Race Report: Ironman 70.3 Ohio [July 29, 2018]

At a Glance

Just one week after IRONMAN Lake Placid, I lined up for IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio to see how the body would hold up on tired legs. Despite lingering fatigue, a smart, aggressive bike leg and a gutsy run were enough for a strong result — 14th overall and 3rd in M25-29 in hot, humid conditions.

HIGHLIGHTS

Finished 14th overall and 3rd in M25-29
Posted a 2:11:38 bike split (~25.6 mph) — 3rd fastest of the day
Raced just seven days after a full IRONMAN
Gutted out a 1:34:44 half-marathon on heavy legs
Non-wetsuit swim in warm water at Delaware State Park

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Back-to-back racing is possible with smart recovery: Theragun and Normatec helped me bounce back within a week.
Play to your strengths on tired legs: Expecting a hard run, I pushed the bike to a 2:11:38 split.
Manage effort, not ego: A “run until you can’t” approach with brief walk breaks limited lost time.
Result: 14th overall and 3rd in M25-29 despite heavy accumulated fatigue.

Ever wonder how it feels to race a half ironman a week after racing a full distance IRONMAN?

I thought it would be a lot uglier – mainly because I could barely walk for 72 hours after finishing IRONMAN Lake Placid. But fortunately, my friends over at Theragun and Normatec helped expedite my recovery process.

I arrived in Ohio on Thursday afternoon to setup. It was hot and humid – just as I expected for a race in the Midwest. There were no good outlets for swim practice, so I didn’t bother with swimming prior to the race. On Friday morning, Jacki and I did a morning ride along the Scioto River, just west of where we were staying in Delaware. As much as I want to say that I missed the cornfields and country roads, I still consider it to be the most boring terrain to ride a bike. Thankfully, I had good company!

Anthony Chan racing at Ironman 70.3 Ohio

On Saturday, our ride group doubled in size as my good friend Katie, and Eric from AltRed, also joined us for a morning bike ride! We did nearly the same ride as Friday morning and then spent the rest of the day at the expo at Selby Stadium. After a long Saturday before the race, we ventured to Olive Garden for dinner – it was my first time!

Race Day

1.2-mile Swim in warm bathwater

The swim took place in Delaware State Parks Beach.

Due to the increased water temps, wetsuits were not legal for awards. Thanks to the AltRed team (Jacki & Eric), Katie and I were able to hitch a ride to the swim start, and with plenty of time to setup our bikes and transition area. At the start, I lined up between the 35-40 minute group where I bumped into fellow Gatorade Endurance Ambassador, Riley! The course was one loop, clockwise, and mostly rectangular.

The best part of the swim was coming out of the water at the same time as Katie- what are the odds?! I later found out that I had swam over Katie right before we got out – sorry ’bout that!

Head Down – Watts Up!

Swim start at Ironman 70.3 Ohio — Photo Cred: Eric, AltRed (from our pre-race ride)

Knowing that the residual fatigue from Ironman Lake Placid would be exposed on the run, I decided to execute the 56.5-mile bike course as hard as possible, without burning out. The 38-minute swim set me up for a lot of passing in the earlier miles and then lots of lonely solo miles. The course is mostly flat and my Garmin recorded about 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Happy to roll into Selby Stadium with a 2:11:38 split (~25.6mph) and 3^rd fastest bike split on the day – being bested by Mike Vanacora [2:10:58] and fellow CEEPO athlete, Matt Straatman [2:10:59].

Run Until You Can’t

It’s always a pleasure to have a strong showing off the bike but today was not one of those days; I can’t ask my body to dig deep a week after running a personal best 3:15 IRONMAN marathon. With that in mind, my tactic for the half marathon run was to run until I could no longer run. I made it through 9 miles, or about 15 kilometers before my quads and hip flexors became so tight that I had to stretch at the aid station. Trying to limit the lost time, I allocated only 10-15 seconds to walking before resuming what felt like a slow-motion jog. Given the amount of accumulated fatigue and the law of diminishing returns, I successfully trotted my way back towards Selby Stadium and managed a 1:34:44 run split.

Result:

14^th Overall

3^rd M25-29

Run course at Ironman 70.3 Ohio — M25-29 podium (from right to left)

Special shoutout to Jacki for being such a supportive race ‘sherpa’ even when you were feeling under the weather.

Thank you to all my sponsors for supporting the journey. It’s always a treat to race in the super comfy Zoot team kit, ride fast aboard the CEEPO Viper, and do all that while fueling with Gatorade Endurance.

See you at the next race!