2010 Ixtapa Race Report
(I’ve writen this on my phone pretty much immediately after the race, so I don’t know any times yet.)
The waves were even bigger today than earlier this week. I woke up and I could hear that they were huge.
The race officials cancelled the swim and replaced it with a 3km run, so the race became a surprise duathlon!
A long way to come for a duathlon, but I felt ready to race this morning. Frankly, I was glad that we were not swimming in the ocean today. Even I can identify that the waves were dangerous, and I’m sometimes rather nonchalant about danger (according to Laura).
I had a leisurely morning, just following my pre-race plan. Up at 6:30, light run, eat!, prep for race, relax. By 9:00 I headed over to transition with the NTC guys. Setup transition, got marked. Everything was going smoothly and I was feeling relaxed. Spent some time with Jeff and A-Mac in a cool hotel lobby until minutes before the race. Triathlon Canada was very organized and had tonnes of iced towels and iced sponges for when we headed to the start line.
I am not sure of precise numbers, but there were about 60 elite men. When the horn sounded, we were off for a quick 3km, half uphill and half downhill. I was towards the back of the run pack, but given the distance there wasn’t too much of a gap between the front and pack. Tactically, I think I should have pushed a little harder on the run but I didn’t want to expend too much energy before the bike. I think this effort cost me getting out with the front pack.
I had a somewhat sloppy transition, struggling to get my helmet on, but I was soon off to the bike course. I missed the lead pack, which was quiet large—maybe 25 or 30 people.
I felt really strong on the bike but I allowed myself to find a few packs of people to draft with in an effort to conserve energy. I was taking in water and sports drink according to plan—just sipping on a regular basis. I was able to move ahead on the bike, bridging up from one chase group to another. I intended to really let loose on the downhill and anticiapted catching the lead pack early on the second lap. I felt good in the heat. More than anything, I felt in my element as I realized that I was able to run and bike with all these amazing athletes. I can race at this level. I am in the right place.
Then, about 13km in, it happened. I hit a bump and my seat position changed radically. I thought both my seat post and seat were somehow loose, even though I was very careful tightening the seat post (not too much, not too little). I hadn’t tightened my saddle since the plane ride, but I thought it should have been fine, since I hadn’t loosened it for the trip.
Thinking I had to tighten my seat post, I stopped at a tire exchange to see if they had an allen key. Later, I stopped to talk to a Triathlon Canada official to find out what my options were. I was determined to finish the race, despite losing time to find out if/how to fix my bike. I didn’t travel here to DNF.
As I rode longer the problem got worse. I could feel that my carbon seat post had actually snapped and was about to snap off completely. I stopped and assessed the damage and the seat came off completely. I felt crestfallen and frustrated. Immediatly I thought that I must have overtightened the post clamp and thereby caused the problem (minutes ago, I thought I undertightened it).
So, I was faced with the choice of DNFing or riding without a seat for a the entire second lap with an added obstacle of carbon splinters poking out from the broken post. I felt that riding without the post would be dangerous, so opted to DNF and my heart sank as I rode back to transition. I continue to question this decision.
I was prepared to suffer almost anything before DNFing. Bad swims, last place bike splits, +40min runs in the heat.
Anyway, I learned a great deal from this experience and I felt strong while racing. I feel that I was in place amoung athletes at this level, which is extremely encouraging. And, in spite of my bike breaking down, I was having a super strong ride on my 63cm, aluminium bike. Like other races, I found that fast bikes don’t necessarily mean that the rider is faster than me. It is all about training. That said, fast rider + fast bike = watch out!
So, lots happened at this race. I feel that I dealt with issues and changes as they came and kept a fairly cool head. I want to revisit my decision to DNF, but when I do I still think it was correct. Correct, but hard—especially for someone who can be a little stubborn (like me).
In a later post I’ll add some learning about this race and advice for people considering racing Ixtapa next year.
Thanks for listening.
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Tough break, Leif! It’s a long season, and you know as well as anyone that the results will come. Keep focusing on how good you felt out there, not just keeping up with the Elite Men, but racing with the Elite Men.
Dude. We are all so proud of you here.
You had to deal with some crazy turn of events. Sounds like you manned-up to it. I’m sorry it was a mechanical that had to end your day, but I know you wouldn’t have given up had your seatpost survived.