My triathlon season started quite late due to the qualification for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand (the race is in December) and since the number of available races in autumn is quite limited in Europe, there wasn’t that much to choose from. It was either IM 70.3 Cascais or IM 70.3 Croatia on the 3rd weekend of October or IM 70.3 Marbella on the last weekend of October. Since I didn’t want to fly unnecessarily with a triathlon bike and I’ve been twice to Cascais for the full-distance triathlon, I chose to register for Ironman 70.3 Croatia in Porec. I knew the weather in Croatia could be beautiful at this time of the year but also horrible with huge rain showers. Fingers crossed, it would be beautiful!
Four weeks after Ironman 70.3 Erkner and about 1,5 weeks before the race, I started the drive to Croatia. Due to the far distance, approximately 1500 km, I had a two-night stopover in Austria which turned out to be very good. A nice hotel in a beautiful area, able to conduct some running, swimming, and relaxing in the sauna. That’s life!
On Friday 11 October, I arrived at the apartment in Porec. A spacious apartment that was about 1 kilometer from the old town center and about 2.5 kilometers from the race venue. After settling in, I went for a first quick run along the coastline.
In the next week, I explored the area more. Running on the race course, cycling on the race course to the highway (on the highway isn’t allowed of course) and further into the countryside and touristy towns of Istria, and swimming in the water near the race course. The temperatures dropped considerably and we had some rain as well. The forecast for the race weekend changed from dramatic, to reasonable, to pretty ok! Summer was definitely over, but a late sunny/warmish few days were welcome! The whole week was pretty quiet with other athletes, and only on Thursday, I started to notice more athletes and an upcoming Ironman event! The event venue was built up with banners, fences, a transition zone, etc.
On Friday I went to the registration and received all the race information, stickers, bags, etc. Start number 21 so at least not a number that was given me unfulfillable expectations! Saturday morning was the Athletes briefing and in the late afternoon the bike check-in. It was raining sometimes but the forecast for Sunday appeared to be pretty fine! All set and ready for the race on Sunday!
Race Day
Sunday early morning I’m having my breakfast. I’ve opted for my normal breakfast of oats with milk and fruit. This morning a bit more oats since it will become a long and exhausting day. Packing my last items and I’m off to the transition area. Although it isn’t far (2.5 kilometers) I’ve decided to take the car and park it very close to the transition area. The parking lot is getting quite full but it was no problem to find an empty place.
In the transition zone, I’m checking my Ku Cycle bike, pumping up the tires with my electric pump, mounting the Carborange nutrition bottles, and clicking in my bike shoes. The bike is ready. The red and blue transition bags are quickly ready as well. Yesterday after the bike check-in I heard that we only have to wear the start number during the run section so I’ve replaced the start number belt in the red bag. Both bags are done and now it’s only walking to the swim start, getting into my Huub wetsuit, and waiting for the start.
Swim
The start was at exactly 08:00 hrs and 5 minutes later I was in the water. The swim course was a 1900-meter clockwise route. From the Parentium Hotel go outward, around the Plava Laguna area, and then finish at the water ski lift. The start and finish beaches are full of rocks and pebbles. Since I’ve had poor experiences with breaststroke swimmers hindering me in the past, I decided to start on the outside and stay away from the mass. Only at the turning buoys, I came closer in order not to swim excessive distances.
There was a little bit of swell on the outside swim course but nothing as bad as in the week before the race. After only 1800 meters I came out of the water and was helped by the volunteers. I’m wondering whether my Garmin watch was incorrect or was the course slightly shorter. Several others had longer distances recorded so maybe my Garmin was off.
I completed the swim section in 31m21s, which ranked me 33rd in my age group of 174 athletes. My average speed was 1:40/100m (according to the Ironman tracker).
Out of the water, I ran to the transition area to quickly change to the bike. With my helmet on, I ran to the Ku Cycle bike, short run out of the transition zone, and crossed the bike mount line. T1 took me 3m11s.
Bike
Once on the Ku Cycle triathlon bike, the first short section was easy so just enough time to get my feet in my shoes and close the velcro. Ready for the 90-kilometer bike ride!
From the Plava Laguna, it was first to the town of Funtana. At the town border, we had a 180-degree turnaround and back. The road conditions of this section were pretty poor with a lot of potholes, bumps, and other tarmac damage.
Then it was en route to the highway. The road conditions were good but the road was rolling and slowly creeping up to the highway. On the highway, this continued to be rolling, and the total ascension on the bike was over 650 meters.
The athletes were spread out quite nicely and I didn’t notice any drafting. On the highway, the first 6-kilometer section was to the north and then turned around. The fast athletes came storming down while I still had a few kilometers to the turnaround point. After the turnaround, we continued for about 24 kilometers on the highway to Mrgani where we turned around again and headed back to the highway exit. From the highway exit, it was still about 14 kilometers to the transition zone.
On the bike, I felt good and strong the whole time. I was taking it slightly easier on the ascents to save my leg muscles and on the descents, I was keeping the pace high. Together with the efficient aerodynamic position on the Ku Cycle bike, I was making good progress and was able to overtake many athletes.
Due to previous stomach issues, I’ve joined a food coaching program. I started just before the last race in Erkner and I extended my diet changes after that race. Quite some changes were made like eating a lot more and better quality around my training with more carbs and fats. My previous automatic pilot eating has somewhat changed to more diverse foods. I’ve noticed that I have more energy and can perform better.
Next to the diet changes, I’ve changed my sports nutrition as well. I don’t know if that was part of the reason for my stomach issues, but the Carborange nutrition I’m using now feels very good and gives me lots of energy.
In general, I didn’t notice any real drafting in the race until a tandem bike started to draft behind me. This started already on the highway towards the highway exit for several kilometers. Sometimes on the ascents, they came almost next to me (two athletes can give more power than only one) but they didn’t decide to fully overtake me. A couple of times they did overtake me and then dropped down again. Soon afterwards, I caught up and overtook them again and they immediately got into my rear wheel to draft. Off the highway, all the way back to the Plava Laguna this continued. I can’t imagine that athletes are willing to cheat in such a way. The tandem guide even thanked me for the help (?) after coming back into the transition zone… Unfortunately, no jury motor noticed this drafting. Pathetic cheaters (start number 4). At least they were running a lot slower so this made me feel a lot better again (guess you can’t cheat on the run)!
I completed the bike section in 2h27m05s, which ranked me 21st in my age group. My age bike speed was 36.9 km/h. Not crazy high but considering the 650 meters total ascension it’s pretty good still.
After racking my bike, I changed to the run gear. This took slightly longer because I’d put on my socks and wanted to calm down my body before the half marathon run. T2 took me 3m01s.
Run
Getting on the run course, it was still pretty empty. Of course, the fast athletes were already running but it wasn’t busy yet. The run course was mostly on the bicycle path along the coastline from the Plava Laguna resort to the old city center of Porec. There were two loops each about 9.5 kilometers, and then the final stretch to the finish line.
The whole run course was rolling up and down, and there was a steep 300-meter section about halfway to Porec. The short sections going up were already pretty tough for the legs, but after that going down was even harder for the upper leg muscles. The course itself is beautiful and was great to run in such a scenery. The spectators and volunteers were cheering and a good motivator.
From the beginning, I was able to keep my run pace quite high. In the meantime, the temperature was going up and it was getting quite warm. At every aid station, I poured a few cups of water over myself to cool me down.
Just like on the bike, I was using Carborange nutrition. I had one sachet of Carborange in a 250ml flex bidon and every 15 minutes I was taking a good sip of nutrition. This was getting me through the half marathon and I felt pretty strong and reasonably fit to continue the decent pace. This is about the first time in a triathlon, that I felt this well during the run!
From around KM 17, I started to give everything I still had in me and started to increase the pace. In the last 2.5 kilometers to the finish line, I first saw a group of 4 athletes that I was able to overtake, and then another group of 3 athletes. I was able to catch them but unable to overtake them.
I completed the half marathon run in 1h30m59s, which ranked me 12th in my age group. My average run speed for the 21.1 kilometers was 4:20/1 km. This hasn’t been my fastest run time ever in a triathlon but I’m pretty pleased with the result!
Finish
I gave everything and after crossing the finish line, I was completely destroyed! It took me a couple of minutes to recover and be able to move myself to the Athletes Garden for the post-recovery food and drinks.
I completed the Ironman 70.3 Croatia in 4h35m35s, which ranked me 17th in my age group.
Conclusion
The feeling of crossing the finish line in such a time was great! After the dramatic ending in IM 70.3 Erkner, only 5 weeks prior, compared to this race is a huge difference!
Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the whole race! The swim was good (fastest time but slightly shorter distance), the bike section went great on the Ku Cycle triathlon bike (felt powerful the whole time and was able to maintain a good pace), and the half marathon was pretty epic! Ok, not my best time but considering where I’m coming from just a few weeks ago, it was a great performance!
Ironman 70.3 Croatia: a race to consider coming back to in the upcoming years!
Next Race
Ironman 70.3 World Championship!
My main focus this whole season is the World Championship triathlon race in Taupo, New Zealand, which will take place in mid-December. Only 7 weeks after the race in Croatia, I’ll be competing in the World Championship.
The first week after Croatia was time for a quick “off-season” week to recover from the race and to overcome a short illness that started while driving home. The next month, it will be training, ramping up the hours, and making some more performance progress until it’s time to travel to New Zealand and start my taper week! Can’t wait and am anxious to experience this highlight in the triathlon world!
