Clark Mitchell's 2014 IMAZ Race Report
Background:
Third start, third finish and second finish with EN.
First time for IMAZ.
First time starting with aggressive race execution goals in support of time goals.
I was mostly successful meeting the execution goals and as a result I had a significant set of PRs.
There are still a number of takeaway items for next time.
Swim
Goal - 1:25:xx
Actual - 1:18:32 (14:48 PR!)
I got into the water early, back stroked my way past the boat dock and fence and then I got back out of the water and walked along the ledge until the dead end under the bridge. I hung out on the ledge for a while and then I swam up to the center front where I ran into Al and Scott D.
I had a great swim. I worked harder than I have in past IM swims but I also focused on working smart and taking advantage of what was going on around me. I sighted off of the crowd on my way out with the bridge as a forward landmark. On my way back I took Gabe’s advice and moved inside of the buoys, looking for more clear water. I found that line to be about the same in terms of crowd, but it put the buoys on my breathing side which made for easier sighting. I did zigzag a couple of the buoys but I don’t think that really added anything significant.
On the way back I felt like the lake was really rolling, which was a new sensation for me. I did not have any trouble with the swells but they forced me to think about body rotation and consistency.
Although I feel like I swam harder and smarter than in the past, the big difference for me, I think, was the wetsuit and the fact that I was able to swim so much of the way without my legs dropping. The few times where I did feel them drop reminded me to keep pulling even while sighting or moving through traffic. This was my first wetsuit IM swim, so I guess this confirms the fact that slower swimmers really do benefit from the wetsuit.
T1
Goal - 0:05:00
Actual - 0:05:48 (1:32 PR)
I came out of the water with the biggest shocked smile on my face, having just seen my swim time. I found a wetsuit stripper, doffed the wetsuit and started the run to T1. I found my bag without issue, dumped my stuff on the ground, got dressed and then spent too much time trying to brush the grass clippings and dirt off of my wet feet prior to putting on my socks. Kind of a pain…
Running through the tent on my way to the bike corral I realized I owe someone a beer. Whoever it was who said to change before the tent probably saved me 5 minutes or more – that tent was a total mob, holy hell, I had no idea it would be so crazy!
Bike
Goal - 5:50:xx
Actual - 6:07:19
I planned to ride the first half of the first lap stupid easy to get myself in check and I had no trouble with this. The wind was strong but manageable and I kept my head down and did my work.
Step two of the plan was to increase my intensity on the entire trip back into town. I had some success here and I got back to the turnaround in a little under two hours, which seemed about right.
Step three of the plan was to ride the second lap at 0.70 and for the most part, that did not happen. I was able to maintain my wattage in the slower sections on the way out, but on the admin pieces and on the way back I just could not / did not keep the watts up. This led to some mental arguments and some “one-thing” debates and a third lap reset.
Step four of the plan was to try and increase my intensity to 0.71 for the third lap and this did not happen either. Again, I did better on the slower, uphill sections where I could just grind, and worse on the more variable sections where I found myself grinding and then coasting and then grinding again.
In the end I rode a .67 with a VI of 1.03 and a TSS of 280, all of which are great numbers, just not quite where I thought I could be. Still, it was a solid ride and most importantly, the 280 TSS set me up for a great run.
I used course provided nutrition for the first time ever and I have mixed feelings about the experience. My plan required taking two bottles of perform at many aid stations, which was not a problem. The problem was that I could not ALSO take water at those aid stations so I was forced to choose between water for cooling off vs. the second bottle of perform. In nearly every case, that meant I took the second bottle of perform since hydration seemed more important than cooling off. On this day, that choice was not such a big deal, but for future races, that’s something I need to think about. The other issue I had was with the lids on the perform bottles. At least twice, I managed to remove the lid instead of opening the twist-top, which resulted in a perform shower. With the pending switch to Gatorade, which I already know I can’t tolerate, I’ll probably be switching back to a more self-supported model. My nutriation plan also called for 125 calories per hour of solid fuel. I managed to stick with this plan for the first two hours but I abandoned this for the final four. I made that decision based on the amount of Perform that I was taking in, due to thirst, vs the amount that my prerace plan called for.
Total liquid calories: ~500/hour = ~3000
Total solid calories: 250
Total calories: ~3250
I peed three times on the bike (sorry if you were behind me) so I was confident that I was getting enough liquids and thus enough calories and sodium.
T2
Goal - 0:05:00
Actual - 0:02:04 (5:40 PR!)
I felt really good coming into T2 – probably better than I have ever felt at this point in an IronMan. I stepped out of my shoes, leaving them on the bike, and handed my bike off to a volunteer. I ran into T2, received my bag from a helpful volunteer, dumped my stuff, put on my shoes, grabbed my go-bag, headed off through the “tent of despair” and out the chute onto the run course. The only slight hiccup was the multi-tool that I found in one shoe the first time I tried to put it on. After dumping that, the rest was seamless.
Run
Goal - 3:59:xx
Actual - 3:59:04 (11:05 PR!)
I’m super happy with the way that my run went and with my run execution. My plan was 6 miles at 9:30 and then 20.2 at 9:00. The math on that worked out to a ~2:00 first loop and ~1:57 second loop. I ended up running 2:00:53 and 1:58:11 for my first negative-split and sub four hour marathon.
From the course splits:
Lap 1 Lap 2
0:17:55 0:17:41
0:17:57 0:17:12
0:13:44 0:13:24
0:24:25 0:24:13
0:19:21 0:19:31
0:11:05 0:10:53
0:16:26 0:15:17
2:00:53 1:58:11
Nothing more to say here except that maybe I could have pushed a little harder on the second lap?
I took perform at every aid station on the first lap and I ate two gels per hour for the first two hours. I continued with the perform on the second lap until I switched to coke at about mile 18.
I peed twice on the run and again, sorry if you were behind me…
Overall
Goal - 11:25:xx
Actual - 11:32:47 (28:39 PR!)
I really don’t have much else to add other than that the day was about as close to perfect as anyone could hope. Yes, there are some (many) things that I plan to work on, but overall I really could not be happier with the way that the day turned out.
Third start, third finish and second finish with EN.
First time for IMAZ.
First time starting with aggressive race execution goals in support of time goals.
I was mostly successful meeting the execution goals and as a result I had a significant set of PRs.
There are still a number of takeaway items for next time.
Swim
Goal - 1:25:xx
Actual - 1:18:32 (14:48 PR!)
I got into the water early, back stroked my way past the boat dock and fence and then I got back out of the water and walked along the ledge until the dead end under the bridge. I hung out on the ledge for a while and then I swam up to the center front where I ran into Al and Scott D.
I had a great swim. I worked harder than I have in past IM swims but I also focused on working smart and taking advantage of what was going on around me. I sighted off of the crowd on my way out with the bridge as a forward landmark. On my way back I took Gabe’s advice and moved inside of the buoys, looking for more clear water. I found that line to be about the same in terms of crowd, but it put the buoys on my breathing side which made for easier sighting. I did zigzag a couple of the buoys but I don’t think that really added anything significant.
On the way back I felt like the lake was really rolling, which was a new sensation for me. I did not have any trouble with the swells but they forced me to think about body rotation and consistency.
Although I feel like I swam harder and smarter than in the past, the big difference for me, I think, was the wetsuit and the fact that I was able to swim so much of the way without my legs dropping. The few times where I did feel them drop reminded me to keep pulling even while sighting or moving through traffic. This was my first wetsuit IM swim, so I guess this confirms the fact that slower swimmers really do benefit from the wetsuit.
T1
Goal - 0:05:00
Actual - 0:05:48 (1:32 PR)
I came out of the water with the biggest shocked smile on my face, having just seen my swim time. I found a wetsuit stripper, doffed the wetsuit and started the run to T1. I found my bag without issue, dumped my stuff on the ground, got dressed and then spent too much time trying to brush the grass clippings and dirt off of my wet feet prior to putting on my socks. Kind of a pain…
Running through the tent on my way to the bike corral I realized I owe someone a beer. Whoever it was who said to change before the tent probably saved me 5 minutes or more – that tent was a total mob, holy hell, I had no idea it would be so crazy!
Bike
Goal - 5:50:xx
Actual - 6:07:19
I planned to ride the first half of the first lap stupid easy to get myself in check and I had no trouble with this. The wind was strong but manageable and I kept my head down and did my work.
Step two of the plan was to increase my intensity on the entire trip back into town. I had some success here and I got back to the turnaround in a little under two hours, which seemed about right.
Step three of the plan was to ride the second lap at 0.70 and for the most part, that did not happen. I was able to maintain my wattage in the slower sections on the way out, but on the admin pieces and on the way back I just could not / did not keep the watts up. This led to some mental arguments and some “one-thing” debates and a third lap reset.
Step four of the plan was to try and increase my intensity to 0.71 for the third lap and this did not happen either. Again, I did better on the slower, uphill sections where I could just grind, and worse on the more variable sections where I found myself grinding and then coasting and then grinding again.
In the end I rode a .67 with a VI of 1.03 and a TSS of 280, all of which are great numbers, just not quite where I thought I could be. Still, it was a solid ride and most importantly, the 280 TSS set me up for a great run.
I used course provided nutrition for the first time ever and I have mixed feelings about the experience. My plan required taking two bottles of perform at many aid stations, which was not a problem. The problem was that I could not ALSO take water at those aid stations so I was forced to choose between water for cooling off vs. the second bottle of perform. In nearly every case, that meant I took the second bottle of perform since hydration seemed more important than cooling off. On this day, that choice was not such a big deal, but for future races, that’s something I need to think about. The other issue I had was with the lids on the perform bottles. At least twice, I managed to remove the lid instead of opening the twist-top, which resulted in a perform shower. With the pending switch to Gatorade, which I already know I can’t tolerate, I’ll probably be switching back to a more self-supported model. My nutriation plan also called for 125 calories per hour of solid fuel. I managed to stick with this plan for the first two hours but I abandoned this for the final four. I made that decision based on the amount of Perform that I was taking in, due to thirst, vs the amount that my prerace plan called for.
Total liquid calories: ~500/hour = ~3000
Total solid calories: 250
Total calories: ~3250
I peed three times on the bike (sorry if you were behind me) so I was confident that I was getting enough liquids and thus enough calories and sodium.
T2
Goal - 0:05:00
Actual - 0:02:04 (5:40 PR!)
I felt really good coming into T2 – probably better than I have ever felt at this point in an IronMan. I stepped out of my shoes, leaving them on the bike, and handed my bike off to a volunteer. I ran into T2, received my bag from a helpful volunteer, dumped my stuff, put on my shoes, grabbed my go-bag, headed off through the “tent of despair” and out the chute onto the run course. The only slight hiccup was the multi-tool that I found in one shoe the first time I tried to put it on. After dumping that, the rest was seamless.
Run
Goal - 3:59:xx
Actual - 3:59:04 (11:05 PR!)
I’m super happy with the way that my run went and with my run execution. My plan was 6 miles at 9:30 and then 20.2 at 9:00. The math on that worked out to a ~2:00 first loop and ~1:57 second loop. I ended up running 2:00:53 and 1:58:11 for my first negative-split and sub four hour marathon.
From the course splits:
Lap 1 Lap 2
0:17:55 0:17:41
0:17:57 0:17:12
0:13:44 0:13:24
0:24:25 0:24:13
0:19:21 0:19:31
0:11:05 0:10:53
0:16:26 0:15:17
2:00:53 1:58:11
Nothing more to say here except that maybe I could have pushed a little harder on the second lap?
I took perform at every aid station on the first lap and I ate two gels per hour for the first two hours. I continued with the perform on the second lap until I switched to coke at about mile 18.
I peed twice on the run and again, sorry if you were behind me…
Overall
Goal - 11:25:xx
Actual - 11:32:47 (28:39 PR!)
I really don’t have much else to add other than that the day was about as close to perfect as anyone could hope. Yes, there are some (many) things that I plan to work on, but overall I really could not be happier with the way that the day turned out.
0
Comments
Clark, I had the pleasure of racing both IMTX and IMAZ with you this year.
What a strong, consistent, hard working man which showed in your results!
Btw, I too peed 3 times on the bike and I found it really helped to keep the competition from drafting off of me.....an unexpected benefit...
While your bike was super steady showing a veteran performance in execution during some demoralizing winds, your run was quite amazing and just damn strong to the end!
Congratulations on a strong performance out there my friend!
SS
It was great chatting with you, Scott, and Jonathan at lunch on Saturday to learn from three seasoned IM veterans!
I hope we get to do another race in the future.
Clark...awesome execution. A negative split run is the quantifiable metric that you raced very smart. Congrats!!
2x on comments about racing in EN red.
"...I rode a .67 with a VI of 1.03 and a TSS of 280…" - no matter how you felt about it, I see that a a VERY successful bike for the day we had.
Beautiful, beautiful run, Clark. Really, you ought to be basking in your performance all the way to Christmas. Congratulations! Work HARD on your bike in the OS, OK?
Yes, the run was a high point and I plan to use that high to get through knee surgery and the subsequent recovery. It was a great finish to an amazing Tri season.