El Tour de Tucson 2025 102m 4:39:23, 21.8mph 85/1,741 Gun, 77th Chip.

It’s been 4 months since my last post after my 3:03 marathon at Jack and Jill -WA. Since then my running has been at a high level with a 62m/wk peak and 11 weeks over 40m/wk. All swimming stopped and biking has been minimal as I am only 2 weeks away from my 3rd attempt at the CPA FAR exam. But, as a member of Team Zoot, I got 30% off Quintanaroo so I bought my 2nd ever road bike replacing a 2010 Specialized Tarmac Pro.

The new bike is really sweet. Venum green, Aero carbon handlebar, SRAM RED with Powermeter. My mate at work, Chris Pentland who will be joining our Raytheon team for the Tucson Marathon in 3 weeks said he was doing the Tour and so that and going for my first ride 3 weeks ago to the day on the new bike gave me the inspiration I was looking for. Great job for getting it done Chris!!! So after 8 years in Tucson I finally signed up for the largest road race in the USA with 11,000 riders from all 50 states and 29 countries. Every year it was either Ironman Arizona, travel to the East coast or something else. With 18 months before we move back to Australia, now it was time. We also signed up for Ironman Florida next year so this year made the most sense.

And this is where I am, thankful to God and myself. For being healthy, fit, and able to just decide to sign up for a 102mile 5 hour bike race, and only a few rides since 70.3 Musselman, NY in July 2025. I did 7 rides on the new bike the last 3 weeks with one 2.5hr 52mile ride with half on the course. But my last 5hr+ ride was 15months ago up Mt Lemmon. Regardless time to have some fun!

Looking back this is a bit funny. My first ever road race was also shortly after getting my first ever road bike in 2010 where I was able to somehow get into the Mt Washington road race the day before the race when I was camping in NH. Known as the world’s toughest hill climb I went around 1:20 that day for 7.6 miles at an average 12% grade and climbing 4,000′. This will be a bit different today! 102miles, 5hrs, and 3,000′ ascend.

Its 6:05am, 1hr to the start and I am sitting at the front of the Gold Corral in downtown Tucson on the cold ground wrapped in one of those emergency tin foil blankets. Riders are starting to fill in and flying around through the start, pretty nutty.

Yesterday I rode 1hr and ran 5miles because I wanted to get one more ride in and this isn’t an A race. But I did carbo load with cliff bar, lasagne, large pizza, and like 6 coffee cakes pastries for 3,000+ calories on the day. For brekky, 2 medium redbulls, 2 coffee cake pastries. 1 bagel, and 2 pieces of toast for 1,100 calories. I got on the sick new kit from the Tour with socks, wind jacket, and gloves. It was 48 at the start rising to 68F by the end.

My bike nutrition had 2 bottles of Maurten 320 with 1G of Immortal salt. I then had many gels and salt to try and target 300calories per hour. National Anthem, 2nd time to the loo and wait at the start of Gold.

The Platinum started 5min before at 7am and you could pay for VIP to be closer but for men it was sub 4:30 to qualify at 22.3mph which I didn’t think I was capable of. Then it was everyone else’s turn with a slow roll out the first 2miles but there were thousands of cyclists so you couldn’t push it either.

I started off after a 100Caf Gel 15min before go time. It started to open to a nice section and I started moving. I found one guy with a USA kit I followed for a bit but also wanted to ride my own race. I prefer Time Trial of IRONMAN and didn’t want to play cheap tactics.

The first 30min even with a slow 5 min start that was only 206Normalized Power watts and 100HR was pretty nutty. So the first true 30min after the 5min start easy was nuts. 285NP at 3.5watts/kg and 132 HR. This is what I typically try to hold for a 70.3 Half Ironman. Actually at Musselman in July. a 2:19 56mile half and a lifetime PR, I held peak 30min watts at 276watts and 256NP. So today I went the exact 276watts/avg for 30minutes and 251NP on a race almost 2X longer; I only know one way to work.

At 50min in I stopped super quick to take my wind jacket off. I put it down my top to act like an Aero bulge. At one hour in I looked back and didn’t see anyone close and not many right ahead. before I knew it a young girl passed me…. WITH ONE LEG. And by girl, 15 YEARS OLD. Was only 5min back on me and won her A/G, yea what are your kids doing today? FFS.

And that’s when I knew this day was going to be interesting and definitely NOT A TRIATHLON.

We headed East up OLD Spanish Trail in to a yucky headwind that I knew would be a nice tailwind down Sahuarita road and also not be a factor coming down Helmet Peak Rd. I did a terrible gear change from large to small and dropped my chain. I couldn’t get it back on so stopped quick and got it back on all the while passing, being passed, and coming up on 50-100 pelotons.

At the turn up Pistol Hill that I haven’t been at for a while, I grabbed a great choc cookie from a spectator, THANK YOU!

At the top of Pistol Hill, the next interesting saga was flying down at 35mph peaking at 41mph where a large fella with massive calfs, looked like a lineman then passed me, we big boys have the power. He gave me a run for it there and again felt like, yea, you’re not going to keep that up. I didn’t see him again.

Up Houghton past the new Velodrome and Drag course, I stopped at the Boy Scouts aid station. Volunteer filled my 2 bottles and I put in 1 LMNT 1G salt in each. It was under a minute. Great job guys, I am an Eagle Scout!

Back to Sahuarita and, I took off at 32mph descending to Fiona and Roxy leading for a good 5miles then got past by 3 guys, tall, built, and powerful. I hung with them and we went back and forth. We caught a 10-20 pack at the turn and then screamed out for Roxy girl!!!

And this was the next interesting part. I heard a guy say something to me about being a triathlete from my mdot tattoos but not sure what compliment I am sure he said lol. He pulled for 2min, then a girl pulled for 1min. Then I pulled for 16min hauling a frigging pack. Up the first incline they are gone. then the guy/girl combo come past. This sport is stupid and cheap.

Weather was fine, I had also taken off gloves a long way back. I kept drinking and eating gels every 20-30min and had 2 more CAF gels. I hit the aid station after shootout hill since I still had 30miles to go. 2 bottles, 1 with salt, my teeth were already in pain from all the sugar. But, mind and body were good. Back of course sore and stretched out of the saddle fair bit, and legs, well yea, they were working. I did have a cramp in my abductor for the first time ever after stopping at the 2nd aid station. I had 5G salt and plenty of carvmbs, 6 bottles of fluids but think the stop really screwed with the rhythm. It went away after a few min.

So down Sahuarita Rd and this 54 yr old passed me with his size. and starting in Platinum, got him by 7min on the flats back into Tucson. And then there was the guy leading this group whose name was MARK ALLEN! haha legend name, not same Ironman legend. But this 65 year old beat me at 84th spot by 4 seconds even though I was 17seconds faster overall, ok this sport is so wack. Turns out i had 77th fastest time but came 85th because I started a bit back even though I was at the start of gold. Wack.

Ok, so past Roxy and Fiona one more time and everyone had a chuckle. Fi got an awesome video. Thanks hunny. Awesome being .7mile off the course in Sahuarita.

So off to work, I mean down Nogales. I was looking forward to this part passing by RTX Raytheon Missiles. I wonder if people knew they were passing by the largest missile producer in the world. I recalled seeing a guy in an Army kit at the start, that was cool too.

I was counting down the miles looking to 102 and at the end a final sprint because someone else was going and now that I know these races are gun time… I still went 800+ watts in the final sprint. not bad after almost 5 hours.