IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse Recap

At a Glance

A recap of IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse, raced as an early-season icebreaker to jump-start my build toward the 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga. After a rough Boston Marathon, I had under two months to build cycling fitness — and put together a consistent, no-expectations day to finish in 4:52:36.

HIGHLIGHTS

Finished IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse in 4:52:36
Mid-pack swim of 38:22 in Jamesville Reservoir
2:38 bike split (56.8 mi) into a persistent head/crosswind
Steady 1:31 run on a slightly short (12.8 mi) two-loop course
Used the race to launch the build toward 70.3 Worlds in Chattanooga

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Use early races as icebreakers: Syracuse jump-started fitness and momentum toward the bigger goal.
Bounce back from setbacks: After a tough Boston, shifting focus to cycling gave the season direction.
Adapt to the conditions: Persistent wind made the disc wheel a questionable call that day.
Consistency over heroics: With no time pressure, steady efforts produced a solid 4:52:36 finish.
Result: A composed 4:52:36 to kick off the half-Ironman season.

Race reports should be written and posted in a timely manner, but sometimes it gets pushed back 2 months. Better late than never, right? In lieu of my normal race recaps, I wanted to share a quick recap of the 2017 Ironman 70.3 Syracuse triathlon race. After a dismal result at the Boston Marathon in April, I quickly shifted gears and started building cycling fitness. With less than 2 months to build towards Ironman 70.3 Syracuse, the race was purposely placed on the calendar as a motivator/icebreaker in order to jump-start the build towards Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga, TN. So how did I perform?

The swim in Jamesville Reservoir is pleasant. Having done a handful of swims since last November’s IRONMAN Cozumel race, there was no expectation to swim ‘fast’. The result? A mid-pack swim finish in 38 minutes and 22 seconds.

The bike portion of the race is normally my favorite. However, Mother Nature had different plans this year, giving the racers a steady headwind/crosswind for the majority of the bike course. There aren’t many windy race conditions where I regret using the disc wheel but this bike ride was one of them. Nevertheless, I put my head down and let the legs do their thing, producing a 2 hour 38 minute, 56.8-mile bike split – is it really that difficult to map out a true 56-mile bike course?

Does an extra eight tenths of a mile on the bike course equate to a short run course? In this case, it does! Total run distance was 12.8 miles, instead of 13.1 miles. The run was not enjoyable, but luckily, Christina was out on the course cheering and I was able to steal a kiss. The two loop format made it easy to spot some familiar faces along the course, which made the hills and heat hurt a little less. The result of this run was consistency, bringing me to the finishing line in 1 hour and 31 minutes.

Total race time – 4:52:36

Thank you to Christina for being my race support.

Thank you to CEEPO Triathlon Bikes, ISM Seats, Rudy Project, Zoot Sports, Brickwell Cycling & Team Chocolate Milk for the continued support throughout the race season!