Run
Comments: Pre-race, Sarah said that she was going to just take it easy just like she always claims. However, within minutes, she had pulled away from me, again as usual. I was tempted to try to keep up with her, but I had to run my own race and she was just too fast for me at the start. I talked with Aaron and another guy who did IMAZ last year, and that was fun. This first run felt pretty fast for me as I haven't run any miles below 9:00 pace for many weeks. But it wasn't too fast to be uncomfortable. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. It was a good start. Transition 1
Comments: This was only my 2nd Du (my first was about 2 years ago) and I forgot how much easier T1 is compared to a triathlon. Nothing bad happened. What would you do differently?: One day I will try clipping my shoes to my pedals. Bike
Comments: For the first few miles with the tailwind, it was fun going fast and passing people. I saw Sarah at the first turnaround where she was just a few seconds ahead of me. Then the WINDS. From approx. mile 4 to 12, we had pretty strong head or side winds that slowed me down to about 18 mph or so. I passed Sarah shortly after that first turnaround and reminded her to drink because I know she doesn't like to on the bike. However, after the race she admitted to me that she didn't drink at all on the bike!! I was riding much faster than I was used to doing in all my base training for the RedMan Full Ironman. I rode 60 miles yesterday at about 16.5 mph as my long ride for the week. So 18-19 mph into the wind felt really hard for me, but the 25-26 mph with the tail wind on the way back was sheer ecstasy even with a sore butt. Man, tri shorts have NO padding what so-ever! After the second turnaround, I was looking for Sarah to be coming at me on the other side of the road. 1 min passed, then 2, then 3, still no sign of her. I was getting really concerned that she may have fell or gotten a flat. I went the whole last 4 miles not seeing her and concluded that I must have just missed spotting her or something bad had happened. What would you do differently?: Not much Transition 2
Comments: Pretty fast T2 for me. What would you do differently?: Take feet out of shoes while on bike. Run
Comments: Still didn't see Sarah in T2 or coming off her bike as I was running out. I was really concerned that something bad had happened. My legs felt reasonable good for biking so hard. I think the bricks I've been doing paid off. It was a really nice and new experience to pass some people towards the end of the run. I hardly ever do that. I think my endurance is getting better. At the last turnaround on the run, I finally saw Sarah coming the other way. First of all, I was relieved that she was OK and secondly, I and was shocked that she was so close to me. I had this preconcieved picture in my head that I had blown by her on the bike and had put some serious distance between us. Well, I was DEAD wrong! So, after getting butt my whooped by her in our last 3 races, I decided that it was about time that streak ended, so I picked up the pace to sub-7's for the last mile or so. I think that really helped my time. What would you do differently?: Not much Post race
Warm down: Talked with Aaron a little, and wished him good luch at IMAZ next weekend. Sarah picked up a nice medal for placing 2nd in her AG. What limited your ability to perform faster: I don't know maybe the 60 miles I rode the day before the race! Event comments: Very fun race. This was the first time I felt like I was really competing with Sarah. We're both prety competitive people and I'm really proud how we've been race each other while still maintaining a supportive and loving relationship. She's the best. On a personal note, I was elated to experience first-hand how base training and Long, Slow Distance (LSD) work can make you faster. I haven't done any tempo or speed work in months and yet I came within 3 seconds of my 5K PR on BOTH segments AFTER biking 60 miles the day before! Last updated: 2006-04-03 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironhead Race Productions
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 41/84
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 10/12
Ate my standard bagel with peanut butter and honey at about 5am. No GI distress during the race!
Sarah (my wife) and I went for about a 4-5 minute jog which was a really nice warmup. Light stretching. Should probably stretch my hip flexors a little more.