Muskoka, ON
Thomas Hughes breaks his Personal Best by over 50 minutes at the Muskoka Ironman
We were very pleased and excited to see that our master of the multipart, Thomas Hughes had a successful day at the Muskoka Ironman the past weekend as he set a personal best at the event.
As we’ve mentioned before, we’re not too familiar with the whole swim, ride, run thing (being cyclists), so to help put things into the right perspective, here is an overview of the event in Thomas’ own words...
Swim : 1:22 - This went exactly according to plan. I got in the water, and by a series of arm movements synchronized with my breathing I got out without drowning. Given the amount of time I have to swim train, this was an outstanding swim. I am slow, but in a very satisfying way.
Bike : 5:48 - This was also, exactly according to race plan. I stuck to my planned power output. I also stuck to my feeding and drinking plan. To be honest, this isn't my course. I am too fat to do well on a course that has 2300m of climbing (according to Strava).
Run : 4:35 - This was a total disaster. About 5km in I became aware that I couldn't eat or drink without being nauseous. It was just a matter of time until this became a walk. And walk I did. I must have walked 30% of the last half of the marathon. Having never walked significant parts of a marathon, I gained a new perspective on the distance.
Total time : 12:02 - Ok, this is a PB by over 50 minutes, on a very difficult course, but I felt like I had a 4:00 Marathon in my legs, my stomach just disagreed with me. Almost everyone I spoke to agreed with me that they would not be back; the course is too demanding for mid-pack racers.
For Trainingpeaks users. This was a 650 TSS day. It also secured me a All World Athlete Bronze spot for 2016. Which is like Ironaman Frequent Flyer points, without the upgrade coupons.
Well done Thomas!