IM70.3 Santa Cruz report

[ktzmoh]

IM70.3 Santa Cruz was my A race of tri season this year. This race is such a fabulous race - I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try the half ironman. The weather is usually so perfect for racing, its an ironman branded race, so it's organized and well supported, but not a huge one so you don't feel overwhelmed, and the course is just gorgeous - you swim out from the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk, around a pier and then back to the beach, the ride is an out an back on one of the most beautiful roads in the country (highway 1 hugging the coast), you can see the ocean the entire way, the surfers, the ocean breeze - so nice, the run goes out to this amazing state park right up next to the ocean, and you finish right on the beach (only have to run like 100 yards in sand).

Goals and Strategy

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OK so my number 1 goal was to go sub 6 hours. Two years ago I was going for a sub 6 in my first 70.3 (on the same course), and came in 65 seconds over my goal. Sixty five bleeping seconds. I really had an axe to grind. If I had a unicorn day, 5:45 might happen. It would be hard, but not out of the realm of possibilities, and it gave me lots of wiggle room to still come in under 6, so I fixed my racing strategy around the idea of 5:45. My strategy to get there was to have a decent swim (not my strong suit), and to come out of T1 in 50 minutes. T1 is really long - there's about a .3 or .4 mile run from the swim out to T1, so it's not a quick transition to make. But I hoped that swim + T1 would say under 50. Then my main goal of the day was to achieve an average pace of 18.5 MPH on the bike. If I could do that, have a quick T2, and run at a pace of 8:20 I could make 5:45 happen. The 8:20 pace also gave me some breathing room - and if I was slower on the run than I wanted, I could still squeak in under 5:45 as long as I kept my run pace the same as it was 2 years ago on this course (8:28 / mile) .

Prerace
****************

Saturday I checked in and picked up my wheels. I rented race wheels for the race because I have been hemming and hawing over whether to buy them for myself and I wanted to see what kind of difference they made. So I decided to rent them through racewheels dot com to try it out. This was a great decision. The company has a tent in the athletes village, and they were so fast and easy to deal with - I just dropped my bike off with them, went to athlete briefing, and came back and picked up my upgraded bike. The wheels themselves (zipp 404s) were amazing and I absolutely felt the difference right away. Man I want some of my own. Sigh. After I went through T2, the people from the company went and found my bike and swapped my wheels out for me so I didn't have to go back to return them before going home. I know they do this so people wont walk off with the wheels, but I found the service to be super convenient on my end and appreciated it.

In the evening, we had a team dinner at a pasta place. This was a main season-ending race for my tri team, so there were a bunch of us down there racing together. We had a great time thanking the coaches and celebrating a season of really hard work in the books. THen it was off to my AirBNB to prep my stuff and sleep.

I had a terrible night's sleep - my kids were at a sleepover and my oldest was texting me until about 11:30 at night. I think he felt freaked about some things and needed to talk, so I texted back and forth with him until I think he fell asleep. But man, it was 11:30 by that point and my alarm was set for 4. So I didn't get a ton of sleep, but hoped that adrenaline would get me through.

Swim
****************

I was pumped in the morning, but when we lined up for the time trial swim start, I got really nervous. This is my 4th time at the 70.3 rodeo and I did the full last year. So I don't know why, but standing there at the start I started getting overwhelmed with the huge day ahead of me. I kept thinking just get through the swim and get through the first 20 miles on the bike. After that it'll be ok. But I was still so nervous at the beginning - I don't think there is any way around prerace nerves no matter how many times you've done it before!

Swim was fine - no sharks and only a small patch of kelp to swim through. I didn't even feel the swells of the ocean until we were beyond the pier and even then it was pretty calm. There was only one patch where the swimmers got bunched up and there was a bit of contact - but for the most part it wasn't too bad. I came out of the water in 43 minutes and through T1 in 7 minutes, so I was exactly on schedule. Not great and one of these days I'd like to be better at swimming, but it is what it is.

Bike
****************

The bike was a little frustrating in the first half. It's not what  I would call a really hilly course - with only 2100 or 2200 ft of gain total. But it's a steady parade of rolling hills (with bonuses, which  I think is a concept emilyj coined). And we had a headwind going out. So that sapped a lot of my speed. I got to the turnaround having averaged only 17.7 MPH for the first half. I was really disheartened at being so far in the hole in terms of my bike goal. But decided I could still come in under 6 if I hustled on the way back and tried to claw back some speed. The headwind that destroyed me going out was then a tailwind coming back. And it must have been more of a wind than I thought because I managed to regain all the speed I was looking for and finish the bike leg at 18.5MPH on the nose. So happy about that. I trained a lot on the bike this year and trained a lot differently than I had ever done on the bike. I really felt the benefit of that - and the wheels helped too

Run
****************

I came out of T2 and did the math and I knew that I could make 5:45 if I held the same pace as I did two years ago. However, after about 3/4 of a mile, two things became clear. Thing 1) Pushing on the bike like that doesn't come for free when it's time to run. Thing 2) I had to pee. I PRed my bike split by a lot and on a harder course than my previous PR. I burned a lot of matches on my bike and I felt that on the run. After a few minutes, I could just feel that my legs were not going to be able to hold my target pace for the whole 13.1 miles, so I gave up on 8:20. Then it also became doubtful I would be able to hold 8:30. I still had hope that some magical reservoir of energy and adrenaline would kick in but it seemed doubtful to me early on. Instead of stressing about my pace or doing more math, I just tried to remain relaxed, focused on my breath (2 strides breathing in, two strides breathing out), engaging my hips and glutes, and kept myself occupied looking for that flow state. The miles ticked away ranging from as fast as 8:14 to 9:19, but mainly hovering somewhere around 8:30-8:45.

I was really really hurting at the end. In the last few miles I was pushing as hard as I could at the end of a long day and emptying my tank of whatever I had left. It was the kind of running that makes you grunt a little every time you breathe out. I was getting through a tenth of a mile at a time and it was ugly. I finally came in with a 1:55 for the run. I almost puked right there at the finish line, was dizzy and unable to stand for about an hour after the race, and was really really struggling to get food and gatorade down. But things eventually came together and re-regulated, and I had some tacos and all is well.

TL/DR
****************

When all was said and done: I crossed the line in 5:49:28 - a 12 minute PR! I'm really really pleased with how the day went. I love this distance so much, it's so hard - the first thing i said to my coach after was that I needed to find an easier hobby - but the training is not completely untenable like the full ironman training. But even though I love it, I'm not going to do one next year. I'm officially taking a break from 70.3 and focusing on shorter races to build speed.  I need to be more comfortable riding fast so I can then run fast. And I need to get my swim in order. And in the meantime, I'm really going to enjoy having Saturday mornings free so I can do my garden and take the dogs for a walk and sleep in. Mostly sleep in.

[mrshandy]

Wow! What an amazing race. You killed it from start to finish!! Congrats on all of your hard work paying off!!

[CallingAllAngels]

I don't know what to say except that I want to be just like you when I grow up. Congrats on pushing through and being amazing!

[cinco]

You are freaking amazing! What a great race!

[minzy]

Awesome! Way to go on the PR!

[wawa]

This is freaking amazing. Such an impressive performance!

I now really want to do this race...that sounds beautiful.

Darn west coast..

[emilyj]

I'm so proud of you. I know how much you wanted it, and you worked your ass off for it! Congratulations on an awesome race!

wawa, I'll do it if you do it...

[Mushe]

Amazing race! You are so strong. It’s been really cool to follow your training on Strava.

My friend’s husband was there too, although he normally does duathlons. This guy is insane! He was second in his AG, after struggling through the swim, and then ended up in the medical tent, short of breath. It turns out that he had pneumonia! OMG.

[wawa]

Sept 10, 2018 14:48:45 GMT -5 emilyj said:

I'm so proud of you. I know how much you wanted it, and you worked your ass off for it! Congratulations on an awesome race!

wawa, I'll do it if you do it...

There's no way I could do this next year...I'm already half booked (I know, this is absurd) but I've been saying 2020 70.3...

[shauni27]

YOU ARE SO FUCKING AMAZING! Seriously, beyond proud of you for that amazing PR.

[labbie]

So awesome- You crushed it! congratulations on all your hard work paying off. What a PR!

[gt7301b]

HOLY SHIT!!! Congrats on your PR. I'm amazed at how you continue to kick ass. From staying up taking to your sweet boy to out on the course you are a total bad ass! I can't wait till Kiawah.

[lilypad1126]

Congrats on an amazing race, and great PR! Amazing!

[sadlebred]

Way to go on the PR!!!!! 12 minutes is HUGE!

[mysticmuffin]

Such an incredible race and PR! Congratulations!

[coconutbug]

Congrats on a great race and PR!

[sadlebred]

What difference do you think the wheels made? Could it have been you were feeling less rotational weight over your normal wheels?

[melmel48]

Awesome! Congrats! 12 minutes is huge... I think you deserve those new wheels. 

[hannahb]

AMAZING!

[ktzmoh]

Sept 10, 2018 16:43:24 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

What difference do you think the wheels made? Could it have been you were feeling less rotational weight over your normal wheels?

I don't really know (and I'm embarrassed to say I'm not exactly sure what rotational weight means). They have a deeper rim than my regular wheels and they have flat spokes, both of which are supposed to reduce the drag. I don't know how much my wheels weigh, but I'm sure these are also lighter than my wheels because mine are just entry level.

They also put on race tires (continentals), but I have been racing on race tires for a while and the wheels + tires felt way faster than just the race tires. I did my bike at Santa Rosa 6 weeks ago with my regular wheels + race tires averaging 18MPH, and it's an easier course with only 1,700 ft of climbing, a net downhill (point to point), and no headwind to deal with. At Santa Cruz, I averaged 18.5MPH on race wheels + race tires on the harder course with 2200 ft of climbing, a steady headwind for half the ride, and net neutral (out and back) course. I'm more trained now than I was 6 weeks ago, but I am going to say a decent chunk of that improvement must be attributed to the wheels.

[Wines Not Whines]

Congratulations on an amazing race!

[moreace01]

Wow! Congratulations on a great race and an amazing pr!

[sadlebred]

ktzmoh They were probably tubular tires, which is one reason the wheels felt amazing. Tubulars ride much better than clinchers ever will. It's all people used to race road with (European road racing men & women professionals still use them a lot, but they have mechanics to glue the tires on & take care of the tubulars). The ride of tubulars can't be matched. It's soft and supple--almost like floating on a cloud. They are also usually lighter than clincher + tube. I can guarantee your regular wheels are clinchers. Once you ride tubulars it's hard to go back, but impractical--so back to clinchers. A tubular tire is one piece--the tube is sewn into the tire. You can't replace it, but they can be patch with some luck. Clinchers are run b/c they are easier to fix if you get a flat.

Rotational weight is the weight of the rim as it rotates. Carbon rims tend to be lighter than aluminum rims. The lighter rim the "faster" the wheel feels. The hub can be heavier, but the wheel will still feel light b/c of the placement of the weight. You don't feel the hub/center weight as much as you do the rotational/rim weight. The Zipps were probably lighter overall than your training wheels. There is some interesting reading out there about what saves time over a 40km time trial.

www.bikebug.com/blog/buying-time-costs-and-benefits-of-time-trial-equipment/

Sorry, I've taken this way off topic!

[bostonmichelle]

Congratulations on a huge PR and a great race!!

[hurricanedrunk]

Wow! I'm really in awe of your amazing PR! Congrats on a great race.

I've been mulling over a 70.3 next year and now this course is on the short list Although I am going to pretend I never heard the s word (sharks)

[ktzmoh]

Sept 10, 2018 20:18:56 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

ktzmoh They were probably tubular tires, which is one reason the wheels felt amazing. Tubulars ride much better than clinchers ever will. It's all people used to race road with (European road racing men & women professionals still use them a lot, but they have mechanics to glue the tires on & take care of the tubulars). The ride of tubulars can't be matched. It's soft and supple--almost like floating on a cloud. They are also usually lighter than clincher + tube. I can guarantee your regular wheels are clinchers. Once you ride tubulars it's hard to go back, but impractical--so back to clinchers. A tubular tire is one piece--the tube is sewn into the tire. You can't replace it, but they can be patch with some luck. Clinchers are run b/c they are easier to fix if you get a flat.

Rotational weight is the weight of the rim as it rotates. Carbon rims tend to be lighter than aluminum rims. The lighter rim the "faster" the wheel feels. The hub can be heavier, but the wheel will still feel light b/c of the placement of the weight. You don't feel the hub/center weight as much as you do the rotational/rim weight. The Zipps were probably lighter overall than your training wheels. There is some interesting reading out there about what saves time over a 40km time trial.

www.bikebug.com/blog/buying-time-costs-and-benefits-of-time-trial-equipment/

Sorry, I've taken this way off topic!

You're the second person that has told me that tubular tires are so much better. I'll admit I'm curious, but if I get a flat, my ship is sunk (right?). The ones I rented were clinchers, for sure. I talked to them about whether my spare tubes would work (wasn't sure the stem was long enough). I did try cotton wall tires last year and really liked those. They are a bit harder to change because they don't hold their shape and so they can be annoying. But they definitely felt different and I liked it.

I'm definitely into the breakdown they put into that blogpost. I've done the fit, bought aerobars, the aero helmet, and a speed suit (though it wound up being too small for me, so i didn't wear it). Have you played around with the www.bestbikesplit.com/ tool at all? I find it fascinating

[ktzmoh]

Sept 11, 2018 10:04:46 GMT -5 hurricanedrunk said:

Wow! I'm really in awe of your amazing PR! Congrats on a great race.

I've been mulling over a 70.3 next year and now this course is on the short list Although I am going to pretend I never heard the s word (sharks)

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Monterey-Bay-great-white-sharks-Ginacarlo-Thomae-13024308.php

[thom]

Congrats!! Big PR and a really strong day all around. Happy for you K!

[sadlebred]

ktzmoh, Tubulars are not nearly as likely to flat as clinchers. Pinch flats or "snake bites" almost never happen with tubulars. If you run over something like a piece of glass or metal shard, you can flat. Some people carry an extra tubular tire with them as it's possible to change them out on a ride--just not as easily as replacing a tube. You aren't supposed to ride clinchers when they are flat (but I have--better than walking 3 miles in bike shoes), but you can ride home on a flat tubular. It's almost like a "run flat" tire on a car in that way.

There is also tubeless that is extremely popular with mountain bikers but not so much in road circles. I run tubeless on my road bike. I've had a few issues so far; I may go back to clinchers when my tires need to be replaced. I keep breaking value core stems (look just like presta valves). Tubeless has no tube. The rims are tubeless specific and go along with the tire, special tape, and sealant (like Stans). You can't pinch flat since there is no tube. If you get something in your tire the sealant should close the hole in a few seconds although you may need to add air to the tire. "Burping" is the main issue with tubeless as it can unseat the tire. It's also unlikely to happen if the person mounting the tires knows what the are doing. Tubeless rims can also take clinchers. Clincher rims can't take anything else, and tubular uses its own rim. In other words, you can't put a tubular tire on a clincher rim.

It sounds like you are doing everything right. The cheapest way to get more aero would be aerobats, an aero helmet, and a one piece tri suit (or, as you already know, what cyclists call a skin suit or the aero suit). What aero suit did you get? Is it tri specific? I played around with Bestbikesplit in the past when I was doing some road TTs. With track it's pretty easy to know what your pacing should be for a 2km tt based on your training and since the environment is more controlled than an event on roads.

[hurricanedrunk]

Sept 11, 2018 15:52:57 GMT -5 ktzmoh said:

Sept 11, 2018 10:04:46 GMT -5 hurricanedrunk said:

Wow! I'm really in awe of your amazing PR! Congrats on a great race.

I've been mulling over a 70.3 next year and now this course is on the short list Although I am going to pretend I never heard the s word (sharks)

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Monterey-Bay-great-white-sharks-Ginacarlo-Thomae-13024308.php

Yikes!