Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Analysis

Basta said that the swim lasted forever. He was expecting a protected harbor swim, and he got that for the most part. But towards the turnaround they left the close protection of the harbor and swam out to the breakwater. It still wasn't open ocean, but it was rough and choppy.

I'm not overly concerned about his swim time. He'll keep swimming. We'll do more open water training. We'll work on reaching long, gliding, and a strong pull. Maybe I can find a swim coach that will help us out, too. Over time I expect him to shave some minutes off his 1.2 mile swim time. Not a huge amount. He averaged 2:12/100. He ought to be able to get that down to 2:00 one of these days.

His biggest complaint on the bike was that I forgot to put the Motor Tab in one of his water bottles. He always rides with one bottle of straight water and one bottle of energy/electrolyte drink. The Motor Tabs work nicely. I had intended to drop a tab in his water in the morning, but I forgot. He didn't think of it because I always do that. So. He was out there for 3.5 hours with no electrolytes.

Now mind you they were handing out bike bottles filled with Gatorade at every aid station. But Basta had it in his mind that he wasn't going to stop or pause at those, so he didn't do it. A wee bit more flexibility in the mindset would have been useful here, I'd think.

He also had Gus, Shot Bloks, and a Mojo Bar with him. He wasn't calorie-free.

He said he started to cramp up about an hour into the bike. He blamed it on the lack of salt and electrolytes. So pick up on of those freely available Gatorades, dude. But no. He pressed on.

The course was hilly. Scenic, but hilly. The last hour or so was straight into a headwind. Basta averaged 16.3 mph. That is way, way too slow. The top 10 guys in his age group all did 20+. This is where we will spend our time working on improvement. More mph pay big dividends in time saved. He should be able to ride 56 miles in less than 3 hours.

We will do lots more riding. Group rides that push his pace, rides that take him into hills with people who know how to ride and can help him improve. He is good enough now that he can ride with a group, he enjoys it, and the club has plenty of good riders who are willing to help push and pace. I see nothing but good things in his biking future, and that will make all the difference in his finish times.

At last, the run. The run is his strong suit. He averaged a 9:31 pace. 42nd out of 88. Without putting in over 4 hours of effort before running, he can do a 7:44 pace over 13.1. With more training and more endurance experience, he'll be able to keep more of his fresh pace. I think we're good continuing what we're doing there.

He chatted with other runners as he ran. He sprinted the last mile. He had energy in reserve. He did not leave it all on the course. That's understandable, being his first Half and all. He wanted to make sure had enough gas to make it to the end. Now that he knows, he can pick up his pace sooner. He can also save the chatting for afterwards. Honey.

A lot of you emailed me on the stick-thin skinniness of his legs in the picture at transition. They're not really that skinny. Just a quirk of photography. He is thin, but his legs are a little meatier than they look there. They could stand to be more muscular, though, and we'll continue his weightlifting and sprints program to build those legs as much as they can be built.

He said he learned a lot. Like he needs to run with a hat. And he should lube up with a sturdy waterproof sunscreen in the morning. That he can do this distance and still have energy to do more at the end.

These events are so motivating, so stimulating, that it's no surprise that Basta is psyched up for triathlon again. He emailed everyone his results and pictures. He is very pleased he reached his sub-6:30 goal. He knows he needs to work on the bike and is looking forward to riding fast and often this summer.

His next event is Vineman, July 20th. 3 and a half months away. He's already set his goal for that: Sub-6. I think he can do it. It's a less hilly course and he'll have spring/summer weather to train in.

But the big news is that he wants to do the big one. Ironman. He's proud to have done a half but he says he has the bug now. He has to do a full. He's looking at them and deciding which one he wants to do. It has to be a destination location and a good time of year. Not sure which one yet. We have time to decide.

He showed me a brochure for a marathon coming up in a few weeks. "I need to do marathons now," he says. Yes. He might even have a Boston Qualifying time in him. Not in a few weeks, though.

Because we are going skiing next. Off to Sun Valley, Idaho for a week. I took a page from Bold's coach of last year and told Basta that his next week's training included nothing but sitting on his butt and eating ice cream. He took me very seriously and stocked up on several difference flavors, along with some cheesecake and chocolate-covered blueberries. He's embracing this training week hard.

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