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 Swim
Comments: I'm not sure how short the course was, but there's not much doubt that it was. Everyone agrees. Even with great drafting and a wetsuit-legal swim, I don't swim 1:33/100m. I was pretty fast, I feel sure, but not that fast. It's kind of a bummer, because it puts my sub-5:00:00 time in question, depending on how short it really was. Anything much more than 300 yards and I didn't really break 5 hours. What would you do differently?: My drafting was pretty good for a little over half the course. It was a bit frustrating, though, since the guy I was drafting was kind of all over the place. It made it hard to stay in his feet especially once we caught the wave in front of us. I went too hard when I was trying to re-catch him a couple of times. Once we rounded the last buoy, he was gone and I was pretty much on my own coming in. I tried to relax and slow down because my heart rate was WAY too high. I didn't do a whole lot of training for the swim, basically just enough to get through it.  Transition 1
Comments: T1 was slow, mostly because I started walking once I got inside the transition area so my heart rate could come down. I know that if I get on the bike with my HR near or above LT, it takes forever to come back down. Wetsuit was also a bit of a problem getting off. What would you do differently?: Have to take it easier coming in on the swim.  Bike
Comments: Damn, that was a fast ride. I thought for sure the bike course was short, too, when I realized that I came in at just under 22 mph. Normalized Power was 199 watts and Average Power was 189. I'm extremely pleased with both numbers. I only remember 1 or 2 people going by me on the bike. I did see some serious drafting in the early part of the course. One guy, John Carruth, bib 1041, was so bad that I obviously took special note of him. I saw him for a total of 10 minutes or so over the first 10 miles and only ONCE was he not within 5 feet of someone else's rear wheel. I finally got around him and finished the bike 2:30 ahead of him. More on him later, though. What would you do differently?: Not much. My bike training was good, although it could always be better. A little more volume and more focused interval workouts and I think I could get the power levels around 210. Even these power levels should get me close to 23 mph for Lonestar. Transition 2
Comments: Decent transition. I took a few extra seconds to brush some of the grass off my socks that accumulated from the run to the rack. What would you do differently?: Not much.  Run
Comments: I started out strong with several sub-miles. Coming back into the park I slowed down a bit and then Quadzilla took it's toll. All my miles were over 8 minutes for the rest of the way and there were times when I was barely hanging. Despite what I felt was a slow pace, I only had 3 in my AG pass me. I expected more. On a positive note, I did run one of those 3 down. I gradually came up on him over the last few miles and closed the gap on the last hills along the fence. Once we got into the chute, I was about 10 feet behind him and just stayed there. Once we rounded that final little bend, I started to kick. I had a decent head of steam up by the time I passed him and I'm sure I was well ahead before he realized he was in my AG, if he even cared. Turns out it was the asshole drafter that I mentioned earlier. I would have been pissed if that guy beat me. What would you do differently?: Run training has been very solid. More bike volume or taking it a little easier would have left me with more in the tank. Post race
Warm down: Got a massage and a burrito, some drinks, and headed over to the BT tent to hang out for a bit. Went and found Carey, got more to drink, went back to the BT tent for a bit more. Then we headed out. What limited your ability to perform faster: More swim volume would have helped. I don't know how significantly. The truth is, I just don't have the motivation to put in long hours of swim training. I'm lucky I can get enough in to get through it. As mentioned above, more bike training would have almost certainly improved both bike and run times. My sub-5 may have an asterisk next to it, but it's in the books. I'll see if I can match it next year at Lonestar. Event comments: The bus issue delayed the start a bit. Only so many buses can run that route at a time, so I don't expect that to change much. If it doesn't, Keith just needs to communicate VERY clearly that athletes need to arrive well over an hour in advance. Carey got mad props for her work as El Diablo on the bike course again this year. Last updated: 2008-10-05 12:00 AM
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United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
85F / 29C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 134/1929
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 18/233
Got up around 5 and ate a bagel with peanut butter and a big chocolate chip cookie from HEB. The cookie isn't the best pre-race nutrition, but I love those things. Had some Diet Coke, too, to get the caffeine levels going. Carey and I loaded up and headed out a little after 5:30. Got to the race site and took a while to park. I usually get there much earlier and should have today as well. The line for the buses was pretty significant. Carey and I decided to just walk over to the race site. It was probably a wash. I don't blame Keith for not having enough buses, I blame myself for not getting there much earlier. However, Keith should note in plenty of places that athletes should get there well ahead of the race start. To his credit, he pushed back the start of the race to be sure everyone got over in time.
Didn't really need one after walking close to a mile to the start. I was considering getting in the water to warm up, but my wave was about 25 minutes into the start and I didn't want to be sitting on the shore, shivering my ass off. It was pretty cool out this morning.