Rich Stanbaugh - IMMT Race REport
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Rich Stanbaugh
2014 IMMT Race Report
Training
This is my third IM - also the third in 12 months. It has been a busy year. I raced Steelhead 70.3 last August, IM Lake Tahoe last September, IM Los Cabos in March and Raleigh 70.3 in June. On June 12, I rolled my ankle on a long run and broke my 5th Metatarsal. I did nothing for a week part from icing and seeing doctors. Fortunately, after the welling went down, although I had zero lateral stability and could not run, weight bearing was not an issue. I modified my training plan to incorporate increased bike volume and added water jogging (mind numbing) into the routine. I also incorporated aggressive treatment on the break (MLS Laser, Bone Stimulation) and physical therapy (4-6 hours per week) to strengthen balance, hips, lower glutes, etc into my weekly regimen. I ended up with 3.5 weeks of run training, half of that on an AlterG treadmill at 50–75% body weight. Longest run was 13 miles.’
Partly by plan, partly by circumstance, I took an extreme taper. I had overcome a lot to get where I was, my foot was still a little dodgy and I decided that risk of injury far outweighed any training benefit. My last run was 2 Thursdays before the race. The only bike in the last 2 weeks was a recon ride up Lac Superior. I was behind on swimming and had 3 long swims two weeks out and two short swims race week. Bottom line – I was well rested (and grumpy)!
IMLT Plan
Swim: Try to get into a decent rhythm swimming and pick up the pace on the second half.
Bike: Last test FTP was 250. I hoped to ride around 5:45, but with the weather (wet to heavy rain) thought that the ride could be slow… up to 6:45. I planned Pnorm = 175w for 5:45, but if the race was slow, I would have dropped Pnorm around 160w for a 6:45 ride. Take in 250-300 calories – all liquid (perform and diluted gels) and ≈800 mg sodium per hour.
Run: Try to start out around 10:00 / mile and drop to 9:15 after 4-6 miles. Take in 4ish oz perform and water as needed. Take one salt stick w caffein per hour for first 2 hours. Switch to cokes, etc. second half.
Race Week
Arrived IMLT Wednesday, checked in, weighed in at 162#. . Recon Ride up lac Superior Thursday. 30 minute swims Thursday & Friday AM. Checked bike and bags before noon Saturday. Was only on feet a couple hours all day… stayed in room by myself eating bars/waffles/perform/pasta. Took two naps for about 2 hours total. Slept about 5.5 hours race night.
Race Morning
Up at 3:30. Took in about 800 calories. Got to transition early – about 5:15. Uncovered, dried and setup bike. Took EN team photos and did 10 minutes warmup swim.
Swim
Started left (based on watching previous waves). Worked my way inside buoy line. Felt out of synch first half miles. Water was choppy and there were people everywhere. Started feeling relaxed and got into a rhythm, did tight buoy turns on each red/corner and felt strong with the wind behind us on the way back in. 1:20 – two minutes off my PR (1:18 in salt water).
T1
I missed the promised red carpet on the run… got into T1 and was cold. I had packed a thermos of warm chicken broth in swim-to-bike bag (Tahoe experience). Drank half of it. Tube socks arm warmers, bike shirt and wind vest. A little slow – 9:46
Bike
I wanted to race! Hard to maintain power levels for first hour. The roads were way too narrow for the volume of people at that point in the race and I was concerned about keeping rubber on the road (saw a couple crashes). The course opened up and was fast. Weather was good, RPE was easy, cadence was high so I settled on target Pnorm=180.
My bike is setup with 53/39 chain rings and a 11-28 cassette. I knew this would be an issue on Lac Superior based on the recon ride… apart from the spiking on the first climb, I felt like this was my best execution. Particularly the second half of the ride. Pnorm = 190 is a little overcooked for my FTP, but it I also a little overstated. I was standing and pedaling slowly (using body weight) for the big numbers on the climb. Peed once on the bike and once in transition after. I did up the calorie intake by about 50 calories per hour to offset the temperature; diet felt really good.
Pnorm: 190w
VI: 1.071
HR (avg): 159
Bike PR: 5:48
Interval NP VI
1 183 1.125
2 196 1.019
3 187 1.046
4 190 1.018
5 181 1.057
6 184 1.012
7 198 1.041
8 176 1.059
9 186 1.092
10 230 1.057
11 196 1.096
12 183 1.102
13 183 1.05
14 178 1.057
15 184 1.005
16 183 1.035
17 179 1.003
18 178 1.041
19 177 1.026
20 176 1.084
21 205 1.112
22 193 1.095
23 127 1.561
Total 190 1.071
T2
Smooth. Slowed by bathroom stop. 4:09
Run
Started at roughly 10 min/mile as planned. Tried to pick pace up to 9:15, but couldn’t hold it so settled into a constant RPE. Ended up averaging 9:57/mile for the first loop. Heart rate was slowly climbing from 150 to 159.
I started feeling a little nauseous – could not stomach any more perform. Took an Imodium and tried switching to coke and water. Seemed to always miss the coke at the aid stations. Energy level dropped and walks became a little longer. Took some Redbull and felt slightly better. My suffer factor was big on the second loop – like looking down a tunnel instead of enjoying the sights. The rain helped to cool me down. Managed about 2:20 - 10:47/mile.
First half: 2:10 - 9:57/mile
Second half: 2:20 – 10:47/mile
Overall: 4:30
I ran this marathon on 3.5 weeks of run training during the two months leading up to the race and PR’d it be 8 minutes. No complaints.
Overall
PR: 11:52:40
I’m happy. This was my best race execution. There were lots of variables and the situation wasn’t ideal… but that seems to be par for Ironman.
I feel like I probably left 20-30 minutes on the course (current level of fitness) related to execution / bike setup. Lots of room to improve… skills and fitness will be better the next race.
Between ENers and friends from home – I must have known 75 in the race. I absolutely loved the environment and seeing so many friendly faces. Of the three races that I have done – I believe that IMMT is the best venue. Will likely be there again.
Comments
sounds like despite many troubles heading into this, you had a well thought out plan and everything worked well for you. Congrats on a great finish!
And a bike and overall PR? Now we should all try the extreme taper...
Great job, great job
My last race (Cabo) was a disaster. My bike execution & nutrition/hydration execution was dire. I had one bike split that Pavg was 96 watts. In retrospect, pulling myself together and finishing that race (my previous best 13:30) was the beginning of this race. Although I felt a little out of synch/disassociated during the first part of the swim, I was zoned in by the time I got out of the water. Kept thinking about the 4-Keys.
I knew the run was just going to suck the last half. Was mentally prepared for it to suck and wasn't disappointed. The GI problems from perform were a surprise... and my HR chart shows that I didn't get enough calories once they started. But, since I was prepared for the suck, I just tried to hang on.
I've read a lot of reports on here in the last year. Some happy / some sad. For everyone that is feeling disappointed right now, I would just encourage them to believe that their best performance could be born from those ashes. I offer my RR from IMLC in March of this year as evidence; reads a lot different. http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/15071/Default.aspx