William "Skip" Crawford's Eagleman report
I did not plan to race Eagleman this year. My wife and I usually register for the same races and she was swimming across the Chesapeake Bay the day of Eagleman. However, we decided to stay in Cambridge for her race and Eagleman was still open so I signed up for the race. My goal was to use it as a training day. We were racing Mont-Tremblant 70.3 the next week and I did not want to do anything that would hurt my ability to race MT. Mission accomplished.
The swim was slow (I am a slow swimmer) but it appears it was slow for everyone. It was very uneventful. My time was 53:54, which is slow even by my standards. I did not experience a lot of bumping and congestion.
I like the IMMD bike course better than Eagleman even though they are similar. The bike is flat and subject to winds. I decided to ride my IM power (155 watts) rather than my HIM power (175 watts) to save my legs for MT 70.3. My NP was 153. Total time was 3:00. I was very happy with the bike as I know I rode smart and avoided the temptation to increase the watts while riding into the wind. I drank 24 oz of Gatorade Endurance per hour and ate Cliff shots every 30 minutes. I felt good the entire time on the bike with no cramping, which has been an issue for me in the past.
I know the run would be very hot. I started out of transition and I felt strong. I felt strong starting the run last year and ended up getting sick at mile three. Due to my history of getting sick, the heat, and trying to save my legs, I intentionally ran very slowly. My total run time was 2:27 or an 11:16 mile pace. I actually ran 10 min miles, but made sure to walk all of the aid stations. I drank Gatorade Endurance at every aid station and added Coke at every aid station beginning at the halfway point.
A huge thank you to the person that suggested bringing a ziploc bag to hold ice. I used a ziploc bag for the first time and it was amazing! I could see the jealous looks of other competitors as I filled up my ice bag every aid station. I was able to run the entire 13.1 miles and felt strong at the end.
In the end, I think it was a very good experience. I developed a race plan that would allow me to use the race as a training day and not require a lot of recovery time. I executed my plan and am very happy with the race.
Comments
Yeah, sounds like a great training day. I was reminded of a guy I knew years ago, always was a little faster then me, who, when I asked him about his training plan, said, "Oh, I just race my way into shape" He did a race every weekend June through Sept, and that was about it (but only olys and sprints "I don't do the long stuff") Now go kill it in Canada!
I will be tracking you at LP.