Saturday, May 20, 2006
Road to CDA 06: Auburn 1/2 IM
Friday 5/19: Off
Sat 5/20
Auburn 1/2 IM: 5:13, total ascent 7260 ft. 5900 on bike, 1360 on bike. I new I would have problems as my right hamstring was sore all week, despite massage. Walking around race morning with a sore ham is not a good sign. This was the first time I have raced 5 hours on a continuous sore muscle though. Continually stretching on the downhills during the bike saved me. I must have stretched about 20 minutes during the bike segment.
5 of us in our training group, 4 on podium. I think there were only 3 Men that broke 5 hours. Winning time of 4:36.
Hannes Mergler 3rd M35 (his first 1/2) (strongest bike..I couldnt catch him, and I tried!)
Ann Ciaverella 5th F35 (7th overall female) (how does she run 8:20 pace on that course? She is incredible for her second season)
Erin Perkins 3rd F30 (her first 1/2) (swim slowed her down 15 minutes, she'll be fine at CDA)
Myself 2nd M40 (15th overall, and 7th age grouper)
Rob Perkins, great race for his first 1/2. He missed the podium by a couple positions: M30
*The first water stop at nearly an hour, and only 4 total on the bike is a big mistake by this race director. Esp. when its in the 80's. Only 1 marker on the bike course, 30 miles. I had to stop at the mile mark at the bike to rip off my odometer sensor because it fell down my fork and caught in my spokes. It would have been nice to have markers every 10 miles. No where near enough water on the run course. It was almost laughable how minimal the aid stations were and how scarce, especially when you pay 250.00 for a race...its running nothing like California 1/2, Grand Coule, or anyother 1/2 I have done. Very poor for the money you spend.
Swim 30:05 Very calm water in the 60's. Fast swim for everyone. I felt a mild current pushing me on the final turn swimming 500 to the finish. I think this is where I gained most of my time.
Bike 3:01 (Transition times added to the bike time total)
As Scott M said last year, this was the most difficult race I will probably do. Bike course changed because of traffic last year. Well, dropping 800 ft down into the canyon on 2 lane chip-seal with at least 10 switch backs was not a change for the better. They also added a nice 500 foot 2.5 mile climb in the final 10 miles to add to the pain. The most difficult portion of the bike course was not the 5900 ft ascent on the bike, it was the lack of really opening up on the down hills. Many switch backs on the new course, and down hills that had 90 degree turns at the bottom to slow you down to 5 mph, then start the next uphill. It was relentless for the entire bike course.
Chain came off twice on up hills as I shifted from 24 to 25 on my rear cassette. Cant predict small problems like that, just stopped and put it back on. Happening on uphills was annoying however.
Run 1: 39 (7:35 pace)
Almost ridiculous. Climb 1360 ft. Again, the descents were single track deep cracks with large rocks, sometimes flowing water and mud. Jumping over metal irrigation boxes the final 2 miles, total 90% trail. "the wall" is a 450 foot climb over about 1000 yds that broke alot of people. I passed 3 walking, as I was moving at Zone 5c HR and 15 min pace/mile. I looked down and my shoes were barely clearing each other on the hill...thats about a 10" stride. Then another 1.2 mile up from 10-11 and another 400 feet.
The good: The race was strong for the entire group off a 39 hour week and a 6 day taper.
The bad: This is a very tough course. Especially the run. Very high risk of injury running downhill on rocky and wet single tracks.
The ugly: Remember where you place your stuff in T2! We were rushed in the morning because of T1 and T2 8 miles apart. I got in on my bike and had to spend 2 minutes looking for my stuff. I completely forgot where I placed it. Didnt even remember which side I placed it on. Yeah, stupid move, it will never happen again.
Zone Summary: Very Happy with Zones. Able to maintain higher HR's throughout race. Held run 2-3 beats under Zone 5 almost entire run, except on a couple of the extreme hills, which going 15 min per mile pace, still went into Zones 5b/c. Pushed into Zone 5b/c final 2 miles as I overtook 2 in my age group. Very temped to pass them back at mile 8 when I started stalking them. I withheld however, keeping a strict limit on my heartrate. When I finally passed at mile 11, they were unable to go with me.
Held Zones 3 and 4 for 60 % of race
Zone 1 = 11' (only 11 min!)
Zone 2 = 33'
Zone 3 = 1:15
Zone 4 = 1:33
Zone 5a= 34'
Zone5b= 21'
Zone5c = 17'
(doestn include swim and T1)
Sat 5/20
Auburn 1/2 IM: 5:13, total ascent 7260 ft. 5900 on bike, 1360 on bike. I new I would have problems as my right hamstring was sore all week, despite massage. Walking around race morning with a sore ham is not a good sign. This was the first time I have raced 5 hours on a continuous sore muscle though. Continually stretching on the downhills during the bike saved me. I must have stretched about 20 minutes during the bike segment.
5 of us in our training group, 4 on podium. I think there were only 3 Men that broke 5 hours. Winning time of 4:36.
Hannes Mergler 3rd M35 (his first 1/2) (strongest bike..I couldnt catch him, and I tried!)
Ann Ciaverella 5th F35 (7th overall female) (how does she run 8:20 pace on that course? She is incredible for her second season)
Erin Perkins 3rd F30 (her first 1/2) (swim slowed her down 15 minutes, she'll be fine at CDA)
Myself 2nd M40 (15th overall, and 7th age grouper)
Rob Perkins, great race for his first 1/2. He missed the podium by a couple positions: M30
*The first water stop at nearly an hour, and only 4 total on the bike is a big mistake by this race director. Esp. when its in the 80's. Only 1 marker on the bike course, 30 miles. I had to stop at the mile mark at the bike to rip off my odometer sensor because it fell down my fork and caught in my spokes. It would have been nice to have markers every 10 miles. No where near enough water on the run course. It was almost laughable how minimal the aid stations were and how scarce, especially when you pay 250.00 for a race...its running nothing like California 1/2, Grand Coule, or anyother 1/2 I have done. Very poor for the money you spend.
Swim 30:05 Very calm water in the 60's. Fast swim for everyone. I felt a mild current pushing me on the final turn swimming 500 to the finish. I think this is where I gained most of my time.
Bike 3:01 (Transition times added to the bike time total)
As Scott M said last year, this was the most difficult race I will probably do. Bike course changed because of traffic last year. Well, dropping 800 ft down into the canyon on 2 lane chip-seal with at least 10 switch backs was not a change for the better. They also added a nice 500 foot 2.5 mile climb in the final 10 miles to add to the pain. The most difficult portion of the bike course was not the 5900 ft ascent on the bike, it was the lack of really opening up on the down hills. Many switch backs on the new course, and down hills that had 90 degree turns at the bottom to slow you down to 5 mph, then start the next uphill. It was relentless for the entire bike course.
Chain came off twice on up hills as I shifted from 24 to 25 on my rear cassette. Cant predict small problems like that, just stopped and put it back on. Happening on uphills was annoying however.
Run 1: 39 (7:35 pace)
Almost ridiculous. Climb 1360 ft. Again, the descents were single track deep cracks with large rocks, sometimes flowing water and mud. Jumping over metal irrigation boxes the final 2 miles, total 90% trail. "the wall" is a 450 foot climb over about 1000 yds that broke alot of people. I passed 3 walking, as I was moving at Zone 5c HR and 15 min pace/mile. I looked down and my shoes were barely clearing each other on the hill...thats about a 10" stride. Then another 1.2 mile up from 10-11 and another 400 feet.
The good: The race was strong for the entire group off a 39 hour week and a 6 day taper.
The bad: This is a very tough course. Especially the run. Very high risk of injury running downhill on rocky and wet single tracks.
The ugly: Remember where you place your stuff in T2! We were rushed in the morning because of T1 and T2 8 miles apart. I got in on my bike and had to spend 2 minutes looking for my stuff. I completely forgot where I placed it. Didnt even remember which side I placed it on. Yeah, stupid move, it will never happen again.
Zone Summary: Very Happy with Zones. Able to maintain higher HR's throughout race. Held run 2-3 beats under Zone 5 almost entire run, except on a couple of the extreme hills, which going 15 min per mile pace, still went into Zones 5b/c. Pushed into Zone 5b/c final 2 miles as I overtook 2 in my age group. Very temped to pass them back at mile 8 when I started stalking them. I withheld however, keeping a strict limit on my heartrate. When I finally passed at mile 11, they were unable to go with me.
Held Zones 3 and 4 for 60 % of race
Zone 1 = 11' (only 11 min!)
Zone 2 = 33'
Zone 3 = 1:15
Zone 4 = 1:33
Zone 5a= 34'
Zone5b= 21'
Zone5c = 17'
(doestn include swim and T1)
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Thanks for this report, David. I had been thinking about doing this (not this year, of course) but now I'm not so sure. I don't want to invest all that time and money to have my stride be 10" haha. Lots of other good choices. Seems like it was still a good learning experience.
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