Ironman 70.3 St. George : Official Thread (Page 5)

Hey everybody, we're less than a month out from the 2016 edition of St. George 70.3 !!!  How's your training going?  Feeling excited yet? 

I'm woefully undertrained on the swim, but bike and run are okay.  I think if I squeeze in a couple short swims a week between now and May 7 I should be alright, though.  I'm just trying not to overdo anything at this stage so I can make it to the starting line more or less healthy with all parts of my body happy.

What kind of cassette are people using for this course?  On my tri bike I've got a 10-speed setup with a 12-25 on the back right now (53-39 up front), and I'm thinking very strongly of switching out to an 11-28.  I just did a race distance ride trying to simulate the profile somewhat by throwing in a 1200 foot climb at mile 40, and I was out of the saddle more than I'd like for the climb.  Another option is to just take my road bike which already has an 11-28 setup.  I like more road bike better anyway, and I'm definitely not going to be vying for any age group podium spot.  Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for your perspective on the gearing.  I installed the 11-28 this week on my tri bike and will try it out on some climbing tomorrow.  I think you are 100% right about making it a bit easier on the run, and believe me, if I need help anywhere it's on that run. 

I'm not sure if anyone else is keeping an eye on the weather forecast.  Current 7-day shows race day being partly cloudy with a high of only 65 degrees, and then a chance of showers arriving by Sunday morning.  From what I gather this is quite a bit cooler than the norm and a departure from past race conditions.  If it stays dry for Saturday, it sounds close to ideal to me.

Heading out on Wednesday from South Florida...hoping the bike and I are properly prepared!  Even so, it will be an epic race and weekend.  So excited!!

Hey Guys and Gals!  I started this thread three years ago--did St. George in '14, '15 but this year the race falls on my daughter's prom--not missing that for the world!  I'll be checking in this weekend to see how it goes!  It is one tough mother of a HIM--but so beautiful! Good luck to all! 

I was way under trained for this race.  I had several things working against me in training including a car wreck that resulted in a severe concussion, a job transfer from Texas to Oklahoma with, reduced time available for training each week, and reduced availability of training facilities in my new town.  I really felt the difference that that extra training makes.  I was about 80% trained but was well rested and healthy.  I think I could have done really well in a shorter race, but as is I really struggled. Going into the race I figured that if things went really well I would finish around 5 hours and if things went really bad (which they did) I would finish around 6 hours.  My finish time was 5 hr 54 min.  At the finish line my thoughts were that I should do a shorter race for my next Triathlon, but that after noon I felt really good.  I could go up and down stairs, I didn't have a lot of soreness or stiff muscles, etc.  My recovery has been a lot faster than my two marathons or my previous 70.3 triathlon so I may have been better prepared that I though I was. It was fun though and I am already wishing I had another race coming up because I learned a lot and know that I can shave another 30-45 minutes off my next race time.   The highlight for me was the first 42 miles of the bike course.  There were a lot of hills and I worked hard up the hills and flew down the other side.  My top recorded speed was 45.6 MPH.  We don't have any hills that are long enough or smooth enough for me to do those speeds in McAlester, Oklahoma where I live so for me the bike course was a blast and something I won't forget any time soon.  

Bump from the dead for May 6th 2017!

Who's in?? Where is my inglushteechur, any of my California Triathlon club mates in the house?? haha. Who else is crazy enough to tackle the St George 70.3?

This will be my first time in a Ironman event and my first half distance attempt. Just coming out of winter break so need to build the lungs again. Had some good swim progress this year but still mediocre at 35min/1mile in Sept, and 29min/1500 in Oct. So still lots of room for improvement, I just started a structured swim workout series called 'Speed Secrets'. I know you wont win the race on the swim, but the sooner on the bike, sooner to the finish.

Bike skills where vastly improved this year. Made some significant upgrades to the bike and will be the bike I will run at St George. 1988 Peugeot road bike. Was thinking about adding 'aero bars' but have chosen not to due to having downtube shifters. Having to reach down off the aero bars to shift up and down just sounds unstable and dangerous. Right now I am thinking new saddle, shorter crank set and updated fit. In the meantime due to very cold winter weather I will be riding indoors using trainer road until at least late February.

My running is durable on long distance. I completed a marthon on both Oct15 and Feb16. My running distances have taken a slow decline over the year where I am down to running 5k distances. Need to get out and get some foot work in. My speed has always been rather mediocre at around 9-10min/mile pacing.

So lots of work to do in 4.5 months. I am fully confident I can finish the race, but I want to place in top 10 45-49 AG. But I also know this is a very tough race and more then a few people say not to set sights on PR's, but I typically don't listen to most people. 

See ya out there!

That's part of the fun -- Why did I sign up for this, what was I thinking???  Those thoughts get buried deep, fast when the horn sounds and you're in the churning waters of the swim.

Athlete guide is posted for the 2017 race.  Noteworthy is this: "the bike course has some fresh pavement along the first 8 miles of the bike in Hurricane and along the entire Snow Canyon climb."

Race is coming fast, feeling under trained but still have a few more weekends to put in the hard work. Athlete bib numbers are posted.

I am  #788. Looks like there will be about 270ish people in the M45-49 AG. I have never swam with that many people before, having concerns as I do not like pack swimming. Should actually say, have not gotten comfortable with pack swimming yet. This might be that race where I am just going to have to suck it up and get kicked in the mouth and have my goggles knocked off my head. Already feeling anxiety and I have no way to train for that environment at this point. I don't want to try and go to the outside as with so many people I will probably end up swimming 1.5 miles or more.

Regardless, still holding my goal time to 5:30. I will most likely be around 6-6:15 but not giving up my dream of a 'perfect' race day.

This weekend I am going for a 45 mile bike ride that will simulate alot of the climbs. The beginning is a wicked CAT1 climb starting at mile 3 going up nearly 2,000ft in 8 miles! Its all twisty switch backs all the way to the sky, then its down hill and back up will and then a long downhill trek to the finish, much like the finish off snow canyon into town. After that I will head out for the 13 mile run. Also found last weekend I will need some butt butt'r. My tri shorts have never been a issues, but 13 mile run off the bike is a different deal altogether.

Anyways, excited!

Three weeks!  I don't know about anyone else but this weekend is my last BIG weekend before everything starts to slowly taper down!  Whoo hooo!  I'm excited and nervous and every other emotion that goes into training for a racing a 70.3!

The course does have alot of elevation, mostly uphill but there are no real steep downhills like mountain twisty roads or anything. Snow canyon will be by far the hardest climb, its just really long and the steepest part is at the end of the climb. Once you get over snow canyon its all downhill into town, but its long open road, and you can pick up some good speeds but certainly nothing technical. Aero bars will be more about comfort, but not sure how much you will gain from them. In regards to them being a hindrance or safety issue. The course is not at all technical and I don't recall any descents that required any amount of extraneous handling skills. I would focus my attention on gearing and seat comfort. Once you get into town you go over some rough pavement and after the long 56 miles your bottom is going to be sore. You will be all too happy to get off the bike and onto the run. And you will need some legs for the run, right out of the gate you start a pretty gnarly climb and it just goes up from there until you crest the top of the mesa and spend some time up there and then its back down the hill and into town.

Might just see you there.