Larry Steinberg CdA 70.3 Race Report
I'm not new to triathlon's but have been 'gone' for a while. I did IMCDA 8 years ago and Muncie half 19 years ago. Over the past 8 years I've been active racing cyclocross, mountain bikes, and a few Xterra's. I decided over the winter that I wanted to do something 'significant' this year - triathlon related. Also, we became empty nesters and these 70.3 races could be a good reason to travel for a couple of years - my wife is a good sport about the races and enjoys new and fun destinations.
This was my first race with EN training and planning. My primary goal was to execute the race well - this is a real weakness of mine (meaning going way to hard early and walking half the run). I had a secondary stretch goal of breaking 6 hours - I knew this would be a challenge.
The swim was fortunately uneventful. I like the rolling start (new to me). I felt strong and focused on technique. My navigation is comically bad - kept drifting towards the paddleboards. Something to work on. I was pleased w/a 38 min swim - identical to my pool swims during race rehearsals. I'm an 'adult learned' swimmer who gets to the pool once a week - so I'm pretty happy w/my swim time.
As for the bike - I intended to ride at .78 IF but NP was 202 (on 283 FTP) which is .71. VI was 1.06. A couple of interesting points - my PE was higher than my power output and HR (which was spot on my RR bikes). I was really focused on staying smooth and not accelerating at any time. Lot's of people to manage on the course which contributed to the lower IF but also I chose to be conservative because of PE and very concerned about my run. Overall my time was faster (3:01) than anticipated from RR's which had similar elevation gain. This did include a honey bucket stop for a stomach issue - cost was 3:30.
The EN way - during the early climbs I stayed disciplined and had a lot of people going by me. On the last long climb I was passing everyone around me but was still within my power target.
The run - I've been pretty concerned about this. Background: had many nagging running injuries since IM and have done very little running. Working with Coach P, I ran 4x10minutes a week for February and most of March. All my runs were at Zone 2 or below and my only goal was to stay healthy. I got to the start line in good health. My longest run was 8 miles (and longest in 8 years...) and pace was slow - avg 9:45mpm for my runs.
I started out on the run feeling really good but sub 9 pace. Had to rein myself in multiple times during the first 3 miles. Had another stomach issue at mile 3 and threw up - felt better afterwards. Started eating at mile 4 (1 clif blok). I have also had stomach issues in longer tri's and bike rides/races. I walked 20 steps or less at each aid station up to mile 10.
I followed the plan thru 10 miles pretty well. HR average was 138 which is slightly higher than my training HR (137 z2 max). I could feel the 'suck' coming on but kept suppressing it. It was 91 degrees by mile 10 and I was still doing math well - knew I needed to keep the pace and not walk to break 6. At 10.5 I started cramping and drank a hotshot. Had to walk for a minute or two in order to keep it down. History of cramping has told me that I have to take care of them with pickle juice or now hotshot. At this point I was spent, ate the rest of my clif bloks and suffered to the finish line but it was a combination of run and walk.
I finished at 6:05:30. Was my run breakdown a lack of training miles or fuel? I had one week of 4 hours running and 4 weeks over 3 hours. I wouldn't change my run buildup but should have joined EN sooner! Re fuel - I'm a 192# guy (fairly lean) and 200 calories on the run was probably insufficient.
Overall I'm very happy with the experience over the last 5 months plus the race. The EN way appeals to me - focused hard work for training; well planned and execution focused on race day. I executed and managed the race fairly well. I found a new level of suffering on race day. I need to find some fuel that works for me. I wasn't prepared to 'race' the run - only to finish. This is not a surprise based on my preparation but it was 2.5 miles of WTF was I thinking
. I didn't achieve breaking 6 hours but this has me planning how I'll do it next time. My stomach issue stops contributed to 4:41, so I need to solve that issue and find another 49 seconds.
What's next? I wasn't planning on it but maybe a fall 70.3. Definitely a few local Olympics and Xterra.
Open to any and all feedback. Got some great stuff pre-race in my planning thread - appreciate that!
This is exactly how I felt afterwards:
This was my first race with EN training and planning. My primary goal was to execute the race well - this is a real weakness of mine (meaning going way to hard early and walking half the run). I had a secondary stretch goal of breaking 6 hours - I knew this would be a challenge.
The swim was fortunately uneventful. I like the rolling start (new to me). I felt strong and focused on technique. My navigation is comically bad - kept drifting towards the paddleboards. Something to work on. I was pleased w/a 38 min swim - identical to my pool swims during race rehearsals. I'm an 'adult learned' swimmer who gets to the pool once a week - so I'm pretty happy w/my swim time.
As for the bike - I intended to ride at .78 IF but NP was 202 (on 283 FTP) which is .71. VI was 1.06. A couple of interesting points - my PE was higher than my power output and HR (which was spot on my RR bikes). I was really focused on staying smooth and not accelerating at any time. Lot's of people to manage on the course which contributed to the lower IF but also I chose to be conservative because of PE and very concerned about my run. Overall my time was faster (3:01) than anticipated from RR's which had similar elevation gain. This did include a honey bucket stop for a stomach issue - cost was 3:30.
The EN way - during the early climbs I stayed disciplined and had a lot of people going by me. On the last long climb I was passing everyone around me but was still within my power target.
The run - I've been pretty concerned about this. Background: had many nagging running injuries since IM and have done very little running. Working with Coach P, I ran 4x10minutes a week for February and most of March. All my runs were at Zone 2 or below and my only goal was to stay healthy. I got to the start line in good health. My longest run was 8 miles (and longest in 8 years...) and pace was slow - avg 9:45mpm for my runs.
I started out on the run feeling really good but sub 9 pace. Had to rein myself in multiple times during the first 3 miles. Had another stomach issue at mile 3 and threw up - felt better afterwards. Started eating at mile 4 (1 clif blok). I have also had stomach issues in longer tri's and bike rides/races. I walked 20 steps or less at each aid station up to mile 10.
I followed the plan thru 10 miles pretty well. HR average was 138 which is slightly higher than my training HR (137 z2 max). I could feel the 'suck' coming on but kept suppressing it. It was 91 degrees by mile 10 and I was still doing math well - knew I needed to keep the pace and not walk to break 6. At 10.5 I started cramping and drank a hotshot. Had to walk for a minute or two in order to keep it down. History of cramping has told me that I have to take care of them with pickle juice or now hotshot. At this point I was spent, ate the rest of my clif bloks and suffered to the finish line but it was a combination of run and walk.
I finished at 6:05:30. Was my run breakdown a lack of training miles or fuel? I had one week of 4 hours running and 4 weeks over 3 hours. I wouldn't change my run buildup but should have joined EN sooner! Re fuel - I'm a 192# guy (fairly lean) and 200 calories on the run was probably insufficient.
Overall I'm very happy with the experience over the last 5 months plus the race. The EN way appeals to me - focused hard work for training; well planned and execution focused on race day. I executed and managed the race fairly well. I found a new level of suffering on race day. I need to find some fuel that works for me. I wasn't prepared to 'race' the run - only to finish. This is not a surprise based on my preparation but it was 2.5 miles of WTF was I thinking
. I didn't achieve breaking 6 hours but this has me planning how I'll do it next time. My stomach issue stops contributed to 4:41, so I need to solve that issue and find another 49 seconds.What's next? I wasn't planning on it but maybe a fall 70.3. Definitely a few local Olympics and Xterra.
Open to any and all feedback. Got some great stuff pre-race in my planning thread - appreciate that!
This is exactly how I felt afterwards:
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Comments
I think you could have made it through the run absent your stomach issues. Hopefully your able to run more and get a good base for your future races. I think you'll easily break six hours next time if you can figure out the nutrition.