Austin 70.3 Race Report Part 2: The Race

 

Photo cred: wife wife

Race day was pretty sweet conditions. I was excited that it wasn’t going to be cold like it has been the last two years and figured a little extra warmth would hurt those traveling from the north more than it would hurt me. Along with my power plan my other main objective for this race was to eat a lot. In past races I’ve really struggled the last 3-5 miles of the run and I think it was because I wasn’t eating enough on the bike. My goal for Austin was to eat 1300-1400 calories on the bike, especially because I knew it was a little hillier and I’d be out there a little longer than some races.

The swim started off as most pro swims do- with the inevitable creep forward past the buoy line by a couple ambitious guys eager to get a jump on the rest of the field. What made this start weird is that we were standing on shore until they said 30 seconds to go and didn’t know whether we were starting from the water or a beach start. Finally they said, “30 seconds to go, you guys can get in the water.” We all waded in and started swimming to the start line. I was half sprinting half trying to listen for the horn in case it blew and we just kept going. We got to the line and they gave us 10 seconds then we were off.

It’s been a while since I’ve raced so I struggled a little more at the start than I normally do but eventually got tucked in to the second pack and was pretty comfortable there. I apologize to the guy in front of me whose feet I kept hitting. We were swimming that awkward pace where I wasn’t quite working really hard but it was too hard to be real relaxed. I couldn’t find that right pace where I stayed even with him so I kept swinging out wide then back in and running into his feet. Open water swims aren’t usually where I make new coffee date buddies though so oh well.

Photo cred: Mario Cantu - Triathlete Mag

Like I mentioned before, I wasn’t too worried about what my bike split was going to be as long as I rode my power. I knew that most guys were going to ride away from me and that’s exactly what happened in the first 5 miles. I tried to stay consistent and aero and put about 700 calories down my throat in the first hour of the ride. I was all by myself until mile 40 when Scott Wilkinson came by me. Actually, I was pretty pleased that it took him this long to catch me as the guy is known for crushing souls on the bike and is the Cat 2 state time trial champion. I tried to stay with him and was able to keep his gap to 20-30 seconds for about 5 miles until he pulled away some more. At this point I was moving up from passenger seat to driver on the struggle bus and just wanted to be done. I probably let out a few moans and various animal noises as my legs and back were aching.

My NP for the ride was 251 and my AP was 244. This was obviously lower than I wanted to hold. You can see that the first 1:50 of the ride I was pretty consistent averaging 256 NP which was a little low but ok. What killed me is the last 35 minutes where my power dropped to 234 and the last 10k of the bike was a measly 226 watts. I just didn’t have the volume of training at race intensity in my legs to be able to hold strong through all 56 miles.

Entire Ride

First 1:50 

Last :35

Last 10k

Photo cred: Maritza

Coming off the bike I wasn’t sure how I’d feel since the last 15 miles had been a real struggle (hashtagthestruggleisreal). I’d stayed attentive to calorie cramming though and had made sure to finish my last gel even though I thought it might make me throw up. Total calorie consumption for the bike was 1350-1400 depending on how much missed my mouth and dribbled down my chin.

I was pleased to find myself feeling quite good starting the run and was very “awake and present.” 

Photo cred: Mario Cantu - Triathlete Mag

Photo cred: wife wife

My legs felt decent too and I clicked off my first couple miles in 6:03 and 6:05. I started off just sipping perform at the aid stations but starting lap two I switched over to coke with occasional perform. My pace had dropped off a little bit but I was still running strong and controlled and was picking off guys in front of me. I was 15^th off the bike and by the end of lap 2 I had moved up into 11^th. For whatever reason I felt really good on mile 9 as I ran back through the crowd ready to start my 3^rd lap and dropped back down to a 6:11 split. That was a bit too much though as I started getting cramps in my quads heading down the hill on the “out” section of the course. I had to back the pace off to make sure I didn’t lock up completely. From there on the last 3 miles definitely started to hurt and my legs were not at all happy with me. I think I skipped an aid station running that 6:11 mile and I felt my energy dropping and the “fog of ironman” creeping in. I tried to push the pace up a couple hills on the way back since I had to be careful going down but my legs weren’t doing a good job of driving me forward anymore. I finished 11^th.

Photo cred: Random volunteer handing out pizza

I like to say that I’m “pleased but not satisfied” about performances. I’m pleased about Austin because I had the best race I could have had on that day. My nutrition was better than any 70.3 I’ve done and cognitively I was much more awake and less drained at the finish.  I’m not satisfied because, obviously I suck at cycling right now. Physically the race beat me up pretty good and I was so sore on Monday that I could barely walk. I just didn’t do enough muscular endurance workouts at race pace to keep me from withering at the end. This showed in the last 15 miles of the bike and last 3-4 miles of the run. Muscularly my body just shut down. Thankfully, fitness is something relatively easy to fix- just train harder! I know what I need to work on for next year and have confidence I can drop significant time on the bike so I’m in a position to be running for that 5^th-10^th spot.

Thanks again to all that participated in my bike split competition and thanks especially to the team of people around me this year.

Revolution Race Team is my local team sponsor and provided my kit for the year. This team is supported by Juicer Heroes, The Fit Kitchen and Enchanted Rock Vodka. They are all locally owned and operated businesses that are making an impact on the community. I owe a big thanks to Jeannie and Simon for including me on the team this year. It’s a small group of talented athletes who get along well and have fun living a healthy and active lifestyle. Fresh juices and prepared healthy meals are an immense help to busy athletes, and vodka… well I can drink that now that the season is over.

Cobb Cycling and the CobbMobb- what a fun company to work with and be a part of. These guys are so passionate about what they do and genuinely care about people and making them comfortable on the bike. Switching over to the JOF 55 this year has really helped my back problems on the bike because it allows me to roll my hips forward under me and put my spine in a more neutral position.

Best Bike Split- I’ve known Ryan since he swam with the masters group I coached while I was in high school. I didn’t quite know how smart this guy was back then but now I do! A PhD in math is no joke and he and his company have helped me come into races with a plan. He’s helped me with little decisions about tire choice and pressure and various tips on staying aero and maximizing speed.

Fluid Nutrition- Their performance and recovery products are vital when I’m training and racing especially in this Texas summer. Drinking fluid on the bike allows me to absorb all the hydration I take in because of  their electrolyte balance and their refreshing flavors aren’t overly sweet or syrupy.

Superfeet insoles make sure I don’t have any lower leg or foot issues. My arch was a little tight starting the run and am thankful I had carbon superfeet in my race flats because otherwise I might have really injured something. After lap 1 the support of the superfeet took over and my foot felt much better.

That about sums it up. I'm taking some down time now before I start planning and preparing for next year. There will be some changes made for sure. If you have any questions please feel free to let me know!

Photo cred: Roland Moreno - E2 Multisport