THE AFTERMATH: 70.3 Gulf Coast
Overall, this race was a big step in the right direction.
Plan vs. Reality
Planned time: ~4:05 | actual time: 4:02:46. Pretty happy to have a breakthrough time. My place was 14th, ~26 started and 22 finished.
25:30 swim | 28:41 actual
It was a crazy swim! Reminiscent of a wave pool without the pee and plus jelly fish. There were a lot of rip currents and swirling waves so all times were much slower.
I swam in the second pack and true to plan followed Sam Long. He had a pink swim cap on which was actually I could see in the midst of the waves and foggy goggles. When I finally got to shore I was thankful I had no Bull Shark encounter as my race house had “joked” about during the lead up of the race.
T1: 2:16 — finally did it!
< 2:15 bike | 2:07:32 actual
I rode in the second pack, which I came out on the swim with. This was the first time I really rode in a pack. There were periods I had to dig really deep and close gaps forming but also there were pretty chill moments. Such are pro race dynamics. I’ve learned you need to pay constant attention to the people in front and time your eating and drinking to when you have a chance to back off a bit.
A major curveball for me was that I lost all my nutrition in mile 1 on the bike, and had to improvise along the way with random gels in my storage container on my bike and on-course nutrition. Grabbed a water bottle and stuffed it in the front of my race kit so I wouldn’t risk losing it again. Definitely not ideal for a really hot and humid course, but I handled it.
One of the first questions asked from my coach & training buddies was: “does this mean Michelle is gonna get you a disc wheel.” For context Michelle (my partner) said if I break 2:15 we could consider getting one since it helps with speed a ton. Both of us like to say: “fast bikes are for fast people….” heh, this time might qualify!
T2: 2:00
~1:18 run | 1:22:18 actual….average 6:17/mi pace.
A decent run, definitely not my best though (it’s funny, I would’ve been happy with this time one year ago). At this point in the race it was 85% humidity and sun beating down, and it felt like I’d puke or melt if I went any faster. I kept it steady, made a conscious effort to cool down my core at aid stations, and paid less attention to people around me even though I would’ve liked to race race the run. It was the right calculation, though - listening to my body! The conditions were really challenging and like the swim, the run was slower for almost everyone.
How did my focus areas go?
I wrote out my “focus areas” in my pre-race post. Here’s how they went:
Swim aggressively, for longer, and stay on Sam Long: Did it.
Sam in the pink cap. Me in the light blue :D Chopping my transitions in half: Did it! Honestly, there’s still a lot of work to do here to get on pace w/ the speedy pros around me, but I cut a good chunk of dawdling time out of my transition. My bike shoes helped, and I also kept an eye on the group that I came in with from the swim, to make sure I started the run at the same time.
Bike aggressively: Not bad. This was my first time racing in a pack successfully. I didn’t have the guts to pass ahead of the pack because it felt like I’d risk biking alone if another pack didn’t materialize in front of me, and I’d get unnecessarily fatigued. Those are calculated risks I’ll need to start taking, since I definitely had more in me.
Learnings
It was good to hear how everyone’s pro-life has some differences. I can see how I’ll see the same faces over and over again, and it’ll be cool to see each other get faster & have the shared experiences along the way.
Should finish eating a little earlier in the evening, especially for early races, so I don’t have to deal with digestion issues while running.
I can handle race mishaps like losing all my bottles in the first minute of the bike ride. But also, should I find a way to secure my bottles better…
What’s next
70.3 Boulder. Will be hot and high elevation. Debating whether to go two weeks early or 1 day early.
Thank you to my sponsors, Zoot Sports, The Feed, and Firefly Recovery. I’m making my next nutrition order this week, and wearing my Firefly bands to walk my dog Kahlo w/ Michelle.
Stay sterdy - Ben