Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/20/2014 11:14 PM |
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Today was the Racine HIM. Have been struggling with a calf strain, so had no idea what to expect. I took 3 weeks off from running and had only been doing limited running the last 3. Longest run was a 10 miler so had zero expectations today. Just wanted to finish.
Had a decent swim, even though I got my goggles knocked off my face. Finished about where I expected, maybe a touch slower.
Got on the bike and felt GREAT. Holding my power and just flying....looking down and seeing 25mph at goal wattage was nice! Ended up with a 23.1 avg and a 2:26 bike split, 3rd fastest for my age group.
Started off on the run and I was doing 8:00 / mile. WAY faster than I wanted to start. But I was also planning on a run / walk program to ease the load on my calf. Ended up with a 8:25/ mile avg and my goal was 9 min/ mile.
Coming up to the line, the clock says 5'24'24....and my wave started 25 after the gun...."holy crap! I can break 5 hours!" Put my head down picked it up and crossed the line @ 5:24:34 or 4:59:34 race time for me.
Same race 2 years ago and I went 5:17....so in knocked almost 18 minutes off my time, 10 of which was on the bike.
Most importantly, I finished feeling strong. 2 years ago I went straight to the med tent to get some ice on me and cool down.
Feeling much better about my full IM in Madison now.  |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 07/21/2014 11:13 AM |
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hey, that's cool! Kick some a$$ in Madison. (or "face" as it may be).
What was your overall age group placing? |
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vtguy
Posts:298
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| 07/21/2014 11:25 AM |
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| Congrats! Sounds like the run was pleasant surprise. Nice bike time, too. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/21/2014 11:36 AM |
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I was 21st in my AG (out of ~215 starters)....was actually a bit surprised. in 2012, I finished 13th in my AG. This year I knocked over 17' off my time and I went BACK 8 places! Just goes to show that you can't control who else shows up to race......
I think i was 198 overall out of ~2500 starters.
@ vtguy - yeah, run was a great surprise. I kept waiting for the wheels to fall off and they never did. The longest run I had this year leading up to Racine was 10 miles......so when I got to the 10 mile mark yesterday, I was just expecting to kinda blow. Just took it mile-by-mile after that and held a really even pace the whole way.
Totally sold on the run/walk protocol. I basically walked 1 minute @ every aid station. Got water, usually a few gulps of cola or sports drink (or both) and maybe an orange. I think the walking sections allowed me to keep a higher overall run pace and take some of the load off my muslces, reducing the chacne of cramping. I'll definitely be doing that in Madison. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 07/21/2014 11:45 AM |
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Congratulations!
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 07/21/2014 12:06 PM |
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What's that experience like? Does it feel like you are racing the other folks or more just concentrating on getting the best out of your own performance?
I'm guessing swim=survival. bike=hunter, run=hunted. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/21/2014 12:19 PM |
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Posted By ChinookPass . on 07/21/2014 12:06 PM
I'm guessing swim=survival. bike=hunter, run=hunted.
LOL....that about sums it up!!!!
Starting the second lap of the run was pretty humbling. The younger age groups were just starting their runs and I was getting my doors blown off. Course was packed and people were FLYING by me.....went from thinking "I'm having a pretty good run" to "Holy schitt...I can't run at all!!" in the blink of an eye!! |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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thinline
Posts:323
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| 07/21/2014 12:52 PM |
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| Well done, Cosmic! Good luck in WI. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/21/2014 01:21 PM |
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| Nicely done. But if you're only half iron, what's the other half? |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/21/2014 02:15 PM |
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Posted By Orange Crush on 07/21/2014 01:21 PM
Nicely done. But if you're only half iron, what's the other half?
Flab.  |
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6ix
Posts:485
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| 07/24/2014 08:31 AM |
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| Super impressive!! Great to see you improved too. Can't even imagine riding at that pace for over 2 hours only to then have to go run a half-marathon afterwards. At some point we need to ask ourselves honestly if we're close to the limits of human performance. The sense of accomplishment is thrilling, I'm sure. Any idea what your average power was? What wheels did you end up using? |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/24/2014 10:06 AM |
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Avg. Power was 193w and Normalized Power was 200w (haven't tested my FTP in awhile, but I would guess it is ~250w) Two years ago my average power was 180w.....which I was very disappointed in. My target then was the same as what I did last year. Just never felt like I could get my power up consistently then. I always chalked it up to a bad day, and I think this year confirms that.
I had a Zipp 808 FC up front and an old-school (non-dimpled) 404 w/ a wheel cover in the back. Tri tank top and shorts for my kit and a Kask Bambino helmet (old buddy of mine hooked me up two weeks ago....LOVE the lid!!). I did not, however, use the visor. I only had a clear one and I wanted tinted lenses.
Not to sound cocky, but I was surprised at how "easy" the bike was....I was actually telling myself to back off on the second half of the ride. Of course a lot of that was simply aero and Crr.....I have a good position and equipment and was using fast rubber (Zipp Tangente tubulars). So the same power input from my training rides was resulting in good speed outputs. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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stinkyhelmet
Posts:94
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| 07/24/2014 11:36 AM |
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| hey CK, that's a good time indeed, considering your almost chronic battle with injuries. I have only done Olympic distance tris in the past so perhaps the transitions are not as critical as for a half-IM. What were you doing for 25 minutes in the transitions? How do your T1 and T2 compare to the 20 guys in front of you? |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/24/2014 12:16 PM |
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Sorry, I wasn't clear.....the 25 minute difference in the clok was due to the timing of my wave start. The race started @ 7:00 and my wave went @ 7:25. So when the overal clock at the finish was reading 5:24:24 as I approached it, MY actual race time was 4:59:24.
My T1 was 4:32 and my T2 was 1:43. Racine has a LONG run from the water through transition. Just doing a brief glimpse through the results, it looks like my T1 time was ~ 1 minute longer than the fastest guys and T2 was roughly on par. Not surprised by being "slow" in T1 since I don't run particularly fast in general and definitely not through T1.....
I did use the wetsuit strippers for the first time and will definitely do that for Madison. Just dropped down on the ground, 2 volunteers grabbed the wetsuit and WHOOSH.....off it went. Very quick and efficient!!! |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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stinkyhelmet
Posts:94
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| 07/24/2014 01:04 PM |
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| glad your bottoms didn't come off with the wetsuit :-) |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 07/25/2014 02:23 PM |
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| Awesome! Measurable improvement is a great feeling. |
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