Yes! I kicked covid-19 đ·âs butt! At the end of January I had covid-19 and didnât feel good for about 15 days. I never felt 100% until 2-3 weeks ago when finally my resting HR started dropping down to my normal low 40s. So with the massive shutdowns and overall chaos the pandemic caused, finally we got to race another Ironman 70.3 here in Florida. Four of my athletes and I were waiting to race Gulf Coast Ironman 70.3 since 2019. I was so excited for Gabriel as it was his first 70.3 distance. And of course excited for Vicki, April and Mike.
This is a really good race venue. The course is awesome, the volunteers are always great, and having it at the Edgewater Resort is really nice for family and friends to feel like they have a vacationânot just trekking around following athletes doing their silly tri thing. The ï»żconvenience to have the room just a few yards from transition and finish line is a VIP experience not to miss.
The turquoise ocean water is just super clear. Even when swimming 800 meters away from shore you can still see the sandy bottom. This water is better than the Caribbean when the ocean is calm.
Swim â 00:39:09
The swim ended up being wetsuit legal as we got a cold front just before race day. We were pretty disappointed with conditions. The start was a beach start and we were immediately hit with waves as we entered. I tried to swim hard and sight often, although seeing the buoys was difficult with the swells. I got out 23rd out of 67 in my AG. I am not super happy with my time as it was not the worst conditions Iâve ever swam in.
I did a good job of keeping my effort level measured. Perhaps too good because I do feel like I could have pushed a little harder.
I have tried to draft in my last couple races but not been able to quite get there. Coming into next race season Iâm going to try to do a lot more group swimming to see if I can get comfortable with this tactic.
The water temp was great, however the visibility wasnât great. The day before it was clear and calm, but on race day it was dark and choppy. I drank quite some water.
If you want to become a better swimmer you have to put in the time. And, a triathlon specific swim program can make a huge difference. Iâm swimming 2.5 -3.5 hours per week and doing a ton of triathlon specific work. However isnât enough. A good 4-5 hours will make a huge difference.
One thing I learned about this race (and I should have known this already since this is my 3rd time racing here) is that we have to wear tinted googles, as on the way back the sun is just on your face. You can sight the buildings but still itâs so hard to see the buoy.
Bike â 02:32:58
Wind was greater than 12-15 MPH from the ESE but was generally pretty moderate. I think all the windy rides helped. For the vast majority of the ride it was a crosswind which was very manageable.
I got on the bike quickly and took off on the out-and-back course. I kept 85% FTP. I did my best to push good power without digging myself into a hole. Sometimes there was a headwind for the ride but I lowered some gear making sure power and cadence were just on target. I ended with 2nd fastest bike split with an average of 177 watts and 22.1 MPH. Also, everybody calls this a âpancake flat rideâ. The bike course is not flat. Itâs not Chattanooga or Augusta, but there are definitely some rollers out there.
There were some points where the bikes were so bunched up it was hard not to be a little bit in the draft zone, but some folks were taking it a bit too far. I value a true, fair time-trial. I do wish there were more referees on course enforcing the drafting rules but I get itâs hard to be in the right place for all of 56 miles.
I had a great ride and only started to feel the effort around the 50 mile mark when the head wind coming back to transition was very strong.
Again for this race I fueled entirely on Infinit Go Far and it worked out great. I peed 3 times so I was hydrated.
Run â 01:47:23
The 3 loops run course is flat with very, very little shade. The temperature this year wasnât that bad like usual when it goes above 85 with great humidity. This year it stayed just below 80 with low humidity and a lot of wind.
I initially hit the run too hard so I had to make adjustments. I was looking at my pace and I was surprised to be averaging 7:45. So after 3 miles I started to be conservative by adding 20 sec walks at water stops and putting ice in my suit. I felt great, felt thankful, and I was in control.
I had my fastest run split on a 70.3 course. I had lots of encouragement from several friends. On the run I fueled with Base Rocked Formula, water and cliff gels.
Yay! Another finish line. Wooowhoo! I grasped my medal, and went out in search of the others.
Conclusion
Overall, I love this race, and I was happy with my results. I came 5th in my AG with a 5:05:14 time. Not a PR but I am happy with the result considering that Iâm just recovering from covid-19, and that a month ago I didnât feel my run zones. Also since Iâm already qualified for IRONMAN world Championships 2021 in Utah and 2022 in New Zealand I wasnât serious about this training until a month ago when I decided to kick it up thanks to my coach Hector who woke me up from the pandemic. We started our plan seriously, and I got some of my speed back just working hard, taking off wine from my diet for a month and adding the sauna protocol.
Ps. The women in 2nd, 3rd and 4th beat me by seconds.
Each race is a lesson. I have learned so much. I have also learned a lot about sportsmanship and internal dialogue over the past 10 years. I think triathlon âcharacterâ is very much on how you handle yourself during the race (of course), but even more so post-race after you have the chance to dwell on the mistakes made on race day. We race the race that is given on race day under our conditions, and we should learn from itâbut move on. Itâs wasted time to complain and moanâyou can only learn and move forward. The ability to not compare yourself to others (to a crazy degree), to check it off and say, âNext time will be different. I learned X, Y and Z. I still did amazing. And now, I am enjoying my sweet finisherâs medal and award. It takes much strength and grace, but itâs a good place to work forwards. I think this course goes down as one of my favorite half to date. I will definitely be back.
Iâm super proud of my athletes Gabriel Picone, April Critelli, Vicki Hartman and Mike Elbooz.
Gabriel became an Ironman for his first time crushing the course. Vicki and Mike had a PR on the 70.3 course and April did amazing considering that she has a broken collar bone. Yes less than 2 months ago she felt off the bike and broke her bones. Her determination to heal fast surprised me. I coached her like a beginner after the Injury and she amazed me every time she was updating her workouts.
Special kudos to Alessia who was the pro cheerleader đŁ during the race guiding our other 2 top fans Michael and Eric.