IM 70.3 St George 2014 Edition Race Report

Well the first triathlon race of 2014 for me is now in the books. I competed at Ironman 70.3 St George this past Saturday where I secured a slot to the IM 70.3 WC in Mont Tremblant later this year. The race was a great kick-off to the season and I was overall happy with the result: 3^rd in M30-34 with a 4:27:45. 

Claudia and I flew to Las Vegas, NV on Wednesday and then drove to St George Thursday morning. I did athlete registration and then headed to Sand Hollow State Park for a light swim and followed that up with about a 40km ride with Kellan Scheiris on the bike course. Claudia and I checked into the condo at Sports Village, did some grocery shopping, and I closed out the day with a light run.

Friday morning we headed out to the Reservoir so I could get a light swim, bike, and run in. Bike check-in wasn’t scheduled until the afternoon so unfortunately this meant an extra trip out to Sand Hollow Park in the afternoon as I prefer to get my last workouts in during the morning. After dropping my gear off at T1 and T2 in the early afternoon we had a relaxing remainder of the day at Sport Village.

Prerace picture with the Birthday Girl!

Saturday morning was an early start with a 0400hr alarm, though I was awake before that. I had a quick breakfast, coffee, bagel + jam, and a couple eggs and then we headed out to Sand Hollow State Park. This year there was parking about a mile from T1 so Claudia and I drove out to Sand Hollow and then did the short walk. This worked out perfectly as I was able to get my bike squared away early and then relax as we waited for the swim start.

The pro men started at 0655, the pro women at 0700 and then the age groups started off at 0706 with 3 minutes spacing between waves. The M30-34 age group had two waves at 0715 and 0718 and I was in the first. The swim start was the calmest I have probably ever experienced. There was lots of space and everyone quickly spread out. I swam most of the swim solo though I was fortunate to gain a good draft for most of the last leg. I was happy to see 31:50 on my watch as I exited the swim (official time was 32:06) which was a slight improvement from 32:17 from last year. 

Heading back into town!

In and Out of transition and then it was onto the bike. I felt ok early on and quickly realized I wasn’t going to hold the watts I was aiming for. I resolved to try and push the hills a little and then just ride the flatter sections monitoring my power occasionally. I am racing IM Texas in 2 weeks so was content to go more by feel then really pushing it. Snow Canyon was as always just a beast to conquer, but it’s mentally easier knowing that once you are finished that portion of the course you will be screaming downhill for pretty much the remainder of the course. I finished the bike in 2:29:56 which was about a minute slower than last year. I was hoping for closer to 2:25, but was satisfied with anything south of 2:30. My power was 211W average and 222W NP. 

Heading to the finish!

Heading into T2 and out onto the run, I had no clue of my position in the AG. The brutal run course immediately begins climbing. The only saving grace on this course is that you know what goes up must eventually come down. I completely ignored my watch and went by feel. I tried to push the hills despite my right quad threatening to seize up and then accelerated on the downhill portions. The volunteers and spectators at the aid stations were fantastic offering continual encouragement. One thing I have always enjoyed is receiving a cup of cold water/perform from a smiling kid at the aid station. It’s like you’ve just made their day. As I headed back down Diagonal Street towards the finish I saw a couple athletes a couple hundred meters ahead of me and I knew I was really going to have to push to catch them. I wasn’t sure if they were in my AG or not. Fortunately I was able to reel them both in and the last one I passed was actually in my AG. I got a stitch in my stomach shortly after the pass, but I knew I had to push the pace even more to make sure he couldn’t catch me. It hurt a lot so I quickly had a look over my shoulder and realized I had opened up a significant gap. I maintained pace to the finish and the applause of the crowd. I was content with a 1:20:49, though I think the run course was a little short. 

M30-34 and F30-34 Podium

Another race in the books and I think I have decided that St George is my favourite 70.3. 

Taking with Brent McMahon - he finished 2nd today!

Me with Trevor and Heather!

Not sure what the highlight of the day was, but it was either a great opening season race, Brent McMahon signing my finisher’s hat, or chatting it up with Trevor and Heather Wurtele – the fastest Canadian Pro Couple (talk about down to earth people). Oh wait, despite all those being great, the highlight of the day was being able to take my wife Claudia out for dinner to celebrate her Birthday!