Salem, Oregon 70.3 Pre-race Plan and Post-race Report 2023

Standard Warning: This is long. No obligation to read.

(Pre)Training has been far from perfect. I am not the same well-trained triathlete of years past when I worked hard enough to go a 5:23 in Oceanside 70.3 in my early 50’s. I also weigh 20 lbs more now. The bike split may be a tad ambitious. The biggest doubt though is how the run will go. I would really be happy with a sub-6:30 half Ironman. I really want to see myself capable of being able to do a sub-14:00 full IM, which is fairly possible with a 6:30 time today. My ambition is to prove to myself that I’m actually able to be faster than the 16+ hour Ironman like I did in Hawaii and Sacramento last year.

(Post)First, thank you to my mom for her ever present support and spectating. And, thank you to Dani and Mike for transporting my bike BOTH ways while I flew to and from Oregon. Linda didn’t come to the race: it was “only” a half Ironman. (Actually, she was working.)

Second, I wrote this out with pen and paper so I’m only now taking time to type it out. Also, I’ve been off of Facebook for most of this year. It wasn’t a conscious decision; I think I was just tired. Consider this part of my return. I’m also racing Ironman 70.3 Arizona so I’ll do a write up for that race too. (It is the last time they plan to hold it there.)

The race day in Oregon started for me at 2:50 am. I woke up and decided to just get up instead of waiting for my 3:30 alarm. It allowed me to eat, do my business, shower, prep my nutrition, and drive and park near transition in plenty of time. First mistake: I didn’t mix up and refrigerate my nutrition for the bike the night before. It would have reduced my stress and saved time,

Parking was convenient and free. We got to T1 just after 5am, when it opened. I set up my stuff for the bike and the run, put nutrition on the bike, checked to make sure my tires were good and it was in an easy gear. I grabbed my swim stuff and morning clothes bag, made a short stop at the portapotty, met Mom, and lined up for the swim.

The race start time was 6:30. The swim start was 1.2 miles upriver from transition. Unlike any other races I’ve done, we lined up by your predicted time and THEN walked all together to the start. I wore my Hoka recovery sandals for the walk - mistake #2. My feet would have been happier in a spare pair of running shoes. (I also later found out that one sandal was mine and one was a slightly smaller one of Linda's. Oops.

The walk down to the water was on a narrow wooden steps that they built. It was maybe 10-15 steps total and they were a little sketchy, especially since my balance/perception have declined a bit recently. I got to the bottom and they wanted you to immediately jump in from the small dock, which I did. 

Swim 

(Pre)It is a self-seeded, rolling start and I will aim for the faster :30 group. Although I’m probably a 34 or 35 min swimmer these days in a non-downriver swim. We assemble outside of transition, then walk in groups 1.2 miles to the start. I will swim in my sleeveless wetsuit so I will be good with wearing my tri shorts underneath and so I’ll stay relatively warm on the walk to the start, even though the water is 70°f. The swim is downriver.

PREDICTED TIME - :22

(Post)The water was a nice 70°f so I wore my sleeveless wetsuit anyway since I knew I could strip it off quickly and I wouldn’t get drag from wearing just a tri suit. Both feet cramp as soon as I jumped off the dock, thanks to the abnormal fatigue in them from the walk, NOT because I didn’t have salt on board. Finally, after some minutes, the cramps released. I swam too wide of the buoy line, but with the quick downriver current it was difficult to make a course correction. The water was moving fast but I could only tell when I could see the bottom as I flew by, which was only once or twice. The water was surprisingly rough at one point, possible from a jet ski?

The sun obliterated my sighting: I could only see the buoys as I passed them. I tried to work my way towards them but it was a slow process. With a few 100 meters to go I decided to pick my head up all the way so I could sight better. Just as I did, my arm hooked a rope that was anchoring a buoy! I headed toward the swim exit ramp and got out okay. Because it was a downriver swim I tried to use extra long strokes to take advantage.

ACTUAL SWIM TIME: 0:21:07, about 1 min. faster than predicted.

T1

(Pre)Transition is not a tremendous distance from the river. There is a somewhat steep ramp to go up but after that it’s a fairly gradual incline. Transition is right there. I will be wearing my arm cooler ‘shrug’ to protect my arms from sunburn. I will also just be wearing the right hand bike glove.

PREDICTED TIME - :07 (Running Total :29)

(Post)T1 was a fair distance from the water - up a steep ramp and then a winding path of concrete and soft grass. My bare feet did fine. Took the wetsuit off fairly easily as I had sprayed Tri Slide on my calves, often a sticking point. I put on my arm cooler white “shrug”, not so much for coolness but as a way to prevent sunburn.

ACTUAL T1 TIME - 08:06 about 1 minute slower than predicted.

BIKE 

(Pre)It is fairly flat with quite a few turns, though nowhere near as many as Arizona 70.3. I didn’t drive the course to preview it. If wind is not a big factor then I estimate I can average slightly faster than 17 mph.

PREDICTED TIME - 3:15 (Running Total 3:44) 

(Post)The ride was beautiful, mostly winding through farmland but some forest too. It was mostly flat with a few short hills. Fortunately the wind was mild on this out and back course. I carried my own calories and electrolytes, which I planned just right. Took water from an aid station twice but I may have been 1 bottle short. Otherwise it was uneventful except sometime during the last 3rd when someone went by me on a hill and said, “It’s just a hill! Get over it!” It was Sally, friend and someone I formerly coached, giving back to me what I have often said to my athletes. It was great and very funny!

ACTUAL BIKE TIME - 3:10:14, about 5 min. faster than predicted, tho far slower than my better rides.

T2 

(Pre)Seems rather straightforward. Will take off the white shrug as much of the run is amongst the trees and is shaded.

PREDICTED TIME - :05 (Running Total 3:49)

(Post) I stopped before the dismount line, walked, and sometimes tried to run into T2. Mom was right there at the entrance. I tried to stop and kiss her but my uncontrolled momentum and poor balance almost took her out! Two women kept her upright and a man acted totally pissed, like I did it on purpose. I felt bad already! (Mistake #3) I struggled to rebalance myself and then headed into transition.

I finally made my way to the rack and racked my bike, got running shoes and hat on, grabbed my race belt and number, and stopped at the portapotty. Hydration seemed to be in a good spot based on my pee color. I ran out of transition unintentionally wearing my right bike glove and my arm coolers (mistake #4). Oh well. I tucked the glove into my shorts and didn’t mind the sun protection the coolers provided.  

ACTUAL TIME - :10:36 (including a portapotty break) about 5 minutes slower than predicted.

RUN 

(Pre)The run is a ‘lollypop’ 2 loops, with a good ~70% in the shade. It is also pretty flat but fortunately has some slight ungulation. How I do will depend on how my foot, knee, and back hold up. Plantar f-ing-itis has appeared slightly in my left foot. My right knee periodically bugs a little but usually gets better the further I go. My lower back often feels tight and achy when I run (nothing new) so I will overcome that too I think. Less than ideal training, and knowing the pace on those training runs, makes me think I may be able to maintain a 12:00/mile pace.

(Post)The run started as expected: I ran easy and walked often in the first 2 miles and things felt okay. As I got to mile 4, fatigue just really started to feel overwhelming. Often that means you have overdone it on the bike or you haven’t taken in enough fuel. I don’t think either of those was the case here. I think it was more an indication of how my run training has gone, not to mention the extra 20 lbs. I’m carrying. Anyway, at mile 5 i stopped at the portapotty for another #1. Again it looked like I was hydrated and I think I was fueling fairly well. Much of the time I ran in the sun and walked in the shade, the idea being that the time in the shade would be extended.

The course was a very nice, mostly flat, paved path in a forested park. I took ice at every aid station that had it, always in my hat, to keep my head cold and usually in a cup so I could chew it into a slushy and swallow it. At one aid station they had ice in a kiddie pool on the ground. Mistake #5, I bent over to get some ice and almost fell over into it head first. It was a big challenge just to right myself, taking several attempts!

The fatigued feeling lessened some as I continued but never disappeared. I continued with the run/walk knowing I would be disappointed with the amount of running vs walking I did, as well as being unhappy with my performance. I did get to chat with a Gastroenterologist early into the run. I shared my history with IBD and with Team Challenge because he seemed interested. At about mile 9, after I used the portapotty again, I held a conversation with a woman with Crohn’s who was walking as fast as I was running. She shared that she had to give up full distance Ironmans because of what that stress did to her body. She seemed very frustrated.

I finally had less than half a mile to go but was still run/walking up to that point. I “ran” the rest of the way to the finish line. Met up with Mom and eventually my teammates. It was great to race with so many friends. That helped make the race for me. My run was far slower than I’d hoped, so that was a disappointment. 

PREDICTED TIME - 2:37 (Final Total 6:26)

ACTUAL RUN TIME - 3:16:52, about 40 min slower than predicted. (Final Total 7:06:52, about 39 min slower than predicted.) 31st in my age group

I led this writeup by listing my goals for the race. I admit that this is another discouraging performance and makes me question what I should think. Over the last 4 years I have fairly quickly declined in my abilities and coordination. I’ve assumed, correctly, that age doesn’t mean you can’t get faster and better. But at some point you have enough experience in a specific sport, in this case triathlon, that age does have an effect. It feels like I hit what was likely my peak in 2018. I’m reluctant to accept that but since then everything seems to be slower.

Being slower doesn’t mean I’m stuck where I am though. I know my training, diet, sleep, etc. are not as rigidly committed to so that I can be the triathlete as I once was. I could certainly do things that would help me perform better but it takes commitment to that end. It also, in my case, requires me to think differently as far as scheduling training. My old, previous way of getting all my workouts in was ideal for my situation. With the change in medications to control my colitis has also made my previous routines impractical. Early morning starts are difficult-to-impossible to do. Mid morning or early afternoon training is now the norm, which takes way more discipline (for me anyway) to pull off. 

Well, I’ve gone on too long here. My next race is 70.3 Arizona in less than 2 weeks. Training has varied from excellent to fairly poor with life “interruptions”. Without a downriver swim, I’m aiming for sub-7 hours. I’ll be happy if I execute my plan, put forth good effort, and enjoy being out there with a sense of gratitude for, among other things, being able to participate at this age and to have Mom along for the ride with me.