Not going to write a super detailed blow by blow on the race
but rather focus on observations and learnings.
Short Race summary:
Swim - -I don’t like races that you cannot get in and do a
warm up before-we had to walk out and jump off a pier-not optimal, did my best
to be ready but took the first 400 easy due to this fact. Water was a bit rough but nothing
horrible. Felt I had a pretty even swim,
no issues with crowding. Wasn’t able to
find any fast feet to follow. Swim Time
34:13—on track with my goal since the timing mats were after most of the run up
and wetsuit strippers
Bike—huge cross wind coming off the ocean in both directions
of the bike. After getting my biking
legs going just settled into my planned power and kept peddling. Was dangerous to take a hand off the bars so
I ended up slowing down a lot every time I needed to fill my water bottle. Legs felt great—closer to IM effort than ½ IM
effort but I stuck with the plan. Bike
Time 2:49:36
Run - -Started out just under 9 min pace—wasn’t able to
sustain—HR creeped up as I dealt (not very well) with the heat and
humidity. Pushed the edge of my
sustainable HR the entire run. Lady in
my AG caught me with about 800m to go. I
continue to hate sprint finished—I dug deep but was not able to hold her off. Legs
felt great-they were definitely not my limiter. Run time 2:06:03
Observations and Lessons:
1. This is
an early race for me and I was going into it on some untraditional training and
not very much bike volume. I was a
little nervous that it would be tough with the lack of mileage---my coach
thought (correctly) otherwise. The
non-traditions training was all the hiking we did for our Grand Canyon trip—tons
of hours on the legs—just none of them fast.
I have never felt stronger in the run from a muscular endurance
perspective ever - -so I now like hiking as a method to prepare for IM. We planned my power on the bike very conservatively—it
felt almost like IM effort—I know I will be able to bike harder later this
year.
2. Nutrition – still have some work to do
here. Last year I started using a new
nutrition plan that I really liked and was looking forward to seeing how it
would work going from XTerra to half IM distance. The bulk of it is still spot on---My stomach
is not as tolerant of Gatorade as it is of my favorite electrolyte drink
(EFS). Last year at Maui I drank 148 oz
on the bike (all EFS except for 48oz) and had zero stomach issues in more
heat. This race was 120 oz - -but 72 oz
were Gatorade and stomach was not as happy-not horrible but enough so I did not
take in the 6th water bottle that I should have. This also caused me to slightly under-fuel at
the beginning of the run until I got the stomach settled back down—don’t think
it cost me very much time.
3. Dealing with my aerobic system/heat as my
limiter - -For the longer races this is new for me. I don’t think I have ever done a ½ IM where
it wasn’t my legs telling me to walk—I have all that self- talk prepared. Didn’t have the right tools to deal with the
uncomfortable feeling of pushing the HR all the way-it’s a harder feeling to
pinpoint-why can’t I just keep going without slowing down? If I can figure
better ways to cool my body can I keep the HR down more and go faster?
4. Different types of racing give you different
types of satisfaction. One thing I said
to Don right after the race was: Wow—Xterra
racing is so much more fun! The two
types of tri are definitely very different sports and I derive a different sort
of satisfaction from the 2 types of racing.
I executed this race pretty much exactly on plan, had a good result and
felt super strong the entire day—that is very satisfying. XTerra racing has so much more variability
and unknown that its reward is more around how were you able to adapt to what
the course throws at you—the outcome is much less predictable. I’m not going to say one is better than the
other, they are just different.
I am looking forward to my next go at the 70.3 distance in
July when I get to in a location that has great significance from my childhood—Muskoka,
Ontario.
Thank you to my coach Chris Bagg – after over 30 years in
triathlon I am still pushing to new limits and he is helping me find them. My new bike fit from Stephen Merz at OutputPerformance was spot on—all back pain that I used to have is gone! Definitely seeing benefits from doing some
altitude training at Evolution Health Care and Fitness. And my new kit from DeSoto Sports totally
rocked—most comfortable I have ever worn!
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