st croix in two weeks

Patricia Rosen

Patrick, I have put in whatever training I could for this one.  as always I have had too little training and too much work... however, doing my race rehearsal this week gave me some courage.  I did have to do the swim and run on a different day than the bike but it is what it is.  I'm looking for advice on the execution.

 

st croix is a tough one.  I believe I have my bike chops dialed in and my running chops...  I will review the master 1/2 iron execution.  I've been training in my old zone without a retest and doing lots of hills

Advice oh sage one?  My thought is zone 2 on the beginning of the race and stay there until finished with the Beast.  I can handle the climb in zone two and low zone three... and finish the descent in zone two.  the rest will be just zone two and low zone three.  My run is okay but it is hilly.  please provide opinion on that...and should I use heart rate or zone racing with pace?

Paul Hough

Pat - see my comments on the dashboard. Suggest you surf and find my RR on St Croix. If you have time before the race, DRIVE the Beast if you can, and RIDE the back half of the course. FYI - St Croix drives on the left like in the UK. Bracelet from Sonya's is de rigueur!

Patricia Rosen

Thanks, Paul! I searched the site for St Croix and even race reports for St Croix. I got about 11 pages of stuff and most about St. George! If you can direct me to it that would be awesome...
I'll be there early so time to play and ride the run/ and drive the ride

Paul Hough

Pat - the only thing I get from the search function is "505 Internal Server Error". I did it in 2012 and the RR is out there somewhere. If you have any specific questions let me know.

Patricia Rosen

Thanks Paul! I appreciate it!

Coach Patrick

Team, okay I found the report here.

Search Tips -- #1, always use the search at the top of the website, not in the forum search area. I can't hide that one but it gives you that 500 error. So top of site please.

Search Tips -- #2, that search still didn't work not sure why. But I went to the Race Report forum and used the pages at the bottom to go to page #22, where Paul's report from 2012 lives!

Patty, read the report re pacing (2nd half of bike is LEGIT) and plan to manage the heat as best you can!!! It's a mini kona!

Paul Hough

Cool! For what it's worth, I get the 505 error regardless of which search bar I used. If you ever need beta testing, I am gifted at finding the flaws!

Patricia Rosen

thanks for the tips, you all!. Paul, I will be doing that swim every morning! I hate not being prepared for poor navigation and currents! I used to use the device(iolite) that tracks you on the swim but it would always fail on me before I got in the water so I've been doing better with just using antifog for my goggles and lifting my head when I have to...I hate losing time doing that but I have followed the wrong feet too many times.

on the bike, I use gatroskins front and aft. I will practice in the rain today doing my killer hills. it has been hot and humid here but not above 77 so I will pack a lot of EFS and salt stick for this race...

I've been doing a lot of hill repeats on the runs so I should be okay. I felt good this am with 7 repeats on a 12% 600 meter course... but then again it was a balmy 60 degrees in drizzle weather..

pray for me! you guys! I hate flats!!!I never use latex tubes though, so I might be better with that.  I have been dropping my train a bit lately so I'll work on the mechanical stuff before I go...

I'll be staying with EST folks so that will be good. I'm looking forward to the challenge! It might be a little like Lanzarote where the aid station was sometimes a gas station where you had to get a key from the manager to use the potty... however their rewards banquet was to die for ! with shrimp and tropical fruits and vegetables, and Paella was served at the finish line... I'm doing that one again some day soon!

Awesome report, Paul, and loved the extreme T shirt from your photos!

 

Paul Hough

Stop talking about Lanzarote...I am highly impressionable about going places! Ken Glah and team will take care of you and will drive folks up the Beast for a preview. There is a stretch of road - maybe 1/2 mile with many speed bumps - but they typically bull doze them off for the race, then put them back. Fingers crossed. Gator skins should be more than adequate. I like to race the big ones with fresh tires to avoid flats. Don't think I mentioned this, but most of the run is on the road except where you go behind the Buccaneer. You'll do some cross-country - dirt, grass, and golf cart trails as you loop around that resort...not flat.

I'm glad that you are getting to do this because I don't think this race will be around much longer. When they lost Kona slots the participation fell that much further. And most folks coming from the US to the south have IM70.3 Miami and/or San Juan to choose from -- stiff competition for St Croix with its very hard course. Good luck! I look forward to reading your take on the race after you kick butt.

Patricia Rosen

Thanks, Paul!

(Lanzarote, Lanzarote, Lanzarote.... )

Patricia Rosen

Thanks Folks! I had a very successful race... in spite of flat tire and some minor mechanicals...
Stayed in zone 2 on the beginning of bike and zone 3 after the beast. spiked a little on the beast and lost one tube, one water bottle and one bag of nutrition in the bumps. (redundancy was essential!) speed bumps in the neighborhood were not an issue but not bulldozed.
I had a perfect swim execution although my time did not reflect that (I was much faster on practice swim).
Run was good... had plenty of gas in the tank and it rained during my last four miles so didn't need any aide station stops.

I highly recommend this race! and I will do it again. race report coming... after I catch up on work!

Coach Patrick

Patricia, thanks for coming back to close the loop with your support team! What a great race.....the best races aren't the "cleanest" in my opinion; it's how you handle the bumps that makes it impressive. Well done!

Patricia Rosen