Race Result

Racer:	Fabrice Guillaume
Race:	Duke Half Ironman
Date:	Sunday, September 14, 2008
Location:	Raleigh, NC
Race Type:	Triathlon - Half Ironman
Age Group:	Male 30 - 34
Time:	5:37:04
Overall Place:	81 / 312
Age Group Place:	10 / 36
Comment:	Beautifull race but Very hilly run and my first Penalty

Race Report:

Intro:
======
I did this race as a last minute race after Patriot's half got canceled.
I had not trained for hilly conditions on the run and that is where I probably suffered the most.
I did quite bad - as usual - on the swim with a first time OWS and no wetsuit. And I did great on the bike where I remained strong pushing even harder in the last 8 miles.
Overall I was very happy to do this race to finish my tri season before focusing on marathon training.

Objectives:
===========
I came into this race with several objectives:
- good hydration and nutrition plan to avoid any cramp. I have had some cramps in previous races in the end of the swim and end of the bike.
--> OK
- push really hard on the bike to see how can I hold a HIM distance at a faster pace than my last 2 OLY distances
--> OK
- swim faster than my last HIM
--> Not OK
- remain strong on the run which is usually my strongest sport but I knew it would be hilly
--> Not OK

Results:
=========

Swim: 1.2 miles in 42:58 - no wetsuit 20/36 AG, 191/312 OM
=====
Well well...... I can definitely say I am not proud of this very slow time... I was thinking about going 35mn as I did around 37mn in my lat HIM and wanted to go faster.
That did not work out obviously. I suppose my technique is to be blamed first and not so much my condition as I did not feel tired and kept the same stroke pace through the whole race.
Another explanation is obviously the non wetsuit legal conditions with 79 degrees. Bad swimmers like me are helped a lot with wetsuit to keep legs from dragging.
It was a first time for me to race with no wetsuit.
Finally, a good part of the race was in choppy water with small waves which may have slowed me down a bit although I did not feel like it.
Good thing is that I did not cramp at all on the swim so my hydration before the race worked.

T1: 1:33
===
With no wetsuit to take out, it is obviously easier to have a faster T1

Bike: 56 miles in 2:43:24 - 8/36 AG, 55/312 OM (20.6 mph)
=====
The bike was a rolling bike. I heard several people complaining about the hills but I really did not feel any of them being that bad.
I had trained a lot around Purcellville and Mount Weather and I was well prepared to go after all of these hills.
I started strong and kept up the pace throughout the remaining part of the ride, passing quite a lot of people (god knows I had a lot to pass after such a weak swim....:)
I also had a few rockets flying by me. Always quite impressive to see how much power they produce...
I met my goal to hydrate and eat regularly, not having a single cramp while trying to keep a decent cadence.
That was a good thing as I ramped in most of the races this year.

One bad thing though is that I got a penalty for drafting. I really wonder where did I get that penaly from as I have never ever meant to draft from anyone.
Obviously as we leap frog, there are occasions where you are close to someone before/after you pass. So this is probably in one of these moments that I got this penalty.
This cost me places ranks in the final ranking, but that's really no biggy at my level :)

One funny thing was towards the end, with 8 miles to go, I passed a small group of riders and one of them told me "go, finish strong" as I passed him.
That gave me a boost of energy and I actually pushed hard till the end of the race passing a few more people.

Overall, I was quite happy to complete this bike segment at a higher average speed (20.6 mph) than my last HIM (19.9) and last OLY distance.

T2: 1:27
===
Nothing specific to say here...

Run: 13.1 miles in 2:03:45
=====
Ahhhhh the run.....
Well... in 2 words: Hilly and Hilly
It was a 2 loop course in a very nice park (no concrete pavement) so it was nice on the legs.
However I honestly think this was the hardest half marathon I ever run. It's like Columbia x 2 on 13 miles.
I did not suffer from any cramp or stomach issue but I suffered from the heat (92 F) and the darmn long steap hills.
I had also not trained on hills since I was supposed to do Patriots' Half. I would have come better prepared otherwise.
A lot of people walked up all these hills. I ended up myself walking 3 of them.
Surprisingly, I felt better the 2nd loop and did it a bit faster. Maybe my legs were a bit dead in the first loop from the bike.
But my final time is still quite horrible (I have never raced that slowly ever a half marathon and I thought Morgantown was already my worst run....:)

Good thing was the water stations with heed, water (fresh cold) and small towels. That really helped a lot to stay hydrated.
I also carried a 16 Oz water bottle with electrolytes with me that I drank from between aid stations. That was helpfull too.

Final words:
============
Although I had this 4 mn penalty on the bike and the run was really tough I enjoyed this race. It was well organized, with aid stations
well placed. However I don't think I would do it again or if I want something hard, I will do Savageman :)