Girded for Battle

I’m ready for war, war on my half iron PR. This weekend will be the first chance I have to test my late season training and see what it has come to. I know I should probably race conservatively this weekend at Soma but I’ve already decided I’m not going to, I’m going to try for a new half-iron PR because I feel ready to do it and it will be the only PR I have broken this year, except for some individual sports.

I look at it like this, my goal for Silverman is to hit the run without feeling sick and with any luck, complete the run without feeling sick. I do not have any PR goals in mind for Silverman since it is supposed to be the toughest course in North America.

However, Soma is a place where I can PR, it is where I have my current PR of 5:55:22. I think that 5:30:00 is within my grasp if I can nail my nutrition. I remember last year at Soma when I set my current PR I had this huge energy drain half way through the run and didn’t get my legs back until late in the final lap. I think it was because a lack of fuel but I have since learned to take in more nutrition on the run than I was able to do last year.

The other factor will be the weather. I already know it is supposed to hit 90 degrees and it will do so while I am on the run. I think I can keep myself cool enough to have a good run, we’ll see. The big factor will be the wind. If it gets going then I’ll bag the bike and just focus on keeping my HR relatively low so I have plenty left for the run. It’s the run I am counting on for big time savings over last year though my swim time will probably come in a good 5 to 8 minutes faster.

I am not looking to place in the Clyde division here. This race is one of those races where little big men, guys who probably weight between 180 and 190, come and lie about their weight in the hopes of bringing home some hardware. Last year the number 1,2 and 3 “Clydes” came in at 4:56, 4:57 and 4:58 respectively and let me tell you, they were tiny…Shetland Ponies I’m sayin.

Ok, I guess I should try and make some predictions here to try and hold myself accountable on Sunday.

Swim: 35:25 (same as my Mountain Man swim, which was fairly good)
T1: 4:00
Bike: 2:40 (21 mph average pace)
T2: 4:00
Run: 2:04:27 (a very daring 9:30 per mile pace…this one is dicey)

These times would put me in at just under 5:30.Here’s to hoping!