Patriot Half Race Report

The Patriot Half Ironman was my "A" race for a long distance triathlon this year. I put together a 16 week training program that included at minimum 7 workouts to 12 workouts per week. I broke down my workouts into swim, bike, run and CrossFit. I learned from last year that I need to incorporate a good amount of strength training into my routine to help maintain proper form and muscle density to handle the load of long distance training. The following is a report of the race weekend.

Friday, June 19:

We departed Swampscott Ma to head down to Freetown MA and check in to the race site to pick up our numbers and check into the hotel. After that we (Marty, Vin Brendan and I along Mr. Mis) went to the Olive Garden for pre race meal. On the menu was tossed salad, Chicken Parm and about 10 breadsticks. Also had a couple glasses of wine. After a serious laugh session we retreated to the hotel and checked over our bikes and prepared our bags for race morning.

Saturday June 20

0400: Wake up call, turned on coffee and started eating. Two bagels with peanut butter a banana and 1/2 a power bar. I wanted to get in about 800 calories before 5 AM. This would help set me up to take full advantage of the fuel I would store for the pre-race and race time execution. After a complete check of equipment we headed of to the race site. The weather was supposed to be wet and drizzly but we woke to a little fog and muggy air. By 0600 the fog was leaving and the sun began cook the moisture to a humid thick atmosphere.

At the race site bike is racked shoes and visor are out and. All equipment is good to go. I took my bike out on the course for a quick warm up.

0700; National anthem, wet suit on and in the water for race start. There were about 50 men in my group and about 500 total participants. The horn blast and we are off.

Swim; Water temp was 68 and felt good. I was able to clear the middle pack and sit right behind the lead group. They were about 20 yards ahead of me and after about 500 yards we caught the wave in front of us. The course was a counterclockwise rectangle. After the first turn the lead pack pulled away just a bit but I knew I was swimming better than expecting. The swim was about 1/10 th short. out of the water in 22 min. T-2 was smooth. The sun was bright and was heating up.

Bike; I was 7 or 8 guys back at the start of the bike. No big deal. I knew that I had solid training and this would be my strength for today. I quickly got into rhythm and started climbing through the field. The one problem with the bike course is that there was too many turns and climbs close to each other. This created its own cause for packs and groups. I was able to get away and push my first lap 29 miles in 1:13. The second lap was much of the same thing. I was a bit disappointed in how much drafting there was. I did a lot of work to get away form the group but at mile 33 they consumed me again. There really isn't much you can do but try not to get a penalty. I was able to pull away agian but know I was concerned that I was out of my comfort zone. I was taking in about another 400 calories of liquid on the bike. I knew I was hydrating properly because my body was absorbing everything. I came on the second lap with a bike split of 2:31 for 58 miles. I was in the top 3 for my age group at this time.

Run; I started the run with some heavy legs. I was not sure how well I was going to do with the final stage of the race. I hit mile 1 at 6:54. Quads were cramping but I felt that I could get through it. Mile 2 was 6:45. I was running a bit to fast for the 13.1 mile trip. The sun was hot and the air was thick. The run offered very little shade and I was the only one out there. I couldn't see anyone in front of me. I passed 4-5 people at the start of the run and was trying to catch anyone ahead of me. I held around a 7:00-7:10 min mile until mile 9. There I hit a brick wall. I got a painful cramp in both quads so when I tried to stretch one the other would intensify. After about a minute I was able to start running again. I was caught by two other guys from my age group and tried to hang with them but at mile 10 they pulled away. I was able to chug through the miles stop for water and gatorade at the mile markers. The last mile I was able to pick up the pace and some energy to finish with a time of 4:39.

It was a very deceiving course. Tough. The bike sucked you in because there was the ability to gain speed and push yourself. I did, and think I suffered a bit on the run because of it. I was psyched that I finished with a personal best. Beat it by almost 15 minutes. This is recovery week and I look forward to some fast short races next month. Congrats to Marty, Vin and my brother Brendan who all beat their previous best times as well.