IMLOU Race Report F Broadstreet
Trying to keep this relatively short, so I'll skip all the lead up, other than to say the taper schedule had me feeling really strong going into race day.
Race morning: after checking the bike and loading my nutrition in T1 I wandered down to the start line. Got in the shortest line I could find for the porto's and waited. Once that was done, it was around 6:30 and I didn't feel like walking the 1+ mile down, so I picked out a bench and waited for the line to come to me. Didn't end up getting in the water until about 7:40. Swim went fine with very little contact. Up to the turnaround was slow (32 min), but coming home was fast (38 min). I tried to stay a little wide on the way home and sighted off the bridge piers. Getting out in 1:10, I was exactly on my target pace and felt more relaxed than I had in any other IM swim.
Tent was crowded so I just stood outside and changed standing up. No hitches getting onto the bike despite a lot of folks exiting at the same time. Why don't more people run their bike up another 15 or 25 yards before they try and mount?? No real time loss and much more space. Bike early was steady, was staying right on HR targets even though I was passing a lot of folks. Was very conscious of effort on the early climbs and just sat up and spun. The out and back was my real concern. It was tight about 2/3s the way down, but I was able to find open space near the bottom and crossed over the bridge without incident. Saw the ambulance and rider down on the climb out and reminded myself that a few seconds on this section was not worth that type of situation. Made the turnaround and headed down. Again I was able to find open space on the way back down (the ambulance was gone) and worked to stay there. Took it easy on the way out and said a small prayer when I had made it through that section unscathed and without breaking my plan. The rest of the bike was mostly uneventful because I stayed on plan. I was actually happy when the hills came along because it was as if that was when I got to back off a little and rest. Had some issues with my electrolyte drink during the 2nd half of the ride and switched to taking IM Perform at the aid stations. Not adjusting for that would prove to be my biggest mistake of the day. The best part of the ride was the last 30 miles. I had been passing folks all day, but having the steady power to be strong those last 30 miles was a real confidence boost. I did this race 2 yrs ago and really struggled on the last 20 miles of the bike. Wandered into T2 with a 5:23 split. Ahead of my base goal 5:30 and nearly at my stretch goal of 5:20.
Changed shoes, got sunscreen, stopped for a pee and headed out on the run. At this point I was feeling superb about how the race was going. I knew my stomach was a little unhappy, but as most of you know, thinking critically during the race can be difficult. I stuck on target paces and nutrition plan for the first 6 miles. I should have shut down the food at this point. Tweaked the pace up just a hair at 6 miles, but by mile 9 that small stomach discomfort had grown quite a bit. At that point I shut down my run nutrition and slowed a good bit trying to get the stomach feeling better. Miles 9-19 were very hard from a GI standpoint and my pace suffered quite a bit. During that section, my goal was to just keep moving. By 19 my stomach issues had subsided significantly and I took an orange slice at the aid station. This felt like magic elixir. I felt rejuvenated and picked up my pace slightly. At the 20 mile marker I was feeling practically as good as I had at the beginning of the run and went through the next 10K carrying a solid pace and feeling pretty darn good for 130+ miles under my belt. I realized later that switching to IM Perform on the bike added about 75 calories/hr to my gut that I hadn't planned, and I believe this set up the GI issues on the run.
Crossed the line in 10:32 on my watch and was thrilled with how things went down. Through the entire day the volunteers were great, the traffic on the bike wasn't perfect, but wasn't bad. The transition staffs were excellent and the finish line support was top notch. EN training and planning put me in the best spot I've been in for an IM. I can't say enough good things about the resources and planning. Thank you EN!!
Comments
Great race on a hot day. I certainly hear you about the out and back... Luckily I was one of the first swimmers in the water and so when I was heading out, the bike traffic wasn't bad, but after the aid station, I was amazed at how many people were coming in the other direction - 4 people wide at places with so many just flying thru.... I was staying as far to the right as I could to avoid that whole lane.... Really think that is a dodgy, dangerous part of the race.....
Like you, I suffered with GI issues - but you clearly were able to conquer them and finish strong. Very well done considering the conditions that day.
Thanks for the comments guys. I really feel like I am close to breaking through to the next level. Here's to hoping that 1 more season of EN will get me there.