Molina IMLP 2016 Race Report
Race Name: IMLP
Race Date: July 24, 2016
Race Day Stats:
Total Time / Division Place / Gender Place / Overall Place: 12:09:41 / 102 / 422 / 524
Swim Time: 1:23:25 / 246 / 1185 / 1554
T1 Time: 4:55
Bike Time: 5:57:54 / 97 / 402 / 473
T2 Time: 4:32
Run Time: 4:38:55 / 102 / 422 / 524
Race Day Goals:
1. Finish my third Ironman, first at a new venue.
Did you achieve it? Yes
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? I had a good fitness baseline gained through much of the winter include a solid run base and good cycling outseason. Going into this race, I was probably at my most fit that I have ever been overall, especially this early in the season. I did have some set backs in the 6 weeks leading up to IMLP. It caused by to miss a couple of huge training weekends, including a large volume pop weekend. I also had some prerace logistics cause headaches, like lost luggage, missed connection on flights, missing 4 Keys talk and swim meet up. Another positive was great race day support from Jasmine and family, and knowing so many at home were cheering along.
2. Finish under 11 hours.
Did you achieve it? No (not even close.)
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? I had a small meltdown during the bike. I felt things were going very well, except for some occasional “slipping” between gears, until mile 50. This was the first time I dropped my chain. I jumped off and reset it, but lost some momentum going up a hill. I pressed a little harder than I should have in retrospect to get that time back, and felt okay doing this and completed the first loop. The second loop of the course felt great as well, maintaining my 220 watt 3 sec average and nail the decent that defined the early part of each loop. When I got back onto the flats, I dropped my chain on a couple of smaller roller at least two more times. This is when I started to lose my focus. I started seeing my 3 sec average power drop into the 170’s despite feeling the same perceived energy expenditure. I thought something was wrong with my power meter! The final stretch of loop 2 is marked by significant climbs, which led to two additional chain drops. At this point I was afraid of going between big and small rings. And my head was not in a good place. As I started looking at my timer, I was hoping for sub 5:30, but at that point was willing to settle to under 6:00, which honestly was a little depression. I didn’t feel gassed or anywhere near bonk, so I felt my nutrition was adequate. Heat was also a factor, but nowhere near red-lining (mid to upper 80’s). Winds topped out at 10 mph head wind for about 30 minutes. Otherwise it was mostly a tail or cross wind. I knew my head was still not in a good place when I grabbed my morning (swim) bag instead of my transition to run bag, even though they were yelling at us to pick up the correct bag. The run was difficult throughout, but it took me until almost mile 10 to get my head back in the right place. I think it had something to do with seeing everyone around me walking and me just slowing running past them, but at least running. I did spend more time walking the rest stops than I typically do, but I did this out of necessity rather that convenience. Cola and chicken broth starting at mile 20 was a big morale boost.
3. 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: 1:23:25
Weather / Conditions / Notes: Morning temperatures were pleasant in the mid 60’s, very light breeze 1-2 mph, with water temperature was reported at a chilly 74 F. No waves, no current. Fog was present, making the buoy very difficult to spot. Water visibility was about 10 feet. Self-seed rolling swim start. I lined up right in the middle of the 1:20 and 1:30 signs. Mirror Lake has an underground cable the runs the span of the course and make visual above surface sighting essentially optional.
Challenge 1:
Find the guidance cable as soon as possible and stick near it.
Response 1:
I was able to do this and felt fairly comfortable doing so.
Evaluation 1:
My placement in self ceding was right on. It seemed that the folks around me swan the same pace. After finding the guidance cable, I stuck to it and felt as fast as I ever had in an open water swim.
Challenge 2:
Getting banged around during the swim.
Response 2
Everyone else seem to have the same idea about finding the cable and fighting for it once the fog became an issue for at least the first loop. I was able to relax, absorb contact and occasionally deliver contact without too much of a problem.
The Bike -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Bike Time: 5:30:00 Actual Bike Time: 5:57:54
Weather / Conditions / Notes:
Scattered clouds that then gave way to clear skies with temperatures topping out in the upper 80’s F, and humidity in the upper 40%. The winds were minimal, with only a mild head wind in the end of each loop. Otherwise minimal or mild crosswinds and tailwinds.
Challenge 1:
Getting through T1 with minimal issues and safely getting onto the course, realizing there is an early climb out of Lake Placid before a significant descent.
Response 1:
T1 was smooth and fast. After receiving help from the wet suit strippers. I focused on getting my hydration started early and taking in some nutrition before the descent. I was dialed into my JRA wattage of 200w for the first 30 min (based on FTP). I increased this to 220w for the remainder of the ride as per my pre-race plan.
Evaluation 1:
Everything was feeling very good through much of the entire first loop until about mile 50, the last major hill of the first loop, aka Poppa Bear Hill. I felt great through the fill but as I made the right turn, I dropped my chain and lost all momentum. I had to jump off and it was a relatively quick fix, no more than 2 minutes, but having to regain momentum on an uphill and the energy output I put out was more that I probably should have used. I compounded this error by trying to make up for some of that time by riding at 240 watts for the next 10 minutes. I did not perceived any ill effects of this until later into loop 2.
Challenge 2:
Over coming bike mechanicals.
Response 2:
My descent went well, but I ended up dropping my chain two additional time on what were essentially rollers, but required me to drop into the small ring to keep my watts at 220. Each time caused me to lose more time and momentum having to jump off and perform a quick fix. What was worse, it caused me to lose my mental focus. Subsequently we I got to the second flat cross section, I noticed my power dropping to the 170’s despite feeling the same perceived energy output. I actually thought something was wrong with my power meter. I dropped my chain a couple more times on the climbs that ended the 2nd loop. I was afraid to go between rings at the end of the ride.
Evaluation 2:
I had a race day chain placed, which I have done in the past, but this time was at my local bike shop. Last time was with the race day chain vendor, who may have had more experience with placement. Along with the extensive gearing and stress on the chain may have contributed. I also lost focus when I was running a mental tally of the time I was losing with each chain drop. Trying to make up the lost time with increased power output, was not wise, no matter how short a period.
The Run -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Run Time: 3:55:00 Actual Run Time: 4:38:55
Weather / Conditions / Notes:
Scattered light clouds, Temperatures mid 80’s, Winds 5-7 mph. 2 loop course, distinct elevation gains and drops, several rollers.
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:
With my mind in a bad spot, I headed to T2 not thinking straight. I picked up my T1 bag (with my wet suit from the morning) instead of my T2 bag. I went back and exchanged them, still keeping my total transition time under 5 minutes, but it should have probably been half of that.
My goals were to run 9:15 for miles 0-6. That wasn’t happening, and I was just trying to draw some energy from the crowd. After the first several miles were in the high 9 minutes, I knew making my goals time, and further turning it up to 8:45 pace for the rest of the race was not likely. The priority of my goals then changed to maintain a steady pace and limit any walking to only aid stations. It wasn’t until mile 12 that I finally snapped out of my funk and realized I had a race to finish. Noticing that I was continuing to consistently run, while everyone around me was seemingly walking helped flip the switch for me. My paces didn’t necessarily speed up, but I consistently was able to keep running, walking only the aid stations. To be clear, my walking of the aid stations was much longer than 20 steps, and making it from one aid to station to the next was about as far out as I could comprehend going at the time. Other big morale boasts were the presence of cola and chicken broth starting at mile 20. Loved that!
Evaluation 1:
I spent too much time feeling bad about my bike split and not moving on. I don’t know if this would have had a major impact on my overall time, but I would have enjoyed the first half of the run a whole heck of a lot more.
Next Time -- Overall Lessons Learned
Try and minimize outside distractions on race week. Some things are out of our control and we shouldn’t stress what we cannot change
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!
Draw from the support and positive energy of everyone who supports you on a daily basis, at work, home, friends and teammates.
Keep in mind feelings of family and friends during your training
Comments
Next Time -- Overall Lessons Learned
Try and minimize outside distractions on race week. Some things are out of our control and we shouldn’t stress what we cannot change
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!
Draw from the support and positive energy of everyone who supports you on a daily basis, at work, home, friends and teammates.
Keep in mind feelings of family and friends during your training
keep it up
+1 on Tim's checklist comment. I write one up about a month before an event, and right afterwards, I go back and edit it for what i needed & what i don't so as to hone it for the next race. I actually calendar reminders for 4 weeks & 2 weeks ahead of the event to update the checklists. Then post on EN as a race plan and let all the Wicked Smart people here quiz you, suggest, etc. Lots of people here happy to do your thinking for you.
Congrats again, glad we got to share the day!
Sounds like a fairly successful race to me. Sub 60 hours on that bike course, given your challenges, is a pretty strong day.
Out of curiosity, I ran the hourly Temp and Dew Point from Lake Placid on race day through our calculator which gives the expected effect on pacing of environmental conditions, using a VDOT of 46. Note that assumes one's training VDOT is in the 48-49 range, unless you are a highly trained elite athlete. I found that predicted a 9% slowing, or about 52 seconds per mile, for a time of 4:24; each drop in VDOT by 1 point would add about 6 minutes to the overall time.
The simple fact that you were running while those around you walked is a high positive for your day. When analyzing your day and looking ahead to making improvements, remember how much the temp and dew point can impact one's performance.
If your chain was dropping to the inside, off either the large or small chain ring, if you recognize it within one pedal stroke, you can usually get it back on by: a slight back pedal, then shifting into the large ring while gently pedaling forward. I learned that trick during my years of mtn biking, where the violent shifts make that a more common occurrence. Of course, you want the bike set up so it doesn't happen, but having that skill in you back pocket might provide a small extra amount of confidence.
@Trish, good luck next year at IMLP, I truly fell in love with the beauty of this course.
@Robert, great race yourself. I appreciated you insights in the lead up to IMLP.
@Scott, great IMLP, your was an impressive performance! I like the format you lay out, optimizing the opportunities for insight from the Wicked Smarts and other on the team. I'll make certain to those calendar reminders.
@Al, you clearly demonstrate your Wicked Smart status in your response. The temp and dew point data seem to have proven true in the setting, at least for me. Thanks for the skill tip! Having the ability the adapt on the flying can save a race.
@Francis, I appreciate you comments.