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Ironman 70.3 Racine: A Post-Race Interview

Posted on Aug 4, 2011 by Kim Landrum   |  

On July 17^th, Kim Reistad and Gin Flemming took their talents to Racine, Wisconsin for the Ironman 70.3 distance race on Lake Michigan. Record high temperatures were predicted for race day and rose to the lower 90’s by early afternoon. Athletes swam in Lake Michigan along North Beach, continued through the countryside for the bike course and finished with a flat run course through the Racine Zoo and surrounding Lake Michigan coastline.

Kim is a native of Wisconsin and recently relocated from Athens back to her home state. As she prepares for Ironman Wisconsin in September, the 70.3 race in Racine was a great opportunity to put her training to the test and give some of her racing nutrition and pacing tactics a try. Gin was new to long course racing and was equally excited to experience the 70.3 distance. I had the opportunity to interview Kim and Gin about their races and here’s what they had to say.

Kim Reistad

What was it like to be back racing in your home state of Wisconsin?

It was great! I have done this race twice before and always loved the course, the race support and people. I knew a few people racing and quite a few familiar faces which is always fun too. My parents were able to come out and watch which means a lot -- they are my biggest fans!

It’s been a few years since you've raced long course, what brought you back to the 70.3 distance?

I decided to do 70.3 because I will be racing Ironman Wisconsin later this year. The Racine race was perfect as it was 60 days out from IMWI and an opportunity to test the race prep I will be using for IM. I also knew a good group of friends that were planning on racing Racine from Athens so it was an opportunity to race with friends!

You had a phenomenal race finishing 5th in the 25-29 age group, congratulations! Obviously you were well prepared going into the day but what was the most successful part of your race? Were there particular challenges you overcame in order to finish as well as you did?

Thank you. Yeah I was pleased with my finish. I wasn't sure what to expect because I have been feeling tired from the training, so I was pleased to finish in the top 5. I thought the most successful part of the race was the overall execution. I knew the race was going to be hot and having done that race before with a heat index of 110, I knew what to expect from the heat. During the week leading up to the race I increased my fluids, slept a lot and relaxed. On race day I knew I needed to keep my core temp stable the entire day because it will catch up to you fast on the run. From the beginning I was hydrating a lot on the bike and getting water from the aid stations and pouring them over my body. On the run course I did the same.  As far as particular challenges to overcome I would say the usual that comes with every race: the run course was hot and by then you start to get tired, I just used my usually positive thinking the entire run and kept pushing away.

Can you talk about your nutrition before, during and after the race?

First and foremost I think hydration is extremely important -- the entire week leading up to the race I increased my fluids a lot. More specifically, before the race I usually eat a bagel, yogurt and banana (and of course a dark black coffee), during the race I stuck to First Endurance EFS system ( 2 bottles of that) and ate a package of Honey Stinger chews. On the run course I drank a lot of water and used the EFS gel, as well as a coke in the last 30 minutes. I felt confident in my nutrition plan.

You are training for your first full Ironman (Ironman Wisconsin), how is your training going?

Training is going well. The hours are demanding but very rewarding. I love living in Wisconsin with so many triathletes around and the opportunity to train with various people. This weekend I had my big 'break through' training weekend which has given me a new spirit going into the final month of training.

Gin Flemming

This was your first experience with the 70.3 distance, what did you think?

It was an amazing experience. It was definitely challenging, both mentally and physically but for me that is one of the reasons why I love the sport. The fact that it is hard and that it challenges you makes crossing the finish line even more rewarding.

As a born and bred Georgia girl, what was it like to race in Wisconsin?

In terms of weather, surprisingly hot! It DOES get hot in Wisconsin! It was most noticeable on the run, even though I did go through a lot of fluid on the bike. Having trained through the hot Georgia summer, heat was something I was used to. I was a little anxious beforehand about how cold it would be to swim in Lake Michigan, but luckily it was 66F for us on race day so it was actually kind of nice. Otherwise (non-weather-related), Wisconsin made a great impression on me. The race was well run and well-supported by the community—cheering fans/spectators along much of the race course (even the bike!). Many houses along the run course set out sprinklers for us to run through or sprayed us with water hoses we ran by, which was great!

You finished 12th in the 30-34 age group, what went right to achieve this result?

The first and most important thing was the having a great training plan in place, which I owe to my coach. Because of her, I was confident in my training and the work I had done to prepare. I also am lucky enough to have great training partners who helped get me ready for the race and gave me a lot of helpful advice. During the actual race, pacing, nutrition, and mental focus all played a part in the end result.

What was the most challenging part of the race and how did your mental plan help you deal with adversity?

For me, it was the run, and really the last 6 miles of the run. Before the race I had come up with a few different strategies to fight the mental fatigue that comes with a race of this distance. As  part of my mental preparation, I had been given a great piece of advice which was to come up with my own personal reasons for why doing the race and think about them when it started to get really tough. I used these in addition to positive “mental mantras” that I had practiced during training to fight back the negative thoughts. There were also times when I was hurting when I just took a minute to remind myself of how much I love to do these 3 things (swimming, biking and running) and how lucky I am to get to do them. I even tried to do simple things like smile (when/if I could), which actually helped.

Is there anything you would have done differently during the race?

For my first one, not too much. Maybe my nutrition plan since I had a little trouble with that, especially finding what works best for me on a long run after a long bike. But that is just part of the learning process that I can continue to tweak as I go forward. As far as the race, I think you can always look back and say “I should have run faster” or “I could have done this better”, but really for my first one I don’t know if I would change too much. It was a great experience.

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