Rich Stanbaugh 2015 IMMT Race Report
2015 IMMT Race Report
Results: 11:44:56, PR & 7:44 improvement over IMMT 2014, 64th of 334 (improved from 91 of 302) in Men’s 45-59
Swim: 1:19:59, Fresh Water PR & 0:26 improvement over IMMT 2014,
Bike: 5:32:42, PR & 15:31 improvement over IMMT 2014,
Run: 4:42:47
Arrived Wednesday after 12 hours in the car; that is a long drive for me. Stayed at Homewood Suites – same as last year. I find this to be super convenient, located right at the top of the gondola.
I put on the optimized chain and did a ride with Anna up Lac Superior to shake our bikes out and to help her dispel the fear she had of that climb after Coach P’s pre-race briefing J. We had a short swim and rode the run course Friday. My hamstring was pretty stiff after the drive and when combined with family distractions, I did not do any running prior to the race. On the net, this worked out, because after the final bike shake out on Friday, my legs felt really good (there were questionable on arrival).
I waited until Saturday to pack my bags. Partially distraction, but largely waiting to see how the weather was going to shake out. I Planned 55º – 80º and reality was turning into 60º+ - 90ºs. I swapped all my kit for my hot-weather gear.
Nutrition leading up to the race was good (after the drive), beet loading was solid. I brought the rice cooker, cooked my race nutrition and had rice, lentils and veggies on Saturday. I really like having the rice cooker at the race. I really pushed the hydration because it was clear that race day was going to be hot.
Race morning: Up at 3:45 feeling rested. I think I had a pretty restful night relative to my previous 4 IMs. Rice cakes, beet juice, scratch and kind bars worth about 800 calories.
Swim: Goal was 1:20 – actual 1:19:59, 205th out of the water in AG. I’ve neglected my swimming this year. The most honest answer why is that I hate the pool and the drive to the lake takes too long. I invested in a Vasa trainer, which I looked at at for a couple months, but once I started using it, the results were immediate. There was a lot of contact in the first 20% of the race (laps set at 750m), but I found some feet and swam at 1:42/100yds, It calmed after that, but was pretty bumpy between the turns. Laps 2 & 3 were at 1:50 & 1:51/100yds. After the turn, a guy kicked me in the leg (of course, right in the thigh with the sore hamstring) and I had to work a cramp out. Luckily, it released quickly and my last two laps were 1:53 & 1:54/100 yds.
T1: 6:27 was not bad. I did take the team’s advice and use the wetsuit strippers. I had two rice cakes that did not fit on my bike that I shoved into the pockets on my tri shirt. I used a rubber band to hold my shoes together in the T1 bag (had the idea while watching the performers at the banquet – they had balls in their hands and I noticed a string connected to the ball so they wouldn’t drop it). This was a nifty trick that allowed me to run to my bike and with my bike with my shoes in one hand and no risk of dripping a shoe. At the bike mount, I pulled the shoes and broke the rubber band and no delay.
Bike: Goal was 190 NP and adjust. Best Bike Split predicted 5:30. Actual NP 186w and 5:32:42, 75th off the bike in AG. None of my electronics were working right on the bike. My Garmin 500 was locked on a screen (malfunctioning button) and my 920 was stuck in some strange tri-mode state where I couldn’t remember how to get to the bike screens. I decided to reset both devices, eat a rice cake and deal with it after calming down a little. After resetting, I was able to get the 500 to a page that had power and NP. I left it there for the first 50% of the ride. I missed some of the data that I use for mid-course adjustments, but was afraid of having it become non-functional.
I finished Lap 1 at 194w NP. The wind was picking up and it was getting hot. I was super hydrated – must have pee’d 8 times that first loop. Salt was on target, mouth wasn’t’ dry, I just had to go. So I did. The RPE was starting to feel wrong.
I was not able to get my HR down (after I could measure it) for the first hour+. I was starting to be concerned about the run so I dropped my NP target to 180. I rode the second loop at actual NP 179. HR fell from 157/8 to 153/4 which is right where it should have been in that temp. Wind was material on this loop and my Garmin was reading 93º+ with the heat coming off the road. Continued to eat and hydrate and felt good.
I made the wrong gearing choice for this race. Last year was 53/39 up front and 11-28 in the back. This year was 50/34 up front and 12-28 in the back. The 50:12 combination spins out for me at about 34 mph / 100rpm. This was a bad plan for IMMT. My VI on the flats & small climbs was ≈1.03. my VI for the ride was ≈ 1.09. Part of this was by design with my plan to push over hills, but I spent a cumulative 25 minutes not pedaling. I needed more gears.
My bike split was very close to the plan in terms of results and execution (apart from the gearing) and I felt good. TSS was 292 based on FTP 255w (used 260w for planning purposes).
Bike nutrition: 11x20oz Skratch (1,100 cal, 3,960 mg Na) + 5xSaltStick w/ caffein (900 mg na) + 5xRice cakes (750 cal, 1,000 mg Na) = 1,850 cal ÷ 5.5 hrs = 336 cal / hour - slightly over plan of 280-325 cal per hour; .=5,860 mg Na ÷ 5.5 hrs = 1,065 mg Na / hr.
T2: 3:01 included some extra care of my feet, washing salt out of my eyes and a toilette break.
Run: Goal was 4 hours, revised to 4:15 with the heat. Actual 4:42:47 65th in AG. My HR fell to 152/3 almost immediately. My pace settled in around 9:20/mile. I was drinking ≈ 30-40oz/hr. I cleared the first 3 miles and pace dropped to 9:12-9:15 and HR remained flat. I was using the plastic bag trick and was getting sprayed to stay cool. It was just working.
And then it wasn’t. First half: 2:07, Second Half 2:41.
My most honest answer is that lack of running/race experience let me beat myself on this race. I’m pissed – but I am OK with that because I know I can fix it.
What Happened (as it seemed)? My hamstring got really tight. This caused my stride to get really poor. Things generally hurt worse than I’ve had them hurt while running. It was super hot. My drink mix got soaked (and ruined) by the hose so I had to start the Gatorade. I carry Tylenol (ma or may not help) but it was also dissolved form the hose. Moved to walk-run as I deteriorated and HR dropped – never recovered it. Tried cutting Gatorade with water, but am pretty sure my calories were way off. Together with cokes, I had too many calories. This made my stomach bad and lead to dehydration. I chucked up 3x from about mile 15 onwards. I tried everything I could think of to go harder… but didn’t. Ended up on a table with an IV wondering what happened..
Run Nutrition: 3x20oz Skratch (480 cal/hr, 720 mg NA/hr mg Na) + 1xSaltStick w/ caffein /hr (190 mg na) + 6x4oz Gatorade + 6x4oz coke / hr (440 cal/hr, 580 mg NA /hr). 440 cals /nr is >> than the planned 250 cal / hr. 850 mg Hg /hr is much less than planned.
What Really Happened (not in order)?
|
Issue |
Response |
Lesson Learned |
|
Nutrition got soaked/ruined. Lost one water bottle off fuel belt. |
I tried to focus on running and I worried about race times. |
This was a critical issue. Resolving it should have been #1 priority |
|
Gatorade wasn’t sitting well with me |
Chucked up 3x. Tried watering it down… too little too late |
Must prioritize watering and feeding the body. I added too many calories Or it will slow and stop and you will get an IV after the race. |
|
Thinking wasn’t clear |
Creative bad decision making |
Better recognition and reaction. Planned check points. |
|
Hamstring went wonky leading to hip pain. Tylenol was soaked. |
I let the suffering become bigger than it really was |
Stay in the box and control what I can. I could have stopped and stretched. Only think about things I can control. |
|
Things started going bad, HR plummeted, too much walking… |
Tried to push harder |
When things are going south, it happens in a hurry. If they do start deteriorating, take assertive corrective action. Even if it means a short stop to fix things. A 5-minute regroup could have saved me 25 minutes in this race. Things go bad faster in the heat! |
|
Race time was slipping… I started getting pissed |
I tried to go harder |
Stay in the box. Prioritize. Work the facts, not the goals. |
|
Everything really hurt – more than it has hurt before during IM run. |
Tried the Tylenol – water got it. Tried replaying Iron Wars in my head… just made me hotter. |
I have got to learn how to suffer more effectively |
Ultimately – the hydration/nutrition breakdown caused the slowing.
What Now?
I’m closer. I can smell < 10 hours. This race was a tough race and I was close. A couple mental mistakes added 40ish minutes to the last two hours.
I registered for CHOO yesterday.
Time to put a plan in place to go do better!
EN – At times it looked like an EN-Sponsored event… there were jersey’s all over the course. The team was super supportive and I really enjoyed seeing everyone. Looking at the results on the EN Team Tracker… this team totally ROCKS!
Watching Anna complete her first IM was the very best part of this weekend. Seeing her on the run was the one positive part of my run!
Thanks for reading – I will appreciate your thoughts, ideas, feedback, etc. Please don’t hold back!
Comments
@Danielle - thank you! It was warm, but the ride was still windy this year. On the way back rather than on the way out. IMMT is one of my favs!
@Michael - The plastic bag trick is ancient EN lore... you keep the go-bag that have everything in T2 packed in, and then as you run through aid stations, pour the ice in the bag rather than taking a cup. 1. You get more ice, 2. you can put it on your head, down your back or wrap it around the hot parts. It is great trick to help stay cool during a hot race!
Congrats on the PR! It was great to meet you and race with you. Your analytical style combined with your determination and work ethic will continue to yield more PRs for sure.
Heal up, and good luck at IMCHOO!
Rich - your analyses are spot on, the biggest learnings being: "Must prioritize watering and feeding the body...A 5-minute regroup could have saved me 25 minutes..." The watering starts as soon as you get on the bike, and the first hour of the run is critical. That's the time to ignore pace and concentrate on filling up with water and diluted gatorade. Run at whatever (absurdly slow) pace is required to allow your body to absorb those fluids during the early part of the run.
As happened to you in this race, I've been plagued by throwing up in the latter part of the run in many of my IM races the past 3 years. My response has been to (a) get back to running ASAP and (b) minimize fluid intake from there on in. I've learned (I hope) that those are both the opposite of what I should be doing. I'm going to follow your advice (see above) the next time.
Suffering? The only way I've found to deal with it is to ignore it. When I'm doing that eally well, I ju-jitsu it: turn the feeling some call suffering into a positive, a feeling of power. Tylenol, mental games, whatever - that just plays into its hands. I put myself into a place where those feelings in my legs or lungs are happening somewhere else. Kind of like what the guy said when he was asked why he had such a big honking car: "If it gets bumped by someone else, its like its happening in another county."
Oh, and pacing the marathon - you need look no further than to your partner across the dinner table for the answers to that challenge.
I think I had the nutrition / hydration in really good shape until I had to switch to GE. That was a gap in planning, I should have know how much to take to get the calories right. I really feel that I was one mental mistake from making a big leap forward with this race. I hope to take advantage of the fitness and bounce right back for CHOO.
The suffering - I'm just going to have to spend more time in that spot in training I think. That works on the bike. The more I can live in the suck, hopefully the less it will suck!
@William - thank you. It was hot, but I really, really enjoy that course.