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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The Eagle had landed


Eagleman 70.3--5:17:38
Swim 41:30
T1 2:01
Bike 2:48:25
T2 3:38
Run 1:42:04
This would be my last long distance race heading into Lake Placid.  I had signed up for this race in 2011, but dislocated my shoulder right before, so I had to bail out.  I was going down alone, so it was nice that I only needed to pay for the camp site as my accommodations...$30 for the night!  I headed down on Saturday, June 8 after Conor’s baseball game.  The ride down is easy, but it takes almost 3 hours.  Check in was smooth and easy.  Tri Columbia has been doing this race for years, well before Ironman took over the name of it, so they have it all tight and orderly.  It rained like hell for a few days before hand so the transition area was a muddy mess, but nothing can be done about that.  I stopped and got some pizza then headed to the high school for the camp set up.
I did have a tough time sleeping, missing my bed and wife I guess.  Race morning was nice.  I woke up and packed the tent up and headed right over to the site.  There is limited off-street parking, so you must be there early.  I got a spot right outside the park, in front of the local YMCA.  I was at the bike early and got everything set up just outside the mud.  My spot was nice, just to the right of the swim in, so it was easy navigation.  I met up with some folks from the Philadelphia Tri Club before hand to rest and relax.  My wave was one of the last to head into the water, but we were also the largest so they had to split us into two groups and I was in the second group.
The swim is a rectangular swim.  The Choptank River was a little choppy that morning, I guess the tide was shifting because there was hardly any wind.  I had a descent swim.  Sticking to my usual plan of moving forward without sinking.  At one point I did look at my watch and had to pick up the pace because it seemed like I was just swimming and not in a race.  My watch confirmed this when I got out of the water in 41 minutes..terrible but I’ll take it. 

T1 was very muddy.  I basically carried my bike 90% of the way up to the dismount like.  The bike is a nice flat course.  That makes it tough because you just put your head down and try to hammer the whole time, no coasting on downhills or standing breaks going uphill.  You ride through some neighborhoods and then parts of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, which is normally hot and windy. This year the heat was there, but the wind never showed up.  I had a goal of under 2:50 for the bike and finished in 2:48, almost 20 MPH so I felt pretty good coming off the bike.  My main goal was to practice race day nutrition with salt and GU on the bike.  No GI distress, so mission accomplished.  The last 15 miles of the bike you could feel the heat picking up, so I tried to get some extra fluids in.
Look at the mud!



T2 was super muddy with everyone coming in from the bike….it looked like a cyclocross event.  I was feeling good coming in.  I didn’t even try to clean my feet off, just put my socks and shoes on and headed out to the run.  Heading out on the run you go through a super nice stretch of houses that are right on the Chesapeake Bay.  From the looks of some of the houses, I am guessing 1 million at least.  They have their own “Lava” field for a little stretch, just black asphalt and no shade, but they put out a few cool signs.  The run heads out to a long stretch of road without much shade or fans.  The people who are out on the course are awesome, but just not many.  Coming back in the heat was really taking its toll on people, lots of walkers.  I hit the aide stations for ice and to refill my water bottle I was carrying.  Coming back to the town is nice, lots of parties going on it looked like.  I felt real good on the run and was hoping to go under 1:45.  Finished in 1:42!  I passed 52 people in my age group on the run, so I know I was going strong.


Eagleman is well known to the pro's, and a well run Ironman 70.3 since it is the only one that still has Kona slots offered.  I saw Miranda Carfrae walking back from the bike.  She apparently had a medical issue with her hamstring and glute muscles locking up.  Meredeth Kessler got hit by an age grouper who crossed the double yellow lines of the road and wound up in the hospital.  Lots of pro's come out for Eagleman, Andy Potts won the mens race.  I would definitely go back for the race itself.

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