MiTi Half-Iron Aquabike Race Report

August 25, 2013

The pursuit for my first overall win continues...

This race was slated to be my last big training day before IMWI. Perfect location close to home, awesome swim venue, and a relatively hilly bike course to sharpen my skills once more. The day before I had met AG Silver front man Jon Ornée and 2BContinued stud Phil Jones for an up-tempo ride. We cruised up to Grand Haven at a spicy 23.5mph average. Phil and Jon both had their TRI bikes, while I road my new road bike, "the stinger". I definitely was at a disadvantage, but it was good for me to push my heart rate trying to keep up. We ended up "slowing down" for a milder 22.2mph overall average, my HR average was high. I hopped off the bike and suffered through 8mi of running. This was a perfect example of what happens when you hit your lactate threshold early on in a workout: your performance will suffer as your continue. With that fresh reminder, I went into this race with a "practice" mentality, meaning I would ride by heart rate, not by speed, to ensure I don't hit that threshold.

The swim went without a hitch. No goggles again. I don't know if I will ever go back unless it is a salt water (Kona!)  or questionable water swim.  30 minutes and a little over 1.2mi. No complaints, other than having to swim around the slower half-iron athletes who started 5 minutes before us.

A relatively quick transition once I figured out where my bike was (oops- I made no note of where it was relative to where you run in from the water...) and I was off. I spent the first 6-7 miles getting my HR under 150, well below my threshold so that any spikes from climbing would keep me safely under. Then I turned up the speed a bit. I passed my friend Nenad and he indicated that JR was just up the road. About 5 miles later, there was JR. We rode together for about a mile, then I took off on a hill. He would only lose about 4-5 minutes to me after that, a solid ride for him on a windy day. He would end up in 3rd overall.

The course underwent impromptu construction the day before the race, so there was one sketchy section on an uphill. Thankfully the race directors it down some roofing sheets and it went without a hitch. With approximately 7 miles to go, I decided I would start to push and let my HR pick up. With about 4 miles to go I really started hammering to see if I could catch the guy who was in first place. I wasn't successful, taking 2nd by just over one minute, but am very satisfied with how I was able to control my effort yet still perform inline with my target pace for IMWI. Nutrition-wise, I think I have my game plan set. Mixing PowerGels in with my drink has a lot of positives, including not having to hassle with opening them on the bike and dropping the wrapper. Very happy to have PowerBar on board for the final push!

Time to start tapering!

Fremont Tri-4-Fun Race Report

Saturday August 10, 2013

The pursuit of an overall win continues...

Let me start by saying that I love this race. On a Saturday, in the afternoon, low key, inexpensive, yet competitive. After finding out that the 2012 winner would not be present, my hopes were high of an overall win. It wasn't going to be easy, but I knew I had a chance. That is, until Jimi Minnema showed up. Jimi, a local pro, rode his bike from GR to the race. I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to win, but had a solid chance at taking 2nd still. Local studs Eric Zane from the Free Beer and Hotwings Show and Phil Jones from my 2BContinued team were also there, but I knew I had a shot.

The swim was extended from last year, meaning it would take 3 minutes instead of 2. When the race started, I took off from the beach and hit the water. I started swimming right away instead of trying to run through the knee deep water. Need to save those legs for later. By the first buoy, I was clear of everyone and off into the lead. Again, swimming without goggles, I had not problem sighting. Take note triathlon world! I was first out of the water by 20-30 seconds, nearly ran over a kid eating ice cream in the middle of the sidewalk we had to run up (move it kiddo! Where are your parents and why don't they have you corralled away from the race in a safe manner?!).

T1 was quick. Jimi would make up his ground here but deferred to me on the way out of transition. The volunteers yelled at us because we were riding our bikes already, but as we both pointed out, the race director instructed everyone to do so. I technically beat Jimi out of transition and was first on the bike, albeit by only a fraction of a second.

We popped out onto the bike course and started climbing the only hill. I led him up the hill and turned onto the main drag. Then, like a flash, he went by and was gone. I focused on recovering my HR just a little so that I wasn't red-lined, then put the hammer down.

I should note that I was using our team's disc wheel, which looks awesome. I think it was about as fast as my race wheels on the flat course, but renting it for the race meant a donation to a great cause, the LIVESTRONG foundation, which in the aftermath of the Lance debacle, continues to provide cancer navigation services to all affected by the horrible disease. 

Back to the race. At mile 6, I had worked my average up into the high 24's but was starting to tire. I hadn't been training to race this distance/speed all year. Then, the course turned left to head back to T2...into a very strong crosswind. It was all I could to to put my head down, clench my teeth, and push forward. Somehow I had the power to stay above 20mph, but it was 9 minutes of pure suffering back to T2. The wind was so strong that I didn't want to turn my head to look back at any pursuers, so I hit T2 and transitioned as fast as I could.

Into T2, they didn't let us ride straight back to the racks. Instead, I had to run in my bike shoes. I dislike doing this, solely because the plastic cleats take a beating and it is quite inefficient to do so. Oh well. Wracked my bike, collected my shoes that had been scattered, and took off.

About a half-mile into the run was the first chance to look back, and of course when I did, I saw a guy about 500 feet behind me. That might seem like a lot, but visually on the open road, you can almost hear footsteps. I upped my tempo and was suddenly running fast than I had all year. Thankfully my legs let me open up my stride and keep my infamously high cadence rolling along. At each turn, I would take a time check and figure out the gap to this guy. After a 6:30 mile, he was 30 seconds back. I was struggling, but knew I could hold him off. The next mile was a little faster, and the gap grew by a few seconds. Finally, we made the turn to head back to the finish. At this corner, with 3/4 miles to go, the gap was up to 40 seconds. I opened up my stride a bit more and pushed forward. Finally, I saw my dad and was told he couldn't see him. I cruised down the hill to the finish and hit the line. 2nd overall for the 2nd straight year. Jimi congratulated me and said I had a hell of a swim. I'll take it. Congrats, Jimi on your win!

Very satisfied with the race overall. Great to be healthy and in my final training phase for IMWI. Thanks as always to my ironmate, Kristin, for putting up with my pre and post race nerves and for the unending support. To Jill K for taking pics and cheering loudly. To my parents for supporting and cheering me on (great race, mom!). Lastly, of course, to PowerBar for providing the best nutrition out there.

Keep dreaming...