Brandon D - First Time IM - 2015 Chattanooga Race Report
Swim – 1:00:05 (Goal ~1:15ish. Really wasn’t sure because of the current)
T1 – 7:59 (Planned for max total transition time of 15 minutes)
Bike – 6:24:13 (Goal sub-6:30) – Garmin file: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/914016443
T2 – 4:40
Run – 5:19:47 (Goal sub-5:00) -- Garmin file: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/914014758
Total – 12:56:44 (sub-13:00)
Pre-race:
Woke up about 2:30a to use the bathroom and chugged an Ensure Active and some water. Surprisingly, I was able to fall back asleep until my alarm went off at 4a. I woke up and ate about 2 cups of applesauce, another Ensure Active, a banana, and started drinking my bottle of IM Perform. The night before I had laid out everything and had it all right by the door so my morning would be stress free.
Left hotel with Kane Murphy and Rusty Roberts for 4:45a and headed downtown to the village. Upon arrival, I dropped off my Special Needs bags and headed into transition to put my nutrition on the bike and to power on and calibrate my Garmin 520. The calibration number was in the 500s and I have never seen anything outside of the 200s in all of my previous calibrations. I discussed this with Kane and decided that temperature can affect calibration as this was the coldest temperature I had ever calibrated at. Still not sure I turned it off and recalibrated it. This time it was in the 300s, which was closer but still didn’t seem right. I told myself not to sweat it and we headed out to take the EN team picture. It was great seeing everyone in the morning and sharing good mojo with each other.
We boarded the bus and headed to the swim start. The line at this point was extremely long, which was a little disheartening at the time but turned out to not be that bad. Something dry to lay on with something that could resemble a pillow would have been nice to have. Anyone doing this race in the future should make note of this little detail. Once the lines started to form, it became clear that the vast majority of the field was racing without a wetsuit. I cannot for the life of me understand why a MOP triathlete like me would ever consider racing without a wetsuit when the temperature is only 1 degree from being wetsuit legal for everyone. It doesn’t make any sense unless 1. You are looking to podium or KQ or 2. You are from somewhere really cold and are legitimately concerned about overheating. Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox and wait for someone to explain it to me.
Swim:
The line moved very quickly and I was in the water right at about 8am. Before jumping in, I noticed that most of the swimmers were following the buoy line which was towards the left side of the course. There were no buoys on the right side of the course so I jumped in and started swimming in a straight (and much much shorter) line towards the island rather than swimming the outside line along the buoys. I swam the first half of the course maybe bumping another swimmer once. I had no issues at all sighting or staying in my box. Strong and smooth was what I kept telling myself. Once I passed the halfway point, I continued on my tangent path and ended up along the buoy line on the left side now. I looked up and judging from where I was in relation to the finish, I knew I wanted to get in deeper water to feed off the higher current flow through the bridges and to the final left turn. Once at the turn buoy, I swam hard to pass the last few competitors. I hit a big wetsuit stripper and made my way into T1. I was very surprised to see after the race that I swam a 1:00:05, which was the third fastest time of EN. I’ll take it, wetsuit or no.
T1:
I didn’t rush as I didn’t want to spike my HR. I jogged into the tent, suited up, lubed up with chamois cream and sunscreen and went to grab my bike. Jogged well past the mount line and took off. Immediately saw Jonathan Brown and we quickly shared pleasantries and I was off.
Bike:
Shortly into the bike, I realized I had a major disconnect going on. My HR was fine. I was going backwards in the field. But, my power was continuously showing numbers that were far too high for what I was feeling. I trusted in what I had been taught as RnP had said this would happen. I worked hard to stay at my power and go easy and get a jump start on my nutrition. I couldn’t believe the amount of people that were just absolutely hammering out of T1. I was getting steamrolled by people literally killing themselves getting to the top of every hill. Huffing and puffing with tires just screaming as they mashed their way to the top. It was actually amusing to me when you have over a hundred miles left on the bike and a freaking marathon after. About 45 minutes or so in, Kane caught up to me (as expected) and we talked about how we were feeling. I explained that I was seeing HR in line with what I was expecting but my power was way too high on lap after lap. I decided that I was going to continue on to Hog Jowl before doing anything about it to give it a chance to line out.
When I got to the hill at Hog Jowl, I was in my easiest gear and was still spiking over 400w. My heart rate was at about 140. With an FTP of 209 and a target power of 147-150 for the entire race, 400w should have given me a heart rate in the 170s and I should have felt like I was dying. All of the previous times climbing this hill, I was able to maintain under 220w. I decided the power was definitely f’d and I had to try to recalibrate or something. I waited for a long downhill on the backside of the loop and unclipped both feet and recalibrated. The calibration was now in the 220 range, which is about what I always see and very different from what I saw earlier in the morning. After this, my power/HR/RPE were all in line with what I expected.
Stats through the first 36 miles: NP – 196, AvgP – 183, VI=1.07, IF=0.94, AHR=131, Avg Speed=17.4mph (definitely a power number disconnect here, no doubt about it)
After the power mystery was solved, I was able to stay on my plan much better. I still found myself pushing a little too hard on the downhills but I was making huge gains on all of the cyclists after cresting every hill. I was able to stay aero for almost the entire time and maintained a very good 135 bpm average heartrate for the entire bike. I was very happy with this. Analyzing the data after the race shows I probably pushed a little too hard for the last 80 miles and probably could have been a little more ninja like with my power surges. I have to imagine this Chattanooga course is fairly difficult to post a low VI on, but then again this is my first IM so maybe it was just me.
Stats for the final 80 miles: NP – 159, AvgP – 147, VI=1.08, IF=0.76, AHR=137, Avg Speed=18.5mph
Totals: AHR = 135, Avg Speed = 18.2mph….can’t really give totals for power.
The only other thing worth mentioning about my bike was that at one point I pulled to the far left side of the road (at a safe location) to try and pee. As I pulled out, I looked back and there was a marshall on a motorcycle along with a SAG vehicle coming against traffic. Because of these two vehicles that were coming, I sat up and fell back in line to let them pass before heading back to my relief station. The marshall pulled up to me and said, “you can’t pull out to the left and then fall back in line. Once you pull out, you have to complete the pass. I can give you a penalty for that.” I plead my case that I was just trying to not pee on people (remember the first paragraph, I am new at this pee thing). Reluctantly, my case must have been strong enough because he finally decided he would not give me a card. Eventually, I made it back to transition feeling very well. I literally think I could have done another lap….the marathon thing after may have been an issue if I had done another lap but anyway….on to T2.
T2:
I moved pretty quick and steady through T2. The go bag worked great. I did have to sit for a second waiting on a portolet to open because I did have to pee pretty bad. Other than that, I quickly headed out to the run. Only other thing that stood out about T2 was the ungodly smell in the tent. I can only imagine what it must smell like at a hot race. Getting in the portolet was actually a relief.
Run:
I ran out of T2 with my go bag and tried to settle in. I knew my family was right near the top of the first hill so I had a little motivation to see everyone. I had a crew of about 15 people all wearing Team Brandon shirts. I was so happy to see them and it meant a lot to have them there pulling for me. I felt pretty good on the first out and back and continued to run with walks only at the aid stations. When I was at about mile 6, Doug Johnson caught me as he was on his second lap. Man, that dude is fast. He told me he was hurting pretty bad and I tried my best to perk him up. Maybe it worked (doubtful) or maybe he is just blazing fast (more likely) but he ran to an amazing 10:04….WOW! I ran the first 6 miles at an avg 11:05/mile pace and 136 HR. I probably should have been a little bit slower as my goal for the first 6 was more like 11:30, but the HR was in line so it probably wasn’t too bad.
After seeing my adoring fans again on Veterans Bridge, I headed to the brutal part of the course. I was able to maintain my running (slowly at times but still running) all the way up and down all of the hills but they were starting to hurt me. I really enjoyed all of the tailgaters and fans partying along Barton and by the country club. It was a great party atmosphere and it helped keep my mind off the pain. When I crossed back over the pedestrian bridge, I saw my family again. I was very happy to be heading back to the flatter portion of the course but I couldn’t even bear the thought of hitting those hills again. My wife later told me that I looked my worst at that point, although, I didn’t think that was my worst. That hadn’t come yet. Miles 6-13 averaged a 12:07/mile pace and a 136 HR but I certainly had some spikes on the hills, no doubt about it.
I made the second out and back with little fanfare. That portion of the course is a little lonely and mentally tough, but I persevered. When I hit Veterans Bridge for the second and last time, I was starting to hurt very bad. I saw my family again and couldn’t look my wife in the eyes because I felt like I was going to break down and I had to stay strong for just a few more miles. As soon as I was ten feet away from them, I started crying. I yelled at myself to toughen up and I painfully made my way to Barton hill again. I only thought the first lap hurt….it didn’t. It was a walk in the park compared to lap 2. Miles 14-19 had me averaging 12:32/mile with a 134 HR. Consistently slowing but still running.
If someone had introduced me to the guy that designed this run course at this point, I would have promptly put my foot in his a$$. It is just cruel….very very cruel. At Barton this time, I received some EN mojo from John H, Mike C, and Brenda R. (I saw Trish too but I think that may have been on lap one.) I struggled up and around. I thanked everyone I could for staying out and cheering us on. As I came back to go over Barton for the last time, I had done some crude math in my head and knew I was about +/-10 minutes around 13 hours. I used a simple watch on my swim, a Garmin 520 on my bike, and a Garmin 310XT on the run. I really had no idea what my transitions were and only an idea of my swim/bike splits. I decided that when I got back to the bottom of Barton I was going to give it everything I had until I hit the finish line. If I missed 13h by a minute or two, I would have been mad at myself.
I pushed really really hard through the town and over the pedestrian bridge. I ran into Thomas on the bridge and told him we needed to pick up the pace to the finish line. I think it helped both of us and I was able to maintain a great pace for the last mile. As I came to the volunteer pointing to the start of lap two or the finish, I proudly announced, “Oh no! I’m going this way! To the finish!” I ran hard all the way across the line. My family was right there at the finish along the barricade but I never even saw them with the super bright lights in my face. I was able to smile (a BIG smile) for my finishing picture, which was a pre-race goal of mine… Don’t die, Finish, and Smile for my picture. Check, check, and check! Miles 20-26.2 pace 12:41/mile and 134 HR.
Totals for the run: 12:12/mile pace with a 135 HR. Right about the HR I expected but about 45s/mile off my planned pace.
All in all I am very happy with my run as it was a true run and not a run walk like I witnessed in the carnage around me. At about mile 24-25, I heard a guy walking while telling a girl about how awesome the first 60 miles of his bike was. So funny! I may have gone a touch too hard but at least I’m not that guy!
Post-race:
At this point, I reunited with Kane in the meal tent. I drank some chicken broth which really made me feel better. I reunited with my family and found out I had gone 12:56:44. I was very happy with my execution. I ran the entire run, only walking at each aid station and once or twice to stretch my knees out. Kane went 12:41 and executed a really great race as well. We were both very happy with our performance and were just waiting on our last NOLA racer, Rusty Roberts, to cross the line as well. We knew it wouldn’t be long and waiting around the finisher’s chute. Mariah was there taking care of all the EN finishers. I saw Scott Davis and was happy he had such a great race. Rusty finished in 14:17 and I think was fresher than both Kane and I even though he is about 15 years older….and Rusty was worried about the cutoff…tons of time to spare.
After Rusty recovered, we headed back to the hotel for a cold beer. I fell asleep very satisfied and thrilled that I had accomplished something I have thought and dreamed about for a very long time. It was a great example of delayed gratification for my kids and both my son and my nephew told me after the race that they want to do an Ironman when they are older. I am happy that this may have taught them something.
Summary:
All in all, the whole Ironman experience was an incredible ride. It was a lot of training but it was worth it in the end. I want to thank my entire EN family, especially Coach Rich, Coach Patrick, and Mariah. They both really helped me gain the confidence to complete this race. The training camp in August was invaluable and I’m not sure if I could have properly paced the hills, if not learning how to do this during camp. So many tips gained from so many different people in the forums or in different articles on the EN website. I am also happy that EN gets to keep the First Time Finish money. I’m not the guy that’s going to blow the 100% FTF success rate. Thanks again to the whole EN family!
Lastly, I want to thank all of my family for their support and patience during the last six months. My immediate family Shannon, Brodie, Benjamin, and Emma have picked up a lot of slack for their sometimes absent and/or tired dad. I could not have done it without Shannon’s full time support. One of my “one things” was to teach my kids that they can do anything they want to if they work hard enough and have the discipline to continue pushing when you think you can’t push anymore. I hope that they learned this through my journey. I also would like to thank my dad Rip, mom Vee, brother Brett, Brandi, Cameron, Kate, Toni, Lucinda, Devon, Nicole, Rusty’s parents, and everyone else on the course that cheered me by name or just screamed for EN. Every one of those screams helped me keep moving.
I have a few more races on the calendar towards the end of the year. I can’t say that I won’t do another full Ironman but I can say I need to take a little while to dwell on this one. Doing a 70.3 allows you to have a normal life, a full does not. I will likely focus on some shorter races for the time being. I would really like to get stronger on the bike so am going to immediately focus on this goal. Kane also wants me to do this little bike ride in March called the Rouge Roubaix. I may consider doing that for the first time this year. I am also registered for the RnR Mardi Gras Marathon and the IMNOLA 70.3 in the first quarter of 2016.
Good luck to everyone on your future races, especially those headed to Kona in a few weeks! The EN method obviously works and everyone on this team has really tested and refined every aspect of it. Keep working hard! Work works! X/B1
Comments
congrats on the first finish and great execution!
hope to see you out there again!
Peeing on the side of the road = illegal
I think its the whole public nudity thing that gets you DQ'd. At least that's what I've always heard.
It sounds like you executed beautifully throughout the day, making the proper adjustments where needed, and staying within your box.
Keep doing those 2X20 at FTP and watch your power grow this year. Work works.
Congratulations on your first Ironman finish! Hope we get to race together again soon -- it was great meeting you and your family. EB
CONGRATULATIONS!!! What GREAT execution!!! So awesome! Enjoy recovery and soak up your success
Well done; a day to savor.