Challenge AC Report
The elevator version of my race story would go something like this: Race went as well as I could have hoped given the cards dealt on the day. No nutrition issues, just a race day that managed to find and challenge the most vulnerable aspects of my proverbial “tri-arsenal.” My weakness on the swim was not only exposed but amplified (turned fully to 11). I spent the bike making up as much time as possible but knowing that I could not take many risks as the run could be a hot one (and I tend to overheat pretty easily). Run was indeed hot and I started to overheat early. Immediately dialed back pace, took few risks and finished relatively strong with absolutely nothing left in the tank. Proud of the race I put together but disappointed in that I felt the result did not reflect potential. Result: 11:12, Goal 10:00 +/-
Full Version
Friday: Arrived in AC early evening. Was the very last person to pick up my packet; able to prepare bike and transition bags that night.
Saturday: slept in (830am) and able to get big breakfast (2 eggs + Stack of BB Pancakes) down by 930. Lounged in the hotel room for a few hours, had a light lunch (chicken sandwich) then took equipment to transition. I opted not to do any bike course recon in favor of an afternoon nap, figuring there was not a lot of strategy required to race the flat course; it would be an exercise in constant and consistent effort. Returned from transition, had a light dinner (one tuna and one salmon role) and began to hear rumors that wetsuits may not be allowed (mental groan). Before heading off to bed at 9pm, I downed 8oz of water wBeetElite mix (completing 5th day of “loading&rdquo
Race Day Goal: Survive the Swim; leverage the flat bike course (ie push the pace but never “burn any matches” set myself up for a fast marathon.
Race Dream Outcome: Sub 10hr if everything (and I mean everything) breaks my way
Realistic Goal: 10:10
Outcome: 11:12
Race Nutrition Execution: Went as planned and included the following (had no perceptible nutrition issues)
· Breakfast -3 hrs Start: 30oz Applesauce, 1 scoop of Isopure/whey protein, banana and a bottle of Gatorade Endurance
· PreStart -30 mins Start: 1 PB Gel and 8oz of water w/BeetElite mix
· Bike: ~7 bottles of Gatorade Endurance; 10 PB Gels (spaced 30 mins); 4 Salt Stick tabs (1/hr)
· T2: 8oz water wBeetElite mix (almost gagged it was so warm), 1 banana, 1 Salt Stick
· Run: 1 Cliff Blok w/Caf every mile, Gatorade at each aid station
The Day
I woke up at 3:20am on Sunday and got straight to work on breakfast; ready to leave hotel on first shuttle to race start at 4am. Arrived at transition when it opened and got the bike and myself sorted out. Not sure when, but the “no wetsuit” announcement was made (audible f-bomb) as water temp was apparently 80 degrees. With about 15 mins to go, I down 1 PB Gel and 8oz of water w/BeetElite.
Should note, if middle of the pack into T1 means you are an average swimmer, then I am very average usually coming out of the water just north of the 50th percentile.
The swim was challenging AND I had a terrible swim. As others have noted there was a noticeable current, especially at the “top” of the swim course. Added to this, I kept experiencing waves of mild nausea and otherwise just could not finding a groove. I also found sighting the bouys to be sometimes challenging which was yet another unexpected issue (I live a short walk from the ocean on Cape Cod and swim regularly in the open water; finding and keeping a line is not a typical issue). I felt myself really struggling near the end and upon exiting the water I found out why. My swim goal of 1:15-1:20 had turned into a nightmarish 1:50 (89th in my AG of 94). I’d say that the factors leading to the outcome were all interconnected. In the end, if asked to break it down, I’d say that no wetsuit, challenging current/course, and overall bad day in the water each cost me about 10 mins.
T1 was about 5 mins which, given the configuration of transition and the trip to the portalet, felt like a small victory. As I exited kept telling myself just to stay focused on the next hour. Don’t look back and don’t try and make up for lost time.
I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to riding 112 miles as much as I did exiting the swim. The bike started out great but that is what a tailwind will do for you. My original plan was to keep my HR in the low 120s to start the bike and allow myself to work my way up to 130 by the end. I figured this would put me at around 220 watts by the end with an average of 200 watt (+/-) for the ride. However, after the epic fail that was my swim I knew I needed to be very careful and figure out a way to account for extra effort I expended on the swim to ensure I would be ready for the run (ie I needed to ride slower than originally planned). To keep things simple, I basically decided to dial everything back 5 bpm. This meant the following:
· > 120 bpm (hour 1) / @ 120 +/- (hours 2-3) / <125 (hour 4) / >130 (hours 5+)
Fortunately, I did not have to deal with any unexpected events on the bike. I was able to avoid the rumble strips early on and did not suffer any mechanicals. What transpired was an extremely uneventful bike leg where I simply stayed in the aero bars the whole time except when taking on new water bottles at each aid station and just focused on keeping my pedaling smooth and consistent. One advantage of my slower swim was that it allowed me to race from behind on the bike and later on the run. This meant the temptation to try and match those looking to “crush the bike” early on was at a minimum. I spent the entire ~5:21 riding “my ride.” The exception was the last 30 miles which had a bit of a head wind. Here I dialed up my effort slightly while still staying in the proverbial box (max effort of130 bpm or 220 watts; whichever came first). I wanted to be ready for the run. The result was a solid but not stellar ride which accomplished 3 key goals: stayed well hydrated (peed at least 3x on the bike), got in all the calories I had planned for, and kept my legs as fresh as possible for the run. In terms of the outcome, I managed to move up from 89th to 34th in my age group with what I believe was the 16th fastest bike split in my AG.
Went through T2 in about 4 mins. I probably lost 30 seconds literally trying to choke down 8oz of now piping hot BeetElite mix but other than that I was in/out pretty quick.
It took about 1 mile on the run to realize that it was not going to go entirely as planned. Despite really holding down my pace my heart rate had jumped to the low 140s. The forecast for a high of 75 degrees turned out to be off about 10 degrees in the wrong direction. I immediately started walking through aid stations to ensure I would not only get liquid nutrition in my system, but now also get the water and ice I needed to bring my core temp down. This seemed to work well; with a cup of ice down my singlet at each aid station, my HR came back down to around 130 (about 5 bpm higher than I had originally targeted for the first 13 miles). The challenge was that at ~130 bpm I was only hitting 8:30 miles (I was planning to be in the 7:30 range). Then, of course, my Garmin died about half way through the run so no more HR or splits (the course had no clocks I could find). I had trained very little in the heat this year (mad props to Mother Nature for the long, cold New England winter) and this proved a problem as not only was it relatively hot but there was also no shade on the course. I figured it was going to be a long marathon so I locked things in at 8:30 +/- and tried to hang on. Looking at the results, this worked relatively well as I started to drift toward 9:00/miles after mile 20. My overall time was about 30 mins slower than I hoped but put in context (was 6th fastest marathon in my AG) it was in-line where I would expect to fall relatively speaking. The run also helped me move up to finish 13/94 in my AG.
This was my second IM, however, my first was 17 years ago so I am not sure that really counts as far as a useful point of reference. I’ve always been fond of the saying that “hope is not a strategy” and the day really proved that to be true. I had hoped it would not be too hot and I hoped that the swim would present no surprises. Unfortunately both occurred, and when I did not have an answer to either, I ended up pretty exposed. Could I have gone faster on the bike and still managed a 3:50 run? Possible but not probable. I don’t think my next IM will be in another 17 years but it may be awhile; if I am truthful with myself, I am not sure I am truly ready to race the distance. Time will tell. The good news is that I have plenty of room to improve on my HIM and Oly efforts so I will have no shortage of opportunities in terms of new goals to set.