General Discussion Triathlon Talk » What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3? Rss Feed  
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2014-03-30 4:51 PM
in reply to: #4777958

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
i don't think anyone mentioned it yet - spend some time thinking about navigating bike aid stations. This thread is great -- http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/mobile/ForumThread.html?forumId=1...

i've only done one HIM, but my other suggestions are (1) to actually spend time before the race visualizin things going wrong and how to calmly deal with it, and (2) even though nothing new on race day don't be afraid to trust your instincts and change somethig up on the fly if you need to. i trained mostly with gu, water, nuun, and fig newtons. There came a point on the second half of the run where if i had another gu or fig newton it might have killed me. so i started eating preztels and drinking the flat coke they were offering. never tried those in training, and they were great and got me through the rest of the race.


2014-03-30 7:11 PM
in reply to: braciole

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Some of this is repetitive, but bears repeating:

1)pacing is key-this is long course, not short course; don't bike or run like it's an OLY distance, hold something back-you'll be happy you did late in the run
2)if you have a HR monitor or PowerMeter-knowing your body and FTP, HR zones will keep you honest (as Marc alluded to); if you do not, pay attention to how you feel on your 3-4hr long bike rides or your 2hr LR's that are done to simulate race pace, so you can know what it 'feels like'
3)nutrition is something that is practiced-not experimented with on race day-you should know how many, what type of calories, how much fluid and when you will eat/drink during the bike and run
4)do not eat/drink 10 minutes or so prior to, or after a transition; your body is getting used to the change and you stomach won't be happy about dealing with food/drink
5)spin the hills on the bike at high cadence until you run out of gears, push over the tops to get your speed up (but not too hard to burn any matches), push a little on downhills until you 'spin out' then you can coast and rest until it starts to level out-try to dole out an even amount of energy even over varying terrain
6)be aero on the bike when going down hills and on flats, if you are able to do this and maintain reasonable speed/power
7)be efficient in transition if you are racing-do not give away time unless you are just completing the race distance, not really racing it
8)consider a bucket in transition to make it easier to sit and put shoes on (if there is room) and lay everything out on a blanket; practice going through the transitions in your head BEFORE you get there
9)have a plan about the entire race and follow it-race day is about EXECUTING what you (should) already know about pacing and nutrition-and don't skip the small details like sunscreen/socks/bodyglide etc-race day is a day to celebrate the cumulative results of all of your training
10)know that your best plan may need changes and need to be modified by injury/illness late in your training cycle or weather on race day-adjust to a more conservative pace if there are any curveballs

of course, my first triathlon was a 1/2IM distance, so I wished I'd practiced a lot more OWS, but that was just for me to learn...
GL, 70.3 is my favorite distance
2014-03-30 7:28 PM
in reply to: isurf

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
First of all, be confident, you'll be ready.....

I'm no expert whatsoever, I've only done 4 70.3 and only one IM, so not nearly the caliber of some of these other folks commenting, but for what it's worth:

1. Swim - Chill, conserve energy. If you bust your butt and save 5-7 minutes or something on the swim, it just doesn't matter. So take it easy, maybe pretend it is your warm-up.

2. Bike - Maybe mentally break it up into segments. Have some kind of goal of course, but be conservative, keep your cadence up, and DO NOT CARE when/if people are blowing past you. In IMFL I was extremely conservative on the bike, and was able to pass 550 people on the run, lots of them were likely those that blew past me. So don't worry about it, just do YOUR thing, this is your first one, so any time is a PR, so just try to get to the run as fresh as you can.

3. Try not to come out of T2 too fast, force yourself to slow it down if you need to. Whatever pace you think you can sustain for the run, start out around :45-:60 ABOVE that, feel it out, you can always work it down gradually. Just remember, if you cross the line and you are freaking dying and think that you left 10-15 min. out there, so what, that is OK.

Nutrition - Yes, you'll need calories, but try not to overdo it either. Practice this on your longer rides and runs and then do not change it up too much on race day in terms of calorie intake or the actual items you consume.

Most of all, enjoy the adventure, remember, whatever time you end up with will be the fastest 70.3 you have ever done :-)
2014-03-30 8:56 PM
in reply to: JM2


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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Don't read too much about 70.3 training & racing you'll get confused with the masses of information and advice out there. Keep it simple, both training and your race plan:

- get a good solid nutrition plan and test it out before hand
- if you;re not a strong swimmer, let the pack and swim at the rear so you have your own space and you can relax
- if you haven't smashed it in training and just looking to get through the race, take it easy on the bike and save it for the run
- the middle part of the run is critical, if you're going to bonk, this is where it will most likely happen. So start of run a bit slower than you'd like, even if you feel comfortable going quicker. When you get to the 7- 10km mark pick up the pace and then bring it home flat out!
2014-03-31 5:41 AM
in reply to: #4973627

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Very useful thread. My first HIM is in 2 weeks and now I'm scared to death. I've been training in the morning in cold weather. Going to warmer climate to race. I've been hitting my training plan, but I don't have near the base many of these posters have advised. Excited but nervous too...
2014-03-31 8:18 AM
in reply to: dprocket

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

Originally posted by dprocket Very useful thread. My first HIM is in 2 weeks and now I'm scared to death. I've been training in the morning in cold weather. Going to warmer climate to race. I've been hitting my training plan, but I don't have near the base many of these posters have advised. Excited but nervous too...

Don't underestimate the effect that heat will have on your HR and pace in the race.  Swallow your pride, be conservative during the bike and first few miles of the run, and have fun!

You only have one opportunity to do your first race of any distance, so focus on enjoying the experience.  After this one, you'll always be chasing the clock and your past performances.  

 



2014-04-02 10:34 AM
in reply to: dprocket


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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Doing first 70.3 later this summer. Thank you everyone for all the good info.
2014-04-02 10:58 AM
in reply to: jrob

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

 

I have two HIM's under my belt and neither was anywhere near perfect, here are some issues I had.

1. I did not properly put my wetsuit on for my first HIM. It was my first OWS with a wetsuit and I had the fit all wrong. There are some good youtube vids on how to get a wetsuit on the right way. Basically pull that thing up far enough to make you sing Soprano before you ever try to put the top on. I had mine too low so it pulled my arms down killing my shoulders and also pulled down on my chest so I couldn't breathe. I spent a lot of time on my back pulling the neck of my wetsuit out so I could get a breath, not fun. 

2. I like biking the best of the 3 so I tend to go too hard on the bike, works okay for a short course, not a good idea for HIM or IM. My second HIM I trained a ton of running and felt really good going into the race, thought I was going to crush the HM. The bike was windy as all get out which is frustrating. It sucks going 12mph into a wind so the natural inclination is to push harder to get that speed up. The course was a square so on the backside I was hammering to make up lost time. My run was absolutely terrible. First 6 miles went okay, last 6 I totally fell apart. 

3. Practice your nutrition. I decided to "live off the course" for my second HIM, they had Heed, lets just say Heed and I do not get along, made for a miserable day. After cooking the bike and then the ambient temp going crazy for the run, I was completely destroyed. I spent 3-4 hours after the race puking and falling all over myself with nausea and dizziness. Heat, too hard on bike, lack of fitness, and the wrong nutrition made for one heck of a day.

I am doing my first IM this summer. My mantra will be eat, and go easy easy easy on the bike. I would much rather have a good marathon and finish strong than to average 17.5mph instead of 16mph on the bike. 

2014-04-02 11:05 AM
in reply to: isurf

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
1) Apply large amounts of sunscreen to my hands and forearms. My hands and forearms were fried and hurt for several days after riding in sunny 95 degree weather for three hours.

2) Prepare for battle on the swim. I will swim more to the outside this year, last year I swam toward the inside and never found a cleat lane to swim in.

3) Don't use a failing Garmin. My 310xt died at the 30 mile mark on the ride, so I did not have a watch for the run.
2014-04-02 12:00 PM
in reply to: dtoce

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Originally posted by dtoce

Some of this is repetitive, but bears repeating:

1)pacing is key-this is long course, not short course; don't bike or run like it's an OLY distance, hold something back-you'll be happy you did late in the run
2)if you have a HR monitor or PowerMeter-knowing your body and FTP, HR zones will keep you honest (as Marc alluded to); if you do not, pay attention to how you feel on your 3-4hr long bike rides or your 2hr LR's that are done to simulate race pace, so you can know what it 'feels like'
3)nutrition is something that is practiced-not experimented with on race day-you should know how many, what type of calories, how much fluid and when you will eat/drink during the bike and run
4)do not eat/drink 10 minutes or so prior to, or after a transition; your body is getting used to the change and you stomach won't be happy about dealing with food/drink
5)spin the hills on the bike at high cadence until you run out of gears, push over the tops to get your speed up (but not too hard to burn any matches), push a little on downhills until you 'spin out' then you can coast and rest until it starts to level out-try to dole out an even amount of energy even over varying terrain
6)be aero on the bike when going down hills and on flats, if you are able to do this and maintain reasonable speed/power
7)be efficient in transition if you are racing-do not give away time unless you are just completing the race distance, not really racing it
8)consider a bucket in transition to make it easier to sit and put shoes on (if there is room) and lay everything out on a blanket; practice going through the transitions in your head BEFORE you get there
9)have a plan about the entire race and follow it-race day is about EXECUTING what you (should) already know about pacing and nutrition-and don't skip the small details like sunscreen/socks/bodyglide etc-race day is a day to celebrate the cumulative results of all of your training
10)know that your best plan may need changes and need to be modified by injury/illness late in your training cycle or weather on race day-adjust to a more conservative pace if there are any curveballs

of course, my first triathlon was a 1/2IM distance, so I wished I'd practiced a lot more OWS, but that was just for me to learn...
GL, 70.3 is my favorite distance


#4 above-- totally athlete dependent, practice your nutrition before the race so you know what works for you. I have an iron stomach and could probably eat hot wings in transition without a problem. A friend of mine pukes if he has too much Gatorade.

#7 above-- if this is your first 70.3 there is little chance you are going for a podium position. Take your time in transition, 1 or 2 extra minutes to make sure you have everything you need, bring your HR down a little, apply sun block can make the rest of your race much more enjoyable

#8 above--- NO BUCKETS PLEASE-- there is not much room it transition, I have never seen anyone in transition with a bucket that was not in another athlete's way. People may not say anything to you at the race, but when you bring a bucket your "that guy" the no one wants to be next too.

Be careful if the race conditions are much hotter that what you have been training for, it may not seem too bad until you hit the run- then your toast.
2014-04-02 2:49 PM
in reply to: ccmpsyd

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

I'd be interested to know if the OP has seen the re-birth of this thread and could let us know how the race went LAST YEAR.



2014-04-02 6:56 PM
in reply to: zed707

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

Originally posted by zed707

I'd be interested to know if the OP has seen the re-birth of this thread and could let us know how the race went LAST YEAR.

FWIW, this was the post on page 2 that revived the thread:

"I've been reading these opinions with great interest, I'm in the early stages of training for my first HIM (August) and I'm soaking up any sensible advice offered. Thanks for the great thread, and if there are any more opinions, lets hear 'em!"

I've seen many new posters get flamed for creating a new thread to ask a question rather than searching.  Here's someone who used the search function, found a relevant discussion, and tacked onto the end of it asking for more opinions.  From that point on, the posts may not have been relevant to the OP, but I'd bet they were for the new poster.  I say kudos to them for keeping this good discussion all in one place.

 

2014-04-02 7:31 PM
in reply to: TriMyBest

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Well, I am the OP, and my first HIM went so well last August I am training for my second, StG 70.3 in 4 weeks. It is good to see this thread pop up again and read some good advice. I think that I did everything right as far as my race plan went. I seriously felt great until the last two miles of the run when my legs were finally like "ENOUGH ALREADY".

I think the key advice is to relax, trust your training and nail your nutrition, but be prepared for adjustments as necessary. The race ended up being a ton hotter than was anticipated or what I had trained in, and I ended up taking salt tabs in the race, and I hadn't done before. I know it was a huge risk, but luckily it worked okay.

Another piece of advice I grabbed race morning in transition from a 6x Ironman was if at any point your legs burn, you are going to hard, and you will hate yourself later. Ease up, gear down, or whatever you need to to save it for later. For someone that likes to race be RPE and not by numbers, HR, or anything else, that was great advice.

I finished in 6:20, #8 in my age group and felt good 90% of the race. The last two miles of the run though were sheer survival.

Glad to see this thread pop up again, you guys give tons of good advice that was very helpful
2014-04-03 10:42 AM
in reply to: KatieLimb

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

Originally posted by KatieLimb Well, I am the OP, and my first HIM went so well last August I am training for my second, StG 70.3 in 4 weeks. It is good to see this thread pop up again and read some good advice. I think that I did everything right as far as my race plan went. I seriously felt great until the last two miles of the run when my legs were finally like "ENOUGH ALREADY". I think the key advice is to relax, trust your training and nail your nutrition, but be prepared for adjustments as necessary. The race ended up being a ton hotter than was anticipated or what I had trained in, and I ended up taking salt tabs in the race, and I hadn't done before. I know it was a huge risk, but luckily it worked okay. Another piece of advice I grabbed race morning in transition from a 6x Ironman was if at any point your legs burn, you are going to hard, and you will hate yourself later. Ease up, gear down, or whatever you need to to save it for later. For someone that likes to race be RPE and not by numbers, HR, or anything else, that was great advice. I finished in 6:20, #8 in my age group and felt good 90% of the race. The last two miles of the run though were sheer survival. Glad to see this thread pop up again, you guys give tons of good advice that was very helpful

Thanks for coming back to the thread to let us know how it went!

Great job and good luck at St George!

2014-04-03 12:33 PM
in reply to: zed707

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
One last good one. If traveling to the race from a good distance do not try to get home that night stay in the hotel one more night it will decrease your stress. I had one race where my flight left 4 hours after I finished and I had a 2 hour drive to the airport.
2014-04-03 8:02 PM
in reply to: BuckHamilton

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
St. George is awesome. Enjoy it and although everyone talks about how hard Snow Canyon is on the bike, the run is an absolute beast.


2014-04-09 8:26 AM
in reply to: psuross92

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
One thing I've learned that I pass on to first timers is: On the run, as you are dumping water over your head, and ice down the front and back of your top, eventually your socks are going to become a sloshing mess! I now carry an extra pair to swap out about mid run. May just be me, but it makes a difference.
2014-04-09 9:03 AM
in reply to: Shaggy101

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

Originally posted by Shaggy101 One thing I've learned that I pass on to first timers is: On the run, as you are dumping water over your head, and ice down the front and back of your top, eventually your socks are going to become a sloshing mess! I now carry an extra pair to swap out about mid run. May just be me, but it makes a difference.

That's one of the reasons I race in wool socks.  They don't get nearly as 'sloshy'.  Super comfortable.

 

2014-04-13 5:05 AM
in reply to: TriMyBest

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?

It's been great reading the new perspectives on this topic, especially little snippets of "whatever you do, don't do this..." information that are only otherwise learned by making the same mistake.  And the thread has reinforced (for me) the need to do more bike training. I'm not a fast or strong rider, so I'll really need to focus on the bike during the coming months. Thanks!

2014-04-13 7:43 AM
in reply to: Taringa

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Lots of great advice here. Re-reading it as thinking of doing another one this summer. (Yes, following my own advice and not going to do the longest rides/runs during the hottest months in Vietnam!) One thing I should have added:

Assuming you're going to take at least some of your own nutrition, take a few different options and a bit more than you need. It's always possible you'll drop something/gag on something/get bike grease all over your hands/lose your taste for your favorite race nutrition half way through the run or bike. During my HIM, I had some bike issues and ended up with grease all over my hands. Couldn't continue eating the chopped up energy bars in my bento box so I was forced to eat my extra gu. The bar I had eaten had chocolate, plus two chocolate gus. By the end of the bike, just the thought of chocolate made me nauseous. The following year, in a du with 18 km of running and 62 km of biking. I simply couldn't get down either my energy bar or my favorite chocolate-cherry gu. Not sure if it was due to pushing the first run too hard, PMS, a stomach bug, or what, but I gagged repeatedly until I almost puked. This year for the same race (did the tri), I decided to put a variety of stuff in my bento box--chocolate and apple cinnamon gu's, a small banana, dried fruit/nut bar chunks--and ate what I felt like at planned intervals. It worked a lot better, and it was nice knowing I had a choice! I guess you need to have a decent size bento box, and/or good pockets on your suit, to do this, though.

I personally didn't really take the pacing advice given here. The bike leg of my HIM felt hard to me, but I had a strong run anyway. However, I did keep pace/effort within what I had been able to hold for training rides and still have a strong 50-60 minute brick run after. My situation may have been unusual as I have a pretty big run background, and my actual HIM was about a month after my first attempt got cut short by snow, so I'd already raced a 29 mile bike leg at that pace, followed by the full 13.1 mile run. By the actual race, I had a pretty good idea of what bike pace/effort I could handle and still have a strong run. I was vacationing/training at altitude for much of the interim, so that probably boosted my endurance a bit. Would not advise most people to race as hard as I did on my first HIM--I was lucky things worked out!
2014-08-12 9:15 AM
in reply to: Hot Runner

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Subject: RE: What did you wish you knew before jumping to 70.3?
Bumping this fantastic thread to the top. Thanks for all the advice, finished Steelhead 70.3 this weekend.

I would add:

1. Take the time to get the sand out from between your toes after the swim. Having it rub together for hours is not good.
2. Run train in the heat. It got to about 82 degrees on the run, and I realized I had done all my run training at 5am when it was 50-60 degrees out, and I struggled.


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