CdA this year was my first iron distance race after 13 months in the sport. I had a fantastic day and enjoyed every second of it. 1:09 swim, 6:14 bike, 4:48 marathon…12:23 overall.
I had a blast during the swim…and dont expect a huge improvement there other than knowing I can go faster with only slightly more effort.
The 6:14 on the bike came after pretty consistent training (100-150 miles a week) all either flat roads or on the trainer (mostly trainer). I felt good, hills weren’t too taxing and my run was pretty good as well (not perfect, but I dont think the bike effort had much to do with it.)
Run was great till midway when my IT started acting up. Had to walk a bit, but it was my longest run ever (I’d done 20 in training).
Never bonked or hit the wall, and was pretty happy all day.
My training leading up to AZ has been on par with that of CdA, but I ran my first standalone marathon 2 weeks ago in 3:42 with a pretty light training load post-Idaho.
Okay, I guess I’d like to know what I should shoot for, taking into consideration the much flatter course in Tempe. My fitness will be slightly better, and I should be a good 10 pounds lighter as well. I’m not expecting anything, but I’m doing this race with my brother and a pretty big group of other friends and we have a good natured rivalry going on. Just want to have something to set my sights on. Would a full hour improvement be too ambitious?
Oh…I used a 808/1080 rental combo at CdA, and this race I’ll just be using my regular wheels (30mm deep, kinda heavy) but I’ll have a rear cover and latex tubes/decent tires.
