2011 - Rhode Island Ironman 70.3

Rhode Island Ironman 70.3; 1.2m swim, 56m bike, 13.1m run

Providence, RI

My first trip to Rhode Island was a good one. A 3.5 hour drive with my two team managers, Dad and Susan, led us to downtown Providence for the packet pickup. After getting the diesel discount on parking (we were asked to park “big blue” on the center island at the Westin), we headed into a large convention center to check in. On the way out of registration I saw a sign bearing ominous news for a weak swimmer like me – the temperature of the lake was 84 degrees and no wetsuits would be allowed!

I digested the wetsuit news as we made our way to the Lincoln Woods Park to drop off the bike and check out the lake. Walking around the park was quite nice and very peaceful. It was a perfect summer day and I was happy to spend it hanging out while looking over a freshwater lake in the woods. We walked around a bit and took in the sights before heading out to drive the course. A few miles of the driving told me all I needed to know; the hills weren’t very steep. With this key bit of intel we made a beeline back to Providence to drop off the run gear at T2 and eat an early dinner at one of Providence’s omnipresent chain restaurants. We chose the Cheesecake Factory and were not disappointed. I begrudgingly skipped the massive desserts on offer and was back to the hotel room and asleep by 8pm.

Going to bed at 8pm is awesome but waking up at 2am is not! By 3am I gave up trying to sleep and ate my standard pre-race fare of Nutella sandwiches. 4:40am eventually rolled around and we were off to fight the good fight. After a rushed setup in transition I was on the beach and ready to rock. We killed the extra hour before my wave and the pro start watching the sunrise from the beach.

7am finally rolled around and the swim was about to get underway. 84 degrees is WARM. Wow. From the gun I stayed on people’s feet the whole time and came out of the water in 46:10 and 88th place in my age group. This was fairly disappointing as my swim has improved this year and I drafted the whole way! At least I know what to work on this winter. Oh well, now onto the bike.

The bike course wasn’t terribly hilly but the roads were a bit ragged. I pushed it moderately hard and had a fairly uneventful ride save for a neutralized zone on the bike where we had to go slowly on account of rough roads (but weren't most of the roads rough?!) and a separate 25 meter section where I was forced to ride across someone’s front yard while in my aerobars to avoid a being crushed by horse trailer that drifted onto the shoulder. Fortunately, I survived both obstacles and finished the bike in 2:40 with an average speed of almost 21mph. This moved me up 51 spots in the AG to 37th place; now it was time to try to pick off a few more people on the run.

By the time I hit my feet it was already 10:30AM and starting to get hot. The run was two laps course with a decent 700ft climb around miles 1 and 7. Since I was in one of the last waves the course was clogged with athletes and empty cups. My legs felt pretty good and I was able to keep myself fairly cool in the hot sun with the help of the many volunteers handing out sponges. I kept my pace fairly constant and finished the half marathon in 1:32. My 7:02 min/mile pace was fast enough to move me into 30th place in my age group. I finished the race in an overall time of 5:05:51. I didn’t break the elusive 5 hour barrier but I did have a solid race and most importantly a lot of fun!