Tim Cronk IMTX Race Report

tim cronk

Short Version

Kona Qualified with a 10:22:09 , 2nd in the M 50-54 AG , 84th OA.    11min PR total and  19min bike PR

Swim 1:13:53  , 26thAG        http://connect.garmin.com/activity/314625800

T1  3:07    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/314625802

Bike  5:01:51  fastest AG bike split   http://connect.garmin.com/activity/314755337

T2  3:17     http://connect.garmin.com/activity/314625811

Run  4:00:01   2nd fastest AG run split    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/314625815

Long Version

Training and Preparation----  After my DNF at IMCZ last Nov.  I had  25 weeks before IMTX.   2 weeks mostly swim and easy recovery before starting slowly into a 5 week OS and then an 18 week IMTX build.  In the 24 weeks leading up to IMTX training consisted of , Swim  202,550 yds or 115miles , Bike 142 hrs or roughly 3000 miles , Run 683 miles... Total TSS points 20,266 or 844 average per week.  Training was very structured and consistent .  Almost all training sessions were done inside. Long bikes were capped at 5hrs and long runs capped at 2hrs.  My final prep for Texas was to arrive 2.5 weeks early to train on the course and acclimate.  I was greeted with record low temps and low humidity for the entire time.  It was still beneficial to train on the course and experience small pockets of Texas heat, humidity, and winds.  Raceweek numbers FTP 235 , Vdot 51-52 , weighed in twice at the YMCA at 117 and 118.5 giving me a solid w/kg ratio of 4.4.   These are the best numbers I've ever hit and the leanest I have ever raced.  Believe it paid off in Texas.  Don't worry I'm back over 120lbs again !

The Venue----  I chose Texas specifically for the heat and humidity.  Careful what you wish for.  We stayed a couple miles away and this was ok but I would prefer to stay on site for convenience sake.  Its surprisingly well laid out and run but plenty of room for improvement.  Robin mentioned most of these in his RR.  The swim is unique , point to point , zero visibility water, still pretty cool swimming next to all the Texas McMansions built along the lake and then finishing up the canal with people close enough to touch you.  The bike is one big loop, with small rolling hills and very fast.  The run is along the waterways , thru  paved wooded trails , more McMansion neighborhoods, but also has more than its fair share of out and back, parking lot , chopped up admin miles. If you want a hot race this is it!

The Swim---  Goal sub 1:10  Actual 1:13:53  Missed by 4 mins .... Recent race rehearsals of 4200yds 1:06 , 2100yds 32:00 , 1000yds 15min all pointed to a faster potential swim time. Bob McCallum said it was not a fast swim and he was right. Water temp ended up 77+ degrees .  Entered the water at 6:45 for a 7am start.  Warmed up a bit.  Planned on starting in the front and far right.  In the water changed my mind and went left front along the buoy line. Found a kayak to hang onto until the start. Was just starting to get cold by the time 7am rolled around. Pretty easy start but it got more difficult as time went on as the people on the right side of the start were merging. At the turn around I got kicked really hard in the chest by a guy doing breaststroke around the turnaround buoy. Never saw him due to the zero vis water.  Actually heard the air come out of me and chest is still sore.  The return was constant contact the entire way but not so bad in the canal except very choppy waves. Felt like I was swimming with race like intensity , caught some good drafts, so I was pretty disappointed when I came out of the water and saw my split.  Doesn't matter  Its done, stay in your box , and move forward.  The garmin file shows an on course swim maybe a little long so I dont know why I was so slow.

T1---- Goal sub 4min  Actual 3:07 , pretty good considering total distance covered in T1 via the garmin file is .27 miles. Grab T1 bag , run to change tent , sit, shoes on, helmet and glasses in hand , go , put helmet and glasses on while running to bike.  Only mistake I made here was taking the long way around inside the tent.   Very happy!

Bike---  Goal 5:10-5:20,  Actual 5:01 , Goal  NP176watts , IF .75 , TSS 290 or less ,  Actual NP172watts , IF .73 , TSS 266 .  All five of my 5 hour training rides were between NP175-181 , IF .74-77 , TSS 273-293.   Ran bike to start line, mounted , started easy spinning, started computer, immediately started to drink and eat my first 1/4 cliffbar.  Managed to hold back the reins and get thru the first 5 mile interval at 5 watts below target.  This must be a first.  OK time to go to work. Forecast was for overcast morning and a sunny afternoon with south winds.  This means a cooler fast first half downwind and a slower hotter second half with a headwind.  Made a small tactical decision to go slightly above target watts while it was still cool and having a tailwind. As the day went on and got warmer pulled back towards target watts and held those until the last hour.  During the last hour dropped the watts below target.  This looks like a fade but it really wasnt , the heat was building ,  I really felt like I could have held target watts but was a little concerned at what price.  Spent some time standing , stretching ,  finishing up my last bottle of perform , cooling down dumping water over my body.  I felt pretty good but I knew what was about to come...  My race rehearsals at about 5 watts higher pointed to a 5:10 split  , so under race conditions not having to slowdown for intersections , pee breaks , refueling stops , and having slingshot passed 354 people on the bike,  a 5:02 bike split.....  Extremely happy with this!...  Again , I knew what was about to come.

T2----  Goal 3min Actual 3:17, again pretty good considering garmin file logged .23 miles distance. Dismount bike, run into transition, hand off bike , stopped to remove shoes to run to bags and tent,  volunteer behind me yells gimme those I'll put them with your bike, I stopped turned around and handed them to him.  This was the only mistake I made here, gotta learn to remove feet before dismount , and leave with bike. Cement was hot on the feet thru T2.  Helmet and glasses removed while running to grab bag, enter tent, sit, socks on, shoes on , visor in one hand , baggie with desoto cool wings, gel flask , saltstick and sunscreen in the other.  Go.  While moving , unzipped trisuit , put flask down front, saltsticks in right hip pocket, sunscreen in left hip pocket, and once established on run course put the desoto cool wings on.  

Run---Goal 3:45 Actual 4:00:01.....  Feeling pretty good to start the run but struggling with the cool wings slowed me down and kept my perceived effort a bit high.  This was a key move in keeping the sun off my skin and highly recommend them.  In fact if you run hot , get them or arm coolers on while on the bike too.  First couple miles EP 8:30ish good.  Felt a couple pebbles in left shoe.  At 3rd aid station I stopped , removed shoe, shook it out , put it back on.  Bummer its still there.  At 4th aid station , stopped, remove shoe and sock , shake , wipe , put back on. Bummer still there.  Uh oh. Logged a couple 9min miles because of that. Time to suck it up and just deal with it , not gonna be pretty late in the marathon. Turns out lots of reports of people who actually burned the bottoms of their feet in T2.  I never did find a pebble so maybe this is actually what happened. Back to 8:30ish miles until mile 10.  I was walking every aid station , taking in perform for 2 , then water and sip of get every 3rd, water over head , arm coolers, ice down front and back , and leave carrying ice in hands at every aid station.  After first loop 8-9miles I stopped 1sec to kiss Heather, she said you look good , how do you feel ,I said great.  I still knew what was coming. After mile 10 the heat was building , had some minor side stitches , slowed down to about 9ish min miles , spending more time managing the heat thru the aid stations.  At the end of lap 2 and mile 16ish , the heat was just building more, the wheels started to come off , need to slow down a little more  ,  , the suck was here in full force.  The crowd was awesome.  A girl yells at me , you make this look so sexy.  Another girl pats me on the butt.  I get to Heather and stop 1sec for another kiss , she never once told me what position I was in or my pacing relative to my competition , but I could see something in her eyes , I told her I'm in survival mode , she gave me just a tiny nod of acknowledgement , and then she said just run your race and another pat on the butt!  Wonder if they knew I peed myself?  Someone on the course was holding up a sign that said I know you peed yourself!  From here survival mode consisted of more of the same just between mid 9min miles to high 9min miles.  Rinse repeat and keep moving.  Aid stations became a necessary energy suck , to get what you needed to continue , you had to maneuver thru the death marchers clogging the aid stations. I mentally moved the 18mile race line to start at mile 20.   At mile 20 I switched to coke at every aid station and too saltstick miles 20,22,24 .  I figured at this point the only way I was gonna pass someone is if they stopped moving and I kept moving, and same for anybody passing me.  Just kept moving and it all ended at 5:22:09  ,  140.6 miles in 10:22:09.

Finishline---Volunteers grabbed me..Walk with me please...I need to walk.. They were great... while I'm getting my picture taken Heather is holding up 2 fingers and mouthing I think your 2nd!  In my weakened state ,  I felt like such a badass and then just about broke down as the tears started to come... Quickly regained my composure but wow talk about emotional.... Told them I need to cool off, lie down, and get my feet up , maybe a quick visit to the medtent.

Medtent---Check in .  Whats wrong.  I'm dizzy, slightly nauseous, low BP ,  kept everything down , peed 3 times on the bike and 3 on the run, I need to lie down and get my feet up. They still wanted to put an IV in me , I said OK.  Couldnt get my feet up due to the type of bed.  The doc is asking me questions and said what color was your pee? I said I dont know. He said how do you pee on the bike? I said on the go. You pee yourself?  Yep.  What about the run?  Same.  LOL .... Only when your racing.  You'd think they would know.  They stuck me a couple times , got the IV in and left , it started to really burn, my arm went numb , fingers and hand tingling, I had to ask them to remove it 5 times. They shut the drip off.  I said take that out of my arm it hurts.  OK but you have to drink.  LOL no kidding ok.  I drank chicken soup and water.  Initial BP was 85/65 and they released my on the 3rd check at 110/75.

Nutrition and Gear---  Carbo load the day before was mostly rice, sweet potato , banana's, hemp seed, peanut butter, tahini , maple syrup , coconut water , salt,  Heathers cookies oats, coconut, pecans, chocolate, and salted dark chocolate .....  Breakfast- rice, pb, hempseed, maple syrup, salted dark chocolate, starbucks coffee...  Pre-Swim 20oz perform and 1 gel for 250 cals ,  Bike 114oz perform , 1 cliff bar, 1 gel , 8 blocks ,maybe another 10-20oz water for 1475 cals or 295cals  per hour, the run was estimated at 4oz per aid station 20 either perform or coke and 6 of water, 3 gels total, 3 saltstick, for a total of 1030 cals or 257cals per hour.  Gear--- Swim blueseventy trisuit , Bike- Felt Da2 with Di2 , compact gearing, 11-28 rear , Reynolds carbon clinchers 46 front 66 with wheel cover rear, rolling continental attack/force tires w/latex tubes, Quarq PM.  Run -- Newtons, visor so the water hits my head, and the desoto cool wings .

What I learned and what I would change----Next time I will swim faster , I dont know how but I will .  I will learn to leave shoes on the bike to save seconds , I will not take the longway around the changing tents ,  I will make sure my feet, shoes, and socks are clean to save time later. Just a couple of the thoughts I had while out there.  Coach P saying if you wanna go to KONA you have to be top ten on the bike.  Coach R talking about negative split the run based on RPE.  Dave Tallo when I took a run corner too wide.  Al T. on just about everything.  Rob Tagher finishing that insane ultra.  Just a small sampling of what came to mind right now but there was many others.

Weather , statistics , and some discussions of the conditions of the day.  Mostly for the none EN people I will forward this too.

http://www.runtri.com/2013/05/ironman-texas-2013-results-analysis.html?m=1

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4574510;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

Special thanks to my Heather for being there for me always.  I can't wait  to catch her at the IMMT finishline in Aug when she complete's IM #2  for Cystic Fibrosis.

And special thanks to the IMTX group, was great training , meeting and racing with you guys , and the  entire EN team!

Any questions , comments , criticism , about anything ,  or if you think you can save me 1 second , I wanna hear it.

 

harrast

Dude, holy crud, you're amazing. Under 120Lbs? Wow!

Bruce Thompson

Tim - Congrats on a great race and your KQ.  Awesome job and great execution.   I don't know what else you could have done better except leaving your shoes on the bike.  Matt Aaronson  & I were checking your splits between our two Oly races on Saturday at the Triple T and we were rooting for you.  You inspired us to keep plugging away.

Joseph Lombardi

Tim...great report...its been great being part of the IMTX group...and following your training...has helped me immensely this year...so Congratulations and Thank you....hope to race with you again!..

 

Paul Hough

Congrats again, Tim! I would say this more than makes up for the DNF at Coz. And truly, I think your ability to shed weight helps you in the really hot races. That is where your strength is. Enjoy Kona 'cause you definitely earned it.

robin sarner

Big congrats. Thanks for your thoughts along the training way. Nicely done. Will race with you in the future. Best to Heather. You folks seem like a great match.

Jennifer Eckert

Great race report Tim!  I'd say you executed this race really well and you should be proud of yourself!   Congratulations on the Kona slot.  I'm hoping to get there myself with IMLT in September.  Thanks for the great tips!

Steve West

Congrats Tim. Awesome results, great report.

I think your race plan was exceptional and execution of that went very well. Not perfect but you were able to manage the challenges as they came and didn't get bogged down by them.

Did you ever find the pebble in your shoe? Once on a training run I did the same thing you tried, shake out the shoe, then sock off and brush. The third stop I pulled out the foot bed and found a large grain of sand stuck to the bottom of the insert. After that incident I periodically pull the inserts out and do a clean and inspect. Hasn't happened since.

Congrats again on a well earned trip to Kona!

Tom Glynn

Tim, congratulations on an amazing, well executed race. It was a pleasure to have you lead a lot of the IMTX discussion groups. If we race again, I hope one of us has aged up!

All the best and have a great time in Kona.

Tom

MattAaronson

AWESOME!!! I'm so happy you made it to Kona!! You'd think a guy who's <125lb isn't made for a flat and windy course but then again, it gives you an advantage in the heat, eh. Enjoy Hawaii!!

harrast

Your description of the swim brings back memories. I did the inaugural race in 2011 and lined up in the middle a couple of rows back. At the time it seemed like there would be plenty of space. In the last 10 minutes before the gun the area became crowded. Contact started at the gun and continued almost the entire race for me. I would run into someone, then someone would run into me--the only people who seemed to have it right were on the far outside edges. It seemed impossible to get out of the fray. Plus the water was warm. There may also be a little current since the swim is mostly upstream. It was the slowest IM swim I have ever done by a long shot and the most contact I have ever experienced by a long shot.

tgarson

You're the man Tim, congrats. Likewise on Matt's comments, your body weight and W/kg+ say you should be off dominating the mountains not taking on these hot/flat races, but your bike split was killer and if you can handle the heat, that's a pretty rare gift / secret weapon.

Only other comment, you're gonna be doing a crazy amount of racing this year. You did 2 or 3 last year correct? Be proactive and stay healthy in terms of injury prevention, that sounds like a really long and packed season that I know personally would take a pretty big toll. Maybe the being 120lbs thing spares your joints but stay smart and stay healthy!

Jess Withrow

CONGRATS Tim!!!! The EN crew at AmZoff was following and super stoked for you! I can't tell you how happy I am for you - we all know you worked your rear off for it and deserve that KQ! Hope you are enjoying basking in the post-race glory a little more than the hot TX sun!

david ware

Congrats on a great race!

ezellrh

Great race Tim and congratulations on the Kona Qual. Great working with you through the threads in the build.

drmariner

Wow! Remarkable,inspirational and well deserved. I've enjoyed your posts and can tell that a generous spirit matches your athletic prowess. I'm very happy that your commitment has been met with success: you clearly belong in the "pointy end" crowd.

Rest,recover,and enjoy the future.

tim cronk

@Paul H , Matt A, and Trevor.... Yes I believe my strength to be the heat... I still suffer... Just seems to be a little less than most giving that edge... Talking to the winner of my AG I asked are you the guy who won last year? Yep. Coming back next year? Yep I like the heat. He went 13min slower this year and still went sub 10hrs. They say I should crush hilly races but to date that has not been the case... Mooseman HIM is by far the hardest hilliest race I have done and I place lower in the rankings than any other... Just dont get it... Have done relatively well in IMLOU , Boston last year, and a few other hot ones... Matt and Trevor both you guys have shown a little concern about my race schedule and rightly so... I raced 2 IM's last year... I have 4 this year.... IMTX , IMMT , IMFL were all spread out 3 months apart... Now KONA is getting jammed in there.... My plan is Race IMMT , Enjoy KONA and save myself for IMFL, and then Race IMFL .... I made some key moves in my training this year... which include training 7 days a week with swim only days on Mon and Fri... this gives me 2 days a week off legs.... Long Bike capped at 5hrs...... Long Run capped at 2hrs (longest run for IMTX was 15.78miles a few min over 2hrs) .... and NO ABP bike ride (just 2 mid week FTP or V02 rides and 1 longride on the weekend Z2-Z3) .... Last couple years it was the longrun and the ABP ride that were making it hard to recover from... This gave me a steady build instead of anything that needed to be recovered from like a huge big bike week. For now one step at a time.

@Steve H... back above 120lb until next IM!

@Bruce... Thanks and congrats on the TTT beast.

@Jess, David M , David W... thanks so much for the kind words!

@Jennifer.. Thanks you... Make sure you utilize the power of the forums while doing your training, race rehearsals, and race plan for your day at IMLT. Good luck will be watching!

@Steve W... Nope never found the pebble... but found a very large number of people on ST that had blisters on the bottoms of their feet believed to be cause by burning them on the concrete in T2.

@ Roy, Joe, Tom , Robin and the IMTX peeps... again what a group we had for Texas it really made a difference!

harrast

Tim, I'm still freaking out at your 5:01 on the bike with NP of 172 watts. My best ride ever was 20 minutes higher, yet my higher weight (150 Lbs.) and lower power (227 FTP) can only account for about 7 minutes of increase (speed as a function of power--www.analyticcycling.com). The remaining difference would have to be due to aerodynamics. I'm just thinking here, but somehow you are gaining "free" speed somewhere. Do you have a propeller on the back of your helmet? Is it possible that your faster swim puts you with faster riders and gives you more of a legal draft? How did you get so aero?

Al Truscott

For Gawd's sake, now is NOT the time to worry about one second! Just bask in it, baby, bask in it.

Great report, I was tearing up with there on the photo stand.

tim cronk

@Steve--- I'm kinda still freaking out about it myself... I'm not that aero(lower back has limits and I need comfort) but I stayed in the aero position 99% of the time and I never stop pedaling which gives me a very low VI of 1.017 which is actually higher than training due to the stopped pedaling to pee. It is an easy and fast course.... I did pass well over 300 people and utilized every single one of them to sling shot past... and got some legal drafting but for the most part it was just catching and passing the next person ahead of me. Was pretty lucky in not dealing with back and forth positions with too many people. I would still get passed on the slight inclines as I held my power steady and then repass those on the flats to downs. Its also very dependent on the wind direction etc, in theory a loop course should even out but that is not the case since sometimes wind shifts or gets blocked. I think the biggest payoff was staying aero the entire ride. Really felt like I nailed my peak , taper , race day felt "easier" than my higher NP training rides... I'll include some links and notes to some of my recent rides in Texas and my last RR back home.... Another comparison for you is I did a 5:21 in IMFL on NP165 , and a 5:24 at IMCZ on 161NP... Neither of those rides were aero position the entire time.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/304165022 Last RR 177NP went thru 112miles at 5:10 , completely solo ride , Note: IMTX measured 111.37 ... .6 mile shorter and 8min faster with all those bikes on the course and probably flatter too

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/307689340 92 miles NP178 on the Texas course with a North wind..... again on pace for about a 5:10 split

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311222934 53 miles NP 179 about the same pace , north section of the course

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309455961 53 miles at NP 197 nearly 20 watts more and only around .7mph faster same course

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/312883615 here is a 1 hr taper ride , felt like I had a tailwind the whole way , 22.7mph with NP of 191 , and about 6-8 min at recovery watts of 140ish.... this day was crazy fast ????

Chris Love

Fantastic race Tim and congratulations on Kona!

Jay Lakamp

I'm very proud of you Tim and the way you did it on a very difficult day. I was just happy to survive and was thinking how nice a liter of fluid IV would be with 2 miles left to go in the race. I'm looking forward in seeing you again in October and we can swim out to the coffee boat together a couple of days before the race.

Nate Parady

Congrats....

I like your comments on how you have taken the EN Training plan and tailored it to meet the needs of your body in terms of recovery...

I'm 146lbs with FTP of 228...can't imagine being 25 or so lbs lighter...you are a light powerful machine my friend....

Pina

Tim, a HUGE Congratulations to you. WOW! You truly killed this race. As I complete my last week of FC and move into the last 12 week build to IMCan. I desperately needed some inspiration. Having a newborn has been wonderful, but has also put a twist on training and racing goals. Stuck in a conundrum between backing off training and just showing up race day vs. putting my head down and going for it.... The decisions been made & I thank YOU... Your race, splits and KQ has lit the spark in me again. Congrats again Tim...!

William Jenks

Late to the party, so I'll keep it simple. Congrats!

Gordon Cherwoniak

Tim,

Great race and enjoy the big show in Kona.  It's been fun to watch.  Nice job on holding the bike back for your first 5 miles.  Also as it turns out to be a good strategic decision to ease up in the last hour.  How much more can you push it who knows but I'm sure you will find out at your next IM.

Come on ....you want one second next thing you will be looking for is the 1:51 on the bike to go sub 5. 

Again enjoy the moment you earned it.

Gordon

Joe Matchette

Nicely done Tim! Nicely done.