Eagleman 69.1 - Round 2

Cambridge, MD - June 2019 - 10th AG

I had one goal for Eagleman in 2019: unleash a can of whoop-ass upon the course that crippled me the previous year.  I didn’t quite meet this goal, but I am incredibly proud of the way I raced and how I handled the last-minute twist mother nature sprung upon us.  Amelia took a hiatus from triathlon this year but, being an awesome sister, joined my mom as a support crew member.  My friend Ryan also joined in the festivities this year.  Our trip down was slightly less eventfully than 2018, but we did have a chance to check in with our mom about her desire to volunteer as a wetsuit stripper (she unfortunately never got certified and hasn’t been able to wetsuit strip yet).

Swim - N/A

Red sky in the morning, a sailor’s warning… or something like that.  We had a beautiful sunrise and a very comfortable morning.  Unfortunately, a large storm cell was approaching, making the water too rough for water safety crews to operate.  They called off the swim at the last minute and announced a rolling bike start based on bib number.

T1 - N/A

            As a strong swimmer with nervous energy to burn off, I watched the pros head off and then paced around transition waiting for the age group start.

Bike - 2:30.51 (282nd OA)

            Last year, I thought a fast bike paired with minimal training equaled a fast bike split.  Obviously, I was wildly mistaken.  This year, I was armed with professional coaching support AND race wheels (with a power meter) on my fast bike.  I clearly was in for a fast day.  I had quite a few power surges in the first 5 or 6 miles of the race.  With rolling bike starts, people with vastly different biking abilities go off commingled, which results in packs of riders forming.  Not wanting a draft penalty, I did my best to find more open road and settle in.  Once I turned onto the main loop, I started paying attention to power and got to work.

            My coach and I aimed for a normalized power (NP) of 230W and I came surprisingly close to nailing that.  The first 10 miles of Eagleman’s loop are crazy fast – I’ve had a tailwind both years, and it’s early enough in the race that you feel still feel fresh.  Unlike last year, I underbiked this section because my speed was still holding around 25 mph and I knew from experience that I’d be riding into a head wind as I completed the loop and road back to transition.  What I didn’t know was mother nature would unleash all hell upon us about an hour into my ride.  Suddenly the drizzle and tailwind became heavy rain and relatively strong, swirling winds.  I am thankfully a solidly built and experienced rider and race with ENVE 7.8s, so I was able to remain aero for a good chunk of this.  A lot of competitors weren’t so fortunate, and, in the worst of the cross winds, I had to join them riding on the hoods at times.  These are easily the worst conditions I have either raced or trained in.  I’m both thankful for the learning experience and grateful that I lived to tell the tale!

T2

            Much improved from last year, but still not where it needs to be.  My legs cooperated this year and I didn’t need to carry my bike!

Run - 1:36.11 (178th OA)

The run where I ran!  Who’d have thought… as it turns out, running during half Ironman training pays off on race day.  My coach and I settled on 7:30 target pace but, per usual, Jonathan knows best and I decided to push closer to 7:00 miles as I got going.  This worked for a bit, but I eventually realized I would blow up if I didn’t back off.  As I approached the mile 5 restaurant, I dropped my pace to 7:30s and settled in with two guys holding similar paces.  It was tough watching a kid in my age group overtake me and not respond, but I’m ultimately glad that I checked my ego at the door.  My goal for this race was to prove I could tackle this distance without crippling myself while also posting respectable times.  I was spent to the point of needing a space blanket post-race, which tells me I did a great job of pacing myself throughout the race.  I once again began to cry around mile 12, but this year they were much happier tears.  I was, and am, so proud of the progress made to this point in my triathlon journey and was ecstatic to see what the future held.