Eric Goodman's Race Report - St Croix Ironman 70.3

St Croix 70.3 has been accomplished!

Clare Zecher and I completed the race and had fun doing it. Clare is a regular on St Croix and is a great guide for the course and the island activities. My wife’s family and I showed up a week before the race so we had time to see much of the island and sites before the race while I could acclimate to the heat.
The race course is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen. The course consists of a clear water swim, long rolling vistas on the bike, and smiling faces out and back on the run. The locals really get into the race and you feel like star whether you’re first or dead last - it doesn’t matter.
Race day was perfect. Low winds equaled smoother water. Cloudy skies made it less hot, with an occasional down pour that made bike conditions slippery but cooled you off.

Clare did wonderfully, beating her previous time here (and me) for the 70.3 race.
How did I do? I had many spectators cheering me on “go big man, go!”, “keeping going big man, keep going” so I kind of got the hint I was larger than the average triathlete they see riding by. At one point around mile 25-30 on the bike leg, a 12 year old boy leaned out into the street as I road by, looked me straight in the eye and said “you don’t look like you’re going to make it”. Well let’s just start by saying I finished my first 70.3 just to spite him!
I thought I had my race training going well with hot bike rides that helped me figure out my fueling for 3+ hour rides. I was running decently for 13+ miles in practice and swims for 2+ miles consistently were no problem. So training was not perfect but at a respectable level for doing a 70.3 comfortably.
What everyone tells you is to stick to your plan, fuel properly, and you’ll do fine. So I was ready to complete my first 70.3 distance with little anxiety concerning the tough course and usually tough conditions.
What they do not tell you is what happens if you do not follow these simple rules. It’s something similar to the gates of hell opening and pulling you in fast and hard!
I learned much as this was my first 70.3. Below are the most important lessons that might help others in their first attempt at 70.3 and bring a little humor to those that have done others in the past:

1. While doing training swims in rough water, you do not want to fight the water as you will lose every time! This will lead to sore muscles days before the big race. Unless you drowned then no problem. (Lesson learned!)

2. Learn to site in open water for yourself. If you follow the wrong group during the race you’ll swim an extra 250 yards against the waves to get it correct. Adding time to your swim and tiring you out before the bike leg. (Lesson learned!)

3. Keep a jug of fresh water in T1 for after the swim to pour over you to wash the salt off. If it stays on it burns later! (Thanks Clare it worked! Lesson learned!)

4. A peppermint after the swim takes the salty taste out of your mouth for the bike. (Thanks Clare it worked! Lesson learned!)

5. Keep an aerosol can of high SPF sunscreen in transition; it’s faster than lotion and can reach parts you can’t. (Lesson learned after I missed spots I couldn’t reach with lotion! Ouch!)

6. When 70% is your target wattage for the bike, do not attempt 85-90% no matter how good you are feeling. You’ll find out why this is important if you do not at mile 40 or 45 (lesson learned!)

7. If you plan on fueling for hot weather, stick to the plan even if it’s over cast and rains occasionally. You still loose electrolytes and water in wet, overcast, humid conditions. Cramping on the bike sucks! And is very hard to recover from (lesson learned around mile 42 – reference #6 above!)

8. If your hamstring and your quadricep cramp on the same leg, at the same time on the bike and you still have 15 hilly miles with head winds to go before a 13.1 mile run. You’re in for a new found level of pain and suffering. Not to mention, no one tells you how to get both out of the knot since they are opposing forces! (Painful lesson 1 learned!)

9. When hilly and windy, drop into aero, drop gears and spin through it (Thanks Clare it worked! Lesson learned)

10. Running on hills while trying to recover salt imbalance took me about 6 miles of extreme suffering that I imposed on myself by not fueling correctly on the bike (painful lesson 2 learned!)

11. Compression socks are awesome! They take much time in transition but I had zero calve issues even after all the other leg issues.

12. Cool wings are great for sun protection and keeping water on the arms while biking and running. Note that if you do not body glide your arms they are really hard to get on and off! Taking time in transition. (Lesson learned!)

13. Weird how once you get fluids, salt and sugar (coke) in the right proportions you start feeling better and running faster. Even though my target race time was over way before that, it’s confirmation on proper fueling through a race.
Well I guess I had to figure this all out for myself. Hearing it from others can only take you so far. Everyone sweats differently and loses sugars and salts at different rates. Now I know what I need! I just did it the hard way!
The overall experience was wonderful, and I finished my first St Croix 70.3. I saw a beautiful island. I’ll be back and get it right next time. I look forward to many more Target Training friends joining me next year! Maybe I’ll hear them cheer …. “Go big man! Go!”