Powerman Alabama

Written by Mark MacLachlan

WWKBD? 

That is short for “What Would Ken Brown Do”.  I ask myself that frequently, but it is especially helpful when racing.  I love racing because I love asking myself WWKBD!   I got the chance this past weekend at Powerman Alabama.

If anyone had done Powerman before, you know that it is not an easy race.  The course in Irondale (AL…near Birmingham) is tough and the distances tougher (8K 50K 8K of run, bike, run).  So this year, when they INCREASED the distances (10K 60K 10K), I thought to myself WWKBD?  Race it of course.  So off I went. 

Not only did they increase the distance this year, but they moved the race to a new venue:  Oak Mountain State Park.

I’m not really sure why I thought the new course was going to be easier.  Whenever the word “Mountain” is in a state park name, one has to assume that there will be, at least to some extent, some hills.  I had convinced myself that it would be a flat and fast course and was pumped to ride a fast bike split to make up for my (for me thus far this year) sub-par running. 

The race started with bang….10 min. EARLY!!!  The one complaint I have is the lack of announcement that the race was going to start EARLY.  I was in the woods emptying my bladder one more time before the start when I heard the gun!  WWKBD?  Certainly, he would sprint to the start line.  KB would have been at the start line instantly because he is so fast, but I was about 30 sec. behind everyone.

The best way to start off a 10K race is by having to run uphill for the first 600 or so yards.  This is especially true when you are in absolute last place and feel the need to get toward the front at some point in the first few miles.  The run course was never flat.  Up, down, Up down…but not flat.  Since it was an out and back, I got to see the leaders coming back and realized that they were about ½ mile ahead of me.  The guy leading looked like a pretty good athlete…like a real runner…perfect stride, perfect build, etc.  He was moving.  I knew if KB was here, he would have simply blown by this dude while running his 3 min mile pace and knocked anyone he ran by over because of the wind that his massive biceps create when they move through the air…but since Ken was not racing, this guy appeared to be doing a pretty good job of leading.

I came into T-2 about 20 people back (give or take).  Better than I started, but still a long way to go.  Should be easy with a flat bike course.  I’ll just hammer along.  I can’t quite hold 40 on the flats like KB, but I figured I could give it my best shot. 

I figured out the bike course was not flat at mile 2.  After riding (generally uphill) out of transition, I came around a bend and saw a definite hill.  Said hill required the use of my small chainring.  I don’t have massive quads like KB, so I have to have a small chainring on my bike.  KB rides a 75-55 on his front (it is almost the same size as his wheels).  I can’t keep up with my 54-42. 

Not only is the bike course not flat, it changes grades all the time.  It’s not one of these “steady climb” courses.  Anyone who has done a tri-the parks race, magnify the ups and downs of the bike course by 5 and that’s what it was like.  Throw in a headwind on the way back (when the course is more generally going down), wet pavement from the overnight rain, and add the need to lap it 3 times to gain the distance, and it’s pretty obvious that if you are not Ken Brown, you aren’t flying on this course.

I even got to feel good about myself by giving another athlete a can of Pitt Stop to fix his flat.  Of course when he caught me on the run, I wasn’t sure why I had been so nice! 

By the time I got off the bike, I had somehow worked my way up to 5^th.  I definitely lost time to the leader (I wish Ken had been racing because I would have enjoyed watching Ken pass the leader for a second time on his cool down lap.  KB usually runs the entire run course a second time to “warm down” at about 5 min per mile pace just to stretch his legs. 

The 600 yard hill at the beginning of the run was not any more fun to go up the second time.  Actually, I will go on record as saying that it really sucked.  About halfway through the run, I got caught by an athlete who could actually run rather than lumber as I tend to do.  Somehow, I didn’t let anyone else pass me and I finished in 6^th place.  

I know that KB would have finished this race in about an hour and a half, but it took me just over 3 hours to do it.  I actually hope they keep the race at Oak Mountain State Park.  It is a really scenic park and it is a really hard course.  Just perfect for anyone out there who likes to suffer through an early season test.  I recommend it…and maybe next year if you race, you just might be lucky enough to get a glimpse of Ken Brown as he rockets by.  Those biceps are hard to miss, even at that speed.