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Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume
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Last year around this time I was wondering whether I should sign up for Roth or not: thinking rationally I did not have enough free time to train properly for it, but on the other hand I really wanted to do an ironman/long distance tri, and Roth seemed like a really cool race. I ended signing up, and I am really glad I did.

Race preparation:
in the two previous years I had done three ironman 70.3, but the thought of going the full distance gave me a mix of fear/respect, so I decided that I should do enough volume in training, and aim for at least 12 hours per week. I took it easy until Christmas, being active but without tracking my training or a real training plan, and from then I did the three TrainerRoad Full Distance medium volume plans (base, build and specialty). However, life got a bit on the way and I had less time for training than I had planned, so basically I had to discard a few workouts each week during the whole training time. In the end I averaged 8h30 per week, including several weeks with less training and a few 12 hours weeks towards the end. In the first months I focused more in the interval workouts on the trainer to raise my FTP (got it up to 270W at 68kg, so almost 4W/kg) and increasing the running weekly mileage, and did less swimming. As the race came close I shifted the focus towards long steady rides in aero position, long runs and some 3 hour bricks, and started swimming more (these were the higher volume weeks). Because I live in Munich, which is a 1h20 drive, I was able to ride the course a couple of times during training, including the the full course at slightly below race-pace once. For TrainingPeaks users, my CTL peaked at 94 TSS/day before the taper. I did a two week taper, and the first week I felt like shit but as race day came close I started feeling great. At race day, my CTL was 80 and my TSB 25, and I felt ready for racing.

Race weekend:
incredible atmosphere, does not compare to any other endurance event I had visited. The whole town was involved, lots of activities during the weekend, big expo and all the pros were around. I met a few pros, including Ryf, who, when I met her, was spending time with the fans, taking pictures and chatting with everyone (I mention Ryf specifically because of the Yvonne van Vlerken complaint). The day before the race I had dinner at 7:30 and went to bed at 9pm. I was a bit nervous but managed to get a good few hours of sleep before waking up at 3:30. On race morning everything went smoothly, no last minute issues or stress, and when I realized I was already at the starting line.

Swim: 01:09:54
I intended to swim around 1h07, as I had done that in open water training and the pace felt comfortable, but in the end I was slightly slower. I was happy about it though, as I felt really comfortable and strong during the whole swim, and felt good at T1. I found the rolling start good, since it was possible to swim comfortably from the beginning. Sighting was easy but the water was quite dark, so it was difficult to see below the water (e.g., looking for feet). I managed to get the feet of a guy that seemed to swim a steady pace and quite straight and swam behind him most of the swim leg. As we overtook slower swimmers from previous waves we had to deviate a bit rather than swimming straight, but it wasn't that much (I swam 3900m according to my Garmin, so extra 100m).

T1: 2:49
Did the T1 relaxed but trying to loose the least amount of time possible.

Bike: 5:18:14, 178.6km, 1590m elev. gain, 175W AP, 186 W NP, 33.7 km/h
I planned to ride on 180W AP/189W NP, which according to BestBikeSplit would give me a 5h23 bike split, and the power seemed conservative according to my training rides. I had good legs from the beginning, but the heart rate slightly high. I took the first km slightly easier until the heart rate came to normal values and then got my power up to my target. I had a great time during the ride, feeling well the whole time and passing quite a lot of people. I had pre-ridden the course so I knew where the climbs and descents were, and that was a psychological help. Because we would have 30° Celsius during the run, I drank as much water as possible. I had liquid nutrition, with all my calories in a single bottle. Because I had experienced problems during training when taking too much calories, I decided to err on the lower side just in case, and took 60gr. carbs per hour. I was quite scared of having a problem with my nutrition, as I had not been able to properly adjust it. At a few points I felt a bit bloated, and backed off power slightly and waited a bit before taking more calories. When I realized I was already coming to the end of the second lap, with the power on target, 34km/h average and without having had any specially difficult moment. I did some quick math and saw that I was going to go below 5:20, and that a sub 3:30 marathon would make me go sub 10. I was still feeling great, but decided to ease up the last 10-15km to set everything up for a good run and make sure to go sub-10. I stopped pedaling on the descents, stretched my legs, and tried to hold my speed applying the least amount of power possible. My speed and power came down a bit, but I think that was a smart choice.
By the way, Solarer Berg, was as just as crazy as everyone says, could not help but smile the whole time and had to watch my Garmin, as I was pushing much harder than I should!

T2: 2:03
The helpers were great, they took my bike, gave me my bag and put me sun cream (which I had forgotten). I tied my shoes and off I went for the run, still feeling great.

Run: I guess not everything could have gone perfect at my first try, so I bonked here. 3:46:57, 41.7km according to my Garmin, with 230m elev. gain (this year was a new run course, much hillier).
I started running and had good legs, I ran the first km in 4:30 min even though I was reminding me to take it easy, as I just needed to run just below 5min/km pace to go sub-10 (which should be easy, as running was my strongest discipline). Not much later my stomach complained a bit when I tried to eat something. I decided to slow-down a couple of km to try to avoid having any GI issues, and pick-up the pace later. Around km 4 or 5, I was feeling better and started winning back the lost time (which wasn't that much), and was soon again on track back to sub-10. Whenever I tried to eat something my stomach complained again, so I ate just enough to keep going while avoiding bad GI issues. By km 10 I realized that I should let go the sub-10 goal (I was still on pace) and be smart, as I had taken just 60gr. carbs/hour on the bike and was taking almost none on the run, and I had still over 30km to go. From there I was on damage control, swallowing my pride and trying to be smart, to loose the least amount of time possible while making sure I did not break down and have to walk the later part of the marathon. The course seemed hard, but there was a lot of spectators and support, and lots of aid stations, so that helped. I was able to run all the time outside of walking every aid station, and could see that I would finish without issues. The km markers seemed accurate until a certain point towards the end, when my garmin started to read shorter (I write this openly, as many people ask always about short courses, and this course was new, but take in mind that this is N=1, and several parts were through forest, where the GPS accuracy was surely not that great). I kept thinking on the present and making progress, and the km kept going by, and it was clear that I was going to finish relatively ok. Towards the end I noticed that I could finish below 10h20 and upped the pace in the last 2km.

Total time: 10:19:55, 431 overall from approx. 3500 individual starters. 42 out of 132 finishers in my AG (25-29).

After race: After getting the medal and finisher T-shirt I sat down, and then had a bad moment when I felt myself quite weak (much worse than while running). I had ran most of the marathon basically without eating, and I knew I needed to eat something, but at the same time my stomach felt "closed" and eating was the last thing I wanted to do. After 20-30 minutes I was able to get up and walk to the tent with the food, I drank some liquid yogurt and ate a piece of cake, and after that I started to feel better. Then I got a massage and a shower, and ate pasta and was feeling fit again, but I got a bit scared during those low minutes after the finish.
Overall I am happy with the result, as I knew before the race that I had not done the training for going sub-10, and that I could only aspire to it with a perfect race. I am slightly disappointed with my marathon, since I had good legs and if it weren't for the nutrition I feel I could have run much faster, but at the same time I think I managed the problems well and made smart decisions, and also gained experience, so quite positive for my first race. I enjoyed the race and felt strong until the marathon, which was a positive surprise, as even though I felt good and fit during training, I was a bit scared due to the lowish training volume. Next year I will probably focus on half distance again as I think I enjoy it more and it requires less time, plus I want to get faster before going long again. But I definitely plan to do Roth again sometime, and I really recommend it!

I don't usually write here, but I typically read the forum, and I really learned a lot doing it, without the knowledge I got from slowtwitch my race would probably had gone worse. So thanks! If any of you has any questions about Roth just ask, and I would answer them as best as I can.
Last edited by: carlosvl: Jul 13, 17 5:43
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Nice race, congrats. Good for mentioning Ryf as well,mz experience with her has always been friendly and open to us AGers, even few days before Kona.

Never mind the run being short, 400m can easily me gps error, but is the bike rally more than 11k short? Quite hilly though, it seems.

I think this one I have to do one day
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [markko] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks! The bike course length was a typo, I meant 178.6 km, not 168.6 km.
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Good report - thx:-) I enjoy these :) congrats on a good race.
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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well done! a fine race for 8h30/week training..

theoretically the gut is trainable - that seems to have been the only real weakness in your race..
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Congratulations on a great race effort (and a nice race report)!

Michael
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Well done Carl, enjoyed the report and great race!

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: https://swimbikerunrinserepeat.wordpress.com
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats on an awesome race and smart pacing!

The same has happened to me during the run and post-race with regard to GI issues and lack of appetite. I think it is usually a mix of dehydration and over-biking, resulting in a slowing of the stomach emptying. More power to you for overcoming that uncomfortable feeling.

2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats! Great race & appreciate the report! Agree 100% with everything!!! Was out there racing as well & even in the same AG (32nd AG, 345th OA). What time did your swim wave start (I was in 7:05 start)? Probably even saw each other out there considering almost identical times (1:06, 5:23, 3:32; 10:07). Agree that the run was hilly & really shredded the quads.

How has recovery been? Expected the leg soreness & exhaustion the next day, but it's been almost a week and as that soreness is slowly subsiding have been going through cycles of extreme exhaustion to restlessness. Maybe it's the jet lag too but the night after the race slept 10 hours, then 7, then only a poor 4 on the plane, then 4 & awoke at 2am & couldn't sleep, then 19 uninterrupted the next night, & now literally haven't slept all night (it's 3:30am). Also been feeling wired type of freshness/exhaustion when doing the minimal workouts to get the blood flowing agin: did 2 swims & one elliptical session; when I'm doing the workout no issues & feel fine but afterwards feel exhausted. I'm trying not to jump back into it too quick but at the same time think some light unstructured workouts would enhance recovery.

Appreciate the insights of another Roth 2017 finisher & congrats again!
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [Anna s] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks all for the nice answers!


Anna s wrote:
What's your athletic background?

I swam a lot from an early age until I was 14 years old, although not very competitively. I was not especially fast but I always felt comfortable in the water. Then I practised kayaking competitively (focusing on endurance events) until I was 18, and was quite fit. During this time I did some running as some cross-training. At 18 I stopped training endurance sports almost completely for a few years. Three years ago (at age 25) I started training again and got into triathlons. The running fitness came in a few months, although the bike took longer as I had never really cycled. Getting back into swimming took a bit of time as well, but the first race I swam in open water went quite well, which I think was thanks to the swimming background.
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [b-rudy] [ In reply to ]
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doug in co wrote:
well done! a fine race for 8h30/week training..

theoretically the gut is trainable - that seems to have been the only real weakness in your race..

Thanks. Yes, I definitely plan to focus more on training the gut and perfecting my nutrition plan the next time I do an ironman.

b-rudy wrote:
Congrats on an awesome race and smart pacing!

The same has happened to me during the run and post-race with regard to GI issues and lack of appetite. I think it is usually a mix of dehydration and over-biking, resulting in a slowing of the stomach emptying. More power to you for overcoming that uncomfortable feeling.

Thanks! I was afraid of dehydration so I tried to drink as much water as I could during the bike, and I had to pee a couple of times. Maybe it was the salt because I drank too much water and took no salt?
Anyway, I think next time I will look into the whole nutrition and hydration more seriously, doing more race simulation workouts, measuring sweat rate, and start trying the nutrition months in advance to make sure it does not happen again.
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [dasOlind] [ In reply to ]
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dasOlind wrote:
Congrats! Great race & appreciate the report! Agree 100% with everything!!! Was out there racing as well & even in the same AG (32nd AG, 345th OA). What time did your swim wave start (I was in 7:05 start)? Probably even saw each other out there considering almost identical times (1:06, 5:23, 3:32; 10:07). Agree that the run was hilly & really shredded the quads.

How has recovery been? Expected the leg soreness & exhaustion the next day, but it's been almost a week and as that soreness is slowly subsiding have been going through cycles of extreme exhaustion to restlessness. Maybe it's the jet lag too but the night after the race slept 10 hours, then 7, then only a poor 4 on the plane, then 4 & awoke at 2am & couldn't sleep, then 19 uninterrupted the next night, & now literally haven't slept all night (it's 3:30am). Also been feeling wired type of freshness/exhaustion when doing the minimal workouts to get the blood flowing agin: did 2 swims & one elliptical session; when I'm doing the workout no issues & feel fine but afterwards feel exhausted. I'm trying not to jump back into it too quick but at the same time think some light unstructured workouts would enhance recovery.

Appreciate the insights of another Roth 2017 finisher & congrats again!


Thanks! I started in the 7:10 start, so I don't know if we saw each other, but we were definitely close, although you were a bit faster. Congrats on your race!
Regarding the recovery: the first two-three days after the race I could not sleep that well either and my legs hurt a bit when climbing stairs and so on. Luckily I didn't have to fly, so no jet-lag for me. I felt fine at work this whole week, but after work I really did not have much energy or motivation left to do anything else.
I think today is the first day that I felt really recovered, I was quite productive rather than lying on the couch the whole day. I also went for a short run, the first since the race. I intended to run slowly but ended up running quite fast, since I just felt like it, and after the run I felt quite well.
But I think my recovery might have been easier because I could not push that hard on the marathon due to the GI issues.
Hopefully you get fully recovered soon too!
Last edited by: carlosvl: Jul 15, 17 13:48
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Re: Roth race report - first long distance triathlon on low volume [carlosvl] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the insights! I guess recovery from an Ironman is a pretty big deals as they say but I didn't really believe it at first. Best of luck on recovery & again congrats!
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