Finish 6:11:30, 5th in age group
Pre-race – I rode the shuttle but from transition, got my
bike set up with nutrition, got my tires pumped, and put everything in place. I
left transition, used the portapotty, and warmed up for the swim by using my
resistance cords and doing pushups.
Swim 1.2mi. – 35:14 (1:49/100m) – 2nd of 44 in
age group, 74/1025 men, 100/1402 overall
This was a very challenging swim. It was 77.8* or something like that so it was
not legal to wear a wetsuit if you wanted you place to count or wanted to
qualify for the 70.3 World Championships. I wore my “speedsuit” over my tri
kit. I was in the 50+ men’s wave (#10) that went off at 7:36. I waded into the
water and moved towards the wide open outside edge of the group. Unfortunately
there were large rocks in the water where I tripped and fell. Instead of
getting up I just pulled my way to the starting line.
I took off in the front line. The wind chop made it
difficult to get into any sort of rhythm and it really made swimming
difficult. My head wasn’t in it. The
first 100 meters all I thought was ‘why am I doing this’? I had no enthusiasm
and the poor conditions didn’t help. Then I switched to thinking about what I wished
I told all our athletes about swimming in those conditions. It was tough to
swim straight and tough to get into a groove and swim efficiently or fast. The
only part that was reasonably good was the 200m at the top of the rectangle
when you swim with the wind at your back. It only lasted until the next left
turn to head towards shore. The wind chop continued but at least the smoother
water had gotten me into race mode.
A few things I did to modify how I usually swim: I used
higher/straighter arm recovery to clear the chop. I also rolled/rotated my body
more to make sure I cleared the water surface to breathe. And finally, I
sighted more frequently than usual because the chop made it more difficult to
see the buoys and because I had a
harder time swimming straight.
I reached shore after weaving through various swimmers from
earlier waves. The lake bottom near shore is strewn with rocks that kill your
feet so I didn’t even try to stand up until my chest was dragging against those
rocks. This strategy mostly saved my feet but it was also very difficult to
stand up.
T1 – 5:34
Once out of the water I jogged along the carpet but once I
got into transition I started to walk as I felt my heart rate going up. I spent
way too long in T1 even though I didn’t bother with socks. The DeSoto “Cool
Wings” arm coolers took the most time but I was concerned about the heat and
potential sunburn so I wasn’t going to skip putting it on. Instead I skipped putting on my socks, hoping
this wouldn’t come back to haunt me. I jogged the bike out of transitions.
Bike 56mi. – 3:08:44 (17.80mph), 5th fastest bike
split – 2nd/44 age group, 170/1025 men, 217/1402 overall; average
HR125
I ran past the mount line and jumped on the bike to pedal up
the first hill. There were a number of people around me, including a guy on a
hybrid bike. He was riding up the hill just fine, chattering away. We rode
(illegally) side by side for a few 100m as he asked me to explain how far the
draft zone was. Things thinned out quickly after that and off I went, trying
not to go too hard. I always go too hard at the start and regret it at about ¾
of the way through. What really happens to me is that when I get on that bike I
immediately am excited to be racing. It’s like a race “switch” is thrown and
it’s game on. Keeping that excitement and enthusiasm under control is a high
priority.
The wind was really blowing out there but at least it wasn’t
hot too. The course is very hilly, with
a few sections of 6% but mostly less. The ups and downs were fairly frequent
with no long, sustained climbs that I remember. The barren desert scenery with
the mountains and Lake Mead made it a gorgeous ride. I often simply appreciated
the natural surroundings as I rode.
I stayed aero most of the time and pedaled most of the
downhills to capitalize on speed for the next uphill. The course required very
frequent gear changes and I was fortunate to never drop the chain. I have 2
things to thank John for. First, we discussed my drive train set up a few
months ago and he suggested getting a smaller small chain ring. I did that and
I think it allowed me to more comfortably spin up the hills. He also described
“countersteering” many months back and while I understood it I never practiced
it. I tried it on the course and at worst it did nothing for me but at best it
gave me some extra speed in some of the cross winds.
While I don’t consider myself to be even an average climber,
I LOVED the bike course. It wasn’t easy but with the terrain changing so
frequently I found it beautiful, interesting, and challenging. I made a rookie
mistake at about 4 miles from T2. I thought I was coming up to the end of the
ride (I hadn’t driven that part of the course the previous day) and so I took
my right foot out of my shoe to prep for my dismount. I quickly realized I
wasn’t even close to the end. Since I couldn’t get my foot back into my shoe
without stopping, I ended up riding the last 4 miles with my right foot on top
of my shoe.
With it not being as hot as I’d planned for, I didn’t need
to take in nearly the amount of water I expected. In the end I took in about
600 calories – 1 ¾ Larabars (330 cal) and 4 sleeves of Osmo (280 cal). This was
a good 200 calories short of what was planned but it seemed to be fine.
Hydration was at approximately 70 oz. Might have been a little short but I
didn’t finish feeling thirsty.
T2 – 5:12
When I finally got to the dismount line I had both feet out
of the shoes. Fortunately the black asphault wasn’t hot or I would have burned
my feet. I found my rack very quickly, even though my orange transition mat had
blown away. I dumped my bag, sat down, and put on socks and run shoes, got
everything on, and headed out on the run.
Run 13.1mi – 2:16:46 (10:26/mi), 9th fastest run
split – 5th/44 age group, 217/1025 men, 297/1402 overall; average HR
134, max 155
I did not preview the course so all I knew was that it was
hilly. It lived up to that. I trained for hills but it was still difficult. I
found it tough to get going and walked more frequently than I’d planned. This
was a concern but I had hope that things would change.
Even though the air temp was less than expected, I still
made core body temperature management (and regular hydration) a priority. I carried a handheld water bottle and
calories with me. I walked each aid station, refilling my bottle with water
and/or ice as needed. I took every opportunity to get ice into my hat and a 2nd
cup for chewing on. Warning: the rest of this paragraph may contain TMI - too much information. I don't think I took any potty breaks during the race. Starting with the 3rd mile I fought the urge to go #2. My j-pouch and small intestine didn't back up too much nor did it cause discomfort so I chose to hold off until after the finish line. I've learned that this decision is a very important one in a 70.3 or full Ironman. Dealing with discomfort and 'waste back up" are detrimental to performance. "Breaking the seal" and taking the time to go use the portapotty takes time and also has consequences. I weigh all of this is making the decision to go or not to go. In this case the choice wasn't difficult.
My plan was to use heart rate to control my effort level. On
the last, long downhill of the first lap I started feeling better so began to
put out more effort. As soon as I did I began to feel my hamstring wanting to
cramp. I quickly shifted to using my hamstrings as my “governor”. I knew the
consequences of having a hamstring seize.
As I headed out on the 2nd or 3 loops I finally
started feeling good, er… normal. My pace picked up and I only walked the aid
stations. I ran all the uphills except for the one behind the finish
chute. That one sucked! I happily saw
Team Challenge teammates on the run course. They provided encouragement and
more than once, a reminder of my mantra. It was so great to see familiar faces
out there!
As the run progressed I felt like I kept a good pace and
strong effort throughout. As I enter the
finishing chute I saw Genna along the side holding my Team Challenge. She
handed it off and once again I got to cross the windy finish line with the flag
held high.
I took in fewer calories than planned. I got in 3 sleeves of
Osmo (210cal) and just 2 Shotblocks (66 cal) for a total of 276 calories. It
seemed to work out fine as I never felt low on fuel or hungry on the course.
Hydration went fine though I have no idea how much I took in with all the ice I
chewed and water I drank. I was thirsty when I finished but that’s not
unexpected.
In the end, although I was 11 minutes short of my time goal,
I was pleased with my performance. I DID love being out there and I DID push
against the pain and keep moving forward. It was an amazing day out there.
Before I started the race I questioned my sanity but I’m happy I took on the challenge and would even race there
again.
Run Splits and Heart Rate average
.5 - ?
1.5 – 10:32, HR132
2.5 – 11:03, HR134
3.5 – 11:08, 128
4.5 – 10:09, 131
5.5 – 10:10, 133
6.5 – 10:41, 136
7.5 – 11:23, 132
8.5 – 9:56, 130
9.5 – 9:42, 134
10.5 – 11:13, 135
11.5 – 11:29, 138
12.5 - 9:17, 141
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