Honolulu Tri race report and weekly schedule

In the goals I set out in my race plan I said I wanted a decent swim and bike, but the focus would be the run. I made that goal, and came pretty close to the pacing and nutrition.

I still pull to my left in the swim. This year I watched for that and corrected sooner than last year, so my course was my straighter. Still a few zigs and zags, but much improved. Also much improved is my sense of comfort in the water. It was a really nice swim. I was relaxed the entire time, felt great coming out of the water, ready to ride. Walked T1 to save feet, surface is rough asphalt.

The bike began with a little frustration. Technology fail. My Garmin Edge 520 refused to display power and heart rate. I stopped twice to try to get it going, and when that failed I did a full reboot while rolling down Nimitz Highway. Good thing the course was closed! When it came back, power was good, still no heart rate, This was not a big concern because my plan was all power based. Heart rate finally showed up on the run, after I fiddled with my strap. Again not a big deal, as my run was pace based.

The only disappointment was the organizers had us skip Lagoon Drive. This makes a mess of my bike time, so throw that out. I have no idea why that happened. There is nothing in the race information about a time limit. This means that I could bump someone. Not cool.

The real win, as I said, was how good my run was. Not that I am fast. The goal was to run the entire thing and not feel as though death was right behind me at the finish. No bonk. No cramps. No vomit. After a couple miles I held my planed 15:30 pace and pushed it above 14:30 at the end. I carried nothing, drank a little water at the aid stations. This was my first time not walking the aid stations, drinking on the run. Came in strong at the finish, but not as if I could have gone any faster.

Here are my plan vs. actual using my Garmin times.

	Plan	Actual (my times)
Swim	0:45	0:51:32
T1	0:05	0:06
Bike	1:26	1:10:57
T2	0:04	0:03
Run	1:36	1:36:48
Total	3:56	3:48:45

Ramp rates and CTS got a big bump. I anticipate a return to normal levels soon.

One goal I missed was my form value on race morning. I was aiming for 4.0 but ended up at -8.5.  This is not a huge difference, especially considering that this was a "B" race. On Monday morning it was -28.3, which is as low as it should ever be and signifies time for some rest. I was pleased to see my intensity factor for the day was 0.80. A 0.85 would have been even better, but given how slow I am this was a reasonable value. Duration is a factor because 1.00 means an all out effort held for one hour. Elites do Ironman races at 0.80 - 0.85, but I am an old guy.

Last week

ATP: 530 TSS
Planned: 647.1
Actual: 736.2

This Week

Week of 5/15 - Build 2 week 4
Focus: Recovery, CTTS

ATP: 450 TSS
Planned: 826.4

Mon
AM Run, 4mi + strides
PM Strength with Dorian

Tue
AM Swim, pool
PM Massage

Wed
AM Run, 6mi tempo intervals
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri (box jellies next three days)

AM Run, 3mi + 4 strides
PM off, optional swim

Sat
AM Long run, 12 mi.

Sun
Tantalus 2x

Next race: 3 weeks until North Shore swim series #1
5 weeks until CTTS.