Dave Nesom's 2015 Eagleman 70.3 RR

dnesom

My details: Male, 47 yo, 178 lbs, 229 FTP, 35 vDOT

Goals if perfect day: Swim 40:00    T1 3:00    Bike 2:50:00    T2 3:00    Run 2:10:00    OA 5:46:00

Actual Results:         Swim 55:47   T1 3:39     Bike 3:13:28   T2 6:17 Run 3:25:51       OA 7:45:02

Days leading in: Traveled by car starting Tuesday from north Georgia to Virginia to Pennsylvania to Delaware visiting old friends along the route and arrived in Cambridge late Friday night, with the race occurring on Sunday. Diet, nutrition and workouts were according to plan except no swim workout on Thursday or swim recon on Friday. I lost my voice (sore throat and laryngitis) on Friday and suffered from the same + a runny nose and mild diarrhea by end of day Saturday but didn’t feel this would stop me from racing (no respiratory problems). Took some Imodium to clear up the diarrhea on Saturday evening and also drank 32 oz of water before bed. Hit the bed and was asleep in seconds at about 8:45pm (tiring week and not much rest the night before.)

Race-day:

Pre race: Woke at 3am. Had a cup of coffee, 2 bananas, and 2 cups of unsweetened applesauce.  Showered to let the heat clear my stuffy head, sprayed down with sunscreen, drank a bottle of Gatorade, and took one more imodium (as a precaution) and headed out of the hotel at 4:10 am for the 45 minute drive to the race venue. I drank 500ml of water and a cup of coffee on the way. I arrived in transition at 5:20am and got set-up.  Hit the porta-potty twice before 6:45 and took a twenty minute easy practice swim at about 7:15. Ate a half a clif bar and drank a cup of water on my way over for my 7:45 wave start.

Swim:  55:47

Water at the swim start and for first 100 yards was very shallow 2.5-3 feet; temp was not wetsuit legal so I was wearing a swim skin over my EN kit. I lined up at the back of the wave and inside along the buoys but gave a slow 15 count after the gun to let the chaos get out ahead of me. There was some contact in the early part of the swim but nothing that distracted too much. First half of swim was uneventful; water temp was great, not too choppy and only mild contact at turns. At about the midpoint I began to overtake slower swimmers from the wave ahead and the faster swimmers from the wave behind began to overtake me, so things got a lot more crowded, I kept a straight line between buoys though and was not hindered too much. After the last turn I got a cramp in my left foot and calf which I had to repeatedly shake out for the remainder of the swim. The last hundred yards of the swim was shallow enough to run so I used that to stretch out the cramped foot and calf. In spite of the cramping I was very happy with the swim performance, no nervousness or panic and swam strong the whole way through even though it is not reflected in the time.

T1: 3:39

Sprayed down again with sunscreen, put on my shoes, helmet, glasses and loaded pockets. Drank 8 oz of Gatorade endurance, a powergel.  I took a lick of base salt because of the cramping hoping I could remedy it going forward.

Bike: 3:13:28

First 20 miles on bike were seamless and according to plan. Steadily maintained between 185-195 watts on the super-flat course. At about mile twenty I accidentally hit the lap button on my Garmin which pushed it into T2 mode and spent a few minutes distracted by getting that reset (Discovered later that all my Garmin files are useless—multisport mode stinks, never again). I was able to get power readings throughout the bike course however. At about mile 23 I started feeling my left foot cramp again but I rode through it. Over the entirety of the course I sipped Gatorade Endurance every few miles (total of 108 ozs) and had 2 tangerine power gels at the 1:15 and 2:30 marks of the bike leg (about 900 calories and 3000mg of sodium distributed evenly over 3 hours). At mile 28 the pain from the cramping in my foot and calf was so bad that I had to dismount the bike, remove my shoe and stretch and walk it off.  I took a couple more licks of base salt after I got back on the bike. This happened again at mile 45 and  I also hit the porta-potty on this second stop and peed alot. I was 30 minutes off my goal time for the bike leg and pretty disappointed and worried entering T2, but still hopeful I could rally for the run.

T2: 6:17

Decided to take my time and regroup for a moment in T2. Removed Helmet, glasses, shoes and sprayed down again with sunscreen. Donned hat and glasses, took another gel, lick of base salt and spent a moment massaging the cramped feet and calves. When I straightened my feet to put on my shoes both calves seized up. I managed to get straightened out and the shoes on, stretched a bit and ran out at a super slow pace.

Run: 3:25:51

At this point I was mentally trying to recover and decide on a plan to finish and get rid of the cramping in my calves (foot cramps were better on the run). For the first 3 miles I ran/walked about 12:30 min miles (2 minutes slower than Z1) and took 8 oz of Gatorade Endurance (and ice in ziploc and sponges) at the first 3 aid stations. I could feel my calves threatening to cramp and then noted my hands were pretty swollen (presumably too much sodium?) Switched to 8 oz of water at the next 3 aid stations and no more sodium, but had two banana halves between mile 4 and 6. Spectators were very kindly and out with hoses to spray the runners. I got soaked down pretty well in the first few miles and my shoes and socks were completely soaked through. I found out that my Brooks GTS 15s with over 150 miles on them are a bad choice when wet. It sounded like I had a couple of rubber ducks taped to my feet and I also started to feel blistering around mile 5 due to wet shoes and socks. At the turn around I had resigned myself to finishing even if I had to crawl but time no longer mattered. Opted to walk as fast as I could the remainder (15ish minute miles,) stayed with water (and ice and sponges) at remaining aid stations and walked. Legs went into spasms every time I ran for more than a few minutes. I peed at a porta-potty at about mile 8. At the finish line I ran across and faked it for the photo and walked to the transitions area.

Post Race:

Legs seized up while removing shoes, I recovered, got on flip flops and walked with my bike and gear to get something to eat and head back to the hotel. Started to feel a bit of nausea  so just got a bottle of water and sat for a while in the shade. About an hour post finish I was trying to get up and my calves were seizing so badly I could not overcome it.  Fortunately, some of my kind EN brethren went and got the medical staff for me and looked after my gear. I was wheeled to the medical tent and got 2 liters of IV fluids and I was able to get going under my own power but still with mild cramping. Made it back to the hotel and soaked my legs in the bath tub for an hour and ate.

Conclusions:

• Maybe I’m just not built for the heat? Three applications of 50 SPF sunscreen and I still got a severe sunburn on my shoulders. Highest SPF possible next time for an exposed race course.
• Given that I peed on both the run and bike, it is a mystery to me how I could have needed 2 liters of IV fluids post race. Also, given I was swollen from so much sodium I was obviously holding a bunch of water? Could the Imodium have been the culprit?
• Test shoes in wet conditions in future!!! Even if I hadn’t had the cramping the blisters would have stopped me in my tracks.
• Remember that swim: It felt great, no nervousness, smooth and steady—keep that confidence next time around. Massive difference from previous efforts
• Don’t use Garmin multisport mode. I just need basic feedback during the bike and run which is easier to do using modes I’m already accustomed to. Multisport mode doesn’t render correctly on Strava either—irritating.
• I don’t know what I should change about it but take a much closer look at nutrition next time around. I thought I executed this near perfectly but the results obviously don’t support this.
• Yay! I finished my first 70.3 and sandbagged enough to make my next race a sure PR 

[Deleted User]

Dave, great meeting you at the Expo, even though you could barely talk:-) Sorry your day was not what you had hoped, but congratulations on toughing it out on a hot day! I'll be anxious to hear what people think about your cramping and hydration/sodium issues. I'm at a loss because it sounds like you took in plenty of gatorade and sodium... Yes, the people were nice to have their sprinklers going, but I avoided the puddles so my shoes would not get soaked! It sounds like you felt like you had a good swim, but "not reflected in the time." Yep - every single person I talked to said the same thing. Sorry about your Garmin. Mine worked great and I got every split. Turby calls me "buttons" because I am always screwing up the gadgets, but I was lucky on race day:-) You will have a huge PR on your next 70.3! Be proud of a super effort!!

Al Truscott

"Yay! I finished my first 70.3 and sandbagged enough to make my next race a sure PR"

Speaking of that next race - you might consider two things:

• Start off at a much lower power level on the bike - say 0.72-3 IF for the first 30-45 minutes or so, and then staying below 0.77 the rest of the way. As you learn more about pacing, you can work your way up. If you were @ 185-195 right out of the chute with your FTP, that's an IF of 0.82, which is the effort level someone going 2:30 would be putting in during the main portion of their bike. For a 3 hour rider (realistically, that's you until you prove otherwise on race day), your IF should be in the range of 0.75-0.77.
• Pick a race where heat will be a non-factor, so you can concentrate on hitting your power targets, and then running, without worrying so much about your hydration and sodium status. One thing at a time. 

Turby Wright

Great meeting you Dave! Congrats on making it through a tough day and finishing. In the end that's all that matters. Every race is a huge learning experience and I think that's what makes our sport so much fun. Well done!!

Peter Greagg

Regarding blisters on your feet, I cover the insides of my socks with petroleum jelly so that on the run my feet are protected from moisture as well as being lubricated — equals no blisters.

drjohnson08

Dave, just getting across the line in the heat you dealt with is a huge win, congratulations on the finish! What a tough day for your first half. It's really tough to have time goals on a hot day. We really need to slow down from start to finish in order to be strong at the end. It sounds like you were sick or getting sick going into this race. Do not discount that affecting your race performance, cramping, and the need for IV fluids at the end of the race. Being sick going into a race really makes it tough to say you need more/less fluids, more/less salt, should go at a higher/lower IF/pace. There's no way to determine how that sickness variable affected you but I'm certain it did. Don't dwell on this performance. Take the lessons learned and move on to the next race. Hopefully you will be fully healthy and it will be a big PR! It's been great following you on Strava, keep up the hard work.

dnesom

Thanks ALL for the encouraging words. I had been pretty disheartened after all the work I had put in to have such a mediocre performance. I battled with the heat during my training efforts intentionally and while it slowed me down a lot I had nary a cramp or other serious issue except fatigue from the heat (not slowing down enough). I can only look back on this one as an anomaly and as Doug notes as well possibly due to ill health going in. This has not been my year for planning--my first local 70.3 back in April was canceled due to inclement weather, this one didn't go so well and I had also planned originally for Princeton which got cancelled... I'm now focusing on a local Oly in September as my new A race.

At least I have one 70.3 under my belt and the swim which was my biggest worry, I executed very well by my estimation. I have a lot of running events coming up the remainder of this year so hoping to get some speed gains there and also focus on improving on the bike along the way. Next year I will shoot for an early spring HIM and do my first IM in the fall. I'm tainted on the heat for now. and my lawn, my honey-do list, and my kids beckon me in the spring and summer months anyway.

I appreciate all the good advice and mojo from the team though (what an awesome group of people you are). I doubt I would have gotten through the bike leg at EagleMan without the training and preparation I was able to achieve following the EN plan and resources. Now, with some of my own hard won experience, I'm looking forward to the next one and being better prepared. Looking forward also to the EN out season after my Thanksgiving half mary is done to get some fitness and speed gains...

@Al, Both of your points: reduce power for first part of bike, and pick a race where heat won't be a factor are well received. A hard lesson, but will definitely be taking both of those to heart in my next efforts!

@Peter, Never would have thought of petroleum jelly... Great idea!

Thanks All,

Dave