Gulf Coast 70.3. woohoo!
This was a fun race but unpredictable. The swim got cancelled appropriately for very dangerous high sea conditions with rip tide. The bike was a time trial bike which is usually really fun as you can follow your competition on the way out (6 bike lengths please) and catch them at the end. However on a triathlon, that makes no sense! I tucked in under the wind and stayed in my box. I had issues with folks drafting off of me and then cutting right in front of me forcing me to sit up but the officials were great and did penalize one of the ladies who was really a pain in the butt about this... after getting off the bike I felt pretty good and ready for the run but not for the heat! the first run around was ok, the second run around was not so good, and the third run around was not nice! I ran out of salt at one point due to dropping a pack of three capsules but had BASE which helped to prevent the muscle cramps. I walked a bit on those aide stations and hated myself for that! However, in the end, looking at my numbers, I averaged a heart rate of 163 over 2 hours and achieved a new threshold according to Training Peaks... (is this a good thing? or not!) Anyway, caught a 4th spot and was happy with that. got a roll down to Chattanooga but I can't go that weekend due to work... so did get to pass the Karma down to a fellow competitor who was behind me by three minutes. On the bike my average power was 123 with my FTP being 157 so I tried to execute but Mother Nature took the pace out of my run. I would have still gotten 4th at that pace but lessons learned, acclimate more. (I did use ice liberally and held chunks in my hands and in other strategic areas... but it wasn't quite enough). Mother Nature had her day...
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Comments
Here's my quick recap: I was really bummed about the swim although I agree it was the right call. Due to my walk-up number (1568) I was one of the last to start with mostly just the relay bikers starting behind me. It also meant that I was going to face the worst of the heat on the run and I am physiologically not built for it. I was sweating profusely the first hour of the bike, but really pushing fluids and biked 2:30 well within my should pace. I got off the bike feeling great and decided to go for it on the first loop just for points since Chattanooga isn't calling to me. Typically if I've overdone the bike, I will cramp on the run right away, but I was running faster than I had all year and was hoping for a breakthrough. Instead I got a breakdown. I made it to about 6 miles when I imploded, slowed significantly, and then the cramps came on. Left calf, right calf, right shin, and left hamstring. No place to hide in that sun! It was ugly. Ended up 4:58, 8th in my AG. Smart execution might have netted me 3rd. Lessons learned: Hot Shot doesn't cut it. Pickle Juice Sport is better and Base Salt helps too. I still suck running in the heat, and I will go back to the EN way in the next IM70.3 ... probably Augusta in Sep.
i raced 70.3 gulf coast on Saturday 5/13.
This was my first 70.3 and 2nd tri in over 10 years
I raced because i was tired of training and needed to just race so I could take a break from training despite knowing that my run was not ready, I had put off racing as long as I could.
results
i was 5th in ag65-69, my bike was ok , but my run was below expectations
in training i had run 9:20 pace for hour runs off 60 mile bike rides but my race pace was 11:30/mile. My race goal was 2 hours, but i knew i wasnt capable of that
The swim was cancelled, so we had a bike time trial start in race number sequence on 4" intervals, the first person started about 6:25am and as my race number was 1572 - i was almost the last person to start at about 90 minutes later @ 7:55 am. 3 of the 4 ag65-69people ahead of me had low race numbers due to AWA and started at the front of the line. During the race it did get windier and hotter. Paul hough was racked next to me @ #1568
nutrition - i never peed during race , despite drinking over 2 gallons of liquid - dehydrated?
in some beach training runs here in naples fl, I have lost 7 lbs / hour (excluding what I drank on the run) - I weigh 157
i was fully hydrated before my bike , peeing right before my start
on the bike i drank 6 gatorade water bottles, approx 144 oz w/3000mg of sodium plus 8 salt tabs for 1600mg of sodium, or a total of 4600mg of sodium on bike
i dont think i could have drank more on bike
on the run i walked every aid station, i drank 3 to 4 cups of gatorade at each, say 10oz x13 aid stns = 130 oz and say approx 3200mg of sodium plus 4 more salt tabs for 800 mg of sodium . On the run i could have tried to drink even more
i ran with a bag of ice in each hand, which i refilled at each aid stn - which helped keeping me cooler then i would have otherwise been.
so in total i drank more then 2 gallons or 16 lbs of liquid and almost 10000 mg of sodium, yet i didnt start peeing until 3 hours after the race, despite drinking alot after i finished
my energy level throughout the race was fine, i dont think i needed more calories, i didnt bonk or cramp. I felt ok during race, just hot, and unable to run faster, i never walked except thru aid stns, i felt my run pace was consistent , but slow, during the race
My heart rate was 10-15 bpm higher on both the bike and run then in training. It was also higher then normal a few days prior to and on race morning
on bike my hr was 146 vs 130 in training, on run it averaged 160, which was my cap, vs <150 in training. As I have a stent in my LAD and CHD I try to be somewhat conservative on redlining
My hr
My heart rate variabilty was running 10/10 before the race during my taper, but in the last 3 days before the race it dropped significantly and my resting heart rate rose 10+ bpm and i felt tired, yet my taper, i thought was ok. I cant explain the drop in my HRV readiness score or rise in resting heart rate, note my hrv was a 10 on sunday and monday following the race! Go figure that out!
my TSB was 40+ on race morning - very good
my bike power was a little lower then on my training rides despite good training results and a good taper.
Despite higher hr and lower power - my ride was ok, but below expectations
so i cant explain my poor run except due to dehydration and just being new to running since i only started running september 2016
HRV data
Bike & run hr and pace
It was a tough day out there!