2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Des Moines Race Recap

June 21, 2021 · 2 minutes

IRONMAN 70.3 Des Moines

Results

Division Rank: 73 | Gender Rank: 679 | Overall Rank: 886

†: The bike portion was only 28 miles due to weather delays.

Race Recap

Overall, my performance at IRONMAN 70.3 Des Moines was OK.

Swim

The swim turned out to be my most challenging event. I can consistently swim at 1:50 min./100 yd. for long durations, however my training leading up to the race was always indoors and almost always with buoyancy shorts. These factors turned out to be a serious crutch, which was revealed in a big way on Sunday.

I exited the swim exhausted and far behind my goal. Worse still, the strain I put into the swim elevated my heart rate severely, which I would spend the remainder of the race trying to keep under control.

Bike

The bike portion, my strongest event, was hampered by the fact that I knew I would have to soft-pedal the course in order to have a chance at finishing the run.

Run

During the run, I started cramping in my quads and hamstrings, which I attribute to a poor nutritional strategy and overexertion in the swim. I spent most of the run at a slower pace because of it.

Retrospective

During training, I fell into the typical age-grouper trap of training too long at moderate intensity instead of following a prescribed 80/20 program with proper periodization. To address this, I’ve been reading the following two books:

Additionally, my nutrition just wasn’t scientific. I used a mix I typically use for strength training, which did not serve me in this event.

Overall, I learned a lot, realized a shit ton of mistakes both in training and in racing, and am taking steps to improve them. I’m coming back for the race in 2022. By then I am hoping to be a stronger and smarter athlete. But first, I need to course correct for 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Arizona.