Leslie's Challenge FL 70.3 Report
PR’d by 25 min! First race under 7 hours! And I feel like this was a perfectly executed race. Here’s how it happened.
TRAINING- I followed the plan and did 95% of my workouts as prescribed- to include the intervals on the run and the bike. I probably only made 6o% of my swims, because getting to the pool can be a challenge. But I learned from IM training last year that it doesn’t matter- I never got faster with more swimming! I have been bike commuting to work for the last 3 months- 70 miles a week on top of training. The team advised this would be my secret weapon- I think they were right!
TWO DAYS BEFORE- I got a good night’s sleep on my parents’ couch two nights before the race (with Ambien, of course). I had taken apart my QR Illicito at home for the first time, completely down to the frame, packed her up in my new Ruster Sports Hen House Case (which I paid full price for because the EN discount was a limited time only, which was not advertised on our web site!), and waited for her to arrive in Tampa. I put her together on Friday and immediately ran into trouble- I had two rings in the headset that did not go where I thought they went. Or any other place I tried to put them! I put her together anyway, with the handlebars not turning properly, and prayed the bike mechanics would be at the Expo.
DAY BEFORE- Check in was super easy, the volunteers were knowledgeable, and bike check in went smoothly. The bike mechanic knew exactly where my two rings went and finished it while I did my practice swim. He wouldn’t let me pay or tip him, so when I came back with four beers for the two mechanics and some volunteers, he looked like he was going to cry! Did I mention it was boiling hot with record temps? I tried to eat according to plan and rest. I re-read the wiki on heat management, memorized my plan, and tried to relax. I was really scared of the high temps. To bed at 9:30 with Ambien.
RACE DAY- Up at 0430, eat my usual PB&J and a banana, drink Nuun water and head to the race. Got in a warm up swim and lined up.
SWIM- Water temps were 79.3, so no wetsuits. Which is fine by me! I love the feeling of open ocean water. This is a small race, so not too many people to fight through. I lined up just lateral to center on the beach and took off at the sound of the horn. I love ocean swims and we all had plenty of room and the buoys were not too far apart. The only time I had issues was a short period where I couldn’t see the next buoy because of the sun. I headed in the right direction, kept a few people in sight, and eventually it showed itself. Finished in 48 minutes, which is normal for me. It was a short run up the beach and into transition. But part way up, I realized I forgot to pee at the end of the swim!! There was a small aid station with water, Gatorade and gels just before Swim In, and I made a decision- pee on the run! I let it flow while looking a volunteer straight in the eye and asking for a cup of Gatorade. Drank four swallows, asked for two cups of water and watched his face as I poured it down my crotch.
BIKE- Transition was pretty fast. I ate a gel and drank a few swallows of water. Jumped on my bike and settled in to Zone 2, according to plan. One thing that freaked me out was that I kept passing people. I don’t usually do that early in a race. Each time, I got close, I’d check my zone, make sure I was where I was supposed to be, and then make my pass. Don’t get me wrong, I got passed by several people as well, but I usually don’t pass people on the first half. And then to watch people standing up hills, standing on the flats, and getting passed by me on the downhills- AWESOME!!!! Only one guy passed me in the last 20 miles and that was it. I heard one guy cussing as I flew by him! I had practiced drinking a bottle an hour and it is too much in normal temps. I pee every 45-60 minutes and that’s not feasible in a race; ¾ bottle works better. But I knew I had to do better than that in this hot (86 degrees and humid!) race. So I aimed for a bottle an hour. Two hrs in, I had no urge to pee, so I stepped it up some and ended up with 4 bottles in 3 hrs and a slight urge to pee at the end. The rest of the nutrition was executed according to plan- 3 Sports Legs at the beginning of bike, a salt tab every hour, 2.5 scoops of GE per bottle, and a half Honey Stinger Waffle every 30 min. That felt really good. I carefully maintained Zone 3-3.5 as steady as possible and set a new pace PR over that distance (in race or training). I kept telling myself that I was going to execute this bike perfectly and ride the bike I should and not the bike I could. Over and over. Because I felt great and I wanted to race!! And it’s my favorite part! The bike course is super flat and beautiful- the only hills were the bridges. Somewhere in the second half I saw ambulances and police tape and a bike on the ground. I tried to find out how the cyclist fared in the newspaper, but I still don’t know.
RUN- transition was wicked fast for me- grabbed my stuff and ran, instead of putting it on in transition. Yes, that’s new for me! I did take the time to squeeze some sunscreen on all extremities and debated for a second about taking off my tri top. Decided to leave it on and could roll it up if I got too hot- that turned out to be a key decision. I stopped for a quick pee and off I went. Holy crap, it was hot!!! I knew that heat management would be the key in this race. I kept reminding myself that I have the Four Keys and everyone else is clueless. I knew the paces I wanted to hit, but figured it wouldn’t be possible in this heat. But I figured I’d do my best. Goal pace for miles 1-3 was 11:50. First mile felt so slow! And ended up being about 10:53. CRAP! Slowed down more and was on pace for miles 2&3. Nutrition plan was 4 swallows of Gatorade every mile and a gel every 2 miles, with a salt tab at 1 hr. Heat management plan was developed at the first aid station. Decided to pour water over my head and put ice in my jog bra and down the back of my jersey- thank goodness I kept it on! My box became the distance between aid stations. I felt great for about 3 minutes after an aid station, then I managed my ice by holding a cube in each hand and then putting it in my mouth when it got tiny. Then I could see the next station and feel good. Goal pace for 4-10 was 11:20 and I ran 11:23-11:30 for most of them. About mile 7 or 8, some guy tried to chat me up, but he couldn’t hang (no friends!) and just said good luck as I pulled away. Miles 4-8 felt amazingly great. I was amazed I felt so good! Somewhere in there, I was getting help from a volunteer and he asked what he could do. I asked him to pour his cup of ice down my jog bra. I guess I pulled it a little far out because he said, “thank you!” I guess he was telling that story the rest of the day! My mom asked me later if he was young or old and I said I have no idea- all I could see was the ice! Then mile 9 got tough. And I knew it got tough and I had my plan. I just stayed in my box, put on my concentration face, tried to smile, and started a mantra. Then at mile 10, my mantra changed to “Permission to race!” At about that point, I saw a woman in front of me with my age, 47, and an Ironman tattoo on her calf. She was only running a tiny bit faster than me. I wondered if I could catch her. I was faster than her through two aid stations, and then she would catch me. Mile 11 aid station, I decided to try and put her away. I flew through the station (still executing my heat management plan, just quickly), and turned it up to as hard as I knew I could go for 2 miles. Took care of business quickly at aid station 12 and was afraid to look behind me. I just kept thinking I was Daniella Ryf and Rinny was trying to catch me- that was my mantra- “Daniella Ryf, permission to race! Daniella Ryf, permission to race!” And then I could see the chute! And my mom was there to run in with me! She’ll be 70 next month and is very fit- she ran the chute with me, at my speed and we finished together and it was so awesome! My paces at the end were much slower than my 11:05 goal, but I still finished the run on par with my stand-alone half marathons. I was amazed! Plus- only one person passed me in the second half and I passed 11 people. I couldn’t believe that most people were walking the second half. There were several people getting IVs in the med tent. And it did take me a few hours to pee after the race. But I felt fine. Great even!
Overall time- 6:38- a personal best by 25 minutes!! Swim- 48, bike- 3:10 (17.62mph), run- 2:32 (11:41/min). Finished 7/13 (54%ile) in age group, 37/77 (48%ile) for women, and 150/247 (61%ile) overall, including men. I would love to some day crack the top third for women, but I am super happy with this! I'm not a natural athlete and this is a lot of work for me... Sometimes I get discouraged when I see how fast everyone else is and how they do so well in their AG, but that’s not me. I’m just excited to have a well executed race and be in the top half.
Overall, Challenge FL was an awesome race- well organized, beautiful course, and the best marked bike course I have ever raced on. Police or volunteers at every intersection, plenty of everything at the aid stations. Not too much crowd support, but there were people here and there. This is a small race, well done- I would highly recommend if you are looking for a late 70.3 next year!
Comments
Per SlowTwitch - #18, a pro, t-boned a car that turned across his path, resulting in serious head, spine and lung injuries. Last report from a friend was that he is making progress at the hospital.
Thanks for the update on the racer. I kept scouring the paper for info and only knew the time it happened, so figured it must be a pro. Hope he does OK.
I'm hoping to make some major gains this next year- thanks for the encouragement. Not sure where I'm going to find 30 minutes. Don't see the swim getting more than 3 min faster. My PR on a stand alone half mary is 2:15 and that was several years ago. So I'd have to find 20 min on the bike. I'm going to keep working at it. I think some of it is mental and I'm going to keep working on that.
Thanks again!
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20151117/ARTICLE/151119680/2416/NEWS?Title=Injured-triathlete-8212-a-UCLA-coach-8212-remains-hospitalized