This was my first ever half Ironman. A race that I eagerly anticipated because it would give me a good indication of my current fitness and help me get prepared for the full Ironman in September.
I got up around 5:00. My being part of a triathlon club means that we have a dedicated rack for the transition area. This means that there is no need to rush to get a good spot in the transition area which translates to 30 min more sleep. I had prepared all my gear the day before so there would be no last minute stress. But when I started loading the bike in my car, I noticed that the rear tired I had just changed a couple of days prior was already flat. This wasn't a good sign. Could there be a slow leak? I inflated it back up to 105 psi and listened carefully for any hissing from an air leak. It seemed okay, so I loaded the bike and was off.
I arrived at Utah Lake at around 6 - 6:15am, pulled all my gear off my beloved Ogio bag and set up my bike. This time I opted to use my Brooks Ghost 5 for the run. My new Zoots are great in transition but they left me with a superficial sking injury on my Achilles last time I wore them. The Brooks have been a work horse of the shoe that I ve used throughout my training for a while now. This will be one of the last time I wear them as they need to be changed.
I got up around 5:00. My being part of a triathlon club means that we have a dedicated rack for the transition area. This means that there is no need to rush to get a good spot in the transition area which translates to 30 min more sleep. I had prepared all my gear the day before so there would be no last minute stress. But when I started loading the bike in my car, I noticed that the rear tired I had just changed a couple of days prior was already flat. This wasn't a good sign. Could there be a slow leak? I inflated it back up to 105 psi and listened carefully for any hissing from an air leak. It seemed okay, so I loaded the bike and was off.
I arrived at Utah Lake at around 6 - 6:15am, pulled all my gear off my beloved Ogio bag and set up my bike. This time I opted to use my Brooks Ghost 5 for the run. My new Zoots are great in transition but they left me with a superficial sking injury on my Achilles last time I wore them. The Brooks have been a work horse of the shoe that I ve used throughout my training for a while now. This will be one of the last time I wear them as they need to be changed.
My Felt bike ready to go on the rack
After a the race briefing, I walked to the shore to prepare for the swim. The wetsuits were not allowed so this would be another first for me: a long open water swim without wetsuit...
The swim was launched in successive age group waves with 2 minutes between each wave.
After a 10 second count down, I was off with the 40-44 age group.
The swim course had been changed at the last minute and I later found out that it was longer than the 1.2miles it was supposed to be.
I felt okay during the swim. Like every time I swim though, I was feeling impatient, bored and wanted to move on to the biking. Boeys looked like they were swimming away from me, never getting closer. I just felt slow. And I was...Pretty much every one passed me on the swim. A few times, I stopped. The water was so shallow you could almost walk in places.
It took me 1:00 to complete 1.38 miles. Slower than in training... Disappointing, but at this point I do not know how to address it. I have been going to the pool almost every day and it does not seem to help wih my speed.
Coming out of the water I grabbed my pre-transition shoes to run to the transition area.
The swim was launched in successive age group waves with 2 minutes between each wave.
After a 10 second count down, I was off with the 40-44 age group.
The swim course had been changed at the last minute and I later found out that it was longer than the 1.2miles it was supposed to be.
I felt okay during the swim. Like every time I swim though, I was feeling impatient, bored and wanted to move on to the biking. Boeys looked like they were swimming away from me, never getting closer. I just felt slow. And I was...Pretty much every one passed me on the swim. A few times, I stopped. The water was so shallow you could almost walk in places.
It took me 1:00 to complete 1.38 miles. Slower than in training... Disappointing, but at this point I do not know how to address it. I have been going to the pool almost every day and it does not seem to help wih my speed.
Coming out of the water I grabbed my pre-transition shoes to run to the transition area.
I am not sure this is extremely efficient to use a pair of shoes there but earlier, I had walked bare foot around the transition area and hurt my foot walking on loose gravel / stones. These pre-transition shoes are old trainers which I modified by cutting the heel vertically so they're easier to but on while they still allow me to run when on.
It works well but I think I'll have to modify them further so that they're easier to slide in with wet feet. I think I lost about 20 seconds putting them on.
The plan on the bike was to ride in cardiac zone 3 (low 3) the whole time.
I started a bit too conservatively. In the first mile I felt a bit confused about where to go and still running a mental checklist of things to do (did I forget anything? Did I need to eat something...etc). After a couple of minutes I was finally in the race, stabilizing at my planned pace.
The bike ride felt great. The temperature was great, in the 70's not too cold or hot and I was passing a lot of people.
I ate about 300 cal every hour or so and didn't stop at any station. I had just one 30oz between the arm bottle and had packed all my nutrition on the bike.
I averaged every 5 mile split between 20 and 22mph. My ironman goal being 18mph, I felt pretty good about it. The pace felt great too. Somewhat hard, but a hard I could maintain for a while. Only one biker passed me during the first 40 miles of the ride. Then, at mile 42, the my worst nightmare happened..
I was going hard on a straight when I saw Jen, one of my tri-club co-coach, cheering me on. Shortly after that, I prepared to enter a tight right corner.
I inclined the bike accordingly and as I was entering the corner, my front tired slipped a bit on loose gravel, forcing my trajectory to a wider turn. I slowed down as much as I could but the road was fairly narrow and I went off road on very loose gravel. My front wheel completely slid to my left and before I knew it I was on the ground absorbing the kinetic energy with my bare skin on the ground. It hurt. Soon my forearm was bleeding profusely. A few bikers that had taken me miles to pass, passed me again as I picked up my bike and jumped back on it. I was off again. My time split was screwed. I was in the 18mph range.
As I focused to finish the race hard, I had more bad news. My saddle had become loose and I was rocking back and forth, unable to stay in aero postion. A minute later I started losing nuts and bolts from the saddle and soon the situation went from bad to worse. I had lost all the hardware under the saddle and now it was not attached to the seat post.
I had to balance on the saddle while keeping it between my legs. Loosing the saddle completely and it might be the end of the race for me...
I was counting the miles, not worried about speed anymore, but wondering if I could actually finish this ride.
The ride was a bit short (53.3miles) which I was grateful for.
My bike split was 2:37
It works well but I think I'll have to modify them further so that they're easier to slide in with wet feet. I think I lost about 20 seconds putting them on.
The plan on the bike was to ride in cardiac zone 3 (low 3) the whole time.
I started a bit too conservatively. In the first mile I felt a bit confused about where to go and still running a mental checklist of things to do (did I forget anything? Did I need to eat something...etc). After a couple of minutes I was finally in the race, stabilizing at my planned pace.
The bike ride felt great. The temperature was great, in the 70's not too cold or hot and I was passing a lot of people.
I ate about 300 cal every hour or so and didn't stop at any station. I had just one 30oz between the arm bottle and had packed all my nutrition on the bike.
I averaged every 5 mile split between 20 and 22mph. My ironman goal being 18mph, I felt pretty good about it. The pace felt great too. Somewhat hard, but a hard I could maintain for a while. Only one biker passed me during the first 40 miles of the ride. Then, at mile 42, the my worst nightmare happened..
I was going hard on a straight when I saw Jen, one of my tri-club co-coach, cheering me on. Shortly after that, I prepared to enter a tight right corner.
I inclined the bike accordingly and as I was entering the corner, my front tired slipped a bit on loose gravel, forcing my trajectory to a wider turn. I slowed down as much as I could but the road was fairly narrow and I went off road on very loose gravel. My front wheel completely slid to my left and before I knew it I was on the ground absorbing the kinetic energy with my bare skin on the ground. It hurt. Soon my forearm was bleeding profusely. A few bikers that had taken me miles to pass, passed me again as I picked up my bike and jumped back on it. I was off again. My time split was screwed. I was in the 18mph range.
As I focused to finish the race hard, I had more bad news. My saddle had become loose and I was rocking back and forth, unable to stay in aero postion. A minute later I started losing nuts and bolts from the saddle and soon the situation went from bad to worse. I had lost all the hardware under the saddle and now it was not attached to the seat post.
I had to balance on the saddle while keeping it between my legs. Loosing the saddle completely and it might be the end of the race for me...
I was counting the miles, not worried about speed anymore, but wondering if I could actually finish this ride.
The ride was a bit short (53.3miles) which I was grateful for.
My bike split was 2:37
I finally made it to the transition area where a volunteer grabbed the bike and I quickly slid in my running shoes.
I must have had a lot on my mind because I put put my right foot in the left shoe first. A mistake I have never made in my life before (triathlon or not).
I ran out of the transition area pretty fast. It felt good at first but I quickly realized I was running way too hard (I was going under 6:00min/mi).
I gradually slowed down to about 7:00min/mile which progressively turned to about 7:45 after a few miles.
A good lesson for me...I think I left a lot of energy with that quick start.
I paid for it in the second loop of the course. The heat of the mid-day along with the accumulated fatigued and poor early pacing sapped my energy in the final miles. I also had a bathroom stop at mile 6 which took an extra minute or so, but when nature calls...
I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:38. Not great but not horrible.
In the end, my final time is 5:18
I would have wanted a sub 5 hour time, but I guess that for a beginner triathlete's first effort at a half ironman this is respectable.
I can't help being both disappointed and frustrated at my swim performance.
I think I could do better at the bike too. But given all the unknowns for the pacing and the bike, the accident and ensuing technical diffulties, I guess the time was respectable. My potential improvement on the run is more marginal. Maybe 5 minutes with better pacing...
I must have had a lot on my mind because I put put my right foot in the left shoe first. A mistake I have never made in my life before (triathlon or not).
I ran out of the transition area pretty fast. It felt good at first but I quickly realized I was running way too hard (I was going under 6:00min/mi).
I gradually slowed down to about 7:00min/mile which progressively turned to about 7:45 after a few miles.
A good lesson for me...I think I left a lot of energy with that quick start.
I paid for it in the second loop of the course. The heat of the mid-day along with the accumulated fatigued and poor early pacing sapped my energy in the final miles. I also had a bathroom stop at mile 6 which took an extra minute or so, but when nature calls...
I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:38. Not great but not horrible.
In the end, my final time is 5:18
I would have wanted a sub 5 hour time, but I guess that for a beginner triathlete's first effort at a half ironman this is respectable.
I can't help being both disappointed and frustrated at my swim performance.
I think I could do better at the bike too. But given all the unknowns for the pacing and the bike, the accident and ensuing technical diffulties, I guess the time was respectable. My potential improvement on the run is more marginal. Maybe 5 minutes with better pacing...
There it is.. My first half Ironman. I have mixed feeling with this race. On the one hand, I am happy I could finish it and that I felt good throughout the race. On the other hand, I feel like I could have gone harder at it. I am worried I'll never improve my swim times and therefore never be able to compete for the podium of my age group.
I have to remind myself that this was a training race though. I was there to gain experience and gain the confidence that I'll be able to complete my first Ironman in a few weeks. And from that point of view, I accomplished all my goals.
I have to remind myself that this was a training race though. I was there to gain experience and gain the confidence that I'll be able to complete my first Ironman in a few weeks. And from that point of view, I accomplished all my goals.
A picture of my friends volunteers and participants from the tri club at the finish line
