Chattanooga 70.3 Race Report

I wasn’t sure what to expect 15 days after the Ironman World Championship. I felt like my cardio was mostly recovered and ready to go, but my legs were a different story. Going into the weekend, we had a late start to our 10 hour drive and arrived around 1AM Saturday morning. We slept in as much as we could before tackling the pre-race activities. Ty and I were efficient in knocking out the logistics and opted to skip course recon. I was dragging all day, and my legs did not feel ready after a spin and short run.

Time to Fly

Race morning was flawless with parking, bike setup, boarding the shuttle and taking care of those last few pre-race details =) I also hung out with a Spaero Elite Teammate (Brian) while waiting to start. It was nice having a friend to keep my mind busy and to suit up with. I’d say the only “mistake” I made over the entire day was not lining up early enough. It was warm, so we didn’t want our wetsuits on for too long. My intent was to be 50-100^th in the water. I ended up being around 1,500^th in the water because math (started at 7:27, so 4 athletes/4s x 27 minutes x 60s = 1620). One quick note is I felt hungry before getting in the water. Normally I time my Gu 30 minutes before the swim and sip electrolytes until the start. It ended up being about an hour, and I tossed my bottle too early.

Overall placements for each segment include both male/female pros.

Swim (27:51 - 9^th AG / 65^th OA): Starting late on the swim, I was anticipating this being a cluster. With the river, I think there were varying tactics like swimming towards the center for fast current vs hugging the shoreline to cut distance. This probably widened the field and I didn’t have many swimmers around me. My goal was to simply sight the furthest buoy since they curved a bit, and I wasn’t going to sit on anyone’s feet. I pushed my pace from the start and feathered that “this is too hard” mentality. Out of the age groupers, I ranked 24^th. This was by far my best swim (relative to the field). I passed several hundred athletes, but it wasn’t apparent with everyone spread out. The pace is difficult to compare with it being 1.4 miles downriver, but this was the hardest I had pushed in a 70.3 swim.

T1 (3:22) – I had no issues getting my wetsuit down, and the volunteers yanked it off in one pull. Everything else was smooth despite narrow bike racks and navigating through athletes. I fumbled with clipping in my first shoe at the mount line, but that’ll show up in my bike split. I moved up 9 places despite opting out of a flying mount.

Bike (2:22:50 – 8^th AG / 86^th OA): Once I got on the bike, I started out a little hot. In the first mile I was around 270W and needed to cool that down right away. Part of this was starting uphill and staying left passing a slew of athletes. The wind was also out of the south, so we had a headwind out and tailwind back. One benefit of starting back on the swim was getting a slight draft when passing athletes, but I bet this was nullified by additional navigating and waiting to make passes. It took a while for my HR to settle down, and I was in the upper 160s for the first 20-30 minutes. I finally settled in and got it into the mid 150’s. About 40 miles in, the passes took longer and we were more spread out. Until this point, I was averaging around 230W, but my average speed wasn’t where I wanted it. I was happy with the power numbers given how my legs felt the day before. The last 30 minutes I fell into a bit of a lull. I let my power drop and ended up at 221W (some is expected preparing for a flying dismount). My normalized ended at 231W and was in my goal range of 230-235. The bike was my weakest on the day based on the 23.8mph average. This is where I lost most of my time. But to end on a positive note, at no point did I notice or blame fatigue from St. George.

T2 (2:27) –  I had a well-executed flying dismount, and a quick run to my bike rack. My shoes kept catching the ground, so I may need a solution to grab those precious seconds. I rolled my socks more than last time and struggled a little less getting them on. Grabbed my hat/nutrition/bib and went out hot to start the run. I got everything assembled before the timing mat and felt good.

Run (1:22:02 – 3^rd AG / 33^rd OA): I Love starting the run needing to hold myself back. Even though I was only ½ mile in, I liked seeing 6:05 pace. The first mile was uphill, and I split a 6:17 followed by a 6:10. It felt fast, so monitored my HR closely to try staying under 170bpm despite the heat. My highlight was passing Miranda Carfrae while she was on her 2^nd lap. When I caught the female pro just ahead of her, she asked me how far back Rinny was (20 yards and closing…) I spent the entire run weaving through runners and hitting fluids at each aid station, especially on lap 1 before the course got even busier. My plan to stay under 170bpm for the first half went out the window by mile 3, so I upped it to 172 and still felt comfortable at this effort. Coming off the full 2 weeks prior made the run fly by. I was halfway done before I knew it at a 6:24/mile average, and I upped my HR to 175. Still feeling relatively comfortable at this effort, I opted to miss a few aid station handoffs due to athletes blocking tables. As always, seeing my wife gave me a boost, and she relayed my position and time gaps. I knew 5^th place was almost locked up, and I was ready to close the last 40s on 4^th with 4 miles to go. Miles 8-9 is where I really had to work and felt that fatigue setting in. HR was occasionally touching 180 and I focused on keeping my cadence. With 2 to go, I saw Ty for the last time. She reminded me, “You wanted a fight? Well it’s time to fight!” I held that HR over 180 for the last 1.5 miles and pressed into it. With a net downhill finish, I closed in a 5:52 mile and topped out my HR at 189.

Awards

Overall, I am very happy with the race I put together. Going in, I didn’t feel like myself and already had the excuses lined up. St. George 15 days prior, driving in at 1AM the morning before, and just not feeling it. With the amazing support of my wife and her ever increasing knowledge, she had me as ready as I could possibly be (both mentally and physically). My main goals of the race were to take any spot on the podium and to enjoy pushing my limits. Other than the last bit on the bike, I’d say I achieved both. I’m sure St. George played a factor in my performance, but I can honestly say I didn’t think about much it or use it as an excuse to back off. I landed 4^th AG and the 7^th overall amateur. I loved the venue/course, and it felt so good to lean into the discomfort instead of being on damage control. I felt great all race and it reminded me of my performance at Tulsa when I got that KQ.

Wifey

Next up is a little recovery and some maintenance before Steelhead 70.3 in 5 weeks. After that, it’s full tilt until Kona in October with some fun races to incorporate with my training.

Ironman St. George World Champs Race Report

So much to unpack so strap in! Although this wasn't the Kona I was looking for, it brought me one step closer to the real deal. 

Pre-Race: The thing that worried me the most going into this race was recovering from a calf strain 12 days out. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish, let alone compete at the level I wanted. Without much improvement, I cut running for 10 days and biking for 7 prior to the race. I added a few extra swims to offset but felt this was the worst taper I’ve ever done. I intended to bike a few key parts of the course and run at elevation to solidify my final preparation. This was my hardest course to date with 7,300 ft of climbing on the bike and 1,500 ft of elevation gain on the run. The weather also played a factor where the 2^nd half of the bike had 20-30mph winds, and temps hit 90 on the run with more wind. Overall, I was intimidated by the course and had a poor mindset from the super taper.

When I went to athlete check-in, I got pulled for a random drug test. I was very happy to see Ironman taking this seriously, but I also hate needles and it took about an hour to get through the entire process. Every supplement I take needed to be listed with duration and frequency, so it was very extensive.

 

Swim (1:01:23 – 20^th AG / 200 OA): A 1 minute PR lake swim for me! 1 thing I did differently was cover my watch under my wetsuit so I could peel it off quicker. Plus it prevented me from checking the time and my 500 splits. The water was a chilly 60 degrees and calm race morning. Other than the initial minute after running in, I loved the colder swim. I went out hard for the first 100-150 yards hoping to find the feet of someone swimming under an hour. Unfortunately, we caught the swim wave in front of us early on, and I started to lose the green caps in a sea of purple. I kept pushing along until I got to the first turn buoy about ¼ way through the swim. The water opened up after working through that first wave, and I felt the tickles of someone swimming on my feet. They never disrupted my stroke and backed off any time I needed to swim through more swimmers. Around the halfway point he pulled around me and I quickly took advantage. I swam at a very comfortable effort on his feet and let him take care of plowing the path. Any time I was outside the wake, I had to increase my effort to stay on him. Based on that, I knew I wouldn’t drop much (if any) time by going around. Other than down river in Louisville, this was my easiest Ironman swim. I had no issues and got through it at a moderate effort.

 

T1: (4:53): This transition was not good. I struggled to undo my velcro and couldn’t get the wetsuit pulled down before the strippers. Instead, I continued running to the change tent while I worked on it. The tent was packed since I was in the last male swim wave, and I had to walk behind a bunch of athletes taking their sweet time. Luckily, I decided to do a flying mount, so I only had my helmet hanging in the bag. I threw my swim gear in, popped the helmet on and ran out with the bag. I located my bike quickly and had a very fast run to the mount line. Nothing fancy swinging my leg over and stepping on the shoes to get going. I made sure the rubber bands all snapped and slipped on my shoes without issue.

 

Bike (5:23:46 – 16^th AG / 184^th OA): Normally I’m not the biggest fan of mantras, but I chose one for this race. Respect the course. The bike started out in the low 70s, so comfortable and not too warm before the sun got up. Early on the course was Packed. Riders were all over and it was very difficult to navigate around them all. The most dangerous parts were the early descents trying to work through traffic at 40mph. I settled in quickly though and accepted that I was not going to hit my power targets. I knew what was coming, so I decided to hold steady and keep my HR where I wanted it. As I continued to settle in and tackle the early hills and wind, my power slowly started to go up, so that was encouraging. Nutrition was flawless, and I ended up grabbing a lot more water from aid stations than I originally planned on. I was drinking at such a rate that I only skipped 3 aid stations the entire ride. Once I got through 60 miles of mostly headwind, I was through “part 1” in my mind. This was where I would climb about 2,000 feet in the next 25 miles. Everything was going smooth, and I even had a few words with some athletes I was playing merry-go-round with. 60-85 is what I considered “part 2” and it got me to the highest elevation of the day around 5,000 ft. The climbs getting there were tough, but manageable with a tailwind to help. At the top I noticed myself feeling a little nauseous and dizzy. It clicked that I hadn’t done any training at altitude, so I just stayed focused on waiting for the descent to begin. I checked my average speed at 20.1mph, so I was happy to see I’d be close to biking a 5:30 by the end. Going down the canyon was nerve-wracking with the 20-30mph crosswinds increasing throughout the day. I knew fast and confident descending would pay off, so I pedaled until my legs spun out and tucked it best I could. Once I got to the bottom, I had one last 1,500 ft climb back up Snow Canyon, then it was all downhill to the finish “part 3”. Even though I drove it, I underestimated how difficult this climb would be. With the wind at my back, it got incredibly hot and it was the first time I noticed my sweat dripping. My HR was in the 160s and I had to maintain the effort to stay upright. Once I hit the top, it was time to bomb down one last time. This time the crosswinds were even worse, and I just needed to get to transition safely. This being lap 2, there were more athletes to weave in and out of. The final 5 miles, I averaged 34mph =O

Overall, I was happy with my time, but the average watts were about 20 lower than I had planned. Normalized was about 10 lower.

T2: (2:59): This transition was smooth other than a struggle to get my socks on. Having bike catchers sped it up and it was just an ok transition for me. I grabbed my hat/nutrition/bib and got everything in place on the go. My run legs have felt better out T2, but overall I was pretty happy with how I handled my effort on the bike. 1 thing I did different for this race was stash a water in my T2 bag to stuff in my kit during the run. This bottle came in handy between aid stations as they got more crowded on lap 2.

 

Run (3:22:05 – 5^th AG / 84^th OA): I lowered my expectations for this run before the race started, so I was hoping to run a 3:15-3:20 given the elevation and conditions. I started off hugging the top end of my HR zone for the first 6 miles and used that as my guide regardless of pace. I believe this was a good decision because pace was relative when ascending or descending the 2 main hills. In the back of my mind, I wanted to be under 10 hours. It helped me press more as I hit key points in the run and kept my mind busy with time calculations. I stuck to the plan and focused on seeing my wife, dad, and other supporters to push me along. The heat was tough, but I believe the wind hurt my pace just as much. My legs were the limiter though, and I never really challenged the HR zones as they were meant to increase throughout the run. Around mile 3 Ty decided it was time to tell me I was in 17^th place with 3 guys in striking distance. Just stick to the plan and I’ll work my way through them. The next update I got was I was in 14^th place with a long (but manageable 8 minute gap to 10^th, according to Ty). After I got through lap 1, I knew what to expect for lap 2. My final update from Ty told me I was in 11^th, but 4 minutes back from 10^th with 5 miles to go. Ty’s instructions, “make these the best 5 miles you have ever run”. Even though my pace was fading, I shuffled up that final climb. Checking splits at the top, I knew I could run 8-minute pace and still break 10 with over 250 ft of net downhill. I ran hard when I felt “good” and managed when it was time to fight. Most of the last 5K was a blur, but I remember cruising by the struggling runners as I made that final turn around the M-Dot monument towards the finish.

 

Total (9:55:04 – 10^th AG / 66 OA Amateur): Overall I thought I managed my day incredibly well. I would also say that is the deepest I ever had to dig, but it was pretty much on the run alone. I may have had a little more to push on the bike, but I expected some carnage on the run to make it back up. It ended up working out because I Pac-Man’ed my way from 17th to 10^th AG.

I wanted to land myself a top 10 AG finish and be under 10 hours, both accomplished in the final miles of the run (once again). For now, I believe that is just how I need to race until I can further my swim and bike. On this course, and with the competition present I am stoked with my performance. But as I do, I am already analyzing and trying to figure out where I need to train more and be better. This was a world class field of athletes, and I want to elevate my performance to become a true competitor. My next Ironman will be in KONA!

I also got to chat with someone from Triathlete Magazine about how this race compared with Kona. Check out the article here: https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/how-did-the-world-championship-in-st-george-stack-up-to-kona/

This was a novel, so thanks for sticking it out until the end! Despite how much I wrote, there is so much more I neglected to include. Hit me up if you want to hear more, and I’ll have another race report coming after Chatt 70.3 in 2 weeks.

 

Matt