My Goals For The Bix 7 Saturday

Looking at the weather for Saturday morning I don't think we could ask for better conditions to run the tough Bix 7 course.

This week I have been trying to get back into the swing of half Ironman training. My body is tired. I could. not get out of bed this morning to get my bike ride in. I would have had to ride indoors anyways with the weather, but my plan was to do a brick workout to work on running with tired legs. I figured this would be good for both my triathlon training and the Bix. I just could not get out of bed this morning. I opted for sleep and took the day to sleep in until 6:45. I only have a handful of days left before it is back to the routine 4:30 am wake up call.

Looking back at my posts from last year for the Bix and also at my Garmin data from the Bix last year I have my work cut out for me this year. My goal is to PR. Last year I crushed my previous time running the Bix of 58 minutes with a 52:36 time. I really surprised myself, but I was immersed in some serious marathon training running and putting in lots of miles for my first marathon.

This year I would like to beat my 52:36 time. This means I need to run faster than a 7:27 mile pace. This was my pace after including some added distance due to the course(I ran 7.07 miles according to Garmin). I don't know if I can pull this off or not. I am in great shape, but I don't know that I am in great running shape. With triathlon training I have not been putting in the running miles as much. I really had to scale back my running due to some nagging injuries and therefore have been running even less the last few months.

In order for this PR to happen here is what I feel I must do.

1. Hit Brady St at a decent clip. Not all out or I will bonk hard, but with the chance this year to be closer to the front of the massive 15,000+ pack I think I can get up the hill faster than last year. My mile 1 last year was around 7:49. My goal is to be under 7:49 hopefully around 7:35. Nothing drastic, just smart racing(I think).

2. Mile 2 I cruised on last year hitting 6:53 pace. I honestly don't know if I can run that fast. I know that was not smart running at that pace last year, but this is one of the few parts of this course where you can just get out and go. I would like to aim for a 7:00 - 7:05 pace.

3. Miles 3 and 4 I was in a nice groove despite the tough little hills that always get me mentally. I ran 7:25 and 7:27 last year. Ideally, I would like to hit sub 7:20 during these two miles. and hit up a GU at the turnaround to head home.

4. Miles 5 and 6 are the backbreakers. This is the long uphill battle. The hardest part of the course for me. This is where either my lack of training with running will catch up to me or hopefully God will give me a gift to keep on pressing. Also, this is the key mental toughness test. A key training element for my 70.3 races. When the brain begins to tell you that you cannot do it, you have to have the toughness to shut the brain off and just run. It won't be hot so I should not have to worry about the heat issues like I had in Racine. Last year I ran 7:37 and 7:52 respectively. This year I want to try to be under 7:30.

5. Mile 7 I cruised with 7:02 descent down Brady. I will try to keep the same pace and perhaps run in stronger than last year.


I don't know how all this calculates, but my goal in my mind is to run between 7:12 - 7:08 mile pace. This is going to be flat out tough, but I am ready to challenge myself. A month or so ago I was hoping for 49 minute run pace. I honestly don't think this is a reality. My training for running at this pace for 7 miles is not there.

There you have it. My plan. A lot of things have to go right in order for this to happen starting off with my body feeling fresh. So far this week my body has been tired. I have not trained crazy volume, but the week off last week has caught up to me. It is amazing how quickly the body fades and how hard it is to get it back.

I did  not get my bike ride in yesterday so I have reshuffled my schedule to get my third ride in on Sunday instead of a rest day. Today I would like to get a brick workout in. I hope to get a good workout in today if and when Ava sleeps. Trainer and treadmill look like my options today.

There you have it. My thoughts for this Thursday morning. I am still on course with eating more natural and healthy food. I do believe that is part of the reason my body is tired as I am sure my body is adjusting to not having the typical foods that it craves. It is going through some withdrawals I am sure.

Sunday I will assess how I feel mentally and physically to decide if I am up for another 70.3 distance race. The long course Pigman Triathlon less than a month away and I might tackle that one to give this race distance another run for the money. Time to figure out my nutrition plan and see what I can do.