Ironman 70.3 St. George - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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St. George, Utah
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 40m 20s
Overall Rank = 85/2000
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 4/220
Pre-race routine:

I just want to say at the start that at no point during this race report will I blame any aspect of my perfromance or lack thereof on the birth of my son Jensen on March 5th....excpet for when I do. I will offer no lame excuses about how I barley swam once per week and cut my overall training volume down by about 30% over the past two months. Nope, not going to do it, it's all on me...excpet when it was his fault. ;) Spending time with him was a choice I made and one I would make all day, everyday, and twice on Sunday. :)

Our initial plans were to come up to this race with Jensen but about a week out Jamie decided the almost 7 hour drive would be too much so I was solo for the weekend. This was the first time I was away from my family sice he was born and althoguh I thought a few days of getting a full nights sleep would be enjoyable, it didn't come close to making up for not being able to hold my son, who is smiling now and is so cool! Fortunatley my good friend Joe McGinty was there racing and his wife Jen provided us terrific SAG support on race day, so that made my life a lot easier.

The only issue I had prior to the start revolved around my bike. Somehow between unloading my bike from Joe's car on Friday and riding it all of 300 yards to Transition for the drop off, I picked up what appeared to be a small bit of metal in my rear tire. After a lot of nervous inspection, it didn't appear to be leaking. My tubulars are pre-treated with selant and it seemed to be holding. I dedcided to leave it alone and hope for the best, knowing I had a can of sealant plus a full spare with me in case disaster struck while on course.
Event warmup:

I was in the first of two waves of M45-49 with a 7:51 start time so there was a lot of relaxed haging around once Transition closed at 6:45. The water was a chilly 60 but after a few minutes it felt fine. Once we were allowed to enter the water I swam to a small floating dock to hang on to until the wave in front started and then I was able to kill the final 3 minutes hanging on to the small inside yellow start bouy. Always good to be able to float and relax before the start and I was on the inside race line.
Swim
  • 30m 30s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 26s / 100 yards
Comments:

With all the waves already in the water, I knew the course would be crowded so I decided to try and hug the line as tight as possible and that proved to be the right decision. I was able to avoid pretty much any and all contact. It seemed folks were staying very far to the right of the line and it was a straight shot to the red turn bouys all the way around. As I mentioned at the start, swimming has had to take a back seat to life, but I have begun to work with a local swim coach, Frank Sole, and I am hoping to finally begin to make some positive incremental changes over the next few month. Having said that, this was a very good result. I was very happy to see a 30 flat on my watch when I hit the ramp. It was great start to the day.
What would you do differently?:

Swim more often, but I blame Jensen.. ;)
Transition 1
  • 02m 31s
Comments:

Helmet and shoes had to be left in the gear bag by the bike and I needed to stash my wetsuit in there before departing, but otherwise it was a fine transition.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transition more, but I blame Jensen. :)
Bike
  • 2h 26m 52s
  • 56 miles
  • 22.88 mile/hr
Comments:

I quickly settled in and broguht my HR up to my planned effort of 149-152. The course was very crowded but we had the entire road as we looped the Sand Hollow lake and made our way back to the main highway. Somewhere around mile 3 or 4, I was passed by a guy in my AG, much to my suprise/chagrin. He didn't get away though and we went back and forth for a bit until we were joined by a third guy. Now we had a party. Back and forth we went. I noticed I seemed to be faster on the descents despite the fact that both these dudes looked to have at leats 10 lbs. on me. I attributed that to my disc, they were running less aggressive set ups. On the climbs, one of them kept jumping out of the saddle whereas I was comfortable staying seated and saving it for later. Despite a crowded course, folks for the most part stayed to the right. I think it was somehwere around miles 25-30 heading back into St. George that I was able to drop those two guys.

Now I was on my own, continously moving through the field and staying very steady and consitent in my effort. I opted to take a few GU Roctane's with me as well as half a PR Bar for nutrition and had one water bottle between the bars I swapped out at the aid stations. By the time I reached the infamous but spectacular Snow Canyon, I felt ready to tackle the challenging climb. It lived up to it's advance billing, it was long and it was steep, but I chose my cassette wisely keeping with the 11/25 I used for the full last year. I was able to stay seated for almost the entire climb. It was a great relief to make it to the top knowing I would have the last 10 miles or so to recover on the descent back to town.

My recovery was dealt a bit of a blow when a new guy from my AG blew past me at the 50 mile mark! He was absolutly flying down the hill and I thought briefly about trying to go with him but decided to stick to my plan of getting a little recovery through here before the start of the run. At this point I figured I was in 2nd place or thereabout depending on how the guys in the second wave were doing. I came rolling into T2 feeling like I had a very good ride and bracing myself for what I knew would be a beast of a run.
What would you do differently?:

Bike more, but I blame Jensen. :)
Transition 2
  • 02m 14s
Comments:

Again, all gear was in the bag so I did socks and shoes on first. I did sit down for that. Then I grabbed my race belt, visor, sun glasses, and 2 GU's and got myself sorted as i ran out.
What would you do differently?:

Totally Jensen's fault.... :)
Run
  • 1h 38m 13s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

Due to to the extreme nature of the course, I knew going in running to pace would be a challenge so I went with HR and planned for 155-158.After the first mile running up the gradual incline of Diagonal St. I was spot on the effort...and was being passed like I was standing still by the cat who would go on to win our AG. He was flying, I think he ran a 1:29 on this course which is pretty spiffy. So I still had a lot of work to do and was pretty sure at this point at best I was 3rd. I felt ok running to the climb up Red Hills Parkway. I climbed well and was working hard but running well. I did begin to feel some twinges of cramping in my hamstrings which is a good indicator I was pushing my fitness. Around mile 4 I had used up my two GU's and was ready to start in on the coke.

Everything was going to plan, well except there was no way I was going to win the AG, that ship had sailed and sunk, and then when I reached the turnaround at the far side of the course, something changed. I was about 100 yards from the turn heading back when I saw a guy coming the other way who looked a lot like one of the guys I had been biking around at the start of the race. I wasn't sure, his kit looked familiar...and he looked over and stared right at me! Yikes, it must be him! I am being persued and he was running fast! Oh no. I literally spend the next few miles anticipating him catching me. But he didn't and now I was though mile 10 and was descending back to Diagonal St. like a man possesed. I knew there was a short but annoying out and back where I could see where he was and as I rounded that cone and looked up...there he was again! Still coming on, still looking RIGHT AT ME! Less then 2 miles to go and I was going to get caught. I tried to keep moving as fast as I could but that road looked so long. I blew through the last aid station with less then 1/2 mile to go, made it to the first round about and it was all downhill to the finish and I began to sprint. At some point I looked over my shoulder and caught a glance of someone less then 15 feet back coming on me! I looked back forward and ran harder then I have ever run at the end of a race. I can't wait to see the race pics because I must have been a hot mess of flailing arms and legs and desperation. I crossed the line and brought my self to a stop completly spent. I turned around and see my persuer..and he wasn't there. I looked around, back up the chute, nothing. WTF?!He was nowhere to be found. I just sprinted against a figment of my imagination. :)
What would you do differently?:

Can't blame this on Jensen, even though it would be nice to... :)
Post race
Warm down:

I literally stood there for a minute searching for thiis guy and then gave up. I have no idea who he was, but he wasn't the guy from my AG as the next AG finisher was over a minute behind me as per the results. He must have been some random guy and I must have missed him after I crossed the line. I swear he was there, honest!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Give me a "J"! Give me an "E"!...No, I am totally kidding. I felt very prepared heading into this race. I knew I had to make some sacrafices and I wasn't sure how that would translate to my perfromance. What I learned was with the reduction in volume but by keeping the quality, and a great job done by Coach Nick in managing my schedule, I was able to race to the absolute best of my current ability, it's just that was a bit slower then I have done in the past. And that is ok by me. I have three moanth to prepare for Vegas and I think now that Jamie and I are on a comfortable routine in regards to Jensen, I can find a few extra hours per week that won't impact my family time and I can prepare for a good result.

Event comments:

It's funny, this race report is really very positive considering I am still dissapointed with my result a bit. I haven't finsihed 4th at a non-championship WTC race since IMNAZ 2007. But I have been able to maintain my streak World Championship qualifying at every race I have done and I am very proud of that. Vegas 2013 with the goal of getting back onto the AG podium. Game on! Oh, and if I blow it, I blame Jensen... :)




Last updated: 2013-04-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:30 | 2112 yards | 01m 26s / 100yards
Age Group: 13/220
Overall: 165/2000
Performance: Good
Suit: ZOOT Prophet
Course: Out, over, and back.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 60F / 16C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:31
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:26:52 | 56 miles | 22.88 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/220
Overall: 0/2000
Performance: Good
Average HR- 149
Wind: Little
Course: It's a tough one! Lot's of long, gradual climbs early and then a sting in the tail in Snow Canyon between miles 44-48. Course map calls is 2500 feet of total climbing, my Garmin had 3000.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 83
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:14
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:38:13 | 13.1 miles | 07m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/220
Overall: 0/2000
Performance: Good
Average HR- 156
Course: Whew! with a crap ton of climbing. 750 according to the race material, my Garmin showed just over 1000. Either way it was a bear of a course but incredibly scenic.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5