Ironman Augusta 70.3 2014 Race Recap

I <3 Ironman Augusta 70.3.  I did this race in 2012 and again this year and it really is a great course.  The weather has been great both years, mid-70’s with overcast.  The swim is always great because it’s so fast and I love that it’s an in-water start.  It allows you 2 minutes to get in and wade around in the water to warm up a bit.  Plus, I think not having to run first keeps my heart rate down. 

Friday

I got to Augusta Thursday night and met up with Jamie, Dan, and his brother, Ed.  They already ate but went with me to Mellow Mushroom so that I could get some pizza.  I go the Magic Mystery Tour Bus with curry tofu.  I was so hungry and it was so delicious.  I was disappointed when I was only able to get down two slices.  After eating, I headed back to the hotel, La Quinta Inn on Washington Rd.  I recommend this hotel.  It’s right behind a Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins and there is a Whole Foods and Publix right down the street.  The hotel room was nice and clean with a refrigerator and microwave.  Can’t ask for much more for $80/night. 

I tried to get as much stuff together for Sunday as I could before going to bed.  I went to bed around 11:30 with no alarm set. 

Saturday

I woke up around 8:30 and checked in with Jamie and what her plans were.  She was heading to the expo for packet pick-up so I got in the shower and headed that way.  I ended up missing her at packet pick-up.  I was starving so met up with Jamie and co. to get some brunch and decided to hit up the expo after.  We ended up going to New Moon Café which is the same place that I went in 2012 to get the Green Monster smoothie.  I knew it was going to be a good weekend from that moment!  I also got a breakfast quesadilla and grits.  It was probably too much food because I was full until 5:30.

Green Monster!

Will a full belly I went to the expo, got my packet, and bought a sweater and new sandals because the ones I had on were starting to dig into the top of my feet.  I also found single packets of hyper-hydration from Skatch that I wanted to try.  

Next on my to-do list was to drive around to the swim start, then over to T1 to drop off my bike.  Not too much to tell with that.  Except, Friday night, I pumped my tires up and Saturday morning my front tire was flat.  I pumped it up again, tightened the valve, and prayed that it wouldn’t leak.  I must have checked my tires 50 times between Saturday and Sunday morning. I hopped on my bike and rode down to the finish area and back (one mile each way) to make sure everything was working A-OK before taking my bike into transition.    

I usually have good intentions of getting in some sort of pre-race warm up with a swim, bike, and/or run.  I actually got it in this time.  The Y was allowing race participants free entry into the gym.  I was able to get in a 10 minute swim, 10 min ride on the stationary, and then I went outdoors for a 15 minute run.  I’m still not totally sold on the pre-race (day before the race) warm up.  I guess it helps to calm the nerves a little bit. 

At this time, it was around 3:30 so I headed back to the hotel.  I stopped in at Whole Foods and Publix on the way back.  I wanted to get my race cookie (*the double doozie / yo-yo) from Publix.  They didn’t have it so I went over to Whole Foods to see what they had.  They had way too many choices and I ended up getting everything I saw…A gingerbread whoopie pie, vegan vanilla cupcake, and a bag full of assorted (mostly small double doozies) cookies. 

*double doozie / yo-yo – Cookie sandwich – 2 cookies with icing in the middle.

I made it back to the hotel around 5:30, dropped everything off at the hotel and then headed back out again for dinner – sushi from Miyako.  I got shrimp steamed dumplings and 2 rolls.  I ate about ¾ of each roll.  My dessert was one of the small double doozie cookies  J.

Yum!

Yum! Yum!

After dinner I took a shower, got all of my things ready for the next day, painted my nails, and then called my brother and Daniel before turning off the lights around 9:00.

Drinking the Beet Juice

Sunday – RACE DAY!

I set my alarm for 4:15 with intentions of being out the door by 5:45. This did happen.  I made it down to T1 around 6 and was able to get one of the last spots on Broad St.  So, I was able to see my car twice on the run  J.

Race gear:

·         Zoot Ultra Tri suit

·         Nike Pro Combat sports bra

·         Nike padded socks (thanks Lindsay!)

·         2XU Project X wetsuit – my hair keeps getting caught in the velcro and creating a birds nest at the nape of my neck.  I need to figure out how to prevent this ASAP.  Otherwise, I love this suit.  My shoulders don’t feel restricted and it’s really not that tight around my neck (relatively speaking)

·         Tyr Special Ops 2.0 goggles

·         Louis Garneau X-Tri-Lite bike shoes

·         Scott T2C run shoes

·         Lazer Tardiz aero helmet

·         Tifosi sunglasses

·         Garmin HRM and GPS watch, Garmin Edge 500 on my bike
       Tri-Slide spray for the wetsuit
       Slik anti-chafe spray by Skin Strong

Nutrition:

Pre-race –

·         2 hours before – Picky Bar

·         1.5 hours before – half bottle of Monster drink

·         1 hour before – Skratch hyper hydration (this stuff has 1600 mg of sodium) and 2 SportsLegs pills; 1 banana

·         30 minutes before – 1 bottle of X2 Performance and 1 Gu Endurance pill

Bike - 

·         Profile Design HC Aero bottle with water

·         1-24 oz bottle with 2 scoops of Infinit and 1 scoop of Fluid Passion Fruit Tea – 373 calories total

·         1 Power Bar Waffle – 170 calories

·         1.5 bottles of Powerade Perform from the course

Run –

·         2 SportsLegs pills and 1 Gu Endurance pill

·         3 gels – 1 Gu Salted Caramel, 1 Honey Stinger, 1 Clif Double Espresso – 300 calories total

·         Oranges, 2 cokes, Powerade Perform from the aid stations.  I also took water from every aid station

Transition setup in the AM - bike shoes clipped in, socks on the ground (pre-stretched), helmet with glasses in them and open, run gear next to run shoes to grab and go after getting shoes on

Swim:

Time – 24:26

Cat Place – 5^th

Gender Place – 32^nd

This swim is awesome.  Well, it’s scary when you swim in the river by yourself. But, when there are a bunch of other people around you and people on kayaks, it’s not scary. Why is it scary, you ask?  Well, there are “grass monsters” that come up very close to your face and if you have long enough arms, I’m pretty sure you’re arms are swimming through them.  Good thing is you’re go so fast through the river, you’re done before you know it.  And, it’s really mostly just in the beginning and when you’re closer to the edge instead of more in the middle.  So, stick closer to the center of the river, the current is faster there anyway.  You start in the water for the swim.  There are 2 minutes between each wave so you have about 90 seconds to be in the water and wading before the gun goes off. Just enough time to do a little swimming around and get out any last minute nervous race pee.  Yup, I said it and yes I did it!

The velcro from my wetsuit got caught in my hair again.  Not as bad as before, but still enough to pull on my neck when I turned to breathe and give me a small bird’s nest.  I tried to grab on to some feet, but there wasn’t really anyone for me to grab on to.  Everyone was pretty spread out.  When I was getting close to the end I started kicking my legs harder to get some blood flowing to them.  I think this helped me.  I think.  This race has wetsuit strippers which is really awesome.  I<3 wetsuit strippers too. 

T1:

Time – 3:32

The run from the swim exit to T1 is kind of long. Nothing else to really say here. 

Bike:

Time – 2:40:05

Cat Place – 1^st

Gender Place – 17^th

The bike course is kind of hilly.  Not super crazy.  If you’ve ever ridden San Antonio (Florida) then Augusta is pretty easy in comparison.  There is nothing that is super steep.  Some of the hills are kind of long, though.  The second aid station is right in the middle of one of the hills.  I guess it’s a good thing since you’re already going at a slower pace.  The first half of the course is harder because it’s more uphill.  But, that last 20 miles are almost all downhill.

I sipped my juice every 15 – 20 minutes (Infinit and Fluid mix) and at 1 hour into the ride I ate the Powerbar Waffle.  I was hoping that the hyper hydration would keep me from needing anything other than additional water.  But, I found myself grabbing a Powerade Perform bottle at the 2^nd and 3^rd aid station.  I downed the entire first bottle and half of the second one. 

I didn’t go out too crazy on the bike.  In fact, I may have held back a little too much on the first half.  I don’t have a good reason other than I just wanted to get settled in for about the first hour. 

T2:

Time – 2:33

I took 2 more SportsLegs pills and 1 Gu Electrolyte pill at this time.  I dropped the electrolyte pill and had to turn around to pick it up.  I was trying to use the SaltStick mini-dispenser and I couldn’t figure out which way to turn the darn thing to make the pills come out.  I ended up popping off the top and just dumping the pills in my mouth. 

Run:

Time – 1:38:4

Cat Place – 1^st

Gender Place – 11^th

This is a great run.  It’s flat and the majority of the run is on Broad St. which is lined with spectators.  The have water, powerade, coke, oranges, and gels at all the aid stations.  They have bananas, cookies, Bonk Breakers, and ice cold sponges near mile 4.5/9 and 6.5/13.  There is some shade, but this year and when I did the race in 2012 it was overcast the entire time.  That is always an added bonus for me. 

On the run course, I took the 3 gels (mile 2.3, 6, and 9) plus oranges and coke at mile 4.5 and 9.  I took water at every station and powerade at every 2^nd or 3^rd station. 

I started off at a conservative pace and also slowed myself because I was messing with my watch trying to get it to change from measuring in kilometers to miles.  I don’t know why it switches like that.  I felt good for the entire run.  I didn’t feel hungry or tired.  I didn’t feel fatigued until around mile 9.  I tried to keep myself calm, but I knew I was almost done and I really wanted to hold my pace.  Mile 9 – 7:28, mile 10 – 7:31, mile 11 – 8:09 (walked through the aid station), mile 12 – 7:33, mile 13 – 7:24.  Right around mile 9/10 I could feel my left quad starting to get really tight.  I knew my legs were going to start cramping soon.  It subsided until mile 12.  The last mile I was begging my legs to not cramp.  I made it to the finish and the only thing that cramped were my toes!  I’m used to that though and thankful that it was after I crossed the finish line. 

Overall:

Time – 4:49:10

Cat Place – 1^st

Gender Place – 11^th (including the pros, 3^rd o/a amateur)

All done.  This is before i found out my actual time and place

Couple of notes to mention that don’t really fit anywhere.  There was a girl on the ground with a flat tire in T1.  She was asking for someone to help her.  I really wanted to, but I’m just not that non-competitive.  I’m not a super competitive person, but I am enough to not spend 5+ minutes helping a fellow competitor change her tire.  I really felt for her because I’ve had 2 flats during a race. 

The other thing is, I saw a lot of people with flats.  It seemed like more than usual too. 

I definitely recommend this race for a first time race.  If you’re looking for a “big” name race.  If you’re looking for a smaller race, I would recommend Beach 2 Battleship in Wilmington, NC. 

In case you’re wondering, I did not take the world championship slot to compete in Austria next year.  I have a lot of reasons: money, time, and the possibility to either go to Kona (if I qualify at Florida) or to take my pro card (if I don’t qualify for Kona). 

Augusta 70.3 Ironman Race Prep and Recap

Friday 9/28/12 – Left work around 1 PM and headed over to my friend Rose's place to meet up with her and her friend Joanne. Changed and packed everything up in the truck to head to Augusta. Lunch - Panera Bread - 1/2 Mediterranean veggie sandwich, 1/2 thai chopped salad, peanut butter cookie, and bread with water. Dinner - Burger King - Grilled chicken sandwich plain with sweet potato french fries and a diet coke, and a plain spicy chicken sandwich. Arrived at Rose's friend's, Kathy's, place about 20 min from race site at around 10 PM. Chit-chatted fro a little while and headed to bed around midnight with no alarm set for the next day.

Saturday 9/29/12 - woke up around 8 AM. Kathy and her daughter, Sabrina were so nice and made up pancakes and sausage for breakfast!

10 AM – Left for packet pickup at the Marriott

12 PM - Headed to the start to get in a practice swim. I got some new goggles because they were just too cool :)



  
My new goggles. 


The swim was good. Thanks Rose for pushing Joanne and me to do the whole swim!  I am very glad that I practiced the swim ahead of time though. This is the first time ever that I have practiced any part of a race course before the race. And, I don't regret it at all. I had a huge panic attack when I saw the grass so close to my face during the swim. I kept thinking something was going to come out of the grass and I wasn't going to be able to see it in time to do anything. Later when I was talking about it with Joanne and some other people around transition they had the same feelings.  It was a little comforting to know that other people felt a little freaked out about the grass as well. But, it was really scary during the practice swim because it was only Joanne and me in the water.  Everyone else was either sticking to the start or the finish of the swim and just doing circles where as we were doing the whole 1.2 mile swim. Every time I saw the grass I gasped and I had to turn on my back and swim past. I was praying to see black instead of the grass and trying to think about swimming in the ocean water that I'm much more used to. On a good note though, the wetsuit was not a problem at all and I finished the practice swim in 27 minutes. So, I was able to tell myself the rest of the day and in the morning, "you'll be done in 27 minutes or less. No big deal. You can make it pass the grass again. No big deal. 27 minutes or less".

1 PM - put bikes in transition



   


1:30 PM - eat lunch! I was so hungry that I forgot to take the picture until after I was done eating. But, the empty plate in the top left were 4 steamed veggie dumplings, the bottom left plate were 4 chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce, the bowl is steamed white rice, and the plate on the right is edamame. Protein, carbs, and veggies!



  
 Lunch at Soy Noodle House in Augusta



 Full bellies = happy ladies Joanne, me, Rose


   


3 PM - We stopped into this place called the New Moon Cafe just a few doors down from Soy Noodle House to get some bagels. They were out of bagels, but we found the Green Monster:


 

It was delicious and healthy. You could feel the energy pulsing through your veins. I bought some kale today at the store to make some of my own. I highly recommend it! I have to be honest though. I got the Green Monster, which I don't regret at all, but I really had my eye on this:

 


Oh well, right?

5 PM - Head to Publix for dinner stuff. Everyone else was going to eat spaghetti with meat sauce. I'm don't normally eat pasta before races unless it's thin crust pizza with minimal toppings. So, I picked up some white rice sushi from Publix for dinner.

6::00 PM – Stretch 6:30 PM – Eat sushi dinner 

7 PM - get all my stuff together for the race:

• Breakfast - PB & J Bonk Breaker and Honey Stinger
• Pre-swim (15 minutes before) - 1 PB Gu gel
• Race attire - New Tampa Tri Club tri-kit and my long race Nike sports bra. For whatever reason, this one sports bra is not like any other Nike sports bra or any other sports bra that I own. It's not too tight and it never chafes me
• Swim - Goggles, swim cap, and wetsuit (which is hanging in the bathroom drying... remember this for later)
• Bike – Helmet with race number on it, bike shoes, sun glasses, socks, race belt with bib
• Bike nutrition - 20 oz bottle with Infinit mix (200 calories and 30 mg of caffeine) and MiO Energy (3 squirts, 0 calories, 180 mg of caffeine), 24 oz front water bottle with water, 1 Chocolate Mint Clif bar (240 calories, 50 mg caffeine), 1 Strawberry Honey Stinger (160 calories, 0 caffeine), 1 Strawberry Clif gel (100 calories, 25 mg caffeine), and 1 Vanilla Orange Roctane (110 calories, 25 mg caffeine) - the gels were just in case
• Run - K-Swiss Kwicky Blade Lights, sun visor
• Run nutrition - 1 Clif Double Espresso gel (100 calories, 100 mg caffeine), 1 2nd Surge gel (90 calories, 100 mg caffeine), and 1 Island Nectar Roctane Gu gel (110 calories, 25 mg caffeine)

9 PM – lights out for 4:30 AM rise-and-shine.  Pray that I don’t have nightmares about river grass monsters trying to eat me!  


9/30/12 – RACE DAY! 

4:30 AM – Rise-and-shine! Breakfast – Half a mini bagel with peanut butter

5:00 AM – Head out the door

5:05 AM – Turn around because I realize I left my wetsuit hanging in the bathroom!   

5:15 AM – On our way to T1 to set up our bikes, eat PB & J Bonk Breaker

5:45 AM – At T1, pump up tires, set up transition area. 

• Fill up front water bottle with water
• Put bottle with Infinit mix in back, right holder
• Open Clif bar, break in half; open Honey Stinger; put both in bento box with Clif Strawberry gel and Gu Roctane gel
• Open bike shoes
• Open socks and put on top of bike shoes
• Put the remaining 3 gels in running shoes and put visor on top of shoes
• Put race belt with bib number and helmet on top of bike seat

My stuff is on the right:


6:00 AM – Check transition area again

6:10 AM – Check transition area again

6:20 AM – Head back to swim start

Joanne, Rose, me:


6:45 AM – Walk over to Marriott for bathroom break
7:00 AM – Eat Honey Stinger and chill out
7:15 AM – Start walking to swim start
7:40 AM – Make another bathroom break
7:50 AM – 8:40 AM – hang out and wait for wave to start
8:45 AM – Put on wetsuit
8:50 AM – Take PB Gu gel
9:04 AM – RACE STARTS!

SWIM
Weather – About 70 degrees and overcast

Thoughts – “Don’t freak out.  There are lots of boats, kayaks, and scuba divers there to help and there are a bunch of other swimmers around.  No monsters are going to get you.”

Execution – Just go.  Remember to roll and try to stretch to get a bigger pull.  Spot every once in a while

Assessment - I liked that we had to start in the water because it allowed me some time to get over the shock of the cold water, which wasn’t really that cold.  It was 76.  Just cold enough for a wetsuit.  But, getting in cold water, even at the indoor pool at LA Fitness, takes my breath away for a little bit.  So, it was one less thing that I had to worry about for the swim.
The swim went well.  I didn’t stay as close to the buoys as I would have liked to, but I managed to stay straight.  Every time I swam over the grass I looked around and saw everyone else around me and just laughed in my head at the grass and mentally stuck my tongue out at it, singing ‘nah-ne-nah-ne-boo-boo’!  I finished the swim in about 23 minutes, but it took about 2 minutes to get to the transition.  So, my final swim time was 25:31.

T1
For whatever reason, wetsuit strippers are so cool.  You just sit down and in 2 seconds flat you are wetsuit-less and on your way.  I got to my bike quickly and had a ton of grass all over my feet.  I should have just put my socks on, but I spent about 30 seconds brushing my feet like it mattered… I eventually told myself to quit and move on.  T1 time 4:13.  Needs improvement.

BIKE
Weather – Same.  About 70 degrees and overcast.

Thoughts – Don’t draft and take it easy.  Don’t use up a ton of energy getting out in the first few miles because there’s going to be a traffic jam anyway.

Execution – Sip water whenever thirsty.  10 minutes in eat half of Clif bar.  Wait 20 minutes then have a squirt of Infinit mix every 10 minutes.  At 1:20, eat other half of Clif bar, wait 20 minutes and start sipping Infinit every 10 minutes again.  At 2:00, eat half of Honey Stinger.  Continue sipping Infinit every 10 minutes.  I grabbed a water bottle at the first and second aid stations to refill my front bottle. 

Assessment – The course was fun.  Just enough small hills to keep it interesting.  There was a period of about 15 miles between mile 15 to mile 25 to 30 that was bumpy and made it hard to get into a groove.  Everything else on the course was good.  Final time 2:37:10, 21.3 mph average.

T2
I got back and only saw one other bike racked around me which means I was the second one off the bike in my group.  That made me so happy.  Grabbed the Strawberry Clif gel out of the Bento box and the other 3 gels that I put in my running shoes and put in side pockets.  Put on shoes and visor.  Do I have everything?  Yup.  That was easy!  Now go!  Final time 1:53.  Decent.

RUN
Weather – Same. About 70 degrees and overcast.  PERFECT!

Thoughts – Remember to take it easy for the first few miles. Don’t try to keep pace with anyone except myself!

Execution – Wait until the first mile to take the Clif Double Espresso with 100 mg of caffeine, then plan on taking another gel every 3 or 4 miles depending on how I feel.  I ended up taking the Strawberry Clif gel at mile 4, the 2nd Surge with 100 mg of caffeine at mile 7, and the Island Nectar Gu Roctane at mile 10.  Every mile that I took a gel, I took a water from the next available aid station.  At the next aid station I would take another water and at the next aid station I would take Perform and water.  Sometimes I would just swish the water around my mouth to get the Perform taste out.  Aid stations were placed about every mile so it worked out well. 

Assessment – I don’t mind double loop runs.  Triple loops can get a little annoying, but double loops aren’t too bad.  Loops on the runs aren’t so bad because the crowd support is usually better since the spectators only have so many areas they can be.  There were no issues with the course itself.  The road was good, everything was well marked, and the aid stations had everything you needed.  I only needed the water and Perform, but I did end up taking a couple of cold sponges.  They also had oranges and gels which I didn’t need.  Final time 1:42;42, 7:50 min/mi pace.    
 
FINAL RACE TIME – 4:51:29, 2nd place in F 25 – 29 age group.



I’ll have more race pictures after they’re available.  This was a perfect execution race.  I had no problems during the swim, bike, or run.  I didn’t have to use the bathroom once.  You read that right.  I didn’t have to pee or go #2 at all during or after the race.  This is actually the first time that I can remember that I haven’t had any GI issues after a long endurance race.  After the race I had half a beer, a slice of cheese pizza, a slice of orange, 2 bottles of water and a half bottle of Perform.  I lied down in the grass and put my feet up in the air and stretched my feet, calves, and hamstrings, and rolled my knees in circles.  I had a cookie about an hour later.  Once we got back to Kathy’s place, I took a shower and put on my pants with compression shorts underneath and compression socks for the ride home.  Today I feel great.  I know I can’t run a half marathon right now, but nothing hurts. 

I did qualify for the World Championship in Vegas in 2013, but I didn’t read the rules carefully enough and I missed my window to claim my spot.  So, I unintentionally forfeited my spot.  My heart was broken and I am still a little upset about it.  But, I have to keep telling myself that it wasn’t time for me to go.  I didn’t sign up for this race to qualify for the World Championship.  I looked at past results and didn’t think that I had a chance to get past top 5.  I was just using this race as an assessment and practice for Beach 2 Battleship.  At least I know that I CAN qualify and now that will be another goal for me.

Thank you’s go to:
My boyfriend, Daniel, for letting me get in all of my training.  For being understanding when I wanted to go to sleep early or couldn’t hang out because I had to get up early.  And, for his support
My training partners in crime, Sarah, Tamara, Fred, Aaron, Allen, Mike, and James.
I would also like to thank the New Tampa Tri Club, and Pete and the A-Train group for the open water swims and runs out at Clearwater.