Humbert Half Iron 2013

elvis jones

Ìt opens for entry next Friday March 1st. So who's doing it ?

I'm in anyway, its 5 weeks before my "A" goal for 2013 so nicely timed !!

More info here !

http://swinfordtrisports.com/contentPage/86785/half_iron

catweazle

I wont go on about this race too much as its like a broken record with me - I have stated often enough I reckon it is one of the best run races in the country from my experience in a class location

This will be my 4th year doing it all going well

I am hoping to hold on to as much of my A race form from Kilkee in the two weeks between them to give Amphibiankingwimp a good beating and to get well under 5.30 like I had hoped last year. Perhaps Couredelion as well if he joins you Elvis

elvis jones

catweazle wrote: »

I wont go on about this race too much as its like a broken record with me - I have stated often enough I reckon it is one of the best run races in the country from my experience in a class location

This will be my 4th year doing it all going well

I am hoping to hold on to as much of my A race form from Kilkee in the two weeks between them to give Amphibiankingwimp a good beating and to get well under 5.30 like I had hoped last year. Perhaps Couredelion as well if he joins you Elvis

How did i know you'd be 1st to post;)

I believe he is and only that June 29th is part of my run specific week i'd be down in Kilkee:(

woody1

il be there, cycling and running only, swim a bit too far for me this year.. so itl be a relay with the wife..must get a few spins up that hill i hear its a killer

sconhome

catweazle wrote: »

I wont go on about this race too much as its like a broken record with me - I have stated often enough I reckon it is one of the best run races in the country from my experience in a class location

This will be my 4th year doing it all going well

I am hoping to hold on to as much of my A race form from Kilkee in the two weeks between them to give Amphibiankingwimp a good beating and to get well under 5.30 like I had hoped last year. Perhaps Couredelion as well if he joins you Elvis

Unless your getting nearer to 5 you won't stand a chance....

*SMACK...DOWN!!

catweazle

catweazle wrote: »

I am hoping to hold on to as much of my A race form from Kilkee in the two weeks between them to give Amphibiankingwimp a good beating and to get well under 5.30

^^^See that big fat well up above^^^

Theres a best of a hill on this bike route Sean, I would worry about you getting that weight you are carrying over it in one piece. You should go for the Sprint the day before you would do well in that in your age grade

dario28

Im signing up - Never done a tri before , my celebration for completing the swim alive will prob be more than when I cross the finish line

hardCopy

I'll be there looking to go under 5:45 after a disastrous 6:22 last year.

Looking forward to another massive lasagne afterwards.

woody1

f*ck ..just saw its 150 to enter a team..
wont be doing it so.. might be around for a look though

catweazle

woody1 wrote: »

f*ck ..just saw its 150 to enter a team..
wont be doing it so.. might be around for a look though

Pop them an email to the organisers and mark your interest - plenty of interest in only doing one or two sections, they do a lot of chopping and changing coming up to the date so it might cost you less

woody1

catweazle wrote: »

Pop them an email to the organisers and mark your interest - plenty of interest in only doing one or two sections, they do a lot of chopping and changing coming up to the date so it might cost you less

yeah i could probably find a couple of others to do it and divide it by 3, but the idea was to get better half to swim as shes a good swimmer but just needs the motivation to get into pool and train, and then id do bike and run for the challenge for meself.. as it is its 150 out of 1 pocket effectively, i could definitely find a runner, but it less appealing to me then... sure il think about it...i doubt the relay spots will fill up too fast anyway

dario28

woody1 wrote: »

yeah i could probably find a couple of others to do it and divide it by 3, but the idea was to get better half to swim as shes a good swimmer but just needs the motivation to get into pool and train, and then id do bike and run for the challenge for meself.. as it is its 150 out of 1 pocket effectively, i could definitely find a runner, but it less appealing to me then... sure il think about it...i doubt the relay spots will fill up too fast anyway

Can you not swim at all ?

woody1

depends on your definition of swim, i can do a width handy enough, im hoping to graduate to a length shortly .. swimming 1900m in a lake ( which im presuming is a bit more than 6ft deep ) would be a long long way beyond me..
the target for this year is to swim down the moy in july..and im happy enough that thats possible, with a lot of work, 1/2 iron swim would be a bit too far

dario28

woody1 wrote: »

depends on your definition of swim, i can do a width handy enough, im hoping to graduate to a length shortly .. swimming 1900m in a lake ( which im presuming is a bit more than 6ft deep ) would be a long long way beyond me..
the target for this year is to swim down the moy in july..and im happy enough that thats possible, with a lot of work, 1/2 iron swim would be a bit too far

Fair enough , I'll be taking plenty of breaks anyway and taking around 1hour or so ,so if ya think ya can do it slowly with a bit of breast stoke , doggy paddle and on your back then go for it !

regarding the depth Ive been told its nearly impossilbe to sink in a wetsuit !

woody1

if there is single entry available closer to the actual race and the swimming had improved enough i wouldnt rule it out.. but when i cant swim a length at the moment then its a bit premature to enter now..

elvis jones

woody1 wrote: »

depends on your definition of swim, i can do a width handy enough, im hoping to graduate to a length shortly .. swimming 1900m in a lake ( which im presuming is a bit more than 6ft deep ) would be a long long way beyond me..
the target for this year is to swim down the moy in july..and im happy enough that thats possible, with a lot of work, 1/2 iron swim would be a bit too far

Listen 2 years ago i couldn't swim 25m swim and my standard session is now 2k, i'm still not 100% happy in deep water but it can be done !

elvis jones

woody1 wrote: »

if there is single entry available closer to the actual race and the swimming had improved enough i wouldnt rule it out.. but when i cant swim a length at the moment then its a bit premature to enter now..

Why not put it out there that you'd like to put a team togerher from here to do the event, no doubt you'll get 2 others interested !

woody1

elvis jones wrote: »

Why not put it out there that you'd like to put a team togerher from here to do the event, no doubt you'll get 2 others interested !

see earlier post re getting better half to do the swim etc.. i just didnt appreciate that it would be 150 quid to enter, thats not a complaint about price just that i didnt figure on it being that much.....

Listen 2 years ago i couldn't swim 25m swim and my standard session is now 2k, i'm still not 100% happy in deep water but it can be done !

not saying it cant be done, up to 2 years ago i had a pathological fear of water..you couldnt pay me to get in a pool, so the fact that i can now almost do a length is huge,.just itd be wiser to wait until closer to the event to decide,might be better to try to complete a sprint race first !!

elvis jones

Less than 2 weeks left and there seems to be a lot of Boardies heading down ! Really looking forward to it !

hardCopy

I've had a premature taper, no real running since the 16th of June and missed my long bike yesterday due to a mechanical. This week should be fun.

woody1

going to be over there to watch it..the plan is to do it next year , bridge too far this year..

mirrormatrix

This is going to be my first half ironman and i'm not exactly sure what to expect. Did a few olympics last year but not really sure what else I have to think about for the HIM in terms of nutrition/setup etc. I would greatly appreciate any advice from the boardsies (especially those of you who have done this race before). I'm hoping to get under 6 hours and my current (very rough) plan for the race is as follows:


Swim:
Stick to the back of the pack for the start. Ease into the swim. If i'm feeling good after 15 min up the pace a bit. I plan to sight often to keep the swim distance down. Hopefully exit the water after 45 min.

T1:
This is where I start to get a bit vague. Do people use socks for longer races to stop blistering? What about a cycling jersey? Would you bother with one? I won't be clipping the shoes in so will be running through T1 in bike shoes. Finally, where do people store their nutrition? Cycling jersey, top tube bag? Saddle will be shunted far forward to get position on the clip on aero bars so a saddle bag isn't an option for me.

Bike leg:
Plan is to get some solid food like a banana and some water into me early on. Then i'll take a gel every 40 min or so with just water/salt tabs in the water bottles. What's the deal with getting extra water on the bike? Are there generally aid stations? Currently limited to carrying 1.5 litres which I imagine won't sustain me for a 3 hour bike ride. Also do people actually pee on the bike or do you just try to hold it all in and hope your bladder doesn't burst?? Hopefully if I survive all this I should be into T2 in under 4 hours.

T2:
I reckon for comfort again the speed laces probably aren't the best idea for the long run but I don't really know. Never done more than 10k with them. This should hopefully be pretty straight forward. Gel every 40 min, water from the aid stations. Again I plan to start slow for the first 5 km or so and then gradually increase the pace. Settle into a rhythm then and wait till the last 5km to push for the line.

I would really appreciate any feedback on this plan: anything you have learnt from your experiences. Right now I know i'm not clear enough in my head about what to expect during this race and i'm probably likely to panic if something happens that I haven't planned for/thought of! Cheers, and sorry for such a long post.

catweazle

Best of luck to you Mirror!

Swim
The swim should be easy to sight on, they have the large oversized buoys and with it being a sheltered lake the water will be still, its out and around an island and back again

T1
Yes I always used socks for 1/2 ironman distance. Whether I would wear something over the tri suit would be down to the weather on the day. I used a gilet last year but previous years just the suit was fine. Be careful if running around transition area in the cycling shoes if its wet as the area is grass. I store a few gels in the back of the tri suit but I used a bento box (top tube bag) for some more solid food like Nutrigrain bars which I can usually stomach at the start of the cycle.

Bike
Dont go too hard on the bike - you will destroy your run and eat loads. I am away on holidays this year so not sure but in previous years you get two water stops. They were handed to you as full water bottles so I tended to just throw the ones i had finished into the bin provided in that area. There is only one real tough hill on this course (the windy gap) which you hit around the 25k mark, there is a long drag just before this, be careful and leave some energy in the tank for the main hill. Go down to as easy a gear as you have as if you drop your chain going up it you wont be able to get back on. There is three slight eases in the gradient on this hill so make sure and get your breath back in these areas. Its not long about 3k in total with the worst part being around a k in length. Keep an eye on the road as the distance markers are on it, be careful if its windy after you go up that hill as the next section is crazy fast

Run
I wore speed laces last year and it didn't bother me but plenty of people use the proper shoes for this type of distance. The aid stations are good, plenty of orange peel and isotonic drinks and coke is served at the last few. I find the coke a huge help towards the end. The profile doesnt look bad but its a tough run, there is one big hill 1k from the start and the rest is rolling

Hope you enjoy it, it ruined my year having to miss it, looks like they are going to have record numbers this year as well so I am delighted for them as they run a great race

hardCopy

The best thing about the aid stations was the wet sponges, I've never had that elsewhere and it was a real help in the sun last year. The hyper kids ferrying drinks out from the aid stations were great fun too.

mirrormatrix

Nice one, thanks catweazle. It's actually because of all the good recommendations about the race on this website that i signed up in the first place!

I figured there'd be aid stations on the bike but wasn't sure. It's probably a good idea to get some cheapy water bottles then instead of the camelbak ones I have which I think were over a tenner each.

Hadn't banked on the transition area being grass. Knowing my luck my cleats will probably get covered in mud and I won't be able to clip in. Although that is preferable by miles to trying a flying mount which is only ever going to end badly for me

elvis jones

Any idea of what time registration will be open at on the Saturday ?

mirrormatrix

Haven't heard anything yet myself. Has anyone got those race info packs yet that they were supposed to be sending out?

Fazz

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Haven't heard anything yet myself. Has anyone got those race info packs yet that they were supposed to be sending out?

Not yet but still early days.

Rawhead

Did the bike loop this morning. If the "windy gap" isn't the most appropriately named place in Ireland I don't know what is. Road surface is in great condition for 90% of the route. Weather supposed to be cracking next week so hopefully it follows into the weekend. I really don't think you would have made it down the climb today with discs or deep wheels, the wind was crazy. Registration usually opens around 4pm or 5pm on the Saturday as far I remember.

elvis jones

Can i just be the 1st to say.............fcuk racing in this heat !

wideball

I'm looking forward to the weather to be honest. Beats wind and rain anyday.

mirrormatrix

Was thinking that myself Saw that they aren't giving out water bottles on the bike leg this year so looks like i'm gonna have to pull over and fill bottles from the aid stations. Can't see 2 water bottles lasting the distance!

It's meant to be a little cooler on Sunday though, isn't it?

elvis jones

wideball wrote: »

I'm looking forward to the weather to be honest. Beats wind and rain anyday.

Who said it won't be windy ?

wideball

elvis jones wrote: »

Who said it won't be windy ?

Forecast is 11kph south easterly winds which I'd take in terms of direction and strength. Not exactly HOTW winds.. so all good to me
http://www.met.ie (Sunday - winds)

elvis jones

wideball wrote: »

Forecast is 11kph south easterly winds which I'd take in terms of direction and strength. Not exactly HOTW winds.. so all good to me
http://www.met.ie (Sunday - winds)

Yes and the met always get it right:D;)

elvis jones

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Was thinking that myself Saw that they aren't giving out water bottles on the bike leg this year so looks like i'm gonna have to pull over and fill bottles from the aid stations. Can't see 2 water bottles lasting the distance!

It's meant to be a little cooler on Sunday though, isn't it?

Agreed and it will slow down the times slightly

hardCopy

elvis jones wrote: »

Agreed and it will slow down the times slightly

I can see that getting messy. One third of people will crawl past the aid station and pull in, another third will jam on the breaks and fill their bottles on the spot, the remaining third will smash into the back of them.

elvis jones

hardCopy wrote: »

I can see that getting messy. One third of people will crawl past the aid station and pull in, another third will jam on the breaks and fill their bottles on the spot, the remaining third will smash into the back of them.

And will get done for drafting:D

I agree i'll be getting cups to fill my water bottle.

rodneyr1981

Run should be fun too at time of day with this heat!!
What's the run course like? Hilly, sheltered?

elvis jones

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Run should be fun too at time of day with this heat!!
What's the run course like? Hilly, sheltered?

I did 16k at 2pm yesterday and it was fine once i kept getting fluids into me.......but my fluids were cold:(

hardCopy

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Run should be fun too at time of day with this heat!!
What's the run course like? Hilly, sheltered?

From memory, the second KM is a killer but it's just rolling up and down after that, like any part of Mayo. Most of it is sheltered (I think there was some shade from trees) but the section that runs along the N5 is exposed and was very windy last year, I think most will be glad if there's a breeze there this year.

Here's my Garmin activity from last year: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/203421580

Please don't laugh at my pacing.

elvis jones

hardCopy wrote: »

From memory, the second KM is a killer but it's just rolling up and down after that, like any part of Mayo. Most of it is sheltered (I think there was some shade from trees) but the section that runs along the N5 is exposed and was very windy last year, I think most will be glad if there's a breeze there this year.

Here's my Garmin activity from last year: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/203421580

Please don't laugh at my pacing.

Nothing wrong with that pacing its about what i'm planning on Sunday !

mayo.mick

Was done there all day helping set up transition. Its all bone dry, weather looking like being slightly cooler for Sunday. Will be back down later with the camera. I'll be Marshaling at the turn off the N5, make sure to smile for the camera!

mayo.mick

Making sure everything is right!!

[IMG][/img]

elvis jones

I'm loving the 70's vibe with the carpet !

Rawhead

They will be giving out bottles, just regular drinks bottles not actual bike bottles.

catweazle

Well done to Fazz - a convincing win

http://www.swinfordtrisports.com/contentPage/86791/results

Kurt Godel

catweazle wrote: »

Well done to Fazz - a convincing win

http://www.swinfordtrisports.com/contentPage/86791/results

1:34 per 100m average on the swim (1900m), best of the day, thats awesome going! Hats off!

Fazz

Cheers, great race I must say.
Lived up to its popular reputation and a lovely honest course.

Swim was 2.1km in clear calm lake around an island. Beauty got draft first half then took over so worked out well for me.

Bike was 87.6km, down about 5 or so watts than planned but did a threshold climb of 320w for 5 mins so burnt a match there but just paced the rest. Took lead around 20km and lonely from there.

Run was 21.5km and lumpy out. Had stomach cramps for first 4km but alright after aid station.
Had a 10 or so min lead out of t2 and found it hard to push on.

Run legs not quite there and dont think it was from bike as only pushed that climb near first third.

Happy to take a maiden win and bike course record updated .
Also nailed my swim which I was happy to show progress at. The distances I clocked match several others.

Weather helped but aid stations galore (every 4km on run), well supported, lot of marshals, lots of volunteers, nice course, lake was warm!
Fine feed at end (curry, rice, lasagne, pasta, salad).

swim was a beauty, wont find better and doubt any weather risk.
bike 95% v good roads, nice 5km climb and rolling before flattening a bit.
Run starts with a climb, then rolling. Kinda felt like always rising but could have been my legs.
Well organised, prize money also and free entry next year.

Humbert gets my vote for National Champs 2014.

Very enjoyable race and course with top organisation to boot.

mayo.mick

Glad to have helped out. Uploading all the photos that I took today (200!)

elvis jones

Fazz wrote: »

Cheers, great race I must say.
Lived up to its popular reputation and a lovely honest course.

Swim was 2.1km in clear calm lake around an island. Beauty got draft first half then took over so worked out well for me.

Bike was 87.6km, down about 5 or so watts than planned but did a threshold climb of 320w for 5 mins so burnt a match there but just paced the rest. Took lead around 20km and lonely from there.

Run was 21.5km and lumpy out. Had stomach cramps for first 4km but alright after aid station.
Had a 10 or so min lead out of t2 and found it hard to push on.

Run legs not quite there and dont think it was from bike as only pushed that climb near first third.

Happy to take a maiden win and bike course record updated .
Also nailed my swim which I was happy to show progress at. The distances I clocked match several others.

Weather helped but aid stations galore (every 4km on run), well supported, lot of marshals, lots of volunteers, nice course, lake was warm!
Fine feed at end (curry, rice, lasagne, pasta, salad).

swim was a beauty, wont find better and doubt any weather risk.
bike 95% v good roads, nice 5km climb and rolling before flattening a bit.
Run starts with a climb, then rolling. Kinda felt like always rising but could have been my legs.
Well organised, prize money also and free entry next year.

Humbert gets my vote for National Champs 2014.

Very enjoyable race and course with top organisation to boot.

Can't agree with that, i want to get a place:D

Great win in tough conditions, well done.

I agree that the run course always seemed to be climbing.

A fantastic race, very well organised, great marshalls, the aid stations on the run were fantastic !

Well done to all at Swinford Tri Club i honestly can't fault the event in any way at all.