Dairyland Double

Dairyland Double

There it was on my calendar: “Sunday June 11 Ironman 70.3 Madison” and “Saturday June 17 Horribly Hilly Bicycle Ride”. Let’s get to it.

The short version… I finished the 70.3 in 5 hours 34 minutes, 9^th in my age group of 85 finishers and qualified for the USATriathlon National Championships. I rode the Horribly Hilly 200k, which ended up to be 127.35 miles and 10,308 feet of climbing in 8 hours 30 minutes or 14.95 MPH. 

Ironman 70.3 Results

2017 5:34:20 AG 9 of 85 Male 225 of 1150 19.56%

                Swim 648 56.34% Pace 1:53

                Bike 187 16.26% Pace 2:59

                Run 252 21.92% Pace 9:05

2015 5:33:35 AG 6 of 60 Male 379 of 1254 30.22%

                Swim 764 60.92% Pace 1:51

                Bike 434 34.60% Pace 3:01

                Run 396 31.57% Pace 9:03

2014 5:35:56 AG 10 of 65 Male 516 of 1490 34.63%

                Swim 581 38.99% Pace 1:51

                Bike 614 41.20% Pace 3:01

                Run 565 37.91% Pace 9:14

My finish, swim, bike and run pace times of the three 70.3 are very similar. The percentile finish among male competitors is noticeably different; top 35% in 2014, 30% in 2015, and 20% in 2016. The change among males from 2014 to 2017; run 15% and the bike 25%!

As a fairly typical triathlete with little or no swim background, my strategy remains the same. Finish the swim in the Age Group swim 50%, bike 33%, and run 20%.

Fun facts …

I DNF’d the 2016 version of the Ironman 70.3 Madison. Breaking a basic covenant of “don’t mess with your gear the day before a race”. For some reason I felt compelled to do something with the rear wheel of my bike… 

After my usual average swim start I looked to make up time on the bike. But that day I just didn’t have it; I felt sluggish. I continued on but noticed I was getting passed by far more riders than I was accustomed. I’ll always get passed by a number of younger ager groupers but not that many older and M55-59ers plus. Then I was being passed by riders who had no business passing me. I was truly frustrated and discouraged. I remember struggling at a fuel stop with a replacement bottle, never getting opening it and promptly discarding it. The wheels were, so to speak, falling off. Not until the T2 dismount did I become aware the back wheel was rubbing on the frame. It was as if I had the parking brake on for 55 miles. The tire was ruined. I was exhausted mentally and physically. I handed in my timing chip and started a slow recovery. The rare DNF.

A year later on the same course I qualified for the USA Triathlon National Championships. I thought going in to the race I might be “competitive”. On a very hot day, many athletes ‘added’ time to their 2016 finish. I came within 2 minutes of a 70.3 PR time.

I’ve heard multiple times from IM athletes, I wished I had spent more time training in the bike. The time spent in BCETS thoroughly prepared me for the 70.3. In preparation for the 2018 70.3, I will maintain my swim and bike off season program and incorporate additional run workouts. 

The Horribly Hilly came about as the logistics for RAW didn’t come together. I had heard people talking about the HH, many opting for the 150K. There you have it, I’m doing the 200K.

With the 70.3 on Sunday and the Horribly Hilly the following Saturday, two “A” races within 7 days, I wasn’t sure if or how I could ‘taper’ in these events. I was glad the 70.3 came first as I anticipated the HH to be a much more physically draining event. As it turned out there wasn’t much of a taper but I didn’t overdo the two weeks before and between events.

The setup of the HH was really cool as it was comprised of five ‘stages’ averaging roughly 30K each. It was much easier wrapping my mind around each 30K instead of the whole 150K. I thought there might be more ‘group’ riding but found myself increasingly riding alone as the day wore on. There was as much or more self-doubt in the last half of the last 30k as there was in the final stages of any Ironman event I’ve done of any length.

The weather the week before the HH was awful. The potential for a rainy and potentially miserable experience was real. ‘Ride’ day (it’s not a race) was overcast and humid but it did not rain. At the conclusion of the ride I sat by the finish line a listened to the finishers. Typical comments included “that was awful”, “that was terrible” and worse. The Horribly Hilly did not disappoint.

I’d like to do both the 70.3 and HH again in 2018. 

How I did it …

Fall 2016 and Winter 2017 E3 Master Swim program at Monona Grove High School Tuesdays 6pm and Sunday mornings. My Strava account shows I swam 50,000+ yards in 2017. 

Winter Endurance house swim clinic series at Middleton HS pool.

Fleet Feet destination run program culminating in the February 2017 Austin TX Half Marathon.

Trek Ride Club – Tuesday and Thursday night rides.

Bombay Bicycle Club “BCETS” or Bombay Challenge Event Training Series – this Sunday weekly Training Series began in March with the target event being the Horribly Hilly. My Strava profile indicated I had climbed 99,541 feet this year through the HH. There is no question in my mind this training positively impacted my Ironman 70.3 results.

Various other events including the Wisconsin Tri Series, Monona 20K (one of my favorites), Aquathon Series, etc.- 

I would l be remiss in not stating the value of having a training partner. Chris and I swam, biked and ran together. She has a knack of suggesting we workout out when I wouldn't have on my own. She also did BCETS, finished the 150K HH, completed two full Olympic Length Triathlons, and has signed up for the 2017 Madison Marathon.

Next…

After two major events on back to back weekends it was very difficult returning to the 10+ hours a week I had become accustomed. I found 5 to be about average of the next month. August brings us in to ‘run season’. Next up is the mid- August Madison Mini (Half) Marathon. And I am looking forward to the challenge of the October Chicago and November Madison Marathons; another ‘Double’ opportunity.