Pumpkinman Goals

All of my focus this racing season was towards Timberman, and it was both frustrating and disappointing to end up having a preventable bike issue near the end of the ride. With three weeks between Timberman and Pumpkinman I was able to get in some decent training, including a 3 hour ride the Saturday after Timberman followed by a 14 mile run the next day. I felt great and think that deciding not to do a second loop at Timberman was a wise choice in terms of recovery.

I'm going into Pumpkinman knowing it's a pretty fast course (with a slightly short bike leg - by a mile or so). My first goal for this last race of the season is a HIM PR. That would mean faster than 4:21. However, I feel that if things fall into place I could be closer to 4:10 than 4:20.

The swim is in a small pond and is two loops. I'm racing in the Elite wave and will probably end up swimming the 1st loop mostly on my own. I've felt good lately in the water and would love to have a sub 31 min swim. Best Bike Split has me right around a 2:09 bike time on 280 watts. If the weather is good (thunderstorms are a possibility), and baring any bike issues, I should have a sub 2:10 bike.

My A goal is to be coming off the bike in under 2:45, which should set me up for a good run. I felt strong on the run at Timberman, running 6:30ish pace for the first loop there. I know I can run that pace, and if I'm able to run close to 1:25 my finishing time should be close to 4:10.

We know things don't always go according to 'plans,' so my B goal is a finish time under 4:15. This could be something like 31-32 min swim, 2:10 bike, 1:27 run, and 4-5 min for transitions.

The C goal is still getting a PR and around 4:20, however, I feel that things would have to go bad in some way to be around this time.

On a different note, we are less than a week away from 'Cupcake' arriving! Katie's c-section is scheduled for September 16th, which also happens to be her mom's birthday. We are excited and Jackson is looking forward to becoming a big brother.