Finally...my Ironman race report

Finally...my Ironman race report

Post by LANCE WILLIAM MUZSL » Thu, 02 Dec 1993 10:08:08


    Well I have finally got around to posting a report on my Ironman race in
Hawaii 4 weeks ago.  I was originally going to the Ironman with high
expectations this year because at last year's race I had a very satisfying
first time race.  Last year I went 9:36:43 which consisted of 51:16 in the
swim (11th out of the water), 5:28 for the bike (about 480th place split), and
3:16:45 for the marathon (3:14:45 without the transition time; I think 62nd
place split) which placed me 109th overall and 11th in the 18-24 age group.  I
am 22 now.  I was extremely pleased with my swim and run last year and overall
I felt very good during the race and was able to run strong for the whole
marathon.  My biking was a little disappointing but I am suspicious that my
slow time was due to a leak in my rear tire.  When I got my bike back the day
after the race my rear tire was down to about 60psi and I wonder just when it
started losing air and whether it was responsible for my slow split.  My goal
for last year's race was 10 hours and it felt great to achieve that goal so
easily.  Because I felt so good at last year's race and since it was my first
Ironman I felt that I would be able to improve a lot in this year's race.  I
set rather high goals for myself which I thought maybe I could achieve if I
had a perfect day.  Being that I still feel inexperienced at Ironman races I
wasn't sure if my goals were too ambitious.  I set my goal at about 9 hours
overall and top 50 place.  I wanted to swim around 50 or 51 minutes, bike a
little under 5 hours and run about a 3:05 to 3:10.
    I qualified at Wilkes-Barre in the middle of August and I began my long
distance training about a week later.  My training got off to a great start
right away.  I was able to do my century rides feeling stronger than I
originally expected and then I could follow those long rides up immediately
with runs (5 to 10 miles) where I was holding about a 6:30 per mile pace.
Those types of workouts were building my confidence and I was getting really
e***d for the race.  I feel that my body is pretty well suited for endurance
events because I have never experienced a bonk and in fact usually feel almost
more confortable running right after a long ride than if I had done no riding
before my run.  Unfortunately I got injured at the end of September.  I
developed a shin splint in my left leg which turned out to be tendonitis.  I
didn't think much of it at first but then it didn't fully heal as time went
on.  I finally sought medical help 2 weeks before the race and got physical
therapy up to the time I left.  My leg felt much better (the pain disappeared)
and I thought I would be able to make the marathon okay.  I had been biking
and swimming while I was injured because those events didn't bother my leg but
I had not run at all for the 4 weeks prior to the race.  Also I had done
almost zero biking for the 2 weeks prior to the race because I thought that
would help heal my leg.  This is all my background going into the race.  I was
keeping a positive attitude and telling myself that my lack of running
wouldn't affect my performance.  I have heard stories of people in similar
situations going out and setting PR's.  Now for the actual race report.
    I arrived at the transition area around 5:45am which was a little later
than I had wanted.  The whole atmosphere was exciting in that this race which
you have been anticipating for so long is finally about to commence.  There
were TV cameras all around and a helicoptor flying above.  You definitely get
the feeling that you are in a BIG race.  The first thing I did was get in line
for check-in and body marking.  There was a line for every one hundred numbers.
There were only about 20 people ahead of me but the line hardly moved and it
took me a half hour (no exaggeration) until I got body marked and I was lucky
enough to be in a fast line.  I sure hope that problem gets remedied in the
future.  It was then 6:30 and I still had to pump my tires, use the bathroom,
do a bunch of other little things and warmup within a half hour.  I was
definitely getting nervous about the time.  I finally made it into the water
at about 6:55.  I swam out to the front and planned on getting a good starting
position.  The water at Kona is awesome.  It is at least 80 degrees and really
clear.  There are tons of fish to watch while swimming.  It is really fun
doing workouts on the swim course (at "Dig Me" beach) during the week prior to
the race.
    I lined up for the swim near the front and next to the pier.  I saw a lot
of the pros out in the water.  It was very crowded in my area with so many
people vying for a good starting position.  There were over 100 of us out
beyond the starting line (a banner above the water) and we were commanded to
move back in order for the race to start.  I realized that this would not
occur because last year while I was in the process of moving back to the line
the cannon was fired.  Unfortunately hardly anyone moved back because moving
back would cause you a big disadvantage in starting position.  The lifeguards
on surfboards needed to be more forceful in moving people back.  Finally the
cannon went and I found myself in the most hectic swim start of my life and I
have experienced some pretty crazy swim starts in the past.  I swam at least
the first 100 yards with my head completely out of the water for fear of
catching someone's foot in my face.  It was crowded all the way out to the
turnaround.  I wasn't feeling as good as I had expected - I had a side stitch
and my goggles were foggy and filled with a little water.  I could tell that I
wasn't that close to the front.  I tried to draft when I could on the way back
in.  When I approached the finish I was just hoping to be under 55 minutes.  I
was happy when I got out of the water in 51:39 because I was pretty much on my
schedule.  I changed pretty quickly and reached my bike almost instantaneously.
My race number of 128 put me about 15 yards from Mark Allen.  This was much
better than last year when I was at the 2nd to last bike rack (race #1417).
    The best part of the race (besides finishing) is exiting the first
transition area.  It sucks to start immediately up the hill but the crowd is
absolutely awesome.  You feel like you are in the Tour de France becuase there
are just tons of people and they are cheering really loud and ringing bells,
etc.  I rode up Pay 'n Save hill (about a 1/4 mile) pretty hard.  I wore a
heart rate monitor throughout the race.  I got out on the Queen K and was
feeling strong.  My HR was pretty high for the first 40 miles (160 to 170 bpm)
but I felt comfortable so I didn't let up.  It was cool to see guys like Scott
Tinley and Jeff Devlin go riding by me because in any other race they would
be in a separate pro heat.  At about 10 miles Paula Newby-Fraser caught me.
Last year she passed me easily but this year I was able to hang with her until
the climb to Hawi.  There were about 20 other guys who were keeping this same
pace.  I was constantly trying to move to the front so I wouldn't have to slow
down to avoid drafting.  It was fun to frequently change positions with Paula
and to just observe how strong she is on the bike.  There was an NBC camera
on Paula alot and I'm hoping I will show up on the TV broadcast on Dec. 11.
There was no wind on the ride out and the temperature was fairly cool (maybe
80 degrees).  I was drinking and eating a lot.  The aid station crews were
great.  The volunteers were really supportive and it was great to get all the
fluids and food you needed every five miles.  I finally had to urinate when
we started climbing to Hawi (about a 7 mile climb) but was waiting to do it
when I reached a long downhill (the descent from Hawi).  This waiting was
getting uncomfortable and I think that is partly to blame for me falling off
the pace of Paula.  We actually got a little rain around Hawi.  I hit the
turnaround point (about 52 miles) at 2 hours 14 minutes and was feeling pretty
good.  The return to Kona didn't go as well.  I didn't feel as strong and I
hit some moderate headwinds.  I may have ridden too *** the way out and
also the lack of riding I did for the previous 2 weeks may have dropped my
conditioning so that my pace slowed.  Things were rather uneventful for the
long boring ride back to Kona.  Oh yeah, I got to witness when Paula caught
Wendy Ingraham at about mile 40.  I was about 10 to 20 yards behind them and
was e***d to have a front row seat to their battle.  I felt great for the
last 7 miles of the bike along Alii Drive to the Kona Surf (location of the
2nd transition area).  The scenery there was much more interesting with the
crowds cheering you on.  Throughout the bike I must have consumed over 1000
calories in Powerbars and Gatorbars (Gatorade's new energy bar) which may have
been slightly excessive.  My leg felt fine during the bike but I could feel
the shin splint as soon as I got off my bike.  I changed quickly, urinatated
for only the 2nd time (compared to about 5 times on the bike last year) and
started out on the run at about 5:55 into the race.  My bike split without
transition times added was 4:57 - almost a half hour better than last year.
Everything was going great so far.
    I started running and everything felt comfortable.  My legs were loose and
there was no muscle soreness.  However, I could feel my tendinitis although it
wasn't bad enough to slow me down.  I was struggling more than I expected for
the first 8 miles down Alii Drive just to do a 7:30 per mile pace.  I kept
expecting to feel better but it never happened.  I was mad that there were
almost no mile markers so I couldn't figure out what my pace was.  When I made
it out to the Queen K my quads started to get sore and I gradually slowed
down.  I was mad that my lack of running for the past month was actually
catching up with me.  However, I was not surprised.  During the run last year
I passed lots of people but ...

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Finally...my Ironman race report

Post by LANCE WILLIAM MUZSL » Sun, 05 Dec 1993 01:21:25

    Well I have finally got around to posting a report on my Ironman race in
Hawaii 4 weeks ago.  I was originally going to the Ironman with high
expectations this year because at last year's race I had a very satisfying
first time race.  Last year I went 9:36:43 which consisted of 51:16 in the
swim (11th out of the water), 5:28 for the bike (about 480th place split), and
3:16:45 for the marathon (3:14:45 without the transition time; I think 62nd
place split) which placed me 109th overall and 11th in the 18-24 age group.  I
am 22 now.  I was extremely pleased with my swim and run last year and overall
I felt very good during the race and was able to run strong for the whole
marathon.  My biking was a little disappointing but I am suspicious that my
slow time was due to a leak in my rear tire.  When I got my bike back the day
after the race my rear tire was down to about 60psi and I wonder just when it
started losing air and whether it was responsible for my slow split.  My goal
for last year's race was 10 hours and it felt great to achieve that goal so
easily.  Because I felt so good at last year's race and since it was my first
Ironman I felt that I would be able to improve a lot in this year's race.  I
set rather high goals for myself which I thought maybe I could achieve if I
had a perfect day.  Being that I still feel inexperienced at Ironman races I
wasn't sure if my goals were too ambitious.  I set my goal at about 9 hours
overall and top 50 place.  I wanted to swim around 50 or 51 minutes, bike a
little under 5 hours and run about a 3:05 to 3:10.
    I qualified at Wilkes-Barre in the middle of August and I began my long
distance training about a week later.  My training got off to a great start
right away.  I was able to do my century rides feeling stronger than I
originally expected and then I could follow those long rides up immediately
with runs (5 to 10 miles) where I was holding about a 6:30 per mile pace.
Those types of workouts were building my confidence and I was getting really
e***d for the race.  I feel that my body is pretty well suited for endurance
events because I have never experienced a bonk and in fact usually feel almost
more confortable running right after a long ride than if I had done no riding
before my run.  Unfortunately I got injured at the end of September.  I
developed a shin splint in my left leg which turned out to be tendonitis.  I
didn't think much of it at first but then it didn't fully heal as time went
on.  I finally sought medical help 2 weeks before the race and got physical
therapy up to the time I left.  My leg felt much better (the pain disappeared)
and I thought I would be able to make the marathon okay.  I had been biking
and swimming while I was injured because those events didn't bother my leg but
I had not run at all for the 4 weeks prior to the race.  Also I had done
almost zero biking for the 2 weeks prior to the race because I thought that
would help heal my leg.  This is all my background going into the race.  I was
keeping a positive attitude and telling myself that my lack of running
wouldn't affect my performance.  I have heard stories of people in similar
situations going out and setting PR's.  Now for the actual race report.
    I arrived at the transition area around 5:45am which was a little later
than I had wanted.  The whole atmosphere was exciting in that this race which
you have been anticipating for so long is finally about to commence.  There
were TV cameras all around and a helicoptor flying above.  You definitely get
the feeling that you are in a BIG race.  The first thing I did was get in line
for check-in and body marking.  There was a line for every one hundred numbers.
There were only about 20 people ahead of me but the line hardly moved and it
took me a half hour (no exaggeration) until I got body marked and I was lucky
enough to be in a fast line.  I sure hope that problem gets remedied in the
future.  It was then 6:30 and I still had to pump my tires, use the bathroom,
do a bunch of other little things and warmup within a half hour.  I was
definitely getting nervous about the time.  I finally made it into the water
at about 6:55.  I swam out to the front and planned on getting a good starting
position.  The water at Kona is awesome.  It is at least 80 degrees and really
clear.  There are tons of fish to watch while swimming.  It is really fun
doing workouts on the swim course (at "Dig Me" beach) during the week prior to
the race.
    I lined up for the swim near the front and next to the pier.  I saw a lot
of the pros out in the water.  It was very crowded in my area with so many
people vying for a good starting position.  There were over 100 of us out
beyond the starting line (a banner above the water) and we were commanded to
move back in order for the race to start.  I realized that this would not
occur because last year while I was in the process of moving back to the line
the cannon was fired.  Unfortunately hardly anyone moved back because moving
back would cause you a big disadvantage in starting position.  The lifeguards
on surfboards needed to be more forceful in moving people back.  Finally the
cannon went and I found myself in the most hectic swim start of my life and I
have experienced some pretty crazy swim starts in the past.  I swam at least
the first 100 yards with my head completely out of the water for fear of
catching someone's foot in my face.  It was crowded all the way out to the
turnaround.  I wasn't feeling as good as I had expected - I had a side stitch
and my goggles were foggy and filled with a little water.  I could tell that I
wasn't that close to the front.  I tried to draft when I could on the way back
in.  When I approached the finish I was just hoping to be under 55 minutes.  I
was happy when I got out of the water in 51:39 because I was pretty much on my
schedule.  I changed pretty quickly and reached my bike almost instantaneously.
My race number of 128 put me about 15 yards from Mark Allen.  This was much
better than last year when I was at the 2nd to last bike rack (race #1417).
    The best part of the race (besides finishing) is exiting the first
transition area.  It sucks to start immediately up the hill but the crowd is
absolutely awesome.  You feel like you are in the Tour de France becuase there
are just tons of people and they are cheering really loud and ringing bells,
etc.  I rode up Pay 'n Save hill (about a 1/4 mile) pretty hard.  I wore a
heart rate monitor throughout the race.  I got out on the Queen K and was
feeling strong.  My HR was pretty high for the first 40 miles (160 to 170 bpm)
but I felt comfortable so I didn't let up.  It was cool to see guys like Scott
Tinley and Jeff Devlin go riding by me because in any other race they would
be in a separate pro heat.  At about 10 miles Paula Newby-Fraser caught me.
Last year she passed me easily but this year I was able to hang with her until
the climb to Hawi.  There were about 20 other guys who were keeping this same
pace.  I was constantly trying to move to the front so I wouldn't have to slow
down to avoid drafting.  It was fun to frequently change positions with Paula
and to just observe how strong she is on the bike.  There was an NBC camera
on Paula alot and I'm hoping I will show up on the TV broadcast on Dec. 11.
There was no wind on the ride out and the temperature was fairly cool (maybe
80 degrees).  I was drinking and eating a lot.  The aid station crews were
great.  The volunteers were really supportive and it was great to get all the
fluids and food you needed every five miles.  I finally had to urinate when
we started climbing to Hawi (about a 7 mile climb) but was waiting to do it
when I reached a long downhill (the descent from Hawi).  This waiting was
getting uncomfortable and I think that is partly to blame for me falling off
the pace of Paula.  We actually got a little rain around Hawi.  I hit the
turnaround point (about 52 miles) at 2 hours 14 minutes and was feeling pretty
good.  The return to Kona didn't go as well.  I didn't feel as strong and I
hit some moderate headwinds.  I may have ridden too *** the way out and
also the lack of riding I did for the previous 2 weeks may have dropped my
conditioning so that my pace slowed.  Things were rather uneventful for the
long boring ride back to Kona.  Oh yeah, I got to witness when Paula caught
Wendy Ingraham at about mile 40.  I was about 10 to 20 yards behind them and
was e***d to have a front row seat to their battle.  I felt great for the
last 7 miles of the bike along Alii Drive to the Kona Surf (location of the
2nd transition area).  The scenery there was much more interesting with the
crowds cheering you on.  Throughout the bike I must have consumed over 1000
calories in Powerbars and Gatorbars (Gatorade's new energy bar) which may have
been slightly excessive.  My leg felt fine during the bike but I could feel
the shin splint as soon as I got off my bike.  I changed quickly, urinatated
for only the 2nd time (compared to about 5 times on the bike last year) and
started out on the run at about 5:55 into the race.  My bike split without
transition times added was 4:57 - almost a half hour better than last year.
Everything was going great so far.
    I started running and everything felt comfortable.  My legs were loose and
there was no muscle soreness.  However, I could feel my tendinitis although it
wasn't bad enough to slow me down.  I was struggling more than I expected for
the first 8 miles down Alii Drive just to do a 7:30 per mile pace.  I kept
expecting to feel better but it never happened.  I was mad that there were
almost no mile markers so I couldn't figure out what my pace was.  When I made
it out to the Queen K my quads started to get sore and I gradually slowed
down.  I was mad that my lack of running for the past month was actually
catching up with me.  However, I was not surprised.  During the run last year
I passed lots of people but ...

read more »