Ironman 70.3 Syracuse - Triathlon

So my wave was number 8 and we had to wait 5 minutes so I was in back and to the left because I'm not a fast swimmer and I wanted to just stay out of the fray and have some open water. The buoys were to the right so I was pretty far off to the left of them for the start. Our wave went off and off we went. I didn't really get into a good rythym from the get go. I just couldn't get settled in. It took me a while on the out but I started to find a little rythym and just swam as easy as I could but I just wasn't feeling it. I felt tired during the swim and it definitely showed. I finally made it to the first turn buoy and did the short cross before turning and heading back. On the way back I felt like I just struggled. I was swimming too hard and with too much effort. The good thing was that I was swimming straight and sighting well for most of the race so I was not ever off course. As the shore was coming into sight it seemed like an eternity to reach it. I was probably swimming way too hard at this point but I just wanted to get the swim down and over with. I finally made it out and ran up the carpet to the wetsuit strippers and the helped me get out of my wetsuit and then I was off to T1.

I think the lack of rest and sleep leading up to the race definitely affected my swim. I was not nervous but I was not as relaxed as I could have been and I definitely felt tired and sluggish during the swim like I just didn't have enough energy to swim that early in the morning. It was good however to get this swim in during a race situation before IMMT.

I was very slow moving in T1. I'm not the fastest guy in transition. I think it took some time to get from the swim exit and then getting the wetsuit off and back to T1 so I was slow in doing that. I was also slow getting my stuff together and getting out of there. Need to work on this.

I think I need to have a better plan. I am fairly organized I just don't have a good plan and I don't execute. I'll be working on this for sure.

My plan for the bike was to do this in under 3 hours. I've made some big improvements on the bike and I was intent on killing it on this course. Early on there are a lot of hills and there is a lot of climbing. I did this race last year so I knew what to expect and I kept my efforts in check. Early on my back was sort of bothering me from the swim and my stomach was very unsettled. My stomach would trouble me throughout the bike leg. I didn't get sick but it just seemed unsettled and I just didn't eat or drink enough the entire bike leg. Once I got beyond the hills I started to put the hammer down and really pushed my effort. I was hammering the downhills and wherever I could. The last big climb is proceeded by a nice descent. I think I hit 44.5 mph on that and then it's like 8 mph uphill. I was do well and moving along and saw my friend Bonnie stopped so I stopped to make sure she was alright. She was but I just wanted to make sure. It didn't cost me any time and I certainly would have felt terrible if she was having a problem I could have helped out with. I also saw a lot of my friends from my tri club the Wildwood Warriors on the course so any time I saw any Warriors I made sure to say something encouraging to them and they returned the favor. So my race is rolling along fine until mile 35ish where the lack of nutrition started to catch up to me. I had to slow down a bit but by mile 40 I was holding on. I just couldn't eat or drink as much as I wanted to. I was just hoping to get to that Creek Hollow Rd. where I could take advantage of the downhills and catch a recovery. That's exactly what happened. I was able to bomb the downhills and get some recovery there so I could make it back in good shape and under 3 hours. All was going according to plan and I was thinking man I'm gonna have a nice bike split time but I may be in big trouble for this run. Well just before the no passing zone I wound up hitting some crack or pothole going downhill and bam my rear tire flats. I can't believe it! It's like mile 53 or 54 and I'm almost done and I flat. So I try riding a little with it and I'm in the no passing zone and I'm thinking bad idea. I'll hold everyone up and damage my Zipp wheel in the process so I get off and walk the bike uphill looking for a spot to change it. I find a driveway off to the left and get to work changing the tire. I'm totally bummed at this point thinking my race was over but I get the tire changed and get back rolling towards transition. I don't push here because I was concerned about a pinch flat. I had issues with the latex tubes I was using so I don't want to flat going back. I make it back to transition and look at my Garmin which auto paused and my time was a 2:56. So had I not gotten a flat I'm pretty sure I hit m goal. That was the most disappointing part of the race for me but I was happy to know that I could do it.

Not much other then I would have tired to eat and drink more. I didn't want to get sick but I don't think I would have faded as much as I did had I tried to get my nutrition down. I also lost about 20 minutes on the tire change. I should have pulled over immediately and changed it. The flat may have aided in my recover though and probably allowed me to have a good run.

More of the same. The only thing I can say is I did take time to go to the bathroom and I was sort of bummed out by the flat.

Have a better plan and execute on it. Be more organized as well in transition.

So initially I was not expecting much on the run. I figure I toasted myself on the bike but I actually felt better and was able to drink and eat when I started the run so things started looking up. They changed the run course in the park this year and made it harder adding hills and making you run on grass. That wasn't fun but whatever the rest of the course is the same and it's tough. For me the goal was to keep the pace easy for the first loop and half and then have enough to pick up the pace and bring it on home. I was able to eat and drink and was feeling good on the first loop. I was seeing a lot of my Wildwood Warriors on the course which was a huge boost as well and I saw Bonnie out there twice too. I also saw my friend Mike a few times and got to run with him on the second loop for a bit. It's very motivating to have friends out on the course encouraging each other. I was grateful there were so many at this race, it kept me motivated and moving. I actually ran the hills on the first loop and keep my pace in check. I was eating and drinking and felt fine although it was getting hot on the run course since there is minimal shade. After I made it back and started the second loop I kept my pace steady and walked the hills some on the second loop but I was able to pick up my pace and actually ran the second loop faster then the first one. Once I reached the turn around on the second loop and headed back I started to put the pedal down and picked up my pace . I felt good and was running well. I came upon a 20 yr old woman walking and I ran past her and I'm thinking she's 20 she shouldn't be walking. It was a feel good moment for me not for her I'm sure. I made it back to the park and then had to run on the grass again so I'm waiting to get to the blacktop path so I can start to sprint on in and sprint I did. I ran right past a bunch of Warriors who already finished and were cheering on the rest of us. I think I surprised some people out there because I was running hard at the end and people were taking notice and cheering me on. It was awesome. I made it to the last stretch and I just sprinted down there and did my sidewards leap and BOOM I was done.

Not much other then run faster I had a great run considering how poor my nutrition was on the bike.

After I finished I found my friends and was hanging out with the Warrior Nation. We watched other in our group finish up. I went to transition and got my stuff and loaded up the van then went back and took some pictures with m friends. After that I finally got something to eat and met my friends as they picked up there bike and stuff from transition and I had back with them to the parking area.


I think I was tired and not well rested coming into this race. I think more sleep leading up to the race would have helped some. The flat didn't help either that actually cost me a lot of time but nothing I could have done to prevent that.


Syracuse is a challenging course. The bike is pretty tough and the run can be brutal but I really enjoyed doing this race. I think the volunteers were pretty awesome and overall I think the race was well done again this year. I do think the run in the park on the grass needs to be changed and they need to figure on that no passing zone on the bike at the end. Lot's of complaints about that I'm sure but overall Syracuse is a good race. I'm pretty sure I'll be back to do it again. It also served it's purpose of getting me in a race situation before Ironman Mont Tremblant in August. Gotta give a shout out to the Wildwood Warriors who did the race and represented very well congrats to all the Warriors who finished. I also have to thank my training partners in DQ triathlon. These guys have been kicking my behind all year helping me get ready for Syracuse and Mont Tremblant. I can't thank them enough for all their help.