Victroria Half Iron Race Preview - Race Week isn't meant to be easy!!!

Well its nearly time for Victoria Half Iron and my Ironman Canada rehearsal. Going into this one feeling really good but with a bit of trepidation having "strained" my hamstring on Tuesday night and being in the ice ice baby mode at the moment.

I went out for a quick jog before and after my bike ride and although not at 100% I was not cramping up. Will be icing for the next 60 hours and will likely head out for a jog on Saturday evening and Sunday morning before making a final decision. I can't envisage not having my shoes ready at T2 but it could be an option depending on how these runs go.

So will will be treating this as an A Race but will be prepared to shut it down should I start to cramp on the run. Will be taped up and warm form the bike so don't think this will have to happen but have the plan in my head should things start to go south.

So back to the purpose of this post - the plan.

Swim - Target 35 Min

So race plan is to attack the swim as hard as I can and I am hoping for a sub 35 minute swim. This would be 5 seconds a 100m faster than Oliver but are fresher and learnt a lot about work rate there and in the weeks following so I think this is a tough but realistic target. Aim will be to really attack the first 300m or so and then find feet.

With a big field this shouldn't be an issue and I just need to focus on working hard until the turn for home. Realistically I would be happy with 36 minutes but I want to crush my PR on this swim so are aiming high.

Bike - Target 2:25

Last year I managed to flat and had a subsequent flat disaster out of transition. Hopefully this will not occur again but if it does are a lot more prepared to deal with any mechanical issues as was proved at Shawnigan. Forecast for the weekend is for rain so the bike may be a tough affair and a cold bike bike combined with questionable leg may lead to me wearing the skins for the whole race.

Looking at last years bike times the fastest split was 2:16. Based on my % differential at Oliver I am going to aim for 2:25 bike. My plan will be to ride as absolutely as hard as I can with the thoughts that I may not be running so I am going to lay all my cards on the table and see what I can do on the bike. To do this I will need to attack the hills and maintain momentum on the downhills and flats.

My shakeout ride tonight included 3 x 5 minute TT's on 3 minutes rest. I averaged over 43km/h for these efforts and my heart rate was just over the top of my zone. This will be my approach on race day and see what happens.

Run - Target 1:20

So the plan here is basically an all or nothing one. Being a lead up race to IMC there is no value in limping around this course so I will basically be trying to run at my normal pace and if this is not going to happen I will make the hard decision to suck it up and go eat some early bagels. As much as I do not want to do this this is the smart approach and to be honest I am pretty hopeful I will not have to play this card.

So from a target time here I will be aiming for sub 4 min km's out of transition with the aim to hold this pace for the 20km. The run is normally my given coming into the race and given that my leg improves as planned I think I can still deliver a good split.

Overall - A Goal 4:20, B Goal 4:30, C Goal (3 hour Swim/Bike Split)

So the main focus on this race is to give the swim and the bike as hard as I can and see what the run can produce. If all goes to plan A goal will be sub 4:20 with a B goal of sub 4:30. I am realistic in the possibility that the run may not be there so I have set my C goal around the Swim/Bike Split.

As always the overriding goal is to race hard and have fun and I hope to see a lot of people from around Van and Vic at the post race festivities. For those racing CDA this weekend particularly Doug, Rachel and Don good luck and rock it. For those racing Victoria lets hope for clear skies and rock race hard, it will be fun out there.

Enough blog time, back for continued rehab and recovery to try and get the leg right.