St George 70.3
Although I was less successful than I'd hoped, this was, and the subsequent week's tour with my wife through southern Utah were FUN.
What made it fun, for me?:
- I started in the very last wave. At first I thought this was a distinct disadvantage, waiting an hour after transition closed, having to run the last 6 miles in the heat of early afternoon, and plowing my way through wave after wave of younger, slower people. But, apart from the occasional floundering swimmer in a different colored cap, I enjoyed having an endless stream of people to briefly draft off of and then pass while biking (some of them three or four times), and a similar feeling of running prowess. I can count the number of people who passed me on the bike on one hand, and the number who passed me on the run on one finger (and she sped by in the last mile). Having an infinite number of targets to pick off helped me keep my pace up all day.
- The scenery was as spectacular as advertised.
- The bike course is both challenging and forgiving. Challenging in the progression of hills, ending with a 1200 foot climb from miles 40-44. Forgiving in the 1600' downhill from that point to the end.
- My run was highly successful. The run course is either going up, or going down, and is a pure out and back (except for one little stub at mile 11-12). So running on pace was not an option. And the heat (temps got up to 88 later in the day, and were in the lower-mid 80 during my run). I used RPE supplemented by HR, and managed to keep my HR in the range where I wanted it, from mid-point of MP to midpoint of HMP. My overall run pace was about 1:20 min/mile slower than I had done a week earlier over nine miles in a duathlon in 50F, wetish conditions, presumably my fastest pace possible. But the key thing was, I didn't slow down. My Normalized Graded Pace (kinda like NP for running) for the second mile (uphill) was 8:56, and for the similar section on the way home was 8:53.
- No one older than me beat me - becoming a key metric for me as I lose speed each year.
I had my usual quota of drama:
- A flat tire a mile 5 of the bike cost me a total of 12 minutes, what with me forgetting to stash my CO2 cartridge on my bike race day morning, and then stopping at the first aid station to top up my air with a pump. Without any of that, my overall time would have been just about the same as the fifth place finisher; as is was ...
- I found myself passing someone in my AG at about mile 12.9. I turned on the jets as best I could at that point, but I think he managed to dive over the line ahead of me at the end. Usually I win those sprints, this is second time in ten years I've been pipped in the last 100 yards. If I'd had the CO2, I never would have been in that situation. My place was pretty well set after the swim, when I was 7th out of the water. I got passed by two guys while changing my tube/pumping it up, and repassed one on the run.
Times: Swim 37, bike 3:10 rolling/3:23 total, run 2:01, OA 6:10. I'd hoped to go 35/3:00/2:01...5:45. I've got two more tries this year to meet my targets.
Afterwards, we toured through southern Utah, a place we've often been as we've gone back and forth among Southern California, Colorado, and Washington over the yeas. It never fails to excite, though, with it's red rocks, desolate mountains and canyons, and precipitous weather shifts - on one day, we went from 30F and hail storms to 90+ searing heat.
We toured Bryce
Arches
Zion, and Capitol Reef Nat'l Parks. With the lifetime $10 senior parks pass, it was like getting into Disneyland for free.
Comments
Enjoyed reading the report and dig the photos, really beautiful scenery. Wish WTC wouldn't put this one on Wildflower weekend, I'd really like to check out SG one of these years but alas I refuse to stop doing WF until I master that course.
Al-sounds like a very solid race in spite of the flat. It was great to meet you and I appreciated your advise post my last RR leading up to St. George. Best of luck the rest of the season.
Joe.
Al-Sounds like you had a successful race especially considering your ability to overcome the flat and the steadiness of your run. Not easy to do on that run course! It was very nice to meet you and Cheryl over dinner. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and advice and good luck to you in Tahoe!
I did the iron in the second year.
Bike course a lot different looks like. A shame they didn't keep the neat bike course. Or good as it now is ???
Run course looks the same except for the one year. Basically up for half then down the last half. I assume, if i ever do the half there, i would go conversative on the first half then really try to bomb the downhills on the way back. Being a good downhill runner. Dd you do something like that ???
I highly recommend this as an early season A race, followed by a western US downtime vacation thru the high deserts of Southern/Eastern Utah, which is geographically unique and cosmopolitan, meaning half the tourists are from Europe and Asia, as they aint got nothing like it over there.
Good luck in Tejas, amigo.