2014 Rev 3 Knoxville Half Ironman Race Report

Lots of wonderful data from Rev 3 Knoxville Half Ironman to process.  It's one of the reasons I love triathlon. There are so many variables, different ways to train, different ways to fuel, not to mention 3 different disciplines to prepare for, that provide me with a lot of mental stimulation. Unfortunately lots of data can also lead to making things more complicated than they need to be. Thankfully, Knoxville was a B race as I prepare for IM Chattanooga in September. 

My main focus since December has been to maximize my power to weight ratio in order to go faster. I arrived at Knoxville at my lightest weight in 20 years, which gave me high hopes for a great performance.

The day before the race I loaded up on carbohydrates with homemade Dulce de Leche. It’s high carb with minimal fat, protein, and no fiber. By midday, I was tired of all the sugar. I mixed in a few beets, mango slices, and a salad. Energy levels felt good, much better than previous weeks. As I laid down to sleep, I began reading a new book called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. He writes about ways to improve your creativity and how to get noticed by others. One suggestion was to read obituaries as a way to refocus our minds on what really matters in life, to free ourselves from the insignificant opinions of others.

Race morning, I used that newfound sense of freedom to alleviate the pressure I was placing on myself to perform at a certain standard. At 3:45 am, I fat-loaded with kefir and heavy whipping cream. It was really rich, creamy, and satisfying. Tiffany and I walked to transition and bumped into Bruce and Robyn. It was nice to see familiar faces. I decided to pull up my wetsuit sleeves a little higher than usual after feeling restricted during our practice swim the day before. I also performed several arm circles to loosen up my shoulders. At 6:45 am, I tried a new pre-race drink called UCAN. It is a slow release carb that is supposed to help stimulate the body to burn more fat as fuel. The swim started fast, but I stayed steady and focused on building my speed, while maintaining some contact with other athletes and staying on course. Brand new goggles helped tremendously with sighting. After a third of the swim, I had no shoulder discomfort. I picked up my pace and focused on getting from one buoy to the next. In contrast to other races, this time I breathed primarily to my right side. I’ve noticed I don’t lift my head as high when I breathe to the right as I do when I breathe to the left and it helps me swim straighter. I was first out of the water in my division.

Transition was a little slow as I bundled up in preparation for clouds and rain. As it turned out, all we had was wind and hills. My confidence was high at the beginning UNTIL I started to get passed. I tried to keep up, but my legs were not responding. I had no power.  My mind went to a dark place. It reminded me that I need to practice more mental skills. I want to be more focused and confident in Chattanooga. Looking back, I’m realizing that I got a little greedy with my weight loss as I tried to burn more fat while training exclusively on fat sources (no carbs) during my last 3 long bricks. In retrospect, the last time I felt strong during a long brick was when I consumed my usual high carb drink. I should have listened to my body. My previous rule was to consume race day nutrition or slightly more during key sessions to insure muscle recovery. I arrogantly thought I could have it all. Lesson learned.

Once on the run, I told myself I could make up ground on the athletes that passed me. However, I first needed to visit the bushes to clean my bowels. I think it was a result of going too low on fiber Saturday. As usual, my legs loosened up at mile 3 and I found my rhythm. I imagined I was ITU star Gwen Jorgensen with a light, easy, smooth stride. (While relaxing on Saturday, Tiffany and I watched the ITU race in Yokohama. It was great inspiration from some of the fastest triathletes in the world.) In the beginning of the run, there were a few carrots/athletes to chase, but after I passed the turn around for the Olympic distance race, the number of athletes faded. When I felt good, I picked up my pace. When I didn’t, my goal shifted to relaxing my shoulders and keeping my hands down. I pushed to the very end as a means to turn around a difficult race and end on a high note. My run split ended up being the 2nd fastest in my age group and helped me to move up to 3rd in the division.

Based on my results from Knoxville, my goals for IM Chattanooga still seem realistic.  Although I plan to make a few adjustments to my training and nutrition from the lessons I learned.