Muncie 70.3 2015: swim, bike, and try to run

Coming off Grand Rapids 70.3, my legs and particularly lower back were quite sore. After taking a few days off I started up an easy week of training before traveling to Boulder, CO for what was an epic bachelor party with my best friends. As an added benefit, John Savage and I were able to get in some runs at altitude, in hopes of enhancing our oxygen carrying capacity for our upcoming races (Muncie & Vineman 70.3). The next week I ramped up my training and even did a track workout (8x800, my first in a year, sure enough, I still hate the track) in an attempt to improve my run split at Muncie. After a week of some solid efforts, I began a two week taper and focused on chowing down on some carbohydrates 2-3 days before the race (10-12 g/kg of body weight). To do so, I ate 2 loaves of french bread in a little over 48 hours. Only time would tell if such a nutritional strategy would bring success.

The day before the race, Team Every Man Jack teammate Mike Vulanich and I met up for a short bike-course preview and shake-out jog. We rode pretty easy except for one short interval to escape a large and fast on-coming pitbull, and chatted about racing/training/etc. Mike also did a fantastic job of making me super jealous of his ENVE wheels! Now I know what to do with any wedding cash Bri and I may receive ;). Unfortunately Mike was having some trouble with his rear derailleur, and being typical triathletes we could not fix it, so I sent him to Mike at the Greenway 500 for some last minute adjustments. I headed back to work for a few more hours and that evening went out to prairie creek to pick up my race packet.

Race morning I set the alarm for 4:30 (it's so nice having the race in your backyard) early enough to wake up and get some food in (a blueberry bagel, banana) and sip on GU Roctane Tropical Punch while I loaded up the car. We ended up leaving the house just before 5:15, and I'm glad we did because there was a fair amount of traffic. Muncie streets werent designed to accomodate such a mass of people. In transition, I ran into teammate Mark Graham, who had traveled from Las Vegas to race and we talked race strategy and goals!

Amazingly, before the race I managed to stay pretty calm. This is atypical for me and perhaps a result of this being the 4th triathlon I have done this year (I think the most I had done until this season was 3 in a year). After slipping on my Roka wetsuit, Mike and I made our way down to the water to warm-up. Unfortunately our wave would be the last to go off. At the start I positioned myself in the second row, right behind the tallest/longest arm guy I could find. By the time we hit the first buoy, myself and two other athletes in my age group had already put a pretty gap on the rest of the age-group and already caught the group who left four minutes before us. The rest of the swim I spent weaving in and out of the age-groups who went before us, sticking with one other athlete in my age-group. I got out of the water and took a glance down at my watch to see 28:XX. I really can't express how happy I am to be swimming at the front of the pack this year. No doubt a product of my efforts in the water this winter and the assistance of my Roka suit!

Swim time: 28:29

T1 was long and uphill. I ran uphill and into transition to my Felt IA4 bicycle and Rudy Project helmet. The bike has been my strength now for the past two years, and I was excited to see what I could do on this notoriously fast course. The first 6 miles were laden with potholes. Fortunately for me, these are streets I ride daily, and could ride them with my eyes shut. Weaving in and out of athletes in front of me, I made it to route 35 (where we would do 2 loops) a wide and open course. By the time I made it to 35, my heart rate and steadied and I was ready to lay it down. The first loop was pretty uneventful. My watts began to climb and my heart rate appeared to stay steady. After the first loop I checked my garmin: 255 watts and 25.4 mph. The bike course was quite crowded but fortunately I didn't appear to pick up any wheel suckers along the way. With about 10 miles to go I began feeling a bit tired, so I decided to back off the workload and try to get a couple of gu's in before the run. Here is the strava file from my ride. Watts were high, but I felt pretty good and decided to go by feel.

Bike time: 2:13, 254 watts

Dismount went flawlessly and I found my bike spot quickly. Throwing my bike on the rack I quickly slipped on some socks (learning a lesson from GR 70.3) and my adidas adi0s shoes. Setting out on the run I could feel the bike in my quads but my engine felt good. I decided to make sure to keep the first mile smooth and under control. Crossing the first mile in 6:15 I felt pretty solid. The second mile I kept the effort constant and ran a 6:30. Alright I told myself, keep this up and I'll be under 4:15 overall. Unfortunately the third mile did not go as smoothly. I kept the effort constant, but the time was not. I ran a 6:50 and most of it was downhill. Miles 4 & 5 were around 7 minutes. It was somewhere in mile 5 that I passed friend and Muncie resident Mark Stagge! Mark and I shared our grievances with one another "its hot and hilly, what is this?" By the turn around I had slowed down to over 7 minute miles and nearly tripped Mike as he came flying by me. The last 6.6 miles I redefined riding the struggle bus and seriously began wondering if I was going to be able to cross the finish line. Stopping at the mile 7 aid station, I attempted to drink 2 gatorades, water, and a some red bull. It was shortly after this that I developed a wicked cramp in my right hamstring, the rest of the run I would spend trying to fend-off hamstring seizures. Mile times were slowing to 8 minute miles, and every time I tried to run faster my heart rate sky rocketed. Around mile 9, a bee decided my gatorade-filled socks seemed tasty, flying into my shoe and stinging me, rubbing salt in the wounds. At this point I just decided to make the best of what I had left. I started encouraging the athletes around me as they flew by me doing 8 minute miles. Their supportive words encouraged me and at last the finish line was in sight. My last mile was something close to a 9 minute mile. Crossing the finish line I stumbled around, congratulating teammates Mike and Mark. Mike handed me some pretzels which I began to try to consume while I sipped on a sprite. Ouch.

Run time: 1:36

Race time: 4:22, 4th AG and 14th OA

I have spent this past week reflecting back on my race. Although my run time was disappointing, the 2015 triathlon season has been good to me. I have raced more already this season than I ever have in my life. I have also now completed two 70.3 events in one season, something I had never done before. I had a fantastic swim and bike, both of which I am very happy about. As for my run? the wheels came off, what more can be said. Unfortunately I wasn't even able to start running this season until April due to a plantar fasciitis flare-up. Furthermore, I have only done two runs in 2015 over 10 miles (a hard 12 miler and my run at Grand Rapids 70.3). Once a runner (this book is fantastic, and anyone who hasnt read it needs to), always a runner. While my running might be my biggest weakness now, it will come back.

This Saturday I am excited to get married to the love of my life, Briana Paxton. After our wedding we will be going to the Dominican Republic for a week-long honeymoon before returning to Muncie for 2 more years of school. As far as my racing goes for the rest of the season. I will probably race Tri Indy when we get back and try to go under the 2-hour mark for the first time in an olympic distance triathlon. I am also toying with the idea of racing Chellenge Cedar Point in September, but we'll see how my body feels.

Thanks for reading!

Greg

Grand Rapids Half-Iron Race Report

Summer of 2015, one that will not be forgotten. Last week began a 6 week whirlwind that will include: taking of my written comprehensive exams, 2 half-ironmans, a bachelor party in Boulder, a trip to North Carolina, and finally getting married followed by a honeymoon in Punta Cana. My life is busy, and I couldn’t be happier.

After completing and hopefully passing (fingers crossed) my comprehensive exams (a 4-day block spent answering essay questions pertaining to everything you have ever learned, or haven’t learned, to this point in your educational career) on Thursday of last week the idea of racing for 4+ hours 3 days later sounded nearly suicidal. After indulging in a few adult beverages Thursday evening, I awoke Friday feeling fairly refreshed, enjoying the shift of attention from epigenetic modification to the simplicity of racing.

Saturday morning Briana and I packed up the car and headed to Grand Rapids, MI, just a little under a 4-hour drive from Muncie. We arrived just as packet pick-up began and after obtaining race numbers and directions, headed to the course for a light shake-out. The race was held in Ada, a small suburb just outside of Grand Rapids. Ada was a welcome change from Muncie, with lots of small coffee shops and a fantastic bike shop. The temperature was in the low 60’s, a bit cooler than I had anticipated. After kitting up I headed out on the bike for a preview of the run course. The streets were well paved with wide shoulders and it wasn’t long before I started to contemplate how I was going to land a job in a place like this. Looking down at my garmin I realized I was doing 35 mph at < 200 W, dreams do come true, there are hills here (in Muncie we have 1 hill, the overpass)! After a short ~30min ride with some 1min up-tempo intervals I laced up the shoes and headed out for a 10 min jog. The legs felt good and I was ready to race. I was slightly concerned however about my lack of hill training.

After dropping our stuff off at an AirBnB found by my soon to be wife (she is awesome and planned almost the entire trip), Bri and I headed out to see what Grand Rapids had to offer. Not being able to pass up a visit to Founders, we sat outside on the patio drinking a beer before venturing to a small Italian restaurant for dinner. That night we watched “Clean Spirit,” a documentary about the shimano-airgas cycling team before passing out.

The next morning we arose at 4:30. As we prepared to load up the car it became quickly apparent that it was raining, HARD. Not exactly ideal, but at this point I was committed. Arriving at the race site I racked my bike, put on my Roka wetsuit, which kept me warm on a chilly, rainy morning, and headed down to the swim start. In the water I positioned myself just behind the first row, not sure about the quality of swimmers in the race. When the gun went off I put in a good 30 second effort before dialing it back and letting myself follow someone’s feet. My stroke felt strong and smooth, but I was a bit concerned by the number of people who appeared to be in front of me. The foggy and rainy conditions made visibility less than ideal so I made a point of siting the buoys instead of the swimmers ahead of me. As the swim went on I slided by another 10-15 guys, getting stronger as the race progressed. Coming out of the water after what felt like an eternity I glanced at my watch to see just over 28 minutes (15^th swim split). I am ecstatic with the improvements I have made in the water this past year and happy to be wearing a Roka wetsuit, which is without a doubt the fastest in the game.

Swim: 28:28 (2 minute PR)

T1 went extremely well for me and setting out on the bike I was unknowingly in 4^th place. I settled into my pace on my new Felt IA4 TT rig and passed 2 people within the first 5 miles. Before long I could see the rider currently in 1^st place and the motorcycle/pace truck in front of him. Suddenly, out of nowhere came the speedy Mark Beckwith (EMJ team member).  After allowing him to pass me, I decided I would stay with him for as long as I could. Unfortunately to do so I would have to increase my power from 245 to 265-280 W. Although my legs felt good, at about mile 30 I made the decision to let Mark go, and settle back into a pace that I felt more comfortable with. The rest of the bike transpired pretty uneventfully and in the last couple miles I got caught by age-group world champion and previous year Grand Rapids Half champion, Daniel Stubleski. Coming into T2 with Stubleski, I was feeling pretty good.

Bike: 2:15 (5 minute PR @ 245 Watts) http://www.strava.com/activities/325632406

Coming off the bike my legs felt pretty heavy. I was most concerned about the run because of the lack of running I have been doing as I am still in recovery from what has been a wicked battle with plantar fasciitis! As I set out on the run course I was looking for Stubleski and race leader Beckwith but neither one was in sight. As I hit the first mile I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a 6:07. It felt like I was crawling! Before mile 2, Stubleski came by me. I gave some thought about trying to go with him but decided to pace myself. The next couple of miles clicked by 6:13, 6:17, 6:20. Feeling pretty good I continued on my first loop of the two-loop run course. Slowly I began to feel myself fatigue. As I headed out on the second loop, I felt my blood sugar falling. 2 years before at Muncie 70.3 I had stopped and walked at this point due to a side stitch. I promised myself that no matter what, I would not walk! The remainder of the run turned into a game. Calculate my finishing time assuming 8 minute miles for the rest of the run (thankfully, they were all faster than this, although my last mile, a 7:38 was one of the most painful of my life). At every aid station I took in either Gatorade or coke. Leaving the aid station I felt slightly refreshed, but the feeling would not last. With 2 miles to go I calculated that 8 minute miles (16 minutes of running) would allow me to tie my previous 70.3 PR (4:17). With a mile left, I put all my focus into maintaining a straight line and putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, the finish line came into view. Crossing in 4 hours 15 minutes, I bonged a mountain dew and plopped myself in a chair.

Run: 1:29

Race time: 4:15 (6th place overall, 2nd AG)

Exhausted and happy I conversed with my new teammates, Mark Beckwith (5^th), Ryan Linden (8^th), and Zachary Carr (flatted and still finished < 4:20!). Three days later and my legs still ache, but nothing feels injured and my desire to resume training is returning again. I have done some reading on carbohydrate consumption pre-race (recommended 10-12g/kg, or 2400 calories of carbohydrate!) and I am pretty certain that inadequate carbohydrate loading and subsequently lower than idea pre-race glyocen stores are largely to blame for my slow death march of a run. Next time I race this distance, I will be sure to remedy this issue. This weekend will involve a bachelor party in Boulder, followed by a week of ramping up training for Muncie 70.3.

Huge thanks to my new team Every Man Jack and our fantastic sponsors Felt, Roka, Rudy Project, Sports Basement, Louis Garneau, GU energy, Boco Gear, and Normatec recovery!

Thanks for reading.