IMCA Race Report. "Prove it on the run!"
"Prove it on the run!"
I had this going through my head the entire race. I am notorious for dying on the run if not at the end of the bike. Race execution and race rehearsals made a world of difference at the end of the this race. My other montra was "keep it fun and enjoy the day".
- Vital Stats:
- Div:40-44 (Age 42 on 7/8)
- Ht/Wt: 5'4"/128lbs FTP 206w
- Finish time: 11:46:10
- Div Rank: 34/175 (38DNFs or DNS)
- Gen Rank: 197
- Overall Rank: 219
- Swim: 00:56:06 Div Rank: 7/43/48
- Bike: 06:21:39 Div Rank: 46/273/305
- Run: 04:17:08 Div Rank: 33/198/220
I started planning for this race at mile 12 of IMAZ in 2012...that's when I seriously bonked because I had no idea how to pace and fuel. I knew I had to do something different but I didn't know what. That's when I talked to my friend, Tom Box, and he suggested Endurance Nation. I researched several other coaches and EN seemed like a perfect fit for my self coached background.
Arrived in Whistler on Monday, unpacked the car, and made a beeline to the lake for a swim. The water felt very refreshing and similar to my home swimming reservoir. I felt at home. Over the next 4 days I swam 4 times, ran 3 times (twice on the course), and biked twice on the course. Drove up Callaghan and watched a pro bomb down the hill; looked fun.
Thursday at noon, packet pickup and briefing at 2pm. That night I started laying out everything to go in my bags. Over the next 24hrs I would add things, move things into piles, start listing my fueling plan, and calculate how much fuel to put in certain bags/cages etc. According to CP I was to have 3x24oz Skratch Labs hydration (I only drink lemon) on my bike and 3 more in my special needs (1/3 frozen the night before). I made 12 Rice balls (Allen Lim of Skratch Labs style made with steamed white rice, honey, peanut butter, base salt, and banana). 14 gu gels were set aside, 1 pre-swim, 6 bike, 4 run, and a couple in special needs jic. A snickers bar was included in my SN bike, along with extra socks. I experimented with the Crowie endorsed "Hot Shot" cramp juice during race rehearsals. I put one in Bike bag and one in Run bag. I have cramped in the past years but no cramping in the last 9 mos of training.
After a quick drop off of bags and bike I met the EN team for lunch on Saturday and got some valuable advice from the veteran IM Robin Sarner. Doug Sutherland and Mike Westover were there to add some great pointers. Sat afternoon legs up; Star Wars force awakens on NF! I was able to fall asleep by 10pm.
Race morning: woke up at 3:30. 10oz coffee, large waffle w maple syrup, protein smoothie (same drink I have been using for over 5yrs), banana. BM then packed everything in a transition bag. My wife dropped me off at T2 and I thanked her for all the support over the last 9 mos of IM training. My bother and sister in law rode their bikes to swim start to volunteer for suit peeling, they were so excited to volunteer. Dropped off SN and run bag at T2 and took the shuttle to T1. I go into "Race Face" mode when I walk into T1. I was slow and deliberate to make sure I got everything right and to reduce stress. I ate another banana, caffeinated gel, and sipped on SL. I put my Roka full suit on top of my sleeveless one piece kit. My road id was put in bike bag and I chose not to wear my Garmin 910xt on the swim. Didn't think warm up was necessary and didn't have time anyways. Put on a thick TYR cap over my newly clipped head, then new mirrored goggles, and finally my green race cap to ensure goggles did not jar loose. Warmed up with a few arm circles, listened to the Canadian anthem, and the pros (only males, females were in Placid) were off with a boom at 6:45am. I lined up in the 50-60' "corral" towards the end. The first AGers were set off at 6:50 and I think I went out around 6:52. The staggered start was smooth and fast. Time to race!!
Swim: "Long and Strong"
(I'm going to spend a little more words on the swim bc I think it gets neglected, and I owe it to others to give my perspective as a swimmer)
On February 1st I started my swim camp at my local Masters swim team. It was great having a coach on deck to give workouts and give technique pointers when needed. I swam every MWF for the entire month culminating in a "Big Day" TT swim of 4150SCY in 60'. I new I was in pretty good shape. For the next 4.5 months I stayed consisted in my swim workouts, doing most of the swims in my local Silverton Reservoir starting in May (water temp of 52deg!).
Short history: I started competing at age 5 when my olympian father gave my brothers and I no choice of not swimming. Started playing water polo in middle school. Stopped racing after my first year of college. California State Life Guard for 8 yrs after kept me in pretty good swim shape. Triathlons since 7/08. Master swimming WO consisted of Mon: distance, Wed: stroke, Fri: sprint. I ignored the EN coaching and followed the Master's workouts in the pool. In the OW the reservoir is a perfect 1.2 miles in circumference and I would swim at least one lap to warm up and one at pace.
My go-to breathing pattern is bilateral every 3 strokes. I also have a hard down kick for every stroke as left arm pull right leg kick. This helps me to get into a good rhythm and I can sustain a 1:20 pace for miles. For a bit faster pace I switch over to 2/3/2 pattern as 2 strokes right arm breathing each stroke, 1 stroke left, 1 stroke right, 2 strokes left with a breath each stroke. This I can only sustain for 2000-3000 yds. My RR swims were were in the 57' leading into the race. I have a swim coach who likes to say triathletes "hack" the swim by doing the bare minimum. I expect non swimmers to put in the effort just as I have put in the effort to become a better runner and cyclist.
Ok, so back to the race...We enter the water heading SE then make a right turn heading South. Sun was not an issue form me or was taken care of by the tinted/mirrored lenses. The buoys are numbered 1-7 going out. I noticed everyone was swimming about 3-4 meters to the right of the buoys. I wasn't looking to draft at this point and for me, open water was more important. So I hugged the buoys on my left and got into my 3 stroke rhythm until the first turn around. Clear water for 1000m. Same thing coming back. At the beginning of the second loop I had not been passed (that I could see) and I found a couple guys going my pace. I don't like to draft directly behind someone bc I end up touching their feet and if they hate that as much as I do, I didn't want to risk a kick to the face. So I stay on their right calf. My right arm pool is stronger than my left so if I get out of the draft it is easier to take a few strong right arm strokes and be back in the draft. Stayed with this group going out on the 2nd loop. Coming back we start catching up to swimmers on their first loop. I let a guy lead the pack to just before the turn around then I took the lead. A couple hundred meters and we were done. I increased my kick slightly to get my legs firing and finished strong. It was a treat to be peeled by my sister in law and brother. They were having a blast! Goal: sub 60', 0:56:06 swim 7th AG,
T1: I am so used to short course sprints that I had to make a conscious effort to be smooth and deliberate (slow). I grabbed my bike bag and sat down in the tent. Socks, shoes, light full finger gloves (no padding), arm warmers on wrists, road id (my id has several encouraging words to get me through hard times), ziplock baggy with gels in back pocket, left wind vest in bag, left leggings in bag, grabbed helmet with visor and walked to sunblock appliers. I almost handed them my helmet and one of them was about to grab the visor by their gloved hand covered in sunblock! We caught it just in time. I walked the short up hill after the bike mount and took off as recommended by Robin. My HR was a little high, but I didn't have to struggle with gears or clipping in which was nice. 0:06:31
Bike: Have fun, save it for the run. https://www.strava.com/activities/653258114/analysis
- Avg HR: 146
- Max HR: 169
- Avg Power: 133w
- Max Power: 400w
- Norm Power: 142
- IF .689
- TSS: 304.2
- avg temp 77, max 100
- Time: 06:21:39
The first 60 miles are up and down. Wattage was hard to keep consistent for me so I used lots of HR feedback. My avg HR was supposed to be 135 based on RRs and 141w, but these were done on mostly flat routes. Had a hard time staying below 145bpm. The passing started immediately. EN mantra of 90% of bikers will be going to fast was in the back of my head the entire ride. It was difficult at first, but I just embraced it with a smile and really enjoyed the ride. I felt comfortable and in control the entire ride. Ascents were taken with constant spin and in the saddle. Descents, I kept the legs moving and stayed within my 141w. A couple spurts of energy were spent to overtake some inexperienced riders.
Rice balls went down easy every 30'. I kissed every ball and raised it into the air to stave off the GI demons, stretch the arms and show off my shiny chrome balls. Gu gels were good every hour on the 45' except for the last one that had to be forced down a little. I loved waving to the crowds going through the village and hyping them up. Lots of great energy out there.
I basically just stayed conservative and thought I would save it for the end of the run. My initial goal was to go sub 6hrs, and
I easily had that in me, but seeing the course and talking to a few vets I thought 6:30 would be just fine. I stopped twice the entire
ride. Once to get into special needs and once to take some sips from a red bull and eat half a banana at the 70.3 turn around.
Drank 3-4 gulps from my BTA torpedo every 10' and peed every hour like clockwork and water on my legs and into my helmet every
aid station. A little cross and tail wind coming back from in Pemberton then Head wind into Whistler. The sun warming up and coming
off the new black top on the ascents were a challenge. I heard of many riders walking up later in the day. Crowds were great coming
into T2 especially seeing my family and friends.
My brother's big arm for a High 5!
T2: Feet out of shoes, hand off bike, pick up bag, walk to women's tent, wait what!!!, go into proper gendered tent, jersey off, helmet off (I noticed later the volunteer removed my visor and placed it safely in my helmet), pee soaked socks off (thanks again volunteer), brand new socks on, Hoka clifton 2s on, race belt on, volunteer took an empty bottle from my bike ride and filled it with SL from the bag then placed it in a hand held strap, grabbed hat and Okleys with brand new prism lenses, spread eagle for sunblock, hat on, glasses on, RUN!!!
Run: HR down, hydrate, have fun or at least put a smile on, hydrate, gel every hour, hydrate. https://www.strava.com/activities/653056385
I dropped into the 8:30 range and felt great! Then I just kept on running! Taking energy from everyone I passed. I saw Kevin Westover and he looked great. I absorbed his EN mojo and hopefully he did too. Nobody was running as fast as me! People were walking hills and sitting at aid stations. I saw Doug at the Green lake turn around and I knew I could catch him. He was still running faster than everyone else though. I did my best to motivate him to finish with me, but I had to keep going my pace. No walking aid stations. Just ice in the hat and gatorade in the bottle. 35k passed...then 37k...then 40k! I saw my family at 41K and I knew I was going to finish strong. I have no idea how much I drank, but I know it was as much as I could keep down. I could have easily brought it up at the end. I filled my 24oz bike bottle when it was low or convenient, maybe every other aid station. I also had them pour ice water on my columbia cooling sleeves and sometimes down my pants. The rub on my left arm is from the sleeve, maybe I didn't have it rolled up all the way. Regardless, I didn't feel it until after the race. Some chafing on my tender bits, but nothing I couldn't handle. Hoka's felt some hot spots on the outside of toe box in the first 13miles, but after that it dissipated to nothing.
I enjoyed the last 1000m, reflecting on all the hard work and support from my family. Tears started to well up but I held them back. Final time was 11:46:10. 32 minutes faster than IMAZ which seems like a joke bike course compared to IMCA. I promised my family I would only do one full per age group. The time commitment is just too hard on them. So hopefully I will be back in 4-5yrs for a full. Coach P and R know what they are doing. They will be at the top of my list for coaching next time. Thanks EN!
Comments
It was really great to meet you at the lunch and to see you execute so well on race day. Super proud of your grit, and very thankful for your encouragement and 'mana' as Robin says on the run. Better to be passed by a teammate!
Your swim tips are neato and I plan to try to learn from you this fall. I always breath to the right, every stroke, never change. 7th in AG is legit! I am so curious about these rice balls. You gotta post how you make these things, and how you keep them shaped as balls in your kit.
DS: These were popularized by Allen Lim from Skratch Labs. He wrote 3 food books. The rice balls are from Feed Zone Portables by Lim and Biju Thomas. You can put anything you want in them, but the base is usually steamed white sushi grade rice. I prepared these the night before with fresh steamed rice (from my rice cooker) on top of a 6"x6" non stick aluminum foil. Lim recommends pan lining foil that has parchment on the inside. I haven't been able to find it in local grocery stores. What's nice about the parchment is you can label them with a sharpie.
Top the rice with about a teaspoon of local honey, base salt, Jif creamy peanut butter, and banana. Fold one corner over the rice to make kind of a tube and press on each side of the rice. Fold in the sides then fold in the other corner. Place in a gallon ziplock or glass container and refrigerate overnight. They become firm enough to eat in one bite, but still taste really fresh. I store them in a X-lab bento box on the top tube (six fit snuggly).
I have tried peanut butter and jelly, dark chocolate, ham and veg omelet, lentil soup and plan to try more. All good, but the PBH banana seems to work in my stomach the best. Lim has recipes for Masala chicken, quinoa bacon and mushroom (swiss cake), blueberry chocolate, cinnamon apple, and spiced beef to name a few. The pros in the peloton love them. Lim goes into great detail with his research on eating "real" food. What stuck out to me was that a 138g rice ball compared to a 54g sports bar: the Cal, Carbs, Fat, Protein, fiber, and sodium were all fairly equal. What stood out was the water content of the bar (4g, 7%) compared to the rice ball (91g, 66%). He found that this made the rice ball much more digestible because of the "goldilocks" ratio of water.
"Across the board, when I compare any of the pre-packaged foods I collected to a freshly made recipe, the single common difference is the water content. This is likely due to the need to increase shelf life of pre-packaged foods. Without resorting to chemical preservatives, the easiest way to get a food to last unrefrigerated for a long time is to dry it out."
Allen Lim, Feed Zone Portables
PS: only 2 guys in our AG swam faster and beat me overall; one of the other 4 DNFd
.
Great race execution and thanks for the recipe - will be trying that soon for training - i use strictly EFS for racing which works great for me but I always like options while training. Congrats again.
Stellar execution, Brian. Sounds like you had a lot of fun the last 10 miles of the run!
Thanks for sharing the rice balls trick
Fun to see another former water-polo player
very nice work. glad you had a good redemption IM.
sorry for us we won't get to race again with you soon. you have the potential to get to the top.
nice to meet you. have a good rest down south there.
keep working the bike until the next IM.
very nice work. glad you had a good redemption IM.
sorry for us we won't get to race again with you soon. you have the potential to get to the top.
nice to meet you. have a good rest down south there.
keep working the bike until the next IM.