Sado Astroman II

Since my triumphant Sado experience I have been pondering how Sunday's time compares to my two previous half-ironman distance triathlons. With triathlons one is comparing apples and oranges, but it certainly appears that I have improved in all 3 areas:


Sado Astroman (September 2006)
2k swim 41:32
105k bike 3:28:43
20k run 1:28:49
Total time 5:39:04



New Zealand IM (March 2006)
3.8k swim cancelled
90k bike 3:14:34:
21.1k run 1:37:44

Wildflower California (May 2002)
1.9k swim 47:29
90k bike 3:29:00
21.1k run 1:58:19
Total time 6:14:48

Key elements -
1. Heat - I am still obsessed over this factor. Would our times have been faster if it was 10 degrees C lower? I have to think so - at least a little bit for Adam York and I. In any case it certainly would have been more pleasant run if it was cooler.

2. Wind: The wind seemed to be very much in our favor on Sunday with a bit of a tailwind on the coast. Usually we finish a triathlon and whine and moan about how the wind was always blowing against you (in seemingly every direction). I can't be confident of having such favorable wind in future events. In comparing to my New Zealand time I have to factor in how the wind was a huge negative factor.

3. Elevation: One big hill on last third of bike certainly slowed us down. My rough bike spits
First 35k - 1 hour
Second 35k - 1 hour
Final 35k - 1:26 hours
The final 10k included some tight streets and I switched to lighter gear to prepare legs for run.

4. Training - I seemed to have enough endurance for the five hour Sado event, in spite of uneven training. Some of the residual benefit of last Spring's training must have lasted until Sunday. I didn't do many brick workouts and longer runs over the summer. Perhaps that would have helped a bit on Sunday.

5. Fatigue from bike on the run - Compared to running a 3:32 marathon at Ironman Japan (and walking every 5 minutes), running a 1:28:49 seems a bit weaker, and my relative competitive position on the run was worse at Sado. Still it seems apparent that pushing harder on the bike is well worth any dropoff on the run time.

6. Eating - More seems to be better. My slow Wildflower time may have largely been lack of fuel. I struggled to eat on Sunday, but I think the big breakfast, and the 3 gels, 2 bananas, and the powerbar were just enough to get me through Sado.

7. Effort - Based on my collapse at the end, I feel that "I left it all out there" as had been my plan. Of course it could be that I was just being a wimp at the end.