Rockman Race Report and Transition Times

So it’s been two days since Rockman, and boy thebody is still sore. I really put in a huge effort at this race. Jim did a really good job of getting me ready for this race, and convincing me to really try to ride out of my comfort zone. It really paid off! Here’s a brief race report.

I headed up to Rockford for the second time this racing season to compete in the Rockman Half Iron race. I had a really good race and PR’ed by about 15 minutes. I ended up 4:17 and in fifth place. The swim could not have started worse. About 400 meters into the race, I thought I was going to die and they would have to pull me up from the bottom of the lake. I settled into a pace and swam about 31 minutes (3 min faster than last year). On the bike, my goal was to push, push, push and ride by how I felt. Since I was so glad to be out of the water, I was keeping a pretty good pace for the first miles of the bike. I saw Adam just after the turn-around, and he had by my calculations 5 minutes on me. Adam is a phenomenal swimmer, fantastic biker, and his run has been strong all season. Little did he know, he was my carrot for the race. If I could minimize the gap he had on me after the bike, I felt like I could put a strong run on him. I had a tough patch towards the end of the ride, but managed to go 2:16 (much faster than last year!) On the run, I wanted to go out hard, and maintain. I was not feeling so hot, my stomach was bothering me three miles into the run, which at that point was all up and down hills. It settled a bit, but was never great. I ran 1:26, 6:30 pace. I can go faster, but not on that course, it was all I had.

My teammate, Adam, ran off course by about a half mile. I ran up to him, just as he and two other athletes were coming back on course. I understand his frustration, I have been off course two separate times, and the majority of the blame lies with the race directors. I ended up placing higher than Adam, but several times I thought I would just let him run up to me. It’s not fair, it sucks, and I feel the frustration. So, yeah, my time was a PR, and I finished 5th, might have been 6th, I guess we’ll have set a rematch!!!! My other teammate, Paul, had a great race as well, finishing 9th on a bum leg!!! He’ll be fast once he’s 100%.

I would also like to thank my aunt, Jeanne. WOW!!!! What a super fan. She waited in the rain, toughed out the cold, and “paced” me the last few steps of the run!!!! She came down from Wisconsin to cheer me on, and she was awesome! Thanks so much!!

My "recovery" ride the past two days, with 23lbs of cargo!! All for now.

SJI