Rob Sabo's IMLP 2016 Race Report 10:53 and 5th AG
Rob Sabo’s IMLP 2016 Race Report: 10:53 and 5th AG
Lead up training
After IM MOO 2015, my hamstring which had bothered me for the past 2 years was tight so I pulled the plug on the NYC Marathon and started thinking about prep for 2016. I wrote up goals for 2016 and broke them down for Swim bike run and PT for hamstring and how I would achieve them with benchmark events. I planned IMLP as my AAA race and figured I would put up a goal time. I had a good OS and got my FTP back to the previous high ~250. I built further strength at the Tour of California. Pre race, my weight was down to 147 pounds for a 3.74 W/kg.
My run did not have a speed limit like the last few years due to the hammy. I worked on durability and then speed. I was hoping to be able to at least run 6:30 intervals this year but I was actually able to run some half mile repeats at 6 min/mile pace and tested my vdot at 54 but it was probably closer to 55 (all time high of 56). I got a wetronome and worked on swim technique while getting my spm to 68. My swim was way more consistent as well as faster.
My CTL was > 140 for ~3 months with the last few weeks before the taper in the 150’s and a peak of 160 after week 18. My TSB during week 17 and 18 wasn’t that bad as I had continued to build up from TOC and then LP camp. TSB was -28.5 on the day the CTL was 160. My TSB did get to positive 29.4 and CTL dropped to 141.9 on the day before the race.
I highly recommend writing out goals at the end of the season and looking back at them regularly.
Lake Placid
Arrived at the house in LP that I rented thru VRBO on Wednesday with my wife (Kim), my daughter, and a family friend. The house was right by Placid Planet bike shop so I went right there to drop off my older race wheels (Zipp 808 with PT) for Laura B and then went for a run. There is a big hill to climb and descend to get to the lake from there which does not lend itself to an easy run. Bu was very glad to stretch out the legs after the 8 hour drive. I had also been stressing about the falling CTL and too rapidly rising TSB. I plan to start another thread on the science and art of the taper.
Thursday I went to breakfast with my daughter and then to registration. In the afternoon I went for a bike ride out past Whiteface and back up the climbs to LP. The wind was howling as usual. I then did one loop of the swim course and then went to the team dinner. Didn’t have enough time to meet all the great team mates and the families of those I already knew.
Friday went down to the lake for the morning Team EN swim and run by the lake for 4 miles with some 3 minute Z2 work. Rushed to get to the house and then back to town for the 4keys talk and didn’t eat enough food but made up for it with a good lunch as my parents, my in-laws and my sister and her two dogs showed up and they brought a lot of food.
Saturday was an easy day. I had a big breakfast with family, finalized my bags and dropped off my bike and run/bike bags. Last decision was not to use my Giro Aerohead helmet as it seemed too hot to use based on the few rides I had done in hot conditions, as the two vents just doesn’t give enough ventilation on a hot day for an IM.
SUNDAY Awake at 3:30 (protein powder, applesauce,half of a bagel and a banana) and then out at 4:45 and to transition by 5. Worked off my lists. I will add TP to my list from here on out as two porta potties ran out. No, I did not need to get creative. Someone nice in the line gave me some. 6 AM foto with team and then down to the water. Took a non-caffeinated gel and water about 20 minutes out and took 5 minutes to stretch and 5 minutes to do swim warmup.
Total Goal <10:59<span> Actual 10:53:12 5th AG (50-54) 134 OA
Swim
Goal 1:05 Actual 1:06:34 32:17/34:16
I seeded myself in the middle to front of the 1:00-1:10 group. Stood around waiting for the start for about 5 minutes trying to stay relaxed. At 6:40 AM they finally started. Instead of the 10 at a time system that they used in 2013 they let the first 300-400 people go together. Worse then I expected but not as bad as a total mass start. Dealt with the contact, found the cable both inside it and outside depending on the traffic and kept a solid rhythm and cadence. Second loop I got back in the water quickly and tried to get back to pace. I seemed to be getting blocked by a big guy in a ZOOT wetsuit with yellow writing. Every time I tried to pass he seemed to move over. His stroke had a glide component (slowing down each stroke) so I hit his feet each stroke. Finally on the way back I got by him but it did slow me a bit on that loop. Felt good coming out of the water and wasted a second or two and some mental energy looking at the clock which didn’t give me any information anyway.
T1 5:00
Wetsuit quickly off and then ran by others on the way to T1. Got my bag and went to the tent. Helmet on. Sunglasses on. Bike shoes on. Grabbed my SPI belt and ran out. I put on the belt while running to my bike. No congestion and I mounted my bike and was on my way.
Bike
Goal <6:00<span> Actual 6:03:37 (2:50/3:13)
POWER #’s IF .69 TSS 290 NP 172W VI 1.05
The last 25 miles of loop 1 were IF .73 .76 .74 .72 .71 which was maybe a little high and the middle 25 miles of lap 2 had a bunch of 5 mile laps around .65.
Started easy at .65 IF till the start of the descent and then worked the hill in aero position and worked the slightly flat section in the middle. After turning left I switched the goal watts to .70. At aid station 2 or 3 I was going about 24 mph and swatted away two bottles of water, two bottles of GE and a banana. Luckily I still had some GE to get me to the next aid. I was drinking just GE 1 ½ bottles the first hour then 1 bottle / hour. I was also eating ¼ bars of powerbar or CLif, ½ banana or blocks and then just bananas or gels the last 2 hours. A few packs of riders disrupted my pacing a bit but once we started climbing to Wilmington they mostly broke up.
At some point, I stopped noticing my 15minute alert to remind me to eat and drink. I think I did keep up with fluids but fell behind on my planned solid intake.
I stopped quickly at BSN and took the baggy with more bars and gels ( the Volunteer was Bill’s wife thank you) and got going again. The start of the second lap I was still feeling great and thinking the day was flying by. On the climb out of town I dropped my chain and had to dismount and reset it. This is where I needed to eat more but I think I let it slip. The next hour or two my power/effort fell back to the .65 . I peed multiple times ( no I did not get off my bike) so I think I was well hydrated. I took a gel at the start of the whiteface climb back to town and a banana at the last aid a few miles before town. No real problems with the bears. Maybe put too much into the end of first loop and saved some for the end of second loop.
T2 3:32
Left my shoes on my bike and ran to grab my bag. In the tent, I put on socks which already had lube in them and Newtons. Helmet to volunteer and left with go bag. Put on hat, number belt with gels, sunscreen, and had run saver bag on wrist.
Run
Goal 
:30<span> Actual 3:34:29 8:11min/mile 3rd fastest run in AG
(59th OA run)
My fastest miles were the first and the last at 7:30 and no mile was slower then 8:56.
I am always glad to get out on the run but I just didn’t feel too great. My legs felt heavy more in the not sharp kind of way instead of the I just biked 112 miles way. Again, I will have to re-evaluate the taper. I tried to keep my heart rate 120-125 with 130 on the hills. I was concentrating on keeping cool with my run saver bag. It was actually too cold at times to keep in my tri suit but was good in my hat. I also splashed my self with water. I would get ice when needed and always sipped some GE but never walked more then 3-5 steps. I took gels at mile 1-5-9-13- and at 18 took my last and then switched to coke. I was using the base salts about halfway between each gel. Its always great to see my family, both relatives and ENers on the course and along the sidelines. Tried to say hello and be supportive but the concentration on the effort at hand made it tough. Dino said something to me but I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, SORRY. Tried to at least get out a “GO EN”.
Grabbed my baggie from special needs without really stopping and reloaded gels in my belt and reapplied sunscreen on the run. The first half was ~1:46 and the second half was ~1:48. I tried to increase the effort and push the heart rate up some but felt I was close to the edge and I was nervous to go over. That 16-20 mile mark is where everything hurts and you starting asking yourself questions. I convinced myself to keep steady and not to stop for aid or porta potties. I have been there before. I now have to learn to answer with increased effort and not just steady work. With about 4 miles to go I checked the time of day and knew if I kept steady I would break 11 hours so I kept pushing. I did walk about 20 steps on the upper part of ski jump hill and the same on the top half of townie hill but got back to running at the left hand turn and caught the only other runner when I had started to walk and stayed steady till the top and then pushed as hard as I could to the finish. After the turn around I was heading back when I almost got hit by one of those carts that brings ice and water to the aid stations. Got to the oval and heard Mike Riley and saw a time well under my goal. I was feeling pretty good compared to previous years but still needed my catchers help. I saw my family, Rich, and Mariah. I actually ate some food and my recovery drink. The pizza was cold and gross as usual. It’s the worst thing about IMLP.
I moved up 17 places in my age group on the run and passed about 200 people.
When I got back to my rental my daughter told me I was 5th in my age group which was obviously a big thrill to make my first full IM podium. I had hoped I could be top 10 and Kona was not even on my radar. You just don’t know who will show up and there are too few spots and too many things you can’t control. I didn’t want to go into this race thinking it would be a failure unless I qualified. That has ruined a lot of IMs for me in the past. I don’t do these just to KQ so I remind myself to enjoy it for what it is. There was a sign on the run course that said Kona Schmona which made me laugh and reminded me of one of my daughters who couldn’t be there this year. This might become my motto. That all said, when I found out I was 5th and thought there might be 4 spots I was seriously hoping for a roll down the next day. Unfortunately, there was only three and none rolled down.
Things to work on:
Slightly more aggressive swim
Even faster transitions
Increase FTP
Find a way to lock in .7-.72 consistently on the bike
Continue run durability and full season of Z4/5 intervals and get that sub 8 run
Master the taper
I am thrilled with the results and proud of the work I did this year to prepare. I am happy to be healthy and to have shared this journey with family and TEAM EN.
Looking forward to building on this going forward.
Comments
Congrats on the great race Rob! You've been super strong ever since I met you at the BR Camp in '13. Glad to see your injuries are behind you and you are back in form. Your run is deadly, overall but especially in your age group!
I was going to chastise you for stopping at BSN until I looked at the standings and saw 4th in your AG was 20 minutes ahead of you. You took a good approach of not worrying about what is out of your control, especially who shows up. It's borderline insane that the cat who won the M50-54 AG went 9:41 and top 10OA. That's just nuts.
Look forward to seeing what's in store next year for you. You are clearly knocking on the Kona door and with the right race selection, continued strong training, and a bit of luck you'll no doubt get there
Hey Rob,
Great race! And to back up Jeremy re the ludicrousness of this age group, I came out of the water 28th OA, rode the 5th OA bike split, I think, but I didn't catch the winner of your AG until just outside of Ausable Forks on my SECOND loop, about mile 80. I hung back a bit to see his AG on this calf. If he was in mine I was going to apologize and tell him not to go with me
,but since he was 50 I didn't say anything. Doode was jacked too.
Congrats on a great race & being on the pointy end!
Rob,
Nice work getting your season on track with the injury recover and goal setting. Great to see you podium and I like you new motto.
It will be an interesting discussion on the taper and feeling flat going in to the run. Not sure I'll have anything to add on that but I do have one experience on a short race (over oly but not 1/2 distance) where I did too little work coming in to the race.
congrats fellow old fart.
you are like fast now !
to my mind, the thing to concentrate on is the bike. work towards getting the race power closer to 3 watts/kg.
the taper thing. sounds like we vary in this aspect. The last week I like to do less than our plans just some short stuff with a bit of intensity. and definitely no swimming within two days of the race (last short swim wed or thurs for sunday race). etc. but you are worried you tapered too quickly ?
so like I am asking other EN folks in our age group. do we want to be at the same races to push each other or not ? kind of a serious question. is it useful to have a fellow teammate of similar speed pushing or not ? or should we try to distribute the EN wealth around the world ?
@ Robin I was thinking of jumping into IMMD but when I heard Tim C was going to be there I changed my mind. But hopefully he will already have his spot going into IMLP 2017 and then I can use him as a carrot on the run.
I watched from afar as usual. Solid training year with a toughened up mental attack, the results speak for themselves. Well done, age is refining your skill sets and just dang making you faster. Well deserved podium finish Robert congrats dude !
Rob, big congrats on your well deserved podium!! It's hard to imagine a more well executed race! Especially the run!! That is one solid ass run for any age group!! It's so great to see you back so strong after that nagging hammy! Well done!!!
Ah, nothing succeeds like the steely, laser-focused persistence of a neurosurgeon. You make a great point about making some internal mental adjustments about placement and KQ goals. You have learned that the path you choose is sometimes more important than the specific goal you have. You are determined to continue on the path which does have "kona" as a signpost. You don;t know which turns you'll have to make, but you do know that the next step is ... GET THAT FTP UP to 4.0 w/kg territory. You already have nutrition nailed - you know what to do there even without constant reminders. And your comment "...felt I was close to the edge and I was nervous to go over. That 16-20 mile mark is where everything hurts and you starting asking yourself questions. ... I have been there before. I now have to learn to answer with increased effort and not just steady work..." says it all about how you are ready to find even more on the run. It's there, just waiting to be called on. But as others continually note, multiple hard IM efforts each year over several years may not be the best ultimate strategy.
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px}
</style>
Rob, the internet just stole my epic post to you. Man, I hate that. I think your year was epic because you focused on maintaining fitness and consistency vs chasing a pace or race goal. You were healthier, for longer…and it showed on race day. Few of your AG has that discipline and mental toughness (daily training mental toughness > race day mental toughness).
So much of what you did WORKED this year, so be sure to capture all those positives, not just the “What I Would Change” elements…
My feedback for you….
1) You can’t get much lighter.
2) Your bike can’t get that much more aero or better.
3) You can race smarter than you did, which should be enough on the right day, so some tweaks are in order. See my images below…
As for the things to work on, you had 3rd fastest AG run on the day…and you left some out there…no need to force a 56 vDOT vs 55. The bike is where it’s at for you — safer and bigger returns. How can we get creative to boost that FTP this year…that’s the nut to crack.
On the Bike: I agree that lap one was a bit hot, esp miles 30 to 60. Your HR shows it. But you saved the day by riding the last two hours in diesel steady mode. That’s what you need ALL day. The fact that you “defaulted” to better riding has me super encouraged.
On the Run: You got the HR down quickly, critical. And your Run AHR was 126 to your bike AHR of 116. TEXTBOOK.
And you were really steady building HR as the course went up. But then it really went up around Mile 18. I don't know if that was just looking at Pace vs HR, but it snuck up...for a while...and then you paid the price from 20 to 22. Not the end of the world as you saved it, but definitely something to learn from for next time....you can do _that_ effort over the final THREE miles (as demonstrated here) but probably not over the final EIGHT miles (from 18 in).
The fact you turned it around speaks volumes to your fitness, mental toughness and great execution UP TO mile 18.
I hope this is helpful!!!
Robert, You put together a super race. IMLP has a way of kicking in the groin and you really fended that off. Your swim was great and you followed it with a very good T-1. Your bike was pro. Another fast Transition and then a great run. It was great watching you at Quassy and you have a great racing year to be proud of.