Ironman 70.3 Monterrey Race Report, Mexico, 20 Mar 2016

Preparation

About 4 months before race day I pulled my left hamstring, so had to follow rehabilitation to get back on track. Together with my race bike I bought new bike shoes. As the position of these shoes was slightly different compared to my previous shoes it caused some tendinitis in the midfoot area. Visiting multiple sport doctors and medication didn't really help. Problem got resolved in the end by re-positioning the SPD cleats under the shoe to mimic their position as good as possible compared to my previous shoes.
I didn't really follow any training schedule, just tried to get some swim, spin and run sessions in the gym during the week and in the weekend spend some longer training sessions on the bike outdoors.

Location

City of Monterrey in the north of Mexico, surrounded by mountains, however in general the race is flat. It can be really hot in Monterrey, however as the race is generally held in March/May it shouldn't be too hot that time of the year. Because T1/T2 and finish line are shared and right in the city center there is a huge presence of people cheering during the transition and finish parts of the race, which is priceless.

Stay

This was my home town at the time of the race, so I didn't stay at any hotel but went to the venue from my own place. Lucky enough there are multiple 24 hour parking lots very close to the race venue so parking wasn't an issue. If you decide to stay in one of the many hotels near the city center, T1, T2 and the finish line should be at walking distance, Uber is also available in Monterrey.

Swim 0:36:01 AG-48/126

• Different to many other Ironman 70.3 races you are swimming in an artificial canal here, so no current or waves whatsoever. At the time of year the water can be chilly, I used a wet suit but it wasn't mandatory. The water isn't deep at all, you can easily stand in it. It is a point to point swim, so at race morning you need to walk the 1.9 kilometers from transition to the swim start. Exiting the canal, stairs lead to the transition zone. Biggest disadvantage in my opinion is that the canal isn't to wide, so you get a bottleneck effect, especially near the end where the canal gets very narrow. 
• Personally I got a hit directly on the eye near the end and had to stand and recover for a minute before being able to continue the swim, completed the swim in 36 minutes. I was very happy with this time as I had only used the wet suit once 3 days before the race and this for a very brief swim to see if it fitted well. 

T1 0:04:00

Bike 2:42:39 AG-34/126

• Overall the bike course is pretty flat and consist of one 45 kilometer loop that you complete twice. The only obstacles worth mentioning are maybe 2 or 3 bridges, road conditions are excellent and traffic is rerouted for the triathlon purpose so conditions are very safe. At the end of loop 1 you pass again through the transition/finish area where a lot of people are cheering for the athletes. In my opinion judges should be way stricter in this race, as there were groups of over 15 athletes riding together, athletes sticking to the left side of the road, others passing you on the right side even if you are already riding on the right side, this kinda spoiled the fun in my opinion. 
• As this was my first race I started way to fired up and had to pay the price for this in the last 15-20 km, where I clearly couldn't keep up the pace anymore. Even taking this in mind I was happy with my time on the bike as I was aiming to stay above 30 km/h. 

T2 0:02:53

Run 2:14:17 AG-84/126

• The run part is located in and around "Parque Fundidora", from T2 you descent stairs leading into the park. It is a public park with very well maintained roads/tracks. Only point of warning might be that some parts can be slippery as they lay right next to the canal(the one of the swim leg of the triathlon) and get wet occasionally. Again the amount of people cheering for the athletes is amazing, especially at the macro plaza where the finish line is and where you pass after completing loop 1. 
• Descending the stairs after T2 I already started to cramp up, so that was about 2 minutes into the run. I had to stop and try to stretch it out before I could continue the run. After that I was able to find a good pace, although every time I encountered stairs I decided to take them at walking pace to avoid cramping up again. The first lap I did in under an hour so I was on schedule for the 2 hour mark that I had set myself. The last 5 km however I didn't had any energy left and my legs felt heavy like lead. I had to stop multiple time to stretch and walked the vast majority of the last 5 km. 

Overall 5:39:53 AG-46/126

Some lessons learned

• Perfect location for a first Ironman 70.3 race, especially because T1, T2 and finish area are located at the same place. 
• Use pressure socks to avoid heavy legs during the run part.
• Avoid starting to fast during the bike leg, don't try to overtake everybody in front of you, focus on your own pace.
• Maybe will return there in the future to try to improve my PR, as the swim most of the times will be wet suit legal, the bike course is flat, the run part is flat and the weather isn't hot or humid at all. 

Result

• Swim   0:36:01     AG-48/126
• T1       0:04:03
• Bike    2:42:39     AG-34/126
• T2       0:02:53
• Run     2:14:17     AG-84/126
• Total   5:39:53     AG-46/126

Tags: HIM Monterrey race report, race report HIM Monterrey, 70.3 Monterrey race report, race report 70.3 Monterrey, Ironman 70.3 Monterrey race report, race report Ironman 70.3 Monterrey