The one where everything went right: Ben’s Indian Wells 70.3 race report

We decided to give the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells a try. I had a single goal, and I knew it wasn’t unrealistic…

Goals

1. Top 3 amateur (earn my pro card)

Splits

| Swim  | 27:16     |
| T1        | 3:21       |
| Bike    | 2:14:00 |
| T2       | 1:18        |
| Run    | 1:17:29   |
| Total  | 4:03:24  |

Training

There was no single heavy focus going into this one for me. While the focus of most of the rest of the year had been primarily biking, in the three months between Mountain Man and Indian Wells I found myself doing more bricks and more runs at race pace. My coach introduced me to what could now be considered a staple workout of mine, 'The Prefontaine'. Consisting of 6 miles at 6 minute pace at 6am, this workout helped make me comfortable with the idea of extended time spent at 6 minute pace. By the time December came around I had spent so much time at or just under 6 minute pace that the idea of going down to sea level (from the 5300ft I live at in Albuquerque) and running the same pace was relaxing rather than intimidating. 

Despite biking not being the overwhelming focus, I still spent A LOT of time on the trainer. The biggest confidence booster there was a 90 minute tempo ride where I rode 30min @ 262W, 30 @ 277W, 30 @ 290W for a 90min average of 276W. This was the first bike workout I'd ever done that made me confident I could actually hold my 20min FTP test power for the full hour which was a huge confidence boost going into the bike for Indian Wells. 

Pre-race

As is tradition, Summer and I drove 11 hours on Thursday because that's generally how we can afford to race. Our accommodations were comfortable and close to the race site. Summer got me into drinking pedialyte for the week leading up to the race and I had also been downing Emergen-C like it was my job so I was feeling good hydration and energy wise.

While I didn't personally find the logistics of the point-to-point transition and pre-race set up confusing, it is a pretty exhausting day driving around and making sure everything is ready to go. Other than making sure our gear was good to go I was keeping an eye on the Slowtwitch thread regarding water temperatures and keeping my fingers crossed for a full swim. We signed up for a triathlon not a duathlon and it would have been disappointing to do anything less than the full distance.

Race

Swim: As this was my first self-seeded rolling start, I underestimated how unaware people are of their own swimming abilities and seeded myself way too far back. While I was towards the front of the 25-30min group and swam 27:14 I passed what felt like hundreds of people over the frigid 2100yds. While the swim was the fastest I've done for the distance, it's safe to say that I haven't gotten close to how fast I'm capable of based on my pool swim times. For that reason I can't wait to start with the big dogs next year. I don't doubt that I could hang in a pack swimming 25:00 when given the opportunity.

T1: Went okay, didn't gain any time on the pros here but I spent some extra time putting on socks and I always struggle getting my wetsuit off because the ankles are cut a bit high and therefore I struggled getting it over my chip and such.

Bike: Nothing is more fun for me than riding fast on a bike, especially with the closed roads. I have a fairly aggressive position considering my size and was ready to take advantage of that on the flat course. My thoughts going into the race were to hang around 270W and try to avoid spending too much time above 280W: My first 45minutes I had a NP of 284W. I felt incredible. Despite being well above my power "goal", I wasn't worried that I was going too hard primarily due to how well my nutrition was going. I had never had a perfect race nutrition wise but by 30 miles I had already drank two bottles of Gatorade Endurance and had a few chews. By 50 miles I had peed twice and was part way into my 4th bottle. Around mile 35 I had caught a couple packs of pro women and was pretty sure that despite my late start on the swim I was leading the amateur race. With this in mind I dropped my power down a bit and cruised in for the last 15 miles, holding 265NP for the 40 minutes going into T2. I knew that based on my nutrition I had a great run coming up and didn't want to do anything stupid. While I certainly could have pushed harder there was no reason to and I just focused on drinking more and planned T2 in my head.

T2: I had the single fastest T2 in the entire race. Because of the lower effort at the end of my bike my legs felt fresh and with my flying dismount I was more or less able to sprint to my spot on the rack (which was in a terrible position as well). Bike on, shoes on, elastic laces, grab my belt and go. It's pretty cool out-transitioning guys like Lionel and Joe Gambles, even if it was only by a few seconds.

Run: To be clear, the run was somewhere between .3 and .5 miles short. A little unfortunate but not the end of the world. I went out in 5:40, 6:01 (uphill), 5:45, 5:56, 5:57 before dropping the pace for the 2nd loop. I passed 5-6 male pros on the first loop and was a bit surprised none of them tried to stick with me even for a little bit. I knew at this point I was top amateur and just needed to hold it together. I passed Summer as I was finishing my first lap and she was starting her run and shouted cheerfully at her, spiking my adrenaline and causing me to put in a burst of speed. Once the hype died down I settled back into 6:15 pace and kept rolling. My hips and calves were extremely tight but I had plenty of energy and knew if I had to there was plenty in the deep reserves. I treated the 2nd lap like my victory lap. Not to say I eased off any more but I simply enjoyed it. I think I smiled the whole last mile. While I would have preferred having someone push me like Texas 70.3 8 months before, I was also happy knowing that I had separated myself from the field enough to be totally alone. I crossed the line with a massive smile on my face, knowing that this would be my last race as an amateur for a while. 
Full Results

Post-race

The 2nd place amateur, Johnathan Waltman, crossed the line just a few seconds behind me but had started the swim much earlier. I talked with him and his parents and we felt pretty sure that we were the 1st and 2nd amateurs. It was also clear that we had beaten a good chunk of the pros. In the end my time would have placed me tied for 11th in the pro field. I think it is safe to say if I had gotten to start with them I could have improved that by a place or two. I wandered for awhile soaking up the sun and waiting for Summer to finish, and finish she did! She also won 25-29 and was 6th amateur!

We went to the award ceremony where the highlight wasn't standing on the podium but snagging Lionel Sanders for a quick chat after. He asked me where I would be debuting next year and congratulated me on my race. Being a fairly big Lionel fanboy this was a cool moment. Burgers and beer capped off the night, we had a long drive back the next day.

What’s next?

I'll be taking my pro card for 2019. I know there is a lot of discussion regarding the overabundance of BOP pros but I truly feel like I'm ready. My high school cross country coach used to tell us "It's better to be a small fish in a big sea than a big fish in a small pond," and that has always resonated with me. I'll be opening my season at St. George 70.3 in 2019, which is just about the most loaded field you can imagine. Setting up my bike in transition next to Kienle or wading into the water with Jan or Alistair Brownlee sounds surreal but here I am. Drawing from Cody Beals example, it will be all 70.3s for me next year. I have no desire to step up to fulls yet.  I'll spend the next 5 months setting myself up for the strongest race I've ever had, trying to convince potential sponsors that I'm young and heading big places, and shifting my mentality to where it needs to be to compete at the highest level. 

Huge thanks to a few people for enabling me to have the race I knew I could and supporting me unconditionally:

My wife Summer, who has made many sacrifices to allow me to get to this level, and whose dedication to working hard has inspired me (at least in some ways).

My parents, who gave me great genes and have always adamantly supported our athletic pursuits.

My sisters who have cheered me on from all around the world, supported me financially, and introduced me to important people.

Last but certainly not least, our coach, Brett Jenner of PPT Multisport, who has been with us from the beginning and is as much a friend as a coach. He keeps it real with us and has enabled us to become so much more in this sport.