This race was prep for Ironman Lake Placid (shocker). Also, after all the training time I’ve logged this year I was interested to see what kind of improvements I have made from Eagleman last year. Since this wasn’t an “A” race we really didn’t taper going into it. Well, I took the previous Saturday off completely and then had a standard light race week to recover and be as fresh as possible for the race. I also worked with Scott and approached this race with a specific nutrition plan; both pre-race and during. Before the race my plan was to take in around 800 calories. This was in the form of a bagel, 2 bananas, an apple sauce cup, a Clif bar, and a bottle of EFS. I was supposed to take a gel about 30 minutes before the swim start but didn’t. I’ve never eaten this much before a race so it either was not going to sit well or it would actually do its job and I wouldn’t lose energy as fast as usual.
Swim/T1
As a means to build more confidence with swimming in crowds (something I’ve always avoided until now), I lined up towards the front of my wave and dead center. Strategically this isn’t ideal, but everything I’m doing is to prepare for Placid. My wave was pretty big since it was Men 34 and Under. My swimming has improved a lot this year so I found myself near or passing people the entire swim. I’ve never been a strong swimmer so it was a nice boost to catch people after the second turn as we headed into the swim finish. This year I’ve improved to a middle-of-the-pack swimmer and about where I was when I exited the water. I looked at my watch as I waited to get up the ladder to the dock and it read 38:15 which was right where I was hoping to be. There was a short run up the dock to get to T1 so my official swim time is a little longer. I entered T1 and got ready for the bike. Swim and T1 were 39.28 and 1:52. (23/42 and 1/42)
At the start of the bike I was more concerned with my nutrition plan than I was with how fast I was going. I did notice that my heart rate was in the 160s as I headed out. My race plan was to stay in low zone 3 for the ride, which for me is the low 150s. I took a few minutes to soft pedal and settle in so my heart rate would drop a little. In my previous Half Iron I bonked hard on the bike mostly due to lack of nutrition on the bike. I had a plan (300 calories per hour) and I was going to stick to it. I was going accomplish this by taking 2 Hammer gels and drink a bottle of EFS each hour. This worked well as I had no troubles taking in the calories or getting through the EFS. I took in additional water as I came through the aid stations. Volunteers were handing out full water bottles so as I rode through, I’d grab a bottle drink as much as I could in a few seconds and then toss the bottle. There was a 15-20 minute period on the back half of the ride that was annoying. I was stuck behind another rider who got me out of the sweet spot I had settled in too. If I tried to pass, I would use too much energy; if I continued to sit back I’d drop out of zone 3. I ultimately decided to use this time to my advantage. Since the course was pancake flat there weren't any breaks on descents and I was in aero the entire time. I used my time behind this guy to stretch my legs and come out of aero for a few minutes. Then I got tired of playing around so I passed him and settled in again. The second half of the bike was a few minutes slower than the first but this was to be expected with the slight headwind that we faced. I got off the bike and really felt good going into the run (for once). Bike and T2 were 2:37:54 and 1:46 (6/42 and 10/42).
Run
My run plan was to start off at a decent pace for the first half and then see what’s left in the tank and pick it up to the finish. It didn’t quite work out that way. My first half was exactly on plan (7:40-7:45s) but I could feel myself wearing down finally. I had decided I was going to carry a different type of gel with me on the run. At the second aid station I went to take my first swig of it and it tasted like the most disgusting cough syrup I’ve ever had. I immediately tossed the entire flask with the knowledge that there would be hammer gel on the course. My stomach was starting to become unsettled and I didn’t feel like anything but water. I hit the turn around and kept telling myself that the race was almost over. Finally at mile 8 I had to take something besides water. I spotted the hammer gels on the table and grabbed one along with an orange slice. I bit into that orange like it was the last one I was ever going to have. It helped but didn’t give me that boost I was hoping for. I was really starting to tire at this point and my breaks at each aid station seemed to get a little longer with each mile. At mile 9 I drank of couple of sips of flat coke and another orange slice. The second half of the run was about 4 minutes slower than the first half. Nutrition on the run really hurt me here. With some calories every other mile or so I might have been able to maintain pace for the entire run or post a negative split which was the plan all along. Overall I had a very acceptable run at 1:44:41 (3/42) and I’m not going to complain about the 3rd fastest run split in my age group.
Overall
What limited me from doing better? Without a doubt it is my swimming. While I’ve made big strides this year there is still room for lots of improvement. My biking and running has become competitive in my AG but my swimming remains around 5 minutes behind where it should be. This will definitely be the focus of my off season. Ok, now the good part. I couldn’t be happier with the way the race played out. The last Half Iron I did was 11 months ago and I finished in 6:16:32. I absolutely smashed my times in each discipline and finished this one in 5:05:40 which was good for 4th in AG and 45th overall. All of the training and coaching have really paid off and the results are showing it. Next up is a big test: American Triple-T!
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