Drafting...tisk, tisk

So if you are a triathlete or follow triathlon's you may have seen a video from last weekend's Ironman Florida that's floating around the internet. It's a video showing about 20 or so athlete's on the bike portion of the race. It's recorded from a camera mounted on a cyclists helmet. They are all very close to one another, and based on their speed and lack of effort (especially those coasting), it's obvious that they are drafting. Riding right behind someone blocks the wind...requiring MUCH less force to maintain the same speed.

Drafting is illegal in USAT (USA Triathlon) sanctioned races...which include all Ironman races and most other reputable tri's in the US.

Directly from the rule book:

Drafting:
Drafting--keep at least three bike lengths of clear space between you and the cyclist in front. If you move into the zone, you must pass within 15 seconds.
Position--keep to the right hand side of the lane of travel unless passing.
Blocking--riding on the left side of the lane without passing anyone and interfering with other cyclists attempting to pass.
Overtaken--once passed, you must immediately exit the draft zone from the rear, before attempting to pass again.

Now watch this video:


You'll note that some of the guys are staying right with the group without even pedaling! The penalty for drafting is typically a 2 minute penalty, followed by a disqualification on the second offense. It's clear that IM Florida is going to have to work on correcting this! Looking at the wheels and bikes that these guys are pushing, they know the rules...blatant cheating!

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
4 laps around the mall
Lap 1 (warm-up) - 10:12
Lap 2 - 9:25 (7:46/mile pace)
Lap 3 - 9:25 (7:46)
Lap 4 - 9:23 (7:45)
Total: 4.84 miles in 38:25 (7:56 min/mile)

HR was in the 140-145 range during the warm-up lap. Moved into the high 150's (zone 2) during laps 2 & 3, and then moved up to 161-163 during the last lap (top end of zone 2/bottom end of zone 3). Heart rate is right where I want it to be.