Race Report - 2014 Gulf Coast Triathlon 70.3

Windy conditions for the two days leading up to the race made for some very rough seas. Riptide warnings were posted. I drove into Panama City Beach the day before the race and met up with a training buddy for a quick swim and bike. Seas were dying down throughout the day and it looked “OK” to swim. We jumped in and for every 10 yards we swam out, we were pushed 20 or more yards side ways! It was crazy! The rollers were also big enough that it was going to make siting difficult during the race in the morning. The weather forecast called for significantly calmer winds and better sea conditions. Well, race morning proved the forecaster wrong once again! 

The race was delayed for a little while. They then announced a change in the direction of the swim course (from counter-clockwise to clockwise). Everyone starts huddling around the swim out but the race delay continued… 

An announcement came out; the swim was cancelled. Many cheers came from the crowd but I was actually sad since since I wanted to swim to prove not only that I could swim in those conditions but to also see how my swim training was coming along. I had been working hard on improving my swim. Even more delays occurred as they started setting up timing mats near the waterline. T1 was to start near the water in a time trial start by age group.

I was in the second to last wave so it was a long wait on the beach. Into transition we go and it was crazy by the bikes.  It was crowded due to the canceled swim. Being a slow swimmer, I am accustomed to transition being fairly empty in my area! 

Off on the bike I go. The South winds were nuts! That made the first 19 or so miles out FUN. I averaged 25 mph! Everything was going great. Heart rate was in check and I was close to my planned race wattage. The remainder of the ride was tough due to the headwinds. I was going 16-17 mph often. I could not control my heart rate or wattage. I did not hit my targets but some how I still beat my projected bike time by a few seconds. I averaged 21 mph! A 70.3 bike person record (PR) for me!

Off to the run I go. My legs felt tired but I mustered up the strength to do my first two miles at my target pace. My run training had been going well, especially coming of the bike. So I was very surprised how my legs felt. I started to die off. I had targeted a 7:45 pace but I only achieved an 8:25 pace. I did not PR my 70.3 run as I know I could have. I did beat my run time from last year’s race by 14 minutes! I was 13th of 54 in my age group as compared to 39th of 69 last year.  The swim cancellation helped me a little there. 

After going over the race data and my nutrition plan, I determined that my race nutrition was not cutting it. I followed what I did in 2013 but my training and racing is significantly harder this year. I need more calories; I need more carbs. I fatigued on the bike way too early1 During the run, I believe I may also have been partly dehydrated. I will also need to work on my hydration plan this summer. I need to nail this down soon since the worst heat of summer is approaching and my Ironman Florida training is about to start.

I am happy with my race results since I've improved on the bike. This race did not show it but my run has gotten stronger as well. My swim is still lacking but improving. My next race is not until August when I do the Sandestin Triathlon, a fun fast sprint triathlon. This gives me plenty of time to improve my swim and workout my nutrition plan. This year I decided to race very few races as compared to last year so that I can train smarter and harder for Ironman Florida.