Ironman 70.3 Luxembourg Race Report, Remich Luxembourg, 16 Jun 2019

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Preparation

This was THE race I had been working towards for this year, first race on European soil, racing with my best buddy and family coming over to see me race for the first time. I only had a few weeks between Chattanooga 70.3 and this race, but with the 21 week training period before Choo I had a very solid base. 2 weeks out I had flu like symptoms for almost an entire week, unable to get any decent workout in. 7 days before race day I couldn't even complete a 5K run. With the long flight and jet lag ahead I didn't have high hopes for a decent race, if it would have been a normal race I might even had my fist DNS, but this was no normal race for me, so I was just going to give it the best I got and after each leg see how I felt and decide if I continued on with the race.

Location

I picked this race because it was relative close to where my family lives, so I could combine a family visit with a race and on top of that my buddy could do his first IM70.3 distance race. 

Everything is conveniently located near the center of Remich, a small but lovely town on the river Moselle in Luxembourg right at the border with Germany: Ironman village, T1/T2, swim start/exit are all near the town square. So from a logistics point of view this race is pretty easy, besides maybe the limited amount of hotels near the event. The swim is in the Moselle river, against the current, with the current and then again against the current, basically forming a big T course. Bike course is one big loop and totally traffic free through Luxembourg and France. Run course is a 3 loop setup around the town square and on the river side. 

Stay

We drove from Belgium to Luxemburg around noon on Friday, so where there well on time to pick up our bib number etc.
We stayed in Landal Warsberg, about 30 minutes from Remich near Saarburg in Germany, which turned out to be a lovely little village.

Swim 0:30:42 AG-25/247

  • As in Choo my goggles fogged up horrible during the swim I took a small bottle of water with me while waiting my turn to jump in the water. Cleaned them out, poured some water in them, all set to go so threw away the bottle. 30 seconds later, still in line to enter the water I noticed they had already had fogged up horribly! Lucky for me another athlete close by still had some water and was kind enough to share some, so disaster avoided. They had a pretty cool start setup, 5 lines were formed and each x seconds one athlete of each line was allowed to run towards the water. I felt pretty good in the water, didn't feel gassed in the beginning like I often have, and was able to get into a good rhythm early on. Most of the swim I had clear water, even the U turns weren't a carnage like often happens. I expected the up stream part in the beginning and near the end to be pretty hard, but to be honest I didn't feel any difference between the up and down stream swim. 
  • So swim went pretty good, was happy with the rhythm and I was picking up athletes little by little, don't recall anyone overtaking me. Only bad thing was when they pulled me out of the water my left hammy cramped up horribly.
  • AG 10% is one of my better swims so far so the feeling in the water got confirmed. 


T1 0:03:46 

  • No running for me in this transition, as my left hammy was all cramped up I had to try to walk it off while stripping my wet suit off down to my waist, no wet suit strippers in this race. Found my T1 bag without a problem, got dressed in the transition tent and tried to jog to my bike, hoping my hammy wouldn't burst. For some reason the mount line was pretty far out of T1, but in the end no issues besides the hammy, so a smooth transition.

Bike 2:33:40 AG-71/247

  • From the bike course profile I knew the first 35 k or so where pretty flat, so plan was to go hard the first hour and then don't go to nuts on the inclines to have something left for the run.
  • Heading out of T1 my hammy was still hurting on the bike, but after a while it faded away so I stopped worrying about it. The first hour was an out and back along the river, some parts had some pretty strong head wind on the way back. The referees did a great job in throwing some penalties out there as people were drafting pretty bad.  
  • Then the inclines started, started to overtake people and at the same time trying to keep my effort under control. From the first incline onward it was basically up and down and up again till the last 10 k or so. I never pushed it 100% so I expected to have some legs left to push it harder during the last flat 10 k, but nope didn't feel like having much left, guess I still wasn't really at 100% after having been sick a week before the race. So by the end of the bike leg I was just happy it was over with, didn't feel great, but I guess it was the best I could do that day.
  • AG 28% is actually one of my worst results so far, and this with a 2:33:40, which isn't that bad I would think, guess in Europe people are stronger cyclists compared to Mexico and the USA. 

 


T2 0:02:56

  • Saw my family for the first time during the race! Was more worried about my dad tripping while running next to me on the other side of the fence than cramping up during the run ☺ No volunteers with sun blocker apparently during this race so ... well no sun blocker.


Run 1:48:12 AG-122/247

  • Out of T2 my quads didn't feel to great, first 2 or 3 k I tried not to push it to hard to avoid them cramping up. Luckily it faded away and I could start getting into a decent rhythm. First lap went pretty good, probably pushed it a bit to hard there and paid the price for it later on. 2nd loop I was hurting already and around the hour mark I just couldn't keep the pace up anymore and performance went south pretty fast. Little over halfway into the last lap I even had to walk a bit from time to time to avoid cramps getting to bad.
  • The support on the run course was amazing, 3 loops so seeing the family a few times and tons of people out there supporting the athletes. 
  • Run AG 49%, which isn't my best run but neither my worse, again taking that I had been sick a week before the race, I think it was the best I had in me on race day. Might have as well just pushed it a little to hard the first hour and payed the price near the end of the run.
 

Overall 4:59:16 AG-87/247

  • Right after the race I was pretty disappointed, as I broke down about one hour into the run. Afterwards the disappointment faded away, knowing I had given it all that day. Would love to go back one day, see what I can do when fully healthy.
  • Swim: felt great, good sighting, good rhythm, no fogging issues, great AG as a result.
  • Bike/run: although holding back on the bike I didn't feel great near the end, first hour on the run was good, then I broke down, I believe that both were due to not being 100% healthy. I need to keep an eye on the run as well to not go to hard that first hour.
  • It was my first race on European soil, so maybe not much of a reference, but seemed competition was tougher than in MX or the USA, especially on the bike and the run. Bike split of 2:33 and only 71st out of 247 athletes in my AG!

Some lessons learned

  • Loved this race: great swim, traffic free and beautiful challenging bike course plus amazing support on the run in Remich. Certainly recommending this race and hope to do it again one day!
  • Nutrition plan worked again.
  • Loved seeing my family in T2 and during the run! Always great to have support during the race.

Result

  • Swim   0:30:42     AG-25/247
  • T1       0:03:46
  • Bike    2:33:40     AG-71/247
  • T2       0:02:56
  • Run     1:48:12     AG-122/247
  • Total   4:59:16     AG-87/247



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

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