2013 Ironman Hawaii 70.3 (Honu) Race Report by Sebastian K.
2013 Ironman Hawaii 70.3 (Honu) Race Report:
Hotel: I stayed at the Marriott a few miles away from the start of the race. The host hotel is the Fairmont Orchid is where you pick up your race packet and also where the race ends. We drove to the Fairmont where Ironman secured a parking lot for the athletes. Ironman provided transportation to the start at Hapuna Beach. After racing all over the content I would have to say this race is organized and executed Class A++ of all the races. My second favorite is Mont Tremblant presents it’s own beauty all on it’s own.
Race Summery: This race is an open water mass-start swim with a one-loop bike ride up the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway (also used for the World Championship bike course in October) followed by a run through a beautiful resortie golf course.
Swim: 1.2 mile 40:12 (2:04/100m)
We swam in crystal blue waters of Hapuna Beach. Hapuna means “Spring of Life” in Hawaiian and you will feel the energy in this beautiful and serene bay. The temperatures were in the high 70’s and low 80’s. This was a non- wet suite but I used a speed suite instead. You could see for miles into the sea with marine life swimming all around you. The swim however was different than the last two years racing. This time they had us swim counter clockwise that made the turn buoys very crowded. I used the floor of the seabed to line my direction toward the first couple of buoys then followed a draft pack into the finish. I had practiced sighting a couple of days before the race. It worked out very nicely.
T1 3:40
This is a two-transition race so after exiting the water you run up a hill to your bike station. You place all your swim belongings into a bag, which is returned to you after the race.
Bike: 56 miles 2:43:01 (20.61 mph)
“Challenging” and “inspiring” are terms often used to describe the IRONMAN 70.3 Hawai’i bike course. I rode steady up to the Hawi trying not to over due my power to preserve a good run. Bike difficulty score’s 8 out of 10 in this race as Vineman would score a 3. Judging this from the past two years of racing here I knew right away this was going to be a runners race. I’ve seen it too many times where people tend to over bike the course and walk the majority of the run. Granted it’s not a terrible run since you are on a world class golf course but it’s still 95 degrees with 85% humidity. On the way down from Hawi I saw Linda half way up Hawi and the first thought that went through my head was, “WOW, she got this!” This is for you data geeks…
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Avg Power: |
203 W |
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Max Avg Power (20 min): |
229 W |
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Normalized Power (NP): |
219 W |
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Intensity Factor (IF): |
.88 |
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Training Stress Score (TSS): |
214 |
T2: 2:05
My second transition bag was waiting for me at my marked bike station. I went into the tent to put on my socks and running shoes and off I went.
Run: 13.1 miles 1:55:21 (8:48/mile)
Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe the run course as it winds through the breathtaking resort grounds. This is the only opportunity you will probably ever have to run on the gorgeous fairways of a world-class resort golf course without getting arrested! The run is the most challenging portion of the race as it was very windy at certain points and also hot and humid. I used every aid station for ice, soda, and nutrition. My plan was not to walk and it worked. J
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3.3 mi |
27:29 |
3:56:27 |
8:19/mi |
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3.9 mi |
37:33 |
4:34:00 |
9:37/mi |
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2.8 mi |
24:39 |
4:58:39 |
8:48/mi |
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3.1 mi |
25:40 |
5:24:19 |
8:16/mi |
Some interesting facts… over all time: 5:24:19 came in 23nd/153 in my age group and 170th/1935 (these are the finishers there were much more participants who did not finish) overall. I’m ranked third in age grouper rating system in the country of all 70.3’s for my age group and 16th over all countries.
Next stop Ironman Mont Tremblant (MT) on June 23rd. Ironman has just recently announced MT as the 70.3 World Championship course beginning 2014. They are still hosting in 2014 a half in June and a full in August without qualification. I’m not sure how long this will last before they take away the half in June. We will be putting together a list of people who are interested in race IMMT 70.3 in June. We will be sending out notification to registration of the race as it does sell out quickly and present options for accommodations. So far, we have Lynda, Bill, Nicole & Trevor G., Giovanni, Linda Davey, Anthony, Danny, and myself who have shown signs of interest. Please, email me if you’re interested so I could add you to the separate email list.
As promised here is a race-by-race performance schedule:
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California 70.3 |
St. George 70.3 |
Hawaii 70.3 |
Mont Trembant 70.3 |
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Swim |
34:38 |
39:39 |
40:12 |
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T1 |
3:20 |
2:45 |
3:40 |
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Bike |
2:44:16 |
2:47:04 |
2:43:01 |
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T2 |
1:36 |
2:25 |
2:05 |
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Run |
1:43:15 |
1:52:36 |
1:55:21 |
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Finish Time |
5:07:05 |
5:24:36 |
5:24:19 |
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Thanks for your time.
Best,
Sebastian Kouladjian
Comments
Tim, good eye. I just updated it. Thanks again.