Ironman 70.3 St. George : Official Thread

Hi, my name is Jose and I'm a 42 year-old from SLC, Utah. I did the 70.3 last year and although it kicked my butt I loved it and so I'm back for more. St. George is awesome in every way and the city really knows how to put on quality endurance events. Last year I was totally freaked out about the bike and totally took the run for granted. The bike was a piece of cake compared to the run. Train for hills on the run!!!

Hi Nicole! I'm so glad you responded! I love how you use the quotes around "races" too! Ha! I will be traveling a little bit over the holidays but luckily am taking my bike along. However, I'll be cycling with my 70 year old dad who rides a recumbent so the speeds won't be where they need to be!

My goal is to also run the whole portion--I was so surprised by how hard the run was in Boise--I definitely burned my legs on the bike. But, two years later I'm in much better biking shape and run shape, so I'm hoping to run the whole darn leg!

Ok Jose, you're going to be our resident expert since you've done this race already! I have been incorporating hills into all my med/long runs + repeats during the week. I love climbing--but not so sure I'll love it after the swim and bike. So, if I were to ask your biggest piece of advice it would be to be ready to run hills I gather?!

I'm so glad there is a little group of us!

To do better this year I am going to make sure my bike fitness is improved solely for the purpose of feeling better when I get off the bike. Typically, I could get over a bad bike with a good run but the run course at St. George is so brutal that it is important to feel good coming off the bike.

Last year my bike was average at best and I paid for it on the run. On the run map you'll see a section called Red Cliffs parkway. This hill will suck the life out of you if you are not ready. So, I think the best strategy is to be VERY fit on the bike and to train hills for the run.

BTW, don't let people freak you out when they talk about the Snow Canyon section of the bike course. Yes, it is very difficult but it is a very small portion of the course (4 miles) and should not hurt the rest of your race if you don't over-do it.

Finally, you guys are going to be blown away with how pretty Sand Hollow reservoir is. You're in for a treat there.

That is great information. I'm following an intermediate plan and it calls for a lot of cycling time, which I'm glad. I know my run suffered in Boise because I pushed it a little too much on the bike--and that run was flat!!!

I have heard people mention Snow Canyon over and over when talking about St. George. Sounds like if I'm good at climbing I should be fine. As with running, I really like to climb--I'm not the fastest at it but I love it.

So Saturday I spent 90 minutes in the pool with a private instructor. Man was that eye opening! I have developed some bad habits after 3.5 years of swimming on my own. It was great to get the feedback. My stroke is strong but I tend to reach over with both arms so I did many drills to correct that. Yesterday when I did my OWS I incorporated some of the drills into my workout. I'll go back in to Salt Lake to work with my instructor again this Saturday and then I'm on my own again! I've switched Mondays to my off day--seems very strange not to train this morning, but I think Mondays will be a great rest day after building Tuesday-Sunday with Saturday and Sunday being high volume days. Have a good one!

I'm debating throwing my hat in the ring for St. George. It would make a nice tune up for Ironman Coeur D'Alene at the end of June....... It fits pretty well into the training program. Still.....a pretty big $$ outlay for a "tune up" when you're traveling from WA state. hmmmm..

St George local here! Happy to see this thread. This race was my first half last year. It was an eye opener, but I'm excited to tackle it again this year.

It's a great event in a great location. The City of St. George really knows how to put on endurance events. Doesn't hurt that the St. George area is beautiful. Definitely make it a vacation.

How's the training going guys and gals? I have a pretty big volume weekend coming up, excited for it!
THe countdown is ON!

Anybody out there? Lol! Had a great training weekend--big run and bike, both went great.

St. George this year is purely a B race for me this year to prepare me for the Full Vineman this summer. So, I'm going into it purely on Base Phase training. However, I have been hitting the bike big time since I think that's what killed my run last year and I am seeing great improvements. I am also focusing big time on swimming technique (TI drills for balance and drills from Taoarmina's book for high-elbow catch) and I am seeing a lot of improvement. The run is boiler plate for me and I have built a really good base for that in the off-season.

I don't know, right now I'm feeling good. I hope it stays that way! I hope everybody's training is going well. I loved this race last year and regardless of the conditions I think you will also love the St. George challenge.

I'm just now seeing this thread. My name is Katie and I live just north of SLC. I am on week 7 of my 18 week training plan and so far so good! The volume is really increasing but I am feeling good and excited about gains I have made this winter, especially in regards to the pool and bike. My run will always suck

I am excited about this race. I did my first tri in 2012, and my first HIM last August. Excited about this challenge and hoping training keeps going as well as it has been. I have been told to be prepared for hills and more hills, and the difficulty will be much worse than the Utah Half I did in August, but I am excited!

Welcome Katie. I'm actually out in Riverton. I haven't done the Utah Half but I am planning on it for next year. Another great HIM in Utah is the Bear Lake Man in September. This was my first HIM a few years ago and it was great. Overall a fast course and very scenic. Good luck with your training.

The Utah Half is a great race. Racetri thinks of everything, and I was really pleased with how well done it was.

I am in Syracuse. I have wondered about the BearLake Man, so that is good to know for future races. I am also considering the new 70.3 up at Ogden Valley that TriUtah is doing in the fall. Love the area, will probably end up doing that one as well this season

Training has been going good for me, this will be second 70.3 with last years STG 70.3 being my first. I don't really adhere or follow plans (I probably should give them a try again I just had some pretty rotten experiences with plans when training for marathons I like to be able to be flexible with my training and its done well for me) per se.

My weeks typically look like
M- Rest
Tuesday- 25-30mile bike and 5-6 mile run
Wednesday 5-6 mile run, 1500-2000m swim
Thursday- 25-30 mile bike, 5-6 mile run
Friday- 2000-2500m swim
Saturday- 10-15 mile run
Sunday- 25-30mile brick with 4-5 mile run switching out every 3 weeks for a 40-60 mile long bike ride

My year has been much better this year then last year when training for the same event. I hit 531 total miles in January and look to be 450-500 for February for the short month, I only hit 554 total miles for all of January and February last year. When the lake warms up in March and April I will add a few big training days, my big last year was 1000m swim, 52 mile bike and 8 mile run about 4 weeks out from the event all on course.

I am a local so I get a lot of training in on the course or portions of it, I am going to start turning my Wednesday runs back into hill days on course, anyone familiar with the course last year we would start in T2 and run the first 3-4 miles up course before turning around and heading back to T2 and if you've run it those first 4 miles are all uphill.

I am hoping to get two 70.3's in this year (I've also looked at Utah half and lake Havasu 70.3 for my second or maybe Boise but that is pretty close to STG). Then I will do STG next year hopefully culminating in my first 140,6 of Boulder next August.

FYI - For Locals there is a FREE clinic being offered specifically for this race, at Elevate Training Center in Orem tomorrow night at 6:00. They are going to go over the course with video and slides, and answer any questions one might have. I have been to these before if it is for a race I haven't done in the past, so I will be there. Here is the info from the Facebook group:

Are you racing Ironman St. George 70.3? If so this clinic is for you! We will go over the entire course (swim, bike, run) in detail, including grades on the bike and run sections, actual pictures of the course and any other questions you may have! We will also discuss race day nutrition and SBR Cycles will be on hand to answer gear related questions. This will be a great clinic for both new racers and returning athletes. PLEASE let us know if your coming so we have enough room for everyone. This will be AWESOME, hope to see you there!

Hope to see fellow BTers there!

Katie, I looked on their FB page and I don't see the announcement. Where did you see it?

It is on the page for Elevate Training Center, not the official IM StG race page. All are welcome though, I heard about it through another tri group I am part of that sent me the event invite. Let me know if you need more info, the address for the training center is 147 West 400 North, Orem. It is free and open to the public, and starts at 6 pm. Not sure how long it will go. Hopefully you can make it!

Katie...take notes and share them please! :-) I live 6 hours away so I won't be attending but I sure would have loved to! Any info you can pass along would be terrific!

Oh, it's in Orem?! That might be doable!!!

Nah I live in Saint George I don't think I will drive to Orem for them to tell me how do a course I could just ride instead