Marc's IMCDA - Race Report/AAR
All ... this was my first IM race, I volunteered at LP this summer and have been methodical in training and getting mentally prepared. I had bike problems that led to a DNF, my goal was simple and realistic, I just wanted to finish. Disappointed but had a blast doing what I could and learning a ton.
Background - leading up to the race my Di2 stopped working when I was at IMLP so had Todd at TTBikeFit help me in a very rushed fashion replace with SRAM eTap Red ... my RR on week 18 was hot (111F "feels like" temperature with 25mph side gusts) and I made it 100 miles so was prepared for temperatures. I did have problems with the SRAM on the RR ride ... only had small ring ... between that ride and arriving in CDA I had my bike worked on by several bike shops, including CDA bike shop, who finally had it working. On recon ride it checked out ... previous problem was with fdr shifting from ring to ring. Was working and I was ready to go ... Took the opportunity when working on SRAM to add Quarq power ... problem with older Di2 and Zipps (10 speed cassette) could not be converted to 11 speed cassette so also bought 404 front and 808 rear ... very expensive project but could not avoid ... should be ready for many more races.
It was a great lead up to the race, I arrived way ahead of time for swim/bike/run recon all proved valuable. After fine tuning the nutrition and race plan with CoachP and others on the team ... it was go time. Some last minute details ironed out and along came race day ... below are the details ... with some humor sprinkled in ...
Race morning ... up at 3AM ... applesauce and protein powder, banana, and gatorade per plan. Arrived at transition at 430 for body marking, air up tires, don the wetsuit and to warm up area by 0515 ... swam 500 yards or so to get breathing relaxed ... ate peanut butter power bar 1 hour before start, gel 15 minutes before start. I was grinning from ear to ear ... no anxiety ready to roll. Lined up in the 1:15-1:30 group and waited my turn to start. Saw Mark M in line and exchanged pleasantries ... had 2XU tri-suit, arm coolers, and calf sleeves on under wetsuit for faster transition.
Swim Goal 1:20 actual 1:28 ... this was my first IM swim so was a little worried about all the bodies but jumped in the water and off I went. On the way out I was in a groove early, no breathing problems, just kept stroking and followed toes, primarily. About 150 meters from the turn the water chop increased which did not impact my swim it was kinda fun. On the way back in I increased stroke rate due to CoachP's breakdown that it would go faster on the return ... hit the beach ran over timing wire glanced at watch 0:41 minutes and jumped back in for second lap ... used my big body on this lap ... got a little physical with more bodies but used my knees and elbows ... I didn't ever kick on the swim, just pulled along. Early on second lap my head was hurting so I grabbed an SUP volunteer and lost my under cap and it felt much better. Back at it made the turn back in ... out of the water not breathing hard, in a zen like place ... unzipped wet suit while jogging ... wet suit strippers ... grabbed bike bag ... headed to bike ...
T1 Goal 10:00 minutes ... actual 7:36 ... would have been under 5:00 but I ran past the changing tent towards bike and they made me return to tent ... had everything on under wetsuit so knew it would be fast. In reverse order of how I packed bag ... glasses, beanie, helmet, EN bike jersey, gloves, shoes, Viatmin M, loaded tri suit with nutrition and tubes ... put on shoes ... grabbed bike ... off to mount line.
Bike Goal 7 hours ... actual DNF at mile 70 and change ... got on bike and started fueling ... started on big ring ... on first small ascent downshifted to small ring to climb ... at crest tried to upshift ... NO BIG RING ... spun out at 18 mph so started coasting ... at turn around talked to official because I had stopped to look at fdr ... it was working when spinning off the ground ... thought I had it fixed ... off I went ... next ascent, downshifted climbed ... at crest tried to upshift, no big ring ... spun out at 18 MPH ... frustration crept in a little ... bike technician passed me and I waved him down (he had a SRAM sticker on his moped) thought to myself I am in luck ... he looked at it, same thing off the ground shifted fine ... in contact with ground no movement. He messed with it some more and thought he had it dialed in ... next hill same thing. Staying in my box I said to myself ... just like RR you got this ... buzzed through town and off to the big out and back with my little ring only. All I could do was coast on the downhills up people were passing me a bunch ... down eventually would build up speed ... could not start cranking until up next ascent ... fueling and hydrating ... playing out just like coaches said it would ... on the last big climb wind started picking up and gusting ... coasting into wind clipped my speed more ... kept grinding, made turn around and wind blew me back to town a bit ... same problems but was doing what I could fueling and hydrating on schedule. 1:59 out and 1:26 back ... 7 hour goal was gone but just wanted to finish. About back to town in the no passing zone a dude passed me, scared me, and put me into a guard rail ... all I could do to keep from going down but saved it by grabbing rail and sliding hand along rail (glad I had gloves on) ... went through town ... out to turn around and special needs ... grabbed more nutrition ... chugged my coconut water ... headed back to town ... pulled over to talk to my family and decided to head to transition and call it a day ... the wind had picked up quite a bit and my "mass" on the downhills would be mitigated going into the wind and cut off was going to get me. Will live to race another day ... of all the things I thought would get me (run related) I never got there due to bike issues, I could not flatten the hills and was left to coasting, on descents, however, I quit no excuses really ... just wasn't my day.
Key learning(s) -
in hindsight overhauling shifting system so close to the race was unfortunate ... but had no choice. Living in a town with poor LBS' stinks! Shiv is on way to Rhode Island for the best in the business to get it working. Bought a replacement so training won't suffer while my baby is away.
No, I repeat, NO nerves on race day, I was confident, cool, and managed the best I could.
I am too big for this sport (kinda ... see before and after pic attached) ... 235 lbs I felt like a giant out there ... saw some pictures and I really felt i looked big, NFL offensive lineman big, in OS going to address this ... I HAVE COME A LONG WAY ... down 60 lbs ... when I started I could not swim 100 yards run 1/4 mile or bike 10 miles without huffing and puffing. Heart rate early on would be 170+ bpm ... the average for my 7 hours 33 minutes on the IMCDA course was 137 (only spiked to 160 a couple times on the ascents). Keeping it all in perspective I am light years ahead of where I started.
Swim, OMG how embarrassing, I swam 2.9 miles in 1 hour 28 minutes, sighting was a little bit of a problem you think? I am sure the spectators were saying what is that guy doing he is wayyyyy off course ... doing a little math, my swim would have been 1:12 if I would have swum the "required" distance. Swam 100 miles in the pool and half a dozen OWS' in preparation ... can only get better ... not bad for a first "race".
Execution was good ... did not feel spent, hydrated well, and stayed on nutrition plan without deviation. No stomach issues, kept sweating ... used Base Salt ... Plenty of energy post race to watch a lot of people finish ... just added fuel to the fire. The next day no soreness ... no pain ... sit bones were good ... I felt great.
I would have liked to get to the run to see how i could do ... on the bike my LTHR was never reached so mentally and physically I was in a good place.
Regret ... I wish I would have made the turn and attempted the last 42 miles ... small rings and all ... several of the finishers for whom this was not their first race told me the bike was very brutal, one of the hardest they had done ... I can confirm it was the hardest I had ever done ... only one data point 
Moving forward, I am going to register for IMFL in November and go for it again! Will have to pay a premium since only spots left are foundation spots ... donation to a good cause. Experience from IMCDA was invaluable even though I had a DNF ... I went farther than some who DNF'd on the swim ... overall driven to do better next time, never thought this would be easy. I didn't want to let the team down but this one got me ... back to the grind.
Our team is sensational, John, Kori, Mark, Susan, Scott, and of course MARIAH congrats on your awesome races and support ... made this newbie feel like a rock star. All of you answered my silly questions with interest and concern ... helped calm my nerves ... and I will always remember this day.
Future plans, continue to slim down ... need to get to 190 lbs ... IMFL'16, EN OS, CO Triple Bypass, Rev3 Quassy'17, IMLP'17. I am all in and on full tilt ... can't get enough ... see y'all out there!
Thanks for reading.
Marc
Comments
Marc it was great seeing you out there before, during and after the race. Your attitude is amazing, I'm glad to see that you're climbing back on the horse and going to FL. Best of luck there. That course should be better for you. Good luck and good skill. Keep that brain analyzing the puzzle and you'll crack it.
Best,
Mark
Marc- Great job and great attitude and positive outlook. Glad you are ok after the bike/guardrail scare. Go get it at IMFL! Looking forward to meeting you at Quassy 2017!!
Keep doing what you are doing - and it will ALL come together!
IM Florida is a very, very different course - happy to talk with you about it.
Last thought: You are NOT NOT NOT too big for this sport!
End of discussion.
Mic drop!
One suggestion is to take a bit of down time after the race. I tend to want to jump right in after a race as I am either fired up because of a good result or fired up because it wasn't what I wanted and I now want revenge. That mentality can lead to burn out (trust me on this one) and without a bit of down time and recharging, you may end up hitting that wall (and trust me, from my experience, it hurts).
Keep that positive attitude and success will follow!
Good luck and keep it up with the training and most important, stay positive as you are !
Good idea for that revenge IM in Florida - make sure you check out the protocol for that in the wiki if you haven;t already.
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Official+Ironman+Revenge+Protocol+(or+Two+IM+Seaso
@Mark ... You and Susan were awesome, thanks for ALL of your encouragement ... Good luck in Kona ... I will be tracking/cheering for you from KS.
@Tim ... I have always preached that "attitude determines altitude" to the kids I have coached ... Practice what you preach is essential! I look forward to meeting you at IMLP too ... A fraction of my current self if all goes to plan.
@Don ... eTap is now operational according to Todd at ttBikeFit, my baby is on her way home. Several adjustments ... Should be ready to go for FL! Will do plenty of check rides ... This big boy is mentally ready to go.
@Satish ... Had one wipeout in early prep that cut my ear in half ... I was surprised the guardrail didn't jack me up ... Race gods were looking out for me! See you at Quassy ...
@Scott ... Great advice! I haven't done much the last two weeks, waiting for my body to say ok I'm ready. Yes, looking back I am stoked ... Driven to keep going ... Want to get it before OS to keep me pumped and excited.
@Dawn ... Thanks for the encouragement ... Can't wait to cross the finish line eventually and hear those words!
@Francis ... No one told me it would be easy and would happen when I wanted it to, right? Just keep working hard ... I find the harder I work the more luck I have! {Thomas Jefferson}
@Al ... Just finished reading the wiki ... Great advice! THANKS ... looking forward to hunting some gators in a couple of months.
Marc
Marc