Troika Race Plan

Yesterday was a nice easy 4 mile run near Greenlake in the afternoon. I felt pretty good and didn't need it to be any longer. Planning to get in a lake swim today before the road trip to Spokane, but it's looking pretty windy out there...

I looked over my race plans and race reports from the other 2 Half Irons I've done and have a decent idea of what my race plan should be. I really want to get my time down to 6 hours and hopefully I'll be rested and twitchy by Sunday. At this point, though, I'm not feeling that all the training has quite caught up...good thing it's still 2 days out.

Race Plan:

Swim: Get on the outside if possible and out in front. Settle in, this is the confidence builder...goal time 32-34 min. Smooth and strong, visualize T1 toward the end of the swim.

T1: Calm and efficient.

Bike: This is where I need to do some work compared to other races...I want to push up to "slightly uncomfortable" and be a little less conservative. My base training and hill work is in the bank, so the rollers on this course should be fun and will make me feel strong. For nutrition, I'll have Nuun (re-fill with loose tabs in bento box), 1-2 powerBars on the first half of the ride, and save the bottle of Perpetuem for the 2nd half of the ride. If they're giving out Gatorade, take it. Goal time on the bike: 3:15 - 3:20 (16.8 mph).

T2: From last year's Troika results site, it looks like this one will be super quick. Swoop through the porto if necessary...

Run: On the run, I want to relax and not go out too fast. I will walk briefly through all aid stations and will get ice, sponges, gatorade. Try to work on leaning forward and small steps. I know this course is flat (zzzz), exposed, and out-and-back. It should be really fun to see all the people I know on the run course and get/give energy...look for HH, Ann, Tatyana, and everyone else. Goal time: 2:00 - 2:05 (but with the heat, who knows...)

Total Goal Time: 5:51 - 6:05