Bruce Thompson - Racine HIM Report
Cliff notes summary – We had a nice group of ENers there for the race and got a great team pic (see Matt Aaronson's report). My goals for the race were: 1) sustain no injuries since my “A” race is IMWI on Sept 9; 2) practice & achieve solid race execution (pacing, nutrition, transitions); and 3) break 5:30 total time. I achieved all 3 goals as I sustained no injuries other some muscle soreness and 1 blister on my left foot, believe I had good execution and achieved a time of 5:15:42. Finished 231 out of 2227 overall and 2nd out of 50 in M55-59 AG.
Weather – The weather was great for racing but hot. It was 75* @ 7:00 am and went up to 94* by noon. Clear sky and a slight NNW wind. Lake Michigan water was calm & 69* for the swim.
Swim: This was one of the nicest swims I’ve ever had in a race. We had about 70 guys in my wave which went off @ 7:08 right after the pros and Women 50+. The swim was a beach start with plenty of room and we went about 200 meters out to the 1st buoy for a right turn. Then 1500 meters straight down the shore, make another right turn for 200 m back to the beach. I got in the front row at the start, about 2/3 over from the buoy line. Since the water was shallow here, there was about a 50m run out in knee/thigh deep water before you needed to swim. This actually help break up the pack, so by the time I got to the first buoy I was in fairly clear water for the rest of the swim. It was great not to be in the normal congestion/craziness at the start of a swim. After the first buoy, it was pretty clear all the way to the finish of the swim, drafting briefly on the feet of the some W50+ as I came up on them from behind. I just cruised along at my IM swim pace, stayed in my box and tried to conserve my energy. Goal time was 38:00. Actual time was 37:05, or 1:55/100 meters. I came out of the water in 6th place in my AG.
T1: There was a fairly long run to transition from the water, probably 250 meters. Nothing special happened. Since I was in wave 4, there was hardly anybody in transition yet. There were a few guys from my wave ahead of me but again, no crowding. I got in/out smoothly and quickly once I got to my bike. Only new thing I did was to put on a Halo sweat band on before my aero helmet to keep sweat out of my eyes. Goal time: 4:00. Actual time: 4:08. Had the 2nd faster T1 time in my AG.
Bike: There is short, steep hill right after the dismount line so I had racked my bike in the small chain ring and my 28 in back. Didn’t want to spike my watts right at the start. No problem. My goal was to target 205 watts (.8 IF) for the entire ride, but I’d start @ 195 watts (.76 IF) for the 1st 20 minutes. I rode along at 195 watts and got settled in. Got my HR down to 135-140 range. After 20 minutes, I upped my target watts to 205 and began to work.
Like the swim, the course was nearly empty since the pros were off the front. So no worries about drafting penalties. I did settle in with 2 others and we road about 30 yards apart. In typical fashion, they would pull away from me on the slight uphills and I’d close the gap on the slight downhills as I worked to keep my watts steady. Over time, I did get passed by a few of the guys in the 25-29 and 30-35 AGs that started behind me.
I drank four 24 oz bottles of water and one 24 bottle of 3-hour concentrated Infinit (240 calories/hour) during the ride. No GI problems and no cramps. I did make sure I slowed way down at the aid staions to ensure smooth handoffs of bottles. In my last HIM, I crashed and DNFed going thru an aid staion and I wanted no encore performace of that.
The ride was pretty uneventful until mile 52. At that point I got passed by the only guy in my AG that I saw on the bike. He was representing a local tri club (Endure It) so I’ll call him “Mr. Endure It”. I decided to follow along 200 yards or so behind him to the finish. As we came to the dismount line, I got my feet out of my shoes and got off the bike. However, one shoe got knocked off the pedal and I had to stop a moment to pick it up.
Total bike time: 2:37:50, averaging 21.3 mph and 199 watts (IF.78). 3rd fastest bike split in AG. It was 94* by the end of the bike. Looking back, I might have been able to go a little harder on the bike since my IF was only .78, but given the temperature, it was probably right to under shoot my goal watts by small amount. The Halo sweatband under the aero helmet worked really well to reduce sweat it my eyes and I'll wear it again in other races.
T2: When I got to T2 I knew I was having a good race. There was only 1 bike on the old guys rack + “Mr. Endure It” who came into T2 just ahead of me. So I was figuring I was in 3rd place in my AG after the bike. I had a good transition. I turned my race number around to the front while running from the dismount line to the rack and unbuckled my aero helmet. At the rack, I stood up while putting on socks and shoes, put on my fuel belt with 2 x 10 oz bottles of Infinit, and grabbed a Halo headband and my hat, and took off. T2 time was 1:53, 2nd fastest in AG. I beat “Mr. Endure It” out of T2, and he didn’t like that at all. Nothing like free speed.
Run: As background, last February, doing OS intervals, I hurt my left Achilles where it attaches to the heel bone, and didn’t run at all for 2 months to let it heal (yes I nearly went crazy not being able to run). So my run fitness isn’t as strong as I would have liked, + I’m still a little gunshy to push all out on the run. My Z1 pace is 8:52. My plan was to run miles 1-3 @ 9:15, miles 4-10 @ 8:30 and miles 11-13 @ 7:45 pace. Nutrition plan was the 20 oz of concentrated Infinit (420 calories, 860 mgs of sodium) over the course of the run + 1 S-cap at the start of each loop and lots of water & ice at each aid station.
Well, “Mr. Endure It” tried to ruin my plan and nearly succeeded. After only ¼ mile out of T2 he comes flying up to me. So of course I have to say hi and run with him a little. I noticed that he was a really big guy (6’4” and 190 lbs would be my guess, I’m 6’0” and 162 lbs) and it was now over 94*. I looked down at my garmin and see that were running 7:45 pace and I’m thinking “If you can run 13 miles in 94* at this pace, you’re a better man than I”. The little RnP voices in my head were saying “slow down, you have a good plan, don’t cook yourself now, the heat will blow him up”, but my heart wanted to race this guy right NOW. So I compromised and decided to stay with him for another ½ mile to make sure he worked hard, that he got over-heated in the first mile, and then I would slow down to my plan. While I’m not yet fully confident about my flat out 5k run speed due to the heel injury, I had done my last 2 long runs of 11 and 12 miles in 95* temp and nearly 100% RH @ 8:45 average pace with the intervals at 7:10 pace. So I was confident I could handle the heat @ 8:45 pace. I slowed down just as we reached the first mile. He probably thought "Ha.. got you now Mr. EN". I let him go but still got sucked along @ 8:30 pace for awhile, and had to really force myself to slow down again. Once he got about 100 yards or so in front of me it was actually easier to run my own pace.
The Racine run course is an out and back double loop, with the turnaround on the loop @ about 3.4 miles. I ran this in 28:43, or 8:26 avg pace. Just about 1/4 mile past the turnaround, there is a very slight hill. As I approached the hill, I look up and who do I see walking up the hill? Yep, “Mr. Endure It”. I’m just cruising along @8:40 pace and he is walking. He starts to run again at the top of the hill and I’m still about 30 yards behind him. After about another ¼ mile, he stops running and is walking again. I increase my pace just a tad and sail right by him, not saying a word. Man, do we have smart coaches or what? I never saw him again until the food tent at the end of the race. I later learned that he finished 15 minutes behind me in 6th place in our AG after entering T2 in 2nd place.
So that was the end of the drama for my race. From mile 4 on, I just focused on maintaining form, getting lots of fluids and checking the age of anybody who passed me in case I needed to really race. I did slow slightly as my average pace for the last 9.7 miles was 8:52, or right at my Z1 pace. It was a little slower than I was hoping but WTF, it was 94* with a bright sun and virtually no shade on the course. I was able to pick it up at the end and ran the last mile in 8:15. Run time was 1:54:47 or 8:45 avg pace. It was the 4th fastest run split in my AG.
Final time – 5:15:42. 2nd in AG and 231 out of 2227 overall. Needless to say, I was really surprised by my AG finish. This was my first finish in a HIM, and I knew I had done well, but I just never really knew how many guys were ahead of me. It is so easy to not see a guy in your AG pass you when there are 2000 runners on the course. Overall, I felt really good about my race execution, especially how I handled the “Mr. Endure It” curve ball. Only downside was that there was only 1 slot for Vegas in my AG and the guy who beat me (he crushed me with a 4:51 time, no wonder I never saw him) took it. I hung out for the roll down but no luck as the larger AGs got the reallocated slots. Oh well, it meant I didn’t have to make a tough choice since I am already signed up IMWI on the same day as Vegas 70.3. See you in Madison.
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Comments
And I have always wore a headband of some sort when I bike (my eyes burn like crazy when sweat gets in there and I've lost a contact once rubbing my eyes on the bike). On sprints/olys I sometimes just put a hat/headband visor on backwards under my helmet which then serves as my hat/visor on the run (and I often carry a small towel w/me on the run) and sometime don't even bother w/sunglasses on the run cause they just get all messed up w/sweat & water anyway.
I love the tale of Mr. Endure It embodying the spirit of True Ricky Racer. Solid proof your race execution skills are training decisions are in very, very good shape for Madison.
congrats Bruce and great report
good luck in MooTown!
Hi Bruce,
Congrats on a really smart race and podium finish! Loved the recap on how you stuck to your plan and had it pay off. You looked really great out there on the run.
I had looked forward to meeting you at the Team Dinner and race but also had been fighting an injury and took a wise last minute DNS. But it sure was fun spectating and seeing all of you EN folks on the course. Hope to finally meet you in Madison. Keep up the great work!!
To give the rest of you a little history, it was only 2 years ago that Bruce was racing the Chicago tri with me as his 2nd tri on a 25 year old, 30 pound Trek steel road bike, that he proceeded to crash into the concrete barrier on Lake Shore Drive and end up with a DNF! So that forced him to get a new bike and I highly suggested he think about joining EN - and now look what he's doing!! Very proud Bro!
But Holy Crap Batman, I'm in big trouble - now I'm going to get sh..t that my older brother is faster than me! At least I know I've still got him looks category!
Great Race Mate and looking forward to IM Moo!!
@ All - Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement. I am truely surprised by my result. I guess I have to adjust my dream.
@ Al T - thank you sir for reminding when I'm supposed to race - at the end of the run and no racing out of T2 crap. For IMWI, I don't want to know what your time was as a 56 year old as I'm sure it is scary fast. Let's compare notes after the race. I'm pretty sure that I'll owe you a beer for you having the faster time.
Congrats Bruce on an excellent race Bruce! Great to meet you
All the best.
Niels