IMMT - Hasan Baydoun RR
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Ironman Mont Tremblant Race report
I’ll start by saying this was second take at ironman. My first was in 2010. since then, I have gotten slower, fatter, but certainly wiser (especially when it comes to execution).
I did this race to prove to myself, and my wife, that anything is possible. I have a very busy work schedule, she’s been fighting a bad concussion for the past 2 years, and I was in no shape to do an IM. but when 2 of my best friends said they were considering signing up, I said, let’s go.
I am the poster-child of the sleeper cell of EN. I use EN efficiently though. In, and out. barely have time for looking at the forums. use it mostly as a training plan.
When I sent Coach R my goals for the year, I had a great season outlined for me. Little did I know that I had a life to juggle in between everything.
I ditched swimming, until the last 6 weeks (and I paid for that) I biked with a club, and had a lot of fun. I hate running, because I am slow. but I love to suffer.
Come race day, my goal was finish faster than my first take (13:47). My stretch would be to finish under 13. My penultimate would be to PR by an hour.
When I got to race day, and understadning that my fitness level was nowhere as close to where it was the first time, and the time put into preparation was way less (even though smarter), I adjusted those goals. I wanted to finish, and have a good time.
In short, I PRed by 50 + minutes. If there’s one thing to attest for the EN way, it’s this PR. Just by doing some of the EN workouts, and Admittedly, executing to the book, I came in at 12:55. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
If you have a lot of time on your hands, read on to the unabridged version of this RR.
My swim training was sort of inexistent. I planned on swimming mostly in the last 12 weeks, but a big bike crash at 10 weeks out put me out of the pool for 4 weeks. I only had access to a small 21 yd pool, no outdoor swimming for me. no sighting. but I had to do with what I had available. a dislocated Left shoulder last year also didn’t help my left side. no excuses.
My bike is strong. I became a strong rider, but mostly crits - different beast than TT, but was hoping to carry the power over. I FTPed at 335 at T-8wks on a TT bike
My run was dismal. my 190lb weight doesn’t help. and I sweat like crazy. When I agreed to IMMT, I thought it would be a great setting because it’s not a hot race. the elevation, I can handle, because I ‘m coming from pittsburgh.
My race rehearsal 2 weeks out of the race was a great training session for execution. swam in a pool for 3.8 km (1:33) very comfortable. then did our local oval (0.5mi) for 112 miles(in under 5:30). The biggest problem I had with IMMoo was the mental hurdle of loneliness. I figured this would be a mental training session more than anything else. managed to hit all numbers, and my power was at 70% of FTP. I wanted to conserve for my run, and I ran VERY comfortably. unfortunately, the following day, I woke up with a bad sinusitis. got worse. Antibiootics. did not respond. One week out of the race, my physician switched antibiotics, and started clearing by Wednesday (t-4). It was a FORCED taper. It drove me INSANE(r).
We arrived in tremblant on Thursday night.
Friday athlete check-in. was not feeling super great, so elected to drive the bike course instead of riding it. I DID EVERYTHING ACCORDING to the checklist. THIS WAS MY BIBLE. it took out all the anxiety of everything. this was the best piece of info I can count on.
In Tremblant, Diarrhea from the antibiotics was in full swing. I did not want that race day. I decided to stop meds on Saturday and Sunday, and hope for the best. I also rested myself. hydrated. ate well. and just had a good time with 2 of my college best friends, and wife. This was a great memorable vacation if anything.
Saturday night, before going to bed, I re-arranged race plan based on the the weather. I really did not want to race in the heat. I’m not made for it. but I couldn’t control it. That excel spreadsheet for the racing in the heat - GENIUS. based on that, I adjusted race plan for a 5:10 marathon.
Night before the race, we were all in bed at 930. Alarm at 350. my usual 4 egg omelette (protein). avocado (fat), and cheese (fat) I had gotten used to this, and loved it. 2 trips to toilet before we leave home. Transition at 5am. heading to swim- trip to toilet.
The swim start was eventful. I was honestly nervous getting into the water in the first place. First 50 yds, elbowed, got my lens knocked out of my eye, and had a mini-panic attack. stopped laid on my back, let the masses pass by, and pushed a reset button on everything. I think I stopped a total of 3-4 minutes, but totally worth it. when I restarted my swim, the next wave was just about to go off. but so was I. 3 minutes in the grand scheme of events. not a bad trade-off. I was comfortable. I swam 1:33+, but left the water feeling like CRAP. My sinus was in full swing. I needed to go the porta-john ASAP, and I was just not feeling it. My most feared leg was behind me.
I saw my wife in transition. I even managed to keep my game face on; I’m sure she didn’t want to hear about my whining self. I hijacked the microphone from the announcer, and announced to all of tremblant that I love her ;-)
The bike was interesting. I COULD NOT GET MY POWER NUMBERS. I tried, but simply could not. I don’t know if this was a combo of being sick, antibiotics, very little working out in taper, or what. I really tried to push hard. I could not. even after I settled. At that point, I said I will ride comfortably, and see what I can do. kept myself hydrated (based on tests and temp). 2 pee stops. kept myself very well-fed. 450 cals based on calculations. no problems per se. my heart rate was 15 bp higher than race rehearsal. I attribute that to sinusitis, but still not sure how that adds up to me not being able to get power up. after the first loop, I just settled in, and understood I will have to accept those number. Don’t get me wrong. An NP of 197, with VI 1.06 on this course is not bad by any measures. I was overtaking people left and right, especially closer to the end.
I get to transition to be greeted by a loving wife with a wide smile. If there’s one thing I learnt from this ironman, those 30 seconds extra I took every time I saw my wife, gave her a kiss, and genuinely thanked her for her support; well, those ARE WORTH IT. I deeply appreciated her tolerating me through all the training hours. Also, I got a pleasant surprise on T2. During the training months, I had a lot of trouble with mental toughness on my long runs. I knew I was gonna need help. I knew I was gonna need a lot of it. and for help, I turned to my wife. I asked her to write me a note. She gave me that note in a zip-loc, and I held on to it.
The beginning of the run, I thought to myself, I really took it easy on the bike, maybe push it a little bit here. so I decided to up the run by 20 sec/mile. splitting the difference between with and without the heat calculator. My body did not like that a lot. Whatever time I made up on the first 3 miles (1 minute), I lost in a massive cramp that put me to my knees on the side of the road. I got up, walked, and started going again. I kept that note in a ziplock in my jersey. I knew I was gonna need it. One of the cyclists on my team in Pitt also gave me a small tip. bring 3 empty small ziplock bags. fill one with ice every aid station, and alternate. hands, chest, cap. keep it very slightly open. the cold water will slowly drip and cool you off. WORKED WONDERS. My goal was not to walk. I DID NOT WANT TO WALK. and I did not. I ran the whole marathon, except for 20 secs every aid station, and those 3 small hills (which felt MASSIVE at the time)- I power walked those.
On the run, I saw my best friends, one of them was doing fine. The other not so much. I had fears he might not finish. he proved me wrong!
I got back in town, I looked around for my cheering squad (wife). Missed her. Kept going. overtaking people at this point; and certainly still feeling comfortable with my alleged run/jog. I was surprised. but then the wall hit around mile 22. I felt miserable. I was actually ready to give up. I started walking, and suddenly remembered the note. I picked it up, read it, and as much as I would love to share it, it’s fairly personal. But it sorta sounded like this - you’ve preached to me how everything is 90% mental. you can do it, you just need somebody to remind you. The last sentence read: “It’s a mental game and you WILL WIN! See you at the finish line.”
I finished in 12:55. I was ecstatic. I was happy
There are a lot of things I would’ve done different, especially in training (like sticking to the training plan) I think I executed fairly well, and was happy with what I did. When there are this many variables, the chances are 1, 2, or maybe more things will go wrong. I’m glad I wa able to power through the heat. I smiled, I thanked the volunteers, I hurt, I gave things some thought, but most importantly, I had a good time.
Comments
Hasan...great race,wonderful report. Well done!! Congratulations..
@Matt - great hearing from you. my goal for next year is to get the vDOT back in the mid 40s, where it should belong ;-)
@ Bruce. congrats to both you and your brotha on the a SICK race
@Al - Congrats on KQ again! you're the inspiring one dude.
Loved the report! Great job handling the adversities and crushing a PR! Strong work!