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Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Chattanooga, Tennessee
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
76F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 56m 27s
Overall Rank = 929/2296
Age Group = 50 - 54
Age Group Rank = 68/177
Pre-race routine:

Pre-race Saturday was spent with a short swim in the morning to get used to the wetsuit and the river. Plus a bit of bike riding getting the shifting adjusted to the Zipp wheels. Rest of day spent relaxing and off of my feet.

Pre-race Sunday was a light breakfast, walked down and set up transition, pumped tires, came back dropped off pump and grabbed swim gear. Went down and met with team to head to swim start. Sipped a bottle of Gatorade Endurance.
Event warmup:

Relaxed under a tree waiting in line.
Swim
  • 37m 36s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 47s / 100 yards
Comments:

Nothing remarkable about the swim. Really didn’t feel like I was fighting the current to the turn buoy, but could tell after the turn that I was being pushed by it. Need more time in the wetsuit but no real options for doing that. But should be able to do as many OWS as we want in a wetsuit within a couple of weeks. This was a HIM swim PR for me which was all current.
What would you do differently?:

Swim more. Even thought it was a PR, I am sure it wouldn't have been without the current.
Transition 1
  • 05m 27s
Comments:

Thought this would be faster but had to stop at the porto potty.
What would you do differently?:

Go in the water.
Bike
  • 2h 59m 15s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.74 mile/hr
Comments:

Left transition and set the target at mid 170 watts. That’s about 75 - 80% which I thought I was capable of. Need to look at the settings on the 920 as I was hitting that number on the flat sections, spiking it up some on the climbs but the average dropped on the down hills so I am guessing it was counting the zeros coasting on the down hills. Felt comfortable in aero and was passing more than I was being passed. I had a bottle of Gatorade endurance on the bike and a gel flask in the top bar case. First aid station I grabbed a bottle of water to wash down the gel. The climbs were not a big deal, although I probably could have used some more outside time in the hills, but that will come now that our weather has improved. Down hills were used to give the legs a break. I have the lap alert set to go off every 5 miles and the goal was to keep these spits under 15 minutes and preferably closer to 14 minutes. Somewhat successful in accomplishing this over the first 40 miles.

Somewhere about mile 41 or 42 while downshifting on the climb the chain went off the front and wedged itself between the small sprocket and the frame. Fought with it for about 5 or 6 minutes, seemed like a lot longer before getting it out and back on. After I couldn’t seem to move very fast at all. Felt like there was a drag when pedaling and it was making a noise. Assumed incorrectly it was coming from the front, but it turns out it was the chain being off on the rear sprocket as the wheel must have shifted when the chain locked up. I thought the brakes may have been dragging, but the downhill speed wasn’t bad so maybe not. Really frustrated from here on into transition as I couldn’t get the speed up above 18 mph and had no idea what the power was since the power meter quit working. Other than the mental frustration of being passed more than passing, I don’t think it hurt the run at all.

I was hoping for a 2:40:00 split, so not happy, but could have been worse I guess.
What would you do differently?:

Ride more, but also pay some attention to front gear changes when tuning the bike,
Transition 2
  • 06m 2s
Comments:

Again a porto potty stop slowed me down. Also had to throw on socks and try and loosen up the legs.
Run
  • 2h 08m 7s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

Ran out of transition and for some reason the IT band in the right leg and some tightness in the lower back. More of a nuisance than a performance issue. Stopped at a couple of trees to stretch it and dumped ice down my back to numb the back, by mile 3 it wasn’t much of an issue at all.

Really looked forward to passing the team tent on the way out as a kick in the ass, thanks for that! If I made any mistake it was probably going through the aid stations too slow. I wanted to get the ice and some hydration but I could have probably moved quicker.

After the turn around the heat started to get to me, started running with a guy that was moving at what I thought felt like a good pace, but as the splits came up it was too slow. But really struggled to get the legs moving faster. Finished ok, but would have liked to broke 2 hours which I think is certainly in my wheelhouse on a different day.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out why the IT band kicked up again, it hadn't bothered me in weeks, maybe months.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed some food and walked some to the team tent.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Still have some weight to lose.

Event comments:

IM does a great job with most parts of the race. Only complaint has always been the post race food. Cold pizza and pretzels.

This was my first race racing with my new team, TriCoachGeorgia. Many team mates doing the race which was a lot of fun having them around all weekend. Good getting to know them in person as we had only interacted on line for me since I am not local to the team. It was a great pick up to see team mates on the course and the non racing members on the side cheering!

I did miss having Connie with me and look forward to having her along with my good friends Dud and Y along when we go back to do the full. Dud will like the course I think (as much as you can like any course 140 miles lone).




Last updated: 2015-10-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:37:36 | 2112 yards | 01m 47s / 100yards
Age Group: 104/177
Overall: 1394/2296
Performance: Average
Suit: YES
Course: Up river for 300 yards then down river for balance of race
Start type: Dive Plus:
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:27
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:59:15 | 56 miles | 18.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 98/177
Overall: 1079/2296
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Below average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 06:02
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:08:07 | 13.1 miles | 09m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 68/177
Overall: 929/2296
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
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

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2016-05-25 4:59 AM

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Pro
5123
5000100
Canandaigua NY
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga


2016-05-26 10:07 AM
in reply to: #5183650

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Master
1324
1000100100100
Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga

Good solid event, Ken!!!  Sorry to see the bike issues.  Its very frustrating, indeed.  Hope the IT gets resolved quickly.

 

 

2016-05-30 9:56 AM
in reply to: Ridgelake

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Royal(PITA)
14270
50005000200020001001002525
West Chester, Ohio
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga

Solid work, Ken1

Stinks about the bike mechanical, but it looks like you made the best of it.

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