Haines City 70.3 Race Report

 So... I haven’t posted anything yet this year, and I had plenty of time to kill at the airport. So while the race is still fresh in my mind, let’s get a recap:

Haines City was a free race for me thanks to Wattie Ink, and I had by buddy Mitch to travel down here with. It also lined up well in my schedule to get a warmer race in before Ironman Tulsa. Coming from the Midwest, I hadn’t had the opportunity to train in weather warmer than 60 degrees, so the 80’s and humidity shocked the body a bit. I didn’t quite have the race I wanted, but I left it all out there and came away with a solid result and new knowledge.

Pre-Race with my bestie

Pre-Race: We flew down the Friday before the race, and this was the first time I’ve packed my bike. Everything went smooth on that end, and my gear was all ready to go. 
When referencing my place, I’m excluding the pros. 

1000 yard swim at Lucky's before the race

Swim (32:22 – 49th): The swim was not wetsuit legal, so I swam in my QR swim skin. A very interesting swim being an “M” shape, but I thought I handled it well. I started farther back than I would have liked, but athletes were jumping the line to start sooner. I made a fair number of passes and maintained a comfortably hard effort. I was very happy with how I swam even though the results show me 10th in my age group out of the water. 

 

T1 (4:09): I was a little more winded than normal coming up out of the water, and transition was around 1/2 mile. The bike started uphill after the mount line, and my rack was closer to the end of transition. I opted to skip the flying mount and put my shoes on at my bike. After ripping off one of the back straps to pull up my right shoe, I was on my way.

Looking back at the tracker, I jumped up 17 places to 32nd with this transition. 

 

Bike (2:22:07 - 26th): I spent the first 15-20 miles passing quite a few people during the windier section of the bike. From the tracker, I moved up 14 places to 18th during the first 16 miles. On the bike it was hot with the sun out, and we fought a headwind for the first half of the ride. I paid close attention to drinking enough fluid with my 35oz aero bottle and stayed well hydrated. My power was about 10-15 watts lower than my target, so I switched over to perceived effort and HR to gauge how hard to push. I’d say I road smart but ran my HR a little high. I also sprinted by a draft line so they couldn’t grab my wheel, and I may have overcooked it a bit there. Off bike I was sitting in 20th, and my split was 8th for my age group. 

 

T2 (3:07): Another long transition, and a very annoying one with how far I needed to push my bike with flopping shoes. I ended up stopping to pull them off to not risk losing one. Socks and shoes came on quick, and I was off. 

 

Last 1/2 mile I gave it everything

Run (1:25:48 - 23rd): Normally the run is my time to shine, but I was not able to hit the pace I was expecting. I had to slow down considerably to keep my HR in check, and even then, I maintained over 170bpm after mile 1. Without any feedback on race position, I focused on maintaining my effort and stayed on damage control. I hit the aid stations efficiently grabbing around 4 cups per (Water, ice in kit, Gatorade and more ice or dumping water).

My 1 major mishap was shaking my salt without my thumb over the top. So at mile 3, I threw all of my salt into my eye... yeah...

I also heavily bonked miles 8-9, slowing my pace by 40s/mile. After getting a Gu in me (that I should have taken at mile 6), I was back on pace.

With 2 miles to go, I bumped my HR into the 180s and hit a high of 191 at the finish. My run was the 4th fastest for my age group.

 

Wattie Ink Elite Team with some hardware!

Summary: This was my first Ironman event in over a year and a half! The last few races I did were smaller with much less competition, so I was excited to see how I’d stack up. With the venue in Florida, my body was not used to the heat and humidity after training in the Midwest all Winter. I made it a point to spend as much time outside as I could, even eating dinner in the back of our Airbnb.

My swim was very strong, and probably the leg I am the happiest with. Even after decreasing my weekly swim yards from 10,000 to 5-6K, I still held a solid pace of 1:31/100 yards.

I think I handled the bike well despite not being able to hold my goal watts. I switched to racing by feel/HR, but still feel like I overexerted just a little bit by the end.

When I got to the run, I thought I was ready to run down most of the field. After seeing my HR hit 170 on mile 1 at 6:40 pace, I knew I was in trouble. I mostly focused on maintaining the effort and staying on damage control. I had 1 nutritional hiccup, and probably added a minute to my time had I taken my Gu when I needed to.

I finished the last mile strong but was carrying a lot of grit on my face. Overall, I am happy with my 3^rd place Age Group and 8^th Overall Amateur finish. But, I can tell you I am not fully satisfied. The 2 athletes that beat me in my AG also went 1 & 2 overall, and they beat me by 10 minutes. This is tough for me to swallow since I was such a distant 3^rd in a race I thought I could win.

Swimming and 10k PR

A 10k PR and lots of swimming! It’s been a long time since my last post, so I thought a Thanksgiving recap was in order. Since October, I increased my swimming to 20k/week and backed down on cycling/running. So for October and November, I hit 170,000 yards (just shy of 100 miles!)

Before 20k/week when my beard was shorter

To wrap up the month, I decided to put all of my swim fitness to the test. On the last day, I swam a 2.4 mile (4250 yard) TT to cap off that training block. To my surprise, I felt great and finished in 1:00:44 (1:26/100). I rarely swim that long without giving my eyes a break from the goggles, so I did flip on my back to readjust them around halfway. It only cost me a few seconds, but I don’t normally have issues with my open water goggles. All in all, I was pleased with the results (now to fix that efficiency!)

10k

The highlight of my Thanksgiving was definitely this 10k. I originally signed up for a local 5 mile Turkey Trot to remember what it’s like to run fast. After it went virtual, I decided to shoot for a 10k PR since I’ve only raced 1 during an Olympic Tri. My dad was also in town for the race and wanted to set a new 5k PR for himself as well. 

I jogged down to my favorite flat back road to warm up, and my wife and brother met me with the car. After ditching the sweats, I took off with my personal escort. I was hoping to hold 5:40’s, so that was my target off the bat. I didn’t really set a HR cap for myself since I naturally slow down when I’m pushing more than I can sustain. Not gonna lie, I felt pretty smooth out there and hit the first 5k in about 17:14 (18s off my PR). At that point my HR was at 180bpm, but I didn’t feel like I was “struggling” until about 4 miles. I hammered down until the end and posted a 34:42 (5:35/mi). I was very pleased with my splits since the back half was into the wind. Mile splits were: 5:34, 5:37, 5:30, 5:37, 5:38, 5:36. Being my first standalone 10k, I think I prefer this distance over a 5k. 

Pre-5k smiles

After catching my breath, it was my dad’s turn to race his 5k. I wasn’t sure what his exact goal was, but I believed he could hold 8:20 pace. We set out, and I could tell he was pushing it early on. He ended up having a fantastic race and finished in 25:41 (8:16/mi). This was a 1:43 (over 30s/mi) PR from his time 1 year ago! 

As for me what's next, there is less than 6 months until Ironman Tulsa. All of my focus will be on building to peak performance for race day. 

All the best and stay safe! 

USAT Rankings

    It’s been a while since my last post, and I just came across something I found worth sharing. This year has been crazy, and the triathlon world has certainly been impacted. With that being said, many races are now starting back up, so I know this won’t last long. But! As of today, I am ranked #1 in the US in the 25-29 age group! I will forever save this screenshot showing that part way through the season, I was on top.

    Little disclaimer here, USAT dropped the requirements to only include 2 races this year instead of 3. So right now, 2 of my 3 are being counted. I am hoping that my 3^rd race will actually boost my score even more when they add it. But once more races are added for other athletes, the rankings will shift. Regardless, it’s been fun stalking the results to see where I stack up. Moving forward, I still have a lot to accomplish, and I refuse to let cockiness get the better of me in my preparations.

    So what’s next? I’m so glad you asked! Right now, I am focused on maintaining my fitness and keeping my body ready for a high volume block of training after Thanksgiving. Until then, I will: keep all of my runs in Zone 2 (25 mi/week max), limit myself to 1 killer bike workout/week, have a heavy focus on strength training, and swim a ton of yards. For me, a “ton of yards” is hitting 15,000 a week instead of 10,000… Would love to hear how many yards you all swim each week anddd any advice on breaking that 1 hr barrier =) Also, my watch switches from yards to miles after 5,000.

Wasn't sure how many yards I was ending with

    Another piece of exciting news (more exciting than my well timed USAT ranking) is that my dad ran his first marathon! He has put in so much work to get to this point, and I could not be prouder. (I had to Google proud vs. more proud if you were wondering that too). From his first 5k to a freaking marathon, my dad has come an incredibly long way. After tackling these numerous sub goals, he is now ready to take on an Ironman. For me, I am even more driven to take a Kona slot at Ironman Tulsa. If I can get it done this Spring, I can give dad my full support at Madison instead of trying to qualify again. Regardless, 2021 will be an exciting year for my family!

Dad's first marathon complete!

            That’s all for now. Never hesitate to hit me up with questions or if you just want to chat.

Matt

200 Miler Because, Why Not?

Alright… I know I was going to give everyone a break, but this is “technically” not a race report! Even though I raced 5 70.3’s this year (3 virtual, 1 was with dad), I wanted to do something that felt more like a full. So with no races until May, I wanted to really challenge myself. Before taking recovery time then building into Ironman Tulsa, I wanted to ride 200 miles. In training I typically average around 20mph, so that’d put me right at 10 hours (hopefully 170-180W will be enough). Since I finished Madison in 10:00:32, I figured that would fill the void.

All Smiles at 6:30AM

Prep and Planning

I knew it was going to be a long day, so I chose to wear my race kit (it’s the most comfortable thing I own). I started out with 2 Gatorade bottles and my 35 oz aero bottle with water (300 calories). I also took 2 Cliff bars, 10 shot blocks and a Gu (900 calories). I figured this would be enough to get me past halfway before my first stop. My goal was 200 cal/hr, but I had no problem adjusting if I felt like I needed more. I targeted an average watt output of 165 for the first 100 and would increase from there if my legs felt good enough to do so.

 

How’d It Go?

Well it was definitely something. It certainly wasn’t as difficult as an Ironman, but it challenged me in a different way. I was out on the roads by myself for 9+ hours with no reason to keep riding other than internal motivation. That being said, my motivation to push hard was to simply get off my bike sooner. I took 1 potty stop at 40 miles and fuel stops at 120 & 150. Ready for some numbers???

Total Elapsed Time: 10 hours and 17 seconds

Riding Time/Pace: 9 hours and 19 minutes/21.5mph

Average Power: 183W (191 normalized)

Average HR: 137BPM

Elevation Gain: 5000 ft

The Deets:

I started the ride from my house as soon as it was light (6:30am). Luckily there was little traffic during the 3 miles it takes me to leave town, so my pace was good to start. The wind was already blowing at 8mph, and quickly increased to 12+ by 9am.

I needed a potty stop 40 miles into the ride and wasn’t too happy stopping so early. I quickly got back on and wanted to ride until I reached a gas station at mile 120 before pausing again. Any time I was fighting the wind, I threw my watt goal aside and was pushing in the 190-200 range, so my initial average of 165 quickly rose to 180W. I was just starting to run out of fluids as I rolled up to the Casey’s at 120. I refilled my bottles with Gatorade and snagged an extra Cliff Bar.

 

A lot of strange looks at Casey's 

I was at a 21mph average when I left, and I had a beautiful cross-tailwind for a 30 mile stretch south. I average around 26mph with the help, and it almost brought me to 22mph. From miles 120-150 I enjoyed the speed and sitting up whenever I wanted to stretch my sore neck. I got sick of sugar/Gatorade and wished I bought a bottle of water (stupid 3 for $4 deal…). When I got my last chance for aid at 150, I opted to stop 1 last time to refill a bottle with just water to make sure I had enough fluids to get home.

 

From this point on, I had 50 miles of straight headwind to get home. The good news was that the wind weakened in the late afternoon. This made a huge difference when it came to my average speed. I pretty much put my head down and stayed in aero as much as possible as I worked my way home. It wasn’t until mile 170 that my legs really started to bug me and I was struggling to maintain the 180 watts I had been holding. My shoulders and neck had been sore since the Casey’s, but I kept telling myself 30 miles is only 1.5 hrs if I can just hold 20mph. I don’t remember that last bit much, but I just wanted to be done. Ty was kind enough to come pick me up so I wasn’t riding in traffic all disoriented.

 

Would I do this again?

I am writing this a day after I finished, and I’d say yeah… I’d do it again. The effects on my body do feel similar* to an Ironman with my easy swim being challenging. I couldn’t catch my breath and was swimming 10s/100 slower than normal. If I were to ever ride much over 100, I’d want to at least have someone join me for part of it. A little company goes a long way, and it’d help to share the load and relax behind someone’s wheel for short stints. All in all, I’m so happy I set this silly goal for myself and I believe I came out a better and stronger cyclist for it.

 

Multiple athletes have said this, so I don’t know who to quote…but, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough”. This was something that I thought a lot about, because 200 miles actually scared me a bit. Especially since my longest ride was 120 miles from 3 years ago. So if you take nothing else from my musings, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. The reward at the end is worth it.

My first Olympic Triathlon

*Trying to keep this one short. Going into this race I wasn’t sure how my body would respond the week after a 70.3, but I welcomed the challenge. This was also my first Olympic, so I was excited to try a new distance. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Dad got to race with me!

Team Wattie Ink got some hardware

Pre-Race: The swim course looked like it was going to be short again. The bike course was quick with only 3 turns, a turnaround and 3 turns back. I didn’t scope out the run course because it was all trail paths.

Swim (20:39 – 6^th): The swim was very warm, so I didn’t bother with my swim skin. I started in the elite wave (maybe 10-15 people?), and it was a washing machine for the first 100 yards. Once we strung out, the swim was simple...2 straight out and backs. I was a little surprised to be 6^th out of the water and probably should have pushed a little harder. My watch only showed 1200 yards at 1:39/100, so the swim was almost 500 yards short.

T1 (0:26 – 1^st): I was the fastest T1 by 5s, so I’ll take that as a little win. I passed 1 person, took my time mounting the bike and used my hands more to get those cycling shoes on.

Bike (0:59:51 – 3^rd): The bike was quick with small rolling hills. I only passed 1 person because apparently 3^rd and 4^th place somehow took a wrong turn. I never saw them until after the turnaround, *but that’s what they get for forming a peloton. The guy even had the nerve to tell me he sucked wheel on the bike since “cycling isn’t his thing”. Sorry, just had to get that out =) I was very impressed with my pace of 24.8mph at 244W, and I kept my HR up averaging 165BPM. One of my personal goals is to hit a 40k in under an hour, so I was right there. Very happy with that split the week after a 70.3.

T2 (0:46 – 5^th): I was going to take a chance and race barefoot knowing I’d blister by mile 3, but 1^st place was way out of range and I didn’t think the extra 10s would cost me 2^nd. So, I rolled my socks on like last race and was on my way.

Run (34:35 – 2^nd): I was getting used to being the fastest runner in previous races, but not today! My plan was to go out at a 6:00 while staying under 170BPM for the first mile. I hit a 5:59 then pushed until my HR climbed to 175. Since 10K is not a distance I am familiar with, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I ended up averaging 5:46 pace, and with the course 0.2 mi short, my actual* 10k would be around 35:50. I only missed the fastest split by 4s, so I’ll take that as another little win.

Post-Race (1:56:15 – 2^nd): After crossing the finish line in 2^nd place, I had the chance to meet and catch up with Ben Stone. He had been waiting a whole 6 minutes for me to cross, and it was very humbling to have raced against him. 3^rd place came in 3 minutes after me, so the podium was fairly spread out. 

Forgot to take a picture until we got home

Summary: Overall, I was the most disappointed with my swim since I lost the most time (4 minutes). For distances that are shorter, I need to work on pushing my pace more. Also open to suggestions! Transitions were short, and I posted 2 of the fastest splits. The bike course was fast, and I held 24.8mph. My bike was completely stripped down except for my flat kit and single bottle, so that helped as well (lost 2 more minutes). Starting the run, my brother told me I had a 6-minute gap and the guy was the fast. Rather than getting myself down, I set out to run the best 10k I was capable of and secured 2^nd place.

I put together my best race and came up way short. I was prepared and my body recovered, but Ben proved to be in a different league. My biggest takeaway is that, even though I’ve come an incredibly long way, there is still a lot more to do before I can claim my Kona slot.

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