Bill M's IM 70.3 Cozumel RR
IM 70.3 Cozumel - 9/20/2015
Swim - 33:38 (PR) - goal 43:00
T1 - 5:37 - goal 3:00
Bike - 2:58:53 (PR) - goal 3:00:00
T2 - 5:11 - goal 2:30
Run - 2:49:42 - goal 2:30
Total - 6:32:51(PR) - 755/1240 OA, 585/918 gender, 122/193 AG
(NB - PR in 2nd ever 70.3...)
Details -
Pre-race
Arrival/pre-race about as expected. Arrived to CZM with a couple of surprises, however. First, at T1, how long the run distance really was from swim exit to bike rack and from rack to mount. Second, the fact that T2 was going to be finding my spot to rack my bike without being able to find it prior to the race (couldn't enter racking area prior to the race), which made things a little confusing (see below). After reassembling bike (Ruster Hen House worked perfectly), I took my bike to tech to check the fact that I was having some skipping in my rear derailleur. After trying to discuss with the tech who only spoke Spanish (my Spanish doesn't extend to complex mechanical concepts), we determined that the reason was due to wear on the cassette, which wasn't evident prior to reassembling the bike. Didn't cause too much problem; just had to overshift each time and backshift (2 down, one up and vice versa). Rode to drop off run bag, made sure I could manage shifting problems with bike, took bike on bus to T1 for setup, racked bike (couldn't set up ground area), ate an early dinner, went to bed around 2100 or so.
Race morning, got up at 0400, ate my normal, took the bus to T1 with my bag, set up bike area, scoped out entire route from swim exit to bike (part was closed at bike drop off), seeded myself for 40:00 (TT start with corrals), closed up swim skin and got ready for start. Beautiful morning after storms most of the afternoon the day before, which held up all day as well. Water was near glass flat with minimal wind and expected current.
Swim - https://www.strava.com/activities/396597997
Followed the herd down to the start line, hopped in (10' drop to water), and start swimming. Immediately, I felt I was starting to swim over a lot of people. I kept thinking, "Man, don't these idiots know how to seed themselves..." but kept my head in the box for the most part. After I made the first turn, I could really feel the current hitting my right side, then after the second turn, I really felt myself gliding with the current. I kept moving over a lot of people the whole time, but nothing terrible in terms of congestion. Made the turn for home, things started clearing out a little bit, and swam right up to the stairs (unlike some who stopped swimming and started walking in chest deep water...).
T1
If you want to see something amusing, go to FinisherPix and look at my expression when I looked down at my watch and saw my swim time (http://www.finisherpix.com/photos/my-photos/single-view/bib/941/action/singleView/controller/Shop/event/metlife-ironman-703-cozumel-2015.html?utm_source=1152_IM703_Cozumel_2015&utm_campaign=cc9b8a1e03-1152_IM703_Cozumel_2015_1st&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_966ecaf541-cc9b8a1e03-66286173#68040767). My response at that point was, verbatim, "Holy shit!" I guess at that point I realized that I was the one who messed up seeding myself and had the swim of my life. Looking at the HR data afterwards (doesn't translate to Strava, but trust me) I probably pushed a little hard, but nothing overwhelming. Jogged up to my bike, grabbing a bag of water (water was in 240 mL baggies for the whole race), greased my feet, slid into my shoes, finished dressing, jogged to mount line, and hit the road. The primary cause for my longer than expected T1 was underestimating the distances I needed to cover on foot. It ended up being about 1/4 mile, which would account for ~3:00 of the time on its own.
As this was going on, coming out of the water, I realized I was burping sea water, which made me quickly recalculate how much sodium I might need on the bike. I estimated I'd probably ingested about 750-1000 mg Na+, which, based on later performance, was probably an overestimate.
Bike - https://www.strava.com/activities/396598075
Hitting the road, I saw why they kept repeating "No Drafting" the whole weekend, as drafts formed up immediately. As an aside, the first PB was also pretty full, so the officials did their job as well. I was too busy staying in my box, watching my HR and waiting for it to come down to the 140s I expected it. However, keeping my Pw where I intended, the HR just wasn't coming down. Additionally, my RPE matched my HR more than the Pw, and my speed was consistent with the RPE, not with the Pw, so I started just trying to keep a steady HR and steady inaccurate Pw (recognizing it was probably reading 30 W low).
Nutritionally, because of my perceived high ingestion of Na+ from the swim, I shifted to plain water as soon as my two bottles of Nuun on the bike were done. I got my calories from my onboard PowerBar Energy Blasts and a couple of gels from the AS. However, about mile 40, when I went to stand up to change positions, I felt a hard cramp in my right quad, indicating I'd probably underestimated my sodium needs. At that point, I went into salvage mode, hitting my SS+ caps (4 in the last hour on the bike) and picking up more Gatorade (was just plan, not GE). The cramping started to abate, so I thought I'd caught up at that point.
Right at the end, just before T2, there's a 180 degree turn. While making it, another racer came inside of me, lost control, pushed me to the outside, and I discovered that my bike handling skills are indeed sufficient to recover running over a traffic cone without falling. Rode the rest of the way into T2 without further incident.
T2 - Ran into T2 - what a CF... Racers running into one another being directed by volunteers based on bib number to the appropriate rack. Probably could have been prevented with allowing racers to see T2 prior to the race. Racked my bike, ran to my run bag, left the racks to change into running shoes (no benches or anything), grabbed my go bag (just my hat and bottle of Go Fast to get a few more calories in; had the bib from the bike and just spun it), and hit the road.
Run - https://www.strava.com/activities/396598016
Headed north on Avenida Melgar, and I immediately had the recurrence of the right quad cramping. After about 1/2 mile, I had to start walking and stretch/massage as I went. I gulped a couple of SS+ capsules, washed down with my Go Fast, and waited for it to be absorbed. I increased my planned Gatorade to water ratio some as well, and by the first turn (5 km), I was feeling pretty good. At that point, I was running between AS, walking 30" at each AS at most, and kept this up until about mile 9.
At mile 9, I started running into severe pain in both feet. This is a problem I've had with the end of races previously, but this was a little early. I'd neglected to put acetaminophen on my race belt, and I was really wanting it at this point. I think if I'd have had that, I could have pushed a little bit more and maybe saved a few minutes. About the same time, I realized I'd achieved a positive sodium balance, so I switched back to water and cola as my primary fluids. About mile 11.5, I decided that I could run the rest of the way, so I did, made it to the finish.
Lessons
Overall, my time was better, but it was almost all due to the swim time improvement. I think I dealt with the PM issue on the bike fairly well and finished almose exactly where I'd have expected. The run still needs more work, but operating with only about 2/3 of a fully functional foot on the left, I'm not sure how much better that'll get.
One full season of long course racing is now done. I've seen steady slow improvements. I'm still working on the mental side, as evidenced by my ability to gut it out on the run once I put my mind to it. Trying to remain true to my training self was one of my primary motivators. I also needed to validate all of the encouragement from my teammates I'd received throughout the entire season of training; I hope I've done that.
Stick with the nutrition plan!!! It's better to be a little high on sodium and try to dilute it out than trying to catch up (harder to absorb when behind, more cramping when behind). I probably didn't drink nearly as much salt water as I thought I did.
(keeping this lesson from my last race report...) I need to continue to work on run durability. Due to a prior injury, my run will always be weaker (my left foot/calf are about 30% weaker than my right), but there are still some significant gains to make there.
Although I am constantly seeing others who do what we do, I have to remember that what we do is truly unusual. The vast majority will never put their bodies and minds on the line and compete in long course races, nor will they make the training investments that we do year-round. I am blessed to be able to do this to the extent that I can, and I am also blessed to have the support of my team (even when I'm the only team member in a particular race, like this one).
Next season will hold my first full distance race (IMoo 2016). I think I have the foundation at this point ot start working on this, as long as I can continue to improve my run and mental durability.
As always, feedback/suggestions welcome. I appreciate it all.
And since the header reminds us "pics or it didn't happen" (apologies for the size...)-
Comments
I'm curious what you attribute the huge improvement in swim time to? That's a pretty remarkable improvement.
Thanks, Gabe. Other than the continued run problems, I'm pretty happy.
Three things for the swim, I think.