Scott Liston's Ohio 70.3 Report
2018 Ironman 70.3 Ohio Race Report – Scott Liston
Hi folks! Here’s a quick report on Ironman 70.3 Ohio.
Context & Training
First, some background. In 2017 I did IM 70.3 Muncie and IM 70.3 Steelhead and was gearing up toward the full in 2018. On August 18th 2017, I crashed on my bike and crushed my left clavicle. After surgery and rehab, I was cleared to start training again November 5th. I adjusted my plan to do two HIMs – Ohio and Steelhead.
The big difference in training this year for me was Zwift. I got on in November and was a regular including mid-week during the HIM training. Racing on Zwift has definitely made me push harder on the bike than previous years. I started racing in the 2.3-2.5 W/kg. and have moved that up to 2.7-2.9 W/kg. My goal for next season is to be a B racer!
I also joined Strava and have enjoyed the mojo from seeing teammates’ workouts and getting encouragement from them. So, if you are looking for small changes to improve I recommend Zwift and Strava.
My stats and training: Swim training for 6-9K yds in the 1:45 – 1:50/100 yd. range. FTP of 234 (3.2 W/kg.) with 2 weeks over 200 miles. VDOT of 41 with long runs in the 9:30-10:00 min./mile range.
The Race
Race day temperatures were so perfect – 59 when we started, 63 on the bike, 73 on the run, low humidity, high clouds and sunshine.
I had a small Naked Juice (290 cal.) about 12:30am and then a 650-calorie breakfast of two hard boiled eggs and peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread.
Swim: It was a no wetsuit swim but I put myself in the :33-35 group anyway since that is what I swim with a wetsuit. I got in 9 minutes after the start. It was a good swim. I felt strong and did not have any issues.
I expected to come out in 40 minutes and I did. Actual: 40:51, 19th in AG.
I had a quick 2:45 transition.
Bike: I felt good on the bike with a plan to average 185-186 W the whole way. I set my watch to 3-mile segments and manage each segment to that target. Ohio is the flattest course I’ve ever raced and I was able to keep my hips up, back straight and stay in the aerobars. There was lots of drafting the first 25 miles of the race. I had to choose between expending lots of energy passing or dropping back. I did some of both. I still haven’t learned to pee on the bike and peed twice at the portos – I know once is better but morning coffee and cool temps had their effect 😊.
Bike Goal: 2:33 moving, 2:37 with stops, Actual: 2:34:23 moving, 2:37:26 Elapsed. 184 W NP (.79 IF), 1.03 VI, average HR 142, 20th AG.
T2: 1:52 - Executed the super-secret EN T2 transition by only putting on running shoes and then grabbing ziplock with everything else in it and putting myself together on the first .25 mi of the run.
This put me 11th in my AG after T2 vs the 19th and 20th places from swim and bike. The transition matters!
Run – oh my goodness. All the work on the bike this year meant I executed a few ticks more watts on the bike than last year’s HIMs but felt much fresher to start the run. And with the cool, low humidity weather, I was clicking off very steady 8:30 – 9:00 miles and feeling fine. Heart rate was rock solid - 152 first 3 mi, 155 average, 155 last three miles. I was thrilled with this result. It is so good to see hard work translate into a great result.
Run Goal: 2:07 (9:43/mi.) Actual: 1:58:50, (8:57/mi.) Avg. HR 155, 20th in AG
Total: 5:22:04, 16th out of 97 in M55-59. Again, see the impact of fast transitions?
So this was a PR for me by 15 minutes! First time I broke 2 hours on the run too. The weather and flat bike course contributed, but I’ll take it. We won the first place team award too! Thanks Jeff Horn for finding me before the swim and on the bike!
Thanks to everyone for encouragement along the journey and it is on to
Steelhead next week! Hope to see many of
you there!
Comments
I wonder about your bike and whether you could have pushed a bit harder? Your TSS was around 163, whereas I try and hit around 175.
Your swim time was excellent considering the overall swim times were way slower than usual. Your bike split was very impressive; all that work on Zwift paid off on race day. Don't know if you looked at overall AG positions, but for the first time you ranked better on the bike (15th) than on the swim (19th) ... more proof of your hard work. The run was superb, and breaking 2 hours is a nice milestone. And the transitions were fabulous, you moved up several spots in both T1 and T2
Don't you love how we can get faster as we get older!