Powerman Michigan - Frankenmuth - May 6, 2018

After 18 weeks of training for Ironman Lake Placid, RCK and I did a short race check today at the Powerman Michigan duathlon event in Frankenmuth.  This event had three distances to choose from - super sprint, sprint and what they called "Classic."  We signed up for the sprint distance which meant 5K run, 30K bike and finish with another 5K run.  This event was a good choice for us because the training plan called for an Olympic distance triathlon, but there aren't any Olympic distance triathlons in Michigan right now.  The water is still too cold for open water swimming.  Powerman Michigan was a good substitute.

In thinking about this event, I was hoping for both solid run and bike times that would give indication that my training was on the right track leading to Ironman Wisconsin 70.3 about 5 weeks from now.

For the runs, my plan going into the even was to run the 5Ks in 21 and 22 minutes respectively. And i hoped to get a good power number during the bike that would show that to be a continued strength for me.

Here are the results:
5K run #1 - I ran 20:37, 6:42 miles at an average HR of 157.
30K bike - 52:24 with an average HR of 150 and average power of 210, normalized power of 215.
5K run #2 - I ran 20:27, 6:46 miles at an average HR of 159.

The positives of the day:
1. Those run times seem pretty solid.  Makes me think that 7:30 pace in Madison is possible and even makes me wonder about 7:20 or 7:15 pace.  If training keeps going well, one can hope.
2. The bike was pretty good.  I biked the fifth fastest time in the event, and I was definitely stronger on the second lap than the first.

The wishes of the day:
1. It seems like I should be able to push the bike harder.  210 watts is more than I've put out in competition before but it is a far cry from a 273 FTP.
2. I wish I hadn't tweaked my knee.  Not sure if this happened on the bike or if the uneven grass surface on the run did it. Either way, I'm not liking it.
3. I haven't found the extra gear yet while running.  Where is the close to 6-minute pace I could find during a 5K a few years ago?  I'm planning to find it again.

Thanks to Steph for getting up early today and being an awesome support crew, cheering section and event photographer.

In the finishing chute at Powerman Michigan

Congrats to RCK for his second place overall finish today at Powerman Michigan!  The pointy end of the field indeed!

It is always great to get your picture taken with a podium finisher!