IM 70.3 lake Stevens
Since finishing IMCdA in June I have spent alot of time working on my run speed and endurance at speed. So at Lake Stevens I could run well off the bike, something I have struggled with in the past.
We stayed in Everett (7 miles from race) over the weekend due to the 2 hour drive from home. This can effect your pre-race nutrition somewhat if your not careful, I was careful so I had no issues. We had met with the team the night before for dinner at an Italian restaurant and spent the night talking smack. Lots of fun!
Pre-race: Had my usual greek yogurt, oatmeal and a banana for breakfast. I don't do the 2:00am thing and the 4:30am thing, one breakfst at 4:30 works great for me. Body marking and transition set-up took a total of 5 minutes. Went over to the swim start and waited for my wave to get in the water. I was in the 9th wave and only scott stewart was starting before me.
Swim: Started in the second row after getting kicked for 3 minutes while treading water. 5 seconds into the swim my goggles are kicked off. Swam for about 3 minutes to get out of the fray before resetting them and getting on with my swim. I felt great in the water, perfect water conditions (69 degrees) and a bouy line to follow. I looked at my watch at the second turn and was at 18'. So I thought I could do a PR in the water, I haven't felt strong in the water all season, and have had mediocre swim splits at all my races. I ended up finishing in 35:35, another middle of the road swim split. Not sure what to do to improve this, my brother ( a '99 Kona Qualifier) said that you could work 5 days a week all year on swim only and maybe make up 2 minutes. So don't worry about it and put the time into the bike and run. Good Advice!
Bike: My goal for the bike was to finish around a 2:50 but more importantly to have a great run after. So I was targeting .77-.78 IF (230NP). This course is relatively hilly but has some killer down hills that make up for the long 4-5% uphills. Ended up finishing with a .77 IF for the first loop. I had a concentrated Infinit bottle and water in my aero-bottle that I refilled once on the course. Since finding Infinit, it has been my go to nutrition for races and long rides. No more cramps and no more bonks! I had some trouble keeping the intensity up for the second loop, but my speed was there. Finished the second loop with a .75 IF but nearly even time split. Final time was 2:52:54.
In T2 I took a 6 enduralytes to help with hamstring cramps on the run.
Run: My goal for the run was to beat a 1:39, previously my best run split for a 70.3 was 1:55 but with the added work on my running I felt I was ready for a breakthrough day. I had to average a 7:31/mile to make my goal, but wanted to start conservatively so as not to blow-up at the end. I was targeting a 7:45/mile pace for the first 3 miles and then hoping to speed up to 7:20/mile pace for the remainder. I had a hard time keeping that pace slower than 7:30 for the first 3 miles. I felt perfect during those miles. If you remember reading my race report from IMCDA you will remember that at mile 3 on the run I was passed by Haley Cooper-Scott on her way to a 3rd place finish, we had talked for about 2 minutes while running along and then she took off and finished her run. Well, at mile 3 of this run, who would be coming up on my left? None other than Haley Cooper-Scott on her way to a 3rd place finish! As she came up, I looked over to her and told her we had to stop meeting like this, people might start talking. She remembered our conversation from IMCDA and I asked her what place she was in, when she told me she was in 3rd again I knew that I was her lucky charm. I asked her where she was racing next and she said IM Canada, "I'll be there" I told her, so if she gets third at Canada then it's official. After our brief encounter I told her that she better get back to racing and she took off. This little encounter brought my pace to 6:40/mile, I would pay for it in the final 5 miles of the race. Those last 5 miles were tough to maintain the needed pace to make my goal. But I finished the run in 1:38:05 and a final race time of 5:12:33. A 10 minute PR! I had raced 70.3 four weeks earlier, think that may have effected my bike split which was 8 minutes slower than last year, but I am happy with the results and looking forward to preparing for IM Arizona in November.
Comments
Steve - Super race. Way to push thru the last 5 miles of the run. 1:39 run and 5:12 total is smokin fast. I'm doing my first HIM in Sept adn I'd be really happy if I get anywhere close to those times. Good luck in AZ.
Also, I remember from our RR that you had just done a run focus week. Just curious, how much do you think that helped your run fitness on race day?
Well good luck in Arizona! It will be great to do a race or two with you again next year.
Steve - truly inspiring bike-run execution, on that course. Now I'm getting scared about keeping up with you on the bike! It;s going to be interesting to see how you hold up this year for IM AZ.
Good luck in Canada - I am going to try and get an online entry for 2012; if I fail at that, then I'll sign up for CDA. Some year, we'll have to do the Western Quad: St George, CDA, Canada, and AZ.