Tag: Timberman 70.3

IRONMAN 70.3 Timberman

SWIM: 
Target Time: 0:35:00
Race Time: 0:43:02
I guess the best way to describe the swim was a complete shit show. The swim started good, and I was quickly off the front with the top couple of guys. I caught a wave over my head that caused me to drink a little water and all of a sudden I was having a full blown panic attack. I managed to get to a kayak to hold onto and try to get my head back in the game, but it was over. I pretty much swam from kayak to kayak for the first third of the race just trying to get the swim over with. I managed to swim the last two thirds of the swim by myself way to the outside of the course, but every time someone got near me I freaked out. At some point I swore that I would never do another triathlon again. F-

T1: 0:04:28
I took a little extra time here to try and get my head back into the race. 

BIKE: 
Target Time: 2:35:00
Race Time: 2:44:06
I was targeting 90% of my FTP for the bike. I did a really good job of controlling myself on the out bound part of the course and hit the turnaround averaging 22.5 mph. At some point on the return trip I forgot about my nutrition completely. D- because of the nutrition

T2: 0:01:48
Really happy about my T2 times as of late.

RUN: 
Target Time: 1:50:00
Race Time: 2:26:35
The run started out really good, but after about a mile and a half I started cramping. This was about when I started thinking about it and realized that I hadn’t had anything to eat in a while. The day before I had bought some BASE Electrolyte Salt and had brought some with me. It really did help out a lot with the cramps, but once the tank is empty it is pretty hard to recover. I managed to mostly jog from aid station to aid station for the rest of the run, but it was not really what I wanted to do. It also ended up a little hotter than I was expecting.  C+

Overall: 5:59:59

Summary:
The good. I was pretty happy to get under the 6 hour mark for a IRONMAN 70.3 for the first time. I was also really happy with how I felt on the bike. I held a good pace and was still feeling pretty good coming off the bike. I was also happy with how the BASE Electrolyte Salt worked on the run. Even though my nutrition let me down, it wasn’t because it wasn’t working, it was because I forgot about it in the heat of the moment. I’m pretty sure that I do have it figured out.

The bad. It doesn’t matter how much training you do, if you forget something simple like eating, your day is over. My swim is killingly me during races.

Nutrition Plan: Plan A, Execution C-
Race Morning: I had an Ensure and part of a bagel with cream cheese. Unfortunately my pre-race nerves kept me from eating more than a couple of bites. I also drank a couple bottles of water and my have been over hydrated at the start.

Bike: 1 Race bottle containing 3 scoops of Strawberry HEED, 6 scoops of CarboPro and 8 Endurolytes capsules split open and added to the bottle. Two bottles of plain water and 3 packs of GU Energy Chews. I ended up drinking half the race bottle and took a couple of sips from one of the water bottles. That is never going to cut it in a race.

Run: 1 Race bottle containing 2 scoops of Heed and 4 scoops of CarboPro. I was also carrying 2 packs of GU Energy Chews and a container of the BASE Salt. I pretty much finished the race bottle and was doing a lick of the salt every mile with a glass of water at the aid stations. I never fully recovered from my mistake on the bike, but I held together better than I would have expected considering the heat.

IRONMAN 70.3 Timberman

Exiting the water.
Exiting the water.

SWIM: TrainingPeaks Data
Target Time: 0:45:00
Race Time: 0:42:54
I was so nerves before this swim that I tore my wetsuit twice trying to put it on.  This was going to be my first group start in a triathlon so I really had no idea what to expect.  Once the race started I started to relax and try getting into a rhythm.  Unfortunately that was not going to happen.  Instead I struggled with the swim the entire time I was in the water.  Overall I felt the swim went terrible, but when I saw my time I was pretty happy.  B+

T1: 0:04:55
Just tried to be steady.  Overall very happy with my time.

Finishing the bike
Finishing the bike

BIKE: TrainingPeaks Data
Target Time: 3:00:00
Race Time: 2:48:13
I had pre-rode the first and last 8 miles of the course on Saturday, so I knew the first 6.5 miles were mostly uphill.  It was never a big climb, just a long rolling climb.  The plan was to just keep it nice and steady for this part and then put in a good effort until the big climb that started around mile 12.  After that climb it was 35-38 miles of just getting into a nice steady grove and try to maintain around 220 watts.  This worked out better than I could have ever hoped for.  I had great legs for the two big climbs on the way back in and just buried myself for the last 6.5 downhill miles into the finish.  A+

T2: 0:05:23
It was looking like rain before the start, so I left my T2 stuff in my transition bag to keep it dry.  This cost me a little time, but at least I didn’t have to worry about having wet stuff to start the run.

The start of the run
The start of the run

RUN: TrainingPeaks Data
Target Time: 2:15:00
Race Time: 2:32:28
Before I was even out of transition I knew that I had no legs for the run.  Instead of killing myself and trying to find something that was not there, I just immediately fell into a run/walk routine that I was sure would get me to the finish.  I really liked the course and wish I could have found some way to run a little more but it was not to be.  D-

Overall: 6:13:53

Summary:
I was using a training plan to get ready for Timberman and was questioning the running volume for the last month before the race.  Unfortunately I decided to trust in the training plan instead of what my body was telling me. I just do not think that I was doing even close to enough miles, so coming off the bike and being a little tired I was doomed.  Going into the half marathon that I ran in April I was doing 25-30 miles a week, but the training plan that I was working with only had me doing 10-15 miles a week.  Oh well, live and learn.

On the bike I wanted to average 220 watts.  When I pulled my data off the Garmin, I found out that I only averaged 190 watts while going under my target time.  I’m not sure if means that I had great legs that day, or that the course really suited me.  I will say that I really liked the course.  I did have on problem on the bike.  I missed my pocked when putting my gel flask away around mile 20 and didn’t find out until the next time I went looking for it.

Based on my result and how I felt after this I have decided that I will go ahead and do a IRONMAN next year.  Not sure if it will be IRONMAN Maryland or Louisville.

IRONMAN 70.3 Training …

My transition area.
My transition area.

I started the year laying down a good base to build on for my first IRONMAN 70.3, well actually it will be my first triathlon period at this rate.  I was flying a little too early in the year and decided to back off a little bit so that I wouldn’t get burned out before the actual race got here.  Somehow I lost track of time and fitness before noticing that Timberman was only 8 weeks away.  Not sure how I missed that one, but now I am under the gun and working my ass off to get back to where I was two months ago.  I just finished week two of a four week block and I am starting to feel the legs coming back around.  

Yesterday i did my first dress rehearsal to see where I am and was mostly happy with the results.  It was a test for the bike and run using the nutrition plan that I have for the actual race.  The bike was better than I would have expected.  I was trying to stay around 85% of my FTP for an average.  To my surprise I managed to average 19.7 mph of my 28 miles test loop without exceeding my target effort level.  I never expected to manage that.  I will admit that I really should have drank about a half a water bottle more than I did on the bike.

My transition was 2:15 and I was out for my run.  I ran 7 miles at around a 5.7 mph pace.  I would have liked to be around a 6.3 mph pace, but that was the first time that I have tried running after a ride of that effort.  Although I was not as fast as I would have liked to be, I never felt the desire to slow down any or walk.

Post workout recovery!
Post workout recovery!

I really need to start looking around for a couple of smaller local triathlons to do to get my feet wet soon.  I really would rather not do Timberman as my first triathlon.  Well that’s all for now, off to get a massage.