Rockman Half Ironman, June 10th, Loves Park, IL
1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
Temps about 60 at the start rising to low 80s at the finish. No wind at the start, but becoming mildly breezy later. Mostly sunny.
Short story
Swim - 41:07
T1 - 3:49
Bike - 2:52:24
T2 - 2:56
Run - 2:16:57
Total - 5:57:15
Long story
This was my first time at this distance. The race was to start in Rock Cut State Park, just north of Rockford. The swim was in a small lake in the park, the bike course left the park and toured around the farming country of northern Illinois, and the run was on paved trails and road in the park. I drove the bike course on Friday, then saw what I could of the run course. Then I decided to bike some and rode the first 10 miles out on the bike and 10 miles back, followed by a run on the first few miles of the run course. The biking was done in strong wind and was challenging. The run course in the park was in densely wooded areas and that really kept the wind from being a factor. The first several miles of the bike course were a bit hilly, but nothing like Colorado - big ring all the way. The run course was also very hilly - lots of small ups and downs. Having satisfied myself with being up to the challenge, I then mostly relaxed the next day until the ST gathering at Chip’s house.
I met a bunch of great fellow STers. These are some very fit and very fast people! I never really got a chance to talk with Chip, but thanks for putting this whole thing together.
Race morning I got up at 4:00 am to get myself ready. I got all my various gear and food together and headed over to the race site. It was still a bit cool at 5:30, but it looked like it was going to be a great day. My bike was racked directly across from Spot and Almost Drowning. I went through my normal prerace eating and drinking, used the portopotty and then got into my wetsuit. The race was to start at 7:00. Some people were out in the lake warming up for the swim but I didn’t want to tire myself out. I think there was a slight miscommunication between the race director and the timers because all of a sudden the countdown went from about 2 minutes to 10 seconds. As a result some of the people were not completely back from the warm-up and got a slight head start. No big deal for me. The swim was in a triangle and consisted of two loops around. The first leg had a bit of incidental contact due to the mass start of about 300 people. Nothing major though. The course was marked by big water trampolines with lifeguards sitting on top. They were a bit difficult to see from a distance, but as I was not in the lead all I had to do was keep following people in front of me. The second leg, backside, of the swim was kind of weedy and it took a few minutes to get used to, but it wasn’t really all that bad. The swim spread out and I just kept an easy pace going. My plan was to just take it easy throughout the entire race as this was my first time at this distance. I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 41:09. The racks were about two thirds empty and Spot came out just behind me. I actually beat him in T1, but he went by me in the bike.
T1 was a little different for me than in other races because I had decided to use socks due to the blisters I got on my feet from the marathon last month. I also took time to take in some energy drink. So my T1 time was not very fast. 3:49
The bike went mostly as planned. I didn’t press too hard and both passed many people and was passed by many people. The hills were not a big factor. There were some long stretches of slight incline/decline that affected speed more then I anticipated. I just focused on keeping a steady pace and worked on my nutrition. There were three aid stations on the course and I took the energy drink bottle at two of them. My bike was probably one of the oldest on the course and yet I still managed to pass numerous people on the newer tri-bikes. I think I only got into my top gears once or twice the whole time. The last few miles had a slight bit of wind, but nothing like a couple of days before. Overall I thought the bike course was very nice. I never saw any drafting and saw the ref out there making people keep honest. My bike time was 2:52:24.
T2 was a change of socks for the run - something I don’t normally do. I also got in a gel and more energy drink. Time was 2:56
The run course started out almost immediately uphill. My run is not fast, but I got into a nice pace of around 9:30 or so and was keeping it going OK. It was getting very warm and even though the course was in the woods I was getting hot. I was really ready for the first aid station around mile 2. Took in a couple cups of both water and energy drink. The next couple miles were not too bad, but I was slowing a bit to conserve energy. I didn’t feel too bad, but I wanted to make sure I could go until the end. I passed a few people - many passed me. The next aid was around mile 4.5 and I took in more fluids and a gel. After I got going again I could tell the gels were going to make me nauseous and that was the last one I had. The next couple of miles were rolling hills, but generally uphill. I took lots of fluids at the aid around mile 6, plus an Endurolyte pill. That worked fine. I just kept going at my slower pace from aid station to aid station, while others around me were using the run some/walk some method. I did find a portopotty just past the halfway point. Got to mile 8 aid OK and trudged on to the next. That was the hilliest part of the course - miles 8 to 11. It took us through the campground area of the park. I took another Endurolyte at mile 10 aid in the campground along with the fluids. For the better part of the last 4-5 miles I had been going back and forth with another guy. As we were leaving the campground area he said it looked like we would finish together, but he would trip me so he could finish ahead. I laughed and said it just wasn’t that important to me. After that he got ahead about a hundred yards or so. But before we got to mile 12 aid he started walking again and I passed him. He did catch up at the aid station and took off before I left, but I looked at my watch and saw that I had a real good shot a being under 6 hours so I really picked up the pace from there to the end. The last mile ended up being my fastest of the race. I passed him and several others in the last mile and brought it home with a good finishing kick. Run time was 2:16:57 ********
So overall time was 5:57:15. My goal was to break 6 hours and I did it. It wasn’t the fastest race, but it was satisfying. Now that I’ve finished a half ironman I know what to expect the next time. I really held back on all areas of the race because I had no idea how I would perform and how my nutrition would hold up. Everything went fairly well, except even though I tried hard to baby my feet, I still ended up reblistering one of them in the same area. I wasn’t sore or even really tired at the end.
I did this race having only done maybe 6-8 swim sessions this year and a relative handful of bike rides. After I blistered my feet in the Colorado Marathon on May 6, I ended up only running about 5-6 times in the month prior to this race. I feel fairly confident with a more reasonable and thorough training plan, I could easily knock about 30 minutes or more off my time.
All-in-all, not too bad for a first time HIM at age 51.
Chip - thanks again for putting this all together. You did a great job and I’m sure this race will only get even better in the future. STers better mark it on their calendars for next year!
