Tim Cronk 2015 Patriot Half
South of Boston in Freetown Ma. is the Patriot Half.... I always thought it was called the Patriotman ! This race is sold out every year, tried to get in last year and missed it.... Got in this year and I can see why it sells out... Well run , beautiful course , and fast !
Using this race as a stepping stone on my way to IMLP and coming 2 weeks after the Quassy OLY/HIM double. Was feeling really good and I took it very seriously with a short 2 day taper, and raced @ 100% of my HIM ability....
Results. 4:36:10 , 1st in M50-54AG , 11 OA .... This is probably a PR for a full HIM course... I do have a faster one but some of the course was short.... Hard to compare....
Swim. 30:33 , 6th AG.... Unique Start- Waves but Rolling 3 at a time every 10 seconds with the timing matt right on the edge of the water buried in the sand , The Waves started at 7AM , I was in Wave 9 and got in the water shortly after 7:30AM... Enjoyed this start, low key and fair IMO... Since I was lined up in front of M50-54 I knew that if I saw anyone on the course in front of me I was in trouble... Problem with this is someone can come in behind you and still win... Either way I liked the start.... Swim was uneventful , only saw one guy pass me that I tried to draft but he lost me , came out of the water 6th but had no idea.
T1- 1:47 , 1st AG.... smooth and uneventful, out of the water , strip , shoes, helmet , glasses, go.... could of even saved another couple seconds by leaving shoes on the bike...
Bike- 2:26:34 , 2nd AG .... AP197 / NP199 (Power PR by 1 watt) , VI 1.01 , IF .89 , W/KG for this ride 3.59 , TSS 194 , KJ 1728 , Calories burned per hour 690... I dont normally look at KJ and Calories per hr but wanted to see what the metabolic cost was to my 122lb body ....The bike was 2 loops... Felt good and built up to my target watts right away of around 195.... out of the 11 - 5 mile splits the NP range was between 192-205 with the lower ones on the second lap.... Not really a fade but cleaner steadier riding without as much traffic and passing.... Roads are in pretty good shape, most of them narrow without a lot of room... My only complaint would be WAY too many turns to maintain momentum... Saw 1 guy in my AG pass me.... Never noticed that I passed anyone in my AG....
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/809938714
T2- 2:39 , 1st AG , left shoes on bike pre-dismount, run to rack, sat down in grass so I could PEE while I put on shoes (no socks) , grabbed bib and watch , done.
Run- 1:34:38 , 1st AG , 7:14 pace , a negative split , PR pace for a HIM run by 6 sec per mile , course is 1 loop and mostly flat , they call it rolling , but compared to Quassy it almost felt like I was running down hill most of the time.... As I was running into T2 with my bike I saw the guy who passed me leaving, sh!t he's several minutes ahead of me... Let it go.... Settled into about 7:15 pace right away, around mile 3 a 23 yr old passes me, seemed like he pulled ahead 50yds and then dropped to my pace, either way I started using him as a pacer, around mile 4 I could see the guy I was after way up ahead, by mile 6 I was behind him and still using my 23yr old pacer, I eased up a bit to recover , then at around 6.5 I went by my guy slowly , I heard him pick it up , so I picked it up a little at a time , at mile 7 I was cresting a small hill with a pretty good down coming, and decided to burn a match , pushing it for 1 mile (my fastest mile of the day) I lost him , mile 8 was a hard left turn where I got a look to see how far back he was (not a factor anymore at least if I maintain) by this time I was on my 23 yr old again and eased back up.... Then I started thinking he could have been last in the water for all I know (same with anyone) I can't ease up too much... Paced off my 23yr old until 11.5 miles and then passed him and brought it home! Funny thing was? That guy was NOT my competition ! Either way I really feel like I keep learning something every single time I race about "How to Race".... All run splits were between 6:53 and 7:27....
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/809934375
Nutrition- normal carbo load the day before , normal white rice b-fast 3.5 hrs before race, 1 gel and 1 bottle gatoraide pre-swim , 2 bottles of gatoraide and 4 blocks on the bike (16oz fluid per hr and 170 cal per hr) I actually could have drank more on this bike effort , 3 gels on the run at mile 1,5,9 with water and gatoraide all other stations ( hard to calculate but more than 20oz per hr fluid and 200 cal per hr on the run)...
My take away of Things to improve or consider going forward - learn how to do flying mounts with shoes on the bike, I think we are seeing more races where this is allowed , I ran out of fluid with 15min to go on the bike (not usually an issue with me on a HIM) but I was beginning to get a bit dry and thought that could get me on the run... There was 1 more aide station but they required you to throw a bottle to get one? never saw that before and I had my best bottles LOL....
Misc - Special thanks to my Heather who went 6:17 and then drove home cause I felt like crap ... Congrats to Heidi Marcus on her PR.... My buddy Jim Soroka who traveled with us (68yrs old 2nd AG with 5:36).... The guy I battled for 1st in my AG at Quassy finished 3rd at Patriot...On the bike I passed a M40-44AG'er who then catches up to me and says are you Tim Cronk? (I have CRONK on the A$$ of my EN custom tri-suit) LOL, I say yep do I know you? NO I just seen your name around... Go get um...I got his name and number (looked him up and he is from nearby in NH) .... My 23yr old pacer comes up to me after the race in transition with his girlfriend and congrats just shaking his head, tells his girlfriend this is the guy... I thanked him very much for pacing me and helping me catch that other guy! He was starting to shake pretty good and was probably on the verge of medical attention as he left... I did get a chance to see my Heather in mid race but kinda hard to get a kiss when passing on the bike , her comment on the way home was , how about that guy sucking your wheel when you went by me? I knew he was there but didn't care as long as he is behind me and not playing leap frog costing me matches, he eventually fell off !
ON to IMLP
Comments
You're gonna have to stop pacing off of 23 yr olds and start targeting the pro's instead.
I can't wait to see what you are gonna do to that IMLP course.
Your discipline produces such consistency, great work Tim. And you race reports are always an exciting read.
Looking forward to seeing you tear up the field in Lake Placid!!
Hope we get the chance to race together one of these days!
34 more days, we've got nothing to lose there, everything to win.
Really enjoyed this race report. I read them like an addict. Thank you for the detail and sharing it. Nice race!
......and we all get the benefit of seeing the words put to action with undisputable results, every single time!
Lookout IMLP!
Sincere congratulations to both of you!
SS
Nice work Tim! Crazy fast stuff! I've made a note to sign up for this next year since I forgot this year til it was too late.
PS I thought it was the Patriotman too!
Great races, and great reports! Looking forward to big things at LP!
Tim, Congrats on another podium finish and AG win! I'm really struck by your execution on the run. Knowing when and where to make your move, plus pushing the pace for a mile had to be devastating to the guy in your AG - these are really ninja level racing skills. I also picked up a something new to try - peeing while putting on your shoes! Talk about multitasking!
As for the flying mount, every year i think this is the year i'm going to incorporate, but when i try to practice doing it, i end up taking 30-45 seconds to wedge my feet into my shoes - and that's just practicing, not after a 35minute swim where i'm wobbly and breathing heavy. As a result, at least for me, i don't feel it buys me much additional time and may actually end up costing me time. But all that's just my perspective and of course YMMV!