2023 IM703Vietnam by Thibaud
Thibaud is one of our lead swimmer at training, he had some difficult time in last summer training in HK heat, as a native swimmer this is his first time to race IRONMAN 70.3 distance under the very hot climate! And he is better prepare this time! See what our 2022 Sonic Best New Joiner said!
IRONMAN 70.3 VIETNAM 2023 - POST RACE DEBRIEF
Thibaud Lemaire - 11/05/2023 Race day: 7th of May 2023
Swim
This swim was truly a great moment.
The water was clear and at perfect temperature. The sun was there, still friendly..
I followed the advice to start within the firsts of group 2, so no fighting to enter the water and start swimming.
At first, I was surprised to overtake "easily" group 1 people. Then I understood they just wanted to be placed for the bike.
My swim was constant and strong. I could have pushed more, but while in the water, I preferred to play safe to save energy.
It feels good to the mind to overtake people. I know from experience I would not do that much during the bike and run.
The water exit was chaotic due to the current. I hit the lane several times before standing out of the water. This made me a little dizzy, and I took lots of time to get out of the water.
I am confident with my swimming skills. It was a good time to increase the HR and wake up the body.
Nutrition:
- 500 mL electrolytes 30 min before the start.
- One gel with 40 mg caffeine 15 min before the start.
- I forgot to buy a coke zero to drink 30 min before the race. I like the freshness and caffeine feeling.
Ways of improvement:
- Like Andy says, swim 3 times a week or lose all your training :). I will keep going regularly to the pool to maintain my level and improve my technique.
- Trifitness conditioning improves my global strength, hence my position and power usage in the water.
T1
I removed the top of my swim skin while running to my bike. When I arrived at my rack, I got distracted by the other tasks to perform (helmet, glasses, sunscreen, nutrition,...).
At that moment, I completely forgot about my swim skin. It was the first time I had this kind of outfit during a race.
I even paused for a few seconds before taking my bike, wondering if I didn't forget something...
The fly mounting was ok. I did it without issue, still a bit slow. I am confident I'll be better with more practice.
Nutrition:
- Fresh water to remove the salty water taste.
- Half of a liquid energy gel to facilitate ingestion.
Ways of improvement:
- Prepare mentally the task sequence to avoid mistakes and gain time.
- When arriving in T1, I need to force myself to perform the tasks one after another. I wanted to do too many things at the same time and it got messy.
- I'm not sure the swim skin is that important now that I tried it in a race.
- Practise fly mounting to gain time.
- I don’t know how to attach the shoes to the bike to prevent them from scraping the floor. Need to learn that technique
Bike
I was so happy to hear Gigi and Janice right before turning on the road, big boost !
It took me a few kilometres to realise I still had the swim skin on my legs. I wondered if I would stop and remove it.. I was not really annoyed by it, so I kept riding.
I never grabbed a bottle from an aid station while cycling. I was too fast at the first station so I took nothing. Then I managed to get one bottle at every station by slowing down.
I tried to keep a constant cadence during the whole course, above 80 RPM.
I'm glad we had some training with strong wind in Sunny bay. The wind during the race was easier to handle mentally.
When I was close to the end, I saw Gigi cheer me up, it gave me another boost as I started to lose strong focus.
I felt a bit emotional at the end of the bike. I know this is my weakest part and I managed to keep my target A, 2h50.
Nutrition:
- I kept drinking water and electrolytes alternately. I always had 2 bottles on the bike plus one on the suit. I took water / electrolytes alternately at each station.
- I had a gel every 45 min. T0 was the swim start. So in total 4 gels during the bike.
Ways of improvement:
- I feel I have a lot of room for improvement on my bike skills. I need to understand better the proper way to use my power, the right position on the bike,... So Riding, riding, riding.
- Practise bottle grabbing at an aid station.
T2
The bike dismount went well. I anticipated the shoes removal. I had no issue coming back to my rack and changing for the run.
I remembered an advice from the night before, which is to prepare mentally the task sequence to perform:
Rack the bike, remove helmet, REMOVE SWIMSKIN, put sunscreen, put socks, put shoes, tighten shoes, take cap, put race belt, take nutrition. The sequence went ok.
At the end of T2, I did all the things I wanted and started the run in a good way.
Nutrition:
- I prepared frozen 500 mL of electrolytes to drink directly after the bike. I forgot to protect it from the sun before leaving the area. So it was warm when I took it.
- Finishing the liquid energy gel to facilitate ingestion.
Ways of improvement:
- Practice bike dismount to be more comfortable and gain some time.
- The setting of my T2 is getting better. I need more practice to find faster sequences and remove useless actions..
- I can get faster by selecting more appropriate outfits like easier socks to put on...
Run
Again a big boost from Janice, standing at the relay area to cheer me up, and then Gigi who reminded me to build my run slowly !
I quickly felt cramps coming in both thighs. I started to continuously eat salt chews. It did a great job to keep the pain away the whole 21km. But I couldn’t go faster than 6 min/km pace. The heat and sun started to hit me badly after 3-4km. I felt my body could do it to the end at around 6 min pace. But my mind wanted to drop out.
I did the 2 first aid stations like we do in local races, by being in a hurry. I realised I would not be able to maintain that rhythm. I decided to never stop running, except for a quick stop at each aid station.
On the way to the 10km, I kept repeating: “when I u-turn, I go back home, and everything will be fine.”
In section 10-17km, I felt like I was going into an infinite oven. I was cut from the exterior world, just thinking about the “quick stop” at the aid stations. I managed to keep around 6 min pace.
In section 17-21km, I made the mistake of looking at the tall buildings standing far away. I was so frustrated, never approaching !!
Then, no more gels, no more salts to chew, no more water in the splash buckets... I guess this shortage of everything gave me the final boost to finish it without dropping.
At the finish area, I even managed to sprint a bit and pass the finish line properly.
This run was so hard, I didn’t feel emotional when crossing the line. I was just relieved.
Nutrition:
- 500 mL electrolyte right after leaving T2.
- At every station, I took water + coke or electrolytes.
- I kept eating the salt chews to keep the cramps away.
- 3 gels with caffeine roughly every 45 min.
Ways of improvement:
- Take more gels and salt chews than required.
- I need to use smaller targets to avoid being distracted
Post Race thoughts
A feeling of achievement and relief came through me when I crossed the finish line. All the training and time spent preparing for the race was worth it. I felt proud of myself.
Then the body called to order and I had to sit somewhere.. With ice cream :)
When I think of our Da Nang journey, it seems at the same time super long (3 months preparation) and super short ( 6 hours race).
I realise the 15 weeks of training are the most important part of the whole journey. All the joy and pain, successes and fails.. They define how the race will be handled on D-Day.
The race start is at the top of the mountain. Now I know I truly enjoyed climbing that mountain and aligning at the start.
The team is the heart of this journey. Without the coaches, the teammates became friends, I would not be able to achieve what I did. We share all the things we know about the sport, and it makes us way stronger.