Ed Croucher's Tinman Race Report
By Saturday morning, my foot had healed some, but I was walking funny. At the Race Site, I was setting up and saw my friends form the north, Steve & Brenda Ross. I went over to greet Steve who was racing. I saw that Brent Pilon was also right there and racing too. Brenda was standing outside the Transition fence and taking photographs. We talked for a while then I went back to my bike and finished the setup. I jumped in the water and got a good warm-up swim in. The swim was going to be good. Eric & I walked to the swim start. 
He is 4 years younger than me and his wave was scheduled to go before mine. Our wives had arrived at the swim start and that made the pre-race complete. I watched Eric and his wave start. There were more racers this year than last and I was getting excited. My wave got in the water and I did another quick warm-up. I was set. When the horn to start went off I felt great. There was a fair amount of contact in the early part of the swim. Later when I looked at my garmin file, I could see why. I Still can't swim straight without a line to follow. I got hit in the face about 6 times. I'm sure that some of that was caused by my drifting off line. I really like this race, but the swim always gives me trouble since I can't see the finish or any real landmark to aim for. After a couple hundred yards, I seemed to straighten out and settled into my stroke. I felt like I was swimming fast. I started catching up to my brother's wave after the first turn. I could see the next turn buoy and doing pretty good with my line. I always have a problem after that buoy swimming straight. If it is sunny, the sun is right in your face all the way to the finish from that point. This day, it was clear skies and bright sun. I couldn't see the buoys anymore. To be fair to myself, I couldn't even see people swimming in front of me on the final leg of the swim. Still, I was straighter than I had ever been and finished the swim 3rd in my AG and pretty well OA.
T-1 went pretty well, 2:04. 
I couldn't really run in my bare feet. I was really afraid I would step on something and further hurt my foot. At the time, I didn't notice very much about the transition area. When I saw this pic from Brenda I saw how many bikes were still present. I have not seen this often. Thanks Mike R. I was fairly efficient when I got to my bike. The suit came off quickly and my shoes & helmet went on. I realized before I left my spot that my ear plugs were still in. I got them out and clipped my helmet. When I arrived at the bike start I was stopped by the volunteer. The police officer was letting traffic go. I took that time to tighten my shoes. Then he called to let us go and I was off.
The ride went well. I tried not to ride beyond my watts. I was able to accomplish that and I did it on a 1.03 VI. My VI would have been sub 1.03 except I started to push a bit on the final few climbs. I settled in and made it up the first climb without rocketing my watts. Each time I came to a climb I spoke out loud and said "a good run comes from a good bike". I know a good bike is the right watts and low VI. For the next 25 miles, I nailed the bike as good as I could. When I looked at my file after the race I saw that I held 187 watts, a little low, 1.02 VI and 21.8 mph. I was sitting second in my AG with about 10 miles to go on the bike. Two guys passed me at that point. I saw they were in my age group. I did not want to let them get too far ahead so I started climbing harder. I held them close the rest of the way to Transition. The push to the end of the bike didn't cost too much. I finished the bike with a time 2:40:11 good for 21 mph. This was only 2 minutes slower than my fastest bike. My VI was 1.03. 
My T-2 wasn't too bad. I was 1:55. I could see both of the guys from my age group who passed me on the bike. I got my socks and shoes on and I went out after them. I never saw #1 from my AG. He is really fast. Right from the start of the run I was in searing pain. The injury to my foot obviously threw my gait off as I quickly developed a blister on my other foot. I tried to pick up my pace, but I was stuck at an 8:15 pace. The run was hot. I quickly employed my "keep your temp low techniques." I learned these from EN racers and they save races. I tried the Coach P bag, but I couldn't get it comfortably on my wrist. It was too tight. I used a 1 quart "zipper" style zip lock bag. I also told my brother to use this. At the first aid station, they did not have any ice. I poured a cup of water in my bag, one down my throat and one on my head. I was able to real in one of the two guys that passed me on the bike before mile 2. The first out & back on the course is at mile 3.5 and just before that is where I saw the other guy from my age group who passed me. Right after that, I saw Brent Pilon from EN. 
I tried hard but could not pick my pace up any faster. I was hoping that the heat would get to him and focused on holding my pace. As the run went on the pain only intensified and my pace slowed. My feet were my only issue. The rest of my body was good and I had a faster run in me. I finished the run a little more than one minute per mile slower than last year. As tough as this run was for me, I was still 6th in my age group. I finished at 1:50:11. The guy who was second ran a 1:43:04. I ended up 3rd in my age group for the race. 
I needed 33 seconds per mile to break the 5 hour mark. Last year's run would have given me 2nd place in my AG and finished under 5 hours. When you do stupid things during race week, you will pay for it. Lesson learned! Tupper Lake Toughman Tinman is a great race and a great course. I had a fantastic time. I was so great to race with my brother and my friends. Now it's time to focus on IMWI!!!
Comments
Grats for the podium!
Man I love those pics! Hard to catch a Cheetah on film in action, but Brenda got it done.
Amazing to place 3rd in a stacked AG with an injury on your foot like that. Kind of leaves no excuses out there when you realize, by examples like these, how much mental strength and experience plays in a race performance......the ability to execute pushing distractions/pain to the side, hold the line and focus on what you control each minute, hour until the job is done.
So proud to be your friend and thankful for how much stronger you have made the team with what you always bring to the table.
SS
Ed,
Congrats again on a great race, especially under the circumstances. All that work on the swim has paid off. You accepted the fact that you needed to improve (you weren't blaming the water or your wetsuit for your times), you got smarter, worked harder and smarter, and came out of the water in 3rd. Time doesn't matter; the fact that you entered the bike-full T1 at the FOP allowed you to race the entire race at the FOP. If you had come out in 57th, you wouldn't have had a clue where you stood until post-race.
I don't like those 4 bottles on your bike, especially on a hilly course. If you could find a way to get 6 bolted on there, you could get your bike weight over 40 pounds and feed a few small villages along the way. Seriously, unless one of the bottles carried flat gear, you need nothing but the BTA and a single spare. Moo is one of the few races where weight is probably as important as aero, so start planning and practicing some "smart" weight-saving options.
No doubt you would have gone sub-5 with a sound foot. Which speaks volume that we're even talking 4:xx at our advanced ages. Heal up and start focusing on Madison. Can't wait to follow that build and race.
MR
Everyone, Thank you for the comments. I try to learn from each race, but I usually learn more from the reviews I get here. I have been re-thinking my fueling for a while. I really like the Infinit and I don't like to get near the aid stations. So, I have always loaded my bike. Wisconsin is going to be a different approach. To start, I won't fool around during race week. I will be trying to figure how to best fuel the race. I really had a great race. This is a venue that the EN Team could really enjoy. The members I meet here always do.