Shoreman 70.3 race recap

It was a pretty good day at the office with all things considered. I always scroll down to find splits and then back up to read the report, so I'll just post the splits up top for anyone like me out there reading.

Swim - 34:37 (HR 132)

t1 - 3:04

Bike - 2:40:20 (HR 156)

t2 - 2:33

Run - 1:37:59 (HR 171)

Finish - 4:58:32 (HR 162)

18 OA, 3rd AG

So, like I said, not a bad day. I came in under my goal times for the swim and bike. So now the blow by blow...

I got up and ate breakfast plenty early, but got on the road a few minutes later than I should have. By the time I parked and picked up my packet it was about 6:25 and the race started at 7:00am. Of course there were lines at all the port-o-johns, so I had to wait. At about 6:50 I was next in line. I still had my bike with me and all my transition stuff. Needless to say I was quick to take care of business and then ran over to transition. I got set up and jumped into my wetsuit in record speed. I was on the beach by 6:58 for the National Anthem. Little did I know that my rush through transition would cost me a bit of time later in the day...

It was a two loop swim in a shallow lake. How shallow? When we got the 300ish yards to the other side I was scraping the ground with my pull. I even got up to dolphin dive a few times to get going and get a full breath. There was only about 25 yards of shallow water, but it was surprising. I felt pretty good, and frankly I don't know how or why. I haven't been swimming a lot. My suspicion is that the swim was a little short. The break mid way helped too. I hit the half way point at 17 minutes and exited in 34 and change. I was pretty happy at that point, and I think that's my current 70.3 swim PR...

Transition was a disaster. It was a small local race, so I just racked my bike where I could find space - no numbering on the rows. I literally ran around for what felt like 20 minutes looking for my bike. Finally I spotted it, ripped off the wetsuit, helmet on, shoes on, and off I went.

It was cold when the bike started - definitely below 60 degrees. I was pretty numb in my extremities. My HR was a little high when I started (in the 160s), so I eased off slightly to get it down into the 150s. For the first time I can remember in a race the bike felt smooth as butter and it was SO easy to get my HR to do exactly what I wanted. If I pushed a little it went up, and I could back off a little to take it down. It was perfect. The bike was also pancake flat. I'm talking NO hills, not even an ant hill. I stayed down in the aerobars and just went. Something else I have to say is how damn comfortable my new ride is. I only ride about 10% of my rides down in the aero position, so I always worry how uncomfortable I'm going to be. The Slice is PERFECT for me! I just love how it rides. Anyway, the one part of the ride that really pissed me off was the draft pack I kept getting swallowed up by. There were 4-5 guys just sitting on each others' wheels! They got to me and tried to sit on mine, but I called them out for it and one guy responded, "we're not trying to draft, but you can't help it out here..." BULL.SHIT. It was a small race... There was NO need to draft. Anyway, I pushed for a bit and let my HR get up to get away from them, but then they gobbled me up again. This happened about 3-4 times before I finally fell back from them at about mile 53. I was pissed. And it messed with my race plan because I had to ride hard surges to try and shake them. Something else that hurt me on the bike was fueling. I missed a water bottle and miscalculated in my hurried transition set up, so I was about 2 gels short of what I wanted to take in. I also ran out of water. I didn't take in anything for the last 30 minutes of the bike, which is really not ideal. I'm going to tinker with my fuel/hydration set up before I race again next year... Nevertheless, the bike went well. The Slice is awesome and my Rudy Project wingspan aerohelmet definitely helped too. I can't wait to throw some aero wheels on her next spring. Mom, Dad, Maddy, and anyone else who reads this and might potentially get me a gift some time between now and next summer, please donate to my aero wheel fund.  

The second transition was still a little confusing, but I found my spot quicker than I did coming out. I sat down and put some compression socks on because I was fearful of how my legs would hold up. I also grabbed as many gels and chomps as I could because I knew I was already behind on my nutrition plan. Then out I went.

The legs were turning over OK. I passed the draft pack punks within the first mile, which was a good feeling. The first few miles I was averaging a heart rate in the 160s and clipping off 7:10ish miles. Not ideal, but not bad. Things went on feeling pretty good until about mile 9. I started to have some cramps in my calves and my HR was well into the mid 170s. My pace had slowed too. At mile 11 I realized I needed to stop to walk a few steps. My stride was way off because of the cramping. I got passed at mile 12, and I HATE when that happens, but I had nothing to respond with. I limped across the line under 5 hours though, so I can't be too mad. My run split is my second worst half marathon though. The only one worse was in my first ever 70.3 in 2010 in which I limped a 1:55. The surges on the bike and the nutrition miscalculation definitely played a role. My fitness and low training volume is the other piece of the puzzle.

I can't be disappointed though. I had some really good parts of the day and I came out fitter. The run is concerning mostly because I'm signed up to run a marathon in 5 weeks. I'll take this week nice and easy, but then I need to test myself with a pretty long run next weekend - probably in the 18-20 mile range.

Onward and upward!

Thanks for reading!

PW