Race day In Louisville

Chris' big race. He's been training for months and I know he's been looking forward to today for a while. By the time I woke up he was well into the race so I got online to check his times. His swim split was 1:21:25, a 2:08 pace per 100 m. No surprise there. I would check in again later but at 9:30 someone was coming to look at Justin's Dual. I headed downstairs, fed Kona and sat to read a bit of the paper while I waited but a few minutes later they showed up. The potential buyer was a personal trainer and swim instructor and was looking for a first bike to get involved in triathlons. She rode it around, liked it and decided it was just what she'd been looking for so she bought it. SOLD! Now I need my commission cheque. I checked on Chris' progress a bit later and saw that his first bike segment was done at about a 30 km/hr average. I know the first part of the course is flat so it looked like he was pacing himself well. The next few times I checked I saw that his paced hadn't slowed and I know he was into the hilly part now so it looked like he was feeling pretty strong. His pace didn't slow down at all and each time I checked he was still riding at 30 km/hr. He was doing awsome and I knew he was pushing for a sub 6 hour bike split. I decided to head out for my run and I would check in later. It was hot out, very hot so I didn't know what I would feel like after yesterday so my plan was to run a 3.5 km loop close to the house so I could bail whenever I felt done. It was hard running. My legs were a little worn from yesterday and the heat was taking its toll but every time I came around to my bail out point I passed it and went out for another loop. I'm not crazy about running on sidewalks because there are spots where there are height differences between slabs and I am constantly adjusting my stride to avoid those spots. Specifically because of my big right toe which does not bend and if I hit one of those spots in the sidewalk .... Yeowww! So when I can I'll run on the road and I did so today along a part of the loop where I could. The heat was significant enough that when I moved from the sidewalk to the road I instantly felt a large increase in the temperature. This part of the road was newly paved and black and gave off enough heat that my feet would get hot running along it. I ended up doing 4 loops and 14 km at a 4:59 pace. It was tough but satisfying. Back to check on Chris. He'd finished the bike in 5:57:20!! A sub 6 hour bike split. Wow, amazing job. I also noticed his first run segment, a 10:29 per mile pace which was right where he wanted to start. In the back of my mind though I was thinking did he go out too hard on the bike. Later his times started slowing down. A 13 minute pace and then over 14 minutes and I knew he was suffering some. The bike ride and heat was really beating him down but typical of Chris he bore down and came in at 13:23:11. That's an outstanding performance. Huge congrats buddy!