Jenn Eckert's 2016 IM Boulder 70.3 RR
I went into this race really positive. Earlier in the week it looked like the highs was going to be about 79 degrees. As the week progressed, that went up, and up, and up! I knew some things would have to be altered a bit for the heat factor. They also had closed the lake to swimming due to a high level of bacteria in the lake. GREAT!!
GOALS ACTUAL
Swim 39-40 40:40 
Bike 3:30-3:40 3:03:16 
Run 2:20-2:30 2:48:35 
The day prior, I ate a large breakfast, good size lunch and light dinner and drank 16oz of Osmo Pre-Hydration during the late afternoon/evening.
I got up at 4:15 after a really good nights sleep! I ate a bowl of my usual oatmeal, a ½ cup of applesauce and sipped on OSMO pre hydration. On the way to the venue I ate a banana and sipped on Osmo. What is normally a 15 minute drive to the venue, took us close to an hour due to traffic. They had no police on the diagonal highway directing traffic. Even the shuttle buses were having a difficult time.
The transition was VERY CROWDED and CRAMPED!! We had racked our bikes the day prior which helped. I laid out my stuff, lubed up and grabbed my swim gear. I headed to potty one last time and then to the beach for a warm up swim. They had deemed the water safe and the swim was on. The water temp was 72 and still wet suit legal for AG. My warm up went well. I was in wave #14 with the 50+ ladies. Good size group but not huge. I lined up middle front. I had a very hard time catching my breath. Hadn’t had this happen in the past. I would take 3-5 strokes and have to stop and breast stroke to catch my breath. I did this for about 500 yards and then was able to get in a rhythm. I actually thought about stopping at one of the boats to gather myself. But I just kept moving forward and counting. It helped. Finished in 40:40.
T1 – 6:54
Not speedy by any means. The transition area was very long. I kept saying slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It was almost impossible to run through transition as it was so crowded. When ladies would bend over to put on shoes etc, it would take up most of the passing room. I walked jogged, getting my heart rate down. I had to take my timing chip off as my wet suit hangs up on it. It is faster than getting my foot suctioned into my wet suit!
BIKE
The bike started out with an out and back on HWY 119/Diagonal Hwy. It was crowded. In the 1st 10 miles there were 2 crashes, ambulances, fireman etc. I was taking it easy for 20-30 minutes to settle in. My HR came down and I started in on my fueling at about 25 minutes. I was eating solid food every ½ hour. And drinking constantly to stay hydrated. I stopped and pee’d at mile 35 and added some water to my OSMO.. I can’t drink Gatorade. I ate a salt tab and was on my way. There were some extremely fast portions on this ride. The breeze had p/u a bit and I could feel it with the aero wheels so I was cautious, but not losing much speed. It was getting hotter. The temp started out at 73 and was 93 when I finished the bike. I knew I would have to dial back a bit but was still feeling okay and kept eating and drinking. In hindsight I should of eaten a gel with about 5 miles to go. I had 40 oz of Osmo and 20 oz of water with salt tab, Picky Bar, Pro Bar Bite. (I won’t do pro bar again, they are tasty but too crumbly and dry for me). My watt goal was 110-124 and my actual NP was 107; IF 0.73. I probably could of gone faster but I was erring on the side of caution, knowing it was going to be a hot afternoon.
T2 – 4:44
Pulled into transition, shoes on, grabbed hat, fuel bottle w/20 oz Osmo and #belt which has all my fuel and baggy in it and off I go. Did I say it was a long transition?
RUN
The beginning of the run is on mixed terrain. Wet lumpy grass, pavement, then lumpy grass again. I stopped to pee and back on course. I intended to start out at my Z1 pace but my HR kept escalating. I would run 10-20 steps and it would be back up. I walked thru the 1st aid station, took a salt tab, got ice, filled my baggy (need to get one of Patricks new inventions) with ice and was off. I walked the hills and then would run/shuffle. The 1st loop was a disappointment, but then my HR had started to stabilize. I would run, counting my strides and telling myself to make it to the next aid station. On the 2nd lap I took a salt tab at the 1st aid station, and refilled my bottle with Osmo. I had 2 more power gels on the last lap. This helped as I did a negative split. I did use ice at every aid station.
This was a really pretty course, other than the out and back on 119. The bike course is fast but was crowded, a lot of drafting going on. The run course is challenging. No real shade to speak of. The volunteers were great and never ran out of ice!
I was disappointed in my swim, happy with my bike and frustrated with my run (I don’t do well in the heat while running). It was a lesson in mental fortitude for sure.
Takeaways….eat a bit more on the bike and on the run eat a gel sooner.
Comments
Jenn - Sounds to me like you are doing well vis-a-vis your goals for the year: "race smart, get fit and have fun". Two thoughts:
Keep the training rolling into Mont Tremblant, you've got a lot to look forward to there.
Jenn you heard from the master below.....I can't add much other than echo Al's comments and reinforce by saying that you should cut yourself some slack and be proud. Negative splitting a run @ altitude in 90+ temps qualifies you as a bad ass in my book!
Way to lead from the front!
SS