Bob Hiller's Raleigh 70.3 Race Report
Race report - 2014 Raleigh 70.3 - Bob Hiller, 60-64 AG
I joined our EN Team last fall. I have been a triathlete since 1983, but that experience hasn't paid off in recent years. I found out about EN earlier in 2013 when I was running on A1A in Deerfield Beach, Fl. I was wearing the T-shirt of a well-known online coaching service. A man was running in the opposite direction and stopped me. He said he had used that service and said EN was better. I loaded some EN podcasts, was intrigued by what I heard, and decided to take the plunge.
SWIM
Fast forward. With the guidance of our coaches and a multitude of useful tips and inspiration from teammates in the forums and race reports, I found myself on the edge of Jordan Lake, about 56 miles from downtown Raleigh as the EN'er flies. The first amateur wave is men 55 & over. Being 63, this was the group I was invited to begin the day with. Some of us on the EN team have a particular sport background. Swimming is mine. Way back when, I swam and played water polo.
I did this race last year and brought dark goggles to the swim. It was overcast and when I warmed up, I couldn't see a thing when I lifted my head. So i didn't wear any goggles -- and it was great. Back in the day, we didn't practice with goggles when I was young because they hadn't been invented. I think goggles we're first sold and used in my sophomore year of college in 1970. This year I didn't even bring any to the lake.
We were wetsuit legal last year and this. Last year I was mid-33 in the swim. This year, low 33. No issues in the swim at all. Water temp was 75 and the sun was out. This year they had wetsuit strippers, which helped me. I tend to get leg cramps at the end of these swims, so letting them do the work saves a little time and pain. I was second out of the water in my AG this year. Since the pros were long gone, there was not much going on in T1 when I arrived ready to roll.
T1 was 3:05.
BIKE
My FTP is 248w. Based on Patrick's suggestion, my first 20' of a HIM should be 186w. Later, I learned I was 194w. Oops. My goal for the full bike was about 200w. Didn't quite happen.
The URL for my Raleigh race plan is:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/15569/Default.aspx
The second half of the Raleigh bike course seems like you are constantly going up fairly slowly and down fairly fast. Hard to keep your watts in check. At least for this power newbie. There was also a nagging wind in our faces, mostly in the second half. Overall I had NP of 186w, so I'm glad coach P convinced me to pull in the reins early. In 2013, I was 3:01 on the bike. Although my legs were not trashed after that bike, they weren't feeling so good either. This year I was 3:07, but I was eager to start the run. During the ride I ate 3 gels, took 3 salt tabs and drank the better part of 3 bottles of Gatorade &/or Perform. This was reasonably consistent with my training and my written pre race plan. I would estimate I was on my aero bars 85-90% of the time. I trained a lot in this position, but my low back got somewhat sore. I was well hydrated coming into the race and took 4 relieving leaks on the fly. My avg HR was 116. I'm usually pretty low.
T2 was 1:48.
RUN
Last year my legs, hips and low back were sore and somewhat whipped from the get-go on the run. I think I started out over 10'/mile. I could say it went downhill from there in 2013, but that would not be accurate. There was a lot of uphill. I walked the majority of the run last year and dropped from 2nd to 7th place in my AG.
They changed the course for 2014, which removed a lot of very difficult running, but this year's 2 loop course downtown was still no picnic. My Z2 is 8:35 so the plan was 9:05/mile or so for the first 3 miles. At 3.5 miles I was 31:24, 8:58/mile. I didn’t see the Mile 1 and 2 markers, so I wasn’t sure how fast I was running. My GPS watch was not cooperating. I felt pretty good and must admit I was happy to actually be passing some people on the run. I knew RnP's WKO's had gotten me well fit and ready for all aspects of this HIM. But I have some stenosis in my lumbar spine at L3-4 and L4-5. In my training I had kept the pain which radiates down the outside and front of my left thigh in check pretty well. At about mile 5 or so the path the pain takes got bad with each stride.
EN'ers Dave Campbell, Dusty Holcomb, Mariah Bridges, Rich and Anna Stanbaugh and some others teammates shouted encouragement which I appreciated. I seriously considered dropping out, but after more than 57 years of sports competitions (I was in my 1st swim meet at age 5), I kept the streak alive. But there was much walking, painful shuffling, stopping and internal strife. Not fun. I stopped at a paramedic station at the final turnaround and my blood pressure was fine. I sat for a while in their shade and they gave me a very cold bottle of water. Man, that was good. I felt better having rested a bit and decided to try running again at mile 10, and did. By mile 11, I got a more natural stride back and by the final 3 block, flat, encouraging spectator stretch, I felt like I could run another 100 yards easily! Run 2:43, 12:26/mi.
TAKE AWAYS
Final time 6:28. Initially, disheartening. But I don't plan to give up triathlon. After more than 30 years, it's part of who I am. Training and occasionally racing is what I enjoy. I plan to run some thoughts by RnP. I'm thinking maybe I should ease off the bike during the race. I.e., keep working on raising my FTP but use lower goal watts in my race plan. My watts per 14-mile segment were 193, 187, 185, 177.
Interestingly, walking and standing causes more of this thigh pain than running at a reasonable pace. I may leave out the periodic 30 steps in races although I practiced them in my long training runs without the pain. I may start using my stretch cords again to build up the muscles around my hips, core, quads, and hamstrings. That will only take 20’ 2-3 times per week.
I mention that I followed RnP's WKO's almost to a T. I think I only missed 2 short, low level runs from mid April to the week of the race. I was fit and well-rested.
Well, that's my race report. Next challenges: Mont Tremblant Training Camp with Coach P then IMMT. Gonna figure this out. Good luck and safe training and racing to all.
Comments
This was my first 70.3 last year. Would you say they did a good job at changing the run course?
Best of luck on your IMMT training!
Thanks, Emily. I'll take your advice to heart. Maybe I'll be more suited for IM than HIM, because a good plan requires you to hold back and settle into an easier pace. I definitely prefer this year's course to last. I'm in better shape this year, but steep hills in an HIM make for a tough day for all but the mountain goats. And I mean the actual animal.
Danielle, I still can't get over how well you did. Getting a PR was awesome, especially with the hills and wind on the bike and the hills and heat on the run.
The good thing about swimming in a lake without goggles is there's no chlorine to burn your eyes. It was tough to do homework after swim practice with your eyes constantly tearing.
See you at IMMT. Will your family be there? My wife and 2 of my 3 sons will make the trip. The older one with his girl friend. I bought them all EN t-shirts. I'll make sure they are on the lookout for you during the race to cheer you on.
Bob
Ha, I can imagine how that must have felt. I didn't swim competitively as a kid, but I do remember how my eyes felt after swimming at a neighbor's pool all summer long
Yes, the plan is to bring our boys to MT. The girls are a bit (too) high maintenance, so they will be staying back with grandma
I look forward to meeting your family and seeing them on the course!
Hey Bob,
Congrats and good on you for getting it done on a tough run. I agree that it looks like you went out a bit too hard on the bike, as that's a pretty big difference between your 1st 14mi segment and last. If you're looking at a 3-3:30 bike split, I think it's tough to ride too easy in the first ~20-30'. That is, ride at .70-.75 for that first 20-30', then dial in your HIM watts. That will set up the rest of your bike and pay off on the run as well.
"I don't plan to give up triathlon. After more than 30 years, it's part of who I am" - Love it.
It takes a lot of moxy to keep going when it is hot, uphill and everything hurts, congratulations on pushing through.
Good work & I will see you at IMMT!
Thanks, Rich. Looking forward to seeing you and Anna in MT, too. Are y'all doing the MT Camp?
Al, I'm a big fan after hearing you on Podcasts with Rich. I know you're an M.D. Can you check out my Macro I posted today? If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear. Thanks and be safe in your training and racing.