No race goals yet other than qualifying for 2013 70.3 World Championship with a solid performance at Timberman.  Non-racing goal is to improve my swimming.  The swim is killing my overall performance in triathlon. For example, I was 66th in the M35-39 division this year at the USAT Age Group Nationals, but if you remove the swim split, I crested the top 20.

Not changing equipment this year. This will make my wife happy, because I spent a fortune last year:)  Just a switch to a 910xt whenever released by Garmin.  My Forerunner 305 has seen better days.

Happy Training

Race day!

I wake up at 3, had my 2 cups of apple sauce, a banana, protein drink and a powerbar peform drink. I looked at the time, and crawled back into bed. My second alarm was set for 4:20, that went off, took a quick shower put my one piece on, got dressed and off I went. Pat knocked on the door and off we went.  Heather was kind enough to drop us off. We got as close as we could get,  got out and had to walk the rest of the way. Well, we follow these people down a trail, and then Pat said “Why didn’t we just stay on the road” Well, we should have all listend to Pat instead of being a follower as eventually we all ended back on the road.  I get to T1, put my infinit in my bottles, place my shoes on,  clip my helmet to my bike and placed my sunglases and powerbar drink and powerbar in the  t2 bag.  Finished placing my stuff in my bag for the drop off and then had to go to the bathroom.  It amazes me a race of 1600 people and only have 20 port o potty’s.  Who was the genious who came up with that number. Well, sad to say I was in line for almost 25 mins to go. Looking at my watch, I knew it was getting close.  I finished, went back grabbed my goggles and swim cap. Placed my bag on the ground for the truck and headed to the swim start.

The Swim!

Now still nervous about the swim, I get in, water is warm and come to find out that the water has cooled and now wetsuits are legal, but need to start at the back of the pack. I was seriously considering this option, but I don’t think the extra 45 mins would have made a difference.   Now, this 70.3, I actually had a game plan going in. Over the off season, I began getting coached by Qt2, and had a race execution plan done for me.   Now with not wearing the wetsuit, my goal was to just arrive to the other side alive and not used to much energy. I touched ground looked up and seen the time. I was in the 59th minute, I wanted to break the 1 hour mark so I sprinted to the timing mat. Well, I was successful with this, I actually shocked myself that I finished this great accomplishment.  I took my time in T1, drank my drink, had some powerbar and grabbed my bike and was off.

The Bike!

Now my plan for my bike, I had to keep an average wattage of 272, not exceeding 320 on any of the hills. I begin, the first 7 miles, some rolling hills, nothing I couldn’t manage, I pass the hotel and see Heather, Bonnie, on one side, and the other I seen Julie.  About a 1.5 miles after that, I got a flat so I had to change that. Now, changing tires on these rims absolutely suck. The tires are so tight it took some time putting it back on the rim.  I get back on the bike bike about 5 miles, and then noticed my left aero bar began to fall. I had to stop again, get out my  multitool, find the 3mm, wrench to tighten it up. There is something about this distance that the Tri gods have given me bad luck each time, I’ve done it I’ve gotten a flat(s).   So, I did my best to follow the plan. Now as I aforementioned that this course was hilly. At certain points on the course I tried to keep the wattage as close to 320 as possible.  However to do this, I had to slow my cadence down and my speed. At one point, I was doing 3mph.  Well, I finished the 56 miles in 3:07 mins, much much much slower than I expected but my legs felt great.

The Run!

By now, the heat was beating down on me and I began to feel my core temp rise.  I ran the first mile, part of the second great. Then I hit this hill that just felt like it never stopped.  My race plan wanted me to go out at 8:32, but I was no were close. I think my first mile was 9:10.  At every aid station I grabbed a power bar perfom 80z and grabbed a cold sponge to stuff in my One Piece.  I was beginning to look like Chris Maccormick. I ran the whole thing besides the 5-10 seconds at the aid stations.  The heat was tough but it was almost an hour slower than my 1/2 time in Hyannis. This will come in time, so I’m being patient.

The Finish!

Well, at the end of the run my support staff was there in full force cheering me on. Almost all of the BayStaters in there Blue, Red and while were all there cheering me on. That’s one thing I truly love about this team is the support we all have for each other.  I might not care for any of them except on race days but come race days’s they are all family to me. The best part of being on a team, is when we see each other on the course always being that support staff cheeing each other on. This day, it was on the run course where every time I looked I seen one of them and hearing their words of encouragement really made this run doable for me.  I know I’m not built for this sport by any means, I’m short, I’m stocky, I have tree trunks for legs, but I truly do give it my all.

After I finished, I drank some water. I first seen Heather who had my recovery drinks, already mixed for me. I went over to say hello to everybody. After spending some time there, the Sun was really hot, so I needed to get out of it. I went over to the park where I just laid down. I am now glad that the day was over,  I was glad about my PR but I know I can do better. Pumpkinman is my next Half, and I will do better! I KNOW I WILL.

Scott

It started with the drive from the Boston area to to my mom’s house as she kindly watched our son for the weekend.  After dropping of our son, my wife and I headed back out for the 30 minute ride to Providence Rhode Island.  The drive was uneventful, but my brain was going a mile a minute anticipating I forgot something.  We arrived at the Westin Hotel around 11am.  This hotel was a great choice as it was connected to the Convention Center(where check in was located) and connected to Providence Place Mall, both of which where right near T2 and the finish line.  After lugging our stuff to the hotel room, I got a pleasant surprise when looking out the window….it overlooked T2 and the finish shoot to the State House!  Score!  My wife could see I was itching to check-in and see all the festivities at the Convention Center, so off we went.  Check-in was easy, even with all the waiver forms.  I picked my T1 bike drop off slot(T1 and T2 in different locations and had mandatory Saturday drops) and decided to hit the next Athlete Briefing.  While waiting, I see Patrik and Scott show up.

It was about this time that the “big news” started to circulate around.  The water temperature was 84 degrees in the swim venue!  No wetsuits allowed.  This wasn’t official yet, but the race director basically said you have a better chance of winning the lottery than using a wetsuit tomorrow.  OK, not a big deal, I can do this.  It will be slower, but no worries. Oh, and this comes one day after the lake reopens due to high bacteria counts:)

After the Athlete Briefing I set out to T1, which was about 7 miles away in Lincoln RI, to rack my bike.  Pretty simple, but annoying.  I walked over to the water and sure enough, it felt like bath water.  Back to the hotel.

Last stop before relaxing to a nice dinner was the mandatory bag drop at T2.  This was simple too, just put my sneaks, visor, and sunglasses in the designated bag and drop it of in my rack spot.  Felt weird, but easy.  After a little scoping out of bike-in and run-out I made sure I new my rack location and side assigned.  No need to waste time searching tomorrow. Now off to dinner and hit the hay early!  I was actually a bit pumped and had a hard time falling asleep.  Checked my alarm five times to make sure it was set for 3:30am:)

Race Day!  I started my fueling plan slowly while putting on my race suit and heart rate strap.  Slipped on some additional cloths as it was cold out.  Had time to kill before the bus to T1 so I laid down and almost fell back to sleep.

Shuttle to T1 was easy, but didn’t leave as much time to prepare my bike as I hoped.  In my morning fog, I zip-tied my aero bottle on backwards.  With no zip-ties to fix the problem, I used some electrical tape I had for securing my gels to the cross bar.  This seemed to hold securely, so no harm right?  More on this later.  At this point, the race director came on and said the water temp had cooled some, but still over the legal limit for wetsuits allowance.  They did however create an additional wave to accommodate those who really wanted to use one, but warned they would not be eligible for placement or awards.  Everything else went fine in T2.  One last visit to the porta-john and I was ready to go.

Met my wife on the beach while setting out for a w/u swim.  Surprisingly I felt calm.

Race started at 6:00am, with my wave set for 6:30.  The time went by fast and soon enough we were lined up on the beach waiting for the horn.  I stood front and center, with the goal of sprinting fast into the water, then going hard for the first couple minutes.  My plan worked well, I did not have to deal with the masses very much.  Sure, most of the competitors swam past me, but I never had to change mt stroke in order to “fit it”.  This was a positive start for me.  I quickly found some feet to draft, but lost them just as fast.  The entire swim I was on a quest to find feet to draft.  One pair was good for 100m or so, but he was not sighting well and we found ourselves off course.  I decided to head back toward the pack and grunted out some meters solo.  The halfway mark was approaching and I was being passed by the swimmers in the wave behind me.  Not to worry, let’s try to draft them.  Well, I found my self working hard just to stay close.  The good thing was they sighted well, the bad thing is I could not maintain the draft.  I kept searching for feet.  In the end, I wasn’t to successful with drafting.  Hopefully this will come with time, because I’m a relatively poor swimmer and need every advantage I can get.  Later on, I found out my swim time was 47:06, much slower than the 38:00 I was hoping for.  Still, I have many positive things to take way from the swim.

T1 was smooth(1:55).  The bike felt good as I spun out of Lincoln State Park.  It wasn’t long before the shabby RI roads tested that electrical tape I used to secure my aero bottle….  It popped out and almost dropped, but I caught it.  From there on, I would have to monitor the bottle and adjust when needed.  Not to mention hold it securely during the numerous rough sections.  It was more of an annoyance than anything else.  I settled into my desired wattage, and by mile 3 my HR was slightly lower than I anticipated averaging so all was well.  I maintained even power output while covering the rolling terrain.  This is when I had my first surprise.  A young fit female passed me up a hill, then I passed her going down, then she passed me up the next hill, then I passed her, etc.  She pulls up to me on the next hill and says why are you slowing down when you pass me.  I just smiled.  We would pass each other a few more times, then she pulls up to me again and says, so where are you from, I say around here, and she says well c’mon you have hills to train on and I don’t so let’s go!  Now I’m getting a little pissed at her because I’m the one holding a nice even efforts.  She was getting out of the saddle on every mild incline.  Well, before long she faded and was never seen again.  With the second annoyance out of my hair I settled into a groove.  Average power was 195w with my HR right on target.  The wattage was materially lower than I anticipated, but HR rules so steady as she goes.  All was going well until I heard a clunk and looked down to see my garmin watch bouncing on the ground.  I only use it for the run and didn’t want to stress over it “locating Satellites” while I started the run, so I decided to take it along for the ride.  Should have just strapped it on my arm, which is what I ended up doing after I circled back to pick it up.  Not much time lost, but lesson learned.  back to pedaling.  I planned to use the 2nd aid station to swap out a bottle.  They said it was at mile 28, but it wasn’t.  It was earlier and I scrambled to make the swap.  Shortly thereafter I tried to fill up the aero bottle with the course given sport bottle.  This was a mess.  The cap was big and I ended up jamming it in to far and getting the sport bottle stuck.  I had to slow down for a bit and work it loose.  Ended up just unscrewing the top and pouring it in the old fashion way.  No real harm done.  Back to steady pedaling.  Miles ticked off fast.  I was locked into my target HR, but power was a bit lower now as I covered the second half of the course, which was more downhill than up.  Around this time my inner quad muscles started to cramp bad.  I never felt it quite like this.  It hurt a lot to get out of the saddle.  Still not sure what caused it, but I just tried to blocked it out and pushed on.  Around mile 39, another surprise hit me with the sound of clicking at every tire rotation.  It sounded like it was coming from up front, but I didn’t see anything in the wheel.  I decided to pull over and noticed something sticking out of my wheel.  After a closer look, I realized I just picked up a piece of electrical tape(black, not the red stuff I was using).  Peeled it off and got underway again.  Two competitors actually slowed down to ask me if I was ok.  Nice gesture, as I would later pass them and see one was in my AG.  Again, no harm done and it was back to steady pedaling.  It was about here when I really had to pee….  I was in a back road stretch with no one close to me so I just let it go.  Easily the weirdest thing I’ve ever done on the bike, but I felt so much better after.  The final stretch of the bike course was horrendous.  Looked like a combat zone and included 3 sets of railroad tracks to cross.  It was so bad that they had a half mile “do not pass” zone where you had to swerve non-stop to avoid major damage.  I was aware of this so I made a charge to pass anyone close to me as I entered the zone.    Rounded out the ride in 2:40:22.  Close to my goal time of 2:38!  Average power was about 187w and aHR 153.  Average speed was just under 21mph.

Dismount was smooth and into T2 I go.  Was out in 1:10.  As I started to run, the quads were definitely front and center.  It hurt bad.  My pace was solid, though.  And my mind shifted from quad pain to making sure I got my nutrition in and hydrated.  The run course was two loops and covered a mile+ hill near Brown University.  This hill was tough the second time around and really hit me.   I ran well though, with my aHR right on target.  Average pace was close to 7:00 per mile through the first loop.  Then I slowed a bit after facing the hill for a second time.  I also missed a gel(s) somehow….  Only took two when the plan was for 3-4.  This could have easily been the difference over the last few miles.  Ended up with a 1:35:21, about 4 minutes slower than I anticipated.  Average pace was 7:16.  Average HR was 157(although it did rise when running uphill).

Overall I finished in 5:05:54, which was good for 179th place OA and 30th in my AG.  I really loved this distance.  The race felt like a battle between the course and I.  Rarely did I think about other competitors. I look forward to more 70.3 distance races and building on what I learned here.

Cheers

David

Anyhow, after lunch I did an easy 1 hour spin, which included the bike course.  Realized the course was much easier than I had remembered from last year, so that was good.  Now back to the family for a nice relaxing evening.

Race Day: Got up at 6am after a decent nights sleep.  Had the family and gear ready to roll by 6:30.  Dropped of the Family and drove to the parking area which was about 1.5 miles from transition.  With my gear bag on my shoulders, I biked to transition while chatting with other racers along the way.

Everything went smooth as I set up my transition area.  One final check on the gear.  Then to the water for a warm up swim.  The water was chilly, but not bad in a wetsuit.  After that I listened to the race director speak and then got in line for the male 39 and under group in wave 3.  Twenty minutes later, we were off!

The Swim(1/4 mile): Not my strongest leg, but I tried to be more aggressive per the instructions from my coach.  I lined up basically front and center.  It was a beach start, so you have to sprint a short distance to the water, then run a decent amount in the water to be able to swim.  I didn’t do the best job running/jumping over the small rolling waves.  Others were going by me at this point.  By the time I got in, I was packed in tight.  Swam hard, but constantly bumping in to others.  It cleared up a little after the first buoy.  Managed to get on someones hips for a short period of time until I ran into another athlete.  Had to stop at least three times during the swim in order to get around someone.  On a good note, I felt confident the entire time and had very little fatigue.  Finished strong in a time of 9:13, which was 2-3 minutes slower than the fast swimmers.

The Bike(12 miles): Settled in nicely after a little fumble getting my feet in the shoes while on the bike.  Targeted a specific heart rate range for various points during the bike leg.  Power was great.  Felt very strong and comfortable on the bike.  Finished in a time of 30:01.

The Run(3.2 miles, but actually 3.3): Came out of T2 feeling good.  Locked into a pace slightly above 6m/m.  Again, heart rate was the primary target.  The hill at mile 2 hurt.  Coach wanted me to raise the heart rate at about the two mile mark, but I couldn’t.  Basically stayed at a constant effort the entire time.   Enjoyed picking of people on the run.  Ended with a nice sprint finish for a time of 20:27.

At the end of the day, I completed the course in 1:01:48, which was good for 25th overall in a field of 773.  Results can be found here.  Ended up with 3rd in my age group, which is great.  I have many take-aways from this race, least of which is that I need to improve my swim.  The top two in my age group crushed me in the water.

Check out my podium photo(I’m the ugly guy over the number 3).  My son wore the medal with pride the entire afternoon:)

Cheers

David

Training for this distance began on Jan 1st of this year.  After months of base building and some Vo2 max work, I feel confident that my training has prepared me well.  Improvements have been made in all three triathlon disciplines.

Swimming is my weak link, but I’ve put in the pool time three days a week with a masters program at Healthpoint.  Progress is being made.  Recently, I completed a 1-mile swim race in the Charles River put on by the Charles River Swimming Club.  While I did not set any records, I did gain confidence swimming that distance in open water.  I’ve got another 1-mile swim race on tap soon in Mashpee called Cape Cod Super Swim.

Cycling has been my focus this year.  Specifically, cycling power on a TT bike in the aero position.  Again, progress has been made and I’m happy where I stand right now.  I’ve built up my long bike rides to three hours, which should promote enough endurance to race the half iron distance.  My wattage output has been decent as measured by a SRM power meter.  Over the past month, my long bike rides have averaged 210-225 watts.  Not horrible for a 152lb chap.  Still have a long way to go here, but taking it one season at a time.  I’ve recently rode the 70.3 Rhode Island course with Patrik.  We completed the training ride in 2:43, which included slowing down for lights, blind corners, and the very busy few miles heading into Providence.  Based on that effort, I’m targeting a time of 2:38 for the bike leg come race day.  To those also racing, I offer some bike course feedback.  The elevation changes are constant, with most of the descents not offering much recovery(see below).  Around mile marker 29, you will have the option to continue hammering or take the best recovery opportunity while covering a multiple mile descent.  The other comment I have is the road conditions are less than ideal.  Many massive potholes that will flat people for sure.  The worse section of the course is over the last few miles and includes a couple sets of railroad tracks.  Enjoy:)

As for running, all is well.  This discipline is my strongest.  Perhaps its based on my body style….perhaps my love for running.  Either way, I’ve made solid improvements over last year.  Long runs have been worked up to 90 minutes with a pace of 6:38-6:42 with a moderate HR.  I’ve only scratched the surface of speed work so far this season, but was still able to get a PR of 17:47(and 3rd overall) at the 9th Annual Christopher’s 5k on May 30th.

Last but not least is nutrition.  I’ve been working with QT2′s Core Diet program and Race Fueling Plan.  My plan is well defined at this point. Clearly, the actual race will test this plan, but this is the best I can do right now.  I’ve practice proper fueling and recovery with every training session.  I hope my body has become accustomed to this form of nutrition come race day.  My nutrition of choice is Powerbar Perform and Powerbar gels.

With all this preparation, my goal times by split are:

• Swim 37:00
• T1 2:00
• Bike 2:38
• T2 2:00
• Run 1:30

That would be good for a 4:49 overall.  Again, I’ve never raced this distance before and will probably get a rude awakening.  But hey, BRING IT ON!!

Cheers,

David

I have some unfinished business at Oceanside… like trimming 2-3 mins off my swim, 5-10 off my bike and 10-15 off my run. That’s right… we’re going 17-28 minutes faster next year folks. Hold on for the ride.

But I’m in a funk. Training has become a bit of a chore. I enjoy racing, and maybe because I’m not involved in that right now, it makes the disconnect feel even wider. I feel I have so much to do, that fitting a workout in or subsequently missing it is adding a layer of stress. With so much focus on improving and results (self imposed) I’ve lost the enjoyment of just going for a run. Or just going for a ride. When I do get the workout in, I feel great, but often, I’m not even motivated to get out there. Partially because workouts are hard.

Like now. I’ve mostly finished up my work for the day, so I should get up and go. But I’m not feeling it. I’m already not feeling my 3 hr ride planned for tomorrow.

Things need to change. Maybe I need a break – but I fear I won’t come back. Or, I will lose so much of what I’ve worked for that I will be further stressed and frustrated.

I guess I’ll go run.

UPDATE (5/14/11): I ran about an hour. Without a plan. Some fast miles (6:25) Some slow miles (8:09). And various speeds in between. I think I figured some things out.

On Friday, we had Costco pizza for dinner. I think I ate too much, and didn’t have the necessary bathroom break on race day. I woke up Saturday morning at 4:30am. We are staying in Dana Point, which is about 30 miles northwest of Oceanside. The plan was to leave by 5:10am. Transition opened at 4:45am and would close at 6:30am. Scott and my dad went with me in the morning, my wife, mom and kids were going to come down a little later. We arrived at the parking area around 5:45am, and I unloaded my bike, topped off the air in my tires (110psi), poured my Infinit drink mix into my Aerobottle and rode the 1.25 miles to the transition area. Getting to transition was fairly easy, but getting into transition was a zoo. There were people moving in every direction, bikes going every which way. It was a little unnerving trying to navigate my way to my transition spot. Inch by inch I moved until I found rack 46. Unlike some other races that designate a spot for each racer, these were first come first serve. I was late to the party, but I racked about 3rd bike in. Squeezed my way in. I set up my stuff and went to find body marking.

Body marking was quick. No line. And only marked one arm and back of leg. Cool. Put on some SPF 50 sunscreen, even though the forecast for the day was 65 degrees and overcast. My coach advised me to head to the swim staging area sooner rather than later, as there is no chance to do a swim warmup anyway, might as well avoid the congestion. As I walked over to my wave area, I heard the cannon go off. The pros were off!

Waiting for our swim wave to start, got me a little nervous. Couldn’t believe it was finally here. 7:00am on a 60 degree morning in CA, after a winter of training. I was pumped up. The male pro wave started at 6:40am, and 22:36 later, Andy Potts comes flying out of the water with nearly a two minute lead. Are you kidding me? If that doesn’t get you fired up, I don’t know what will. I put on my neoprene cap and headed to the water. The water was about 59-60 degrees, and although the neoprene cap wasn’t necessary, it certainly didn’t hurt, and kept me nice and warm. We swam the 25 yards to the swim start (nice warmup right?) and got the 2 minute warning. My age group (M30-34) had 305 participants today, split into 2 swim waves. I was in the 2nd wave. I swam out, treaded water, and bam. Whistle blows, time to go. So go I went.

The 1.2 mile swim wasn’t cold. But it had been 6 months since the last time I was in open water, or in salt water, or in a wetsuit; and no swim warmup to boot. It took me about 10 minutes to really get a good flow going, but I never felt that good in the swim. About 5 days prior I had tweaked my neck either sleeping, or at Masters swim, and it was still a bit sore every time I went up for a breath. I was also not able to keep a good breathing rhythm. Felt like I was short on breath the whole time – without the benefit of having swam hard. I tried to draft where I could, but I spent a good portion swimming alone. I think did a good job of sighting and swimming straight though. The swim was basically an out and back with a little hook after you pass the breaker wall. As soon as you passed the breaker wall, there were some decent rolling waves. I got to what I thought was the turn around buoy and checked my watch, 16:30. Not bad I figured. Except it wasn’t the turnaround. It was a left. Still had to go another 200 yards to take another left before heading back. Swim back was fairly uneventful, just kept going. Next thing I know it’s time to get out of the water, so out I go. On my way up the boat ramp, a volunteer grabbed my wetsuit zipper. Bonus. It was a long run into transition so I pulled down my wetsuit on the run and ran into the transition area to get ready for the bike. Passed a few people running into transition. Sweet. I swam a 35:15. About what I expected to swim, but wanted to go faster!

Not much in T1. Took my time slightly to put on socks and my bike shoes. Rinsed my mouth a bit to get some salt water out. Helmet on. Race belt on (required on bike). And off I go. 3:20 T1. Not the fastest forsure, but I went as quick as I could getting done what I had to get done (eventual winner Andy Potts had a 2:02 T1).

56 mile bike. I started the bike with a race plan consisting of a target HR and target Power. My power goal was about 260w, with HR around 152-156. My coach advised me to not go out too hot – save energy. So I did that. The first 25 miles of the bike were fairly flat, and pretty fast. I kept my patience and stuck to the plan. I made it to the first timing mat at 24.45 miles in 1:03:18 (23.18mph). And then the course got hard. At the timing matt you turn and head north into the hills. Lots of hills and lots of headwind. I stuck to my race plan of 260w or so, and in my target HR.

Up hill, down hill (though down the HR and power dropped). There were a few big climbs along the way. Aside from one group of 20 riders blasting by like it was the TdF (pretty sure they got penalties eventually for drafting), the riding was pretty clean. Not much drafting, some bozos riding 3 wide here and there, but not bad all in all. One downhill section about a mile long was a no pass, 25mph speed limit (due to a death in a previous year), it was an opportunity to recover a bit. Once out of the hills, the rest of the bike was pretty uneventful albeit windy. My bike split was a 2:40:22. A lot slower than I had anticipated. For comparison, I rode a higher average power (252w) than at Patriot (245w), but ended with a time 10 minutes slower. Speaks to the difficulty of the course. After downloading the data, I saw that we did over 2200 ft of climbing. Again for comparison, Patriot was 1200 feet (though I recall it being flatter than that). It was the 39th fastest bike split in my age group! About 280th or so overall. Some fast people in my age group. Yikes. One highlight mentally was only 3 or 4 people passed me on the bike that I didn’t eventually get back, while I must have passed at least 100 – 150. Fun stuff.

I rolled into T2 and my legs felt good. Hopped off the bike and ran it in. Hung my bike, dropped my helmet and put on my run shoes (the ones I do all my training in – Brooks Defyance 3′s with Yankz!). I already had my race belt, already had socks, so off I went. 1:40. Not bad, only :15 slower than Potts!

13.1 mile run. The run plan was to push my HR in the mid to upper 150′s. I started out and settled right around 152bpm. I’ll take it. Off I went. Feeling really good, but in the back of my mind remembering that after mile 3 of Patriot it was a disaster. Mile 1 was a 7:19, not bad. Then a 7:38, 7:33, 7:38. I was feeling pretty good. Finished the first lap around 48:30. Not bad for 6.5 miles. At the 9 mile mark things started to get difficult. Up to this point I had been averaging around 7:45 pace. Slower than my goal, but it’s what I could do. I did walk through each aid station to grab some water, a sponge or some gatorade. So that was about 5 to 10 seconds per mile. So not bad all things considered. But as I said, after mile 9 things got tough. I was just tired. No cramping, HR was still in the right place, but effort all of a sudden just got really hard. And pace started dropping. 8:18, 8:33, 8:33, 8:43 for the last 4 miles. Not bad, but it cost me about 3 mins. Ended the run at 1:45:15. A respectable run, but about 8 mins slower than I had hoped for. Oh well. I did what I could, right? The course was fairly easy with about 1.3 miles of each segment along the coast, then up a small hill, then another 3 miles of slightly rolling hills to the turn around. Back the same way, and then a second lap. By mile 11, it was all a mental game, I never felt like I needed to start walking which was a huge bonus, but it was difficult to keep the pace. Tried my hardest for it not to slip, but alas it did. My overall  finish was 5:05:52, good enough for 320th overall, and 40th in my age group (the winner in my AG was a 4:20:28)

So what does it all mean? Besides a total time of 5:05:52, it definitely made me appreciate how hard this sport is. I definitely wasn’t in as much pain as I was after Patriot. I cursed the thought of ever doing another 70.3 let alone a full Ironman. Though those thoughts faded by the hour, and today (Monday) I went back to masters swim. While it is a recovery week, Providence 70.3 is just 3 months away. What have I learned? I think I need denser calories. On the run my stomach was so full of liquid, that it wasn’t a great feeling. I learned I need to warm up for the swim, and get some longer swims under my belt. I think the bike was a success, albeit slower than I hoped, everything went right there. As for the run, I think I need to focus on my training a bit more. I missed a few key workouts the last few months leading up to the race, and I think those might have hurt me. It is what it is. To the next one.

06:59 Mike Champagne day has begun.

07:02 Andy Potts did his swim in 22:30. That’s amazing!

07:06 Pats in the water heading to the buoys.

07:44 just seen Pat, he’s looking good.

07:47 and then Mike also looking good.

Pats spilt was 35:15 and Mikes was 44:10 both are doing awesome.

Pat has done 24.45 miles for a time of 1:03:18 and an average speed of 23.18 MPH

Male pros are starting to come in. They were flying!

Mike is at 24.45 miles at a time of 1:14:57 at an AVG of 19.57 MPH

10:25 Pats looking good! Changed location now waiting for him to pass..

Mike looked good on the bike and the start of the run. Pat has already done one loop and is on his second. He looks great.

Pat finished! 5:05:52 average run pace 8:02