This past weekend I raced Ironman 70.3 Steelhead up in Michigan. This was my fourth time doing the race, it is one of my favorites
I spent four days with the family relaxing and enjoying a little pre race vacation as we all love the area, the beaches and town of St Joe’s.
Race morning saw near perfect conditions with a 10-15mph north wind. Most assumed we would start the race at the northern start point vs the usual start at Tuscornia Park. However, the course was set up as it usually is with a south to north swim. In a nut-shell, this lead to some very slow times and some chop on the swim. As I swam I noticed that every bouy had at least one swimmer from earlier waves clinging to them. My thoughts were that there were some scared people out there in Lake Michigan.
Having spent many a summer surfing down at Cape Hatteras and Rodanthe, I was very comfortable in the water. Although my swim time was 37:36, a full 8 minutes slower than my fastest swim at Steelhead, I exited the water 8th in my AG out of 120+. That never happens at the bigger Ironman brand races.
My goal for the bike was to ride at an IF of 82-85%, and then hang on for the run. I did not taper for this race, basically it was a train through race as I gear up for IMLouisville in three weeks. The bike went great save one minor mechanical issue at mile 18 where I hit a large pot hole and my add-on gear holder for the Speed Concept 7 popped open. I tried to get it back on while still riding then thought about my friend Kevin Park who was involved in a serious bike accident the week prior. Best to pull off the road and fix the problem. Because of the jarring effect of the pot hole, all the small items shifted to the bottom and I could not close the lid and my Vitorria Pit Stop was spraying all over the place…rather comical. I finally got everything in order and was back on the road, with about 1.5 minutes of time to take care of the mishap
After 56 miles of riding aero the entire time [huge shout out to JB from Eddy’s Bike Shop for my re-tooled bike fit] I cruised into T2 in 2:25:40, just over 23mph avg. I rode at an IF of .843, spot on, and a NP of 219 watts, and exited T2 in 3rd place in my AG.
My goal for the run was to not slow down, knowing it would not be my fastest run due to the lack of taper/heavier than usual work load leading up to race day. The course is two loops with 3 big hills you need to climb – OUCH! I broke the run into 4 three mile segments. Through the first 3 miles I was at a 7:11 pace, slowed a bit miles 4-6 with a 7:16 pace. It was also at mile 5 where I was caught by my good friend Brian Stern. He would go on to run a 1:22:11 split, that is crazy fast. The next 3 mile segment I dropped the pace to 7:11 and the final 3 mile segment a little lower, to 7:10. A pretty solid and even effort through 12 miles with 1.1 to go. It was nice running in my new Kinvara 4’s that Josh from Ritchie’s Sporting Goods was able to order for me, shout out to Josh! In Muncie three weeks prior I ran in my Saucony Fast Twitch flats, right out of the box. I love those shoes but I made the mistake of ordering the wrong size, 11 vs 11.5. My toes paid the price for my mistake so it was nice to have my feet wrapped in some comfie shoes. It was also nice and comfie to see my wife and children so many times on the course. My son Luke ran part of mile 1 with me, decked out in Team ER gear, ringing his cowbell. Gotta love the support I get from the best family ever!
In the final mile I managed to catch one athlete from my AG and crossed the finish line [love the beach front finish] in 4:43:33, with a 1:34:11 run split. A solid days effort and good for a podium spot #3/120+ in my AG, and some Ironman hardware. There were almost 1600 athletes/pros and relay teams that toed the line race morning and my finish time put me in the top 100,.
Always one of my favorite races, the kids want to go back in 2014. Before that, I need to get ready for my A race, Ironman Louisville, in less than 3 weeks!