Ironman Arizona
11/24/19
Introduction
This is intended to be a summary of my 15th IM from my perspective as it unfolded. I flew out to Tempe on 11/20 with Judy and we met Anders and did the usual pre-race stuff before our race. We were both trying to rebound from prior IM DNFs and hoped to also qualify for Kona 2020. We felt Anders needed to target 9:50-10:00 and I was shooting for 13:00-13:30. We felt if we were able to hit these goals that we would have a reasonable chance of both qualifying. The weather on race day was pretty near ideal. The water was 61 degrees, which while cold, is relatively good for IMAZ. The temp ranged from about 50 degrees at the start to the low to mid 70s in the mid afternoon. It wasn't humid at all, with the dew point hovering around 40 degrees. The bike was surprisingly windy (15-20+ mph) and a dead head wind up the Beeline Highway. This wind caused the bike times to be slower. All-in-all, a great day for an IM--I'd certainly take these conditions any day!
Anders and I with a sky-diving buddy of his before the start:
The Swim
My prior IM swim times have ranged from 66 minutes (IMFL07) to 85 minutes (IMGER10) with my average time being around 79 minutes. My training indicated I should be able to comfortably swim 75 minutes plus or minus a few. I had previously swam 78:20 (2011), 84:13 (2012), and 79:35 (2017) in my prior IMAZ appearances. I've always had trouble on this course and seem to figure out a way to swim a lot of extra yardage. While I hoped to swim near 75 minutes, my actual target was 76-79 minutes, and I was prepared to be OK with it, if I was worse than that.
Anders and I were in the first group of 5 that entered the water and I saw Anders surge ahead and so he was actually leading the whole race for a few moments. It was still dark and I had trouble seeing the first turn buoy, which looked to be about 100 yards off. The water was cold and I had a bit of the cold water shock reflex and felt my heart rate rapidly elevate. This was a concern given the high initial stress of a cold water IM swim. I tried to swim easy as a result.
This was the first year of a new course layout and it involved two quick right hand turns (my blind side as I'm a left-side breather). As I approached the first buoy I began to get bumped into by faster swimmers as I was constraining my pace. This created further anxiety and I felt like my heart was pretty much pegged at it's max.
I made the 2nd buoy and could see the crowds were now migrating towards me and the left side buoy line that defined the next 1500+ yards. I was becoming concerned and decided I needed to get to a relatively calm place and get my heart rate down. I looked to my right and was excited to see a gap opening up just behind me and to my right. I immediately went through it and quickly found myself in the relatively calm water between the start (we were now heading east after starting to the west) and the left side course buoys.
This was a huge relief and I started to slowly breaststroke and take deep breaths to try to calm my HR down. I had these crazy thoughts about quitting but soon got things under control and began giving myself a reassuring pep-talk. Soon my HR fell to what felt like a more normal range and I started swimming freestyle again, albeit it with a very easy effort. After a couple of minutes of this, I felt my body coming "on-line" and I began to swim with my normal long-distance effort and the initial crises was behind me.
Due in-part to this I chose to swim a ways away from the buoy line throughout the swim. This led to a longer swim, but no more drama. I just didn't realize at the time, how much longer I was swimming. My early splits were encouraging as I went through the mile in 30:03, which is a 72-minute pace.
However, as the swim progressed I became increasingly aware that I was swimming a much longer course than the prescribed 4,200 yards and that I was likely to have another comparatively poor swim here at IMAZ. I shrugged it off and actually laughed--for some reason, this swim has my number!
I finally exited the swimming in my slowest IM swim time of 86:34 (86:26 on my watch). Indeed, I ended up swimming a mind-boggling 4,802 yards (an extra 14%!). I'm baffled, but that's what the data says. I ended up swimming the 4,200 yard equivalent of 75:43, as I definitely slowed after 3,000 yards.
Here is a summary of my swim stats and my 500 yard splits:
Here are a couple of pics before the start. Given my expression, I must have sensed the challenges I was about to face:
It took a long time but I was very relieved to exit the water!
Transition Two is a lot simpler and shorter. As I ran towards my T2 bag I could tell my legs were in reasonably good shape and I should be able, at least at the start, to run close to my target. I managed to change my clothes and down another HVMN Ketone Ester drink rather quickly. I executed my transition well and was soon heading out of the tent. My T2 was officially 5:23, which was a couple of minutes faster than my race plan. I exited T2 with a total elapsed time of 7:18:44 vs. my target of 7:06-7:21. I had a 50 minute lead for the Kona slot. Life was good!
The Run
My target was 14 min/mile or 6:08:48. My target range was 6:09-6:30. I needed a 6:11 to go under 13:30, which is what I figured, before the race, that I needed to do to have a good shot at Kona. As I ran out of T2 I was determined to do just that. I immediately saw Judy and she told me Anders biked 5:05 and that he was on a 8 minute pace and pulling away from his key Kona competition. Sweet! I told her I had the ride of my life (which is a bit of an exaggeration) and headed out for the run.
I planned on following the "Galloway method" right from the start--this entails mixing run/walk segments. My plan was to mix 8:30 of running with 1:30 of walking every ten minutes as long as I could and then switch over to 4 run/1 walk after that. I planned to get as much as 17 minutes ahead of 14min/mile pace by about 17 or so and then give back that banked time over the final 9 miles. I should also point out here that for the first time I noticed the sun/heat. It was only in the low 70s but at 2pm, it suddenly felt warm.
The first 4 miles or so are an out and back and I averaged about 11:20 with my HR at 140bpm, which seemed perfect to me. I was running slightly faster than plan and feeling quite strong. In fact I had actually increased my Kona lead to 56 minutes. I saw Judy again and she updated me on Anders at the half-way point of the run. He was looking good and running a sub 3:30 marathon pace at the half.
The next 4 miles saw me running about a minute per mile slower as I began to feel the stress of the day's efforts. I went through 8 miles in 96 minutes. TV had begun to run faster than I and he gained 3 minutes on me during the section, but was still 53 minutes behind.
Around 9 miles or so I saw Anders coming the other way on his second lap--we exchanged encouragement. I did some quick math and figured he was likely to go sub 10 and so had a real good chance of getting his Kona slot. I'm began to feel a little dizzy and my feet felt a little tingly, which I didn't quite know how to interpret. I decided that I needed to get my HR down to around 110bpm from the 130s it was in. When I hit the 10th mile, which was up the only appreciable hill on the course, I decided to walk until my HR fell. I had my first greater than 14 minute/mile (15:31) but I felt better and I started running again. My new approach was to run until my HR hit 130 and then walk until it fell back to 110 or so. I was able to sustain sub 14 minute miles this way.
Right around 11 miles for me and 24 for Anders, he caught me and lapped me. I urged him to drive for the line and told him I thought the KQ was all his. He ran strong all the way (never walking) to a 3:33 marathon and a 9:54 Ironman, and as we would learn the next day, a Kona slot. Meanwhile, I kept plugging along and reached the half way point right around 2:50, which was pretty much spot on my race plan. TV continued to narrow my lead, now at better than 2 minutes/mile and my lead was down to 41 minutes. If I hold known this I would have definitely been a bit concerned.
I did the first out and back again and struggled through a couple of miles with more walking than running. Still I figured if I could stay close to 15 for a while, I might rally later when it got a little cooler. I went past transition again near 17 miles. I was looking for Judy and Anders but they were not there. I figured Judy was focusing on Anders, as she should be, and in any event, I had plenty to occupy myself with over the final 9 miles.
I kept plugging along, running for a couple of minutes and then walking for 45-60 seconds. I was a little slow but I was beginning to feel better and I figured I could push a little bit over the last few miles and still go sub 13:30 overall. I hit the mat at 21.1 with a total elapsed time of 12:11:06, which meant I needed to cover the last 5 or so miles in 79 minutes or better--just under 16 minus miles. TV was slowing a bit as well as my lead was still at 39 minutes.
I rallied a bit down the stretch, especially mile 24 and soon enough I was in the finishing straight, comfortably under my target. I hit the line with a total time of 13:23:55, having done my marathon in 6:05:12 (13:57/mile). Both better than plan. I secured the Kona slot, I would find out later, by about 33 minutes or so. This turns out to be my fastest IM in 7 years (in IMAZ12 I was 7 seconds faster) and my 8th fastest overall--so this is my median IM result. I think it was my best executed IM race in the sense I achieved pretty much what my body was capable of on this day.
Anders and Judy (and my cousin Matt) were there waiting for me and Anders put my finisher medal around my neck. I felt a little dizzy given the sudden cessation of exercise and had to lean on Anders a bit but soon we took a bunch of pictures, grabbed our bikes and headed back to the hotel.
We both were able to execute the races we wanted and we both felt a great sense of both satisfaction and gratitude. And we both have Kona to look forward to!
Onward and Upward!
11/24/19
Introduction
This is intended to be a summary of my 15th IM from my perspective as it unfolded. I flew out to Tempe on 11/20 with Judy and we met Anders and did the usual pre-race stuff before our race. We were both trying to rebound from prior IM DNFs and hoped to also qualify for Kona 2020. We felt Anders needed to target 9:50-10:00 and I was shooting for 13:00-13:30. We felt if we were able to hit these goals that we would have a reasonable chance of both qualifying. The weather on race day was pretty near ideal. The water was 61 degrees, which while cold, is relatively good for IMAZ. The temp ranged from about 50 degrees at the start to the low to mid 70s in the mid afternoon. It wasn't humid at all, with the dew point hovering around 40 degrees. The bike was surprisingly windy (15-20+ mph) and a dead head wind up the Beeline Highway. This wind caused the bike times to be slower. All-in-all, a great day for an IM--I'd certainly take these conditions any day!
Anders and I with a sky-diving buddy of his before the start:
The Swim
My prior IM swim times have ranged from 66 minutes (IMFL07) to 85 minutes (IMGER10) with my average time being around 79 minutes. My training indicated I should be able to comfortably swim 75 minutes plus or minus a few. I had previously swam 78:20 (2011), 84:13 (2012), and 79:35 (2017) in my prior IMAZ appearances. I've always had trouble on this course and seem to figure out a way to swim a lot of extra yardage. While I hoped to swim near 75 minutes, my actual target was 76-79 minutes, and I was prepared to be OK with it, if I was worse than that.
Anders and I were in the first group of 5 that entered the water and I saw Anders surge ahead and so he was actually leading the whole race for a few moments. It was still dark and I had trouble seeing the first turn buoy, which looked to be about 100 yards off. The water was cold and I had a bit of the cold water shock reflex and felt my heart rate rapidly elevate. This was a concern given the high initial stress of a cold water IM swim. I tried to swim easy as a result.
This was the first year of a new course layout and it involved two quick right hand turns (my blind side as I'm a left-side breather). As I approached the first buoy I began to get bumped into by faster swimmers as I was constraining my pace. This created further anxiety and I felt like my heart was pretty much pegged at it's max.
I made the 2nd buoy and could see the crowds were now migrating towards me and the left side buoy line that defined the next 1500+ yards. I was becoming concerned and decided I needed to get to a relatively calm place and get my heart rate down. I looked to my right and was excited to see a gap opening up just behind me and to my right. I immediately went through it and quickly found myself in the relatively calm water between the start (we were now heading east after starting to the west) and the left side course buoys.
This was a huge relief and I started to slowly breaststroke and take deep breaths to try to calm my HR down. I had these crazy thoughts about quitting but soon got things under control and began giving myself a reassuring pep-talk. Soon my HR fell to what felt like a more normal range and I started swimming freestyle again, albeit it with a very easy effort. After a couple of minutes of this, I felt my body coming "on-line" and I began to swim with my normal long-distance effort and the initial crises was behind me.
Due in-part to this I chose to swim a ways away from the buoy line throughout the swim. This led to a longer swim, but no more drama. I just didn't realize at the time, how much longer I was swimming. My early splits were encouraging as I went through the mile in 30:03, which is a 72-minute pace.
However, as the swim progressed I became increasingly aware that I was swimming a much longer course than the prescribed 4,200 yards and that I was likely to have another comparatively poor swim here at IMAZ. I shrugged it off and actually laughed--for some reason, this swim has my number!
I finally exited the swimming in my slowest IM swim time of 86:34 (86:26 on my watch). Indeed, I ended up swimming a mind-boggling 4,802 yards (an extra 14%!). I'm baffled, but that's what the data says. I ended up swimming the 4,200 yard equivalent of 75:43, as I definitely slowed after 3,000 yards.
Here is a summary of my swim stats and my 500 yard splits:
It took a long time but I was very relieved to exit the water!
Transition One
The new swim course also created a new T1 flow. Notably we had to run what was billed as 0.4 miles from the swim exit, along some carpeting to the start of T1. After exiting the water, my wetsuit was expertly stripped off by some helpful volunteers and I started my jog carrying my wetsuit. I did not feel very good as my heart worked hard to redistribute blood now that I was upright and weight bearing again. I was hacking (my two-week cold was still present and would bother me later in the day) a bit and processing in my head how my race plan might need to be adjusted with the long swim. I decided to stay on my plan and just see how I felt once I got rolling on the bike.
By the time I had executed everything I needed to do in T1, I had run 0.64 miles and took 12:11 according to my clock and officially T2 was 11:58, which was my second slowest T1 (Tahoe13 was over 13 minutes due to the cold weather and all the layers I had to put on there). Once exiting the changing tent, I walked all the way to my bike as I was struggling to slip my gloves on over my cold wet hands. Finally, I got my bike and I was off, looking to get back on pace as I was 10 minutes behind my race plan.
The Bike
The bike at IMAZ is been the same for this, the 4th time that I have raced it. It's comprised of 3 approximately 18.8 out and backs. The last half of each out and back is on the Beeline Highway, which is climbing (or descending) throughout, although, never very steep. In fact, there is about 2,500 feet of climbing on the course and while certainly not flat, it's neither hilly nor technical.
The wind, as mentioned earlier, was much stronger than expected and since it was blowing out of the East, it was a dead-on headwind up the Beeline hill and generally in our face for most of the outbound section of each loop. I wanted to ride 1:50/1:55/2:00 for the three laps to average at least 19.5 mph and my overall target range for the bike was 5:36-5:45.
Tactically, I was fully prepared for the relatively slow speeds on the way out of town. I kept asking myself if I was pushing to hard as the easiest mistake to make on this course is to overcook the first outbound leg. I weaved out through town on the first out and back and as soon as I hit Beeline about 9 miles in I could feel the wind--much stronger than forecasted. The several flags I saw were horizontal. I just absorbed this information and reminded myself to be patient on the climb. I was really beginning to feel normal post swim and the temp, at around 50-55 degrees was ideal.
I kept my power pretty steady around 170 watts, which was my target Normalized Power for the ride. I was passed on the Beeline by quite a few riders who were either stronger than I, or were making that overcooking mistake or both. I was a bit alarmed when I hit the turnaround at 18.8 miles with an elapsed bike time of 65:53. For a 1:50 lap, 55 minutes would be half so I was 10 minutes "slow". It was hard for me to figure out if this OK or not (given the wind) but I was a little skeptical I could ride that same course back to town over ten minutes faster. But that's what I had in mind.
Immediately, on the way back I could feel the combined impact of the wind and downhill and I soon hit 35mph. Frankly, it was really fun! I felt very comfy on my TT bike as I had ridden it pretty much exclusively for the last 4+ months. I was passing people left and right and in fact would have gone even faster if I had a little bigger gear (my biggest was a 53/12) as I was spinning at 105-110 rpm at 35 mph.
I cranked all the way back into town and was pleased to do the return leg in 44:31 for a total first lap of 1:50:24. I was thrilled with this and knew I had a very good ride going (at least at that point). Here are what the first eight 5-mile segments looked like data wise:
Miles 1-5
Speed: 19.0 mph
Avg Power: 160 watts
Norm Power: 163 watts
Cadence: 74 rpm
Heart Rate: 140 bpm
Miles 6-10
18.3 mph
170/171 watts
77 rpm
136 bpm
Miles 11-15
17.5 mph
166/168 watts
76 rpm
137 bpm
Miles 16-20
15.7 mph
174/178 watts
75 rpm
141 bpm
Miles 21-25
29.0 mph
145/153 watts
86 rpm
141 bpm
Miles 26-30
25.7 mph
164/168 watts
85 rpm
142 bpm
Miles 31-35
22.9 mph
169/170 watts
87 rpm
142 bpm
Miles 36-40
20.9 mph
170/175 watts
87 rpm
142 bpm
So for the first lap I ended up averaging 165 watts and 169 normalized watts with an average speed of 20.3 mph--pretty much right on my plan. It's also interesting to look at my cadence. Up to the start of the downhill I was well below my 80 rpm target but beginning with the down hill I got it going and stopped grinding in a too big gear. I was pretty much able to spin at 80 rpm for the rest of the race.
From a competitive perspective, I had pulled ahead of my main Kona competitor (TV) by about 12 minutes at this point. I wasn't aware of this, of course, but I was under the impression that I was back on my race plan after the slow swim/T1 and my prospects were looking up.
The next lap was similar although a bit slower and with lower power. For this lap I went 1:53:18, which was a bit faster than my plan of 1:55. This worked out to an average speed of 19.8mph. My power averaged 162 watts with a Normalized Power of 166 watts, so about 3 watts (4%) less power on the second lap.
I felt really, really good on the bike. I was hydrating and eating well (in fact I would pee about 10 times on the bike, but with good salt intake, I had no cramping during the whole race). As I came through the turnaround on the second lap I heard Judy yelling and gave her the thumbs up.
Competitively, I put another 16 minutes on TV and now had a 28 minute lead for the Kona slot.
Miles 41-45
18.9 mph
166/168 watts
81 rpm
139 bpm
Miles 46-50
16.9 mph
164/165 watts
82 rpm
139 bpm
Miles 51-55
14.9 mph
166/167 watts
79 rpm
137 bpm
Miles 56-60
23.4 mph
159/164 watts
83 rpm
138 bpm
Miles 61-65
24.3 mph
161/163 watts
85 rpm
136 bpm
Miles 66-70
22.6 mph
159/163 watts
82 rpm
137 bpm
Miles 71-75
20.8 mph
167/171 watts
81 rpm
139 bpm
I headed out on the third lap feeling very good. I felt like I could ride another lap like the last and I had a very good chance of biking 5:36 (20mph). I noticed fairly early on the third lap that the wind had begun to die down and by the time I got to the Beeline my guess is it had been cut in half. As a consequence, while my power was down a fair bit in this final lap, I actually rode the 3rd lap faster than the 2nd. My time was 1:51:08, which translates into 20.2 mph. My power for this lap was 158 watts average and 161 normalized. The fact that I rode this lap faster with 5 less watts, illustrates how much of a penalty the wind created, especially during the first two laps. Matt Hanson, who is Anders' coach estimated that the wind created about a 10-minute penalty today.
The only notable event of the ride was I finally saw Anders for the first time when he was at 103.25 miles and descending back into town. He didn't see me, which is understandable given how fast he was going at that point. I knew he had swum 68 minutes and with a faster transition I estimated he was about 50 minutes or so faster than me overall and about 30 or so on the bike. While a great ride, I thought that Anders expected to go sub 4:50 and so would need to run about a 3:40 to get his Kona slot. Soon I was on the downhill section and I focused my attention on getting all the way back to T2 in one piece.
Miles 76-80
20.6 mph
162/165 watts
80 rpm
140 bpm
Miles 81-85
18.4 mph
158/159 watts
80 rpm
139 bpm
Miles 86-90
16.2 mph
155/158 watts
79 rpm
140 bpm
Miles 91-95
16.6 mph
161/165 watts
78 rpm
139 bpm
Miles 96-100
26.7 mph
152/156 watts
82 rpm
136 bpm
Miles 101-105
24.6 mph
151/153 watts
80 rpm
136 bpm
Miles 106-110
21.9 mph
151/153 watts
80 rpm
140 bpm
Miles 111-112
21.9 mph
158/170 watts
77 rpm
142 bpm
I finished my bike with a total time of 5:34:29 (5:34:50 officially), which is 20.1mph on average and better than the fast end of my target range. Very satisfying! I ended up averaging 162 watts and my Normalized Power was 166 watts. I had mentioned to Anders that I thought I had "lost" 5 watts over the last month or so with the cold weather and this seems borne out. However, with my aero suit/helmet and go-fast tires/wheels combined with being able to ride in my aero position for the whole race (first time in a long time for that) I was still able to beat my target. My intensity factor was 0.66 (although this is based on an older and probably too high FTP). My TSS was 244.3. I averaged 80 rpm with an average HR of 139 bpm--right on target. My Garmin clocked only 1,962 feet of elevation gain vs. the 2,500+ that Ironman claims.
I continued to expand my lead for the Kona slot by another 21 minutes and hopped off my bike with a solid 49 minute lead and a total elapsed time of 7:13:12, which was back within my race plan target range entering T2! Truly an outstanding bike for me and while I didn't know how big a lead I had, I did know I had executed the bike ride that I had trained 5+ months for and I ran into T2 feeling like I was on it. I definitely could have gone faster but given my race plan and the need to hold some in reserve for the run, I think I rode the right race.
Transition Two
Transition Two is a lot simpler and shorter. As I ran towards my T2 bag I could tell my legs were in reasonably good shape and I should be able, at least at the start, to run close to my target. I managed to change my clothes and down another HVMN Ketone Ester drink rather quickly. I executed my transition well and was soon heading out of the tent. My T2 was officially 5:23, which was a couple of minutes faster than my race plan. I exited T2 with a total elapsed time of 7:18:44 vs. my target of 7:06-7:21. I had a 50 minute lead for the Kona slot. Life was good!
The Run
My target was 14 min/mile or 6:08:48. My target range was 6:09-6:30. I needed a 6:11 to go under 13:30, which is what I figured, before the race, that I needed to do to have a good shot at Kona. As I ran out of T2 I was determined to do just that. I immediately saw Judy and she told me Anders biked 5:05 and that he was on a 8 minute pace and pulling away from his key Kona competition. Sweet! I told her I had the ride of my life (which is a bit of an exaggeration) and headed out for the run.
I planned on following the "Galloway method" right from the start--this entails mixing run/walk segments. My plan was to mix 8:30 of running with 1:30 of walking every ten minutes as long as I could and then switch over to 4 run/1 walk after that. I planned to get as much as 17 minutes ahead of 14min/mile pace by about 17 or so and then give back that banked time over the final 9 miles. I should also point out here that for the first time I noticed the sun/heat. It was only in the low 70s but at 2pm, it suddenly felt warm.
The first 4 miles or so are an out and back and I averaged about 11:20 with my HR at 140bpm, which seemed perfect to me. I was running slightly faster than plan and feeling quite strong. In fact I had actually increased my Kona lead to 56 minutes. I saw Judy again and she updated me on Anders at the half-way point of the run. He was looking good and running a sub 3:30 marathon pace at the half.
The next 4 miles saw me running about a minute per mile slower as I began to feel the stress of the day's efforts. I went through 8 miles in 96 minutes. TV had begun to run faster than I and he gained 3 minutes on me during the section, but was still 53 minutes behind.
If you look closely you can see my watch here is just recording my 10:47 1st mile:
Right around 11 miles for me and 24 for Anders, he caught me and lapped me. I urged him to drive for the line and told him I thought the KQ was all his. He ran strong all the way (never walking) to a 3:33 marathon and a 9:54 Ironman, and as we would learn the next day, a Kona slot. Meanwhile, I kept plugging along and reached the half way point right around 2:50, which was pretty much spot on my race plan. TV continued to narrow my lead, now at better than 2 minutes/mile and my lead was down to 41 minutes. If I hold known this I would have definitely been a bit concerned.
I did the first out and back again and struggled through a couple of miles with more walking than running. Still I figured if I could stay close to 15 for a while, I might rally later when it got a little cooler. I went past transition again near 17 miles. I was looking for Judy and Anders but they were not there. I figured Judy was focusing on Anders, as she should be, and in any event, I had plenty to occupy myself with over the final 9 miles.
I kept plugging along, running for a couple of minutes and then walking for 45-60 seconds. I was a little slow but I was beginning to feel better and I figured I could push a little bit over the last few miles and still go sub 13:30 overall. I hit the mat at 21.1 with a total elapsed time of 12:11:06, which meant I needed to cover the last 5 or so miles in 79 minutes or better--just under 16 minus miles. TV was slowing a bit as well as my lead was still at 39 minutes.
I rallied a bit down the stretch, especially mile 24 and soon enough I was in the finishing straight, comfortably under my target. I hit the line with a total time of 13:23:55, having done my marathon in 6:05:12 (13:57/mile). Both better than plan. I secured the Kona slot, I would find out later, by about 33 minutes or so. This turns out to be my fastest IM in 7 years (in IMAZ12 I was 7 seconds faster) and my 8th fastest overall--so this is my median IM result. I think it was my best executed IM race in the sense I achieved pretty much what my body was capable of on this day.
Anders and Judy (and my cousin Matt) were there waiting for me and Anders put my finisher medal around my neck. I felt a little dizzy given the sudden cessation of exercise and had to lean on Anders a bit but soon we took a bunch of pictures, grabbed our bikes and headed back to the hotel.
We both were able to execute the races we wanted and we both felt a great sense of both satisfaction and gratitude. And we both have Kona to look forward to!
Onward and Upward!
