Desert Half Ironman - July 11, 2010

Swim – 36:56
W00t:

• Picked a good line at the start and had a very clean first 200m – avoided the washing machine
• Stuck with a pack of women in the first lap, my split was just a little over 17min for the first lap
  

Meh:

• For some reason didn’t feel so hot on the second lap and slowed down, ended up with a split over a minute slower than my time at Oliver half iron a few weeks ago.

T1 – 3:11
W00t:

• Didn't make any obvious mistakes, like knocking over my behind the seat water bottle

Meh:

• Everything was just slow. The wetsuit got stuck on my heals and the wetsuit strippers had to pull pretty hard to get it off. The run between the beach and the transition was slow. Still felt a bit off after the swim.
• This time was pretty slow compared to the rest of the top 10 women... Maybe I need to learn how to put my shoes on while riding
  

Bike – 3:00:43
W00t:

• Climbed steady and kept it at my own pace, watts below my climbing cap. Didn't get caught up in a mini king-of-the-hill battle at the beginning of Richter Pass with people getting out of their saddles, etc. And sure enough, I passed most of those folks later in the climb.
• Did well on the descents. Somehow, I managed to pass bigger guys on the descents a few times. How did that happen? I guess I have a pretty aero dynamic setup :) Also I must be more comfortable going down at 45mph in my aero now… I used to chicken out and reach for the breaks.
  

Meh:

• While I did well at keeping my watts below the cap, I didn't do so well at keeping them above the lower bound of my target range. A few times I would look down and see 160s or 170s instead of targeted 190. Felt sluggish. I know this is still a good bike split for this course, but I think if I was feeling 100%, I should have been a few minutes faster.
• Didn't stick to my nutrition plan. With the 95 degree heat, my Perpetuem bottles got so warm and nasty. I finished the first one, but opted for the cold Gatorade that they handed out on the course instead of my second bottle. Only got through half of the Gatorade bottle, which put me at almost 200 calories less than I planned.
  

T2 – 1:25
W00t:

• Pretty happy with this transition – everything went pretty smooth.

Meh:

• Perhaps could shave off 10 sec if I could learn how to take my shoes off while on the bike...

Run – 1:46:05
W00t:

• Managed to run the whole way despite my legs cramping up

Meh:

• Very slow run for me! The slowest HIM run split in the last 3 years. I felt really sluggish right from the start. Kept waiting for it to go away, but it never happened. Probably had something to do with the fact that I didn’t eat enough on the bike.
• My calf muscles starting cramping at mile 9. First, I started getting spasms in my right leg – it happened once, then a second time after about half a mile. Then I got them in both legs and they started happening more frequently. Similar thing happened to me in the last mile of the Yakima Canyon Marathon so I altered my stride in the same way I did at the marathon – basically, didn’t push off with my feet anymore, and ran by just using my quads and my hamstrings. This helped mitigate the spasms, but definitely slowed me down.
  

Overall – 5:28:18
W00t:

• 4th in AG, 7th overall – not a bad standing for having a crappy day
• A very pretty course and superb race organization. Highly recommend! Don’t go looking for a PR though :)
  

Meh:

• Bummer to miss the podium by about 2 minutes. I keep thinking "if only I could have stuck with the pack at the swim" or "if only I could have had faster transitions" or "if only I didn't get the stupid leg cramps"... But 2 minutes is 2 minutes. I just didn't have it yesterday.
• I need to learn how to manage the heat better – not sure how to do it in Seattle though. I guess I'll just keep going to hot places to race (next up – Troika in Spokane!)
• Definitely need to work on my climbing strength – I just didn’t have the stamina to keep my watts up for 7 miles up the hill...
  

Oliver Half Ironman Race Report - June 6, 2010

Swim
W00t:

• 35m and change, 1:41 per 100 yards. Fastest half iron swim for me by over 2 minutes.
• Perfect water temp – not too cold, not too warm.
• Mentally focused on my form the whole swim – it seems to do the trick when I start falling apart by the end of my long workouts, I guess it works in races as well.
  

Meh:

• Pretty violent start. The waves were huge with all women under 45 starting at once. I got whacked with an elbow in my head a couple times and swallowed some water one of those times, but managed to keep it under control, cough it out and keep going.
• Didn’t catch any feet to draft off. Still need to work on that.
  

T1
W00t:

• Fast run between the lake exit and the transition (it’s over a 1/4 mile run!) – 2:29. Passed quite a few people there.
• Wet suit strippers rock!
  

Meh:

• 3:11 for the actual transition – from when I got into the transition area till when I clipped into my bike pedals. Slow
  
• Messed with my helmet too long – probably lost all the advantage that I gained in the quick run between the lake and the transition.
• Knocked over my behind the seat water bottle while hopping on my bike – need to practice with that setup some more.
  

Bike
W00t:

• 2h40m, 21.3 mph, despite the fact that the course is at least 1 mile long. Fastest bike split ever for me.
• Fun course – rolling hills are my favorite terrain, gorgeous views of the lakes, mountains and vineyards. Perfect for spectators with the athletes passing the transition area 6 times.
• Lucked out on the weather – nice temps in the 70s, cloud cover kept us sheltered from the sun and the winds were very mild.
• I love my SRM power meter! Used it religiously to keep the wattage up in the 170-180 range on the flats and to keep it controlled on the uphills.
• It was nice to see Polita out there and pass each other back and forth a few times. Always good to cheer each other on!
  

Meh:

• I need to change my saddle. My inner thighs started cramping in the last 10K. I think the saddle is too wide for me.
• I do not like it when people draft. After working hard against the wind all by myself for the whole last stretch of Hwy 97, I got caught and passed by a pack of 3 girls who were clearly working together. On the positive note, it got me kind of angry and gave me an extra boost of energy to crank out those last 10K and not let them get far ahead of me.
• Some guys just can’t get over the fact that there are women who are faster than them. If a rider catches you from behind despite the fact that they started the swim 10 min later, and passes you – there is a good chance that they are stronger than you. No need to crank it up and try to get ahead of them repeatedly for the next 5 miles just because it happens to be a girl.
  

T2
W00t:

• Nothing w00t about this transition :-(
  

Meh:

• 2:11, slow T2!
• I was slow getting off my bike, slow changing and managed to forget my race belt and had to run back to grab it after I was almost out of the transition
  

Run
W00t:

• 1:31, 6:57 per mile. Fastest half iron run split and second fastest half marathon time for me. Wow, didn’t know I could go sub 7 in a half iron!
• Didn’t get passed once.
• It was great to see Rhae finishing her first lap as I was just starting on the run and then again, in the final winning stretch as I was starting on my second lap.
  

Meh:

• Narrow bike path and bridges/sidewalks made for a crowded second lap. A lot of folks were still on their first lap and I had to pass a lot of people.
• Gravel which makes up about half the course is not my favorite surface to run on.
  

Nutrition
W00t:

• I planned well and executed well
• 1 Cliff shot before the swim start (100 Kcal)
• 2 bottles with 2 scoops of Hammer Perpetuem in each + one package of Cliff blocks (total of 740 Kcal) during the bike
• 1 Cliff shot (100 Kcal) + a random mix of Gatorade, water and Coke at aid stations during the run
• Never felt too hungry, too full, too thirsty or too fatigued, never cramped except for the inner thighs cramping which, I believe, resulted from my less-than-perfect bike saddle fit.
  

Meh:

• No complaints here, I think I did well.

Overall
W00t:

• Took off over 16 min from my previous half iron PR of 5:11 at Clearwater 2008. (Full disclosure: I did quite a bit of drafting myself in that race, so breaking that dishonest bike split makes me feel doubly good! Also, after my experience yesterday, I never want to draft in a race again!)
• Came in 2nd in my age group and 9th overall. I’ve never made top three my age group or top 10 overall before in a half ironman. It feels really good!
• Great race. Fun course, nice town, well organized, good for spectators. I recommend!
  

Meh:

• Both of my transitions were really slow and I made stupid mistakes in both of them. What’s up with that? I guess I just lost my short distance racing edge. In an Ironman, 3 min transitions are normal and you have volunteers that help you make sure you have everything and put your stuff away. I must have gotten lazy. Need to practice more and race more!