Mike W IMC 2016 Race Report
11:26:43, 168th OA, 24th M35-39
This was my first IM. Many thanks to the EN coaches and team for all of the advice and support along the way. I did my first triathlon (and started swimming freestyle) less than two years ago. I figured if I ever did an IM I would be around 12-13 hours. Last fall I decided to get more serious about my training, joining EN starting with the OutSeason. Since then I've seen dramatic reductions in my bike times, improved my swimming, and even gotten faster at running (my strength).
Training
I followed the IM Intermediate plan pretty closely. At Victoria 70.3 6 weeks ago I went 4:44 (4:54 adjusting for shortened swim), which gave me confidence that I could be around 11 hours at IMC with good weather and execution. Two weeks out I did back to back rides at 282 and 262 TSS. That put my CTL at 149 and TSB at -73. After that I had a pretty steep taper to the race, hitting +46 TSB on race day.
Race morning
I woke up at 3:10 and got in a banana, Clif Bar, granola bar, Gatorade, and coffee. The same breakfast I used successfully at Victoria, looking for about 1100 calories before the start. The only change was moving everything up about 20 minutes to allow more time to digest as I found I cut it close in Victoria. At about 4:10 I headed out the door to drop special needs, set up my run bag, and get body marked, then got on the first bus to T1. Set up the bike and gear bag, took in gels with a few sips of Gatorade at 60 and 30 minutes to the start, and otherwise relaxed until about 30 minutes to go. Then wetsuit on and a short warmup swim before the pro start. The rolling start was done pretty well; lots of room for everyone to line up and a controlled flow into the water.
Swim
1:23:56, 855 OA, 105 AG (Goal: 1:20)
http://tpks.ws/tEFrg
A few minutes in I started jumping on feet going the right speed for me -- a pace I could just hold at a comfortably hard effort level, without having to slow. To the first turn buoy I was at 1:49/100 yards, a few seconds ahead of target pace. After making the first turn we were heading right into the sun. I couldn't see the buoys so I just went with the flow. As I got close to the second turn I saw what I thought was the red turn bouy off to the left and headed toward it. Unfortunately it was one of the orange buoys for the return leg. Fortunately a kayaker caught up with me and directed me back the right way, but I lost a minute or two returning and negotiating a u-turn at the buoy. The next 2,000 yards went okay, holding pretty close to target pace at 1:53-1:54/100. For the last 1,000 yards I slowed pretty dramatically, to 2:03/100. Not sure why I slowed so much; I do remember it being harder to find good feet to draft there, and was starting to think about my plan for the bike.
T1 4:48
My wetsuit always gets hung up on my legs so I was looking forward to having wetsuit strippers at the race. Well, even the volunteer had trouble getting it off! I should probably trim the legs. Otherwise a smooth T1. Not too crowded in the tent when I got there. Bike socks and shoes on, helmet and sunglasses on, then gloves (I made a last-minute call to start the bike with full-finger gloves in case it was chilly on the early descents).
Bike
6:02:58, 347 OA, 54 AG
164 NP, 152 AP, 0.64 IF, 1.08 VI, 249 TSS
Goal: 175 NP, 168 AP, ~5:45
http://tpks.ws/hXBit
The descents on this course are fun! From the Callaghan gatehouse down was about 6 miles averaging 30 mph, and I went up to 50 mph heading down to Pemberton.
The course wasn't crazy crowded, but still a lot of folks around particularly after the merge with the 70.3. I was yo-yoing a lot on the Sea to Sky, passing on the descents and getting passed in turn as soon as the grade kicked up. I saw the motos many times, and was very conscious of making legal passes. Maybe too much as I was surging to make most of the passes in 15 seconds or so.
My nutrition/hydration plan was 2 bottles of Infinit, a bottle of Gatorade at most aid stations (7 out of 9), and 1000 calories of Clif Bloks. I ended up with about 2,400 calories total and 36 oz/hr. On my usual cool training days I only need about 24 oz/hr to maintain body weight, but 36 wasn't close to enough for me in the race. I was pretty dehydrated going into T2.
T2 2:35
Bike socks and shoes off, run socks and shoes on. Helmet off and barely remembered to take off my sunglasses. Decided to put on the race number in the tent rather than fumble on the run. Also spent a few seconds getting slathered with sunscreen by the volunteers, which I was thankful for later.
Run
3:52:26, 168 OA, 24 AG
http://tpks.ws/9cahd
My only time goals were sub-11 overall and sub-3:30 run, which I thought might be achievable from my race rehearsals where I was running 8 min/mile at a z1 heart rate of 140. By a mile in it was clear that pace wasn't going to happen, at least not at a reasonable heart rate. I had to slow way down to over 9 min/mile to get my heart rate into the low 140s, and my stomach was protesting fluids and gels. With temps in the 80s I was getting worried about dehydration, so I went into damage control mode to make sure I could run through the end. I started walking 30-40 seconds at every aid station to refill the Race Saver bag with ice and get in two cups (6 oz?) of fluids -- mostly Gatorade/Gatorade, some Gatorade/gel/water, and in the last 8 miles Gatorade/Pepsi.
Paces were
Mile 0-16 9:24/mile
Mile 16-23 8:27/mile
Mile 23-finish 7:58/mile (mostly uphill; NGP of 7:14/mile)
It was great to see Robin, Doug, and Brian out on the run. Robin was locked in and flying!
What I learned
This was my first IM. Many thanks to the EN coaches and team for all of the advice and support along the way. I did my first triathlon (and started swimming freestyle) less than two years ago. I figured if I ever did an IM I would be around 12-13 hours. Last fall I decided to get more serious about my training, joining EN starting with the OutSeason. Since then I've seen dramatic reductions in my bike times, improved my swimming, and even gotten faster at running (my strength).
Training
I followed the IM Intermediate plan pretty closely. At Victoria 70.3 6 weeks ago I went 4:44 (4:54 adjusting for shortened swim), which gave me confidence that I could be around 11 hours at IMC with good weather and execution. Two weeks out I did back to back rides at 282 and 262 TSS. That put my CTL at 149 and TSB at -73. After that I had a pretty steep taper to the race, hitting +46 TSB on race day.
Race morning
I woke up at 3:10 and got in a banana, Clif Bar, granola bar, Gatorade, and coffee. The same breakfast I used successfully at Victoria, looking for about 1100 calories before the start. The only change was moving everything up about 20 minutes to allow more time to digest as I found I cut it close in Victoria. At about 4:10 I headed out the door to drop special needs, set up my run bag, and get body marked, then got on the first bus to T1. Set up the bike and gear bag, took in gels with a few sips of Gatorade at 60 and 30 minutes to the start, and otherwise relaxed until about 30 minutes to go. Then wetsuit on and a short warmup swim before the pro start. The rolling start was done pretty well; lots of room for everyone to line up and a controlled flow into the water.
Swim
1:23:56, 855 OA, 105 AG (Goal: 1:20)
http://tpks.ws/tEFrg
A few minutes in I started jumping on feet going the right speed for me -- a pace I could just hold at a comfortably hard effort level, without having to slow. To the first turn buoy I was at 1:49/100 yards, a few seconds ahead of target pace. After making the first turn we were heading right into the sun. I couldn't see the buoys so I just went with the flow. As I got close to the second turn I saw what I thought was the red turn bouy off to the left and headed toward it. Unfortunately it was one of the orange buoys for the return leg. Fortunately a kayaker caught up with me and directed me back the right way, but I lost a minute or two returning and negotiating a u-turn at the buoy. The next 2,000 yards went okay, holding pretty close to target pace at 1:53-1:54/100. For the last 1,000 yards I slowed pretty dramatically, to 2:03/100. Not sure why I slowed so much; I do remember it being harder to find good feet to draft there, and was starting to think about my plan for the bike.
T1 4:48
My wetsuit always gets hung up on my legs so I was looking forward to having wetsuit strippers at the race. Well, even the volunteer had trouble getting it off! I should probably trim the legs. Otherwise a smooth T1. Not too crowded in the tent when I got there. Bike socks and shoes on, helmet and sunglasses on, then gloves (I made a last-minute call to start the bike with full-finger gloves in case it was chilly on the early descents).
Bike
6:02:58, 347 OA, 54 AG
164 NP, 152 AP, 0.64 IF, 1.08 VI, 249 TSS
Goal: 175 NP, 168 AP, ~5:45
http://tpks.ws/hXBit
My stomach felt off almost from the start of the bike, and I was having trouble getting my heart rate down under 140, so I decided to extend my JRA time part way up Callaghan to ensure I could get nutrition down. I started feeling a little better about an hour in, but still not great; my power was low and by the halfway point in Pemberton I was about 10 minutes behind where I thought I would be. I decided to hit the porta-potty at one of the aid stations on the flats. It cost me 3 minutes but was the best decision I made all day. My power and outlook picked up and I had to hold myself back from hammering too hard. I went through the rest of the flats in 166 NP / 165 AP and 22.3 mph.
The descents on this course are fun! From the Callaghan gatehouse down was about 6 miles averaging 30 mph, and I went up to 50 mph heading down to Pemberton.
The course wasn't crazy crowded, but still a lot of folks around particularly after the merge with the 70.3. I was yo-yoing a lot on the Sea to Sky, passing on the descents and getting passed in turn as soon as the grade kicked up. I saw the motos many times, and was very conscious of making legal passes. Maybe too much as I was surging to make most of the passes in 15 seconds or so.
My nutrition/hydration plan was 2 bottles of Infinit, a bottle of Gatorade at most aid stations (7 out of 9), and 1000 calories of Clif Bloks. I ended up with about 2,400 calories total and 36 oz/hr. On my usual cool training days I only need about 24 oz/hr to maintain body weight, but 36 wasn't close to enough for me in the race. I was pretty dehydrated going into T2.
T2 2:35
Bike socks and shoes off, run socks and shoes on. Helmet off and barely remembered to take off my sunglasses. Decided to put on the race number in the tent rather than fumble on the run. Also spent a few seconds getting slathered with sunscreen by the volunteers, which I was thankful for later.
Run
3:52:26, 168 OA, 24 AG
http://tpks.ws/9cahd
My only time goals were sub-11 overall and sub-3:30 run, which I thought might be achievable from my race rehearsals where I was running 8 min/mile at a z1 heart rate of 140. By a mile in it was clear that pace wasn't going to happen, at least not at a reasonable heart rate. I had to slow way down to over 9 min/mile to get my heart rate into the low 140s, and my stomach was protesting fluids and gels. With temps in the 80s I was getting worried about dehydration, so I went into damage control mode to make sure I could run through the end. I started walking 30-40 seconds at every aid station to refill the Race Saver bag with ice and get in two cups (6 oz?) of fluids -- mostly Gatorade/Gatorade, some Gatorade/gel/water, and in the last 8 miles Gatorade/Pepsi.
After topping the Lost Lake hill for the second time at mile 14, with the sun going behind the mountains and temps dropping, I was feeling more confident about my ability to run through the end. At mile 16 (I know, I know) I decided to pick up the pace and target 150 BPM. Then after the mile 23 aid station I gave it everything I had left. I was close to having my calf cramp up, but otherwise felt relatively good through the finish.
Paces were
Mile 0-16 9:24/mile
Mile 16-23 8:27/mile
Mile 23-finish 7:58/mile (mostly uphill; NGP of 7:14/mile)
It was great to see Robin, Doug, and Brian out on the run. Robin was locked in and flying!
What I learned
- Training - doing it again, the one change I would make would be to do the double long ride three weeks out, or keep it at two weeks and cut back on the second ride. I really buried myself on that second 6-hour ride, and was feeling it into race week.
- Pre race - not sure what was causing the stomach issues on the bike. I might be even more careful with lunch and dinner on Saturday.
- Swim - I felt I executed reasonably well other than going off course into the sun. I should trust the wisdom of crowds more in that situation. In some races I go out too easy, but in this case with the fade at the end I probably got it about right.
- Bike - if doing it again, I would practice drinking twice as much (48 oz/hr) as I normally need and peeing on the bike. Usually not an issue for my long rides in 60-70 degree temps, but you never know what race day will bring. VI was high due to low power for the first half of the bike and the last half hour. I maybe should have held back more on the flats to get me through to T2.
- Run - I probably could have run harder, earlier. Tough to judge in the moment as I could tell I was really dehydrated going into the run and with the heat and stories about the Ironman run I wanted to be conservative. I don't think I had a 3:30 in me starting how I did, but I might have gone 3:40-3:45.
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Comments
What I learned
[Training - doing it again, the one change I would make would be to do the double long ride three weeks out, or keep it at two weeks and cut back on the second ride. I really buried myself on that second 6-hour ride, and was feeling it into race week.]
This is great feedback on the training plan .
[Pre race - not sure what was causing the stomach issues on the bike. I might be even more careful with lunch and dinner on Saturday.]
In training did you do a couple long swims before long bikes? On RR days?
Swim - I felt I executed reasonably well other than going off course into the sun. I should trust the wisdom of crowds more in that situation. In some races I go out too easy, but in this case with the fade at the end I probably got it about right.
[Bike - if doing it again, I would practice drinking twice as much (48 oz/hr) as I normally need and peeing on the bike. Usually not an issue for my long rides in 60-70 degree temps, but you never know what race day will bring. VI was high due to low power for the first half of the bike and the last half hour. I maybe should have held back more on the flats to get me through to T2.]
I'm all about Practicing Race Day Nutrtion on big days and usually start the day before as I would for an IM but its Easy to say , hard to do... If training in cooler temps drinking more than you need doesnt really do anything except make you pee... Now if you can train in the temps most likely to be present on race day?
[Run - I probably could have run harder, earlier. Tough to judge in the moment as I could tell I was really dehydrated going into the run and with the heat and stories about the Ironman run I wanted to be conservative. I don't think I had a 3:30 in me starting how I did, but I might have gone 3:40-3:45.]
"I wanted to be conservative" That is smart on the first IM run... Now you have a base line of experience to build on ... Well Done!
Biggest thing I could add is to simplify your breakfast. I have stomach issues and my gut rarely likes race week. I am following Al Truscott's lead this year and trying all liquid instead of my usual pancakes with syrup, and banana. I will practice on big days and RR's and see how it goes.
Thanks, Tim and Trish!
Swim before long ride - logistics didn't work for the RRs to do a swim immediately before the ride, but I did have a 2900 yard swim on the week 11 big day with no stomach issues. And Victoria 70.3 went fine albeit with only a 1500 meter swim.
Training in race day temps - agreed this is best, though tough in the northwest particularly with the cool summer this year. One reason I picked IMC is that it tends to be cooler; the average high for Whistler in July is 74. The day before the race the high in Whistler was 66, but race day was 84. In the mountains you just don't know what you will get. I might put in some afternoon rides on hotter days in the future to see how I need to adjust.
Race day breakfast - I've used this formula or something similar for many tris and running races without issue, though I agree a liquid breakfast would be easier to digest. If I can find a good dairy-free one I'll try it out.
Mike, really a superb performance for a first IM, especially for someone who is (a) a recent adult-onset swimmer and (b) a superb runner. Usually good runners trying their first IM don't fully appreciate the impact that 7 hours in the water and then biking, coupled with afternoon temps and humidity can have on their ability to perform to their expectations. You managed your pacing very well, IMO.
I ran the temps and dew point at Whistler on race day into our calculator which predicts the effect of heat/humidity on pacing specifically in an IM marathon, using 53 as your VDOT (yours is listed as 55, but it is a good idea to drop that by 2 points when planning for your IM run.) What I found is this: in ideal conditions (say cloudy mornings @ 60F, like we get around here), your expected time (given a 30 sec/mile slow down the first six miles) would be 3:33; under the conditions on race day, it would be 3:55. So job well done, IMO.
Since Trish mentioned my nutrition scheme, I'll say that for the past ten years/20+ IMs, I've gone with about 1000-1200 calories, all liquid (Jamba Juice or similar) the night before, then about 600 calories in the morning, avoiding solids of any kind on race day. 10 Packets of Clif Blocks sounds like a bit too much of one thing. Maybe more Infinit and Gatorade Endurance. As you discovered, anything other than pure liquids - not even gel, sometimes - is about all we can handle on the run, especially when working as hard as you do on two legs.
I think your comment on the training plan is a good thing for people like us entering their final 2 weeks to focus on rest, rest and recover and more rest and sleep. Or my other theory might be you were too much rested with a +46 tsb and felt flat ?
As other said, simplify your breakfast
It was great fun to watch you at Vic and Canada. It may have been your first, but you executed it like a vet and you basically crushed the hardest part of the IM - the last half of the run. Congrats on the season and your accomplishment.
Sounds like you have not made a decision to do another one yet, but if you do, pretty clear you have the right stuff to go far.
Hey Mike,
Congrats on a killer race performance. First IM, two years after taking up swimming and tri, going sub-11:30 on a tough course and placing so high in a brutal AG - pretty amazing! You've got the tools to do almost anything you want in this sport. Better yet, you went into the race and used a lot of great EN knowledge, to which you added with your own lessons-learned.
In response to your CTL and TSB numbers, I definitely pay attention to those numbers on my PMC, but I don't necessarily put 100% blind faith in them (IMO, it gives way too much TSS credit for swimming and way too little for lower-zone cycling, which may be why a lot of people advocate tracking each sport separately). That said, I do track my numbers for trends and try never to dig too deep of a hole (anything less than -35 or maybe -40 TSB is too deep of a hole for me, with my last injury occurring while running on -56 two days after hitting a stupid -81). As race day approaches, I plan out my last couple of weeks so that I show up on race day at +10 to +20 TSB. I just set the PMC to show "Last 90 days + next 21 days," then input Coach R's last couple of weeks of WKOs into the TP calendar, go back to the PMC, hover over race day, and see what it spits out. If it says I'll be +15 on race day, I just follow the plan as closely as possible, fine-tuning as the big day approaches. For me, it's like a checklist that eliminates all those "shouldn't I run 5 miles today instead of 2?" thoughts that creep in during race week. Last year, two days before IMF, a handful of us went out riding, all with different distance and watts goals so that we would land on a desired TSB number on Saturday morning. Couldn't decide if it was more humorous or pathetic.
I've figured out my good and bad TSB numbers over the years, so my numbers shouldn't mean anything to you. Friel's general zones for TSB below are pretty close to mine and might make a good starting point if you're going to closely follow the PMC. According to him, anything above +40 may leave one pretty flat. Freshness (+5 to +25) is typical race day. Gray zone (+5 to -10) is no-man's land where one is neither improving nor recovering. Optimal training is in the -10 to -30 range, whereas below -30 is the high-risk area.
Everyone feels pretty lousy during race week, but that's just part of the taper. So, I wouldn't over-think that. And I suspect that your -73 didn't really set you back too far, especially because you burned those matches on the bike and not the run. Plus, you were able to get your TSB positive by race day, didn't get injured and were still able to pull off a fast time, with a solid run. Congrats again, Mike.
MR
very nice job.
great racing and hanging. big thanks for the race course mojo.
what you and the others have said::: work the bike nutrition. if you are able to do a proper IM positive run split, you will have a very fast total marathon time. nice thing about my indoor training is being able to simulate the nutrition and heat conditions very well.
have a great running season. have fun climbing Rainier.