Gulf Coast Triathlon 70.3

Gulf Coast Triathlon - 70.3

Date of Race: 05/07/2011

Total Race Time = 6h 25m 03s

Overall Place = 532/746

Age Group = Male 40-44

Age Group Place = 80/104

ATC - Atlanta Triathlon Club

PCB - Panama City Beach

OWS - Open Water  Swim

EFS - Electrolyte Fuel System by 1st Endurance

Okay, this is going to be a long one. I think I did this race in less time it took to write about it. I got into the nutrition detail, so that if anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I'm open to hearing them. I think detailed race reports are very helpful to a newbie like me. This is my 3rd triathlon. I only did 2 sprints last year. I trained over the winter, dropped about 8 pounds(14 in the last year) and really worked on the swim. Swim used to be my weakest and I would never have considered myself a swimmer until this race. I set a good base to build on and improve upon on. It's going to be a great year.

Training Week in Review

This was the last week of training/tapering before the big day. It was a busy week with some work projects and I didn't get a lot of training done, but any training I did this week would be of no benefit on race day. I was pumped all week and really looking forward to the race. I'll go into a more detailed race report and race preparations in the next post.

Date	Day	Activity
05/01/11	Sunday	Rest
05/02/11	Monday	Work
05/03/11	Tuesday	Errands & Packing
05/04/11	Wednesday	Rest/Work
05/05/11	Thursday	Drive down to Panama City Beach
05/06/11	Friday	Ocean Swim 3 mile easy run
05/07/11	Saturday	RACE DAY!!!

Training Week in Review

This was a really easy week. Good thing I'm tapering. Not much to say, but I'm feeling good about each leg of this race. It's when I put all 3 together that I start worrying a bit. Specifically, fuel & nutrition during the race. It seems that I'm not taking in enough calories to fuel long workouts. I felt drained during an 80 mile ride a couple weeks ago and it had to do with not consuming enough calories. So now I'm totally reevaluating my nutrition on the bike. I'll need to take in more calories to not only sustain the 56 mile bike ride, but get me at least half way through the run. I'll be taking gels on the run, but I'll need some additional calories to feel strong when I first start out on the run. As I write this today, I'm only a 4 days away and I still need to pack and I've got a ton of stuff going on between now and when I hit the road on Thursday. Feeling pumped, but also starting to feel a little stressed. Anyway, I'll post something in a day or two before I head out of town.

Date	Day	Activity
04/24/11	Sunday	Rest
04/25/11	Monday	2500 Meter Swim
04/26/11	Tuesday	7.1 Mile Run
04/27/11	Wednesday	1 Hour Spin Class
04/28/11	Thursday	20 Miles - Intervals 20 Minute Brick
04/29/11	Friday	8.4 Mile Run
04/30/11	Saturday	Rest

Training Week in Review

Started the week with a high milage ride before starting to taper for Gulf Coast. I started my ride pushing myself since I felt really good. However, I started to pay for it as I started to bonk a little bit. After 35 miles, my legs started to slow down and then it became a mental game. I knew I could finish the first loop, but I needed to take in more calories and fuel up. I slowed the pace and finished the loop. I started to consider not riding the second loop, but I knew I couldn't just give up. I decided to ride it at a more moderate pace and continue taking in calories. That plan worked really well because I was able to pick the pace back up for the last 14 miles and got a 30 minute brick in. Of course the run started slow, but I was picking up speed and feeling pretty good by the end of the 30 minutes. I'm glad I pushed the first loop because it gave me some perspective on what not to do on race day. It also allowed me to deal with overcoming the mental part of it. Sometimes the mind tells you to quit and that can really affect the outcome of your race and performance. I played the mental game, continued to push and was able to come out of it feeling pretty good.

The rest of the week was easier as I go into a 2 week taper. I also did a Bike LT test. I pushed hard since I had problems during the previous test. This time I was more consistent from the start and was back at a 164 Functional Threshold.  I also did a 3000 meter swim because I feel I need to get comfortable swimming that kind of distance as well as to know what it's  like to feel tired and still swim with proper form. Since I missed last weeks open water swim, I joined in on an informal group swim on Saturday. Water felt a little bit colder than last time. As I started out I didn't feel quite as comfortable in the wetsuit. I felt like it was rubbing the back of my neck. After a quick adjustment it went better. The more I swam the better I felt and more efficient I seemed in the water. We simulated a couple group starts and I was able to catch up and pass a few individuals and that gave me more confidence.

Date	Day	Activity
04/17/11	Sunday	80 Mile Bike 30 Minute Brik
04/18/11	Monday	2200 Meter Swim
04/19/11	Tuesday	7.1 Mile Run
04/20/11	Wednesday	1 Hour Spin Class - LT Test
04/21/11	Thursday	Rest
04/22/11	Friday	3000 Meter Swim
04/23/11	Saturday	8 Mile Run 2000 Meter Open Water Swim

Training Week in Review

This was a tough week. This was the peak of my half ironman training and you can see it in the distances at the end of the week. I did my first open water swim with my wetsuit. It went better than expected. I think what helped was arriving a little early and slowly getting into the water as I acclimated to the cold temps so it didn't take my breath away. We did a OWS clinic and practiced various starts, drafting & sighting. I swam only 1000 meters, but felt pretty good about it. My sighting was not that great, but I think I'll be fine when swimming with a large group. Thursdays ride concentrated on high cadence again. I was surprised when I ran afterwards, that my cadence was around 95-97. I usually run between 90-92. It was weird but it felt really good. I wasn't tired and my legs felt great. I've got to remember this for my half ironman. Saturday was a long run and my longest ever. Luckily it was relatively flat and no hills at all. I started at a really fast pace and felt good. I had just watched the run portion of last years Kona World Championship and picturing these great runners helped me work on my form. I didn't feel tired until my last 2 miles and my calves were burning up from the workout. I stretched afterwards and aside from feeling tired all day, I was not sore at all. I drank a Mix1 protein drink and peanut butter sandwich afterwards. The protein really helped me recover. I was really surprised at myself pushing so hard and seeing how well my body responded. It really gave me confidence for my half ironman in 3 weeks.

Date	Day	Activity
04/10/11	Sunday	11 Mile Run & 1000 Meter OWS
04/11/11	Monday	2000 Meter Swim
04/12/11	Tuesday	7.1 Mile Run
04/013/11	Wednesday	1 Hour Spin Class 1600 Meter Swim
04/14/11	Thursday	25 Mile Ride - Intervals +  20 Minute Brick
04/15/11	Friday	Rest
04/16/11	Saturday	18 Mile Run

Training Week in Review

Whew! Lots of training this week. I did my longest ride ever (78 miles) on Sunday followed by a 25 minute brick. The 1st 1.5 miles were tough and I felt like I was just shuffling my feet. I pushed hard on the bike and considered not running. I'm glad I did, because I need to know what it feels like to run after cycling that distance. Rest of the week went pretty well. Thursday's intervals were a great exercise in spinning high cadence. The goal was to ride in the small ring and ride the intervals around 90-95 rpm with an active recovery around 80-85 rpm. Felt weird to spin on such an easy gear especially on a very flat course. However the idea was not to mash harder gears so you don't wear out your legs for the run. I did a 20 minute brick afterwards and my legs felt really good. I was running my normal pace. Definitely using this technique at Gulf Coast. Saturday was the Tony Serrano group ride and it was a great course. Very little traffic and great SAG stops. I pushed my normal pace, but rode within my heart rate and never went LT and watched my cadence the entire time. I kept it between 80-90 rpm. At one point I looked at my average speed and I was somewhere around 19 mph (I switched my bike computer to only display time & cadence). Later the wind picked up and we got some steeper hills. That affected my average, but I still finished with a 18.38 mph. This is the first time I've ever got up to 18 mph. I'm very happy with my performance and then ran a 20 minute brick. Once again, I felt great on the start of the run. I was running faster than I should have been and slowed the pace down when I caught up to another group. It was getting hot and I got a little taste of what I might expect at Gulf Coast. I'm starting to feel really good about my first HIM.

Date	Day	Activity
04/03/11	Sunday	78 Mile Ride + 25 Minute Brick
04/04/11	Monday	1800 Meter Swim
04/05/11	Tuesday	7.3 Mile Run
04/06/11	Wednesday	1 Hour Spin Class 1600 Meter Swim
04/07/11	Thursday	25 Mile Ride - Intervals
04/08/11	Friday	Rest
04/09/11	Saturday	62 Mile Ride - Tony Serrano Ride + 20min Brick

Training Week in Review

After the previous recovery week, it was time to ramp up the training again. We did some timed swims Monday night and I have definitely improved my swim time. My arms were fried by the end of the night. Did the normal hilly route for Tuesday night and I didn't bring any hydration this time. I did hydrate before hand, but I wanted to see how I performed without any on the run. I still maintained a fast time compared to previous weeks, but I felt thirsty towards the end and I slowed my pace. Had I brought fluids with me, I think my pace would have remained constant and even faster than previous runs. I've been working on endurance swims and I can feel the difference. My breathing technique is getting better and I'm more conscious of my body position and can correct it when it doesn't feel right. Saturday was the longest I've ever run, 14.4 miles. It wasn't a fast pace, but a comfortable pace that I maintained throughout the entire run. I picked up the pace on the last mile and really pushed it the last quarter mile. I felt really good, got some Mix1 for recovery and additional protein when I got home. Looks like my weight has stabilized at 146-147. I'm not trying to loose any additional weight. Right now, I'm just making sure I take in enough calories to fuel my workouts. I'm done with the weight loss phase, I'm now moving into the building strength and endurance phase.

Date	Day	Activity
03/27/11	Sunday	Rest
03/28/11	Monday	1800 Meter Swim
03/29/11	Tuesday	7.3 Mile Run
03/30/11	Wednesday	1 Hour Spin Class 2000 Meter Swim
03/31/11	Thursday	1600 Meter Swim 1 Hour Spin Class
04/1/11	Friday	Rest
04/2/11	Saturday	14.4 Mile Run