My very late recap for the Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman.
This was my A race for the year. I went into this race feeling great and fit. I hit my weight goal of under 160lbs and my bike and run speed were good.
I set two goal times:
Conservative: 5 hours, 8 minutes
Challenge: 4 hours, 57 minutes
My official completion time: 4 hours, 58 minutes, 00 seconds
Swim: 43:36 (Con Goal: 45:46, Ch Goal: 42:14)
My weak point is the swim. I'm pretty sick of griping about it, so I won't (yes, I know I control my own destiny...). I felt ok after the first 500 or so. The ocean swim was pretty good. I had some goggle issues for the first 300 yards or so. My right side of my goggles wouldn't stop leaking, so I stopped a few times to adjust the straps. Other than that, I just found my rhythm (slow and steady) and kept spotting the orange buoys.
T1: 3:45 (Con Goal: 3 min, Chal Goal: 2:30 min)
Bike: 2:27:06/22.8 mph (Con Goal: 22 mph, Chal Goal: 22.5 mph)
Really hit stride during the bike. The course is flat, flat, flat, with the exception of one "hill" that is really an overpass as you head out of town. There were plenty of quick riders that you could pace yourself with during the ride. I did feel like there was some drafting going on, especially when I was cranking around 23/24 mph and a pack of 3-6 riders would just cruise right past me. I was able to see fellow Dallas Athlete, Scott Decker, somewhere around mile 25 and we got into a pretty good groove for the rest of the ride.
Fueling seemed right on for the bike. I had a good plan and reminders to keep me in check and was able to stay on track.
T2: 1:36 (Con Goal: 2:15 min, Chal Goal: 2 min)
Run: 1:41:58/7:47 min/mile pace (Con Goal: 8 min/mile pace, Chal Goal: 7:45 min/mile)
I was very pleased with my run effort. My goal was start for the first 2 miles no faster than 8 minute miles and then "gear click" quicker throughout the 13 miles. Of course, I started in the 730/745 range and just about kept it there for the entire half marathon. I'm not sure if I was a bit slower at the beginning if it would of helped me in the last 5k, because I really wasn't able to increase my speed once I hit mile 10.
I was pretty well locked into a 7:45 min/mile pace. Seeing all the H2F members on the out and back course was a total blast! The run course was longer than 13.1 miles though and this was a bit of shock once I hit mile 13 and hadn't even made the left turn to head back to the finish line! I think the course ended up somewhere around 13.5 or so.
All in all, I was extremely happy to break 5 hours. I do play the "what if" game on my swim and if I would of been able to speed up those last 3 miles like I had done so many times in training. But, no second guessing; it was what it was. Jim, thank you for all of the support and email training discussions!!
It had to go down as one of my favorite road trips. Rooming with Curt, Luther, Matt and Dave always is a lesson in humor and grit. If your psyche can last days with that crew, no race will get in your way.
Huge congrats to all of the first time 1/2 IM finishers! Ken Smith gets my hero award and this picture is one of my all time favorites!
Congrats on a great race!
Posted by: TTUTri | Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 07:59 AM
Todd, great job on setting a new PR! I'm glad you thought the run was a bit long too. Keep up the good work when you can. Best wishes, Steve
Posted by: Stephen Cross | Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 09:52 AM