Stats: 1:07 swim / 5:23 bike / 3:26 run, add transitions for a race time of 10:04 which was good for 7th AG and 46th OA. I picked up a Kona slot from the rolldown (there were 6 slots, 3 rolled and 1 was added, so it went to 10th place in the group). Geeks, please see the power data at the very bottom.
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Short version (from an EN Athlete) of how I got it done…long version follows:
- During IM training, launch a new business.
- Make sure your business partner is in a time zone 3 hours different than yours so you can always be at odds on scheduling.
- Schedule a race in mid June so you can rack up lots of TSS on the trainer or suffer frost bite.
- Be a father to a toddler.
- 8 weeks out, have another baby.
- 6 weeks out, get in a head-on collision.
- 4 weeks out, travel 6 hours by car while still recovering from accident to put on camp.
- Chase a bunch of yahoos around IMUSA bike course in car and be forced to sleep on air mattress to accommodate clients (aka yahoos)
- Give up all hope of racing IMCDA due to inability to walk after biking. AKA – forced taper.
- 3 weeks out, say WTF, I feel ok, I can do this.
- Race Day: Rip it up and post one of your best times ever.
Goals: My main goal was to have a really smart, consistent race. I knew I didn’t bring a lot of general fitness to the table, save for some good running, so I wanted to swim easy, bike smart and then run hard. I told everyone who would listen that I was racing as a civilian, meaning that even though I was a full-time coach I has spent the past few months doing more family/life stuff than training. At the end of the day, I was very satisfied with my performance.
One Thing: I was racing to validate why I have spent the last 3-5 months training; my decision to race put a great deal of stress on the family (Emma being born, Megan growing up, etc) and I wanted to show that all the time spent wasn’t for nothing. Maura sent a great picture of her and the girls with a race sign on Saturday, and it was the best inspiration I could have asked for.
Pre-Race: Rich and I wore our Endurance Nation hats all week; meaning we had a lot of admin stuff to do around supporting our peeps and promoting Endurance Nation with our pre-race meeting. We did get in one swim and a loop of the hills. We spent a lot of time fixing my bike (rich, I owe you big time) and otherwise tried to chill out as much as possible. Staying far from the race site made for a lot of travel time but also meant we had no race geek issues.
The Swim: Target Time: 1:00, Actual Time: 1:07
We lined up wide to avoid the crowds, and I was just unable to get back to the course until almost the turn buoy. It was a great, relaxing start to the race, but I clearly missed the 1:00 freight train that takes me to the swim finish. Regardless, a pretty enjoyable swim that undoubtedly set me up to have a really good day overall.
T1: Uneventful, save for the volunteer who tried three times to get me to run down the aisle to get my bag instead of letting me get to the wetsuit strippers. I finally had to push him aside…he was more flustered than the athletes!
The Bike: Target Time: 5:20, Actual Time: 5:23
I started the bike with a goal of capping the first hour at 245W, trying to sit on 215W as much as possible. Basically this meant I was riding about 65-70% of my max power, well below my target of .72-.74 for the whole day. Part of our Four Keys Race Presentation, we note that the first hour of the bike has to be easy if you are to build over the full day and have a solid run after mile 18. Even though I went easy, I was still passing folks and wasn’t getting passed too badly (guess that’s what a 1:07 swim will get you!). By the time the hills started around mile 25, I was well warmed up and ready to ride “just” 87 miles (b/c the first 25 was essentially free).
The pre-ride that Rich and I had done really made me ready to race this course. I knew exactly where I had to be conservative and where I could push it. Incredibly enough, there were folks standing and hammering in multiple places on the hills. I would pass the same guy either descending or on the flats. The new P3C + the killer fit from Todd at TTBikeFit.com + the frontwheel from Rich at Wheelbuilder.com + the rear disc from RaceDayWheels.com meant that I was a virtual missile out on the course. Based on the results data, I got faster for each split on the day (despite temps and wind), one of the few folks all day to not slow down over the last 34 miles. I think I was having too much fun catching folks and riding past them like they were standing still.
T2: Also quick. I had a lot of admin stuff here (Garmin, blister patch, sunscreen, etc) so it took a while for me to get rolling. Had two volunteers to myself so was pretty fast.
The Run: Target Time: 3:20, Actual Time: 3:26
As I mentioned above, I knew the run was where I had to get things done. I took my time in T2 to put on a blister patch on my foot and fire up my Garmin (see below). When I started running, I thought the darn thing was broken as it kept saying I was running mid- to low 6 minute miles. Turns out I was just running too fast. I tried slowing down, but it seemed that I was standing still and still going low 7s. To mitigate this damage, I forced myself to walk the full aid station for the first 4 or 5 miles. Between running and walking the full aid stations, I was still turning out sub 8s.
I knew CDA has an easier run course than IMUSA or Kona, so I was cautiously optimistic for a good run time. Once I got past the 5 mile mark, I began to try and dial in miles around the 7:45 min mark. In my head, I was going to try and be steady through mile 18 and then have a strong last 8 miles. Basically I had good miles from 5 through 17, including some pretty fast ones, and then a dark spot from 17-21 where I was feeling the effects of the day to the tune of lightheadedness, tingly arms, and a slight side cramp. I decided to back off the pace a bit to be safe, and after about 20 mins and another gel (yuck!) I was back on track.
The final climb up the big hill at the run turnaround on the lake was tough, but once I was headed back in everything was just clicking along. I latched on to a 29YO running 7:45s, then dropped him and some other guys up that last hill by the lake and held them off into town. Making the turn into the finish line was awesome…to see the whole street stretched out in front of me (and downhill!). When I got close enough to see I was going to go 10:04, I was ecstatic…crossed the finish line into the arms of friends (nothing better) and then hung out for Todd and Rich to finish.
After some recovery time, Rich and I got our clothes changed and went back out on the course to cheer until 11pm when we started seriously bonking (and places stopped serving food!). It was awesome to see so many EN’ers out there on the course just getting it done. Everyone was all smiles in the tent, save for a few exceptions (hey, it’s an Ironman, it’s supposed to be hard!)
Great to see folks from New England out there. Robyn, Lisa, and Ann shouted encouragement; Scott from [URL="http://www.FuelBelt.com"]FuelBelt[/URL] made me laugh whenever I saw him, making the run just a bit “easier”. Cramer and his soon-to-be-Iron wife, Amy, seemed to be all over the course. Only place I didn’t see you guys was at the swim turnaround!!! All in all, just a great day. I am psyched to have been able to get it done and am really looking forward to some down time!
Power Analysis
Note: Red line is HR, Yellow is Watts, Orange is Elevation.
My basic power strategy was to have an easy (free) first hour as the course really permits that. Then to ride my wattage gears for the bulk of the ride and finish with a strong last hour. The first hour of the bike was very easy…I spent as much time at 215W (FTP of 325) as possible, with a cap of 245W for everything else. I was passed by pretty much everyone at this point; even got a couple of nice words from folks passing by. End of hour one saw me at 21 miles with 42 TSS points…asleep for all intents and purposes. By this point you are starting the hills, so I dialed in the race gears (2/Steady-230W, 3/LongClimbs-265W, 4/ShortClimbs-285W); note that this is all based off an FTP of 325 and I weigh 185lbs.
I was literally astounded at the number of folks hammering the hills out on the loop. The loop is about 22 miles, with some significant climbs. I spent a lot of time in my 39/23, sitting up and spinning at 8mph. By the time I came through at 133 TSS and low 2:40s for time, I knew I was in a great place for a good second half…and a great run.
I approached the second loop pretty much like #1, except I rode steady over the same first 21 miles of that loop instead of easy. Once I hit the hills I could be a bit more aggressive as I knew where it would pay off…and then I just rode real quality effort back into town, picking off doodes every 1-2 mins.
Entire workout (216 watts):
Duration: 5:24:26 (5:24:35)
Work: 4199 kJ
TSS: 275.6 (intensity factor 0.714)
Norm Power: 232
VI: 1.08
Elevation Gain: 4895 ft
Avg Power: 216 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 130 bpm
Avg Cadence: 84 rpm
Avg Speed: 20.9 mph
First Half vs Second Half:
Duration: 2:42:26 — 2:41:42
Work: 2063 — 2131 kJ
TSS: 133 — 142.2 (intensity factor 0.701 — 0.726)
Norm Power: 228 — 236 watts
VI: 1.08 — 1.07
Avg Power: 212 — 220 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 129 — 131 bpm
Avg Cadence: 84 —- 84 rpm
Avg Speed: 20.7 — 21.1 mph
Pace Analysis
Note: Blue line is Pace, Orange is Elevation.
The goal on the run was to aim to hold my Easy/Long pace based on our vDOT system, or 7:47. If you minus out the 4-5 pit stops, I went 3:24 for my second best IM run split ever — and, more importantly, EXACTLY on 7:47 pace. Maybe we know what we are doing after all?
As I headed out of transition, I did some walking to get the Garmin going (hence the missing .4 miles as it was acquiring satellites), then went to “jogging”. Turns out I was laying down 6:30s and couldn’t stop. The Garmin SERIOUSLY saved me here as I could have easily cooked my race in the first 2-3 miles. Using the data I slowed myself down and was able to sit on a comfortable long run pace.
Once I hit the second lap, I was confident I could run 7:45s for the rest of the way. The Garmin moved from being a governor on my pace and became a whip instead, forcing me to keep going when things got hard.
From the data, it looks as though I almost even split the two loops, with the first being an average of 7:29s, the second an average of 7:39s. The differential of 90 seconds represents my best positive split in an IM marathon ever. Typically I will go 5-8 mins slower in the second lap. Having the Garmin for miles 22-25 was awesome as I could see exactly how hard I was running and knew I was putting the hurt on any chasers. 7:30s don’t seem that fast until you are mile 22 of an IM.
Entire workout (7:54 min/mi):
Duration: 3:24:34
Work: n/a
rTSS: 265.1 (0.826)
NGP: 7:34 (212.5 m/min)
Distance: 25.833 mi
1st half vs 2nd Half:
Duration: 1:40:29 — 1:44:17
rTSS: 130.8 — 130.2 (0.817 — 0.836)
NGP: 7:29 (214.9 m/min) — 7:39 (210.3 m/min)
Distance: 12.772 mi — 13.086 mi
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