2016 Puerto Rico 70.3 Race Recap

Summary

PR70.3-2016 was probably the most eventful race of my career, full of learning opportunities, and --most importantly-- some validations.  I had two goals for this race.  First, to demonstrate improved swimming performance.  Second goal was to "find a new level".  Since the poor swim at IM-Boulder last year, I vowed to dedicate the off-season to improving my swimming.  This race validated that dedication was worth it; I'm now among the top swimmers in my age group (AG), which combined with my bike strength positions me well to reach the top step of the podium (in a full IM), and to reach my goal of top 10 (AG) at Kona.  Finding a new level will help me realize new potential, but that goal will need to come in a future race.

Training/Prep

·         I had taken about 2-months away from running & cycling from mid-Nov to mid-Jan.  As a result, I had a short 7.5 week training block in prep for this race.  That said, I did spend a great deal of time in the pool from mid-Nov through the end of January, when I accumulated 100k yds in the month.  My focus was on high-intensity cycling and frequent running (every day).  The basic week is shown below.

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Swim	2000yd	Vasa Int	2000yd	Vasa Int	2000yd
Bike	Spin		1-hr HIM	VO2 int	Spin	Torq Int
Run	2-mi	Hill inter.	2-mi	2-mi	2-mi	2-mi	10-mi HIM

·         I peaked at 30 TSS running points, and 40 TSS points for cycling for this race.  My taper was essentially three days.

Race report

Pre-race

·         Breakfast (2x coffee, amino fuel+ribose, bagel + peanut butter ) 2-hrs prior to start

·         Walked down to the plaza where taxis typically pick-up, but found none, called cab company but were informed they could not pick up due to road closures; 2-mile run to T1 (see lessons learned below)

·         Finished prepping T1, walked to swim exit to stage shoes (for the 500M run from swim exit to T1)

·         Walked to swim start; relaxed for about 10-20 minutes

Swim (30:45  / predicted: 33)

·         Started on far right, even right of the start bouy, swam hard for about 1-minute until clear; then steady; almost no contact with my AG; found some congestion when coming up on the next AG (~15-min into the swim); tried to find some good feet to follow, but there were not many suitable guys -- probably because I was near the front of my AG

T1 (5:22 / predicted: 6:00)

·         Pulled up LG suit and fit hand through sleeves seamlessly with the "bag trick" (swam with produce bag in the swim skin; hand into bag, which goes to the elbow; hand into LG suit sleeve); donned shoes; ran to T1; exiting T1 and prepping to mount the bike, slipped on the slick brick and fell on bike (yeah!)

Bike (2:23  / Predicted: 2:25)

·         After getting out of the crowd and into the aero position, I learned my rear derailleur was not shifting; I was able to shift the front, so thought the DI2 battery had died somehow; finding some clear road, I looked down at the wire going into the RD and confirmed it was at least not fluttering in the wind.  At this point, I was convinced that I had a battery failure of some sort (had similar issues on a training ride in Kona, 2014).  So, I concluded stopping was futile and that I would simply ride the gear I was in.  For the first time since riding a bike, I was cursing the tailwinds and any downhills, as I'd spin-out near 25MPH.  So, I rode based on what was a comfortable cadence.  Good thing I practice high cadence in spin class!  When there were some minor grades and a bit of wind, I was able to race to plan, which was to maintain a “45” (power/10 + speed = 45).  While unable to benefit from ideal shifting, I still felt really strong through the entire ride.  When not limited by cadence, I was able to race to my plan.  I was able to work hard, breathe deeply, and relax the entire time.  The last 6-miles of the bike seemed a bit long, but not hard.  As I reflect, it was probably the most comfortable HIM bikes of my career.  As the male pros caught me on their second loop, I was cadence limited.  I was thinking "if I had my choice of gears, I could definitely ride with them".  That was not exuberance or wishful thinking, it was reality.

·         Sometime after coming to terms with the shifting issue, my HR stopped sending a signal to my Joule.  On the bike, that's ok because I just use power and speed, but I do use HR for the run.

·         Bike Nutrition: 3-scoops EFS drink + 1-scoop Pre-race, finished at 25-miles (~1-hr); then ~2/3 of the EFS Liquid Shot (LS) + 3-caps of SportsLegs; tummy started getting unhappy after starting the LS (see lessons learned below)

T2 (2:55 / Predicted: 1:00)

·         Maybe a bit slow here dowsing myself with water.  I was hot.

Run (1:49 / Predicted: 1:36*)

*My predicted time would be a PR for me, but my training suggests it was achievable. 

·         It usually takes about 6-miles for me to get into a running groove, whether it be a HIM or full.  That's often OK (for me), as I enjoy being able to apply power in the second half of the HIM run.  However, I was just not finding the rhythm in my legs or breathing.  It wasn't the feeling like I fried myself on the bike, I was just not able to push.  I was finding the weather to be extremely hot and the hills just cruel steep.  I stayed patient and just kept telling myself the rhythm would come.  I was feeling pretty dizzy and wondering whether this would be the race where I'd need an IV.  I kept on, seeing my newly discovered rival Silvio Gurerra catching me.  Other than demonstrating a solid swim, my other goal was to try and beat Silvio to the finish.  At the turn around at mile 9, he was about 2-minutes back.  Could I keep the pace gap less than 40-sec/mile on this former 2:16 Olympic marathoner?  Well, I was going to try!  I kept telling myself to "find a new level", but my body wasn't responding.  Silvio caught me at mile 10.5.  At this point, I just kept focusing on my mantra and hoping for the finish.  As I made it back near the finish, I climbed the bridge just before the finish.  Looking back, I could see another guy coming.  I increased the pace a bit, but Christine told me he was closing.  I sped up more, and then he came by. I responded and so did he; it was a sprint finish, but my legs said NO.  Fortunately, he was in a younger AG, but the next guy behind me (by 20-sec) was in my AG.

·         Run Nutrition: water and coke at each aid station

Lessons Learned

1.  Remove pedals with the bike fully assembled, wheels-on, and with a shod foot.  Using hands may well result in an unplanned trip to urgent care for stitches and surely consume what should be valuable low-stress prep time.  The picture below reinforces this point.

2.  If DI2 shifting fails, be sure to try the alternate buttons (on horns; if available). I apparently had the aero bar rear shifter cable come out of the junction box, but did not realize it until starting the bike.  So, I rode the entire ride in one gear (large chain ring and middle sprocket). I falsely attributed the failure to a low battery level, which results in only being able to shift the front derailleur.  When retrieving the bike after the race, I tried shifting with the bullhorn shifter and it worked.  I could have used all my gears during the race, had I simply had the presence of mind to troubleshoot beyond my first theory.

3.  The swim prep during the winter totally paid off.   My swim placements have been slowly improving from the 40th percentile to ~15th percentile within my age group since starting triathlon.  Coming out of the water 8th in my AG at PR, puts me in the 5-6th percentile. The swim was probably representative of my current swim capabilities, as the effort level and execution was similar to prior races.  Moreover, of the 5 guys that beat me overall, none had a faster swim split.  This situation has NEVER occurred before. Lastly, my current bike capabilities plus the swim strength positioned me 3^rd in my AG off the bike.  Here, again, this is new territory -- especially considering it was a HIM, which does not reflect my greatest strength -- endurance.  Coming off the bike in 3rd puts me in a great position starting the run.

4.  The current bike training is working well, at least for the HIM distance.  I may try to race the next sea-level HIM at a “46”.  Going into this race, my longest ride has been a single 1:50 computrainer ride.  In addition, I had not ridden outdoor since early November last year.  I will plan to continue the current bike training, unaltered, until I start the volume block prior to IM-Boulder (~June & July).

5.  One can ride a (flat course) race pretty effectively without gears.  While I would have liked to been able to shift to a higher gear, it really wasn't necessary.  In a way, it may have been a good exercise in better pacing, being limited in the amount of power while riding at higher speeds.  The limitation of gears also allowed me to pace in an entirely different way than any other race or ride I've ever, ever done.  That is, I paced almost entirely on the comfort with the cadence.  Where power, torque, heart rate, or RPE is usually used to establish the upper limit of a ride, it was simply cadence on Sunday. 

6.  I may have discovered the culprit to my GI distress that affects me at the beginning of my race runs.  My stomach was fine until I started taking the EFS liquid shot (LS) in the second half of the bike.  I often use the LS for the first 40-miles of an IM bike and then the last 35.  Perhaps it's ok in the beginning, but not end of an effort.  I will probably try a different product during the early-season races.

7.  I can probably achieve an even more aggressive aero position.  I had been contemplating lowering my front position by about 1 inch and even conducted a HR/power experiment (to be reproduced).  However, after conversing with Rob Gray on the complexities of position and aero effects, I decided to keep the same position as I had in last year's races.  I was happy with the position at IM Boulder, as I was able to use the aero bars for leverage when climbing in the aero position.  While assembling the bike in PR, I decided to do a simple experiment -- just lower and race.  I lowered the whole aero bar by about 1 inch by moving the spacers from below the aero bar to above.  The position was pretty darn comfortable for the whole ride, even considering I've had VERY limited time in the aero position since last November. Also, on the few climbs of the PR course I was pleased to be able to leverage the aero bars.  I'm now planning another 1 inch drop by removing the risers under the elbow pads.  When the weather permits I'll conduct a proper aero field test.

8.  Ride the bike after it's assembled.  Had I done even a short ride, I probably would have discovered the aero bar shifter issue before the race and been able to fix it.

9.  Be 100% sure you have morning transportation secured the night before.  While we asked a taxi driver the day before of availability in the morning, we could not get a taxi from old San Juan to the race site.  So, while most folks did a 70.3 on Sunday, we added a 2-mile warm-up run to the race site.

10.  While visualizing the morning plan and race strategy the night before is essential, be sure to also spend some time thinking about various contingencies.  If this happens, I'll do that, etc.  While it's unlikely you'll have the right contingency you all worked out ahead of time, this exercise might promote better improvisational response to whatever does not go to plan.  For me, the bar end shifters and lack of morning transportation were good examples.

11.  Plan on and prepare for all kinds of contingencies.  My day had a lot of technical failures, including: no morning transportation, no access to race provided pumps, no details on shoe placement for the T1 run, the fall exiting T1, the lack of shifting ability, every single water bottle leaking -- and not going into my aero bottle, aero bottle movement and near loss, heart rate monitor failure.

Next focus

1.  Maintain swim and bike training, progressing bike power during intervals.

2.  Increase run volume, keeping frequency at 7-runs per week.  Increase long run to 20-miles, but keep the pace slow.  Keep weekly interval run.  Add a 1-hr tempo run.

3. Plan on doing Grand Junction full distance in May to test the training approach.