Las Vegas Silverman - Half Distance Triathlon
Pre-race routine:
The race start for the half was 8:30 so was able to sleep in a little. Usual bagel & cream cheese with coffee. Sipped on Infinit bottle up until start. Got there early to see the full start. Finalized bike stuff but not much else to do pre-race. Did a short warm up swim to get the water in the wetsuit and loosen up.
Swim – 32:50
This was a great swim for me. My first mass start (400 people). Executed my plan to stay left edge and along buoy line. Did more drafting than ever before. I avoided most contact. I've done a lot of work on my stroke the last couple of months and it really paid off. I came out of the water feeling good and eager to tackle the bike.
T1 – 3:03
I was anticipating more help in the changing tent. I was on my own. I had planned on not having to pack my wet clothes in my bag and try to make sure I didn't forget anything so it cost me about a minute doing this stuff on the fly. Even with more time, my swim cap and nice race goggles disappeared.
Bike – 3:03:38
I was extremely pleased with my bike. This is a tough course and I don't train on hills so preparation was difficult. I ended up doing a lot of interval work which really paid off. There really is almost no true flat part of this course. 4800 feet of climbing over 56 miles (85 ft/mile) is more than any other course in the US.
T2 – 2:02
Again had little help in the changing tent. Because gear bags had to be turned in the day before, I could not fill my fuel belt bottles. I put infinit powder in each bottle and hoped to get a little help filling them with water when I hit the tent. Didn't happen. I had to fill them all myself. Had I not had to do this, I would have been out in less than a minute.
Run – 1:52:19
Despite executing my bike exactly to plan, my legs were just not used to doing 56 miles of hills. I went out on the run within my planned pace but my legs just weren't prepared for the almost completely uphill first 9.5 miles after that bike. I also started worrying about hydration so started drinking water from aid stations in addition to my infinit. Bad decision. I should have trusted that my hydration was fine and stuck with my infinit because I ended up developing a stomach cramp. I had to walk a few aid stations and a couple times on the later uphills but still finished with a decent time and would not have podiumed even if I had hit my goal run time (1:45) so not too disappointed. More importantly, I learned that I needed to trust my training with my hydration and that it's better to walk a few times and lose a couple of minutes than to risk injury or sickness.
This is a tough course but is a first class race. It is extraordinarily well organized. Frank Lowery the RD does an excellent job. The activities, expo, meals, pre-race, post-race, aid stations, swag, etc. are great. The gripes I had in the changing tents are volunteer related and out of his control. He could have used a few more in there but can you really complain about a race that has 2 volunteers for every racer? He is obviously a sadist! You will understand what I mean after you race this course! But this is a race that any serious triathlete should do at least once in his/her career. This course really shows you what you are made of.
Race Time: 5:34:00
Age Group: 8th out of 50 M35-39
Overall: 37th out of 379
Qualified for 2010 USAT Long Course National Championship
The race start for the half was 8:30 so was able to sleep in a little. Usual bagel & cream cheese with coffee. Sipped on Infinit bottle up until start. Got there early to see the full start. Finalized bike stuff but not much else to do pre-race. Did a short warm up swim to get the water in the wetsuit and loosen up.
Swim – 32:50
This was a great swim for me. My first mass start (400 people). Executed my plan to stay left edge and along buoy line. Did more drafting than ever before. I avoided most contact. I've done a lot of work on my stroke the last couple of months and it really paid off. I came out of the water feeling good and eager to tackle the bike.
T1 – 3:03
I was anticipating more help in the changing tent. I was on my own. I had planned on not having to pack my wet clothes in my bag and try to make sure I didn't forget anything so it cost me about a minute doing this stuff on the fly. Even with more time, my swim cap and nice race goggles disappeared.
Bike – 3:03:38
I was extremely pleased with my bike. This is a tough course and I don't train on hills so preparation was difficult. I ended up doing a lot of interval work which really paid off. There really is almost no true flat part of this course. 4800 feet of climbing over 56 miles (85 ft/mile) is more than any other course in the US.
T2 – 2:02
Again had little help in the changing tent. Because gear bags had to be turned in the day before, I could not fill my fuel belt bottles. I put infinit powder in each bottle and hoped to get a little help filling them with water when I hit the tent. Didn't happen. I had to fill them all myself. Had I not had to do this, I would have been out in less than a minute.
Run – 1:52:19
Despite executing my bike exactly to plan, my legs were just not used to doing 56 miles of hills. I went out on the run within my planned pace but my legs just weren't prepared for the almost completely uphill first 9.5 miles after that bike. I also started worrying about hydration so started drinking water from aid stations in addition to my infinit. Bad decision. I should have trusted that my hydration was fine and stuck with my infinit because I ended up developing a stomach cramp. I had to walk a few aid stations and a couple times on the later uphills but still finished with a decent time and would not have podiumed even if I had hit my goal run time (1:45) so not too disappointed. More importantly, I learned that I needed to trust my training with my hydration and that it's better to walk a few times and lose a couple of minutes than to risk injury or sickness.
This is a tough course but is a first class race. It is extraordinarily well organized. Frank Lowery the RD does an excellent job. The activities, expo, meals, pre-race, post-race, aid stations, swag, etc. are great. The gripes I had in the changing tents are volunteer related and out of his control. He could have used a few more in there but can you really complain about a race that has 2 volunteers for every racer? He is obviously a sadist! You will understand what I mean after you race this course! But this is a race that any serious triathlete should do at least once in his/her career. This course really shows you what you are made of.
Race Time: 5:34:00
Age Group: 8th out of 50 M35-39
Overall: 37th out of 379
Qualified for 2010 USAT Long Course National Championship
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Comments
Good job on the qualification at long course nationals.
Gordon (aka Devlon)
WOW! awesome race and great job on qualifying for long course nationals - way to go!
Paul,
I'll see you at Halfmax! I don't have hills in North Dakota either. The interval training definitely helps but, I found, is still no substitute for doing long rides/runs on hills. Let's qualify at Halfax next year first, then we'll take Vegas by storm in 2011 EN style! I've got a bone to pick with that course and will have my revenge on that run!
Terry
Nationals?! Superb! Congratulations on a super effort on notoriously tough course!
P
You should. It really is a first class race and a true test of one's abilitites. If you really want to torture yourself, do the full. I don't believe it's been disputed as the "most grueling full distance triathlon in North America". Almost 10,000 feet of climbing on the bike course (+ another 2800+ feet on the run course). If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
See you in Phoenix.
Terry
Killer time there! Congratulations.
Your description has Silverman on my race wish list.
Hmmmmm, do I hear a call for the Cowgirls to head West in 2011!?
I say we get as many people as possible for a huge EN presence in 2011! I did not see a single person with EN gear on! It would be awesome to have a bunch of people do it (including a coach or 2). The only downside is that it is always 1 week before IMFL, 2 weeks before IMAZ, 3 weeks before IMCoz, and 2 weeks after Kona. But hey.....could you imagine if we had a hundred or more team members racing?!?!? Unprecedented representation and the biggest ass kicking in the history of triathlon teams!
If I do great at IMCDA, then Kona will be the fall A race instead. Otherwise, Myrtle Beach HALFMAX is a definite contender. Are you a native Dakotan? I went to 9th grade at Minot AFB so I do have northern blood in me...not to mention that I was born in Maine and moved to North Dakota from Iceland. That's why I live in Florida...still thawing out!