Frank's 2014 IMMT Race Report
LONG VERSON:
Ironman races are not just outsized endurance suffer-fests. They are celebrations. . . . tumultuous crescendos . . . . religious conversions . . . . baptisms . . . . evocative confirmations. My Ironman Mount-Tremblant race didn't quite rise to exalted, penultimate status. This is so, because it was my second ironman, and I did not come close to my finishing goal time of 14 hours.
What this race imprinted on me was the certainty of membership in an exclusive, competitive, misunderstood, generous, obsessive compulsive, laser-focused, international athletic community. We are male and female, all ages, races, shapes, sizes and abilities. We are bonded by fierce determination and dogged mental discipline. We will our bodies to do what they reject. We redefine what the word "difficult" means.
After all, challenge and difficulty are relative, subjective constructs. Climbing up two to five miles, on 10 to 15-percent grade roads on your bike is difficult, until it isn't. We are able to dismiss the discomfort of the climb, because we know with certainty that for almost every climb there is a descent. We mentally skip the climb, and emotionally teleport ourselves to the descent – in advance. We are endorphin junkies, chasing the natural euphoria, day after day. We ignore pain, and accept discomfort—cold, heat, rain, two to three foot open water chop and waves while swimming —just so we can convene among our peers in this wonderland that is Ironman.
Mont-Tremblant, Québec, Canada
Mt-Tremblant features a picturesque post card vista everywhere one looks. Each mountain range is chalked full of huge 50-foot pine trees populating their surfaces like CGI soldiers. The bright green beauty is unrelenting as far as the eye can see in every direction. Even while raining, the air is clean and roads are free from debris, blemish, cracks or anything to spoil a ride or run. Randy, our bike mechanic, described the highways we would ride on as smooth like glass. Words like exquisite and breathtaking apply to most of the course at Mt-Tremblant.
Friday, 15 August 14
Swim Reconnoiter
First order of business was swim recon. I got a ride to Lake Tremblant, where I joined around 75 racers who were already there at 7:30 AM. I saw the Thompson Brothers, Bruce and JT. Other than these very fast guys, I didn’t know anyone else with whom I was swimming. But I spoke to lots of athletes. Everyone was nice. It had rained all week up until Friday, so there was a tinge of apprehension in the air about weather and lake conditions.
Posted water temp was 67 degrees. Perfect. I swam along the temporary buoys that were set up. My goal was to swim out along them, half-mile out, half-mile back. There was an espresso boat 300 or 400 meters from shore. (They do this at Kona, during the week leading up to World Championships.) I swam near, but no one was yet on board. So, I continued out along the buoy line.
The water was clear, then it was dark and cloudy. It was calm, and the shore that surrounds it was rich with green vegetation. I swam just past the peninsula that juts out into the lake. Despite having under prepared for the swim and having a healthy amount of fear about this lack of work in the pool, I felt good in the water. My swim technique has improved, and my core rotation and hip drive helped me pick up speed. After returning to shore I looked at my Garmin to realize I had only swam a total of .67 mile, short of what I had planned.
Bike Course Preview
After the swim, I got a ride to the base of the Lake Superior climb. It supposedly featured a section that is 15% grade. I rode this 5-mile climb, and was pleased that my legs had no problem with this section. The road is very steep, but there are brief downhill sections and false flat portions. The five-mile descent is a roller coaster. If this was the worst of the climbing, I would be fine.
Saturday, 16 Aug 14
At around 7:30 AM, I went out for a 20 minute run. It had rained through the night, and the road was still wet. My legs felt great. After the run I washed up and headed out for a van ride tour of the reminder of the 112-mile bike course.
The section along Route 117 features a gradual climb up the on-ramp, then a mile or so of continued climb. Each of three outbound climbs is followed by long bowl-like descents. On race day these descents are fast, 30+ mph, mile-long thrill rides. These sections are where the free speed is available. In cycling, gravity is good. Route 117 is 10 miles out and 10 miles back. The road is newly-paved, and is the smoothest on which I ever ridden.
After bike course recon, I returned to the hotel for a message.
Sunday, 17 Aug 14 – Race Day
I awoke at 2 AM, then went back to sleep. Up again at 3 AM. No alarm, I just couldn’t stay asleep. I got up at 3:30 and had breakfast: two grapefruit cups, two envelopes of instant oatmeal, one banana. After dressing, I was in the hotel restaurant for a big piece of toast and some fruit.
I arrived at transition at 5:15 AM. I set my nutrition on my bike and in my swim-to-bike and bike-to-run bags. Next, I headed out to the beach with my wetsuit. There, I dressed and found Patrick Q., my training partner from Chicago. Just before it was time to head to the water I found my wife Donna and daughter Shelby. I got kisses and they wished me well. I also shook hands with my coach, Patrick M.
I made my way to the back of my wave, orange swim caps. As I put on my goggles, I realized that the plastic piece that holds the rubber straps together in the rear was partially broken. I almost panicked. These were new race day goggles, worn only twice. Luckily, they have two straps, and one was fine. (As I passed the swim start, there was a table with spare goggles—just in case.)
Swim 1:32—Cool, Cloudy, Sunny
At 6:54 AM, the horn and fireworks went off. I plunged into Lake Tremblant for the 2.4-mile swim. The course is a rectangle. A mile away from shore, right turn, 300 meters. Then, right turn, and a mile back to shore. With 300 plus racers, my age group, 50 and over, was the third largest of all groups. Overhead, race organizers flew a tiny drone capturing video.
I had worked more on swimming this season than either biking or running. I was in the pool earlier in the season. My form and technique improved. Regrettably, I did not keep up with the EN team plan swim yardage. My typical swim was 2,000 meters. Three-quarters of a mile into the swim, I was mentally tired of the work of sighting and dodging other swimmers. Doubt crept into my head. For the briefest moment I thought, I can’t turn back, too far. I don’t want to go over to a kayak to hang out. It won’t provide any forward progress. I just returned to counting buoys. At this point I also began to hit the chop.
After passing the 13th buoy, I came upon the red buoy and made the right turn. As I headed to the next red buoy, more chop, plus, significant swimmer congestion. At this point, the chop seemed like waves rolling in the direction of the shore. After I made the final right turn I started counting orange buoys. Fear of problems in the water began to quickly dissipate. At that point I thought, for the second time I am going to be an Ironman. This was a mental boost I needed.Total swim time: 1:32. Total moving time: 1:11. The difference between swim and moving time is a function of when I would pause, site, swim breaststroke, compose myself. This is the leg of ironman that I want to improve the most, as slowness in the swim puts me behind as I start the day.
T1 17:42—Swim-to-Bike
This is a really long transition. T1 includes the time it took me to get out of Lake Tremblant, get my wetsuit stripped by the volunteers, run to the change tent, change, run to my bike and leave transition. The run from the lake was mostly on asphalt, and it was not smooth. For previously races, there was a red carpet that lined the route from the lake to the change tent. This year, the red carpet didn’t cover most of the route, just the 200 feet in front of the tent. The bigger problem for me was that once stripped of my wetsuit, I was still wet and running in nothing but tri shorts. I was cold. The temp was in the mid-fifties.
For the first time in a race, temperature was a factor. While I was in the changing tent I was warmer, but still wet and cold. As I grabbed my T1 bag and began to sort through my bike gear, I realized that I had no towel with which to dry myself. I borrowed a towel from an athlete near me, then struggled to shimmy into my EN tri singlet (jersey). It is really tight, and it took help to get into it given that my back was still wet. All this added an inordinate amount of time to my T1.
Bike 7:30—Cool, Windy, Sunny and Rainy
The bike course at Mt.-Tremblant is quite challenging, but fair. There are two salient features of the bike course. It is really hilly and really smooth – smooth like butter. I have never ridden on roads as smooth as those in Mt Tremblant. Notwithstanding the profile below, the bike course includes 112 miles and 5,900 feet of cumulative climbing.
Mt Tremblant Village is located in a bowl. To begin the bike course you climb out of the bowl, then hit steep rollers. There are three modest inclines followed by three descents before you climb up and onto Route 117. Once on 117 there is a gradual half-mile climb, followed by a steep three plus-mile descent.
As soon as I got on my bike I began to follow my nutrition plan. I began drinking Carbo Pro. My plan required that I finish three bottles of Carbo Pro (600 calories), eight Carb Boom gels (880 calories), three bananas (370 calories) and one PowerBar (240 calories) on both of the 56-mile loops (2,090 calories total * 2 loops = 4,180 calories). This would hopefully carry me though a six and a half hour ride. I also needed two Salt Stick capsules per hour. With the exception of 20 oz of Carb Pro, I managed to stay on my nutrition plan. Not only did I get in a total of around 4,000 calories, I did so without much upper GI difficulty. Huge victory.
One downside to all the mostly liquid calories that went in, as temperatures were still cool (low 60’s), I was not sweating much. So, I peed six times on the bike. Yes, I stopped and went to the porta johns six times. These stops cost me around 22 minutes! This is the area where I have the most opportunity to pick up time on the bike. Next race, no stopping to eliminate.
The bike course was a grind while cycling 10 miles into a stiff headwind northbound on Route 117. Of course the 10-mile return trip on 117 brought a tailwind that made the ride fun. Once I got finished with my second loop on 117, my mind jumped forward to the final five-mile climb to Lake Superior. I had done this without issue on the first loop.
I took the rollers back into Mt Tremblant Village, turned right to head up Chemin Duplessis, towards Lake Superior. This road has the steepest climbs on the bike course. Most of the inclines are between 8 and 12 percent grade, but the route map claims a 15 percent section. All was going fine until I was five kilometers from the turnaround. The sky opened up and the rain began. My tires held the road well, but the rain was hard enough to get behind my classes and into my eyes.
Again, my mind jumped ahead. I was thinking about how my tires would hold the road and how much longer it would take for my brakes to slow me down when necessary as I descended. Others on the road were descending at over 30 mph, so I also became more concerned about how other racers were controlling their bikes on this section of the end of the 112 mile bike course.
As I made it to the summit for the turnaround, I asked a volunteer at the top for a tissue to dry my glasses. The rain had stopped, but my wet glasses limited my visibility. The volunteer said that I had six miles to the finish, mostly downhill.
Rule #1 while racing, stay upright on your bike—no crashes. Yes, I saw a racer go down as I was leaving an aid station on this climb. It was a woman who was moving slowly as she left the aid station. She collided with another woman and went down hard. She would have to shake off the contact with the asphalt so that she could prepare to run her marathon.
I was surprised and disappointed that I was on my bike for seven and a half hours. Mentally, the time on the bike went by much more quickly than seven hours. Somehow, I got lost in the time, preoccupied by the beauty of the course, and the focus required to climb and descend (at 35+ mph). Though disappointing, my time on the bike at this race was 13 minutes faster than my first ironman, Ironman Wisconsin, 2012. Including the 2.5 minute PR in the swim, this represented my second PR on the day, on what I consider a harder bike course.
T2 13:43
As I got off my bike I was once again a little wet from the rain. I stripped off my long sleeve pullover, and put on my run shoes to begin my run. I put on my fuel belt and headed out for the marathon. As soon as I left the changing tent I saw my wife Donna and daughter Shelby. I got kisses and a few pictures, then headed out with seven and a half hours to finish the marathon.
Marathon Run 6:18—Calories, I Need More Calories
As soon as I hit the run course, I began seeing Endurance Nation teammates. They were all very encouraging. As I was beginning my first 13.1-mile loop, most of them were beginning or finishing their first loop. I encountered at least 20 teammates. After the initial three hills out of town (yes, more hills), I began the run on the super smooth bike path, Le P’tit Train du Nord. This newly asphalt-paved path was a thrill. It was level, smooth and filled with aid stations. Once on it, we ran three miles out, then three miles back. It is surrounded by forest, Lake Tremblant and other streams of running water.
Each aid station had lights and a sound system blasting out tunes. Around a mile into the bike path, it began to rain again. It was several degrees warmer at this point in the early evening. The water cooled me off a bit. The rain brought on concerns about slipping on the path. The rain didn’t last more than 20 to 30 minutes. The path was smooth and drained easily. My footing was sure and steady.
I was doing well with my nutrition plan on the first loop. I consumed 40 oz of Carb Pro (400 calories) and six Carb Boom gels (660 calories). I also had two bananas (180 calories), one PowerBar (240 calories) and six Salt Stick capsules. I even had a cup or two of chicken broth. I felt great about the additional calories. In 2012, at the Ironman Wisconsin race I almost bonked. I got lightheaded and felt as though I could not hold myself upright by mile 9 on the marathon. This was not going to happen to me on this, my second ironman race.
Just as I climbed the three hills going back into Tremblant Village, the effort of the day began to catch up with me. As my feet felt wet from the rain, I decided to change shoes and socks at the special needs area. I also donned a long sleeve jersey to stay warm. Many if not most of my EN teammates had finished or were finishing their run. I was just beginning my second 13.1-mile loop. I ran past the finish line and out onto the course. My one consolation was that it was not yet completely dark. Supporters from the Endurance Sports Travel tent shouted my name as I headed back out to the hills leading out of town.
By the time I made it to mile 17, a familiar sensation returned. I had made it out of town, and was out on the bike path again. It was dark. There were fewer racers on the course. I got light headed. I had carefully planned to avoid this sensation by eating quite a lot more than I had during the bike and run portions of this race. At special needs, I re-loaded my fuelbelt with 40 oz of Carb Pro, eight more Carb Boom gels and a PowerBar.
I had no choice but to slow down to a walk. I quickly consumed the 40 oz of Carb Pro. I then ate two Carb Boom gels. Next, I drank three cups of chicken broth. Next I tried Coke. None of these arrested my lightheadedness. In fact, as I walked it got worse. Several race volunteers on bikes came my way, first one, then another 20 minutes later. Each asked if I was okay. I was woozy, and at one point grabbed my head to steady myself. Though I was not feeling much better, I responded yes to both.
It was now very dark. I made what seemed like a half-mile walk to an aid station. I asked for solid foods. They offered me pretzels and gummy bears. I said yes to the pretzels, no to the gummy bears. I asked for more solids. They offered chicken salad on a pita. I unwrapped it, and washed it down with Red Bull. In a hurry to get the calories in faster, I took big bites and washed them down with the Red Bull. I didn’t bother chewing, I just bit and washed it down. I stood still and consumed the whole pita in 3 minutes. Then, I grabbed the remaining chicken salad pita sandwich, and started walking.
By mile 19 I could run again. It started out run-walk, then consistent slow running. At every aid station I walked 40 or so feet to take in nutrition. Notwithstanding the 14.5 hours of work so far that day, my legs felt fine. Now, my stomach was settling and my lightheadedness was clearing. I was on the outbound section of the bike path. It was now pitch black.
Around the aid stations there were portable lights. It was getting so late, some of the aid stations began to shut down and consolidate. For two and a half miles it was pretty lonely on the course. There were a few other racers, but they were walking. Good news: I was running at a comfortable pace.
Those I passed gave welcome words of encouragement. At mile 23.5, I saw a lone racer I had met a few days earlier. It was Melissa from NYC of team Lipstick (http://myemail.constantcontact.com/...XPg3zYCMBw ). Like me, she had a nutrition meltdown. She had been walking for a while. I encouraged her to get moving.
I ran with Melissa the last 2.5 miles. She was completing her first ironman race, and feeling isolated on the course. At the 2012 Ironman Wisconsin race I was alone—in the same dark place she now found herself. It was great having the company on those last lonely miles on the dark course. As we both headed up the final hills before the finish, I let her know that she was going to enter the finish chute before me.
As I finished this race, I knew immediately I wanted to race ironman again. It was hard, but big fun. At around mile 25 I finally ditched the second chicken salad sandwich I carried with me after my lightheaded spell. Going forward, I will revise my nutrition plan to include solid food on the bike, and perhaps the run as well. My next IM race will hopefully be in 2016. I now want to do more than merely finish this race, I want to break 12 hours and finish in the daylight.
Marathon Run time: 6:18, a twenty-one minute PR.
Total Time: 15:52, a thirty-six minute PR.
Triathlete Magazine took some great pictures of the professionals on the race course. What their photos beautifully capture is the varying weather conditions on the day. Most of the day the course was very cool and overcast. For a brief period there was sunshine, and there was rain. Given the variance in weather conditions, dressing for the bike and the run was a guessing game. http://triathlon.competitor.com/201...ant_104101
Official Race Day Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js4G2EenVwM
Comments
I am thinking of grabbing a chicken salad sandwich! It sounds pretty good, and sounds like it hit the spot for you at the right time. I don't think I have ever been offered one in a race before!
I commend your noble goal of sub 12 hrs. You can do it, just eat the elephant one bite at a time...
Again, congrats!
For the future:
- you clearly have a lot of time savings available in transitions
- a lot of "non-moving time" on the swim and bike is also a place to get some "free speed"
- overall getting faster on the bike will help you a lot...a faster bike split will not only save you time (obviously!) but it will also have you out on the course for less time which will incur less physiological cost
- sounds like you can experiment with different nutrition
Hope to see you at some of the local races in the near future!!
Frank - great report! Vivid descriptions of the venue and your day.
Two thoughts: first, a small tip - when putting on a tri top in T1, pull it on by stepping into it, and pulling UP, rather than trying to put it on from above. Slides on SOOO much easier.
Second - something to consider as you evaluate your nutrition. The big issue you seem (appropriately) concerned about is getting lightheaded during the latter part of the run. I don't know how big you are, but, 700 cal/hour on the bike and 5-600/hour on the run seem like a LOT to me. Add to that solid food, and maybe, maybe you were shunting a lot of blood to your GI tract to try and absorb all that - which you did successfully, as you had no GI issues - and that affected your body's ability to get sufficient blood flow to your head? Specifically, maybe you need to plan for less food, and less of it in solid form?