Pumpkinman Half Ironman

The Pumpkinman Half Ironman triathlon event was held in Las Vegas, NV over the weekend. We (Stan Hansen, Rich Goode and I) chose this event several months ago as a good season ending race and mid-mark gauge for our Ironman training schedule. It was also very convenient that our other buddy, Rich Cornia, lived in Las Vegas and that we could turn this into a Boys' Weekend Trip. Greg Hoole also joined us to race in the Olympic distance event.

I had to travel to Chicago on business Tuesday - Thursday and came from there to Las Vegas. The weekend was a ton of fun, lots of laughs and good memories. We ended up taking most of Friday preparing for the Half IM including picking up my bike (I opted to rent a Cannondale Road Bike for $55 vs ship my bike from Boston). We also had to drive out to Boulder City to register and drop off our T2 (Bike to Run) packets. Friday night was one of the only nights of half decent rest. Fortunately, my body was still on East Coast time so waking up at 4:45 AM (7:45 ET) wasn't an issue. The event started at Lake Mead (water temp in low 70's). It was a beautiful day; albeit, a bit hot for a race (91 degrees by the time we were on the run).

I went into the race feeling very good and confident with the training I've done. I was very interested in comparing this 1/2 IM experience with my last one (Echo in 2005). My goal for this race was 6:00:00. I thought I would do the swim in the 40 - 42/min range, the bike in the 3:00 to 3:15/hr range, and the run in 2:00. So what happened. . .

Race Overview
Swim (44:12) - I had a slow swim. I should have started out stronger and got out ahead of the "marginal swimmers." I don't like being out in front and getting in the way of the fast swimmers so I typically allow them to get out in front of me. However, I hesitated too long and was then stuck behind the rest of the mediocre/slower swimmers (I include myself in that category). I struggled to get in a groove for the first 500 meters or so, constantly banging into the feet of other swimmers in front of me. I should have gone "balls out" right at first and got up ahead of this group which is what I felt I did at Mayflower. I was simply too worried about over doing it on the swim. In the end, I definitely could have done the swim in 40 min with a different approach/strategy.

T1 (5:11) - Took my time in transition. At Echo in 2005, I failed to put on sunscreen and got fried on the bike. Also, at Pumpkinman, we had to pack up our swim items in a bag as this was not a loop course.

Bike (4:06:35) - The bike course was unbelievably difficult and a disaster on three accounts. First, vertical feet. I knew going in that this was going to be a challenging course, but I had no idea how many hills there were going to be. My goal of a 3 hour bike was based on my training and anticipating around a 17-18 mi/hr pace. Obviously, with the number of hills on this course, that was impossible for me to maintain. Second, water. They ran out of freaking water/gatorade at mile 40. They were suppose to have 5 water stations along the route. Instead, they only had 3 and the last one at mile 40 was completely out. It was 91 degrees and I had no water. Simply unacceptable. My only option was to stop and grab a half drunk water bottle that one of the prior riders had tossed along the road. This got me to the end. I was so ticked off. Third, course instructions. This goes along with the water issue. For $200, you would expect a well-staffed, well-stocked event. This event was sub-par at best. At mile 50, you begin the 6 mile ascent up a steep hill to Boulder City. At one point on the course, there was a huge chalk arrow instructing you to turn around and go a different direction. I followed one of the other riders back down the hill only to find out a few minutes later that this was a mistake and had to re-ascend that part of the hill. Not a huge deal, but it cost me 10 minutes and was certainly frustrating having to re-do that part of the course.

T2 (5:48) - Again, took my time in transition. Stan Hansen (see below) met me at the T2 area and ran the first 8 miles with me which was great.

Run (2:03:14) - Felt great about the run. Total night and day experience from Echo where I needed to walk a good portion of the course. I did run into some cramping issues in my calves around mile 9 but was able to stretch them out. I believe I was starting to suffer from sodium deficiency at this point. I was hoping to run a 9 min/mile (1:57:00), but still felt very good about my run and fitness level at the end of a grueling day.

Overall (7:04:57) - Not too happy about my overall time. While I did cut two minutes off my PR, I was hoping for a dramatic drop. I realize the Pumpkinman course is a lot more challenging than Echo, but it was frustrating nonetheless. I was hoping for this to be a nice confidence boost as I head into the 2nd half of my IM training. I'm afraid this may have had the opposite effect.

Results:
Overall Time: 7:04:57
Overall Place: 35 (out of 81 participants/63 finishers)
Swim: 44:12
T1: 5:11
Bike: 4:06:35
T2: 5:48
Run: 2:03:14

As for my friends . . .

Rich Goode - 7:43:00

Stan Hansen - 7:12:45 (Stan's bike chain broke on Mile 13 so he wasn't able to complete the rest of the bike course - lucky guy! Athough, it appears that because he came through the T2 area and completed the run, he was able to avoid the "DNF" label)

Greg Hoole - 3:15:30 (Olympic Distance - 1 mile swim/25 mile bike/6.2 mile run)

Post Race
After holding back the urge to yak for the first 30 minutes after the race, I was able to rest until the others arrived. Afterward, we went to Outback Steakhouse for one of the "best meals of our lives." When you are that ravenous, everything tastes great. We then relaxed in the hottub for about an hour and watched the Utah vs UNLV football game before crashing to sleep. Okay, a few of us went out to Red Rock Casino and won big at blackjack (don't tell Bishop Ainge). Overall, it was a great weekend, fun event shared with friends. While I wish I would have done better and I wish the event was better organized, I had a lot of fun. And, this was a great mega-brick workout to help me prepare for my ultimate goal next May.