MQ Choo RR
IMCHOO Race Report – September 27, 2015
M 35-39 Age Group, FTP 272
Total: 11:25 (62 in AG) (347 OA)
Swim: 1:02 (79 in AG)
T1: 7:07
Bike: 6:06 (18.97 mph) (104 in AG)
T2: 5:04
Run: 4:03 (9:18/mi) (62in AG)
I’ll start by saying that IMCHOO was my second full distance IM and my only race in 2015. I had a lot going on this year mainly centering around a reassignment at work that resulted in a relo to AZ from MI.
I started doing triathlons last year really only planning to do 2 HIM and decided to throw IM Maryland in at the last minute. I was disappointed with my effort in Maryland last year and knew there was a ton of improving and 140.6 education required to get the results I was expecting from myself. I wasn’t expecting to shock the world and my only goal was to finish. I did 12:18 @ IMMD which included a slower than expected swim (1:28 full of zig-zags), 5:35 bike (overcooked), and 4:59 run which included a lot of walking. My goals for Choo were to swim in under 1:15, bike 5:50, and run 4-ish hours with no walking outside of aid stations. Overall goal was to come in under 11:30 which I’m happy to say I was able to accomplish after a good swim, less-than-stellar bike, lackluster transitions, and a solid run.
As I’m writing this I’m still feeling a good sense of accomplishment from the hard work I put in mid-June thru Mid-September. I felt about a 1000x better throughout the entire race than I did in MD last year and had a helluva lot more fun seeing all my EN teammates and Fraser Bike pals on the course! Great energy from all!
Swim (1:02):
I was amped for this swim which is abnormal for me.I spent some extra time in the pool this year to improve and the extra focus and good ole Tennessee River current turned out to be a match made in heaven. Additionally, the water seemed reasonably clean to me despite some other reports I’ve heard that may or may not have been the cause for some upset tummies later.
My strategy was to swim buoy to buoy while counting strokes and focus on form on this straight point to point course. There was no seeding to this start so there was A LOT of navigating through traffic as I found myself back toward the end of the start line, just in front of the first wetsuit swimmers. The crowded water space lasted about 1800 meters before I found some good feet. Swim exit was a sharp turn left toward the shore with volunteers forming three chutes for swimmers to get pulled up out of the water. Very smooth jog up to T1.
T1 (7:07):
Unfortunately, this was probably the worst execution of any transition I’ve ever had. I wasted nearly 3 mins looking for my Bike bag before finally finding it…frustrating. Quickly peeled my swim skin, threw helmet on, grabbed shoes and ran to my bike which was literally 15 yards form the tent exit. Grabbed my bike for the long run to the Bike Out, slipped shoes on, mounted bike and was off…
Bike (6:06, 150 NP, AHR 141 bpm):
Luckily, my bike computer was working on the outset and everything was talking. The first thing I noticed was all the damn bike traffic on the stick. Lots of people getting situated while moving which is great for those who are well practiced but there was a lot of bobbin’ and weavin’ that I was concerned with, so my focus for the first ten miles was to get through traffic, get over the RR tracks, through the tight turns in town and not get wrecked. I succeeded but neglected taking down some fluids and closely monitoring my power output. Yikes! My HR was about 10 bpm higher than normal through the first 50 miles and my power was spiking on some of the rollers so I made a conscious decision to back off and get my HR back into check. Finally, I got the HR locked in but speed suffered quite a bit over those ~20 miles as I feared self-sabotage had already occurred. I was really feeling tired at mile 60 so I decided to play defense knowing the looming run ahead. So I cruised through Lap 2 eating and drinking per my plan and controlling what I could control (400-425 calories- 1000mg Salt- 2 bottles/hr). Let off the gas a bit on the stick back to town but I was in a great place mentally and well inside my box. However, I missed my average NP target by 15 watts – OUCH! My biggest learning was I need to optimize my gearing for this type of terrain and consider changing cassettes to add easier gears. I was cranking out some watts at or even above FTP to get up a couple of the inclines. I would love to have another go at this bike course, so shame on me for not getting camp on the schedule this year.
T2 (5:04)
Not as quick as I wanted in T2. Was handed my T2 bag a volunteer (thankfully!) and parked it in a chair to put my shoes and socks on and swig ¾ water bottle of beet juice, grab my go bag, and head out to the run course. On my way out, I saw my support crew who I hadn’t seen since exiting the water. This was a HUGE lift!
Run (4:03)
At this point I was ready to go! Per EN rules, I held back on the first 6 mi. Locking in on my avg HR from the bike (141 bpm) and I was holding steady. The running felt easy and I was able to consume my planned 1 PowerGel per hour, 1 cup GE, 1 cup water at every aid station thru the first 6 mi. – walking half of each aid station. At around mile 7 the sun was out in full force and things began to heat up considerably as I pushed my effort up ~5 beats to 147 bpm, and shifted to 1 gel + 1 banana and started 2 cups of water + 1 cup of GE + one finger-dip of BASE salt at each AS for the next hour. Mile 11 included a busy porta-potty stop to pee and I really couldn’t wait for the next stop. After mile 13, I nixed the GE and took one last gel. It was water and BASE the rest of the way! At mile 15 I pushed my effort up another 5 or so bpm that I planned to sustain through mile 22 and this was more or less “my move” on the run course. I felt strong and was keeping solid run form, having fun with the volunteers and supporters on the run course. My crew was everywhere it seemed like and were pushing me to the max….come to find out, they were Ubering it around town! :fugYes! When exiting the aid station around mile 21 you take a sharp turn down a narrow concrete path that’s about 20 yards long before you hit the quick right to head over the bridge back to the north shore for the final time and hit the hills one last time…and there my crew was hootin’ in hollering! This was the final shot in the arm I needed so I stepped on the gas cruising over the hills, back over the pedestrian bridge and to the finish line. I executed the run just how I had hoped and felt really good about the effort.
I can’t say how amazing the EN coaching and community has been over the past 6 months for me. The training plans, the forums, and general expertise is first class and I couldn’t be happier with the results. The vibe @ Choo was super positive and the team certainly represented well. Congrats and thanks to all of you friendly EN’rs that helped make this an awesome experience.
Comments
Thanks Rich! You've been a great friend and teammate over the past 1.5 years. You're always willing to share knowledge and discuss strategies that are sofa king helpful! You can even break it down for someone like me to understand which puts you to Yoda Status man! Thanks for all the encouragement and I can't wait for IMMOO in '16!
You know what they say - You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many teeth on the largest rear cog!
Great job on the run. You;ve got the pacing and nutrition things figured out, that;s the hard part. Now work on getting that bike into shape