Chappo's IM New Zealand 2015 Race Report
THE LONG VERSION (SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR DEBRIEF NOTES)
Back in March 2014 I made the decision to sign up for Ironman NZ 2015. A book could be written about the long training journey, but I’ll pick up the story two days out from race day.
Having arrived in Taupo on the Thursday afternoon with my wife Keryn and younger daughter Jenna, we were immediately immersed in the Ironman fever that had taken over the town. The streets and shops were all decked out in M Dot livery and the roads were full of nervous athletes getting in a final workout or testing out last minute bike tweaks.
First job was to check in to registration at the Taupo Domain, take a quick look around the event expo, grab lunch at Victoria’s café, then check in to the Baycrest Lodge 2km along the lakefront from race central. My decision to go with eggs for lunch was immediately vindicated by Keryn coming down with severe stomach problems from the chicken salad she had. As awful as it was for her, I was somewhat relieved it wasn’t me suffering!
Before long it was time to head to the athlete welcome function up at the Taupo Events Centre. On my way there I swung by and picked up Mike Roberts and his wife Anita. Mike’s an Endurance Nation team mate from Florida, an experienced and fast guy known for his pace across all three disciplines as well as being an all round good guy helping out others on the team. We arrived at the function and sat down in a group with a few others, all with their own stories to tell. One was a local lady in her fifties racing her first IM. She’d volunteered at the event many times and decided she might as well give it a go. Another guy was racing his 7th IMNZ, returning every year and getting faster each time.
The atmosphere was electric and I could almost smell the anticipation of over 1,000 athletes counting down to one of the biggest challenges of their lives, something most had trained 6 months or more for. It was then that I resolved not to be intimidated, but to embrace every minute of my experience as a first time Ironman.
Formalities got under way with a local Maori group performing, followed by Mike ‘Voice of Ironman’ Reilly taking the stage. Now Mike Reilly has a bunch on energy and really lifted the atmosphere to yet another level. Reilly called out a number of athletes with special stories, conducted on stage interviews with Pro’s Cameron Brown and Meridith Kessler, and made some comments of his own about Ironman NZ. One statistic was that, outside of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, this race attracts entries from the most number of countries of any in the world. Reilly also named Ironman NZ along with Ironman Lake Placid as his favorite races worldwide after Kona. Perhaps he says that at every race but it was good to hear anyway. This was when it really struck me what a professional job WTC do of creating an amazing the athlete experience. The challenge is huge, yet you feel totally supported by everyone involved the organizers, volunteers and other athletes. This would be reinforced over and over in the coming days.
We rose early on Friday for Jenna’s Ironkids running race. Jenna was super excited to be kitting up in her race kit complete with race number bib. Walking into the race briefing Jenna confided that she was ‘a bit excited and a bit scared’. Very precious and at 8 years old it struck me how she felt exactly the way I knew I would the next day. Ironkids was a first class production. Kiwi legend Sam Wariner got the kids warmed up with a jump jam session, before Mike Reilly called the action. The mass start was something to behold with kids thundering down the first straight before disappearing around the bend and through the inside of the main tent and out the other side, before completing a lap of the Taupo Domain and back into the finish to be called home by Reilly.
With the race done and finishers medal proudly claimed, it was time for a big breakfast and we met up again with Mike and Anita along with another Endurance Nation athlete, Leslie Sedlak and her family. A good chance for us all to meet each other’s support crews – something I would be very grateful for later on.
From there it was back to the hotel, pack my transition bags and head back down to bike check in. Again the athlete experience was top drawer, with volunteers everywhere to help. A volunteer was designated to every person checking in, showing us to our bike rack and walking us through the transition entries and exits, and through the transition tent pointing out where our bags would be waiting on race day. Satisfied I had everything in order I walked back to the hotel for a hot tub, continued hydrating, and topped up on energy bars.
Mum and Dad arrived with my older daughter Ashley that evening and after a quick catch up it was into bed by 9.30. I didn’t sleep that well and was awake at 2am seemingly forever, but as some stage I must have dozed back off until the alarm went at 4.15. I got up, went through my pre-planned EN breakfast routine and left for the 20 minute walk down to the race start.
The morning was cool and as I walked along the lakefront I could feel a light breeze coming at me from the North. There had been ominous forecasts for the big day all week but so far it was dry and the wind was light. Good news for the swim start at least.
Race morning transition set up is always a nervous scene. My plan was to get my bike setup done quickly and get out. That went to plan and just as I was wrapping up, the early morning quiet was abruptly broken by a huge bang as some poor sod blew out a tire. Nervous laughter rippled around transition. Better now than during the race.
Before long I found myself down at the lake front race start area. A Maori war canoe paddled in out of the dark and its 20 warriors came ashore to perform a Haka to lay down the Challenge. In the same way they arrived, then they slipped back into the canoe and made their way back out across the lake, leaving nothing left but to get the race started. The cannon fired and the pros were off.
Fifteen minutes later I had made my way into the water and positioned myself at the far end of the start line, furthest away from shore. The swim course makes its way along the lake front from right to left, so my position had me on the inside line for the first turn buoy which would be a right hand turn nearly 2km away. When the Cannon fired, I put my head down in the clear water and just started turning the arms over. I was very pleased after 400m to find that my start position had worked out so well. I was in mostly clear water and had avoided any pile ups or punches while keeping the heart rate down and stroke smooth. Some 30 minutes later I reached the first turn buoy in good shape, made the turn away from shore for the short leg to the second buoy and then another right turn to head back home. Immediately on the return I could feel a small chop in the water against my head, consistent with the breeze I’d felt walking to the race earlier that morning. Not major though and I guessed it would decrease as we got closer to the more sheltered start/finish end of the swim course.
On that return leg I began to feel the cold. Only slightly at first but progressively I got colder and colder to the point where I was getting a little concerned. I pushed on figuring I needed to keep the body moving and get out of the water as soon as possible. Making it to the final turn buoy I made the final right turn for the 200m back towards shore for the swim finish. I was pleased to see the clock at 1.10 as I exited the water. This was at the faster end of my expectations but I was even more pleased to be out of the water with fears of freezing in the lake now averted.
It’s a long run up to transition. I felt I was smooth and consistent with the minimum of fuss in the transition tent. Just put my cycle jersey on over the top of the underarmour I was already wearing, grabbed my bag of gels, slapped on two handfuls of Vaseline and made my way out to grab my bike where my shoes were already attached, and went. The clock shows that took me 8 minutes, plenty of others did the same in 4-5 minutes and I really don’t know what took me so long. I suspect the cold completely distorted my senses during this time.
Pre-race I had thought a lot about safety on the bike and how taking risks wasn’t worth it. This immediately paid off as I made the decision to delay jumping on my bike at the mount line with a bunch of others in front of me. Still delirious from the swim, two riders in front of me started stumbling and falling across the narrow bike exit lane. I made my way on foot around them and then cruised out.
My plan involved taking the first small section of the bike along the lake front nice and easy, take on some fluid, and down my first gel. I got this done and took a body stocktake. I was really cold, like shivering hard. My arms were very tense, jaw shaking, and even my legs were tense. I managed a wave as I passed my family outside our hotel, and hoped the first climb up the Napier Road would help warm me up. It didn’t. To make matters worse, the air temp was still cool, light rain had started, and I was now heading back down the long fast decent increasing the wind chill factor. Again safety was a concern for me as I knew my body was so tense and I was not confident my bike handling would be 100% if the unexpected happened. Meanwhile, my heart rate was sitting around 125, that’s mid zone 2 for me, I wanted it back down under 120 at this stage of the bike.
This was a tough time. There was nothing I could do except push forward and hope things improved. Slowly they did, the light rain stopped, the air temp gradually increased and I slowly thawed out. At the first Reporora turnaround at about the 45km mark I was at last feeling ok. At that point I felt a sense of relief that I had recovered and could get on with my race with some confidence again. I had managed to stick to my nutrition plan during that period, but did wonder how much of a toll the episode had taken.
I don’t remember much of the return leg to Taupo, it was uneventful, but my HR was still stuck on 125 and I hoped I wouldn’t pay for that later in the day. Descending down back into town the sun had come out and the crowds were in force. A very cool feeling to be time trialing it back along the lake front then back onto the Napier Road climb for the second time. By this stage quite a crowd had gathered on the hill and this is one of my best memories from the day. Crowds yelling their support, waving signs and cow bells, and running alongside as we pushed up the hill towards Crown Road.
I collected my lap 1 wristband on Crown Road and continued on. Some 2 or 3km further on two cyclists passed me, one called to the other that they didn’t have a wristband and needed to go back. He looked confused and I don’t know how he had missed it, but sure if enough he turned around and made the agonizing journey back to pick up a wristband. I thought to myself that if it was me, I probably wouldn’t have gone back. Something to ponder.
As the outward leg of lap 2 continued, a headwind developed and then strengthened. I rode conservatively trying to keep the HR under control rather than fight the wind. I saw Mike Roberts coming back the other way looking strong, and a bit further on I saw my training buddy Mark Thompson. Mark is a quicker swimmer and runner than me, but I thought I would be at least as fast as him on the bike. When we crossed paths I figured I must be within 5 minutes of the turnaround but that turned out to be 20 minutes. I was a bit discouraged at how far behind Mark I was, but resolved to stick to my race plan. As I turned I could feel the wind at my back and set off for the 45km final push to the bike finish.
Near the end of the bike I found myself in a small train that included EN team mate Leslie Sedlak. It was awesome to see the red EN kit and a boost to have a comrade out on the course. We cruised down the hill back into town and swung into T2. I made a quick change to get rid of the underarmour, and was off onto the run. Leslie was right there too. I felt confident knowing my nutrition plan had been perfectly executed so far, but disappointed in my 6.21 bike split. I really felt I should have been good for 6.10 or better, and at a lower average HR.
My Garmin Forerunner 15 was slow to get a GPS fix and until it did, I couldn’t see my HR either. After around half a mile the Garmin kicked in and I saw my HR at 130+. I pulled back in an effort to get it down under 125 but just couldn’t seem to do it. Although I went a little faster than planned in the first 3 or 4 km, it would have been worse if I hadn’t had my EN plan at all. Lap 1 of 3 went well and my legs loosened up nicely after the bike, I felt strong and steady. Nutrition continued to go down as planned.
The crowds on the run were amazing. Support came from everyone along the course. It was a constant challenge on the first lap to keep the pace under control amidst all the encouragement. On lap 2 it balanced out nicely though. By the time I was on return leg of lap 2, a head wind had really picked up. I held my visor in my hand and turned my race number belt behind me. My saltstick caps were in a snaplock bag in my jersey pocket. The wind grabbed the bag and flew it across the road and I could see the remaining capsules strewn across the road. I wasn’t concerned as I knew my nutrition had gone well so far and heat wasn’t an issue.
I turned for the start of lap 3, still mindful of delaying the onset of the suck for as long as possible. With the wind now at my back I felt good heading back along the lake front. I knew I was slowing a little, but wasn’t really hurting yet. I crossed Mark Thompson coming the other way and could see he was hurting and down to a walk. I didn’t like seeing him in that state but it did justify my decision not be tempted to chase him earlier on the bike. The middle part of each lap contains a series of hills, some short and sharp others a bit longer. This was when I really noticed my km splits start to slow, and I knew I was getting a little lazy walking for too long through aid stations. I got my hydration and gels down though and kept moving. At the final turnaround I was at the low point of my run. I wouldn’t call it the suck because I wasn’t hurting, but I was slowing and on reflection I think I lost a bit of concentration. Despite this, I continued to pass other runners and was looking for the letter “K” on the calves of those I went by.
After collecting the third run wristband at the final turn, I knew the finish was within my grasp, just 7km to go. By now the wind was ferocious and the rain had resumed. Many runners were in ponchos, but they were the ones a lap to two behind me, no need for me to put on a parachute at this stage.
The light was dimming, the wind was in my face, and the rain started driving hard. This is what I had been ready for all week. My systems all seemed to come back on line and I felt my stride lengthen and turnover quicken.
I will never forget the thrill of that last 7k, feeling so good, the elation carrying me through. I had expected to be in agony, but instead I felt fresh and light on my feet, relishing the cold rain on my face. As I got closer, I just kept going faster. With 3km to go I finally knew I could race with reckless abandon and let loose. Rounding the last few bends into town, through the crowds lining final mile, and onto the waterlogged red carpet, high fives to my family down the finishing chute, and called in by Mike Reilly.
You are an Ironman!
Inside that finishing tent was incredible. Happy athletes everywhere and amazing volunteers looking after your every need. Later while on the massage table, I realized I didn’t know my finishing time, and I had no idea how long my marathon had taken. I hadn’t stopped my Garmin at the finish and was too tired to scroll through the screens to check. I did see the time on a clock and at 7.20pm I was surprised that maybe, just maybe, I had gone under 12 hours. This was confirmed later and topped off an amazing day. I never imagined going under 12. I thought 12.15 was possible if everything went perfectly, and realistically had 12.30 in mind as the time I wanted to beat.
The training, encouragement and race execution planning I gained through EN is what got me through my first IM. I finished at the midpoint of my AG and bit above that in the overall mens. A good result, but something I will be looking to improve on next time. Yes, there will be a next time!
Chris Chapman.
THE DEBRIEF NOTES
Overall I am very happy with the execution and the outcome. A fair reflection on my training and planning.
Swim and Run were within the range of expectations for time I had set for ‘good conditions’. Bike was a little slower than expected. The bike and run were not raced in ‘good conditions’ and need to keep that in mind.
My planning was good. My execution was 80%. My nutrition plan worked.
Pre Race: Get the bike checked properly one month out. Avoid unnecessary pre-race worry.
Nutrition: Perfect. Find a better container for the SaltStick caps. Consider more sugar or caffeine to keep the concentration up on the run.
Swim 1.10: Need a solution to the cold, especially for long course. Neoprene cap at the least. Need to seriously consider training strategy this off season. My head understands the ROI argument. But on race day I will never enjoy coming out of the water 5 or 10 minutes down on my AG rivals. I was happy with my swim on the day, finishing at the upper end of my expectations for where my swim is currently at.
Bike 6.21: A little confused about the higher than expected HR. All day I did not quite feel like I had my cycling legs and my bike split was 5-10 min slower than expectations. Until recently I thought cycling was developing into a strength, now I am not so sure. How much of a factor was that first hour when I was bitterly cold? On the other hand maybe it’s just a sign of good execution that paid off on the run. Need to go over this with the coaches.
Run 4.12: Despite best intentions I set off a little fast. I did well to pull this back to avoid too much damage. I need to consider running by Pace instead of HR.
I had a slow patch at 25km to 35km. I wasn’t really hurting, just sort of lost energy. Need to be prepared to concentrate more in this zone to start pushing instead of slowing. Finished strongly and feeling good.
Back in March 2014 I made the decision to sign up for Ironman NZ 2015. A book could be written about the long training journey, but I’ll pick up the story two days out from race day.
Having arrived in Taupo on the Thursday afternoon with my wife Keryn and younger daughter Jenna, we were immediately immersed in the Ironman fever that had taken over the town. The streets and shops were all decked out in M Dot livery and the roads were full of nervous athletes getting in a final workout or testing out last minute bike tweaks.
First job was to check in to registration at the Taupo Domain, take a quick look around the event expo, grab lunch at Victoria’s café, then check in to the Baycrest Lodge 2km along the lakefront from race central. My decision to go with eggs for lunch was immediately vindicated by Keryn coming down with severe stomach problems from the chicken salad she had. As awful as it was for her, I was somewhat relieved it wasn’t me suffering!
Before long it was time to head to the athlete welcome function up at the Taupo Events Centre. On my way there I swung by and picked up Mike Roberts and his wife Anita. Mike’s an Endurance Nation team mate from Florida, an experienced and fast guy known for his pace across all three disciplines as well as being an all round good guy helping out others on the team. We arrived at the function and sat down in a group with a few others, all with their own stories to tell. One was a local lady in her fifties racing her first IM. She’d volunteered at the event many times and decided she might as well give it a go. Another guy was racing his 7th IMNZ, returning every year and getting faster each time.
The atmosphere was electric and I could almost smell the anticipation of over 1,000 athletes counting down to one of the biggest challenges of their lives, something most had trained 6 months or more for. It was then that I resolved not to be intimidated, but to embrace every minute of my experience as a first time Ironman.
Formalities got under way with a local Maori group performing, followed by Mike ‘Voice of Ironman’ Reilly taking the stage. Now Mike Reilly has a bunch on energy and really lifted the atmosphere to yet another level. Reilly called out a number of athletes with special stories, conducted on stage interviews with Pro’s Cameron Brown and Meridith Kessler, and made some comments of his own about Ironman NZ. One statistic was that, outside of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, this race attracts entries from the most number of countries of any in the world. Reilly also named Ironman NZ along with Ironman Lake Placid as his favorite races worldwide after Kona. Perhaps he says that at every race but it was good to hear anyway. This was when it really struck me what a professional job WTC do of creating an amazing the athlete experience. The challenge is huge, yet you feel totally supported by everyone involved the organizers, volunteers and other athletes. This would be reinforced over and over in the coming days.
We rose early on Friday for Jenna’s Ironkids running race. Jenna was super excited to be kitting up in her race kit complete with race number bib. Walking into the race briefing Jenna confided that she was ‘a bit excited and a bit scared’. Very precious and at 8 years old it struck me how she felt exactly the way I knew I would the next day. Ironkids was a first class production. Kiwi legend Sam Wariner got the kids warmed up with a jump jam session, before Mike Reilly called the action. The mass start was something to behold with kids thundering down the first straight before disappearing around the bend and through the inside of the main tent and out the other side, before completing a lap of the Taupo Domain and back into the finish to be called home by Reilly.
With the race done and finishers medal proudly claimed, it was time for a big breakfast and we met up again with Mike and Anita along with another Endurance Nation athlete, Leslie Sedlak and her family. A good chance for us all to meet each other’s support crews – something I would be very grateful for later on.
From there it was back to the hotel, pack my transition bags and head back down to bike check in. Again the athlete experience was top drawer, with volunteers everywhere to help. A volunteer was designated to every person checking in, showing us to our bike rack and walking us through the transition entries and exits, and through the transition tent pointing out where our bags would be waiting on race day. Satisfied I had everything in order I walked back to the hotel for a hot tub, continued hydrating, and topped up on energy bars.
Mum and Dad arrived with my older daughter Ashley that evening and after a quick catch up it was into bed by 9.30. I didn’t sleep that well and was awake at 2am seemingly forever, but as some stage I must have dozed back off until the alarm went at 4.15. I got up, went through my pre-planned EN breakfast routine and left for the 20 minute walk down to the race start.
The morning was cool and as I walked along the lakefront I could feel a light breeze coming at me from the North. There had been ominous forecasts for the big day all week but so far it was dry and the wind was light. Good news for the swim start at least.
Race morning transition set up is always a nervous scene. My plan was to get my bike setup done quickly and get out. That went to plan and just as I was wrapping up, the early morning quiet was abruptly broken by a huge bang as some poor sod blew out a tire. Nervous laughter rippled around transition. Better now than during the race.
Before long I found myself down at the lake front race start area. A Maori war canoe paddled in out of the dark and its 20 warriors came ashore to perform a Haka to lay down the Challenge. In the same way they arrived, then they slipped back into the canoe and made their way back out across the lake, leaving nothing left but to get the race started. The cannon fired and the pros were off.
Fifteen minutes later I had made my way into the water and positioned myself at the far end of the start line, furthest away from shore. The swim course makes its way along the lake front from right to left, so my position had me on the inside line for the first turn buoy which would be a right hand turn nearly 2km away. When the Cannon fired, I put my head down in the clear water and just started turning the arms over. I was very pleased after 400m to find that my start position had worked out so well. I was in mostly clear water and had avoided any pile ups or punches while keeping the heart rate down and stroke smooth. Some 30 minutes later I reached the first turn buoy in good shape, made the turn away from shore for the short leg to the second buoy and then another right turn to head back home. Immediately on the return I could feel a small chop in the water against my head, consistent with the breeze I’d felt walking to the race earlier that morning. Not major though and I guessed it would decrease as we got closer to the more sheltered start/finish end of the swim course.
On that return leg I began to feel the cold. Only slightly at first but progressively I got colder and colder to the point where I was getting a little concerned. I pushed on figuring I needed to keep the body moving and get out of the water as soon as possible. Making it to the final turn buoy I made the final right turn for the 200m back towards shore for the swim finish. I was pleased to see the clock at 1.10 as I exited the water. This was at the faster end of my expectations but I was even more pleased to be out of the water with fears of freezing in the lake now averted.
It’s a long run up to transition. I felt I was smooth and consistent with the minimum of fuss in the transition tent. Just put my cycle jersey on over the top of the underarmour I was already wearing, grabbed my bag of gels, slapped on two handfuls of Vaseline and made my way out to grab my bike where my shoes were already attached, and went. The clock shows that took me 8 minutes, plenty of others did the same in 4-5 minutes and I really don’t know what took me so long. I suspect the cold completely distorted my senses during this time.
Pre-race I had thought a lot about safety on the bike and how taking risks wasn’t worth it. This immediately paid off as I made the decision to delay jumping on my bike at the mount line with a bunch of others in front of me. Still delirious from the swim, two riders in front of me started stumbling and falling across the narrow bike exit lane. I made my way on foot around them and then cruised out.
My plan involved taking the first small section of the bike along the lake front nice and easy, take on some fluid, and down my first gel. I got this done and took a body stocktake. I was really cold, like shivering hard. My arms were very tense, jaw shaking, and even my legs were tense. I managed a wave as I passed my family outside our hotel, and hoped the first climb up the Napier Road would help warm me up. It didn’t. To make matters worse, the air temp was still cool, light rain had started, and I was now heading back down the long fast decent increasing the wind chill factor. Again safety was a concern for me as I knew my body was so tense and I was not confident my bike handling would be 100% if the unexpected happened. Meanwhile, my heart rate was sitting around 125, that’s mid zone 2 for me, I wanted it back down under 120 at this stage of the bike.
This was a tough time. There was nothing I could do except push forward and hope things improved. Slowly they did, the light rain stopped, the air temp gradually increased and I slowly thawed out. At the first Reporora turnaround at about the 45km mark I was at last feeling ok. At that point I felt a sense of relief that I had recovered and could get on with my race with some confidence again. I had managed to stick to my nutrition plan during that period, but did wonder how much of a toll the episode had taken.
I don’t remember much of the return leg to Taupo, it was uneventful, but my HR was still stuck on 125 and I hoped I wouldn’t pay for that later in the day. Descending down back into town the sun had come out and the crowds were in force. A very cool feeling to be time trialing it back along the lake front then back onto the Napier Road climb for the second time. By this stage quite a crowd had gathered on the hill and this is one of my best memories from the day. Crowds yelling their support, waving signs and cow bells, and running alongside as we pushed up the hill towards Crown Road.
I collected my lap 1 wristband on Crown Road and continued on. Some 2 or 3km further on two cyclists passed me, one called to the other that they didn’t have a wristband and needed to go back. He looked confused and I don’t know how he had missed it, but sure if enough he turned around and made the agonizing journey back to pick up a wristband. I thought to myself that if it was me, I probably wouldn’t have gone back. Something to ponder.
As the outward leg of lap 2 continued, a headwind developed and then strengthened. I rode conservatively trying to keep the HR under control rather than fight the wind. I saw Mike Roberts coming back the other way looking strong, and a bit further on I saw my training buddy Mark Thompson. Mark is a quicker swimmer and runner than me, but I thought I would be at least as fast as him on the bike. When we crossed paths I figured I must be within 5 minutes of the turnaround but that turned out to be 20 minutes. I was a bit discouraged at how far behind Mark I was, but resolved to stick to my race plan. As I turned I could feel the wind at my back and set off for the 45km final push to the bike finish.
Near the end of the bike I found myself in a small train that included EN team mate Leslie Sedlak. It was awesome to see the red EN kit and a boost to have a comrade out on the course. We cruised down the hill back into town and swung into T2. I made a quick change to get rid of the underarmour, and was off onto the run. Leslie was right there too. I felt confident knowing my nutrition plan had been perfectly executed so far, but disappointed in my 6.21 bike split. I really felt I should have been good for 6.10 or better, and at a lower average HR.
My Garmin Forerunner 15 was slow to get a GPS fix and until it did, I couldn’t see my HR either. After around half a mile the Garmin kicked in and I saw my HR at 130+. I pulled back in an effort to get it down under 125 but just couldn’t seem to do it. Although I went a little faster than planned in the first 3 or 4 km, it would have been worse if I hadn’t had my EN plan at all. Lap 1 of 3 went well and my legs loosened up nicely after the bike, I felt strong and steady. Nutrition continued to go down as planned.
The crowds on the run were amazing. Support came from everyone along the course. It was a constant challenge on the first lap to keep the pace under control amidst all the encouragement. On lap 2 it balanced out nicely though. By the time I was on return leg of lap 2, a head wind had really picked up. I held my visor in my hand and turned my race number belt behind me. My saltstick caps were in a snaplock bag in my jersey pocket. The wind grabbed the bag and flew it across the road and I could see the remaining capsules strewn across the road. I wasn’t concerned as I knew my nutrition had gone well so far and heat wasn’t an issue.
I turned for the start of lap 3, still mindful of delaying the onset of the suck for as long as possible. With the wind now at my back I felt good heading back along the lake front. I knew I was slowing a little, but wasn’t really hurting yet. I crossed Mark Thompson coming the other way and could see he was hurting and down to a walk. I didn’t like seeing him in that state but it did justify my decision not be tempted to chase him earlier on the bike. The middle part of each lap contains a series of hills, some short and sharp others a bit longer. This was when I really noticed my km splits start to slow, and I knew I was getting a little lazy walking for too long through aid stations. I got my hydration and gels down though and kept moving. At the final turnaround I was at the low point of my run. I wouldn’t call it the suck because I wasn’t hurting, but I was slowing and on reflection I think I lost a bit of concentration. Despite this, I continued to pass other runners and was looking for the letter “K” on the calves of those I went by.
After collecting the third run wristband at the final turn, I knew the finish was within my grasp, just 7km to go. By now the wind was ferocious and the rain had resumed. Many runners were in ponchos, but they were the ones a lap to two behind me, no need for me to put on a parachute at this stage.
The light was dimming, the wind was in my face, and the rain started driving hard. This is what I had been ready for all week. My systems all seemed to come back on line and I felt my stride lengthen and turnover quicken.
I will never forget the thrill of that last 7k, feeling so good, the elation carrying me through. I had expected to be in agony, but instead I felt fresh and light on my feet, relishing the cold rain on my face. As I got closer, I just kept going faster. With 3km to go I finally knew I could race with reckless abandon and let loose. Rounding the last few bends into town, through the crowds lining final mile, and onto the waterlogged red carpet, high fives to my family down the finishing chute, and called in by Mike Reilly.
You are an Ironman!
Inside that finishing tent was incredible. Happy athletes everywhere and amazing volunteers looking after your every need. Later while on the massage table, I realized I didn’t know my finishing time, and I had no idea how long my marathon had taken. I hadn’t stopped my Garmin at the finish and was too tired to scroll through the screens to check. I did see the time on a clock and at 7.20pm I was surprised that maybe, just maybe, I had gone under 12 hours. This was confirmed later and topped off an amazing day. I never imagined going under 12. I thought 12.15 was possible if everything went perfectly, and realistically had 12.30 in mind as the time I wanted to beat.
The training, encouragement and race execution planning I gained through EN is what got me through my first IM. I finished at the midpoint of my AG and bit above that in the overall mens. A good result, but something I will be looking to improve on next time. Yes, there will be a next time!
Chris Chapman.
THE DEBRIEF NOTES
Overall I am very happy with the execution and the outcome. A fair reflection on my training and planning.
Swim and Run were within the range of expectations for time I had set for ‘good conditions’. Bike was a little slower than expected. The bike and run were not raced in ‘good conditions’ and need to keep that in mind.
My planning was good. My execution was 80%. My nutrition plan worked.
Pre Race: Get the bike checked properly one month out. Avoid unnecessary pre-race worry.
Nutrition: Perfect. Find a better container for the SaltStick caps. Consider more sugar or caffeine to keep the concentration up on the run.
Swim 1.10: Need a solution to the cold, especially for long course. Neoprene cap at the least. Need to seriously consider training strategy this off season. My head understands the ROI argument. But on race day I will never enjoy coming out of the water 5 or 10 minutes down on my AG rivals. I was happy with my swim on the day, finishing at the upper end of my expectations for where my swim is currently at.
Bike 6.21: A little confused about the higher than expected HR. All day I did not quite feel like I had my cycling legs and my bike split was 5-10 min slower than expectations. Until recently I thought cycling was developing into a strength, now I am not so sure. How much of a factor was that first hour when I was bitterly cold? On the other hand maybe it’s just a sign of good execution that paid off on the run. Need to go over this with the coaches.
Run 4.12: Despite best intentions I set off a little fast. I did well to pull this back to avoid too much damage. I need to consider running by Pace instead of HR.
I had a slow patch at 25km to 35km. I wasn’t really hurting, just sort of lost energy. Need to be prepared to concentrate more in this zone to start pushing instead of slowing. Finished strongly and feeling good.
0
Comments
Bike https://www.strava.com/activities/264579609
Run https://www.strava.com/activities/265583170
Congrats on an awesome day, and again, loved the report!
P.S. I can believe what you said about the popularity of IMNZ...it's definitely on my bucket list
What a great report on an incredible day. The fact that you were able to show up for your first IM, deal with all the obstacles the day threw at us, and come out the other end with a great time and positive attitude is a great testament to you. At some IMs, you get hours of just plain racing, where you just bike or run for hours on end, not really having to address and solve issues. On this day, however, the issues were constant, as you always had to figure out a way to solve the cold, the rain, the wind, the bumps, the hills, the stronger winds, then more rain. There were no breaks, mentally or physically. Meredith Kessler won the women's title, but described the conditions as "just brutal." In short, this was a very difficult race to manage and, frankly, it beat me like a drum. I went something like 11:39 on my first IM at the fast IM Florida, in perfect conditions, with near perfect execution. What you did last Saturday was much faster, far more impressive. Just keep identifying the areas to improve (all 3 disciplines + the two TAs), chip away at those opportunities workout by workout, and you will find yourself in 10 hour territory before you know.
It was great training and racing with you, even better to meet you and your family in person and share this incredible experience. Oh, and thanks for sharing your great country with us.
Mike
Congrats on your sub 12 finish in your first IM. As I am reading your report, it brought back many memories to my first IM last year when in the first 45 min on the bike I was shivering, jaw clenching, HR was higher than I wanted,... Congrats on keeping calm, sticking to your plan and overcoming difficulties that arose on race day. Well done. Best of luck during the remainder of your season.
Next race for me is ITU Auckland Olympic distance next week. Feeling very grateful to have such a great selection of races on my doorstep. After all the patience and discipline over the past three months, I'm looking forward to cutting loose! Work works!
Congratulations Chris, you are an Ironman! It was great following all your work on Strava leading up to the race. Sounds like the conditions on the day were challenging. You obviously executed very well and finished strong! Way to get it done. Keep up the great work!
From my own experience my HR on the bike in a triathlon is always 4-6 beats higher than in training where I haven't swam beforehand. No matter how hard I try to get it down or take it easy it never gets to where it has been in training. Most people see a similar bump in HR in varying degrees.