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Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report
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Decided to write a race report on Indian Wells last Sunday. I’ll start with a little background info. I’m 33 years old, got into triathlon in 2015, self coached, and train about 11-15 hours a week. I had a kid about 3 months ago so I have spent a lot more time training indoors. 100% on the treadmill and about 75% on the trainer.

Swim: With the birth of my son my swim training took the biggest hit. I was averaging 2 swims per week (3000 yards each). It seems like no matter what I do though in the pool my time is always going to be low 29. I swam very similar times in Oceanside, st George, and Indian Wells. There was so much talk about how cold the water was I was a little worried it would be freezing, but I didn’t think it was bad. I did use a new Roka thermal wetsuit and thermal cap and I think that helped a lot. The swim was fairly uneventful with not the best sighting (kept veering to the left) and I couldn’t find anyone to draft. I finished with a time of 29:05 and was looking forward to getting on the bike.

Bike: The bike is my strongest leg and I wanted to see what I could do on a flat and fast course. My last 4 70.3’s have been at least 2800ft of elevation. I think this race was only about 500. My plan was to ride hard and then just hang on for dear life on the run. I was happy with the numbers I was seeing in training so I was excited to see what I could do in a race. As far as my training goes I use TrainerRoad, zwift, and group rides outside. My longest rides are only about 2 1/2 hours but I’m very consistent (6-7 days a week). I was feeling good and riding at a hard, but manageable pace. I ended up with a time of 2:10 and averaged 320 watts. I believe I was 2nd overall amateur on the bike. One thing I will add is I did see a lot of large packs. Cheaters!!

Run: On paper the run at IW does not look that tough but I found it quite challenging. There were a lot of turns and small hills. It was also a 2 lap course which I actually prefer. At about mile 7 I was hurting fairly bad but just kept on chugging away. I definitely think I need to run outside a little just based on how sore I was the next few days. My legs were hurting!! I ended up with a time of 1:22.27 and an overall time of 4:07.56. This race is definitely a PR course!

Overall: Although no race is perfect (split transitions, lots of walking the day before with how spread out everything is, no dogs at the tennis gardens :( I think I will be back again. Perfect weather, excellent volunteer’s, and in my opinion a fast and fun course! That’s it. Any questions feel free to ask. Thanks!!
Last edited by: BrianMancini: Dec 12, 19 20:04
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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Brian,

Nice race! I've got a question about bike and position. I'd think that at 320 watts (which is pro level, btw) you'd be a bit faster than 2:10. I've done 2:11 on around 45 less watts, and I'm close to 168-170 lbs at 6'. I bet you could save a bit of time by optimizing your position and bike. Nice run to back up that power on the bike!

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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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I’m 6’2 and about 183lbs. Riding a 58cm Felt IA1. Using a left sided stages PM. I can try to post some pics of my fit later.
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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I was thinking the same thing about bike split vs power output. 320W is really solid and so is a 2:10 bike split, but seems like a flat course with that output should yield a faster split. Are there many turns on the bike course?

My only race comparison is me pushing 200lbs, and in a sub-optimal aero position a couple years ago, I rode the Muncie course at 266/271 in 2:13. That's a course that's more like 1100', but I think 320W on that day would put me faster than 2:10.

Either way, you had a REALLY solid race. I'd be interested in seeing pics of your position too. I like seeing "bigger" triathletes crush it too!

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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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You smoked it congrats!

In my dreams:
- Swim 29' HIM, let alone on 6000yds/wk
- Avg at 300+watts for any triathlon distance event
- Run 1:22 even in an open HIM

Keep at it!
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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BrianMancini wrote:
I’m 6’2 and about 183lbs. Riding a 58cm Felt IA1. Using a left sided stages PM. I can try to post some pics of my fit later.
https://www.flashframe.io/...1686/all/519/0/#/20/, there are the Justin Luau pics that show you position pretty well. It's certainly not valid to compare any other race's bike split with a different rider to yours here but it looks like there probably are some improvements that could be made with the fit, though it does look very comfortable. For reference I rode 2:09:23 on 297w NP.

Great race by the way. And with the run soreness, you're not alone there. I haven't been this sore in the legs/feet for a very long time, even with using the super cushiony Next%s.

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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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"My longest rides are only about 2 1/2 hours but I’m very consistent (6-7 days a week)"


Curious, how many hours of biking a week does that equate to with your longest at 2.5?

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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [realbdeal] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Ben! Also great race btw with a 4th overall and smoking run split!
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [PB252] [ In reply to ]
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PB252 wrote:
Curious, how many hours of biking a week does that equate to with your longest at 2.5?

If Brian is training 11-15 hours a week and his big ride of the week is 2.5 hours, it doesn't leave many longer rides if he's riding 5-6 times a week. Sounds like lots of 60-90min trainer rides, what do you think Brian?
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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You could get that position better. Over 300w that time should be lower.

2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [BrianMancini] [ In reply to ]
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BrianMancini wrote:
I’m 6’2 and about 183lbs. Riding a 58cm Felt IA1. Using a left sided stages PM. I can try to post some pics of my fit later.

Hey Brian, great race man. One thing to consider is that your PM may read high or you have a leg strength imbalance like I do, not that your fit is terrible. Does your trainer have a PM and have you compared it to the single sided stages? I know when I'm pushing hard on intervals I'm up to 47%/53% different between legs.
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Re: Indian Wells 70.3 Race Report [Sean H] [ In reply to ]
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Interesting. I actually do the opposite as the harder I push from around 90% up I'm 51/49 50/50 or 49/51. Lower efforts I'm as far off as 55/45 most of the time and always left higher, which is odd as I'm definitely right leg dominant.

I'm any case, nice race Brian!
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