My pre-race preparations have gone well, but I knew coming into the race that I was short of training as I've only managed 3 good weeks of high volume training, yet I was hoping that this will get me through the race in a reasonable form.
We arrived in Florida on Saturday and the week before the race had gone very quickly and was unusually relaxing with just enough training to keep loose and no last-minute disasters except for a swollen foot 3 days before the race.
By the time we realised the race morning was upon us and I was feeling well an had my whole support crew behind me.
The race morning started with a fairly warm temperature, but unlike the previous few days there was a bit of a chop in the Bay of Mexico where the swim was taking place. It actually didn't look too bad from the shore, but as soon as I got in the water it was up and down all the time and you couldn't see the buoys. I decided to start far on the right hand side of the anti-clockwise rectangular course and I had a fairly clean start until the first turn-around buoy where I got kicked a few times, but overall the swim was fairly clean. I exited the water in 1:08, which was disappointing, but as I later discovered the conditions made the swim 5-4 minutes slower than usual for everybody.
The bike is flat with some long straight sections typically with some strong head and tail winds. As soon as I got on the bike I tried to get into a good rhythm and keep a steady pace. Unfortunately he nature of the course meant that drafting was always going to be a problem and soon enough large packs of riders started forming. It's pretty impossible to drop a large pack of drafting athletes of similar abilities on such a flat course so I decided to stay on the back of the group with a legal distance of 10 meters, which still gives you enough benefit to be faster that riding solo. I had to work a little too had on some rolling sections up the small hills and then coast downhill to stay legal. I came into transition with a 4:50 bike split which I was happy with, but my legs felt tired.
Starting the run I didn't feel too good, but decided just to keep it steady and see what happens. I had to walk through some aid stations to make sure I get enough fluids on board. A few people passed me and I've had to let them go. I finally started to feel a little bit better after about 10 miles and started to pass people back. the last 3 miles were difficult but my support crew gave me a lot of encouragement along the route and there was good crowd support in the last 2 miles which kept me going. I finished the marathon in 3:18, very tired and with nothing more to give in the tank.
My time of 9:28:08 was good enough for 62nd place overall and 18th place in my age group, some 12 minutes short of the last Kona place. I was happy with my performance and given my training I don't think I could have done any better. I wonder what the result would have been if everybody was riding solo because as soon as a marshal pulled alongside our cycling group and started giving out warnings the gaps opened and I found myself off the front the he group. Unfortunately I don't think enough penalties were given out. There is no point in dwelling on it, though, I'm happy with how I performed, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to get a qualifying spot. Maybe next year in Germany.
That's it for this year. Time for some R&R...
Mike.
My travel blog: http://alexmike-travel.blogspot.com
