Jay ReVille IMLou Race Report
This was my first IM and first marathon. Followed the intermediate plan almost as well as I could but missed a few wkos because of family and work. I’m a good swimmer, but then ride and run like a swimmer.
The basics: RacePlan Goal Actual
Swim :57-:58 :54.29 (1st in AG)
Bike 6:15.xx 6:15.35
Run 4:30.xx 4:25.12
Total <12:00.xx<span> 11:48.15
The details: Overall I think I executed fairly well for a rookie but made a few mistakes. The swim was a time trial start and I wanted to be near the front to avoid swimming over/around people and also wanted to have some open spaces to ride during the out and back. My wife dropped me at Transition at 0500 and it opened at 0515. It took a few minutes to get in but the line moved smoothly. I inflated my tires and loaded my bottles on my bike. Then I left Transition to catch a ride with my wife to swim start. Arrived at 0530 and got in line. Not too far back and actually moved forward a good bit when family members had to exit the line. Then I laid down, relaxed and talked with my fellow competitors. Very relaxing and enjoyable time. That’s also when I realized I still had my Bike computer in my coat pocket. Uh-Oh! Fortunately the guy next to me had a ziplock bag so I just put it in the bag and stuffed it in my bathing suit.
Once the race started, the line moved fairly quickly. I was in the water around 0735. Tried to stay right in the channel and passed several hundred people on the swim out. Once I made the turn into the main body of the Ohio it really opened up. Kept stroke long and easy and swam a nice easy pace. Tried to find some feet out there but very few people around me and those were moving slower than me. Sleeveless wetsuit was perfect and swim was enjoyable. Exited, stripped and headed to T1.
That’s when I realized how cold it was outside. In tent I put on bike shorts, socks, shoes and a dry tri top with bubble wrap inside. Then arm warmers and helmet with sunglasses. Had 2 volunteers helping ‘cause there were only a couple other athletes in there. Ran to bike and put Garmin on bike and calibrated while leaving T1.
I was really cold heading out on the bike. River Road was shaded and sun wasn’t high enough yet. Might have ridden a fraction higher than planned but really wanted to warm up. I’m new to power so I tried to keep HR in 130s. Out and back was really nice since it was newly paved. Very few bikes out then so I could hammer the downhills and enjoy that section.
Used GE on the course and tried to drink 2 bottles per hour. Had no problem getting fluids in and certainly no problem getting them out. I think I peed at least 10 times on the bike. I might have over hydrated because of the temps but I got dehydrated during race rehearsal and I wasn’t doing that again. Had to stop at one port-a-potty cause there are some things you don’t do on a bike. When I came out of Port-a-potty the volunteers had my bike ready and had already loaded a new bottle of GE for me. Volunteers were awesome all day!
During the bike I had a little pity party around Mile 50 when I realized I wasn’t even half way, but soon discovered a new trick that cheered me up. I was having to coast downhills to pee and losing a lot of momentum. Somehow I realized I could pee while pedaling if I stood out of the saddle, so when it was time, I shifted to an easy gear and climbed the hills while pedaling. I know – not the EN way – but I made sure to watch my watts and HR whenever I did this. The ride finally got better when I turned for the second loop and started passing some slower cyclists. The last 30 miles were net downhill but into a headwind. Fortunately I was able to ride a few miles with Danielle before she dropped me like a bad habit. Always nice to see a teammate out on the course. NP was 154 which put me at an IF of 0.7. I’m not sure of VI yet but would not expect it to be pretty. Overall, I’ve got some work to do on the bike.
Finally rolled into T2 and was glad to be getting off the bike. Now all I gotta do is run a –Holy Crap! – I gotta run a marathon! In T2 – again not very crowded – I took of bike shorts and put on run shorts. Threw away socks from bike ride, put on clean socks and shoes and headed out for a run. By this time the sun was up so I carried a bottle of GE from the bike for a couple miles.
I run only by HR and really watched it the entire run. I wanted it in upper 130s but couldn’t get below 140. Felt pretty good and just moved along. Kept telling myself to slow down because my pace was a little quicker than I thought it should be. On the first lap I stopped at 4 port-a-pottys. I can’t believe how much I had to pee during this race. Fortunately there were no lines on the first loop. By the time I made the turn-around, I was really getting tired. My HR was steady and not moving but my legs and mind were tired. The next 12 miles were a mental struggle. Stay inside the box was all I could do. My pace slowed a little but most of this was longer walk breaks at the aid stations. I never walked except at the aid stations and I was proud of that. HR stayed in 140s for the entire run.
I had 2 ziplock bags that I kept filled with ice and this helped when it warmed up. Stayed with GE until mile 20 when I started alternating coke and GE. Was able to speak to a few teammates on the run which was great. That last turn onto 4th Street was surreal. I had made it. I was able to run down the chute all alone and really enjoyed having the time to take it all in.
This was a great experience made even better because of my teammates and new friends from EN. This is a great team and that makes the experience that much better. A special thank you to Roy for being our fearless leader. Also to Al Truscott for giving me an EN tri top so I could represent.
As for the future, my immediate plans do not include an IM but I hope the Hilton Head 70.3 becomes reality. Until then I’m gonna slowly transition into the outseason and hopefully get faster.
Comments
i knew that tri-top had a sub-12 hour IM left in it! Way to run, Jay. Stick with the work on your bike, and you've got even better results up ahead.
Jay, thanks for the report on your awesome race. Like you, I was peeing all over the place during that race. I need to practice the peeing while peddling thing. I would never think to put the bike computer in a baggie in my swim trunks. You had a solid race, and with some tweaks on your transitions and improved biking you will be knocking off a lot more time in the future. It was great meeting you out there.