Alvin Hom's St George 70.3 Race Report
St George was the 4th 70.3 race that I've raced and the my first with EN. Overall I felt well prepared for the race. Previously I used some free plans off the internet and felt I needed to step up my game a bit when I started training at the beginning of the year.
Planning started 5 months out when I rented a house on VRBO.COM close the finish line in St George. I then recruited 6 athletes from my local tri club (Pasadena Triathlon Club) to stay with me. Turned out to be a great idea. Having a kitchen and fellow athletes to hang out with during the down time was a great bonus!
Thursday as a group we all took our bikes and rode the run course. Wow it was going to be a dosey of run! Lots of climbs in the heat. There was some talk of people wearing cooling towels during the run so that night I went to Dick's Sporting goods and picked one up.
Friday was admin day. We decided to drive the back half of the bike course, have lunch, then drop the bikes at T1 and do a test swim. It ended up being a long day and by the time we got back I missed the EN dinner. Pressed for time we had to find a place for dinner. Driving around aimlessly we decided on the Chuck-A-Rama buffet. I know what you are thinking that a buffet is not a good pre-race meal but it actually was great! I got to pick out the exact amount of protein and sides that I wanted (roast chicken, rice, some mashed potatoes and a roll) and it was fresh and cheap for only $12. I did endulge in a fresh baked cookie. 
Highly recommended if you are in St George. I wish they had a location near me! I would do it again in a heart beat for a pre-race meal. Got home and had a vodka and orange juice to settle down, watched some Sports Center and hit the sack. I actually got 5+ hours of sleep and woke up at 3:45 fresh and ready to go! That never happens! Some of the other guys had some smoothies going in the house. I had a smoothie and a Lara bar and we walked a block to the village and grabbed a shuttle to Sandhollow.
Here are some numbers from last 2 half iron distance races and my goal for this race. Note that at Wildflower I died on the run so I expected to do much better than that race. I didn't use any scientific numbers to come up with my goal especially the run. (I'm not sure how to do that) My best stand-alone Half Mary was 1:39 at a flat So Cal course (2015 Surf City Half).
| 2014 Wildflower | 2014 Vineman 70.3 | Goal Split for IMSG 70.3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swim | 46:42 | 45:34 | 46:00 |
| T1 | 10:39 | 04:35 | 6:00 |
| Bike | 3:27:15 | 2:47:28 | 3:00:00 |
| T2 | 04:19 | 04:10 | 4:00 |
| Run | 2:35:53 | 1:54:29 | 2:00:00 |
| Overall | 07:04:48 | 05:36:16 | 5:56:00 |
My swim is horrible and I anticipated a split time of 46:00. This was the time of my last race rehearsal swim in the pool. I've been putting a lot of time in the pool but haven't really been getting faster. I guess I need some professional help! IMSG was pretty well organized with a row of port-a-potties right next to the staging coral so I was able to be fully empty before my wave started. We all got in the water and only had a minute or two to dog paddle warm up. We anticipated a cold swim but the water wasn't bad at all. I had brought some stretch cords to do on land warm ups but couldn't really find a place to attach them so I left them un-used. That was a probably a mistake because when I started the swim it felt like I couldn't catch enough air to match my heartrate. I had to dog paddle at 300yds and 600yds to try and catch my breath and it wasn't until the first turn at the Red Bouy where my heart rate came down and I could start swimming comfortably. I think the dog paddle only cost me a few minutes but it was enough to make me feel like it was a FAIL.
Goal Split 46:00
St George 47:07
I was wobbly out of the water and it was a good trek up a ramp so I didn't run it as I wanted to make sure I didn't get any surprise cramps running up the ramp. The wetsuit strippers were great and had my suit off in seconds! They also had sunscreeners that were quick and made me feel well protected on the bike out.
Goal Split 6:00
St George 5:59
I'm new to the ftpzoneIF science. Being new to EN I've spent my time following the plan and not digging around all the nooks and crannies of the site to figure how to use these things to figure out a power planIF for the race. I got my Kickr at the beginning of the year and tested soley indoors on it. My last test session gave me a 249 FTP. Then I heard the chatter on EN about Kickr power accuracy so I started to doubt my numbers compared to my PowerTap. Coach Rich rides a hill near me that he tests on so I really need to get over there and test outdoors. So choosing an power plan for the course was a bit of a mystery to me so I just decided to go conservative and to planned to keep it at around 180-190 watts on the flats and around 220 on the steeper climbs.
The course was supposed to be tough and it didn't dissapoint. I felt good on the first half and equally strong on the second half of the bike and had to hold back knowing the tough run ahead. The Snow Canyon climb at mile 40-45 really didn't bother me and was over with rather quickly. The decents were beautifully long and I took advantage of them as best I could. I spun out a lot on the downhills, enough to make me want to try a "Semi-Compact" crank to give me a 52 big ring instead of the 50. I'm glad I had my tri bike as I felt like I was flying by people on road bikes. I basically stuck to my power plan and I think I executed my bike plan to perfection as my goal was a sub 3 hour split. I might have been able to give it more but I have to figure out the whole IF thing. I think I might have not drank enough as I only finished a combined 1 bottle between my down tube bottle and my BTA bottle. I did drink 1/4 to 1/3 of each of the Gatorade bottles they handed out at the aid stations but didn't keep any of them. I had 3 gels on the bike and maybe 6 salt caps. I felt like peeing by the 2nd aid station but held it because the potties were too far from the road. I forgot to pee at the 3rd aid station but still made it to T2 without bursting.
NP:175 watts IF: 0.72 (based on a 240 ftp) TSS:157 Avg Speed: 18.7mph
Goal Split 3:00:00
St George 2:58:45
T2 was uneventfull. I did fumble a bit to find my hat and get my Chilling Towel wet and around my neck. I started looking for an empty pottie on the way out and saw Gregg from my local club leaving one. I yelled hi and grabbed his pottie. I knew his wave started behind mine but knew he would pass me in the swim as he's a good swimmer. I had to pass him in the run and gap him by more than a few minutes to beat him but wasn't going to hold my breath. I took what seemed like a 5 minute pee and got started on the run.
Goal Split 04:00
St George 02:50
Things started getting tough right from the start. The climbing start really hit me as I tried to find my legs after the bike. I started feeling very crampy. I knew the feeling would go away after a mile or two but it was very slow going and had to walk about 10-15 yards at one point to keep from locking up. I downed a couple of salt tabs without water and kept plugging along slowly and by the first aid station the legs started coming back but never felt 100%. The climbing got tough on Red Hill Parkway and it was time to work. It was hot and the cooling towl was a big help but I was still walking through every aid stations getting hydration. I saw Coach Rich flying down the decent as I was climbing around mile 3 and yelled a greeting. I got kind of mad because it seemed like there was an aid station missing between 4 and 6 miles leading into Pioneer Park. Looking back at the run course map it is indeed missing! I passed Gregg around there and tried to keep plugging along. Things started to become a blur in the heat. The turn around seemed like it came rather quickly but I was deflated by the confusing loop-de-loops on the return leg. I saw Gabe Peterson on his return leg and wanted to be where he was. He looked like he was having a good race. (He did!) I really wanted to keep on track for a 2 hr half marathon but as I got to mile 10 it was apparent that it wasn't going to happen. I still tried to keep to the 3/7/3 strategy (3 miles easy/ 7 mile work/ 3 mile blitz) but I couldn't muster any thing resembling a burst the last 3 miles. I saw a guy in full fireman gear with air tank as well as some people just leaving to start the run during my last couple of miles and thought they wouldn't make it.
Goal Spit 2:00:00
St George 2:11:37
Here was my Happiness Meter:
< 6:00 - Esctatic
6:00-6:10 - Happy So So - depending on what others from my local club did.
6:10-6:20 - Meh Mild Dissappointment
> 6:20 - Devastated
Official Time: 6:06:18
Overall I wasn't too disappointed on my performance even though I didn't go sub 6 hours. It was pretty tough conditions with 90+ heat. I thinkI was conservative on the bike but not sure looking at my run numbers. I really have to confirm my outdoor FTP to my indoor FTP. Does having a bad run mean you went too hard on the bike? I'm might have been able to run harder but I didn't want to cramp the last couple of miles. I think I also drank too much a few of the aid stations and felt a bit slooshy. I guess I have a bit more to learn about race execution..... and get some swim lessons!
| Goal Split | 2015 IMSG | Diff | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swim | 46:00 | 47:07 | +1:07 |
| T1 | 6:00 | 05:59 | -0:01 |
| Bike | 3:00:00 | 2:58:45 | -1:15 |
| T2 | 4:00 | 02:50 | -1:10 |
| Run | 2:00:00 | 2:11:37 | +11:37 |
| Overall | 5:56:00 | 06:06:18 | +10:18 |
Comments
Coach Rich can chime in on overcooking the bike. I think I saw a post where he said St George was like a .7 IM. Perhaps he'll have specific guidance for the bike course.
My sense is that you didn't overcook the bike. It's just a bitch of a run course. I think MOPers like us, who hit the run course when it's 90F, should add 10-20 minutes to their expected run time, without specific St George prep. That is, doing a steady diet of hills every week and building heat acclimatization. I added 5 minutes to my expected time but it came out 10 minutes over what I think I could do on a flat course. I did hills every week but the weather has been pretty cool in SLC, which limited my options for running in 90F.
First of all - Never be disappointed with a race. You got out there, you put it on the line, and you executed. WIN. PERIOD. As soon as we cross the finish line, we all think about things we can improve, but never doubt you had a great race. Be proud.
- Learn to pee on the bike. There, I said it. Down hill, coast, lean to one side, let it rip. Have a bottle of water handy to douse yourself when you are done. There's 2 minutes off your time right there.
- You.Have.To.Test.Outdoors - Why pay for a fancy schmacy power meter if you don't use it? Absolutely no excuse and you are throwing away valuable data / execution tools if you don't have an accurate outdoor FTP. Get out there and get it done, train, and retest and rehearse (rehearse is most important) with a validated number instead of 'guessing'. Indoor is different than outdoor. You have the tools, now become the ninja. You don't have to be a scientific power expert, just learn the concepts of FTP, IF, and NP and everything else is gravy.
- Heat is heat and it'll drain you, especially 90+ degrees. Personally, given what I've read about that course and the heat, your run was clutch. Good job. Keep getting after it.
Congrats on a great race. Keep at it