Maine 70.3 2018 race report
This past weekend I raced Maine 70.3 and finished in 5:39:49. This is a great race and a fast course. It is run by Rev3, but is an IM-branded event. I highly recommend it. I was pleased with my time given my level of training and given that I had meniscus surgery over the winter. This was my first post-surgery triathlon.
Swim: 38:17 (1:59 official time, but 1:45 for the swim portion. Athletes also had to run ~200 yards across the beach in through the surf at low-tide before swimming.)
I was happy with the swim. I was targeting a 2:05 pace given that I had only swam ~30 times this year. The swim course consisted of three equal length legs moving counterclockwise. The prevailing tide moved against swimmers on the first leg, but was generally behind you for the second two legs. The water conditions were good - low winds/small waves and the water was 64 degrees. I did a recon swim the day before in 15 mph winds. The swells were 3-feet with some small white caps. The recon swim was unpleasant, but on race day the winds were only 3 mph so conditions were nearly perfect. The run through the surf at low-tide was surprisingly slow and cumbersome.
Bike: 2:50:58 (19.65 mph)
The bike course is fast. The first 25 miles consist of rollers that accumulate elevation, with a few short, steep climbs between miles 20-25. The next 20 miles were very fast on a large flat stretch of well-paved roads. The course was crowded so there were many spots where you couldn't avoid being within three spaces of the next rider (unavoidable drafting situations...) I was targeting a HR of 130-135 bpm. I came in at 132. This was a fast split for me but it could have been better. Given many personal, professional and family obligations this summer, I never got my tri-bike configuration correct. The bike was frequently in the shop - the hub-based powertap power meter had to be replaced and I broke a spoke. Also, I ended up riding quite a bit indoors this year because it was convenient, it allowed me to drive my kids to sports practices on the weekends, and because there was quite a number of bad weather weekends this spring/summer. As a result of the mechanical issues and reliance on indoor riding, I had only done four long rides outside on my tri-bike in 2018. As a result, my race NP came out only at 162 watts, instead of the 175 I was targeting. That was because I was pulling back when my HR started to climb above my target of 135. My best guess is that because I had spent so little time on my tri-bike (relative to my road-bike) that I wasn't comfortable with the fit. Therefore, I was pushing lower watts at my target HR. Also, I didn't hit my target calories on the bike. I drank enough and took my salt pills. However, I ended up not eating my last gel. I started burping up my gatorade, and thought I might puke or run into GI issues on the run, so I backed off the gels for the end of the ride and the beginning of the run. In any event, it was a fun, scenic and fast course.
Run: 1:58:16 (9:01 pace)
The run course took two loops through a dirt-path in a nature reserve and through some rolling roads that were exposed to the sun. I wanted to go hard on the run, and was at an ~8:00/mile pace for the first five miles. I was targeting an average HR of 145 bpm, which was 10 bpm above my targeted cycling range. However, in the heat on a long-hill, my HR started to spike so I slowed down to a 9:00-9:15 pace. I kept that up until mile-10 when I tried to empty the proverbial tank. I got my HR up to 165 bpm and my pace down to 8:30 bpm for the last few miles. My overall average HR was 146 bpm, and my data indicated that I hit my HR targets each mile. I was a bit disappointed in the run as I was hoping to run sub-8:50, which was 30 seconds slower than my spring HM time. However, I ran the race that I had laid out in my plan, so it was probably the best that I could have done given my level of fitness.
My two transitions added up to 12 minutes. I was targeting 10 minutes. The run from the beach to T1 is long, so 6-minutes is a fast transition time. I ended up at 7.5 minutes. Had I hit my transition times, I would have finished six places higher. This is something I need to work on in 2019.
Old Orchard Beach is a nice venue. It is on the ocean, and there is an old-fashioned amusement park. I love the Maine countryside so the bike course was enjoyable. The transition area was 0.5 miles from the finish line, so I would recommend that anyone doing this race plan ahead when finding a place to park on race day. You can buy parking passes the day before. The August temperatures were relatively cool, however there were several long exposed stretches on the run course that made me regret not getting sunscreen when it was offered to me in T2.
Overall, I was happy with my time. I had drafted a long race plan (which I didn't publish given my mad dash to get to the race venue) based on my summer training data on Strava. I ended up beating my targeted time by about five minutes. My swim and bike were both faster than I had planned. Nevertheless, I was still middle of the pack, finishing in the 47th percentile, so I have plenty of room for improvement. The field was pretty fast this year. My time would have been at the 40th percentile last year.
This will be my only triathlon for 2018. I am now going to start training for the Philly marathon, which takes place on November 22nd. I am planning to do my next full-distance IM in the fall of 2019.
Thanks for reading my race report.
Comments
@Patrick Marsh SOOOO GREAT to see you racing and getting it done After your surgery. Even more amazing...the fact this was a 70.3 PERSONAL BEST!!!!!!
@Coach Patrick Thanks! It felt good to don the tri kit and get back at it again. The surgery seems like a distant memory now, but I am being very careful about building up my running mileage. I got up to 30 miles a week this summer without any pain, so I am very grateful that my recovery has gone well.
So glad things are all healed up for you and you had a good day with your current fitness! Have fun getting ready for and racing the Philly Marathon!
@Patrick Marsh congrats on the successful post surgery comeback race! I do love that OOB Venue, raced it a couple times, spectated Heather a few more, great course, seems to always have good weather. Haven’t been back since WTC took over as it’s been selling out!
@Patrick Marsh Kudos on a great race! I think the water conditions the day before would’ve freaked me out. Sounds like you executed pretty closely to your expectations, especially given your injury issues and difficulty training. Good luck in your marathon.
@Trish Marshall Thanks Trish. I am glad to get a race behind me and start looking forward to the Philly Marathon and to next year's triathlon season.
@tim cronk Thanks Tim. The race venue was great. The Rev3 people seem to be still running the race, so I am guessing WTC is just licensing it. I love the state of Maine, so this race was a treat.
@Alicia Chase Thanks. During the recon swim on Saturday, I surprisingly got used to the big swells. I did the practice swim at a 2:09/100 yard pace, which was a surprise because at first it felt like I was not going anywhere.