Kinetic 1/2 Ironman - Race Report.......

The first 1/2 ironman of the year took place on Saturday and it was the first real test of the season so far. As I mentioned in the earlier post, there was some good competition in this race and it would allow me to gauge my fitness for the later 'A' races of the year.

Everything in the lead up to the race had gone pretty well, I got a good nights sleep and was raring to go come the morning. The water was a balmy 71 degrees with air temperatures to match, but the wind was gusting big time, up to about 30-35mph. I was hoping that my 160lbs body would be able to keep the bike with rear disk and front deep dish on the road!

As at Rumpass a few weeks ago Lake Anna was looking distinctly choppy, enough that as we started in the first wave, they were still trying to relocate one of the turn buoys that had broken loose. Despite the rough conditions I felt as though I was swimming much better than I did at Rumpass. Perhaps I had more of an open water groove, perhaps it was the new wetsuit or I had just chosen the right people to draft off, but I came out the water in 23mins (yeah the course was a couple of hundred yards short of the 1.2m) and was only 90secs down from the leader and in 12th place. Definitely an A+ for effort there!




Lake Anna in the morning

Through T1 I must have gained about 5 places as in the first few miles of the bike there was a short out and back section and I counted I was in 7th. Nice way to start the day :-) The bike course turned out to a real doozy of a race, the roads were rolling with some distinct headwinds and with the exception of the leader who was dangling off the front a couple of minutes ahead (it turned out post-race that he had been waved through the turnoff for the out and back section!), there was a small group of 5 who were just riding hard and keeping honest :-) Fortunately I was one of those 5 and it turned into a good tactical battle for almost 56 miles. You don't want to tow the group around for the 56miles but you also don't want to "under" bike the course allowing racers from behind to catch up. In the end it was just a hard and fast bike ride in tough windy conditions. Going across the bridges with the wind coming from the side gave some moments to worry about, but in general it was ok with the FFWD disc and F9R front.


Coming into T2

I came off the bike in 2nd place with the 2nd fastest split of the day (2hr 23mins) and was approximately 2mins down on 1st place (it would have been different if he had done the out & back). All to play for with another 2 racers just a handful of seconds behind in 3rd and 4th. Straight out of transition was the steady climb of the course and it was just the 1st time of three that we would have to do it. As such it felt like I was crawling away from T2, but managed to get through the first mile in 6:40! I then hit my stride and was running 6:15's for the next few miles which were more rolling.

Finally hit the crest of the hill out of T2

I'm not sure if it was the hills or a slight nutrition deficit from the bike (I didn't take in as much as needed) but I wasn't feeling really great on the run and although I was still rolling along at 6:30's, I was caught by 3rd place at about mile 7. I tried to keep with him but through the backside hill he stretched away and I was alone in 3rd. I couldn't see anyone behind and so the aim was to stay on the podium. The run was getting hot, there wasn't any shade and fortunately after 1hr 26mins I finished the run, 3rd fastest of the day and was pleased with an overall time of 4hrs 15mins. The iced water and towels were a godsend!

The long and lonely road of an Ironman

First 1/2 Ironman race done for the year, 3rd overall and I ended up about 3mins down on the winner (the guy that passed me for 2nd). It was a great confidence booster and I know that the fitness and form is building nicely for Eagleman 70.3 on June 13th. Once again a big shout out to Kestrel Bicycles, FFWD Wheels, Fluid, DPM Sports and Beaker Concepts.

Now We Get Onto The Serious Business......

After the Tour of Walkersville and Tysons Corner this past weekend, we get into the serious business of the triathlon season with the Rumpass in Bumpass Triathlon on Saturday.

The ToW was fun, the 4/5 race (afternoon race) was a spirited field and ABRT had a nice active race that resulted in Justin sprinting to a 2nd place finish. I rolled in 26th, job done after doing plenty of work in the race, reeling in the one major break and leading Justin to the line. Overall it was a good team effort.

Tysons Corner Cat 4 was kinda frustrating, at least it wasn't the crash fest it was last year, and apart from being in a 7-8 lap break there wasn't much to talk about. I'm not sure if it is the same in the other fields but the Cat 4 race basically consisted of hammer up the hill sitting in the top 10, work across the top still top 10, head down the hill, get swarmed by everyone trying to move up and be in 50th after the bottom of the hill, peloton strings out again and you end up top 10 going into the hill. Why does everyone work so hard to get a top 10 position on the downhill just to lose it going up the hill.....everyone should just chill for a while!

So onto the proper stuff with the first triathlon of the season coming this weekend on Saturday down at Lake Anna, VA. It's the Rumpass In Bumpass Olympic distance and luckily the recent warm weather has made the water temperature creep up to about 70 degrees. Although the funny part is that the race takes place in the southern end of the lake where the nearby Nuclear Plant dishes out its hot water making that part of the lake a few degrees warmer than the rest. Based on numerous Simpson's episodes I'm a little worried what will happen to us that swim in the water!

The race should be cool as it will be the first serious test for the new equipment, particularly the new Kestrel bike and FFWD wheels. It has be noticeably faster in training and so I am hoping that it corresponds to fast race times. This week has a been a planned recovery week and so by Saturday I should be raring to go. The last triathlon of 2009 was at the end of August at IM Louisville and so it has been way too long. It will be a great test to start the season :-)

The New Rig..........

The good news after running the marathon a couple of weeks ago was that on the way home I swung by Silver Cycles, to pick up the new Kestrel Airfoil Pro SL triathlon bike. Being on Team Kestrel for 2010 means that I get one sweet triathlon bike to race on.......

The last week or so I have been tweaking the position and by now have about 200miles on it. I can tell you that first impressions are great, it's stiff, fast and really responds when you lay the power down.

Fortunately I also have some great sponsors in FFWD Wheels, ISM Saddles and Beaker Concepts that make the race rig a complete bad ass. For 2010 I'm rocking the FFWD carbon disc wheel and a set of F9R's......these things are NICE! I rode the F9R's for the first time last night and was rolling along like a rockstar, I can't wait to race on them.

From ISM I have the Adamo Road, , which has gained a massive following in the triathlon world and is hitting the road racing scene. Due to the frame of the Airfoil Pro, I have the carbon Hydrotail from Beaker Concepts, which is one of the most aero hydration systems on the market.

So here are the pic's........I'll post ones out in the sunshine after this weekend!....the background of the garage door doesn't do the bike justice :-)