Todd Dicus IMWI 14 Race Report
Pre-Race
All went well before the race. I was up at 3:45 and had 2 Ensures, 1 banana, Kashi oatmeal, and coffee. I stayed across from the Capitol, so my wife and I had an easy walk to the race site at 5:00. I got body marked, inflated my tires and placed fluids and the Garmin on the bike. I relaxed inside Monona Terrace, sitting with my back supported by a wall.
I was sipping GU Brew during the time leading up to the race. I ate 2/3 of a Bonk Breaker at 6:00 and had a gel at 6:40.
Swim
I put on my wetsuit at 6:20. We started walking to the swim start at 6:25 (taking the steps and avoiding the Helix)!
[I was concerned about the swim. My plans to improve my technique were short-circuited by an overuse injury in May that just got worse over the summer, notwithstanding ongoing physical therapy. My yardage was down from where it should have been and my times weren’t improving over my historical slow pace. I know it’s all technique; this has been a big limiter since I started doing triathlons in 1992.]
I started the swim about ¾ toward the back, right-center. Contact wasn’t too bad and I settled into a steady pace, focusing on the few things the PT suggested, and I had a good pattern of 10 strokes, sighting once per cycle. That worked well, given my history of veering off-course. There was the usual contact from time to time, especially at the turns, plus some bozos who would either stop to tread water or go into the backstroke. Just par for the course.
The IM swim distance is a long time in the water for me, but I felt better/less taxed at the end than I’ve ever felt at the end of a swim of that distance. Time: 1:44. Not fast, but my fastest IM swim time by 3 minutes.
Bike
T-1 went well. I had about ½ of a Bonk Breaker with water because of how long I was in the water. I was looking forward to the bike, as this was my first year using power and I had a good year training with it. My 4 figures (start/steady/short hills/long hills) were taped to my aero bottle. The first part of the bike went well, although my IF was a little above where I wanted it to be. Still, I focused on not crushing it and prepared to settle in for a good ride. I felt great!
All was good as I went through Mt. Horeb. I made the turn onto Witte Road (about mile 29), keeping in mind the wisdom shared by the EN coaches about the Witte rollers. As I approached the last climb before the turn, I went into my usual shift from the big to small chain ring on the front. Even though my pressure wasn’t great, the chain came off toward the inside and I couldn’t maneuver it back on while pedaling. I pulled over and discovered the chain had gotten lodged on the back side of the shield that’s supposed to keep it from coming off. I tried for several minutes to work the chain back, but it wouldn’t squeeze through. I thought I might be able to loosen the screw holding the shield in place and then move the shield enough to allow the chain to return. Unfortunately that screw also held the derailleur in place, and all the tension came out, lodging the chain between the chain ring and derailleur. It wouldn’t budge.
I thought I was screwed in terms of even finishing. I kept trying to move the derailleur and then tighten the screw, but no luck. Finally I was able to open it up just enough for me to get the chain onto the small ring. (The angle of the derailleur wouldn’t let me put it on the big ring.) I decided to start riding on it, although the chain’s friction on the derailleur made a very loud grinding noise with every pedal stroke.
I’m not sure how long this took – maybe 20-25 minutes. I was rattled in terms of losing time, starting to fry my legs, and getting off-track with hydration and nutrition. I finished the first loop, and about 5 miles before hitting Mt. Horeb again I came upon a support van. I decided to stop and see if the technician could get me back to being able to use both chain rings. I had about a 10 minute wait while he helped people ahead of me, but finally he was able to make the adjustment. He also said my big chain ring was shot due to the rubbing but that I should be able to finish.
I told myself that would get me back on track, but I had lost a lot of time and I’d unwittingly gotten screwed up with my hydration. At Verona I stopped for about 30 seconds to let my wife know why my bike time was such a mess. Less than two minutes after I saw her the chain came off again! It required a dismount but was a quick fix.
There was considerable dejection on the ride back on the stick, but I was determined to finish. Time: 7:36. Ugh!
At T-2 I realized I was dehydrated, as I hadn’t peed even once on the bike! I did hit the porta-john at T-2 but that was much later than I had hoped. There were no other problems with T-2.
Run
I could tell my legs were pretty trashed from the time on the bike and the low gearing, but it was time to suck it up. My pace was slower than hoped for but I ran the first 14 miles, other than short walks at the aid stations. At about mile 14 I had to go to a run/walk alternating routine, which was demoralizing. This continued until the second walk up Observatory Hill (just past mile 18). I thought about mile 18 from the Four Keys talk and told myself it was time to start digging in. The runs started being a little longer and the walks a little shorter.
At about mile 23 I was walking behind two women who were chatting away and seemed content to walk it in. I’d had enough and realized I had an outside chance of preserving a morsel of dignity in perhaps finishing in less than 16 hours. I told myself there would be no more walks or breaks, so the running started and did not stop until I crossed the finish line with four minutes to spare. Run time: 6:20:55.
Finish time: 15:56:23. My slowest IM finish ever, but also the only one with major mechanical delays.
It’s hard to know what to take away. A finish beats the hell out of a DNF and at least I adapted to what was thrown at me. At the same time, I have no ideal how I did with managing my power, I got rattled to the point of letting my hydration suffer and I was far from my goal time. I had a good swim (for me), had no injuries and was lucid at the finish. I’ll take it, but it’s a bittersweet success.
Comments
What a day for you! I would take away that you overcame several really significant obstacles and still finished at all, much less under 16.
1. You had the injury which affected your swim and training for the swim
2. Multiple maintenance stops for the bike adding probably an hour to your bike split if you consider time waiting plus affect of getting you out of your rhythm
3. Major nutrition issues and dehydration due to #2
Well done!
I hope your bad juju mechanicals were concentrated on this race day only, and that you may now enjoy a future career of care free cycling with no future breakdowns. Nice job working through the day and salvinging a finish. You certainly have strong mental fortitude.