Mark Cardinale's St. George Race Report
This was 3rd time doing St. George and this course does not disappoint. The race itself and getting the chance to spend time with other EN athletes made this a great way to kickoff the 2015 season. Overall I’m very happy with my performance in St. George and feel like I put in place the first major puzzle piece to my 2015 season. I went in without any specific time goals other than to improve upon my 2014 performance in all 3 areas. I was able to do this by taking over 4 minutes off my swim, 8 minutes off my bike, 3 minutes off my run, and dropping my combined transition times by 3 minutes. I finished with a time of 4:41 and change and that was good enough for 8th in my age group.
SWIM – 34:19 - Plan was to line up on the buoys and swim inside or on the buoy line. By the time I arrived at the first buoy I was already being steered into the middle of the course. By the 3rd or 4th buoy i found myself 20yds away from the buoys but luckily the course had thinned out a bit and I was able to steer myself closer to the buoys. The swim progressed fine from there. I felt pretty good and every once in awhile I bump into someone. I felt like I was having a decent swim because I was passing lots of people from previous waves and I did not see anyone pass me from the wave behind me. I was hoping to finish in 32 or 33, but that was not to be the case, instead finishing in just over 34 minutes. When I checked my Garmin it showed that I swam 2263yds at an average pace of 1:31/100yds. The extra yardage was more a function of my swimming all over vs. the course being long. If I can straighten my swim I feel like I have the speed for a 32/33 min HIM swim.
BIKE – 2:34:24 – My plan here was to be on the gas from the start. Lots of speed to be had on the course. I focused on drinking, eating, and maximizing my speed across the many flats and downhills, and then minimizing the damage on the climbs. I saw my IF climb as high as .862, but I knew that it would come down on that 8mile descent back into St. George. I finished the bike with an IF of .857 (NP=227, FTP=265), TSS of 186.6, and my VI finished at 1.07. I was very happy with my VI as I think last year I finished with a 1.12. The course changes they made to take out some of the tunnel crossings and admin, only served to make the course faster.
RUN – 1:28:18 – I knew my run last year was solid so it was going to be difficult to take too much time off last years run. The first 3 miles of this course are all about keeping things in check. On the gradual uphill I tried to keep my pace between 7:20 and 7:30, allowing that to drift up to 7:45+ on the first of several large uphills. At the top of the hill there is about a mile section that is relatively flat. Here is where I tried to settle in. I wanted to drop my pace as low as I could, but not raise my HR above 135. For me that pace was around 6:50-7:00/mile depending upon the grade. I focused on maintaining my effort level and clicking off the miles. There were people out there running my speed or faster, but what I noticed is that I was able to catch a lot of those people on the uphills. I think that’s a reflection of run strength gained through run durability/frequency and a lot of hillwork that I include in my day to day runs. Overall I finished with an average pace of 6:44/mile, with my last 2+ miles being sub 6. It wasn’t a run PR for me, but on this course, I feel really good about this run. I was checking times of the pro men and women and noticed that my run was only a minute and half slower than Rinnie’s. Now, she was probably just cruising along at what amounted to a jog for her, but it’s still pretty cool!
As mentioned it was really fun hanging with Coach Rich and the rest of the EN gang. Overall it was a great weekend with lots that I can build upon and try to improve before my 2 upcoming Boulder races. Thanks for reading!
SWIM – 34:19 - Plan was to line up on the buoys and swim inside or on the buoy line. By the time I arrived at the first buoy I was already being steered into the middle of the course. By the 3rd or 4th buoy i found myself 20yds away from the buoys but luckily the course had thinned out a bit and I was able to steer myself closer to the buoys. The swim progressed fine from there. I felt pretty good and every once in awhile I bump into someone. I felt like I was having a decent swim because I was passing lots of people from previous waves and I did not see anyone pass me from the wave behind me. I was hoping to finish in 32 or 33, but that was not to be the case, instead finishing in just over 34 minutes. When I checked my Garmin it showed that I swam 2263yds at an average pace of 1:31/100yds. The extra yardage was more a function of my swimming all over vs. the course being long. If I can straighten my swim I feel like I have the speed for a 32/33 min HIM swim.
BIKE – 2:34:24 – My plan here was to be on the gas from the start. Lots of speed to be had on the course. I focused on drinking, eating, and maximizing my speed across the many flats and downhills, and then minimizing the damage on the climbs. I saw my IF climb as high as .862, but I knew that it would come down on that 8mile descent back into St. George. I finished the bike with an IF of .857 (NP=227, FTP=265), TSS of 186.6, and my VI finished at 1.07. I was very happy with my VI as I think last year I finished with a 1.12. The course changes they made to take out some of the tunnel crossings and admin, only served to make the course faster.
RUN – 1:28:18 – I knew my run last year was solid so it was going to be difficult to take too much time off last years run. The first 3 miles of this course are all about keeping things in check. On the gradual uphill I tried to keep my pace between 7:20 and 7:30, allowing that to drift up to 7:45+ on the first of several large uphills. At the top of the hill there is about a mile section that is relatively flat. Here is where I tried to settle in. I wanted to drop my pace as low as I could, but not raise my HR above 135. For me that pace was around 6:50-7:00/mile depending upon the grade. I focused on maintaining my effort level and clicking off the miles. There were people out there running my speed or faster, but what I noticed is that I was able to catch a lot of those people on the uphills. I think that’s a reflection of run strength gained through run durability/frequency and a lot of hillwork that I include in my day to day runs. Overall I finished with an average pace of 6:44/mile, with my last 2+ miles being sub 6. It wasn’t a run PR for me, but on this course, I feel really good about this run. I was checking times of the pro men and women and noticed that my run was only a minute and half slower than Rinnie’s. Now, she was probably just cruising along at what amounted to a jog for her, but it’s still pretty cool!
As mentioned it was really fun hanging with Coach Rich and the rest of the EN gang. Overall it was a great weekend with lots that I can build upon and try to improve before my 2 upcoming Boulder races. Thanks for reading!
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Comments
Congrats on yet another stellar race for you. I know you worked hard on your swim in the OS, and :34 in a wave start where most swims seemed a little slow, is very impressive. I think you were about 5 min off Coach R's swim time, and as you probably know, he can swim.
Strong, steady bike, as usual. Made up any "deficit" you may think you dug in the swim and set yourself up well to unleash your run.
Speaking of, your ability to run off the bike continues to amaze and confound. 1:28 on that brutal course, on a hot day? Just stupid fast. And I really like how you were running 7:30s, hit a big hill, and slowed to 7:45. My 7:30 pace slows to around 9:45 when I hit a steep hill. Which probably helps explain why my Worlds experiences always involve a 1080p LCD and a couch.
Cheers on a great accomplishment, looking forward to your continued success this year.
Mike
I predict a podium spot at Boulder.
Mark - sounds like you had what amounts to a perfect race for you on that day. Keep the execution to that standard next month.
@Robin - You should do the half - you won't be disappointed. Lots of great feedback on the course even from those who did this race back when it was a full.
@Mike - Thanks, man! The swim is still a work in progress, but it's moving in the right direction. Thanks for sharing your insights with me over the last year or so!
@Gabe - Thanks, Gabe! We'll see about the podium, but for sure i plan to give it my all in Boulder next month.
@Al - I'm happy with my performance and i'm hoping to roll this over to my 2 boulder races later this year.