Steve West - IMLP 2015 Race Report
It is with great sadness I write this report. The race result was outstanding but it has left me feeling lost and aimless. Last summer before I registered for the race I knew things were different. By fall I had realized I was tired and needed a change so I promised Carole that this would be my last Ironman for a few years. Now that the race is done, the magnitude of the change is becoming clear and that his is my Ironman swan song.
Exec Summary:
12:06:59 33:06 PR (IMLP 2011);
13th of 89 AG (passed 33); 392 OA (passed 712)
Swim: 1:19:17 5:41 PR (IMLP 2013)
Bike: 6:18:41 19:32 PR (IMLP 2011); Passed 15 AG, 419 OA
Run: 4:18:09 (0:20 short of PR); Passed 18 AG, 293 OA
T1: 0:07:07 0:26 PR (IMLP 2013)
T2 0:03:45 2:03 PR (IMLP 2011)
Pre-Race
Wed – Drive over took about 8 hrs and was uneventful. Was really nice to have GroupMe chatter to build the excitement. Arrived and got groceries then unpacked at the condo. Bed by 10PM.
Thurs – Up at 5:30 for a lazy AM, easy 4 mile run at 8, then to Registration at 10:30. Met Derrek Sanks for a recon ride down to Keene at 1:30 and wouldn’t you know I’d get a flat at the same spot I double flatted in 2013! This was the second latex tube I lost in 2 weeks and I have no spare latex to replace it with. Going to use butyl in the rear. Team social and dinner were excellent. Great venue, well attended and was just a really fun time meeting everyone and their spouses.
Fri – Team swim @ 7:30. Finally met up with Shaughn Simmons our Team Captain and many others. Must have been 20+ of us scattered in several groups, mingling and chatting before and after the swim. EN 4 Keys presentation. The rest of the day was spent with Carole shopping and site-seeing. Later tinkering with the bike and setting up gear bags. Massive western omelet @ 5PM.
Sat – easy 2 mile AM run. Bike and gear bag drop-off around 11. Chicken-Pasta-Stir-Fry @ 4. Bed by 8:30.
Race Day – up at 3:30 for PB&J with 650 calorie Mike’s Mix recovery shake. Shower and don race kit. Carole dropped me off @ 4:50 with swim kit, bike/BSN nutrition. Set up bike with computers, pump tires, check chain position, use port-o-potty, add 275 cal Infint to T1 & T2 bags, and head to Team photo. Give BSN bag to Coach P. Head to swim start.
Lots of familiar faces, chat with a few. Finish 275 cal Infint and zip up wetsuit. Head to warmup and fill wetsuit with water to settle and position suit more comfortably. Self-seed midway between 1:10 – 1:20 anticipating a 1:18 swim. Met Patricia R. and had a fun conversation passing the pre-gun time. Al T. was a few rows ahead.
Swim – 1:19:17 (goal range 1:17:30 – 1:21) PR by 5:41
Gun time at 6:30, was entering the water at 6:38. Bumpy rough start with lots of contact. Ignored most of it and tried to stay 5 yards off the cable. Things settled down before the first turn. Found I was swimming next to Patti for most of the 1st lap return leg. Second lap was much quieter but I was further from the cable, like 10+ yards or so. Then ‘bam!’ and I look up…. Friggin kayak in my way! WTF? Girl tells me to move closer to the cable? Really? There must have been a dozen others further out than me but she made me go around her boat… after I rounded the turn 2 another boater pushed me closer, but at least he didn’t hit me…. What the heck is wrong with swimming in clean water 30’ from the cable???
By the end of the swim I had peed 5 times. Once before the gun and 4 times while swimming. Glad I learned to pee without slowing down. Really saved a lot of time.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/846546972
T1 – 7:07 (goal range 6:30 – 7:30) PR by 0:26
On to the strippers and run into T1. Grabbed my bag and aimed for the last open chair near the exit. Volunteer started handing me stuff – towel, shoes, helmet, and jersey w/glasses in pocket. He asked about other items (5 hr energy, armwarmers, gloves) – no to all. Thanked him as he packed wetsuit and other stuff. Run to bike drinking 275 calories Infinit – toss empty in garbage on way. Grab bike, shuffle to mount line – right side. Mount and go, hitting start button on Garmin and Joule.
Bike: 6:18:41 (goal range 6:27 – 6:34) PR by 19:32
Roads were still wet from overnight showers so the quick descent out of T1 was slow and controlled. Once on the flat after Lisa G’s I tried to settle into my EP but was having trouble curbing my enthusiasm. On the hills past the ski jump I was better on power but still not @ 150 (1st gear). Instead I was pushing more like 158-160 (IF .72+). I knew I was over biking the early section when I should have been more conservative but just could not get myself to be disciplined. I kept reminding myself to be patient and my ‘stupid-meter’ said the same thing. Doh! One great thing was to leave my swim ear plugs in for the first hour of the ride. Helped me define my box by blocking out everything else.
Keene-Ausable-Jay was fun! Passing all kinds of people. Was back and forth with John Bayone many times as we commented on the foolish pacing of others.
Started to supplement with water by mile 20. Nutrition on the bike was 26 oz Infinit w/ 275 calories and 400 mg Na+ per hour.
Crossover to Wilmington was uneventful. Near crash at the Hazleton Rd aid station from people doing stupid stuff unexpectedly like cutting you off then slowing down after they got their bottles!
Jason Baldomir was setup with an EN flag in the notch just past Whiteface – was great to see him out there cheering on an otherwise empty section of road. Love it!
By the end of the first lap I knew I had over biked somewhat but thought I was going to be OK. While my conservative and public-self planned on 156 w NP @ IF= 0.71, secretly what I really wanted to ride was 158+ @ IF=0.72 I was riding the ride I really wanted to with the hope that I could pull off the run after.
Stopped at BSN – was shouting my Bib # and got no less than 5 volunteers pointing me further along and my bag was waiting as I came to a stop. Said “3 bottles” as I pulled my empties. One guy handed me my bottles, the other asked about tubes, CO2 and 5 Hr Energy. The exchange was smooth and fast taking only nutrition. I was under way in less than 30 seconds!
The second loop was much quieter and I had the descent all to myself with nobody nearby, allowing me the freedom to choose my line. The odd thing is that on descent 1 I maxed my speed at 51.1 mph but only managed 46.9 on run 2. I was convinced at the time it would have been the other way around. I continued the slipstream passes I had been doing all morning, rarely needing to spike my watts to complete the passes.
Beginning the Crossover from Jay to Wilmington the second time knowing I had pushed the bike harder than was wise and could feel the fatigue, I started to back off just a bit. I still wanted to maintain my general effort but was much more mindful of my time above my goal watts. Partly due to fatigue and partly a conscious effort to be ready to run.
I peed 4 times on the first lap and 3 more times on the second. Was not feeling thirsty or dehydrated. Possibly because I took 4 water bottles on top of the 6x26 oz of planned nutrition. No gut/GI issues so far on the day.
Technical Details:
Segment Time TSS IF NP VI AP HR
Overall 6:18:29 321 0.715 157 1.06 148 138
Lap 1 3:07:48 161 0.719 158 1.07 148 136
Lap 2 3:10:41 160 0.71 156 1.06 147 139
Segment Time IF NP VI AP HR
Climb Out 1 0:30:22 0.728 160 1.06 151 137
Climb Out 2 0:30:32 0.731 161 1.07 150 136
Descent 1 0:13:22 0.61 134 1.43 94 132
Descent 2 0:13:51 0.606 133 1.48 90 131
TT Sect 1 0:59:00 0.722 159 1.04 153 138
TT Sect 2 1:01:33 0.722 159 1.03 153 140
Crossover 1 0:28:44 0.734 161 1.05 154 136
Crossover 2 0:29:07 0.712 157 1.02 153 140
Climb In 1 0:56:14 0.724 159 1.05 152 135
Climb In 2 0:55:50 0.706 155 1.04 150 141
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/846547163
T2: 3:45 (goal range 3:30 – 4:00) PR by 0:26
Up the Bike In ramp, dismount and hand bike to volunteer. Jog to gear bags and tent. Look for last chair by exit. Volunteer sat with me handing me towel, sock, shoe, sock, shoe in that order. Gives me my ‘go’ bag and 275 calorie Infinit and I am off.
Run: 4:18:09 (goal range 3:58 – 4:11) just missed a PR by 20 seconds!
Get shades and bib on as I exit. Drink most of my extra calories as I go. Coach P reminds me to get ice in my bag and work on cooling down. At first I was using the gallon bag for ice. I could put my hands into the bag, wrap it on my wrists or over my head. Several miles later I switched to the quart size bag for ice and liked that much better. Melt water went over the head and down my back. Otherwise the bag was switched between my hands and seemed to do a good job that way.
The first few miles were comfortably easy, HR rose quickly to 148 and leveled off. This was the number I wanted to see. Stopped to pee at mile 3 (39 seconds). Miles 4 to 9.2 were perfect by HR – at or near 148, staying below 152. Using ice at most aid stations in my bag and drinking 2-3 waters every aid station. Decided to walk the top half of Ski Jump hill as a tactical decision preventing the HR spike that it would cause. Stopped to pee again at 9.7 (38 seconds).
First time up Lisa G’s hill I walked less than planned – was feeling the crowd pressure to run. This resulted in the first significant HR spike but didn’t seem to have a lasting effect at the time. Onward and upward thru town and along Mirror Lake Drive still feeling strong and in control although my quads were beginning to complain. Lots of EN mojo on the course and along the way. Love seeing and hearing teammates up thru town. At the turn around I looked at my watch and tried to do some mental math. It looked like if I could hang onto 10 minute miles I would have a 10 minute buffer for a sub 12 hour race – it was entirely possible and I was going to go after it!
My first indication things were going to get rough was just short of mile 17 on the River Road. By this time my quads were screaming and I was starting to argue with myself. That was my first walk – 3:57 Knowing I only had a small buffer I needed to run. Made the turn around and was heading back in. By now I was supplementing with Coke, still drinking 3-4 waters. I had been OK with PowerGels at miles 4, 8, 12 & 16 but knew that was it – my gut started to get queasy.
I was walking again by mile 19.6 – this time 3:50. My sub 12 hour buffer was slipping. Now it seemed like it was only 5 minutes. The Ski Jump hill loomed large at mile 22+ and I did my best running up but gave in when my HR rose from 148 to 153 and felt like it was up over 160, RPE was going thru the roof! I walked 3:50 on the hill then less than a half mile later forced to walk again, this time 3:45 and HR was less than 148 and I hurt all over. The worst part of the walks, including the aid stations was starting again – it was incredibly painful to the quads. Bad enough to make me groan in agony.
When running gets really difficult, my first coping trick is to count. Sometime to 12 or 20, but as it gets harder to continue I shorten the count, down to 10, then 8, sometimes as low as 4. Also when counting gets into single digits I run with my eyes partly to completely closed, opening them just enough, often enough to avoid hazards and collisions. I did a lot of running with squinty/closed eyes in that heat but it kept me moving.
Despite loosing so much time walking I still believed it was possible. And even if it was no longer possible, I was going to push on as if it was. I hated losing the battle with my body and would force myself to start running again over and over. My last walk was up the steep part of the Lisa G hill for 3:20 then push on to the finish.
Total walk time excluding 30-45 seconds at aid stations was 18:56. Those minutes cost me the Rock Star goal of sub 12 hours. The worst part of it was I knew I was on the bubble at the Mirror Lake turn-around. I could see the buffer slipping away over the next hour. I felt that my best efforts to hold on were not enough. Could I have dug deeper? Yes most likely but we all make decisions on how much is too much and on that day, I was doing what I went there to do. Destroying my body was not part of my plan.
The finish was bitter sweet. I set a huge PR of 33 minutes but missed my dream of coming in 11:xx by just over 6 minutes. Laura Becker was my catcher which was very cool and I ended up sitting with Derrek S. and Ed C. for a bit before heading to the massage tent.
Details:
1st Half 2:03:19 HR 148
2nd Half 2:14:47 HR 146
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/846547361
Epilog:
In hindsight, had I known how hot it would get later, I would have been smart to back off the bike a bit. All during the bike I was commenting to teammates that I was going too hard but couldn’t be disciplined enough to back off. My resulting IF=0.715 was just over my public plan and just under my secret plan so I did bike the split I planned. Whether is was too much of a ‘could’ split or not is not clear to me. I was going on the last forecast I saw in the AM which was predicted to be in the upper 70’s, not as hot as it turned out to be.
If it had been a few degrees cooler on the run, I don’t think I would have walked much if at all. It was the heat and humidity that really got to me. I took a risk and paid the price. My cost? Possibly missing my Rack Star goal. Still I am very pleased with my efforts on the day and the fantastic result. I did PR the course, swim, bike, T1 & T2. The only thing I did not PR was the run and I only missed that by 20 seconds!
Interestingly pre-race my AM weight was 154.8 (about 1 lb above the prior 2 days). Then after the race and drinking 16 oz water my weight was 154.6. So in the course of a 12+ hour race on a very hot day I managed to only lose about a pound and that after peeing 14 times between swim, bike & run. My sodium intake is half to a third of most at 400 mg/ hour on the bike and 800 mg total on the run. For calories I replaced less than half my calculated burn and did not have a calorie bonk.
Current post race plans are to canoe 100 miles with Carole in mid-August from Jackman ME down the Moose River to Moosehead Lake then the Penobscot River to Chesuncook Lake and take out at Chesuncook Dam. It’s a trip we did back in 2010 and really like the route.
After that I’ll rum the MDI marathon for the 12th consecutive time. Beyond that, I have no idea….. It’s scary really. For the first time in over 10 years I don’t have anything on the calendar…. But the possibilities are endless.
Comments
Sometimes it's hard to contain ourselves when the crowds are amazing!
Loved meeting you and hearing about you being in Placid in 1980 for the hockey game!
Enjoy the Canoe ride! btw, where you live, it might be fun to try a fat bike for recreation, just sayin'...
Great Race Report! Just awesome! You are a rock star!
the canoe trip sounds pretty cool as well!
Makes me want to go do that trip to Yosemite my hubby and I had been talking about or camping on the San Juan Islands.... There's a lot of fun out there
I'm short on time, still need to read the deets on the race but I have a sec to post something in regards to your opening.
Go ahead and grieve that IM swan song for a couple of weeks but, and you know this, it's not a required distance to have funwith this sport and to keep pushing your self to be a bada$$ in triathlon.
I'm standing down, too, for a couple of years. Last year...lots of training just to stay fit, work on techniques, and to compete with the local hammerfests. This year....2, yes, two whole races. Small and local. Minimal stress on the budget and on the family. Which, downstream, means less stress on me. I have to admit that I've had a recharge over the last 2 years. I'm still a few years away from a big, sexy race and I'm ok with that...now. If you need to vent or commiserate or ask any questions, feel free to contact me.
While IM distance deserves all of the respect that we can give it, allow the diversity of other distances (and other sports) to keep you fresh/sharp and having fun pushing yourself.
C
Steve, first off, I'm so glad I had a chance to spend some time with you, at the dinner and awards. Now, if you are going to "suspend" your IM career, this was a great performance to go out with - 20 seconds short of a PR in all FIVE disciplines! I hope our paths cross again sometime (if you ever want to visit my Colorado stomping grounds, just let me know.)
I'm proud to have had the opportunity to share the course with you on during your swan song. I wish you all the very best for the future. I hope to share another race course with you soon someday
you and I did IMLP back in 2011 together and are at a similar cross roads. I'm building for #4 now (IMMD) and wonder what is next and why...Taking a year off is pretty reasonable for most folks after having done a few of these things.
great job at the execution. Your bike numbers are pretty impressive with being steady.
I agree with what the others have said, it really doesn’t appear that you rode too hard. Say you gave up some watts on the bike and were 5 minutes slower. That means you would have had to run 12 minutes faster to meet your “rockstar” goal. That’s about 30 seconds/mile, a pretty tall order for the heat you saw on that day. You passed 18 people in your AG on the run, that’s AWESOME, and proof that you had a strong marathon. Don’t have any regrets or second guess the way you rode, I think you executed a great race!
Congratulations on the massive PR and the finish! You are a Rock Star! Looking forward to seeing what your next adventure is! Oh…and thanks for teaching us some new vocabulary!
I am on an Ironman break myself, at least for two more years until my daughter goes to college. Then, maybe (?) another. I have to admit is was wishing I was out there racing with you guys while watching this year! We will see - time will tell.
Good luck with whatever you end up doing, and hopefully our paths will cross again!