Chris Oubre's IMCDA 2014 Race Report
First a little about myself. I'm 36, 176 lbs, male, married with two kids (6 & 8) and hold down a full time job. I've been in triathlon for 2 years. This was my third full distance IM (DNF on the swim @ IM Cozumel in 2012, 14:23:53 @ IM Texas in 2013) . I've successfully completed 3 HIM. I started with Endurance Nation in January of 2014.
My goal for this Ironman was to run my marathon. In IMTX I was so blown up from the bike I walked a 6:10 marathon.
I've always been limited in my training time. I think I averaged around 8 hours a week of training, with no one week more than 15 hours. The Endurance Nation approach fit me like a glove. So glad I found it.
Race Day.
- Swim: 01:41:14
- Bike: 07:14:26
- Run:04:48:56
- Total: 13:56:37
I seeded myself in the 1:30 to 1:45 group. I was able to get into the water about 20 minutes before the start of the first age grouperr to warm up. I focused on making sure my face was as cold as I could get it.
About five or 10 minutes before the first aid grouper started they asked us to get out of the line and queue ourselves. Once the age groupers started at 6:40, I was in the water by about 6:51
The first way out was very uneventful. There was little to no contact. My goggles were clean and I had a clear line of sight. There was chop but I felt it was manageable. I quickly found myself at the first turn buoy. I was very excited. I made the turn then made the next turn shortly after to head back home
As I got near the swim exit, my sighting became very hectic. I found it best to sight against the men's changing tents.
Out the water, along the beach, pump the fist, then dive back into the water. (Time ~46 min)
Almost immediately I was bombarded with contact. Contact contact contact. I was kicked in the chest kicked in the face punched in the side stabbed in the foot. It went on and on and on. At this point my goggles were knocked off twice and that allowed water to get in and remove the anti-fog. This significantly hindered my ability to site. Going out it was just trees and I couldn't find any large landmark to really help myself. I had to rely on following other peoples feet but still I need to site way more frequently than it did the first lap. This hurt my back and slowed me down significantly.
At this point the chop it really picked up and I was body surfing on the top of the crests. It was like coming off crests like a Ninja stabbing into the oncoming crest . With the enhanced siting in the rough waves I felt very under duress for the first way out on the second lap when I finally made the turn back home I got free space again and was able to keep that all the way to the finish arch. Again I started off the men's changing tent and that helped a lot.
One tip that helped was to swim until my hand touched sand. There was. Lot of debris under water near the swim exit.
I finished my swim in 1:41:14. I dressed outside the men's changing tent. I put on my socks, bike shoes, heart rate monitor, helmet, sunglasses and soccer sock arm warmers. I went grab my bike and then headed out on the road.
My plan was 145-154 W until I got to the mica grade hill. Then to settle into 160 W. I was very mindful of my numbers going out. And watch the power levels like a hawk. What I didn't first appreciate was how significant headwinds were. Because I was totally focused on power I never really paid attention to speed. I took the first out and back super easy. Lots of people were passing me. I took this as a sign of success.
When I finally made the first mica grade uphill, I had to drop down to about 6 miles an hour. It was miserable. The headwind resulted in a 20 minute climb for a 1.8 mile Hill.
I did not have enough gears for this effort. I ran a 25-12 with a compact crack. My FTP was 223. In my lowest gear I was mashing at a 53 rpm cadence and constantly spiking about 8-10% above my target watts.
I was so focused on my watts that I just didn't realize there was a headwind until another cyclist mentioned it. I stayed in my box and made the turn around. That was when I realized how hard the wind was blowing. I started to fly!! I hit speeds north of 42 mph.
On my way back into town I finally looked at my time. My race rehearsals on flat ground put my expected time around 3 hours. Instead it was looking like a 3:30. I realized that my planned IF would be to high as my bike leg was now going to be at least 60 min longer that I'd planned. I didn't have IF on my Garmin and I didn't memorize the IF chart so I guesstimated a new target watts of 150-154 ish.
I made it back into town and saw the support crew. I really began to dread the 2nd lap.
The wind felt even stronger on the second lap. I stayed in my box and just got it done. The extra time meant that I didn't have enough PowerGel on my so I had to feed from the course on the last 3 aid stations. I just kept telling myself to focus on the process. I had hoped for a 12 hr finish but the course had other plans. I told myself over and over that success is defined by my run. After I came down from the mica grade hill I dropped my watts and tried to lower my heart rate for the run.
One other problem I had was a constant need to pee. Like 1-2 times per aid station. I tried upping my salt and cutting out some of my fluids. That last one made me nervous.
I finished the bike in 7:14:26
I zipped into T2 with the slow is smooth, smooth is fast mantra. I swapped out socks and shoes, traded my helmet for a visor and grabbed my go bag.
I started my run dead on my target pace. And kept that until the first hill. It was quickly apparent that the bike took more out of me than I'd hoped. Per my plan I switched to a heart rate based pacing. This really helped me to "flatten" the hills.
I never stopped running except at aid stations. I kept my HR under 150. Mile 6 came and I decided to stick with my HR plan and reevaluate at mile 18. The Line was the only thing that mattered.
My stomach started to feel off so I switched to coke and backed off the gels. I switched from slamming the gels to sipping them.
I just kept clocking down miles. My box started to shrink. There wasn't anything really epic that happened. Finally mile 18! I decided to up my HR to 155. At mile 23 I decided to up it to 160-165. I saw that I was close to finishing sub 14 so I pushed. I decided to run the last 3 aid stations.
I passed so many people. They were walking even on their last mile. I tried to rally as many as I could. The final stretch down Sherman was the best finish line ever. I had lots of time to reflect and absorb just what I had done. My run time was 4:48:56 with a total of 13:56:37
A successful day. I managed the situation and stayed in my box. I was in control the entire time and that was such a different feeling than IMTX 2013. I want to thank RnP and all of the Endurance Nation team.
Comments
Chris - it was great meeting you and learning all about life in the oil rigs; Cheryl sends her hellos, as well.
I'm so glad you got a PR and even more happy for your run. Truly a successful day made challenging by the wind on the swim and bike. Two thoughts - you learned that riding in cooler temps (almost in Canada, not on the Gulf!) means you need a lot less fluid than in your training rides. And, you learned the coaches really meant it when they said to get the right gearing. I have an 11/32 cassette on my rear wheel, which meant I could actually spin up those hills @ 0.71 IF watts (150s for me).
Keep smiling!