So for those who did not know, 12 people from the MIT triathlon team were racing this weekend at Timberman 70.3 in NH. And it was a great weekend for everyone!
On a personal point of view, I'm particularly happy about the race for several different reasons: I PR my swim, my bike AND my run on the HIM distance (and thus my overall time by 35min) and I had a LOT of fun with the team.
Instead of only talking about the race, I'll try to explain on how I managed in 3 seasons of triathlon to go from 6h06 (Mooseman 70.3 2011), then 5h38 (Mooseman 70.3 2012) and finally to 5h03 (Timberman 2013, including a 4min penalty... I'll talk about it later).
The three times in brackets are for the 3 HIM (2011, 2012 and 2013),
Swim (39:11 -> 32:38 -> 32:25)
The swim has always been a strength for me so I decided to focus on my bike this season. I was only training once a week for the swim which explains the same result as last year.
The swim went well, the buoys weren't very aligned when we got in the water an hour later so when I saw that I knew that sighting will be particularly important (bad sighting resulted in that terrible 39min swim in 2011).
The water was very clear so it was easy to spot people around you and then draft them. I drafted pretty well the first third of the race but then I lost the group as we were catching up people from the previous wave and I kind of ended up by myself from that point on. Which could have been avoided in order to waste less energy. On the other hand though, I sighted really well, and went straight to each buoy and literally turned around AT the buoy.
T1 (2:04)
Never take transitions as a zone to "rest and relax". It is part of the race and it is easy to pass people and improve your overall time.
My technique to have a great T1 is to kick hard the last 50yds of the swim to get the blood going in your legs, so that when you stand up and get out of the water you don't feel dizzy and you can run right away. I again passed a good 15-20 people on the run to T1 and used the wetsuit strippers to save some time too.
Also, I put socks on for the bike. I usually don't but because I was going to put them on for the run anyway I felt like putting them for the bike too for some extra comfort.
Bike (3:27:19 -> 3:15:37 -> 2:43:28)
I trained a lot on my bike last year during my IM training as it has always been my weakness and this year I replaced some of my swimming training with some more cycling. It looks like it paid off because I averaged 20.55mph on that course and cut more than 30min off my previous HIM bike time.
I still need to train on my bike, Especially for the climb. I think I have the endurance but I'm lacking strength and speed -> that is next season's goal for me.
The middle part of the race (the 106 road) was pretty flat and thus a good place for me to push hard in order to catch up on my poor hill climbing. I was doing good around mile 20 when two guys slowly passed me. They kind of slowed down after passing me and before I even realized it a motorbike from the race officials came right next to me and said
" NUMBER 2211 YOU HAVE A RED CARD FOR DRAFTING YOU HAVE TO STOP AT THE PENALTY TENT TO SERVE YOUR TIME".
I couldn't believe it! I almost wanted to start an argument as I wanted to tell him that they had JUST passed me (according to the rules you have to be behind the guy for more than 30sec to get a draft penalty) but he and his mustache did not seem like the kind of person who wanted to argue...
Anyway, that was complete BULLSHIT. And it really pissed me off. It also prevented me from going under 5h overall because I finished with a time of 5h03...
T2 (5:14 - 4min = 1:14)
So I had to wait for my 4min BS penalty in T2 with Mustache Guy #2. I took advantage of this forced break to stretch, eat a gel and drink the rest of my Gatorade left my water bottle.
Thanks to the stretching that I did in the Penalty BS Tent, I was able to fly through T2 in 1min14 and start my run really fast 7min15/mile. I averaged 7min20/mile on the first 3mi.
Run (1:56:18 -> 1:43:29 -> 1:40:18)
Pardon my french but... this is where the magic happens. I don't know how to describe it but I felt SO good the entire time. I was simply the happiest guy in the world on the run. I kept smiling, was not thinking about my legs and was just cruising the race. I passed 63 people overall on that run, including 7 in my age group.
I honestly don't think I effectively trained for the run enough over the past couple weeks, but this where I want to point out that the mental game with yourself can have a huge impact on your performance. At the end of the bike I remember telling myself "Yes Antoine, you are STRONG, you just rode 56mi and you still feel fresh, you know you can crush those 13.1mi, it's easy, it's not even a full marathon, this is so stupid, I don't even know why there is even a run after this, I'M GONNA KILL IT!".
I also get an incredible boost out of cheering for people (in case you had not noticed) and I cannot be thankful enough to all of you who were on the race with me. Morgan, Adam (to be pronounced A-dam), Ben, Cameron, Nick, Eleanor, Sam (kudos for literally yelling when I was passing lol), Ernest, Isabel, etc. You have no idea how much of a boost I get from it. And this is really why I love racing with people I know. It makes the race so many nicer and simply just fun.
I kept having positive thoughts in my head again and again. Each person has their won technique but I have a couple ones I can share: I always have some electronic background going on in my head. A good song that keeps playing in my head to stay pumped. I usually wake up on race morning with that song and listen to it on my ipod up until transition closes. I also think about who I'm going to see next (Adam, Ben, Cameron,...) and think about what I will tell them. And how happy I'm going to be when I will see them. I also think about the next aid station and how good that coke is going to taste. All those thoughts keep running in my head (no pun intended) and prevent negative thoughts like "oh shit I'm never going to finish - oh shit my legs hurt - oh shit I was swimming this morning - oh shit why do I do that to myself etc".
Concerning my improvement for my time, I'd just say that I rarely missed a track training over the past year (either on Tuesday morning or some other time during the week depending on my schedule) and it really helped me to gain speed. Once again I think I really have a good endurance so speed and strength are my limiters and track workouts are a great way to improve those two limiters. If you want to improve your run there is no secret: it is the way to do it.
Quick note concerning aid stations:
- I would take a cup of coke followed by a cup of water (to prevent the sugar taste to stay in my mouth) and it would really help me.
- I used those sponges every time to pour water on y chest and back. I messed up at one aid station and pour the water on my legs. It turned out to be a great mistake because it felt great (my legs would feel fresh with the wind instead of a rather uncomfortable burning sensation) and I kept pouring water on my legs to feel fresh at every aid station after that.
Conclusion:
- Mental game with yourself is often underestimated but can be crucial especially on long distances such as HIM or IM.
- I will not shave my legs.
- This weekend was really fun.
See you soon for training,
Antoine
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