This race was my first true HIM and I was excited to race this after the success I had at the long course duathlon in May. I have completed the HIM distance twice before but both times it was at the tail end of Triple T where I had already completed two Olympic tris and one Sprint tri in the two days before. So, the Patriot Half was my first chance to see how I handled the distance starting on fresh legs.
The Swim
Being in the elite wave was really nice because I started in the first wave with only 12-15 other athletes. I got in the water early and got a nice warm-up. The water temperatures were perfect and I felt strong and comfortable. We all lined up for a waist deep water start with plenty of room between us, everybody laughing about this and that. It was a really low stress start, somewhat similar to the American Zofingen start where everybody is lamenting how long the day will be.
The horn sounded and we were off. I pushed hard for 100m and then settled into a comfortable rhythm. I tried hard to stick with a few obviously strong swimmers but they were very much on a different level than me. There was a good amount of wind too, so the lake was a bit choppy and forced me to breathe to only one side for the whole way out. Once I turned the corner at the first buoy I took a glance back and noticed I had a sizable gap on a pack behind me. Unfortunately, I was about the same distance behind the two guys in front of me. So, I was stuck in no-mans land - not fast enough to be in front, but fast enough to gap the main pack. I settled in comfortably and didn't worry too much about sighting as there was a nearly solid line of kayaks and lifeguards all the way to the swim exit.
My goal was to swim sub 30:00 and I just made it in 29:45, including a short run out of the water. Third out of the water in the elite wave and I ended up with the 7th fastest swim overall. Not a bad start to my first HIM!
Transition #1
My bike was racked with the other elites in the first row when coming in from the swim. While this made it easy to find my bike when disoriented from the water, it meant I had a long run out of T1 before getting to the mount line. I decided to wear socks because the liners in my bike shoes are falling out so I would probably end up with a blister if I didn't have some protection there. It may have cost me about 15-20sec, but I'm going to wear socks during Ironman so I better train like I race (or race like I'm going to race?).
The Bike
Onto the 2 loop bike where I had my first chance to ride the Zipp Super9 Disc that the Capital Bike Racing Club let me borrow for the race. Wow, is that thing fast! It's like cheating. My HR was high at the beginning of the bike and I stayed controlled in the first 5mi so that it would come down into my desired zone. It took a little longer for it to drop than I wanted it to, but after a nice long downhill stretch I was able to finally settle in and plan for the rest of the ride.
My nutrition plan was 3 GU and half a bottle of HEED per hour, plus water to wash down each GU. This equates to roughly 100g carbohydrate per hour, and includes enough electrolytes to keep me from cramping. I followed this plan closely and only fell short towards the end of the 2nd hour where I held off on the last GU until just before I got off the bike.
About 7mi into the ride I saw Ethan Brown on the side of the road with a flat and that I just moved into 2nd place due to his mishap (which I was sheepishly excited about because he is an astounding athlete). I was passed shortly after by another rider and then one more, moving me back to 4th place in my wave. The rest of the loop was uneventful as I just tried to hold my power and not bike too hard so that I wouldn't fall apart on the 2nd loop. I came through the first loop in 1:13:04 and was pleased with how everything was going. I was passed again on the second loop, this time by Adam Kosmicki, a Team Psycho athlete who resembles Andy Potts in stature and speed (except on the swim). I chatted with him for a second as he passed and then fell back into my zone and pushed on to the finish. With about 5mi left I took my last GU and finished my bottles of HEED and water so I would be well hydrated on what promised to be a hot sunny run. My second lap was 1:13:24 and included the 20sec to get back to the start line that I didn't record coming out of T1.
Overall a solid bike and perfectly paced. Total time was 2:26:30 for the 11th fastest bike split overall. Average power was 245W, average cadence 90rpm, average speed 23.0mph, average heart rate 160bpm (a little higher than expected).
Transition #2
Another long run through transition back to my bike rack. Grabbed my race belt, visor, put my shoes, and headed back out the long way through transition to start the run. I was thrilled because I was off the bike in less than 3 hours on the race clock, a goal I thought of during the bike and decided would be a nice achievement.
The Run
Before the race I heard the run was nearly all flat except for a few rollers but the hardest part was how exposed it was to the sun. The first few miles were relatively shaded neighborhood streets but after mile 4 it turned into treeless roads with no respite from the sun. Since this was a training race my goal was to not work too hard on the run so that I could recover quickly and return to full time training within a few days. My coach JP Severin told me before that the harder I ran the longer it would take to recover and the greater impact it would have on my overall training for Ironman. With this in the back of my mind I started off on the run conservatively and religiously monitored my heart rate.
I was passed about 4mi in by another racer who looked like a strong runner. I think that pushed me down to 5th place but I forced myself to not think about it as it would only make me want to run faster and be competitive. I settled into a comfortable 8min pace which kept my HR where I wanted it to be and allowed me to still feel like I was running instead of shuffling. At each aid station I would grab some coke and water, drink those while walking a few seconds, then start back running again. Unsurprisingly, the walks started to get a little bit longer because I started to care less and less about the race in general. I was tired, hot, hungry, and I just wanted to be in the shade with a cold beer. Unfortunately, I still had 4mi left to run. A few miles about 6 faster runners later, Ethan Brown finally caught me and blew by me like I was standing still. I found out it took 25min for him to get a new wheel and get back on his bike...and he still caught me again! Like I said, phenomenal athlete.
Anyway, with a mile to go I started to pick up the pace a little and at least pretend like I had been running strong the entire time. I crossed the line in 4:43:25, finishing with a run of 1:43:02, a 7:52/mi average, and 166bpm (still higher than I wanted). Not the most pleasant run but it was controlled and I knew I would be able to recover quickly from the race.
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| Finishing and pretending that I ran this strongly the entire time... |
In the end I placed 17th overall out of 559. There were several fast age groupers that started in the waves behind me that ran faster times, some of them even passed me on the run. But 17th overall was good enough for Top 3% overall, a feat I can be proud of for my first ever true HIM.
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