Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was a good swim split for me, and it felt good. Beat my Austin time by 3 minutes and I felt this was a more difficult swim. I often say that a common triathlon mistake is going out too hard on the swim, so I waited back, gave the wave some time to get going, and eased into my pace gently. This felt much better. Easy breathing early and I was able to get into a 4 stroke-then-breath pattern pretty quick. The first turn was to the right, then all others to the left. I think this may have bunched the field more than usual. There was much more contact than Austin. Not just bumping and scratching (which is expected) but an awful lot of grabbing and pulling (which is NOT cool). Don't understand why some people feel the need to grab ankles and legs when they bump you, but it is very aggravating.

The navigation was also difficult. The first 300 meters or so were directly into the sun and spotting the buoy was nearly impossible. I just followed the crowd. Once we made the turn, the remaining buoys seemed to be spaced further apart than usual. Maybe not, I don't know, but I had a hard time seeing them. On occasion, I would also smell and taste gasoline. It's a rather small but crowded lake, lots of boats on the weekends.

About halfway through I felt things kick in and was able to speed up my pace to the exit. A very good swim for me.

Maybe work on spotting a little better.

Fairly smooth except I ran past the wetsuit strippers. I walked a bit to get my HR down, it seems to jump once I get verticle. Wasn't breathing heavy, knew I had paced the swim well. This T1 was faster than Austin, and after the swim I felt I was on my way to beating that time.

Use the wetsuit strippers.

One of my goals was not to blow up on the bike, and not to ruin my run by going too hard on the bike. For 45 miles, that goal was achieved, but I think I exerted way too much energy in the last 11-12 miles.

Started with two back-to-back hills climbing out onto the plateau. Probably 6-8%, tough but not killer, probably a bit more difficult on cold legs. From there it was about 3 miles into the wind, one mile at crosswind heading north, then a right turn for 4.5 miles to the split point. Roads was fairly smooth, some chip seal but there were some nice tire grooves that I could stay in. Kept on my schedule of GU every 8 miles or so.

Turned right from the split point, headed into the wind 6.5 miles. This included a steep drop back into the canyon, then a moderate climb back out. It was about 5%, made tougher by the headwind. HR touched 180, but I wasn't working as hard as I am used to on difficult climbs. We made another turn, then a turnaround, and headed back to the split point. Coming back, then downhill was much faster, touching 40 mph with the tailwind, and the climb back up was similar to before. 4 hills down, 3 to go.

We passed the split point, then turned right onto some bumpy, rough farm roads. This was more than just chip-seal, there was a lot of potholes, and filled-in potholes that made this one rough. After two miles we turned south into the wind again for another 4.5 miles. Passed a few petroleum storage tanks with an unpleasant odor, then the smell of burning brush from the canyon. Back into the canyon at a gentler downhill grade and a left turn. Grabbed a bottle of ironman perform and tucked it into my back pocket. We climbed back out of the canyon, this time a more classic winding climb, with one full switchback, at 6-7% grade. This one was a little tougher. HR jumped a bit, but I was still passing folks on the climb, several of whom had passed me earlier on the straights. We turned around and headed back down, couldn't go nearly as fast with the winding descent and the 2-way traffic, had to use my breaks a good bit to control my speed. Would have been easier had traffic been one-way, especially rounding that switchback. Then it was back out of the canyon on the gentle but long climb - about 2% grade at 1.3 miles.

What was supposed to be a tailwind wasnt very helpful, and later I discovered that was because the wind was now more west-southwest. So when we turned left it was in our face and would be for the next 9-10 miles, and it had definitely picked up in strength. This was a difficult stretch and I think this is when I used up way too much energy. Once we turned back into the park I could tell I had used too much, and then we faced a 9% climb for about 1/4 mile. I was in highest gear, out of the saddle, and creeping along. Quads were screaming. HR touched 189, and that's pretty high. This one hurt me and I could tell the minute I got on the run course.

Dont think I hydrated enough, took in about 66 oz on the bike course. Also, 7 gels may have been one gel too short. Probably want to go for 8 gels total.

Took my time so I could recover after that last climb and not forget anything. Also took some time to reapply sunscreen. Grabbed my carry bottle, my bib and gel bottle. Downed a small bottle of pickle juice on the way out.

Nothing. In long races I don't get too hung up on transition times. Comfort on the course is much more important.

Legs felt weak, weaker than what I was used too heading out of transition, and it had to be that last climb. My pace was slow. I wasn't breathing hard or working hard by any means, it just felt like I wasn't going anywhere. At about 2.5 miles I starting walking. From here it was run 4 minutes, walk one minute. I had to walk the first hill and decided not to spend too much energy running up these hills. They were steep and not worth the long-term energy investment. Ran back down into the canyon, walked up, and then hit the long straightaway. This portion is flat, windy and exposed and this is when the sun really starts to beat down on me. I walked through each aid station, dumping ice water on my head, down my back, down my chest, sometimes even down my shorts, whatever it took. I also switched to a run-3 minutes/ walk one-minute strategy. At the 6.55 mile turnaround I grabbed and downed an ice-cold pickle juice and it was awesome. Kept the 3-1 strategy without much problem and it felt that despite the poor bike performance I was still going to beat my Austin time. Ran down the canyon and about 20 yds from mile marker 9 I blew up.

Hitting the wall is a crazy thing. You can't explain or describe it well but when it happens there is no doubt. For me, I felt sudden onset fatigue, weakness, even heavier breathing. I look down and my HR is only 160. I can typically run an 8 minute/mile pace at that HR. I knew my energy reserves were gone and I had failed to replenish them adequately, and I was probably over-heating too. After walking back up out of the canyon I managed to run one minute, then had to stop. Walked down the hill, tried a few more times to run but couldn't do more than 20 seconds or so. I was also quite bloated, and a little nauseated. I knew I had a 5 hour drive back home so I decided not to push it, phoned it in, and just walked the rest of the way. Disappointing.

Drank about 50 oz, again I don't think this was enough. Also, couldn't get the gels in. I tried to do one gel every 2 miles, but this was the first time I used a gel squeeze bottle and it didn't work very well. Don't think a got a full gel each time and it required more effort. Will probably just carry them and squeeze directly from package like I usually do. Probably should eat a power bar after the bike. Did this after the swim and I think it helped.

Muscle milk. Chocolate milk. Weighed myself (7 pounds down from pre-race weight. 3% loss of body weight). Grabbed my stuff and walked up that monster hill that ruined my bike ride.


Hills, heat, wind. Not enough fluid. Bloated. Not enough energy intake. I did not train enough in the mid-day heat.

A few things to add: The course map shows the bike hills to be no more than 8.9%. I think that's crap. I've climbed 14% grades before and I can say with certainty that the final climb right before the bike finish is every bit of 12-14%.

Also, I've seen some average race times that put this race somewhere in the middle of all 70.3 races in terms of "difficulty". That also is crap. Simply put, I think the field here is far more advanced than what we see at most most races. There aren't many beginners or first timers. These folks come here to compete, and guys like me (this was only my tenth triathlon) are in over their head. I was middle of the pack in Austin, but much closer to the bottom here even though I was better trained, in better shape AND wasn't hobbled by injury (stress fracture of foot 10 days before Austin). Yet, the average finish times suggest Austin is more difficulty. No way. Bottom line: this race is far more difficult than what the average finish times show. Don't try it unless you are well-trained, or you are guaranteed a day of misery. But still, finishing this bad boy feels awefully good. I'm now confident that there isn't a 70.3 course out there that I can't handle.


Tough race. Lots of wind, heat and hills. Very well done. Amazing volunteers, out there for hours getting pounded by the blazing sun!