I and Love and You -- 10.3.9
10.18.2009
10.14.2009
Race Report: Black Diamond Long Course
Black Diamond Long Course
9.26.9
Swim: 1.2 Miles
Bike: 56 Miles
Run: 13.1 Miles
The final race is over and it took me several weeks to post this report. I had a few other things going on, namely getting engaged the weekend after this race.
Life has settled back into its daily routine and its time to finalize another season. This was a good race for the end of the year. Now that a few weeks have past it came at the right time and the season ended at the correct time.
Aleck and I drove up on Friday afternoon. Traffic getting to the greater Puget Sound region was bearable. Aleck's new VW Routon was comfortable, but lacked sufficient bass. I have been assured he is working on it.
One of the great things about this race is its late start time. Nine a.m is nice. I got a great nights rest. Nutrition in the morning was standard. We arrived in plenty of time to get things prepared in transition. This was a welcomed change from my last race. Those escapades were detailed in another race report. I am very happy things went more smoothly this time. After posting my race report from Spokane my coach asked if this was my first race. Apparently things go more smoothly in your second race.
The swim started out very hectic. It felt almost like an Ironman start. Everyone was very aggressive and I am unsure why. There was a smaller channel in between the first buoy and the edge of the lake. I can only think that people wanted to be the first through that gap because it was almost like an all out sprint to the first buoy. That is the only excuse I can think of for such poor behavior.
I swam fairly well, but didn't feel overly strong. I hadn't been swimmingly that well leading up to this race, so I didn't expect to go under 30 minutes which would have been a good swim for me. I was able to find a set of feet to get on for a large portion of the second half of the second loop. It doesn't sound substantial, but it put me in a good frame of mind going into T1.
Swim: 31:08
I did not have the disastrous transitions in this race as I did in Spokane. It just goes to show that you shouldn't over sleep your alarm on race day. My time was pretty much in line with everyone else, so good for me.
T1: 2:15
Heading out on the bike I felt pretty good. This was the first time racing with specific power targets and it made a huge difference. This was easily the best bike split I have ever had. There was a different feeling in my legs throughout that had never been there before. I wasn't overly prepared for this race. Training had gone well, but not superb. However, there was some fluidity in my legs and it felt good.
The course was two loops and I held my target watts the entire first loop. On the second loop the air temp actually cooled down and the wind starting coming off the mountain. I tried to maintain my target watts, but just wasn't able to do it and settled in pretty comfortably 10 watts lower.
Jason passed me about ten miles from the finish. In the last couple races it has been m goal to stay in front of him as long as possible. I know I wont be able to fend him off for an entire race, but the longer the better. I stayed within sight of him the rest of the ride and we came into T2 within a minute or so of each other.
Bike: 2:32:06
My second transition was equally uneventful. Just as it should be. As we left transition Jason yelled to me, "Let's run this together."
T2: 1:25
For nearly the entire run Jason was about 45 sec. to a minute ahead of me. The entire run I tried to bridge the gap and couldn't. He just loomed out there, just far enough I couldn't make up the differential.
The run was tough. There were a couple really steep inclines. They were the kind of inclines that break up an momentum you have and sap the strength out of your legs. I tried not to think about it, and just kept focusing on what was in front of me. I was pretty consistent the entire race in terms of pacing. I know I slowed a little toward the end on the trail portion, but that is the way it ends.
Run: 1:31:08
In terms of overall races it was a good one. I PR'd by a few seconds, which leaves me with a sweet taste in my mouth heading into the off season.
4:38:02
Ironheads did exceedingly well. As we team we took four of the top seven places.
9.26.9
Swim: 1.2 Miles
Bike: 56 Miles
Run: 13.1 Miles
The final race is over and it took me several weeks to post this report. I had a few other things going on, namely getting engaged the weekend after this race.
Life has settled back into its daily routine and its time to finalize another season. This was a good race for the end of the year. Now that a few weeks have past it came at the right time and the season ended at the correct time.
Aleck and I drove up on Friday afternoon. Traffic getting to the greater Puget Sound region was bearable. Aleck's new VW Routon was comfortable, but lacked sufficient bass. I have been assured he is working on it.
One of the great things about this race is its late start time. Nine a.m is nice. I got a great nights rest. Nutrition in the morning was standard. We arrived in plenty of time to get things prepared in transition. This was a welcomed change from my last race. Those escapades were detailed in another race report. I am very happy things went more smoothly this time. After posting my race report from Spokane my coach asked if this was my first race. Apparently things go more smoothly in your second race.
The swim started out very hectic. It felt almost like an Ironman start. Everyone was very aggressive and I am unsure why. There was a smaller channel in between the first buoy and the edge of the lake. I can only think that people wanted to be the first through that gap because it was almost like an all out sprint to the first buoy. That is the only excuse I can think of for such poor behavior.
I swam fairly well, but didn't feel overly strong. I hadn't been swimmingly that well leading up to this race, so I didn't expect to go under 30 minutes which would have been a good swim for me. I was able to find a set of feet to get on for a large portion of the second half of the second loop. It doesn't sound substantial, but it put me in a good frame of mind going into T1.
Swim: 31:08
I did not have the disastrous transitions in this race as I did in Spokane. It just goes to show that you shouldn't over sleep your alarm on race day. My time was pretty much in line with everyone else, so good for me.
T1: 2:15
Heading out on the bike I felt pretty good. This was the first time racing with specific power targets and it made a huge difference. This was easily the best bike split I have ever had. There was a different feeling in my legs throughout that had never been there before. I wasn't overly prepared for this race. Training had gone well, but not superb. However, there was some fluidity in my legs and it felt good.
The course was two loops and I held my target watts the entire first loop. On the second loop the air temp actually cooled down and the wind starting coming off the mountain. I tried to maintain my target watts, but just wasn't able to do it and settled in pretty comfortably 10 watts lower.
Jason passed me about ten miles from the finish. In the last couple races it has been m goal to stay in front of him as long as possible. I know I wont be able to fend him off for an entire race, but the longer the better. I stayed within sight of him the rest of the ride and we came into T2 within a minute or so of each other.
Bike: 2:32:06
My second transition was equally uneventful. Just as it should be. As we left transition Jason yelled to me, "Let's run this together."
T2: 1:25
For nearly the entire run Jason was about 45 sec. to a minute ahead of me. The entire run I tried to bridge the gap and couldn't. He just loomed out there, just far enough I couldn't make up the differential.
The run was tough. There were a couple really steep inclines. They were the kind of inclines that break up an momentum you have and sap the strength out of your legs. I tried not to think about it, and just kept focusing on what was in front of me. I was pretty consistent the entire race in terms of pacing. I know I slowed a little toward the end on the trail portion, but that is the way it ends.
Run: 1:31:08
In terms of overall races it was a good one. I PR'd by a few seconds, which leaves me with a sweet taste in my mouth heading into the off season.
4:38:02
Ironheads did exceedingly well. As we team we took four of the top seven places.
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