Francis Picard's Mont Tremblant 70.3 Race report
My goal this year was to go sub 5 hours, missed that goal by 1 minute last year and they were no way I was going to miss it this year.
Back from IMAZ, I did the RD prog and did the JOS.
CTL was at 143.4 before entering race.
We arrived on Thursday night, was able to do 30’ of Swim, bike and run on Friday.
An easy swim on Saturday.
Now the fun part..
Swim:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1053864953
The swim is an unsolved mistery, I cant explain, my times in the pool are just not applying into the OWS.
It was the first year with the rolling start and its was a good decision from the RD. Not much to say, seems I swam straight – based on strava 1899M.
Ag: 44th
O/A : 306
Time : 32:27
T1 : 4:20
Bike
https://www.strava.com/activities/1053865317
The bike is my limiter, I cant do the long rides every 2 week because my wife works and I have to take care of the kids, but in the same time I am pretty sure its where I can cut the most of my time, if I can cut about 15-20 minutes on the bike, that would be great ! I am starting to be less scare on the downhills, since I crashed 2 years ago, my mind is freezing when I go faster than 35kph on the downhills but no problems going 45-50kph on the flat.. go figure !
The temperature was perfect, no winds, no rain, a bit cold when getting out of the water but once I got to work it wasn’t that bad. Compare to IMAZ, I was able to pee on the bike and didn’t need to stop to do so.
VI: 1.17 -
IF 0.82
In the last 3 weeks before the race Patrick and I decided to increase the FTP by 10watts without doing another test and trained the “long rides” at 80%
My 2 questions here based on the run are:
1) Is FTP too low ?
2) Could I have try to push to 85% ?
Ag: 96th
O/A : 634
Time : 2:43:41 – PR by 1:21
I always loose potion on the bike
T2: 1:06 – the main reasons:
I bought new biking shoes last week (real tri shoes) so when I got on T1 I decided to go sockless since I was confortable in those shoes and decided to try for the first time to fly dismount. So basically only have to put on my running shoes and go – wonder where I rank with that Transition.
Run:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1053865045/overview
Goal here was to even split and I think I got it, I forgot to hit lap button at the mid point, but 10.5KM mark gives 46 minutes and did 92:07
During the HIM build, Patrick had me modified my training by doing so a z4 interval mile during my long run and add an additional mile every week, which means that my last long run during my HIM build had a 10X1M @ z4 goal was to be able to get at a half marathon of about 1h30, next step is to go in the 1h27 range.
So basically I started at a confortable pace and tried to keep smooth until we get to the bike path where the plan was to start the engine, it was really motivating to pass a lot of people and not seeing yet anybody coming from the other direction, it is really the first time since I am racing that I really feel I was racing and was able to push and be red faced (you can see by the HR line that is a up straight line).
I also didn’t take a look at the total time on my watch until the turn around, when I did it, did a quick math and knew I was going to make it so I decided to go for sub 4h55.
I think I still have places to get better on the run and looking fwd how all this work so far this year will translate into the IM build
Nutrition was 2 gels, one at 5k mark and the other one at the turn around. Took water every 2 stations, didn’t walk any
Ag: 15th
O/A: 95
Time: 1:32:32 – PR by 5:19
Final:
AG: 35
O/A: 235
Time: 4:54:06 – PR by 7:16
Conclusions:
1) When I look at the AG top 5 – its really on bike, they are 25-27 minutes than me and 2 minutes faster on the swim
2) RD is THE thing you people need to follow, I had put full trust on this in the last 2 years and its starting to pay off
3) Transitions are free time, important to keep giving attention to those small details
4) No way when I did my first 70.3 2 years ago in Mallorca with a 5h45 time I could even think possible to cut 60 minutes in 2 years.
Thanks for reading and don’t hesitate to give me your critics, I really wanna get better in that sport
Comments
I followed you all morning. You had a great race with an amazing run! I assume by RD, you mean run durability. That seems to be a common theme of successful races the past year or so. Congratulations on a great race and good luck with IMMT!
Ftp too low? Only a test would really tell. Jump to 85% IF? NO ... even 1-2% increment might be too much. You *might* have been able to get away with 0.83, but focus on w/kg and FTP improvements as your targets, then use race rehearsals to determine how much you can push it. For a 2:45 bike split, 0.82/3 is the max.
One thing jumps out - the VI of 1.17 - that shows a big opportunity for improvement without increasing your fitness. Smoother execution is "free" speed. A goal for this course might be 1.06/08? Also, you've identified downhill confidence as an opportunity. Only practice on steep slopes will help here. I assume you are not in the aerobars while descending? Trying to go fast while on the bars always scares me to death; I go faster when I grab the bull horns.
Keep taking it one step at a time - 15-20 minutes in one chunk on the HIM bike leg is probably not feasible; 5-8 minutes next time around certain is.
Hello Francis - congrats on a great race! A 7-minute PR is very impressive
The slower pace in open water could be from several factors:
All that can easily add up to 10 seconds per 100
The bike is tougher to diagnose with only your Strava files. It could be related to fit, but I recall you had that reviewed last year. There’s an easy test you can try: hold a certain power (200 watts or so) while in the regular roadie position and note your HR; then switch to the aero position for a couple of minutes; if HR spikes or power drops it may be a position issue. If it doesn't change then you could possibly go lower on the bars
But of course, there’s nothing like Lionel Sanders-type power to push through any ride. Try something like an 8 x 1’ Crush workout: shoot for holding 380-400 watts for each interval; take 2-4 minutes to recover until your HR gets back to low Z2; do this in place of one of your weekday rides; perhaps only a few of these on the way to IMMT, then a bunch more before IM Lou
As for the run, wow that’s a great result! I know you’ve put in the effort on your training runs, I’m happy to see it has paid off
Really well paced run. awesome transition. I am amazed you ran sockless for 21.1k. A few years ago I rubbed all the skin off the insides of both feet after doing the run leg of an olympic race sockless and I could barely walk for a week so now I always wear socks. Your feet are tougher than mine!!!
Coach Rich I believe has said "there is no such thing as a good bike leg followed by a bad run" . IMO 85% of FTP for HIM bike may be possible IF you are going well under 2:30 for the bike split, otherwise you risk blowing up the run. Check out the TSS chart in the wiki. Focussing on your VI may be more useful in the shorter term. Simply staying on the power on some of the downhills may help improve your overall bike speed.
For the swim- you are relatively a very good pool swimmer, so sighting may be a problem as already stated above. It may be causing to you drop your hips and screwing up your pull. Maybe try sighting 1-2x/ length on your next 2000m time trial and see how that affects your time?
Al T. nailed both of those in his comments......
First, you have come a long way in a short period FP! Just fantastic work and great progress. You have gotten smarter, faster and much more disciplined vs. 2 years ago.
For both HIM and IM, the bike is 50% of your time and it dictates how well you run.
Focusing on raising that w/kg ratio, practicing applying that to a technical course (lower V.I.) is your highest ROI for your next step in the evolution.
Super congratulations IM!
SS
Thanks for the input and I was really surprised to see 1.17VI, need to nail it lower so as other mentionned its free speed.
as for the downhill, I am on the bull horns, I once had a front wheel wobble and crashed (on the IMMT course while training 3 years ago) and since that time I freeze on the downhills but can get higher speed on the flats..
@Paul Curtin
I like the idea of your test, that could help validate the fitting
@Brian Hagan
yes RD = run durability
@Turby Wright
yes I've been following the discussion on the IMLP forum regarding transition and dont remember who said but it was saying that T's are free speed and should be sprinted !
@Satish Punna
sighting makes sense, in the pool you dont need it, therefore my head never goes up and create unbalance and have the body creating a block in the water
@Shaughn Simmons
Agree with you that bike is an important portion of a race and its a must now to bring it to another level if I wish to get where I want, will focus on execution next week when I will be doing the camp week.
@Jeff Kane
See you in October in KY !
I'd echo Al's comment on VI. I looked in my training log at a couple of 70.3s, and the highest VI I could find was for St George last year, which is a hilly course and I was riding in a monsoon suffering from hypothermia. That was only 1.1. I am usually in the 1.2 range on my MTB, where I don't pedal much on descents because I am navigating single track. Perhaps your phobia about descending is related to the VI in that you're not pedaling much on descents.
My bike handling skills have improved tremendously since I took up MTBing last year (although I'm still a mediocre MTB technical rider). I was terrified of descending single track. I got a pro MTBer to coach me and learned about the attack position. She said, "if you're not pedaling, get your butt off the seat and get in the attack position." I'm surprised how many riders I see descending planted on the seat. I've found this works really well on a road bike too. Here are a few resources:
http://www.mtbtechniques.co.uk/FundamentalsAttack.html
As for the swim, I too am a good pool swimmer, and I can be a good OWS when the conditions are pool-like. Which means I have clear water near the front, no big swells or chop. If the conditions get crowded or choppy, I become average at best. One of the consistent themes I've seen in my research is that you have to have different swim weapons available for different conditions. I typically get most of my power at the front of my pull. But in crowded conditions, it can be almost impossible to fully roll, extend and grab big water out front. The solution, so I'm told, is shorten the stroke, grab water earlier, then apply the big force to the latter half of the pull (from the chin to the hip). Shortening the stroke should be accompanied by a quicker turnover (I'm shooting for 75-80 spm), so the "feeling" is that you're constantly hitting the gas, with one arm constantly pulling. No gliding at all. I haven't proven that any of ^^ works in the real world, so take with a grain of salt and please share if you make any advances.
If you look at theobsessedtriathlete.com, you'll see you were 44 in the swim, 97 on the bike and 16 on the run in your AG. The 44 is ok and the 16 is awesome. My guess is that if you were 30, 30 and 16, you would have been top 10 or 15. By the way, right before I joined EN, in my last 70.3 I was 30th, 150th and 57th, so you should feel good about your 97.
The TP screenshot says you rode at 2.59 w/kg. With an NP of 224, that's 86kgs or 190 lbs? If so, you have a kg issue to address if you really want to ride with the top guys on hilly courses. And if you want to ride on the hilly, technical courses, you gotta become a better overall rider. If downhills cause you angst, seek out flatter courses - there are plenty. Others far brighter than me have already mentioned the high VI. But just look at your Strava file to see the effect of that high VI - you coasted the downhills, then hit HUGE watts on the ups, often in the 450-650w range. And your HR yo-yo'd from 90 to 160+, over and over again. You simply can't do that. It almost certainly hurt your run last week, but 70.3 is short enough, and you had enough fitness, to overcome and still post a blazing run. But Louisville will be a long, dark, ugly walk if you climb those hills above 400w. Heck, you really shouldn't come close to hitting 300w.
I just looked at my Strava file from Raleigh 70.3 a few weeks ago. Elevation gain is almost identical to Tremblant (Raleigh had 4 more feet of elevation). And our average HR was identical - 138. My HR maxed out at 146 right when I got on the bike and only hit 140 a handful of times. But you frequently jacked yours into the 160s, maxing at 163. Get out and ride some hills with a wattage goal of, say, 200. Try to stay within 5-10 watts of 200 for the entire ride. It can be difficult and will take a lot of focus, but with practice you'll become better with the gears. Again, Louisville will richly reward the fast runners (you) who can navigate that bike course with a good VI. But it'll be downright mean to those who post 1.17s.
Congrats again. Can't wait to see what you do in October.
MR
Thanks for the feedback ! as formy weight, I am 69Kg (was 67kg on race day morning post breakfast), I just never thought of adjusting this value in TP.. just did. I always find hard to keep watts low when climbing, it always get over the roff easily
I just went visit the theobsseded triathlete and found I did the 2nd best T2 in my AG hah.
@Brenda Ross
oh ! damn sorry I know it got me the last power I needed
@Tim Sullivan
I was in the same position of you that I wasnt able to "actually race".. once you touch it, it gets addictive
@Danielle Santucci
yeah I know bike camp would be a really great thing to add next year ! Dunno which one but its seriously something I would love to add to my training
@Gabe Peterson
Thank for the link ! will take a look, but living in downtown Montréal and have to plan 3hrs to just get out of the island Mtb bike is a no-no for me.. but when did a lot of mtb bike when I was a kid and i was a crazy mofo back in those days
Francis- Great results! But I agree that you can and will take off more time, most notably from the bike. Mike Roberts has some excellent suggestions. As others have noted, your VI stood out to me as the most obvious thing, even on a hilly course. Regarding descending on the bike, I have also gone to riding in the bullhorns for the longer and steeper descents. Not only will you feel more secure with your hands near the brakes, but if you lower your chin, I think you can actually get more aero than riding in the bars. You are a great swimmer. I've seen your times in the pool and I would kill to be that fast! I know that you do some of your swim RR in the pool too. Do you practice OWS in your wetsuit? How do your times compare to what you are seeing on race day in those swims if you are doing them? Are you feeling more strain or winded after an OWS in a wetsuit than in the pool?
You put in some of the hardest efforts for your workouts on the team. Very happy for you to hit your goal!!
143 CTL the day before a HIM is huge....did you taper and if so, what was your peak CTL? Those are IM training numbers.
On bike gains.....Roberts hits at some obvious points. You mention your lack of long rides which makes your CTL even more insane if that was primarily swims, runs, and shorter rides. I'd suggest a few focused, early morning sessions to knock out longer rides. If your kids get up at 7 start riding at 4 and get in a solid ride.
143 CT was 7 days before the race - I did taper by doing the ADV HIM week 20. The night before the race I was at 133.3
I like your suggestion on getting on the bike early on the week ends my wife is working.. i dont live far from the F1 race track so it might be something to try.
@Brad Marcus
Other than race week I dont OWS, I would need to drive about 1h00-1h30 to get to places where I can OWS but when I OWS its always with a wetsuit.
My RR in the pool are at about 1:30/100M VS 1:42ish/100M in race
@Al Truscott
I guess I need to get into your bike camps ahah..
@Brian Hagan
When I was looking one at people bombing the downhills I felt bad for the "missed free speed" hope someday the paranoia will go away
@Mike Roberts
KG issues are a old story now hah. It brings me to 3,98kg/watts, will look into the fitting way by trying what Paul Curtin suggested.
Thanks all! its all very generous from you taking that time, improving points are all in the same direction, I know where the work is needed
Congrats on the sub 5 hr race. Those extra hills in the OS really paid off on the run.
After entering my weight in TP, it seems like my VI changed.. I dont understand why, it now shows 1.01, the w/kG is now realist
Raleigh
Tremblant
I know my homeworks now for the next 8 weeks until IMMT !