Garmin associate Bently Harper places 3rd at Ironman 70.3 Galveston

Over the past few years, we’ve followed along as Bently, a warehouse process facilitator at Garmin, has risen through the ranks in triathlon competitions. In early April, he pulled off one of his most impressive races to date, nailing a podium finish at Ironman 70.3 Galveston, while shaving 31 minutes from his previous PR. Read more about his race and be sure to check out his Garmin Connect data captured by his Forerunner 910XT multisport watch and Vector power meter.

I woke at 4am, 15 minutes before my alarm. I was very excited and ready for the day’s planned events. Shower, breakfast, dressed and out the door. I was in no rush and had plenty of time to triple check everything, just the way I like it.

I arrived in transition to make final setup to the bike and set up equipment for a quick T1 and T2. Everything was perfect. Shoes clipped, shifters in the right gear, air in the tires, bottles full. It was not cold or raining, but was quite windy. I went for my warm-up run to find legs feeling good. Light stretching and back to transition to get my wetsuit and drop off my morning clothes bag.

After donning my wetsuit, I jogged over to the swim start about ¾ mile away. Time to wait for the pro start. I was really excited and bouncy. It’s hard to contain that much energy just standing around. I am thinking about how I am going to swim — cadence, body position and breathing. I am treating this swim like another pool 2,200 yard time trial. I am going to tear up this course. I am going to win today. The announcer called us up. I moved to the front of the line so I could be first into the water for a short, warm-up swim. This was the only event site practice swimming allowed by the race director. Near the dock the water was a little choppy, but not too bad. I was the in the fourth wave of swimmers behind only the pro male and females and one female wave.

Race start: 15 minutes back from the pro start, the horn went off for my wave and we started swimming. I was positioned one person back from the start line and right in the middle of the start buoys. The first 100 yards was the normal battle for position and space. Then it quickly became apparent that I was not in Kansas anymore. The choppy waves by the dock were small compared to 100 yards out. Waves crashing over my face as I try to breathe resulted in many gulps of seawater and no air into my lungs. Don’t worry. Keep going. Admittedly, I am not one of the great swimmers and this choppiness soon had me flailing for a new swim stroke/body position that would allow me to survive. I was struggling. Struggling in a bad way and at around 300, maybe 400 yards into the swim, I lost it and began breast stroking, then on my back and then stopped, just bobbing there in the water, belching up sea water and blown off course.

I quickly realized that just sitting there was unacceptable, so I regrouped my thoughts and began swimming again. But once again, waves were crashing over my face — I began to panic. My wetsuit would keep me from mostly sinking to the bottom, but not necessarily from drowning. Bad thoughts were taking over my mind. In the swells, I could not even see the turn buoy 400 yards away, let alone the next buoy less than 100 yards away – but I saw a lifeboat. There were several people hanging from it. I could see other swimmers going ‘that way’. I saw one of the course buoys. I had a brief moment of fight or flight and knew the only choice for me was FIGHT. New plan: swim one buoy at a time, then reassess. I finally got my stroke working despite the chop, was back to navigating in the right direction and realized the new stroke kept me more on top of the swells rather than piercing through them. I finally made it to the turn buoy and looked at my Forerunner 910XT. What should have been less than 8 minutes took over 14 minutes for 750 yards of swimming. The next section was parallel to shore, going with the waves and easier because I could kind of stay inside the same swell, almost body surfing but still had to keep the right stroke.

I can see the last turn buoy and am reviewing my water exit plan. There are wetsuit strippers who will help peel off my wetsuit. Where is my bike? Second to last rack entry point, run to the white line on the ground, see red backpack and yellow on bike.

At the turn buoy, the final 300 yards had a cross wind, so the waves were back to constant and big, one after another. I was rolled by one wave and almost flipped onto my back. No panic this time. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, (says Dory). Getting closer to shore, I can now see the bottom. Thank you God. I pressed Lap on my Garmin to see that I had finished the swim in 36-something minutes.

Swim data at Garmin Connect:

T1 was very quick:  1. Wetsuit down, 2. Glasses on, 3. Helmet on — Go! I have my shoes clipped in and use a rubber band to hold the crank in 3-9 o’clock position. As I hit the bike mount line, I slip my left foot in and take my first pedal stroke while throwing my right leg over. I put my right foot on top of the shoe and ride like that until I am up to speed and away from other cyclists. Then I can slip my foot in and tighten the Velcro straps. Flawless, just like in practice. One of my fastest swim to bike transitions with only 15-20 seconds spent at the bike rack.

On the bike course, it was still overcast and wind at my back. I looked at my Edge and was holding 80% FTP (functional threshold power) or 220 watts Vector power output per my race plan. Heart rate was a little high. It is critical to have these datapoints provided by Vector. The first part of the bike race is where blowing your race apart happens. You feel good, you push to race effort but race effort by feel is usually WAY over what should be happening. Heart rate is either still spiked from the swim/transition or otherwise lagging and not reliable yet. Minding power numbers in the first stage of the bike will provide setup for a good second half of the bike and a good run while leaving nothing on the table for could have, should have.

My hamstrings were tight and I had a twinge in my glute. I stretched them as much as I could and forged on. I pushed power to 85% FTP and put my head down to focus on good push. I heard a loud pop on my helmet, then another. It was big, fat rain drops. Within a minute it was pouring rain, which continued for the rest of the bike ride to about the 53-mile mark. At the first aid station, I took a water bottle and drank to help dilute the salty sea water in my system. From there, I consumed my Infinit drink mix and finished the first 40 oz right on schedule.

This course is flat, flat, flat. For the last 20 weeks, I have trained tirelessly. Much of that was on the indoor trainer and some inside my “Texas Simulation Chamber;” aka, the bathroom with a tub full of hot water. I read about one of the pros using this and thought it applicable for my circumstances. Race day was only mid 60s, but much warmer than the below freezing temperatures of home. I’m sure this acclimation helped me on this day.

This was an out and back bike course, so the turnaround was about mile 28, completed in less than an hour. At that point, that great tailwind turned into a not-so-great headwind. Wind direction shifted slightly to become somewhat crosswind allowing 21-22 MPH riding all the way back. Normalized Power was showing a little low and heart rate was still a little high. No adjustment needed yet. I was passing riders the whole way out but not many left to pass coming back. I was passed by the first and only rider about mile 45. He was on a P5-Six. Jealous much? Nearing transition, I took a gel with water, then eased up on the pedals.

Time to review my transition plan. Where is my transition spot? Second entry on the right, go to the white line — you know what to do. The last 10 minutes, I stretched my quads, calves, hamstrings and hip flexors. Everything felt pretty good. I came into transition after 2:17:12, average 24.5 MPH for the 56 mile ride – a big PR for me.

Bike data at Garmin Connect:

T2 was another quick transition. Running shoes on; grab race belt and visor, go. My legs felt surprisingly good but I was still able to slow and control my pace down as planned. I keep telling myself – settle down, settle down. Then this song pops into my head from the day before. I had not heard it in years… And if you go chasing rabbits…arugula…smoking caterpillar…what? Pace — how is your PACE.

At the first turnaround I started counting non-pro male runners and estimated that I was in 7^th place. After two miles, I let the legs do what they wanted, which was a slightly faster pace. Go get these guys – I can pass them, I deserve to pass them. The same glute cramp that started on the bike was now hitting me on the run. I took the first of 4 salt caps and it dulled the pain. I fast-walked most aid stations to get all water swallowed. Aid stations were approximately every mile. I skipped the first two except to dump water on my head. I drank the Gatorade Perform at the third, then GU Roctane Gel plus water at the fourth, then water/salt only at the fifth. I would go on to repeat that nutrition pattern for the rest of the run.

My 910XT was giving mile splits, showing I was on target for pace. Around mile six, I was passed by the lead female pro athlete (who started 10 minutes ahead of my swim wave). Her pacer guy on the bike commented to me about my wet, squeaky shoes – hmm. There were non-stop spectators lining both sides of the run course. So much cheering. My favorite is the little kids holding up a high-five. How can anyone pass on that? I smile and feel the positive energy.

For pacing, I had planned to step it up at mile 10 for a hard 5k finish run. Not feeling great, I delayed that out to mile 11, then pushed the last two miles. As it turns out, that push really was no faster, but it hurt a bunch more than the previous 11 miles. Just ask Alice. I know I’m battling the clock. Must run faster. Everything hurts; pass one more guy – that’s him, the first place guy, I tell myself. Run faster! I crossed the line with an exhaustive 1:27:22 run split.

Run data at Garmin Connect:

Total time: 4:25:00. I had to do a double-take and triple-take at the race clock. I thought my math was wrong. Wow. I beat all of the pro women except the top 5 and set a new personal record by 31 unbelievable minutes. I placed third in my age group for a great podium finish. I also qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship race being held in Mont Tremblant, Canada. Sadly, I had to pass on this opportunity and gave my slot to the next finisher.

Lessons learned:

• I need more rough, open-water swim practice.
• I am getting pretty good at this triathlon thing.
• Nutrition plan is right on.
• Get shoes with better water drainage.
• Goggles never fogged up during the swim. Spit really works great and is readily available.
• Have a contingency plan for every part of the event and know when to implement.

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