Maybe One More (I Hope!)

"I Suffer the dreams of a world gone mad
  I like it like that and I know it"
REM - Leave

A few days later than usual but a quick recap of the race this past weekend!

On Saturday, I competed in the Quakerman Olympic Plus Triathlon in Quakertown, PA. The race venue starts and finishes in Nockamixon State Park. It is one of the most scenic race venues I have seen in my years of racing. The distances of the race were a 1K swim, 39.7 mile bike and 10K run. The distances are not what made this race so challenging, this year it was the weather. 

Driving through Quakertown that morning, the bank display was reading 78 degrees and it was still 2.5 hours till my race was to start...Oh boy! My first thought was to hope that the cloudy skies would stay for most of the morning. Well, that positive thought was crushed about 20 minutes before the start of the race as the sun started to break through the morning fog. It has been such a warm and humid week that the temperature of the lake crept up to 77 degrees (pretty warm for this time of year). 

Going into the race, I felt properly hydrated and ready to tackle the conditions of the day. Despite technically wetsuit legal, I decided to go without the wetsuit and afterwards felt good about the decision as I listened to many guys who finished in the top 10 saying how they felt overheated during the swim. I had a decent swim by my standards and was the 12th out of the water.

Take away the weather, this 2 loop bike course is a challenging course. To leave the park to get to the main loop, you have a one mile climb out of the park and then there are several climbs along the route. In all, there is 2100+ feet of climbing throughout the 39 miles. With the slight taper this week and after the 12 weeks of high volume of training, this was the best my legs felt on the bike. I manage to cover the course at 21.8mph and have the 3rd fastest bike split. 

The run was a different story for all competitors. I exited the T2 in 3rd place and early on felt good. Given the conditions, I was not worried about pace and just ran on a feel and keeping it comfortable. Checking the condition on my phone post-race, it is likely that we started the 10K run with a heat index between 95 & 98. Somewhere close to mile 3 the wheels started to fall off but it was not a sensation of being dehydrated. I started the run knowing I took enough in during the bike, but I could not just cool the body off on the run. As I went through aid stations, I was sure to take water in and dump water on me but it did not help. The last 2 to 2.5 miles slowed drastically but I knew I had to slow or risk not finishing the race. As bad as I felt about my run, I was quickly reminded how bad the conditions were for all competitors as when I checked run splits after the race and noticed that the fastest run split of the top 10 finishers was 47:23 (that is not a typo). I somehow managed the 8th fastest run split and had the same description of that run as everyone else...Death March! 

Overall, I finished 3rd overall with a time of 3:02:28. (Surprisingly, as slow as I felt I was moving on the run, nobody passed me!)

Continuing in keeping track of training since Eagleman here are the training totals of the past 13 weeks:

Bike - 57 rides/ 2096 miles/ 101.4 hours/ 20.7mph/ 55990ft of climbing

Run - 44 runs/ 310.5 miles/ 38.8 hours/ 7:29 per mile

Swim - 37 swims/ 32 miles/ 16.26 hours

Total - 138 workouts/ 2438.5 miles/ 156.46 hours

Per Week - 10.6 workouts/ 187.6 miles/ 12.04 miles

Now it is quite possible, that Quakerman may have been my last race of the season as it is tough to find a race close enough over the next 3-4 weeks, when my teams are not competing. The plan for the remainder of the month is to keep things on the lighter side in volume and intensity. Given the training and racing of the past 13 weeks, I feel I still have another strong race in me (if I can find one) even with the lower volume and intensity. Given my plan to use the training method that was effective in my two trips to Kona, I am also using this time to get my body used to training by heart rate as I prepare to embark on Ironman training for 2015. Even if just 3 weeks, the addition of suspension training has already made a huge difference in my strength and I can see how it will be very beneficial in my quest to Kona.

Possible  Ironman Races

May 16 - Ironman Texas- most ideal as it gives me 4 months to get ready for Kona

June 28 - Ironman Coeur d'Alene

August 2 - Ironman Boulder- 2nd favorite choice

Of course where would I be without the help of Wattie Ink and my teammates who me motivated with their performances and encouragement! Also, thanks to a great list of sponsors Wattie Ink was able to secure for the team - Power Bar, Speedfil, ISM Saddles, Herbalife, Blue Seventy, Rudy Project, ! Your support goes a long way in helping me achieve my results!

Rock the W!