Tim Cronk 2015 KONA Race Report
Here is the race plan.... Pre-faced with a Bruce Lee quote I'll use as my disclaimer....
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/19825/Default.aspx
The last 40hrs between the race plan and race morning went exactly as planned.... Carbo load day, early to bed, up at 4am , eat, dress , go over lists, relax, head to body marking at 5:30am, get marked, set up the bike, one more trip to porto-potty , Kiss Heather, back into transition, in line for swim.....
Swim- Goal 1:10- actual 1:12.....3min PR on the KONA swim course..... Lined up in the same vicinity as last year... However this was by far my most violent KONA swim to date (keep in mind they are all just brutal)... Cannon goes off, got absolutely pummeled for at least 3-4 buoys, and then only slightly mauled for the remainder of the swim with constant contact the entire way.. At one point on the return trip this guy actually grabbed me by the hips with two hands and practically threw me out of the way ... Came out of my box saying mother f#ck3r got eye contact with him and then we just kept swimming... Crazy... Concentrated staying with the mass instead of drifting just outside of it (which is all too easy when your tired of the scrum)... Focussed on constant effort but not too much... Came out of the water not feeling too worked at all... Had absolutely NO idea what my swim split was until about 1hr after I crossed the finish line... with a 3min PR , very happy ....
T1-Goal was 3-4min....actual 3:03....31 second PR in KONA T1.... Can't find comps on the results page but gotta believe this is a top ten transition....Wow talk about simplified... by the time I was in the tent with bag, I removed the last of my swim skin, grabbed the shirt out of the bag, and handed it to a volunteer to stuff swim skin , goggle, cap in.... Castelli shirt went on pretty easy as I ran to bike...
Bike- Goal 5:20 on 169w .... actual was 5:30 on 159w , IF .72 , TSS 282... Mount with shoes on the pedals for the first time was pretty uneventful....I pretty much rode the entire bike split as planned except at 10 watts lower thru out .... The first 45 miles 165-169 watts , next 15 miles up Hawi 170-175 watts, first 5 miles descending Hawi at 135w, next 15 miles 160w , next 15miles 150w, next 15miles 140w...See a pattern? The outbound leg of 59.2 miles in 2:50 @ 167 NP , The inbound leg of 52.7 miles in 2:40 @ 150NP....So the power file was intentional but there is no getting around the fact that the fade was real, the wheels were coming off, thanks to the heat and wind.... Did my best to just stay AERO regardless of the power....While it was a pretty easy day at HAWI (no scary gusts) we still had the typical KONA winds, heat , humidity , and even a good solid 5 miles of rain up on Hawi this year...Left shoes on bike, nice smooth dismount, and bike to volunteer, and go... Nutrition as planned and probably the most GE I have ever consumed...
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/924350583
T2- Goal 3-4min.... actual 3:26.... 6 seconds slower than my best KONA T2 so right in line...Nothing to report other than its tough running thru transition after forcing your back to stay aero for so long... I even stretched quite a bit the last few miles of the bike...Shoes on socks on, belt and watch in hands, go bag in mouth... Belt and watch on by the T2 exit and start watch...
Run-Goal 3:50.... actual 5:05.... Slowest Ironman run/walk to date.... I exited T2 with go bag, put on visor, glasses, grabbed flask.... Saw/heard EN peeps screaming , started looking for Heather , stopped and got my Kiss.... Then went to work...Didn't take me long to realize things were not right.... The usual stiffness leaving T2 is usually gone in 1/2 mile and I have to start reeling myself back a bit... RPE was off the charts...My core temperature was off the charts....My entire stomach area seemed to be cramped....I walked... I ran... I took ICE , WATER , ETC... More walking/running... This went on for 3-4 miles... Pretty much went right to coke and threw out my gel flask without even taking one sip.... Run/walk/coke/ice/water/salt... repeat....I started to feel a little better in that the stomach cramps subsided and then I had lower abdomen pain... Walking was the only thing I could do to feel better... I continued to repeat the procedure When the abdomen pain subsided then I got side stitches in my ribs and chest area like the diaphragm... Breathing was difficult at a run and RPE way high... It was obvious after a couple miles my day was over and then the negative thoughts of quitting came to mind... Initially I just couldn't wrap my head around walking 26 miles... Having IMAZ coming up I had lots of good reasons to quit.... Then I just said WTF I don't care I'll walk the whole thing if I have to , It wasn't like I couldn't keep moving forward I just couldn't do it fast.... Saw Heather at mile 10 let her know the plan ,and got some encouragement and a kiss before heading out onto the QK ....As I left her she yells look at the back side of your bib#... I flip it up and read "I Love You" (I had absolutely no idea it was there until that moment how cool is that?) ... As much as that run really sucked I kinda enjoyed it.... I got to see each and every EN athlete and cheer them on , listen to them encourage and cheer me on , a beautiful sunset, a different perspective if you will from racing with tunnel vision and in pain LOL.... And in the end like always its just not as bad as it seemed after the fact... My feet took a beating spending so much time absolutely soaked....Nutrition I drank at least one or more , coke,water, gatorade, even chicken soup , and my Mountain Dew in SN at every single aid station, often carried a cup to drink from in between, couple pretzels and chips.... I never did fully recover on the run , when the sunset , the temps cooled , I felt better but not great and the mental breakdown was to much to overcome that late in the game...........
https://www.strava.com/activities/410512401
The Day After - My entire stomach , ribs, chest area is tender , sore and crampy still.... Very strange.... Besides that I feel like crap but then again I always do... Muscle wise not too bad at all...
What an impressive showing by the rest of the EN Team and I'm so happy that I stayed out there to finish and witness much of it first hand!
Next up IMAZ in 5 weeks.... I gotta be insane ?...... I WILL rise to the occasion ... and then I WILL REST !
Edit: Forgot to add this .... Around 4.5hr into the bike I experienced something new... Leg Cramps....I never cramp while biking or running (only calf cramps while swimming or arch cramps pushing off the wall) I wouldn't classify these as full blown cramps though.... It was like some minor electrical impulse went thru both legs at the same time , triggering all the muscles thru my quads and hamstrings to fire ever so slightly , off and on several times... Very weird sensation... I immediately backed off (even more) and they seemed to flicker a couple more times and then they were gone.. Never returned , nor did I feel them on the run.... Kinda sounds like an electrolyte imbalance but I had several bananas, dates, and coconut water, the day before and not to mention the perform, GE , sodium punch of the day!
Comments
When I wrote "enjoy the ride" on the FB message that I tagged Heather & the K-Crew in(can you please get on FB?
I know what those thoughts were you had in your head, and that is what stands out to me...you overcame them. And on your own. I had a partner in walking at IMCHOO who calmed me down and shared the long slog of 14 miles with me.
You will overcome, and have your secret weapon to help you along the way. Love her note for you!!!
Rest up a bit, and I'm looking forward to tracking you in AZ!
Very well done, Tim. Scott D couldn't have voiced my thoughts any better: making the mental switch over is a testament to your mental toughness and athletic ability. You had the emergency plan drilled into place, and put it into action. Awesome. With the leg cramping thats typically how my leg cramps start, glad you were able to get them shutdown, otherwise once they become repetitive they take on a life of their own, and its a whole new battle.Great Job. Oh and Heather is a sherpa par excellence!
Here is another quote from Bruce Lee:
“Don't fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”
have a great day Tim and good luck for IMAZ
Tim...A tough day at the office. I know the outcome wasn't what you were shooting for, but some times in life we have to take what the day gives us. It is such a hard and unique race course with conditions that can impact each person in different and unforeseen ways. I think that's what happened to you.
I agree with Scott D and others that the way you shifted your mental forcus to think positively about the race in a dfferent way was impressive. You demonstrated to us all that the true accomplishment is in the journey to find something new about ourselves as we use the Ironman as the tool to discover it. It sounds like you did just that. Congratulations!!!
Good luck in AZ. I'm confident that you will bounce back quickly and rock that course. Thanks also for sharing all your wisdom and encouragement with me over the years. I'm honored to be your teammate and friend. My best to Heather.
Clearly there was something physiological that was not normal, and given your fitness, IM experience and proven ability to execute it isn't expected that you would blunder into some strange issue like that. What is your diagnosis as to the cause and lessons learned?
That's what champions do, they always find a way to keep moving forward regardless of the situation, circumstances, expectations, conditions, etc.
To me, that was your test this time and you met it head on!
That in and of itself is greatly inspiring and motivating my friend. Sorry is wasn't what you worked so hard for it to be but sincerely happy for what you did in the midst of the battle.
Thanks for always inspiring and leading.
SS
sorry about the run weirdness. let us know if you figure it out.
the writing Heather put on your number is a cute and neat thing.
sorry I will not see you in Arizona. I am running out of chances to race with you again.
have a good rest before the rebuild. maybe error on the side of rest.
I'd say chalk it up as a crazy day and leave it in the past (I think you have enough positive data points from past races to not try to change anything going forward as a result of this race). Just look forward to the continuation of the Tim Cronk IM domination tour in Arizona.
But you are still a champion, you crossed the finish line and you did all you could do this summer to have a great performance! stars were just not aligned.
good luck in AZ !
Tim, even the best have off days including Van Lierde and Meredith Kessler (and apparently Cronk) as you and I discussed and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to it. You are a proven competitor and winner and will do so again. Heal up and go smoke it in AZ! It was so great spending time with you and Heather this week! Thanks again. Talk to you soon!
Your T1 time was good for 8th in your division, but closer to 300th overall. I have the complete list as an Excel file if you have any interest.
You da man!
don't you hate it when your body doesn't do what you want it to. For me, as I am about to do my 4th IM this Saturday with lots of goals in my mind, I remind myself that the main goal is to finish. Glad you made it to the end and got your medal.
Rest up...
Hope that your recovery is going well. That "fade" the last hour or two on the bike does seem to be a trend in a few reports from others from KONA this year as well, even for those who were at or ahead of their planned nutrition and fluids. Riding into a heavy head wind for such an extended period of time seems to accelerate the sweat rate & dehydration to a level that is crazy difficult to comprehend, predict or in any way plan for ahead of time even when I think it would not be possible to get one more drop of fluid into my system.
Thank you for always providing such great insight and details, I have been able to learn so much.
Best wishes, and hope you are feeling better.
I wish you a speedy recovery and a great AZ!
Ps The Placid to Kona transition sucks, it's official. With Placid, Tremblant, Whistler, Boulder and Couer d'Alene all falling in the 11 weeks or less to race in Hawaii window, there will be few who race, qualify, and then performa well in Kona. It's just too tight. So that leaves Texas as the only US IM with a "good" window in the same calendar year. Or you can bide your time and race your choice of Muskoka, Wisco, CHOO, Louisville, Maryland, AZ, Cozumel, Florida to qualify...then plan on Kona the next year...unless you are Tim Cronk and can race HI and then qualify again in 6 weeks...
Looks like the challenge has been posted!