Hi Nate, One of the highlights of my trip to WC 70.3 in Chattanooga was getting a chance to shake the hands of the legends Dave Scott and Mark Allen. I am giving away my age but these two guys were my heros in the sport growing up. There were no Olympicsfor triathlon yet, just a few epic races the Hawaii Ironman, and Dave and Mark inspired so many in my peer group. Chat did a great job, and although I dont profess to drink the IM Kool Aid much anymore, i do love the challenge of racing the best athletes in the world. It was my third try at the 70.3 Worlds and I could not pass up the opportunity to race in the bottom end of my AG and also being within driving distance made the choice to qualify and go an easy one. I first had the idea to compete here when driving back from Disneyland with my kids and I saw the billboards for IM posted along the interstate. I thought this city is behind this thing. I traveled to the race with Jackson Laundry, who came 19th OA in the pro mens field. He is a class act, and hard working athlete who I am confident will have much success in his future. It was also very cool to watch the ladies race on Saturday, i loved this format and hope that continues in the future. With respect to my race, i was excited to see if i could execute my plan. I arrived on Tuesday late at nite and glad i did. I had plenty of time to scope out the bike course. That climb was more than I had expected. I went with a 53-39 and 11-26 and I would recommend a 28 for any that do that race in the future. I was okay but I am a grinder and 6 foot 5 and 190 so I can grind away. I really enjoyed the swim course and how the IM folks started us all out staggered. My swim was uncongested. I think the current added about 2 min to a normal swim time for a 70.3. I was about 31 min and was disappointed with that time. It was a long transition and I just thought i would see how the day unfolded - a bump about 4km over some tracks ejected a bottle ( which sucked) - thankfully the one with my calories was still there. The bike course was amazing, and tough. Being seeded in the 9th wave 50-54 was great - not really any drafting that i could see and i biked around a few other guys in my AG and i think we would all say it was a solid pace and good effort by everyone. I ended up around 2:31 and was pleased with the effort. My legs felt amazing going into the run, but i have enough experience at this distance to know that this feeling can change in a heartbeat. I went out at around 4:15 avg pace and was holding that pretty well considering the constant climbing and descending. I find downhills hard in halfs when i have beaten up legs. About 14km in I had wicked leg cramps and in a second I thought i might be totally screwed. I downed a gel and jogged for a bit and crossing the bridge before the big ups and downs my legs came around again - thankfully. I got passed by a couple guys in my AG in that downtime, but i had confidence that i could open it up and finish strong once i knew that i could make it to the end without further cramps. My run ended up 1:33 ish and my garmin had avg pace at 4:26. This effort put me in third place in my AG and I met my goal (4:43). Its a lot slower than i finished in Mt Tremblant 70.3, 4:16 but this course was very very tough and I am few years older :)
It was fun to do the race and fun to see so many extremely fit men and women -they inspire me, and keep me motivated to train. Hope to see you at a race soon - whether its a local race or a big world champs. Till then keep the rubber side down!!

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Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

You were one of the poor souls who didn't bring a wetsuit? I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better the water was really warm and I overheated a bit in mine.
And nice work on that bike course! I'm envious of that NP.

Anyway here is my race report.

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Fourth year Elite.
- AP Racing Team
- Dimond Bikes
- Strava
- Insta

Nice racing! I also didn't bring a wetsuit. But I also didn't bring much fitness! Can you guess which ended up mattering more in the end...? haha

here's mine

Good stuff, guys!
If I were you, there's no chance in hell I wouldn't buy a wetsuit at the expo.

Yeah, I left my wetsuit at home, too. What a brilliant idea that was. I ended up 6th in my age group, 32 seconds away from the podium. If only...

Ginger

Good racing, you still edged me out by 30 seconds or so even with no wetsuit! .....I hated the "traffic" on the bike course, pretty much left me frustrated much of the day. Nice job pacing the run well.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

I did consider that for a moment, but I knew I wouldn't be vying for a podium spot, so a few minutes wouldn't haunt me. I checked with Zoot, who is a team sponsor, and they didn't even bring any wetsuits with them. It was suggested to try borrowing one from a woman who raced the day before, but I just decided it wasn't worth it.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Had the opportunity to race Chattanooga but did IMWales instead. Glad I didn't waste my time in the 60-64 AG. Some really great athletes in there but you know who is in that AG and just made a joke of the race. When someone that age is coming up with those kind of results I can't but help think there is a lot amiss. There's talent then there's whatever he's on!

My race report. :)

http://www.slowtwitch.com/...hattanooga_6562.html

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

Nice write up, Bryan!!! ;)

Great to meet you and sorry about what happened on the bike. Been there with bike issues in a few races, and it's no fun!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023