Rev3 South Carolina Half Rev
2011-10-09
Anderson, South Carolina
United States
Rev3
72F / 22C
Overcast
Triathlon - 1/2 Ironman
Total Time = 5h 35m 21s
Overall Rank = 72/197
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 15/37
REV3 Triathlon SOUTH CAROLINA 2011 - Age Group Recap from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.
I'm at 4:21 and Trakkers Teammate Jill Poon Anniversay surprise finish at 8:05 is very cool as well.
Pre-race routine:
Rev3 was my last planned race for this season and was the first time I have done a race after doing an Ironman, having done Ironman Canada on August28th. Post Ironman I found it to be a real challenge to get back into racing and getting into a racing frame of mind. Plus 2 weeks of recovery post IM and 1 week of tapering minimized the amount of training I could do. So I wasn't feel very optimistic going in. But REV3 races have alwasy been alot of fun, so I decided I was going to participate but not race.
The drive down to Anderson from the Philly area didn't quite go as smooth as planned, got about 60 min in and realized I forgot my bike shoes and had to go back. Then I went a different direction to "make up time" and found Rt422 at a dead stop thanks to road work. Ended up being a 13 hour drive after my false start. On the way down I was actually able to pick up the Phillies game on a Philadelphia AM station in the Carolinas, but then the Phillies choked which lowered my sprites even more.
Saturday I checked in at the EXPO at the Anderson Convention Center. Anderson is right next to Clemson University and it was homecoming weekend verse BC Saturday afternoon so there was a ton of traffic and Clemson fans everywhere. Fortunately Clemson won easiliy and everyone was in a great mood all weekend. Got a TYR swim bag, a hot air ballon ride ticket, an event shirt (got a finishers long sleeve tshirt at the end of the race too), a visor, and samples of GU, Tri Swim, and Jack Black products. Not bad. Sat thru the racers meeting and tried to visualize how the point to point course was going to work. Drove down to the lake and checked in my bike and then did a lap on the swim course (very easy). Found some wooden pilings after the 2nd turn bouy if you swung too far to the outside which was a very good lesson learned to stave off a collision on race day. Then hit the bike shop and got new cleats for my bike shoes and headed back to the hotel. Had a pre race dinner with my Trakkers teammates at a downtown restraunt (had a Hawaian Pizza) and then headed back to get some sleep. Dinner was a blast as everyone was checking the Twitter updates for the Ironman World Championships and hurried back to watch the finishes on line. It was scarry how many of the top pros I actually know or at least met thanks to being with Team Trakkers and participating in the REV3 series over the last three years.
Got up at 5:oo am and got my stuff together and drove to the convention center. Set up T2 which took about 2 minutes, and then got on a shuttle bus down to the lake. Was very dark still on the road to transition got set up and then chilled out in T1 and visited the bathroom before the lines got too long. The water safety crew wouldn't let anyone in the lake until the sun was up so I hung out at the start and watched the pros start, then headed to the chute and I was in the second wave of AGers out of 3. Note: they listed the overal results seperately for Men and women. There were 97 women finishers in addition to the 197 male finishers and was about 90th overall.
Mentally I had one of the worst pre races ever. Had a feeling of doom, felt bad, asked myself why I even bothered to come down, but i was finally able to snap myself out of that funk and remind myself I was here to have fun and not get stressed out. That and talking to my rack mates helped alot.
Event warmup:
A bit of walking but since we were allowed in the water before the pros started no swim warm up. Just got started and got wet after the gun. Water was pretty warm but there was a pretty stiff breeze blowing.
Swim
00:37:48 | 2309.71 yards | 01m 38s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/37
Overall: 95/197
Performance: Average
Suit: Hurricane Cat 5 full
Course: Couterclock wise loop from one side of the pennisula to the other. 4 turn bouys and a sandbar to negotiate
Large wave with all the 40+ males, clyesdales and relay and aquabikers and a relatively narrow start area where the rocks were cleared, made for a bit of a rough start. I was to the right and middle not really by choice but since there was nowhere else to go. Lots of banging and grabbing on the way out to the first buoy and a even got a kick to the throat, (fortunately not very hard, but it got my attention. Things started to spread out and I found myself pacing with a guy in blue goggles and a red suit and settled into a good rhythm. The mob spread out nicely after the first turn buoy and i rembmerd my practice swim and cut hard to the inside after the 2nd turn bouy to avoid the pilings. From there i diamonded the rest of the course probably adding some distance but it made the turns so much easier. Soon enough i made it to the end and wadded to shore stepping on those nasty little rock until getting to the cleared segment.
What would you do differently?:
Get a bit of a warm up and start harder to clear some space that way. But all in all a good swim.
T1
Nice smooth unhurried transition. No issues getting out of my suit, a few issues finding my rack stopped at the first tree not the second, and was a bit bummed that most of my rack was gone. Took extra time to apply sunscreen and pack up my T1 bag, then got going.
What would you do differently?:
Was pretty slow since i still wasn't in a racing mindset yet. However that was OK. The guy next to me didn't put his wetsuit in a bag, hope he found in the lost and found afterwards.
Bike
02:54:56 | 56 miles | 19.21 mile/hr
Age Group: 17/37
Overall: 75/197
Performance: Good
First 30 miles 1:40:21 17.94 mph Last 26 miles 1:14:34 20.92 mph
Wind: Headwind with gusts
Course: Winding rolling course through the country side. First 30 miles was into a significant headwind 17-25 mph. Rolling hills through out but no that i would classify as very difficult. Number of technical decents including Millers bend, a quick downhill with a sharp left turn onto a bridge over a creek with a nice drop off on either side right into another climb. After mile 30 you headed back towards Anderson, twisting thru Penbrook? with a ton of turn in order to avoid the railroad tracks which was appricaited. Then back to town over some of the larger hills, past the start area into Anderson itself and highway 81 bypass and then back to the civic center. Joined back up with the Olympic course (which started later) for the last 7 or so miles.
Started out in 106 out of T2 an picked up 31 spots. Wind was rough right out the gate as was the first hill but i stayed on the big ring and grinded over it. Got into a good rhythm after that and stayed in the big ring the entire ride except for Miller's bend. The bend was about 14 miles in and was a hard left (most sharp truns are right handers) One guy had gone off road and down just before the bend and I slowed to make sure he was ok (a bit bloody but he waved me on). Got into a back and forth with about 3-4 folks where I would run them down and pass them and about 20 min later the would pass and pull way out ahead, then i would get my rhythem back and reel them in again. After 30 miles, I was still feeling good so I picked up the pace and got an assist from the wind and averaged 20.92 mph on the way back and really felt good even though this was one of the hillier segments. Once we joined back up with the olympic I got to pass a few more folks and felt pretty good. Alot of folk complained how hilly the course was but I didn't think it was bad at all. While it was constantly rolling hills, none of the hills were long or exceptionally steep and other than Miller's bend where I lost all my momentum I stayed in the big ring the whole time. Over the last 26 miles i did alternate standing and sitting on the hills but felt very good.
What would you do differently?:
Held back a bit too much over the first 30 miles, but that might had paid dividends latter, but had plenty in reserve to kick up the pace over the last 26 miles.
T2
Another slow transition. Took my time and tied my shoes and got some nutrition then had one false start as my hand pump was still in my uniform. Decided not to change socks. Also hit the potta potty on the way out, then hit the run out line.
What would you do differently?:
Go faster!
Run
01:54:34 | 13.1 miles | 08m 45s min/mile
Age Group: 15/37
Overall: 72/197
Performance: Good
First 1.3 miles 11:29 8:45 min/mile
Next 6.4 miles 58:20 9:07 min/mile
Last 5.4 miles 44:51 8:18 min/miles
Course: Couple of loop in the Civic center area then an out and back loop then a trip out to Main Street via the middle lanes and back. Finish at the Exppo after one last loop around the duck pond.
Started off shuffling along and had 2 people pass me and then 2 more, but I started feeling my legs come back to me and ran the second two down and started moving forwards. Was a mix of Olympic and HIM untill after the out and back loop, then the HIM turned away from the Civic Center and out towards main street. Had a 4 people pass my on that stretch before the turn around. Saw a bunch of my teammates and got a high 5 from Brian Fleshmann despite him having a rough day. Saw Jill Poon just before the turn around. After the turn i had a few more peopl pass me and I gave myself a little motivational speech and asked for a little more and my legs responded. I reeled 5 of the people who had pasted me back in and a few that passed on the first half and worked harder on the way home. brought my pace down about 50 sec/mile. Felt some discomfort in my quads and hammies but they didn't cramp as some around me did. Passed this dud e with bright racing flats on and pushed for home. Got one last guy right at the 13 miles marker and strode to the finish. Didn't look for my picture on the big screen till it was too late.
What would you do differently?:
Not much, well paced run Probably could have drank more EFS on the bike to stave of the cramps but i delt with it well.
Post race
Warm down:
Got my medal, shirt, removed my chip, and got some drinks and just sat on the grandstands watching the other finishers come by. Then headed out to the T2 and hunted down my bags and put on my sweats, then walked my stuff and bike to the car loaded up and headed to the hotel for a shower. Large chocolate Shake for post race hit the spot.
What limited your ability to perform faster:
2nd fastest HIM on a hilly course was pretty good. Not having an IM a month earlier and being in a better racing frame of mind couldn't have hurt, but i was very happy with my race.
Event comments:
Rev 3 did a great job again! Done the first races at Quazzy, knoxville, Cedar Point, and Anderson and Rev3 has done such a great job. Meeting the pros, stuff for the kids the little rev adventure race and a great staff and volunteers made this a great experience. Roads were a bit rough and the point to point course and 2 transitions was different but It wasn't a problem. Definetly will do this race again.
