IMLT Race Report
WARNING - This is long! And I left out a ton of stuff. It was great seeing all the EN'rs out on the course! Eric, Simon, Chris, Dino, Al, thanks for the shout outs when we passed on the run!
Ironman Lake Tahoe - Epic Beauty, Epic Difficulty
It has taken me a couple days to write this entire race report. Over that time have been nursing my badly blistered feet and reflecting on the race all I can think is "WOW!" Not because I was that fast, or had such a great race; but because the race was so incredibly beautiful and difficult at the same time.
"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
Arnold Schwarzenegger
From the beginning this race had all the makings of very challenging race. The race takes place at 6,200 feet of altitude at race start and over the course of the bike you climb up to 7,200 feet. Since this was the inaugural year no one really knew how the altitude would impact athletes during the race. We also didn't know the true elevation changes that would come from the climbs on the bike. The www.ironmanlaketahoe.com website showed 5,200 feet of gain but general consensus was that this was understated. It definitely was!
The weather also added to the recipe to make the race truly epic. It was windy and rainy on Saturday before the race and the higher elevations received snow. Including Brockway Summit, which we climbed twice on the bike. Snow on the peaks though made for incredible scenery!
The buzz around the internet is that this is going to go down as one of the hardest Ironman races ever. When you look at the average bike splits and the finish times it certainly reflects that fact. The average finish time was 14:06 and anyone that was able to finish the race certainly has bragging rights. 24% of the people who started the race weren't able to finish. The bike course was easily the toughest ride on the IM circuit. My bike computer shows just under 8,000 feet of elevation gain due to climbing. 8,000 feet by itself is challenging but when you pack it all into basically two sections that back up to each other and then do it all again; it hurts.
Here is a link to a results analysis and comparison of the toughest Ironman races. Ironman Lake Tahoe 2013 was brutally challenging! IMLT Results Analysis & Comparison to other IM races
Pre-Race: Surprisingly I wasn't the least bit nervous race morning. I knew that I had done the work, and the day would bring whatever it would bring. My biggest concerns were getting through the swim at altitude, staying warm on the bike and then putting together a decent run. My goals for the race were pretty simple.
- Finish the race.
- Enjoy the day and the unique beauty of the race.
- Don’t destroy my legs as I am racing the Beach 2 Battleship full iron race in just 5 weeks (10/26/13).
I started race morning fully fueled after feeling like I had stuffed myself for the two days prior to the race. I like the results of my race-fueling plan but it is miserable eating constantly for two solid days. Race morning dawned early as I woke up at 3:00 AM to start my breakfast routine. Jody, Scott and I got everything ready and were down at transition by 5:30 if not by 5:15. That worked great as we were able to get our bikes set up and air in the tires before the major crowds started to arrive. It was great that we had access to the Kings Beach Convention Center before heading to the beach since it was 27-29 degrees outside. The thermometer sign on the bank across the street from the swim start showed 25 degrees race morning...
Swim: (1:37:3) (AKA the most incredibly beautiful swim ever!)
I knew that this was going to be a slower swim for me. I have been swimming in the 1:20 - 1:25 range in the pool for the full distance but with this swim taking place at 6200' of altitude I wanted to take it easy and not risky losing my breath and becoming hypoxic. The swim was the new rolling start that Ironman is doing and it went really smoothly. I like this format. After enduring the MMA scrum @ IMAZ last year (the typical Ironman mass start) this was a good process to get all the athletes in the water without anyone getting too beaten up. In a race at altitude I think this is particularly important.
Whether you have a mass start or a rolling start each athlete still has to complete the entire course. Some folks have said that my not having the traditional mass start that Ironman is "dumbing down" the racing. I couldn't disagree more. Each person still has to complete the swim within the allotted time. If making races safer prevents one drowning it is worth it. If it makes a healthy lifestyle (or obsessively athletic as might be more appropriate for Ironman training) more accessible that is also a good thing. Our society and culture also has become so unhealthy with everything super-sized and food processed to the point of zero true nutritional content that anything that motivates a person to achieve more is good. End of soapbox rant. I just get tired of hearing the uber-elite ego-centric triathlete attitude that perpetuates the "it's not an Ironman without a mass swim start." Calling BS on that one. Everyone who raced Tahoe and finished earned their medal. I'd gladly take a mass start on the swim over the conditions we experienced on Sunday, but that is what made the race special and unique. Anyway...
As I mentioned it snowed Saturday PM up in the higher elevations and all of the peaks around the like were snowcapped. It was an incredibly beautiful morning. There was fog on the lake and you couldn't see past the first buoy. The buoy line was invisible when we started the swim. I went in the water with the 1:20 - 1:30 pace group and we waded out the 75 yards or so until it became deep enough to swim. The swim was relatively uneventful. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. One funny thing occurred early in the swim, I was approaching the 3rd buoy on the first loop and suddenly the buoy was moving away from me! I stopped and breast stroked for a minute so I could figure out what was going on. There was a jet ski towing the buoy. Evidentially it broke free from it's anchor line and the race officials were moving it to keep athletes from chasing it off course. It didn't work for me, as I ended up swimming 2.67 miles according to my Garmin. There was a nice jog into the middle of the course right where that buoy would have been. Leave it to me to find a way to add distance to my slowest discipline... :-)
Here are some pics from a local newspaper that give a flavor of what the race looked like at the swim start. Local Newspaper Photos
I made the turn to do the 2nd loop, which was interesting because it was about three feet deep at that point. Everyone that was around me walked that section which was perhaps 200 yards across. (guessing at the distance) It probably would have been faster to swim here but I was awestruck by the beauty of the swim with the sun coming over the Sierra Nevada's to the East and the fog that was still on the water. I walked this part just absorbing all of the experience.
Transition 1: (11:25) (AKA Slow is smooth, smooth is fast)
I came out of the water with 1:36:54 showing on my watch which is pretty close to my official swim split. I was near the back of the 1:20 - 1:30 group so that probably explains the difference in time. As I ran up the swim finish chute I heard the announcer call out my name (I think Mike Reilly was still there, I know he was there for the race start) and I got a nice jolt of energy from that. I skipped the warming tent that Ironman had set up and headed straight for my transition bag. The wetsuit strippers came next and as always were incredibly efficient.
Heading into the transition area I saw what looked like 500 people squeezed into the T1 changing tent. I opted to grab a spot of ground by the fence and do my transition there. One of the volunteers brought me a dry towel, which was awesome and unexpected. I had planned to put on my singlet in T1 to minimize the wet clothing I would be wearing during the start of the bike ride. After quickly drying of my feet and donning my Endurance Nation singlet, bike vest, gloves and shoes and arm warmers I headed to get “Lord Vader” (aka, my bike&hellip
and start the ride. My goal for T1 was to live by my training mantra “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” That certainly worked for me here because my T1 time was relatively fast compared to the rest of the field. So many people got clogged up in the T1 tent trying to change clothes that their times were longer than normal.
and start the ride. My goal for T1 was to live by my training mantra “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” That certainly worked for me here because my T1 time was relatively fast compared to the rest of the field. So many people got clogged up in the T1 tent trying to change clothes that their times were longer than normal.The Bike (AKA: holy mother of all things hilly!): (7:21:14)
There is nothing like starting the bike ride cold and wet and knowing you need to get your nutrition in but not wanting anything to eat. I ignored what my body was telling me and pull out a ½ powerbar as soon as I got into a relatively traffic free area. The powerbar was frozen solid. I mean I couldn’t bite into it at all. I worked at a corner of it for a few minutes before I was able to get a portion into my mouth. I couldn’t believe how cold it was during this portion of the bike. I proceeded to pop the whole thing in my mouth and let it warm up until I could actually chew it without losing a molar.
The first 20+ miles of the bike were relatively flat with only one climb up Dollar Hill. It amazed me to see so many athletes absolutely powering up that climb. They were standing up on their bikes grinding out big watts. I was the antithesis of this. Before heading to Tahoe I had put a mid-cage rear derailleur on my bike and a 12-32 cassette. Having that extra big ring in the back coupled with my 50/34 crank up front really saved my bacon on all the climbs. I was moving slowly but was able to conserve power going up those hills with the extra gear.
After climbing Dollar Hill it was pretty flat or downhill past Squaw Valley all the way into Truckee. I was flying down the course through this section and passed a ton of riders who it seemed were content to coast through this section. The ride through Truckee was really cool. There was a nice crowd support area through downtown and the energy level was really high there. After town we climbed up onto the bike paths and while these climbs were pretty short there were some really steep sections. I saw 14% on my Garmin a couple different times in here.
The real work began as we started climbing out of Truckee into Martis Camp. Martis Camp is a private gated community that no one could ride prior to the race so no one really knew what to expect from this section of the course. I haven’t analyzed my Garmin files yet but words that come to mind when thinking of Martis Camp, are “diabolical,” “switchback,” “brutal,” “and “steep.” Offsetting the grinding climbs that this section of the course presented was a view that was absolutely incredible. The nice thing was that since we were doing so much climbing I was staying out of areobars and was able to keep my head up and enjoy some of the views. Breathtaking is the best way to describe this section of the ride. Of course, breathtaking has more than one meaning when you are climbing at 6,500+ feet of altitude…
After a quick descent after passing past the Ritz Carlton the course turned right onto highway 267 and up to the Brockway Summit. On Thursday we had ridden a small section of this part of the course in reverse so I knew that this was going to be a grind. What I didn’t expect was that this grind was immediately preceded by the torture session in Martis Camp. I had focused on keeping my power as low as possible all through Martis camp but I had still expended plenty of energy. The climb up Brockway was a ball-buster. On the first loop I caught my buddy Scott and we rode together for a bit. Drafting here was pretty much unavoidable; though I don’t know how much drafting you are really doing when you are going 4 miles per hour. On the first loop I saw several people off the their bikes walking and taking breaks at one of the several side areas that were available. The ride up Brockway was 2.6 miles and started at a relatively easy gradient of 6% but as we climbed it increased to just under 10%. The last half mile was a real challenge. You just had to keep turning. I passed Scott during this last section and when I summited grabbed more Perform sports drink and headed down the mountain.
On Thursday’s preview ride I found this section of the road to be pretty squirrely and my bike really wobbled a bit at speed. Because of this I decided not to go full areo and instead kept my hands on the brakes the entire way down. I had to ride the brakes pretty steady to keep my speed under 40 MPH. A number of riders blew past me but I just wasn’t willing to take the risk of a bike crash knocking me out of the race. I was glad that I made that decision because a gust of wind hit me and created a pretty strong front-end wobble that I was able to control. Not sure that I would have been able to react fast enough if I had been in my areobars.
After coming down Brockway it was a right turn back onto 89 and time to do it all again. I was showing 4250 feet of climbing when I made the turn onto 89 so I knew that I had at least that much more left before I was in the home stretch.
There’s not much more to tell about the rest of the ride. I was sticking to my nutrition plan and trying to get down 2 bottles of Perform per hour and nutrition every 30 minutes. I will say that I was extremely well hydrated. I must have had to go to the bathroom 15 times on the bike. Oh well, that was far better than the alternative!
The first loop of the bike was tough, the 2nd was a real killer. Those climbs just never seemed to stop. I did pass a guy on the bike who evidentially decided that his best method for staying warm was to ride the bike course while wearing his wetsuit… Never seen that before! It was cold most of the ride and I never felt the need to shed layers or take off my gloves. My hands never really did defrost during the ride.
For the entire bike ride I averaged 15.23 miles per hour. I had expected to be in the 16.5 – 17.5 range with the climbing so I was quite a bit slower than anticipated. Last year I rode an Ironman ride in 5:20 on a flat course so this really felt slow, though I did pretty good at controlling my power output and not spiking on all the climbs.
Transition 2: (9:38) (AKA: The beginning of the suck&hellip
My T1 time was pretty fast, but my T2 time was really slow. I really don’t know why it took so long, I didn’t have any trouble finding my gear bag and a spot to change, but for some reason nothing seemed to move very quickly. During the last 1/3 of the ride I had started having trouble breathing deeply. I wrote it off as impact from altitude but it was very strange not to be able to take a deep breath. I left T1 and headed out on the run after stopping by the sunscreen volunteers.
The Run: (6:13:32) (AKA, a very long and painful walk&hellip
The run started really really good. I had taken off my arm warmers, vest and gloves and the temps, while cool, felt really good. The first couple miles slipped by pretty quickly and I was right on my target pace of 10:30/mile. I am always entertained by folks who are surprised that a guy my size enjoys iron distance triathlon. It is definitely a sport where the smaller person has significant advantage, especially on the run. I was running along during the first couple miles and I heard a spectator comment to his wife that “wow, that’s a big guy, not your typical triathlete.” I’m 6’4” and 235 pounds. I look more like a linebacker than a triathlete. But I love the challenge this sport provides and enjoy it, even when it hurts.
After the first 6 miles the wheels started to fall off. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath and while walking was part of my plan for the day I found myself already needing to walk to catch my breath. I think this led to what would become the most painful portion of my day; blistered feet.
I started feeling a blister develop on the ball of my left foot around mile seven. Hoping to prevent this from becoming worse I stopped at the aid station at mile 8 and a volunteer helped me apply moleskin to the bottom of my feet. At this point I was relegated to a fast paced walk or a shuffling run. I can generally walk a 13:00/mile pace but the blisters on my foot were definitely slowing me down. I don’t really remember much of the course between miles 8 and 13. I know that it was beautiful along the Truckee river but I was hurting pretty badly and had a unilateral focus on getting to special needs so I could get my jacket, gloves and headlamp. As the day had worn on and the sun dipped below the mountains the temperature had really dropped and I was absolutely freezing. Once I made it to special needs the jacket helped but I was still shivering. At that point I was still able to do the math in my head and knew that barring catastrophe I would be able to finish the race; albeit slower than I had expected.
Once the sun went down it got really really dark and really cold. My saving grace for the remaining thirteen miles was the mylar space blanket that a volunteer gave me at mile 14 and the hot chicken broth and coke I took in at every aid station. The chicken broth tasted so wonderful and the heat it provided was incredible. I was really hobbling by the last 4-5 miles of the race. Every step hurt and the best way I can describe it is to compare it to stepping on something like a lego block. A sharp shooting pain.
I saw Tonya at the turn around near mile 18 and gave her a quick kiss and let her know that I was hurting and it would be a while before I made it back. She told me later that she knew something was wrong, that it was more than just sore feet.
Not much to add to the above regarding the last 6-8 miles. It was incredibly dark, extremely cold, and I was hurting. I just focused on making it one mile at a time and tried to push my pace as hard as I could. Mentally I never considered quitting. I knew that I had done the hard work and that as long as I could set a new intermediate goal like “the next aid station” or similar that I would be fine.
When I finally made it back in to Squaw Valley and the Olympic village I was determined to run it in. I started running before making the turn to the village and every step sucked but adrenaline kicked in and made it all bearable. I don’t remember much of the final run. I remember the crowd cheering and people yelling out my name, hands stuck out to give me high fives and bright lights. I do remember Mike Reilly calling out and saying “Dusty Holcomb, you are and Ironman.” I crossed the line in a daze, as my finish line photos certainly attest.
When I crossed Tonya was right there. I was so proud of her for volunteering in the medical tent during the race. Her Medical T-shirt and bracelet gave her access to the finish line area so she was there when I finished. The volunteers took my timing chip and gave me my medal. I was shivering uncontrollably and my feet were on fire. I don’t know what I said to Tonya but I just remember saying “I need the medical tent” over and over. Tonya and Jody helped me in (which by the way, Jody had an awesome race and finished in 14:03) and the folks there covered me in blankets for a good 30-45 minutes until my shivering subsided.
All in all the run sucked. I didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to run the entire race and my blistered feet really slowed me down.
Post Race Thoughts:
This was the hardest race that I have ever done. It was certainly the most physically challenging, not just for me, but also for all the athletes that completed the race. Everyone I spoke with echoed that sentiment. This one was a real piece of work. Not only was this race physically challenging, it was mentally challenging as well. Nothing like slogging out 16+ miles walking with blistered feet.
This was my 3rd Ironman race. It definitely WILL NOT be my last. As hard as it was I loved it. I love proving to myself that I can accomplish challenging goals. I love setting a positive example for our kids regarding working out and setting goals. Maddie loves to come upstairs when I am on my bike or on the treadmill and ask me about my workout. She tells me all the time, “Daddy, when I get bigger I will bike and run with you.” I love hearing that.
I couldn’t have finished without Tonya’s support. All the hard work and early hours training wouldn’t be possible without her encouragement. THANK YOU!
Lessons Learned:
- Get lean for hilly courses – When I do another race with significant climbing or hills I am really going to have to focus on getting lean. 10 pounds lighter would have made a big difference on the bike.
- Adjust time goals based on the course – I went into the race expecting a slower swim and bike due to the impact of altitude and elevation gain. I didn’t expect my run to suffer as much as it did. My goals for the run were not realistic.
- Be sure and stick to my schedule for salt tabs – I didn’t do a good job taking my salt tabs during the bike and I believe this contributed to some cramps I experienced during the second half of the bike and early in the run. I must stick to a schedule with these!
- I know I am going to have to walk, I need to wear shoes that I have walked a long distance in before! Enough said!
- Stick to my nutrition plan on the run – I didn’t do a very good job sticking to a regular nutrition schedule on the run. I lost track of time and I have no idea how much nutrition I took in. I think that really slowed me down towards the end of the race. I was really dragging by the last 1/3 of the run.
- Plan more time on the back end – This year it wasn’t possible but going forward I will make sure to plan more time on the back end of races to enjoy whatever destination we have traveled to see. I would have loved to have spent 3-4 more days at Lake Tahoe exploring the local area.
- Take lots of pictures. I took a bunch and will include them here, but I wish I had taken more. Heck, I wish I had carried a small camera on my bike for some of those views from Martis Camp.
- I hate pretzels…. That is all.
I'll add more pictures as I get them to a separate post. Here a are a few pics and screen shots to add some flavor to the race report.
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| IMLT Swim |
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Comments
For me it was still a super challenging course but definitely more suited to my strengths, people have accused me of being many things but a linebacker is not one of them. No IM is easy that's for sure, but definitely there are courses that would play more to your strengths so it's all the more impressive and meaningful as an overall experience for you to go out and conquer the toughest course on the circuit.
Glad that most everyone came away from the day with positive experiences despite the challenge. Still gets me fired up.