Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake Race Report
We drove up the night before and arrived in Lubbock at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night. With a few hours to spare, I had just enough time for a quick packet pickup, a small snack and a bit of TV to wind down. Lights out at 9:00 p.m.
3 Hours Till Start (3:40 a.m.)
Woke up nice and refreshed. I think I fell asleep around 11 p.m. While it wasn't a full 8 hours of sleep, it was still deep and refreshing. When I awoke, I was surprisingly excited and ready to roll. The taper this week was perfect....
Food....that's what went down next. I had a small bowl of Granola and Rice Milk, 2 Bananas and Half a Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwich. Oh yeah...a Sugar Free Red Bull to boot! Sounds like a lot of food but it really wasn't.
Throughout the morning....I took in Some EAS Catapult, a few Vitamins and a PowerBar Refuel C2 Max Gel that I threw down about 10 minutes before I went off.
1.5 Hours Till Start (5:10 a.m.)
I rolled into transition about this time which was perfect. I got a chance to run through some thoughts and catch up with Timex Team Athletes Tim Hola and Kimberly Hager. Both are good friends as well as teammates and it was a real treat to catch up with them....
After a few stops to the restroom and a bit more fluids...I was off to the swim start..
Swim:
This year was different. I opted to run a sleeveless wetsuit as the water temperature in Lubbock is always warm. Dawning the Blue Seventy Helix Long John was the perfect choice for this years conditions...
So the swim was off and there's nothing really more to say other than the swim was back to regulation length. Last year the swim was extremely short and when I say short...it was short by a lot! The consensus was this year was 2 minutes slower from last year across the board for swimmers in the :25-:30 min range.
I took the swim nice and smooth and exited the water in 29:39. I was happy with the performance. Of course we always want to go a bit faster but non-the-less, I was pleased with the performance I put forth.
Total Swim Time: 29:39 / 1:33 per 100 meters
Bike:
I was really looking forward getting out on this course. I love riding hills and the weather this year was perfect for a strong day. While the Buffalo Springs bike course is definitely not a PR type track, it is a standard to compare other races too. I always like to use the tougher settings for setting up your standards. Not crazy tough...but tough!
Anyway...Once again, I tried to ride within myself again and execute accordingly given the conditions for the day. I'm not sure if that sounds weird, but I guess what I'm trying to say, is, I rode as strong as I thought I "Should Have" to set up the day for a nice run.
That's always a tricky thing when guiding other athletes into long course racing. It is...and it isn't...about the bike. It's NOT about the bike because you still have to run....and if you cycle to hard, your run will suffer. Now...it IS about the bike for the very same reason.
You have to be conditioned to ride accordingly for the race. Knowing how hard to ride or how much PE to put forth is huge! The only way to learn is to practice through trial and error. In the end....racing and training are the only things that will give you the correct answers.... That and a power meter!
The bike was solid this year. I used the 11/23 cassette and once again, it was a good choice....
My caloric intake was
I made one dumb mistake...Coke! I had small bottle full of flat coke and another small bottle full of flat Red Bull. As I took off from the bike rack, I downed the bottle of Coke and threw the bottle in the trash. As I continued to run through the transition area...I drank about half the bottle of Red Bull. When I left transition I drank a cup of water and I thought I was ready to pound the pavement.
About 10 minutes later...my stomach started talking. It felt like little pins and needles were in my gut. Later on after the race I was told by about 12 different people that drinking coke that early in the run completely screwed up my guts. I was told for future reference to consume coke later on in the run and do it slowly!
The osmolality in the coke is really too high for a stomach already having trouble digesting calories so early in the run. I asked everyone I knew if that was right and I got the same story every time I told it. That's good info and I'll never make that mistake again.
So going through the first 3 miles were pretty smooth. I was sitting in on a 7 min/mile and that's exactly what I had been training for ever since I started preparing for this race. Every transition run, long run and tempo run heading into this race were tailored around pacing between 6:50-7:15 min/miles depending on heat.
When I turned up the first big hill, everything still felt ok. I naturally slowed a bit to focus on the climb. Stomach was still swirling but I was managing pretty good. Once I hit the top, I settled back into a strong rhythm and as I turned and ran downhill into mile 4, I thought that everything might end up ok. Climbing the next big hill was again...smooth and controlled. The flat section was when it got a little interesting.
Out on the flat section from mile 5 to the turnaround is nothing more than a long false flat that seems to go on for quite a while. I was actually looking forward to this section as I thought it might give me a chance to easy back and focus a bit on my stomach.
During my run out, I continued to take in Coke, Gatorade and Water. All the sodium I took in from my drink and gels kept me pretty thirsty. I had no idea the stomach thing would get like it did.
When I hit the turnaround, the stomach thing got so bad I actually had to stop and bend over. Walking or jogging sent sharp pains up under the right hand side of my rib cage. Right there on the side...oh boy...did it hurt.
I calmed down and tried to stretch it out but that didn't do any good. After a couple minutes, I figured the race was over....so I cheered a bunch of competitors on that seemed to be doing well.
Well, after about 4-5 minutes, the pain seemed to subside into a manageable ache. My legs felt really good so I figured why not try and bring it home.
From mile 8 on....I had a really fun time. I enjoyed the run like I have never done before. I returned right back to the pace I had held prior to stopping and loved every minute of it. I had to stop one more time at mile 11 but that was only 30 seconds or so. I focused on deep breathes and the pain in my side seemed to diminish after doing that a couple times.
My splits from the Half Marathon are below
Until Next Time....
3 Hours Till Start (3:40 a.m.)
Woke up nice and refreshed. I think I fell asleep around 11 p.m. While it wasn't a full 8 hours of sleep, it was still deep and refreshing. When I awoke, I was surprisingly excited and ready to roll. The taper this week was perfect....
Food....that's what went down next. I had a small bowl of Granola and Rice Milk, 2 Bananas and Half a Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwich. Oh yeah...a Sugar Free Red Bull to boot! Sounds like a lot of food but it really wasn't.
Throughout the morning....I took in Some EAS Catapult, a few Vitamins and a PowerBar Refuel C2 Max Gel that I threw down about 10 minutes before I went off.
1.5 Hours Till Start (5:10 a.m.)
I rolled into transition about this time which was perfect. I got a chance to run through some thoughts and catch up with Timex Team Athletes Tim Hola and Kimberly Hager. Both are good friends as well as teammates and it was a real treat to catch up with them....
After a few stops to the restroom and a bit more fluids...I was off to the swim start..
Swim:
This year was different. I opted to run a sleeveless wetsuit as the water temperature in Lubbock is always warm. Dawning the Blue Seventy Helix Long John was the perfect choice for this years conditions...
So the swim was off and there's nothing really more to say other than the swim was back to regulation length. Last year the swim was extremely short and when I say short...it was short by a lot! The consensus was this year was 2 minutes slower from last year across the board for swimmers in the :25-:30 min range.
I took the swim nice and smooth and exited the water in 29:39. I was happy with the performance. Of course we always want to go a bit faster but non-the-less, I was pleased with the performance I put forth.
Total Swim Time: 29:39 / 1:33 per 100 meters
Bike:
I was really looking forward getting out on this course. I love riding hills and the weather this year was perfect for a strong day. While the Buffalo Springs bike course is definitely not a PR type track, it is a standard to compare other races too. I always like to use the tougher settings for setting up your standards. Not crazy tough...but tough!
Anyway...Once again, I tried to ride within myself again and execute accordingly given the conditions for the day. I'm not sure if that sounds weird, but I guess what I'm trying to say, is, I rode as strong as I thought I "Should Have" to set up the day for a nice run.
That's always a tricky thing when guiding other athletes into long course racing. It is...and it isn't...about the bike. It's NOT about the bike because you still have to run....and if you cycle to hard, your run will suffer. Now...it IS about the bike for the very same reason.
You have to be conditioned to ride accordingly for the race. Knowing how hard to ride or how much PE to put forth is huge! The only way to learn is to practice through trial and error. In the end....racing and training are the only things that will give you the correct answers.... That and a power meter!
The bike was solid this year. I used the 11/23 cassette and once again, it was a good choice....
My caloric intake was
- 1 Gatorade Endurance Bottle/ 750 Calories
- 2 Power Bar Refuel C2 Max Gels / 200 calories
- 1 Power Bar Gel 2x Caffeine / 100 Calories
Total Calories on the bike: 1050 Calories
Total Bike Time: 2:33:52 / 21.84 mph
Run:
I felt good....really good when I left the bike. I was truly excited about the day and it looked like I would hit another pr and that's exactly what I was looking for!I made one dumb mistake...Coke! I had small bottle full of flat coke and another small bottle full of flat Red Bull. As I took off from the bike rack, I downed the bottle of Coke and threw the bottle in the trash. As I continued to run through the transition area...I drank about half the bottle of Red Bull. When I left transition I drank a cup of water and I thought I was ready to pound the pavement.
About 10 minutes later...my stomach started talking. It felt like little pins and needles were in my gut. Later on after the race I was told by about 12 different people that drinking coke that early in the run completely screwed up my guts. I was told for future reference to consume coke later on in the run and do it slowly!
The osmolality in the coke is really too high for a stomach already having trouble digesting calories so early in the run. I asked everyone I knew if that was right and I got the same story every time I told it. That's good info and I'll never make that mistake again.
So going through the first 3 miles were pretty smooth. I was sitting in on a 7 min/mile and that's exactly what I had been training for ever since I started preparing for this race. Every transition run, long run and tempo run heading into this race were tailored around pacing between 6:50-7:15 min/miles depending on heat.
When I turned up the first big hill, everything still felt ok. I naturally slowed a bit to focus on the climb. Stomach was still swirling but I was managing pretty good. Once I hit the top, I settled back into a strong rhythm and as I turned and ran downhill into mile 4, I thought that everything might end up ok. Climbing the next big hill was again...smooth and controlled. The flat section was when it got a little interesting.
Out on the flat section from mile 5 to the turnaround is nothing more than a long false flat that seems to go on for quite a while. I was actually looking forward to this section as I thought it might give me a chance to easy back and focus a bit on my stomach.
During my run out, I continued to take in Coke, Gatorade and Water. All the sodium I took in from my drink and gels kept me pretty thirsty. I had no idea the stomach thing would get like it did.
When I hit the turnaround, the stomach thing got so bad I actually had to stop and bend over. Walking or jogging sent sharp pains up under the right hand side of my rib cage. Right there on the side...oh boy...did it hurt.
I calmed down and tried to stretch it out but that didn't do any good. After a couple minutes, I figured the race was over....so I cheered a bunch of competitors on that seemed to be doing well.
Well, after about 4-5 minutes, the pain seemed to subside into a manageable ache. My legs felt really good so I figured why not try and bring it home.
From mile 8 on....I had a really fun time. I enjoyed the run like I have never done before. I returned right back to the pace I had held prior to stopping and loved every minute of it. I had to stop one more time at mile 11 but that was only 30 seconds or so. I focused on deep breathes and the pain in my side seemed to diminish after doing that a couple times.
My splits from the Half Marathon are below
- 49:00 / miles 1-6.55 (to the turnaround)
- 15:28 / miles 6.55-8 (stopped /walked a bit here because of the stitch / cramp in the side)
- 6:58 / mile 9
- 7:48 / mile 10 (last big climb)
- 7:27 / mile 11 (had to stop for :30 seconds or so because of the stupid cramp)
- 6:55 / mile 12
- 7:15 / mile 13
Total Run Time: 1:41:09 / 7:42 pace per mile
Total Race Time: 4:48:07
- 59th Overall Amateur / 9 Age-Group
Post Race Thoughts:
I had the best time doing this race. I saw all my old buddies I haven't seen in a while. Tim Hola, Kim Hager and Gabriela Loskotova were all on deck which made the race 10 times more enjoyable. Seeing them out on the course and exchanging words throughout the race is why the Timex Team is so unbelievable.
Poor Kim had some hydration issues out on the course which worried us a bit after the race. She is well now after 2 IV bags and a bit of rest in the medical tent. Tim and I thought about taking a picture of her for the Timex site but were afraid she might let us "have it" once she regained strength! Rest up Kim...
On a good note...good friend Joey McElhaney had an awesome performance and I couldn't have been more pleased for him out there today.
That's about it. Another awesome experience doing what we love most....
Oh yeah....I decided to pickup a slot to the Ironman World Championship 70.3Until Next Time....
Mg
posted by Mark Gingrich at 6:40 PM
