Just getting around to this, but I completed my first “70.3-distance†race on Sunday and thought I’d share my experience at the Grand Rapids “Half Distance†Triathlon as a 39M.
Background: I attempted a half distance race about 8 years ago but had to drop out during the bike due to a mechanical failure. Since then, I’ve always felt some unfinished business with the distance, despite competing in dozens of sprint/oly races in the meantime. Being from Cleveland, OH, I picked this race for a couple reasons: proximity (4 hr drive), early in season, good reviews, cost, on the way to family vacation (wife and 2 youngsters) destination in northwest MI, single transition (this makes a big difference to me for some reason)
Area/Organization: The race takes place in a town called Ada, which is a seemingly upscale area with a lot of nice dining and shopping options. Not much lodging, but only about 10 minutes from Grand Rapids where we stayed at a Drury Inn. The overall race organization was top-notch for a relatively small race (~25 in my AG and maybe 210 total for the Half). The pre-race information, packet pickup, swag, on course signage, overall vibe felt very big-race but with the benefits of a small/local race. I’ve never done an M dot race, but have done countless local sprint/oly, a Challenge, and several USATNCs.
Swim: The swim takes place in the Thornapple River which was about 68 degrees on race morning (60 degree air temp at 7am start). The interesting thing (to me) about this race is there are no start waves. Essentially everyone (men, women, all ages) line up self-seeded by swim pace and pair off in a rolling/TT style start. This means no waiting around and a very smooth swim. Swim course was very straightforward with only two turns in a sort of long triangle shape. Pretty calm water and no noticeable current, this being my first river swim. 1:40/100 swim (32:30) which was fine to me in an unfamiliar setting
T1: This may be the one complaint from some. There is a roughly ½ mile run on a paved path from swim to transition. This doesn’t bother me but some didn’t care for it. You were able to stash extra shoes at swim exit if you wanted (I used my crocs). They also had wetsuit strippers, though I opted to run in my wetsuit vs. carry it. Total transition was 6:30 so probably an additional 4-5 minutes than usual
Bike: Course had a few rollers with a total of 1500 elevation gain so fairly moderate. Although it was an open course, I felt safe most of the time and there was great support from LOE and volunteers at all intersections. There were three evenly spaced aid stations with bottle exchange, technically 4 since there was one near the turnaround that you pass twice. I felt great on the bike, averaging 200W and 22.5 MPH with HR and effort well in control. The last 15 miles of the bike overlap with the Olympic racers who started an hour later. This created a little traffic, but it was actually nice to be around a lot of people again after a pretty spread out, lonely bike ride.
T2: 1:40
Run: Run rouse had 2 rolling hills and one quick steep climb – Not a hard course but enough to wreak a little havoc at the end of a 70.3. Support was outstanding with aid stations at every mile, with water, ice cups, Gatorade, GU, soda, pretzels, and GFB bars. My goal for the run was a little optimistic at 7:00/mile (open HM is around 638-640). When I saw the first mile come in at 6:38 I knew I had to slow down, but was feeling very good about how the rest of the day would go. I slowed down a bit throughout, but at about 10-11 miles I really hit a wall going up the last hill. I started to feel very dizzy/starry with tunnel vision and finding it difficult to move in a straight line. Figured I better start walking if I wanted to stay off the pavement. I ended up walking almost all of the 12th mile and felt much better after hitting the last aid station and grabbing some Gatorade and soda. At this point it was probably low 70s/sunny but I don’t think it was the heat. Haven’t done the math on nutrition yet, but I think I was a bit low. Swim: 1 Gu at start, Bike: 2 Gus, one Stinger waffle, 5 Cliff Chews and half a bottle of Gatorade (+other water and electrolytes), Run: 2 Gus and cup of Gatorade maybe every other station. Was able to jog the last mile for a 1:40HM time.
Overall the run came up a little short, but happy to come in only about 10-12 minutes over my goal, with a total of 4:57.
Post-race: Great finish line experience with quality eats and beer tent. We immediately shifted to vacation mode but I’ve felt fine and have been able to keep up with the family for everything we want to do. I took 3 full days off despite 10k+ step days doing vacation things and ran 30 minutes this morning with heavy legs but very little pain/discomfort.
Thanks for reading – Can’t recommend this race (all distances) enough, especially to newer racers and people with families. Look forward to any comments or questions.