Rodney Daulton 2016 IM 70.3 Race Report
Stats: 56yo male, wt 160lbs, FTP 202.
This was my sixth HIM in a period of 4 years, in fact 70.3 Florida was my first HIM. I have also completed two IMs, IMFL 2012 and IMCHOO 2015.
I Began training with ENation after completing IMCHOO and attending the 4KEYS seminar in October of last year. I started with the NOS plan and then transitioned into the intermediate HIM plan at its completion. I have to say this is the first time I have been able to complete a training plan without injury (mostly with running) since delving into the world of Triathlon, I believe, thanks to these plans and to the guidance provided by Coach Patrick and Coach Rich.
Race Morning
I woke up at 4am, had my usual no kitchen available breakfast consisting of 1 bagel with almond butter, 3 hard boiled eggs, 1 banana, 1 coffee and 20 oz of gatorade, approximately 800 calories. Donned my race kit and off I went to set up transition.
Swim (Wetsuit legal this year with an water temp of 75.1F, OAT 55F)
Goal time :40, actual 38:27. I went off in the first wave of the morning, which was a first for me, seeding myself in my usual MOP position. Well that was a mistake, I really got jammed up as we first started so I had to swing out wide to get some clear water and then headed for the first turn buoy. I was quite surprised at how many swimmers I was passing, which is unusual for me, but I had been working on my swimming all winter as I'm finding out I rather enjoy the training. Anyway, HIM Florida is home of the "M" swim, so the course is a bit technical with its six turns. I must have gotten off course some as my Garmin showed 2267yds while two of my friends racing showed about 2150yds. I felt strong through the whole swim so I feel as though I was well trained for this swim. In the future I plan on lining up at the front of the pack and focus on better sighting so as to shorten my swim distance.
T1
Goal time 3:30, actual 4;06. Out of the water, up a hill and had to run a loop through most of transition, half stripped the wetsuit on the run and finished at the bike, donned my equipment/shoes then out of T1.
Bike
Goal 160w first 20 min then settle in at 170w working at flattening the hills at a max of 195w. Actual 148w first 20 min then 164w for the remainder using the hill flattening strategy. Overall time 2:50:34, 19.7mph, 162w, 1.02 VI.
It was a little chilly for the first hour, but I had stuffed a plastic shopping bag under my kit to keep the wind off my chest so overall I was comfy. I really liked being in the first wave, not too much traffic to deal with for most of the ride and as the coaches promised, I was getting passed a lot in the beginning and also up the hills but I trusted min my race strategy and stuck to the plan. My perceived effort seemed a little high and I was not quite making my planned 170w range, but I was close and I just went with what I felt comfortable with this day. I used the same nutrition bottle that I had gone with at IMCHOO which consisted of 4 scoops of UCAN startch, 4 scoops of Recoverite, 2 tbls to coconut oil, 6 S-Caps (salt) all mixed in 20 oz of coconut water, supplemented with Gatorade Endurance as supplied on the course and Base Salt every 45 minutes. I was not able to pee on the bike even though I needed to, I guess its an old man thing (or not since I peed on the bike 5 times at IMCHOO). Oh well, I felt pretty good with the bike.
T2
Goal 2:30, actual 4:13 (stopped to pee
) otherwise a smooth transition.
Run
Goal 2:10, actual 2:09:33. Well this was the part I was waiting for, I felt good coming off the bike, I started out a little fast with the crowd cheering us all on so, but I got my HR under control after the first 3 miles. the Florida run course is a 3 loop course with 3 short but relatively steep hills for the first 2 miles of the loop ( at least for this Florida boy), so I shuffled up the hills keeping my HR around 155 (goal for fist 3 mi, 148) then settled back 150 that 3rd mile. For the next 7.5 miles I settled in at 155 - 160 as I did not want to start my final push until I finished my last set of hills. The last 2.5 miles I just pushed as hard as I could manage with an HR around 160, my quads were on the edge of cramping but they behaved to the end and I was able to finish strong
. This is the first time I have been able to run a whole race, sans walking each aide station, so I was very pleased with that. Run nutrition consisted of an initial bottle of coconut water with 2 scoops of Recoverite consumed within the first half mile off the bike, then drank about 6 oz of Gatorade at each aide station, had a cliff shot every other aide station and Base Salt every 2 miles.
Conclusion
I feel this was my best HIM to date, I followed the training plan and executed the race pretty much as planned and was able to finish strong. I am planning on doing the Great Floridian Triathlon140.6 this fall and will continue to refine my training and racing with ENation. I do welcome any help or suggestions as to improving my training/racing.
Thanks for reading.
Comments
You are the only other person, other than my wife, who likes coconut oil. Props for taking it on the bike too!
I am curious, you seen to consume a lot on the run - was it hot out or was that intentional? Cliff shot every other aid station - were the stations longer then each mile?
Again, nice work.