Eagleman 70.3; June 9, 2013
This was my second trip to Cambridge Maryland; I like this race because it is an easy drive from NJ and it is flat and fast like our terrain here at the shore. Due to the popularity of this event and the flat hot course I learned a few things from 2012 that I took into this year’s race. The host hotel, The Hyatt Regency in Cambridge was a wonderful place to stay with my family.
Night Before the race:
Last meal was finished by 7:30pm, as my swim wave was set to go off at 7:50am the next morning and my general rule is to have this complete 12 hours prior to start.
Dinner: Grill Chicken/veggies and some French fries plus 2 scoops of Ice Cream. My stomach was already going south on me the night before the race. This could be due to the antibiotics I had to start 3 days prior or something else all together.
Race Day: Awoke 4:30am
Small cup of coffee/attempted to eat a peanut butter/choc chip Bonk Breaker, however could not get it down, so switch to P&J Bonk Breaker not much better but was able to get most down before 5am. Sipped a bike bottle of GUBrew. Woke up the family, packed up my things and headed to T1/start.
5:45 am drank my bottle of 2 scoops Carbo Pro/2 scoops Mudd and a big squeeze of EFS Mocha Gel Flask, as this is always easy to get down and lots of cal/energy.
I then sipped two 24 ounce bottles of Gatorade Endurance (which was on course) and a scoop of Carbo Pro leading up the start since I do not do well with solids, but I am able to get the liquids down before a race. Ate some gluten free pretzels to settle my stomach down.
1.2 Mile Swim:
I have been working hard on my swim and really trying to focus on getting out with the lead pack and staying on their wave/draft. Apparently this did not happen on Sunday. I thought I was out there with the lead group since I saw open water in front of me, but must of just been off course or imagining things as this was not the case. During the swim I had some stomach issues and numerous times kept burping/throwing up in the water. The swim often feels long, but I think the currents must have shifted and my head was not in the swim 100% causing me to fall behind and not even notice the shift in currents. When I should of dug harder and concentrated more on proper stroke technique, so as not to fall too far behind, I lost focus and time. Swim time 35:51 UGH!
56 Mile Bike:
Bike Nutrition: 3 scoops of Gatorade Endurance and 2 scoops of Carbo Pro (total calories in each bike bottle was 440) I had two 24-ounce bike bottles with this same mix; Plus 2 GUs during the bike portion of the race, which took me 2:27 according to race clock.
Since Eagleman is a very flat course and crowded there often is pack riding as I saw last year (which can be frustrating). This year I was smarter about my bike and instead of avoiding the packs I decided to legally situate myself 4 bike lengths off the bike in front of me. A good measure I used is the distance between the white dotted lines on a road. There have been studies done that show even up to 12 bike lengths there is still a benefit. I was able to pace myself and stay mentally in the race. It is easy to check out when you are out there on your own, but with lots of people around you and working hard to stay 4-5 bike lengths off the wheel in front of you the time goes by quickly. The reality is on a crowded flat bike course if you do not race smart you will be left behind. According to my Garmin I was able to maintain a good power wattage (214 Normalized power avg.), which would explain why towards the end of the bike I pretty much fell off due to pushing so hard and legs fatiguing. Garmin Computer Report
My hard effort on the bike and the lack of being able to grab the water bottles through 3 aide stations (I should of slowed down more) started to take a toll. I started to decline as I think my hydration volume was too low for the effort/time on the bike combined with the heat. My calorie intake was high enough possibly too high, but I needed to consume more volume of liquids.
Next time I plan on making sure I can grab the water and add it to my TorHans Aero 30. Bike time 2:27.
The last 8 miles of the bike were awful, my left leg was killing me and I was finding it hard to turn the crank. I was not sure how I would be able to get off and run with out my leg seizing up on me. As I dismounted the bike I had the usual soreness in my hip flexors, but my left thigh felt as if I had been punch in the leg numerous times. I normally at this point in the race love to get off my bike and start running. Not this time! The first half of the run I was very concerned and fearful that my leg would seize up on me. Finally after I was able to take in some nutrition, throw some ice down my pants to bring my body temperature down I was able to put in more of an effort on the run. At mile 7 I switched to cola. Honestly I would have gone sooner had it been offer to me at the earlier aide stations. I love the boost cola gives me on the run. It is pure heaven. In the end I was 2 minutes off the run time I was shooting for, but my left leg pretty much killed me the entire 13 miles, so I was still pleased to go 1:41.
New Equipment that Work well:
As always special thanks to Brian Shea of PBN and Melanie Fink of Ironfit Training for all there advice and support.
My gorgeous perfectly fitted Cannondale Slice (Thanks to RETUL session), I cannot thank the guys at ThePeddler Bike shop in Long Branch enough for getting my bike race ready.
Pearl Izumi Tri Pro Racing Kit, this is the same fabric that our awesome NJ Tri Devils kits will be. The kit was awesome, felt great the whole day, and never rode up on me during the run or bike. I topped my all Pearl Izumi kit off with their new tri racing shoe Project Emotion which felt light weight, easy to get on and look really cool!
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