IM70.3 Syracuse Race Report-Danielle Santucci
IM70.3 Syracuse Race Report
For some reason I do not like to do the same race over. I don't know why, I just don't. That said, while all of my local tri friends were going back to Raleigh or Eagleman I stepped out of the box and signed up for Syracuse. There were a few reasons I chose Syracuse, but the tipping point was that I had heard it was one of the most difficult 70.3 courses out there. My curiosity wanted to know why this was so and could I handle it.
Going into the race I felt great. An early season, 1st place AG win, at a local (hilly) 70.3 race gave me loads of confidence going into Syracuse. Swimming and running were strong and I felt the most confident on the bike I've ever felt. Aside from a ridiculous sprained pinkie toe I got earlier in the week, all systems were ready to go. It was game time again and I was ready to play.
Drove up from Virginia on Friday after a quick 3 1/2 mile run around the neighborhood. Took a little longer to get there than I had expected but it was all good considering I was coming in on Friday rather than Saturday. I would have all day Saturday to check in, rack bike, swim recon, etc. Stayed at The Residence Inn Syracuse (great place) which was located about 20 min north of Jamesville Beach.
Saturday: Got to the beach around 10:30am. Plan was to check in, grab a few goodies from the IM store, attend the 12 o'clock athlete briefing, check in my bike, swim recon and then get the heck out of there. Check, check, check. Wore my full sleeve wetsuit for the swim recon and Im glad I did because I realized during the swim I was getting really warm quickly. Made the quick adjustment to my plan and opted to swim on Sunday with my sleeveless (so glad I brought both!). Water temps were ~68 which was warmer than I expected. Left the beach and headed back to the hotel to chill and get my stuff organized for Sunday. Bike: Helmet, Shoes, Socks, Sunglasses, bento of Salt Tabs and cut up Bonk Breaker, 1 bottle (aero) of tailored Infinit pre mix (3 scoops), 1 bottle Gu Roctane (2 scoops). Run: Hokas, extra socks, flask of "me-Infinit" (condensed to a gel), EN Visor, race belt and bib. Morning: sleeveless wetsuit, cap, clear goggles, GU, bottle of water with NUUN, sunscreen, Chamois Buttr. Made dinner of grilled chicken (cut up) with brown rice, carrots/peas and splashed with Braggs. 2 cookies and a glass of milk and off to bed at 9pm.
RACE MORNING:
Woke up at 3:30 (alarm was set for 4am). Downed my usual race morning 280 cal protein shake with a cup of black coffee. Grabbed all my stuff and was out the door and in my car just before 5am. I had heard that the traffic was pretty bad and the earlier I got there the better. Because my swim wave didn't go off until 8:04am (I know crazy, right?) I wasn't in too much of a rush to get into transition, my scrambling was to get a decent parking spot. Once parked around 5:30am, I sat in my car had 1/2 a bagel with almond butter. At this point the weather was overcast with a slight drizzle. It had clearly rained the night before because the field parking lot was fairly wet. Around 6am I headed to transition to get my area set. Not even 5 minutes in Transition the skies opened and complete downpour. Thankfully I brought a kitchen garbage bag (just in case) and was able to drape it over my small transition spot. This is where I am so grateful for being a minimalist. The amount of stuff some people have in their transition areas always has me scratching my head in wonder. As good of an idea it was to cover my stuff it was a moot point, it all ended up being wet eventually. Nothing I could do and we were all in the same boat…c'est la vie. After pumping the tires, setting the bottles and bento and calibrating the PM I exited transition and walked to the swim start. I was wet and pretty chilly at this point. Put the wetsuit on to the waist to keep my legs at least warm. Still had over an hour to go until my swim wave went off. Sat down, chatted with a few fellow Eners, had a banana and waited. Rain died down and the sun actually came out for a good 20 minutes before the overcast moved back in. Radar was showing that we were in the clear for a few hours before another line of storms were going to move in around 11:30am. This was good news for me, because my plan was to be off the bike by that time. Rain + biking equals no good for me so you can imagine how much praying I was doing to hold back the rain 
. Finally it was time to line up with all of the other purple swim cap females. Show Time!
SWIM: Goal was under 35:00 Actual: :34:38
I'm no longer shy about getting right up in that front line. Yeah, people swim over me, but not many and I much prefer that than swimming over people. Positioned myself in front and three people in from the the buoy line. Water was chilly and dark, but the sighting buoys were awesome. Being the last wave off there were many swimmers in earlier waves we caught and had to swim through. Most of the ones I swam through were the back and breast strokers. I really wish WTC would make the waves based on time instead of age. I think all of our swim splits would be so much better and the swim would be a lot more pleasant. A little bit of contact here and there but nothing bad at all. Really nice swim.
T1: Goal under 3:00 Actual: 4:40 (why 4:40, bc there was a 1/4 mile parking lot run from the Swim Out to my bike…I know this for sure because I measured it on Saturday). Helmet on, socks (not wet yet-thanks to Ziploc!), shoes, glasses, go.
BIKE: Goal: ~2:40 Actual: 2:51:21
I was warned to hold back the first 15 miles and those who warned me were not kidding. Very hilly and very congested. I really focused on riding my numbers and keeping my heart rate as low as possible and not spiking it. I was expecting to be passed by a lot of people, but I think given the swim waves ahead of us we were in line to do the passing. Saw a lot of folks walking their bikes up the hills and many just struggling to not tip over. Given this, it was really important that I stayed alert because there were a few times I was passing on a hill and almost had a few guys crash into me. Once the hill climbing was over the rest of the bike course was pretty fast. Most of the roads were beat up, but WTC did a good job of marking the big potholes. I was drinking on the 10", eating on the 30" and taking Salt Tabs on the 60". About mile 35, I hit an unmarked pothole and my GU Roctane Bottle went flying. Crap, on to plan B. Next aid station I grabbed a Gatorade Endurance bottle and went with that. Not tasty at all (blech) but did the trick and got me to T2. About 10 miles left on the bike and here comes the rain! Luckily those last 10ish miles were in a tree covered area and on a really well paved road. Rain was felt but it wasn't dangerous. My Ride Data:
142 W
Avg Power
485 W
Max Power
169 W
Max Avg Power (20 min)
156 W
Normalized Power® (NP®
0.820
Intensity Factor® (IF®
191.0
Training Stress Score®
1,453 kJ
Work
Numbers were really low for me. My NP should have been more like 160-165 for a HIM, not sure what I did or didn't do. I pushed the bike as I would typically for a HIM, so Im not sure if my numbers were lower due to all the weaving in and out.
T2: Goal: <2:00 Actual 2:25</p>
Hokas, EN Visor, flask of Infinit, go.
RUN: GOAL: <1:50 Actual: 2:08:36</p>
The most discouraging part of the day for me. Ive raced many times before and have never felt like Ive wanted to stop, sit on the curb and hand over my chip…until this race. The first mile was basically a trail run uphill in a wet swampy field. Hokas wet are like running with heavy soggy sponges on your feet. Every step I took I sank into or slipped in the mud. It wasn't raining anymore but it felt really sticky and warm (I think the weather app I have said it was 90% humidity). What I was about to find out was the trail run was a walk in the park compared to the hill (s) I was about to face around mile 2.5. When I came up on it the first time a lot of people were walking. I tried my best to keep a steady jog, but my HR was skyrocketing. I walked because had I not, I don't think I would have made it through the second loop. Once I got to the top, I took a deep breath and said "ok, its time to run again. You will hit the turn around soon and you can make up the time on the descent". Guess what….another climb to the turn around. At that point I started to question whether or not I was going to even finish this loop let alone the race. Got to the top and turned around. On the way back to the turnaround point this is where I was really down. My head was telling me to quit but my body was saying you aren't hurting anywhere and my lungs and heart were saying if you do another loop you will keel over. Got to the turnaround and told myself that if I quit what kind of an example would that be to my kids. They don't care if I come in first or last, if I run or walk, if I had a good day or a bad day….they just care that I set out to do something hard and that I finish. Well, that is exactly what I was going to do. The second loop was a death march. I walked some, I ran some, I sprinted some. I did whatever I could to get up and down those hills as fast as my body could. I drank a lot of coke, I had ice in my shirt and in my hands, I tuned out my soggy heavy shoes. But with all of this, the thing that got me to the finish line on Sunday was telling my head to shut up and keep moving forward. The saying is so true…mind over body. Sunday was my mind over body experience. The very unpretty run details:
|
Split |
Time |
Distance |
Avg Pace |
|
1 |
9:08.7 |
1.00 |
9:09 |
|
2 |
8:55.5 |
1.00 |
8:55 |
|
3 |
10:25 |
1.00 |
10:25 |
|
4 |
9:57.0 |
1.00 |
9:57 |
|
5 |
9:35.3 |
1.00 |
9:35 |
|
6 |
9:29.0 |
1.00 |
9:29 |
|
7 |
9:44.5 |
1.00 |
9:44 |
|
8 |
10:53 |
1.00 |
10:53 |
|
9 |
9:33.1 |
1.00 |
9:33 |
|
10 |
12:15 |
1.00 |
12:15 |
|
11 |
8:21.5 |
1.00 |
8:22 |
|
12 |
9:58.5 |
1.00 |
9:58 |
|
13 |
9:45.0 |
1.00 |
9:45 |
|
14 |
|||
Run Nutrition: flask of Infinit. Water and a swig of flask every aid station. Back half, alternating coke and water each aid station. Salt tab every 45'
Some final thoughts: I'm not one to want to do a race again, but this one I do and will. Why? I feel like this race is challenging but doable. I had a tough day on Sunday, but many people out there had a great day. I want a great day here and I think knowing the course the way I know it now, I can have a great day too. With my sights on Lake Placid in 2016, I believe IM70.3 Syracuse is the perfect race to do to prepare me for it.
Comments
I'm glad we had a chance to meet before the swim start and thanks so much for the encouragement on the run. Apologies if I ignored you on the 2nd loop -- I was in a "dark place" trying to keeping moving forward. I hope to make it back to Syracuse at some point in the future, so maybe I'll see you next year!
You clearly put in some some solid training which was validated early in the season. You will rock IMKY and no doubt extract your revenge on Syracuse in 2016.
I wouldn't let anything about this race tint your feelings about the rest of the season. That run course is just hard! I think one can do well on this course, but it is a bit of a "trick shot" in my estimation. The things you do to get the best score here don't necessarily apply elsewhere. Chock up the experience, hang the medal and move forwaard! :-)
I like your description of the mind/body on the run , all in all your run looks pretty steady despite the battle that was going on...Onward to IMKY!
My body tells me no
But I won't quit
Cause I want more
Good report and SOLID performance from my view. I have been exactly where you described the run and it is tough/frustrating. Moving forward in the middle of those conditions and during that conversation taking place between your brain and your legs shows BIG character and veteran will. 90% humidity will do that to most mortals if the temps are high enough.
Great work out there!
SS