Here is my race report from my first 70.3
Sunday Pre-Race:
Alarm went off at 4:30, decided to hit snooze once since the
plan was to leave at 5:00 so at 4:40 I rolled out of bed got my kit on, and
threw on some running shorts, a t-shirt and my flip flops. We made it out of
the hotel and on the way to the Reservoir. Since transitions closed at 6:20 I
wanted to get there about 5:20. This
gave me plenty of time to get my bike and gear over to transitions even with the
traffic coming into the reservoir. The parking marshals did a good job getting
everyone into the parking lot and avoided some chaos. I grabbed my bike and my
bag carrying both on my shoulder over to transitions. The parking lot was a
field and didn’t want to risk a random thorn in a tire. After walking in to
transitions I found the rack marked with the range of my race number
(1701-1749) found a good spot and got everything set up. During my time in
transition I heard the water temperature was 75.8 degrees (wet suit legal) just
barely making the cut off. I walked from the swim entrance to my spot to make
sure I took the fastest route then out of transitions and headed back to the
pickup. It was about 6:10 when I got
back to the pickup so I had time to hang out with my two biggest fans (wife and
son/Jess and Eli). The plan was to leave the truck around 7:00 to start heading
to the beach. Jess assisted in covering me with SPF 50 which later proved
ineffective. I had a Cliff Bar and slow drank a Gatorade during that time. When
7:00am was getting close we got the stroller and Eli ready to go then I grabbed
my wet suit, goggles and swim cap. Just
before we left the truck we saw the first Pro Athlete coming by on the bike
course it was Andy Potts less than 25 minutes from start at 6:30 am. It was a
good minute and a half before we saw the next Pro following him.
Got down to the beach, met up with my buddy Louis and went
in the water for a quick warm up. The water was nice and I was just ready to
get this race started over 20 weeks of training it was time to see if it was
going to pay off. My goal for this race was a 5:15 but I would be happy under
5:30 since it is my first HIM (Half Ironman).
RACE
Swim 1.2 miles (34:56) (1:50/100m)- I was the 15th (Orange
swim caps) of 16 waves so I started at 7:40 am. My wave was age group M30-34
A-K. Finally moved into the water for the start, the start was about belly
deep, so checked my goggles and waited for the start. I decided to hang back
behind the front group of guys and see how I measured up. The air horn sounded
and it was time to get to work! I started out steady realizing I was staying
pretty close to the front of the wave. There wasn’t much “combat” during the
first 500 meters seemed like everyone spaced out and found their own clear
water. I had lined up a group of trees way off in the distance to sight off of
for the first leg of the swim. We rounded the first buoy, started to notice
some white swim caps which was the age group (M25-29) that started 5 minutes
before us. It seemed like the second leg
was a little busier as I was starting to catch some of the slower swimmers from
the prior waves. I kept rhythm and focused on spotting the next buoy to keep my
mind focused. I received a few more slaps and kicks during this leg of the swim
but I kept on my line to the next turn buoy.
I made the last turn swimming back to the beach. I really noticed all
kinds of different colored swim caps now (white, green, purple, pink and blue).
I was still feeling great and kept pushing to the beach. I came out of the
water and looked down to see I was under 35 minutes thinking to myself wow a
good 2 minutes faster then I was guessing based off of my swim time from Loveland
Lake to Lake Triathlon which was a (1500m) swim. Ran up the chute from swim exit to T1 and
there were my fans watching me come through. I came out of swim ranked 43 in my
division (M30-34) and 389 overall.
T1- (3:15) Since I had a few blisters
on my feet already I decided to wear socks for this race. I got to my bike,
stripped my wetsuit dried my feet off and started to attempt to get my socks
on. I noticed there were still many bikes on my AG rack but later I would see
some pass me on the bike. Finally after fighting with my socks I got my shoes
on, helmet, sunglasses and race belt. I grabbed my bike off the rack and headed
though the bike exit to mount line.
Bike- 56 miles (2:43:15)
(20.58mi/h)- I had no problems getting my shoes clipped in and
started spinning in a higher gear knowing I had about 10 miles of steady
climbing up 600 feet to start with a few turns to get to the highway. I got in my cadence 90-95 rpm and checked my
heart rate making sure I was getting as much out of my body as I could. I had a
well practiced nutrition plan that I was going to stick to with: my aero drink water
bottle, my multi-hour Perpetuem/Heed fuel bottle, Cliff Bars, Hammer Gel and
Endurolyte pills. I felt really good as I reached mile 10 as I started a descent
prior to the turn ahead. I didn’t slow down for the first aid station and was able
to grab a bottle of water; which was a sport bottle so just turned it over and
squeeze it in to my aero drink dumping the rest down my back. I knew the heat
was going to be a factor later during the day so wanted to take advantage of
the cool water. I repeated this
through
every aid station on the bike course. I was passing people but I knew I
wasn’t
passing the people in my age group. There was some congestion on the
course but
due to the wide shoulders on the first part of the lap I was able to
pass with
little to no issues with the vehicle traffic. I was feeling good the
course was
fast, the rollers were easy as I was able to get my speed up on the down
hills
to carry me up the hills without running up on my cassette too much.
Came by
the first lap at 1:20:05 (20.87mi/h), I was pleased and knew I could do
the second lap keeping the total average I was hoping for (20.5 mi/h). Not much to
talk about on the 2
nd Lap other then I started to pass people on
mountain bikes and hybrids on their first lap. I kept hammering on the bike
until about mile 54 then I started to stretch my legs and shifted to a higher
gear running my cadence to 100-110 rpm to get my legs ready for the half
marathon. I made the turn back to the reservoir and then there was a line of
bikes on the shoulder and cars in the lane so I got a little aggressive and
threaded the needle a few times on the downhill but kept it as safe as possible. I finally made it up the last hill and in the
home stretch for the bike leg hitting my second 2
nd Lap at 1:23:10
(20.31mi/hr). Rounded the corner to the
dismount line and had to rethink how to get off my bike since I usually
unvelcro my shoes and ride with my feet on my shoes for the last 200meters but
realized I had no time so I just rode up to the dismount line and unclipped. My
fans were there cheering me on. I came
off the bike ranked 55 in my age group and 424 overall. Pretty obvious that
cycling is my weakest event.
T2 (1:14) - I ran my bike in to T2 getting
to my spot marked with my Ron Jon Surf Shop towel. I racked my bike, took off
my bike shoes and helmet threw on my running shoes grabbed my hat. Then I took
off running to the other side of the transition area to the run start.
Run
13.1 miles (1:48:49) (8:18/mi)- Finally
got on the run course, there was a shower with in the first 500 meters of the
course in conjunction with an aid station which I ran through catching a mist
of cool water knowing there was some heat to come. I started the course trying to keep myself
from taking off and not being able to finish strong. My first mile was faster
than planned (7:14) but realized it was mostly downhill. I got myself in a steady pace closer to
8:10/mi which I was able to maintain for the first lap. During the first lap I
continued to run through the aid stations which were about every mile and a
half stocked with Gatorade, water, ice, gels, cola and sponges. I kept my Hammer
gel flask in my pocket off the bike knowing I had two shots left in it planning
to use them at the opportune times (around mile 5 and mile 10). As I ran through the aid stations I grabbed a
cup of Gatorade, cup of ice water drinking a shot each then dumping the rest of
the water on my back/head, then grabbed a cold sponge and put it between my top
and my neck to keep me cool. There were a few hills which most athletes were
walking up but I was able to maintain a jog up each one for both laps. There
was about every type of running surface in each lap from concrete, asphalt,
gravel and running trail. I made my
first lap in 53:30 keeping an 8:10/mi pace running right by the finish line. I
looked down at my watch realizing I was less than 4 hrs 15 minutes at this
point. All I had to do is run my second lap in an hour and I would make my
goal! And I saw my fans again not much more motivation needed at this point. The
second lap was more intense then the first, the heat wasn’t getting any easier it
was close to 95 degrees at this point and there was no shade to be found on
this course. I kept my pace while I was running but I started to walk through
the aid stations to ensure I was able to take in enough fluids since I was
noticing the salt stains on my shorts and top. I started to dump the ice in my
top and in my shorts to keep my body cool. After taking my last shot of Hammer gel around
mile 10 it was all mental now thinking to myself “time to knock out a 5K”. I felt
refreshed and hammered through the wind which started to pick up coming up to the
gravel road on the dam. I came to the last aid station and decided to run through
it grabbing two cups of water drinking some and dumping the rest on my chest,
back and head. Coming down to the last
stretch I knew I was going to make my goal time now to see how much I could I
beat it by. I kept my eye on the finish line as I came up on the last mile and
pushed myself as hard as I could. My two fans were about a quarter mile from
the finish so I had that extra boost to get to the finish. I rounded
the corner into the finishing chute and realized it was almost over I started
smiling big for the camera and raising my arms as I heard the announcer call my
name out and ran the last few meters on the Ironman carpet to the arch
finishing in 5:11:29!!! (The race clocked
was 6:21:29 but knew it started at 6:30am) I was immediately greeted by a
volunteer (by the way I tried to thank every volunteer I encounter on the
course they did a phenomenal job) who handed me my Rohto Ironman Boulder hat
and a bottle of water. Continued walking about 5 more feet then I got my finishers
medal. I was done!! I finished overall 265 out of 1314 finishers passing 159 of
them on the run. In my AG I passed 18
guys on the run putting me 37 out of 137 in my age group (M30-34).
After the race- I immediately headed over to the beach to get
under one of the showers to completely cool off where Jess and Eli found me. I
stayed under the shower for a few minutes and stretched out my legs. After my fully clothed shower we headed off to
the food tent where I grabbed another bottle of water, 2 pieces of pizza, a
bagel and half an orange. We found a
tent to sit under for some shade while I tried to replace some calories. I had
finished up my post race snack and the heat was intense we were all ready to
get out of there. I went to transition to grab my bike and gear it was time to
head home. I had a great experience and plan on doing another Half Ironman next
year where I hope to break the 5 hour mark, after I get some coaching on my
cycling, and then it will be time to do a full Ironman. I couldn’t have done it
without the support and love from my wonderful wife and son.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
