Race Result

Racer:	Jim Hurrell
Race:	Timberman Half Ironman
Date:	Sunday, August 20, 2006
Location:	Guilford, NH
Race Type:	Triathlon - Half Ironman
Age Group:	Male 45 - 49
Time:	5:07:14
Overall Place:	207 / 1368
Age Group Place:	15 / 101
Comment:	Timberman 1/2

Race Report:

I awoke around 3:30 AM with the rain coming down at our camp site just as it had left us Saturday night. My wife and three little ones, the troupers they are, woke up shortly after that. After making some coffee we all packed into the car and rolled down to the race site and waited in line to be parked by the police. We got a nice parking spot and just hung out for a while sleeping and eating. Around 6 AM with the rain still coming down I went into the transition area and did the typical pre-race stuff. I packed all my bike and run gear in bags so it wouldn’t be soggy when I hit the transition. After this I ventured back to the car a few times to stay warm and made my final trip down to the beach around 8 AM. For me the rain and cooler temperatures were welcomed given the hot weather we had most of the summer in Northern Virginia.

By the start of the race the rain had stopped. I decided not to go into the water before the race since it was a bit cool in the air and I felt the warm-up would cool me off. So I did some upper body stretches to make sure the shoulders were all loosened up. Our wave (8th) hit the water around 8:20 and I started off slowly. I cruised slowly for the first 200 meters or so, hoping someone would be going fast enough to provide a draft, but no such luck. Given that we would be swimming through preceding waves shortly, I decided to go it alone. The water was a tad rough and I enjoyed going off the tops of the waves. By the time we exited the water I had a nice gap on my nearest competitor but one that would surely disappear on the bike. My swim time was 27:22, good for 17th overall for the day.

The swim-to-bike transition went fine and off I went. I was a little nervous about the bike leg, being that it was wet and I would be passing folks, but it all worked out fine. I was pleasantly surprised at how well I felt. I was able to accelerate around packs of people and with the hills coming left and right during the first 10 miles I was in my favorite terrain. On the way out on the out-and-back course I spent allot of time negotiating people and I slipped from my ideal nutritional plan but still did OK. During the last 5 miles of the ride the rain finally started back up. It sure was nice that the rain had let up for a large segment of the bike course. At this stage of the race I still had a chance to break the 5 hour mark if the run went well. My bike time was 2:42:36 for a 20.7 mph pace.

The bike-to-run transition was a little slow in that I had to come back to get my one bottle of InFinit but off I went on the run. It was exciting to see the family as I left for the run and I gave them all a high-five. I made the mistake of going out a little hard during the first mile of the run and eventually had to slow down to “training pace”. At about mile 8 I decided to pick up the pace and ran the last 5+ miles a tad faster. It was fun to finally pass some people on the run. I recognized some of the folks as ones that passed me during the front half of the run or ones that I went out too hard with. My run time was 1:51:06, for a 8:29 pace.

My overall time of 5:07:14, just a tad slower than my 5 hour mark I had set for myself, was still a good showing for a long day. (15th in 45-49 Age-Group).