Ironman Wisconsin Champ!

Ironman Wisconsin Champ!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Rev 3 Quassy

Rev 3 Quassy-Middlebury, CT

Well this will be a different race report from Daniel because it will not be from his perspective.  It will be from mine-his girlfriend! (I better do a great job because this may be my last blog entry!)

Swim 26:38 18th Fastest Split
When we got to the race site the outside temperature was around 50degrees so I was crossing my fingers that the water temperature would be 68 degrees.  It was 69 so no wet suits today.  I hoped that Daniel could stay warm enough though to swim well.  Not being able to see much of the actual swim, I can judge how well Daniel competed by his place out of the water.  It was about how I had expected it to go, although I had hoped that he would be in a higher position going into the bike section.  I have watched enough races to know that the swim portion typically isn’t detrimental to your overall place.  For instance, the overall winner of the race swam just 12 seconds faster than Daniel and only had the 16th fastest swim split.  I knew that the bike portion would be crucial!

Bike 2:30:58  22.5mph 19th Fastest Split
On Friday, Daniel and I drove the bike course, which was the first time that I have ever done that with him.  This is the section of the race that I never see but this course seemed difficult to me-I got car sick from all the hills and turns.  As Daniel said, “It is an honest course.”  There were some big climbs, technical turns and very few easy portions.  I knew the course was challenging when the professionals ride about 15 minutes slower than a typical course.  Just like the swim, I can judge his performance on his place.  I started to get nervous when more than 10 minutes had passed since the leaders had left transition.  Once Daniel arrived in transition, I knew that he did not have a great bike leg and did not put himself in a position to win some money.  I did not think it would be possible to pass 9 people on the run.  It would have been easy for Daniel to mentally give up at this point.

Run 1:16:04  8th Fastest Split
During the bike portion of the race on Sunday, I ran miles 5-13 of the half marathon course skipping the most challenging part Mile 4-5, which was all up hill.  I would not consider this an easy course and I can’t imagine running it after swimming and biking although the conditions were ideal for a runner since almost the entire run course was shaded and the temperature was about 70 degrees at this time.  Daniel had a fantastic run and a PR by 55 second!  His previous best was 1:16:59 from  2008 at the 70.3 World Championships.         

Overall 4:15:47 16th Place
After this race, I believe Daniel should have a lot of momentum going into his training and next race.  His bike fitness is lacking compared to the other 2 disciplines right now but I do not think he is too far off.  Finally, this was a stacked race full of professionals so if you are looking to travel to the East Coast for a challenging course and to compete on the same venue as World Class Athletes, you may want to consider this race.  From my perspective as a spectator, Rev 3 puts on a great race atmosphere!