My wife, Jen, support crew extraordinaire and brains behind the operation.
GOALS:
* Top 6 Overall
* Hit my nutrition plan
* Finish the run feeling strong
* Don't lose any positions on the bike
* Keep the gaps in time on SBR to Cunningham and Lovato similar to Eagleman
* 4:00 – 4:06 overall time depending on conditions
ACTUAL:
Place: 5th
Time: 4:03:11
Swim Time/Place: 25:41 / 14th
T1 Time/Place: 1:08
Bike Time/Place: 2:15:04 / 7th
T2 Time/Place: 1:12
Run Time/Place: 1:20:06 / 5th
SWIM:
I made it to the race start a little later than I wanted to due to some closed highway ramps in Providence so was very glad to hear the announcer say that they were pushing the start back 15-20 mins because the strong winds and rough waters moved the buoys out of place. I was also glad to hear that the water was under 68 degrees which made the swim wetsuit legal for the pros. The swim start was a beach running start and I got out in great position by running hard to the front and some quick dolphin dives. Unfortunately, I faded further and further back as the swim went along. The waves were so high that I had a hard time sighting and took in a lot of salt water. I swam solo on the way out and found some feet once we hit the turnaround point. The way out was punishing and the way back was a breeze as the waves pushed us in to the finish. I came out of the water with a pack of 4-5 and had a quick transition to put myself on the bike course ahead of my swim pack.
BIKE:
Ave HR: 166 bpm (LT is 170 bpm)
After getting out quickly in the first couple of miles I rode solo for quite some time. We had a very strong tailwind the first 6 miles or so and then it seemed to have faded once we hit the hills. Martin came up on me at around mile 10-15 and he eventually ended up slowly drifting away from me and I lost contact. I continued to pass some other riders to move my way up but had no idea what place I was in. Eventually Grant and Evoe caught me and I made the decision that I wasn't going to lose contact no matter how hard I had to push. I felt that this is where my race needed to take place since I knew that Evoe was a solid runner as well. Over the next 15-20 miles I would drift back on the climbs and push hard to close the gap on the flats and downhills. For some reason my power numbers have been down since Eagleman and I could feel this on the climbs. After a while we caught Hodges and I knew he could run as well so I was happy to see that he had dropped off a bit after a few more hills. At about 5-10 miles to go someone said that we were in 5th-7th place which is right where I wanted to be to shoot for a top 5 finish. I got off the bike with Grant and Evoe and it was going to be a footrace for 5th place.
ON THE BIKE NUTRITION: 88 fl oz H2O (39 oz/hr) + 675 total cals of EGel (1/2 flask per 30 mins) + 2 Lava Salts per hour
RUN:
Ave HR: 168 bpm (LT is 180 bpm)
I had the slowest transition out of the 3 of us and slowly worked my way back to them. I was surprised to feel no side stitches like at Eagleman and my right arch seemed to be feeling healthy. I opened a small gap on the first big hill but that didn't last long as I had to stop to massage out a cramping hamstring at the top. Evoe and Grant passed me and gave me kind words but I was back in business after a short stop and caught back up to them after about a mile. Evoe and I ran together for a bit and after a couple of miles I pulled away slightly. At the turnaround I could see that Evoe and Hodges were stalking me and it looked like Hodges was coming up pretty fast. On the second loop I took the big hill really easy to try to fend off another cramping situation and heard footsteps at the top of the hill. I picked up the pace a bit to keep the gap open and at around mile 8 Hodges caught me. I decided to put in a little surge to see how he was feeling and he didn't come with so I continued at that pace until I couldn't hear footsteps anymore. Then at mile 10 I was surprised to see that Evoe had made his way back to me. When he caught me he seemed to have picked up the pace so I went with him and as the pace slowed down I surged a bit and opened up a 10-15 second gap over the next mile or so. I was able to hold this gap for the last couple of miles while periodically checking back to ensure Evoe wasn't creeping back up on me. As I passed the finish line I was very sore and tired but also extremely happy to have held on in a tactical race for 5th place.
SPLITS: 6:14 (166 bpm ave) HILL, 5:56 (163), 5:56 (167), 6:01 (165), 5:43 (167), 6:07 (168), 6:05 (167), 6:46 (166) HILL, 6:05 (168), 6:02 (169), 5:58 (171), 6:21 (174), 6:04 (172)
ON THE RUN NUTRITION: 3-4oz H2O at every aid station + 200 total cals of EGel + 6 total Lava Salts + sponges on head every aid station
SUMMARY:
* I reached all of my goals for this race. I was a bit concerned about how I might feel on race day because my recovery from Eagleman took longer than I expected and I ended up forming a foot problem in the two weeks leading up to this race.
* My swim, bike and run splits were about the same distance apart from Cunningham and Lovato as they were at Eagleman. Swim: C-3:16, L-1:39; Bike: C-2:12, L-4:34; Run: C-2:20, L: 2:00.
* I really enjoy the 70.3 distance. I enjoy doing the pre-race recon on the pro field ahead of time to figure out my race strategy and where I may need to put my effort. I also enjoy the tactics that are involved on race day.
* Due to my hamstring cramping in the first mile of the run I was a bit more cautious and didn't really open things up until I felt like I really needed to.
THANKS TO:
* My amazing wife, Jen, for driving the majority of the way to Rhode Island from Charlotte (15.5 hrs). This allowed me to stretch, massage, and nap/relax in the back of the Element. I also want to thank her for being so supportive as always, giving me intel on my competition on race day, and being a top notch cheerleader.
* Mike Elkins @ Blue Ocean Somatic Institute (704-527-4799) for massaging out my foot pain five days before the race when I was uncertain whether or not I'd be able to run on it.
* Inside Out Sports for keeping my bike race tuned and ensuring that I've got all my race needs taken care of.