Last Race Report of 2009

I did IMAz last year partly because I wanted to and partly because I didn't go to Clearwater due to a wonky calf. If you would have told me that I was going to do 3 Ironman races in the course of the next 12 months, I would have laughed at you.

12 months later, I'm sore again after my 3rd race. Wisconsin was a close but no cigar...not so much with the prize money, but with the Kona slot. So, Amy and I thought about which race might be a good one. Roll the dice on Florida about 7 weeks later or go back to Az or consider Cozumel? I rolled the dice on Florida as I didn't want to extend my already long season to late November. And, I rolled the dice because a few pretty solid guys always show up to get a head start for the Kona spots there. Florida was my first IM, and it's relatively easy for us to get to and relatively inexpensive once you get there. But, it is flat and can be windy, which are two things that a smaller athlete can struggle with...or at least the math shows that a larger athlete has a better chance on the bike in those conditions.

So, we headed out Wednesday morning and rolled all the way to PCB in the so-far trusty Mazda with bikes and gear loaded up. A stop in Breaux Bridge, LA for lunch and we were back on the road. We pulled into PCB about 830 or so, dinner and hotel by about 945pm. Thursday a little swim in the very nice PCB swim center (City of Austin can't you get your schtuff together and get a good year round swim center!), a little run, pro meeting, and the day was done. Friday a swim in the rough gulf, a bike on the course, and race day was around the corner. Forecast for Saturday was for very light (5mph) winds and good temps.

Saturday AM we woke up to a bit more wind than forecasted and some farily choppy seas. Race morning at an IM is pretty painless as long as you don't think about the 140.6 miles you are going to cover on race day. Most of your gear has already been ready, so all you have to do is drop of special needs, air up your tires, and load up your water bottles on your bike.

Swim started promptly at 650am. I didn't have a great start or first loop for that matter, but I had made my way barely to the tail end of the front group at the end of the first loop. I lost them a bit during the run-in and swam the second loop with them just out of reach. IM is a long day of small decisions, and I thought it best to not really push too hard to bridge up to the bunch. In retrospect, maybe it was a mistake, but as I said it is a long day of small decisions. You make your decision and keep moving forward because dwelling on it too much doesn't bring that finish line any closer. I was about a minute down exiting the water. 51:something.

I took my time at Wisco in transitions. There was no time wasted today.

Out on the bike and it was just me. I passed on rider about 15 miles in, and was passed shortly thereafter. The wind the first 6 miles was gusty and variable and we had a pretty strong crosswind for the next 14. That set us up pretty well to have a strong headwind for the next 30 miles. I put my head down and rode a little harder than planned during that headwind section hoping that we'd be payed back later on. We weren't. I was passed by 5 more riders between miles 50 and 75. I tried to go with Justin Daerr and Blake Becker when they passed me, but I also hit a bad patch then as wasn't really enjoying the day. They pulled away, bridged up to a group of about 3-4 and stayed in front of me the rest of the ride about 1-2 minutes up the road. The tailwind never came, and the last 6 miles along the coast were not fun. I did get a bit of a second wind at about mile 95 or so, which was good. I rode 4:40. For the numbers geeks, I rode the same split pretty much alone at Florida as I did at Arizona last year on about the same wattage, so I would rate the two courses on those two days as comparable.

In and out at T2 as well.

On the run I had 2 guys pretty close in front of me. I kept them in sight for quite a few miles. I passed Blake Becker about mile 3 or 4 and was 12th I think. As we got to the state park, I saw Luck McKenzie and the eventual winner coming out about 2 miles ahead or just over. I had a pit stop at mile 7 and was back at the running. I was comfortably running 640ish miles and feeling pretty good. A couple of times I tried to deliberately slow down to be a little bit conservative in the hopes of having a strong second half. As I came through the halfway mark, I was right on pace for a 3-hour or so marathon. I tried to pick it up as I was sitting in 11th place at this point. I saw Amy about mile 14 and she told me that there were a couple not too far ahead. I moved into 10th place about mile 15 and was still running well though I had not been checking splits much and just focused on moving forward. At mile 18 I saw Justin Daerr ahead of me and passed him. He mentioned that I was running faster than the guys ahead of us. I kept going and was slowly making up time on 8th. The only pro that I saw before getting to the state park this time was the eventual winner, so I knew that I wasn't losing much time. At mile 22 things started to get really tough. It seemed like the aid stations were further apart. I was slowing down and 3 hours was slipping out of reach. I quickly walked through a couple of aid stations. I was fooled into thinking that I was about to pass Raynard Tissink, but it turned out to be an age grouper in a similar kit. BUT, it was the motivation that I needed to push through the last 2 miles. 3:05ish on the run.

Finish time 8:42:41. As far as the world of "No PRs in Triathlons" go, this was a PR. Safe to say that I'm going to count it as one since it was better than 30 minutes faster than my previous best. In the end though, what really matters is how well you executed on race day. There are still some tweaks to be made, and every race is different. But, I started the race and didn't quite feel "on". I continued and pushed through the highs and lows. Overall, it was a good way to close out the season even if I was one short of the money and didn't get that coveted Kona spot. I'll be back.