Hello.

Well, I raced this weekend at the Playtri 1/2 IM in preparation for IMCDA. I had a great day and finished a personal best of 5:28. I stayed in my IM heart rate zones the whole day and felt really good. My swim time was 31 minutes, bike was under 3 hours and the run was 1:53. The only time I pushed it was the last 3 miles of the run.

I needed a good day and run considering my longest run to day has been 10 miles. It validated for me what I have been practicing, going long and staying within controlled heart rates is more beneficial than speed work for the IM distance. I stayed in control the whole day as I have with my training and it is starting to pay off. I remember the first 1/2 IM I raced took me 6:20 minutes. I smoked the bike in that race but had nothing left in the tank for the run. Yesterday I actually had a slower bike time than my first 1/2 IM 3 years ago and still did better by almost an hour.

I have rambled enough, I included some pics and am doing well. The key now is to stay healthy and focused for the next 6 weeks and then I begin my taper for the next day.

Take Care
David