Kansas70.3--JamesGoodman
Kansas 70.3 June 9, 2013 Evaluation
AG M-65-69 Yes theres still a few left
Total time: 6:10:34 / 2nd /
Purpose goals are simple: Stay with ‘A’ plan with plan ‘B’ ready to go. Enjoy all races no matter how hard. Pre race tradition must haves: slice of choc cake with light dinner.
Enjoyed meeting with the EN group for lunch. Congrats to all finishers.
Race goals:
Swim: well positioned-no sprint start-smooth swim (short stroke for a while and shift to longer stroke depending chop etc) and stay close to buoys=done. Both transitions move quickly but purposefully - keep it simple.
Bike: be consistent and stay w/in ‘conservative’ power numbers (don’t have ego issues) /remember the run. Goal pace was 155-160 with 175-180 as hill pacers.
Run: Conservative start 10:00-10:20 WU then transcend to about 9:30-9:45.
Overall goal was 6 or less.
Usual race Bfast: 3 apple sauce, banana, 20 oz of “Endurance Gatorade”, ½ English muffin/pnut butter and honey and 4-5 spoonfuls of oatmeal.
Purpose goals met. Even getting a motel close to the venue- less stress etc. The Holiday Inn Express was 5-6 minutes from the park turn off with only one light, which never had any traffic. Overall weather was favorable being light winds, slightly overcast at start, winds starting W about 5 shifting NW increasing to 15 later in the day, starting temps about 70 then closer to 80+ later that day. The winds at previous races are usually south about 15+ after the start and hot. This year there was more rain and lower temps.
Race Results:
Swim: 42:11 (goal met)
Water temp was 71. Exactly the same time as Galveston70.3 in April. That is toooo strange. Position mid-front. Light chop heading south, made turns w/in 10 feet of buoys-no issues, return heading north. Only had a couple of minor dead stop swimmers right in front of me mid way. The finish ramp is narrow and the drop off have those wonderful rocks where if you don’t get exactly on the ramp.!!! No issues on transition. I have shoes on prior to line. I have learned it does not save me that much time getting to the line since our AG is usually closer to the mount line anyway and why risk missing or slipping. Even the pros have missed. Had a local pro talk with me about how she sometimes puts shoes on first depending on surface after mount line. That minute or so can be made up on the bike. The recent Youtube (Kansas 70.3 2013) shows one of the men pros slip/falls at dismount.
T1- FYI: they provided ongoing golf carts post race to retrieve your bag/wetsuit etc and return you back to event site.
Bike: 3:05 (goal pretty close, actually was wanting no more than 3:00)
WU=145-148
Goal=155-160
Cadence= 83-86
I dialed down the power numbers for the hills. I stayed within power goal WU range of 145-148 with a few minimum spike ups the first 30 minutes. Main goal range 155-160. You have a couple of quick hills at first then hit the dam and one more longer ascent before you get into that aero long range plan. The hills are not that bad less that one after the right turn heading back south where I avoided a potential real spike. The first place guy and I were sometimes within 15-20 yards of each other and played cat/mouse for a while. I raced him in previously and knew he was a better runner. Climbing occasionally got over 225-with short highs of 335 (did not want to stay there too long) but the hills were not that long.
T2 had no issues and changed into socks and grabbed a small water bottle and my Garmin for the run. I use the watch for the run only. Again, less things to look at and I don’t want to think too much at this time. I have the Ptap and that’s giving me the info I need. These small things make racing fun and utilize more specific strategy planning.
Nutrition went well with 4 gels, 1 full water, 4 bloks and 3 bottles of Perform. Temps and humidity were not that bad so sweat rate was lower.
FTP = 205. I used the less 10 to calculate race numbers.
TSS=195
IF=.79
Avg Watt=146
wking Watt=160
Kj=1641
HR strap not working but PE was w/in limits.
Avg speed: 18.10 (Ptap download showed avg 18.54)
Avg watts were a little lower which can be extrapolated from and taking advantage of free speed on descents and a few tail winds. Finished bike in first going into T2.
Run: 2:15 (goal not quite yet-goal was 2-2:05)
Watched pace every 1/2 mile or so and used PE as backup since the HR strap had no signal, but I was not glued to that watch. My HR strap either died or my heart was in an out of body experience. It never really got that high.
Nutrition water/Perform course drink each station and cola every other one or so and a water splash to the face and 1-2 gels. Used about 3+ cups of ice. Course inside the camping area had sprinklers and lots of volunteers and cheering groups-and also thanks to Damon Wagners parents in their travel trailer. First few of miles I had differences of 2:00 per mile split so I needed to adjust and focus on staying ‘steady’. Second phase was somewhat steady but was slower than desired. At about mile 5-6 I was loosing close to 1:45-2:00/mile on the leader. Last phase or the area of negative splits was not at the goal pace. At this point, I saw the first place guy being about 10+ minutes ahead. Unless he drops dead or falls I could not catch him. The run actually went well even though I’m not pleased with the time-- we’ll take it. I used my current race shoes but had visions of changing prior to race day in my light trainers, which I had with me. No back issues on the run. My wife had lots of pics which showed I had better running form this race. With that Im pleased. I had a shorter stride (rear mid foot to slight heel strike mode), bend from the ankles and a little straighter torso angle.
Result: I’m changing shoes for the next race. I don’t know if that was such an issue but need slightly more cushioning. I had a slight swelling of the inside of the right ankle.
Summary:
Glad to get 2nd place podium. Stayed with plan A. The older you get the more you use strategy in races and some things just happen. The first year or two of aging up helps in getting in that top 5 places so take advantage and push. I’ve been very fortunate to have Dr. Amada Stevens locally to help me on some coaching. Unfortunately, she is moving back to Boulder.
Good race organization. Not crazy about dual transitions. Future is to work on more negative split runs and continue working the bike and retest the bike numbers. I could work on swims but how much would I gain in time? I don’t think it would be a ROI for me. I may actually be a little too race conservative on the bike but Im very close. But insist that approach is better for me and a better set up for the run. It’s already in the mid 90’s here so it looks as though it isn’t leaving. Preparing to shift into summer mode which means I downshift some for this heat and do some sprints/Oly prior till September. Then we look at Branson under new ownership (Rev3) or maybe Redman, Texas 70.3 Austin, and/or Du Nationals in Tucson. I think everybody got that invite. During some of this mode we head to the mountains for some mtn biking and fly-fishing.
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