Last Saturday at around 8pm Bangkok time, I settled down with a couple of cold beers to watch the start of the highly anticipated Ironman 70.3 St George...
I wasn't disappointed!
Almost 4 hours later, Lionel Sanders emerged victorious and took the win after an epic last few kilometers of the run leg, where he battled it out with Sam Long.
Watch the last 5k of this epic race here.
To see how much effort (and how fast) these guys were putting in at the end was really something!
I'd like to share a few ideas and points we can learn from the race, that can help us with our own performance (when we get to race again!)
Let's begin by having a look at the top 10 in the race, and there split times for the swim, bike and run...
Big congratulations to Lionel Sanders on taking the win. He has quite an active YouTube Channel where he posts race diaries and race reviews. Some interesting stuff I can recommend to check out!
But for us mere mortals, what can we learn from these results?
Well, here's my take and 3 things we can learn.. hope it's useful!
1. The Race Isn't Won with the Swim
You may be wondering why I included Sam Appleton and Ben Kanute in the list above.
That's because they were the first 2 out of the water were Sam Appleton and Ben Kanute, who were almost 2 minutes quicker than Lionel Sanders and over two minutes faster than 2nd place Sam Long.
Source: slowtwitch.com
But they both fell away on the bike also lost a lot of time on the run legs.
Top Tip:
Stick to your race plan. If swimming isn't your strongest discipline, don't push yourself too hard. Be like Lionel!
2. The Human Body is Capable of Amazing Things!
Even by his own admission, Lionel had to put in a massive effort to get across the finish line first.
“I’ve never gone that deep,” Sanders said at the line. “That’s the most I’ve ever suffered. I’ve never gone that deep that far into a race.”
As he pulled away from Sam Long in the last few hundred metres and glanced back at his chaser, you could see the grit and pain on his face.
That's the face of a real champ!
To be fair, that's the face I normally have even if I'm nowhere near the front!
Source: slowtwitch.com
And Sam Long collapsed across the finish line - top effort lad!
This quote is a great reminder of why many of us love to take part in sport and triathlon.
We can't all be champions and be on the podium. For many of us, having the challenge of pushing ourselves and living life at its fullest is what we do it for!
Top Tip:
If you wanna go faster, you gotta grit your teeth!!
3. Huge Chunks of Time Can Be Lost on the Run
It's no surprise that the winner and runner-up posted the two fastest run splits. They were absolutely pushing each other to go faster and dig deeper at the end of the race.
You could say that it's a perfectly paced race when you can put in that kind of effort at then end of an Ironman 70.3.
It also again highlights the importance of having a solid race plan, being able to stick to it and being comfortable and confident in the knowledge that you the ability to make up lost ground in the bike or run.
What we can also see is that further down the field there are big gaps, especially with Sam Appleton and Ben Kanute.
Ben Kanute had an excellent couple of results earlier in the season, finishing just 1 mimute behind Lionel Sanders in Challenge Daytona and Ironman 70.3 Texas.
Source: slowtwitch.com
Today just wasn't to be his day. Best of luck with the next race, Ben!
Top Tip:
Do the best you can and leave nothing out there. Some days will just not be your day. Learn from it and aim to improve next time!
Final Thoughts
There's already been some great and super close racing this season, with lots more to come hopefully.
Watching this kind of finish really inspires me to get my gear on, do some training and get ready for NO LIMITS!
Thanks and congratulations to all the racers in Ironman 70.3 St George.
Loved the entertainment guys and I've already got the beers chilling in the fridge for the next race!
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