Derrek's 70.3 Raleigh Race Report
This was my 7th half iron distance triathlon.
Looking at the overall results and considering my AG placements, I can say “overall”
it was a good day; however, one aspect was embarrassingly awful. In case you don’t
want to keep reading, here’s the short version. The swim was my worse-ever since doing triathlon; great bike (9th fastest AG) and
great run (2nd fastest AG). Overall, 11th place AG. Results:
5:22 with a :59 swim, 2:38 bike and 1:38 run.
Pre-race and race morning was uneventful and went as planned, so I’ll get to race day.
Swim:
Bottom line, I screwed up executing a good swim start. Unlike I had in my race plan, I started off too fast and mistakenly ended up in the thrashes of the crowd. I hate contact in the swim and always try to start off to the side away from the buoys. A combination of over exerting myself and getting beat up caused my HR raise and respiration to get out of control to where it felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. I ended up stopping/breast stroking a few minutes 3-4 different times and finally everything calmed down and I got to swimming. This has happened before but I thought I learned how to avoid as it never happened last year. I guess it didn’t help that this was my second time in the open water this year (another lesson learned).
T1: 2:57 - Came out of the water expecting a slow time but was shocked seeing 59 mins. That really messed with my head for the next 30 mins or so. Otherwise T1 was uneventful and slow.
Bike (.78 IF, 1.04 VI, 202 NP, 135 Avg HR):
The first ~20 mins I focused on drinking GE and riding easy, then I went into race mode. I was targeting .81-.85 IF but maintained a comfortably hard effort. My first lesson learned was that I need to change my cassette from an 11-28 for courses like Raleigh. I was mostly in the big ring and the 1-3 smallest cogs on flats and slight descents. Most descents of -1 to -2%, I would spin out and could not keep power in Z3. Initially it was frustrating but I took it was an opportunity to let my HR come down. The climbing started around mile 31 and I focused on not spiking watts and keeping steady power over the crest. I felt strong the entire time and had a few moments I thought I should back off to save my legs for the run, but decided to stick to my plan for a best effort bike. Nutrition/hydration worked out perfectly as I had good energy throughout, no GI issues and no cramping. I had ~2.5 bottles of GE the first hour, then ~3 bottles the remaining time. Took 1 S!Cap at the 1 and 2 hour marks.
T2: 2:54 - Another slow transition. I probably used 20 seconds being a good sport by helping the guy next me on the next rack rack his bike as he was having a difficult time with a tight space and trying not to touch the other bikes.
Run (7:31 pace, 150 Avg HR):
I ran easy to keep my HR under 145 the first 3 miles and constantly looked at HR on my watch. Fortunately, at the 3 mile point we did a U-turn and had a slight downhill and that’s when I picked up my pace. I didn’t look at my HR or pace until mile ten mainly because I run by feel/RPE and since the course had a lot of ups and downs I wouldn’t get a true reading. My legs felt great and I just focused on keeping cool. I had ice in the Race Saver bag under my EN trucker hat and poured water on my back at most aid stations. I was able to keep my effort steady. Again, energy levels were great the entire run and no muscle cramps. I experienced some minor hip flexor tightness, but not enough to reduce my effort. I stopped at two aid stations and ran through all the others, as I was feeling good…and not suffering. I stopped at the second aid station to get ice and at the 8 or 9 mile aid station I walked about 15 seconds while taking in fluids. I took only water at every aid station the first half and then started drinking GE. I had a gel at mile 4 and 8 and never felt the need for coke.
It was great meeting teammate Brian T and catching up with teammate Mike R and getting great tips on the course. And it was great hanging out with teammate Frank W., who I first met at IMMT in 2014.
Though I bungled my swim, which crushed my spirits for a while, I feel good about my bike and run. I’m realizing that I can push harder on the bike and still run well, which I think is aided by good fueling on the bike. Now, back to IMLP training and lots of OWSing, after some recovery.
Thanks for reading.
Comments
Most will end up burning lots of matches on the bike to make up for a slow swim time and then end up paying for it on the run, especially with heat.
Very veteran of you to get that under control and not let it overtake you.
Great example here of how to handle setbacks, move forward and turn a problem into a success!
Congratulations!
SS
Mike, your tips on the swim were accurate but did not make me concerned/anxious/nervous or anything, so no worries. I felt confident at the start until I didn't and then went into survival mode.