IRONMAN 70.3 Bintan 2018 Race Report

The Bintan 70.3 has always been good to me. Each of the three times I've raced it I've set personal bests. And while I did indeed set a PB this time, and win a spot at the 2019 World Championships in Nice, France, I also felt a bit ambivalent about my personal best. This has let me to think a lot about the ingredients and forces that create a fun (as opposed to stressed) race, which I wrote about here.


As usual, we took the ferry from Singapore's Tanah Merah to Bintan. We left at Noon on Saturday - too late for my liking as it left no time for a pre-race ride. As soon as we arrived, I had to check in and rack the bike.

At our room's pool, contemplating the pain that would come the next day

We stayed at Holiday Villas. This place was awesome. Each room has its own small pool. There's also a small (half) kitchen and a living room. Basically a small apartment. It was very clean and quiet. It seemed like were were the only ones there. And the best part is it's only 2.5km from the race start.

The Swim
My goal was to do a 40-min swim. Like last year, we were grouped by our ages, so once we got out into the water it wasn't too crowded, despite it being a mass start. Bintan has a very gradual sea bottom, so it included at least 50m of walking before it was deep enough to swim.

The usual Terai Melayu photos on the beach. But where's Masri?

 Once swimming, I fell into a nice rhythm behind a guy wearing a tri suit with his name and country on it. This guy was from Brazil and his pace was just right. I stuck with him for about the first 800m and then I lost him. But he helped guide me and may have provided a bit of a draft.

This year, the course was almost like an out-and-back instead of the more rectangular course of previous years. This reduced the amount of time we were swimming against the sun - which I actually liked as it gave me a perfect sighting reference.

Even with this new course, I couldn't see anything on the way back. Sighting was tough - looking up I'd just see blurs of random colors - maybe buoys, guys on kayaks, swimmers' heads, and things on the shore. The only thing I could see was some nice coral and fish about three meters below!

Soon enough the water was shallow enough to walk faster than I could swim. Up ahead I spotted the Brazilian, just making his way out of the beach. A glance down at my watch and it read 39:40. Could I make it to the beach in twenty seconds? Probably not, but I was happy with this time.


I pulled my swim cap and googles off, and unzipped my skin suit. It's easy to forget to remove the skin suit - I forgot last year in Cebu and my friend Delvin forgot earlier this month in Cebu. I pulled the shoulders off, and rolled it down to my waist.

The Bike
Then it was the usual routine at the bike. Boy, was I glad to be out of the water. Time to sit down in the nice aero position, start spinning, and grab a drink.

Before I knew it, I was out of transition and rolling. Just a km or two in, I heard, "Andrew!" and I looked over and saw Nick Glover. I pretty much see him at every race.

We had even met at breakfast at our hotel that morning. He was volunteering for the race and he took a picture of me. His wife was also racing, but in a relay I believe.

This year, the bike course was reversed. In 2017 the bike course was clockwise; 2018 counter-clockwise. This threw me off. There were many congested areas with sharp corners, traffic, and disruptions in the first 20km. During this time, I could not settle into any rhythm.

I kept telling myself, “Once I get past this village I’ll hit my correct power level and keep it there – but now I need to brake for the traffic and sharp corners.” But that kept happening early on and soon enough I realized it was too late.


I probably did not feel comfortable or in a groove until at least km 35. As a result, I was mentally thrown-off. And the ride stopped being fun when I realized I would not be able to claw my way back up the wattage average, to where I needed to be.

Nick, I have more to thank you for than just this picture - keep reading!

I followed a similar race plan to last year: Keep the heart rate and watt variability low by slowly spinning up the hills, and shooting for around 200 watts.

Data Observations

1. The 2018 ride took longer and used more work and power. This could be attributed to the slightly different course.
2. Heart rate in 2018 was more efficient – slightly lower figures yet more work generated. This is clearly due to better fitness, which would make sense. Note the Efficiency Factor (EF) of 1.43 vs 1.35.
3. Obviously, the average speed, pace, and duration in 2018 were inferior to 2017.
4. Like in 2017, I was quite mindful of my heart rate, and I used the granny gear to spin up a few hills. I made sure I kept my watts rather low and tried not to burn any matches (I certainly didn’t). This generated an acceptable VI of 1.05. I would not be afraid to try burning a few matches if it could get me up a few hills faster, which would save considerable time.
5. The Da Nang ride was far easier, totally flat, but is here just for reference.

The Run

It always feels good when you finish a leg of a race. Running into T2, I was thinking of what I needed to do next to get ready for the run. The usual routine, including sunscreen. A minute later I was out on the course cruising at 4:55 minutes per kilometer. I felt good.

Where is everybody?

Pretty much the same course as last year, except for a small, insignificant change. It was still flat. At around km 1 I heard some light but fast footsteps approaching from behind. I moved to my left. A second later, a woman crept up next to me, and slowly past me.

She was #23, Kate Bevilaqua. My mom had told me about her - that she met her at the Cottage Grove, Oregon triathlon a year or so ago. Later I would find out that she and her husband coach some of my fellow Oregonian friends living here in Singapore.

I think she was on her second loop. I stuck with her until about the 6th kilometer, and then she pulled away. A bit too fast for me!

Smile, despite the pain.

As I ran, I watched my pace. My goal was to finish the run in under 1:50. 1:45 even, but definitely below 1:50. I knew I could do that. And for those first 6 km I was able to keep my average below 5 minutes. But by km 7, I started slowing down a bit. I'd walk every other aid station, but I was still on track.

I was not in that much pain - not nearly as much as last year or my last race (Da Nang). I regulated that just to finish within my goal but I knew pushing it any harder would not do much for me. I'd never get sub-5 with that bad bike performance - but still wanted a PB.

Rounding the first loop, I heard cowbells. I knew it was none other than my awesome wife and kids cheering for me. A quick high-5 and in a flash I was gone.

Just as expected, the second loop was tough, but nothing I hadn't done before. Nothing unexpected. In fact, it was a bit less painful than most races. I was happy to have finished the run in an official time of 1:46:22.

10 seconds after finishing

As I ran down the finisher chute, I reflected on how good I felt compared to how hard I was pushing myself a few months ago in Da Nang. Clearly, I was fitter and in better shape.

Data Observations

1. The 3 minutes and 30 seconds difference in 2018 is considerable.
2. The temperatures in 2018 were a bit higher.
3. The course was a bit different, but was hardly noticeable.
4. While my heart rate ranges in 2018 were much bigger (range of 77 vs only 30 in 2017), the Pace:HR ratio in 2018 was lower, meaning the decoupling between the first half of the race and the second was less (less upward drift).
5. Though unproven, this was my first time racing with power (on the run). I tried to stick to 242 watts in the run. I had my watch set up to show the rolling average. This was quite easy to do.

The Finale
Since we were leaving that day, we had to go check out of the hotel. It's always an ordeal getting your bike out of transition and getting everybody back to the hotel. We managed to do so, pack our stuff, have a huge hamburger and rest, and make our way back to the venue for the roll-down.

I figured why not? Although I had only finished 7th in my age group, there was a chance I'd get a spot in the 2019 World Champs.

As we got off the bus, we saw Nick and his wife. "You going to the rolldown? Hurry up! They've already started!" With Nick's encouragement, I ran in the direction of the rolldown. I thought I had run enough for one day!

Thanks, Nick.

Just as we arrived, they were finishing calling the names for the age group right above mine. "I missed it!" I yelled. Then Eda told me that they were going from old to young, so I my age group was up next.

I don't even remember hearing him call any names. All I know was he said something like, "Anybody 45-49...?" I turned to Eda. She nodded. I ran towards the stage. "You don't have to run mate," he joked. "What's your name?" "Andrew," I replied, and I saw him circle my name in a list on a clipboard.

Four other guys came up to the base of the stage. "What place were you?" the first one asked. I hate to say this but I was pretty confident I had won it. "7," I replied. Two of the guys outstretched their hands, in formal congratulations and concession. We shook, and with that, they walked away.

I think my right hand is checking for my wallet.

"Didn't I just give you one of these medals?" the announced asked, over the mic. He was referring to Da Nang, where I won the 2018 entry to South Africa. "I guess so!" I answered, and I ran up to the stage. "And I'm back for more!"

Looks like our 2019 travel plans are kind of set...

I really want to thank Eda for agreeing to this 2019 trip, and for supporting me along the way! And thanks to my coach Colin O'Shea at COS Coaching. Without his training I wouldn't have been able to achieve this.

And while my bike split was not what I wanted, and my overall time was not what I wanted, I still set a PB and still earned one of these coveted WC spots.

Race Expectations: Pressure vs Performance

Goal setting for each triathlon has been something I do the week before the race. Just last week, I was writing out my mindset, nutrition, and time goals for the swim, bike, and run of the Bintan IRONMAN 70.3.

One of many drafts of my Bintan 2018 race plan

My time goals were pretty ambitious (for me). I wanted to hit 5 hours and also get a personal best (PB). The effect of writing out those goals gives you clear targets for parts of the race, which, if they magically come together, is a great thing.


But, on the other hand, ambitious goals also raise the stakes. They can create unreachable targets and can diminish the satisfaction felt from finishing, even if it's a personal best. If not set properly, they can become destructive.

This is why even after setting a personal best at Bintan three days ago, I was not really happy with myself. The 5:12 I set was great but I could have done a 4:59:59 if the stars had aligned. I know I'm capable of it but things just didn't pan out that day.

So, I felt like I had - not failed - but I felt like I had not done my best. I was dissatisfied. And when I knew I wasn't going to make it (about 20km into the ride) the race became much less fun.

Conversely, the year before, when I set a then-PB of 5:14, I was over the moon. That was because I had no serious goals and had gone into the race with very few expectations. I had just completed Cebu two weeks prior and was very comfortable and confident in the 70.3 competition atmosphere and just kind of let things take their own course. And I did well.

Or three months ago, when I had raced in Da Nang, Vietnam, with very little training behind me and pretty much zero expectations. I had an OK time of 5:16 but was elated to have unexpectedly won a spot at the World Champs in South Africa.

All of this has led me to think a lot about what ingredients create the most happiness at the end of a race. So I've broken it down and built a model:

Pressure vs Performance (PvP)
Pressure is:

• Goals
• Expectations
• Promises
• Stress

 Performance is:

• Split times
• Overall times
• Fulfillment
• Fun

When I went into Bintan a few days ago, I entered with a high-pressure mindset but my performance was only OK (relative to that pressure). It looked something like the chart below. Now while I did hit a PB (and get a spot at Nice 2019 World Championships) the performance was not what I had expected.

Huge expectations that are then not met

As mentioned above, the same race the year before (Bintan 2017) for me was a low-stress race and I exceeded my goals. So it had the best PvP chart you could possibly have:

No worries, and then a PB

This brings me to my planning for the World Championships for 2018, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in just 11 days. I'm hoping for the following:

No worries, and a good race - but not quite a PB. That's ok.

How will I get the pressure so low? I've found there are two types of forces that govern how your PvP will look, and by modulating those forces in my control, I can reduce the pressure, and increase the fun.


Internal: These are the goals you set, the mindset you enter the race with, the level of competitiveness you choose to adopt. These are totally up to you.

External: These forces are from your friends, other athletes, your coach, social media, and what you think others expect of you. You can only partially shape these. They can be controlled by who you surround yourself with and how influenced you choose to be by others.

So now, while I should be setting my World Championships goals and race strategy - which usually involves long Excel calculations of nutrition, running a variety of BestBikeSplit scenarios, weather updates, Stryd power calculations, Garmin Virtual Partner configurations, and more - I think I'll just take it easy.

Why should I stress it?

I've done the training. I've just hit a PB. Earned two World Champs spots in two races. I'm going somewhere new, somewhere I should be enjoying. Never been to South Africa. Bringing my family And this is all supposed to be fun, right?

So regulate those internal factors until you've found the right balance. They can't be too high or you'll never have any fun, or too low or you might as well have not trained at all. Everybody's going to have a different happy medium and the best way to find yours is to experiment and then reflect.

You have total control over the internal factors. Think about them.

Conclusion
This is all assuming you want to have fun, and setting world records isn't your single goal. It assumes you're not a pro or somebody doing this for your livelihood. It assumes that you have human emotions, an ego, and some ambition.

On one extreme we have the Frodenos and Brownlees who can probably win almost any race they join. And on the other extreme is the guy who never trains and only wants to finish. He's only there for the social fun or the novelty of it, but is not serious and sees no reason to finish fast.

And ultimately, the factors listed here may not be quite right for you - edit them if you wish - but this is a framework to synthesize these two opposing forces (you want low pressure but high performance) and break them down into bits you can manipulate and modulate on your own.