My last two Half Iron events were done in 5 hours and 45 minutes. It was nice to finally break free of the time. I improved by finishing in 5 hours and 20 minutes (25 minute difference). The improvement was a result of several things— the biggest being consistency. I also added a healthy dose of intensity into my running program and nutrition was the icing on the cake. I thought of nutrition as “taking care of myself.” I knew that if I took care of myself and kept my body in balance, I’d be strong throughout the race. It worked!

I have to admit that as I entered race week, my motivation to suffer through a half was low. The pain of Vikingman was still fresh on my mind. It seemed to soon to revisit the brutality. Race week progressed and I started to come around.

Race Morning

I ate one yogurt and two pieces of toast before we left the house. Everything went smooth at packet pickup. My bike was racked and gear was laid out. I gulped two bottles of Ensure Plus (700 Calories) about 15 minutes before the gun went off.

Swim

I initially seeded myself off to one of the sides and in the middle of the pack. This would keep away from the aggressive swimmers. However, I found my friend Matt Marriott front and center and I thought it would be fun to join him. There were only 150 or swimmers. “I won’t be that bad,” is what I thought. It turned into the craziest swim start I’ve ever experienced. It was violent until we turned at the first buoy. Things started to spread out and I forced myself to take it easy and get in a rhythm.

It turned out to be one of my best open water swims to date. My swim fitness is improving and it was definitely a strong point today.

Swim Time = 36 min 39 secs

T1

I felt rushed but forced myself to remember that an extra minute in transition will not likely change my place in the standings. A Half is a long day. So, I took my time and took care of business.

T1 Time = 1 min 44 secs

Bike

I went out feeling great and flying. On the bike, I had one bottle of Ensure Plus (1050 calories), a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water. It seems like a lot, but I feel it’s better to be safe then sorry.
The first half of the bike was pretty smooth. I hit the turnaround in 1 hour 15 minutes. “Perfect,” I thought. A PR was on the horizon and I knew that if I could maintain my pace I’d ride a 2 hr 30 min bike. It wasn’t to be. I faded incredibly badly early on the second half. This lasted throughout the second half. In training my bike was the most neglected discipline. This was revealed during the race. I was able to ride, but I wasn’t able to get the volume in that I would have liked and it showed. So I conceded my 2 hr 30 min bike split and took it easy as I headed back to the transition area. There was a solid female rider playing “cat and mouse” with me. I needed her help to LEGALLY pace back to T2.

As I finished my ride, my Ensure bottle was nearly empty. I couldn’t finish the whole thing. My stomach was pretty full. I drank approximately 2.5 bottles of fluid (excluding the Ensure).

My split was not nearly as bad as I thought, considering the suffering I went through on the second half. I managed to get off the bike with PR bike split for the distance.

Bike Time = 2 hours 38 Min 34 Secs (21.2 mph)

T2

Pretty standard T2. I decided to bring my Amphipod hydration belt with me during this race. I am planning on using it during Ironman Florida in November, so this would be good practice. The belt had 4 bottles of Gatorade (32 ounces total). I also packed four gels with me for the run too. It is also important to mention that I had a lot of Thermolyte salt tabs with me. The heat is tough on me and I thought I focus on keeping my sodium levels in balance.

T2 Time = 1 min 9 secs

Run

For me, nutrition is everything on a Half Iron run. I took four Thermolyte tablets chased by an eight oz. bottle of Gatorade every three miles (just under 30 minutes). At the aid stations I would take two water cups—one to drink and one thrown over my head. I never worried about dehydration. It was great and I’ve never felt so good during a Half Iron run. I managed to keep this up throughout the whole run. My nutrition on the bike kept me fueled for the whole run. I never came close to bonking. I did take some soda from the last two aid stations.

My pace on heading out on the first section was solid. I felt fine but looked forward to the turnaround. Heading back from this section was tough, because it was getting hot. I was working hard to get back towards the shade. The suffering was starting to set in as I passed the transition area to get to the second stretch of the run. But eventually everything clicked. I was pushing my pace, but could sense when I was crossing into the “red zone.” It was nice because I would do interval work to catch the person ahead of me.

Getting to the back end of the final out-and-back was tough. It took forever, but once I made it I tried to push it back hard (5k). Things didn’t quite workout like I had hoped. I could only keep the pace I had been running. I thought that I had easily broken the 2 hour run mark. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pull it off. But, it’s a PR run split for the Half distance so I can’t complain.

Run Time = 2hr 2 min 31 secs

Finishing Time = 5 hours 20 minutes 19 seconds

Huge PR for me. I secretly wished that I could get to the five hour mark. That will come with time but a 25 minute PR will do. I figure that ten minutes off of the bike, ten minutes off of the run and a few minutes off of the swim will put me there. I think that is a conservative goal and achievable considering I’m still pretty slow compared to the top guys and gals. They run soooo fast!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Popularity: 27% [?]