Cardinal Harbour 1/2 IM, Prospect, KY

This past weekend I participated in my second half of the season, the Cardinal Harbour 1/2. My goal for this race was to break 2 hours on the run (which I had not done in quite a while) and I hit a 1:49. All of the therapy (electric stim, ice, exercises, sessions with an Active Release Therapist and patience with my running paid off---My goal for this race was to break 2 hours on the run (which I had not done in quite a while) and I hit a 1:49. The ankle held up, but it is still not a 100%. This race was a great confidence builder as I focus on building speed for the upcoming Duathlon World Championships in September and muscular endurance for IM Cozumel in November. More on this balancing act in future posts....
Here is the race review of the CH 1/2 IM:

Cardinal Harbour ½ IM
Prospect, KY
July 18, 2009
Entry fee: $100 early, $120 late
Hotels: Lots available within 20 minutes of the race site. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express—great breakfast bar.
Restaurants: Plenty of chain and fast food restaurants available. We lucked out and found “Corbet’s, An American Place” after the race. There were also lots up super markets in the area.
Race Packet: Bare bones with T-shirt, endurolytes and a packet of Heed
Course:
Swim—a warm murky swim (77 degrees) in the Ohio River upstream and then back, current was not much. Three waves were 5 minutes apart. I did not wear a wetsuit and was very glad—it was warm!
Bike—a challenging course with a great mix of rollers and flats. It was a bit dicey on one portion on highway 42 with lots of traffic. The course was well marked, but had a couple of intersections un-manned. Mileage was marked on the road every 5 miles or so. No bike support and no USAT officials. Saw several people riding and running with head phones.
Run—a good mix of hills and flats. Three laps on one section. There were lots of trees, so if the sun was out it looks like there would be some coverage. The finish was one mile along the river in tall grass—fairly uneven surface. No mile markers on the course.
Aid Stations: 2 bottle hand-offs on the bike with water (water was really cold!) and Heed. On the run you passed two aid stations multiple times and then one close to the finish—water, heed, gels, coke, bananas. Not much at the end of the race—the water cooler was empty when I crossed and had to wait till I walked back to the club house were the food and awards were.
Volunteers: Friendly, helpful volunteers.
T-shirt: Colorful
Timing: Chip timing
Awards: Overall winners—trophy and towel. Age group winners—towel
Award ceremony: “Self-serve” on the honor system—check the results and then go get your award—definitely no frills
Post Race Food: Variety of home-style goodies….
Parking: Ample at the neighborhood swim club—5 minute walk to the race start.
Party Potties: Lacking—only 3 at the start and none on the course
Transition Area: Grassy (really long), tight racks with no numbers—a “free-for-all.”
Pre-race meeting: Great rendition of the National Anthem, followed by a “non-miked” talk from the race-director---could not hear a thing.

Synopsis:
Overall, a great training day—the weather was perfect with a low of 62 and a high
76, breezy and overcast. It was a fun, challenging course, a great prep if you are doing IM Louisville. The race director limits the number of participants to 300, so it was not too crowded. If you like a race with a down-home, no frills feel, then this is the race for you.

Rating: 3 CRANKS

Scale:
1 CRANK = Don't even think about doing this race...
2 CRANKS = Hmmmmm, a last resort...
3 CRANKS = Not bad, you get what you pay for...
4 CRANKS = Solid event all around...
5 CRANKS = Can't miss, a must-do race...