RR High Cliff Half Ironman

Alaska Mike · Jun 19, 2011

High Cliff Half Ironman
June 18, 2011
Appleton, WI
 
26/457 OA, 7/72 M40-44
 
swim: 35:15 (1:49/100m)
T1: 1:41
bike: 2:35:19 (21.9 mph)
T2: 1:11
run: 1:32:52 (7:05 min/mi)
 
Pre-Race
 
On Friday morning I drove 4-hours from home to the race expo to pick up my bib. Sue Peirson (fox-runr) recognized me as I walked past her and introduced herself and her husband Mike. After the expo I headed down to the race start/transition area. I did a quick swim (my first open water swim of the year) and got my entry and exit sight lines down. I jumped on the bike and did a short ride, including riding up the relatively big hill at the start of the race. And I finished my pre-race activities with a short run, including the big hill (same as the bike) that you start the run going up.
 
Race morning I got to the race site at about 4:45 am, for a 7 am start, and found there was plenty of good parking space at that time. Checked into transition, hit body marking and the port-o-lets and waited around a lot. Had to laugh because it never ceases to amaze me how many people show up five minutes before transition closes and then are rushing around trying to get ready.
 
Swim
 
I started in wave 5. Waves were based on when you signed up, not age group or ability. The one exception was wave 1, which was the elites. Each wave was about 50 people with around 2 min separation between waves. In short order I was standing in the water, in about the 2ndor 3rdrow in my wave and the whistle was blowing.
 
The first 50-75 feet of the swim was actually a run/walk/waddle as the water was only knee high. I'm pretty sure the sprint swim was about 20% running. Finally got to waist high water and dived in. The first five minutes was the only part that was crowded at all, and even then I only slightly bumped 4 or 5 people. The rest of the swim it seemed like I was pretty much alone except at the buoys. That was probably partially due to the fact that I seemed to be pulling to the left and had to continually correct for that when I came up and sighted.
 
I didn't have a great feel for the water, wetsuit swimming is so different from the pool. I focused on staying long, stretching before the grab and working on my core rotation. Kept the effort steady, although it seemed to take forever to get through the swim. The water conditions were near perfect, not too cold nor too warm and there were very few waves.
 
The swim was pretty uneventful. As I stood, about 50-75 feet from the shore I looked at my watch and it read 34:XX. I was pretty happy with that considering my swim training schedule. Ran to shore while taking the top of my westuit off and crossed the timing mat.
 
T1
 
15 feet beyond the mat they had a large tap laid out and wetsuit strippers! I was amazed at the number of people that were bypassing the strippers? I ran up to two folks, sat down on the tarp and they both grabbed a side. They could have been a bit better trained as they were a little too timid and struggled to get the wetsuit over my timing chip. At IM they just grab and yank and it takes no time at all. But I loved having them available.
 
There was a slight grass hill you had to run up to get to transition and I motored past people while getting my breath under control. I had a great spot in transition, right next to the bike in/out so while I had to run a bit to get to my spot, I had very little distance to run with the bike to get to the mount line. I struggled with getting my socks on my wet feet a bit but given I hadn't done any sockless training this year I wasn't about to take the chance of blisters. Then I was out on the bike.
 
Bike
 
Shortly after transition there was the cliff, after which the race is named. It's a decent sized hill, maybe comparable to the 3rd b***h hill at IMWI, but probably not quite as steep. Motored past a few folks on the way up then got into aero and focused on getting into my groove.
 
Early on I was passing a large number of folks in earlier waves. Had to call out 'on your left' a whole lot and was constantly reminding folks to ride on the right except for passing. In the first 15 miles I made the mistake of getting caught up with some other racers and pushed myself way too hard to pass them, burning up precious energy. Part of that was due to wanting to stay within the rules, where I would pass one person and then notice I was in the passing zone of the next person, work hard to get by them and then I didn't want to slow up after passing.
 
The roads were in the best condition of any race I have every done. I'd say maybe 1/3 was fresh asphalt. Not too many hills, but a lot of long inclines and declines. Early on I found myself flying along at 30 mph for about 5 minutes. I focused on keeping my watts up on the downhills as well as the uphills, that has traditionally been a weakness for me as I tend to spend too much time recovering on the the downhills.
 
Eventually I settled in and simply focused on keeping my watts between 200 and about 220 (mid z3 to low z4). There was a group of about 5 guys that I was constantly passing and then getting passed by. I didn't see one course marshal out there, perhaps they were up by the elite wave. I did see some blatant drafting, but at least it was groups of 2 to 3 people instead of the packs of 20 or 30 folks I've seen at the Racine race, and they would break up after 5 to 10 minutes.
 
Right at the mile 30 aid station I saw a dude off his bike, laying face down on the asphalt. The aid station volunteers were running to assist and one of the guys I was playing tag with stopped, so I kept going. The guy who stopped passed me 20 minutes later and we chatted for a minute about the accident and the race.
 
During the last 15 miles of the ride I did feel my back tightening up quite often and I had to come out of aero and stand, stand on the pedals and stretch. This may have been partially due to the fact that it was a flat course and I spent very little time out of aero during the first 50 miles. But it concerned me for IM where I'll be on the bike for over twice as long.
 
The local police and the volunteers did a great job at all the intersections. The roads were open but I only had a few times where cars passed me and only once where one interfered with the race. I'm pretty sure I thanked the police and volunteers at every intersection.
 
The last five miles into transition we had the wind at our backs and it was slightly downhill so I was flying. Came into transition with the traditional 'slow down, slow down!' and put in an ugly IM dismount and ran across the mat.
 
T2
The 2nd transition was pretty uneventful. Racked the bike, got my running shoes on headed out. I avoided the temptation to run out with my aero helmet on.
 
Run
 
Shortly after transition you go back up the high cliff, along the same road that the bike went out on. I was going past people at a pretty good clip, although I was monitoring my calf to make sure I didn't have any problems with it. At the top of the hill you make a hard left onto trails, which you stay on for two loops until the finish, which is back down the cliff.
 
I loved the running course. The trail was a combination of dirt, grass, limestone (and not crushed) and some very short asphalt sections. There were markers every mile and frequent aid stations. Most of the run was through forest sections so you had shade from the sun. It was twisty and curvy, so not a lot of sections where you're staring half mile down the trail wondering when you're getting to the next turn and thinking about how far you have to go. It wasn't though a technical trail, not a lot of things to trip over.
 
The first loop I seemed slow, even though I was passing people. I did get passed by one guy and he went by me like I was standing still. He may have been on his 2nd loop already, he had an elite number on. My calf, which hadn't bothered me at all during the bike, was tight. Towards the end of the loop there were two steep downhills that tested the calf. Although it was touchy, the calf didn't seize and I went full bore down those hills.
 
On the 2nd loop I seemed to get my second wind and picked up my pace considerably. It helped that there were a lot more people on the trail now, most of them slower runners, so I always had someone to target for passing. Told a lot of people 'good job' and got a lot of comments that I was flying. I think many of the elites were off the course by this time.
 
Very soon I was heading back down the cliff and into the finish line. Pushed it hard down the hill and managed to catch a few more people. Heard someone in the crowd yelling for someone to pass me and so I poured it on across the line.
 
Post-Race
 
The race organizers did a great job with post-race activities. There was a nice finishers medal. They had free stretching and massage, coke, chocolate milk, beer and a spaghetti dinner. The local park support club was out selling brats and burgers. They didn't wait until the last finisher to do post race awards, the awards were transition bags.
 
I got my massage, had some food and beer and got a chance to chat again with Sue and Mike. They are both great people and Sue is incredibly humble for such a talented athlete. I had to laugh as I recalled how she wasn't sure what kind of race she was going to have as she was still recovering from surgery. And then she goes out and wins the race!
 
I haven't figured out yet how I feel about my results. This is my 4th year of triathlon racing and I seem to be stuck in the 4:40 to 4:45 range for half-ironman races and not getting any better. On the other hand, my training schedule hasn't been optimal due to work and I do feel like I'm a better biker, even with less time to workout. I guess I feel like I took what they day gave me and my training is at where my training is at and I'm okay with that. And I'm not sure if that acceptance is a good or bad thing.
 
Next up is IM Lake Placid on July 24th. I'm really looking forward to doing a different IM and seeing how it compares to Wisconsin. Got to find a later season tri or two also, even though my focus will be on running after Placid. Thanks for taking the time to read this far.

pcsronbo · Jun 19, 2011

Not bad for a training day. I'm glad to hear the leg held up. However, with it not being fully ready and you're 5 weeks out - is it going to impact your plans for LP? Is LP hilly? Sounds like that is where it would be the worst.
 
I totally forgot you couldn't swim much due to Alaska. Duh. Ok, I won't bust your chops for the 35min swim <img alt="icon_rabbit.gif" id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130849724090924" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/icon_rabbit.gif" style="width:15px;height:15px;">
 
Solid day, raced well and consistent. I wouldn't worry about being in that 4:40-4:45 range - you blew past that at Racine a couple years ago, so it's possible. BUT YOU ARE NOT TRAINING FOR A HALF, you are training for a full, so I'm not sure why you would think you would improve much on this distance? Plus, you're old now <img alt="wink.gif" id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130849724090935" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;">

Alaska Mike · Jun 19, 2011

Training day my ass! Unless I'm pacing a buddy, I have one speed - all out.
 
Actually the 35 min swim is pretty consistent with what I have been doing my last couple of HIMs. Doing some form work that I hope will pay off, but probably not until next year. And I need to get out in the open water more often.
 
I'm confident that the leg will be 100% well before LP. Yes, LP is hilly, but its long consistent hills rather than the constant up and down you have at Wisconsin.
 
I don't count the Racine time from a few years ago as legit. The swim was significantly short and there was massive drafting on the bike, which also impacted my run. So 4:40 remains my half PR. No, I'm not training for a half but I still feel like my base should be much better than it was a few years ago. Yes, I am getting to be an old fart.
 
Thanks for the feedback Ron.
 
Mike

1Topodope · Jun 19, 2011

Congrats on your race, Mike! Way to go!

em73 · Jun 20, 2011

nice job, Mike. it's astounding to me (and a testament to your dedication and hard work) that you're putting together such great races with the challenges of your work schedule.
 
can't wait to see you kill it at Placid. we have the early shift at the run out this year.

cak73 · Jun 20, 2011

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block"> There was a slight grass hill you had to run up to get to transition and I motored past people while getting my breath under control.
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You are a machine!
 
I'd bet most folks who train for an IM don't have the crazy sort of work/travel schedule that you do and here you are out there kicking it.
 
Bummed I won't be able to see you at IMLP, but I'm looking forward to hearing about it.

mrscoby78 · Jun 20, 2011

<img alt="icon_cheers.gif" id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130859604428912" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/icon_cheers.gif" style="width:24px;height:24px;">
 
Unbelievable!!!
 
Can't wait to read about IMLP!!

jenotter · Jun 20, 2011

Seriously nice race!!! WOOT! Loved reading the details of the day. You're going to kick arse at IMLP.

SpartyGirl · Jun 20, 2011

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by jenotter <a href="/forum/thread/74274/rr-high-cliff-half-ironman#post_2004058"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a> Seriously nice race!!! WOOT! Loved reading the details of the day. You're going to kick arse at IMLP.
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1!
 
Nice job as always Mike.

Yo Sake · Jun 21, 2011

Sounds like a very solid training day ('my ass'). You are just one heck of an athlete... it is amazing that you are able to compete in a very very tough AG with your challenging work schedule. Looking forward to hearing how the next 4 weeks will unfold and how your day goes at IMLP.

RR High Cliff Half Ironman

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