SS IMFL Learning Experience
Below expectations - but I'll highlight where opportunity was missed.
SWIM - Staring down the barrel of a gun at 6:30 a.m.
I found Ed at the swim start with the rest of the Wetsuit gang, said my prayers and went to work.
I was conscious of the tradeoff between wetsuit and dehydration with the water temp at 77 degrees. The most memorable thing about the swim were the swells. Large and deep such that you lost sight of your buoy for a while until you crested the top of the next swell and had to re-sight and re-direct. Exiting lap one, I drank 3 cups of water before re-entering, understanding the cost of wearing the wet suit.
T1 - I elected to pass the strippers vs. laying in the sand while they pulled off the suit. The suit took me longer to extract myself and that prob cost me 2 - 3 minutes.
BIKE: .69 IF
HR faded a little after mile ~75........need to practice focusing better. Watts stayed pretty much between 195 - 200 for the duration but with the last 80 miles and wind at our backs, there was opportunity left on the table given the fading HR.
RUN:
I walked each aid station drinking water / GE. Mile 8.5 required a bathroom stop as my bowels reacted to the heat and by mile 13 things started to catch up with me such that continuing to steadily drive my HR up was very difficult. At mile 20 severe quadriceps cramps set in and required a full stop until they released and that continued like clock for each mile in.
I did not feel as if there was a durability issue. Each time I ran between aid stations and cramps I had plenty left in the tank in terms of run legs......more of a hydration issue.
I had not kept up with the hydration loss that start during the swim, continued through the bike and manifested on the run. I drank every 15 minutes but it was not enough for this 174 lbs guy under those conditions.
Making it through the finish line I sipped more broth and water then found Ed who greeted me with a beer and used Mike as a leaning post!
Lots to improve for 2016.
I want to thank all of my friends and coaches at EN for giving me a great year in terms of guidance, friendship, support and examples.
KMF!
SS
Comments
Shaughn, You were inspiring before, during and after the race. Your presence in the race was infectious. Everyone around you had only two choices. They could either step up their game of fall off. You can not just hold the same pace when you are around. Every time I saw you on the course I could see the focus and intensity in your face. I have raced twice with you and have been inspired each time. The first was essentially a mountain stage when we road Lake Placid. On paper this race had you crushing me. The two big challenges of this race, the ocean swim and the weather are hard to train for. I know it is hot in Texas, but this was crazy. We had nearly 100% humidity and heat. Everytime I took a breath, I felt like I had to chew it first. You really rocked the race. Thank you for leading the team to a great race and all the way through the training period. Without you, I would not have been there.
Almost.
Great work man. See you out there.
It sure sounds like it was a brutally hot and humid day to contend with, great job sticking with it and getting it done.
Enjoy your recovery and looking forward to training & racing in 2016.
John.
I already spent part of a day talking to you about this race, but I'll thank you again for leading the group from very early on. Honestly, when I had to quit, move and start a new job in August, I was ready to drop out (even contacted WTC about transferring, only to learn I was out of luck). But your mojo made me find a way to make it happen and follow the KMF Express tall the way to the start.
There's still a disconnect between your (huge) run training, your run training speed and your race run performance. I can't learn too much from Strava, as it has you going 4:14, with the HR drops not matching all the pace drops. Auto-pause? With the big HR swings, were you stopping altogether or just walking really slowly? Probably was hydration, as second half you didn't have an answer for drooping HR. I couldn't feel the heat on the bike, but I knew it was there, so I absolutely pounded salt and liquid before the race and during the first 2 hours of the bike. The wetsuit wasn't the culprit; that could have been made up with 3x GE per hour on the bike. You still had a great race, crushed all but a few handsful in our AG, and finished ahead of a couple thousand. But you've got the chops for a 4-hr run. Just need to figure out how to pull it off.
I'm not dumb enough to join you at Moo next year (that course KO'd me, and I have no interest in a re-match), but we will do this again soon. Had a blast with you in PCB. Thanks for all you do, my friend.
MR
I’m extremely proud to call you a teammate and a friend. Hopefully one of these days I’ll get to share the course with you like these guys. I’d say enjoy some down time but I see you’ve done a couple workouts already! Looking forward to seeing what you do next!
SS, 2 races within few months and getting a better result in tough conditions ? thats really awesome ! you did a huge amount of work this year, kept the mojo flying on strava with all of us. As other mentioned before, I wish someday to race with you
rest up !
I definitely want to crack the nut on that run...when you are ready to talk about it, fire up a thread and let's dive in!
You've had a bad string of luck with the conditions on your last 3 IMs. The crazy winds we had at IMAZ last year, the heat at IMLP this year, and then these brutal conditions at IMFL (it sounds like it may have been one of the hardest IMs on the circuit this year). The universe definitely owes you a smooth IM. With all the work you put in (the hardest working dude in EN!), I expect to see you blow up your next race!
Always HUGE support coming out of this group. I need it.
Mike - auto pause did cause gaps on the Strava feed you see.
Coach P - will be connecting more with you for 2016 on executing run performance for sure.
My plans are Jan OS, an HIM or two then IM WISCONSIN........while doing everything I can to make sure I watch each and everyone of you realize 2016 PRs!
KMF!
SS
That was a tougher day than most saw coming. And, an ocean swim with swells is a tricky first hand to be dealt.
You built a beast of an athlete and you had some great results this year. Recover that athlete and get ready to get faster & stronger next year! I expect I'll see you in the Jan OS and I, sure as hell, will be living off of that KMF mojo you bring!
Congrats!
SS, Great succinct report and race, in what sounds like some really tough conditions. I don't know how you continue to be the hardest-working dude year after year....and also the most encouraging and supporting to others. Hoping you get a nice race day soon to be able to put it all together. Rest up and reload....I know you...!
Thanks for sharing your race and experience with us. You were motivational to me all year as well.
I look forward to racing with you in IMOO and we can work on our run execution together. That will be my focus as I tackle this race for the third time.
This is probably a dumb question, but I'll ask it because I've been wondering: Would it help dehydration to take a gulp or two of sea water? Especially with a few cups of fresh water after lap 1 to dilute the salt a bit, wouldnt the salt water act similar to a salt stick and help the body absorb some of the fluid, and maybe help with dehydration later in the day?
@Tim - thanks for the bump/support. Just keep posting and I'll keep following!
@Chris - love that out of the box thinking! There are better ways to keep up with the Salt/hydration requirements. Drinking sea water, while it may seem to be a good idea, is a sure way to induce vomiting soon thereafter and Mike Roberts will attest to in his report. Better options are to pre-ingest salt up front with buffered electrolytes which I did not do. Mike took in about 1,800 mg worth up front. I could have focused more on end of day hydration the day before and early morning hydration as well. I could have also drank even more up front on the bike.
Live a learn!