Great Illini 70.3 Race Report

4 weeks after winning the 70.3 in Springfield, I had another chance to check my fitness. The humidity was about 20% less, and the temp was 5 degrees cooler. I plan on going into a fair amount of detail, so as always, cliff notes will be at the end 😉

Pre-Race: I continued the tradition of eating Taco Bell 2 nights out, and I am officially making this a thing based on the results. We drove the course beforehand and noted the bike route was smooth, and there were 5 hairpin turns. I showed up to transition early race morning and grabbed a bike rack 1 from the end.  

Swim (27:14 – 3^rd): The swim was wetsuit legal and a rolling start with 2 athletes every 5s running down the beach. My buddy Mitch and I started together about 10-15 deep. The swim was 2 loops and the water calm. After settling in, I found 2 swimmers to draft behind. Unlike last race, I decided to sit back until we completed the first loop before making my move. I passed on the inside around the lap buoy and pushed for 200 yards to make sure I wasn’t pulling anyone this time. I came out of the water in 3^rd with a 3-minute gap and split 27 minutes on my watch. After the race, Garmin showed it about 300 yards short, and I confirmed with other athletes. My actual pace was 1:29/100yd, which would have been 31:40.

T1 (0:49 – Tied for 1^st): The timing mats were at the edge of transition, so my time did not include the run from the water. I botched the flying mount and looked like a fool, so please enjoy the horrendously awkward video. I also had the hardest time getting my cycling shoes on. They kept collapsing and took ¾ mile to get them on, so I need to reassess that. Both “issues” factored into my bike split.

Bike (2:23:33 – 4^th): The roads were smooth, but there were 5 hairpin turns that hurt the average pace. Out of transition I was in 3^rd with a 3-minute gap. I passed the female winner around mile 10 but was not able to close the gap on 1^st. With 5 turnarounds, I was able to see where he was as well as everyone behind me. I lost about 2 more minutes by the end of the bike and wasn’t sure I’d catch him. I used more liquid based nutrition for the first time putting 300 calories in my 1 bottle. This was a good strategy until the aid station at miles 16 and 48 were nonexistent. At the start of loop 2, I barely snagged a water and nearly took out a cone (and myself). I ate ¾ of a Cliff bar and 4 of my 6 shot blocks. No emergency gel needed this time. I averaged 227 watts at 23.9mph with an average HR of 154. This was 9 watts higher than 4 weeks ago and a few BPM lower HR. I felt like I could have pushed it harder, but my legs were limiting me. Knowing I had a 4-5 minute gap to close, I focused on saving them for my specialty, the run. The bike ended up being a mile long, so that kind of offset the short swim =)

Receiving Information from Dad

T2 (1:01 – 2^nd): After rubbing my Achilles raw at the last race, I decided to roll my socks on. 10/10 would recommend! Nothing special here, but I bolted out of transition ready to run this guy down. My dad told me 4 minutes, and he isn’t the greatest runner. I felt strong but made sure I settled into a comfortable pace.

Literally Flying out of the Gate

Run (1:21:09 – 1^st): My plan for the run was to go out at a 6:30 and slowly drop down to 6:10-6:15. I wanted to keep HR under 170 for the first 4 miles and slowly bring it up until I cut loose with 5K to go. I hit a 6:26 to start and grabbed a Gatorade at the first aid station. 1.5 miles in I caught my first glimpse of 1^st as he was making a turn. I noted the time on my watch and saw my gap was 2 minutes when I got to the turn. Closing about 1 min/mi, I knew I didn’t need to do anything heroic to catch him. At the first turnaround 3.25 miles in, I was 50 yards back. I made the pass at mile 4, exchanged some words, and pulled away. I loved the 2 out and backs because it allowed me to check gaps and see my teammates throughout the run. I felt I had the race won with 3 miles to go and was ready to coast her in. As I ran by Mitch he yelled, “Don’t let up. Hammer that mfer!!!” And with that extra push, I closed the last 10k in 38:01, 5k in 18:31 and 1 mile in 5:40. 1:21:09 is now a stand-alone PR for me.

Post-Race (Race Time - 4:13:45): After crossing the finish line, I knew I was under 4:20. I had no idea I’d be under 4:15! I quickly grabbed a cold water, I started my cooldown back onto the run course to find Mitch. Last I saw him, he was still ¼ mile behind 2^nd with 4.5 miles to go. I was almost a mile back into the run and saw he already took 2nd. I met him back at the finish line ready to celebration. As training partners and teammates, we had set a goal to take 1^st and 2^nd, and that’s exactly what we did.

1st and 2nd / Matchy Matchy

Summary: I was very happy with my swim and got to wear my wetsuit for the first time this year. I held back a little to save more for the bike and was still 3^rd out of the water. Transitions were short, and I posted 2 of the fastest splits. The bike course was smooth with 5 turnarounds. I held 23.8mph and was very happy with the ride as well. I made it into 2^nd going into T2 but lost another 2 minutes to 1st place. Starting the run, my dad told me I had a 4-minute gap and the guy wasn’t the strongest runner. I opened in a 6:26 mile, and that ended up being the slowest mile split of my run. I took 1st 4 miles in, gaining 1 min/mi. I widened my lead to over 2 minutes at the halfway point and took the win by over 13. I closed the last 5k in 18:31 and logged a half marathon PR of 1:21:09. My buddy Mitch took 2^nd making his pass at mile 11, and the rest is history.

Keystone Shower from Matt: Finished Smooth ~

Overall, I am blown away by what I was able to do in that race. My goal was to win and break 4:20, and I wound up under 4:15. *I would attribute about 2 minutes to the short swim/long bike, which would put me just under 4:16. Whether a course is long or short, the improvement I saw from my training is paying dividends.

Not sure who reads this far but hit me up with any questions or if you just want to chat!

Route 66 70.3 Race Report

Officially back to racing! After Ironman cancelled Wisconsin, I signed up for this race a week out (bib 99 out of 100). I was still recovering from my backyard 70.3 and road a century that next Saturday, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to race. After the century, I took my last few days easy and felt pretty good by race day. As always, if you want the cliff notes version, feel free to skip to the Summary at the end 😉

Setting up Transition with my support crew

Pre-Race: I am starting a tradition of eating Taco Bell 2 nights out before my race. I like to think it clears everything out, and I honestly just want another reason to eat TB. The night before the race, I usually eat a sub sandwich (preferably from Firehouse), but I’ve been known to eat a rack of ribs. I drove the course the evening before and took note that the bike route was rough. This made the decision to run lower tire pressure easy. I showed up to transition early race morning to grab an end rack and had plenty of time to get that pre-race poop taken care of.

The train was moving too slow, so I decided to pull it

Swim (32:38 – 4^th): We did a rolling start with 2 athletes every 6s jumping off the dock. I was probably the 15^th person in the water and naturally forgot to start my watch until a few strokes in. This was possibly the easiest swim course ever, a straight out and back with a slight overshoot before finishing. Water was calm, I only had to pass around 10 people, and we were already "spread out". I knew I was pushing my pace since I didn’t have enough air to maintain a bilateral stroke. Halfway through, I came up to a short draft line and wasn’t willing to sit back. So I made the pass and ended up pulling the entire line for the second half of the swim. Overall, very happy with my swim time and the swim skin. Thanks QR!

T1 (0:41 – Tied for 1^st): Not much to say other than I struggled to undo my swim skin and buckle my helmet. The timing mats were at the edge of transition, so my swim time included the 75 yard run from the water. Pretty quick and easy, but the flying mount was a pain going uphill.

Rough Roads all Ride

Bike (2:24:11 – 4^th): The route itself was scenic, but the roads were very rough. Out of transition I knew I was in 4^th, but no one was in sight. I never caught anyone, and no one passed me. It was a lonely ride for sure. The aid station wasn’t setup when I hit it the first time, so I missed my first chance at fluids. I was able to snag a water the next 3 times I passed and drank all of it. I ate ¾ of a Cliff Bar, 1 tube of shot blocks, and my 1 emergency Gu since they didn’t offer Gatorade. I only held 218 Watts (seems low), but my average pace of 23.3mph was good considering. I intended to stay under 155bpm heart rate before the race, but continuously exceeded it to maintain the pace I thought was necessary to catch everyone on the run. Average ended up being 157bpm.

T2 (1:00 – 4^th): This one was a struggle for me since I don’t normally wear socks in a half. I was moving fast and lost time fighting my sweaty feet (next time I’ll roll the sock on). So because of that, I didn’t pull the backs up enough and rubbed my Achilles raw by mile 3. I started the run in 4^th, and my dad said 2^nd and 3^rd were in sight. With the sprint and Olympic athletes on course, it was very hard to tell who was in my race.

Closes the 4 minute gap in 2.5 miles: Dad, "You're in 1st!" - Me, "Wut???"

Run (1:25:29 – 1^st): My plan for the run was to go out at a 6:30 and slowly drop my pace down to 6:10-6:15. I was hoping this would be naturally fast enough to pick off the 3 runners in front of me, but was ready to push it as needed. Around mile 1, I passed 3^rd place as he started walking. Around mile 2, I caught who I thought was 2^nd place. At this point, I was already suffering and knew 6:15 pace wasn’t going to happen. I chose to pass him strong and appear to have more in the tank than I did. Once I was a full turn ahead, I backed it down and just tried to keep the HR under 175bpm. As I passed the Olympic turn around, I asked the volunteer if anyone else had gone straight yet. Without anyone in front of me, I was focused on the gap I was creating behind me. 5 miles in, I was able to see that I put over ½ mile on 2^nd place. At this point in the race, I was on damage control and focused on HR and perceived effort to still finish well. The run was hot, humid, and athletes needed to grab bottled water from swimming pools – which required a complete stop each time. There was no Gatorade offered, so I salted every 2 miles and took my 1 Gu at mile 7. The rest was pretty much a blur, but I closed the last mile in a 6:04.

Post-Race: I knew I formed a pretty good lead, so I waited 15 minutes at the finish line for the next athlete to come through. No one was coming, so I got on with my cool down and started grabbing my gear from transition. I caught up with a female pro who finished 2^nd overall with a time of 4:44:42. It was certainly a rough day for everyone out there, so I like to think that I handled the conditions more effectively than the competition.

 

Summary: Going into this race, I’d say my body was at 90-95% in terms of being recovered. I was incredibly happy with my swim, as it was my fastest time without a wet-suit. Transitions were short keeping the overall time down, and I posted 2 of the fastest splits of the day. Out of T1 I was in 4^th. The bike course had some rough roads and intersections with a layer of gravel. Running lower tire pressure was the way to go, and I still held 23.3mph. I wasn’t able to catch anyone, but still maintained my position in 4^th. Starting the run, my dad said 2^nd and 3^rd were in sight. It was tough to tell who was in which race, so I had to guess. I focused on opening with a 6:30 mile and passed 3^rd place by mile 1 and 2^nd place at mile 2. I saw my dad at 2.5, and he believed I was already in first. I was able to confirm my position with a volunteer at mile 5 where the Olympic turnaround was. At this point, I had an out and back to see my 1/2 mile lead. I was afraid of pushing too hard, so I stayed on the “easier side” of redlining. By mile 10, I was leading by nearly 2 miles. At the finish, I wasn’t super impressed with my overall time, but the heat and picking up our own waters slowed everyone down. I found out how bad it was when the next person (a female pro) finished 20 minutes after me. I also peed blood for the first time (Not sure who even reads all this, but hey...we're in this together now right?!?).

All in all, I am beyond excited to have won my first 70.3. The training is clearing paying off, and I am excited to test myself whenever the next Ironman event is. I am currently signed up for 1 more 70.3 in September where I hope to break 4:20 if the conditions are right.

That’s all for now