70.3 Boulder Race Report

With 8 weeks between my last race, Boulder Peak, and Hy-Vee, 70.3 Boulder was a nice opportunity to break up the tough training and get in a race without having to travel. I haven’t seriously competed in a half distance race since 2007 and was excited to test myself over the distance. My achilles tendon has been healing nicely since Boulder Peak so I’ve been back into my normal running routine and building back the run fitness.
Race day. The swim was noticeably slower than an Olympic distance but it was also “75.9″ degree water making it wetsuit legal by .2 degrees. I think this led most of us to hold back on the swim and avoid overheating.
I felt great throughout the swim and that continued onto the bike. Amy was spotting for me on the course so I knew I was in 8th place and 2 minutes off the lead starting the bike. I rode steady the first loop but was surprised that: this guy behind me wasn’t dropping, I hadn’t caught anyone, and no one was even in sight. I was riding slightly higher watts than expected while at a lower effort level than expected so what was going on?
At the turnaround at 20 miles (out of 56 miles if your not familiar) I was happy to see that Gambles and Cartmell were leading at 2 minutes up and 6 guys were grouped together at 1 minute up. I kept up my watts and caught that group heading up 36. It turns out the fellow riding with me was Raynard Tissink, 5th place at Kona last year so not bad company to be in. Once the course flattened again after a long slight downhill I moved to get back into the pace but got a little crampy on the inside quads of my legs. I hung back the next 5 miles to let it work out then went back to work the last 5 miles. I finished the bike in 2:04 (4th best split) with 3 other guys so we were holding down places 3, 4, 5,and 6. Aside from feeling normal crampy twinges, I felt great the whole ride and was surprised how comfortable I was riding for that long.
I was pumped up going into the run. I had been feeling excellent all day and felt ready to run. I dialed in the pace on the 1st of 2 laps, holding down 6:00 pace. I got into 3rd place and definitely thought I could hold it with a chance at getting 2nd.
Then, the wheels came off. I suddenly had to walk the hills, feeling sleepy and wiped. I walked the aid stations, filling up my bottle and taking down as much as I could. I’d drink it down, feel slightly better for a half mile then it would hit again like clockwork. I had to endure this for 4 miles as I gave up my position. 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th. Finally after taking in a load of Gatorade, Coke, water, and a gel (tasty meal huh?) at the 11 mile aid station some life came back into me and I was able to run steady for the last 2 miles or so to the finish. Oddly, once I sat in the reservoir for a few minutes after the race and drank some fluids I felt better than I normally do after racing.

It’s a bummer to give up all the spots and finish in 7th but I think that once I dial in the nutrition better and race in cooler temps then it will be easier for me to race this distance. It was close to 100 degrees and a high temp record so tough conditions to race in. I’m aiming to race two more half’s this year at Rev3 South Carolina and 70.3 Longhorn. On the positive side, my swim-bike was strong and both have been feeling great in training. My run is coming back quicker than I expect so I’m excited for the Hy-Vee start line in 4 weeks.