If an official pulled you aside... best to live and fight another day..

I had a buddy racing today. His bike/run times were similar to yours. His HIM pace is generally in the 8:00-8:30 range. He finished but his run was 9:42 pace. We live in the South too. He and his wife went up there a week early. I’ll be interested to see how it went for him.

Was smokin hot today. I survived the first run loop in good shape and started falling apart around mile 8 or 9.

Fun race, though. A high of 80 would make it about perfect.

Still had a blast for sure. My brother met me out here and we’ve had a great few days. Scenery was awesome for someone used to Arkansas. Had trouble watching the road on the bike cuz I kept wanting to look at the scenery.

I did the race as well. Sucks to DNF but it is better than ending in the med tent with heat stroke (which can continue to cause issues later) or worse. Having done it last year I will say that even with the run course change, it is a beast of a run. It is not quite as flat as it would seem, and the fact that there is no real shade to speak of, combined with trees 20 ft off the road blocking any breeze, makes it brutal.

After my "misery march" last year I made it a point to push the fluids on the bike. I was not as physically prepared this year as last, but the run was a much more tolerable affair.

A lot of people talk about altitude in CO, but at 5000 ft I dont think it's as big of deal as some make it out to be. It definitely has some impact, but I think the dry climate of the high plains probably impacts a lot more people that I saw today. (Not saying this is your case) People dont realize how much they are sweating cause they dry off so quick. Their body sweats more to try to cool, and next thing you know dehydration and cramps set in. Once you get behind the hydration curve in this environment, pushing your body, it is very hard to recover.

When you dnf does someone drive you back to the finish?

How are you doing emotionally?

There is always another race so no worries!

Yes the race has a sag vehicle that comes and gets you. I mean I’m super bummed but triathlon is a hobby (one that I’m serious about but still a hobby none the less). My 2 goals are to run sub 2 hours and have a sub 5 hour time. I’ll just keep chipping away.

Good job on the first 2 splits, and then pulling the plug on the run. Not easy to do for sure. I think the important thing here is to recognize how much heat/temperature (and altitude) can affect performance and physiology. I've been there with heat destroying my run. Better to call it, than collapse or pass out which I've seen happen to athletes in hot conditions. Thanks for the write up and being honest with yourself. Better to survive to compete another day.

multiple friends' watches recorded 100 degrees and higher later into the race. I took ice at every station, walking through. And, I was going through fluid on the bike much quicker than expected. Blazing hot! and I live here.

Sorry for the DNF, but glad you enjoyed the bike course.

I heard from back of the packers that the section on 36 from St Vrain to 66 was pretty narrow with the number of people on the course. Anyone else experience that? Otherwise, the course was great, plenty of water and ice on the run and the 119 section, while the most boring, really made the course safe.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Our van said 97 F. Heat just crushed me into yet another pathetic finish at Ironman Boulder 70.3...just not my race. The new course was really good, they should keep it. I would move it to a COOLER part of the year like June, now that Ironman Boulder is no more. The swim was like glass, smooth. The bike was narrow on 36, especially with the Boulder local cyclists out (it's a daily thing on the weekends with lots of bike traffic).

The volunteers, let's applaud them! What an outstanding job the race org did in getting so many out there on a miserable day. Lots of folks had great days and even PR's. The run course change was a big positive, it's a bit flatter now, more contained in a smaller area with less road closures. Supplies like ice, cold drinks, were plenty. This Boulder race org really has their stuff together in that sense. Lots of bathrooms (the crowning achievement gold standard of a good race if they want to be a "somebody" in any large attended race). I will definitely attempt this one again!

That heat was brutal!

That was a HOT race yesterday! Going into the race the plan was to keep the bike super conservative, no more than 180w for the first 30min and the adjust from there so I could hopefully run well. Ended up doing a 2:19 split on 192 which I was super happy about. Got off the bike and right off the get go Sam Long was starting his second lap and I thought it would be a great idea to run with him(bad idea). Ended up running 6:25 pace for the first 3/4 of a mile and realized that might be a stretch for the heat and course. With that said everything went well until mile 9 and at that point things started to get ugly pretty quick. I had a hard time getting enough fluids at each station no matter how much I slowed down. My mind kept going from “shut it down, way to hot, hurts to much” to “at most there’s 27min left, see what happens” ended up pushing as much as my body would let me. 1:31 run which I was happy with on that course! Overall 4:27(although garmin says 4:26).

The sport scientists advise that if you are travelling from sea level or thereabouts to +/- 5500 ft you should either arrive 7+ days in advance or 24 hours in advance - in between and your body has started adjusting but not adjusted properly and you get the worst of both worlds. This could also explain why you felt fine the day after you arrived on your run but not on race day.

Additionally did you adjust your power targets downwards to account for the altitude? You would expect a power drop of between 5 - 10 % due to the altitude effect (assuming you normally live at sea level). If you did not it is possible you over biked without even realizing it.

So triguy86, in retrospect, what do you attribute your DNF to? Should you have arrived earlier to acclimate to the elevation? Improper nutrition/hydration? Inadequate training? Too damn hot on the run? Or just a bad day? It can take as much courage to call it a day as it does to finish, so props for that. I'm just interested to hear your perspective (in hindsight).

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Yea I definitely expected less power. I kept my HR around 150 bpm which normally puts me around 230w. I averaged around 210w for 152 bpm.

You sound just like me except 5min faster. My first DNF too and I feel good for calling it after the first run loop. My swim was good, bike was 40w lower than target (agree the course was sweet), run was a disaster as my stomach turned on me, leg and side cramps, and couldn’t keep a run going and things moved to a 11min pace or worse. Tried everything to come out of it for the first loop (fluid/salt/self talk, etc) and wasn’t clicking. HR on the bike was OK/higher and on run was definitely high. Rather than walk for another 6mi for a medal I decided if I can’t race reasonably then it’s not worth it. If it were my first event or had some tattoo on the line I’d probably felt different and death matched it, but am comfy enough with my achievements to not put much stock in this one event.

I attribute the result to feeling a bit sick leading up to the day, heat, elevation, dead legs, and just not having it that day. Put that all together and you have a bad recipe.

The event and location for spectators is the worst I’ve ever seen. No shade, no water, logistics are terrible. Results aside it really left me a bad taste for Ironman.

I am from the South and cannot race in Colorado. I did an event up there three years ago. Arrived the day before in Breckenridge. The event went up the mountain to around 12K Elevation.

Apparently I have anxiety issues and those are enhanced at altitude. When I would fall asleep, I would jolt awake panicking and out of breath. My body thought I was suffocating every time I dosed off. Most miserable 3 days of my life.

For the event, I ran about 15 steps and then sat down on a rock. I had to walk the entire event, and I was running 50 miles a week in 90 degree weather in 90% humidity for weeks before.

I feel your pain.

Triguy 86,

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you made the right call.

I learned alot from my two DNF's (including this year at my 7th Oceanside 70.3.) However, I walked to a bar near the finish line, ordered a bloody mary and got to watch my son PR the race. Maybe it was meant to be. (Not really, because I cut a lot of corners in training leading up to the race according to my coach who pointed out that I completed only 70% of the training sessions.) That will NOT happen again. :-)

Related book recommendations (if you haven't already read them): "Endure" by Alex Hutchinson. It's an inspiring book that really gets to both the art and science of excelling in endurance sports. I recently read it and Mike Reilly's "Finding My Voice" in order stay motivated.

Have a good week as you plan your next races.

Does anyone know what the DNF rate was? I raced on Saturday and had a pretty good race but I agree the heat was beyond brutal and cost me at least 10 mins on the run. I would pour water and ice on myself at every aid station and it was not enough! I would be burning up before I got to the next aid station. I think the course is awesome and they should keep it but this really should be a late June race. I saw carnage everywhere on the run and I had a few friends (some very fast) who had to DNF because of the oppressive heat.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Not bad, just under 10%, however 20% didn't start according to the results page.

2675 Athletes
543 DNS = 20.29%
207 DNF = 9.71%
2 DQ

I was volunteering at the mid-point of the swim and so many people stopped and complained about not being able to breathe because of the altitude. About 20 struggling with foggy goggles and a handful swimming without goggles. Two stripped their wet suits mid-swim.

Definitely a result of heat and altitude combined. I was in really good shape for this race having done 70.3 Gulf Coast back in May and had a huge block in June that went well. No way I can realistically get there early enough to acclimate with work and family so I knew it would be a roll of the dice whether I’d respond well or not.

Ultimately I got what I wanted out of the race anyway. Got to spend a weekend in Boulder with my brother who I don’t get to see as much now that we live in different states. Got to race in a gorgeous place that’s completely different than anywhere I’ve ever raced living in the South my whole life. Great beer, great coffee, great food.

I’m 32 now and when I started tris in 2006 this would have eaten at me for a while. But now with family and real life happening triathlon has come to mean experience more than results. Still chasing that sub-5 tho!!

Did an age grouper grab you by the arm while you were walking at the aid station? That may be the culprit, you would have finished otherwise.. (-;

But really, you just went too hard for the heat and altitude, especially being unacclimated. This was not a course for a PR, but yet you did, to a point.The point of no return too, recovery from where you were at is a days long adventure, not a few minutes sitting down at an aid station.

Racing altitude it tricky, and only knowable by doing it as much as you can. That is if you actually want to get better at it, some just punt and never go back.It is widely variable between individuals. Plenty of races down low, but the scenery usually is not as good.. (-;

That section on 36 was dangerous. A guy passed me just outside the cone and got a long horn blast from a car hugging the line (with no oncoming traffic). But all-in-all, a fun, fast bike course.

Overall, I think the venue sucked for spectators and athletes. Huge walking distances and rail-mazes to get around. And the finishing 'chute' for the run was interminable. My friends and family all said countless people came running through saying "where the f*%k is the finish line?!". Boulder is awesome though - and maybe a late-June / early-July date would be better.

My wife and I competed on Saturday and it was rough. We both finished, but I ended up in the medical tent afterward due mostly to my own bike nutrition errors that led to insufficient electrolytes on the run (too bloated to take in anything but water). My calf cramped up in that fake finish chute and I ended up hobbling across the finish line (once I figured out where it was).

I agree the sections on 36 were dangerous and too narrow. I'm not fast on the bike, but for some reason I ended up passing a lot of riders and several times riders in front of me were taking up the entire lane, weaving around, etc. and ignored me when I tried to yell "passing". The Boulder Harvest course spends much more time on 36 and didn't seem as narrow to me.

Anyway, mostly just whining. I thought the bike course was great (save the short sections on 36). The new run course was mixed - I liked not having to run the hills on 51st/55th but crossing that stupid damn four times felt like jogging on the surface of the sun. I agree, a June date would be great. Maybe now that IM Boulder is no more, they'll move this one earlier.

One note - the race staff and volunteers were awesome. The medical tent staff were very attentive and helpful. I can't thank them enough for being there. If you ever want to see carnage, pop into a medical tent after a hot race. One suggestion - maybe locate the medical tent closer to the finish line and staff medical personal at the finish line.