mancona'a 2012 IMAZ Race Report
Here is my race report from my Blog. Slightly different format for me with less words, less detail, and more pictures. Just like my approach to this race was slightly different. Feel free to ask any questions as I'm glad to share more details or files if anyone is interested.
It feels great to be writing a positive Ironman race report instead of the post mortem that usually follows, so I’m going to take a slightly different approach to this race report. I’ll attempt to say less and post more pictures. If you want all the details, just send me a message or ask a question and I’m glad to share.
Ironman is not an individual sport and without the support of many people I could never do this. I owe a huge thank you to Theresa, Abigail, Zoot Sports, Spy Optics, Garmin, Gu, PR Bar, Zipp, Dr. Phil Skiba at Physfarm, Bartlett Gators Masters Swim Team, Tony, and so many more people I didn't mention.
This ironman was a bit different for me. It was number 5 and I did not have a goal time in mind. I also did not have a super complicated race plan with a ton of goals. Instead my goal was simply to have a good run. My race plan was also simple, swim and bike slow enough to have a good run. I honestly did not care what my final time was as long as I finally ran well in an ironman.
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| I'm one of the ones to the far left away from the mess |
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| Somehow Theresa managed to actually spot me on the swim. |
I’m very proud to stay I stuck to my plan exactly. I ignored everyone else and just did my thing. When I didn’t feel good, I slowed down. When I felt great, I made sure not to go over my target power/pace. I never felt great, but I also never felt bad. I literally went for 9 hours without a dark period.
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| Heading out on the bike |
The numbers are:
Swim – 1:00:39
T1 – 3:39
Bike – 4:46:03
T2 – 1:05
Run – 3:17:24
Total – 9:08:50
1st M30-34 AG, 5th Amateur, 33rd Overall
But more importantly, I was never forced to slowdown or walk on the marathon and I never cramped.
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| Feeling great and holding back around mile 3 |
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| Working a bit harder now at mile 26 |
Instead of give the long boring play by play, here are the main things I did differently this time around:
· I trained less and easier than ever before. My longest rides were 4 hours and I only ran over 90 minutes a few times.
· In training, if I didn’t feel good, I backed down instead of digging deep just to hit a target
· I listened to Phil, who helped me listen to my body and when I didn’t feel great we backed down before it was an issue. This ment I cut more workouts short and skipped more workouts than ever before. But I got to the race feeling great and not on the end of being overtrained/under recovered like I have done many times before.
· I took in about 100 calories more per hour during this race than previous ironman races
· I trained with my race nutrition exactly for the 6 weeks up to the race to really dial it in
· My race plan was simple…slow down if I didn’t feel like I could run the marathon of my life
· I swam to the outside and didn’t worry about finding feet. Instead I just did my thing and relaxed. I swam hard for the first 5’ to get away from the crowd and then settled in and relaxed
· I coasted a lot more than usual on the bike, but if I didn’t feel good, I just relaxed and let my body reset.
· On the run, I ignored everyone and just did my thing the entire race. I also brought my own bottle and ignored the aid stations completely for the first 6 miles or so.
· Overall, it comes down to I didn’t force anything or push through anything. I listened to my body and just went with it. It sounds easy, but it took my 5 Ironman races to actually get it right.
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| Hmmm...I wonder what this says |
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| "I want the trophy" |
I definitely have some things I still need to work and some areas that I need to improve but it feels great to end the season on a good note, after a bumpy start. I've replied the race many times in my head and there are things I could have done differently, but for once I'm just going to be content with the day I did have for a while.
Thank you for reading and feel free to ask questions.
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Comments
Congratulations Matt! A stellar race and although you say it was a different strategy, it sounds like by the books execution. Enjoy Kona!
Well anyway, not like there is anything of much insightful value that I could add, but thanks for sharing. It always brings me hope to hear that an insightful and balanced approach to training and racing can pay such dividends versus the excessive "STFU AND HTFU" bullshit mantra that gets spouted so often in other internet forums that will remain nameless.
I appreciate the spartan aspect of triathlon of dedication and self sacrifice, of enduring suffering and overcoming adversity to achieve your goals... but within the limits of sanity and reason. We should do this sport because we love it, because it enriches our lives, not because we're thinly veiled masochists.
Super pleased for you. Nice to be on the course with you. Hope to join you at future races.
@P - I definitely did not have the marathon I think I'm capable of, however it was a 5 minute PR on the run and I didn't suffer. Every other IM marathon has been a pretty miserable experience for me. This time I was 100% in control of the entire marathon. I was never once forced to do anything. I know it's hard to believe but this wasn't about the time for me. I never once looked at my total time for the marathon or the entire race, I just took it one mile at a time.
All that said, my gut is that I should be running under 3:10 and I need to be closer to 3:00 to be at the level I want to be. I honestly think I could have went 5 minutes faster in this race but I would have been on the edge and after last years spectacular explosion at mile 13 of IMWI I wasn't going to risk it.
BTW, I'm most proud of the swim... a hard 1:23 at IM#1 to a easy and relaxed 1:00 at IM#5.
Matt ... Beautiful race, completely fulfilling, no doubt.
As i was watching during the day, I wrote on the dashboard you were on track for a 3:0X marathon...I was specifically thinking 3:08 or 9. But any time you win (& or set a PR), you by definition have left nothing on the table. I agree, save the super human, go to the darkest place for the time(s) when you absolutely need it. Just to be sure you can, try it out every now and then during a half marathon. Short enough it won't drain you for more than a few days afterwards.
And, yeah, who said gaining muscle mass and strength won't help in swimming? Just don't get any bigger!
Well Done Matt... You make it look easy... : )
I am so pleased for you that you had such a good race and can now say that you can run well off the bike.
As an chronic overtrainer myself, I was wondering about how Dr Skiba helped you to better listen to your body?
When I saw your times that swim really jumped out at me. My initial reaction was "OMG he did it". While in no way discounting that fantastic bike or run, that swim really stands out to me for how hard you have worked to get better over the last 4 years. Congratulations!
I know you are hard-wired to always analyze how you could have done even better, but it is great to see you use the word "content" in your race report. Congratulations again and thanks for all the motivation over the last 4 years.
@Al - totally agree, i feel we each have a limited number of times we can really dig deep and I'm saving them for when I need them (i.e. definitely not in training and selectively at races). I plan to focus on running and a half marathon early next year. BTW, your Kona report this year helped me get my head right, so thank you.
@Sukhi and @Peter - it was a long learning process. I'm sure no one will be surprised but my easy wasn't easy enough and it took me a while to learn what an easy run or ride really is. It also took a lot of trial and error to figure out how hard to push day in and day out on FTP and VO2 intervals. For example, when my HR is out of whack on during the warmup and the intervals are harder than usual, it's time for me to back down and take a day off. But if my HR is normal, and the intervals are a bit tougher than usual, I can usually push through and be just fine. I still train by power and pace, but I also watch HR data every single workout and track it. The other big thing is proactively taking an easy day before fatigue set in. In otherwords taking a day off at the very first sign of something not being right, instead of pushing through for a few days first. The 4 hour bikes were mostly at .70 with 40-80 minutes @ HIM watts. The 90 minute runs were at my EP with 4 x 800 to 4 x 1600 @ HIM pace.
@Bill - as always, thank you for continuing to follow me journey.
Good luck on the next stage of your journey!
Matt, awesome race and great report! I'm curious how your training was this year. What plans did you follow? Did you keep the intensity high since you kept the workouts shorter?
@P - you had to ask about the 3:17.... You’re right, I clearly under performed on the run by at least 3 vdot points compared to a HIM run, an open half marathon and an open marathon, while still going 9:08. 2 years ago I would have been pissed about this. Now, I love it as it means I am capable of going sub 9 hours.
Curious about your nutrition plan? You mentioned a 100 calories more than normal but could you provide more detail starting the day before and going thru the race? Types of food , fluid , calories, sodium , caffeine?
[ My intensity is very EN like still with about 40' a week at FTP, maybe 5-10 at VO2 and maybe 40-90 @ 85%, my week and workouts are structured a bit differently though]
Ref your comment about training intensity above. Could you give some kind of idea as to what percentages FTP , VO2 , and 85% are at different cycles of your training say during the OS , and maybe week 4,8, and 12 of your IM build?
Day before the race i tried to do my normal which is big breakfast of whatever I want (i can't actually remember right now what I had), subway or similar for lunch (ended up be Jersey Mikes this time), and jamba juice for dinner (32oz pb mood). Plus snacking on a bagel and pretzels throughout the day and drinking water with GU brew tabs in it.
Race morning was a odwella smoothie, bagel, PB, banana, salt pill at 4:30am. two bottle of perform between then and race start. non-caffiene gel at 6:45ish... on the way into the water.
Bike - i took a non-caffiene roctane as soon as my HR settled and then started drinking. I took in 10 bottles of perform total (~350 cal/hr) which was my plan exactly but i did not drink be a schedule, sometimes I drank half a bottle at once, otter times I had a sip. I took a roctane with caffiene around 4:15 into the ride to get a few more calories in and my first bit of caffiene prior to the run. 1 salt stick tab per hour as well (so about 1200 mg of salt per hour).
Run - i took my own 24oz bottle with about 200 calories of perform in it and sipped it for the first 6 miles. Then from mile 6 to about 18, i took 2 cups of perform plus a chomp with caffeine at each aid station. For the first 18 miles I was taking a salt pill about every 4-5 miles. For the last 8 miles, I drank only coke and took a salt pile every 2-3 hours.
A key thing to note is I trained with my race nutrition exactly for the last 6 weeks and i slowly worked my way from my old 250 cal per hour to 350 cal per hour over about 12 weeks.
Regarding training, it's not really my place to go into full details. I will say it is very similiar. The biggest differences are I do VO2 about 50 weeks of the year now, and my 85% is very structured so I can't crush myself. Run is similar. My race builds are only 6-8 weeks now, however in this case i did a 6 week HIM build, few day taper, 1 week recovery, 1 week easy, 7 weeks build, then IMAZ... so it was sort of a 15 week build with a HIM in the middle. I like the 6-8 weeks as I can really focus, nail the workouts and not overdo it mentally or physically. For example, prior to AZ i did 2 x 20 at FTP in the aerobars and a separate 4 hours locked in the aero bars on the trainer for 6 weeks prior....not sure I could or would want to do that for more than 6 weeks.
Again, congratulations, and I'll see you on the Queen K in October!