2018 Ironman Texas

On April 28, 2018 I was fortunate enough to participate in Ironman Texas. This was my first attempt at the full IM distance.

Quick Race Summary:

For those who don't care for all the details, my race in a nutshell...

Swim (2.4 miles): 1:10:39
T1: 8:19
Bike (110 miles): 5:07:06
T2: 7:42
Run (26.2 miles): 5:16:12

TOTAL Time: 11:49:58 (133rd AG, 838th overall out of 2900+)

Pre-Race:

I traveled (along with my wife and daughter) to The Woodlands, Texas on Wednesday the 25th to allow myself a couple of days to settle in and relax before the race, and also to make sure I could get a few easy training sessions on or near the race courses. We stayed at the Westin at the Woodlands Hotel, which was right on the waterway, and very close to the run finish. The hotel was very nice, and the immediate surrounding area had all the amenities that we could hope for, tons of restaurants, stores, etc. The weather was definitely hot, but so far was not living up to the hype regarding humidity. It was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Over the course of the next two days, I got an easy 45 minute spin on my bike, and a short run just to keep the blood flowing, and to get a feel for the course and weather. I felt very good, and very confident in my fitness going into the race. On Thursday, I linked up with Sebastian K. and his friend Mark to do a drive-by recon of the bike course as well.

The day before the race, I was alarmed at how much walking I did (my Garmin told me I took 12,000 steps) but I didn't feel like I was over exerting myself. I got a short run in the morning, then took my bike and gear bags over to transition for the mandatory check-in. After that, I had an early dinner with my Army Ranger buddies (10 of us were set to compete) and did my best to just kick my feet up and relax. I was in bed a bit later than I had planned, but I knew I was going to get crappy sleep anyway (and I was right).

Race Morning:

I got out of bed at 3:50am, even though I had been waking up about every 10 minutes since 2:20am. I took my megadose of 1000mg lypospheric vitamin C, then started my pre-race nutrition. In this case, that meant two Bonk Breaker bars, and one serving of Infinit Jet Fuel. I took a second serving of the Jet Fuel with me, along with my special needs bags and headed to the lobby to meet up with Sebastian and Mark. We started the walk over to transition to do final preparations on our bikes. I got separated from those guys after I headed over to air up my tires, so I ended up doing the 15 minute walk to the swim start alone, and got myself ready for the swim. About 5 minutes before I joined the 1:00 to 1:10 swim time group, I popped a GU gel, which made for a total of about 1000 calories (and 40 ounces of fluid) that I took in between waking up and starting the race. As I edged toward the start with my group, I expected to be wrought with nervousness, but I wasn't. I was excited, I was happy, but the best way to describe it would be to say: I was ready!

Swim:

I stepped across the timing mat, and my first IM attempt was underway. The water was warm (I think 73 or 74 degrees) so I didn't have to deal with that initial cold shock that happens when you do not get to even toe the water before you jump in to start the race. The course turns immediately to the right, and I decided to go far left, nearest the buoys to make sure sighting was easy. Immediately, there was a lot of physical contact, which I did expect. What I did not expect, was for this contact to continue nearly all the way to the swim finish. I don't think I had a single 50 yard segment of the swim that was not impacted by contact from other people. I did my best not to let the contact bother me, but it did make it very tough to keep good form. I had to raise my head out of the water far more than I would have liked. But aside from that, the course was easy to navigate, and despite what it looked (and smelled) like in the days leading up to the race, the water quality was not as bad as I thought it would be. The buoys were yellow for the first half, and orange for the second half of the course. So it was easy to tell when we had begun the second half of the swim. Not too long after we hit orange buoys, we made a right turn into the waterway canal. This is one thing that makes the IMTX swim unique. It was actually pretty cool having spectators just yards away on either side of the canal, and on top of the several foot bridges over the canal. The narrow canal also made navigation trivial as you could see how close you were to the edge on each stroke. As we made our way up the waterway, I finally saw the last red turn buoy which signified the final left turn right before the swim exit. I never once stopped to check my watch, so had no idea how my progress was going. I did notice that my arms felt great, and I didn't feel even the slightest bit fatigued. Once I got to the exit, a volunteer helped me get stable as I grabbed onto the ladder/steps that we used to get out of the canal. Once I started running toward T1, I glanced at my Garmin and saw that I had swam a 1:10, which I was very happy with.

T1:

Transition zones at this race seemed huge. We ran quite a distance (or so it seemed) to an area where our bike gear bags were laid out on the ground. I remembered where mine was, and was able to identify and grab it before the volunteers were able to find it. From there, I ran onto a grass area that leads to the entrance of a large changing tent. Once I got to the grass, I walked, and started taking my time. I wanted to avoid getting too amped up and wasting energy in T1. I calmly found a clean chair in the tent, and sat down to put my socks, shoes, and helmet on. I also put some shower caps with elastic bands over my cycling shoes, since I knew we had a long jog through the grass and dirt (which is probably mud by now) before reaching the mounting line. Before running to my bike, I also ran to the port-o-potties since I absolutely refuse to urinate in my wetsuit, on my bike, or on myself. I had another jog to my bike (which was almost as far from the bike exit as you could be) and then the long jog with bike out to where the mounting line was. I had a smooth mount, and as I pulled away I saw my wife, daughter, sister, and nephew jumping up and down, cheering, and waving to me. It was great having family there.

Bike:

The first 5 or 6 miles of the bike were a bit awkward. Plenty of turns, and a bit crowded. There were several occasions where I wanted to pass, but knew I couldn't do it in under 20 seconds, or had to wait until I could do it cleanly. After 16 miles, we hit the infamous Hardy Toll Road, which has a reputation for fierce winds. The nice thing about the toll road was that it was closed to vehicle traffic, and was very wide. Passing was easy, and it was basically a double out-and-back circuit for a total of 80 miles. So, turns, bumps, and the usual things that slow you down were not present. The bad thing about the toll road: drafting! This race suffered from huge draft packs of epic proportions. It was absolutely ridiculous. I saw packs of riders that had more than 100 people in them. I decided to just focus on my own effort and ignore the cheaters, but it was tough not to be upset and offended by the lack of integrity displayed by a large portion of the field. I did a great job staying on top of my nutrition and hydration, and staying in my aero position. My legs felt great, and my power/HR numbers were spot on. I reached the 56 mile mark in 2:32, which was a bit alarming. My goal for the bike was to hopefully land right around 5:30 for the entire ride. So, 5:04 pace seemed entirely too fast. However, I was 100% sure that my effort was precisely were it should be and that I was not over-biking the course. Nevertheless, I decided to focus on backing off a bit, to ensure I arrived at T2 ready for a good run. On my second circuit of the toll road, the winds were noticeably stronger. I changed the display on my bike computer to just show watts and HR to make sure I focused properly on those numbers, and wasn't influenced by any drop in speed caused by the headwinds. I continued to maintain a solid but easy effort, and grabbed either water or gatorade at every aid station in addition to finishing off my concentrated Infinit GoFar bottles and Gu gels. The last 20 mile toll road stretch (heading north back towards The Woodlands) went by fast as we were back to having tailwinds. The final 14 miles or so of the course was back in town, through some residential areas and over some less than pristine pavement. I focused on finishing off the fluids I was carrying, and slowing my cadence down to more closely match my run cadence. As we approached the end of the bike course, I could see that we were going to be a couple miles short (110 miles total instead of 112). So, the 5:07 that I ended up riding was probably more like a 5:12 or so if we had those extra 2 miles. I don't care about the discrepancy other than to note that I had successfully slowed down my second half of the bike to make sure I was being conservative with energy. I had a clean dismount and handed my bike off to a volunteer and headed into T2. I was elated to be finished with the bike in a total race time of less than 6:30!

The bike leg went flawlessly! All those miles on the river trails were a perfect way to prepare for IMTX.

T2:

The run to the gear bags was pretty long. I stopped and took off my cycling shoes and did most of the run barefoot. I finally got to the gear bags, and once again I found my own bag faster than the volunteers were able to locate it for me. I did the same thing as in T1: once I hit the grass, I slowed to a walk and was very smooth and deliberate with my actions, to allow myself to stay calm and collected before starting the run. I put running gear on, stuffed my cycling gear into the bag, and handed it off to a volunteer. I doubled back to the port-o-potties to make sure I was on 'empty' before starting to run. I figured it was a good sign that I was hydrated. Finally, I left the tent, let the volunteers hit me with sunblock, then headed off to start the marathon!

Run:

I had been saying to myself for several hours that today was "all about the run." No matter how awesome my swim and bike were, if I couldn't follow them up with a decent run, then they don't matter. At the same time, I did some quick math in my head and realized that a sub-4:30 marathon today would mean a sub-11 hour Ironman! So I was torn between being ultra conservative and going into "let's just finish" mode, and trying to cap off an amazing first-timer IM finish by breaking 11 hours. So, I did the same thing as I did on the bike. I switched my Garmin to a custom page that only displayed my HR and the power from my Stryd pod. However, I still had it set to give me mile splits, so I soon realized that I was cruising the first few miles between 9:05 and 9:15 pace, which felt very comfortable. I started making sure to walk at each aid station, to both rest a bit and to make sure I was taking down as much fluid as I could handle. My heart rate was staying right where I wanted it, my breathing was very easy, and my legs felt great. However, after only 6 miles, I could already feel fluids sloshing around in my stomach. Once that started, I decided to only use water to douse myself to keep cool, drinking only gatorade. I figured this way I would only use up room in my stomach for fluids that also gave me calories and electrolytes. Though this seemed smart, it didn't really work. When I was back to the waterway on my first of three laps, I had to take an extended walk break to see if it would help settle my stomach. There is a long stretch along the canal, where on both sides there are no aid stations, so this 'break' allowed my stomach to drain a little bit, which made me feel better. I came upon my PTC teammate, Tyler Long, at this point, who also happened to be taking a walk break. We chatted for a quick minute, then I continued on. I managed to keep this same routine up all the way to the half-marathon point, which I reached in 2:12. So at this point, a sub-11 was still within my grasp! However, over the next 2 miles, I hit a very rough patch. My stomach sloshing turned into extreme nausea, and I started feeling some sharp pains in my lower abdomen. I had to extend my walk breaks. Usually, my stomach issues while running can be cured with some cola, so I tried that at the next aid station, and it actually seemed to make things worse. From mile 16 to 17, I actually walked the entire mile. During this stretch, I was wondering if I would be better off vomiting, or if that might lead to the loss of more crucial electrolytes. I opted to just keep moving forward, knowing that finishing the race was likely not in danger, but perhaps it was time to abandon hope on a really fast time. I was able to throw in some jogging with long walk breaks to get to mile 18, but my stomach was still in bad shape. By mile 19, the abdominal pains were gone, but I still couldn't eat or drink anything. Just before the 20 mile mark, I started to get light headed, and noticed that it was hard to walk or run in a straight line. My HR was fine and I still felt strong, but I was wobbly and a bit cross-eyed. I was pretty sure at this point that my problem was electrolyte depletion and not dehydration or lack of calories. When I got to the next aid station, I grabbed gatorade and pretzels (the only things I knew had sodium in them) and actually sat down on a curb to see if I could get them into my system. I got a few sips down, and a mouthful of pretzels, which was a good sign. I got up and started making my way toward the last aid station before we dropped back onto the waterway for the last time. Earlier on each lap, we run through a BASE Salts station, where you can grab a tube of their product and take it with you. It never dawned on me to use their stuff, because I had never tried it before (nothing new on race day, right?) but I was wishing I could get my hands on a tube right now. And as luck would have it, I asked for and received one in the next aid station. The guy who gave me the vial had to explain how to use it. You just pop it open, lick your thumb, plug the vial opening with your wet thumb and shake, then lick your thumb. I put the salt right under my tongue in hopes that it would absorb sub-lingually. I did the same procedure 3 times, then took one swig of water just to dilute the salty taste in my mouth. I don't know if this was a placebo effect or not, but by the time I walked the few yards to the start of the downhill leading to the waterway, I felt much, much better. I started with a slow shuffle, but quickly returned to my normal running pace. It was like the electrical system to a machine had been restored. With about 5K to the finish line, I knew it was too late to gain back the lost time from walking, but I didn't care. I was running, I felt strong, and most importantly, I was having fun! So, rather than lamenting the fact that I was going to miss a really fast time, I decided to just take it all in, smile, and enjoy the fact that I was just a few miles from a goal I've been focused on for several months. The final pass on the waterway was awesome. Tons of people on the course cheering, beating drums, giving high fives, etc. I got to the far end of the waterway, where we do a slight uphill loop to the bridge that takes us to the other side of the canal, and finally through the Red Bull arches that signified 1 mile to go. Slightly before the 26 mile marker, you get to a point where there is green tape on the ground directing you to either continue for your 2nd and 3rd running loops (left) or to go onto the finish (right). I cannot express the relief I felt to finally be going to the right! From this point to the finish, I don't even remember how I felt physically. I just remember going up a slight hill, through a bunch of turns with Ironman and Gatorade branded barricades everywhere, and finally seeing it... the M-Dot red carpet, with the black finish line archway at the end. I took a few people's advice and decided to walk the carpet, and just take in the experience rather than sprinting it in. My family was on the left side, just before the last turn to where I could see the finish. I gave them a wave, moved my bib to the front (so this guy named Mike would be able to get my name right!) and then slowed to a walk and just listened... and then I heard it... "Rob Egan from San Marino, CA... You're an Ironman, Rob!" As I got closer to Mike Reilly's booth, I pointed at him and yelled "You're damn right!" The clock on the finish line read 11:30, but that must be the time relative to the last people who entered the water for the swim. My official time was 11:49. Though this is way off from my potential sub-11, I'm not at all disappointed. I'm absolutely thrilled with a sub-12 effort for my first time in a full IM.

Early into the marathon, so far, so good!

Just steps from the famed red carpet, and a smile forming on my face.

Notes:

Some details about my preparation for the race, gear, etc.

Nutrition:

Before the race, I took in about 1000 calories (two energy bars, two bottles of my drink mix, and 1 GU gel). On the bike, I took in about 1800 calories (two bottles of concentrated Infinit GoFar custom mix, one GU waffle, two GU gels, and some Gatorade Endurance on course). On the first half of the run, all my calories were from Gatorade. After my stomach issues, I took in some cola and pretzels. As it turned out, it seems my calorie and fluid needs were MORE than accounted for, but I was short on electrolytes. The BASE Salts seemed to really do the trick once my stomach was backed up from all the water and gatorade that I couldn't absorb fast enough. Lesson learned: don't guzzle too much water. And going forward, experiment with BASE salts or similar and see if the stomach sloshing issue can be avoided altogether. My face was absolutely caked with salt after the race. With the increased heat and humidity, it is obvious that my electrolyte needs shot up much higher than I was prepared for.

Gear:

- Swim: I wore my sleeveless Roka Maverick Pro wetsuit, with water temperature around 73 degrees at race time. I stayed cool enough, and enjoyed the unencumbered feeling of no sleeves on my shoulder and arms. I used Roka X1 goggles with mirrored amber lenses. They were perfect for the lighting, but I did have to stop about 500 yards into the swim to deal with fogging. But in their defense, I didn't even get to touch the water until I was starting the race, so no time to dunk them or even put a few drops of water in each lens before I took off.

- Bike: I rode my new Felt IA16 with Ultegra Di2 components with Syncro Shift enabled, and the new TriRig Alpha One aero bars. Wheels were HED Jet+ Black (6 on the front, disc wheel on the rear) with 53/39 chain rings and 11x23 11-speed cassette. Tires were Conti GP4KS2 with latex tubes. Helmet was the Giro Aerohead. Bike computer was the Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt. All of my gear was great, no issues whatsoever with the bike. The new aero bars were very comfortable and from the pics I've seen, my position looked phenomenal.

- Run: Shoes were the Hoka One One Mach, which I really like. They feel light and agile, but still enough cushioning that my knees and hips feel good even after a full marathon in them. They do seem like they are wearing quickly though. I wore a Headsweats visor and Oakley Radar sunglasses with dark tinted lenses. My kit throughout the entire race was my LG short sleeved kit (from SSERT). The kit performed great in cool, warm, and hot temps (experienced all three in the race). It does great when dry or when soaked with sweat or water from aid stations. I have lost a decent amount of weight since I bought it, so I do notice a bit of bagginess in the top now, but still, excellent kit. My watch was the Garmin Fenix 5X. No problems with it, and the battery more than handled recording the entire swim and marathon (I didn't run the bike app, however, but instead recorded the bike on my Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt).

Logistics:

Flew to Houston via Southwest Airlines, bike was in my new PremierBikes hard case and was checked as oversized baggage ($75). No issues with the bike or case. We stayed at the Westin at the Woodlands, which was a very nice hotel, racer friendly, and close to the race expo and run finish. A mall nearby, restaurants everywhere. So hanging out and not wasting energy was very easy. My wife and daughter had a great time even when I was busy, and they were able to easily follow me in the race thanks to the multi-loop run, and through use of the Ironman Tracker iPhone app. Local traffic during the week before the race was pretty heavy, so getting training rides in on the local streets was a bit sketchy, but running and swimming were easy to get done. Race morning wake up at 4am, leaving the hotel by 5am to head to transition was ample time to get ready and head to the swim start.

Conclusion:

My first full Ironman was an amazing experience. No other way to put it. Seeing 30+ hard weeks of training come to an end and produce a great performance, even with all the stress and other issues that happened along the way is indescribably awesome. The race itself was extraordinary. From the moment I stepped into the water, until the moment I finished, it was fun. I will admit I was peeved at all of the people drafting on the bike, and the several times I saw people getting paced or receiving outside assistance on the run. However, I refused to let that spoil MY experience. Though I put together a solid race, I did make a big mistake with the electrolytes on the run, and I learned from it immediately. I can't wait to put that knowledge to the test in another race!

2018 Bayshore 70.4 Triathlon

On Saturday, March 10,  I competed in the 2018 Bayshore 70.4 Triathlon in Long Beach, California. Yes, it is 70.4 (not 70.3) due to licensing issues with the company that owns Ironman. To get around that, this race lengthens the swim to 1.3 miles.

Quick Race Summary

For those interested in skipping details, here are my results:

Swim (1.3 miles): 33:51
T1: 4:05
Bike (56 miles): 2:34:42
T2: 2:59
Run: (13.1 miles): 1:54:42

Total Time: 5:10:21 (2nd place M45-49, 17th place overall)

This is a huge PR for me at the half iron distance, and my third age group podium in my last three triathlons!

Pre-Race:

Despite being so close to home, and having courses that are familiar to most of my triathlon friends, not too many people seem to know about or have had much interest in doing this event. It happens to fit my IM Texas training plan perfectly, so I decided to go for it as a practice event. We were warned ahead of time that this is a very 'grass roots' local event, and not to expect high end support, fast courses, etc. But overall, I thought it was pretty good (a few notable exceptions in the details below).

For race morning: I had trouble sleeping, and was up without an alarm at 3:50am. I did my usual morning routine which is a dose of lyposhperic vitamin C, and some coffee, but I forgot to take my liquid vitamin B12. We left the house at 4:45am and I ate a PB&J Bonk Breaker bar enroute to the race. We arrived at 5:30am on the dot, and I was able to go in and get a great spot in transition, at the end of a rack so I could put my gear on the side without risk of anyone accidentally knocking it around. Weather was overcast, and cool (but not cold) and we knew the rainfall was imminent. I relaxed with my family for a few minutes, then got my swim gear on, did a quick bathroom stop, and headed to the swim start area with about 15 minutes to get warmed up.

Swim:

The swim course is at Belmont Shores, where my local club trains quite a bit. The only difference is that the start/finish was down the beach, outside of the Kayak Cafe instead of near the corner of Bayshore dr and 2nd street. The water felt COLD! They reported the water temperature as 56 or 57 degrees, but at packet pickup, I was told it was actually 54 degrees. When I stepped into the water to try and get warmed up, I was shocked. It took me about 5 minutes of wading and paddling around before I could even stick my face in and eventually dunk myself. I swam about 50 yards out, and then back. I went onto the beach and just did some jumping jacks and stretching to try and generate more heat under my wetsuit.

The race started promptly at 7am, in a mass start. The race was capped at 250 people, so it wasn't that bad, but I will say this was the most crowded triathlon swim I have done. I was in a tight group of people, making lots of contact, getting my feet and legs yanked, etc, for the entire first lap (it was a two lap swim where you get out and run around a cone on the beach before jumping back in for the second lap). Things opened up on the second lap, and I was finally able to keep my head lower in the water without getting sea water splashed into my mouth every other stroke. The second lap also seemed to go by faster. When I made the left turn to head back toward the dock, I drifted a little too far to the right, which probably wasted 20 seconds or so, but aside from that I was pretty even (16:22 first lap, 16:45 second lap). I was 33:07 out of the water and reached the timing mat entering T1 in 33:51. Since this was a 1.3 miler, I'd say that equates to probably a 31 minute 1.2 mile swim, which I'm very happy with. My hands, feet, and face were numb from the cold, but aside from that I was in good shape, not tired at all.

Though it was crowded for the first lap...

I actually managed to exit the swim all by myself.

T1:

I had a great transition setup, but when I got to my bike, my hands and toes were so numb that I had trouble getting my cycling shoes on. I fumbled around for quite a bit, and finally got them. I also put on my HR monitor and my tri suit top (which I left in transition to make sure I started the ride in a dry top). Finally, I put on arm warmers, since it was starting to sprinkle and I knew it was supposed to rain for much of the ride. Those were hard to put on with numb hands as well. Finally, I had my helmet on and made my way to the exit. My T1 time was ridiculously slow, but with the numbness, not much I could do about it.

Bike:

The first and last 3 miles (roughly) of the bike course are on city streets in Long Beach (and NOT closed to vehicle traffic). We had to obey multiple traffic lights and stop signs to and from the San Gabriel River bike trail. Right out of T1, I was stuck behind a slow car on Bayshore Dr, and had to unclip and wait at the corner before heading onto 2nd street. I made it through one traffic light on green, but got stuck at the longer one on a red light. After that, it wasn't too bad. I'll admit to blowing through one stop sign at full speed (clearly no cars around) and only slowing for another one that was also clear.

Once I dropped onto the bike trail I settled into a good rhythm and started picking people off. The rain also started at this point too, and got steadily worse throughout the ride. Since the course was not closed, passing was often difficult because cyclists coming the other way were a factor, and I also seemed to have bad luck at catching up to other racers right when we were dipping down into the narrow under-passes on the trail. On the trail itself, we had a couple of awkward spots, one were you dip down into a super narrow and dark tunnel, and another where you exit the trail and cross over the river on a local street. I managed to keep my speed up in the tunnel, but the river crossing did require everyone to slow way down. Beyond that, there is a spot near a golf course where you climb up a short steepish hill on a very narrow part of the trail, which winds up and around before you drop down towards the junction of the Rio Hondo and LA River trails. Not only did we have to slow down drastically here, but the rain had caused this whole area to get very slippery. A volunteer was tending to a guy who had slipped out and crashed at the base of the hill. He seemed unhurt, but his bike was damaged to the point where he wasn't looking to continue the race. I made it over the top with no issues. A guy close behind me loss traction on the way up and had to unclip. The next quarter mile or so is winding, downhill, and especially slippery so I took it easy and once we were back on regular asphalt resumed my normal power/speed. As I approached the turnaround, I started counting people to get an idea of where I was overall. At mile 28 I realized I was in 9th place and about 10-12 minutes behind the overall leader.

On the return trip, the rain and wind got a bit heavier. I was being very careful during turns, and doing my best to avoid painted lines, arrows, etc as they were extremely slippery now. When we got back to that bad area near the golf course, I got stuck behind a guy that I was clearly faster than, but it was just too dangerous to make a pass. Finally when things opened up I was able to go by him. I probably got stuck for a good 5 or 6 minutes there. I caught one other rider, and then at about mile 45 someone passed me (this was the ONLY time I was passed on the bike). We exited the bike trail, and this time I had less luck at the stop signs, I had to stop at both of them. I approached the first traffic signal and it was red. The guy who passed me, and the woman who was currently 2nd place female were also stuck there. It seemed like a very long wait. Once we finally got going, I dropped behind those two, I didn't feel right passing them after they had to give up 30-40 seconds they put into me because of the red light. All three of us made it through the next light on green, and then had to merge into 2nd street traffic and make a short stop at the last light before turning onto Bayshore Dr and heading to T2. We even had to weave around a couple cars to turn onto 54th street just before we dismounted.

My time was 2:34:42, which is a great split for me. Without the stops, and without having to slow down for slippery stuff so much, I think I could have dipped below 2:30 with the same physical effort. I've been solid and consistent with my bike training, and it showed today (a new awesome bike may have also contributed!). I was pretty efficient as well. My average power was only 199W and my normalized power was 207W, which gives a variability index of 1.04. Considering the conditions, the stop and go, etc, that's pretty smooth (I think anything 1.05 or under is relatively smooth). For my full IM, I only need to take maybe 10W off of this effort. It felt extremely easy for me.

Exiting T1, and as dry as I was going to be all day.

T2:

I intentionally took my time in T2. My toes were still numb, but hands were a bit better. My running shoes have regular laces, so getting them on and tied up was a bit slow. I also took the time to put on dry socks. The two people I entered T2 with were both on to the run course about twice as fast as I was, but I wasn't concerned. I lost two gels on the bike course, but I had a flask of concentrated Infinit Jet Fuel in transition just in case. I took the time to drink that, follow it up with a few sips of water, and then headed out.

Run:

The run is a double out-and-back on the beach trails. There is a set of switchbacks that you go up near Bluff Park, so the course is not entirely flat, but I'd still call it a relatively flat/fast course. This layout made it easy to break the run up into four segments, basically 3.25 miles each.

On the way out on lap 1, I was just focused on maintaining a very easy effort, mentally telling myself to think of how I want to feel when running the 26.2 miles at Texas next month. My HR was nice and low, legs and breathing felt great. I ticked off the first mile split in 8:08, which kind of alarmed me. I was aiming to average more like 9 to 9:15 per mile. I tried to relax and ease up. My HR was still low and I felt great. Mile 2 came at 8:16 and once again I was concerned that I was going too fast. Again I tried to ease up, and the next mile was 8:25. I decided to just quit worrying about it and focus on my effort and perceived exertion.

The first trip up the switchbacks made my body react. My breathing and HR went up a bit, and my pace slowed. I fully recovered on the downhill though. After that, my splits were a bit more 'normal' with flat miles coming in the 8:40's and hilly miles in the 9:15 to 9:30 range. There was a definite tailwind as we headed west (outbound on each lap) and a stiff headwind as we headed east (back toward the finish). Once I hit the 10 mile mark, I could tell that my legs were feeling a bit stiff. The last trip up the switchbacks was tough, but I was able to manage it pretty well. There is one last small uphill with about a mile to go, with an aid station. I actually walked for about 20 seconds while drinking one last cup of gatorade. After that, I pushed the last mile into the headwind, and made the little loop down to the beach, where we finished on the sand.

My run time was 1:54:42, which far exceeded my expectations and is also by far the fastest half marathon I have run in a triathlon.

Rounding the last corner before the finish... this part of the course was kind of ghetto, but what do you expect for a race this inexpensive?

Notes:

Some personal details about my preparation, gear, etc.

Nutrition:

I didn't eat much before the race. Just a Bonk Breaker Bar and some coffee. For race nutrition, I had about 450 calories worth of Infinit GoFar in 35 ounces of fluid in my BTA system on the bike. Additionally, I carried three GU gels for a total of 750 calories. My goal was to consume all of this on the bike. I did drink all of the fluid, and ate one gel. But then somehow the other two gels bounced out of my BTA system, so I missed those 200 calories. Fortunately, I put a flask of Infinit Jet Fuel in transition, so I consumed that to make up for the lost calories, and made sure to drink a few cups of gatorade on the run course. Overall I had no problems with energy and hydration. I didn't feel the need to chug water or eat a bunch food right after the race (though I had a free burger and beer, courtesy of the race director).

My nutrition plan is solid (roughly 300 calories per hour) but I need to dial in my storage so I don't lose anything when I do IM Texas. There will be less room for nutritional mistakes when the distances are doubled.

Gear:

- Swim: I wore my Roka Maverick Elite wetsuit (full sleeve) and my TYR SpecOps II goggles, with transition lenses. It was overcast and a bit dark, so I wanted clear lenses. I had no fogging or leaking issues, but I was cold. I have never used gloves or booties in a wetsuit swim, but they may have helped here. I also just used a regular (non-thermal or neoprene) swim cap. Though my face was cold, my head felt just fine.

- Bike: This was my first race on the new Felt IA16, and it was fantastic. Gearing was a 53/39 chainring setup (Rotor Q-Rings) with an 11-speed 11x23 cassette. My Ultegra Di2 is now set up to use Syncro Shifting, and it was awesome to have on this course. With the frequent stop and go, and the slippery slow sections, it was nice to be able to rapidly shift through a lot of gears with just one button, and picking good gear ratios. Wheels were HED Jet+ Black (a 6 on the front, and a disc wheel on back). This was my first race on a disc wheel, and I have to say I love it. It posed no problems in the crosswinds, and in fact it felt like having the disc may have helped reduce the pressure felt on the front wheel in the crosswinds. Unless I am doing big or long climbs, I intend to race this wheel setup a lot. For a helmet, I used my Giro Aerohead. The visor fogged a little bit when I was breathing through my nose while drinking out of the BTA straw, but was otherwise crystal clear. It also had no problems shedding water as the rain was pelting it. I used a Profile Designs FC 35 BTA, with no additional bottles. Plenty of fluid (I easily refilled it at aid stations) but the rear nutrition basket let me down, by allowing two gels to bounce out of it. Even with 35 ounces in it, the BTA didn't spill or splash at all, much better than my old Torhans 30.

The new bike 'honeymoon' is over. It was covered in mud and grime after 50+ miles in the rain.

- Run: I ran in the new Hoka One One Mach. They felt great. Not squishy like my Bondi's, but enough cushioning for me. They felt very light and quick. I don't have quick laces in them yet, which wasted some time in T2 as i struggled to tie them quickly with numb hands.

- Clothing: for a tri suit, I used my LG two piece short sleeved kit. I used arm warmers on the ride, and a visor on the run. Even when I was drenched from the rain, I was warm enough, and had no issues with chaffing. That's a great kit. My watch was the Garmin Fenix 5X. I can't say enough good things about it. And my HR monitor was a Wahoo TICKR chest strap, which was also flawless.

Logistics:

The race has a Friday packet pickup, but also allows race morning pickup. In the future, use the race morning pickup. No need to waste time in Friday traffic.

For race morning parking, use the paid lot near Ocean and 54th. It is free until 8am, and is super close to transition. Lots of free street parking nearby, but good luck fighting the local residents for it as that is their only parking option.

Leaving the house at 4:45am was about perfect. Plenty of time to get a good transition spot, get gear prepped, etc.

Conclusion:

I was pleasantly surprised with my results in this race. I set out just to test my gear and nutrition and to decide how prepared I felt for IM Texas. To get a huge PR at this distance, without even going all out, is amazing. With just a couple of minor tweaks, I think I have a relatively easy shot at going sub-5 hours for a 70.3. Heck, I may have been close to that here if it had been on a closed bike course. As far as the event itself: yeah it was definitely a low key 'grass roots' event. But it was still fun. Also, the entry fee is about as low as it gets these days, and it is close to home. So, I would recommend trying it at least once. But if you are purely seeking an 'A Race' quality event, I'd probably not choose this one. At any rate, I think I proved to myself that I am ready to go make a solid effort in Texas next month.

NEXT RACE: 2018 Ironman Texas (April 28)

Race Report - The Legends Triathlon (2017)

On Sunday, October 15, I competed in The Legends Triathlon in San Dimas, CA (formerly known as the Bonelli Olympic Distance Triathlon).

Quick Race Summary:

For those uninterested in the details, here's a quick look at my race:

Swim  - 26:42
T1 - ???
Bike - 1:04:49
T2 - ???
Run - 51:08

Total Time: 2:29:00 (29th overall, 3rd AG)

I managed to mess up both of my transition times by hitting Stop instead of Lap while in auto-multisport mode on my Garmin 910XT.

Pre-race:

This race is pretty close to home, so I didn't have to wake up particularly early. I woke up without an alarm at about 4:50am and forced myself to stay in bed until 5am. For breakfast, I did my usual 'supplement' routine (Lyposhpheric Vitamin C, a super dose of liquid Vitamin B12). I poured a to go cup of coffee, and grabbed a Bonk Breaker bar, which I ate and drank on the drive to Bonelli. By the time we got there, and I got my bike assembled, and walked over to the PTC area, a few people were just arriving to get our banner put up, etc. So I laid my stuff down and tried to lend a hand there. Then, we went over, got our packets, and got our gear ready to enter the transition area. PTC had it's own rack, very close to the bike exit. I didn't get a particularly good spot on the rack, but I don't worry too much about those things. I got everything set up, put about 16 oz of Infinit Jet Fuel in my BTA, and grabbed my swim gear (I forgot to bring my TriLube and BodyGlide, which comes into play later on). Then I headed back to the PTC area to hang out with my family for a few minutes. About 30 minutes before the first swim wave, I drank 8 oz of Rocket Red pre-workout/race drink. This is something I have been experimenting with in training, and wanted to see how I felt using it for this race. Finally, I put my wetsuit on, and walked down to the swim start area to warm up a bit (I only swam maybe 75 yards, but at least got to feel the water ahead of time.

Swim:

I was in the 2nd wave, along with a few other PTCers (Peter Day and Mike Lucero, to name a couple). When we finally took off, I actually entered the water right behind Mike, dove in, and focused on getting some really strong strokes in to get out quickly. After that first flurry, I looked up to make sure I was in line with the first green buoy, and I was surprised to see Mike was already AT the green buoy! Wow was he moving. I had to contend with a lot of contact, people bunching up, and several people who were just really bad at navigating and were obviously listing to the right. Just before we reached the first yellow buoy, I received a very hard kick to the face! And I mean hard. I was concerned that I might have a bloody nose (I had that burning sensation), but somehow I kept the presence of mind to grab my goggles, which were knocked off by the kick. They wound up behind me and to the left, but I was able to grab them before they sank (I'm not even sure whether or not they float, to be honest). I got them back on quickly, checked my face and was glad to see no blood from my nose or mouth. I got going again, and I was able to get into a pretty good rhythm despite the incident. I did bump a few more people, but it was actually not too bad at all after the first 500 yards or so. I noticed once we got to the north part of the lake, the water was about as choppy as I have ever seen it there. The wind seemed to be whipping up a bit. The rest of the swim was uneventful. It was pretty clear weather, easy to navigate, and I felt strong all the way in. I'm happy with that time, but I think i could have gone maybe a minute or so faster.

T1:

The only thing of note in T1 was my wetsuit. I had a horrible time trying to take it off. I had forgotten to spray my forearms and calves with TriLube, and the entire time I was running up the hill into transition, my arms were tied up like I was in a straight jacket. I finally got them out of the sleeves just before I got to my bike, then I had to wrestle to get it over my calves. I wasted a lot of time and energy on this, but otherwise everything was pretty fast. I could see that Tyler, Bjoern, and Alvin's bikes were gone (which I expected). So, I grabbed my bike and headed out. No flying mount this time since we were racked so close to the exit.

Bike:

The first thing I noticed was the wind. Just before we got to the dam area, I could see people treating what looked like two riders who crashed early on. I was kind of looking forward to the crosswinds (I tend to do well in them compared to others) but it sucks to see people getting hurt. I did encounter a lot of people getting pushed to the left as I was nearing them to pass, so I did my best to shout to people early to let them know I was coming. Out by the airport, I noticed the headwinds got pretty stiff. I would hold the exact same wattage on each lap, but my speed got progressively slower there. Also, on the second lap, I passed 3 guys who were totally riding in a pace line. Maybe I'm bragging a bit saying this, but I was giggling a bit inside as I rode past them, wondering what they thought when a stalky guy such as myself blew past them while they were drafting off of each other. On the third lap, just as I crested that last hill before you get back near transition, I heard someone say "Go PTC!" as they rode by. It was Peter Day. I must have come out of the water a couple minutes ahead of him, but he took that time back on the bike. I basically followed him back to T2. Once again, I did a very good job riding conservatively. My lap splits were pretty even (my slowest lap was 22 minutes, fastest was a bit under 21 minutes), and even though this is my fastest average speed on this course, I did it with far lower average and normalized power. I felt very well prepared for the run as I coasted in and dismounted.

T2:

Transition was very uneventful. I racked my bike, dropped my helmet, and quickly put my shoes on (I also put on some thin socks). I put my visor, glasses, and bib on as I jogged toward the run exit. I could already tell that my legs felt pretty good, and my breathing was good. Though I entered T2 just seconds behind Peter, he was already out of sight! That prompted me to get a move on.

Run:

As soon as you exit T2, you wind to the right, and go downhill for a bit. My legs did feel a bit awkward on the downhill, but once things flattened out a bit, I felt very comfortable. My plan was to hold a steady pace at high Z2 low Z3 on the flats, let myself go up into Z4 on the uphills, and use the downhills to regroup. I tend to blow my top on hills, so my goal was to do whatever was necessary to keep running and avoid walking at all costs. I ended up having to judge my effort 'by feel' rather than HR because my HR monitor strap came loose and was sliding down to my waist. I ended up taking it off and carrying it in my left hand the entire way. I crested the bigger hill a about 1.5 miles, and as I started to head down, I saw Tyler coming up the other way, with absolutely nobody else around. He looked to have a significant lead. Doubly impressive when you consider that he rode 150 miles the day before! I used that downhill to recover a bit, which worked great. I was averaging splits in the 8:40 per mile range, which was slower than I was hoping. But I was also sticking to my plan, and my perceived effort was where it needed to be so I didn't worry too much about my pace. Once we started climbing our way back up through the RV area and up the backside of that bigger hill, I could tell the effort was really getting tough. But I knew with just a couple miles to go, it was time to push myself, pick up the pace and finish strong. I really had to work to keep moving up that bigger hill, but after that I was able to pick up the pace and my splits went down over the last two miles. I was able to muster up a strong finish, making my last mile the fastest. I had two other people in my sights in the final half mile. One of them pulled up with what appeared to be hamstring cramps, so I focused on the other guy. I slowly reeled him in, but just as I was preparing to burst past him, he also threw in a surge and we basically stayed about 5 seconds apart all the way to the finish. At any rate, I met my goal: no walking, and I paced myself well enough to finish strong, without leaving much in the tank. All in all, very happy with that run.

Details:

Some notes about my nutrition, gear, etc.

Nutrition/Fuel:

Pre-race, I drank that Rocket Red stuff, which I do feel a bit of a surge with. It has that beet powder taste to it, which sucks, but if I feel results, I can deal with that. During the race, I had Infinit Jet Fuel on the bike. I drank about 16oz of it while riding. On the run, I had nothing but a couple cups of water at aid stations. No energy or hydration issues. Even though it got a bit warm on the run, its still only a couple of hours.

Gear:

- Swim: I wore my long sleeved Roka Maverick Elite wetsuit. I had a hell of a time getting this thing off in T1. Right now, I am the lightest/thinnest I have been since I started triathlon in 2014, so I am surprised that this wetsuit seems to be getting tighter. Maybe its time for a new one? Goggles were the Roka X1 (mirrored amber) which were excellent as usual.

- Bike: I rode my CENTRIC Prolog, even though I have a crack in the seat stay. I used my usual setup (carbon clincher wheels, 88mm rear, 60mm front - 53/39 chainrings, 11 speed 11x25 cassette, ultegra di2, 23mm Conti 4KS2 tires with latex tubes). I wore my Giro Aerohead helmet, with a Halo sweatband underneath it. Its hard to know if the Halo helped, because with all the wind I was bone dry until I started sweating on the run. I was glad I rode my tri bike even with the crack in the frame. The winds would have sucked on a rode bike.

- Run: I wore my Hoka One One Claytons with ultra thin socks, and my kit was Champion Systems PTC kit, white top. I think the white was a smart choice with the heat on the run. I wore a visor and glasses as well, since it was sunny and clear. One issue: my Wahoo Tickr strap keeps getting loose. I think it is due to the weight loss I have been going through (I have dropped about 15 lbs since early June!) so I have to make sure I adjust it prior to long runs or races to keep it in place.

Conclusion:

I'm happy with this race, overall. There was nothing particularly spectacular about anything, but at the same time,  ALL of the legs of the race went pretty well for me. I think I did my fastest swim in that lake, tied or slightly exceeded my best bike split at Bonelli, and clearly had my best 6 mile run there. Even if you extrapolate the bike course to equal 40K, this was about 16 minutes faster than my previous best here. Considering that I am just doing base training for Ironman Texas right now, that's a great result. And yes, two podiums in my last two races is very good (and unusual) for me.

Race Report - 2017 Long Beach Triathlon

2nd Place!

On Sunday, September 17, 2017 I competed in the Long Beach Triathlon. There were 3 distances this year, and I chose to compete in the standard sprint race.

DISCLAIMER - I last did this race in 2015, in which they had major problems on the run (read my report for details) which made me think twice about doing events by this promoter (Pacific Sports, LLC). However, timing was perfect, so I decided last minute to sign up. Literally, the day after I registered, the news breaks that the same promoter lost their permit for the swim portion of the Newport Beach Triathlon, and therefore tried to turn the race into a "T1 Transition/Bike/Run" triathlon. No joke. And as of a couple of days ago, they apparently lost ALL permits because of falsely labeling the event as a triathlon. So, despite the fact that I did this race again, I feel bad for supporting Pacific Sports, LLC and do not recommend people do their races. I think this was my last event with them, even though this year's Long Beach Triathlon was run extremely well and I really enjoyed it.

Quick Race Summary:

For those uninterested in the details, here is a quick summary by the numbers...

Swim (800 yards in 11:14)
T1 (4:00 - this includes the run up the beach into transition)
Bike (11.5 miles in 31:43)
T2 (1:56)
Run (3.1 miles in 23:14)

Total Time: 1:13:11 (12th place overall, 2nd place AG)

Pre-Race:

I love races where you sleep in your own bed the night before. I was up at 4:15am, and my pre-race 'meal' consisted of a dose of lyposhperic vitamin C, a super dose of liquid vitamin B12, followed by an apple pie flavored BonkBreaker Bar, and a cup of coffee. I also sipped on a 24oz water bottle full of Infinit Jet Fuel right up until I departed for the swim start. We were packed up and in the car at 4:50am, and I was racking my bike at 5:40am. I found a spot on the far inside of a rack that had curb/median access, which allows a ton of space for my gear with zero chance of anybody accidentally (or intentionally) messing with it. Once I had everything laid out, I grabbed my swim gear and left transition. I had to pee, but I opted to skip the porta-potty lines and instead walked toward the swim start, which has public bathrooms nearby. To my dismay, they were locked this year! I had no time to run back to the porta-pottys. Also, I refuse to be one of those people who pees in their wetsuit, or (even worse) pees all over themselves on the bike or run. I figured I would have to hold it and possibly use a porta-potty in T1 or something. To make matters worse, as soon as I stepped foot into the water, the race director told everyone to exit the water in prep for the start. So, I had no warm up whatsoever. So far, things were not going my way. But, things can change!

SWIM:

This race uses the 'swim stream' technique to space everyone out as we enter the water. Last time I did it, I had no problems getting into the first wave. But this year, people were really crowding the front, and the organizers had to take steps to spread us all out. As such, I wound up in the 5th wave and was concerned that I would be stuck in a lot of slow swim traffic. As we ran toward the surf (very small waves, can hardly call it surf) I had my goggles in my right hand, pre-wiped with my own spit, so I could dunk them in the water real quick before putting them on (this helps me prevent fogging), then I dove in and took off. The water felt colder than I was anticipating, but I didn't let that bother me. I made the first right turn at the buoy, and promptly took a huge gulp of sea water and started gagging/dry heaving, so badly, that I had to stop swimming for about 15 seconds to regain my composure. After that, I had a bad feeling that my swim was going to suck, but I decided to just keep rolling and do my best anyway. My stroke felt very smooth, and I noticed I was passing all sorts of people, and nobody was passing me. It was only a few minutes until I was making the next right turn to head toward shore. Finally, my hand scooped sand, and I stood up to exit onto the beach. I was stunned to look down and see my Garmin reading 11:09! I wiped it off to make sure I was not misreading it (I seriously thought maybe 13 minutes would be a good result) and I hit the lap button at 11:14 to start measuring my T2 (there is a 1/4 mile run, slightly uphill, in the sand before you get back to transition, and they count that toward your swim time, which I think is lame. I tack that run time onto my T1 time instead). At any rate, even with the run added in, which gave me a 13:32, I ended up with the fastest swim split in my age group! I've never done that before.

T1:

My transition to the bike was very smooth. The only slow part was wrestling my wetsuit over my calves, as usual. I was on the far side of transition from the bike exit, so had a bit of a jog. I chose to do a flying mount, and I pulled it off nicely. All in all, not a bad T1. In fact, i had completely forgotten about needing to pee! I went the entire race without having to go. One funny note: some guy in the rack across from me didn't realize you had to exit T1 and mount your bike there. He immediately hopped onto his bike and rode it to the T1 exit. It was awesome.

Bike:

Me with the Long Beach Aquarium in the background. Although there are some bad pavement stretches, the bike course is actually really fun.

My cycling has been going very well lately, and I have been getting some great sessions in going all the way back to early June, so I knew I had the potential to tear it up here. However, I changed my tactics and decided to be very conservative. My goal was to get off the bike in T2 prepared to run on a very fresh pair of legs. I executed this perfectly. Even so, I still managed to beat my best time on this course by a few seconds, but I kept my power and HR much lower than in previous years. I was passed by two people on the bike, and they were the elites who ended up in 1st and 2nd place. The 2nd place guy even chatted with me as he passed, saying I was doing some 'nice hammering' and that it took him awhile to find a chance to pass. That was nice to hear. I maintained my fast/but relaxed effort all the way to T2, and did a perfect flying dismount. And, like my swim, I ended up with the fastest bike split in my age group!

T2:

There was nothing remarkable about my T2. It seemed to go very smoothly. The only issue was that the person next to me in the rack was there at the same time (I was surprised to see that she had just finished the swim, as I was about to start the run!). I quickly got my bib number and my running shoes on, and headed out. The weather was still overcast, so I didn't wear a visor or sunglasses.

RUN:

In the home stretch! I had perhaps my best triathlon run in this race.

The first couple of minutes usually feels very awkward after biking, but today I felt very normal. My HR was where I was hoping, and my back and hamstrings felt loose. I eased into my pace, and started picking a few people off. The course is a double out-and-back on the strand. Anytime I passed someone (or during the rare occasion where I was passed) I was looking for people in my age group, but didn't see a single one. I was happy to see volunteers and an aid station exactly where the turnaround is supposed to be, but I did notice they had no timing mat there. It wouldn't be difficult for someone to decide they wanted to cut the course a bit short on the second lap. I continued to gradually increase my pace. Each time I hit a mile marker, I was happy to see that I was running progressively faster each mile. In fact, my 3rd mile was about 38 seconds faster than the first. Also, I noticed that I was passing quite a few people, but with multiple laps, it was hard to tell if they were already behind you or not. I finally reached the end of the second lap, and made the hard left turn onto the finish chute (pictured above). As it turns out, I had the 2nd fastest run split in my age group. Now this is something that never happens. I was extremely happy with this effort. Easily the best triathlon run performance that I have done. I know its just a 5k, but still, I was very pleased.

Details:

Some notes about my nutrition, gear, etc.

Nutrition/Fuel:

This was just a sprint, so I actually didn't carry any nutrition or fuel with me. I had a few ounces of water in my Torhans BTA system in case I wanted a drink to deal with dry mouth or anything on the bike, but I never used it. I also had a bottle in transition that I took one swig from to wash the sea water taste out after the swim.

Gear:

-Swim: I wore my Roka Maverick Elite wetsuit (long sleeved), and used my Roka X1 goggles (mirrored amber lenses). The water felt cold at first, but was actually OK (never did get the water temps). The sun was to our backs, so any goggle that wasn't too dark would have worked fine. For a sprint, perhaps I should use my sleeveless Roka Maverick Pro since it does come off a bit faster in T1.

-Bike: I rode my CENTRIC Prolog, with carbon clincher wheels. I do have brand new 23mm Conti 4000SII tires with Vittoria latex tubes in them, pumped to 90psi. I have no idea whether or not the latex saves me any watts, but I clearly notice the edge they take away from the bumps and rough pavement. I definitely like them. Gearing was my normal 53/39 oval chain rings with an 11 speed 11x25 cassette. I have also been wearing a new aero helmet (Giro Aerohead) which I absolutely love.

-Run: I ran in my Hoka One One Claytons, with no socks. As usual, the shoes were great. No blisters or anything, being sockless and all. My kit was a Champion Systems top and bottom (sleeveless). Its not the PTC kit, this one is for the Army Ranger team that I am also a part of. No issues with the kit, though I noticed on the bike that the top flaps in the wind a bit, definitely not super aerodynamic.

Conclusion:

I was very happy with this race performance. Things started off shaky in the swim, but I kept a positive attitude and stuck to my plan, winding up with a big PR (4 minutes faster than in 2015) and a 2nd place AG finish. I am going to go into my next race (The Legends Tri in San Dimas) planning to execute a similar strategy at the olympic distance. My biggest takeaway from this race is that I should leverage my bike fitness by relaxing and ensuring I am ready to have a great run. It is quite possible that I have been over-biking in my other races. I noticed a huge difference here by NOT pushing the big watts and speeds that I am capable of. And even when relaxing, my bike split is still up there.

Race Report - 2017 Ironman 70.3 Taiwan

I was fortunate enough to travel to the south of Taiwan to compete in IM70.3 Taiwan on March 19, 2017. This was my first triathlon outside of the United States, which presented some unique challenges. Here's a report on my race:

Quick Summary:

For those who don't care for the details and logistics of my usual format, here are the hard numbers:

Swim (38 min 13 sec)
Bike (2 hrs 43 min)
Run (2 hrs 58 min)

T1 (8 min 55 sec)
T2 (5 min 48 sec)

TOTAL: 6 hours 35 minutes 35 seconds for 88th place AG and 621st overall.

The race was sold out near 3,000 competitors, but nowhere near that many actually finished. Most DNFs I have ever seen in any race. Read on (especially about the run) to find out why!

Pre-Race:

I decided to do this race as a kick-off to a family vacation in Bali, Indonesia. My wife's side of the family lives in Taiwan and will be coming with us, so I seized the opportunity to get the race in, and then relax in Bali afterwards!

We flew from LAX to Taipei on March 13 (actually Taoyuan airport) on EVA Airlines, which was able to accommodate my racing bike packed in a SciCon Triathlon soft bag. The cool thing about the triathlon version of this bag is that you do not have to disassemble your bike beyond removing the wheels. Since I was flying all the way to Asia, with my family, and had two weeks of non-racing stuff going on as well, I didn't want to have to lug a bunch of tools with me to work on my bike. After the 14 hour flight (and a 15 hour time change, meaning we arrived Wednesday afternoon, local time), I was able to get my bike bag and a large hard-cased suitcase full of my gear back from the airlines. Everything was in fine condition, not a scratch! From there, I used a shipping service that has a location at the airport to ship my bike and gear from the airport directly to my hotel in Taitung (we stayed at the Sheraton in Taitung, which was the race HQ hotel). From there, we took the THSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail) down to Tainan City to visit with my in-laws for a couple of days, and from there, we took a 3 hour train ride to Taitung City, arriving at around noon on March 17. After checking into the hotel and retrieving my bike and gear, I headed over to the race expo to do athlete check-in, purchase a couple of Ironman nicknacks and check out the expo a little bit. I also managed to get a 12 mile ride on a part of the race course, to make sure my bike was in good shape and to loosen up the legs and lungs after all of that travel.

My bike, ready to be flown to Taiwan!

On Saturday, the 18th, the first hiccup in the trip happened. I spent most of the night dealing with a fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes. I wasn't sure if I was sick, had bad allergies, or just had some sort of bug from all the traveling. At breakfast that morning, I drank a lot of hot tea which seemed to help. By the time I had to take my bike to the transition area for drop-off, my fever was gone and I felt almost back to normal. That night for dinner, we ate at the hotel buffet. I stuck mostly to pasta and things I thought would digest easily. I must have had the right idea because I was in line next to Timothy O'Donnell and Ruedi Wild (who ended up finishing 2nd and 1st respectively). I was in bed by 9pm, and despite whatever bug I had, still felt ready to race.

Race Morning:

Though the alarm was set for 3:30am, I was wide awake by 3:15, so I got up a bit early. I applied my age group and race number tattoos, grabbed my drink bottles, and headed downstairs. I ate a quick breakfast (2 eggs, 2 croissants with jam, a cup of OJ, and a cup of coffee), then headed to the shuttle buses across the street. Once I was dropped off, the walk to transition took about 10 minutes, after which I made quick work of getting my fuel, tire repair kit, computer and sensors set up for the race. I noticed the weather seemed a bit warmer, stickier, and the clouds were very sparse. It had been unusually cool all week, and the forecast even called for showers. I was hoping to avoid the heat and humidity Taiwan is known for, but it was looking like a typical steamy day was about to start. I grabbed my swim gear and post-race bag, and headed toward the swim start area. I had about 20 minutes to spare.

Swim:

The swim was broken down into 3 waves, based on projected finish time (the honor system), which meant that half the field claimed to be able to swim under 35 minutes. I legitimately thought I would swim under 35, so I got into the first wave. The pros kicked off a few minutes before us, and they started off to the left of us (meaning they had a straighter line to the buoys). We finally got the horn, and after about 2 minutes, I was heading down some concrete stairs to start my race. I hit the start button on my Garmin, prepared to dive in, and promptly felt some poor kid bounce off of my right elbow and fall into the water. I dove in, swam up to him and patted him on the back and said 'sorry.' He smiled and gave me a thumbs up and we headed off. The swim was in a fresh water lake, which was about 74 degrees on race morning. I wore a sleeveless Roka Maverick Pro wetsuit to help keep me cool. My Garmin lost satellite connections about 500 yards into the swim, but my data showed a 1:33 per 100 yards average pace up to that point. It is a basic out and back course with just a single line of buoys. Navigation was easy, as you just had to sight on a big white turnaround buoy at one end of the lake, and then do the same coming back. One weird thing that happened several times: people in front of me would switch from freestyle to breast stroke so they could navigate, and I would go charging into them from behind. After the turnaround, I stayed a bit closer to the shoreline, which seemed to have less traffic, and I made a concerted effort to speed up. I felt really good, and my stroke was smooth and strong all the way to the exit. My Garmin read 37:28 when I got out, even though it didn't record the distance. I'm willing to bet we swam a bit long since we started out way to the right of the buoy line. At any rate, with a sleeveless wetsuit in fresh water, that's a decent swim. Turns out I was 26th in AG at that point and 183rd overall male.

A view of Flowing Lake. The site of the IM70.3 Taiwan swim. The pros started right here, while age groupers started quite a ways to the right of this shot.

T1:

The swim exit to T1 really sucked. The distance to where my bike was racked was just shy of 1.1 Kilometers! Also, part of the path, even though they covered it with red carpet, was super rough, and was painful to run over. And finally, the entrance to the back of T1 was up a very steep hill. My HR was pegged when I finally got to my bike. I used a sleeved tri top for this race, so I put it on in T1, which posed no problems. I quickly sprayed on some sunblock (it was sunny and hot already), put on my glasses and helmet, and was quickly running the rest of the lengthy transition area to the bike exit. It took forever, but a lot of that was running. I felt like I didn't waste any time here.

My bike in transition (just staging the night before). We had a little boxed off area to the left to put our gear, which was nice.

The extremely long transition area. This is about midway, and you can still not see the bike exit, way down there. I covered almost 1.1 kilometers from swim exit to my bike.

Bike:

I set my bike and shoes up for a flying mount, which I executed perfectly. There was a slight uphill to get started, but after that it smoothed out. The run to T1 threw me off a bit, and it actually took me around 8 to 10 minutes to get settled into a good rhythm. After that, things were going great. The bike was running smoothly, my HR and power were in check, and I was picking people off at a high rate. I got passed occasionally too. The bike course had a single short loop that brought you back close to the transition area before ramping you up onto a highway on which we did two very long (approx. 40K) loops. Because of the long loop length, traffic never got too crowded, despite the sold out race. One thing I found VERY annoying was the rampant drafting going on. There were at least three huge packs of riders bunched up together. One of them was only 8 or 9 minutes behind the lead pro women. After the turnaround on the first lap, one of the packs came up behind me. I intentionally ramped up my power to make it harder for them to pass me, which worked for awhile. But once they overtook me, I had to drop 12 meters back to avoid them. I took note of a few of their bib numbers, but I had doubts anything would happen to them. No marshals were in sight. I slowly watched them gain time on me and wondered how many of them were in my age group (Side Note: I looked up the bike times of those bib numbers I took note of, they gained about 6 minutes on me). The first lap came to a close, and as I started the second lap, the winds gave way to a noticeable increase in temperature. I held the same pace on the next lap,except with about 5 miles to go, I eased up a bit and lowered my cadence, trying to get my legs ready to run (my run cadence is quite a bit slower than my bike cadence). As I made the last sweeping downhill turn back off of the highway and towards T2, I saw my wife and daughter cheering and ringing a cowbell. As I waved to them, I almost forgot to get my feet out of my shoes for a flying dismount. I managed to get it just in time. That was a great ride for me. Very comfortable effort, and quite a bit faster than my previous 70.3 rides: 2:43, good for 33rd in my AG and 212th overall male.

T2:

I had a slightly uphill, but not very long run back to my rack. I got my bike and helmet put away quickly, got running shoes on, sprayed on some more sunblock and was heading back to the steep hill (going down it this time) at the back of the transition area, putting my bib and visor on as I jogged. I took the time to put socks on (I rode without them) and also to stretch my lower back and hamstrings, which were a bit stiff after the ride. All in all, not a bad transition but still not extremely fast.

Run:

So far, a great swim/bike with OK transitions. I have been focusing mostly on my run this year. Of the three disciplines, it is definitely the one I have trained most for. So, coming out of T2 in 33rd place (my wife gave me the info from the live athlete tracker when I exited T2), and having just the run left to go, I was excited at possibly overtaking a few people and getting into the top 30 (and top 200 overall), which is way, WAY better than I have done in an Ironman branded event. The first mile is a clockwise loop around the same lake that we swam in. From there, you take a turn and head back into Taitung Forest Park, where you do 3 laps around the park before heading up toward the park entrance to the finish. I came through mile 1 in 8:32 which is a bit faster than I had planned to, but I felt fine. It was probably the flattest mile I have run in awhile, so I wasn't alarmed at the faster pace. I proceeded to cover the next mile (which had a significant hill in it) in 8:53, and I did notice my HR was climbing higher than I wanted it to. I told myself to keep up the pace until I hit the first aid station. I was really feeling the heat and humidity and was looking forward to grabbing some ice, and getting some water. I got to the first aid station, and to my shock, there was no ice! And to make things worse, the water and cola they were handing out was warm, almost to the point of calling it hot! I was not expecting this at all. I went ahead and drank the warm water and started my first of three laps. Even though I had slowed to a shuffle to get water, my HR had not dropped at all. I knew I needed to ease up and get my HR under control, so I slowed my pace quite a bit. Still, HR stayed high, so I decided to try and walk for a bit to bring it down. That seemed to help. I let my HR drop back down into the 130's before starting to run again. However, it immediately shot back up and at this point I was on a long, hot, exposed section of the loop. The heat seemed to be pounding on my head and I really started to get worried that perhaps I never recovered fully from that fever episode the day before. I managed to push through to the next aid station, which again did not have ice, but they did have these huge bins full of water, with giant scoops you could use to dump water on yourself. I did this, and it made a huge difference. I started running again, and too my dismay, I was overheating with a high HR within a few hundred yards. I hadn't even made it to the 4 mile mark, and was already struggling with the heat. I was starting to think that perhaps my ability to finish the race was in jeopardy. From here out, I decided I needed to do some serious walking to see if I could get my body back into a state where I felt like I could run. Anytime the road tilted up beyond flat, I would walk. On the flats, I would alternate between very slow shuffling and walking. The only time I was running a normal pace was on the few downhill portions of the loop. My mile splits plummeted, and my hopes of getting a PR and a high finishing place plummeted with them. I was not alone, however. There were many people who were in the same condition I was. The EMTs were driving around on scooters, tending to people who had cramped, or were overheating and hiding in small patches of shade to get some respite from the sun. I managed to trudge along like this for the second lap as well, despite the aid stations becoming progressively less stocked each time you passed them. Finally, on the third lap, I caught a break. Just before I hit 11 miles, some cloud cover rolled in. Dark clouds, too. The drop in temperature was enough for me to regain a little bit of gumption. By 11.5 miles I was able to run continuously again, and salvage a bit of dignity as I headed out of the loop and on toward the finish chute. The last 100 yards or so is on grass. I was very glad to have made it out, but I just quietly ran across the finish line. No fist pumping, high fives, or anything. This is the slowest 13.1 miles I have ever run. It dropped me from 33rd to 88th in AG, and from 212th overall male to 548th. Needless to say, I was not thrilled with that performance.

Probably the happiest I looked on the run, less than a mile from the finish. Thank God for the cloud cover that moved in.

Details:

Some notes about the race and my preparations for it...

Nutrition/Fuel:

I carried about 72 ounces of Infinit GoFar on the bike, along with two GU stroopwafels. I ate the stroopwafels about half way through the first lap, and continuously sipped the Infinit until it was nearly gone when I reached T2. On the run, I carried nothing. The aid stations were poorly stocked compared to US Ironman events. Their 'sports drink' is basically a Taiwanese version of Smart Water called 'Thetis More.' I did drink it a couple of times. But I didn't find myself needing any other fuel or electrolytes on the course. I'd say my nutrition plan worked in this case. My real concern was controlling my temperature and staying hydrated.

Gear:

- Swim: I used my short sleeved Roka Maverick Pro wetsuit for this race. The water was warm (74 degrees) but wetsuit legal. Even though I know my full sleeved wetsuit is a bit faster, I chose the sleeveless to help prevent overheating before and during the swim I think it worked out pretty well. For goggles, I used my mirrored amber Roka X1's. There was no pre-race warmup. The first time I touched the water was when the race began. To prevent fogging, I broke the seal on my goggles and let a few drops of water come into each lense.

- Bike: I rode my Centric Prolog tri bike, with carbon clincher wheels (60mm front, 88mm rear) with a standard 53/39 chainring setup, and an 11x25 11-speed cassette. The course had less than 1000 feet elevation gain (think LA river trails ride to Long Beach). Because of the heat, and because in Asia they do not use Gatorade on the courses, I chose to use my 30 oz. Torhans BTA hydration system in addition to keeping two 24 ounce bottles on the frame. I know there is an aero penalty there, but I was more concerned with fueling and hydration. The bike rode magnificently. No issues whatsoever.

- Run: I ran in my Hoka One One Claytons. I love these shoes. Nice and light, snappy, and even when they get wet they perform well. I used a new tri suit, made by LG. It is a short sleeved two piece suit, and is absolutely awesome. I got scorched even though I put sunblock on twice, but everything protected by the suit was absolutely fine. It also absorbs liquid well, fit well, no chafing, and was very form fitting and aero on the bike.

Conclusion:

My kid got up on the podium, even if I didn't. She had a blast, which always makes these trips worthwhile.

What a great opportunity to come over to Asia and get a 70.3 in. I didn't treat this as an A race, but still managed to get my best swim/bike combo in. I really wish I had been able to back those up with a decent run, which I KNOW I had in me. I don't know if it was just the heat (and by the way, it was unusually cool all over Taiwan until the day of the race) or if the combination of travel, jet lag, etc contributed. But for whatever reason, I was unprepared for the heat and humidity. Maybe I'll come back someday and try to improve on that performance. We'll see.