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5430 Peak Triathlon

The second triathlon in the 5430 series is an olympic race starting in the Boulder Res, biking north of boulder, and ending with a run at the Boulder Res. I finished the 1500m swim in 27:03, the 42k bike in 1:23:05 (18.8 mph) and the 10k run in 58:32 (9:27 pace). I finished with a total time of 2:51:42 placing 531/1317. It was my second triathlon this year… It was hot, but it was great to be back racing.

5430 Sprint Triathlon

The first of the 3 triathlons in the Boulder Peak Series, it was a great start to my first season back into triathlon since 2005. The 5430 Sprint Triathlon swim was 1/2 mile long and was a single loop in the Boulder Res. I finished the swim in 14:31… The bike course was a really familiar 17.2 miles for me since it was in my stomping grounds. I finished the bike in 49:31 averaging 20.8 mph. The run course was 3.1 miles around the Boulder Res. I finished the run in 27:16 averaging a 8:48 pace. My total time was 1:34:58 placing me 352/1068. It was a great event to start the year and I can’t wait for the next 5430 series race.

17.2 Mile Bike

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5k Run
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Chicago Marathon, Finally a Marathon under 4 hours

Can you find me in this pic?
<%image(1/20051010-chicago_start2lg.jpg|500|334|)%>
I really wasn't looking forward to the Chicago marathon mainly because I did not get many workouts in since Ironman Wisconsin. It was a race I didn't have to train more for since I am piggybacking on my training from the Ironman. The weather conditions were perfect and the course perfectly flat, so it was my chance to break 4:00. At 20 miles, I was 1 minute under 9:00/mile pace… I was feeling good and thought I could make it. I remembered walking through those areas the last time I was in Chicago and this time I felt great. I slowed down a bit after the 20 mile mark, but I think most of the slowdown was really from trying to dodge all those walking.. in the middle of the road and in huge packs. I finished in 03:56:42 which is a 9:01 pace, and under my pre race 3:59:59 goal. The race is amazing and running with 40,000 of your friends is a great experience. Even though I am moving to San Francisco, I hope to get back for the Chicago Marathon in the future.

<%image(1/20051010-chicago_2005.jpg|515|285|Chicago Marathon)%>

Photos posted from IM Wisconsin

My photos from asiorders.com are now online from IM Wisconsin.

<%image(1/20050921-6987-431-013f.jpg|256|384|The finish line)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-237-016f.jpg|256|384|On the bike)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-456-016f.jpg|256|384|On the bike 2)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-545-023f.jpg|256|384|Running from the capital)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-139-034f.jpg|256|384|Running through the stadium)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-565-016f.jpg|256|384|Running through town)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-565-015f.jpg|256|384|Running from the capital 2)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-342-035f.jpg|256|384|Running through the stadium 2)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-487-012f.jpg|256|384|The finish line 2)%>
<%popup(1/20050921-6987-112-025f.jpg|256|384|Finisher podium)%>

Ironman Wisconsin 2005

When I first saw the 10 day forecast, it showed a high of 71 degrees on race day… As the race approached, it just began climbing every time I looked. It ended up getting up to around 91 degrees and the winds were around 10 mph, and gusting to around 21 mph. With those conditions I really didn't think that I could beat last years time even with my increased training and larger base. The day before the race I went for a short swim and run. After forgeting my wetsuit at the lake, stress was high until I got back from the hotel and found it. Race morning went great, after going to the bathroom twice, I hopped in the water and treaded water until the start. The swim was pretty chaotic and I got hit quite a few times, but no hard hits. I finished the swim in a respectable time:1:10:19 place:623/2076. The wetsuit strippers were great and I was off to T1. It took me about 8:19 to run to T1, change clothes, and get sunscreened for the bike. I had biked the course before, but never in heat and winds like that. I did feel great and didn't have too much of a problem getting through it, but it took its toll on my body. Some of the gusts did make it feel dangerous… I am glad I didn't have a disc on my bike, I may have been on the ground from the wind. On the second loop of the bike, I started seeing a lot of casualties going back in Ambulances and laying on the side of the road. I finished the bike in 6:19:34 avg:17.7 mph place:547/2076. Transition 2 went much faster at 4:27 and I was feeling pretty good for the run… The only question was how bad the heat would get. I ran the first 1/2 of the marathon at a slow pace, but kept moving and only walked the hills and the aid stations. There were more and more people dropping out and sirens were a constant reminder of how crazy this really is. The second part of the run got really rough, definately the hardest 13 miles I have ever ran. I had to walk quite a bit, but made sure I was running as much as I could. I somehow found something during the run to hang on and beat last years time with a marathon time of 4:54:41. I crossed the line at 12:37:20 place:421/2076. With about 20% of the athletes not finishing, I was really glad to just finish. Beating last years time was just icing on the cake… I didn't sign up for Ironman Wisconsin next year, but am on the lookout for my next big event.

href="/imwi2005_bradculberson.asx">Watch me finish

<%image(1/20050915-imwi2005.jpg|100|75|)%>

<%image(1/20050914-imswim.gif|513|284|Ironman Wisconsin Swim)%>
<%image(1/20050914-imbike.gif|513|284|Ironman Wisconsin Bike)%>
<%image(1/20050914-imrun.gif|513|285|Ironman Wisconsin Run)%>