Tim Cronk KONA 2014 Race Report
Prep- Here is a copy of my raceplan if you havent read it and care to.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/16944/Default.aspx
By the time race day rolled around I was feeling really good. I'll admit that my expectations had increased. I weighed in at 118.2 lbs Saturday morning with flip flops, clothes, and iphone so I was definitely at optimum race weight and thought to myself I am gonna crush the heat today.... Ha the KONA race course had other plans for me.
Finished in 11:35:44 for 86/187 in M50-54AG and 1177/2187 OA
Swim- Goal was 1:10 or better... Actual was 1:16:01 , 20 seconds slower than last year's KONA and my 3rd slowest IM swim...Having swam a 1:12 on course the week before this time was a bit disappointing... The water was rough with larger swells due to a big storm that had gone thru Japan... I lined up in the middle , about 10 people back....Got beat up pretty good from the start almost to the turnaround, but felt like this was a good and fast line. They have 2 boats set up at the turnaround with both 90 degree turns.... I somehow went wide around both turns and then ended up wide on the way back... It was clean swimming and at the time didnt mind it. In retrospect this is where I probably made my mistake and should have stayed in the mix closer to the turns and buoys... It still felt like a fast swim and was a bit surprised to see how slow it was later in the day... I did glance at the clock upon exiting but had no idea which start clock they were running so didn't even bother to do the math.
T1- Goal was 3-4min.... actual was 3:45 , 11 seconds slower than last year , this was good since I added arm coolers to this years T1.
Bike- Goal was 5:20 or NP165-170 .... Actual was 5:43:45 with NP 155 , 19 minutes slower than last year and my 2nd slowest IM bike....
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/610604759
Bike data was AP151/NP155 , VI 1.03 , IF .67 , TSS 260.... The lowest IM race power out of 11 races (note: rode 2 IM's with no power) . The wind was extreme this year. Discussions in online forums and with those that have been on the course many years are claiming this year to quite possibly be the windiest most difficult bike 2nd to only the epic year of 2004... All I can say is it was a lot tougher than last years (easiest year)....I started off easy and slowly built up to my target range of 165-170 (note: my last 3 IM's were NP175ish) .... So This should have been very easy but after about 1-2 hrs it was clear something was off.... My RPE at this range was off the charts and I felt like I was just working too hard in addition to this my body temp seemed high and I was already working heat management with water on arm coolers etc at the aid stations... Normally I don't need that until the last couple hours... I held my already lowered targets till about mile 45 and then they dropped another few percent, held those until around mile 60 the turnaround in Hawi, and thought I would recover on the Hawi descent, looking at the 5 mile splits miles 55-60 were the slowest at 14.4mph and 161watts , then miles 60-65 were the fastest at 33.8mph and 133watts.... starting at mile 70 the watts were another 5% lower .... just held those as long as I could... and let them drop even more during the last 20 miles finishing up with the last 5 mile split being the lowest at 124 watts IF .55 (last year the last 5mile split was my highest) .... This is the ugliest power file you'll ever see, clearly starting from the upper left and moving to the lower right... And I never even had 1 split above 170watts IF .74 so I didn't over bike... I knew it was gonna be a hot long day and I fueled extra drinking 7 bottles of perform maybe 1 bottle of water , consumed 1 cliff bar, 6 cliff blocks, and 2 gels on the bike.
T2- Goal was 3-4min... actual was 4:06, 46 seconds slower than last year... the long slog from bike dismount to the changing tent was a hobble/shuffle but slowly loosened up.... usually I can move pretty good thru here... The remainder of T2 was pretty smooth just slower to get going.
Run- Goal was sub 4hrs and was thinking I can do 3:50-55... Actual was 4:28 , 28 minutes slower than last year, MY slowest IM run to date by 13 minutes (DNF excluded).
http://www.strava.com/activities/206262798
We got lucky on the run with overcast skies.... I abandoned my arm coolers/shoulder cover plan at mile 1 with a hand-off to Jess Withrow and JT Thompson... Had no problem going slow this year.. let the run settle in to the pace I thought I could handle , walked the full aid station starting at mile 1 , usually I only walk a small portion of the aid stations, I was feeling hot and felt the need to do major heat management with water , Ice , and walking in order keep moving forward even at my reduced pace...Even felt like I was experiencing some heartburn and side stiches but those both went away everytime I walked an aid station.... Saw Heather right after Jess and JT and got my hug and kiss... Let her know it was gonna be a long run. And so the process continued down Alii and back for 10 miles managing 9-9:30 min miles, saw Coach P and Dave T mere seconds apart about 5-6 miles ahead of me, John Withrow was about a mile behind me , and a couple other EN'ers , the Bridgette starting down Alii , saw Heather(hug and kiss) at mile 10 and again told her this is all I got today , she said that is all you need! Jess and JT shortly after that pumping me up! Then Don Piche while I was power walking up Palani (ran it last year). From miles 10 to 19 the pace dropped to 10-11min miles but kept moving forward and focussed on heat management. Saw the same line up of EN'ers and Mark Cardinale passed me moving fast and looking good right before the turn around in the Energy lab... Picked up my Mountain Dew at SN and drank about 3/4 of it over the next few aid stations but there was no magic in that elixer...Miles 20-26 pace dropped to 11-12min miles but it was all I had and just kept moving forward! Slowing down but as little as possible. Saw Don Piche at the end of QK again (he was everywhere) Then Heather again on Kuakini and at the finish... Didnt even rally for those last couple of miles but I did smile at the finish line! I consumed 4 gels in the flask , drank 4-8 ounces fluid every aid station in the form of perform , water, coke, broth , or mountain dew .
Mental Game- That little race guy I normally have with the "Horns and Fangs" was nowhere to be found on this day!
Takeaway's - In my Race Plan I stated that this course scares me and I respect it.... This statement is now even more true... While I am not proud of my times/performance I am proud of the decisions I made that were necessary to keep moving forward and finish this race! This place keeps you humbled and honest.... Sure I have lots of excuses , race CHOO 13 days ago, sick now (got a sore throat the very next day) so maybe that was pending?.... But bottomline it is what it is and its done... There really were no clear reasons other than that is what I had on that day... I am happy to have the opportunity to race here and happy to finish.... I will be back next year! How I am going to approach is TBD as I am planning IMAZ 5 weeks after KONA. One thing for sure is multiple year experience on this course is worth a lot going forward.
Was great experience this year with a huge showing of EN athletes. Special thanks to my Heather as always for being there , Jess Withrow , JT , Don Piche cheering from the course.... And all those watching supporting from home.... Thanks for reading!
Questions , comments, suggestions , thoughts of any kind etc... are always requested and welcome.
Comments
Tim, Thanks for the speedy RR again. Your ability to recap is great. My perception is that race venue is so different from all the others. It obviously has an appetite for strong athletes.
1. You had a great race at Chatt only a few weeks ago. That probably had an impact.
2. Man, you're down to 118 with clothing etc? Are you getting too light?
Thoughts?
I would squarely blame a lack luster performance on your IMCHOO race 2 weeks prior. Tough to do events that close and perform at both.
Congratulations on your Kona finish!!!!! Sounds like a crazy day but you got it done!
Well done Tim. Sounds like that day was just brutal. Impressive you were able to do what you did two weeks after Choo. Congratulations!
Tim - superb job on the bike. Looking at the pro splits, and having been out there myself, it was indeed a slow bike due to the strength of the winds @ Hawi and Waikoloa, as well as the heat after 10 AM. An IF of 0.67 and a VI of 1.03 are a great combo for those condition, IMO. If you had not done an IM two weeks earlier, then you might have been able to generate more power, but I;d call it a win if I were you.
You are disappointed with your run, and if you hadn't done IM CHoo, then, yeah, that was terrible. But c'mon, man, give yourself a break. You kept in the game, and Heather had the call there @ mile 10. Get some rest, fine tune the bike, focus on run speed and durability, then back at 'em for LP.
Maybe time to start thinking about my plan: one really good IM a year, then enjoy the vacation in Hawaii? Then, In 2-3 years, @ age 55, put all the pieces there together, and go for broke with a lot of rest and no big races after a fall KQ the year before. Time to start thinking long-term.
qualifying for Kona +
IM 2 weeks before Kona +
Kona weather conditions +
finishing in top 1/2 of AG
= pretty bad a$$ in my humble, less experienced opinion.
Congrats on making smart adaptations and hanging tough on a challenging day!
It's "easy" to get it done when things are going well. What separates the men from the boys is getting it done when things are not going your way. That's exactly what you did Tim. Way to hang in there. Big congrats to you!!
Recover hard...you earned it!
Sounds like it was a tough day all around on Kona for everyone; you did well managing the heat and course. ITS KONA!..you should be proud.
awesome job on what seemed like really tough conditions. I was getting sea sick from my couch just watching you guys swim online.
in regards to Matt's comments on weight. For what its worth, at the end of 2013, I felt a little too light and decided to gain back some healthy weight for 2014. went from 142lbs back up to 152ish. I feel stronger with the added muscle back on my frame. Keeping the weight on during a 2015 IM build will be another story.
best of luck and enjoy some recovery.
Tim, reading your RR and then the comments of your teammates shows how much love there is for you on our team. Keep being you.
You're still an inspiration and a badass!
Tim,
Great race and I'd have to agree all the IM racing is hard on the body. It also sound like you were incubating something so great race day changes to the IF and running paces.
I hate to bring back the injury year but being out forced in some rest mid season and you came back very strong. Perhaps you are digging in to the well too often. Maybe this is an early season IM and Kona. With AZ, LP and Kona you still have a strong IM schedule.
Gordon
I AM NOT RACING IMAZ ..... just going to watch , support , cheer , push , offer on course race placement if possible, and sign up for 2015!
Some more thoughts after some time and then re-reading what I wrote and all of your comments. These are the words that stood out to me that I wrote, scares me, respect , humbled , honest , proud of my decisions..... I still feel that a week later these were very appropriate and described my day.... I learned a lot and have come away a much smarter athlete for it...
There is no doubt that I was not fully recovered from IMCHOO but I put a lot more on my sickness which started the day after.... I got a very sore throat Sunday night , hurt to swallow, and had a low level cold or something the following weak with congestion, coughing , etc.... I'm just starting to feel good again after a week and finally getting home yesterday.... To me this would more explain my RPE that just felt too hard (breathing way to hard for the effort) Body Core temp that was way too high for me again relative to the effort....
Weight- Good questions and comments...This has come up in the past , been part of my thought procees and Heather also questioned it right way.... I will say that all 4 of my KQ's were raced solidly under 120lb's , I will also say that my 1 DNF was raced or not raced at solidly under 120lbs..... So yes , it very well could have been a factor.... Certainly could have been a factor in me getting sick, specially in a weakened state right after IMCHOO... But to try and race at the front , is a risk/balance that must be utilized.... I don't take this part of my preparation lightly.... I consider my racing weight to be sub 120 having my best performances weighing in at 118-119 the week prior... The key question to ask oneself is AM I still able to hold the power on my bike? So far the answer has been YES.... I'm very careful in monitoring this weight and dont spend more than several weeks to a month at or under 120lbs.... This season I was 128 in Dec. took 3 months to get to 121-122 and then dropped below 120 right before IMTX in May , then spent the summer in 122-123 range which also included many races ( 3 HIM's) before dropping sub 120 again right before IMCHOO... So for the entire year I was only at race weight sub 120 for about 6 weeks total....You'll all be happy to know I am well on my way back to mid to high 120's for the Off Season!
BUT I'm also going to garner that if it's not sold out he'll be thinking of signing up last minute! haha
As always, I really appreciated talking over the course of the week, and continue to learn a ton from you. And thanks for the positive spirit on the course at Ali'i and the Queen K - these were the major boosts in my day, and seeing how strong you looked when we crossed paths was inspiring.
^^^ What she said! And thanks for sharing your day with us...you're not the only one getting the benefits of all the comments from the Haus!
Tim...I just rode 76 miles and ran 6 miles two weeks after Kona. I'm beat. I have no idea how you could race Kona two weeks after IMCHOO. You are amazing!!!