NOLA Race Report
Quick background: this is my second triathlon (I have now done 2 70.3s) and this is my first as an ENer...so, go easy on me! Also, I want to say thanks to RnP because I was relaxed and focused prior to the race (as opposed to being completely stressed out in last year's race (pre-EN)) because of all of the preparation and the race execution stuff inside the Haus!
Here we go:
The morning started out calm, just a slight breeze with clear to partly cloudy skies. The temperature was awesome (mid-60s) and it looked like the day was going to be picture perfect. Across the course of the morning, started about 1/3 of the way through the swim waves, the wind picked up and became steady around 10-15mph (that’s a guess) and stayed steady…right up until I got on the run and then I don’t know what happened to it!
My nutrition was perfect up to the minute the race started; I was ready to attack the course and felt good about hitting my goal of going under 5:00:00.
Swim: (0:37:32)
The elites went off on time and set a good pace; although their swim was different than mine! I was in wave 15 or 16 (can’t remember the exact number) and by the time I went off there were 3 foot swells blowing in from the lake. We swam out for a short distance, straight into the swells, then we swam across the swells for about 600m…this was rough and this was the point where I started thinking, “What the heck, why can’t I have ONE nice swim in my triathlon career!” I hopped back ‘in my box’ and started focusing on what I COULD control, which was my stroke count, my breathing, my mind-game, and my execution. The biggest challenge the swim presented was staying in the vicinity of the buoys because the wind and current was pushing us all of over the course. In the end, I think I swam about 1.5 miles.
Take-away: I need to swim open water more, especially in sub-ideal conditions. My feeling is that this can’t be learned in a pool.
T1: (3:57)
This wasn’t ideal…nothing would cooperate. I need to focus on having everything attached to the bike (referring to my nutrition mostly) so I don’t have to bother with stuffing my top and fidgeting with everything before I hop on…this is the take-away as well!
Bike: (2:39:53 – avg HR = 142, which is low in my z3) (21 mph average)
This was 4’ behind my goal time. I got out on the bike, of course, my HR was sky-rocketing and my legs were saying “GO” after that swim. BUT, I could hear the ‘head trash’ starting so I hopped back into ‘the box’ and got my HR down to the high z2/low z3 range and kept it there for about 30 minutes before allowing it to creep into the low z3 range for the duration. I think I executed the bike leg pretty well, but, the wind was strong against us heading out and it stayed steady in our faces for about 20 miles. Late in the ride, I started feeling some soreness high in my hamstrings near my glutes and so I became hesitant to push myself any as I didn’t know how this pain might impact my run. Also, my water bottle cage fell off the back of my bike at mile 30, which wasn’t cool at all. I am glad I have the aero bottle on front because I would have been in trouble! Otherwise, it was an uneventful and really kind of boring ride…which was kind of nice and relaxing.
Take away: I need to invest in either purchasing or renting some race wheels…and I AM going to ditch HR in favor of a power meter for racing and training immediately.
T2: (2:05)
I think this went alright, though, I think I could probably cut off about 15-20 seconds if I simply practiced it a little better. I realize 2:05 isn’t smoking, but, if you saw how far I had to run in transition, you would agree! I think my run was more like 13.5 if you factor in T2 to the equation!
Run: (1:38:07 – 7:29/mile)
This is the part of the race that I executed perfectly. I started with 3 miles at 8:00/mile (which I hovered around and almost got perfect with the exception of the first .5-.8 of a mile). Then, I moved to about 7:30 a mile and held this all the way out to mile 9. At this point, I let the reigns go and I was just HOPING that I would have it in me to push to the end. I logged sub 7s for the last 3-4 miles and came into the finish shoot passing 3-4 people in my age group and near a sprint pace. I executed a PERFECT run in my mind. I was so fired up when I crossed the finish line because I knew I nailed the run, and I actually was under the impression that I had beaten my goal time of 5:00:00 by about 30 seconds.
Take away: Executing the run makes you feel like a champion. If you stay in your box for the first 66-67 miles, the last 3-4 miles of the race are freakin’ awesome (although still very painful!).
Overall rank off bike: 415 / Overall rank after run: 105 – LOL!
Final Time: 5:01:32
Final thoughts: I feel pretty good overall about this race, although I AM a little disappointed about my finish time. I haven’t mentioned nutrition on purpose because my nutrition plan was perfect and I executed it to perfection, so, I felt strong on this. It was simple, 2 shots of Hammer Gel, 4 scaps, and 24 ounces of water every hour on the bike; 1 shot of gel before mile 4 of the run and one at mile 10 with scaps and water along the way ‘by feel’.
I know I can dial in a sub 4:45 if I can work on these few things for next time:
- Open water swimming – especially sighting and swimming strong in tough conditions.
- I need to get race wheels and a powermeter (the latter first) and do another 2-3 weekends of long rides prior to the next 70.3.
- T1 has to be more dialed in…less fidgeting around and more getting the heck out of there!
- I think I can execute splits of 30 / 2:27-30 / 1:33-34 if I have decent conditions.
Comments
Wow. Great job Stephen. You have a lot of takeaways that I can use. I hear ya on those swells. I was just overwhelmed at first but it soon became a game for me. Great job!!!!
Totally agree that you can't recreate bad OWS conditions in the pool. Breathing on both sides certainly helps in choppy waters. Mainly staying in your box and focusing on good form (just like you did) is the way to go.
Great job Stephen, esp the run. I totally missed my fluid/electrolytes and melted . Race report on the way.
Thanks for the kind words guys...it was a fun race altogether!
Well done! FWIW I bet that a season of training with power will make a huge difference.
Awesome result for your second Tri - great execution! I agree that you easily have sub 4:45 in you (and probably even 4:30) if you did 5 hrs flat in tough conditions in only your second tri. Go for it!