Ironman 70.3 Branson Race Report
So, here it comes.
Race Result:
Swim 31:36, T1 2:57, Bike 02:44:18,T2 :56, Run 01:45:29, Total 05:05:16, 4th M35-39, 39th OA
Swim rank OA 76th, AG 6th, Bike rank OA 46th, AG 4th, Run rank 39th OA, 4th AG
The Venue
Branson, MO, Table Rock Lake, Moonshine Beach
Absolutely stunning beauty, the lake is clear, clean, water temp declared at 75.9 degrees, declared wetsuit legal. Calm water, protected from boat traffic. Clockwise, rectangle looking course. Unlike the bike course, swim is flat.
Bike course, very scenic, closed to traffic but first 7 and last 7mi, 4700ft of climbing, 4900ft of descending, last 7mi rolling sloping downhill, road surface in excellent condition, 2 aid stations positioned in a location that are at turnarounds, so in a span of 42mi you hit them 5 times. Plenty of everything stocked, volunteers everywhere.
Run course, pancake flat, plenty of aid stations, 3 loops, spectator friendly, little to no shade, protected from wind, along Lake Taneycomo.
Race day weather:
7am, swim start, 68F, calm, humidity 97%, @8am first 5mi of bike course in thick fog
10am-noon temps climbed to mid 80s, humidity 60%, heat index 95F, calm wind, very humid
Breakfast at 5am:
1 bagel with jelly, 1 banana, cup of coffee, 300cal Infinit+1200mg of sodium
No warm up.
Prior to swim start, 1 Roctane+430mg of sodium, water.
Swim:
Decision made to swim in swim skin vs. wetsuit. I overheat very easy in warm water, thought better to loose a minute+ and keep core temp low, hot day was coming. Decision was correct.
Positioned outside to the left, first row, I am a decent swimmer but do not like crowd. Far left was the shortest line to the first turn, however many failed to realize that. Had a lot of clean water in the first 500m. Never have I given into adrenaline rush and people redlining around. Kept nice long stroke, low stroke count, long pull......Than I caught up with waves ahead, picked a swimmer from my AG start, wearing a wetsuit, got on his feet and let him clear the way through the crowd. I was checking on his nav, it was good, put my head down, stared at his feet, thought to myself that he could improve the form of his 2 beat kick and balance as he had a tendency to scissor kick every now and than. Funny thoughts go through your head.
I was checking my effort with breathing, it was dead on. 1000m to go, clear water ahead, went gently around the fellow athlete and continued with the consistent long stroke/low effort. Swim came to an end uneventfully.
T1
Long run up the beach, onto the ramp and up into parking lot. Did a nice and easy jog, skin was down to the waist before reaching my bike, T1 times very slow due to layout of T1 itself.
Bike:
This is where the fun starts and where EN simply rules. Bike Nutrition:
900cal Infinit (little over 300cal/hr), 1500mg sodium/hr, 48oz of liquid/hr hydration
All hydration/nutrition dead on for conditions, zero discomfort of any kind.
The course starts with a 2mi climb at 4%, I was set at planned 245W on the nose, turning slowly as if I was to fall down, HR was coming down nicely, everywhere around me "bike course crushers/ half marathon walkers" were out of their saddles hammering, tongues out.......I sat there patiently. I made a decision to start Infinit sooner as I wanted to start calories as soon as possible setting up an early calorie cut off for the run. I did not want to force the GI system to digest anything during early run. Also hydration was critical for upcoming hot half marathon.
At mi 5 I dropped the chain, had to get off to correct that, calmly went back on with my business. I was happy with what I saw. Lot of people hammering. At mi 7, joined 465 N, 4 lane closed highway and was well on the way, on target. I simply stuck dead on with the bike execution plan, never have I allowed myself to get sucked in to dueling on the uphills. Rode my 232-245W uphill, crested keeping steady watts and onto downhills. At one point had a friend behind me without a powermeter, very very strong cyclist asking me why am I so slow climbing.
Half way into the bike, I was "scooping in" a lot of those guys that blew by in the first 5-10mi. By now it became obvious how effective Rich and Patrick's strategy was. It was unreal watching that unfolding, people were walking their bikes at mi 46-48.
Finished the bike, well hydrated, no burn in legs, no discomfort of any kind, 2:44:18, AP 217W, NP 226W, IF .82, TSS 184.
T2 went well and quick.
Run:
In short, brutally hot. Hydration/ calories:
Roctane 300cal, sodium 1500mg/hr, water at every other aid station. I took every opportunity to poor water on myself, ice in my hat....
I started a little too fast. Quickly restrained myself with FR305. At mi 4 it was obvious I was going to be happy I did not push it any faster. No, it was clear that GP+30sec was going to be the ceiling as heat was building so fast. I was now refocusing on controlling the slowdown. I was also checking my AG placement as I was after that, giving up on time PR days before the race. I was racing for AG placement. As the course is 3 loops out and back, you get to see your competition good. By mi 8 walking was taking place all over, some solid athletes were crumbling. I was passing tons and tons of people staring at their right calf. Well, I could not see more than a few of 35-39 AGers that I passed and thought, man there cannot be that may of them ahead. I went by my wife at mi 9, it is now difficult to put a smile, moving only is becoming hard and pulling the flask behind my back is becoming nearly impossible. She screams at me "You are the best, no one ahead of you", I thought no way, but than believed it. She later on meant to say that there was nobody from Kansas City ahead of me. She knows athletes from our hometown. Got a boost from believing in false info. Oh well, that kept me going. Miles 10-13.1 were the most agonizing of my life. I made a deal with myself before this race that I will not walk this at any point, either run, crawl or ER, nothing in between. I wanted to slow down just for a step or two at mi 11, than a friend, fellow athlete I mentioned on the bike, running opposite direction, tells me that a winner of Kansas City Triathlon was just 20m ahead, around the corner and that I was about to catch him. Keep in mind that this was now a survival mode, pacing/HR was out the door. I stopped looking at HR at mi 6 as I was well into Z4, I did not want to know. At mi 9 my Garmin just blew up and fell apart, I had no pace info but my little Timex, pace was irrelevant too. Nobody was passing me on the run and that was all the mattered at the time.
I dug deep just to close 20m, it took me 1/2mi to close on the fellow 35-39 athlete, I just thought, I want to die now and end this, but I was not backing down. Finally, I closed and was so hoping he was done too. We were shoulder to shoulder for a few seconds, and than I found another gear, where, I don't know and probably never will. At that time on that spot on the course, two of my friends, both triathletes from KC, spectating, started screaming and cheering as they knew who I was passing. I remember hearing them and thinking where is that damn finish line, I am about to drop dead. I did not dare looking back to see if I can back down now, I was afraid I would fall. Crossed the finish line fumbling, grabbing for the fence, heat was so overpowering, I had to sit down, next thing was they were taking my chip, I just told them I need shade, water..........
Never before in my life have I ever fought so hard to stick with it as it was this run yesterday. You look and people are walking, stopping stretching....Heat was so overpowering, no wind anywhere, humid, sun beating directly into your head. I thought my head was going to blow up. My FR 305 quit at mi 9, the top screen fell off on the ground, it probably thought I quit, ain't working anymore, that's it. I threw the wrist band to my wife as I ran by.
Besides EN's dead on strategy, I had no cramps, no GI distress......I had a terrible history with cramping before in a lot easier conditions. I was kissing and hugging my wife (she is a pharmacist). She helped me dial in my Calcium and Sodium (as well Magnesium and Potassium). I was Calcium deficient, so we discovered.
That is it. Sorry if I kept it too long.
Comments
Excellent Race. You knocked it out of the park. Your execution was perfect. Yes the EN strategies work amazingly well. It sounds like you went to a place in the final section of the HOT run that most never reach. You should be extremely proud of that performance. Great Race report.
Matt
I was in a somewhat similar position after Kansas as well, I had joined EN not all too much earlier and had a quasi-EN execution there. I was trying to enact the principals, but was still cutting my teeth suffice to say. Flash forward to IMWI this year, went into it with very strict EN execution and had the same "a-ha!" moment on the bike watching hundreds of riders ruin their day riding too hard too early, ~500 of which I would eventually pass.
What a beautiful read! Super race and congratulations!!!
Tell us more about your calcium magnesium et al issues, if you are willing.
Thank you guys very much.
Matt, your race report is very inspiring. I read it before my race. You rock.
Trevor, I could not agree with you more. I think that tough courses further separate athletes beyond talent and gift. I think that they reward smart and hard training, much what EN model is. The execution at those courses further adds as a separator from just plain fit athletes to those fit and focused athletes.
This is the first triathlon where I managed to take myself to a place where I don't know when I will visit again. I think it took time with some of the EN work as I would occasionally "crack that door" in training completing some of the sessions. That mental training is gradual much like our physical fitness. I have never been able to do that before.
You did a great job at IMWI. I read your twitter posts about your training. Enjoy them very much. It seems that we are similar in our bike and run ability. Keep up the good work and thanks for all of your suggestions you gave when I needed.
Linda, I would be glad to. It is a bit of a long story if you want or you want the short version, let me know. I did do the blood work, but it did not reveal the anomaly. It was concluded based on my nutritional habits, type of food, amount of activity and such.....When the supplement was put in place as a test, all the symptoms went away at once. It was shocking. Let me know how you want it.
Nice race and report. Great story about a great day. Nothing better than digging deep and pushing through!
Thanks, Chris and Matt. I still can't believe I was there. I was always one of those guys who had a "great swim and bike, but a poor run". I have never ran anything down, let alone serious triathletes in 95F heat index. I come to realize after this, I prefer non wetsuit swim, hilly bike course and a hot run. Matt, I think there is one venue that has it all and I think you are heading there for a big showdown. You are going to make us proud.
Thanks again to both of you.
Nice when it all comes together huh? How far up the road was 3rd? I had a really impressive/unimpressive/frustrating string of 4th in AG finishes a couple years ago. So close yet so far!
We are gonna have some serious fun in LP next summer!
Nicely done Alexander!! Sounds like your execution was spot on!! Thanks for posting
@Kathy, thanks. Still reliving it.
@Chris, I think, according to preliminary results, 3rd was 36sec in front, 2nd was 38sec in front. I had no clue about that. You always end up wondering if you had left everything out there. I think I did. I did have a misfortune though, at bike mile 5, I dropped the chain and had to get off to put it on. That was to the amount of a minute and a half. Is it there where I tactically lost it, who knows. It is hard to second guess.
In August, I made my first overall podium at a local 500 athlete sprint, 1:00:16. In July I had a DNF in an olympic after having a 5min lead after the swim and bike, got very sick and overheated.....In 2008 four placings 4th overall, won AG each time, was run down each time. Cramps each time. And it was not over swimming and over biking.
So, yes, so close, but so far away. I am extremely happy with my 4th at Branson, giving the way my season went prior to that, giving the course difficulty and than running people down in the heat, way beyond my expectations.
Here is what I have concluded that have contributed to this success, maybe our team can learn from it:
1.I spent countless hours monitoring weather, studying the topography, applying EN bike and run execution to different weather conditions.
2. In prep for this race, I raced OWS 3 weeks before the race at the race venue, turned it into a race sim on coaches advice, rode the second day on the course in a row full course, ran, recorded everything with the powermeter.
3. When it became clear that it was going to be the hot one, finalized the nutrition/hydration numbers, arrived at the specific schedule on feeding/hydration to allow for increased calorie/water/sodium consumption early on the bike, HR/topography permitting, aid station layout........
4. Knowingly picked the swim skin over the wetsuit, even though it was wetsuit legal. Day before water temp advertised at 78F, the morning of 75.9, I will not comment there, but in any occasion over 73F, for me, it is too hot to wear a wetsuit. Cool body core becomes a priority early on facing a hot day.
5. Disciplined execution during swim and bike, that was to the T.
Where I should have done better:
1. Pulled back more in the early run to get it in line with rising heat.
That is my only correction I wish I had made. GP+30 was still too fast in that heat for me. I had 7:05 as MP, MP+30@7:35.
I took the Daniels temp correction chart, applied the correction of slow down of 3sec/ 5F heat index above 60F. That would have been a pace of 7:40min/mi for heat index 95F. I think I ran first 6 at 7:38-7:35, after which the slowdown creeps.
EN rules, what can I say.