Race Report - IronAbe Olympic Triathlon

When I found out about a local race in Springfield called the IronAbe triathlon, I knew I had to sign up.  After a somewhat disappointing race in the shortened Muncie 37.2, I wanted to get another race under my belt prior to 2 more half-IMs late in the season.  Plus, my sister-in-law lives in Springfield so we got to spend some time with her prior to the race.

It was a low-key, local event and very well-organized.  Having picked up my packet the day before, all I had to do was set up transition and get ready to swim.  I got in the water for a few practice strokes and to see what the water was like – again another “bath-water” like swim in the Midwest with a temp of 87 degrees.  Regardless, my entire goal for the swim was to stay relaxed and consistent, making forward progress the entire time, just to get things moving in the right direction again after Muncie.

After my little practice swim, Abe himself gave the pre-race speech, encouraging us to “continue working to improve ourselves.”  

The kids with "IronAbe"

And with that, we were off.  The swim was uneventful – I basically focused on being relaxed the entire time and attempting to keep my form long, working on the changes I have been making in the pool.  When I felt myself shorten up, I tried to lengthen out and keep focused on “length, pressure, and direction.”  The course felt a little long and I came out with a very slow 33 minute swim.  Regardless, I had made progress, staying relaxed the entire swim and not having the same issues I had in the hot swim in Muncie.

With such a slow swim, I knew I’d be ~10 minutes behind the front-pack-swimmers getting on my bike.  The bike was mostly flat with a few rollers, but there was a swirling wind that kept the effort honest.   I also attempted to get in my bottle of ~300 calories of EFS, but only got down about 100-150 on the bike.  I was too focused on trying to make up ground on the field.  At the bike turnaround, the race leader had 10 minutes on me and I was in ~19^th place overall, at least with respect to the people that started in the first wave.  Throughout the back half of the bike, I just kept working hard trying to make up ground.  About half-way back to transition we merged in with the sprint field so I could no longer tell what position I was in, but a few minutes after that one guy passed me on the bike.  It was the only person who passed me on the bike, but it was good to give me another little jolt of motivation to keep the effort up.  I made it back to transition in about an hour, missing the hour mark by ~24 seconds (avg power 265, norm 268, a little lower than expected, but the course was flat and I still have a harder time keeping the effort up when there are no hills).

On my way back into the park, I saw my family who were enjoying the play structures in the park.  They also had a tour of a helicopter...  pretty cool!

Luci and Lance checking out a helicopter while I rode my bike.

T2 was reasonably quick as I ditched my bike and helmet, put on my shoes and grabbed my hat and race belt, taking off as quick as I could.  The 10K was on a shaded road on the other side of the lake consisting of 2 out and back sections.  After crossing the bridge I passed another guy and made my way to the 1^st turnaround, keeping the effort up, but going by feel, working hard, and not paying a lot of attention to pace.  The sprint race headed back after 1 turnaround, so on the 2^nd out-and-back, I could see who was in front of the Olympic race.  The race leader was still a ways in front of me and had put a minute or two into me on the bike and first part of the run, but not much.  Plus there were more guys I could chase.  Coming back from the 2^nd turnaround, I chased one guy to the finish, but couldn’t quite catch him.  Regardless, it was nice having a rabbit while I closed out the 10K, clocking a 39:07 for the run.

My overall time was 2:15 and change.  I was hoping for a bit quicker, but when you swim 33, a 2:15 is alright.  It was a positive experience in that I didn’t have any issues in the swim.  I had a good bike and run and take it as a positive sign my fitness is coming along well for Steelhead.

I ended up 10^th overall and won my age group.  A little surprising with a 2:15, but I can’t complain.  There were some quick guys and it was good competition for a smaller race (full results here). They also had pretty nice AG awards designed by a local artist - a metal silhouette-cutout.

One of the better AG awards I've seen.

It was a well-organized and really fun race.  Plus, the kids had a good time playing in the park, checking out the helicopter and meeting Abe!  Hoping to come back next year with an improved swim.

Race Report - Ironman Muncie (37.2)

My brother-in-law and cousin-in-law are training for IM Louisville, so they both targeted Muncie 70.3 as a half-ironman race to use for practice.  So I decided to jump in and race too.  After registering, we headed out to the race venue and on the way, we found out they were shortening the race to a 1 mile swim / 30 mile bike / and 10K run.  We were all disappointed, but the conditions were pretty harsh – temps of 100+ with 80+% humidity.  Other races in the past have been that hot, but I suppose there are risks that race directors need to be aware of and the decision was one they made for the safety of all the folks involved.  We couldn’t do anything about it, so we just accepted it and looked forward to a hard race.

Then we went out to the race venue and boy was it a cooker!  We checked in our bikes and headed down to see the swim venue, where we bumped into Greg Bennett – we chatted for a minute and wished him luck... he's a super nice guy and we were all pulling for him.  

Muncie Swim Venue

Emily, Scott (brother-in-law), Catherine (sister-in-law)

Em with Greg Bennett!

We decided to forgo any riding/swimming and just headed to our hotel and went for a bit to eat and got our gear ready to go for the morning.  Everything went smoothly in the AM and we each were off on our way.  

Kendra (cousin) and Josh (cousin-in-law)

Scott and Catherine pre-race

Me and Em.

Coming out of the water...  not happy.

With respect to my race, if they give mulligans for triathlon, I think I’d take one.  I have no excuses – my head just wasn’t in the game.  Rather than a blow-by-blow, here’s my list of process goals prior to the race with scoring and comments for each:

-          Focus on not dropping left elbow during swim

C-  ///  I was focused on my left elbow and trying to keep it from dropping, but I completely imploded, physically and mentally on the swim and ended up doing about 30-40% of it breaststroke.  On the way back, I was alternating – 20-30 strokes freestyle, 20-30 strokes breaststroke.

-          Practice breathing to both sides, but focus on right side (slightly weaker breathing side)

D- /// I started breathing to my right side watching the buoys, but could not get comfortable.  The water was HOT (they measured it at ~88-89), and I just felt like I couldn’t get in enough air or get in a rhythm.  I eventually gave up and started breathing left and knew my form started fading; I was lifting my head way up out of the water and could feel my chest coming up and my hips/legs going down.  Not good.

-          Run hard through T1, but when I get to my transition, stay calm and methodical

B /// It was not a fast transition – since I don’t have a legal swimskin, I chose to swim in tri shorts and just put my jersey on in transition, which slowed me down.  However, I stayed calm and tried to put the swim debacle behind me.

-          On bike, keep effort steady, but mod-high on bike for flat course; Break it into 5 30-minute laps and check avg power at each, taking nutrition in every 15 minutes

B- /// I kept the effort going, but in looking at my average power, it was low for a 30-mile ride and was probably closer to my half-IM power output.  I did get in my nutrition, even with the modified distance.   I am content with the effort, but not overly happy about it.  Could’ve gone harder, but I am not sure I bounced back enough mentally from the poor swim to really crank it out on the bike. 

-          On run, target 3 30-minute laps, avg HR for first ~160, avg HR for 2^nd 163, avg HR for 3^rd ~166.  Pacing my HR in the heat, speed will be what it will be.

C+ /// I decided not to put my HR strap on and go by feel in the shortened race.  I attempted to keep the effort up, but the same as on the bike, I think it was more of a half-IM pace/effort.  I was having a hard time digging deeper and really pushing it, given the circumstances.  It was a flat course, but I should've been able to put out more power for 30 miles (a 1:10 split).

-          Race every step

B- /// I had what I would say is a solid effort, but I think, given the fact that I was a total headcase in the swim, I did not go anywhere near my potential, let alone get anywhere close to "the well."  I practiced managing the hot conditions, but I did not race to what I feel is my potential.

Overall, I’d give myself a C+ on my process goals and clearly need work before Steelhead.  With respect to what went well and what needs improved…

What went well:

• Stayed calm and smooth, yet urgent, during transitions
• Stuck to my nutrition plan on the bike – since the race was shortened, I modified to 1 bottle of 300 calories of EFS drink and some Saltstick caps (with caffeine).  I got all of it in on the ride in just over an hour (~1:10)
• Used my mantras on the run and kept a steady effort with decent rhythm

What needs work:

• Mental toughness in swim
• Swim fitness
• Transition speed
• Getting my head back in the game when things are not going well
• Digging deeper on both the bike and the run
• Expectations - they were likely too high prior to the race given my build up and life-stress in the last couple of months

In spite of my sub-optimal day, I had a lot of fun being out there with my brother-in-law and cousin-in-law and going along the journey with them towards IM Louisville.  Plus, we all had a nice “adult” weekend with none of our kids there!  I was super proud of my brother-in-law and cousin-in-law for finishing in some tough conditions.  My brother-in law had a flat and some navigational issues, but was able to persevere and make it to the finish.  His experience illustrates the fact that you just can't take any finish for granted, no matter what the distance.  You always face adversity, and success is more about how you overcome it and how you approach it.  I was glad to be reminded of this lesson and am really proud of how he responded!

My cousin-in-law had a good day, solid all-around on the swim/bike/run.  Things went well and he motored along, managing his nutrition, pace, mental approach, etc., tweaking his "race process" and practicing it prior to the big dance in KY.

Josh on the run.

With respect to the shortening of the race, I do not know who made the "final" decision, but I believe it was a good one.  I was likely up to the challenge to race in that heat and could've managed myself, but for a relative newbie, it could have been VERY tough.  It would have also been really hard on spectators and volunteers out there for a longer day.  My worst experience on the day was the 88 degree water.  Starting the day off with a high core body temp, swimming in 88 degree water, then riding and running for 4-5+ hours for all of the competitors in the 100+ degree heat with 80% humidity would have been dangerous.  I know many say you need to HTFU, but now-a-days, race directors face tough decisions.  While I was frustrated with the decision, I did not get bent out of shape like some folks.  Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.  However, the way they announced it was sub-optimal.  I only found out on Twitter and otherwise wouldn't have known until they sent an email late in the day.  We were offered a $125 discount to other 70.3 events later in the year, but the way it all went down could've been managed much better.



After the fact, I am glad I went to the race.  Besides the distance change, it was well-organized, well-run and I hope to go back in the future.  Maybe the weather would cooperate and I could get in the entire half-iron distance on that course – the run has some rollers, but otherwise, it is fast and fun.