Race Coverage
"...It Wasn't a Good Day."
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Sunday, 27 March 2016 07:10
By Dani Fischer
Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico – Race Report
I was debating all off-season whether to get my feet wet racing in 2016 in Puerto Rico or Monterrey, Mexico. Up until about a month ago, I still hadn’t decided which race I was going to compete in. I had talked to fellow pro Heather Lendway about the possible competition that would be in attendance at either event, and learned it would be stacked either way. I considered this race as a “mini vacation” of sorts, so I ultimately decided on PR due to its tourism and ease of travel (it’s a U.S. territory).
I knew it was going to be hot and humid. I also know I’m not the best racer in those conditions. Going into the race, there was a lot of uncertainty as to how my offseason training was going to prepare me for this race, how the weather would affect me, and how my new nutrition plan would work. Everyone seemed to be confident in me. Everyone, that is, except myself. I knew a lot of variables had to come together for me to have a good day....
Well, it wasn’t a good day.
Swim – felt great during this salt-water, non-wetsuit swim, but looking down at my watch as I exited the ramp, I felt extremely frustrated. Had all my offseason work on my stroke with a 1-on-1 coach been for nothing? After 2 days of practice swimming in the same lagoon where the race was held, I was confident I’d swim around a 28-29 minute 1.2-mile. I was nowhere near that. 12th out of the water out of 15 pros was where I missed the money.
T1 – probably the only positive of the day. A long, 400+ meter transition run is good for “runner-types” like me.
Bike – First 10 miles felt great. From there I realized I was in trouble. Temperature was rising, wattage was dropping. I knew I wasn’t fit for 56 miles. I shouldn’t have relied on my “natural ability” on the bike to get me through that distance (let alone be able to run a solid half marathon after that). Sure, I could use excuses like losing my nutrition on a bump, running into age-groupers on the 2nd loop, the heat, or the wind. However, the reality simply was that I wasn’t fit for a 2:20-2:22 bike like I should be.
T2 – I remember my legs being completely wrecked and mentally in a very negative state.
Run – My thought throughout the entire run was to just keep moving forward. I felt like I was barely moving as I was running 30 seconds per mile slower than my “easy” pace in training. This tells me that everything leading up to my run is what went wrong, and resulted in me not being able to put together a solid run like I should be capable of.
Overall, I’m extremely frustrated with my long-course fitness. I consider myself a hard-worker and have had no off-season injuries to set me back. A lot of questions have been running through my head since the race. Am I losing ground by not having a formal coach? Am I not doing enough long workouts? Is all the work I’m putting into my swim ever going to pay off? Am I not eating right or sleeping enough? Should I be upset with 9th at my first race of the year? Was it just the heat? Will I ever be able to run like I used to? Why have I been trending in the wrong direction since the end of 2014? Am I cut out to be a pro? Why isn’t this fun? Why am I devoting so much time and energy into something, only to be mediocre at it?
My immediate future plans include scratching New Orleans 70.3 in April. With a similar course profile and weather conditions as PR, I am not confident that I can fix what I need to in 4 weeks. I’ll set my sights on Chattanooga 70.3 in May with another stacked field and try to do better next time. I will have discussions with those that have my best interests in mind to come up with a new training plan. Because it can’t go on the way that it is. It’s just not much fun.
I want to extend a special thanks to my sponsors – Borah Teamwear, Infinit Nutrition, 51 Speed Shop Indy, Tifosi Optics, and The Cycle Studio. Without your continued support through the ups and downs, I wouldn’t be able to do this. Thank you all so much!
Until next time,
Dani
