Execution Errors and Mishaps At Steelhead 70.3

In previous years I managed about a race a month, sometimes more, so there was plenty of opportunity to fine tune my execution and pacing. However, this has been a slow year for me. Up to this point I've only done 3 triathlons and two running races. It's mostly due to the cost of Ironman and the cost, both monetarily and training wise, of doing these other races. Plus, more family events have seemed to come up this year than I remember in previous summers. This just makes the lessons learned from the 3 triathlons this year that much more important.

This is a quick write up on what happened for me at the Steelhead 70.3 and actions I can take in the future to prevent as large of an impact on my race.

Mental I must admit that my focus has mostly been on Arizona and I didn't give the other races the attention that I would normally. It's not that I wasn't physically prepared for them but there was a clear lack of mental preparation leading up to the start. Typically the week before each race is spent going over a mental check list of what I'm going to do and what I have with me at each portion of the race. However, that didn't happen for any of these races. They were all treated like training days and I went into them with that attitude.

Mental Adjustment This is my A race and why I've given up weekends partying and cookies. OK, not really cookies. The adjustments will be made starting with the race rehearsals, the first is towards the end of September, and from there my focus will continue to sharpen.

Power Failure Before the race I calculated my wattage ranges (4 Gears for the Endurance Nation folks) to use as pacing on the bike. Coming out of the first transition I jumped on the bike only to find that my PowerTap hub was not detecting. Which meant no wattage readings. Which meant no pacing on the bike. I didn't even have my Heart Rate (HR) strap let alone HR zones calculated. The end result was riding old school: completely by feel.

Power Adjustment The wheel and computer are on their way back to Saris right now for repair. Other than having the HR zones calculated and in the bento box, does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone had the PT fail on them in a race? What was plan B?

Lost Nutrition on the Bike Somewhere around mile 20 of the bike I launched a nutrition bottle out of the back bottle holder. After finishing the other nutrition bottle I switched to Gatorade and almost puked on my handlebars. Not fun.

Bike Nutrition Adjustment I've installed a bottle cage on the down tube and now keep all of my nutrition there. The bottle holders behind the seat are still mounted but I will remove them for race rehearsals and the race. At this time they are still mounted and I'll continue to use them to hold spare water but that's about it. Also, I don't think I'll ever drink Gatorade again. That stuff is foul!

Run Pacing A week before the race I did a 5K run test and earned the right to train at faster paces. Almost a minute faster at some paces! I didn't want to go out and use the new paces without getting any time to train at them so I turned to the wicked fast and wicket smart members of my team for help. They helped me with a pacing strategy that should have worked well. Knowing myself and knowing that I wouldn't be able to remember all the paces and at what mile I was to speed up to them. So I thought I'd program the Garmin GPS with the intervals and paces. What was I thinking?? Not only did I keep to strict of a window on the pace (10 seconds faster/slower) but after the bike where I had no pacing guidance and 20+mph winds it was just too much. At first I was OK but after a fairly steep hill I was well out of range for the pace I was supposed to hold. That caused the Garmin to beep at my every 15 - 20 seconds. After resisting the temptation to throw it in a bush I cycled through the program and just ran as I could.

Run Adjustment I'm working with the team to get guidance on how they determine the pace they should be running and at what mile.

Followed Nutrition Plan Into A Wall After losing a nutrition bottle on the bike and almost puking Gatorade on my handle bars I wasn't taking in nearly enough nutrition to keep me moving as fast as I should have been. I tried to drink a little Gatorade and water at each aide station on the run but always came close to losing it. For some reason I had it in my mind that I had to drink what they were giving. It wasn't until mile 11 of 13 that I realized they were also serving gels and switched. Man, what a difference.

Run Nutrition Adjustment I use Infinit Nutrition on the bike and have ordered a blend to use on the run. I plan on picking up a fuel belt and running with my own mix of sports drink, one that I've tested in training and know works for me. The idea is to concentrate it and mix it with water at the aide stations.

This has taken longer to write up than I had anticipated but work and life gets in the way. Still, I've been going over everything that happened pretty often and have several things sorted. There are still some pieces that I need to figure out and will update this entry as they become more clear.