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Skip's IMMD race report

First, my given name is William, but I actually go by Skip.

In some of my posts I have casually mentioned the fact that I am a slow swimmer. This race report will help me explain that as a matter of fact I am a very, very slow swimmer.

The short version - a great time and an hour forty minute PR.

The plan was to take it easy as my wife and I are racing IMMD and IMChatt 8 days later.

The weather was beautiful. Due to some family commitments I did not make the team dinner, but I did see a lot of fellow ENers on the course. It is always uplifting to see team members while racing.

The swim was a rolling start. I lined up with the 1:50-2:00 hour people as my prior IM swim times were 1:45 and 1:52. Also, I have been a bit slower on my training swims. The swim was rough as there was current on the way out and I was swimming with a bunch of other swimmers that were as slow same. We were hitting each other for the first mile and then things calmed down considerably. Total swim time: 2:04:31 and 175th in my age group and 1388 overall.

T1 - smooth and slow

Bike - the goal was to keep the power and effort down and preserve energy for the run and IMChatt. The bike is extremely flat and the wind was minimal on the first loop. I kept to my power numbers and hit special needs at just under 3 hours. I spent time in special needs refilling my bike bottles with Infinit, drinking a coconut water with protein and using the bathroom (when you get out of the swim in 175th place in your age group there is no need to pee on the bike).

The wind picked up on the second loop and my speed dropped. I stuck with my power numbers and was comfortable. One of the roads floods in high tide and we had to ride through patches of flooded road. Despite the wet shoes, no real issues.

I finished the bike in 6:07:25 and moved up to 152 in my ager group and 1088 overall.

T2 - again smooth and slow

Run - I did not have a set plan for the run. In my two prior IMs, I had become dehydrated, overheated, and nauseous. My main goal was to avoid becoming sick and to not completely empty the tank. I started off in zone1 plus at least 30 seconds per mile. After 3 miles I began to feel sick. I walked for a few miles and felt well enough to run again. I was able to run several miles before feeling sick again. I again walked and drank coke, water, and chicken broth at every aid station. At mile 17 I felt strong enough to run. I decided to run miles 17-20 and then walk miles 21-23. At mile 20, I still felt strong and decided to keep running until I felt sick. I never felt sick and kept running through the finish.

Total run time 4:41:36 and moved up to 99 in my age group and 743 overall.

Once again a very big thank you to the coaches, Brenda, and everyone else at EN. I have learned so much from all of you and look forward to continuing to learn and improve.

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