Mark Lane's IM Lou 2014 Race Report
M55-59 First Full
Training went very well, and I stayed injury free. Took a few too many liberties with my diet, but ended the plan at 193#, goal was 190.
Travelling to Louisville went smoothly. A couple days leading up to the race I really started retaining fluids, and don't really know why.
Team dinner was small, but nice to meet some EN folks, and get some good advice from experienced teammates.
Up at 3:30 am on raceday, breakfast, head to Transition. Everything went smoothly.
Swim: In the water at 7:15, not terrible, but still pretty chaotic. This first 500 yards of the swim is the hardest part for me, and I did settle into my conservative pace/rythm. Once we hit the turn buoy, we had a nice current helping us. I just focused on swimming smooth, not fast. Time: 1:23:xx
T1: 16' is way too long even though I did change into my bibs/jersey and stop by the portapotty.
Bike: My bike is definately a work in progress so I was planning on about 7 hrs. When we left T1 one of my helmet straps was flapping?? Before I got to the out and back my chain came off. After getting the chain on, I tried to fix the strap when the clasp came off into the ditch. About the time I found it bike tech showed up and fixed it. Not rolling ~15'. Stopped 3x to pee, and once more at special needs and being slow netted a 7:45:xx bike time. This is definately my project for next time. Not to mention I did a very poor job managing my power, but I had to make it up the hills! Even though my IF was a disaster, I still felt ok to run.
T2: Another slow transition, but I wanted to change. I knew being comfortable would be important.
Run: Started the run feeling pretty good. Since it was so hot, I was running by HR. Run to 155 BPM, walk to 140BPM. This actually wasn't too far from the pace I was suppose to be at. At mile 6 my stomach was starting to go bad, I was really having trouble getting anything down and felt bloated. Then the aches and pains started, all over, I knew I was in trouble and was mostly walking. I just starting drinking the broth, and some water for about an hour. By mile 15 I was starting to feel better, and started adding coke to the water and broth. By mile 18 I was running again, not very fast but I kept it up til the end, and in the last 5 miles I passed over a hundred people walking. Time: 6:05:xx
Finish: Coming around that last corner and seeing the finish was amazing! Crossing the finish was surreal! Time: 15:45:xx
Takeaways: Definately need to work on the bike. Better job with training diet. I am pleased that I "recovered" during the run to finish running. I am guessing the broth helped because my sodium had gotten low in the heat.
Comments
What are your next racing plans??
Mandy