Dan's IMAZ 2015 Race Report
I apologize for the length of this race report. Personally, I found that the details from past year's race reports when researching races through EN are what have been the most helpful to me personally. I've used the format I came across on the Wiki. Since we can never know what someone will find beneficial in the future, I have included much more rather than less detailed information. Much thanks to the entire EN IMAZ Team, especially the input and leadership from Clark, Betsy and Al. Also thanks for Coach Rich and Mariah for being there at the finish.
Race Name: Ironman Arizona Race Date: November 15, 2015
Race Day Stats:
Total Time / AG Place / Overall Place: 11:04:38 / 52 / 352
Swim Time / AG: 1:34:31 / 212
T1 Time: 4:32
Bike Time / AG: 5:17:08 / 67
T2 Time / AG : 6:05
Run Time / AG: 4:02:22 / 52
Race Day Goals:
Finish my second Ironman, while also improving on last year’s performance.
Did you achieve it?
· Yes
What helped or prevented you from achieving it?
·I had good fitness going into the race, really peaking in late September in anticipation for the ITU Long Course National Championships (Redman 70.3 in Oklahoma City). I dropped into the EN Ironman 20 week Intermediate race plan at week 12 leading up to and continuing through Redman with adjustments for 70.3 race week per EN guidance. My training from the 70.3 up until IMAZ dropped off, with me hitting about 75% of my workouts, due to work/travel/life in general, mostly missing my swims.
·I had good race day execution despite some challenging conditions. I owned everything that was under my control and with the rest I remained flexible. I used EN guidance on checklists in preparation for race week and race day.
·I put my race day plan out to the EN community for feedback 1 week prior to race day and received some great feedback on my nutrition plan, as well as come confirmation about the transition strategy. I was also reminded how my time goals for transition, were likely not realistic. Al and Clark were right on point with that feedback.
·I visualized all aspects and steps of my race (video game perspective style, ie. floating above and slightly behind myself like in third person view) the night prior to race day.
·Great race day support from Jasmine, family, friends, EN, D&C, GMG, volunteers!
Finish under 11 hours.
Did you achieve it?
·No (almost)
What helped or prevented you from achieving it?
·I left some time on the course in several areas, including:
·T2. A volunteer handed me the wrong run gear bag, 1236 instead of 1286. I sat in the change tent for what seemed like an eternity waiting for a different volunteer to find my bag. The truth was I likely lost about 4 minutes. It was tough to stay focused since I really pride myself in taking advantage of this free time and purposely make my transition as brief as necessary. I just took this as sign and focused on the positive, I was out of the rain for 4 minutes.
·I may have been over hydrated due to the lower temperatures. I had at least 6 pees on the bike and two pee breaks on the run course.
·A challenge all of us experienced was the mud bogging from Mile 3 to 5 which should have been a dirt path.
·The swim could have been better, but overall I’d have to say my preparation was consistent with my results. This was my first experience at a rolling start, and have only the mass start from IMAZ 2014 as a comparison. I honestly felt a little more bumped about this time, but it may just be because it is fresher in my mind.
No injuries.
Did you achieve it?
·Yes
What helped or prevented you from achieving it?
·Listening to my body, doing as “systems checking” every 15 minutes.
The Swim -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Swim Time: 1:25:00 Actual Swim Time: 1:34:31
Weather / Conditions / Notes: Morning temperatures were cooler than normal in the mid 50’s, very light breeze 3-4 mph, with water temperature was reported at a chilly 62 F. No waves, no current since it’s a man made water feature. Poor visibility in the water, essentially zero. Self-seed rolling swim start. Think March of the Penguins toward the stair leading into the water. I lined up toward the back of the 1:20 crowd. The next pace group was 1:30. Good visibility of buoys and landmarks.
Challenge 1:
No chance to acclimate to cold water temperatures, just jump in and start swimming.
Response 1:
Regarding the water temperature, it was indeed quite cold. In the EN pre-race webinar we talked about the limited benefit of doing the practice swim on Saturday due to the administrative costs incurred. I went ahead and did the practice swim, more to get a feel for the water temperature and who I would response since we were allowed in the water pre-race. I think it helped, but it was more to calm pre-race anxieties than any strategic advantage that could be gained. The visibility was essentially zero, but not different or slight better that our Oklahoma lakes we use for open water events. I comfortably used two swim caps, a silicone base cap and the event cap, which provided enough warmth along with my full sleeve wetsuit. No booties, although they were approved due to the water temperature.
Evaluation 1:
As we marched to the steps leading into Tempe Town Lake, everyone seemed to congest on the far right of the step. This led to congestion in the early parts of the swim on that side that didn’t look all that different from the mass starts. I headed for the left side step into the water and the space was much clearer, making for smooth easy going. The timing mat was located just before jumping into the water, so self-seeding faster than what you expected really provided no advantage.
Challenge 2:
Getting banged around during the swim.
Response 2:
As mentioned above the first 100-200 meter were very smooth swimming for those who entered on the left side. What came next was my realization of what would happen for the rest of the swim. My experience, was when you place yourself next to people who swim you same pace, you are consistently bumping and banging for most of the race. It wasn’t too bad, but you just always had to be on guard anticipating that next whack, because you knew it was coming, and in short order. My experience with the mass start was pretty violent banging for 5 minutes then extended periods to clear swimming. This was just my experience, and I’m curious to hear others, especially better swimmers than myself.
A lesson I came away with from last year, was just how many people grab your feet and ankles. This year I used a safety pin to further secure my timing chip on my ankle, because last year I could have sworn that someone had stripped it off and it was on my mind throughout the entire swim. No paranoid thoughts on naked ankles this year.
Since I’m on the topic of lesson learned from last year that worked, I’ll share my swim exit technique that work awesome for me, and works with or without a swim catcher. I reach up to either a catcher’s extended are or to a bleacher hand railing, pull myself up with my right arm, put my left hand on the bottom most step, and lift my butt out of the water to seat myself on the lowest step out of the water. Next, I take one second to equilibrate after being horizontal for over an hour, and then pop up, and off to the strippers.
Challenge 3:
Over-hydration prior to swim start.
Response 3:
I made a point to maintain good hydration on the day prior to the race anticipating a dry race day in the Arizona desert, and not the monsoon we ended up getting. My pre-race nutrition and hydration was also as I had prepared in the race rehearsal. I even had what I though was a well-timed pre-race pee within minutes of the swim start.
Evaluation 3:
Although I’ve perfected the skill of peeing on the bike, I have not master this skill in the swim. I didn’t think this would be an issue after relieving myself just prior to entering the water. This may also be another unforeseen complication of the rolling swim start. There is no time to tread water or find a kayak while relieving yourself…again. About half way through the swim the urge to urinate became stronger and strong, and despite all my efforts I was unable to accomplish this and still move forward. I know that my stroke, not good to begin with, was being affected, but with about 1000 meters left, I just toughed it out until I could make it to the exit stair. I literally stay in the water for was seemed was a couple of minutes taking care of business. The catcher asked me if everything was okay, and I responded with an audible sigh, “Ya…I’m good now.” The last 1000 meters of the swim may have been the most painful part of the entire day. At the time I was hoping it wouldn’t be an omen of the pain that was to come.
The Bike -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Bike Time: 5:20:00 Actual Bike Time: 5:17:08
Weather / Conditions / Notes:
Overcast with temperatures reaching the low 60’s F, then dropping to the low 50’s with first a light drizzle and then a constant down pour starting with the second of the three bike loops and continuing to the end of the bike portion. The biggest feature on this 3 loop course was obviously the rain. Combining the rain with a very congested bike course, made for some dodgy conditions, given the wide variety in technical riding ability among the athletes. The winds did increase when the weather turned for the worst, but topped out at about 15 mph, which was more of an east to west crosswind during Beeline segments.
Challenge 1:
Getting through T1 with minimal issues and safely getting onto the course to start riding my target wattage up the Beeline Hwy and back, i.e. Bucket of Chicken Zone.
Response 1:
T1 was smooth and fast. After receiving help from the wet suit strippers, getting my bike bag and dumping it out in a clear spot outside the change tent, I was at my bike with no wasted time or effort. I put on warm warmers, for which I was grateful when the temperature dropped and the rains came later in the bike portion. I wore a cycling bib, tri top, and the Castelli T1 Stealth (wish I had the EN version) under my wet suit, so I didn’t spend any more time putting anything else on other than my helmet and sun glasses. When I got onto the course, I was dialed into my JRA wattage of 185w for the first 30 min (based on FTP). I increased this to 200w for the remainder of the ride as per my pre-race plan.
Evaluation 1:
Great move to have my cycling kit on under the wetsuit. I wonder if that’s slowly my down my swim though…not likely. I was able to hold my target numbers for the entire first loop and felt very comfortable. Three miles into the start of the second loop, my power meter (Garmin Vector 2) decided to stop working. I had a good feel for what 200w would be so I didn’t worry too much. After a bit I noticed that my bike computer was reading about 100w lower than it was supposed to, so something was still being measured. I trusted enough after several miles, that I just added 100w to whatever the read said. Less reliable was my normalized power for the ride, which just kept dropping, but otherwise things seemed to be going well.
Challenge 2:
Technical riding in the rain.
Response 2:
I had a decent foundation and feel for my bike in the rain, but in general I avoid these conditions whenever I can. I had a much more heighten sense of vigilance for other riders, but I kept to my power number despite the element. The only times I tended to be less aggressive was into all of the turns.
Evaluation 2:
Braking and handling went well, with no dicey moments.
Challenge 3:
Overhydration.
Response 3:
So this was obviously a reoccurring theme. I just didn’t account for the cooler temperatures and decrease sweat rates during hydration. I had to come off the gas and coast to pee at least 6 times during the big segment, leaving some speed out there on some of the descents by not pushing. It was at this point that I finally back off the fluids after the second bike loop.
Evaluation 3:
Listen to your body. Be aware of the elements.
The Run -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Run Time: 4:00:00 Actual Run Time: 4:02:22
Weather / Conditions / Notes:
Rain, heavy at times, finally ending at about 2 hours into the run, Temperatures in low 50’s, Winds 10-15 mph. 2 loop course, combination of concrete sidewalks, paved city street, and dirt running trails.
Challenge 1:
Keep correct easy pacing miles 0-6, then increase to IM marathon pace miles 6-20, then hang on (don’t slow down) for miles 20-26.2. Walk 20-30 paces at the very end of each aid station.
Response 1:
T2 was a little frustrating, because I lost valuable time when a volunteer gave me the wrong bag. It’s hard to be upset with volunteers, and the truth is that I should have confirmed the back before accepting and heading into the change tent. The second volunteer helping me in the change tent was awesome about understanding the value of every second in T2 and went back out to the row of bags to find my correct run gear bag. I was #1286, and the way the bags were sitting a “folded 3” in bag #1236 was easily confused for mine. I likely sat in the change tent nearly 4 minutes later than I did the previous year. On the bright side, this was when the skies really opened up and it really started pouring. The poor volunteer nearly fainted when he helped empty my run bag and saw my Luna sandals. He was sure he had the wrong bag again, but I reassured him and soon enough I was out on the run course, enjoying the rain!
Coming out of T2 the plan was to maintain 9:20 min/mile for the first 6 miles. I was able to overcome the disconnect between mind and body, that made this pace feel like I was in super slow motion. Things were going well until Mile 3, where the course changes for sidewalk concrete to dirt running path. The dirt was an utter mud pit and representative of a Tuff Mudder race. My sandal sunk deep in the mud, but handled just as well as the other Newtons and Zoots on the course. I kept between a 9:20 to 9:30 min/mile pace for the duration of the mud pit, from Mile 3 to Mile 5, but it was a lot more effort than it should have been for that pace. Through Mile 6 I had done well to keep slight under 9:20 pace. Nutrition was also very consistent over this stretch, taking Gatorade Endurance at each aid station and a Gu at every other aid station. I spent walking 20 steps at the end of each aid station to take in the nutrition comfortably.
From Miles 6-20 to plan was to maintain 8:50 min/mile pace. Despite my efforts to increase the pace, I was holding a 9:05 min/mile pace through Mile 18. At times I felt like the rain was taking its toll and keeping me from hitting my goal paces, but other times is was refreshing and actually invigorating. I was happy to have kept my arm warmers for the run, which was not my original plan, since the temperature were dropping as dusk was soon approaching.
The notorious Mile 18 met me with a distinct slowing of my pace to 9:30 min/mile through Mile 24. All I could think during this stretch was one of EN mantras, “Don’t slow down.”
From Mile 24 to the finish, I called on my “one thing” that had me push my pace to was I felt was a dead sprint, but was actually a sustained 2.6 mile push at 8:25 min/mile pace and red carpet finish to an awaiting Coach Rich and Mariah.
Evaluation 1:
Using Luna running sandals continues to work for me. I had a 36 minute improvement in my marathon time, under some tough conditions. The sandals performed well in the deep mud which was an unknown. I had done several long runs in the rain, so I know this would not be an issue. For those who wonder why I continue with the sandals; I’m just faster in them. I’ve tried every other running shoe and my time are slower, with the same fitness. I do feel there are some real advantages in terms improved proprioception that have helped me avoid injury (plantar, knee issues) since I’ve been using them for that past 3 years, but that for another EN thread. I think the key for increased speed, is an increased cadence with the sandal versus any other show that I have used. My average cadence for the entire run portion was 182, which includes the much slower “mud bogging section” and the 20 walking paces at each aid station. As an aside, the Lunas always draw some type of comment from other athletes and volunteer, 99% of which are positive, with the most common comment being, “I never seen that before.”
Challenge 2:
Run course nutrition.
Response 2:
By Mile 22 I had had enough of Gatorade and Gu for the day. At this aid station I changed to Coke and looked forward to it at every aid station. This may have helped with my final kick to the finish. It was certainly something to look forward to instead of the other two.
I also noted that they did brink out the chicken broth out a little earlier this year, since the temperatures were dropping sooner in the day. I did have it once at one of the later aid station, maybe at Mile 20. Not bad.
Evaluation 3:
Coke can be a real pick up, but definitely don’t go to this too early.
Next Time -- Overall Lessons Learned
Use the space below to capture a few critical things that you learned, not covered above, that you will want to remember for your next big race!
Try and minimize outside distractions on race week. I forgot to mention, my wife had a foot fracture on an easy run we did in Tempe on Thursday prior to the race. We spent the entire evening at an urgent care, and the logistics for the entire race weekend went through the roof after this.
Utilize check lists as much as possible. I should have laminated my master check list as often as I used it. Your brain tends to stop working the closer you get to race day.
Utilize team and teammates as resources (more than I have done) in the months and weeks leading up to race day. Share the knowledge! I’m being uber detailed on this with the hopes that someone, some day can benefit from this. This is the collective power of EN.
Limit exposure to nervous energy and nervous athletes
Eliminate as many moving parts as possible during transition
Keep in mind feelings of family and friends during your training
Comments
Dan, this is a great analytic report. You are well tuned into what's happening within and outside of you, and able to recall and learn from it all. A great tool to build future improvements on. It's too bad your vector pedals weren't transmitting properly; it would be informative to have more data such as IF by segment to learn from.
About your run pacing... some folks, myself included, have discovered that the fastest IM runs often come from a steady pace, meaning for you about 9:15 the whole way. Trying to pick it up mid race, or again at the end of the race seems to be harder, and less productive than just locking in that steady pace. The result in RPE is a sensation of increasing effort; the result in HR in a well-trained athlete is often a slightly rising rate thru the entire 26 miles.
Not getting the chance to debrief with you immediately after the race is one of the things I missed by not getting back to Tempe this year. I will note that the two years it has rained race day in Nov, are the years I was signed up to race but didn't.
Do you have a plan for swim improvement this winter?
@Mariah, thanks again for the pic with Coach. I WILL dig deeper into the team starting now with out season.
@Al, sorry to have not connected post race, but sounds like you busy healing up. The steady pace may have made more sense, and even dropping the pace in the mud zone. I'm about through with Vector. Had Vector 1, that stopped working and was next given the Vector 2 under warranty. I can adapt on race day, but post race data is invaluable. Regarding the swim, my big elephant in the room. I'm open to any suggestions. I will revisit the EN eBook, trying to dial in body position and work towards being "good enough". I'm an adult onset swimmer learning about 2.5 years ago. I've done some work with a swim coach to focus on basic position and technique. I may just need more pool time, despite our EN slant that this is lower ROI especially in winter. Open to EN's help here.
As for the swim, u said it, it is where i think u can improve the most. Maybe u can make it your focus for the next 2 to 3 months (focusing on technique) and get some stretch cord for after those 3 months to keep some swim fitness (and at least 1 technique oriented swim session a week).
Here is a very good thread about improving your IM swim:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/18228/Default.aspx
i really think that a 20' improvement on your swim will translate in 30'something overall gain (steadier bike effort, less people to pass, less bike congestion, etc...)
good luck
@Daniel -- Great report and good race. I just registered for next year, and so I appreciate all of the insight.
As for transition bags-I, like Bruce, put bright duct tape all over my bag(psychedelic print last 2years) and bright ribbon on the ties. No mistaking mine!
@Marc, you're welcome and hopefully you'll find some benefit in my IMAZ "thesis". I will be a volunteer in 2016 to pay it forward after 2 years of racing IMAZ. Make sure to get an EN kit so I can pick you out and fill you with much needed mojo when it's most needed.
@Bruce and Betsy, I think the concept with making your transition bags stand out is very similar to our luggage at the air port. It's a small detail, but when it goes wrong for you, you'll never forget it. We all need to make sure to pass this tidbit along to first timers at IM races. Also I noted some folks using colorful tape on the rack supports to help them remember which row their bikes were racked on. I think that's another good tip, since our brains tend to work at a different pace during the vortex period of transition world.
I'm signed up for IMAZ again so, see you in November!