2023 Ironman 70.3 Jones Beach New York Race report
Back in 2019 I had been contemplating coming out of long course retirement and entering another 70.3 race, but then covid hit and well, you know. Fast forward to the beginning of 2023 and I was down in Austin, Texas attending Endurance Exchange when I found out that a Jones Beach race had been confirmed and early bird registration was opening while I was there.
At this point I was about 3 weeks into a streak of consecutive days of activity, (I’m currently at 268 days as of this writing.) and I was looking for something to keep me motivated to continue.
Call it peer pressure, call it what you like, I was heavy (180 lbs.) and not feeling great as I started back on my way to being a good example for my athletes to follow. I couldn’t ask for a better location. It was an hour from my house! No travel expenses and I could sleep in my own bed the night before. I registered!
During the next 8 months, I trained every day. Some days were recovery workouts, of course, but daily activity was my new reality. How do you build a habit? Daily discipline… I swam over 149,000 yds, biked over 2,700 miles, and ran over 600 miles. I also got back to strength training and added mobility training as well to help my old body handle the training load and recover. I was all in! I couldn’t come out of retirement after 8 years and embarrass myself.
I was also realistic when it came to my performance. My best half ironman to date was the 2015 IM 70.3 Mt. Tremblant with a time of 5:18. It was also my last 70.3. There were no expectations of even being close to the time I did at 47 years old now that I’m approaching 55 years old. If I could be under 6 hours, I’d be happy.
The training started slowly, literally. I was huffing and puffing at 10 min running pace, couldn’t hold anything under 1:40 100 yd pace in the pool, and the thought of riding over 2 hours was just not something I wanted to think about. I was coming off a year that I didn’t enter a single race, so I had to get off the schneid! I entered the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge age group race. Since I was going to be there with my college team at STAC, and it was only a super sprint which is a 375m swim, 10k bike, and 2.5k run. I figured why not? Cue reality check. Almost drowned 5 times, felt ok on the bike and actually drafted, but wanted to shoot myself on the run. Time to adjust training.
Without going into the details of the other races I did before Jones Beach, I steadily progressed from another super sprint to a sprint, and then the Olympic distance at Nationals. While I was progressing in distance of races, I was also getting faster. Running paces dropped into the 8’s and even the 7’s at times. Swims dropped into the 1:30’s and even 1:20’s, and I was cycling up to 4 hours putting in big chunks of mileage. My weight had dropped down into the mid 160’s, and I was feeling great, more like me again. My consistency was paying off big time!
Finally race day was approaching, and of course, the forecast was calling for rain. Now, that wasn’t a big deal because I had already raced in a downpour and had recently been dumped on during a long ride two weeks earlier. I was accustomed to training in the rain. I made a point of it because it could rain on race day, and I was going to be prepared for anything.
3 am race morning I was up and eating breakfast planning on leaving the house at 4 am. Driving out in the dark was nothing new. Best part was no rain, but that was short lived. By the time I arrived at the race site, it had started to lightly drizzle. We would ultimately be racing in a tropical storm. I knew from my preview swim the day before that the swim was going to be choppy, but it was worse. The race director wisely made the decision to shorten the swim to 750m for the safety of everyone, including the lifeguards and rescue personnel. Diehards were upset, but knowing triathlon as well as I do, I understood, and was just happy that a swim was still happening.
Since it was shortened, I decided to go off with the under 27-minute group factoring in a faster pace for the shorter distance. I am so glad I did! The water was more than choppy. I likened it to being in a shipwreck out at sea and trying to find the shore. Waves were crashing down and coming in from odd angles. Sighting was a challenge, so I was forced to sight more frequently to maintain my bearings. I still swam about an extra 160 yards. Swimming with the faster, more experienced athletes was the right call. They were strong enough to keep going and swim mostly straight, so there were only two instances where I had to course correct because of someone swimming across in front of me, and no one came to a stop in front of me. I finished my swim in 13:30, which put me in 7th place in my age group. While it would’ve been great to not have swum extra yardage, I was plenty satisfied with my time.
T1 wasn’t bad at 2:39. I was slowed by a quick debate in my head as to whether I should wear my cycling jacket or not due to the temp, rain, and wind. I decided not to, and again made the right decision for me. Running with my bike to the mounting line was slower than normal because the wind was pushing my front wheel all over the place, so I had to grab the handlebars to maintain control. Since I coach draft legal athletes and race mostly short course, I’m more comfortable doing flying mounts with my bike shoes already clipped into my pedals rather than running in bike shoes, which can be slick on the ground, especially in wet weather. Now the big decision, do I do the flying mount at speed, or just stop and put one foot in and push off? Of course, I did the flying mount, albeit slightly slower than normal, but it worked just the same. I was on my way!
When I signed up for this race, I thought that it might be a good idea to get another tri bike. I had sold my old one to help fund the purchase of my new road bike, and I figured that since I was focusing on draft legal racing and short course, I’d be fine with just a road bike. In long course racing however, being in a more aerodynamic position is a decided advantage, and the position you’re in on a tri bike is more conducive to a better run off the bike. I just couldn’t justify spending another 3k+ on a tri bike after spending quite a bit on my road bike the year before. I really couldn’t afford it. Coaching fulltime is a labor of love, not necessarily a path to a lavish lifestyle. I could probably do a much better job of marketing myself. Always room for improvement! So, my fabulous road bike, “Phantom” was going to be my ride or die!
Within three miles, I was convinced that it was going to be a long day for me. My back was tight all week, no matter how much mobility training I did, and it was already starting to bark at me with 53 more miles to ride. I was riding slow 15-17 miles per hour! Jones Beach is a flat course with mostly smooth roads, I should be riding at least 20-21 mph or better the entire time. At mile four, one of my former athletes went flying by me. She has become a 70.3 elite amateur, qualifying for 70.3 World Champs pretty much every year. She cheered me on, and I just said it wasn’t my day. Multiple times during the first half of the ride, I had to sit up stretch and put some trigger point pressure on my lower back to release the pain and keep pedaling. Obviously, every time I did this, it slowed me down even more. I was understandably bummed, but I listened to the advice I give to all my athletes, “just keep moving forward!” While I never felt 100% on the bike, the pain was tolerable enough to keep going. Riding up to the first turnaround, I saw my former athlete on the way back and thought I’m a lot closer to her than I should be. Maybe something was wrong with her, I shouldn’t be this close. As I made the turn to go back, I was feeling better and riding much faster. The wind was at my back! I didn’t even think about how much the wind was affecting my speed and the pain in my back because of the added power I needed to push to move! The ride back was amazing with my speed between 23-30 mph! Hallefrickenlujah! By the end of loop one, I had caught up to my former athlete, but as soon as we made the turn for loop two, it was like slamming into a wall! Immediately the wind dropped my speed by almost 15 mph. Back to trudging through. Since she was on her tri bike, and more aerodynamic, she took off again, but this time I was in a better space mentally knowing that it wasn’t me physically, so I battled the wind and slowly made-up time again. This time I caught her just before the turn around. The ride back to T2 was fast and amazing! My former athlete eventually passed me again, which was expected as she was fighting for an overall podium finish. I was just happy to have averaged 21 mph in that weather. Could I have gone faster on a tri bike, probably, but I love my “Phantom,” and I’m proud of my performance considering the weather and my back. Official time for the bike was 2:40:04, I had it as 2:39:55, either way, it was a half ironman bike pr for me, on a “roady!”
T2 took a little bit, 3:41 to be exact. Firstly, my legs were starting to cramp due to the extra power required to ride against winds of 15-30 mph, secondly, I made the decision to wear socks, and putting them on wet feet while cramping, is a slight challenge to say the least. I usually don’t wear socks when I race short course, but for long course, I think it’s best to wear them. I can deal with blisters for up to 10k, any more than that, and they will definitely slow you down. I was thankfully smart enough to leave a “hot shot” in transition to help with the cramping, and I took that immediately. For those that don’t know, it has been found that cramping is not necessarily an electrolyte issue. It’s caused by spasming nerve impulses. By drinking a spicy liquid, it interrupts the signals going to your muscles and stops the cramps.
The only way I can describe a Hot Shot is like drinking liquid “red hots” the old spicy candy. The cramps went away long enough to get going. While I was drinking a water chaser to relieve some of the spice in my mouth, I heard one of my current athletes yelling to me. “Coach, you’re in 10th place! GO, GO, GO!” Obviously, she meant in my age group (55-59 old man group), but I was still surprised at where I was with over 150 of us in the group. I had no expectations, but I took off. Of course, since I’m old AF, I had to make a quick stop to pee in the porta john before leaving T2, but when I finally got going, I felt ok.
That ok feeling didn’t last long, by 1.5 miles my legs started cramping again. I was pissed! There’s no way I’m walking this half marathon! I decided to grit my teeth and try to just keep running through the cramps. It wasn’t easy at first, but as I kept pushing, the cramps subsided, and I was able to run the whole way. On the bike, going out was against the wind, and returning was with the wind at my back. On the run, it was the opposite. Once I was running cramp free (legs were still hurting, but tolerably) I felt like I was moving averaging between 8:09-8:38 pace. Once I made the turnaround, BAM! The tropical storm winds and rain slammed into you. My pace slowed to 8:38-8:58, but somehow, I managed to keep it under 9. When I finally started back out, I still wasn’t feeling right, and by mile nine, I knew what was happening. My stomach wasn’t good. I made the decision to take an emergency porta john stop at the aid station. Even with all of the rain washing everything away, I didn’t want to have an accident and trail number two all over me and the course! Eww! The stop and trying to get a wet trisuit back on cost me about 4 minutes, and subsequently, 5 places in my age group by the end. Again, the right decision!
After the unfortunate break, I felt amazing! Mile ten was my fastest mile at 8:01 pace. I caught up to another former athlete, this time, my other athlete’s husband! I saw him earlier, and it looked like he was moving really well, so I had no doubt that he would catch me eventually. When I caught him, he asked how I got behind him, and I had to tell him. “When you gotta go, you gotta go,” he said! We were moving pretty good, but eventually, I had to let him go. He ended up finishing almost exactly 4 minutes faster than me, so it would’ve been a sprint finish without my stop, but I wasn’t really racing him anyway since he’s a good 10+ years younger than me. My last three miles, I was between 8:44-9:02 pace, and I was just mentally telling myself not to stop. All I could think about was the finish line. When I finally got there, I spread my arms out like I usually do, but then I just flexed and let out a big scream! I was so happy to be done! My run time was 1:55:37. Under 2 hours even with the stop.
My final time was 4:55:34 with the shortened swim. I finished 19th out of 155 in my age group! After doing some calculations based on my training swims, and if the day was good enough for the whole swim, I probably would’ve finished between 5:10-5:15, also factoring in the emergency stop. Either way, I would’ve PR’d my 70.3 time eight years removed from my previous pr! Suffice it to say, I’m extremely happy with my performance. Not bad for an “old guy!”
Notes: Nutrition was as follows. Bowl of muesli cereal for breakfast with rice milk and blueberries. A full bottle of Skratch exercise hydration mix on the ride out, and a banana before the start. On the bike I drank two full bottles of Skratch Super Fuel (400 kcal ea) with one scoop of Skratch exercise hydration in each. I had one bag of Skratch blueberry fruit chews, and almost one cliff bar (couldn’t reach the last bite in my bento box). I took the Hot Shot in T2 and took a sip of Gatorade and water at most aid stations. Probably should’ve put in more kcals on the run, but my stomach was not in the best shape. I had more fruit chews and a bar, but chose not to eat them.
The course is fast and flat! Records are going to be made here in the future. There’s always going to be some wind since you’re right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, but it’s still going to be fast. The swim in Zach’s Bay will be much calmer. The roads for the bike are pretty smooth. Of course, there are spots you have to watch for, but that’s on any course. Don’t ride with your head down so much! The run will be faster without a slick boardwalk and shin deep puddles. The location can’t be beat for fast performances. Parking is abundant, and it’s so close to home for me. I’m glad I came out of retirement for this one. Now I can say that I survived the Inaugural Ironman 70.3 New York Jones Beach!
Coach Jeff. 
