EagleMan 70.3 Race Report - Rob Mohr
EagleMan 70.3 – Race Report
Now a full month overdue, I’ll try to keep this one short and sweet.
Overall
Based on training and knowledge of the course (flat, but hot weather), I went into the race with the goal of finishing with a sub-5 hour time. My swimming and biking had improved slightly since last year’s NYCIM and my running (a strength) had gotten even better as a result of intensive training for a March half marathon. I projected a 38:00 swim, a 2:48:00 bike split and 1:24:00 run; so about a 4:56:00 with transitions factored in.
In the end, I’m happy to say that I accomplished my sub-5hr goal, but just barely with a 4:59:39. That said, I was somewhat disappointed that I finished outside the top 25 in my AG (29th in the 25-29AG). While a strong race for me overall, it probably could have been stronger. My bike numbers weren’t quite where I thought they’d be and my run likely could have been stronger as well. In the end, I’m happy with achieving my goal but also see much room for improvement going forward.
Training Lead up to Race
While getting stronger on the bike was a focus, I experienced a couple of challenges in my training. The first was a half marathon in March that I shed a good bit of weight for over a short period of time and took a week and half off from biking to focus on/recover from. The half marathon was an “A” race and, due to the new guaranteed entry qualifying time for the NYC Marathon, I was determined to get under 1:19:00. I did this, posting a 1:18:27, but it definitely came at a cost. The loss of 5 pounds leading up to the race, off a lean 138 frame, coupled with a week + off from the bike brought my power numbers down about 5%. This may have just been mental, but I still had its effects. (On the flipside, the race certainly helped develop my ability and confidence in running.)
The second challenge was my work schedule. Working pretty long hours forced me to stick to very efficient workouts done almost entirely on the trainer in my apartment (in live in NYC so getting rides in outside is a challenge and often a time-suck). Also, my job had me in Seoul, South Korea for the two weeks immediately prior to the race. In addition to the 14-hour flights and jetlag (I got back to the States on the Wednesday prior to the Sunday race) this kept me off the bike for a string of 10 straight training days. Not ideal, but, to its credit, the hotel I stayed in had a great pool and treadmill setup 
Race Day
All in all I felt well prepared and confident come race day. To be honest, the thought of 70.3 seemed like a breeze compared to any memory of last year’s 140.6! I also already had two 70.3s under my belt (each with finish times at about 5:50), both of which I had done comparatively little training for and had been a much more naïve racer (read as: not an EN member!). I was now ready to smoke my previous times on a pretty flat course and on a relatively mild-temperature day; low 80s when typically high 90s.
Swim
The swim was pretty crowded throughout and I had trouble getting into a groove as a result. In addition to the crowded water, I frequently found myself stopping to spot and also was a bit preoccupied by trying to fall into the slipstream of a strong swimmer. In the end, I finished almost exactly with what I had projected with a 38:09 time.
Bike
As set out on the bike I felt great. While starting to get hot, the weather was still fairly mild by EagleMan standards and the roads were as flat as advertised. (In addition to being flat, the roads were in pristine condition making for a smooth ride with very few flats on the course. After riding a bike in New York for majority of my life (and races), I was starting to consider moving to Maryland...) While my race plan was to average 148 watts, I stayed in the 135 for the first 30 minutes or so with numerous jumps up to 165 to pass people. After these 30 minutes, I moved up to ~148watts, which actually felt surprisingly difficult. I think this may have been somewhat mental as well since I was averaging 21mph, which is usually pretty fast for me. Though I didn’t make the conscious decision to scale back, I started riding closer and closer to the 135 average watts. Looking back on it, I think I was simply doing the math, saying OK, if I average 21 mph at a pretty low wattage I’ll get into T2 with a 2:40 split and be in great shape for the run so will definitely get in under 5 hours, which in previous years showed a top 15-20AG finish. One way or another, I wasn’t hitting my ~148 watt numbers and, while finishing in a time faster than what I had estimated (underestimated what my average speed would be), I had held back pretty significantly. In the end, I averaged 136 watts and finished in 2:45:46.
Run
Riding into transition, I felt hugely confident in coming in under 5 hours. I felt good, knew that I had taken in the necessary nutrition on the ride, and knew that I had the strength to run at least a 1:30:00 half (goal was 1:24:00). I exited transition at exactly 3:30:00 and started to chip away at a conservative 6:40 pace (Zone 2 + 20 seconds) with the plan to drop down to 6:20 per mi at the 3-mile marker. While the first 2 miles felt good, I quickly realized how hot it was on the course (no shade, bright sun and low 80s) and, more importantly, realized how difficult it was to get the nutrition I needed at the aid stations (very deluded Gatorade, crowded, volunteers not paying attention, no ice, etc.). While I didn’t have a Fuelbelt with fluid (immediately regretted not having this) or even gels, I did have lots of Salt Stick pills since I sweat a lot and lose lots of salt. I started taking a pill every couple of miles with as many Gatorade cups as I could grab. Still, I felt the heat more and more and didn’t have the strength to get down to the 6:20 pace. At the halfway mark, I had averaged a 6:45/mi. For the back half, I threw everything I had to stay under 7:00/mi. I crossed with just 21 seconds to spare, running a 1:29:39 half (6:50/mi) and a 4:59:39 race.
Transitions (T1 & T2)
T1 – (3:22) This was about a minute longer than it should have been. I felt somewhat winded coming out of the water, but most of the delay was just double checking my gear etc. The rain on Friday and Saturday made transition a mud pit too, which made it fairly difficult to get out of transition with the bike.
T2 – (2:45) Probably a minute longer than it should have been as well. My (over)confidence in my run caused me to lose some of the necessary urgency in going through transition. The mud and soggy grass didn’t help either.
TAKEAWAYS: While a good race and I achieved my goal, there is still room for improvement. I’ll look to:
· Swim: Focus more on yourself and less on others.
· Bike: Improve on bike in training and stick to planned wattage in race.
· Run: While clearly a strength, don’t give up time in other areas just because it can bail you out.
· Transitions: Need to have a set plan of action so that no time is lost here.
Comments
My mantra during races: pay attention to nutrition and pace; time and place will take care of themselves.
Al - Thanks for this advice. I'm going to use this strategy (displaying on Watts - or at least focusing on only Watts) for my race this Sunday. While only an Olympic Distance, it must still hold true since in the end, watts are all that matters. Thanks again.