Rev3 Williamsburg. Too much drama!

Williamsburg, Virginia
United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon


80F / 27C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 35m 58s
Overall Rank = 90/443
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 14/46



Pre-race routine:

Oh where to begin with this one. I was really looking forward to this race, a brand new venue, a relatively flat course which just seemed to set up perfectly for a PR. Well things seemed to be pointing in that direction, was feeling really strong and bounced back after the Quassy Revolution. Then things started to get tough. First my youngest son start hacking up a lung. Sure enough the first day of summer, I started getting sick. Friday night I had chills was aching, stuffed up and nose running off my face. The next morning I finally packed and was feeling a little better, and I hit the road at 11:30 am. The drive was downright evil. Should have been a 6 hour drive turned into over 8 hours. Finally started freaking out on I-64 as the road stopped completely due to a multi car wreck in the fast lane. Barely made it to the Expo in time to check in by 7:00pm then immediately headed to T1 and Jamestown to drop off my bike. Plus it was starting to pour. Got down there to drop my bike and pull it out of the car and my rear tire is flat. Worry about that in the AM. Headed to Yorktown and my hotel and they had me in a smoking room. WTF? No other rooms available and no other hotels available down to Norfolk so I was stuck. Fortunately Farm Fresh Foods was next store so I got a healthy dinner. Couldn't breathe in my hotel room and hacked up a lung all night so only got about 2 hours of sleep. Got up and out to the hotel at 4:30. Wasn't raining when I got out to the car but poured hard a few minutes later on the highway. Got a bit lost then found the main parking lot already full and went to the Giant shopping center parking lot about a mile away. Walked to transition set up T2 in the drizzle and covered my shoes with my extra t-shirt. Got in line for the shuttles and waited. Finally got down to T1 and then remembered I had to take care of my tire. Brought it up to the mechanical support folks and they were awesome taking care of my tire and pumping me up. Fortunately I was in the Olympic and had 8 waves to start before me, so I set up T1 and covered my stuff with the Transition bag. Hit the porta potties and met up with Matt and Tracie and then strolled down to the beach via the road. Ate a Powerbar apple strawberry performance blast when I got up and after breaking transition and drank a bottle of Perform on the ride.

Event warmup:

The practice swim was down the way near the swim out and the last two waves of the half were already going off, so I just wadded by the start then headed to the corral as the rain picked up again. Watched the first Olympic wave and then funneled into the start corral.

Swim
Time 35m 44s
Distance 1931 yards
Pace 01m 51s / 100 yards

Comments:

I still wasn't feeling good and my head was a balloon with sinus pressure. Water was great though. Started in the middle but it ended up being a long walk out to nearly the first buoy in knee to quad deep water. Found a hole and went down. Later I would find out I had broken my right middle toe, but I didn't know it at the time. Once I finally got swimming I was totally lost. I banged into people, could tell where I was going. Couldn't find a rhythm and could even find the next buoy. The current was dragging me all over the place and the deeper the water the more the waves kicked up. Somehow I found myself on the turn buoy and saw a bunch of folks who just plan missed it and were cutting the corner. Again I was either way out by myself or was in the middle of a clump and banging off everyone. Saw pink caps, blue caps, yellow caps, then nothing. Found the buoy and way, way inside and led my clump back to it. Got tight on the next turn buoy and caught the rope a bit. Started heading back in and guess we were with the current as it started to get easier to find the buoys, but still had people drifting into me due to the waves and current, Suddenly everyone is standing up and the long wade back in started. Man that was draining. Worst swim I've ever had.

What would you do differently?:

No idea. Not be sick and have the sinus issues which make it hard to swim straight, but just wasn't ready to go. wasn't amped up thanks to being sick and coughing up smoke. Whatever it was I never had a feel for the water and couldn't navigate and totally lost confidence.



Transition 1

Time 05m 25s

Comments:

Long run up the beach and across the field uphill to transition and then into transition and all the way down to my rack. Felt about as long as the run to T1 at Maine. Not a bad transitions in terms of getting my wetsuit off, couldn't stuff my wetsuit in the transition bag and then tri sided my feet put on damp swiftwick which took time and then loaded my gel and tied my bag and shuffled off. Muddy at exit so went slow and then up to the road and mounted and went.

What would you do differently?:

A bit of urgency and being able to pack my transition bag that totally kicked my butt. Still hadn't noticed my toe was broken but that didn't slow me down. lost 1 spot in my AG going from 23 to 24th but gained 2 spots overall from 200th to 198th

Bike

Time: 1h 04m 5s
Distance: 24 miles
Pace: 22.48 mile/hr

Comments:

Got on the bike and suddenly everything felt right. My nose was running and the pressure bled out too. got wound up and just held the momentum. This was a ride where no one passed me and stayed ahead of me. In fact only one person passed me at all and I got him back after 2 back and forths. The backside roads were rough and I was still paranoid about getting another flat and my front wheel was bouncing. Got through the pothole section and passed my buddy for the last time and then hammered the way back. Turned towards home and ripped up the long gradual hill and over to the transition. One final hill right up to transition and we were done. Passed Chloe on that last hill. Great ride!

What would you do differently?:

Scary but took it a bit too conservative at the start. It wasn't raining but the pavement was wet but it the course didn't have any technical parts. Had the 6th fastest bike split in my AG. Hammered out a 1:04:05 and 22.48 mph, never went over 22 mph in an Olympic before. Went from 24th to 13th and 198th to 87th (111 spot gain :). Legitimately awesome bike leg.

Transition 2

Time: 01m 5s

Comments:

Long clomp down the lane to my bike in the back on T2. Had some issues getting my tire in the rack again. Quick change of shoes, grabbed my hat, and race belt and was off.

What would you do differently?:

Should practice racking one of these days. Keep having issues on race day. Good transition held my position OA and AG wise.

Run

Time: 49m 39s
Distance: 6.4 miles
Pace: 07m 47s min/mile

Comments:

Started out and worked my legs in. Got out of transition behind Chloe so just stayed pace with her till my legs came to me, Passed her just before the cobblestones and then had two go around me on either side after the 1 mile mark. Good second mile, then ran well on the hill up to the turnaround. After the turn I guess I let up some as two people I had a good led on reeled me in on the downhill, including one in my AG. I snapped out of it and hung with the second person and pass back as we turned to the road, got passed back a bit later then pushed up the hill and got ahead again. Started to open up my stride at the top and started working and felt good. Had my buddy from the bike catch up to me after mile 4 aid station and I tried to hold with him, The trip back to T2 was good and I was gaining on him but I didn't preview the course so when we when right on past the finish line and knew where the out and back was going, I got squashed a bit mentally. Sort of faded on that last segment and lost a few spots to a few fast women. Saw the lead pro Eric Limkemenn in the half, so I was able to keep from being lapped. Plus my wake up call on the run ended behind me.

What would you do differently?:

Mentally a very poor run, especially the letdown at the end and the letdown on the downhill. Run was long so it was a 48:03 10K and I did have a broken toe but still didn't know it yet. Could have run a lot better not a challenging course but slow to get going and big let up at the end. Lost 1 spot in my AG 13th to 14th had the 13th fastest split in my AG, and lost 3 spots overall from 87th to 90th.

Post race

Warm down:

Got my medal which was awesome, my water, got asked my shirt size as my chip was removed then walked off without getting my shirt, so ad to come back to get my shirt. Post race food wasn't serving yet so went to VIP tent and got some fruit and a few drinks. Then headed over to the NormaTec tent. The NormaTec reps weren't there so me an Anthony spent the afternoon hooking everyone up. Was pretty fun actually. Teammates got us some food and more drinks and I got to make a lot of folks feel good in the boots. Got to hook up Tenelle Hoogland, 3rd place pro, and several other pros. She was really cool.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being sick, broken toe, not being able to breathe and being mentally out of race mode except for an hour on the bike. However, in the end run ended up top 20% overall, 23% for men, 20% in my wave and 30% in my age group. 1:54:58 from T1 exit to finish which is a PR, however the swim killed me. 2:35:58 is still my 4th quickest Olympic of 15, and better than my PR until last August.

Event comments:



A first time event at a brand new venue are expected to have a few glitches. The shuttles to the start took longer due to traffic pattern coming back led to long lines and it took a while to get the bags back from T1 since the labors didn't show up. Rev3 crew and team stepped up big time and sorted bags. NormaTec tent was great, food was really good and finally. I had a great time.

The Quassy Triple or how to make the most out of your weekend at the races!

Middlebury, Connecticut
United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon
90F / 32C
Sunny

Day1: Total Time Approximately 21 min
Overall Rank 2/150

Day2: Total Time = 2h 43m 43s
Overall Rank = 138/717
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 13/76

Day3: Total Time = 6h 30m 14s
Overall Rank = 587/997
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 111/172

Day 1 The Glow Run 5K

Pre-race routine:

Drove up on Friday. Had to go into work to get status and do the morning meeting. That meeting lasted over 90 min. Then had to drive home since needed to extend 4 cards which expired today. Got on the road by 10:30 then got a call from Matt's Boy Scout Troop leader and a call from the Residents about NMP. Called the RDO and Darrell about that. Basically had to pull off the road every 30 min it seemed. The last time I was about at the exit for the hotel so I went and checked in. Headed to the expo and got checked in then hung out at the Biotta Juices tent a bit until the team dinner at 6:00.

Met up with a bunch a folks from the team and met a few new faces then headed to check in and rack my bike and put on the race stickers then waited in some AC for the Glow run 5K.

REV3 Glow Run:

Did the Glow Run as the sun started to set. Smaller group than Knoxville but a good crowd nonetheless. Started out a few road back next to the best costume guy. Tried to take it easy but found my self picking it up and weaving my way forward. Had to pass the Mini Rev boys (Tim's kids) which I did during the downhill to mile one then passed 3 more people as we hit the out and back. Saw 2 people coming back and then one more I was reeling in. Hit the out and back turn and was told I was in fourth. Caught the girl in front of me soon after and pushed the last mile up to and over the hill which looks a lot different in the dark. Got to the top and around to the road to the park and Eric tells me I'm in second and a cop directing traffic says the same. Never remember passing the 2nd place guy, but around I came to the park and down the finish line through the smoke machine and called home by Sean. 2nd overall and won a box of powerbar performance gummies. Hung out for a bit then headed back to the hotel to get gas , call home, pull on my tats, fill my bottle and set up my bag. and go to sleep.

Day 2: Olympic Rev:

Pre-race routine:
Got up at 5:00am with two independent alarms after last year, and managed to forget my bottle, had to drive 10 min back to get it, make a wrong turn, had to back track and everything else I could to only give me 15 min to set up and pump my tires before being boot out of transition.

Event warmup:

Pre race pit stop then down to the water and put on my wetsuit. Swam about 200 yards warming up then floated/stood neck deep to stay cool as the other waves went off. Last wave of the day, finally headed to the start and lined up.

Swim
Time: 26m 49s
Distance: 1640 yards
Pace: 01m 38s / 100 yards

Comments:

Started out to the outside and a few rows back. Started very low aggression, letting everyone get in and get going. Virtually no contact even though I drifted across the entire field to the far inside. corrected than and was on the buoy line on the way out. Got in a good rhythm. Turned and couldn't see anything as the sun was bad so tried to go off other swimmers. Worked OK I guess as I hit one buoy dead on not even knowing it was there. After than I drifted right and got herded back by the paddleboarders. Got tot the last turn buoy and finally could see again so I cranked up the effort and worked my way back in. Was catching a lot of folks from the previous waves. Got to the beach finally saw the bottom and stood up and leg one was done.

What would you do differently?:

Need to work on siting and navigation. Being right on the buoy makes for difficult turns.

Transition 1
Time: 02m 55s

Comments:

Run up the hill to transition then all the way around to the Revolution bike racks seemed to take forever. Got out of the wetsuit well got quickly into my shoes, glasses and ring on, loaded a gel and left my race belt since didn't have to wear it.

What would you do differently?:

Bit more urgency but not too bad for me. Lost 12 spots OA but maintained 16th in my AG.

Bike
Time: 1h 19m 40s
Distance: 25.68 miles
Pace: 19.43 mile/hr

Comments:

Got going good and took my time going up the road away from the park. Being in the last wave, I had people to pass the entire way which I always like since it keeps me focused. Didn't have anyone pass me and stay in front of my the whole ride. Tried to keep some in the tank early, but kept a good hard tempo and stayed in the big ring through the early hills. Dropped to the small ring at the bottom of the mile 11 monster a bit too soon and had a few people pass me then out of the saddle grinding up that hill passing them back. After that hill I started trying to pick up the tempo a bit. Got to the Oly/half split and did a much better job with the two evil hills in that section, though had to grind the second one a bit. Hammered down the monster decents on the back (love the checkered flag on the one spot) and hit the brakes way early on the last one to make the corner and S safely. Worked hard the way home but got reminded to stay hydrated by a police officer as we came up to the main road back in. Realized I hadn't drank anything for 20 miles. Gulped 2-3 swigs but not enough. Got over the last hill then down and around to the park entrance.

What would you do differently?:

Definitely need to drink more and take the gel I brought for the ride. Paid for this the rest of the weekend.

Transition 2
Time: 01m 6s

Comments:
Nice methodical transition. Shoes on quick, helmet off. Forgot my race belt which wasn't good, but overall a good transition. Lost 1 spot OA and stayed 11th in my AG.

What would you do differently?:

Had some issues racking again. Should have drank some of my bottle right there.

Run
Time: 53m 12s
Distance: 6.21 miles
Pace: 08m 41s min/mile

Comments:

Right out of transition, I had the lady in front of my take every cup and I went empty. Passed her and went on. First two miles went pretty well. My legs came in and I cruised into the shade and up to the out and back turn feeling about right. Once we took the left turn into that first hill; however, it just hit me like a brick wall, I had nothing, felt rotten and super hot and just slogged up the hill. Had two guys from my age group pass there but I got passed someone else who was suffering worse. As the course flatten out I got some back and I followed one of the two that passed me up the mile 3 hill and caught him at the aid station but he was able to scoot off. Had another person in my AG pass on mile 4 and her got up to my other buddy as well and they disappeared. Fought my way up the last hill which at least is very shaded, and fought my way home. Was tough and I was very dehydrated at the end.

What would you do differently?:

Drink a lot more on the bike. 90 degree day and no chance to acclimate this year was a bad combo. went from 11th to 13th in my AG and 119th to 138th OA.

Post race

Warm down:
Got across the line an immediately felt like crap. Got a clod wet finishers towel and extra ice on my neck. Gave back my chip and got my medal and t shirt. Parked myself in front of the cool fan at the med temt for 15 minutes before shuffling to get some food. Ate a ton of fruit but not much else. Did 30 min at the NormaTec tent next to Andrew Starkowitz. Then waddled back to transition, packed up and hit the road.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Got dehydrated on the bike and could catch back up. However it was a course PR by 1:18 and top 20% AG and OA is pretty good, especially considering the bonk on the run.


Event comments:

Great race! Rev 3 Rocks!

Day 3 The Half Rev

Middlebury, Connecticut
United States
Revolution 3
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 30m 14s
Overall Rank = 587/997
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 111/172

Pre-race routine:
After two races in two days, I went back to the hotel and tried to drink a bunch of juice and had Performance Energy blasts and powerbar protein bars to eat, but lounged and slept. Should have done some more Normatec and Compex but didn't. I did get a good shower, loaded up for day two, made my bottles and went to bed early.

Got up at 5:00am again and avoided all the extras from yesterday but the traffic coming into the park was terrible and we spent a good 35 min from the light to the park and had to park across the street in the baseball field. Once again very little time to set up. Forgot to apply sunscreen and there was a huge line for the porta potties. Fortunately had plenty of time. Ran into Susan as I put on my wetsuit and we talked a bit.

Event warmup:
Again got in a swam for 200 yards then sat/floated neck deep until my wave. A bit early than yesterday but still about 30 min after the first wave.

Swim
Time: 36m 11s
Distance: 2112 yards
Pace: 01m 43s / 100 yards

Comments:

Again started on the outside a few rows back and again took it easy at the start. Bigger wave so a bit more contact but did better at staying outside. The leg up was again very good had several folks going my speed so I latched onto them and sited off them. Got to the turn and into the sun and again couldn't see anything. Zig zagged my way across the lake getting saved by a kayak when I was way outside then herded back when I was way inside. Even going off other swimmers didn't help as our whole group went way inside. Despite the zig zag course I was feeling good on the swim. Once we hit the turn and I could see I worked hard coming back and went buoy to buoy in a straight line. Good swim all told.

What would you do differently?:

Work on navigation, get better tinted goggles.

Transition 1
Time: 04m 3s

Comments:

Had some issues getting out of my wetsuit. Applied plenty of trislide to my feet and sunscreened got my glasses and ring on and helmet and load my gels and off I went.

What would you do differently?:

Wasn't in a hurry. Wasn't racing since I could still feel the after effects from yesterday. So this was a good swim then a catered workout. 63rd to 72nd AG and 379 to 414 OA.

Bike
Time: 3h 11m 24s
Distance: 56 miles
Pace: 17.57 mile/hr

Comments:

As I was not feeling good coming off yesterday I just treated this as a training ride. This is one of my favorite ride period with over 3500 feet of climbing 6 cat 5 and 1 cat 3 climbs. I got going and took it easy following Heather Golnicks advice find a gear that feels one or two level too easy and stay there for at least 30 miles. I downshifted way early and got over the first two hills on the backside on the lake I always geared out on and had to grind. Cruised through the next few segments making some progress but not racing anyone. The big hill was rough and I had to pass people on the inside since there was nowhere to go but I actually stayed seated and granny geared it to the top and passed 5-6 people.

Then decent to BlackRock lake is my favorite and it didn't disappoint. The scenery is awesome and the speed it killer too. But way goes down must come up. Went a lot to the granny gears and stayed seated a lot more than last year as I was having man part pains when I sat. If I stayed seated it was ok but changing position was painful. Plus my back started acting up too. No fun. Did the hills well but got sitting up on the aerobars (hand on aeropads) to ease my back. Last 15 miles were not a lot of fun but I got through it.

What would you do differently?:

Got to figure out the man pain issue prior to IMLP. Still felt the effect from yesterday with a cramp in my left hammy to go with the back and other pains. Still on 72nd to 81 AG and actually 415th to 384th OA so not bad.

Transition 2
Time: 02m 20s

Comments:
Had issues racking and just felt rotten. Took it slow and steady dumped a hot bottle of water on my head, got my race belt this time and headed out.

What would you do differently?:

Not much the die was already cast. 81st to 82nd AG and 384 to 386th OA

Run
Time: 2h 36m 16s
Distance: 13.1 miles
Pace: 11m 57s min/mile

Comments:

Started out shuffling along with a big cramp in my left hamstring and feeling like the tank was on empty. Ended up just shuffling until the hill on mile 2 and conceding I needed to walk the hills from here on out and then jog the rest. So that is what I did. The heat was tough the triple was tougher but all I was doing to today was moving forward and finding my way to the finish line. Saw a lot of folks really struggling in the heat. Was talking to one guy who actually ran a 1:38 for a PR last year but was walking today. I just stayed upbeat and positive and ran as much as I could. At the end I tried to run as much of the final hill as I could then actually got rolling over the end. Good Ironman damage control practice.

What would you do differently?:

Knew coming in it was going to be rough. Should have eaten better between race and not gotten dehydrated Saturday. But such is life. Decided to treat this as a long training day and take whatever the run turned out to be. So it turned out ugly, no big deal.

Post race

Warm down:

Got my towel, medal, and shirt. Thought about doing the ice baths but opted against it. Got some food after crashing in the VIP tent. Felt more human and found my Revolution medal and got to cheer in some of my teammates like Kelly then went back and ate and drank. Met Heather Jackson which was really cool ( she finished 2nd) . Went to T2 and got my stuff packed up the went and watched the awards, then saw Susan and Steve, then packed up and rolled across the street and packed up the car. Got McDonalds including a chocolate shake and sat in my hotel room in my NormaTec boots for 1.5 hours before taking a shower.

What limited your ability to perform fa

ster:

Dehydration Saturday still affected my day Sunday.

Event comments:

Another great job by Rev 3 !