Punna 2016 Challenge St Andrews Race Report
As a previous maintenance mode member and lurker in general, it has been awhile since I filed a race report, so here goes.
First off this is a great race and an awesome venue with a superb resort hotel (Algonquin resort) right at the finish line/transition zone- as well as many other lodging options within walking distance. I highly recommend it. It's not an easy course, but fair. For you americans it would be a bargain high quality half distance race, and its only about 20 minutes from Calais Maine if you get homesick for 'funions' and the 50 different varieties of Chex that aren't available in Canada. There is also a sprint race, kids races and a 5k road race if others in your party want to participate. The race hotel is ideal for a family race-cation. We have gone every year since the inaugural race in 2013 and my family looks forward to our weekend there each summer.
Just a proviso that I am independent with regard to my training but I try to use a lot of what I've learned here on EN for race execution, diet, etc. Hopefully some of this will be useful info for others.
Day before: Swam on the course in the morning and did a short shakedown ride where I realized my power tap battery was dying. Quick fix then checked the bike in. Got my Carbo loading done by noon with a big brunch at the hotel and then it was relaxation time for the afternoon and evening, in bed and asleep around 9 pm.
Race morning: up at 0400. Core diet breakfast of applesauce with 30g of whey protein, 1 banana, and 24 oz of perform, finished by 4:30 or so. Aimed for about 130 g of carbs, as per the recommendation of 1.0g/lean body weight in pounds. I decided to skip the coffee this year to try and get an extra caffeine jolt later in the race. Headed to transition for opening at 0500.
Air temp was coolish 54 and was only going to get up to 60 or so by noon. Winds were light and supposed to stay that way. I was disappointed to see it was drizzling as the rain was supposed to stay away until noonish. The previous evening I couldn't decide whether to wear a jacket or not but finally settled on using a dry aero jersey (Castelli stealth T1 with full zip) in T1 as well as full fingered neoprene bike gloves. Although it was drizzling it didn't seem too cold so I stuck with the jersey and gloves option. I made sure to keep a towel in my transition area so I could dry my hands and arms after the swim and make it easier to put the clothes on. Spent about 20 minutes setting things up/pumping tires/etc and then headed back to the room to relax and put on my wetsuit. I didn't have a gel to take at 15 minutes prior to the swim start so I drank some perform instead.
Swim: Official time 29:01, 11th overall.
The swim is in a protected lagoon that is filled with seawater from the adjacent (very cold) Bay of Fundy at the start of each summer. Luckily it heats up fast and is usually bordering on non-wetsuit legal. This year it was cool as there had been a lot of rain lately. The water is very salty which makes you buoyant and results in fast swims. Apparently there were some jellyfish this year but I didn't encounter any (thank God). We were allowed into the water at 6:40 so I had a good 15 minutes to warm up before the 7 am start and I used the whole time swimming back and forth and probably got my best warm up ever. Then I treaded water for about 5 minutes since it was a water start, which helped to keep me warm.
Historically I have had my best swims here but also my most panicky since the entire mens field starts together and we are funnelled into a bit of a narrow section before the first turn buoy. This year I resolved to start at the front and go like hell off to the side of the pack as long as possible to try and stay in the cleaner water and avoid contact. This worked well and I was contact free just behind the leaders for the first 200m or so, until I was swallowed by a pack of 7 or 8 who I stayed with and drafted off for the rest of the swim. There was a bit of contact off and on but all very manageable and no panicking this year. I exited the water feeling great, probably because I had drafted pretty much the whole course! I'm particularly happy my average stroke rate was 68 according to garmin, since I have been working on turnover for the past year.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1249710223/1
T1: 6:03
The swim exit to T1 is 700 m with a fairly brutal steep climb for 3-400m. They give a prize for fastest up the hill, and I wasn't even close, but I felt like I had a stronger run than last year. I lost a couple of minutes in T1 struggling with the aero jersey and gloves. I used the towel I had placed up there to dry my face and forgot about drying everything else. DOH. Anyway eventually I was on my bike and on my way, having given up several spots in transition.
Bike: 2:38:55, NP 199, AP 191. 23rd overall
The bike course is 17km section of rolling hills leading out and back from a to and fro 56km segment on the highway, closed to traffic. Because its the highway its mostly uphill,downhill, or false flats. The overall elevation gain is 730m according to Garmin, so similar to the tremblant course.
I was injured 8 weeks ago that prevented any running for 2 weeks, and a slow recovery for the following 4 weeks, and we still aren't sure what happened, so I decided to take it a bit easier for the 1st hour and reassess. This led to getting passed quite a lot on the initial hills. After the hour was up I was feeling pretty good so I tried to settle into more of ABP+ type rhythm, around 210-220w. It got slightly breezy and there was drizzle off and on, followed by a steady rain for the final 30 minutes. I was having difficulty keeping my HR up, especially on the downhills and in the tailwind as I was spinning out my compact gearing. I don't think this would be a problem in any other race with warmer conditions. For the final hour of the bike I couldn't really feel my legs (good) or my feet (bad). My hands and head were warm though which was a blessing, and my core temperature seemed ok, there was no shivering. I actually felt stronger and stronger as the bike leg progressed and ended up passing some people back toward the end. Unfortunately I was slower (2:39 vs 2:34), lower power (198w vs 191w) and less steady than last year (VI 1.04 vs 1.03).
Normally for a HIM bike I carry two bottles and pick up a third on the course but this year I decided to avoid all the aid stations due to the wet conditions, especially since we are joined by some of the slower athletes at the later stations. I carried 3 bottles. Two were 20oz bottles which I consumed completely and the final was a 24 oz bottle which I drank about half. I knew I would be less inclined to drink in the cold conditions so I mixed each bottle stronger than usual, each with about 300-350cal and 1200mg of sodium. I forced myself to finish the first 20oz bottle by 45 minutes and threw it away at the first aid station. I drank the second bottle over the next hour and then started working on the third, I had to urinate once on the bike, at around the 2hr mark. I never felt bloated or any GI distress and felt good energy at the end of the ride.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1249710223/3
T2: 1:33.
Uneventful. A bit slower than last year as I was just moving slower due to the cold and had to remove bike gloves and put running socks on my frozen feet. I literally could not feel my feet at all. Then it was grab my go- bag which contained a hat, race belt/number, thin running gloves, a tictac box with thermotabs, and a gel flask containing two salted caramel GU (containing caffeine) dissolved in water. Thankfully it had stopped raining but I decided to leave my aero jersey on and it was fine.
Run: 1:34, 21st, 2.5 minutes faster than last year and 2.5 minutes off my best open HM from 15+ years ago.
The run course is very nice out and back twice with ascents at each end, sort of canoe shaped, eh. The only downside is the climb back to T1/finish which is a steady grade for about 1.5k and can suck the life out of you if you aren't prepared to suffer a bit.
Dunno what happened on the run, only that I ran as if I was somebody else. The first 500m-1k was a blur as I was emptying my go bag and getting organized. Normally I try to hold back the pace at the beginning of a HIM run but this time I just let the legs do what they felt like doing, and just focussed on form and cadence. My HR initially was in the low aerobic range and it took the first 2k at least to come up to my normal Z3. Despite this I was running 4:20-4:25/k even though my target was 4:35-4:45. I didn't have any aches or pains however and after the first couple of km's decided it was safe to continue and just hoped nothing bad would happen. Thankfully the feeling returned to my feet after the first 15 minutes or so as well. I decided to try to keep my HR 135-140 for the first half then let it go to 140-145+ after that. There were only a couple of brief rough patches which I solved by taking a small swig from my flask for some sugar and caffeine, and that seemed to do the trick, Finished the run feeling stronger and stronger. I passed several people on the final climb to the finish and I think I even splitted or maybe even slightly negative split the run.
I took only water at the aid stations, and I wasn't very thirsty so I actually skipped some of them. It was still fairly cool so I felt it was safe to do so. I took an occasional swig from my gel flask very 15- 20 minutes or so. I did have to urinate twice(!) on the run which I did without breaking stride thankfully and luckily was able to wait until there was no one around to see it (I hope).
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1249710223/5
Overall finish was 4:49 which was actually 2 minutes slower than last year (chalk that up to slow transitions and a slower bike). However I placed higher this year, 17th overall and 4th in my age group. I was ecstatic to find out that the AG placing was good enough to earn a spot representing Canada at the ITU long course worlds in Penticton BC next year. I was hoping I would qualify but going into the race thought there was little chance since I was 8th last year and only top 5 would go. Maybe that's what got into me on the run as it is the first time I have actually paid attention to the numbers on other people's calves and thought about my placing in the middle of a race. Also I think pushing the fluids and calories on the bike more than usual set me up well for later in the race- definitely something to keep in mind for IMMT.
Thanks for reading! I welcome your questions and comments.
Comments
First time I have seen the 1gm carb/BW formula. That mean I need about 3 double dark chocolate Krispy Kreme donuts pre-race. Love it.
Superb performance out there, especially on the bike. Pretty awesome you are going to the big show. Quite an honor. You and I had a similar HIM run experience this year - congratulations on exceeding your run expectations despite the injury limitation, its nice feeling.
DS
The 1.0g/lbs lean body weight is in the core diet webinar video. For an ironman they recommend 1.2g
Satish,
Sorry for the late entry, but wanted to also congratulate you on a stellar race. Well earned spot in Worlds. A lot of us can probably learn a little (or a lot) from your swim prep and performance. It still amazes me that 90% of the field doesn't get in the water and warm up. And, if available, a group draft is pure gold. Very well done. I timed a bunch of different stroke rates last week. Currently, 60 spm is warm-up pace @1:30/100y, 65 spm is 1:26/100y pace and 70 spm is 1:21-22/100y. 65 is currently difficult, and 70 is a very short-term experience. The fact that you held 68 over 1.2 miles, to me, is pure BAMF territory. No wonder you came out at the FOP. Of course, I couldn't access your Garmin files (privacy setting), so I'm still not entirely convinced that your swim actually happened.
Having trained many hours with you, the only time I felt like puking through the tears was on the bike. The fact that you relied on your swim and run here only proves that you've got some big-time all-around fitness heading into MT. Best of luck in your first IM build. Be smart, prioritize rest and stay healthy.
MR
Thanks Mike! Your recall of our rides together seem to be a bit different from how I remember it! I updated the privacy settings on Garmin Connect- hopefully the links will work now.
I realized a few months ago that in the pool, a proper warmup can be the difference between a good swim and wanting to quit swimming altogether. I had noticed that my fastest 100m of practice was the first, and that didn't seem right. In the pool, I try to start off with easy but fairly strong lazy long strokes, a bit of backstroke and breast stroke,and a bit of kicking and I don't freak out if it's slow.
I didn't do any other strokes in my race warmup but the 15' of easy swimming including a few accelerations was golden! definitely something I'm going to have to try to replicate at future races. I was shocked that most of the field was standing around in the shallows until just before the start! (however that was me last year).
I'm quite proud that turnover has come up the way it has. 18 months ago I would swim at 40-46 spm. Now in the pool it has somewhat organically come up to 50-60 spm, but it has been a struggle at times and my pace dipped for a while working at it. Hopefully I am developing a platform for future improvement. Interestingly my open water stroke rate is much higher than what I can do in the pool, but I will take it!
That's some impressive progress. In a pool, Garmin's spm is pretty useless because of the turns. I did a few (short-lived, semi-hypoxic) intervals the other night at 70 spm on the wetronome, and Garmin gave me 30 spm for each interval (60 when doubled). That's why I'm frequently "the guy in the other lane making some annoying beeping noise."