Challenge Knoxville 70.3

2015 Season Opener

The time has come to see if all of the training has paid off. For the past 6 months its been pools, indoor trainers, treadmills, or icy/sleet/snow covered roads. Has all of the hard work, late nights and tired days of training truly paid off? Today was the day to find out.

Race Week

My family moved from RI to NC the Monday of race week - long drive, house closing, unpacking, organizing (who am I kidding - wife did most of that!), and getting settled into a new area/home. This move also meant no pool - so all run and bike this week. Will have an affect on me come race day?

Monday - Rest day 

Tuesday - 30 minutes run (4x90 second strides)

Wednesday - 60 minutes (few spin ups)

Thursday - 20 minute run (2 min hard/3 min easy)

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 15 min spin/10 min run

Saturday

After the workout, my Dad and I headed out to Knoxville (about a 4 hour ride). Luckily we had a hotel in the host Holiday Inn (talk about a great place and great location!). The mountain drive was scenic, the drive was quick and before we knew it we were running into Cameron Dye! 

This was my first Challenge Family race, and it wasn't anything less than impressive. In order to get o transition, we needed to walk through a festival Challenge puts on just for families! They really do mean Family in their name - arts/crafts, triathlon related activities, obstacle courses, vendors and more!

The process to get checked in, SWAG bag and into transition was a breeze (more markings could have helped to direct people the right direction) and the racks were simple and well laid out. 

Race Day

4:45 am and the alarm goes off. Bagel, Banana Nut Muffin and water and head to transition. We were told no pumps were allowed in transition and that the bike mechanics would be there at 5:15 a.m. when transitioned opened. When I arrive at 5:30 am - no bike mechanics or pumps available. I look over my bike - have a flat on my front wheel. Everything else checks out.  5:45 arrives and the mechanics finally arrive. I change my tube out, get the bike set up - at least I thought I did and start getting ready for the day.

At 6:58 and the Professionals take off - 10 minutes until my wave takes off! Nerves finally are settling in. First open water swim of the year and it's at a race! The countdown starts and the gun goes off - wild waves, arms everywhere, people kicking and we are off! 

The swim was upriver, two right turns then back down river. With the exception of the first 1,000 meters, I didn't get knocked around, the course was very well marked (buoys every 50-100m) and the length was spot on. Definitely helped me be able to swim in straight line and sighting was a breeze. Well done Challenge!

There wasn't anything special about the swim other than a guy yelling "Get off of me!" Immediately I thought of Napoleon Dynamite!

There was no ladder or stair to get out of the water - we had to pull ourselves onto the dock after a 1.2 mile open water swim. That was terrible! On top of that, it was pouring raining when the gun went off. From pulling myself out on to the dock, it was a quick run across the street into T1.

Getting into T1, I quickly find Black Magic with a breeze. I always make sure to know where my bike is before I leave transition the previous day. Get my wetsuit off within seconds, and start running to the mount line. As I run, I hear the front wheel scrape the brake pads - awesome! I stop and fix it before I take off - way to add seconds! 

I fix the front wheel and I'm off. Currently I'm 12th in my Age Group - not surprising as the swim is my weakest sport. The course features a lot of rolling hills, with it raining I wouldn't really be able to take advantage of the downhills so I knew I had to push it up the hills more than I had wanted too. 

Speaking of wheels, this was the first race riding on the Tokyo Wheel 88s. I also used the Aero Jacket featured by Wheelbuilder. These wheels are based in Japan and are a mid range priced wheel. They handled the rain and steep downhill with ease. I also didn't feel like I was heavy/slow on the uphills either with a very aero wheelset. I would definately recommend them to anyone! More about these wheel set in a different post!

Another upgrade I made this year, thanks to The Rudy Project and my new team, Triple Threat Triathlon, was the helmet. The past two years I've been wearing the Giro Selector. It was heavy, warm on cool days and HOT on warm days. The helmet I'm wearing now is the Wingspan TT. It fit like a glove, felt comfortable, very light, and well ventilated. This helmet is top notch!

The course was very very well marked, aid stations were plentiful, and the volunteers were awesome! I saw the officials a total of 4 times on the 56 mile journey - more than what I've seen in the past. There wasn't any reason to need to draft unless you wanted to cheat. Meaning, there was a good number of riders on the course, but it wasn't congested.

Over the first hour, it featured some tough hills and maneuvering out of the city. With any race, I love the beginning of the bike. It's where I can pass a lot of individuals who are starting to get in the groove or may not be the best cyclists.  About half way up the 2nd large hill, I met a guy from Florida - he wasn't having much fun with the hills. He had told me he thought he did enough hill training in Florida, but I kept thinking....there are hills in Florida?

First hour numbers:

NP: 245

Avg HR: 163

Avg Speed: 21.7

Avg Cadence: 90

As you may notice, the second hour was much "flatter", which my NP took a small beating. The hills on the 2nd half were much more windy (whine-d) than the first hour - most of where the accidents took place. A lot of braking down hills and the wheels took that like a champ! Very very pleased how they performed. Very scenic - which was enjoyable. Towards the end of this hour, the passing of people started to dwindle and a small group started to form. Luckily there were no secret "drafters" and we all used each other - definitely kept the pain off the mind.

Second hour numbers:

NP: 224

Avg HR: 160

Avg Speed: 22.1

Avg Cadence: 92

The last half hour featured one more major hill - by this time I didn't even notice it! There were already enough hills that it didn't matter anymore.

Getting into T2, I was suprised how fresh my legs felt! I was definately excited for the upcoming run.

A quick transition, and I'm off with my rain soaked shoes and sockless feet (big mistake later on). I wanted a heart rate of nothing over 180 so I set out my pace based on that. My first few miles were a little quick - sub 6 minute pace. I knew there was no way I would be able to keep this up so I backed off and see where my HR would be at the 7 minute range. I'm hovering around 170-175 and then as I passed mile 3, I saw Cam Dye flying towards the finish (he went sub 4 hours!). I was only 9-10 miles away from the winning professional - I'll take it!

Getting into mile 4, the first hill hit, on an everyday run it wouldn't be much - but racing a 70.3 on it made it brutal! Wanting to keep my HR in check, about 3/4 of the way up I ended up walking as my HR was getting to 180-190. Crest the hill and take off, however by this point, I really started to feel some blisters - back of each achilles, inside part of the arches and the inside part of my big and middle toes.

By miles 5 and 6 I had finally had a good pace going. I was passing competitors, but wasn't getting passed so that was a good thing. I also never saw anyone in my age group - maybe I passed them? But I kept chugging along (in reality I was 1st in my Age Group). At mile 6.5 I was just under 45 minutes. This was perfect - with the exception of the feet. I could see blood stains start to come through the shoes.

At mile 7, I really started to slow down and my mind started to concentrate on my feet and try to change my stride and gait to avoid the blistered areas. I gave it a mile and decided to run barefoot. With the shoes off - I could hold a more consistant pace, though not fast. I got passed by two guys in my age group and thought to myself - think of it as I'm in 4th - no podium. Have to stick with them! The paths were great to run on - with shoes. Barefoot, a whole different story but my feet felt fantastic. Cruising at around 8 -9 minute miles I tried pushing the pace and by mile 12.5, I had reached the final road leading to the finishing sidewalk.

The road had glass, nails, rocks, and more! I decided to put on my shoes and just go with the pain. It was only a half mile away or so - I can handle it! I made the final turn to get on the sidewalk and pass T1/2 and saw individuals coming in from the bike - took my mind off the pain for a moment! They had a half marathon to go and here I am complaining I have 400m to go in my head. I reach the final hill and charge up it as much as I can and I see the finish line. Big events like these will never get old!

I cross the line in 4:59:28 - the last finisher under 5 hours. As I get my finisher medal, I'm also handed an "up to date" place card. Says time, place overall, and place in your age g
roup. I read over it and says I'm 3rd in my age group! I'm beyond esctatic! I go up to the computer screens just to check again about 45 minutes later and I was bumped down to 4th in my age group. The timers had made a mistake!!! Finished 32nd overall (non pro).

This was nearly a half hour slower than I had wanted, but then again this was my first 70.3 I've raced. The last 8k or so was barefoot, the bike had slippery and dangerous roads (would be perfect if the roads were dry), and it was my first open water swim of the season. I'll take a sub 5 hour day!

The venue, event, and feel of the day was great. Challenge-Family brand really suprised me in what they do and how great of an event they put on. There wasn't many vendors and it wasn't as packed as an Ironman event which was a nice change. Getting into transition in the morning was a breeze and even getting out was simple and fast at the end of the event.

Overall Metrics:

Swim: 35:44 (1:51/100m) 12/17 in age group. 108/288 overall
T1: 2:57
Bike 2:36.30 (21.54 mph) 4/17 in age group. 34/288 overall
T2: 1:02
Run: 1:43.15 (7:46 per mile) 4/17 in age group. 34/288 overall
Total: 4:59.28. 4/17 in age group. 34/288 overall