5430 Long Course (half IM) Race Report

This was my best long course race ever. Solid effort across the board. Pretty much everything went as expected.

Swim was uneventful. Focused on keeping my head down and arms light, set my catch and use my hips. I miss my faster swim times from last year, but I’m going SO much faster on the bike and run, I’m ok with it. Hit the beach in 33:30.

The bike was decent, The goal was to take it easy on the first loop and along 36 the second time. Then pick it up after hitting the high point of the course (on 36) during the second loop. Was a minute faster on the second loop of the ride. Took in 700 calories on the bike. I did have to back off a few minutes on the second loop to get those last few calories in.

The thing I don’t get on the bike is the power numbers for first and second loop. The perceived effort was higher on the second loop, and the speed was higher, but the both the average power and normalized power are a smidge lower. I know the last 1.5 miles into the res are downhill and fast (and we didn’t ride this direction on the first loop). But 1.5 miles doesn’t seem like enough time to nake that kind of difference. One the second loop, I was pretty focused on keeping the pedals turning over smoothly, even when I had the wind or slope in my favor. I wonder if that kept the speed a little higher, even though the power was a little lower. Oh, and I rode a 12-23, ten speed cassette in the back with my 50/34 compact chain rings up front. I would spin out at about 34 mph. By giving up the 11 tooth ring in the back, I picked up the 18 tooth ring. So from 12-19 in the back, I have one tooth jumps. It was perfect for the rolly bits of the course yesterday. This will be a good gear setup for me for IM. (For next years sprints however, I’ll be looking at 52/36 up front and 11-23 (or 11-25) in the back)

Unfortunately, in T2, I need a porta-jon stop, so T2 was a little long.

My gps never picked up on the run so it was all by feel and checking my mile splits. The splits are below. The run went well. Ran the first 3 in 23:08. Stayed calm and relaxed to mile 9. Then let it go some. My last 3 miles went by in 22:18. Not having the GPS ended up being a good thing. It showed me that I have a pretty good sense of pace and effort.

The best part of the race was keeping my head together. That's a big improvement for me. I ran a smidge slower than Lubbock, but this time, the run was after a faster ride and in much hotter conditions.

Lots of good things today. Good head space. Good job at transitions. Paced well, negative split the bike and the run. Did well with nutrition and hydration. Good stuff for head.

The numbers:
bib=476, age= 40, gender=89, M40-44, age group= 12,
Swim Time=34:48, rank= 249
T1= 1:25
Bike Time= 2:31:38, spd= 22.2mph, Rank= 136
T2= 2:59
Run Time = 1:39:25, pace= 7:36 min/mile, Rank= 102
Total = 4:50:14 (this is a ~15 min PR)

Age Group: 12 (out of 125 in M40-44)
Overall: 114 (out of 1132)

PowerTap Numbers:

Duration: 2:31:27
TSS: 161(If=.799)
Pnorm= 178
VI: 1.05
Distance:56.2
Pavg: 170
Cad avg: 92
Speed: 22.3

1st half
Time: 1:16:30
VI: 1.04
Pnorm: 179
Pavg:172
Spd: 22.0

2nd Half
Time:1:15:32
VI: 1.05
Pnorm: 177
Pavg: 168
Spd: 22.5
keep spinning on long down hills, low power, but kept the speed higher longer (I think)

Run
Total= 1:39:15 (7:35/mile)
1: 7:30
2: 7:33
3: 8:05 (w/ walk through aide station)
4: 7:37
5: 7:45
6: 7:40
7: 7:38
8: 7:52 (w/ walk through aide station)
9: 7:42
10: 7:21
11: 7:11
12: 7:27 (w/ walk through aide station)
13.1: 8:05 (7:40pace)