Daren Hopper's Lake Stevens HIM Report
This was my first triathlon beyond an Olympic. I did a Sprint in June and an Olympic in July
which helped organize my transitions and gain confidence on my swim with a
wetsuit. This is my second race using a full wetsuit. Being my first half my goals
were really guesses. But I surpassed my
goals on the swim and bike and enjoy the heck out of training and racing this
distance.
Swim – 00:36:15
T1 – 00:03:23
Bike – 02:57:49
T2 – 00:03:07
Run – 01:49:22
Total time – 05:29:56
Friday
Checked in and got my race packet Friday afternoon. I went down to the swim course. Did an out and back 30 minute steady
swim. Felt great. Water was warm! I’m local to the area and this is my second swim on the course. Drove home and did a quick spin on the bike
with the new slick tires I put on. Bike (Not
TT) responded well. It was ready to go.
Saturday
Checked in the bike as soon as I could so I would have one less thing
to worry about. Checked out the swim
buoys and spied the rope in the water that lined the course. Since I’m local, I had biked the bike course
twice already and had run the run course so I didn’t need to check those
out. I drove home, packed my tri
bag. Had a spaghetti dinner and relaxed at
the Mariner's Single A Everett Aquasox baseball game.
Race Day
Woke up at 4:00. Ate oatmeal
with raisins for breakfast with a large water and coffee. Parked at a friend’s house 4 blocks from the
start and walked to the transition area.
Setup my area in reverse order of items used.
Bike Setup: I put a bright lime green towel on top of the bike so I
could easily see it coming into T1.
Helmet with glasses hooked in on top of the towel. Water in the aero bar water bottle and two disposable water
bottles in the holders. I used a top
tube bag to hold additional GUs and salt tabs.
I saw others used electrical tape to secure their GUs to the top tube. I
like that idea. My Bike shoes were not
attached. I hadn’t practiced putting them on while riding, but will for future
events. I laid out my tri shirt over my
bike shoes that I put baby powder in to absorb the wetness.
I laid out T1 & T2 nutrition baggy bags that had a gu and salt tabs
that I could down while exiting the transition area.
T2 gear was just my running shoes and socks. I swam and biked in my running tights and
with the HR belt.
Swim
Goal: 38:00 that I extrapolated from my Olympic swim time the previous
month
Actual – 36:15
Swim is my weakest event and I have yet to swim crawl stroke for a full
swim event. I was a bit anxious. I wore a full sleaved blue seventy wet suit. I started at the end (Farthest from the buoy line). My initial plan was to stay out of the
traffic, find a groove and enjoy the swim.
I was able to get a mini warm-up in between my wave and the previous
wave. The temp was 69 degrees and felt
warm. Perfect for me. Visibility was pretty good. I would say 12 feet or so. There was cloud cover so I didn’t have to
worry about sun glare. They split my AG
so I had roughly 80 guys in my wave. I
felt comfortable pretty quickly. My form
was good. Breathing was good. But I was slowing trying to sight and swim in
a straight line. I decided that since I felt so good, I would
risk getting knocked around in traffic and go find the rope. I worked my way in and found the rope. I only looked up again when the rope ran out
and I missed the turns. I felt myself
working my way up through the crowd. On the way back in, I
even past some from the wave before me!
That’s a new one for me! I got hit several times, and I tapped others feet. But for what ever reason, it didn't bug me this time. I swam
as far as I could up the boat ramp before standing and started running through
the transition area. (In the past, I
would have to stand and let the cramps subside!)
T1 – My energy from a having a great swim (for me), allowed me to run
to my visible bright green covered bike!
Suit came off pretty easy due to my PAM soaked legs. Put on my tri shirt, but ripped my bib off
one of the safety pins. I had to re-pin it. Put on my bike shoes. Put on my helmet. Grabbed my t1 bag and started running to the
bike start. Time was 3:23.
Bike
Goal: hoping for 3:00, realistically
looking at 3:30. (Don’t have a TT Bike)
This was my first race at this distance.
I didn’t know how new racing tires, aero bars and adrenaline would
affect my time.
Actual: 2:57:49.
The bike started off OK except the first turn I lost one of my
disposable water bottles because they were slightly smaller than the holders. Thankfully it flew to the curb before another rider could hit it. The
only technology I had was my HR watch. I wanted to keep my HR around 155 or
less so I had a chance to go on the run.
I started out fairly easy, but this course is all about hills so it’s
not so easy. The down hills were just a
gas! There were two and sometimes three
wide on the down hills so it got dicey at times, but I went all out. That was fun!
It was sad to see a couple of competitors on the side covered in
blood. It was encouraging to see that
other competitors had stopped to help them.
I like how most riders asked if they could help before continuing. I ate a GU every half hour. I had three salt tabs every hour (Very susceptible
to cramps) and downed water and three perform bottles. In hind sight, I took in too much liquid. I really had to go! But didn’t want to stop and didn’t realize
that peeing on the go was an acceptable behavior. I didn't have a granny gear, so I stood and did weight bearing peddling up the bigger hills. I took full advantage of every downhill to power up the next hill as far as I could before shifting down. Overall, I had a blast on the bike, but
worried I was digging into the reserves a little bit too much for the run. I was happy with my shifting.
T2 – I tried to unvelcro my bike shoes while riding into t2, but felt a cramp
coming on and I hadn’t practiced this trick so I waited. I ran to my bright green towel hanging over
the bar. Sat down to remove the bike
shoes, put on my socks and running shoes.
Grabbed my t2 pack of a GU and salt tabs and ran to the exit. Time was 3:07.
Run
Goal: hoping for sub 8:00,
realistically looking at 8:00 to 9:00 min pace.
I’ve run plenty of half marathons.
My personal best is just under 7 min pace, but didn’t know how the
accumulated effects of the swim, bike and hills would take it’s toll. I ran a 7:15 pace in my Olympic tri the
previous month.
Actual 8:20 pace for 1:49:22
My plan was to keep my HR under 165 and enjoy what I consider my
strength event. I wanted to have three
salt tabs an hour and drink water but only enough to swallow tabs or when thirsty.
I started slow to get the bike legs loosened up. I finished my GU with caffeine before the
first station. Again, I don’t have a GPS
watch so I ran by feel and HR. The first
part of the first loop is a false flat uphill.
I’m a forefoot striker so I prefer slight uphill over downhill. I started to pick it up to sub 8 pace, but
still had to pee from the bike liquid. I
skipped the first station because the porta potties were full. I had to stop at the second rest area because
my eyeballs were floating! The break
allowed me to recover the HR a bit and I felt energized to hit the last hill in
the first loop. I felt a little
indigestion from too many GUs. The
clouds had burned off and the temp was heating up. I drank a couple sips of water from the
stations after that and poured a cup on my head to cool down. I took one salt tab every other station to
hold off the cramps that felt like they were on verge of clamping down.
The figure eight running loop is really amazing as you run near and
through the intersection. Fans are
really going all out supporting their loved ones and everyone else. I was amazed at how many spectators took the time to cheer people on by name since they were printed on our bibs. I was very energizing to see and hear my
family and friends screaming their support.
I felt the energy waning with 3 miles to go. I focused on technical form and getting all
the free speed I could. Even so I felt
my form was not where it needed to be.
At the top of the last hill, I mentally celebrated the end of the race! It was literally all downhill from
there. With the fan support I increased my speed at the end to finish as strong as I could.
I gave High Fives to family, friends and kids while running down the finishing shoot. What a good feeling!
Overall
Goal time: sub 6 hours
Actual: 5:29
I was very excited to finish with a good time. I savored the hugs from family and friends, enjoyed a coke that I haven’t had in over 5
years, ate a bag of salty chip, and I took a 15 minute ice bath (if
69 degree water counts). I then packed up quickly to go to a wedding!
Lessons Learned:
-I felt great about the swim, but I know I can be a much more efficient
swimmer especially in traffic. That will result in better time and less energy
used. Going to continue to focus on
swimming technique.
-Get a tri suit so my transitions are easier
-A TT bike is much faster than a regular road bike! (3 kids in college…it’s going to wait)
-Pee while biking and running.
-Practice transitions with bike shoes attached to the bike
-Next time I will push the run harder.
My mental governor was firmly in place on the run. I wonder if I was physically capable of
running 30 to 60 seconds less a mile.
-Need to learn how the pros are getting through transitions in 1 minute!
Comments
Thanks Tom.