Timberman 70.3 Race Report

This race is always a fun one for me.  Last year it was my first Pro race, and I knew my fitness coming in was a lot better this year.  It's also a race I get to do with a lot of friends.  For the second straight year I stayed in a house for 4 nights with a group of 4 other guys - fun group and a very chill atmosphere, perfect for a race weekend.  New this year was the fact that four of my athletes were also at this race, so that added to my excitement and enjoyment of the weekend.



Swim start for a practice swim

Swim - 24:39
I have been ramping up my swim over the past 3 months, and was finally starting to feel confident.  In the past couple weeks I hit some  key workouts and felt like I was swimming better than ever.  As a result I wanted to try and test my racing and drafting skills.  I knew that Andy Potts would swim away, but wanted to try and catch the group that formed after him.  The first couple hundred meters were difficult but I was soon able to settle in behind and relax into the pace.  As the swim progressed I felt more and more relaxed and excited to get on the bike.  Overall I felt more relaxed and was 1:15 faster than the previous year!

Bike - 2:31:05
My race plan coming in was to take the initial hills at Ironman effort, then build into a stronger effort on the flats.  Due to my swim, I found myself farther out front than normal.  Around mile 10 I was passed by a group of around 8 - the second pack of men and the lead women.  It was at the base of the steepest climb and I stuck to my original plan and let them bike away.  Between 14-20 miles four more passed me and I was able to adjust my effort to ride with them, keeping them in sight.  I could see them 30-60" up the road through the turnaround, where I was passed again.  Shortly after this pass I surged (at the 30 mile mark), which again had been the plan.  My HR was low, and my legs felt ok, generally, but I was having a hard time keeping my HR at the level it should be.  I was going only on HR here as my power meter had crapped out on me at the beginning of the ride...boooo!  I felt good and strong straight through the hills on the return and was ready to run.  Looking back at how I surged, after the race I was pleased with the improvement (I had a 4% negative split as opposed to most of my competitors who had around a 2% negative split - not great for me from a racing perspective, but very good with an eye to what I want to accomplish in WI and Tahoe).

heading out on the run

Run - 1:27:06
I felt ok on the run.  I just never pushed.  I've gone back and forth on this as to whether I should have "raced" better and dug deeper.  My run fitness and workouts have indicated I should be much faster in a Half than this, however, I never hit the HR levels I should for an event of this length.  In terms of recovery and racing at your highest level I think that you need to practice mental toughness; I also believe racing and mental toughness are one in the same - you need to learn to dig deep.  That said,  I'm also convinced from watching other athletes, speaking with colleagues in the coaching community and from personal experience that you can only go to the well so many times.  I simply chose not to go to that place, with the intention that I will need to dig deep in my final two races.  And while I was getting hard on myself after the race about that effort,  I realized I've dug far deeper in most of my quality workouts over the past few weeks.  Hopefully that translates to my longer races.  At any rate, while the run wasn't killer fast at Timberman, it was steady and consistent and there is something to be said for that.

Total Time - 4:25:21, 12th Pro, 27th Overall



With my athlete, Lizzie Nyitray,
claiming her 70.3W.C. slot for Austria 2015

As an aside - the past year I have focused a great deal on transition, and for the most part have been very happy with the results.  Year over year I was 21" faster in T1 (there is still some work to be done there).  With the athletes I am coming out of the water, I still lost an additional 10-25" and that's time that I shouldn't be losing.  My T2 however has gone from being a liability to an advantage.  I was 42" faster than last year, and was on the faster end of the athletes I am competing against.  It didn't take much to realize these improvements - T2 is the easiest to practice - nearly every time I come in at the end of a bike ride, I practice my dismount.

Thank you to all the people who support me - my parents, friends and family, the PFC Elite Team, all my product sponsors - Perfect Fuel Chocolate for great pre-race fueling, Aquasphere for the super fast Phantom wetsuit, Quintana Roo Bikes, Gray race wheels, ISM seat, Karhu shoes, Suunto watch, Rudy Project sunglasses and helmet, Swiftwick compression socks and Champion System for their incredibly comfortable racing kits and training gear!