What a terrific race, which was conveniently scheduled on Saturday, thanks to the half ironman distance that was organized on Sunday. Carsten, Nicole and I stayed at the camping ground right by the transition area. We left on Friday night after work and got up there at around 11pm, leaving us in the dark to set up our tents. The advantage is that we were right by the transition area, and it was cheap!
Cloudy / rainy morning after a rainy and stormy night! The transition was a bit wet. I liked it already. It should be a fun race!
I entered T1 in good form but without a watch as it died on me.
At least I had my computer to help me with my wattage and to see my time spent on the bike! Rolling hills, fast sections in a 75 degree weather (and prob 90% humidity!), I felt strong and easy on the bike, covering the 25 miles in 1 hour sharp, and averaging 256 watts. Thanks David for letting me use your Flos wheels, a 90 mil deep rim in the back and 50 mil deep rim in the front made for a very fast bike.
The run was 2 loops with some serious climbs right off T2 - I had no clue how fast I was running and decided to go almost all out (90%) on the flats and downhills, and decided to hold back (75%) on the climbs. I had breathing cramps right off T2, and decided to slow down. I picked up the pace after a few minutes, and got back into the rythm fairly quickly. I had 1 guy as my main target and kept him as such until 300 yards to the finish where I passed him and picked up my pace again to make sure that he wouldn't tag along. 2'04'22, 1st AG and 2nd OA, only 1+min short of taking the overall, but knowing that the winner swam in 18 minutes, I know that with more practice I will get there! We'll be riding on these beautiful roads tomorrow! Great weekend so far! I'll be back next year!
