Providence 70.3 race report

Let's go over a little race report that i would give to the race director, as well as go in to my day. I arrived friday with Trent and Andrew, excited and full of nerves, especially because of my hamstring issues. We got to the expo for packet pickup right before it closed, and it was pretty painless other than the fact i forgot my USAT card, then it was expired, then they gave me the wrong chip. needless to say, i was there for a while. But, the beautiful IRONMAN girls where a lot of help. ;) But, they did have some wierd radio system set up for packet pickup that seemed a bit ridiculous, and just an uneccasary step in the process.

The next day, we went to spin out or legs on the run course, and wow. We saw "the hill" for the first time. There is literally a sign posted on the way down this thing for trucks, thats says 7% grade on it! it was also the same hill used when the x-games visited providence, they used it for the ice luge! bottom line, it was a bitch of a hill. andrew was having some shifting problems with his campi set, so we went back to the expo, and there was literally a 2 hour line for packet pick up. i have never seen that before. people did not look happy.

trent and i were staying near the start, so we packed up our essentials and put the rest in andrews hotel room. we had to bring our bikes an hour and a half south to t1. the day before the race turned out to be a logistical nightmare, the people at ironman are going to need to make this a little easier or else i will not return. the day before a race should be relaxed and restful, not stressful and spent racing around.

we got our t1 settled, and andrew left to go back to providence to sleep for a few hours and catch a bus back to the start in the morning (which you need to pay exra for??) the point to point race is cool, however it needs to be refined, especially for the pre-race logistics

race morning, was a 3:45 wake up, and a two mile walk to the sart, luckily we hitched a ride about half way there. i literally had a two hour wait to start the race, so i hung out with kieth (the man of shannon - who was also racing). kieth also took my stuff back to providence instead of it hanging out in the back of a truck all day with everyone elses. thanks kieth!

race start: i was in the last wave, which sucks. the start was fun. a beach start into the waves. i don't know what i did in the swim, but i did not have it. i guess i did not push it hard enough, i got out slightly under 29, not a good swim for me. for me to have a good swim, i need to attack early and settle in, i didn't do that. overall i did like the swim course, a great, little choppy out and back ocean swim.

bike course: there where some nice hills, not a mooseman, but it was hilly. a point to poiint is nice, once you are done toting your crap aound the day before. it was a beautiful scenic tour of ri as well, until the last few miles in the ghetto. there where a lot of left turns, and a lot of traffic, and a lot of bikers. so it was not the safest course either. ironman! - spray paint the potholes! all the money that was made last weekend, maybe they can afford the spray paint next year. for the first ten miles my glutes where killing me, then i finally loosened up for a while, and around half way, my left glute totally locked up. i rode through it, and the pain subsided eventually. my hamstrings did not bother me that much on the bike. i never felt great on the bike, i never got in my groove, probably because i havent trained on hills in a while.

run course: i screwed out of transition, but about .5 mile into the run, "the hill" occurs, and then again on the second loop. the run course really did not have more than half a mile of flat, so it was going to hurt regardless, but my hamstrings could not take it. they cramped up a few times during the race, once really bad. going up the monster the second time, my right hammie cramped up to the point of no return. i had to stop and stretch for a while, and then walk some. it sucked. i clocked the slowest run of my half ironman career, 12 minutes behind my usual pace. it was hilly, but that does not add up to 12 minutes. the slowest half ironman since i started this as well.

the race is cool, needs a little logistical help, but a good race. it is challenging, not a draft fest on the bike, and a very hard run.

i ended up 5th in my age group, and 45th overall, but very unhappy about my performance. i need to get this hamstring situation under control. doctor visit this week.

huge congrats to janda, 6th overall, and fastest run split of the day! his time of 4:02 on that course is proof of what he is capable of this season.