Desert Damage

Well the results have been posted with the splits so I thought that I would review some "lessons learned" from the race and the aftermath...

I just missed my sub-2hr mark but this race was all about getting ready for Boise and practicing pace, transitions and nutrition. With that in mind, I am stoked at the results as I pulled in some of my best transitions and the results showed even better than I thought with T2 being 49 seconds! Nice! I also learned what not to do like pounding some red bull during any portion of the race!

Swim - 19:22
T1 - 1:18
Bike - 1:00:16
T2 - :49
Run - 39:58

Total Time = 2:01:45

Swim distance in practice is finally up to par. I am no longer worried about "just making it" so I can start adding a little speed to my swims but the frequency has been a big key in helping my swim times drop.


My legs are killing me from the bike. I wanted some hills so bad and just pushing a big gear on flat for an hour was pretty challenging. My heart rate LT for the bike was about 167BPM and I kept it about 160BPM or less for the race but looking back I think I could have pushed it a bit more. I think for the Boise 70.3 I will aim for a sub 140BPM for the first 30-40 miles of the bike leg and never get over 150BPM if possible. I gotta get some long rides in to practice nutrition a bit more too.


My running volume is pretty pathetic and my biggest limiter for the race(as usual). I think I have been averaging about 4 miles a week but somehow was able to get a PR for the 10K. Probably because I have never ran a 10K before unless it was on hills or a trail. I was still struggling however at the distance and I think I can make BIG gains by just adding some volume and/or frequency each week. Temecula is also a 10K (in the hills) and Boise is 13 miles I need to build up "just to make the distance" anyways.

So just when I thought that the damage was in and the wind has stopped we had one more surprise on the way home. I have a few wheel locks that I usually put our mountain bikes in for longer trips but for the road bikes with the aerobars, we usually just lay them down in the back and lock them together. Safe and the aerobars dont break the glass on the back window. . . but probably the start of the problem. Maybe it was the flat profile laying down or the wind that picked up again as we left... Maybe it was those Zipp wheels that caught the wind?? All that I remember is Monique saying "I saw something fly out the back!". I look to the side mirror and see my Zipp wheel slide out to the side and then behind the truck again... C R R A A P P P ! ! Not the way a bike should be traveling at 80MPH!


Now, I have to say that I lock up our bikes on most trips out but I dont lock them TO the truck...However, we had the tail gate down after the race so I decided to put a lock through one of the eye loops in the back....Thank God. If it was not for that I think we would have lost both bikes and they would have been under someones car... Good thing Monique was driving too because she was in the slow lane and I am sure I would have been in the fast lane doing 100 and it would have taken a while to pull over.


Surprisingly, not much happened to my bike. STOKED! It was only sliding across on the rear derailleur, seat, pedal and my bars. The carbon wheels were in good shape and so was the frame. Titanium is a bit more "car drag" resistant than carbon. With some new bar tape it should be good as new