Bob's 2014 IMAZ Race Report
I took a lot of notes immediately after the race, but other priorities
took over once I returned home. Made some
SAU deposits by taking my biggest supporter and my wife Christi to see the Off-Broadway play Jersey Boys (really
good and better than the movie) and to a Fleetwood Mac concert (great concert
with the return of Christine McVie).
Still working on the Honey-Do list that had been on hold
Race Summary: 91 min PR! This was the best executed race I have ever done.
SWIM: 1:08 (2 min PR)
BIKE: 5:46 (52 min PR)
Run: 4:09 (34 min PR)
Having a WRITTEN execution plan makes a HUGE difference.
Goals:
EXECUTE the plan first. Execute
and let the results fall where they may.
Based on my times from Challenge Rancho Cordova (70.3 distance) in
October, I felt that if all went well and the weather cooperated, I
could go sub-12 HRS (SWIM: 01:08 – T1: 04:30 – BIKE: 06:10 – T2: 03:30 – RUN
4:20)
Age: 45
2nd IM (first was IMCDA 4 ½ months ago in 12:42)
FTP: 220 (mistakenly put 210 on my execution plan. Sorry.)
Wgt: 170
Watts/kg: 2.84
Vdot=45
Saturday: Carbo loaded breakfast
at Denny’s. Went for the swim recon. Then went for a jog with strides and a short
bike ride along the course with a few sprints to wake up the legs. Consumed Perform and salt tabs throughout the
day as planned. Walked bike to the
check-in with about 30 minutes before closing.
While walking to the rack I noticed my rear tire was flat. Went over to the bike tech guy who was very
helpful. As he installed new tire and
tube. Asked him what brand the tire
was. He said it was a really good tire
for $17 and should be fine for the course tomorrow. That didn’t install me with much confidence. Racked the bike and headed over to the
Expo. All the exhibitors were out of the
tire I had been training with. I called two
LBSs and they too were sold out. Finally
I found a shop about 10 miles from the Expo that had one left. While I went to get the tire, Christi went to
get take out for dinner. By the time I
returned with the tire and tube, T2 was closed.
Ate dinner in the hotel room and to bed by 9.
Race Morning:
Woke at 4am and had breakfast: 2 ½ cups applesauce, bagel with peanut
butter, Ensure x 2, banana and sips of Perform throughout the morning.
Arrived to Transition at 5:10.
Christi took the SN bags to their drop-off while I changed the tire and
tube. Sorry if I scared anyone when I
let the air out of the tire. I heard a
few “oh no”s! Had more than one person
walk by and ask to help which was nice of them to offer. Completed the task, added fluids, paired
Garmin with Vector pedals, and pumped tires to 110psi. Headed over to the fence where Christi was
waiting. Relaxed with her and sipped
Perform. Used porta potty. Changed in to wetsuit. Gave Christi morning
bag and a kiss. Then joined the
procession to the swim start steps.
SWIM:
Lined up in the middle of the start line about 5 yds from the
front. As the start time got closer,
that little area in the middle became very crowded. Tried to move around to find a less crowded
area but everywhere was crowded. (Heard
afterwards that more people started this year due to extra slots given to
people who had signed up for IMLT but didn’t race due to its
cancellation.) But I was not
anxious. I was calm and reflected on how
lucky I was to be there. It was the same
feeling I had before my first IM at CDA this year. The cannon went off and there was a lot of
“interaction” as packed vertical bodies all moved horizontal at the same
time. The Swim Fight Club lasted for
about 400-600m. At that time, I became a
little anxious. The thought crossed my mind
to stop swimming and get my composure.
Then reality hit as I realized all the people behind me would try to
swim over me. So I slowed the pace and just
kept moving forward. Kept counting 1-2-3
breathe, 1-2-3 breathe. No place to go but forward. (A decade ago when on active duty, I was deployed
as a physician to Afghanistan. I remember talking with infantry soldiers who
had been ordered to attack Taliban strongholds.
They told me that they just kept running forward. The thought of those guys running straight
into an enemy position while being shot at had a calming effect on me. This was just a swim. Just a triathlon.) 1-2-3 breathe. I tried not to follow the buoy line and swim
a straight line toward the curve in the canal – that was not happening. No way to swim the straightest line as
everyone else was swimming the buoy line or the canal edge. Soon after the curve, the water cleared. Not much contact until after the first turn
buoy where I received a good blow to my left goggle. It stunned me and I slowed to check my
goggles. No leaks or broken orbital bone
so I just kept moving forward. After the
next turn buoy and heading back toward the exit, I stayed toward the outside of
the masses and tried to draft off hips.
Very little contact out there but also little drafting. While I maintained my effort, I started passing
others as I continued my ¾ stroke and 2 beat kick. Reached the last buoy and turned toward the
exit thinking, “already done?” Then the combat started again until we reached
the steps. Pulled my butt up on the
bottom step of the exit steps and was yanked out by a volunteer. Saw 1:08 on the clock, a 2 minute PR. Very happy after all the contact. After the race, the Garmin revealed that I zig-zagged
more than I had hoped (especially on the way back) and had gone 2.56 miles. Need to work on that.
T1
Hit the Garmin. Unzipped wetsuit
and pulled it down to my waist. Ran to
the end of the strippers and pointed to two guys. Sat in front of them and they took care of
the rest. Jogged to my bag and into the
tent. Grabbed one of the many volunteers
who were standing at the entrance and he followed me to a chair near the
exit. Dumped my bag. Grabbed the water bottle and towel and rinsed
my feet which had gotten very muddy and full of grass during the jog to the
tent. Apologized to the volunteer for
the shower he got. He laughed and said,
“Good idea. I’ll have to do that next year.”
Put my helmet and cleats on and thanked him for putting the rest back in
the bag. Jogged to bike and put arm
coolers on wrists but didn’t roll them up.
Jogged to the mount line and pulled off to the side to get on. (I don’t have the flying mount thing down
yet.)
Time: 4:53
Bike
After getting on Rio Salado, rolled up the arm coolers. Focused on my watts as others flew by me. Soon I started singing:
“I’ve got my bucket of chickeeeen.
Gonna eat it.
I’ve got my bucket of chickeeeen.
I can ride this way all day.”
(Ok, it almost rhymes…but it worked for me.)
Stayed aero nearly the entire bike ride. (Thanks Al for informing me at IMCDA that
there was no need to get out of the aero position at IMAZ. The months of
stretching and practicing staying aero during all my rides really helped on
race day!) Also, glad that before the
race I read the EN recommendations for approaching bike aid stations. At the second aid station, I grabbed a Perform
bottle which wasn’t opened. Instead of
looking down to open the bottle, I continued to look up while trying to twist
it with my mouth. Right then a man crashed
about 10m ahead of me. He hit the ground
in the middle of the road and didn’t move.
Being alert at the bike aid station probably saved me from crashing into
him.
Just focused on my watts. I had
no idea of my speed or time until the end of the first lap when I saw
1:50. I thought, “Hey, keep this up and
I could break 5:30.” That thought didn’t last long as I had read in previous
race reports that the winds would pick up throughout the day. Decided not to look at my speed or time
again. Played “back and forth” with
many riders until the middle of the second lap when I never saw them again. Around that time on the Beeline, I had my
head down and out of the corner of my eye I saw someone fly by. I thought, “Go for it buddy. If you can keep it up…you da man.” I looked up and saw (only very briefly) Jordan
Rapp’s back who was on his third lap. He
definitely was the “da man” on the bike that day setting a new bike course
record.
Nutrition went well. Perform in
my BTA bottle and water in the Shiv bladder bag. At every aid station I grabbed one or the
other or both. Took gulps of EFS with
water as planned. If I didn’t need any
fluids, I grabbed water and sprayed it over my head, arms, and legs. I stopped
at Bike SN and grabbed another 5oz EFS and the Chamois Butter between the legs was
the BEST. Stretched a little and felt
refreshed. Urinated once during each lap
at the end of the Beeline right before turning right on to E McDowell Rd. (Thank
you to Bruce for his recommendation of standing on the bike to urinate. It worked—three times!) There is an aid station right after that turn
and each time I grabbed a bottle of water and gave myself and bike a bath.
Around mile 50, my left lower back started to ache which soon resolved
with 800mg of Advil.
On the third lap up the Beeline, the winds were such that I felt it was
possible to legally draft while staying aero. I didn’t pass as many people as I
could have but I feel it saved my legs and HR while riding in to that headwind. At the end of the lap, I thought, “Is it over
already?” I kept smiling and was having
fun. I took my feet out of the shoes at the end of Rio Salado before the T2
chute. (At IMCDA, I waited too long to
remove my shoes and nearly crashed into the barrier fence trying to get my feet
out.) I also took my Garmin off the
torpedo mount but didn’t look at my split.
(At IMCDA I forgot the Garmin on the bike and a volunteer from T2 ran back
to the bike to get it while I sat in the tent…ok, at that moment I was happy to
sit and not start running just yet!) I
didn’t know it at the time, but I finished the bike in 5:46, a 52 min PR.
Garmin Summary:
T2
Very helpful volunteers helped me grab my bag. The fluorescent green tape made it easy for
them to find once I yelled my number and green tape. I ran to the tent. Again, there were a gaggle of volunteers
standing by the opening. I grabbed the
first one that made eye contact and asked, “Can you help?” We ran to the chair
closest to the exit. I dumped out my
bag. He started to open my “to go bag”
(thanks again to Al for that recommendation!) but told him I was going to run
with it. He said, “That’s a good
idea.” Socks on, shoes on, and bag in
hand. Gulped down soy choc milk in the
bag – was warm and tasted like hot choc—surprising good. Thanked him for bagging my stuff.
Time: 2:18
Run
Sunscreen applied by volunteers.
Hit the lap button on the Garmin but didn’t look at the time of day or
any splits. Opened to-go bag and put 5oz
bottle EFS in my pocket. About 8 people
passed me within the first 100 meters and many more before the 2 mile mark. But I wasn’t racing them. I was sticking to my execution plan. When someone would pass me, I would say, “No
racing until you can execute.” Garmin was
set to lap pace, HR, time and distance.
The lap pace really helped to keep me slow. (I didn’t look at the total time or distance
until nearly the end of the marathon.) Ran
past the EN tent which was a good reminder to slow down. At the first aid station, I jumped in the
porta potty to urinate (no more than 15s).
But this also helped me to slow down.
(Should have urinated right before getting off the bike since I still
don’t have urinating on the run down yet.)
Executed the nutrition plan well.
Took a swallow of EFS prior to each aid station and walked 30 steps to
get in cups of Perform and water. Took 2
salt tabs at first aid station. At mile
7 or 8, my right hamstring started to twinge.
Took 2 more salt tabs and the twinge soon went away. Then soon after, my right great toe started
to hurt. <span style="c
Comments
Congratulations on a supremely well executed race. A few comments come to mind:
@Al: Thank you for the advice. I agree that my FTP was probably a little low. I just read Coach Patrick's posting about how he has a higher FTP outside compared to inside. I did my FTP testing on the CT so I may have to adjust my FTP a little higher for when I am racing. And I like your thoughts on getting rid of the "suck" from my mind and use "power" and "mastery" instead. With this being my second IM, and hitting the "suck" at mile 11 in my first IM, I was probably too worried about it this time. But now that I have proven to myself that I can execute an IM, I look forward to embracing the feeling o power and mastery. I also just read Dave Tallo's Kona race report where he discusses his mental training. I bought the book, Prime Triathlon, that he suggested and will focus on mental training this OS. PS: It was a pleasure sitting across from you and your wife at the IMAZ team dinner. My wife, Christi said to say hi to you and Cheryl.