Joe Krum 2014 IMAZ Race Report
2014 marked both my first 70.3 distance race (Oceanside, CA - which was followed by Big Kahuna in Santa Cruz, CA) and first 140.6 at IMAZ:
Swim 1:14:59
T1 6:44
Bike 5:42:00
Run 3:51:53
T2 2:08
Total 10:57:44
Division (45-49) Rank: 32 Overall: 260
Arrived Wednesday afternoon. 22 mile recon of Bee Line highway Thursday morning, prescribed pool workout Friday morning.
Swim
Actual Target
1:14:59 1:10-1:15
Positioned halfway between front line and the bridge, 1/2-2/3 of way towards the wall (away from buoys). Went with the pack the entire way, little opportunity for siting/course correction or rythmn/technique. Forced to pop up on 2-3 occasions when path was obstructed. Bit of a traffic jam at the far turns. Full contact, no open water the entire way. Pretty smooth exit at the far right stairs. In hindsight, I may have been better closer to the front and closer to the buoy line. Can't imagine it was much more physical and better opportunity to find clear water/fast bubbles.
T1
Actual Target
6:44 4:00-6:00
Shed wetsuit pretty quickly after short wait for stripper. Retrieved T1 bag, helmet out and on, fumbled with Garmin watch (for run) and arm warmers while being told I couldn't stop where I was (open area to right leading towards tent). Through the tent into the porta potty (major miss that I was too caught up during the swim to remember to take care of business!) Found my bike on the rack, shoes and out the exit.
Bike
Actual Target
5:42 5:20-5:34
NP 154
IF 0.646 (FTP 238)
TSS 246
Forgot to turn on my computer pre-race and then missed my "start" point at the turnaround - i.e. late starting data recording (total distance recorded was 110.18) which messed up my 9.3 mile auto-lap plan.
Avg Speed NP Avg Power
19.6 173 168
17.3 176 169
26.1 154 149
21.6 158 153
17.2 164 161
15.7 160 152
26.9 135 131
22 146 140
16 152 148
14.8 151 142
24.1 115 105
0.9 117 64
Note: I also forgot to stop my computer as I entered T2 so it kept recording through the end of the race.
Wind made the course significantly different than the one I reconned on Thursday! Perceived effort was greater but speed and, oddly, watts were significantly lower?? (I had targeted close to a 180 NP). Stuggled getting sufficient hydration from my Speed-Fil set-up (again, failed to confirm set up pre-race) and twice ejected new bottles from the aid station from my behind the seat mount before being able to re-fill. Couldn't bring myself to pee on the move so stopped on the third loop at the aid station immediately after exiting Bee Line. MManaged to get my feet out of my shoes before rolling into T2 but it was a dodgy process that I started way too late (after entering chute).
Nutrition: Cliff bar 20 minutes into ride (from T1 bag). Power bars at end of 1st and 2nd loops (from bento), Gu on 3rd loop, 2 bonk breakers (from aid station at bio break).
T2
Actual Target
2:08 <4:00
Smooth (once my feet were out of shoes!). Handed off bike, grabbed T2 bag, positioned myself at picnic tables on left before the tent. Helmet off, sunglasses, hat, race belt on (left arm warmers on). Through the tent, sunscreen on legs, late starting "locate satellites" on my watch (@#$%!) and out.
Run
Actual Target
3:51:53 3:34-3:46
Watch finally came on line 0.4 miles into run. I typically don't run with a HR monitor.
Miles 1-6 8:25-8:33 avg pace (had targeted 8:30-9:00)
Miles 7-14 8:11-8:51 (targeted 8:05-8:20)
Miles 15-18 8:55-9:10 (targeted 8:05-8:20)
Miles 19-21 10:03-11:03 (hurting, walked the aid stations, porta potty)
Miles 22-26 9:23 ratcheting down to 8:26 with a strong kick when tent came into view!
Swim 1:14:59
T1 6:44
Bike 5:42:00
Run 3:51:53
T2 2:08
Total 10:57:44
Division (45-49) Rank: 32 Overall: 260
Arrived Wednesday afternoon. 22 mile recon of Bee Line highway Thursday morning, prescribed pool workout Friday morning.
Swim
Actual Target
1:14:59 1:10-1:15
Positioned halfway between front line and the bridge, 1/2-2/3 of way towards the wall (away from buoys). Went with the pack the entire way, little opportunity for siting/course correction or rythmn/technique. Forced to pop up on 2-3 occasions when path was obstructed. Bit of a traffic jam at the far turns. Full contact, no open water the entire way. Pretty smooth exit at the far right stairs. In hindsight, I may have been better closer to the front and closer to the buoy line. Can't imagine it was much more physical and better opportunity to find clear water/fast bubbles.
T1
Actual Target
6:44 4:00-6:00
Shed wetsuit pretty quickly after short wait for stripper. Retrieved T1 bag, helmet out and on, fumbled with Garmin watch (for run) and arm warmers while being told I couldn't stop where I was (open area to right leading towards tent). Through the tent into the porta potty (major miss that I was too caught up during the swim to remember to take care of business!) Found my bike on the rack, shoes and out the exit.
Bike
Actual Target
5:42 5:20-5:34
NP 154
IF 0.646 (FTP 238)
TSS 246
Forgot to turn on my computer pre-race and then missed my "start" point at the turnaround - i.e. late starting data recording (total distance recorded was 110.18) which messed up my 9.3 mile auto-lap plan.
Avg Speed NP Avg Power
19.6 173 168
17.3 176 169
26.1 154 149
21.6 158 153
17.2 164 161
15.7 160 152
26.9 135 131
22 146 140
16 152 148
14.8 151 142
24.1 115 105
0.9 117 64
Note: I also forgot to stop my computer as I entered T2 so it kept recording through the end of the race.
Wind made the course significantly different than the one I reconned on Thursday! Perceived effort was greater but speed and, oddly, watts were significantly lower?? (I had targeted close to a 180 NP). Stuggled getting sufficient hydration from my Speed-Fil set-up (again, failed to confirm set up pre-race) and twice ejected new bottles from the aid station from my behind the seat mount before being able to re-fill. Couldn't bring myself to pee on the move so stopped on the third loop at the aid station immediately after exiting Bee Line. MManaged to get my feet out of my shoes before rolling into T2 but it was a dodgy process that I started way too late (after entering chute).
Nutrition: Cliff bar 20 minutes into ride (from T1 bag). Power bars at end of 1st and 2nd loops (from bento), Gu on 3rd loop, 2 bonk breakers (from aid station at bio break).
T2
Actual Target
2:08 <4:00
Smooth (once my feet were out of shoes!). Handed off bike, grabbed T2 bag, positioned myself at picnic tables on left before the tent. Helmet off, sunglasses, hat, race belt on (left arm warmers on). Through the tent, sunscreen on legs, late starting "locate satellites" on my watch (@#$%!) and out.
Run
Actual Target
3:51:53 3:34-3:46
Watch finally came on line 0.4 miles into run. I typically don't run with a HR monitor.
Miles 1-6 8:25-8:33 avg pace (had targeted 8:30-9:00)
Miles 7-14 8:11-8:51 (targeted 8:05-8:20)
Miles 15-18 8:55-9:10 (targeted 8:05-8:20)
Miles 19-21 10:03-11:03 (hurting, walked the aid stations, porta potty)
Miles 22-26 9:23 ratcheting down to 8:26 with a strong kick when tent came into view!
0
Comments
A successful race on a challenging day. Shows the power of following EN race plan. Don;t worry about the "low" IF on the bike - that almost always happens to us mortals as we are using a lot of leg and body energy to stabilize the bike, effort which does not get transmitted to the pedals but does tire us out for the run.
You have an opportunity to improve your run thru better (slower) initial pacing. You did a good job, but getting the first six miles slow enough is the second hardest part of race execution. The first six miles should NOT be the fastest six miles. The hardest is learning how to keep ratcheting up the effort (while keeping the pace steady) all the way thru to the end.
Joe, sorry I did not get to meet you.
Sub-11 on your first IM is knocking it out of the park and speaks to both your work ethic and ability to focus/execute which takes most of us a lot longer to learn.
Congratulations IM!
SS
Exceptional race, in tough conditions. Congrats! And welcome to a special club. You are smart to provide the data here and try to identify room for growth. I actually spot a potential issue early on the bike, where many, many people unknowingly harm their race. You were going 173-76w right out of the gates. That's 74% if your FTP was accurate. I've seen a slight dip in my FTP during the last 4 weeks before an IM, and I would expect same with a first-timer. So, you could have been >75% early on, which can seriously affect your abilities later in the day. Also, targeting 180w, or 76%, is very aggressive and quite risky. Something to think about for the future.
I agree that the RESULTS of your run show you ran the first part the fastest, but I disagree that your early run EXECUTION was off. In fact, you pretty much nailed it IF your run goal of 3:35 was realistic before the race and as you exited T2 (sometimes we have to modify goals on the fly). If 3:35 was a good target, you needed to run 8:00's, so running 8:30's the first 5-6 was perfect execution. Regardless, the plan unraveled a bit. It could be because a very tough bike really took some wind out of your sails. It could have been nutrition, training, etc. Or you could have been a little overzealous in your goal-setting. Regardless, you ran 3:51 in your first, which is phenomenal and probably top 10%, and going sub-11 as a rookie is perhaps even more impressive. Enjoy this tremendous accomplishment. I predict a bright, fast future for you.
Mike
Lots of good comments from Al and Mike. As for IF on bike, I also think it's lower as on the beeline return it's fast but the watts I generate are barely .6! Brings my average down