Behler Steelhead 70.3 Race Report. 4:28 11AG 26OA 19 Minute PR!
Short Version:
Probably one of my best executed races resulting in a 19 minute 70.3 PR of 4:28:37. Swim was non-wetsuit which normally would benefit me but I only had my M2 Skin Suit and no swim skin which, coupled with the congestion associated with being in the second-to-last swim wave led to poor navigation and a swim that took 4-5 minutes longer than it should at 35 minutes. Bike split of 2:17 was a huge 15-minute PR. 1:31 run was a 7-minute PR. Admittedly this is only my third 70.3 and first in 3 years so with my current fitness I expected a PR but not one this significant. Despite these great results I didn’t even crack the top 10 in M40-44 as the AG was crazy fast. I was 11th in AG but 26thOA (out of 2,600).
Long Version:
I had been looking forward to Steelhead for a number of reasons. First, this was the first long course tri I had done upon entering triathlon in 2010. This was before EN, before power meters, structured training, and fancy gear. I finished sub-5 which was my stretch goal and I was super excited. Little did I know what the next few years would hold. Second, with my A Race this year (Kona) being so late in the year I signed up for two 70.3s to have some fun racing and break up the training. Third, with Racine being shortened due to weather (no swim and shortened bike) and a poor execution Steelhead represented the only chance for me to test my current fitness levels in race conditions.
Saturday
I left home mid morning for the four-hour drive around Lake Michigan to Benton Harbor. I arrived at the race site around 2PM local time. The expo is outside adjacent to the beach under a series of tents. It was hot and humid and the line was incredibly long. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of the AWA line despite only completing one WTC race last year. There was no line and I made it through in 5-10 minutes. After talking with others the main line took anywhere from 60-90 minutes in the sweltering heat. I’ll take this over a special AWA swim cap any day! After registering I met Matt Aaronson and his family at their vacation home about 30 minutes away. Spent the afternoon watching his kids play in the pool and chatting about the race, triathlon, and catching up since we last saw each other at IMMOO last year. Matt was racing Steelhead as well as his first race back since offseason surgery and recovery (his RR is posted in this forum as well).
Left Matt’s around 5, stopped by the grocery store for some race morning essentials then to my hotel. This is where the fun started. Upon checking in I learn that the hotel has no record of my reservation despite my email confirmation number in hand from hotels.com and unfortunately they are fully booked. As I sit down to call hotels.com there were 2 other families that came to check in and had the same issues through other agencies (priceline). Matt graciously offered his couch as an option but I preferred to stay on the race site as he had family in town but it was good to know I had a fallback option. After getting ahold of a real person she asked me to hold and said it could take 10-20 minutes for her to find an alternative option. I wasn’t feeling optimistic given all hotels in the area were rumored to be at capacity. To be productive I went back to my car and put the phone on speaker as I proceeded to change out my tubes and tires to my race setup in the parking lot of the hotel. After getting the front wheel changed I received the good news that she had found a room at Holiday Inn Express only a mile away. I immediately packed up my gear and headed to the Holiday Inn Express. Arriving there a few minutes later I went to unpack my gear and realized I had no front wheel. SHIT!! I had left it leaning against my car in the parking lot. This was a brand new (literally never ridden..more on that later) Enve 7.8 SES. Did I run over it? Would it be there still? I threw everything in my car and raced down the interstate to get back ASAP. At one point I looked down and saw 130 MPH on my speedometer! I got there and the wheel was nowhere to be seen. I went to the front desk and fortunately someone had found it and left it with them. Whew. That was close. Now back to Holiday Inn to check in and prep for the morning. With my new bike (Ventum) and wheels (Enve 7.8) I spent a bit more time making sure everything was ready for race day. As a slight aside, changing tires on the 7.8s is MUCH harder than my old 2015 Zipp 808s. I never even need a tire lever on the 808s but the 7.8s required a lot of elbow grease and levers. Sounds like the new 808s are the same. Gave me a bit of concern should I flat but at this point I had no other options.
Sunday
I woke up at 4:15 and had two Naked Juices and a banana. A quick shower and I was off to the race site. Arrived in the parking lot (about a mile away) at 4:45 and mixed my hydration, set up my computer, and packed my transition back for the short bike to transition. As I arrived at transition it was bustling and lots of discussion/concern regarding the fact Lake Michigan was 76.5 degrees making it non-wetsuit legal for AG placement and WC qualification. First time ever this has been the case at Steelhead in its 14-15 year history. I was no worried as I’m a middle of the FOP swimmer and very confident without a wetsuit. Unfortunately I had not considered this would be an option so didn’t pack my swim skin and all I had to swim in was my LG M2 Skin Suit. I didn’t know if it would be a benefit or if the material would create hydrodynamic drag. Since it was my only option I didn’t know about it. As transition closed I met Matt at his rack and we exited transition together. We were in the same wave, the second-to-last wave with an 8AM start time which is a full hour after the first wave so we had 90 minutes to wait. We found a spot on the dunes to wait it out. We watched the first wave (M35-39) go off at 7 and tracked the lead swimmers which will usually be in the 25-27 minute range for a 70.3 swim. It appeared the swim course was either a bit long or conditions rough as the first swimmer exited in just over 30 minutes.
Swim 35:19, 31stAG, 188OA, 1:49/100m, 1:40/100yard
Matt and I got into line with about 10 minutes to go and made our way to the swim start. I seeded myself in the front row of the group and we started from knee deep water just off the beach. There was a women’s wave ahead of us by 4 minutes and the slower swimmers in that group were only 150-200 yards ahead of us. When the gun went off I took a few steps and dove in through the surf. Most of the others were doing high kick dolphin dives but were at best keeping up with me so I was reassured in my choice to conserve energy as my hands consistently dragged on the bottom. After a few minutes I was able to find a groove and maintained my line right along the buoys. There was a gentle up and down of the water levels but conditions were generally good. About midway to the first turn buoy (the course is a big triangle) I started to hit congestion. From this point (about 400 yards) on there was consistent traffic. It was spread out enough that there wasn’t a lot of contact/kicking/etc but it was tight enough that I had to sight more often and determine the most efficient way to make it around slower traffic. Sometimes I was able to squeeze between two people but other times I had to deviate from my preferred routing and go outside. At the final turn buoy (about 1400 yards) we cut back toward the shoreline and I felt a noticeable benefit from the current. I continued to dodge and pass others and felt very smooth and efficient. As I reached the beach I looked down to see 35 minutes…my worst 70.3 swim but given the conditions and the benchmark from the first wave I didn’t feel too bad about it. Looking back on it, however, my ranking with the AG was quite low compared to other races so I have to believe my navigation added a couple hundred yards given I’ve done multiple 2-2.5k yard sets in the 1:25-1:27 pace range.
Bike 2:17:36, 14th AG, 46 OA, 24.4 MPH, 206AP, 210NP, 1.02VI, 15 minutes HIM PR
This was the first ride on my new Ventum One. Not my first race, but my first ride, save a 1 mile ride the day prior to make sure everything appeared to be working as intended. I know this violated a key rule of not trying something new on race day but given it was not my A-race and I had a huge curiosity about the bike I threw caution to the wind. I’ll post a full review of the bike in the dedicated Ventum thread but initial reaction is very positive. Frame is crazy stiff, feels very slippery aerodynamically, and the integrated hydration is a potential game changer for long course triathlon.
The course is not particularly hard….lots of rolling hills but nothing too steep. I was running a standard crank and 11-15 and not once did I ever leave the big ring. As I started out it was evident that I would be facing significant traffic being a FOP cyclist in the second-to-last swim wave. I focused on staying steady on my power and taking advantage of any free drafting I could as I passed folks. I did a ‘check in’ around mile 10 and recognized that I wasn’t able to generate the power I intended to generate. My goal power was 230watts, or about .78 IF. My HR and speed seemed to correlate well so I decided to keep an eye on power but use HR and RPE as the primary measure as my speed was well above expectation (25+). I noticed many people changing flat tires which was concerning given the difficulty I had in changing my tires the prior night. The bike course was pretty uneventful and by mile 45 th4 congestion thinned a bit and I was able to settle in a bit, still averaging power closer to 210 but with speeds consistently in the 24-26MPH range and my ability to generate closer to my target. I also saw this at IMMOO last year where I’m just not able to put out the power I’ve tested and proven in multiple race rehearsals. I have to believe it stems from the fatigue of swimming which I don’t do prior to rides in training. Would be interested in thoughts from anyone on if they see this and if I should be doing anything differently. I used my Powertap P1s so I know it’s not a calibration issue or differential across PMs. During the ride I was passed by a couple in my AG but they passed me pretty handily and I knew keeping up with them would be futile. I came to learn that 2 of the top 3 overall were in my AG including the OA winner who went 4:01! I was passed around mile 54 by a guy in my AG who after passing me let off the gas a bit so I stayed about 10 bike lengths back and would see how he fared on the run. The last quarter mile is along a bike path in a no passing zone and by this point I was right on his wheel.
Run 1:31:16, 11AG, 26OA, 6:58/mile, 7 minute HIM PR http://tpks.ws/UUk4O
After a very quick T2 thanks to my ‘go bag’ I was on the course and settling in. I had passed the guy I entered transition with and wanted to settle in around a 7 min/mile pace to see how the day unfolded. I had made the mistake of going out a bit faster in Racine due to the shortened bike but ultimately I paid for it as my pace slowly dropped and I ultimately averaged a 7:20 pace for the entire race, with much of the later miles in the 7:30-40 range. There is a short, but steep hill at mile 1 and I ran it, but focused on not letting my HR spike. The ‘stick’ ends at about 1.5 miles and you begin the first of the two ‘loops’. At the start of the loop I was passed by another in my AG that was probably running a mid 6’s pace and I knew I couldn’t hang with him. Shortly thereafter, the guy I entered T2 with me passed me. I contemplated sticking with him but his pace was just fast enough that I decided not to gamble at mile 3. From here I was really able to dial it in…keeping HR in check and finding a nice, stable pace. Course support was great. I filled my RaceSaver bag with two cups of ice at each aid station and kept it inside my kit for body cooling, occasionally squeezing the cold melt water on my head. I started cola right away and stuck with it at every aid station. The weather was getting warmer and humidity was elevated but I didn’t feel too bad. The next 4 miles I stayed in my box and ran just how I wanted. At mile 7 I had my first decision to make. I saw the guy I entered T2 with and was gaining on him at a rapid pace. As I caught him I stayed behind him to strategize. There was still a lot of racing left, and we were approaching a very steep, but short hill just outside the Maytag campus. Do I stay behind him for a few miles and pass him later? I decided instead to pass him with a solid pace and looking strong and to drive separation on the hill. Given our paces were that different I suspected he was struggling and lan tog give him more reason to not chase me with so many miles left. About a quarter mile later I crested the hill and took a sharp left to continue on. I glanced over my left shoulder and saw no sign of him so settled back into my targeted pace. The balance of the second loop was largely the same…steady, solid pacing. At mile 11, just before returning to the ‘stick’ I changed my watch screen to see 4:14:xx. Knowing a sub 4:30 race was a possibility, and feeling strong I decided to turn it up a bit to finish the race. Interestingly enough I’ve never felt good enough to do this, and me and Matt were just discussing the prior day how the idea of the ‘late race surge’ is fine in theory but a bit of a fallacy in practice. As I made the turn to head back the traffic thinned noticeably. It is a net downhill including the relatively steep descent at mile 12. I was feeling good, stretching out my stride and seeing paces in the 6:40 range. About a half mile out I approached another guy in my AG and quickly made the decision to fly by him. I figured getting passed that fast with still a half mile to go would likely not be met with a viable reaction. I was right….after a half minute I looked back and he had no response. This was awesome!!! For the first time I was really racing. Even at IMMOO where I qualified for Kona I didn’t feel like I was racing. I quickly passed 2 guys at the start of the run and knew I was faster than them so it was just a matter of maintaining/conserving my speed so I didn’t blow up. But this….this was real, bona fide, strategic racing. As icing on the cake I approached another guy in my AG with about a quarter mile left. At this point I was pushing as hard as I could with less than 2 minutes of racing left. After a slight left to enter the finish chute I glanced back and he was a few hundred yards behind me. I pushed hard through the finish line and glanced down at my watch…4:28. Sub 4:30 and huge HIM PR!!
After a few minutes recovering I ran into Niels and he and I spoke until Matt crossed the finish line. My phone was in transition (which was closed) so I had no idea where I finished from a rank standpoint but felt reasonably good I could contend for a podium spot and slot to 70.3 Worlds. Matt had stashed his phone with a friend and when he looked up the results I was surprised and disappointed to learn my performance was only good enough for 11th. Given there were only 3 AG slots for worlds in Racine and they rolled down 1 I knew my chances were essentially nil. I was still happy overall, with the race unfolding about as well as I could have hoped (save a few minutes on the swim). Ultimately one of the biggest things outside your control is who shows up, and clearly a lot of really fast dudes in M40-44 showed up. So many in fact there was a thread on Slowtwitch about it.
After grabbing a bite to eat transition opened and I gathered my gear to start the trip home. Given my ranking it wasn’t worth waiting around 3 more hours and getting home late for the unlikely roll-down. I ultimately learned on Slowtwitch that it rolled down at least to 10th. I don’t know if it would have gone to 11th or not, but ultimately I’m ok with my decision. I’ll likely sign up for a spring 70.3 in an attempt to qualify for HIM Worlds in Chatanooga.
Now it’s time to buckle down for the next 7 weeks and show up to Kona ready to rock!
Comments
Re: your bike power, unless you tack together some full swim/bike efforts in training, will be hard to rule out anything else. I just looked at my RR data en route to IMC and the full swim clearly slowed my jets, more so during the race than during the RR (the T1 time during a RR might be 30 minutes). The only unique change in data I see during a race, that I do not see during RR, is my HR. For whatever reason, my HR is usually 5-10 beats higher in the race than during a RR (even at my stoopid slow chicken bucket start speed). At IMC I targeted 205W, but came in under 200. Pretty sure that is a combo of the swim (I rarely get to do a wetsuit swim, I think the resistance in the suit is more than I am used to in the pool) and adrenaline.
Awesome run. Sub 7s. Nuts.
DS
Oh, man, are you ever coming into form.
Number one priority next six weeks: DO NOT GET INJURED!!!! Meaning, don't crash, and remember a day of rest from running now and then may do wonders for avoiding little breakdowns in your legs.
Great race! Good luck in Kona.
Congrats on the PR, Jeremy! That's a huge confidence builder going into Kona. On the bike power numbers I've had it go both ways. I've had races where I was above my targeted power based on a recent race rehearsal and I've had other races where I've been under. Not sure if it's how I approach the swim or if it has to do with my taper and like you it is not an issue with my power meter. interested to hear what you uncover. In any event congrats again and look forward to meeting you in HI.
And as for the first-ever ride on the new bike ... I would have done the same thing!