Raleigh 70.3 Race Report
Raleigh 70.3 Race Report
Days leading up to the race-Life threw me a few curves this spring. After a great outseason training, and a couple successful early season races, I lost a lot of training time leading up to this race. The company I worked for announced it had decided to close my plant. So, job searches, lots of travel, and a relocation to another city seriously cut into my training time and schedule. I was able to fit in a 4 day big bike camp on the Blue Ridge Parkway, riding 225 miles in 4 days with 22,000 feet of climbing as prep for Assault on Mt. Mitchell ride 2 weeks before 70.3. Then I came down with a bad sinus/head cold deal and another issue that kept me from riding and running for 2 weeks prior to race day. So, I went into this one very rested and with lowered expectations for race day.
Day before: Weather forecasts for race day called for hot weather, so heat management went into effect on Saturday. Raleigh 70.3 has a lot of admin duties due to its point to point nature. We had to check in our bikes to T1 on Saturday. I didn’t want my bike sitting in the baking 90+ degree sun all day, so I took it out as late as possible. During the day, I hydrated all day long with sports drink and avoided the heat like the plague. Stayed off my feet as much as possible. Pre-loaded on electrolyes and ate a light meal and to bed early.
Race morning: Up at 3:00 for a bowl of oatmeal, a couple bottles of Insure, some salt tabs, a couple of Immodiums, and off to T2 for set up, catch the bus out to the start. This all went smoothly. Since they told us at the athletes meeting on Sat that the water temp was 79 and NO WAY it would drop to 76.1 by morning, I left my wetsuit in the truck.
The Swim:
As soon as I got to T1 and began sitting up, they announced the water temp was 76 and wetsuit legal. Oh well! Too late now. Can’t control it, so don’t let it get in my head. As you can see from the pic above, probably 70% wore one, 30 % didn’t. My race day strategy was to do nothing resembling racing until mile 10 of the RUN! So, I went for a nice, easy swim. This is number 17 for 70.3 races, so I have a decent idea what my times are going to be. Normal non-wetsuit times are always around 40 minutes. This one was 43, good for 19th in my AG. I did not push it at all and the water was a bit rough.
T1: No troubles here, just get in, get it done, and get out. Time 3:09
Bike: The first couple miles of this course, you climb out of the park and eventually turn right. I tried to really conserve power on this section since it was early and I knew I’d be prone to over do it. Lots of people passing me on this section. My mission was to eat and drink on the bike like it was my job. I had 6 bottles of fluids on the ride. The first 2 I took with me had Infinit nutrition in them with 400cals/bottle. The other 4 bottles came from the aid stations and were Powerbar Perform. I picked up one bottle of water that I used to squirt on me when I felt hot. Took 3 lava salts, and ate Gatorade crews, 1 every 15 minutes. Was shooting for 400 cals/hour. We had a very sweet tailwind for much of the course. I held watts in check on the climbs,and really rolled on the flats and downhills. Funny how many people passed me on the climbs, stating “you can do it”, etc. I’d soon fly by them on the next flat or downhill and as the temps rose and we got deeper into the course, I repassed lots of riders who had passed me earlier. The crowd support along the course was incredible, as much as I have ever seen in a race. Bike time 2:39, avg 19.9, and 13th in my AG. Everything went pretty much according to plan, except I had spent almost no time on the tri bike in the past few weeks, training for mountain riding on my road bike. This left my lower back and shoulders very tight and uncomfortable towards the end of the bike. It became hard to stay in the aerobars and I was sitting up/standing on mist of the final climbs.
T2: Took my time, put on socks, hydrated, etc. Time 4:10
The Run: I had done a partial recon run of the course 2 weeks prior for the start out to the turnaround and back to Meridith College. I knew the first 3 miles were a slight uphill then into the hills on the greenway course. With the heat, I took it easy and deployed a 6/1 run/walk. Lots of encouragement from other runners when I’d do a planned 1 minute walk. I’d see them later in the run! At every aid station, it was powerbar perform, ice in the hat, down the top, cold sponges. Everything I could do to manage the heat. It was working as I never felt hot! Around mile 7 I began to feel hungry, so I had 2 gels, orange slice, coke, and some pretzels as I left aid stations. Damage control until I made it back to Meridith. Around mile 10, I decided to push up the pace a little and was passing people left and right. The heat was taking its toll out there. My race day plan was to be able to cover the last 3 miles of the run with my fastest mile splits of the whole run. I did that!! Miles 10-finish hurt, but went by relatively quick. I turned the last right turn down the finish stretch and it seemed to last forever. The crowd was insane and made it a real treat to run in. Run time-2:22, 17th in AG
The Finish: I crossed the line in 6:02 17th in AG, and spotted my good friend Robert Weber who was volunteering to hand out medals. He put the medal on me and I headed for a chair. After a few minutes recovery, I found friends, got pizza and a beer.
Recap: I was thinking a 6:00 finish would be good given the course, my last 2 weeks, and the heat. So, overall, I was pleased with the time. After 17 of these things with a 5:14 pr, there are a few thoughts I have regarding training, race day execution, etc. I usually try to capture what went well and what could be done better next time. One thing I have absolutely learned is this. I’ve seen some extremely fit people out there on the run struggling because of issues like nutrition, hydration, heat management, pacing, etc. Bottom line to me is you can have the best training plan, training sessions, etc. possible. But if you do not have a solid race day execution plan and then execute it, you will not have your best race day. I’d rather have a subpar training leading up to the day with a solid race day execution plan and nail it. Here’s what worked and what can be better next time:
Worked:
1. Heat management paid off. I never felt hot or impaired by the temps.
2. Hydration/fueling was perfect. The immodiums prevented any issues I’ve had on previous races.
3. Sunscreen-Bullfrog water proof worked to perfection and I had no burn at all.
4. Conservative early pacing made it possible to race the last part of the run vs walk it in.
5. Kept my head in the game about the wetsuit deal and focused on what I could control, letting go of what I couldn’t
To work on next time:
1. Spend time riding the tri bike in the 2 months leading up to the race-Duh!
2. Manage weight better. I raced this one at 185 versus my normal race weight of 172. New job and lots of business travel will do this to you.
3. Take the wetsuit even if they say no.
4. If its your “A” race, swim and run more. It wasn’t and I biked a lot and neglected the run and swim. That probably cost me an extra 10 minutes.
This was not my fastest 70.3, but it was one of the most fun ones due to being a home town race and the course was full of friends as competitors and volunteers. I’d call this one of the top 3 of all for race day execution. The race unfolded just as I had planned and I had no cramps, GI issues, etc. Love it when a plan comes together.
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