My Augusta Race Report
Hey, this is a copy/paste of a report that I threw into the wrong thread. As a newbie to the EN Forums, gimme a while to get the hang of things around here.
I do plan on using this as a baseline. After a few years of slowly improving on my own, I've definitely plateaued (sp?). We'll go from here and see what happens.
Here's the very brief report....
Hey All, Not sure if I'm posting this in the right area, just joined last Friday. Thought I'd post this, to come back to it in a year or two and see how much changed with the help of EN.
This was my last 'self coached' race. What a relief. I'll leave the buildup out, to keep it short. But know that I had overtrained. Volume. In July, I did a solo (with a ton of support from family/friends in SAG) endurance event to raise $ for The V Foundation. Non stop brick (4hrs bike/2hrs run/repeat) from Lake Lanier to Savannah, GA. 300 miles in 24:20. That's just background cuz I didn't do a good job of recovery and then rebounding to get ready for Augusta. Actually, prep for Augusta was a freakin' grind, even considered bailing 10 days ago. Proceeded for two reasons, I had several friends doing their first halfIM, and I'm trying to crack that 5hr mark.
Augusta: Overcast and rainy, great for running the engine hot.
s: 31:20
t1: 2:58
b: 2:31
t2: 1:29
r: 1:55
total 5:02
On minimal swim training, about 4k per week. mostly drills. let my wave started, hopped in and had one of the easiest swims (effort level) ever. Almost the exact same time as last year and RPE much less. Only twice did I have to sprint to get thru 2 swimmers pinching me in.
Efficient T1, I don't carry alot of gear. couldn't have been much fast trans. long run from ramp to bike. bib belt on, helmet on, and gone.
Bike: Rolling hills. with rain. tried to hold back based on what I've learned just from mooching the free EN stuff. Computer didn't ever work, so I was clocking the mile markers. RPE lower than last year. Easier, smaller gears up some of the climbs, watching cohorts pull away slightly on the climbs, only to pull them right back in as I crested and hammered over. Just like y'all preach. Thought I had backed off enough to save some for the run. Was shocked to see that my bike spit was actually faster than last year. Used CarboPro/Gatorade with some gels. About 300cal/hr.
T2: in &out pretty quickly, shoes on, grab hat and fuel belt and put those on while running.
Run: Quads tight on the first 2 miles. proud that I kept running thru this. tendonitis in right calf flares up on mile 3, proud that I kept running thru this. At 3 miles, I was afraid that this run was going to be a step backwards, blaming the summer volume. But, I've learned to keep moving through it and give it time, might get better. This is exactly what happened. Each 4 mile spit got faster. Knew the 5hr mark was gonna be SOOO close, but when I hit the 12 mile marker, I knew I would need to run about a 6:30 mile to get in right at 5. I was lucky to hold just a little over 8 min.
Though, I came up 2 min short of goal, still proud of this effort, still a PR. Initially, I thought I'd come back next year, with EN, and crush that goal. Not now. I'm sticking to my plans for next year and maybe I'll return to Augusta in 2012 with 2 yrs of EN under my belt.
funny thing, out of habit, I spent all evening in my head figuring out what I would tweak to get faster for next time....and then I would correct myself and drop it....I don't have to do the mental gymnastics anymore...I trust this place....
couple of weeks of chillin and casual riding with the buds til November, then jumping in my first OS....ready to work!
Thx,
Chris
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Comments
Now that's one fine day! Congrats!