Yesterday at the Musselman 1/2 in Geneva I finally had the race I thought I was capable of (actually it went much better than I would have expected)
The swim was choppy and slow, 27:20 I think it was 2nd OA.
Got on the Seduza and started to hammer. I wanted to go out hard as I knew the back half of the course was a bit faster. After starting in the 4th wave, 15 min after wave 1 I found myslef in the race lead at mile 15. My ride was going well but I would have never expected to make up that much time so soon. The course was great, nice rolling hills and good pavement for the most part. I did get chased by a big dog around mile 20, spiked the watts to 950.
I ended up breaking the bike course record by 3 min. I rode 2:13 for a 25.3mph avg at 308watts NP, good ride, better yet my legs felt good coming into T2.
On to the run, always a question mark for me. I’ve never felt like I’ve run to my potential in a triathlon but my legs felt different right off the bat yesterday. I got into a rythm and just kept ticking it over. I was waiting for the dreaded crash and burn (knowing I’d ridden pretty hard) but it didn’t really come. The weather was good, the course was good (again rolling hills, with the second half easier than the first) and I ran a 1:26 half mary. This may not sound all that fast to some of the run studs but it’s a 14 min run PR for me over this distance.
It was very cool to win. I’ve never won a race before and it felt pretty damn good to execute a solid race. I stopped the clock in 4:09:46 for a new course record and a 1/2 Iron PR by 13 min.
Musselman is a great event, the volunteers were amazing, the town is behind the event and the race organization was flawless (except that one dog!!) I will certainly be back!
Most of us here knew it was just a matter of time, but damn it must have felt good to put it all together. With an 80min open half marathon under your belt, there is probably a little upside left in your run too.
Enjoy your accomplishment, take your rest if that’s what you have scheduled, and keep your eye on the October prize!
Hey man, I guess I missed your post…totally amazing…congrats big guy and following up that silly fast bike with a 1:16…Eganski should be shaking in his boots for the Kona smackdown.
Damn! That is some sick speed on the run. Just remember to back WAY off in Kona on the swim and bike…I would appreciate it ;^)
If I average your bike and run speed at the NYC Tri Sunday (olympic distance, by the way) i’ll be shocked.
Dev-i’d be shaking in my boots if I thought Ian was gonna have his typical race in Kona. But if he races to his potential, then he’s too far out of my league for me to worry about.
Ian, awesome race! I knew you had that run in you.
It might make things tricky for the rest of us in October though! Maybe, i’ll just focus on beating eganski now that you’ve gone Hollywood on us.
Blah blah blah, that’ll change after you win the OA amateur at Lake Placid, joining Itseazy in Hollywood and once again relegating me to ‘Turtle’ status.
And if you canucks don’t get HBO up there in that 3rd world country, ‘Turtle’ status is a nice way of saying ‘bitch.’
Dev, i get in on Friday AM. I’m driving up after work Thursday.
Eganski, if i went hollywood I wouldn’t even know your name: My waterbottles would be fuelled with Crystal, my bike would be pimped out with diamond studded zip wheels, and i’d have some hulkster bodyguards to protect my transition spot.
Lucky for us that Ian is a pretty humble guy so he’ll probably still remember us and let us hang with him.
on a serious note: Ian what was the average power of that ride? just curious.
Thanks guys, as I said it was a good day. Now I’ve just gotta go back and write down everything I did (or didn’t do) the week prior.
I’ll also hafta make a habit of having a couple of beers with the better part of a large New York style pizza for a pre-race meal.
J-mo average power was 290.
I should thank the RD for having that kiddie pool full of ice water in the finishing chute. My legs actually feel decent!!
Do you have an average cadence as well? One thing I noticed at St. Croix was how low your cadence seems to be, though it was a training ride.
Either way, awesome job and it must feel good running down the chute as the #1 overall. I’ve never been close, though j-mo did almost win the Victoria half. Maybe you guys will let me touch your bikes in Kona :^P
j-mo, tear it up this weekend. I did my part at CdA. Ian trumped it on Sunday. Now it’s your turn. We’ll be following and cheering you on.
And Dev-Kona will be the rubber match with Ian and I, not the rematch. He let me by at Lake Placid while he was in one of the port-a-johns, so we’re tied at one win a piece ;^)
I also had a dream race to head up “the best of what’s left” - 5th place but the wrong side of a 15 minute gap to fourth and the real studs. First thing I though when I saw the results was to look you up - that was an awesome performance!
Also want to second everything you said about the race - a great event and one for the diary next year.
Way to go Ian, that was a f’n amazing race you put together!!!
1 - CONGRATS!!!
2 - DAMN!!! You killed it across the board: S, B, R, and transitions even.
3 - as for the run split, well - it’s about f’n time!!!
<< I’ll also hafta make a habit of having a couple of beers with the better part of a large New York style pizza for a pre-race meal >>
Beer and pizza, an all-time classic! Looks like you’ll be hitting the Kona Brewery for your pre-race feast in October then (their pizzas are all delicious!, and tasty beer too!)
From what I saw, you were the only swim split under 30 mins, so it must been choppy and slow for everybody else besides you. Damn fish.
Can you do us power peeps a favor and cut and paste yer file for the bike here?
I’d love to check it out.
308w for 2:13? That’s Bjorn/Rappstar territory. Did I mention? DAMN.
Congrats again. Bottle this feeling, and uncork it in Kona.
-M
Hey Mike, Thanks!
Yeah, the swim was tough but there was one dude who was about :20 secs ahead of me coming out of my wave.
Not sure how to cut and paste the Cycling Peaks file. Tell me how and I’d be glad to post it. I may learn a thing or two from you folks who have been using these things for a while.
Cheers, Ian
It was my first half, so I chose to, ahem, uh, savor the experience; …for a couple of additional HOURS!
The race organizers did a great job, the volunteers were amazing, and the venue was fantastic. On the last two miles of run along the lake, that water looked sooo inviting. After the race, it fulfilled that promise.
