IM 70.3 FL - Race Recap (Karel)

Race recap: 
As an early season race, I went into this knowing that I haven't done any race specific training so I saw this an opportunity to go through the motions again of racing. There was a lot of tough competition, which I don't mind as that's what racing is all about - racing whoever shows up on the day.

The nice thing about this race is having a pool to warm-up in. As a non-competitive swimmer, I always need to warmup in the water before the start of the race. This helps me avoid the "panic" feeling of swimming hard right from the gun. I swam about 700 yards in my warm-up and also jogged about 10 minutes to continue my warm-up before the start of my race.

The swim was non-wetsuit and AG wave start. The swim was very congested (especially with 6 turns) but I was happy with how I was able to swim, feeling strong and pushing all the way to the finish. The time was slow but it wasn't too bad for me as a non-wetsuit lake swim. My age group had two waves and I was in the 2nd wave. I lined up at the front and did a stronger effort to try to get away from all the moving arms and legs and to try to get a little more space before settling in to a sustainable effort. A few faster guys swam away and I couldn't stay with them. At that point, I was just winning my own race :) I was consistently passing people and nobody passed me. It was challenging to navigate through all the slower athletes from the earlier waves on this M shape course but I managed ok with sighting. I know this course well (same layout the past 4 years), but it can be difficult for first timers as the lake is small and it looks like there are buoys everyone. I always try not to disturb the slower swimmers and try not to be rough when I swim by them. I have been there before when I started triathlons and I know how bad it feels when someone swims right through you. I had to zig zag around them a bit more so that made me swim a little off a straight line to each turn buoy.

I try to make my transitions as quick as possible (nothing good happens in transition) but I did have a little hold-up as I couldn't find my bike. I was one rack off and I swore someone stole my bike! Thankfully our athlete Tony was there to give me a shout that my bike was one rack over. This is why we like to dust off the rust at the first race of the season - we like to get these laughable moments out of the way.

I felt strong and thought I was riding well but after looking at the results, there were a bunch of guys riding much stronger. I know I can't control what other people do so I made sure to stay present and focus on my riding, terrain management and execution. Since I pre-rode some of the course on Friday and Saturday, I knew exactly what the wind would be like on Sunday so that helped with my execution. We had headwind first, then some tail wind. And a lot of cross winds. This was different than the past three years. I usually struggle with back/hip pain in the 2nd half of HIM racing (and in training - it doesn't matter what bike I ride) but at this race, it was "almost" good. Only the last ten miles i would feel it but at that point I could manage. I do a lot of PT, strength and mobility to help my hips/back as well as specific breathing exercises when I ride (which has been helping). Sometimes I wish my quads would hurt and prevent me from pedaling harder but it's the pain in my hips/back that prevents me from pushing decent power. I struggle holding steady strong power for long durations but it's something I keep working on. I was happy with my effort and I stayed present and focused from start to finish. I passed Marni around mile 45 on the bike and I was just happy to see here not on the side of the road with a bike mechanical (then I'd be in big trouble).

This was a tough run and I really fought all the way to the finish. This was all I had today. My run was the 2nd fastest overall and I missed 3rd place in my AG by 13 seconds. Looking back, I wonder if I could have suffered a bit more to get into 3rd but then again, I passed the 4th place guy right before the finish line. At mile 12, I was 5th, almost a minute behind. It was great to see so many of our athletes out on the course. I thin I saw almost everyone on the bike and run.

I always run with sport nutrition (training and on race day) and I use the Naked Running Belt to keep the flasks in. I also like this belt because it provides a bit of back support. In addition to sipping my flasks, I grabbed water at the aid stations and a sip of coke in the later miles. I used the Enervitine cheerpac as it's very liquidy with a lot of calories. I like to have a variety of flavors (and mild flavors) when I run and I never decide on what sport nutrition I'm using for the race (running) until the day before. Luckily, I've never had any GI issues in any of my triathlon races. 

Overall thoughts: I love to race. I'm pleased with this season opener, especially with a long season ahead (and two more half IM races in the next 5 weeks). The competition was very high in my AG and although I didn't place top 3 like I did in the past two years, I placed much higher overall this year and I feel like I put together a solid race. Like I said before, I can't control what other people do and who shows up on race day. I can only control myself. It was a fight to the finish and I was glad I was able to keep trying and not give up. This race was a good reminder of how to do this distance again and I now feel like I can put myself in the hurt box just a bit more at St. George 70.3 in three weeks.

1.2 mile swim - 32:16
T1 - 2:37
56 mile bike - 2:22.23
T2 - 2:28
13.1 mile run - 1:27.49
Total: 4:27.33
4th AG (40-44), 8th overall 

Pre race nutrition: Oatmeal, half Skratch bar, coffee and bite of banana before leaving the house.
Swim gear: Michael Phelps Xceed goggles, Roka Viper X sleeved swimskin, Garmin 735XT.
Bike gear:Ventum One, Dura Ace DI2 groupset, Ceramicspeed OWSP and BB, 51-Speedshop Mono-Riser Bar with FSM extensions, Alto CT 86 front and Alto CT311 rear disc wheel, Dash Stride aero seat/post combo. Giro Aerohead helmet. LG Tri Air Lite shoes. Garmin Edge 820 bike computer. Scosche Rhythm 24 HR monitor.
Run gear: Nike VaporFly 4%, Garmin 735XT, Naked running band, Roka SL-1 custom sunglasses.

Bike nutrition: NBS carbo hydration drink (strawberry) in 2 bottles (~200 calories per bottle) +  Enervitine cheerpack.
Run nutrition: Precision Hydration 1000 (60 calories in 8 ounce flask). Skratch (90 calories in 8 ounce flask) + Enervitine cheerpack.

A big thank you to my coaches Cait Snow and Julie Dibens and to the Trimarni affiliates that support us and our team. 

from Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition http://bit.ly/2Itl0hs