Calif 70.3 (25min PR with EN)
Calif 70.3
I completed this same event in 2008 (pre-EN) and was looking forward to see how my change in training (specifically bike training) would impact my results.
Pre-Race:
I arrived at transition at 5:30am, alone as I was missing my usual entourage of 3 - 4 friends who decided to sit this event out. I was a little concerned about the water temp (59 degrees). For one who rarely swims at all, gets nervous with swim starts and swims slow, the extra worry about possibly cold was making me very nervous. My wave start 7:37am, the 17th wave start, 4th from the last meant almost all the bikes would be out of T1 when I got out of the water. At 7:33am, myself and about 200 other 45-49 age men jumped into the water and swam out to the start line. Water was not bad at all. I thought to myself, "ok I can do this"....my first open water swim in over 9 months and during those last 9 month I have only been in a pool once...yes one time! The thing is I did not swim train at all. I started training for this event in the beginning of January and knew I would achieve the best ROI on training time as it relates to my race day overall time by concentrating on biking and running.
Swim:
45:07,,,,slow yes, but consistently slow and actually about 30 sec faster than in 2008. On the swim I concentrated on a relaxed stroke rate to keep my heart rate low. I exited the water feeling very well as I scanned the 75 bikes or so still in T1.
Bike:
2:49.....For the first 5 miles I road very comfortable to get the legs warmed up. After that I began to push up the watts (I race with a power meter) concentrating on steady effort, limiting power surges. Around mile 15, the course parallels the coast, straight and flat towards San Clemente. I pushed it here riding around 85% of my FTP averaging close to 24mph for the approx 10 mile stretch to San Clemente and began reeling in a lot of other athletes. I was consistently passing, never being passed. At approx mile 35, the first big climb back inside the Marine Base. I had an 11-28 cassette so I knew I had plenty of gearing for this and other hills. I settled into the climb staying seated in the saddle, watts steady between 90% - 95% of FTP. Two guys slowly come along side, both standing on the pedals, moaning and grinning as they gained an inch or two every few seconds. I'm still seated with watts at 260 watts and I know these two guys are easily spiking wattage 300 plus (and for what ??). Coach Rich gave this tip just recently and how appropriate: If passed on a hill, they are either stronger than you or stoopider than you. Nothing you can do about it; sit down and ride your race" Near the crest of this hill, the two guys are about 10 yards ahead of me. They crest first and I can see them back way off the effort, actually coasting a little. I maintain my steady effort up an over the crest and pass them like they are moving backwards within the first 20 yards of the descent. Within seconds I am going 30 - 35 mph and never see them again. I guess they were stoopider than I in this instance!
There were some strong crosswinds and headwinds for the next 7 - 10 miles, made it difficult to stay aero on the descents. I was getting blown around pretty good. As the course veered right heading back towards Oceanside those winds turned into a tailwind. Rather than trying to hang on like a lot of other athletes (most were sitting up not trying to be aero; obviously feeling some fatigue), I felt really strong, stayed aero and passed 43 athletes (yes...I counted as a mental game to reel people in) during the last 10 miles of the course.
Run:
1:57 .... pre-race strategy was to go easy the first 3 miles and then build up effort. Leaving T2 my stomach felt a little bloated and gassy. I drank water and tried to burp a lot at each aid station during those early miles. The middle six miles were my best, felt strong and effort was greater than first 3 miles. As I turned at the last turnaround (only 3 more mile!) I was starting to feel fatigue; drank some soda at the next aid station for some quick energy. It didn't sit too well and I did a quick, while still running, vomit off to the side. Actually felt much better after that (funny how that happens). As I am nearing the finish area, about 200 meters to go, I put the pedal down and run hard passing 4 others down the final stretch. Cross the line smiling as I hear my name over the speakers. Wow --- a 25 minute PR from my 2008 race. Happy I am.
The majority of that 25 minutes was an 18 minute better bike split. I was able to average 25 more watts and average 2mph more speed on the bike. I attribute my bike results to the last 10 weeks of high intensity intervals, with a few 2 - 2.5 hour weekend rides sprinkled in.
Here' a comparison of my two races:
SWIM: 2010 = 45:09 ; 2008 = 45:47
T1: 2010 = 5:16 ; 2008 = 8:15
BIKE: 2010 = 2:50 ; 2008 = 3:08
T2: 2010 = 3:28 ; 2008 = 4:35
RUN: 2010 = 1:57 ; 2008 = 1:58
OVERALL TIME: 2010 = 5:40 ; 2008 = 6:05
AVG WATTS: 2010 = 207 ; 2008 = 182
AVG SPEED: 2010 = 19.8mph ; 2008 = 17.9mph
AVG CADENCE: 2010 = 84 ; 2008 = 78
Would I like to swim 5 - 10 minutes faster,,,,sure, but training time is short and I have a bias towards ROI where I can achieve the best bang for the buck as it relates to overall race time. Not to worry though, I am committed to jumping into a pool with some frequency to work on technique. Work in progress.Top
I completed this same event in 2008 (pre-EN) and was looking forward to see how my change in training (specifically bike training) would impact my results.
Pre-Race:
I arrived at transition at 5:30am, alone as I was missing my usual entourage of 3 - 4 friends who decided to sit this event out. I was a little concerned about the water temp (59 degrees). For one who rarely swims at all, gets nervous with swim starts and swims slow, the extra worry about possibly cold was making me very nervous. My wave start 7:37am, the 17th wave start, 4th from the last meant almost all the bikes would be out of T1 when I got out of the water. At 7:33am, myself and about 200 other 45-49 age men jumped into the water and swam out to the start line. Water was not bad at all. I thought to myself, "ok I can do this"....my first open water swim in over 9 months and during those last 9 month I have only been in a pool once...yes one time! The thing is I did not swim train at all. I started training for this event in the beginning of January and knew I would achieve the best ROI on training time as it relates to my race day overall time by concentrating on biking and running.
Swim:
45:07,,,,slow yes, but consistently slow and actually about 30 sec faster than in 2008. On the swim I concentrated on a relaxed stroke rate to keep my heart rate low. I exited the water feeling very well as I scanned the 75 bikes or so still in T1.
Bike:
2:49.....For the first 5 miles I road very comfortable to get the legs warmed up. After that I began to push up the watts (I race with a power meter) concentrating on steady effort, limiting power surges. Around mile 15, the course parallels the coast, straight and flat towards San Clemente. I pushed it here riding around 85% of my FTP averaging close to 24mph for the approx 10 mile stretch to San Clemente and began reeling in a lot of other athletes. I was consistently passing, never being passed. At approx mile 35, the first big climb back inside the Marine Base. I had an 11-28 cassette so I knew I had plenty of gearing for this and other hills. I settled into the climb staying seated in the saddle, watts steady between 90% - 95% of FTP. Two guys slowly come along side, both standing on the pedals, moaning and grinning as they gained an inch or two every few seconds. I'm still seated with watts at 260 watts and I know these two guys are easily spiking wattage 300 plus (and for what ??). Coach Rich gave this tip just recently and how appropriate: If passed on a hill, they are either stronger than you or stoopider than you. Nothing you can do about it; sit down and ride your race" Near the crest of this hill, the two guys are about 10 yards ahead of me. They crest first and I can see them back way off the effort, actually coasting a little. I maintain my steady effort up an over the crest and pass them like they are moving backwards within the first 20 yards of the descent. Within seconds I am going 30 - 35 mph and never see them again. I guess they were stoopider than I in this instance!
There were some strong crosswinds and headwinds for the next 7 - 10 miles, made it difficult to stay aero on the descents. I was getting blown around pretty good. As the course veered right heading back towards Oceanside those winds turned into a tailwind. Rather than trying to hang on like a lot of other athletes (most were sitting up not trying to be aero; obviously feeling some fatigue), I felt really strong, stayed aero and passed 43 athletes (yes...I counted as a mental game to reel people in) during the last 10 miles of the course.Run:
1:57 .... pre-race strategy was to go easy the first 3 miles and then build up effort. Leaving T2 my stomach felt a little bloated and gassy. I drank water and tried to burp a lot at each aid station during those early miles. The middle six miles were my best, felt strong and effort was greater than first 3 miles. As I turned at the last turnaround (only 3 more mile!) I was starting to feel fatigue; drank some soda at the next aid station for some quick energy. It didn't sit too well and I did a quick, while still running, vomit off to the side. Actually felt much better after that (funny how that happens). As I am nearing the finish area, about 200 meters to go, I put the pedal down and run hard passing 4 others down the final stretch. Cross the line smiling as I hear my name over the speakers. Wow --- a 25 minute PR from my 2008 race. Happy I am.
The majority of that 25 minutes was an 18 minute better bike split. I was able to average 25 more watts and average 2mph more speed on the bike. I attribute my bike results to the last 10 weeks of high intensity intervals, with a few 2 - 2.5 hour weekend rides sprinkled in.
Here' a comparison of my two races:
SWIM: 2010 = 45:09 ; 2008 = 45:47
T1: 2010 = 5:16 ; 2008 = 8:15
BIKE: 2010 = 2:50 ; 2008 = 3:08
T2: 2010 = 3:28 ; 2008 = 4:35
RUN: 2010 = 1:57 ; 2008 = 1:58
OVERALL TIME: 2010 = 5:40 ; 2008 = 6:05
AVG WATTS: 2010 = 207 ; 2008 = 182
AVG SPEED: 2010 = 19.8mph ; 2008 = 17.9mph
AVG CADENCE: 2010 = 84 ; 2008 = 78
Would I like to swim 5 - 10 minutes faster,,,,sure, but training time is short and I have a bias towards ROI where I can achieve the best bang for the buck as it relates to overall race time. Not to worry though, I am committed to jumping into a pool with some frequency to work on technique. Work in progress.Top
0
Comments
Great job!
Great job, David. Well executed and great improvement.
Dave
Vince
Great Job! It looks like you executed like a ninja.
Congratulations Dave! I loved reading about your climb with the the stoopid dudes! Way to execute!
Hey Dave, great race! Be sure to share your RR with the old skoolers out your way and on the SB Tri Club
Of course there is a tail wind the year I pass on this race
Pat
Great Job David. The improvement over all aspects of the race definitely impressive.
Gordon