Brian's Racine 70.3 Report
So this was my first HIM distance race. I have raced short course for a few years and wanted to step it up this year. I had set a mental goal of 05:30:00.
FRIDAY
We arrived in Racine mid-afternoon and checked into the hotel. I wanted to get a recon swim in on Friday so I could just relax Saturday. We drove down to IM Village and I got my numbers and SWAG bag. That only took 10-15 minutes. Went back to the truck, put on the wetsuit and hit the lake. The course wasn't marked yet so I asked a lifeguard for a general idea of the line and swam about 15 minutes to lock in landmarks for sighting.
SATURDAY
Mandatory bike check-in noon to 5. We headed down to transition around 1:00pm as was able to get the bike racked in 15 minutes. Looking over at the race check in, the line looked like general admission to a Rolling Stones concert. NOTE TO SELF - Always check in on the first day so you don't waste your Saturday standing in line. Headed back to the hotel for a laid back day of hydrating and carb loading. Pounded a OSMO Preload Hydration around 8:00pm and went to bed.
SUNDAY
Woke up at 2:00am and pounded (2) Naked Juice Green Machines, laid back down for an hour. Got up, had a STRONG cup of joe and showered. Ate a banana around 4:00am lubed up and hit the road. Sipped Infinit drink on the way to race. Dialed in my transition area, had some BASE salt and a swig of Infinit and headed down to the swim start.
SWIM (00:36:20)
Water was 60.6F race morning. Coming from a short course background, I get nervous for calf cramps when I go hard over 1,200 yards without a wetsuit. Having the wetsuit put my mind at ease. Water was calm and I was relaxed. I lined up on the inside in the towards the back of my wave so I wouldn't be in a mosh pit to start the morning. After the first turn, I made my way into the middle of the wave. We were cruising at a "fast jog" pace. I would speed up only to find feet, so stayed in the middle of the pack the entire swim.
T1 was about 4 minutes
BIKE (02:39:01)
Nutrition: 1 X-Lab TT filled with concentrated Infinit, 1 X-Lab Torpedo filled with water on the bars, BASE salt and 3 GU Roctane gels in my trisuit
I put my EN training into play and went about 80% for the first 10 miles (cruising around 20mph @ 200w). During this time I was passed 3-4 times by 20 somethings yelling "on your left". After 10 miles I went RP for the remainder. I had the pleasure of yelling "on your left" to the same guys around mile 40.
I had read the Racine course was rough, but I assumed it was just potholes which are always spray painted. Unfortunately there are seams in the roads every 20' or so, so you are constantly slamming your bars down in a rhythmic pattern. The people who looked like they were making a water run for their village ended up throwing most of their bottles. Going with refillable BTA hydration was a great move. I only had to refill it once around the 30 mile mark.
T2 was roughly 4 mins
RUN (02:02:43)
Nutrition - 3 GU Roctane gels and BASE salt.
My "plan" was to run 3 miles at 8:30, dial it down to 8:00 for 7 and push all out for the last 3. I hit my splits for the first 3 miles and then the heat was getting to me. My mile 4 split was 9:10 so I knew I'd need to hydrate to stay on track. I initially told myself I wouldn't walk the aid stations because I'd loose my mojo. But with the humid heat, I had to get sponges and gatorade. It became a run between aid stations. I made sure to "mall-walk" them so I wouldn't completely stop. I learned a lot from that run and how to better prepare myself for the heat. I might consider a fuel belt now if it's going to be in the upper 80s. By pulling back my RP, I was able to finish strong.
OVERALL TIME 05:26:01
I can't thank EN enough for all the wisdom on the website. I'll finish out this race year with 2 more short course races, then next year it's time for a full IM!!! Looking forward to training with EN for the big one.
Comments
Funny how heat plays such a big role in just about every RR. I really think we kinda ignore that on the team