2014 Kansas 70.3 Race Report - 1st Test... Major Breakthrough

Results:
4:12:39
Swim - 29:11
T1 - 1:34
Bike - 2:17:58 - 24.4mph
T2 - 1:41
Run - 1:22:15

Placing - 16th Overall, 5th Amateur, 2nd 35-39, Fastest run in Age group, 3rd Fastest Amateur Bike Split.

Let me start here.... Wow... just wow.  Not a "perfect" race, but I'm not sure I could ask for a much better performance.  Especially on the bike & run.

Race Breakdown:

Taper:
I thought I'd start here since it's an A Race.  Honestly, this was my first structured taper I've ever done.  The Last 3 weeks were a slow steady drop of weekly volume/TSS compared to my last build cycles.  The last week was just trying to target a "soft landing".  Not giving up too much fitness but making sure my legs were fresh and rested, but not flat.  The meant holding some intensity, but dropping volume drastically.   On Sat. I did nothing.  I knew I'd have some walking to do, so why bother running or cycling.  Nothing to gain there.  Better to go just a little on Friday afternoon then focus on logistics.   All week I felt really good hitting my pwoer/paces so i had a feeling I could really kill it on Sunday.

Pre-race:
I had my usual Sushi dinner the evening before.  I tried to eat early, and probably ate too much, but Meh... its' never hurt me before.  In the morning, I tired to learn form my mistakes and no eat too much in the morning.  I had a banana, a small cup of oatmeal right after waking up about 3 hours before my start.  I ate a greek yogurt in the car heading in, and form there had 2 bottles of sports drink and maybe 1/2 a bottle of water.  I was well hydrated but not full.  I probably could have had less... knowing that I'd drink some lake water at some point.

Swim:
I started off great.  my best start ever.  Clear water, on-line, near the draft if a couple guys, looking good.  That lasted for about 300y, then as usually, I started to fade a little and settled in.  I then started to pull to the left.  Maybe i need to sight a lot more.  But this repeated or the whole swim.  I ended up swimming solo and mostly inside the buoys except turns of course.  IF I had found a pack, I think I could have gone 1 minute faster.  In the end, it didn't matter... and the way the bike played out, it might have helped me to come from behind anyway.  Read more...

T1
Killed it....killed it!.   I think I had one of the fastest T1 including pros.  Wetsuit came off like butter and I had it 95% off while I was putting on my helmet and glasses.  I also run really well barefooted despite rocks surfaces.  My mount went OK.  1 foot in my right shoes, but I pushed down and released my right before I slid it in.  I need to practice this more.  Just in front of me I think was Scott Iott.  I realized then that my swim wasn't great as historically he's not a strong swimmer.  I didn't panic and stuck to my plan.  Can;t fix the swim now.

Bike:
255 Watts  NP
248 Watts AP
0.84 IF
1.03 VI
Set-up: Zipp 404 (non-FC)/808 FC, Giro Advantage 2, Conti 4000S/Sii Latex tubes.  BTA Torpedo facing rewards, Bontrager Aero bottle on seat tube, SC Draft Box with spare tube and inflator, Speed box with Gels on top tube behind stem.

I rolled up the 1st hill at a solid 320 watts.  I decided to place a limit around there.  I had to focus not to go too fast.  I was breathing hard from the swim and transition, so after cresting the first hill I relaxed, settled to down to 220-240W to recover a little and find a rhythm.

My first good decision of the day was not to touch my bottles at all for the first 15 minutes.  I needed to let my stomach settle and get any lake water through and burp out some air if any.

I finally rolled it up a bit to around 250-260 Watts.  It felt comfortable, breathing was very relaxed, I focused on a good aero position.  Hills were 280-310 depending on the grade.  I stayed above about 13mph relative air speed.  We had a slight tailwind and I was carefully threading through the earlier waves.

Iott remained about 1/4 mile up the road.  He was pushing a solid pace with the tailwind.  At about mile 12 there was a blur in all black flew past.   SOB... Adam fricking Zucco.  I thought WTH, and rolled on the power to see what it took to ride his pace.  I was afraid Iott would latch on and they'd be gone for good.  I rode 300-320 watts for about 2-3 minutes and was very slowing gaining, but realized I even if I caught them I couldn't hold that pace.  I also saw that Zucco had dropped Iott, so he was clearly on a mission.   (Zucco would end up riding the 2nd fastest split of the day ...including pros... he told me I think 305 Watts).  He was from a earlier wave, so he was not 5 minute "up the road" and basically gone unless he blew up in epic fashion on the run.

At this point I had no Idea where Scott Bowe was.  I assumed he was up the road being a fast swimmer and strong cyclist and I'd have to run him down.  Apparently I passed him somewhere on the course, late in the ride.  I have no idea when that happened.  I think it was on a hill somewhere.

Nutrition:  nutrition seemed to work well, my stomach felt fine the whole ride.  I grabbed one bottle at the 2nd aide station.  All together I had 1 bottle of my own home mix, 2/3 bottle of perform from poweder, and 3/4 bottle of perform premix.  I ate 3 powergels with caffeine. It actually added up to I think around 370 calories per hour.  More than I had planned.  But I seemed to tolerate it just fine.  though I was getting a little bloated later on the run.  So maybe that pushed it just a bit... but I also planned to eat and drink very little on the run.

Around mile 36 I caught Iott.  This was a HUGE boost as I was starting to doubt myself just a little at that point.  My legs were showing some fatigue and holding 250-260 was taking some effort.  Traffic was thinning out finally at least.  Scott probably thinks I'm a cocky ass****.  I asked if he was "scott".  He asked who I was, I answered, then asked where Zucco was and mumbled something about my swim wasn't that good.  Yes I'm a big dork and get a little mouthy when I'd excited.  But I probably need to just keep my mouth shut.  He didn't look amused on the run and was all business, that's for sure.

I held my watts and just made sure I didn't override the last set of hills including one of the largest on the course.   Honestly, with a power meter, riding hills is easy.  You just pick and gear and push the pedals to hold your numbers.  Don't over think it and ignore what everyone else is doing.

Drafting - Not an issue at all on a rolling course like this.  There were some folks riding along side another for longer than they should, but I don't think it was intentional.  I got boxed in once, but that was it.

T2:
I nailed my dismount and rolled into transition.  I overshot slightly.  And all was well, but I had some issues getting my socks on.  Then I forgot my GPS watch.  Crap...Pigman all over again.  I at least realized it sooner this time and it's a shorter transition.  Mext race I'll strap it and my visor around my race belt so I have 1 thing to grab.  Altogether I lost about 40 second.  The real surprise was Scott Bowe rolling into transition just behind me.  I think he was up the road.

Run:
A little angry now, I shot out of transition, I then stopped real quick to tighten my shoe (shouldn't have bothered), then took off again like a bat out of hell.  I ran down Scott in the 1st 1/2 mile.  Yes, this was foolish, but my legs felt great.  No cramping, breathing was relaxed, cadence was smooth and flying.  I eased back a bit before I caught him and rolled past.  I dawned on my that I might be in 2nd in the age group.  Crap!   I see my wife and daughter, a awesome boost and she says I'm in 2nd.  Now just to  hold off Iott.  At the turn around I could see Scott was maybe 2 minutes back and looked fast and strong (apparently I might look that way too).  I eased into a steady 6:00-6:10 pace that felt comfortable.  6:15 was my goal pace if I was feeling good.  6:30 was my "back-up plan".

"Racing With The Stars" - so now there's a bicycle near me with apparently the 2nd place female.   I start hearing "Go Rachel".   Holy crap, it's none other than 2nd place Kona finisher Rachel Joyce.  Just a short ways back.   Now I'm extra motivated.  The pace feels good so I roll with it.  Around mile 5 I think, I decide I don't need to be ahead of her, the lap traffic is getting a little heavier and don't want I impede her progress at all if she decides to kick it, so I ease up on a straight and let her by and settle in just behind her, but far enough I don't risk making contact.  I yelled a few words of encouragement and clapped as she turned to the finish.  Really cool.  My 10k split was right at 38:00!

From there I settle into to a comfortable 6:15-6:20.  I'm feeling the miles now, but it's not too bad.  Mile 8 rolls around and I'm feeling it now.  Time to focus and get to down to business.  It's crunch time, this is where the race really begins!  The miles seem a LOT LONGER now.  9, steady up the last hill, don;t push it.  10... 5k left, I'm hurting now and struggling to find any form.  I focus hard on my arms drive, keeping up the turnover and getting my legs up.

The battle of attrition is on... I take a split at the turnaround... 0:54... that's about 1:45 back to Iott.  He still looks strong and I'm worried he's saved a 5:50 pace a closing kick.  I'm down to 6:40-7:00 pace now, trying to make sure I don't blow up.  He could make up that time fast.  I make sure to pick it up a bit as he passes... yes it's some pathetic gamesmanship, but I need to look like I can't be caught.  I clock him again at a corner I can see.  40 seconds passes and he's still not there.  1.5 miles left, I think I'm home free but i try and summon some more speed.  The last 1/2 mile is LONG...really long.... the longest damn 1/2 mile I've ever run.  I turn to the finish and I'm pumped.  I killed it!

Summary:
I beat my goal of going under 4:15.  I rode very close to what bestbikesplit.com said I would.  I actually went slightly faster, but I need to plug in the updated wind numbers.  My training ride was NOT a fluke a week prior.  I am riding that fast.  Little aero and drag improvements pay off.  My OWS swim skills need some work.  My T2 needs work.  I'm running really, really well.  I can count on my run consistently being strong if I get my nutrition right.  I think I can go under 4:10 at Steelhead if the weather is good and I swim well.  I'll be even more fit, but less tapered.

The results, made all of my training and hard work worth while.  It showed that will consistent and intelligent training, you can go a lot faster than you ever thought you were capable.


NOTE: Yes I'm a dork, but I'm totally going to see if I can mail Rachel Joyce my Kansas Finishers cap to a PO box in Boulder and try and find a photo where both of us are in it.


Other Comments:
Talking to Adam Zucco after the race in T2, I asked if he thought a disc cover was worth it... he said yes.  OS that will be my next and possibly last investment in speed.  I also found out the he'll be doing 70.3 Worlds instead of IMWI... I suspect Iott will do the same.  Unless I'm missing someone, that leaves the 35-39 age group wide open and may place me as the favorite.  Now I really need to sort through that list and do some cross referencing after Racine in particular and see who shows up at Steelhead.

I'll post some pictures when I get them.