Ironman World Championships Race Report: Swim / Bike / Fun
Local Ironman Bren Winbrock competed in this years Reverse Tri III and smoked the competition. We knew he was a serious contender but didn’t fully realize he was an absolute weapon until he put the foot down on the run and didn’t look back. He placed FIRST and with it became one of our Official Noodle Bagz Athletes.
When we heard Bren qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona we booked flights to follow his progress throughout the week leading up to the race. Racing in the Men’s 25-29 amateur age group he placed 12th overall, finishing as the top American IN THE WORLD. He also set a new PR and beat his old Kona time by over an hour.
After a couple days off we asked Bren to give us a quick little race report on how Kona went and a few of his favorite things about the Big Island. FULL VLOG VIDEO HERE
Kona Race Report: Swim, Bike, Fun.
SWIM 2.4 MILES
Overall it is an 8-17 hour endurance marathon, you want to start conservatively, you want to race smart. To finish an Ironman you have to start like its an endurance race. Despite knowing this most races start with an all out sprint. You don’t want to buy into it. Kona Hawaii? I went ALL IN like someone yelled FIRE in a movie theater: Big Sprint. I had an over the top start and a mediocre middle and end.
Takeaway from the Swim - “Work on my Sprint Starts, cause… this is probably going to happen again.”
SWIM TIME 1:05:00
BIKE 112 MILES
It’s an aggressive 112 miles starting on the lava rocks and going to the tropical side of the island. This is great, now time to go all the way back… It’s pretty much just pedaling up the river from the Heart of Darkness. You start optimistic, it drags on for a while then you start repeating the phrase “the horror, the horror.” There’s almost always bit of head wind on the way back into Kona but it just gives you some time to enjoy the views. I kept a solid effort overall, not starting too fast so I had enough in the tank to deal with the winds on the way home.
Takeaway from the Bike - “Learn how to do that ‘super tuck’ thing the pros do, probably would have cut 20 minutes off my time.”
BIKE TIME 5:00:00
FUN 26.2 MILES
No one owns a twenty thousand dollar pair of running shoes. Except for maybe Kanye, but there’s no way he’d let any Cola or Gatorade Endurance spill on those. Running is not like the bike. You can’t buy a good run, you have to suffer for it. The marathon at the end of an Ironman is what separates the calf tattoos from the athletes. I really enjoy the Ironman Marathon.
Takeaway from the Run - “Look into a Yeezy sponsorship”
RUN TIME 3:03:00
HAWAII FAVORITES
Snorkeling - you don’t have to finish your swim in under an hour to enjoy the turtles and manta rays.
Da Fish House - It’s the best place for fresh poke. The scale is largely decorative so the portions are insane. Well worth a trip up north of Kona.
The ‘Pin Ups’ - I’m a fall leaves kind of guy and when Noodle Bagz dropped this fall swimsuit I knew I had to have them. Allowed me to even out the tan lines from the race within minutes of putting them on.