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| Photo courtesy Khem Suthiwan |
2022 has been a spectacular year in racing for me and rolling into Boulder 70.3, I was excited for another opportunity to do what I love
The lead-up was a bit rough, coming off 2 weeks of struggling to hit targets, pushing through fatigue and soreness, backing off, and following Coach's plan to try and get myself righted for race day. I was not worried; generally, when the cannon goes off, I am good to go, regardless of the previous week.
I rolled into Bouler Friday, booked to the Res, got my bike, rode, checked in, and all was good. The only issue was eating some salad Wed night that was just not right; I picked out the offensive pieces but was still suffering some GI issues. Nothing a little Immodium cannot fix.
Good sleep, and off to the Res. Pre-race was great with 4 of my athletes racing + 6 other NYX Athletes, a real community. Hanging out and chatting for 3 hours.... don't get me started on the 30 min race delay due to traffic jams. How often has this happened? When will they make some changes to fix it OR start the race as planned, and all those who slept in can start off the back, just my .02?
The swim was fine, the water was warm 75ish, but I wore a full wetsuit. Why? It's ALWAYS faster and enough faster to be a bit hot. I have tested this out, sleeveless vs. full vs. skinsuit; we are talking minutes. I felt like I was swimming an Ironman, strong and steady, just no extra gear. 27:50, decent swim. And look at the pros; every single pro had a full wetsuit!
On the bike, my legs were heavy, and watts were not coming up. At altitude, I expected them to be about 10watts low, but there were lower. Settle in and give it 30 min/okay 1 hour, OK time to chat with me that this may just be a really tough day. I was uncomfortable and did not love this. Lots of self-talk through the bike, trying to stay positive. I stay on my nutrition plan after reading that the #1 people fall off their nutrition plan when they have a bad race, so I was not going to let that be my issue. I focused on calories, fluids, and mph, forgetting the watts. Stay aero and go as fast as I could. The only concern was that I had not peed and was swelling up with swollen hands and wrists. Bike: 2:33:29
Running out of T2, I was hoping my less-than-stellar bike may have saved my legs, but that was not the case. More of the same on the run, and I had to open up my mental arsenal. Take this 1 mile at a time, stay in the moment, do not look at pace, use the downhills, fuel like a boss, and try not to be an asshole to everyone. Seeing NYX Sherap's and athletes was great, and that was my happy spot. The aid stations became my refuge, wet towels, ice/water/anything cold, even a cold Redbull over my head. I got the place I could just hang out and suffer, no walking, just moving, channeling Ironman's brain. Run 2:02:15, a good 13 min off.
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| Photo courtesy Khem Suthiwan |
I finished the race. Sure, the outcome was okay, but the race was not what I was working towards. I remembered what a tough race feels like. I know I can suffer a long time and just keep moving.
Something was off race day with my GI, and I am still unsure what. My fueling plan was similar to previous hot races:
- Friday: PH1500 preload
- Sat AM: PH1500 preload
- 500 cal/120 carbs 4am pre-race
- 30g carb 30 min before the swim.
- BIKE: 5x24oz bottles -
- Total carb intake: 240g = 96g/hour, which I have trained with
- Sodium 5000mg
- RUN:
- 500ml in the first 3 miles with 1500mg sodium + 30g carb
- After a side stitch, I quit drinking for 2 miles and then resumed Gatorade endurance, coke, + water. 2000mg sodium
- All this was according to plan, but I did not pee at all on the bike or run, and post-race I consumed
- 2x24oz H20
- Kombucha
- Spindrift and still did not go.
- I was really puffy and assumed I had plenty of salt. Took in 2000 g + more water and a large iced coffee, and around 4pm, I finally peed.
- Undoubtedly this played into my performance, but this plan was tested and did not work that day,
