Delaware Diamondman 1/2 Ironman - Race Report

It's the first week in September, which must mean that we are back in Newark, Delaware for the Diamondman 1/2 Ironman race. This is the 4th year that I have done this race and was in fact the first 1/2 I ever raced back in 2005. In a break from tradition we stayed in a different hotel and ate at a different restaurant (I would recommend Matilda's in Newark!) the night before the race.....it must have had an effect as the race turned out to be a good one.

Come race morning the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna had well passed and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as the sun came up.....typical Diamondman weather! Fortunately after some negotiating with the local authorities the bike course had been changed back to 56 miles (it was down to 39 miles due to construction) with a 17mile duplication of the back part of the course. It did mean however, that the 1.25mile climb over the Reedy Point Bridge had to be climbed four times rather than the usual two.



The swim went surprisingly well. Over the past three weeks due to vacation and the local pool being closed, I hadn't really swum that much and was feeling a little under prepared in that regard. I tried to push through the swim and came out in just over 28mins for the 14th fastest. Now came the long run (uphill as well!) to T1 before getting out onto the bike. The time for T1 including the run was about 4mins (official T1 was 1:33).

Off onto the bike and I made a conscious decision to be conservative and pace the bike evenly. I think in the past few races I have gone out to hard at the beginning and paid for it in the latter stages of the bike. As I came back past T1 after 10miles Sarah noted that I was in 7th place. The pacing felt good throughout the bike and even in the windier sections I was able to keep it steady and not push unnecessarily. A couple of guys did come through from behind and I was able to keep them in my sights for the remainder of the course and even catching them on the climbs on the Bridge. I think I must need to weigh a bit though as they put a few seconds in on the descents! Coming into T2 I was still in 9th and only a few seconds away from 7th and 8th. Final bike time was 2hrs 25mins (9th fastest bike split).



This is where things got confusing as I quickly got out on T2 in the days fastest change and could see one guy very close up the road. Just as I passed him though he stopped for a convenience break and then the road ahead was empty! The first mile is around the race site and so heading out to the main part of the run course I saw Sarah (wished her Happy Anniversary as we had both forgotten earlier in the day!) and set about seeing who I could catch ahead. At this point I assumed that I was in 7th or 8th!



The run was great....I felt pretty good from the get-go and was pacing along at 6:10miles for the first few miles along the Canal Towpath. The trouble was I couldn't see anyone ahead and as such it was relatively lonely apart from a few fishermen and the scouts at the aid stations! As I was between mile 5 and 6 I came across the leaders heading back and the lead bike indicated that I was in 5th...great, stay in that position and it's an overall podium spot! Over the next mile I confirmed that I was in 5th (must have passed a few guys in T2) and guessed that I was about 3-4 minutes behind 3rd and 4th places. I made the turnaround in about 42minutes and also realised I had a sizable gap on 6th place.

Coming back the last few miles were getting tough and the two small climbs were feeling larger than they were. Throughout the return I was never able to see 4th place ahead and with a 44 minute return leg was able to finish in 4hrs 24mins 27secs and 5th place! In the end it was just over 2 mins behind 4th place and a further 30secs behind 3rd....The good news was that my run was the 2nd fastest of the day at 1hr 26mins 12secs. Kona legend Ken Glah took the overall win with 4hrs 13mins!



All in all a good race day and a great tune-up for ChesapeakeMan on September 27th. Just this week of hard training, a final 100 miler on the weekend and then we hit the two-week taper....bring on the ChesapeakeMan!

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Let's Go Racing Boys

This is going to be one hell of a weekend......depending upon the intervention of Tropical Storm Hannah of course!



Saturday starts with a trip to Dover International Speedway for a session with the boys of Monster Racing, Inc. For my 30th birthday last November Sarah got me a Nascar racing session where I spend a morning tearing around the Monster Mile in full-on Nascar's! Bearing in mind that I am a closet Nascar fan it's a damn sweet gift. As part of the package I get to ride the track with an instructor and then go for 10 laps on my own! (Sarah also gets to go for a lap....she's hoping it's not with me!) It should be a great session and for the past few weeks I have been practicing getting into the car through just the window :-) [that is a prerequisite of going on the session]

The main question I wonder is how fast can we go......The website states that the average first time drivers will attain lap times of 40 seconds. That's about 90 mph. The quickest lap times are about 32 seconds, about 120 mph at the straight away. I wonder if I can run 120 mph? The track has over 3420 feet of corners and only 1800 feet of straight away – must remember to signal then! If the course is exactly the same as the Playstation game then I will be sorted as I have that dialled! Sarah will be allowed in pit lane to do her best impression of a Pit Girl and so should get a load of good pics and video......

Assuming that I survive Saturday, we then travel slightly further up into Delaware to race the Diamondman 1/2 Ironman race on Sunday. Technically it isn't a 1/2 Ironman this year as the bike course has been shortened to 39 miles due to some bridge construction work. Anyway it should be a good workout to see where I am after the vacation and prior to ChesapeakeMan in only three weeks time. Again the race could well be affected from the weather of Tropical Storm Hannah which is expected through on Sunday!

Most importantly Sunday brings our 6th wedding anniversary, which by all accounts is the Candy and/or Iron (traditional), Wood (Modern) and Calla (Flower) Anniversary. Will have to get the wedding DVD out again and relive the day.....and yes I do remember that I cried during my speech (funny how friends never let you live certain things down!)

Diamondman 1/2 Ironman Triathlon Race Report

This past weekend was the finale of the trifecta of races that I have done over the past three weeks. A week removed from my cold/virus etc, I was feeling better but not necessarily on top form. The Delaware Diamondman is a race that I have done for the past two years and was the first 1/2 Ironman triathlon that I did back in 2005. It's a cool race in that it comes towards the end of the "normal" season, I say normal as most people are beginning to end their seasons now. It is really only those who are doing the World Championships in Hawaii/Clearwater or IM Florida that are continuing on into October and November. For me it serves as a good training race prior to the WC in October and November.

Having done the race the past two years, we have got comfortable with the whole race layout and stay in the same hotel and eat at the same italian etc etc. Oddly enough every single time we have raced there, the University of Delaware have a home football game and so the town center is empty and everyone is at the game....good for getting a table on the veranda!

Race morning was surprisingly warm and the water temperature was 'convientently' at 78 degrees meaning that wetsuits were legal. I don't know what it is about the swim at this race but I never do particularly well and came out of the water in a touch under 33 minutes.

It was then off for the 0.4 mile trek to transition. They even have a mini transition area where you can place shoes for the run up to T1, at this point I decided to take the wetsuit off and so once in T1 I wouldn't have to worry about it.
With the extended journey it makes the T1 a lengthy process and 4 minutes after getting out the water I was eventually onto the bike.

With having got my disc wheel only about three weeks ago I was looking forward to seeing how much of a difference it would make over a 56 mile bike leg. This was still only the 2nd time I had ridden the disc in anger but at least had some times from the previous years to compare with this year. Now here is my disclaimer.....the 56 mile bike leg one way or another was actually my longest bike ride since July 9th. For some reason I haven't been able to get any serious bike riding in over the last two months and have rarely gone over 2 hours. Anyway for the first 8 miles I felt good and was cruising along at 24MPH...this disc wheel is the Nutts I thought.

It was at about mile 20 just after the mile long climb over the Delaware River bridge that my power seemed to be waning and also my stomach decided to feel distinctly not right.....It was almost identical to last year in the same race that my stomach shut down on the bike and I could only take in water until part way through the run. It was definately a feeling of deja vu...what do they put in the Lums Pond water! The next 25 miles seemed to be a struggle and I felt as though I was certainly putting in more effort than I should be just to maintain a decent pace. During that period I was only taking on water rather than energy drink or Carbboom and I was hoping that once onto the run I would be able to refuel quickly.

Fortunately over the final 10 miles of the bike I was feeling more comfortable and could feel more power as the speed increased. My final bike split was 2hrs 24mins 52secs, a 23.2 MPH average and an improvement of 6 mins over last year at this race. I had planned to try and go under 4hrs 30mins at this race but with the run to come I needed to run the half-marathon in 1hr 26mins.....my previous best for a 1/2 iron run was 1hr 29min in May.

With that in mind I set off for the run knowing that a) I needed to refuel after taking on very little on the bike and b) I needed my best run split to get close to my goal. The run at Diamondman is always brutal as after the first 1.5 miles there is no shade or breeze until you come back to the finish. The majority of the run is along a gravel towpath of the Delaware Canal and isn't the best surface for a quick run split. I went through the first few miles at a good pace but the mileage markers seemed to be placed at "rough" intervals meaning that some miles were short and some long....at least there was an aid station at each mile. I was able to fuel with some Carbboom but was beginning to tire after probably having put too much into the bike leg. Through mile 6 I knew that 4hrs 30mins wasn't on the cards and so concentrated on dealing with the heat (92 degrees) and trying to reel in some of the people in front. Overall on the run I did 1hr 34mins, good enough for the 7th fastest run split and overtook five people in front after the bike leg.

My overall time was 4hrs 37mins, which put me in 9th place overall and 1st in age group.
Although I am slightly disappointed with my overall time, it wasn't so bad what with the long T1 distance and the fact that the cold of the previous week really did take a lot out of me. I was also only 19mins behind the overall winner, which highlights that Diamondman never really gets super quick times. I know what I have to work on prior to the Duathlon World's and the 70.3M World's (longer bike rides at threshold) and I have two months before the 70.3M WC in Clearwater where I really want to end the season by going under 4hrs 30mins.