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