Calgary 70.3 Jane Hargraft Race Report

Jane Hargraft · August 2, 2011 1:11PM

This was my second HIM (my first was last September, Muskoka, 7:01:00).

A bit of background about me. I am 48. I have been competing in tris since 2006, but have been running marathons since 1991. I've done more than 25 marathons, countless halfs and shorter distances. My marathon PB is 3:24 and half is 1:37 - but as we all know, that means jack when it comes to multisport.

First a review of the event - I liked it alot. Calgary is very friendly and while this is a small HIM (700 competitors), there were plenty of volunteers. I had personal help at all transitions and didn't have to repack my bags ever. bottlenecks at bag drop off were handled with take charge attitude and we were told to just dump our xsition and dry goods bags. The only place it fell down was re sunscreen not being carried by medical on the run. but the weather was not typical (supposed to be 72-74*f, in reality 86-92*F).

Caution - this event is at altitude - 1600M - a mile high. like being in denver. training only 250 feet above sea level, this may be an issue for some (it may have been for me - hard to judge).

Weather - start of day: 55*F. End of Day: 90*F. Full sun, no shade on bike, v little shade on run. light tailwind on bike.

Swim: 48:43 In Ghost Lake - a reservoir formed by the daming of the the Bow River - fed by glaciers = cold. Like 60*F. So I purchased a neoprene cap the day before and tested it. worked like a charm. I found the cold water very hard to swim efficently in - and weird water rushing in my right ear made it hard to breathe on both sides. I went slowly, and only breathed on the left, to make sure I wasn't swimming too far off course. I don't swim particularly well, and so I knew that this would be the worst part of my day (or so I thought).

Slower than my previous time by 2 minutes, but I had trouble siting due to very bright sunlight and not enough (for me) buoys.

T1: 6:57 - nothing special, took it very slowly. Except I didn't put on any sunscreen. this was a big problem later in the day.

Bike: 3:19:10 - this was a 94K point to point route. NEGATIVE SPLIT BY 4 MINUTES. and, I knocked 27 mins off my PB, which was also a 94K bike. I am extremely proud of myself. I kept it entirely in the box the whole bike. Execution Execution Execution. first 30 mins, low end of Z2 (for me 122-132 Watts) - majority of climbing on this route in the first hour. Took a pee break 60 mins in (in the middle of a wild strawberry patch!). This was an extremely beautiful bike. fantastic scenery and while there were 555M of climbing, it was a net downhill with 635M elevation loss. My IF was .75 - not as high as was supposed to, but I wanted to keep my HR in the 140 zone, and so I had trouble getting up to Z3 - 140-150 for me. I was also going SO FAST that I was afraid I was going to overcook on the bike.

Mistakes: only took one 20 oz bottle of gatorade (in training I take two) - and this caught up to me on the run. < 200 cals per hour on bike. GUs warm by end and felt a bit pukey.

T2: 3:57 - nothing special again. also slow. Again no sunscreen. again a mistake.

Run: 2:33:38 - the slowest I have ever done this distance and 16 mins slower than my previous HIM. First K I was in Z3 right away and started walking to get my HR down and to get into Z1. about 2 K in i felt ill. at 3K I peed again, and after that I couldn't run consistently at all. when I am in Z5 my HR is 162. I was topping 155 in Z2 pace (8:27). So I was very probably dehydrated. I know enough about running to know at that point that my LV plans were out the window - a 4 K. Crap. so after that point I listened to my body. Ice and water and sponges and coke at each station. I ran until my HR was at 140, and then I walked until it went to 130, and then I ran again. Temp was over 90*F and with no shade I was just running to finish. with 7K to go my g-d garmin ran out of juice. So I started counting steps 50 right foot falls walking followed by 100 right foot falls running. Oh, did I mention that the course was hilly and on a recreation trail not closed to the public? I kept cool mentally. No swearing at non racers in the way, and joking with the two gentlemen I kept running beside and then dropping back.

Finish: 6:52:55 - almost 10 min PB from my first HIM. sunscreen, hydration were the two limiting factors. Here's what I think - I think that I can do a 6:10-6:15 in Muskoka in the fall. I have definitely nailed the bike execution (apart from the hydration) to the wall. Swimming is a project for OS. I know I can run a sub 2 hour for the half marathon.

Next up - Muskoka HIM in September. Just loaded Intermediate HIM 12 week - at week 6.

Very cool medal. It's a belt buckle!

Brenda Ross · August 2, 2011 2:19PM

Great job Jane, especially in those hard conditions. Working out what you think you can do differently is the first step and it appears you are already on that. Good luck in Muskoka. Might need that neoprene cap for not only the swim but the bike and run as well - the weather is so unpredictable at that time of year. I will be routing for you.