Jeff Horn Florida 70.3 Race Report
As a preface, I raced here last year to a 5:20 finish. Had a real crappy run last year after nuking the bike (as almost every race I did in swim/bike/walk fashion). Bike and run fitness are both improved from last year at this time, so I thought all things being equal, I wanted to move that dial back towards 5hr mark. I thought a 5:05-5:10 was well within reason. Overall goal though was a more balanced effort.
Prerace: No real prerace nerves or jitters. Week of the race was super taper as I worked nonstop trying to get out of town…no swim, bike or run wko all week. Saturday met up with the team at lunch and had a very light day other than a bike shake out ride. Sunday woke up at 3:15 to get breakfast in. Bagel with peanut butter and honey, two applesauce pouches, bottle of gatorade. Drove to race site and got parking handled and transition handled. Met with team for prerace mojo.
Swim (37:02): Self seeded in 37-40’ section. Swam 36 and change last year, so was thinking similar this year. Course is so funky that I didn’t think much improvement was in the cards. Opted for wetsuit at 75.9. Swim started pretty well. Started on left line and then worked my way towards the red turn buoy. Seemed like a lot more contact than last year. Somehow I always feel slower in my wetsuit possibly due to never swimming in it in training, and also seems like the fit allows water to get in at back of neck. Always feel water flowing into arms as well. Must sort this out.
T1 (5:52): No real issues here. Long run around oval transition as mine was last rack. Swimsuit off, trisuit sleeves on. Socks, shoes, helmet go. WTF took so long? Not sure, wish there was some video. I remember putting on some sunscreen but that didn’t add that much time. Should have been about 3-4 minutes.
Bike (2:43:58): Came out focusing on race plan of 75%FTP for 20 minutes after which start nutrition and bring it up to zone 3. This was going fine out of T1. Felt smooth and comfortable. Mile 19 I felt a weird vibe from rear wheel—was running a disc. Wheel felt squishy on some bumps. Pulled over to check and it and was about half flat. Decided just to change it. Took much longer than expected. Accidentally took entire tire off instead of only one bead. Also had trouble filling with CO2 for some reason...couldn't get a good seal between CO2 and valve. I’ve changed the disc tube in garage, but never in a race so this was all new. Sure enough mechanic car stopped right as I’m putting wheel back onto bike. Rest of ride was fine. Held power at 215 +/_ and HR was high 130’s. Legs felt really good. Second part of bike I felt strong despite hills and headwinds. Was passing a lot of people at a good clip (most of same ones that passed me while changing Le flat). Since bike was sidelined by flat early on, was trying not to crush it to make up time…kept thinking I need to save some energy for run. I got in 2 bottles of EFS pro at 240 Cal/bottle and half a bottle of Gatorade. I drank NO water, only used for cooling. Still trying to get my file off Garmin Edge. Fenix says 2:37, IF 0.77, NP 204, VI 1.06. Never calibrated fenix to my quarq so not sure how accurate.
T2 (2:53): I spent a little too much time looking for my rack (bike rack was on lower platform, while I was looking on upper one) I guess my brain wasn’t working too well. Great transition for me otherwise. Opted for no fuel belt as past races have told me I hate carrying it.
Run (2:04:12): Left transition running and began to follow plan. Again, my legs felt great which has never happened in any race. My HR was a bit high though and had a hard time matching bike HR. But I felt good running. First mile was 8:30 and I thought shit that was too much too soon (for me anyway). Backed off a little and was in control for first three miles. Here I started taking 10 steps though Aid station to down some Gatorade and cool off with water bath. Took in Gatorade every mile until mile 6/7 then started switching Gatorade / coke. Had good energy until about mile 10/11. Began to fade/fatigue a good bit. Walked a bit more each mile. The hill took its toll on me the second lap.. Again, my legs felt good for the first race ever. My stomach usually sloshes and makes me walk early on. It did very well until about the 10/11 mile mark and started to have stomach cramp. I had given my salt away at mile 3 to a lady that was writhing around like a European soccer player. Figured it would give me good karma, but chalk that up to “no friends” --keep salt to myself next time. Looking at results, this is the first time that I have moved up on the field during the run. I am usually top 1/3 after bike and damn near last after run giving away all my ground. I think I gained about 10 age group slots after run this race so something positive to take away. Last three miles I was looking at calf #'s trying to catch and pass anyone in age group...that was fun.
Summary: Felt good during race, and thought I had a balanced effort. Was certainly pleased with the run effort early on. Disappointed in the overall time, as goal was 5:05 – 5:10 but I come away with a positive vibe from the effort and execution as coming along nicely.
Goals for next race (Chatt 70.3 May 20): Shed some LB. Continue run improvement. Go a little harder on the bike.
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