Gabe Peterson's IMAZ Race Report!
Race Report: Ironman Arizona
Summary
For my 41st birthday, I gave myself the gift of my very first full Ironman, something I would have thought impossible a few years ago. I accomplished my goal of finishing the race with my health intact. 12:31 later, I crossed the finish line and Mike Reilly said, “Gabe Peterson, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” It was one of the best days of my life, behind the day I got married and the days my two daughters were born!
The day got better for me as I progressed through the phases of the race. I beat the overall average time by 53 minutes and the M40-45 average time by 38 minutes.
- Swim was crowded with lots of contact the entire 2.4 miles, like a mosh pit in the water.
- Bike was hell with a 20MPH headwind on the outbound leg of the three loop course. That meant crawling up the Beeline and then ripping down.
- Run was the best leg with a flat course, although much was on hard concrete. I’ve done 5 open marathons, and this was the first marathon I ran the entire distance!
Stat Geekery
|
Phase |
Time |
Overall Avg |
Delta from Overall Avg |
Overall Place |
Over-all % |
M40-45 Avg |
Delta from AG Avg |
AG Place of 378 |
AG % |
|
Swim |
1:31:24 |
1:24:30 |
-0:06:54 |
1768 / 2390 |
74.0% |
1:23:38 |
-0:07:46 |
300 / 378 |
79.4% |
|
T1 |
0:07:28 |
0:09:10 |
0:01:42 |
0:08:57 |
0:01:29 |
||||
|
Bike |
6:18:12 |
6:35:10 |
0:16:58 |
1112 / 2390 |
46.5% |
6:25:44 |
0:07:32 |
208 / 378 |
55.0% |
|
T2 |
0:03:37 |
0:06:03 |
0:02:26 |
0:06:13 |
0:02:36 |
||||
|
Run |
4:30:19 |
5:09:46 |
0:39:27 |
802 / 2390 |
33.6% |
5:02:57 |
0:32:38 |
155 / 378 |
41.0% |
|
Overall |
12:31:00 |
13:24:38 |
0:53:38 |
802 / 2390 |
33.6% |
13:09:17 |
0:38:17 |
155 / 378 |
41.0% |
The story the stats tell is: poor open water swimmer, slightly above average cyclist, efficient at transitions, and good runner. I managed to beat the averages in every phase except the swim.
The times overall were down from last year. The average last year was 12:52, while it was over 30 minutes longer this year at 13:24. I suspect the wind on the bike was the main culprit.
Background: Surprise Opportunity to Race IMAZ!
I wasn’t planning to race Ironman Arizona 12 weeks ago. My season was going to end with SuperFrog Half Ironman in September. I had tried to register for IMAZ last year but the spots were gone in less than a minute. When I learned Race Quest still had slots available, I jumped at the opportunity after consulting my wife and Coach Rich. Race Quest provides a complete package for the event, including hotel, shuttles, bike mechanic, course overview by Meredith Kessler (the female pro winner!), and most importantly a precious slot to IMAZ.
For my personal triathlon journey leading up to IMAZ, read my bio on the Endurance Nation IMAZ team page.
Pre-Race: Endurance Nation, Meredith Kessler, and the Big Scare
The highlights of the pre-race activities were the Endurance Nation (EN) team dinner and the course overview with Meredith Kessler, who would go on to win the race.
I came late to the EN dinner because the kids didn’t want to get back in the car after spending 6 hours in there on the drive from LA. I missed out on the introductions and didn’t get to connect all the names to faces that I would have liked.
Meredith gave us a brief coached swim and then took us on a jog along the beginning of the run course. She gave us tips on where to sight during the swim and how to navigate transition. Her easy pace was too fast for most of the Race Quest group, but I hung next to her and chatted during the entire run. I learned her story of spending several years as an age grouper before turning pro. She took a genuine interest in all the folks in the group and stayed to take pictures with us (see the pictures link below for a shot of me with her post-run). Definitely a class act!
The rest of my time before race day was spent on admin. I went through my race plan and checklist at least a dozen times.
The big scare came Saturday morning when I went across the hall to the room my wife and two daughters were staying and they all had a cough and sore throat. I told my wife, “I’m sorry but I can’t be around you guys today.” I loaded up on Airborne to head off contagion. I fully expected to wake up Sunday morning with a sore throat but told myself nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to stop me.
I woke up Sunday – and I wasn’t sick! I got a pretty decent 6 hours of sleep. I started executing my pre-race plan.
I took the Race Quest shuttle and arrived before transition opened. I knew Murphy’s Law would kick in if I didn’t get there early and I’d have two flats or a broken derailleur. Since I got there early, there were no mechanic issues and I was set and ready to go in 15 minutes. I did my final walkthrough of the transitions, memorizing the location of my gear bags, and then put my wetsuit on to stay warm.
I chugged down my pre-workout drink loaded with green tea extract and a bunch of other good stuff to get me pumped for the swim as I stood in line. I jumped into the water and did an easy warmup swim to the swim start.
Swim: Aquatic Fight Club
|
Target time: 1:25 |
Time: 1:31:21 |
|
Target pace: 2:00 / 100 yds |
Pace: 2:09 / 100 yds |
I had planned to follow Al’s advice and line up in the middle where I could find an empty spot. However, while I treaded water I must have drifted towards the buoys. One of the Race Quest coaches advised that the open secret to this swim course is to go inside the buoy line. Since it was too late to move back toward the middle, I decided to try the inside of the buoys.
When the gun went off I made my way towards the inside of the buoy line. It was quite a melee in the water, by far the most contact I’ve experienced in a race. I did notice it was better inside the buoy line. When I went to the right of a buoy, it was an aquatic fight club.
Time passed slowly as it was difficult to establish a good rhythm. Many swimmers’ sighting technique was to stop completely and pop their head out of the water, and I would barrel into them. After each encounter, I would count stroked to reestablish my rhythm. I looked at my watch once after the second turn buoy and saw that 40 minutes had gone by. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see 60 minutes, time was flowing so slowly.
There was less contact on the return leg, especially if I stayed inside the buoy line. I did get clawed in the throat by a lady with sharp finger nails, and still have the marks.
I finally rounded the turn buoy and churned my arms to get to the stairs. I was stopped dead halfway when another swimmer who switched to breast stroke kicked me square in the chest. I said an unsportsmanlike thing to him and then kept going. I really wish swimmers would reconsider doing breast stroke in a crowded race like this.
I got to the stairs and scooted my butt up on the first step, which was about at water level. A volunteer graciously helped me stand up and I joked, “is the ground moving?” because it was rolling for me.
I jogged down the lane of wetsuit stripper, pulling my wetsuit off my shoulders, until I found a pair who were free. I sat down on the ground, and they ripped the suit off. They helped me up, and I thanked them and jogged into transition.
http://www.strava.com/activities/220127701
Lesson learned: More time on open water swim practice. I did an open water 2.4 mile swim the weekend before in 1:23, but the constant contact really threw me out of my rhythm on race day.
T1
|
Target time: 10:00
|
Time: 7:28 |
I came out of the chute and found my bag straight away. Per my plan, I avoided going into the chaos of the changing tent and sat outside. During my talked with Meredith, she recommended wearing socks for the bike. She said it was totally worth the extra 15 seconds for the comfort. I took her advice and am glad I did. The dirt in transition had turned to mud and would have torn my feet apart without socks.
On went my helmet, sunglasses, and tri cycling shoes. A volunteer helped me get stuff out of my bag and took my swim gear. I walked through the changing tent, which was a zoo, and ambled down the main lane of transition.
I shouted my bib number to a volunteer ahead, and she got my bike off the rack. I spun the crank to wake up my Stages PM, started my Joule GPS bike computer on the aerobars, and my Fenix 2 on my wrist (a backup computer). I walked quickly to the start line, mounted, and I was off…
Bike: The Wind was a Motherf*#ker! And Watch out for Tumbleweeds…
|
Target time: 6:00 |
Time: 6:18:12 |
|
Target NP: 154W |
NP: 141W with VI = 1.02 |
|
Target TSS: 280 |
TSS: 242 |
|
Target Speed: 19MPH |
Speed: 17.8MPH |
|
Target IF: 0.65 for 60’, then 0.7 |
IF: 0.64 |
This course is three laps out into the desert on the Beeline Highway and back into town. At the mount line, a volunteer warned me to be careful it was windy. There was a 20 MPH wind gusting from the north, which meant it was going to be a long day on the bike. I discovered that on the first northerly section when I had to drop into the small chain ring on a flat section, going 13MPH in aero. I was glad I left the 11-25 cassette on my bike just in case this very thing happened. I was in my granny gear on the hill at the top of the Beeline.
The first lap I stuck to my plan with 0.65 IF and staid aero the majority of the time, even crawling up the hill on the Beeline at 9-10MPH. After the turnaround, I kept the power on while the others soft pedaled. I didn’t take long for me to run out of gears with the strong tailwind. At around 33MPH, I would get into a deep aero tuck and coast. I coasted for miles at a time. I was surprise how many were cruising down at 20MPH. The only riders who passed me on the descent were pros. It was scary passing slow riders on my right while pros were passing on my left. I left a very small lane for me, and I was continuously shouting, “on your left!” and occasionally, “get out of the way!”
I remember looking down at my bike computer at the end of the first lap and seeing 1:57. I thought a 6 hour ride was within reach. However, three things conspired against me:
- First, the wind really kicked up for the second and third lap.
- Second, my right glute that I had strained early in the year during a backpacking trip in Joshua Tree was throbbing coming out of the water. It started bothering me two weeks earlier after my last long ride and run brick. It was okay in aero on the fast sections but shot pain down my leg in the slow climbing sections. It was okay when I climbed onto the horns. I was worried about re-injuring it and having my day end, so I decided my goal one the bike was to make sure I had a good run. Therefore, on my second and third laps I sat up on the horns much of the outbound leg on the Beeline.
- Third, my heart rate was way high. On the training rides, it would settle in at just below 140 (the top of Z2 for me) after 60 minutes. However, it was in Z3 and Z4 still going into hour 3. I started focusing on getting my heart rate below 140 instead of power on the second lap. I knew I would have a tough run if I did the entire bike in Z3/Z4. It is still a mystery why my heart rate stayed so high even though I was only putting out 64-65% power. It’s never done that before, and it was fine on the run. Perhaps I was battling the cold that hit my family.
The second lap I got to do my first hand up. I followed the EN advice: I made eye contact with the volunteer, pointed at him, and shouted “Perform!” I held the bottle in my hand until I cleared the aid station and then put it in the cage behind my seat. When I hit an open section, I refilled the Torhans 30 on my aerobars. I did that 3 more times.
The second lap also saw another first for me: peeing on the bike. I had to coast for a long way on the downhill before things would flow. I learned a valuable lesson: remove the aerobottle on the downtube first. J
The scariest part of the ride came on the second lap. I hit a motherf@#cking tumbleweed! Coming downhill at about 30MPH, I saw the tumbleweed blowing across the road. It was very crowded, so I couldn’t maneuver. The only thing I could do was hit the brakes and then try to bunny hop over it. The back wheel landed right on top of it. I asked the guy behind me if I had a tumbleweed hanging off my bike, and he said I was good and laughed about tumbleweeds on the course.
By the third lap I was mentally cracked by the wind. Plodding up the Beeline, I spotted someone ahead wearing Pasadena Tri Club kit. I sped up to catch up with him and pulled alongside. I didn’t recognize him, so I introduced myself. He was Dave Ritchie, which I remembered from the list of racers from PTC. We chatted for a few minutes about how we should have done climbing rides to practice for this instead of riding the flat bike trails. It was a welcomed mental break.
On the way back I could see I had seriously undercooked the bike with an IF of about 0.64, so I let it rip. When I hit the crowds of spectators I was shouting in joy because I was so happy the bike hell was over. I got to the dismount line and jokingly told the volunteer he could keep my bike.
http://www.strava.com/activities/220126945
Nutrition Plan
I was pretty much spot on executing below nutrition plan. I came about a half bottle of Perform short because it was a disgusting orange-mango flavor instead of lemon-lime like the athlete’s guide said.
Target: Consume about 420 calories per hour and about 500mg of sodium (I can’t handle the 1000mg EN recommendation – it gives me a rotten stomach)
|
Nutrition |
Frequency |
Calories / hour |
Total calories |
|
20 oz of Perform from Torhans 30 on aerobars |
Take down at least 20oz / hour |
175 |
1050 |
|
Swig of Sustained Energy from aero bottle on down tube |
30 min |
100 |
600 |
|
Eat Gu Chomps and cutup Clif Bar from bento box |
30 min |
75 |
450 |
|
Shot of Gu gel with caffeine to stay alert |
60 min |
100 |
600 |
Lessons learned:
- I undercooked the bike and left at least 10 minutes on the bike course. However, I am cool with that because it saved me from re-injuring my right glute and shuffling on the run.
- Do climbing rides as part of training, even if a course is advertised as flat and fast. A headwind and tailwind can turn it into a climbing day with slow climbs and fast descents.
T2
|
Target time: 5:00
|
Time: 3:37 |
Went super smooth. Sat outside the changing tent again and changed my wet socks (yuck!) and put on my Hoka Clifton running shoes. I grabbed my go-bag and headed to the porta-potty.
There was a crowd standing in the exit to the changing tent, and I had to push my way out.
Run: Go Into the Light and You Will Be An Ironman!
|
Target time: 4:25 |
Time: 4:30:19 |
|
Target pace: 10:00/mile |
Pace: 10:19min/mi |
|
Target TSS: 250 |
TSS: 269 |
The run course is two laps around Tempe Town Lake. Much of the run is on hard concrete.
I came out of the chute with go-bag in hand looking for my family. Apparently, my daughter ran off at just that moment and my wife was chasing her down, so I missed them. I took out my EN visor and sunglasses, and put them on. I buckled on my race belt and stuck the arm coolers in my back pocket. I still had my arm warmers in there from the ride. I also tried to stick sunscreen in the back, but somehow managed to drop it. I discovered that a few minutes later when I went to reach for it. I figured I was going to get scorched but the layer of sunscreen I slathered on early in the morning held out.
The first 6 miles I went stupid easy. I was joking and high fiving spectators. My heart rate stayed in Z1 the entire time. I saw Dave Ritchie again starting his run and gave him a shout out. I saw Coach Rich at the EN tent and high fived him as I went by.
After mile 6, I would let my heart rate creep up into low Z2. The first half of the marathon was pretty easy. I cruised along comfortably. I kept telling myself, you got this – the run is your strength.
The sun set shortly after I finished the first lap. I looked for lighting on the first lap and decided I didn’t need the head lamp in my special needs bag. I was also comfortable temperature wise and figured I could put on the arm warmers if I got cold, so I didn’t need the long sleeve pullover in my bag. I passed by special needs without stopping.
The second lap I started feeling the punishment of the hard surface in my quads, even with the extra cushioning of my Hoka Cliftons. I kept going at a steady pace with my heart rate at high Z1 to low Z2. After dark, I only looked at my watch sparingly since I couldn’t see it unless I was under a street light. I didn’t want to kill to battery using the light. However, I had my RPE dialed in every time I looked at my HR. I kept telling myself: metronome, baby!
I held off on Coke until mile 18, using it as a reward to get me there. It gave me a jolt. However, my stomach was shutting down. I walked 10-20 paces at each aid station for sports drink. After mile 20, I started taking water because my stomach was done. I didn’t feel nauseous – I just had zero appetite. By the last aid station even water seemed disgusting.
I kept my pace steady the last few miles instead of burying myself. I figured I would trade an extra 2-3 minutes for the ability to walk tomorrow. I knew I wasn’t going to break 12 hours. I had set that expectation aside on the bike.
I never really hit the line. Sure, it hurt like hell. In the five open marathons I’ve done, I hit the line hard at around mile 22 and spent the next 4 miles in a personal hell forcing myself to run/walk it in. I just focused on the making it to the next aid station and kept running and never went to the dark place. I was in a pretty en state of living in the moment.
I rounded the last corner and heard the crowd noise. I fixed my kit so I would look good for the finisher picture and a surge of adrenaline had me pickup my pace. After about 2 hours in the dark, the bright lights were blinding and the crowd noise dizzying. I thought, go into the light and you’ll be an Ironman. I high fived a bunch of spectators as I went by and pumped my fist in victory. Mike Reilly said the words I had waited 12:31 to hear: “Gabe Peterson, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”
You can watch the moment in all its glory on this video.
After taking my finisher picture, I went over to talk to Coach Rich who was waiting in the finish area. It was awesome to see him there. He helped my switch from race brain back to the real world. He made sure I called my wife with his phone. (Check the pictures link below for a shot at the finish with Coach Rich).
I found my family in the expo. It was the best sight of the day!
http://www.strava.com/activities/220126915
Nutrition Plan
I did well on the nutrition plan until about mile 20 when my stomach started to shut down.
Target: Consumer about 270 calories per hour.
|
Nutrition |
Frequency |
Calories / hour |
Total calories |
|
3-4 oz of Perform from aid station, walk 20 paces |
Every mile |
170 |
765 |
|
Shot of Gu gel with caffeine to stay alert |
Every 6 miles |
100 |
500 |
|
Take water as needed. Dump ice water on head if hot. |
As needed. |
0 |
0 |
Lesson learned: This was the first marathon I’ve ever run without walking (except for aid stations)! With work, I feel like I can break a 4 hour marathon for my next Ironman.
Pictures
You can view my picture gallery of the day on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...c109812112
What’s Next…
There are big changes coming in my civilian life. I recently accepted a job in Salt Lake City as the IT head for a $1B division of a major medical device company. We’ll be relocating from Monrovia in December.
Since 2015 will be a year of changes with a new job in a new area while buying a new house, I promised my wife I won’t do another full Ironman next year. She was super supportive for IMAZ, letting me disappear every Saturday and Sunday morning to crush myself. In 2015 I’ll focus on getting faster at the half Ironman distance and I have some unfinished business with open marathons. I’ll tackle the full Ironman again in 2016.
Here’s what my race calendar looks like:
- Oceanside 70.3 Ironman in March. I already signed up, so it will be a good excuse for a trip to Southern California to visit friends and family.
- St George 70.3 Ironman in May. Since I can do this as a weekender and it will be a key race for EN, it’s hard to pass up. I did it this year. It’s a beautiful but challenging course.
- Boulder 70.3 Ironman in June. This looks like a great course. It will give us an excuse to make the short trip over from SLC to checkout Boulder.
- Big Cottonwood Marathon and/or St George Marathon in September/October. The St George Marathons is so popular that entry is given by lottery. I have never broken a 4 hour marathon, and that is exactly what I plan to do!
Comments
Way to crush it out there Gabe! I look forward to working with you in 2015 to build some serious HIM speed!
I think this RR needs to be templated for all future RRs. First, welcome to the IM club! given your prep, analysis and discipline, it is clear that you will go much further in this sport. It was great meeting you and seeing you at various spots over the weekend, and coming late to the dinner means we all ask, "who's the new guy..."
Rest up and train up, looking forward to seeing you at more events!
Gabe, sorry we missed each other, I was looking forward to putting a face to a name.
Damn strong work/execution bro! Incredible!
By the way, the tumbleweed thing is hilarious, but seriously glad you made it through that without a crash or flat tire.
Love the detail in your race report. You are set to only get faster from here.
KMF!
Shut the front door, tackled by a tumbleweed and you didn't go down! Congrats on your first !M, especially given the short training time you had. Nice report and nice execution as well. It was great meeting you and the family. Your girls are the cutest thing ever.
Cheers
A number of my friends have reached out to me about doing an Ironman after seeing my posts on Facebook. I tell them the biggest obstacle is mental -- the training is grueling. You need to have a support network to make it. I suggest EN or they find a local tri club that is doing the IM as a key race.
I don't think I would have been able to make it through the training without the EN team. I looked forward to the weekly threads Shaughn created and following everyone's adventures on Strava. It would have made a bunch of rookie mistakes without the guidance of the IM ninjas in EN.
@Mary, thank you! I hope we get to race together one day.
@Coach P. I vote for attention to detail.
@Scott, it was really encouraging having lunch with you, Clark, and Jonathan to hear about your experience as IM veterans. I hope we get to do another event together.
@Shaugn, I still owe you a beer for all of your leadership in the IMAZ team. I hope we do another race together so you can collect.
@Clark, I found the data in a spreadsheet at the below site for Coach Cox. There must be someway to download it from WTC but I don't know how. I took his spreadsheet and did the analysis in Excel. (It was a long car ride back from Tempe with my wife driving).
http://www.coachcox.co.uk/2014/11/17/ironman-arizona-2014-results-analysis/
@Josiah, it was great chatting with you at the EN team dinner. You crushed your first IM!
Congratulations on a successful (i.e., running the whole way) first marathon. Everything else you experienced was a set up for that, and you handled it all like a vet. Good luck in your HIMs next year; I *might* see you in Boulder (I'm deciding among Victoria, Boise, and Boulder, which are all the same weekend.)
My wife and I spent some time in SLC 78-80 while she was going to grad school. Make sure you have snow tires; the only snowier cities in the USA are Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.
@Al, thanks for all of your mentoring and advice on the forums! You saved me at least 10 minutes. The idea of the go bag is brilliant! It was one of my fastest T2 transitions, even with a stop at the porta-potty. Hope to see you at Boulder!
@Bruce, thanks! I read your report and you had a monster race, even with a flat tire!@Jonathan, good to meet you too! That is tempting. However, I want to focus on getting faster in 2015. For the first IM, my goal was to finish ahead of the middle. I probably left 20 minutes on the course between poor open water swimming, undercooking the bike, and not burying myself on the run. In 2016, I want to crack 11:30 hours at the IM distance.
For 2015, my fitness goals are:
For races, my goals are:
Congrats! Let's get some climbing in before you leave for SLC!
Despite no IM next year, it sure sounds like an ambitious race schedule to me. I will enjoy following you
Good luck in your new job!