Road Racing - Let the chips fall where they may.

F#ck off with your sofa units and string green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may. - Tyler Durden

Ginny over at Happy Feet 26.2 sent me an article about road racing.

It had a lot of good tips about cycling. She mentioned tip number 5 about the hard stuff not being hard enough and the easy stuff not being easy enough. This is true in swim / bike / run for sure. It is so hard for most of us to slow down for a recovery run. Now the hard stuff. I can knock out running intervals with a group of fast runner like no bodies business. But left on my own it is hard to hold yourself to the line. So I just run my intervals where I have to be accountable.

Tempos are another story. It is so hard for me to go out and run an hour plus at a very hard pace. I almost need a race to push myself – to be able to keep myself at that edge. I have known this about myself for years.

However, the tip that stuck out in my mind was the following:

3. Not Limit Potential

For the first few years, race as hard as you can. When presented with any "yes/no" question--Should I follow this attack? Should I go hard in this time trial? Should I force the pace on this hill? Should I sprint for this prime?--answer YES. If you follow this rule initially, you will craft forward-thinking, aggressive racing habits, and you will learn much more about the limits of your body and your competitors. Don't worry about hiding your cards and being patient, that comes later. If you get shelled because you left it all out on the road, that is fine, you are in the learning phase of your sport. For now, when you see opportunity, pull the trigger!

In a race, I have never blown up - completely. I am afraid of blowing up. I have pushed myself too far and pulled back but never just gone all out – no holds barred – seen the line in the sand and willingly stepped over. I have held myself back in races and pushed an artificial line. Sure, I have had a lot of good results but I have rarely been out in the danger zone – I mean really out in the danger zone. What I have done is called racing smart, but maybe I need to get out and pull like no tomorrow and push the pace – push the pace above and beyond my capacity - just let the chips fall where they may.

70.3 New Orleans Race Strategy 2010

Have I learned anything from my past experiences? Last year this was my first big race. I was excited and apprehensive. I was sacred of the swim portion in the lake. Since then I have raced a dozen or more times (running and triathlon). From my lessons learned:

1. PRE-RACE: I do plan better. I am bringing better pre-race and post-race clothing. I am also bringing more appropriate running shoes (my shoes from my marathon).

2. SWIM: This race last year was the last “bad” swim that I had. After this race I was more mentally prepared. I was able to swim my own race. I will be starting an hour later than last year. There will be a lot of people in the water in front of me. I have been in this situation before. I may not be the fastest swimmer but when starting from the back I am faster than everyone in front of me. There will be people really struggling (I can empathize). I think (hope) my race experience kicks in and I am able to meet my time goals. Fear – My swim volume is nothing compared to last year. I have not swum in the open water since August. But I am a better swimmer. It is rumored that the swim was long last year. Last year: 40 minutes Goal: 35 minutes.

3. BIKE: My bike volume is nothing compared to last year. I have only rode 50 miles twice this year. I am not going to race this year at the same intensity as last year. However, I think I am a little faster. I want to clock in with the same bike split. I have my GPS set to auto-lap every 7 miles (56 miles / 8 = 7 miles) to remind me to take a gel. Last year: 2:42 Goal: 2:40

4. RUN: Much better prepared. This is my experiment: What is harder? Run a half marathon and then run a half marathon at the same pace (which is what I did at my marathon) or bike 56 miles and then run a half marathon? I am going to attempt to run the half at my marathon pace. This is going to be a challenge. Last year: 2:01 Goal: 1:35.

5. ENJOY THE RACE: I won’t stop and smell the roses but I will enjoy the spectacle.

So there you have it in a nut shell. Last year I did this race in 5:30 and this year my fantasy goal is 4:59:XX. This time goal is just out of my reach and I do not think I have taken the necessary steps to step up and hit it out of the park. But if I am able to execute perfectly and nothing unexpected jumps up the time will be as follows: RACE TOTAL = 330 minutes – 5 minutes (SWIM) – 25 minutes (RUN) = 300 minutes or 5:00 half ironman.