Ironman Austria

Buck Snyder has a breakthrough race at Ironman Austria setting a new PR of 10:34:31! Buck's splits were 1:10:49 for the swim, 5:37:42 for the bike and a great 3:36:10 for the run.

Buck reports, "I was very happy with race result overall. I stuck with the pacing and nutrition plan on the bike and it paid off on the run... I was happy to get out of that water. Took at glance at the watch as was pleasantly surprised at the time - 1:10:49."

"I had a plan on the bike to watch my HR. The pace felt fairly comfortable and had to forget about all the people that were passing me on the bike - humbling. There was a two loop very, scenic bike course with great spectator and volunteer support. The first 30 K of the loop were really fast. The next 40 K or so had some good hills with two very significant climbs. The first one was short, but required low/low and was a challenge to stay seated for it. The second climb seemed really long 10-15 minutes in the lowest gear I had with some standing just to keep the pedals moving. Wasn't that bad on the first loop, but a killer on the second loop. The last 20K of the bike was pretty much downhill and fast. I finished the first loop around 2:45. Halfway through the second loop, a big T-storm let lose which made the climbs a little more challenging and really slowed things down on the fast downhill section. Felt good throughout the bike and kept up with the hydration/nutrition plan pretty well. Ended up with an average HR for the bike very close to the target."

"I felt awesome starting the run. Had to rein things in a bit after running a 7:15/mile first mile. Settled in around 7:40 or so and felt strong for the first 6-8 miles, but it was getting hot and much of the course had zero shade. Managed to keep running (albeit slowly at times) with the exception of the aid stations. Second half was much slower than the first half. I think the first half was in 1:41 (7:41/mi) which would make the second half around 1:55 (8:46/mi). Even though the pace slowed, I continued to pace people throughout. Only recall one or two amateurs passing me on the run. Around mile 24 or so, I had just enough to keep running all the way to the end. Felt great passing through the chute and crossing the line. Overall - 10:34:31 Surpassed my goal time for the race and things went well for the most part... I was happy with the entire day!"