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!
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