Intro

Father of two daughters, husband to one wife, writer, day-job, triathlete with aspirations of qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships...this is my journey...

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Obsessive compulsive analysis? Picking apart the Syracuse race course -the bike



My eyes are set on the Syracuse 70.3 Ironman event on June 22nd

This race favors an athlete such as my self because of the bike profile.  

From Ironman.com: 

The race begins in Jamesville Reservoir, where athletes will complete a 1.2-mile, single-loop swim. The 56-mile bike course winds through the Highland Forest recreational area, taking athletes through the picturesque, rolling countryside of Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties. Athletes will finish their race with a 13.1-mile run in and out of Jamesville Beach County Park, offering plenty of shade to accompany the challenging rolling hills. 

THE BIKE:


This is the official map from the Ironman website.  Below is the profile from the Ironman website.  Nice and hilly...right up my alley.  


I've also studied the course on MapMyRide.  This is important so I can see exactly where the hills fall along the course.  



Along with the photos and maps of the course, I've read some race reports from last years competitors.  One of the most helpful is from the Fueled by Iron blog.  What he wrote about the bike is important.  He had a terrible bike -cramping from mile 33 on because he didn't pay attention to fueling in the early sections of the ride. 
I got so focused on trying to maintain momentum through the hills that I wasn't focusing on hydrating/fueling/taking on salt. It wasn't until I happened to glance down and see my top tube covered in salt/sweat and felt the heat that I knew I was behind the power curve of hydrating/fueling.

 Fueling is something I am paying a lot of attention to and I know, most of it will take place on the bike....but I'll get into fueling later.  

I am lucky enough to have a great coach with CompuTrainers. One of the great thing about the CompuTrainer is that you can program specific bike courses into the device and take a virtual ride on that course.  Needless to say, I've been virtually riding the Syracuse 70.3 bike course for some time.  I realize that isn't the same as riding the actual course, but it is as close as it is going to get during a Pennsylvania winter. 

I've also been studying the top three athletes  in my age category as well as the age category below mine (checking to see if any of those athletes will move up to my age category) from the 2013 and 2012 events to determine what kind of speed I will need to finish on the podium.  

Maintaining speed while conserving energy for the run will be key.

Next up...The Run.

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