I’ve spent the last 2 weeks catching up everything I put off to get ready for Redman, but finally am sitting down to write a RR. This is a local race for me (which was great!), so sometimes it’s hard for me to remember the types of details most people want to know about if they aren’t from here. I’ll try and keep that in mind as I describe the course and other aspects. It’s a small race, but a good one. My guess is that only a small handful of people on ST will find this interesting, but sharing nonetheless.
Pre-race:
Packet pick up, expo, and pre-race meeting were at the same location as transition on Friday, so it was easy to drop off bike (must do on Friday) and attend all those things in one swoop. Expo was a bit light, but there were good stuff available from the few vendors that were there. It had been very hot all week leading up to the race, so I knew that pacing and nutrition/hydration were going to be incredibly important. Race morning I was about as relaxed as I’d ever been. Just felt ready. I really nailed my taper spot on and I was clearly at my peak based on my training that week. It was a relief to go into a race knowing you’re on your game, even though my game is weak. :) That morning, I got there early enough to set up and take some time to relax before the race. Talked to some friends, got everything ready, then got in my wetsuit to start the swim.
Swim:
My only goal was to expend as little energy as possible. Race day conditions were projected to be 90+ temp, moderately high humidity (but not bad), and windy for most of the day. It was sort of good to know this beforehand because I threw time goals out the window and could just race my own race. Gun went off and almost caught me by surprise because I was just sort of zoning out and feeling relaxed while in the water. Water temp was 75, so I was comfortable in my full sleeve. Wind had already kicked up lots of chop, so it was a rough swim. I hated the way the course was laid out, almost a straight out and back (the two directions were only separated by 20 meters). After talking to the RD, he said this was not the initial intention and I wouldn’t bet on it being like this for next year. At the halfway point, checked my HR and it was good and low, although my time sucked. I really wanted to cut loose and push the 2nd lap to make up time, but just kept telling myself that when people are walking and cramping on the run, that’s when you can make your move. So I stayed patient and disciplined. Finished the swim with a 1:22, which is incredibly atrocious. But the 5-6 others I know that did the race were all in the 8-12 minute slower than normal range. I expected a 1:10, so that puts me in the same category. I think it was the combo of rough water and the course being long that made for this. Wasn’t happy with my time, but when I got into T1, I figured if I had a bad swim, so did everyone else (turns out I was right). Most importantly, I spent very little energy and felt fresh.
Bike:
The bike course is hard to describe to people who don’t live here. It’s not flat…you are either going up or down probably about 90% of the time. But there are no “hills” or “climbs”. It’s either slight grade up, or slight grade down. And it’s always windy around here, but I expect that since I live here. Road conditions have always been a gripe of this race in the past, but they really did a lot to improve that this year. There were only a few rough sections and I’d say 100-105 miles of the course were decent. Downsides to this course: scenery sucks and it’s always windy. My goal was to stay very even on the bike, sacrifice a few minutes by going slow, and save up for the run. I was really banking on people hitting huge walls in the 90+ heat on the run. I stayed disciplined and with HR targets and was having a decent (for me) bike split, on pace for 5:40, until about mile 84. Then the wind and heat really cranked up several notches. For the last 28 miles I had a choice, either push hard to keep that 5:40, or let it go and save it for the run. I let it go and came in with a 5:50. As with the theme for the day, the time was horrible and slower than expected, but I still felt as if I hadn’t done a lot of effort for the day. I saved it all for the run, just as planned.
Run:
So far I’d gone conservatively and slowly worked my way up. Came out of the water in 27th and came out of T2 in17th. The heat was really brutal at this point and so I still needed to be conservative, so I ran the first 13.1 very relaxed. At the turnaround I saw my wife and other friends and they said that most of the people in front of me were already walking some and their form was looking really bad. I still felt good, so tried my best to put ground on people. I finally started to get tired around mile 17, and pace fell off at mile 20. I stayed steady and was able to pick it back up again at mile 23. My goal on the run was to run the whole thing without walking or slowing down to a pace that was essentially a walk, and I did that, so I was happy. Only ran a 4:10, but it was good for 4th split on the day. I made up a lot on the run and moved up to 11th, finishing with a time of 11:30 and change.
This is my 3rd year in tri, and only my 2nd iron-distance race, so I’m still learning a lot, but I feel that I put together a good race in terms of strategy and nutrition. Everything went as planned, which is rare at this distance, I think, which I’m ecstatic about given the brutal conditions. Times were WAY slower than I wanted or expected, but many others that finished the race were a good 30-45 minutes behind their “typical” IM times. I’m not fast, especially by ST standards, but I’m pleased with the outcome.
The number and quality of volunteers were amazing! My only other race I have to compare it to was GFT last year. I’m not bashing GFT, but it pales in comparison to the quality of this race. There were nearly 300 volunteers on the 6.55 mile run course alone. No different on the bike. Not bad at all for a small, independent race. One of the greatest things about the run course volunteers was their enthusiasm. People would actually come sprinting out to me about 100m out, ask me what I wanted, then sprint back. By the time I got to the station, it was all right there ready to grab on the run. That is service! Not to mention that run aid station with several kinds of beer, hotdogs, and hamburgers. Unfortunately, I was trying to move up more spots, so didn’t get to partake in that one. ;) And it’s one thing for volunteers to give you a “way to go” with a half-hearted effort, but I couldn’t believe how “into it” the volunteers were. Their enthusiasm in cheering was really genuine and motivating. Other than my family and friends being there, the volunteers were by far the best part of this race.
Even though this is a local race for me, I’ll be moving from Oklahoma within the next year. But wherever I move to, I’ll probably come back to do this race many times because of the steepness of their year-to-year improvement curve. Seeing the difference between the first year in 2005 and the 2nd in 2006 was big, but the improvements from 2006 to 2007 were HUGE. I can’t wait to see how this race continues to grow and improve. The volunteer to athlete ratio and individual attention was impressive, and that’s what makes or breaks a race to me. It’s a gem of a race that hardly anyone knows about, or maybe even wants to, but if you’re looking for a good iron distance toward the end of the season, this is a good one if you’re not into the IM juggernaut.
Pre-race:
Packet pick up, expo, and pre-race meeting were at the same location as transition on Friday, so it was easy to drop off bike (must do on Friday) and attend all those things in one swoop. Expo was a bit light, but there were good stuff available from the few vendors that were there. It had been very hot all week leading up to the race, so I knew that pacing and nutrition/hydration were going to be incredibly important. Race morning I was about as relaxed as I’d ever been. Just felt ready. I really nailed my taper spot on and I was clearly at my peak based on my training that week. It was a relief to go into a race knowing you’re on your game, even though my game is weak. :) That morning, I got there early enough to set up and take some time to relax before the race. Talked to some friends, got everything ready, then got in my wetsuit to start the swim.
Swim:
My only goal was to expend as little energy as possible. Race day conditions were projected to be 90+ temp, moderately high humidity (but not bad), and windy for most of the day. It was sort of good to know this beforehand because I threw time goals out the window and could just race my own race. Gun went off and almost caught me by surprise because I was just sort of zoning out and feeling relaxed while in the water. Water temp was 75, so I was comfortable in my full sleeve. Wind had already kicked up lots of chop, so it was a rough swim. I hated the way the course was laid out, almost a straight out and back (the two directions were only separated by 20 meters). After talking to the RD, he said this was not the initial intention and I wouldn’t bet on it being like this for next year. At the halfway point, checked my HR and it was good and low, although my time sucked. I really wanted to cut loose and push the 2nd lap to make up time, but just kept telling myself that when people are walking and cramping on the run, that’s when you can make your move. So I stayed patient and disciplined. Finished the swim with a 1:22, which is incredibly atrocious. But the 5-6 others I know that did the race were all in the 8-12 minute slower than normal range. I expected a 1:10, so that puts me in the same category. I think it was the combo of rough water and the course being long that made for this. Wasn’t happy with my time, but when I got into T1, I figured if I had a bad swim, so did everyone else (turns out I was right). Most importantly, I spent very little energy and felt fresh.
Bike:
The bike course is hard to describe to people who don’t live here. It’s not flat…you are either going up or down probably about 90% of the time. But there are no “hills” or “climbs”. It’s either slight grade up, or slight grade down. And it’s always windy around here, but I expect that since I live here. Road conditions have always been a gripe of this race in the past, but they really did a lot to improve that this year. There were only a few rough sections and I’d say 100-105 miles of the course were decent. Downsides to this course: scenery sucks and it’s always windy. My goal was to stay very even on the bike, sacrifice a few minutes by going slow, and save up for the run. I was really banking on people hitting huge walls in the 90+ heat on the run. I stayed disciplined and with HR targets and was having a decent (for me) bike split, on pace for 5:40, until about mile 84. Then the wind and heat really cranked up several notches. For the last 28 miles I had a choice, either push hard to keep that 5:40, or let it go and save it for the run. I let it go and came in with a 5:50. As with the theme for the day, the time was horrible and slower than expected, but I still felt as if I hadn’t done a lot of effort for the day. I saved it all for the run, just as planned.
Run:
So far I’d gone conservatively and slowly worked my way up. Came out of the water in 27th and came out of T2 in17th. The heat was really brutal at this point and so I still needed to be conservative, so I ran the first 13.1 very relaxed. At the turnaround I saw my wife and other friends and they said that most of the people in front of me were already walking some and their form was looking really bad. I still felt good, so tried my best to put ground on people. I finally started to get tired around mile 17, and pace fell off at mile 20. I stayed steady and was able to pick it back up again at mile 23. My goal on the run was to run the whole thing without walking or slowing down to a pace that was essentially a walk, and I did that, so I was happy. Only ran a 4:10, but it was good for 4th split on the day. I made up a lot on the run and moved up to 11th, finishing with a time of 11:30 and change.
This is my 3rd year in tri, and only my 2nd iron-distance race, so I’m still learning a lot, but I feel that I put together a good race in terms of strategy and nutrition. Everything went as planned, which is rare at this distance, I think, which I’m ecstatic about given the brutal conditions. Times were WAY slower than I wanted or expected, but many others that finished the race were a good 30-45 minutes behind their “typical” IM times. I’m not fast, especially by ST standards, but I’m pleased with the outcome.
The number and quality of volunteers were amazing! My only other race I have to compare it to was GFT last year. I’m not bashing GFT, but it pales in comparison to the quality of this race. There were nearly 300 volunteers on the 6.55 mile run course alone. No different on the bike. Not bad at all for a small, independent race. One of the greatest things about the run course volunteers was their enthusiasm. People would actually come sprinting out to me about 100m out, ask me what I wanted, then sprint back. By the time I got to the station, it was all right there ready to grab on the run. That is service! Not to mention that run aid station with several kinds of beer, hotdogs, and hamburgers. Unfortunately, I was trying to move up more spots, so didn’t get to partake in that one. ;) And it’s one thing for volunteers to give you a “way to go” with a half-hearted effort, but I couldn’t believe how “into it” the volunteers were. Their enthusiasm in cheering was really genuine and motivating. Other than my family and friends being there, the volunteers were by far the best part of this race.
Even though this is a local race for me, I’ll be moving from Oklahoma within the next year. But wherever I move to, I’ll probably come back to do this race many times because of the steepness of their year-to-year improvement curve. Seeing the difference between the first year in 2005 and the 2nd in 2006 was big, but the improvements from 2006 to 2007 were HUGE. I can’t wait to see how this race continues to grow and improve. The volunteer to athlete ratio and individual attention was impressive, and that’s what makes or breaks a race to me. It’s a gem of a race that hardly anyone knows about, or maybe even wants to, but if you’re looking for a good iron distance toward the end of the season, this is a good one if you’re not into the IM juggernaut.