Jamie Fields IMCHOO Race Report
Ironman Chattanooga 2014
Race Report
Weeks and days leading up the race
I attended camp in Chattanooga with Coach Rich to get familiar with bike and run courses. To say the least, it was hot. Not out the ordinary hot for me because I live in South Carolina so I had been training in the heat and humidity all summer. I did the full bike course and one loop the following day and followed that up with one loop on the run course on Sunday. Little did I know the amount of fatigue that would follow me from camp. Time for a little confession now. From camp week until race week, I’ll have to admit I missed a number of workouts each week. I was only able to get in one more long bike during this time for a variety of reasons. I stressed and worried over it during the entire time which only made things worse. So I rested and recovered and hit the workouts I could up until race day.
Pre-Race
There was not much sleep to be had the night before the race. My wife and son didn’t get in until midnight so after that a got a little restless sleep before my 3:30 wakeup. Up at 3:30 for my breakfast which was combo applesauce, plain oatmeal, bottle of perform, 1 scoop of protein powder. Got that down and laid back down until 4:45. Headed down to T1 to check tires and load my aero bottle with perform. I ate a powerbar at 6:15 while on the shuttle to the swim start.
Swim Goal 1:15 Actual: 1:00:41
I elected to do the swim without a wetsuit even though I consider myself a weak swimmer. I was pretty far back in the line along with Joe Matchette. Once things got underway though the line moved pretty good to the swim start.
I hopped and began my swim. It was pretty uneventful and I just tried to focus on technique and swimming the shortest line that I possibly could. This is only my second ironman swim and I’ll have to say it was rather nice from a contact point of view. I was only touched 2 or 3 times by other swimmers and those times were just slight brushes. The water was a little choppy I thought but nothing too bad. I couldn’t initially feel the current but as we got near the end of the island and closer to the bridges I could feel the current pushing me along. I thought the swim exit was a little bit of a challenge because you could not see the steps and just had to guess where the actual step was before you could commit pulling yourself up. All in all I was happy with my current assisted swim.
T1 4:17
Since there was no wetsuit to strip T1 went fairly fast. I kept it simple in my swim to bike bag. Helmet, shoes, and nutrition…that was it. I left my shoes off as it was a fairly long run to my bike and put them on once I got to my bike. Trotted to the mount line and off I went.
Bike Goal 6:45 Actual: 6:23:49
Since I had attended camp, I knew what to expect out on the bike course. I based my bike goal off my ride from camp hoping that the weather conditions were going to be much different from camp week. I planned to follow my same race fuel plan from The Core Diet as I had in IMFL. Soon after getting on the bike I knew that I must have swallowed too much water/air on the swim. I was bloated and not feeling well and just hoped it would pass. I started drinking and had ½ powerbar 10 min into the bike. I wasn’t feeling well at all but I was still in the JRA stage so I wasn’t worried. Kept sipping on my perform but I was having a gag reflex each time I tried. So for the first 1.5 hrs, I took in very little fluid or nutrition. I was concerned about this but I considered that it was not very warm and cloudy so I might be ok. It was a gamble, I know but my only choice. Around mile 30, just before the turn onto Hog Jowl, I considered just calling it quits. I felt like the wheels were going to coming off and I nearly broke down trying process what was going on. I had ridden very conservatively, only .55 IF to this point. Not necessarily a bad thing at this point but I knew it could affect my overall goal. After the turn onto the fast section of Hog Jowl, I began to feel a little better and was able to get perform and gels down. Once I got to BSN, which was sort of a cluster, I took the time to stretch, get what additional nutrition I needed, pee while standing there, and just take a mental breather. After leaving BSN, I was about to increase my IF to .60. Once I started the 2nd loop I continue to pick up my intensity for the remainder of the ride. I did not follow my nutrition plan as closely as I had liked but I based more on how I felt and what I thought I needed. Many of the riders that passed me were now coasting on the down hills and still hammering up the hills. I did a lot of shifting and tried to ride as steady as I could. During the course of the 2 loops, I managed to drop my chain 3x, even the k-edge chain catcher. At the end of the day, those 3x drops cost me some time. I eased up as we came back into town. Took the time to stretch and get mentally prepared for the run. Peed 3x during the bike.
Stats:
.66 IF
NP: 150 W
18 MPH Avg
Avg HR: 132 bpm
Elevation Gain: 4088’ (Garmin 910xt)
T2 2:43
Dismounted my bike, handed it off to a volunteer, and headed for my bag. I kept this bag simple also. Running shoes, sock, EN visor, race belt with number, and my nutrition. I took a seat right at the exit door. Socks and shoes on, grabbed the rest of my stuff and headed out the door.
Run Goal 4:15 Actual 4:31:14
I came out of T2 feeling pretty well and no issues to speak of. I took it easy up the first hill while being passed by a number of people just killing it already. I took note of one in particular to see if he would come back to me later. Based off my experience from IMFL, I decided to using coke and perform along with my prescribed gels for the run. I followed the run EN execution as closely as possible. I ran to the middle of each aid station and then began my walk. I took a cup of perform, mixed it with the coke and drank it like that for the entire race. I took a salt tablet at each of the first 5 or 6 aid stations. My HR was staying in check but my pace was slightly slower than I anticipated. I wasn’t concerned as I was just setting up myself for mile 18. I tried to keep my HR below 160 on the Barton Ave Hills so as not to burn too many matches. Once the second loop started my knees began to hurt more than what I would call normal. I was definitely glad to be able to walk the short distance at each aid station by mile 16. My pace was fairly steady between 10:15-10:30. A little slower than I had hoped for but it was what my HR would allow. The suck and pain really set in at mile 18 but I managed not to slow down. I just kept doing what I had been doing the entire race, run to each aid station, walk a short distance while getting my fluids and continue on. On the way back up Barton Ave for the last time, there were lots of walkers and shufflers but I continued to run. I skipped the last aid station and gave my best effort to get me to the finish. No words can accurately describe the feeling coming down the chute to the finish.
Stats:
10:25 Avg Pace
143 Avg HR
I was surprised to see my run was exactly the same as IMFL. I had hoped for a slightly faster run but it just wasn’t in the cards that day. I still feel good about the run though considering how challenging it was compared to IMFL.
Summary
All in all it was a great day. 12:02:44 was a 9 min PR over IMFL. I’d like to thank my wife and kids for enduring the journey for me to become an Ironman once again. A special thanks to my coaches at Endurance Nation for not only getting me fit to do these races, but also for teaching me how to execute and overcome whatever the day gives you. Thanks also to my teammates that raced that day and the ones that were cheering from home. Never underestimate the value of having teammates to cheer you on and provide some much needed mojo at all times of the year! A shout out to Mariah also for a job well done during race week. It rocked!
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