Austin 70.3 RR - finally went fast!
We had such a great time in Austin in 2014 that we decided to go again this year. My wife, Valerie, and brother, Bob, (both EN newbies) also decided to do this race (actually they signed up first and pulled me back in!!). Regardless, the family affair only made the entire weekend so much better. It gave me a chance to finally give some mojo back as I have taken so much.
The drama happened early and was easily managed. Rain storms flooded the air control tower in Austin, so took flights to San Antonio instead and drove up. Grabbed some solid late night bbq ribs from a food truck - why can't we do this in Tacoma! Bed broke underneath me at 2am (depsite my well publicized weight loss no less) and that ended my sleep for the night. Saturday was a fun admin day - The morning was dedicated to building bikes, crushing breakfast, and a 1 hour long tire changing tutorial for Val and Bob (neither had every done it). We then headed to the course and confirmed the weather was holding for race day - on the cold side with the wing chill - but no rain and no scorching heat. Race day would be 58-66 degrees - SO REFRESHING! Crushed a delious carby late lunch La Traviata - gnocci and 1 glass of red stuff. Slept like a baby, 730-4am. Race day admin was hilarious - both Val and Bob were besides themselves with nerves, consoling them took my mind off my own. But we got all in the van and headed to the course.
The race-
I came to town as prepared as I have ever been, with a confident plan and high hopes for a PR.
Swim: 38:46 Div Rank 64
Wind chill made the morning coldish, but I got to stand with my wife the entire time as her wave was just behind me. The wind also gave the water a nice chop to it. But the water was warm and felt great. I headed to the front of the line, right side, planning to use my swim slice to hit the buoy line. Guns go off. The guys faster than me had to climb over me - they had to work for it! But then I was in clear water nearlyt the entire time. Swollowed some water due to the chop, but not bad. The swim was over before I knew it. Thought I had a faster time, but given my total lack of swim prep, I knew I would give some time here.
Transition 1 was smooth and fast. No difficulty, goal was to be <4min, and I nailed it with 3:39.</div>
Bike: 2:43:56 @20.5mph, NP 231, HR ave 153, IF .80, V1 1.04 = Div Rank 20
Bested my '14 effort by ~14 minutes. Frankly, though my HR was high (goal was 140-145) I felt fine at ~150 most of the time. I believe I executed this ride as best as I could. It will represent a new bar for me moving foward. The roads were worse than last year, but the weather made it fun. I was able to keep pace with a female pro for the last 20 miles, which was my highlight reel.
Transition 2 was smooth and fast again. Goal was 2 minutes, and I nearly got there @ 2;34.
Run: 1:43 @ 7:52/mile pace and HR ave of 154. Div Rank 20
Running in my head was Cronk "if you want to go low, be prepared to be uncomfortable" along with about 20 other pieces of EN knowledge. This run was also executed as well as I believe I could. I walked every other aid station. I didnt get my second GU down, was feeling a bit quesy. The hill work I did in training made the hills in Austin look like speed bumps. I sped down them (clocking a 7:15 and 6:45 mile in there), and cruised conversatively up them. Received several bits of EN love. I started to run out of gas at mile 11 or so, but no walking.
Total time 5:12:04 for a 38 minute PR over 2014. Gender rank 172, AG rank 20, Overall rank 200.
The best part happened after the race. I had to lay down for a good 20 minutes, downed some water, and headed right back out to the course. Made sure to see my wife 4 x on the run, and yelled and hollared at racers in between. Saw my brother go by and tried to boost him. Then ran down to the finisher chute and screamed bloody mary for Val and Bob. Greatest thing to see them finish, along with a hundred others.
Thanks for the great year. Looking forward to a solid 2016. Maybe a sub 5' 70.3? Gosh, I never thought I would consider such a thought.
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Comments
@Rachel: No kidding re: the temperatures! I clearly had an unfair advantage going into Austin. The last 2 weeks here in Seattle have been a return of wet/cold/blustery stuff, which made Austin a true pleasure ride.
hard to keep the mojo going for a late 70.3 but you were able to keep it !
Doug,
Great race. Man, you probably get more out of your monthly dues than anyone else. You soak this stuff up like a sponge, ask questions, learn from mistakes, and - as a result - have turned yourself into a really smart, fast triathlete. It's been fun to watch. Your run seems to have developed the fastest, and you probably have some more improvement there. Not sure what your standalone HM time is, but you should be able to run a HIM within 5 minutes or so of that. That 1.04 VI on the Austin course could be improved upon a bit, so there's execution opportunity there. And, of course, you can just build up that already-big FTP engine this OS. You also have a 5-minute opportunity in the swim. If Al recommends that I do something, I pretty much do it unless it's not realistic. So, if swimming is logistically not too big of a deal for you (i.e., not a 35-minute drive), then work on your mechanics this winter. I wouldn't focus on building a huge swim engine by swimming 10k/week, but I would work on the hydrodynamic side of things, which accounts for 80% of your speed through the water. Once you get your swim down into the low 30s and your bike under 2:35, sub-5 is not only doable, it'll be relatively easy.
Congrats on a great year. Looking forward to DS '16.
MR