Dave's 2015 IMAZ Experience
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This will be a little different than my usual race report as it was intended as an Event Participation. The last 18 months have been mentally and physically difficult as I have been dealing with 2 failed meniscus surgeries, continued pain, joint swelling, and sometimes even an inability to walk without significant limping. As a result, run training has been very inconsistent and totally insufficient to support even an attempt at a mediocre run. It has also caused problems with cycling, particularly on steep hills. Thus, my plan was to have a good swim (looking for about a 1:10) a solid bike (5:20-5:40 depending on conditions) and see what the legs would allow me – can I run .25 miles or 10? I was pretty certain that trying for 13 would not be doable. My doctor advised that running would not damage my knee, but if I run or walk with a limp I could hurt my other leg or my back so I had to be very mindful of that. </p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">SWIM: IMAZ utilized a new “rolling” start instead of the usual “mass” start. The idea is to have a safer, less contact swim. From my perspective, starting at the back of the 1:10 group[ it was a FAIL. I have never been brutalized like that in any prior IM. I do not know how that affected my time, but I do know that with being kicked, punched, pulled, etc I had several cramps during the swim. Also, this was probably the first time I actually had the feeling that I needed to pee during the swim (that would be an issue all day.) I did not get my Garmin started so I do not have a file to see how straight, etc. IM results show me at 1:11:00, good for 23d in my AG, 416 Male and 521 OA. This is my worst IM swim placing so I am not quite sure what to make of that other than I have been having some technique issues and did get some instruction leading up to the race. (For comparison, at my last IMAZ in 2013 I was 1:08:35 and 11<sup>th</sup> AG, 347 Male and 436 OA.)</p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">T1: Coming up the steps after the swim is always a bit of a challenge, getting your bearing, being vertical, etc. The volunteer grabbed my arm to help pull me up and I almost pulled him into the lake. (I think I was bigger than he was.) Ran to the Wetsuit Strippers and had 2 pretty big guys struggle to get me out of my suit. Then it is a pretty long run to pick up the T1 bag and then to the change tent. All I had in my bag was my helmet, arm warmers (cut off tube socks) and nutrition flasks for my back pocket. I usually have pretty good transition times and this was OK at 4:49, actually faster than last race.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Bike: <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/3">https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/3</a> </p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My plan was to start pretty conservatively (175-185 Watts) and then ride 190 to 200 the rest of the way. I may actually have started too conservatively as my first 4 five mile splits were at 143 (barely half of my FTP), 150, 170, 169. I did hold mostly high 180s and 190s the rest of the ride. In fact, I saw my Power averages constantly climb through the entire bike. I am not sure why, but again on the bike I had to Pee and a lot, like every 10 miles or so. The temperature was cool so we did not need to take in that much fluid. I do not think I had that much so I really do not know what was going on inside me? It was also raining, and while that made it a little chilly on the bike I was not uncomfortable. I had my speedfill with Beta water and probably only drank half. I had a new between the bars container with just water that I would refill from the Aid Stations. I sipped every 10 minutes or so and a number of times skipped the Aid Stations. In my pocket I had a flask of Ucan gel that was concentrated and did not have much fluid. I felt like I had sufficient fluid and energy so that was good; it was just all the coasting I had to do while relieving myself. I did have a mishap on the bike; at about 52 miles (on my second loop) as I was getting ready to pass a rider (on his first loop) he veered in front of me causing my front wheel to hit his back wheel and down I went. It was pretty quick and Garmin says I only lost about 2 minutes. What I did not realize at the time (discovered while packing my bike) was that the front fork was fractured. Had I seen that , I am not sure I would have continued. One good bump and it could have exploded on me. Considering that as you descend from the Beeline highway you hit speeds over 30 MPH that would not be fun. Stats from the bike: 5:36:32 to move me up to 8<sup>th</sup> in the AG, 360 Male and 416 OA. (versus the somewhat faster 2013 course where my 5:22 also moved me up to 8<sup>th</sup> AG, 368 male and 391 OA.) HR Avg: 131, Max 142; Power Avg: 181, Normalized Power 188; IF: .737 (but probably lower as I have a slightly higher FTP than used for these calculations); Speed AVG (when moving 20 MPH.) and Max 32.0. Curiously, Garmin shows a significant drop in HR about 3:45 into the bike without any real change in the other measures? </p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">T2: This was more of a mess. I left my bike shoes on the bike and ran to pick up my bag. The ground was wet and I got a lot of grass on my feet. (Wonder if I should have left the shoes on?) Ran to tent. Person sitting next to me was getting Royal treatment (feet washed and cleaned and dried by a volunteer who then helped him put on shoes, socks, etc. I was just trying to find something dry to clean the feet a bit and get the grass off. I got ab cramps as I was leaning forward and that made it more challenging as well. Finally got socks and shoes on and then had to put on my brace. Grabbed my nutrition, hat and race number and went to go join my friends for a run. T2 time: 4:29, not bad for what I did, but not the 1:47 I did last time.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Run: <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/5">https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/5</a> </p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I truly had no idea what my legs were going to give me. As I started out the knee did not feel too bad. ( I had not run or biked for 8 days so they were fully recovered.) I ran the first mile at 10:00 – Hmmm, seems OK! Get to the first Aid station where I normally walk about 20 steps and Uh Oh! The knee hurts to walk, but I guess because of the flex in the knee when running it did not bother me. Started running mile 2 and the knee seems to be OK again. I am thinking that I am just going to have to see how far I can run because if I have to walk, I am going to have to drop out. Mile 2 in 10:12. Walk thru Aid Station and knee hurts. Did I mention that it was RAINING. In mile 3 we go down a ramp and that hurt. Then we get to run the next mile and a half in MUD. I like trail running but my knee is not so fond of it anymore. Over that distance it was starting to hurt more on the run. At about 4 miles we get back to the start. I was still doing OK so decided to see how far I could keep running, but I knew that I was not going to be able to finish. I actually had tears as I went past the crowd between 4 and 5 miles. I really wanted this and it just was not going to happen. I was able to continue running until about 6 miles. At that point the knee simply said “No More!” My only options at that point were to drop out which still meant another mile or 2 of walking or see if I could really focus on maintaining form not limping and not hurting myself. I decided to give it a shot. I am a fast walker and I thought that by going fast I could put a little less stress on the knee. Mile 7 was a transition from run to walk but I was walking 14:15-14:20 per mile pace and the knee seemed OK. Let’s see if I can make it to 13.1 miles (the first loop of 2). I made it and was still doing OK. Let’s see if I can go another. I also realized that if I could hold sub 15:00 miles I could break 13 hours and that became my new motivation. I kept plugging away at 14+ minute miles, actually had 2 under 14. Finally at about mile 20 the knee was getting sore and my left knee started to hurt as well. I am not sure if that was from the crash as the left knee took the brunt of the fall and was the only area to get abrasions and contusions, whether it was from the stress of the marathon, or a combination of both. I refocused on getting to the finish and not hurting myself. About half a mile from the finish I heard from out of the blue “Go Bear!” It was Barbara who had endured the rain and come to cheer me to the finish. I went over, thanked her for being there and gave her a kiss. I continued the last bit to the Finish. I can’t say I have ever had a more emotional end to a race than this. I could feel it through my body and again there were tears, this time tears of joy at having accomplished what did not think I could. It is truly amazing what the human body allows us to do. Run Time 5:53:31 (13:29 per mile average with 6+ running and 20 walking.) My final time was 12:50:21 ( I broke the 13 hour mark.) That placed me 40<sup>th</sup> AG, 817 male and 1011 OA. </p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Conclusion: I want to thank everyone that helped me get to and through this. Family and friends are so precious. It did change from an Event Participation to a true Life Experience. I have registered to do IMAZ again next year but do not know what will become of the leg between now and then. I have been referred for Stem Cell Therapy and will hope that provides some relief. If not, I am going to have to make some very hard decisions about what this sport means to me, what my body can handle and where we go next. Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any thoughts or comments I would love to hear from you!</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">SWIM: IMAZ utilized a new “rolling” start instead of the usual “mass” start. The idea is to have a safer, less contact swim. From my perspective, starting at the back of the 1:10 group[ it was a FAIL. I have never been brutalized like that in any prior IM. I do not know how that affected my time, but I do know that with being kicked, punched, pulled, etc I had several cramps during the swim. Also, this was probably the first time I actually had the feeling that I needed to pee during the swim (that would be an issue all day.) I did not get my Garmin started so I do not have a file to see how straight, etc. IM results show me at 1:11:00, good for 23d in my AG, 416 Male and 521 OA. This is my worst IM swim placing so I am not quite sure what to make of that other than I have been having some technique issues and did get some instruction leading up to the race. (For comparison, at my last IMAZ in 2013 I was 1:08:35 and 11<sup>th</sup> AG, 347 Male and 436 OA.)</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">T1: Coming up the steps after the swim is always a bit of a challenge, getting your bearing, being vertical, etc. The volunteer grabbed my arm to help pull me up and I almost pulled him into the lake. (I think I was bigger than he was.) Ran to the Wetsuit Strippers and had 2 pretty big guys struggle to get me out of my suit. Then it is a pretty long run to pick up the T1 bag and then to the change tent. All I had in my bag was my helmet, arm warmers (cut off tube socks) and nutrition flasks for my back pocket. I usually have pretty good transition times and this was OK at 4:49, actually faster than last race.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Bike: <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/3">https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/3</a> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My plan was to start pretty conservatively (175-185 Watts) and then ride 190 to 200 the rest of the way. I may actually have started too conservatively as my first 4 five mile splits were at 143 (barely half of my FTP), 150, 170, 169. I did hold mostly high 180s and 190s the rest of the ride. In fact, I saw my Power averages constantly climb through the entire bike. I am not sure why, but again on the bike I had to Pee and a lot, like every 10 miles or so. The temperature was cool so we did not need to take in that much fluid. I do not think I had that much so I really do not know what was going on inside me? It was also raining, and while that made it a little chilly on the bike I was not uncomfortable. I had my speedfill with Beta water and probably only drank half. I had a new between the bars container with just water that I would refill from the Aid Stations. I sipped every 10 minutes or so and a number of times skipped the Aid Stations. In my pocket I had a flask of Ucan gel that was concentrated and did not have much fluid. I felt like I had sufficient fluid and energy so that was good; it was just all the coasting I had to do while relieving myself. I did have a mishap on the bike; at about 52 miles (on my second loop) as I was getting ready to pass a rider (on his first loop) he veered in front of me causing my front wheel to hit his back wheel and down I went. It was pretty quick and Garmin says I only lost about 2 minutes. What I did not realize at the time (discovered while packing my bike) was that the front fork was fractured. Had I seen that , I am not sure I would have continued. One good bump and it could have exploded on me. Considering that as you descend from the Beeline highway you hit speeds over 30 MPH that would not be fun. Stats from the bike: 5:36:32 to move me up to 8<sup>th</sup> in the AG, 360 Male and 416 OA. (versus the somewhat faster 2013 course where my 5:22 also moved me up to 8<sup>th</sup> AG, 368 male and 391 OA.) HR Avg: 131, Max 142; Power Avg: 181, Normalized Power 188; IF: .737 (but probably lower as I have a slightly higher FTP than used for these calculations); Speed AVG (when moving 20 MPH.) and Max 32.0. Curiously, Garmin shows a significant drop in HR about 3:45 into the bike without any real change in the other measures? </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">T2: This was more of a mess. I left my bike shoes on the bike and ran to pick up my bag. The ground was wet and I got a lot of grass on my feet. (Wonder if I should have left the shoes on?) Ran to tent. Person sitting next to me was getting Royal treatment (feet washed and cleaned and dried by a volunteer who then helped him put on shoes, socks, etc. I was just trying to find something dry to clean the feet a bit and get the grass off. I got ab cramps as I was leaning forward and that made it more challenging as well. Finally got socks and shoes on and then had to put on my brace. Grabbed my nutrition, hat and race number and went to go join my friends for a run. T2 time: 4:29, not bad for what I did, but not the 1:47 I did last time.</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Run: <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/5">https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/958441873/5</a> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I truly had no idea what my legs were going to give me. As I started out the knee did not feel too bad. ( I had not run or biked for 8 days so they were fully recovered.) I ran the first mile at 10:00 – Hmmm, seems OK! Get to the first Aid station where I normally walk about 20 steps and Uh Oh! The knee hurts to walk, but I guess because of the flex in the knee when running it did not bother me. Started running mile 2 and the knee seems to be OK again. I am thinking that I am just going to have to see how far I can run because if I have to walk, I am going to have to drop out. Mile 2 in 10:12. Walk thru Aid Station and knee hurts. Did I mention that it was RAINING. In mile 3 we go down a ramp and that hurt. Then we get to run the next mile and a half in MUD. I like trail running but my knee is not so fond of it anymore. Over that distance it was starting to hurt more on the run. At about 4 miles we get back to the start. I was still doing OK so decided to see how far I could keep running, but I knew that I was not going to be able to finish. I actually had tears as I went past the crowd between 4 and 5 miles. I really wanted this and it just was not going to happen. I was able to continue running until about 6 miles. At that point the knee simply said “No More!” My only options at that point were to drop out which still meant another mile or 2 of walking or see if I could really focus on maintaining form not limping and not hurting myself. I decided to give it a shot. I am a fast walker and I thought that by going fast I could put a little less stress on the knee. Mile 7 was a transition from run to walk but I was walking 14:15-14:20 per mile pace and the knee seemed OK. Let’s see if I can make it to 13.1 miles (the first loop of 2). I made it and was still doing OK. Let’s see if I can go another. I also realized that if I could hold sub 15:00 miles I could break 13 hours and that became my new motivation. I kept plugging away at 14+ minute miles, actually had 2 under 14. Finally at about mile 20 the knee was getting sore and my left knee started to hurt as well. I am not sure if that was from the crash as the left knee took the brunt of the fall and was the only area to get abrasions and contusions, whether it was from the stress of the marathon, or a combination of both. I refocused on getting to the finish and not hurting myself. About half a mile from the finish I heard from out of the blue “Go Bear!” It was Barbara who had endured the rain and come to cheer me to the finish. I went over, thanked her for being there and gave her a kiss. I continued the last bit to the Finish. I can’t say I have ever had a more emotional end to a race than this. I could feel it through my body and again there were tears, this time tears of joy at having accomplished what did not think I could. It is truly amazing what the human body allows us to do. Run Time 5:53:31 (13:29 per mile average with 6+ running and 20 walking.) My final time was 12:50:21 ( I broke the 13 hour mark.) That placed me 40<sup>th</sup> AG, 817 male and 1011 OA. </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Conclusion: I want to thank everyone that helped me get to and through this. Family and friends are so precious. It did change from an Event Participation to a true Life Experience. I have registered to do IMAZ again next year but do not know what will become of the leg between now and then. I have been referred for Stem Cell Therapy and will hope that provides some relief. If not, I am going to have to make some very hard decisions about what this sport means to me, what my body can handle and where we go next. Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any thoughts or comments I would love to hear from you!</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>
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Comments
Man, you are one tough ol' bird. Doing that with no cartilage in your knee - sounds to me like the equivalent of listening to someone scrape their fingernails on slate for 4 hours. *Shiver*. I know, no matter what your knee can handle in the future, running or not, you'll find a way to enjoy yourself in challenging physical activities. Its a big part of who you are.
Gutting through that power walk for a sub-13 finish is an inspirational performance (one I;m pretty sure you don't want to repeat.) But good on ya' for doing it this time. There is a positive vibe shining thru your report; but I know how you must feel, knowing what you were only so recently capable of in this sport.