2012 Ironman 70.3 World Championship Race Report

The Las Vegas 70.3 World Championship event, which included 1,800 athletes from over 55 different countries & each state in the United States represented was one of most challenging courses on the Ironman Circuit.  I attribute this to the:

1. Extremely Challenging 56 mile bike course: Which took place around Lake Mead in the Nevada desert & covered gains of 2,600 ft elevation.  I compare the bike course to a Syracuse 70.3(2012) & Muskoka 70.3(2010), but a bit harder given the weather conditions & course setup.  The worst part of the course was the climb back to transition 2, which covered about 13 miles, that started with large climbs out of Lake Mead Park, into a long slow grind over the last 5 miles.

2.  The extreme weather conditions:  Not only was the temperature a bit higher than normal over 100 degrees, but the swim in Lake Las Vegas started with 83 degree water temperatures leaving athletes open to overheating from the start.  The entire course exposed each athlete providing no shade from the sun, ending with a 13.1 mile run on hot residential blacktop, while making hydration a huge part of success.  The heat (even dry) was radiating off the ground, which was especially felt during the bike. 

Race Morning:

The convenience of the hotel room being lakeside, right next to the transition area makes for a less stressful morning. I woke around 3 a.m. to get some bfast in me.( pb and banana sandwich.), pounded a couple glasses of water, and then went back to bed for about 20 min. 

Good tip: Always arrive to the transition at least 1 hour earlier than the race start.  Regardless of whether or not you think you have everything under control and organized. 

Problem 1: I showed up race morning to 1000's of ants swarming on my bike and in the nutrition box I have attached to the seat post was filled with ants.  I wasn't the only one with this problem & it took some time to clean everything off! 

Problem 2: The buckle of my Garmin watch broke off a week before the race, making it impossible to secure the watch around my wrist.  I used shoe string to secure the watch, & on race day a plastic zipp tie.  30 min. before race started the zipp tie completely broke.  Anxiety kicked thinking I may have to race without a speed/time/heart rate etc.  I made it to the bike support to only find a 20 minute line for service.  I wound up cutting & really pissing off the bike mechanic.  I only needed a zip tie though. Finally got it on with a sharp plastic edge sticking into my wrist.

-Make time to wait in line for a bike pump.

Race morning at a championship race is fairly different than a normal race.  The crowd of 1,800 athletes & more than usual spectator group/media made it very exciting.  You could just feel a difference, you knew every athlete belonged in this race & worked very hard to get there.  The moment I walked by Craig Alexander/Joe Gambles on the way into transition I knew this shit was real.


Swim: 33:27

This was a horrible swim, which set the tone for the rest of my day.  This was a non-wetsuit event since the water temperature was above 82 degrees.  Non-wetsuit races are typically slower since you don't get the buoyancy & need to work a little harder to keep your body level.  With a wetsuit you also have more time to focus on your technique/stroke, since your body is floating.  Athletes tend to wear legal speed suits that are very thin for non-wetsuit events.

I made two mistakes in this race that cost me some time:

The first mistake was probably not renting or borrowing a speed-suit.  The mistake that really killed me was wearing my tri top in the water.  Never do this!  This was the same advice that I was given from a buddy during my Florida race, when I actual listened and swam shirt-less.  In Vegas, once I jumped in the water for my 2 minute warmup I realized that water was coming into the top from my chest.  Each stroke I took I could feel water filling my top, which created a drag.  This really gave me some anxiety and frustration before even starting the race!  

In Lake Las Vegas we had about a 150 meters space from entering the water to the start line.  The swim over to the start line was your warmup!(Not your ideal 15 min warmup)  Each age group started in 5 minute intervals.   The 30-34 age group entered the water about 10 minutes early & then it was all treading water until the start of our wave.  Very different than a beach start or mid body start where you can use the ground for leverage, we were treading for about 6-7 minutes & once the gun went off had to create momentum from our stroke.  I ultimately got caught behind some weaker swimmers, elbows were flying & I felt my heart rate strap fall from my chest down to my waist.  Once I get behind & have a bad start It usually doesn't end well.  This is exactly what happened, a lonely swim with no one to pace off of.  Coming out of the water I was just disappointed in seeing that time.

Bike:  2:46

Right out of T1 you are instantly climbing for a good couple of miles onto the main road that leads you into Lake Mead National Park.  Here is a chance to try and spin your legs for a warmup, but the climb makes it tough.  About 5 miles into the bike you begin to decend into lake mead national park.  Here is where the Mojave Desert,Sun, big climbs and big decents & wind happened.    Every large decent was followed by a big uphill or vice versa.  The extra weight I was carrying didn't help up those climbs. At 7:45 a.m. it was over 90 degrees and rising & your body slowly felt like it was cooking.  The scenery was pretty much just desert, cactus, dried out ravines that were once rivers, red rocks etc.  The bike course led you 24 miles out and back through the park & out towards Henderson for the last 8 miles.  Nutrition and hydration was very key to this race as your sweat quickly evaporates in the dry climate of the desert.  After about 30 miles it started to get increasing hot using every aid station to squeeze water over my head to cool down.  It's always cool to see the lead pack of Professionals heading back for the last 20 miles or so of the bike.  Soon enough, my bad attitude was wondering how I was going to run 13 miles after this.  At around mile 45 the speed began to get a lot slower due to the big climb back out of the park and the last miles into residential towns to transition 2.  As a result of a big hilly course I had max speeds of 44 mph with minimum speeds of 14 mph. The last miles of the bike seemed like forever & I finished around 10 minutes off my goal time for the bike. 

Run: 1:40  ( 7:45 pace)

The course was pretty boring with a 3 loop event.  It takes you downhill for the first mile then uphill for 2 miles the downhill for 1.  All the downhills and uphills were a gradual climb or decent.  The hardest thing about the course was the 100 degree heat.  The hills weren't very tough from what I had been racing previous.

My mental state was horrible going into T2 even with no nutritional issues!!   I took my time in the change tent.  My first mile read 6:42,  but mostly downhill & a given to run fast.  I quickly began to slow down off pace & give up at mile 2.  I told myself immediately I was going to just try and enjoy myself and not keep pace.  This strategy seemed great, but I soon found out it was equally as painful running slower with negative thoughts.(Just more time on your feet)

This is the only race I had thrown in the towel & for some reason didn't feel bad doing so.  I met a couple people on the race course during loop one, whiched passed some time.  During the second loop I seemed to pick up the pace a bit & had times where I would want to run hard and then times where I just slowed down.  I sprinted the last mile around 5:56 to end what was a brutally hot day.  The only positive from a little less effort was that for the first time ever I had an appetite after the race & I was able to communicate with others.  I usually go hard to where I can't eat for hours and I need a lot of time alone laying down to recup. I was about 26 minutes off my goal for this race, I had the worst swim and run I have ever had in three years of doing triathlon, but overall learned some good lessons.
Time: 5:06   Overall 370 something/ 1776

Highs/Lows of a Successful Season; 2013 Plan

"There are periods to focus, and periods to let loose a bit. Many times its the periods you let loose that motivate you to focus"

Heading home from Las Vegas I had time to reflect upon a very exciting/long race season & a busy summer.  Looking at the positives, I had a chance to travel down to Florida in May to race against Lance Armstrong, Syracuse/Montauk in June, & head out West to Las Vegas to participate in a World Championship race, while completing my 1st Ironman in my own backyard in August.   On top of all the races, there were countless weddings/bachelor parties(Puerto Rico/NYC) that were in the mix & also a visit to Arizona to see my nephew.  Balancing all these activites takes planning & one thing I needed to focus on in 2012 was making other activities (outside of triathlon) just as much a top priority, even though I was putting more time into training.  Understanding that it was ok to take a day off here in there from training & my schedule had to be flexible in order to make everything work in my life.  I did the best I could from this standpoint, but I am still learning this balance as it is the most important aspect of being able to train. 

2012 Accomplishment Review:

-Syracuse 70.3: This target race was executed as good as it could after a Puerto Rico bachelor party.  At this time, my mind was calm & positive, I was strong, my fitness/health were peaking and I showed I belong with the best in my age group in Syracuse.  I swam the best I ever had (29:09), biked a solid 2:30 on hilly course, & finished with a 1:30 run, which was the hardest half marathon course I had ever ran in all 7 Half Ironman races over the course of 3 years.  I finished Overall 45/1045 & 6th of 112 in my age group qualifying me for the World Championships in Las Vegas.

-Mighty Montauk Triathlon:  Two weeks before Syracuse, despite a horrible swim start, I finished with the 2nd fastest Run split @ Mighty Montauk Olympic Triathlon (38:16) against a stacked olympic distance field finishing 7th of 526.  I had never felt so good running a hilly 10k before averaging just around 6:10 per mile while proving my bike speed was getting faster keeping up with the top group.  My goal is to go well below 6 minute miles next year for the 10k.

- Florida 70.3:  Showed I can run just as good as most amateurs (1:27: 3rd fastest run split) in the 90 degree heat, while realizing there is still room for huge improvements.  Age Group: 7/176   Overall: 51/1773

With all these positive moments, I still think about my struggles and where I went wrong towards the end of the season.  I picked up Lava Magazine on my flight home & had a chance to read Matt Dixon's( Pro Triathlete Coach) article about body/mind recovery to gain strength through mid-season rests.

Matt Dixon-  "I have seen many cases where athletes preparing for the final key races of their season were just desperate for it to be over.  They were carrying fatigue, injury & mental exhaustion to the starting line, and had created barriers to achieving their best results.  This is often a result of being unwilling to take a little step back earlier in the season to allow a little rejuvenation and respite.  These athletes end up with massive loss of fitness and negative changes to body composition and health."

Going into a race,(especially of a 70.3 or 140.6 distance) the amount of energy you need not just phsically, but mentally is huge!  Concentrating and keeping pace for 4-5 hours requires a very positive/strong mental state mind.   Right before the gun goes off on raceday you know there is an extremely long day ahead of you that will take 100% of your concentration to do well.  You may be relaxed and confident in your capabilities or you could have a bunch of negative thoughts swirling through your head.  Positive energy is needed to do well at any event and if your mind is focused on negative thoughts, then you will get negative results.  This same theory goes for mostly any sport, but especially for individual sports such as MMA & most of the olympic events you see.  If you have a bad day there is no teammate to pick you up.   Once your mind wanders, it can force you out of your current state, resulting in a downhill spiral of negative thoughts.  If your swimming, swim in the moment until you get on the bike.  When your working hard on the bike, keep focus on that specific mile & don't let your mind get ahead to the run.  Going into a race healthy (mentally positive, excited, phsyically strong) will help you stay away from these negative pitfalls. 

This is an piece of an article by Jesse Kropelnicki (Pro Triathlete/Coach) on a Mentally Unfit Athlete vs Mentally Fit Athlete:

"Task relevance considers an athlete’s mindset while training and/or racing.  Athletes who are able to focus their full attention on task relevant items, be they training or racing, are constantly reminding themselves of things such as “I will stay focused on the bike, and peddle at 90rpm” and “I will run this hill strong, keeping my eyes on my target”.  These are signs of a mentally fit athlete because, despite any outside distractions, they are able to concentrate only on the task at hand.

"Conversely, the mentally unfit athlete tends to get distracted by outside stimuli, thus focusing on task- irrelevant items. Thoughts that fall along the lines of “If I don’t perform well, I am going to disappoint my family and friends,” and “If I don’t place in the top-10, my sponsors are going to drop me.” The difference in mindsets is quite clear, and it’s not too difficult to see the impacts of each. While a focus on task-relevant items will not necessary lead to physical success, it will certainly put the athlete in a position to fully capitalize on their fitness. By the same token, the toll of focusing on task-irrelevant items can take the wind right out of an athlete’s fitness sails with too much mental energy spent on why something can’t be done rather than why it can."

Mental exhaustion was the barrier I created to limit me from achieving top results in Vegas.    I didn't have time to give my body a mid-season rest it needed, since right after the Syracuse 70.3 I had 6 weeks until the full Ironman.  Right after IMNY I had 4 weeks until Vegas.  I had lost that motivation & drive that had given me a chance to race as good as I did in Syracuse.  The mentally-fit attitude I brought to Syracuse, which tells me I am going to hold "x pace" for 13.1 miles & do everything I can to hold it was gone.  This slowly brought on my mentally-unfit attitude, when one minor thing went wrong during a race I panicked & easily convinced myself to slow down.  With loss of motivation and mental exhaustion came some weight gain.  I had gained about 5-7 pounds from 155 to 160 going into Las Vegas.  My workouts weren't as satisfying.  My speed was ok, but I had trouble focusing on my long weekend workouts.  I even was hoping for a flat tire 5 miles into the Vegas bike course to use as an excuse for not finished or doing well.

At the end of the day, you should be excited to race and train! If your a triathlete looking to add races and more volume to next year, I would recommend to plan at least a 2-3 week mid- season rest while incorporating some lighter training to rest your body/mind.  Raceday should be thought of as a bonus to training where you display the work you had put in previous months.  Once training/racing becomes a chore instead of a passion that's when you need to take a step back & naturally let your competitive spirit rebuild and eventually your body/mind will tell you when your ready to get back to training! 

The two factors of my struggles this year were mental fitness and race day nutrition.  It's these personal experiences that you can grow from & give you something to figure out going into next year. Qualifying for Las Vegas was the main goal of the 2012 season & I nailed it.  I am glad to have gotten a chance to race there & finish what I committed to.

2013 Steps to Progress:

1. Bike fit:  I never had a chance to get a bike fit last year. It probably wasn't a smart idea to avoid this as I have heard a bike fit is one of the best $200 you can spend to improve speed/position & avoid any injuires from improper form.

2. Find a Coach:  I have used several great triathlete resources around me for advice the past 3 years & even hired a great coach for a couple of months, who raced and had some really valuable insite that lead me to great results in 2011.  Financially it is expensive, but in 2013 in order to step up a level I will need a full-time coach to plan all of my workouts & give me guidance on a weekly basis.  There are so many things in Triathlon to learn & figure out & I feel I have gotten as far as I can without a coach.

3. Power Meter for Cycling:  One of the most difficult tasks in cycling is to measure progress in training.  You have several factors that can affect a bike workout; weather conditions (wind, elevation ), heart rate (variable) & it's very easy to cheat a workout.  In a perfect world I could do the exact same bike route with a heart monitor in the exact same weather conditions and then analyze my speed/time and heart rate & see if I have gotten faster.  This is unrealistic as weather conditions/heart rate are always variable & most cyclist are biking more than location during the year.  A power meter measures your power in terms of watts.  So regardless if you are in a headwind/or tailwind your wattage doesn't lie.  When you finish a workout with a powermeter you have that wattage you can analyze & you can plan workouts to keep to a certain power number.  Right now, the only measure I have is a heart rate.

2013 Race Plan:

1.  I think a 15-18 hour training week is too much time to balance with a full-time job.  So Im thinking more like a 10-13 hour week.

2.  The past 3 years I have been racing all different types from sprints to the full Ironman this year.  I  never had time to really excel at one distance the way I would like.  I think with time constraints focusing on the Olympic distance races and mixing in one to two half ironmans will be a good fit.  I will most likely add a Syracuse 70.3 or a Timberman 70.3 to the race schedule.  I want to get a good 3-4 olympic events in & a couple sprint events.  I look forward to the shorter races where you can go all out, have less of a recovery, & even more importantly have more free time to do normal things.

3.  Will plan at least 1 or 2 half marathons early in the year, maybe a couple late season 5k's.  Goal of going well below 1:20. & going sub 17 min for the 5k.

4. Goal of qualifying for Team USA for USAT nationals.