Jeff Leslie IMTX Race Report
** I apologize in advance for the length of this document!**
History: 42 yrs old. This was my first Ironman distance. Prior experience was 1 sprint, 2 olympics, 2 HIM (Austin x 2), 1 DNF a “B race” HIM (too cold/windy, quit 5 miles into bike), all in the past 1.5yrs. ~5 yrs road cycling before switching to triathlon. Never been an athlete. Bench warmer/sub all my childhood playing baseball, basketball, etc. No endurance sport experience in youth. No formal swimming training except for Red Cross swim lessons as child!
Training: After Austin 70.3 (end of October), transitioned to BF for 6wks, then GF plan for 8wks, then dropped in to week 12 of IM (intermediate level). Coach R did not think I should do either OS, due to the early season IM. This seemed to work just fine, and I was certainly well trained (best shape of my life). Did every high priority workout (except the last “long” run/ride in week 19 due to cough/illness. Did the vast majority (90%?) of the intermediate (yellow) workouts. Probably did ~50% of the low priority (green) workouts. Also did a big tri week, IMTX camp in late March (week 12/20 of IM plan). Camp was awesome, not just for the volume, but riding the full course twice. Helped a ton on race day, as it was one less thing to worry about. The two camp rides were very different, due to lots of wind the first day and relative calm the second. This proved very helpful on race day, as it was even more windy and I knew what was coming in the latter ½ of the ride. Felt good about my training overall, except I developed an upper respiratory infection in the latter part of week 18. I did my RR ride and 3 miles of the planned 6 mile run on Saturday of week 18, but was definitely “under the weather” for this, and it may have in retrospect been a bad idea….I never was able to shake the nagging cough before race day. If nothing else, I learned how to cough underwater, in the aerobars and during 30step walk breaks! Robin Sarner told me he’d had a good race with a cough before, so that helped my mental state.
Packing in San Antonio (mon-wed): lists prepared previously from race plan were used to ensure I had everything needed. Thanks to Mike Roberts for sharing his list which I just tweaked for me.
Travel: Wednesday - Drove (4hrs) to the Woodlands in afternoon. Tiffany and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary (May 14, 1994) at Jasper’s (thanks Shaughn Simmons for the recommendation). Pork brisket over Asian stir-fried veggies….best piece of meat I’ve ever had. Wife’s steak was best she’d ever had.
Thursday – 4 Keys talk at 11:30. Met some of the team. Great talk with loads of humor interspersed by Coach P. I agree with the vets who all encouraged me to go, even though I know the 4 keys back and forth….just can’t hear it/learn it/absorb it enough. Wife shopped ALL DAY. Lunch with some of the EN team at Goose’s Acre (burger). Checked in, got out of the expo immediately. Waited for wife to finish shopping, then headed to team dinner at Cheesecake factory. Great to finally meet those I hadn’t met at camp, put faces with names, etc. Back to hotel for T1/T2 bag assembly. Double checked bike against list (tube, extender, tire lever, crack pipe, etc).
Friday – did not do the swim practice. Good decision for me. Would not have helped me much on Saturday. Breakfast at hotel (moderate size – 2 pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuit/gravy, cinnamon roll, coffee). Checked in bike and T1/2 bags. Had to wait 20mins in line to get in, then went very quickly. Asked lots of questions of volunteers/race staff regarding route and process through transition. Was still confused though, as the barriers were not set up exactly as they would be tomorrow, but they assured me it was “idiot proof”. I think this is a fair statement. Certainly, if I were competitive for KQ, every step is important, but being a MOP guy, I trusted it would be straightforward. I still had to get a little direction on race day through transition both times, but the volunteers are everywhere and it was not confusing or difficult at all. Lunch around noon at Olive Garden – lasagna, fettucine alfredo, chicken parmesan, many breadsticks, salad, water. Stuffed stomach. Back to hotel for rest of the day. Got some work done, watched TV, read some prior IMTX race reports, read some more race execution stuff, read 4 keys/IMTX slides from Coach P (again). Laughed at all the groupme texts from the team with random thoughts/questions. Got confused more than once with Robin Sarner’s sarcasm. Prepared Perform bottles for bike (Speedfill A2, two throw-away bike bottles). Snacked on Gardetto’s, Gatorade, couple of bananas during afternoon, then had a bowl of chicken noodle soup at 7PM (great idea Mike Roberts…easy to digest, LOADS of sodium (my kidney stone patients are forbidden to have soup!), just the right size). Lights off at 8PM (wife still out shopping since lunch!). Tossed and turned and flailed for 3+hrs. I think I fell asleep around 11:30. Woke up twice during that short night to pee. Hydration successful!
Saturday – Up at 3:45. Can of Ensure, banana, powerbar, diet mountain dew. Shower. Dressed, double checked SN bags. Left hotel at 5:00. Arrived at transition around 5:30 (parking a bit of a challenge). Garmin on bike, bottle on bike, pumped up tires, retrieved my pump from the 5th person who had borrowed it as I watched it slowly drift away from me! Tiffany and I then walked the ~1mi to swim start. Dropped off SN bags, tried to take a crap….line too long….couldn’t really go anyway. Was concerned that this might rear (ha ha) it’s ugly head later in day….but it never did! Met up with most of the team and Coach P and put on wetsuit. Had a non-caff PB gel at 6:20 and 6:40 with a few sips of water. Headed to dock with SS leading the way (as always). The pros went off at 6:45, and AG’s were not allowed in water until they were off, so the AG entry into the water was not fast enough. Fortunately, I was able to get in about 5-10mins before the cannon suddenly went off and warm up a little.
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Power and Pace data: FTP: 220 VDOT: 44 WT: 155LBS 3.1w/kg @ FTP GOALS: Sub 13:00 HRS (SWIM: 01:20:00 – T1: 8:00 – BIKE: 6:00:00 – T2: 06:00 – RUN 5:00:00) –-> TOTAL:12:34:00) Other goals: Finish in daylight. Run the whole marathon. Do not crash. SWIM(Goal <1:20:00) Actual 1:13:36 </span> Swim was expected to be wetsuit legal, and that was officially announced early Saturday AM. Used sleeveless wetsuit (first time). Water temp was 71. Felt perfect….a little cold while treading water, but never cold once swimming. The AG’s did not get in the water as fast as they had planned, and Coach P estimated at least 350 people were still on the dock when the cannon went off. There was no countdown…..just a boom…everyone was looking around at each other as if to say “do we start now”! The start was rough, as expected. I started in the middle, about 2nd “row”. There was no talking amongst athletes around me about swim time seeding, etc, before the start. With the start, experienced frequent contact, redirecting, etc. Got a blow to right goggle, but didn’t come off or leak. Was mainly concerned for a potential kick to the family jewels the whole swim. Overall, was about what I expected in terms of contact. Got frustrated a few times with people who just seemed to not care that I was where they were trying to go. Not sure who was “off line”….me or them! A few times (and more frequently later in the swim) I just refused to give up my spot. I’m sure this is not the best way to handle that, but it was very frustrating several times to be constantly bumping sides with someone who clearly can tell that I am there (I have seen their beady eyes see me!) already and just continue to bang into me! I tried to veer 10-20 yds ahead of myself into open spaces when possible. But several times I just basically refused to slow/move over (there is someone on the other side of me you know!) and kicked a little more “laterally” than usual to claim my space. It sort of felt like when you’re trying to merge in heavy traffic and no one will let you do it. A little “road rage” may have crept into me occasionally. I also ran into several folks who had just decided to pull up and stop...really? I tried to sight off of the buoys, but learned as I went that if I just looked for some open water 10-20yds in front of me, with folks on my left and right, that I was headed in the general direction and that was better than sighting more and thus slowing down. I was happy that during the course of the whole swim I got better and better at sighting/finding smooth water. The IMTX swim course can be pretty evenly broken up into thirds (thanks Coach P)….out, back and then R turn into canal. The first 1/3 seemed to be the longest (although obviously it is not!). Found more and more space gradually during 1st third, then contact around turn buoy (tried to stay wide), but wasn’t more than any other turn in an OWS I’ve done. 2nd third went pretty quickly. Remembered to count strokes, slowed my cadence some, relaxed, enjoyed the sun peaking through the trees. The 2nd third was actually pretty fun. Not much contact, sun peeking through the tall trees, intermittent shade/sun, could see the shore and people watching. It was almost relaxing. As I made the 2nd turn, heading into canal, I was preparing for the chop and MMA match. Once in the canal, it was wider than I realized and I didn’t feel the chop much at all. There was definitely a lot of contact though, as I’m a MOP swimmer. This is where I sort of “lost it” a few times and may have thrown an elbow or two?! (not really….but I didn’t just stop and yield either) Was glad to get on the ladder and get out. Legs felt fine….in fact, better than all of the shorter OWS races I have done. Jogged to wetsuit strippers, but was unable to find my stinking zipper thingy. Had to get them to unzip me and then strip the suit. Once I realized I had lost precious seconds, woefully unable to unzip myself, I decided to not try to KQ. Overall I am happy with the swim. My best HIM swim in full wetsuit (similar lake) was 39mins. So, I did this at least 4 minutes faster than double that time. Most importantly, I exited the water not exhausted, no “sea legs”, was able to jog through transition feeling pretty good. Was happy with the time as I exited the water too. T1:Goal <8:00, Actual 7:20. </span> Ran from the wet suit strippers to the gear bags, found mine, then found a clear spot on the grass outside the tent. Sat down, putglasses on, helmet on, dried off arms, put on arm coolers, gloves on, put on shoes, ran thru tent. Got the bike, jogged to mount line, past it a bit, mounted and headed out. Not bad for my first full IM transition. I’m not going to worry about this much until I become a little more “competitive”. Would need to “run” instead of jogging, learn to put on arm warmers on the bike (without crashing), etc.. Just not a priority for me yet. BIKE(TARGET 06:00, Goal IF 0.7 (154W)) Actual 5:53:12 (IF 0.67, NP 148, VI 1.06, HR 127) Had planned to ride the first 20-30mins at JRA pace or around 0.68IF, until HR in low 120’s. It was around 140 in first mile or two, so I JRA’d it until it came down to 120’s, which was about 15mins. I tried to from this point on sit on 154W, but found the bike traffic a little heavy. I’m still not ready to “trust” that people are not going to swerve left as I pass, and I think this hurt me on the first part of the ride. As the day went on, I became more aggressive/comfortable with passing, but initially, I think I rode a little conservatively just due to congestion. It would help if I’d swim faster (and transition faster)! IF gradually came up from 0.65 early to 0.67, where it stayed all day. Due to the winds, I decided that I probably could not break 6:00, and therefore I needed to stay closer to 0.68 to not overshoot the TSS and risk walking. By the turn on Osborne, I had resigned to accept 0.68 for my final IF. Since I was around 0.665 at this point, I just continued to try to see 154 all the time. Final IF was 0.672, with VI of 1.06, TSS of 266, 18.9mph, Avg HR 127. Probably left a few minutes on the bike in retrospect, but I was more afraid of overshooting the TSS than undershooting. Drank 3 bottles of Perform the first hour, then 2bottles/hr thereafter. Never had any GI problems other than occasional burping (which is common for me and means I’m tanked up). Ate a PB gel every hour beginning at 1:00. Took the last two a little early (4:30 and 5:15) in preparation for the run. The wind was strange. Not the usual pure tailwind out of town as in the camp rides, but more of a cross/tail. The chip seal did not seem as bad as camp rides, possibly due to the annoyance of the wind? Stayed aero except for aid stations, occasional climb (short hills really), and when refilling A2. Took one bottle of perform at every aid station and one bottle of water at most of them, especially later in ride. Tried to put water in the hole on top of my helmet once….that was a mistake and I didn’t do that again. Kept the arm coolers, back and quads wet as with water). Did not stop at SN and did not get off the bike at all. 4 voids, one around mile 20, and then three dispersed evenly later on. Had never noticed this previously, but my “target” shoe would end up full of urine….became a little concerned about what I was going to do now, but turns out it just drains out over a minute or two! I think the swim must affect my neck more than I realized, as my neck was already hurting at 30mins. It never really got bad though, but did bother me earlier than in RR rides (and I do them all aero too). I got out of my shoes a little prematurely, but no big deal. Was glad to see the dismount line and nice not to have to rack my own bike. Bike nutrition was: 272oz Perform (45.3oz/hr) and 6 gels. Total calories = 3040 (506cal/hr) (2380cal from Perform, 660 from gels). This “worked” with an IF of 0.67, with no GI upset, with 3 true bike voids. Seems a little high on the calories…..maybe I don’t need gels at all? T2 Jogged to T2 bags, grabbed mine, headed towards tent. Sat down outside tent and had volunteer spray me with sunscreen while I put on socks/shoes. Jogged through tent with go bag and put on belt, flask in jersey, trucker hat on head and started the run RUN (TARGET 05:00:00) Actual 4:47:14 (10:34/mile) Plan was miles 1 – 6 @ 10:00/mile as long as HR was in 120’s...absolutely NO FASTER. Walk 30 steps all the stations. 1/3 gel flask (equal to 1 PB gel) every 6miles (1 hour). 4oz Perform every mile. One saltstick every hour (on the half hour/3miles). If I felt good, I would drink 8oz perform/mile early. Miles 7 – 18 @ 9:30 (as long as HR in 120’s/130’s) depending on HR and Heat index...adjust accordingly. Try to keep cadence near 90. Only 4oz Perform/mile after 1st hr, coke near end. The run was pretty steady for me. I had to force myself to slow down to 10:00 pace the first coupe of miles, but then it just felt right from then on. HR was in 120’s as expected, but upper 120’s initially. Saw Coach P at mile 2, confirmed my HR was in range and reminded me to ice everything. Doubled up on Perform at a couple of the aid stations early. I tried to speed up to 9:30 at mile 7, but decided that was probably not sustainable given the temps (thanks Al!) and I did not want to be walking later, so I just kept going at 10:00 pace. Running at 10:00 pace, adding the brief walks to drink and douse at aid stations yielded on overall 10:34 pace for the day. I gradually slowed down as the marathon continued, but didn’t really try to “push it” ever. I was just too afraid of blowing up or getting nauseated or ending up on the side with EMTs hovering over me (I saw quite a bit of this on the last loop especially). I switched to coke at mile 20, instead of perform, but then noticed my arms were tingling/numb. I decided that I had no idea what that was all about but it was probably not good. Took two salt tabs immediately and went back to Perform for the next 2 aid stations. It went away pretty quickly, thankfully. Stopped at SN on the third loop to get more salt tabs and switch to 2xcaffeinated gel flask. Wanted to put on my dry socks (did not do a good job of keeping the feet dry….too much indiscriminate dousing), but did not want to stop running, risk stiffening up and was not having any blister problems, so opted to just finish with wet socks. Once I realized they were wet, I did do a better job of avoiding shoes getting wet with the dousings. I used a “trucker hat” to be able to put ice in it. This did not work. The ice just immediately came out the hole in the back every time. At the second aid station, I stuffed a sponge in the opening and managed to contain some ice on my head. About 30 seconds later a sheering pain from my scalp presented itself. Turns out, my scalp does not appreciate big pieces of ice directly on it. Switched to sponges in the hat subsequently. I did dump ice down my jersey and bibs, and directed bib ice to my inguinal areas. Turns out, my scrotum does not appreciate ice directly either! (sorry ladies….it could be an important tip for the next rookie). I did have to stop 7-8 times to flatten out my insole in my left shoe during latter miles….for some reason, it kept buckling up. Looked for a bench/rock/unoccupied chair to do this. Saw Tiffany on 1st and 2nd loops and gave her a high-five. Run splits and HR below: Mile Pace HR 1 10:03 127 2 10:30 126 3 10:26 126 4 10:40 124 5 10:06 124 6 10:03 124 7 9:52 126 8 10:01 126 9 10:13 123 10 10:16 125 11 10:34 123 12 10:27 123 13 10:09 125 14 10:11 124 15 10:15 122 16 11:46 122 (had to pee) 17 10:33 120 18 10:42 119 19 10:31 120 20 12:44 115 (RSN stop) 21 11:56 113 22 11:07 116 23 10:51 119 24 10:31 121 25 10:32 122 26 10:41 121
The “wall” for me hit about mile 20. Not so much a “wall” as a very heavy legs/feet sensation or a small concrete barrier with some razor wire on top?. Hip flexors just did not want to continue. Stride length was definitely shortening, as cadence was still 86ish (which usually yields a 9:30 pace for me very easily). This lasted a couple of miles. What helped, was asking spectators what time it was, around mile 21-22. I don’t remember what I was told, but I know that I did the math and determined that I just kept running at this pace, I’ll break 12hrs! That helped me pick up the pace (ok….actually, just stop continuing the slow-down that had begun). Some of my “slow down” was stopping to readjust the insole. Was tempted to just keep running, but didn’t want a blister (wet socks already). I don’t know if I COULD have run any faster. I know that I chose not to try, for fear of what I was seeing all around me….most people walking, some puking in the bushes and some receiving medical attention. One guy was just laying under a shade tree….he was fine…..just resting a bit. The finishing chute was fun. Could not not grin, goosebumps on the neck, saw my wife and high-fived her again before crossing the line. Coach P was there to congratulate me and warn Tiffany that I might not be “ok” and that I might need to lie down a bit.! Recovered quickly and never had any trouble. I did NOT sit down though. That would have led to some problems I’m sure.
Results: 11:56:12 (121/452 AG, 556/2437 OA) Swim 1:13:36 (139/452AG), T1 7:20, Bike 5:53:12 (137/452 AG), T2 4:50, Run 4:37:14 (121/452AG).
Improvements I see for future: 1. Get faster in general, in all 3 disciplines, through continued consistent training. 2. Better sighting/OWS savvy. I feel like I get better every race at this. The length of the IM swim I think really helped me learn some “tips” for how to find open water in a crowd. I think this will just take more racing. 3. Do a better job of hitting my goal IF. I consistently end up 0.02 (this time 0.03) shy of my goal IF, in RR rides and last HIM. I need to be more aggressive early in the ride (once HR settles down of course) at riding my ride and passing whoever needs to be passed instead of waiting for the “perfect opportunity”. 4. Improve T1 transition a little. 5. Not slow down on the run. My interpretation of my run splits/HR is that the “wall” was more mental than physical for me on this day. My HR dropped when it got hard. The HR drop was due to lack of effort, not anything physically wrong with me. I was not dehydrated or hungry or nauseated. I was just tired. This is of course, the whole “it’s all about not slowing down on the run” that I have heard a million times. On this first day, I was scared of what might happen if I tried to push. Next time, provided conditions are similar (which is not guaranteed, I know), I will give it a go, with the knowledge that I’ve proven I can run the whole marathon…..just need to not slow down next time.
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TARGET: 00:06:00) Actual 4:50
Comments
I hope to see you around. Are you racing anything local this summer?
2x what TC said re feel.
Congratulations on a great race. I enjoyed reading your report. I hope my first IM goes this well!
Funny reading your swim start review. Prior to the start and the actual start. I felt the same way! Lots of people on the shore, no countdown, just a Boom and everyone sort of looked around startled and started swimming!
Super bike split and very solid run!!!
Congrats again IRONMAN!!!!
Nice meeting you and all the gang! What a FUN virtual training group! Continued success to you in the future!
Jeff,
Can't say how much pleasure I got from watching you cross that line last Saturday. That morning, I knew you were going to have a great race, but I could see you weren't yet convinced. I knew because I watched you do the work, week after week, no shortcuts, no easy days! I knew you were going to knock it out of the park even if you weren't sure Sat morning.
Sincere congratulations on a well deserved, incredible performance IM!!
Jeff - Congratulations on a stellar first Ironman. No matter what twinge of disappointment you might have felt during or afterwards (I hope that's all gone now), you performed above expectations: you got in all your calories without GI upset, you leto pace on the bike, and you pretty much ignored all the little things which might have derailed your run - insole issues, ice cream headache in various body parts, development of altogether natural pain in your legs after 3+ hours, etc. Thoughts on the three disciplines:
Swim - you discovered my personal method of sighting" "Ask the audience" There's no need to look for buoys or landmarks. If you are going the same direction as the people around you, and if you look up and those in front of you are going the same direction, well, really, how can you do anything different? My only advice is remember the translation of one of those 4 keys to the swim - "Stay in your box" meaning, you have to pay attention only to what's happening inside you and don't get caught up in any kind games about what how the other 2,599 people are affecting you. And, if your do an IM in a full sleeve suit, wear your arm coolers during the swim, easy than dealing with them in T1. If you must, roll them up, and put them on your aerobars. Wait about 10-15 minutes to dry off, them slip them on while riding.
Bike - Gloves? Why? Gloves are useful if it's cold, or you are on a road or mtn bike and putting a lot of weight on your hands. But they just take time in T1, serve no purpose while riding (if anything, your hands are your leading edge, and they are less aero than skin), and make your palms sweat on a warm day. Real triathletes don't wear bike gloves in a race.
As to being "0.02" below your desired IF … don't sweat it. In your first IM you really only have two choices - ride a bit too conservative, and leave something out on the course … or struggle on the run. You chose wisely. Your 1.06 VI IS something where you should focus in future training. That may have had something to do with your worries about all the people in front of you, and you unconsciously surged and backed off more than you should. Experience in mass start races with 1000s of people should help.
Run - as I noted above, you did better than 90+% of all first time IMers - you kept running, at a pretty even pace. Your biggest issue here was not really trusting (deep within your unconscious) the combination of your training and race strategy/execution. Improvement there will come with more confidence, and experience. I'd suggest doing a few Olympic distance races, where you try to go all out on the bike, and then build your run over the 10K so you know that you ARE are able to finish strong after a tiring bike. Cooling tip - I agree a visor is better than a cap. Hats retain heat, and don't allow the natural sweat or water/ice you pour on your head to aid in evaporative cooling. If you are wearing bib shorts that have a rear pocket (or three), you can put ice there.
A more general note - I ran the Heat Pace Calculator for several people for this race, and they all went faster than the app predicted, in your case it said 4:55. Was the day cooler in some way than the reported temps? Breeze, shade? I'd hate to think that app is too conservative.
Great job - you really shortened your learning curve. Know that you have years of improvement in front of you - you might get a PR when you're 50!
Great points/advice. The run - at least for me - was hotter the first lap, maybe two. But then the winds really picked up, probably 20-30mph gusts (i.e., real wind). Early on, when the winds were more calm and there was no shade, it was truly hot. But with so many turns and shady areas, the really hot moments were usually fairly short-lived. Early on, the headwinds were cooling. Later, the headwinds almost stopped me in my tracks. Which is a convoluted way of saying - the run had frequently changing conditions, with those finishing after 11 and 12 hrs having cooler overall running conditions. There weren't that many sub-4 marthons, so it was still hot, but it definitely wasn't the death march athletes saw last year at TX. Bad facts make bad law. IMTX '14 Run probably is a bad fact, an anomanly that should be ignored re the Heat Race Calc app.
Al...thanks for reviewing my novel! Great advice, and you certainly understand what I was thinking on the run....I don't know if I can REALLy do this, so I'm gonna not push at all. I really JRA the last 1/2 of the marathon. I tried to pickup the pace at mile 7, and just couldn't convince myself to stick with it. However, most of that decision was based on the heat pace calculator. I had looked at that on Friday (for at least the 5th time this month) and saw that I was looking at around 11:00min miles (I think...don't remember exactly, just didn't like what I saw). So, when 10:00min miles felt "right" (not too hard, having to slow down occasionally at first, but felt pretty steady by mile 5-6), I just did not trust that I could run 9:30's the rest of the way (had it been 60degrees, I think I would have tried harder).
Basically, it was a combination of: being scared of blowing up (rookie/fear of the unknown), I did NOT want to walk at all, and the back of my mind with flashbacks of the run heat pace calculator (not to mention the people vomiting in the bushes and receiving EMS care). Given that my pace slowed in the latter half, I think I made the right decision? But, on the other hand, I felt pretty good at the end (no post-race issues, medical needs, was able to walk/get bike/take a shower/go out for dinner with the team). If I had pushed it, I'm pretty sure some of those things would have been impossible?. But, if I had paid more attention to my HR, I could have safely assumed that I could have at least tried to speed up....my HR never did the usual gradual climb towards the end of a long run....like in the Thursday long runs with Z1-->Z2-->Z3 in the race prep phase.
As far as the heat that day, I did not think it was particularly hot. But, I'm a lifelong Texan! I didn't really feel all that hot (my face tends to just radiate heat when it's "Texas hot" and I didn't feel that way at all). It was mid-80's during the run, but as Mike said, very breezy and gusts were downright annoying at times. One stretch on the waterway heading back towards the finish was dead into the wind...I was leaning forward and felt like I was running in place. But, the breeze felt good most of the time and I'm sure it helped with evaporative cooling a ton.
It doesn't look to me like I was a whole lot faster than the heat calculator, at least at the end of the run. At the beginning, yes I was exceeding predicted paces and it wasn't really hard.
Regarding the run heat pace calculator, does it take into account how "prepared" the folks who generated the data points were for the IM marathon? Example, I was totally tanked up on fluids (even voided on the run once....a lot of urine too....was standing at the dang urinal way too long), had no GI issues, etc. If I had not been tanked up on fluids, had GI upset, etc., my run paces would have been much lower. If the data used to create the formula included "all comers", then those with good hydration/nutrition might be "expected" to exceed expected paces on race day? Just thinking outloud....
I would have worn arm warmers under my wetsuit if I had gone full.
Bike gloves....I like them! I always ride with them. Takes me 30" to put them on and 5" to get them off. If/when 60secs is the difference b/w podium or not, I'll ditch them. As a surgeon, I'm scared of tearing up my hands if I go down too.
The HAT....it was a "trucker" hat. Coach P's idea....this is the kind of hat I wore playing baseball growing up, that only truckers and farmers wear now. Mesh back 2/3, very "breathable" honey-comb plastic stuff that sits way up high, off of your scalp. It is hideous and some of my teammates have ridiculed me for it's hideous-ness....even though it's an EN logo I had put on it and it's totally white! (Coach P SAID he loved it!). The idea is that it's stiff enough to hold ice like a bucket, and then you throw it on your head. Problems were the ice falls out of the big hole in the back above the plastic sizing button thingy and, ice directly on Jeff Leslie's scalp hurts like a son of a gun. Works for Coach P (and Luke McKenzie...see below)...not for me! I will use a visor (best breathability) or a headsweats type cap next time for sure. My run pictures are nearly ruined by the thing on my head! It it had worked as planned, I'd keep it though!
Take a look at Luke McKenzie's "trucker hat"!
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=luke+mckenzie+triathlon+suit&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=qnEpAuuC1n-_jM&tbnid=_-G_ufy5WQDk4M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2013/12/mckenzie-lives-his-dream.aspx&ei=DgSAU-TCCo_jsATjioLYAw&bvm=bv.67720277,d.b2k&psig=AFQjCNFfLNlrPZ622eMtnyQm5IL6-2Sv7w&ust=1400984967025189
Run mojo … I think what both Tim and I are saying is … you probably *could* have run an even or slightly negative split, if you knew just how hard you could push yourself. The fact your HR went down towards the end, and you felt so "good" after the race prove that. You had the right pace for the day (9:30 WAS too fast and 11:00 WAS too slow, 10:30-40 was JUST RIGHT), and once you gain a bit more confidence/experience, you will be able to maintain it the whole 26. It is ALWAYS hard for EVERYONE in those last 6-8 miles.
Heat pace app … when we were creating it, we used the run times for all participants of all North American IMs from years 2000-2010 - tens of thousands of individual data points to create the curves which drive the output (don't ask me how, I was not the spreadsheet jockey). The other variables we used were hourly temps and dew points for each of those races. I think we got 90% of the way there, meaning IM TX this year was probably outside 2 SD of norm for a prediction based solely on Temp and DP. We had discussed a V 2.0, which would take into account other known factors affecting performance, such as sun vs cover, wind vs none, hydration status, etc.(we had some info on all of those) But that didn't happen - I didn't want to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Gloves - Hmm, I was also a surgeon (the OTHER kind of GU doc), and never really worried about that. But then I'm the guy who whacked out both of his thumbs skiing in the 80s, and had to miss a few cases from that. I do wear gloves in Mtn bike/Xterra races; I was just funnin'
Al...I think I understand. I think you and Tim are spot on too. I am a "read the directions first" kind of guy and tend to overanalyze everything. I'm also new at this endurance stuff, so I'm sure I'll get better at "feel" over time.
As for the run heat calculator...that is A LOT of data points. But, if 90% of those folks were "doing it wrong", then if one can be in the 10"% doing it right on race day, I would expect to be able to "out run" the calculator pace prediction! Right?
So, my take would be: the calculator is very useful, but with the caveat that if you have done a good job on the bike and with hydration/nutrition, EXPECT to run faster than the calculator's prediction? Do you think that's the right approach? Granted, HR may be even more important.
I know you were just joshin' about the gloves! I just like 'em...they're like a security blanket for me.
You passed me during the race after the left hand turn, right by where we had our first SAG stop at camp. I tried to catch and yell at you, but you were dialed in, ready to attack!
Congrats on a steller performance. I enjoyed watching you work so hard and then seeing your hard work pay off. I sense and epic race in Maryland this year.
Congrats on your awesome race!
It's funny because you and I think a lot alike, except for your difficulty with Sarner's humor
Your Perform consumption wasn't too far off from mine, though I'm a bit heavier than you. I invested in the Core Diet race fueling plan and I'm glad I did. I felt like it took all of the guess work out my nutrition and relieved some stress. Some of the questions and concerns you posted about before the race would have been solidified using the Core Diet approach. However, it seems like you nailed it without the extra expense. Coach P used the same Core Diet plan in his 2012 IMTX AG 1st place finish. I think SS does too?
Anyway, it's been a pleasure meeting you and training (virtually) with you.
P.S. I may contact you about my little guy if that doc suggests something radical. BTW - Why can't kidney stone patients eat soup?
@CK...thanks. Yes, I had noticed how similar our training zones/paces were...although you are quite a bit faster in the water I believe. I think you hit the nail on the head....I was probably too conservative, but that's better than too aggressive, and I had no idea what to expect. I try to "trust the training", but....
As far as soup....it has TONS of sodium in it, compared to other similar size proportion meals. Most kidney stones (~85%) are calcium-something else (oxalate, phosphate, etc.). The kidney handles calcium the same way it handles sodium. Too much sodium in the diet = lots of sodium excretion/secretion into the urine = too much calcium in the urine. So, more sodium in the diet = more calcium in the urine = higher risk of calcium-based stones. Most people think that if they have calcium stones that they should reduce calcium consumption. That is rarely the correct response though, and often makes things worse in fact.
Chris, feel completely free to contact me re your little guy...happy to help. jaleslie72@gmail.com or 210-872-3331
EB....wow, I can't believe I didn't see you. About the only person I was looking for was you (and SS blowing by me....which happened early with a pat on the back and words of encouragement followed by SS getting very small very quickly!). It was great to meet and ride with you and I hope we can "team up" again soon.
Congratulations Ironman !!! Hope to see you in future races , we are in the same AG so that concerns me a little ..... : )
GCP...Thanks! Yes, don't think I didn't notice your AG either
. I'm no threat for several years to come, it looks, though. One of these days, though, hopefully we'll both have to worry about each other or pick different races! Congrats on your MASSIVE PR and improvements. 2hrs, no matter how you slice it, is gigantic improvement.
Very nice job.
I think your run was good. I don't think the coaches expect a negative split in an ironman run. Imo, if you negative split the iron run, you left time on the table. Negative effort yes but not necessarily faster pace near the end. Lots different than running a stand alone marathon.
I have yet to be able to drive the HR to goal in the last third of the run. This is were the mental stuff kicks in.
Until next.