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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Spirit of Morgantown Half-Ironman Race Report



Quick and Dirty:
Swim: 31:17
T1: 1:15
Bike: 2:33:50
T2: 1:11
Run: 1:45:53
TOTAL: 4:53:24
Swim -

New type of swim start which consisted of running off the pier, and jumping off into the water. I found myself praying that no one behind was going to jump on top of me while I was under water. I popped back up, and started flailing trying to get up to speed. Water temp was at the perfect point where pro's were sans wetsuits and age-groupers could wear them. Awesome to be able to hang with the pro's for AT LEAST the swim... swam through some traffic on the back half of the loop, and then hit some serious current as we neared the dam. Raised the effort to get around the buoy's as quick as I could, and then cruised back using the current to my advantage on the way in.

T1 -

LOOOONG run from the swim exit back to the transition area which was situated on the ground floor of a parking deck.

Bike -

Potholes. Everywhere. Worst roads I have ever ridden on in a race, but that made it kind of interesting in a way, and kept me focused on the task at hand. Most of the super deep wheel swallowing holes were marked with paint to help with dodging. Some technical turns, a couple steady hills, some long smoking fast descents, and a nasty 100 meter 8% climb at the end of each loop helped to keep the racing honest. Stayed within myself and paced off one of the elite/pro male dudes for most of the ride. Got an extended Infinit shower during the ride, but its all good.

T2 -

Standard. Grabbed my iced hat and make shift neck cooler out of my cooler that I brought with. Sweet!

Run -

Weakest of the 3 for me, as usual. Run course is entirely flat, with the first 1.5 miles on pavement in the sun, and the next 2 miles on dirt in the shade. Shake, repeat a couple times, and you just completed your half-mary. Felt good in the first mile, and the second, and third mile, but after that I began to fade - and HARD. I was melting in the heat (oh yeah, temps were in the upper 80's and humid by this point). Grabbed all the cold water and ice I could carry at each aid station, and just tried to survive to the finish. I did, barely!

Overall -

13th overall, and 3rd in the AG. Surprisingly fun race, and one I may have to do again next year. Maybe they will re-pave some of those roads? Doubt it...

3 weeks until Canada. Time to rest up, and let all this work pay off!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Mountaineer Half Pre-Race


Spirit of Mountaineer on tap this weekend. It is supposed to be HOTT, and not the skinny-triathletes-in-spandex kind of HOTT. Maybe I'll pack an ice chest for some relief at the start of the run??

It would be great to finally have a breakout half-IM race! With all the IM build training I think this is a good shot to do it...will the heat foil my plans? Only time will tell...

Tentative A+ race execution times: :28/2:25/1:40 ....must dig deep - no excuses!

See ya out there.
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