I did Poconos 70.3 a week ago. I had what I would consider a terrible race, but still managed to get 2nd place in my division and qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. The benefit of turning 50 and racing in a new age group.
The swim was cancelled due to heavy rains and a very swift current in the Delaware river. This worked to my benefit I believe, as my swim is not great.
Race prep was logistically a pain in the ass. The expo was pretty far from T1, but we were required to go there first to get your race numbers etc. T1 and T2 were separate by a long distance. We had to drop the bike off at T1 the night prior, and of course it rained all night. We also had to drop our running kit off at T2 prior to race start and were not allowed back in on race morning.
On Sunday morning, the buses were lined up to take us from T2 to T1 bright and early - I took the 5:30 bus. Fortunately the rain had stopped and managed to hold off the entire morning. Because the swim was cancelled, there was a TT start; that is, 1 bike after another only 2-3 seconds apart. I had a low number (211), so, after the pros went off, there was only one wave in front of me (women 40+ and athenas), and about 20 in my age group before me. This was good, but there were also a lot in my age group behind me, this wasn't so good because I couldn't keep track of them.
Well I learned that the swim is actually a good thing for me, because it forces me to ease into the bike. Since the swim was cancelled, I hit the bike hard from the words 'ready, set, go!'. There was a 50ish yard run from the timing mat to the bike mount area and I had already passed 3 people in my age group by the time I mounted. I passed another 3-4 racers in the 200 yards across a parking lot to a 'speed bump' (yes, a speed bump), then another 3 going up a short hill after the speed bump. That is when I hit the major traffic of the older women and athenas on River Road.
They changed the course slightly on race day due to flooding, so we had to turn left onto River Road, ride about a mile, then do a 180 degree turn and come back the same way. Given that we started on the left side of the road, everyone was confused on whether they should stay to the right or the left.
Fortunately I am a somewhat technical rider and passed and passed and passed for the next 3-5 miles, on the right, on the left and sometimes in the between 2 riders because there was just no other way. I let the riders know I was coming and where I was going to pass them. It was a bit slow going because the road was wet and there were some nice descents with some turns on which less experienced riders slowed significantly. By the end of River Road, things had cleared quite a bit and it felt more like a triathlon, except there was almost no one left to pass. I passed the occasional woman rider in the next 5 miles on hidden lake drive, but after that, it I was alone, with the pros so far ahead and the rest of the age groupers behind... it was a bit surreal.
Riding alone was mostly good. The course was marked extremely well, with cones marking the entire course. This was fantastic! It was hilly and I had to take it easy on the wet downhills with sharp turns since I didn't know what was coming around the next bend. My legs were kind of shot after hitting the first few miles pretty hard - especially the up hills. So I got into a nice rhythm and waited for people to pass me...
The hills were relentless and I felt like my spare water bottle wasn't going to be needed so I dumped most of the water from it around mile 20.
It wasn't until mile 25 that a rider 20 years younger than me passed me on a straight away. Dude had a damn nice bike - way better than my 2003 $1800 QR with Spinergy wheels. Envious, yes. Made me resolve to get a new bike if I keep racing.
I realized around mile 35 I was running out of nutrition and water - what was I thinking. I also knew I did not leave a water bottle in T2 as I usually do. I was getting thirsty and trying to conserve the little water I had left - not a good place to be. I was hoping for a water stop soon.
The course goes from kind of hilly to very hilly after mile 40 and my legs were not holding up well on the climbs, but I was managing ok on the flats and downhills. At mile 50, they placed a water stop at the bottom of a downhill - I was going too fast and couldn't grab a bottle - damn it. I just kept going.
I was struggling with the last few climbs and 2 more guys from the 30 age group passed me around mile 53. I kept them in sight through the end (not drafting of course).
I zipped through T2 and ran the first mile in 7:02. I was breathing too hard for this slowish pace, but had to slow more. When I hit the first water stop, I grabbed a quick sip and kept going. What was I thinking! I should have walked through and just guzzled water and powerade
Well no one in my age group passed me, so I was feeling like I should do ok - not sure because it wasn't a wave start. As it turns out, one guy ran faster than me, bike a tad slower and took his time in T2, but still beat me by 30 seconds or so. I never saw him which is a bit frustrating, but pretty happy overall with the placement.
Training leading up to the race was sub par. Race day execution was very poor. I am hopeful that I will do much better in Vegas next year at the world champs when I work out the kinks in my racing.
The swim was cancelled due to heavy rains and a very swift current in the Delaware river. This worked to my benefit I believe, as my swim is not great.
Race prep was logistically a pain in the ass. The expo was pretty far from T1, but we were required to go there first to get your race numbers etc. T1 and T2 were separate by a long distance. We had to drop the bike off at T1 the night prior, and of course it rained all night. We also had to drop our running kit off at T2 prior to race start and were not allowed back in on race morning.
On Sunday morning, the buses were lined up to take us from T2 to T1 bright and early - I took the 5:30 bus. Fortunately the rain had stopped and managed to hold off the entire morning. Because the swim was cancelled, there was a TT start; that is, 1 bike after another only 2-3 seconds apart. I had a low number (211), so, after the pros went off, there was only one wave in front of me (women 40+ and athenas), and about 20 in my age group before me. This was good, but there were also a lot in my age group behind me, this wasn't so good because I couldn't keep track of them.
Well I learned that the swim is actually a good thing for me, because it forces me to ease into the bike. Since the swim was cancelled, I hit the bike hard from the words 'ready, set, go!'. There was a 50ish yard run from the timing mat to the bike mount area and I had already passed 3 people in my age group by the time I mounted. I passed another 3-4 racers in the 200 yards across a parking lot to a 'speed bump' (yes, a speed bump), then another 3 going up a short hill after the speed bump. That is when I hit the major traffic of the older women and athenas on River Road.
They changed the course slightly on race day due to flooding, so we had to turn left onto River Road, ride about a mile, then do a 180 degree turn and come back the same way. Given that we started on the left side of the road, everyone was confused on whether they should stay to the right or the left.
Fortunately I am a somewhat technical rider and passed and passed and passed for the next 3-5 miles, on the right, on the left and sometimes in the between 2 riders because there was just no other way. I let the riders know I was coming and where I was going to pass them. It was a bit slow going because the road was wet and there were some nice descents with some turns on which less experienced riders slowed significantly. By the end of River Road, things had cleared quite a bit and it felt more like a triathlon, except there was almost no one left to pass. I passed the occasional woman rider in the next 5 miles on hidden lake drive, but after that, it I was alone, with the pros so far ahead and the rest of the age groupers behind... it was a bit surreal.
Riding alone was mostly good. The course was marked extremely well, with cones marking the entire course. This was fantastic! It was hilly and I had to take it easy on the wet downhills with sharp turns since I didn't know what was coming around the next bend. My legs were kind of shot after hitting the first few miles pretty hard - especially the up hills. So I got into a nice rhythm and waited for people to pass me...
The hills were relentless and I felt like my spare water bottle wasn't going to be needed so I dumped most of the water from it around mile 20.
It wasn't until mile 25 that a rider 20 years younger than me passed me on a straight away. Dude had a damn nice bike - way better than my 2003 $1800 QR with Spinergy wheels. Envious, yes. Made me resolve to get a new bike if I keep racing.
I realized around mile 35 I was running out of nutrition and water - what was I thinking. I also knew I did not leave a water bottle in T2 as I usually do. I was getting thirsty and trying to conserve the little water I had left - not a good place to be. I was hoping for a water stop soon.
The course goes from kind of hilly to very hilly after mile 40 and my legs were not holding up well on the climbs, but I was managing ok on the flats and downhills. At mile 50, they placed a water stop at the bottom of a downhill - I was going too fast and couldn't grab a bottle - damn it. I just kept going.
I was struggling with the last few climbs and 2 more guys from the 30 age group passed me around mile 53. I kept them in sight through the end (not drafting of course).
I zipped through T2 and ran the first mile in 7:02. I was breathing too hard for this slowish pace, but had to slow more. When I hit the first water stop, I grabbed a quick sip and kept going. What was I thinking! I should have walked through and just guzzled water and powerade
Well no one in my age group passed me, so I was feeling like I should do ok - not sure because it wasn't a wave start. As it turns out, one guy ran faster than me, bike a tad slower and took his time in T2, but still beat me by 30 seconds or so. I never saw him which is a bit frustrating, but pretty happy overall with the placement.
Training leading up to the race was sub par. Race day execution was very poor. I am hopeful that I will do much better in Vegas next year at the world champs when I work out the kinks in my racing.
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