Patriot HIM
This race was a late addition to the race calendar and as such it was a low priority/get out and have fun event for me. My A half for the year is Providence 70.3 so my plan was to use this as a measure of where I'm at without cooking myself before it. 
Following last year, my main goals for the '10 season were:
1) Figure out my nutrition plan. I've mostly winged it my entire tri-career and have universally always gotten into trouble on hot days because of it (where's the bag over the head smilie when you need it!). In particular, figure out my hydration/salt needs. I sweat like a dude apparently and am always crunchy/white. I've never cramped during a race or training but I have run into some GI stuff.
In the past, I've used perpetuem + watered down EN long distance infinit mixtures. My most recent mix has a big boost in salt and electrolytes and fewer calories so that I could use it on the bike and run (on longer rides I add in hammer gels to get to the goal calories I'm shooting for). So far the changes have been good in training, but admittedly, I haven't really had a chance to test it out in the heat until this weekend. My long runs are always early am so hard to really put it to the test of midday conditions.
2) Crack 5:30 at the half distance. Closest I've gotten is 5:38.
Swim- 44:36
It's funny. The swims where I feel the best and on course are my slowest. Felt awesome the whole way. Found feet and moved on or tried to hang on. Never pushed hard at all. Just kept it smooth and comfy. Maybe a little too comfy! Could definitely tell I've spent more time in the wetsuit this early in the season than I have in the past. Usually the first season races are weird and the wetsuit doesn't feel just right. No problems there at all.
T1 - 2:09
Nothing important here except for one funny thing. The racks were setup in alphabetical order so I was right next to Dave. That made for lots of jokes about the first person tying the other persons shoes or going for the wetsuit drain right onto the other gear. It was fun. Also of note- the woman next to us took up half the rack so she could set up her foldable 3 legged stool. I was so tempted to sit in it!
Bike- 2:48:54
Admittedly and knowingly broke away from the EN Ninja Guidance on this one. 
Plan from the start was to take the run super easy. That left me with some wiggle room and my goal was .85 IF for the ride.
Based on FTP 246. Target wattage was 209 watts.
Hit the first hour hot and feeling good. Really focused on the second hour and sitting on my watts. The last 45 minutes?? Got antsy and wanted to get done. Ended up overshooting the .85. Will definitely be toning that down for Providence and will likely cap my effort there at .82 if feeling good/.8 otherwise to set myself up for a solid run.
Stuck to my nutrition plan of infinit and water.
My mix has (per two scoops):
146 calories
650 mg salt
36 carbs
I used a concentrated bottle with 5 scoops which gave me: 365 calories, 1625 mg salt, 90 g carb for the ride. Also took in 72 oz of water.
While the course says 58 miles, I came up just shy of 57.
Fun facts:
This is the first race I've ever physically had to stop and wait at not one but two traffic intersections. Both times I was with 5-10 riders.
The race director was talking about prizes for the top splits in the male and female overall so for entertainment value I checked to see how I stacked up. Wound up with the 5th OA female bike split out of 157 peeps.
T2- 2:06
Uneventful again. Well...not entirely. One of my good friends was there as a relay runner. As I was heading out on the run she was sunning in a beach chair. Totally cracked me up!
Run- 2:14:38 (10:15 avg pace)
vdot 39 = LRP 10:22, MP 8:56, HMP 8:39
My plan was to start off at LRP for the first 3 miles and if I was feeling great, to speed up to MP but cap it there no matter what.
Hit the first 3 miles with a 10:10 pace for each. It was stinking hot so I opted to carry that pace through till mile 6 and reassess. Focused on good form and being quiet on my feet and the next 3 were in the 10:10-10:15 range. Opted to keep it there and reassess at mile 10. Lots of people walking by this point so it was weird to be one of the few still running. At mile 9 I was melting and started to hit the aid stations with purpose instead of running through. Walk past the table. Full cup of water, 2nd over head and 4 mouthfuls from my bottle (was running with a 20oz concentrated infinit bottle, same as the bike but 3 scoops). Hung on to that 10:15-10:20 pace and finished strong.
Total 5:52:20 (3/26 AG, 40/157 Female, 155/417 OA)
All in all, really happy with how the day went. New improved nutrition plan worked well with no GI issues and the legs felt good all day. Definitely gives me a good confidence boost about racing in the heat. First long race in the heat where I feel good the day after. Can't wait to lay it all out there in a few weeks (per ninja execution of course). 
side note: as always, such a blast to race with the hubby. Super proud of him and can't wait to see what he can do at Providence in a few weeks!! 
side note #2: more than ever I am so super impressed with the 35-40+ AG women. They just get it done and school us kids in the process. I only got passed 6-7 times on the run and every time it was a 35 or older female just cruising along. I want to be one of them when I get there!
Thanks as always for reading. Great to hang out with Michelle, the Patches + Mike G.
Comments
Great Job Leigh!! You rocked the bike and your run looked solid....way to execute!
Glad your nutrition plan worked out---what a way to test it out on a hot race day! Congrats on the podium too!
You should see this girl when she's done! She just kicked major tail all over the roads, but you would never know it. Humble and seemingly nonchalant. Cool chica, and a half.
That is a wonderful race, Leigh! Congrats! And it is really super to see al that hard work paying off so amazingly. More to come in the months ahead. Rock on, cutie!
It was fun seeing everyone!
PS--thanks for posting all the nutrition info. I'm in pretty good shape, but I might want to up this and that in the Infinit. Will compare.
Hey, Podium girl! Nice job, LB. You just keep quietly getting it done. I love how you're so nonchalant about this being a B race, while you're doing another half in just a mere few weeks. Total Boyle style.
Dave
Nice result. Interesting execution. A half hour delta between your bike and run splits is a novel approach for sure.
Leigh -- awesome day, podium girl! And I so would've sat in the woman's stool. You could've blamed it on Dave.
OMG- I never thought of it that way!!!! Chris, you crack me up!
You are a rock star. thanks for leading from the front; it's great to get that kind of information on how you executed...hope everyone else is taking notes!
P
Congrats, that totally rocks! (and, I hope to be one of those 35-39 year old women some day, too... and I'm already there...
)
Mike
You are going to kill it at Providence AND IMWI.
Was very great to hang out before and after the race.
Be seeing you soon (from the back as you ride away).
way to go Leigh, sorry to have missed out on that day and such a great report.
nice go "team Boyle"
MikeN
Derry NH
Great race!! You are a monster on the bike, I need to take lotsa notes!! Good Infinit info as well, thanks!
PODIUM! NICE!
Love the RR format also, very readable.
I'm looking at some of your numbers, and it's leaving me with a few questions. Your FTP is about 3 watts higher than mine. Your NP for the ride was significantly higher than mine on the course (i averaged under 190). And I'm pretty certain you're lighter than me. By most of those metrics, you should have been faster than me. But my bike split got you by around 10 minutes.
So I'm wondering about your bike setup, and position. I was running a disc cover and an aero helmet, which could certainly explain some of the differences. Do you have any pictures of your bike position? Just wondering if we cant help find you some free speed...
Again, great job. I totally couldn't have run on that day and looked like i enjoyed it!
Mike
@ Mike- still working on getting down to the lower position. I've only been back on the tri-bike for a month now.
Plan to lift the seat, lose the spacers, and get the elbows closer to that 90 degree angle. Just doing it gradually.
@Leigh, I know it is only a picture on the trainer, but please tell me you tuck your head a whole lot more on race day
I don't think you need to go a whole lot lower for IM, just keep the head out of the wind and you will be in pretty good shape. Lower may help but it's dimisioning returns and you have this short 26.2 mile jog afterwards. Don't force yourself to get any lower than comfortable....trust me I made that mistake at clearwater last year.
@ Matt- I like to think I do, but maybe not enough?? How low do you try to tuck down??
Here is what I look like probably 90% of the race.... it feels like I am trying to look through my eyelids, but it is fast.
When I'm really trying to get aero (like a headwind, straight open road, or downhill) I can pretty much rest my chin on the top of my bottle, but then I can't see any of the road.
Rich has some great pictures of his position on the EN blog and he is even lower, but he is also on a trainer and not taking the turn towards the old sauk climb at IMWI.
Glad to help...Rich pointed it out to me last year and it was a noticable increase in speed on the road in a few unscientific tests that I did.
Get pictures from both the side and head on as they can sometimes show different things.