Boulder 70.3 RR: The Inferno and New Secret Sauce

Gabe Peterson

Race Report: Boulder 70.3 “The Inferno, and New Secret Sauce”

2016 Results	Results Place (Div out of 248 / Overall out of 2376)	Results Percentile (Div % / Overall %)	2015 Results
Overall Time: 5:29	42 / 414	17% / 17%	Overall Time: 5:22
Swim: 45	155 / 1431	63% / 60%	Swim: 43
T1: 4:27			T1: 3:29
Bike: 2:37	94 / 722	38% / 30%	Bike: 2:42
T2: 3:47			T2: 2:10
Run: 1:57	42 / 414	17% / 17%	Run: 1:51

 

Summary: Good Mental Training

2015 was a charmed season, setting PRs in every race I tackled.  2016 has been the season of good mental training.  I tripped and smashed my knee at the Buffalo Run 50k around mile 25 and hobbled in to the finish in March.  I battled monsoon rains and hypothermia at St George 70.3 in May.  Now I faced the Inferno at Boulder 70.3 with the mercury registering 92F in the shade, and there was no shade.  The endurance sports gods are testing my resolve.  Challenge accepted.

Highlights

Phase	Key Take Aways
Swim	I am swimming much straighter. I swam inside the buoy line since I breathe left and the buoys were on the right. It was a tranquil place.
Bike	I set a 70.3 bike PR by over 5 minutes! Definitely the biggest highlight. I also discovered new secret sauce to add to the EN…ummm…burrito. See below.
Run	I ran through an absolute Inferno while probably 70% of the field walked. It was probably the slowest half marathons I’ve run in two years, but also one of the toughest from a mental perspective. All good mental training. I tried arm coolers for the first time, and they definitely helped.
Transitions	Practicing running out of the water during open water swims has cured the wobbliness I’ve experienced in the past.

 

Lowlights

Phase	Key Take Aways
Swim	My swim actually got worse by about 2 minutes from last year. I have no explanation. I routinely swim on pace for a 38-minute half ironman swim in the pool. It is especially frustrating since I only swam 1-2 times per week last year and have been diligent about 3 swims most weeks. I worked through the entire SwimSmooth half ironman training plan.
Bike	The bike was very smooth with the exception that my power meter kept dropping out. It did this at St George but hasn’t since. I took it for a ride today, and it was rock solid. I have another PM I can switch to for IM Boulder.
Run	I didn’t have sufficient heat acclimatization. It hasn’t been hot so that makes it challenging. The go-bag was money for ice. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much ice on the course, at least compared to St George in the scorching years. Luckily there was girl with an ice chest around mile 8, and I grab a brick sized block of ice that got me through the race. But I was already overheated by then.
Transitions	Transition was reconfigured this year to a long, skinny rectangle. That added a minute to each transition just because I had to cover more ground. I should have switched to not wearing my cycling shoes through transition when I saw how long it was. That way I could run through faster.

 

The New Secret Sauce: Garmin Power Course

A few weeks before Boulder on a rainy day, I decided to ride the course on my Kickr using the power profile from Best Bike Split.  What I noticed was the power profile was very different from how I’d have ridden the course.  In general, it was more conservative.  That intrigued me – could I ride just as fast without burning as many matches?

So I did a test ride where I setup to course on Best Bike Split, created a power profile, and then loaded it on my Garmin 810.  You can find the instructions here.  It gives you prompts on what your target power should be.  I added 30s average power to my display, since 3s average power is too jumpy.  I’d make my 30s average power equal the power prompt, just like riding the trainer.  The prompts aren’t very annoying, so you can ignore them if you judge that you should apply different power.

How did it work? If riding an Ironman with a power meter is like cheating, this is like taking EPO and mechanical doping at the same time.  Okay, maybe a bad analogy.  The result was I rode the course much smoother and felt great at the end.  It definitely conserved matches.

I’m surprised I haven’t seen anyone else use this before.  But most triathletes still don’t know about Al’s go-bag.  I expect most ENers are already using Best Bike Split, so this provides a way to take that analytical power on the race course.  Pretty cool.  Just if you decide to use it, call it Gabe’s Power Course.

Course Corrections for Ironman Boulder

I have three key take aways to apply to Ironman Boulder:

1. I have to fix the technique flaws in my swim that seem to come out in open water.  Otherwise, I’m on track for a 1:30 swim.  Based on my pool times, it should be closer to 1:20.  I scheduled an appointment with a local former pro triathlete at SwimLabs to do a video analysis.  I also have a water proof case for my Garmin VIRB.  I’ll get someone to video me in open water.  The thing I notice from the data is that my stroke rate is up to 10 strokes per minute higher in open water, but I go slower.
2. Heat acclimatize for the run.  This will partly come organically since it’s just going to getting hotter through the summer.  However, I need a protocol to make sure I am taking action.  Any recommendations?
3. Master removing my feet from my shoes on the bike.  A big highlight of this trip was grabbing dinner with Mark Cardinale after the race in downtown Boulder.  He is one cool dude and so humble, especially for a guy at the pointy end of the field.  He walked me through T2 and the run course.  While the swim and bike are similar to the 70.3, the run is completely different.  It is along Boulder Creek with shaded sections, which should make things cooler.  T2 is stoopid long.  I’ll need to leave my shoes on the bike so I can run to the changing tent across the Boulder High School track.

Thanks for reading! 

thekidduxc

Gabe, awesome RR! Really enjoyed reading it.

I will checkout the best bike split instructions you referenced. I don't ride indoors often but will over the next months as it is too hot here to ride in July.

Concerning the open water swim issues, it's very difficult for some (me included) to take my pool stroke into the open water. It doesn't translate well. I will say that, per Al and Tim's recommendation, I swam in the open water as often as I could last season (my season ends in May). As a result I felt immeasurably more confident in the open water. I still have a ways to go but at least I know there is a path.

tim cronk

Great report Gabe 92 is no joke .... Definitely get some swim video and post it to the Critique my Swim Thread on top of the Swim Labs analysis... OWS vs. Pool is two different worlds , I swim exclusively OWS in season and then pool off season, always seems a shock and learning curve going from one to the other.... Comparing swims even on the same course is difficult (always best to just compare ranking) Did they set up the buoys exact as last year? Is there current? I swim in the same lake , the same point to point and back, all summer long, some days its faster Northbound and some days its faster Southbound (the differences can be substantial like 1-2 minutes for a 1/2 mile leg) you wouldnt think there was current but there is and it changes. BBS IMO gets you your best bike split but maybe not your best bike split combined with your best run? I found the recommended power for climbing sections of courses a little on the high side and way too many changes to keep up with it , however having it on your device sounds quite awesome... BBS recommended power varies with the wind forecast as well (load up IMAZ and change the wind Note: the change in power rec's) for the course so that is one thing that wont be factored in on the device. I havent had much luck climatizing, if you spend time training in heat you go slower, are you better off training faster in cooler temps then just slowing down on race day? Jury is out and certainly two thoughts of school. The normal organic as you call it seasonal climatization just happens naturally.

Al Truscott

Heat acclimatization - you may be more adjusted to heat than you think. The fact that you ran while others walked demonstrated that, IMO. Getting adjusted to running in the heat does NOT mean you will be able to run as fast @ 92 F as you can @ 62 or 72 or even 82F. It simply means you will be *able* to run when its 92 F. Much of getting ready for that lies in being more fit, not in training while it's hot. IMO, the value of run training in the heat is to get your mindset right - learn how much you have to hydrate, learn how it feels to run slower so you can keep going in the heat. Most of the run training should still occur it mild temps if at all possible, to get the best possible value from the workout.

Getting your feet out of shoes 400 meters before the end of the bike is a LOT easier than learning how to get them IN at the start of the bike leg, IMO. The tricks might be:

• Un buckle or loosen straps, then keep pedaling a bit.
• Push down at the heel with fingers while lifting up with the rear of the foot.
• Let the shoe swing; it will drop heel down.
• Use your toes to push toe of the shoe forward and down, and lay your foot on the top of the shoe
• Repeat on the other side.
• Must be coasting while doing each of the steps.
• Practice pedaling with feet on top of shoes.

Gabe Peterson

@David, sound advice. Most of my swims are at lunch at a pool near my work. However, the Salt Lake Tri Club has an open water swim every Wednesday evening. I'll target getting in at least one open water swim per week. I'll also bring my Garmin VIRB and convince someone to video me.

@Tim, the swim course was changed this year so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. Mark said he was tracking a few athletes and they were coming in slower than usually. I'll definitely throw my video up to tap into the EN wisdom, although it's always painful watching video of myself swimming.

For wind, I made sure to use the Advanced Weather option in BBS and then recalculate the power plan the night before when the weather forecast would be reasonably accurate. Boulder doesn't seem to get much wind, in my limited experience. I'm guessing that is part of the appeal to make it a cyclists/triathlete mecca. Utah, on the other hand, you're always riding into a head wind.

Part of the thing I thought was really cool about getting the power prompts was it forced me to think: what power should I be riding at right now? Sometimes I disagreed with the prompts and adjusted accordingly. But it gave me a baseline to start with.

@Al, interesting take. I hadn't thought that I might be heat adapted, or at least better adapted than most of the athletes. I'll follow your recommendation -- it's always spot on!

Thanks for the instructions on removing my feet for my shoes. I'll give it a try on my next trainer ride. Then when I feel confident, I'll try it outdoors.

Mark Cardinale

Gabe - Great seeing you again and very nice race.  Don't compare last years run to this years - totally different runs.  It's always the land of the walking dead with 2 loops around the res.  The fact that you were running says a ton about the run fitness you have built.  Just a couple comments and let me preface my first comment by saying i am the LAST person in the world who should be handing out swim advice.  That being said your comment about stroke rate climbing but yet going slower...I know for me that happens when my swim fitness is down and/or when i'm fatigued.  My stroke starts to get really choppy, but i'm getting less distance per stroke therefore i go slower.  Maybe consider adding in a 4th swim or even better a 4th swim in open water.  If three/wk is all you can manage, then make sure you getting close to 4k yds. in each swim.  For me i have stroke rate on my main garmin swim screen so i can see exactly where i start to break down.

With regards to unclipping your shoes, take a look at the bike course map and plan stop start unclipping once you make the right hand turn on arapahoe.  It's flat and straight and you will have plenty of time to get unclipped.  We can drive or ride that section during the days leading up to the race.  

Rest up and then get back to work.  7 more weeks!!!

Francis Picard

Great RR, love the details. And as the other said, by keeping running means alot when its that tuff!

Gabe Peterson

@Mark, awesome hanging with you! Looking forward to racing with you again, although you'll be chilling with a bucket of chicken and six-pack of beer when I finish.

Three swims per week are probably all that I can manage, but I am definitely targeting at least one open water swim per week. I like the idea of having stroke rate on my Garmin display. I usually don't look at it until afterwards.

I had my first video session at SwimLabs on Friday, and I was like "who is that joker?" Tough to watch, but I am going to do a session every week leading up to IM Boulder. Each week I'll pick two things to work on to improve my technique.

@Francis, thanks! I appreciate all your encouragement on Strava too!