Polo's River Roux Half Iron Race Report
River Roux is a Louisiana half-iron distance race with 1,500 ft of climb on rough country roads 50 miles north of Baton Rouge.
Pre-Race: I tapered well except I had an unexpected trip to Houston the 2 days before the race with 10 hours of driving. Got in my big breakfast, turkey sandwich lunch, pretzels, fig newtons and Gatorade the day before, and breakfast on race morning per my Race Plan. Weather was good - sunny with high 50s to low 70s during the race. Barely got in a swim warm-up, but certainly helped.
Swim: Planned pace – 1:45-1:50/100yrds; stay on course!- Actual Results - 1:47/100yrds, 31spm; ignored trying to find feet, concentrated on fingers down, efficient strokes and finally swam straight. Notably, I felt a bit of cramping in my calf toward the end of the swim - maybe the cold water combined with the wetsuit compression. Noted it as a caution for the bike.
- T1: 3:18 - Wetsuit stripper helped; I could have gone a bit faster, but wanted to put fingered gloves on for grip on the rough roads, and a jersey, and both were tough to get on wet. Should have put on gloves on the bike once the wind dried my hands. Probably lost a minute.
- Bike: Planned ~70% IF for first 30 minutes; once HR settled, 140-145 HR & <=155 watts; goal of 78% IF based on hills, keep cadence at 80-85 rpm.</li>
- Actual Results: 70% IF for first 33 minutes over Miss River Bridge; HR settled nicely to 136bpm, watts seemed a little lower than expected, but IF said otherwise. I continued to be cautious because of the cramping I felt in my calves. Headwind on the way out, so when in doubt I slowed down, which was mentally taxing! People were passing me as expected. I ramped up to 142 to 144 HR and stayed there. Ended with 79.9 IF at 141 avg HR and 153 avg NP, avg cadence 80 rpm. I caught some of those who passed me in the last 10 miles. Peed on bike for 1st time! I drank GE through first 2 hours with a honey stinger waffle at the start of the bike and two gels - at hour 1 and hour 2. Base salt every 15 min on timer. Switched to water and base salt for last hour with sips of Powerade from the course.
T2: 1:59 - Better - removed shoes in last .2 mile; peddled on top of shoes, which helped with numb toes; Racked bike; helmet off; run shoes on; grabbed bag with race belt/hat/nutrition and ...then had to pee - hit the porto steps away quickly! Still under 2 minutes.
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Run: Planned - first 3 miles at 140 HR max; est. 10/mile; middle 7 miles at 145-150 HR; est. 9:17/mile, last 3+ miles at 155-160 HR; est. 8:45-9/mile.
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Actual Results: Felt good coming off the bike; first 3 miles at 142 HR; 9:45/mile - felt like I was crawling and holding back - more people running past me like it was a 5k! Middle 7 miles - had a couple miles at 150 HR, then a few at 154-56, then a couple at 159-160 for around an 8:30 pace. At mile 8, I passed all those people that started off too fast. It was just me and whether I could get a PR at this point. I figured with an 8:20 pace, I could beat not only my previous PR of 5:47, but also sub 5:45! Started really pushing the last 5k - HR went to 164 for an 8:20 pace and I thought "holy cow, I'm pushing harder and not going any faster." I was too close to not do it. I kicked it in and HR went to 167 and then 168 HR for an 8:09 and 7:58 pace for the last two miles. I was going to do it. How did I go slow on the bike and run in the beginning of both and get a PR? That doesn't seem right. But, it was - and I beat my local training buddies that went too fast both at the beginning of the bike and run.
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Final Thoughts: The 3rd Place 45-49 AG was a complete shock. This was a half-iron distance race! I wore the EN jersey proudly on that podium - I can tell you that! Thanks for all the team info, mojo and RnP - and for reading. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1444775475
Comments
Gordon, I loved reading this report and the ninja execution skills that resulted in a podium PR!
WOW!
Pushing the limits on the last 5K of the run like you did says everything! You should be extremely proud with the way you managed that!
Sincere congratulations!
SS
You rode what you thought was easy in the beginning, but left enough in the tank to give it all you had at the end with nothing left over.
Congrats on your PR and the podium.
I can't help but think after a race like this - did I "leave too much on the bike" based on what happened on the run? But, it's a catch 22 because maybe I did well on the run because I didn't go harder on the bike... At only 2 big races a year, it's hard to know exactly where that line is.