70.3 Ohio Recap: Jackson harrell (@jack.harrell1 on instagram)

Swim

The swim started off about how I expected it to. I got in first, got off the front, and stayed there. Came out of the water (25:03 for 1900m) with about a minute lead to second place, with nobody but myself to work with on the bike. East Lansing, MI (home) is extremely flat so I’d had plenty of practice with putting my head down and getting into a groove. A smooth pedal stroke and aerodynamic position is the key to a quick bike split on a course like Ohio, with ~700 feet of elevation.

Bike

I averaged 258 watts on the course, 260 Normalized. It was good for 26.9 mph (43.3 km/h). Very, very happy with that, although the power was a bit lower than I’d hoped. Once I knew I was on pace for a 2:04-05 by staring at my average speed for the first 80 minutes or so, I figured that pushing any more on the ride may do more harm than good once I got my running shoes on. I relaxed a bit, averaging closer to 250 for the last 50 minutes. All in all, the takeaway here is that your power doesn’t matter if it isn’t fast. Triathlons are won with speed on the bike, not power.

I had no information the whole time I was out there. For all I knew, I could’ve had 10 guys within 60 seconds of me or been clear 20 minutes of second place. So I came into transition with an open mind, ready to try my hand at racing a half marathon for the first time (Never done a full half at race pace, nor have I tried to). I got out there, and about a mile in I got my splits from my coach, Derek Stone. He said I had 8 minutes on second place, which is exactly the gap we thought I’d need to take the win. I was honestly shocked to hear it, but quickly calmed down and got to work.

run

It’s a two lap run course, and I went out pretty hard. I felt good, and figured it can’t hurt to send it. First lap was at 6:01/mile (3:44/km). I didn’t feel bad, and the gap was only down to about 6:00 (from 8 mins at the start). This was a big confidence boost, as I just needed to hold on and not cramp/walk to take the win. I faded through the next 5k, and then faded more in the final 5k. Good lord, that last 5k was tough. I started the race with an 18:45, 18:50 first two 5k’s, but finished with a 21:00 (yikes). But it was good enough for the win!

Total Time: 3:54:30.

Swim: 25:00

Bike: 2:04:15

Run: 1:21:30

Time for some speed work, as my long course journey takes a pause and I zone in on Age Group Nationals in Atlantic City, mid-September.