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The Swim
Under sunny skies, warm temps, and only a light breeze, the 57 degree swim was calm and clear with a strong current pushing the top athletes in. Kanute's 1.5 mile swim was a very fast 21:23 and he exited the water first with Fisher, Shoemaker, Dye and Lagerstrom on his heels. Six-time race winner Potts, and West, were a minute further behind but were unable to bridge up to the leaders.
Under sunny skies, warm temps, and only a light breeze, the 57 degree swim was calm and clear with a strong current pushing the top athletes in. Kanute's 1.5 mile swim was a very fast 21:23 and he exited the water first with Fisher, Shoemaker, Dye and Lagerstrom on his heels. Six-time race winner Potts, and West, were a minute further behind but were unable to bridge up to the leaders.
2 of 3 photos
The Bike
Kanute exited T1 with the lead and proceeded to put a 30+ seconds on Dye, and over a minute on past Alcatraz winner Lagerstrom, whose race would unfortunately end at T2 with a foot injury sustained during the run from swim exit to T1. West would be next to enter T2, but 3 minutes down. Let's take a look at where Kanute gained his time advantage on the technical bike course.
Kanute used the first two climbs to produce his peak 10 min power output on the bike and established a gap over those behind, riding 357 watts, which is 5.0 w/kg, a tough effort for many to hold up against. After that 10 min peak, he more aggressively attacked the third climb, where his peak 1 min power output of 448 watts on the bike would come, a 6.3 w/kg output. Both his peak 10 mins and 1 min power outputs came in the first 15 mins of the bike, leaving another 30 mins of hard riding to go. The rest of the way, Kanute was careful to utilize the descents but not do too much that could affect his run. He finished with an average power of only 319 watts, but an adjusted power of 345, which accounts for the surges and time spent descending. You can see these peaks highlighted in his power file and other key stats from the ride. Bike Power file here.
The Standard Deviation of all power samples in the ride was 95 watts, which shows a large discrepancy in the power he produced, due to the climbs, descents and turns. His power file for the bike showed he spent 33% of the race above his threshold watts, estimated at 380 before the race. (Note: Standard Deviation and time spent above threshold provided in his Today’s Plan account).
Kanute exited T1 with the lead and proceeded to put a 30+ seconds on Dye, and over a minute on past Alcatraz winner Lagerstrom, whose race would unfortunately end at T2 with a foot injury sustained during the run from swim exit to T1. West would be next to enter T2, but 3 minutes down. Let's take a look at where Kanute gained his time advantage on the technical bike course.
Kanute used the first two climbs to produce his peak 10 min power output on the bike and established a gap over those behind, riding 357 watts, which is 5.0 w/kg, a tough effort for many to hold up against. After that 10 min peak, he more aggressively attacked the third climb, where his peak 1 min power output of 448 watts on the bike would come, a 6.3 w/kg output. Both his peak 10 mins and 1 min power outputs came in the first 15 mins of the bike, leaving another 30 mins of hard riding to go. The rest of the way, Kanute was careful to utilize the descents but not do too much that could affect his run. He finished with an average power of only 319 watts, but an adjusted power of 345, which accounts for the surges and time spent descending. You can see these peaks highlighted in his power file and other key stats from the ride. Bike Power file here.
The Standard Deviation of all power samples in the ride was 95 watts, which shows a large discrepancy in the power he produced, due to the climbs, descents and turns. His power file for the bike showed he spent 33% of the race above his threshold watts, estimated at 380 before the race. (Note: Standard Deviation and time spent above threshold provided in his Today’s Plan account).
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The Run
Once out of T2, Kanute’s run legs needed to settle in, and he knew with the gaps he had, and 8 miles to run, he needed to pace correctly and work into the run. He ran steady for the first two miles, before the big climbs, including the infamous Sand Ladder at 4.75 miles, where he had the fastest split of the day, at 1:53 up the daunting 400 sandy steps.
When Kanute reached the stairs back down to the bay, his power greatly dropped, allowing gravity to pull him down. His Leg Spring Stiffness, (or LSS), greatly spiked as he absorbed each step jumping down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs Kanute held 33 seconds on Dye, and 90 secs on West. His early pacing paid off, and he had his fastest 10 mins of pace the final 10 mins of the run, and he was able to soak up the large crowd at the finish. His Run Power/Pace file can be viewed here.
Once out of T2, Kanute’s run legs needed to settle in, and he knew with the gaps he had, and 8 miles to run, he needed to pace correctly and work into the run. He ran steady for the first two miles, before the big climbs, including the infamous Sand Ladder at 4.75 miles, where he had the fastest split of the day, at 1:53 up the daunting 400 sandy steps.
When Kanute reached the stairs back down to the bay, his power greatly dropped, allowing gravity to pull him down. His Leg Spring Stiffness, (or LSS), greatly spiked as he absorbed each step jumping down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs Kanute held 33 seconds on Dye, and 90 secs on West. His early pacing paid off, and he had his fastest 10 mins of pace the final 10 mins of the run, and he was able to soak up the large crowd at the finish. His Run Power/Pace file can be viewed here.
