Ironman Santa Rosa 70.3 Race Report

Result at a glance

Swim: 30:35 (1:26/100yd)
T1: 07:44
Bike: 02:36:27 (21.5 mph, 172W NP,  Avg. HR 150bmp, Cadence 85 rpm)
T2: 03:18
Run: 01:31:27 (7:02 min/mi, Avg. HR 164 bpm, Cadence 205 steps/min)
Total: 04:49:31

AG: 21/~240
Overall: 149/~3000

I was doing good weekly run mileage going into this race (40+ mi/wk) for a few weeks. Bike was coming around too, with a few longer (60+ miles) rides under the belt, albeit at lower intensity. So I was a bit worried about being able to push for 56 miles. I had missed a couple of weeks of swimming due to cold, but that has never been an issue for me and I was able to catch up in the week leading up to the race.

Friday was a bit hectic running around for packet pickup, run and bike gear checkin. I had the second Rubio's burrito of the day at 5:30PM (early dinner) and then we hung out with Dennis at LoCoCo Cucina. Finally made it to the hotel at 7:30PM. A final gear check for everything we needed to take with us in the AM was in order, which included quite a bit of thinks that I had forgotten to put in the bike bag. As a part of my pre-race ritual, I started to sip on OSMO at 8PM. The constant chatter on the TF hangout was fun and useful. After some email checking and browsing, I finally hit the sack at 9:30PM.

Slept quite well except for a couple of race nightmares and was woken up at 3AM by 3 alarms going off at the same time. Coffee was had and it did the trick within 10 minutes. Since the hotel did not have microwaves, I couldn't have oatmeal and had to make do with a CLIF bar (230 cals) which tasted like sawdust. There's very little food I can swallow on race morning.

We were packed and loaded and left the hotel at 4AM. The rest of the logistics were super straightforward - part near the shuttle pickup, get in the shuttle line which moved super quick, and ride for 45 mins on a somewhat freezing shuttle. (Glad I had 3 layers on.)

Logistics in T1 (setting up bike gear, port-a-potty, putting on wetsuit, etc.) were straightforward.

SWIM: 30:35 (HIM Swim PR by 3 mins! Whoa!)

I seeded myself in the 27-30 min slot. Since it was a nice and controlled rolling start, there was no need to go out fast. I started at tempo-ish pace and settled in at high-steady. Swim was mostly uneventful. Finished strong and headed into the dreaded long T1.

T1: 07:44

This was definitely one of the longest T1s I have ever had! I jogged up the ramp and wore my flip-flops that I had left at the end of the rubber matting. It was not comfortable running in flip-flops but was way better than running on asphalt. A lot of people were complaining about it. So I'd give myself extra points for preparing for that :-) I walked the very last steep part and jogged the long way around the transition area.

Peeling off the wetsuit legs was a problem as usual and I probably lost a minute there. I need to figure out a solution for this going forward. Put on gloves, ditched the arm warmers praying I won't regret it, stuffed everything in the bike bag and clackity-clacked my way out of transition. Yes, since I was using road bike shoes, I had to wear them in T1 instead of leaving them clipped in.

BIKE: 02:36:27 (HIM Bike PR)

This was my fastest half IM bike split ever and I attribute it to the tail wind! :-) The way I think about it is that the time lost in the long ass transition was compensated for by the minutes saved on the bike due to tail wind. So in the end it was a pretty even race. I felt strong on the bike all along, but had some niggles going on too. After the first 5 miles, my left hip was feeling tight and locking up. I allowed myself to get out of the saddle on short climbs/rollers, which helped loosen it up. I was fairly in the front of the field, so it was not crowded at all. I peed 3x on the bike and each time it was carefree since there was no one behind me. However my confidence was getting crushed ever so slightly every time someone passed me and that happened a LOT! I was still making good time (again, thanks to the tail wind) and tried not to worry too much about people passing me. I just focused on staying aero, and cranking out the wattage I had planned. Followed the nutrition to the plan, taking on 1 e-gel every 30 min and 1 salt tab every 20-25 mins. The miles were chopping away quite quickly. The biggest discomfort for me on the bike was the aero-bars. My whole cockpit assembly needs to be re-done big time.

T2: 03:18

Relatively quick T2 considering I had to jog through the long transition in bike shoes, but not the fastest I could have done. Helmet, bike shoes, gloves, wet socks off, put on run shoes, grabbed visor and bib belt and I was off. 

RUN: 01:31:27 (HIM Run PR)

It was by far my strongest HIM run to date. My weekly run mileage had been better than ever going into this race but it was also the first real race of the season, so I didn't know what to expect. I started a bit on the puicker side (7 min/mi) than I had planned, so dialed it back to 7:15 min/mi after a few miles, just to stay on the safer side. I was passing a lot of people. A few people passed me, but some were way ahead of me on their second loop and others, I caught up with later on in the run. I picked it up after mile 8 and was successfully able to hold sub-7 pace for the rest of the run, with the last mile cranked out at 6 min/mi. I was literally blowing past people, which felt super awesome! Fast HIM runs (by my standards) I have had in the past (1:32:xx and 1:34) were all still plagued by extreme discomfort towards the end of the run. But this time I was feeling super strong till the end.

TOTAL TIME: 04:49:31 (HIM PR)

What worked well?

Swim:

• Felt comfortable throughout even at high-steady/tempo pace. 
• Nice quick stroke rate @ 72 strokes/min

Bike:

• Felt quite strong and consistent till the end
• Was in aero for the whole time except for steep stinger where I'd get out of the saddle
• Peed 3x on the bike, equally down the left and right legs!

Run:

• Finished super strong with last mile @ 6 min/mi
• High cadence of avg. 205 steps/min
• 1 salt tab every 20 mins worked like a charm - no hints of cramps
• Coke and Red Bull after mile 6 helped infuse some extra energy
• First time ever, no soreness after the race. F Yeah!

What didn't work?

Swim:

• Didn't make an effort to draft. It takes more focus and I was just lazy, but I should really do it for the full IM.

Bike:

• Left hip was feeling tight between miles 5 through 15.
• Aero-bars are not fitted properly, so I had to hold on to them in a weird way and as a result my forearms are super sore post-race. This happened at HITS too but I was lazy to fix it. 
• Need to find a better solution to carry more calories. The front X-Lab bento box can barely hold 4 e-gels (150 cals each), so with salt tabs stuffed in the same pouch, it was super hard to get to those. Some salt tabs were stuck in the corner of the bento box which were super hard to get to, especially with gloves.
• Didn't have tri bike shoes, so had to make do with road shoes. Might have lost about 30s in transition, so no big deal.
• I have had a niggle in the right quad for a few months now, so I was constantly worried about that throughout the bike. Luckily nothing flared up!
• The helmet was rotating in the front down the forehead, which was super annoying.
• All in all, a bunch of fit adjustments need to be done ASAP!

Run:

• When I see people go on a run the day after the race I always tell them that they didn't push enough if they are not sore. So maybe I didn't push myself enough!? There's a chance that I may have held back a bit more for the first 7 miles. But it's good! I am super happy with how the run went and glad I finished with more left in the tank. Pretty sure I will be draining the tank at full IMSR.