Earlier this season, I posted a note about several adjustments made to the training strategy for this triathlon season. One of the most significant was a greater emphasis on cycling and a decreased emphasis on both the quality and quantity of the running. I’m naturally more of a runner, so in the past, I made it a priority to focus in on 2 very high-end run sessions (track work and tempo work). These were valuable, but they also produced fatigue that resulted in lower quality cycling training. My hope was that, come race day, I’d be faster on the bike but more importantly be fresh going into the run (since the extra bike training would make the race a lower percentage of max). This past weekend, a hilly half Ironman called the Rage in the Sage (Vegas), provided the first test of the year – and it seems to be working. I felt almost fresh coming off the bike and in spite of the limited run training/emphasis, ran my fastest half ironman run split on a hilly and hot course, and was informed later that the run time (1:22:13) was a new run course record for that event (don’t be too impressed, as it’s a smaller event with less than 200 participants, but still nice to hear for an “old guy,” right?). More to come as the season progresses, but so far, the training adjustments seem to have been effective…