Turby's 2016 Eagleman RR
This was Carol's and mine 5th or 6th time at Eagleman and it never fails to disappoint with the weather. It got up to 90 and somewhat windy (although not bad for there). We love the course and the people down there so we keep going back for more punishment. The issue this year was we both had been sick for about 3 weeks with bronchitis. I started to feel a little better a week before the race but was still wheezing when I tried to train. Carol is still sick now but we figured we would just take our best shot. I saw her at three miles into her run and she had the good sense to stop and hitch a ride back. She went back to the doc today and is going for a chest x-ray now to make sure she doesn't have walking pneumonia. I also have had a hip injury and had been averaging about 10 miles of running per week since May 1st with one run of 8 miles so I figured that wasn't going to be good!
Swim: 35:23 We lucked out and were able to wear wetsuits which is unusual for Eagleman. This was my best 1/2 IM swim by far. I took some lessons over the winter which helped me take 6-7 minutes off my 1/2 IM time. After some help from our swim experts (Mike and David) I'm looking forward to working on a bunch of other stuff they pointed out. Conditions were good for the swim with the usual amount of contact.
Bike: 2:32:42 The winds were typical for Eagleman but the good news was they were mostly tail winds for the second half of the race. My split at 28 miles was 1:20 and the second half was 1:12 on 9 more watts so the wind helped coming in. This is a FLAT bike course and I've learned that it's harder to get my power up than on a hillier course. So now I just shoot for an IF of .79-.80, stay aero the whole time and take advantage of spots where I can make as much speed as possible. Power was exactly the same as last year but one minute faster thanks to the wind.
Run: 1:49 (8:20 pace) This was the unknown element of the day due to so little run training and bronchitis. The hip pain was not a factor but the lack of fitness was! I started out at about 8:00 minute pace (my usual 1/2 IM pace is 7:30-7:40). My heart rate is usually about 130 at 7:30ish pace for the 13 miles and it was 135 about a 1/2 mile in at 8:00. From there it went to 142 (which is about my mile repeat HR) and by 4 miles was hitting upper 140s! At that point I slowed down and stopped looking at HR and just put one foot in front of the other! Never looked at pace or HR after 4 miles and just tried to finish. I was a little disappointed because I had been in great run shape in March and April and think I could have broken 5 hours but am very blessed and grateful to finish where I did!
Total time: 5:05 1st place AG (60-64) also beat all but one in 55-59
It was great as always to spend time with Tim and Heather and to see fellow teammates Dawn Cass and family, Hugh Pope and Skip Crawford.
Thanks for reading!
Comments
Run training's not all it's cracked up to be, eh? But it sure does make things easier!
Inspiring results as your success at this sport just keeps coming. Give the young 'uns something to shoot for.