White Lake Race Report

Finally!!!! I've been able to put together a strong performance since the SC Half from 2006. Last year was a major bummer for me, as I was never able to put together a strong race. Mostly because my fitness was not at the level that I wanted to race, therefore I'd fall apart at some point on the run. This season has been much better as far as the preparation goes. This is my first year working with Jamie, which has been the major difference in my fitness level compared to last year.

OK, so White Lake 2008. Here goes...Let me start off by saying this is a go fast course. The water is calm, the roads are flat, and the run is...well flat. Last year the winds were pretty rough, but this year they were not too bad.

Swim: I had a game plan to follow a certain someone's feet, as I knew he was a strong swimmer. Worked great. I could have gone faster, but I felt the pace was pretty good. We had a group of 4 of us swimming. I could tell there was a group of swimmers ahead of us in a pack, so we were in the second pack. I saw no benefit of getting out of this group to try make ground on the lead group. When we exited the water, I was dissapointed with the time. But...these swims are all relative, so I always compare my time to the top splits. Today I was 2 minutes off the leaders' pace, so I'm happy about that. Also, after talking to a few of the guys afterwards, they all agreed the swim was about 2 minutes slow. Well, at least that makes me feel better. Swim: 29:37

Bike: Just to give you a little history on me, I have always used a powermeter for cycling. I find them very beneficial, and usually try to pace my race efforts off target watts. Well, my powermeter's battery died a week before the race, and I could not get it back from the factory before we left for the race, so I had no PM. Oh well, I dediced to go completely off perceived exertion...no cycling computer, just a stop watch. Worked well for me. After exiting T2, I quickly passed 3-4 guys that were ahead of me. By mile 5 I had passed all but 1. I saw him ahead of me, so I just tried to settle in and thought I could reel him in, too. But, that was not the case as he eventually put time into me. During the ride, I never felt real comfortable. I was trying not to go too hard, but my hip flexors were killing me for some reason. I had to continuously stand on the pedals and stretch. Funny thing is this never happens to me on trainnig rides. I can usually go 4-5 hours without any discomfort in the aero position. But not today, I was dying to get off the bike and start running. Overall the bike ride was very lonely...no one in sight for nearly the whole ride. There is one out and back section at around mile 40. Great spot to check splits. I saw the leader (he was hammering) about 3 minutes ahead of me...Cid Jr. was behind me, about 3 minutes back. At this pint I knew I needed to pick up the pace a bit, so I did. Also I finally started to feel pretty good in the saddle. So, for the next 15 miles, I hammered it pretty good. Took it easy with 1 mile to go in order to get the legs ready for ground. I didn't mention that they had no water on the bike course, except for an 18 mile aid station. The remaining aid stations were not there...it was about 80 degrees, I had no fluids since about mile 35, as I was counting on getting water on the course. I was very concerned about my hydration, since I had sweat dripping in my face the entire ride. Anyway, T2 was good...it's always motivating to hear the crowd. No issues in T2, ran out, gave the baby a kiss on my way out to run 13 miles. Bike: 2:18:08

Run: As stated above, I was a bit dehydrated, so I made sure to take the early pace easy, while taking in plenty of fluids at the first few aid stations. Funny thing, how you have to take in fluids to make it, but too much or will shut you down. I nearly had problems with nutrition.... So, first mile, and my legs feel solid!! In my 2 seasons of racing, my legs never felt this good getting off the bike. I was very excited about the run. Well, another problem arose...there were no mile markers on the run course, so I had no idea what kind of pace I was running. So, I just ran what felt comfortable. I was still concerned about hydration, as well as finishing all 13 miles strong. The run course is a double out and back, which I like since you can split the guys around you. As I approached the first turnaround the leader passed me. He was flying!! Justin Park is an ITU triathlete, who was tearing up the course. Once I saw him, I thought, well, let's just hold onto second. So that was the plan. Volunteers finally got mile markers out on the course on our second lap. At this point, I wasn't worried about actual pace, since I was putting time on third...well, I thought I was. I kept splitting my lead on Cid after each turnaround, and I was able to gain on my lead. At the last turnaround, I noticed Cid wasn't there, but another guys was in third. Plus, he was only 3 minutes behind me, so he'd been gaining ground. I began to pick up the pace. No problems with the faster pace, but my stomach started to cramp at around mile 10. Probably too much fluids at the prior aid station. It was one of those painful grab your side stitches. I just shuffled my legs as best I could knowing third place was coming on strong. At around mile 11.5, I had shook off the cramp, I looked back (I know, I know), and saw third was about 1 minute behind me...I really picked up the pace at this point. With about .5 mile to go, I took the next to last turn, saw third place was about 30 seconds behind me, so I put in the best kick I could. Fortunately I was able to hold him off, and finished second. Run: 1:26:55

Total time: 4:17:08

Overall, my best result for a Half. Time was good, but it is a fast flat course. The entire race I felt like I was in control. I was at a comfortable pace that I felt was conservative, but good. I really think doing the whole race without any knowledge of pace was a benefit. I just went as hard as I thought I could manage for the duration. Can't complain with the result. Will I follow this plan again??? Hmmm, I don't know...We'll see.

Looking forward to Clemson this weekend.