Hey all, I just registered here at the forums and wanted to say hello. I participate in a couple of other triathlon forums and recently cam across SlowTwitch and have been very impressed with the quality and quantity of information here. By way of introduction, I have included my last race report for the Soma Half Ironman from 2 weeks ago. Look forward to participating in this community!
SOMA HALF IRONMAN RACE REPORT:
Yesterday was the 4th annual SOMA Triathlon here in Tempe Arizona. The race had both a Half Ironman and a Quarterman distance competition. In the last 4 years, this race has grown to be the 8th largest triathlon in the country, attracting over 1500 atheletes from around the nation. With the exception of the bike, much of the course mirrors that of Ironman Arizona. The transition is set up the same as is the swim exit and the finish line.
I woke up at 4:00am Sunday morning after a fitfull night of sleep. This race was a big deal for me, both as a gauge of my long course training progress and my expectations for Ironman Arizona in April as well as being my first Half Ironman. I walked outside into the night to check the weather and the skies had a heavy overcast which bode well for the race conditions. Overcast here in the dessert means warmer mornings but cooler days. Conditions would prove to be absolutely ideal.
Tempe Town Lake is about 30min from my home and I arrived in T1 to set up by 5:15. I had a few friends competing as well as my coach. We met up at my coaches tent to suffer through “THAT HOUR”. You know the one, the hour after you’ve fussed with your transition set up and now have nothing ot do but wait. And wait. Always seems to give your bowels sufficient opportunity to mess with you and make you an expert at getting in and out of your tri-suit in the porta-pottie which you now share with nearly 1700 of your new best friends.
The Swim-The first two waves sent the Men and Women in the Quarterman off first. 13 min. later, they sent Men 30-35 for the Half followed 3 min later by my wave. The water was about 68 degrees, so very comfy in the wet suit. The single best thing I can say about the swim was that it was completey uneventful and devoid of drama. A long rectangular course with atheletes well spread across it. The swim exit was a large bleacher like structure with volunteers on the “step” pulling you up. They helped steady wobbly legs and guided me up to the sidewalk. I ran towards the strippers and spotted the owner of my local tri store, a big burley guy named Kevin. He had my westuit off me so fast I felt like I should file a police report!
Swim Time- 30:42, 1:33/100m pace
When I checked my watch following my near rape by Kevin, I saw I was a little ahead of schedule. There is nothing better than getting out of the water with some extra time in the bank. Transition wasn’t very crowded as most of the Quarter racers were gone.
T1- 1:26
The Bike- OK, hears where I was really entering unkown territory. In my previous Olympic races, the bike simply was go as fast as you can. Period. Not a lot of nutritional startegy, some hydration, no heart rate monitor, just go like hell. Now I had to race smart, mind my pace, monitor my effort, down some GU’s, ect. My coach gave my VERY specific instruction for me NOT to exceed a heart rate of 155 bpm (a little above my Aet) on the bike and this turned out to be the single largest contributing factor to my positive day. Based on months of training, he knew that it would represent my maximum sustainable effort for the race without sacrificing speed and enough to get me home without blowing up and he nailed it.
It was a 3 lap course around the Tempe Lake area. The first lap I found myseflf riding in a pack of 5 others…ALL in my age group! It was all I could do to not try and break away but my coaches advice echoed in my head…“let them go, you will see them again on the run”. I chilled out as we all took turns leading the group for the first lap. I felt very comfortable and was, for the first time in a race, actually having fun on the bike, chatting occasionaly with the guy’s around me and having fun with the volunteers at the aid stations. There were a lot of very tight turn arounds and a few riders went flying into the oncoming lanes, but the traffic on the course for me wasn’t too bad.
Eventually the other age groupers dropped off the pace and I was left with this guy Matt who had been riding behind me to the left for most of the first 2 loops. When we rode side by side I turned to him and asked, “Please tell me you are not a good runner!” He smilled and said he was a cyclist and was going to need to try and drop me ASAP. I told him I understood. His catalyst came blowing by us early in the 3rd lap when a 42 year old blew by us like we were standing still. I looked over at Matt and said, “You’re going to chase him down, aern’t you?” He smiled and took off in pursuit and I stayed with my plan as I watched them put some real estate between me and them. It will turn out that Matt waited just a little too long 
.
Bike Time- 2:23:32, 23.4mph average
As I pulled into T1 I was greated by some crazy woman yelling at me. Not with words of encouragement, not telling me I’m doing great, oh no. This lady was screaming, “FASTER, GET GOING, STOP GOOFING AROUND!” I love my wife . Between berating me, she was able to communicate that there were at least 2 guys in my AG ahead of me, one of which was my new friend Matt. I told her I could catch him, which proved to be insufficient for her as she responded, “CATCH ALL OF THEM!!!”.
T2- 1:05…looked more like 5:00min if you ask my wife!
The Run- 2 Laps aroound Tempe Town Lake. My coaches words rang true yet again as I ran down Matt by mile 3. I pulled along side and I said, “Oh, sure, some guy comes by on a flashy bike and you dump me without so much as a by your leave!” He laughed and said he sould have tried that earlier 'cause here I was and he didn’t have anything left to respond. We wished each other well, and I moved ahead for good. I knew at this point that I would place in my AG, just didn’t know if it was 2nd or 3rd. Now I only had one more mission to complete: finish ahead of my coach on the course even though I started 3min ahead of his wave. We saw each other on the bike and he barley acknowledged me, he just looked very focused and determined in contrast to me being very chatty. At one down and out turn around towards the end of Lap 1, we passed eachother and by my reckoning, I still had about 2 of those 3 min. I spent 100% of Lap 2 waiting to hear his feet behind me. The course had become crowded at this point with other athletes on their first lap. My legs were beginning to feel tight and a bit stiff though my respiration felt comfortable. My HR was elevated to about 156-158, but with only 5 miles to go, it was just gut check time. After the second down and out, I saw that coach wasn’t close enough to catch up. Too bad, would have made an awesome finishing picture. At this point, I realized that I was going to go sub 4:30. My expectation going into the race was 4:35-4:45. The last 2 miles were the longest I have ever run, wanting to get close to the line and the crowd to give me that last lift towards the finish. Now my wife was cheering for me rather than yelling at me! 
I was alone in the chute and had a chance to hear the anbnouncer read my name and number. BEEP!
Run Time- 1:29:43, 6:51 Pace, 43:04, 46:39 10K split
Final Time- 4:26:25
19th overall finisher, 8th overall amatuer, 3rd in Age Group Men 35-39.
