Danielle Santucci-IMLP2016 RR
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IMLP2016 Race Report
Sometimes you can go into a race so well trained, have amazing fitness, a solid nutrition and execution plan and still not have the kind of outcome you expected or hoped for. Ive been told quite often that Ironman is a fickle creature. You train so hard for months, spend a lot of time and money for the one day that you pray unfolds perfectly. On Sunday July 24, 2016 I wanted a perfect day, yet a perfect day was not in my cards.
I will begin with what I thought was a doable and expected time for my current fitness level and ability on this course. Had the day gone as planned I would have come through the finish line somewhere between 11-11:15 hours from when I started. This timeframe would have placed me within the Top 5 (6) in the Womens 40-44AG.
Came into Lake Placid on Thursday morning around 11am. Checked into the hotel (Courtyard Marriott) and unloaded all of my gear. Packed up a small backpack with my wetsuit & swim stuff, running clothes, running shoes, towel and headed to the lake. Before a brief swim and run I went to registration to pick up my packet and get that out of the way. In and out of there in no time. I was looking forward to swimming, as I had heard the water was clear and the underwater cable lining the swim course was hard to miss. Everyone was right, the water was super clear and yep there was the cable - awesome!! Swam a bit, changed and took off for a quick run along the lake. I felt great! Back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the EN Team dinner at the Crowne Plaza. So great seeing familiar faces and meeting many new. Everyone was so nice and so excited about Sunday. Love how great our team is!
Friday morning up early, Starbucks in hand, drove to the lake for the EN practice swim. Another opportunity to slip in to my Roka Mav Elite LS wetsuit and get a feel for the swim course. Got about 20' of swimming in with no sighting required…hello underwater cable! Like swimming in a pool staring at a lane line which I am very familiar with 
. After the practice swim, I made a quick decision to ride the Keene descent with fellow teammate Scott Dinhofer rather than to go to the 4keys presentation. I really wanted to do both but felt that riding the descent was more of a priority. I'm so glad I made this call, it was really windy on Friday so riding the descent gave me a realistic idea of what I could face on race day. First time down was scary as hell and I was almost blown off the road 2x. Second time was less scary but still intimidating. Those that know me know that I would prefer to climb the Keene hill 20x than go down it 2x, so getting somewhat comfortable riding down was something I needed to do. The rest of the day I spent putting my bags together and watching Coach P's 2015 LP webinar (which was super helpful). Went to bed early and planned to sleep in late.
Saturday morning I had breakfast from the most amazing place…Green Goddess. I eat organic as much as possible, so to stumble upon this place was just awesome. Grabbed breakfast here and got lunch to take back with me to the hotel. Around 1pm I drove up to the oval to check my bike and drop bags off. The line wasn't too long at this point of the day so the check in process was pretty quick. After the drop off I chatted up a local VA friend that had raced here 12 times and he gave me the scoop on the flow in and out of transition. After that I went back to the hotel for the night. Dinner was my usual grilled chicken, white rice and broccoli. I had my 2 pre race chocolate chip cookies that I have the night before every race and was in bed before 9pm.
Race Morning: Up at 3am, shower, black coffee, 280cal protein shake with 90 cal coconut water. Filled my bike bottles (3) with 4 scoops each of GU Roctane (2 Grape -no caffeine, 1 Trop Fruit w/caffeine). Applied sunscreen and got dressed. Gathered up all my stuff and walked up to the transition area. Once in transition, I borrowed a pump, set bento box and filled torpedo with one of the grape GU Roc bottles. Two other bottles placed in the cage behind my seat. Calibrated the 920xt and 500. Out of transition to drop bike special needs bag off and then to EN team picture area. Ate a banana and sipped on water. Picture done, morning bag dropped into transition and I was headed down to the swim start. Jumped in the practice area for a few minutes before lining up with the other 2500 racers.
Swim: Goal 1:10 Actual 1:06:29
I lined up with the 1hr to 1:10 group in the very front. I was so close to the front of the line that I may as well have jumped into the <60' group.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Why I was so close was that I had spotted the winner of my AG at Syracuse in this group and wanted to be as close as possible. 10' before the gun went off I had a salted caramel GU and 8oz water. The gun went off and so went all of us at 6:40am. Mission: Get on the cable as quickly as possible without being beaten up too badly. Found the cable and moved inside the buoy line and started to swim. Weee, this was fun. I could feel the momentum of swimmers around and in front pulling me forward. I was bumped a few times but mostly I was swimming in a fantastic whirlpool. There were so many bubbles to catch and use to make the swim feel effortless. I was able to bilateral breathe and just follow the cable. Next thing I know I'm at the beach looking at my watch…31 minutes, crazy!!!! Ran out, jumped back in and started the 2nd loop. This time it was spaced out and there were less bubbles to catch and no whirlpool effect. I did get kicked in the face and had to roll over and adjust my goggles once, but other than that it was smooth sailing on loop 2. Exited the water and looked at my watch…1:06, yes!!! This day has started out perfectly! Wetsuit stripped and ran to T1.
T1: Goal <6:00<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Actual 5:11
Grabbed my bag and into the tent I go. Sat down, helmet on, shoes on, sunglasses. Hmm, arm warmers. What to do? Yes, no?!?! Ugh, no I'm still warm from the swim. Inhaling a Cliff bar running out of the tent. Quick spray of sunscreen and off to get my bike. There it is, pulled off the rack and waiting for me to go. Love the volunteers here at Placid!!! Out of T1 to the mount line.
Bike: Goal ~5:50 Actual 6:16:23
First 5 miles or so out of town are climbing, so I settled into an easy start. Noticed Rob Sabo pass me about 2 miles into the ride and watched as we both pretty much did the same kind of shifting up and down the hills. A few people passed us, which is always the case in IM. I have both of my Garmins set to lap every 5 miles, which allows me to concentrate on maintaing my watts in small segments. Goal for the first 30-45' was to be ~10W lower than target to get warmed up. Once I had passed the Keene descent I was to maintain target goal watts for each 5 mile segment until the end. All was going as planned. I had reached the Keene descent and with minimal winds, I felt confident taking the descent aggressively. As I was coming into Keene where the road becomes newly paved ground, I felt it. Fuck (yes that is exactly what I said)! No, no, no not now!!!! My rear wheel had flatted. Because I was still descending at a good clip, I just braced myself and slowly started to brake. I pulled over to the curb and looked at my watch. How long is this going to take me to change? Got out all my stuff and as quickly as I could changed the tire. I am not the fastest or even most competent mechanic, so when it was all said and done it took me ~18-20'. When I flipped my bike over to put the wheel back on all of my nutrition in my aero bottle spilled out. Ugh, I'm going to have to supplement with GE! Back on my bike, my instinct was "I am now 20' behind schedule, I need to make up this time and fast" Rookie mistake I know, but my frustration and adrenaline took over and I started to push hard. I knew the next 10-20 miles were relatively flat, so if I could push about 10-15W higher than goal, I may be able to make up the time. So that is what I did until I realized, this is really hard to push these watts on this flat section. I pulled over and felt my rear wheel…it was low, too low. You've got to be kidding me, do I have a leak? I had used my only CO2 and I had about 30+ miles left until special needs. As I got closer to an aid station I saw an EN jersey. It was Laura Becker and I asked her if she had a CO2, she did and was so gracious to pull over and give it to me. I pumped a bit of CO2 into the tire and was on my way again. Unfortunately for me, the slow leak continued, so every 10-12 miles I had to pull over and pump a little more CO2 into the tire. Finally got to special needs and (I have never stopped at SN in an IM) had to stop. As I pulled over to get another tire and CO2s, Dino rides by me and says "never stop at SN!" Before I could answer he was gone. Out of SN with my back up stuff I pushed hard again….dammit, all these stops are going to put me way behind!! I was riding steady when I came across Dino again and told him quickly why I had to stop as I passed him on the left. Ok, 56 more miles and Im still feeling pretty strong. I had opted to not change my tire with my back up I got at SN figuring that pumping air into my tire every 10-12 miles would be faster than changing it again. Additionally, if I had changed it and flatted again I would be at the mercy of the course mechanics (which btw, never once came around when I was changing my tire back at mile 13). So my decision was to keep going. At mile 68, something terrible happened. I had just pumped up the wheel about 5 miles beforehand and I had apparently not put my CO2 in my tri top well because I hit a bump and it went flying. I could not turn back so I had to keep moving forward. From mile 70-112, my tire was slowly leaking and the work I was doing became harder and harder. My watts were high, yet I felt like I wasn't going anywhere. I tried to stay in my box, just focusing on riding as strong as I could without spiking my heart rate. I knew I had a marathon left and I didn't want to sabotage it by overcooking myself on the bike. My nutrition was on point throughout the bike. Although I had to supplement 3 bottles of GE for the 1 bottle of my specially mixed GU Roctane, it worked. I had a salt tab on the 60' mark and a total of 6 bottles of liquid nutrition (~1980cal). The only source of chewable food was 2x 1/2 bananas (mile ~30, mile ~75) and a GU (taken at mile 106 to prepare for the run). Rolling into town after climbing the bears with a super low psi tire, I was ready for the bike to be over with. I looked at my watch and knew, given the conditions of the day, this bike split was not putting me anywhere near the top 10, let alone the top 5. My only chance of putting together a respectable performance was to have a solid run and pray that some of the chicas in my AG went too hard on the bike.
T2: Goal ~3:00 Actual 3:37
Hand off bike, run and grab bag, into the tent. Sat down and took helmet and shoes off. Slipped on socks, and Hoka Clifton 3s. Grabbed my ziploc bag full of stuff and ran out of the tent. Quick spray of sunscreen, visor on, race belt on. Go.
Run: Goal <4:00<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Actual 4:09:17
My plan for the marathon was to run the first 4 miles not letting my HR go above 140bpm. This was fairly easy given the first 3-4miles are pretty much downhill. I held back going down the hill because I didn't want to put too much strain on the quads. I kept my stride short and just let the momentum of the hill dictate my pace. Once on River Road, my running legs were with me and I just put one foot in front of the other. I would be lying if I said I felt great, because I did not. Usually the first 6-12 miles of an IM run for me are pretty good. I'm typically happy to be off the bike and running feels good. Today, the tired heavy legs I get around mile 12 of an IM were with me at mile 4. This is clearly a byproduct of my catch up mentality on the bike course.
I had planned to jog through the aid stations and alternate water and GE until aid station 4. At aid station 4, I was to walk it and have a GU and ice water. Then repeat the next 4 aid stations to mile 8. At mile 8, the plan was to run 2 aid stations vs 4 up until mile 14. After mile 14, I would focus on running aid station to aid station. Drinking GE or water at each aid station and having a GU at miles 4,8,12 and 16. At mile 18, I would go straight to Coke (and water) at each station until the end. I was executing this plan perfectly. My stomach was cooperating and the need to use the port potties was minimal (this is a huge improvement for me from past IMs). I continued to take salt tabs every 60'. I did have to walk the bigger hills on 73 as my HR would skyrocket if I tried to jog them. I noticed that even though I was walking fast up the hills I was still passing people trying to run them. Got to the run turnaround in town and seeing all the EN support crew was a huge boost. I ran the downhills a bit faster on the second loop trying to make up some time lost on the bike. Aid station to aid station, one foot in front of the other…that is what I did. I felt myself slowing down on the River Road return, but just kept moving as fast as I could. The hills back into town on the second loop were torture. My legs were so tired and my hamstrings specifically were super tight and cramping. When I made the turn onto Mirror Lake Drive I knew I was almost home. Coming into the oval I could hear the crowd and Mike Reilly….another Ironman finished! Overall time: 11:40:57
Although the day did not go as I had hoped or planned, I really enjoyed this Ironman course. Having done 4 now, I would say the energy in Lake Placid is electric. Magical, if you will. A challenging but fair course gives athletes the opportunity to really shine if all things go well. On this day the IronGods were not shining on me and as heartbreaking as it was to come in 12th when I know my capabilities are much stronger than the time shown, it was a great experience. Like many of us trying to reach that elusive goal, I will continue to train, race and execute EN style and know that my time will come….I just need to have patience and discipline.
Comments
Good job on your race! still a super results!
As you so aptly stated the IM distance is a fickle beast and the fact is that things out of our control can crater months of hard effort. It sticks you werewolves receiving end of this but with your fitness and dedication there's no doubt an IM podium is in your near future. Keep that podium dress ready
Now to practice changing tires quickly...
Honestly I am not surprised at all by the way you managed this race and the performance that resulted. In fact, I think flat tire issues just fuel that internal will to push through even more. I see you at your best when things are going wonky not when things are like they are supposed to be or imagined to be. It brings out the Danielle lion inside that we all come to know during the training cycle.
Everyone knows that DS really stands for Damn Strong........thanks for making the team stronger, leading by example, taking time to post on others' Strava wkos and leaving no excuses for everyone else!
Sincere congratulations DS! Well done chica!
Ah, Danielle, what a Character Buidling Day you had. Simply pressing on with the bike, and then running so close to potential after all that work on a tire with continually increasing rolling resistance - you certainly learned what you are capable of after that. Which is: speed and endurance in all three legs, coupled with a cool, steely mental toughness, sufficient to take you faster still, onto the podium, the next time around.
One little thing I do is carry a small carbon fiber hand pump with me during all races, for just this situation - tube goes low again, and CO2 is gone. Out of curiosity, I just weighed and measured it. It's as wide as a CO2 cartridge, as long as two of them end-to-end, and weighs 2 grams less than a cartridge. So for those who take two cartridges along (I only carry one), this might be a reasonable alternative.
https://www.amazon.com/Topeak-Micro-Rocket-MasterBlaster-Carbon/dp/B000FIAVLK
Bummer about the mechanical, but I still think you had a fantastic race. The more of these we do, the more goals some of us have to set in order to motivate us to sacrifice half a year for a silly race. At this point, your goal has basically become . . . win. And, totally unlike "just finish" or "enjoy the day," that takes amazing fitness, total preparation, and some good fortune. I've had 3 flats in 200+ triathlons. All 3 in IM. I've had great swims, bikes and runs in IM, but never all 3 in the same race. I hope my day is coming; I know yours is. I may have to sign up for IMLP just to watch you conquer the course next year (despite the high risk of getting chicked in the process).
You can't prepare for everything, but you should be prepared for a variety of weather, mechanical, nutritional and health factors that can pop up on race day. I bet 95% of IM starters ride with CO2, but maybe 50% have ever used it before, maybe 5% took the time to practice using it in the last 2 weeks before the race. That's nuts. I just saw Ryf DNF in Frankfurt because she didn't dress properly for a cold ride. Nuts. So, each afternoon next April at Blue Ridge, we're going to feed you two glasses of Cabernet, then time you changing a tire and filling it with CO2. By Sunday, we'll have you down to 3 minutes. And perhaps a little dehydrated.
MR
Bottom line Danielle you got over the finishline,. There are alot of moving parts in an IM from body to equipment. Not everything is perfect events may come up unexpected. It is how you recognize and react to your given situation. I feel adversity breeds success not just in the moment but in the future. Your thought processing at Placid got you across the line and it indeed will get you over many other lines "smarter". It was great meeting you albeit short. I watched you on the run and your poker face stance did not show how you got there. Well done and LP 2017 awaits you !
count me in on the tire changing class...but no booze. You know I can't handle more than 1 beer.
I am so excited to toe the line with you next year there. Your NY revenge race this year is a good indicator to what is to come in LP.
It is Monday...time to start planning your attack.
@EE...Im flattered to be thought of as a pointy-ender--Thank You!!
@JB, AT, RS, TM...my fellow CO camp crew! The work we did and the fitness we gained that week in early June was definitely a key to being able to finish this race as I did.
@ Jeremy...Podium dress is ironed and ready to go ;-)
@Al...Character building for sure. I am really surprised how relatively calm I was given the situation. Thanks for the tip on the pump, I will surely consider it for future races.
@SS...there is not a day that goes by where I do not feel like you are my biggest EN cheerleader. I am truly blessed to call you my teammate. One of these days I hope our paths cross and we race together!
@RobS...thank you and I look forward to sharing the Placid course with you again in 2017. Congratulations to you on an amazing race!
@MR...yes you should sign up for Placid and I will have 4 days in April 2017 to assure you pull the trigger
@SR...Thank you and it was very nice to meet you as well! Congrats on your finish!!
@TM...looking forward to sharing another IM course with you sister!!!
Tire supplies resupply is a legit special needs stop. I just wanted to tease you after the conversation we had on GroupMe about special needs bags. That was a pretty fast stop too. It didn't take you long to catch me and drop me....
nice job persisting and getting it done.
yes the stuff beyond our control can be nerve racking.
Placid next year ?? other plans between now and then ??
I always carry a pump too. a bit bigger than Al's. and 2 x co2 with nozzle. and tire boot.
and not to beat a dead horse. but maybe get someone to look at the tire changing technique. I often see folks turning their bikes upside down to change tube, and I don't understand why. just pop off wheel, lay bike on non-derailleur side, and put wheel back on while bike in upright position.