Memphis in May Race Results

Better late than never....

This year I opted out of doing an half iron early in the season. I decided that my time is better spent establishing the business and I wasn't quite sure what my training would look like. So I targeted Memphis in May as my early season "A" race. I spent some time last year working on my Olympic distance racing. Of all the distances, I tend to find it the most difficult to master--too long to redline, too short to pace. Kinda like the 400 or 800 of track.

My training builds were good. But then the wheels came off during my peak. I still don't know exactly what happened but I think I had to shift some training around and was stuck stacking too much on top of each other in too short of a time span. At the same time, I experienced rapid weight loss and that is always a recipe for disaster. By the end of my first peak week, my legs were zapped. I was struggling to lead my group workouts. So taper started early and slowly the body began to recovery but mentally it was tough to know that I didn't hit the 2 peak workouts that I really wanted.

I have always wanted to do Memphis in May. It used to be one of the biggest events. But competition has slowly invaded the territory and splits athletes among a few different races. It is primarily known for two things--heat and speed. It is a flat, fast course. I was looking forward to setting a new pr. My goal was to go sub 2:15 and I felt like with a modest run, I would be able to achieve it.

We arrived in town a few days early to spend some time in the area so it gave me a chance to ride the course ahead a time. How fast is the course? I averaged 21+ mph on a z2 spin. Sweet. We also watched the sprint race the day before and had 2 athletes racing it.

Race day morning came and due to the logistics of the event, breakfast wasn't readily available. I opted for a pair of delicious pop-tarts and made my way to transition.

Swim: 1500m

It was a time trial start by age group. I was lucky to be one of the age groups starting early. My goal was to be aggressive in the swim. I felt like I have been swimming a lot lately and hoped that the work would show up on race day. I planned to draft as much as possible.

The swim is in a private lake on the Harrah's property. The lake is actually really shallow and some people were rumored to walk a great deal of it. There was a noticeable but small chop due to an impending storm but overall a good swim venue.

I can think of only a few swims where I was unable to ever find a draft. It seemed like there was nothing but slower swimmers spread out in front of me. The few people that passed me were in a different league as they quickly dropped me. I went from feet to feet never finding anything to work with. So I just had to do it on my own.

Swim time: 26:18 Not quite what I wanted but I will take that.

T1: 1:15

Bikes were racked in blocks, which I love. Plus I had an good placement. Took my time and prepared to crush the bike.

Bike: 24.8 miles (or a little shorter)

My goal for the bike was to try to break an hour. I didn't really think it was possible but I felt like I could be very close. Starting out it was just dodging people and finding a groove. I made quick work of the swimmers and mentally prepared for the next hour. The race course in general was windy. I felt it on my training ride and race day was no different. With each turn the wind shifted just a bit. You just had to wait for the time it was behind you.

Well on race day, it was a head/cross wind for the first 12-14 miles. It was noticeable but nothing too severe. After the bottle exchange, the wind shifted behind you and it was time to do work. WOW. That's the feeling I had. I instantly took off and knew that it was my make or break time. Several times, I ran out of gears as I tried to push.

While being wind aided, I tried to up my watts on the return and it just didn't happen. This is a reoccurring issue--I ride really strong but lack that pop during the race to take it to the next level. So I had to settle for what I felt was a moderate-hard effort. In hindsight it is interesting to see how low my heartrate was. It was about 6 beats below where I expected.

I was never challenged on the bike--which I hate. I have worked hard on mentally dialing it in so that I can race against the clock. However, nothing beats the adrenaline rush when you are passed and need to make a counter move. Alas, it was me and myself.

The one remarkable note was that it began storming around mile 5 of the bike. And I mean pouring. I can recall racing in one other major downpour. But this was thunder and lightening storms. I am still shocked that we continued to race. I just put my head down and eyes about 10 feet in front of me.

Bike time: 1:01:10 (24.3 mph) Fine. No sense in complaining

T2: 1:10
Talk about a mud pit. T2 was nothing but a muddy run to the rack. When I made it to my rack, I didn't quite know what to do. I looked down and mud was caked between the toes. I still opted to put on my wet socks and hope for the best.

Run: 6.2 miles--give or take .5 a mile

And it always comes down to the run for me. While my build wasn't perfect, I felt like I had put in some solid work in the running department. In my previous two races, I ran well off the bike. And this was a flat course so certainly I was primed to run a sub-45 off the bike. And I was on target to meet my 2:15 goal.

I started aggressive and moved out of T2 quickly, ascending the only hill of the course. The half mile mark I was passed for the first time. No way I could run with him. Just after the first aid station, I was passed again. This time by an acquaintance in my age group. We exchanged some pleasantries as he tried to pull away. Not today. I rode his shoulder for a while....then stared at the back of head working that adrenaline rush....repeating--I can run with him, I can run with him. Ooops....I can't run with him. The body held on for about 5 minutes and quickly let me know that I was asking a bit much. So I backed off.

My plan was to carefully stair step down each mile and open it up on the last one. I found out that much like the bike, my body had one speed today. It was a good speed but it wasn't going to let me pick it up. At the half way mark, I knew something was up on the course. My garmin was off--and not just a little. I waited for the course to correct itself.

At mile 4 of the run, my garmin read 4.45. Hmmm...I hope that miss measured the final two miles. Nope. It was increasingly clear that the course was going to be long. And not in a good way. So much for an official pr. I did check my watch when I unofficially ran 6.2 and it was at 44:10. I can live with that. But today I still had another half mile to go.

Run time: 47:21 for 6.7 miles (7:04 pace)

Total time: 2:17:14

It still ended up being a PR for me by several minutes. I quickly came to terms with not making my sub 2:15 goal because I know it was there had the course been measured properly. Everyone was groaning about the run post race and officials did apologize and correct it. Overall it was a solid race. I can't complain much. I raced within my abilities and don't feel like I left much more out there.

Now, I just need to get the 2:15 monkey off my back.