, you are either going up or going down. I don't think there was a single flat section anywhere.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4

{postbutton}
2016-05-08 9:23 PM

User image

Master
3127
2000100010025
Sunny Southern Cal
Subject: Ironman 70.3 St. George


2016-05-10 2:59 PM
in reply to: #5180764

User image

Elite
4583
20002000500252525
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 St. George

Nice race!  I did St. George in '14 and '15 and really lucked out with great weather--if I remember last year was a little on the hot side.  It is a challenging course for sure--but so beautiful!

2016-05-15 1:44 PM
in reply to: #5180764

User image

Master
2855
20005001001001002525
Kailua, Hawaii
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 St. George
Great job, way to go on a tough race !

I was in Moab same time as this race, and we were getting weird weather the whole time. Hail, rain, cold, hot..basically everything.

I talked to some people that went to Zion and they had cold rain.

2016-05-16 4:01 PM
in reply to: metafizx

User image


1508
1000500
Cypress, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 St. George

It looks like I don't need to write a Race Report.  I can just reference yours.  I got the calf cramp a little before the half way mark of the swim.  I didn't figure out the 90 deg. bend to relieve the cramp and had to switched to back stroke. Poor sighting with the back stroke cost me more time than the 50% slower stroke did.  I was 8 minutes over my predicted swim time.

I went pretty hard the first 38 miles of the bike ride.  It was just too much fun with all the people to pass and the great hill to cruise over.  Yes, I passed over the yellow line a few times but don't think I ever passed on the right.  Sometimes I was passing 4-5 bikes wide though with slower people on the inside and faster people on the outside.  There was a solid line of bikes from the start to the finish of the race.  I eased up before mile 40 for the ride because I didn't know how the Snow Canyon climb would go. That climb was either a killer or I over did it on the first 40 miles because I ended up walking the bike up the last 2/3 mile to the top of the hill (I am guessing It was a little of both).  Going down the other side for the last 10 miles I was getting hypothermia.  That 40+ MPH speed when I was wet and wearing nothing by a tri suit was freezing.  They did offer me a solar blanket as I came through the gate to the T2 but I turned it down.  I figured the only think that could warm me up was to get running.  The run did the trick. The run wasn't any easier than the 2nd half of the swim of the canyon on the bike ride though. I ended up doing a lot of walking on miles 6-9 with all the hills, but was able to get back into a run with the down hill miles to the finish.  My finish time was 5 hr 45 mins. I was probably way ahead of you due to an earlier wave start, but we defiantly did the same race.   

2016-05-16 4:31 PM
in reply to: BlueBoy26

User image

Veteran
2842
200050010010010025
Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 St. George

Congrats on a great race in challenging conditions, to say the least!

And if that's your worst swim, I want to swim like you! 

Matt

 

General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Ironman 70.3 St. George Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Ironman 70.3 St. George

Started by tmoran07
Views: 1723 Posts: 4

2013-05-07 9:27 AM PHXATC

Ironman 70.3 St. George

Started by johnyutah5
Views: 1322 Posts: 1

2013-05-06 1:55 PM johnyutah5

Ironman 70.3 St. George

Started by bryancd
Views: 3156 Posts: 16

2013-05-24 5:09 PM Fastyellow

Ironman 70.3 St. George

Started by tomspharmacy
Views: 1616 Posts: 5

2013-05-06 6:05 PM johnyutah5

Ironman 70.3 St. George

Started by juliapurr
Views: 1735 Posts: 1

2013-05-04 5:11 PM juliapurr
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.