2013 Season Finished!

My 2013 race season has concluded, I made the decision this past week to withdrawal from Ironman Arizona.  After having a really great season, the past 6 weeks have been a real struggle.  I've been sick on three separate occasions in the past month which is highly unusual for me.  In addition training has really been challenging since Ironman Wisconsin, my body has not been responding or recovering like it was all season.  I gave it until the very last week to come around but after thinking about it for some time I really think it is in my best interest to call it a year and not force my body to put out another Ironman.  If it was any other race distance I'd go and try to "fudge" my way through, but I have too much respect for the Ironman distance and the damage it can do to the body than to go in with a body that is giving me signs that it is time to shut it down for the year.  This has been my most demanding race season to date with six Half Ironmans (five of which I finished under 4 hours) plus a full Ironman on a difficult course.  It's been an incredible ride and it's not with sadness that my season is finished, it's with happiness because I'm confident I got everything out of myself this year.


My 2013 race season will go down in history as 'Year of the Second Place Finish'

New Orleans 70.3  12th

Memphis in May  2nd

Pigman Sprint  2nd

Kansas 70.3  2nd

Decatur Lakeside  1st

Muncie 70.3  4th (2nd American)

Racine 70.3  8th (2nd American)

Steelhead 70.3  2nd

Pigman Olympic  1st

Ironman Wisconsin  2nd

Galveston 5150  2nd

Austin 70.3  8th

Austin 70.3-Racing Sick

Austin 70.3

Swim: 25:41  14th fastest
Bike: 2:13:09  25.0mph  264 avg watts  13th fastest
Run: 1:15:44  7th fastest
Overall: 3:58:12  8th place

Woke up feeling almost 100% though I suspect I was pretty drained from being sick all day Saturday.  The swim felt awful and I thought was one of my worst, but overall it ended up being pretty average, far better than I suspected.  Got on the bike and immediately had nothing, was working hard and couldn't hit 70.3 watts whereas normally I have to hold myself back at the start of the bike.  Got passed, and dropped, but one person after another.  Been a long time since that's happened, been a long time since I felt this weak on the bike.  Things got a little better after an hour and I lucked out that a group formed and I was able to ride in the back the entire second half and save watts while going fast.  Started the run in 14th and expected to feel awful but after about 5 minutes I started catching people.  Only thing that had me motivated on this run was that I knew there were HyVee points and every person I passed meant more points.  Pretty soon I was giving everything I had to get every last point.  Madeup 6 positions on the run to finish 8th in what is no doubt my most rewarding bad race of the year.  Funny how a little perspective makes all the difference in the world.  Was pumped for my run split but then found out course was 12.83 miles, about 90s short.  Finished off the day with another 40min run to make it a long run.  Really proud of myself for this, had serious thoughts about dropping out at the start of the bike but stuck it out and ended up with a decent result all things considered.  5th time under 4 hours this year which is a new record for a single year.  3 more weeks, not going strong but motivated to finish this season.

Follow Me

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am on FB and twitter now

Facebook: "Daniel Bretscher Multisports"

Twitter: @DanielBretscher

Galveston 5150-Spur of the Moment Addition

Galveston 5150 TX

Swim: Cancelled (high winds)
Bike: 54:37  Fastest split  26.8mph  316w
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/380481814
Run: 34:52  7th fastest split
Overall: 1:30:14  Second place

Added this race to the schedule only a week ago, had a great recovery from Wisconsin and could feel a real boost in fitness on the bike.  Plus I've just had the desire and hunger to race more this year when normally in September I'm counting down the days to the last race.  Didn't really know what to expect coming off of Wisconsin, but I knew I was in the best shape of my life, just didn't know if it would show.  Ultimately I figured that if I raced awful I wasn't any worse off than if I didn't race at all.
Weather was awful from the time I arrived, and it kept me inside all day Saturday with storms and strong winds all day.  There was a chance for storms Sunday and I was worried the entire race would be cancelled.  At the pro meeting I learned the swim was already cancelled since the wind was only going to pick up for Sunday.  For the race we did a TT start, always a little nerve racking since you never know what place you're in and have to go max effort all the way to the line.  I was really strong on the bike, once I got through the initial first few miles and onto the highway I picked up the tailwind and rode the final 8.3 miles to the turnaround in 15 minutes, 33mph.  The strong headwind wasn't an issue at all on the return trip, it was very steady and not gusting at all so controling the bike wasn't hard at all like I feared.  Posted the fastest split on the day and could sense from my placing amongst others that I must be near the lead.  Ran the 10k with the urgency of racing for the win.  The run legs weren't really all there, but for racing an Ironman 14 days ago, and 24 miles of running in the past two weeks I really can't complain, the run legs were still decent.  Only checked my watch at 2 miles and saw 10:57.  People said the run course was close to a quarter mile long so I'm pretty please with the split.  Pushed all out to the end, complete with sprint finish, never want to be the person to lose by 1-2 seconds in a TT start format.  Thought I was second, but had to wait to hear it officially.  Very happy I did this race, picked up another good result and a good start on points towards 2014 HyVee qualification if I want to pursue that next year.  Wish there were more races this time of year, feeling the best I've ever felt this late in the season.

Ironman Wisconsin-Finest Race Execution to Date

Ironman Wisconsin
Swim: 53:00  6th fastest split
Bike: 4:49:15  23.2mph  249 watts  4th fastest
Run: 2:57:26  2nd fastest
Overall: 8:46:00  2nd place


Race morning I was amped like I've never seen before.  Just preping my bike my heart rate was hovering around 120.  I ended up having probably my best triathlon swim ever and made the lead group even in choppy conditions.  I'm still not exactly sure how I pulled that off since 10 minutes into the race I saw myself swimming next to guys who I eventually beat out of the water by 3-5 minutes.  I knew as soon as we made the first turn we would be heading straight into the chop for 20+ minutes and I had to be on someone's feet for that section.  I kept moving up, must have made it just onto the tail end of the lead group when we made the turn, and then the groups must have split as we headed into the chop and I was fortunate enough to get pulled along at the end of the lead group.  I actually got dropped about three times but was able to swim my way back up to the group each time.  A little over halfway the surges stopped and the pace was really easy the entire rest of the swim.
Onto the bike I had a power plan that I was pretty confident in.  I knew the final 20k would be into a strong headwind and be critical.  As such I really went out easy and let most of the front pack go, riding in sixth position.  I gradually increased the power through the first lap, but never rode hard, and made sure to never spike my power up the numerous climbs.  Through 56 miles I had moved into third but given up 10 full minutes to the front two.  I tried my best to increase my power the second loop but the course was so crowded with lapped racers that it was very difficult, I had to come to a near complete stop at one aid station.  Finally I made it through the second loop unscathed and the final 20k back into Madison is where my conservative pace at the start really paid off.  I recorded my highest 1 minute, 5 minute and 10 minute power output all in the final 20k of the ride.  Maik put 10 minutes on me in the first 56, and added just 4 more in the last 56.  Second place put 10 minutes on me in the first 56, and I cut his lead down to just 3 minutes by T2.


Onto the marathon I immediately felt the benefits of a well executed bike.  My running legs were there almost immediately and I was putting the brakes on the first 10k and still seeing 6:20 splits.  I went through a rough patch from 7-13 miles but was still running 6:45 pace and slowly pulling second place back.  I hit the first 13.1 in 1:26:26 and shortly after made the pass for second place.  I felt great again for miles 14-20 and at one point was cutting a minute per mile from the leader.  With 10k to go I was 7 minutes down and thought I had a chance.  Then the usual discomfort of the final 10k set in and my pace slipped to 7 minute miles.  I ended up a little over 5 minutes off the win.  My marathon splits of 1:26:26/1:31:00 was the most balanced marathon I've ever run and I ended up missing my marathon pr by 6 seconds!




                                                 Overall a great race for me, no doubt my best executed 140.6 ever.  Between making the front swim pack, and pacing the bike and run really well I can see only minor flaws with my race.  If I could do it over again I would push a little harder on the bike, but I never anticipated someone breaking the bike course record by 3 minutes and having a 10+ minute lead on second into T2.  I plan to finish my season at Ironman Arizona in November.

Pigman Olympic-Final Ironman Tuneup

Pigman Olympic Tri

Swim: 19:49  Fastest split
Bike: 57:47  25.8mph  294w  Fastest split
Run:  37:54  4th fastest
Overall:  1:58:20  Career win #43

Last tuneup race before Wisconsin.  Didn't have any expectations for this, just wanted a hard workout and long run.  Was a little nervous for how I'd feel coming off the training week last week and finishing my workouts yesterday at 6pm.  Swim went great, strong the entire way, I'm far better in calm water than choppy.  Got on the bike and was pleasantly surprised by the numbers I was seeing.  They weren't record breaking but I was stronger than I expected.  Big lead off the bike and then the run legs were never there.  Felt fine, but my 5:45 effort wasn't even getting me under 6min pace.  I knew I had an additional 2 hour run after I crossed the line and with a big lead I may not have been as motivated to push as usual.  Crossed the line, turned around and headed straight back out for 2 more hours of Wisconsin prep.  It was hard but this was a great way to do it, aid stations every mile and lots of others suffering to keep me from stopping early.  Last long run done, accomplished all the objectives today, good day.  Hopefully I can put together another big week.

Steelhead 70.3-First Title Defense

Steelhead 70.3

Swim: 28:33  9th fastest
Bike: 2:08:53  26.0 mph  265w  2nd fastest
Power:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/354712853
Run: 1:16:21  3rd fastest
Overall: 3:57:28  2nd place

Race got off to a rough start.  Did a dolphin dive straight into a sand bar, face full of sand and googles went down in my mouth.  Stood up, got goggles back on but they were full of sand so had to get those clear.  Finally got going and thankfully was able to swim up onto the back of the main pack.  Pretty uneventful swim from there, exited with the same guys I have been all year, 9th place but only a few seconds back of 4th.
Big group out of the swim so I punched the pace hard and went to the front as soon as I got on the bike to try to get rid of some of the stragglers before things settled down.  Could tell right away the legs were not there but hoped they might come around after a bit.  Able to drop a couple guys in the first 5k and when things settled down it was a group of 6 chasing one leader.  After backing off the pace the legs still weren't there and I sort of knew they probably wouldn't ever come around.  Knew I had to ride very smart and be very selective with how I dished out my efforts.  Made sure I wasn't spending any more time at the front than the other guys and sat in the group most of the way.  Wanted to ideally get rid of a few more guys so I waited until the last aid station and then hit the pace hard as I knew others would be busy grabbing bottles.  Struggled to push even 300w, looked back after a few minutes and everyone was still there.  At that point I knew I just had to sit in the pack and wait for the run.  The group ended up just 4 by T2, one guy got a penalty and another a flat.  Recorded the lowest wattage I've seen all year, even lower than what I rode back in April.  The group hit T2 over 5 minutes back of the lone leader, pretty much a race for second at that point.
Thanks to riding smart when the legs weren't there on the bike, I was able to salvage my run legs.  Moved into second in the first mile, held the first few mile splits around 5:40 and slowly grew my second place gap and pulled back the leader.  His advantage was too much though but I pulled his lead back to 90 seconds by the finish with my best run of the year.
Mixed feelings on this race overall.  I was definitely off, so am pretty satisfied to walk away with second when normally this kind of day might barely place top-10.  At the same time I believe an average bike ride would have won the race so I'm sort of kicking myself a little that I didn't rest more since pro wins are so rare and hard to come by.
Time to train for Ironman Wisconsin now, I want to remember this race in 5 weeks, that I potentially gave up a win in order to jump start my Wisconsin training block early.
Random note #1:  Got stung by a bee on the bike, first time ever in a race
Random note #2: My time was nearly identical to last year, just 12 seconds off