Description: Ironman Kansas 70.3
Location: Lawrence KS
Nutrition: 1 super bottle perpetium on the bike - 4 scoops. 3 gels on bike, water at feed zones. on the run 1 2X caffene gel from the course...not good stomach aches for 3 miles right after!
Weather: divine, a little rain on the bike, and a little heat on the run, but all very manageable
Distance: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.2 mile run
Pace:
swim: 35:39
t1: 1:39
bike: 2:34:10
t2: 1:23
run: 1:32:41
total: 4:45:32
16th overall
6th amateur
2nd age group
Comments: This was a great race and an awesome introduction to the official 70.3. We camped at the race site and really enjoyed this opportunity. I was still able to sneak away to get into the Normatec pants at Steve and Andreas hotel room for 45 minutes. There were a lot more people in this race compared to the previous two 1/2 ironmans and I found that there were A LOT of people on the bike course to contend with. At times I wondered how is it even possible not to draft. With riders sometimes riding 4-5 across one lane it was pretty congested at times. About half way through the bike I finally seemed to get around the pack and had a little more space to negotiate. The course had many flat sections and was very fast. It was fun to check my watch and continue to be surprised. I had a secret goal to break 5 hours and when I came off the bike and needed to run a 1:47 to do that I knew I was in a good spot. I ran a 1:32 and surprised myself with my overall time. The run felt very manageable except when I had a caffeinated gel on accident and it caused my tummy to ache for 3 miles. But even that subsided and I maintained a strong pace through it. The finish was a blast, a little emotional, and concluded in a slot to Clearwater FL for Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
Since this is the 17hourtrainingday blog I want to talk a little about my Ironman training and the effects on these races. I must say that Steve's coaching has put me in an amazing spot this last month. I have not tapered for any of these races except light training during travel time. So, reduced training 1-2 days before racing. Other than that we have trained up to and through these events. Yet, I am able to race this distance from start to finish. My well to draw from seems to be very deep because I am finding that I can really push on the bike after I am warmed up, and then I can come back and push very hard on the run. 13 miles running does not feel scary, and I am finding I can push this distance just like I pushed Olympics last year. Also, the post race recovery has been shocking. I have been fully recovered by the Wednesday after both 1/2s and have been able to have a strong fast workout on those Wednesdays. I find this all really awesome. It's challenging to explain how strong and deep my fitness feels right now.
Also, just as a small testament. Steve, Anthony and I all came home with Clearwater slots at this race, as did Michelle who has been completing much of the training with us. Andrea broke 6 hours and felt like it was double-able. No one is injured. The 17hourtrainingday training is working!
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