2017 IM Chatt 70.3 Race Report - Tommy Bonds
Race Date: Sunday, May 21, 2017
General Info: Bib 2174 / Age 43 / Points 2679
Race Day Stats:
Total Time / AG Place / Overall Place: 04:52:20 / 44 / 383
● Swim Time / AG / Gender / OA: 00:22:59 / 188 / 1026 / 1511 *swim .81 miles 1:39/100yd
● T1 Time: 04:40
● Bike Time / AG / Gender / OA: 2:38:30 / 100 / 508 / 660
● T2 Time: 02:41
● Run Time / AG / Gender / OA: 1:43:30 / 44 / 292 / 383
SWIM DETAILS | Division Rank: 188
Goal1: Swim: Do better than I did in 2015 which was 43:06 and also keep my son in sight during his first 70.3.
Did you achieve it? The swim was shortened due to the strong current but I did swim a better pace than 2015 due in large part to the current. 2015 pace 2:13/100 and 2017 pace 1:39/100. I managed to keep Colin in sight the first half and even stopped to talk to him about 300-400yds into the race when I saw him stop. He was struggling with the cold water (73*) which I was as well. I varied to far to the left and lost him so that played on my mind for the remainder of the swim as I struggled to sight with foggy goggles and get back on course to get between the 2 red bouys and make exit. I had to slow/stop to keep from getting into several swimmers. I feel it is better to give them space as opposed to fighting with them for a position that I can make up on the bike and run. Exit was a little cluttered as people struggled to get to the steps but went as smooth as could be expected with 100+ trying to exit the water. Air temp 70* water temp ~73*
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Struggle with a few people and the continual sighting to watch for Colin did not allow me to get into a good rhythm. This also allowed me to pull left off the course and stay tense during the swim.
https://www.strava.com/activities/999204363
BIKE DETAILS | Division Rank: 100
Goal2: Bike: Finish in 2:35:00 and come off the bike in a good position knowing my run was not where it should be due to surgery to remove 2 cervical disc 1/19/2017. My 2015 time was 2:39:59 and I felt like I could beat that considerably on this course.
Did you achieve it? Did not hit the time goal but I did ride at a faster time and finished better in the standings than I did in 2015. I am happy with the ride and felt good throughout. This was my first race with power and I had a goal to maintain an IF 0.9 and tried to maintain power around 170w with HR in low to mid Z3. I am still struggling maintaining 3s power reading after riding with power the last couple months. My HRM never picked up coming out of the swim. This seems to be the norm as the exception. Not sure why it does not pick up after the swim. I came off the bike in good shape, but over hydrated and over fueled because I had to pee 4 times on the bike and was starting to get an upset gut. I drank most of 3 bottles of Infinit during the ride and only a sip or 2 of water. (I used water to wash off and stay cool mostly) Air temp 70* partially cloudy 88% humidity
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? The weather turned out nice overcast but a little humid so this helped. I assume the lack of ride time after surgery hurt me to some extent but I can’t complain with my time and pace. I thought I rode pretty smart and managed the ride fairly well. I need to dial it back a little for the full at Louisville but I still have some left to give for the Olympic in July.
https://www.strava.com/activities/999204625/analysis
RUN DETAILS | Division Rank: 44
Goal3: Run a sub 2 hr half due to lack of training (2015 1:46:15 best 1:39:35)
Did you achieve it? I achieved my time goal and didn’t leave much in the tank so I feel good about the run and even beat my 2015 time. I knew the run would be my weakness because I did not start running until 4wks prior and those were just easy runs as I was not able to run hard or push it because of the bone grafts and the risk to my recovery. I thought if I could manage an 8:30 pace I would be in pretty good shape without risk of blowing up early. My plan was to come off the bike at an easy pace and walk the first hill leading to mile 1 then back to running until Battery Hill (walk) then easy run remainder of course taking a few steps as needed. I carried a 10oz bottle of Infinit but never took 1 sip because of my stomach. I never really got sick but I felt like I could at any minute. I took water at most stops and Gatorade twice I think. I filled my ice bag 3 or 4 times and kept it on me to keep cool while also dumping water on my chest and neck several times. I struggled a little on mile 10 and 11 allowing my pace to drop to 8:26/8:49 but was able to pick it back up on mile 12 and 13 to <8:00. My cadence was a little lower than I wanted but still averaged 170. Air temp 72* partially cloudy 78% humidity
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? I over compensated my nutrition on the bike for the conditions, which were not has warm as I’m used to riding. I was so afraid of not being able to finish the run because of the lack of training but I didn’t really hold back on the first half like I probably should have and that resulted in a slower 2nd half but I really had no idea how it would turn out. I was running on experience basically. My HRM was still not picking up so I was running strictly on RPE. The stomach discomfort worried me to some extent but I played it smart with liquid intake and used water and ice for cooling. My legs felt great but my feet not so much. I had blisters on the top of my foot from the tongue of my shoe and my little toe was raw and bleeding by mile 7 due to the saturated shoes and no socks (which I never wear on any race under 13.1) My threshold has declined and my pace likewise from the 3 month break from running. It will come back but will take time.
https://www.strava.com/activities/999204430
Transition Details
Goal4: Transitions: Get in and get out smoothly but quickly.
Did you achieve it? Since I didn’t really have a time goal I feel like I achieved my goal. I wasted some time from swim to T1 looking for my wife to check the status of my son to make sure he was out of the water but I never did see her. Once in transition I took time to find him and made sure he was ok before I proceeded. Luckily he was in transition already and that allowed me to relax. He left out just in front of me on the bike and I could see him the first 5mi so I was happy about that. Everything was in ziplock bags under the bike because of the threat of rain so it took a little extra time to open the bags and deal with that but I still managed a very good transition.
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Out of the norm setup with everything in bags may have slowed my times down just a little but organization helped. I had my bike shoes and towel in 1 bag and put the towel and goggles and cap back in the bag after retrieving my shoes. My run shoes and socks if I chose to wear was in a bag and then I had my hat with glasses wrapped in a bandana together with belt and bottle of nutrition and quart ziplock in another bag that I could grab on the go. I put on the items in my run bag as I walked out of transition and disposed of bag in trash can on exit except for the quart bag.
Next Time -- Overall Lessons Learned
I feel like the race went pretty well. We travelled in Friday evening and stayed at the Staybridge ~1.2mi away. Sat morning we slept in and ate a good breakfast before walking to athlete village to do the admin stuff and have lunch. We caught a shuttle back and rode the bikes back for check in around 330 and took a shuttle back. We had a good supper and was in bed shortly after 8pm. The heavy rain and winds had started and we expected to wake to more rain and thunderstorms but when we woke at 430 it was overcast but clear. Radar showed rain again about 7 but it held off. Had a good breakfast of oatmeal, banana and water. Sipped a Gatorade and about half a Luna bar 30min before swim. I think I will plan a little different breakfast next time. Past races I have had a PB & B wrap before the swim and it worked ok.
I will adjust the bike nutrition based on conditions next race and maybe take in less nutrition when temps are cooler but overall I was fueled for the run so I can deal with the stomach distress I had since it never really affected my performance. I thought the ziplock bags to keep gear dry and organized went very well and did not cost much time. My wife drove us close to transition and then found a parking place. Parking was ~1/2mi away so that presented a problem getting bikes and gear back to the car but not really anything we could do different. I might consider socks on the run especially on the full IM since I had a few blisters on this run. Overall I am happy with the outcome. I am now transitioning to a get faster plan until 7/17 when I transition to EN Full Intermediate for IM LOU Oct 15th. I will be doing a 10NM run 6/4 and an Olympic 7/9 but other than that just focus on getting faster and prepared for IM while sending my son off to college to continue his running career.