Brian Hagan - 2019 Traverse City 70.3 Race Report
Brian Hagan – 2019 Traverse City 70.3 Race Report
This was my B race for the year, however there are a lot things that made this feel like an A race. This is the first year for the Traverse City 70.3 race and it seemed like every local person I knew that could swim a lap, run a 5k, and ever biked signed up for this race. Almost every serious triathlete from the South East Michigan (Detroit) area was there, so I felt some pressure to do well.
I am very pleased with my results. This was technically a PR from a time standpoint. From how I placed relative to my competition, it was a massive PR. I finished 12th out of 212. See below a DPI of 95.3 was by far my best performance. My place was top 6%. The best I have ever done in a half is top 28% at Grand Rapids earlier this year.
Breakfast – Naked smoothie 300+ calories, coffee (I had 2 Naked smoothies the evening before along with a big Burrito from Qdoba that I had for a late lunch) No Chipotle in Traverse City 😫!
Swim Goal – 37 minutes Actual 35:47 (35th out of 212)
The swim was a rolling start. I lined up around 33 minute figuring everyone would be a little optimistic. I believe that was the right call, because I only had a few people swim over or past me. I felt like I was with the same people from most of the swim.
The water was fairly smooth as the day started with almost no wind. The water was so clear and there were lots of bubbles to follow. I’ve been practicing sighting and switching up my breathing to change things up. I typically breath bi-lateral (every three strokes), but I would switch it up to every 2 to get more oxygen and pick up the pace. This strategy is new to me, so I was not comfortable swimming the whole way like that. I will be working on that for my IMAZ build.
I was very happy with the result of beating my goal time by over a minute. I also went straighter than I normally swim and I credit that to all of the sighting practice I have done (in the pool and OW).
https://www.strava.com/activities/2650890088
T1 –
Not the greatest. I am no good at running barefoot, and I have arthritis in my left ankle. The arthritis makes it really hard to go from swimming to running. I took my time to put on my arm warmers. It was a little more difficult than I thought with wet arms. The temps were in the low 50s. I put my gel flask in my jersey pocket. Turned on my bike computer. Put on my helmet. Put on my shoes. Jogged to mount line. I came out of T1 in 38th Place, so I lost 3 spots. 😪
Bike – Goal Ride 220 Watts with low VI - Actual Road NP 227 VI 1.04 (10th out of 212) 😀
The bike started out with pretty steep long climb. I had ridden this on Friday and knew what to expect. I got in a gel and a drank a bit, and I was passing people like crazy. My NP for the first 5 miles was 254, but because of the climb, I only averaged 16.5 MPH.
By mile 16 I moved up to 22 place. By mile 34 I was in 15th place. By the end of the bike I was in 11th place. So I went from 38th to 11th (yolo) on the bike.
The bike course had a lot of variety with about 2600 ft of elevation gain. This is the first race I was able to keep pedaling at a consistent effort all the way through. I only coasted a few times when I spun-out on a descent. My average cadence for the whole bike was 93. This normally drops as I get tired, but not for this race.
Also, the temp started at 50 degrees and ended at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a headwind on the way back for the last 20 miles. The last 5 miles was a super fast descent into town. That was so fun!
I had 4 gels and three bottles of GE.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2650495708
T2 –
I dismounted with mounted with my shoes on and jogged to my rack. I was the first bike back, so I had a lot of room. I racked bike, saved my Garmin file on the Edge 820, took off helmet, took off bike shoes, put on socks, but on Nike 4%, started Garmin 935, grabbed go bag and headed towards T2. I put on my hat and race belt before T2 exit and started watch soon after. One mistake - I wish I would have taken off my arm warmers.
Run – Goal sub 1:50 Actual 1:48:40
I did not pee on the bike, but I needed to the whole time. I kept trying to just go on the bike, but I could not. The portos in transition were out of the way so I decided to hold it until I found one on the run course.
I started out feeling awesome. The Nike 4% feel so light and springy. My first mile was a 7:48 and may have been a tad too fast. The crowds were so awesome and I was getting a little caught up in all the energy. I stopped in a porto at the first aid station and then kept going.
My friend and training partner, @Ken Mclaughlin, passed me at mile 1. I knew he would, but I was hoping to make it to mile 2 at least 😉 (he ran a 1:33). It was nice seeing him quite a few times on the out and back sections.
I knew, to meet my goal, I was going to have to push the whole way. I have been doing the negative split runs in training and really think they have made me faster and able to handle a high heart rate for a long period of time. I know there was no way I would negative split if I started out this fast, so I settled into the low 8’s (per minute mile) with a goal to hold that pace the whole run.
The course was a 2 loop course with basically three out and backs. It went mainly along a bike path along Lake Boardman. It was nice seeing so many familiar faces on the run course. That also motivated me to keep pushing when I saw someone I knew.
I saw @Rich Stanbaugh at the turn as he passed me. That gave me a bit of energy as we started the second loop. I was able to see him a few times on the out and backs for the second loop. This is also when the course got crowded. It became a challenge to keep pace on the bike path as a lot of racers were starting their first loop. I had to slow down a few times before I could pass, but overall it was not too bad.
So.. I came out of T2 in 13th L losing 2 spots. By mile 1 I was 14th. By mile 4 I was 13th. By mile 7.5 I was 14th. By the end I ran back up to 13th, but according to the official results I was 12th.
I managed to keep a pretty consistent pace.
My heart rate kept rising
I broke the internet
Overall
I am still overjoyed with my race results. The venue was fantastic and the organizers and volunteers did a great job! You almost could not tell it was the first year of the event.
Lessons Learned:
1) Its time to start taking transitions more serious. I need to write down a plan and practice.
2) I need to get better at breathing every 2 strokes
3) I think I still could have pushed harder on the run, but I needed more salt. My hamstrings started cramping the last mile and I was getting worried. I am going to pop a few of those into my plans.
Thanks to all the help from everyone! I love all the support I get from you all!
Comments
@Brian Hagan Nice race execution man!! I'm amazed at how you were able to keep focus and drink all that nutrition on the bike. You've def stepped up in the bike and run this year. Congrats!
Super execution Brian - you've really improved your bike game this year! It was a good energy boost seeing you on the course and in the finishing zone. Awesome race!!
Damn @Brian Hagan you had a great day! Well done and congratulations to you. Your run was impressive and even more so after that blazing bike split. Congrats again.
Great recap @Brian Hagan congratulations!! So speedy 😎
@Brian Hagan congrats on your breakthrough performance. workworks:-) I like your lessons learned, specially #1 and #2 transitions are free ! Breathing every other stroke instead of every 3rd stroke is a no brainer to me (more oxygen is better than less). There was a guy on ST years ago Gary Hall Sr. and his son Gary Hall Jr. who were both Olympic swimmers and run a swim club in the Keys https://theraceclub.com/ who was trying to promote alternating 1 breath per stroke , then 1 breath per 2 stokes, essentially breathe right, then left, then left, then right, then right, and repeat. I tried this, yes I had more oxygen but it made me dizzy.
Nice race! I've seen the huge progress on the bike for you this year and and has given me inspiration. Then you capped off this race with a great swim and run. It feels so great when a day comes together after a good bunch of hard work. It will be exciting to see how this all plays out in IMAZ for you. Looking forward to meeting you and racing with you there. Congratulations on a great race!
@Brian Hagan Great results and awesome execution! This performance will set you up well for your IMAZ build.
#Ninja execution @Brian Hagan .
@Brian Hagan I love seeing that bike VI on relatively hilly course, and love even more how you kept an even pace thru the end of the run. The continually rising HR should be a definitive demonstration of what's required to accomplish that - hold a steady RPE and HR during a running race, and you will surely slow down.
We are all expecting big things of each other come November 24th. I know you will not disappoint, based on the execution you showed in this tune-up. There's no doubt in my mind you can go sub 11 hours there. But it will take not only a powerful bike, which you are developing, but a confidence that will be able to hold the run after that effort. This race should be confirmation that you are capable of that, if you set your mind to it.
@Brian Hagan Great race, results and congrats on the PR. Looking forward to following your A race of the year. Note, if you rollup the arm warmers into a donut then just pop them on your wrist it helps when you are wet. Then just get on your bike and roll them down while you are moving.
Outstanding race, Brian. Great swim, your crushed the bike and had a solid run. I've watched you putting in the consistent S/B/R work, so this is no surprise! Work works!
X2 on what Gordon said about the arm warmers and to save more time, I put the donut shape warmers on my bike/aero bars. Real easy to slip on and roll up after T2. The cause of cramping could have been from slight dehydration. 3 bottles seems on the low side. Maybe having to pee but not being able to pee caused you cut back on GE?
Looking forward to seeing you crush IMAZ!
Thanks everyone for the great feedback!
@Carl Alleyne @Rich Stanbaugh @Clark Mitchell @Sheila Leard @Jenn Edwards - Thank you for the kind comments!
@Sid Wavrin - I am looking forward to IMAZ and IMSG with you. Looks like we are on the same plan.
@Jeff Phillips - Thanks and see you at IMAZ.
@tim cronk - I have already started practicing the breathing in my recent swims. Unfortunately, there have not been many of them. I will ramp back up soon! I look forward to seeing you transition from ultra runner to Ironman! See you at IMAZ as well!
@Al Truscott - My throat goat a big lump in it when I saw the sub 11 comment for IMAZ. I believe I can, but I agree that it will take a good effort on the run to keep pushing. By the way, I decided to do IMAZ when I read your race plan last year.
@Gordon Cherwoniak @Derrek Sanks - Thanks for the tip on the arm warmers! @Derrek Sanks - I agree that one more bottle would have helped. It also would have had the extra sodium I needed for the last mile of the run. I am going to decouple my drink and nutrition now that it is getting cooler. The cooler temperatures make me drink less. The 4 gels I took was 4 more than I took in Grand Rapids in June 😉.
@Brian Hagan - I've gone sub-11 at IMLP, i know that YOU can do sub 11 at AZ! go get it!