Dawn Cass MT Race Report 5th AG...a bittersweet day
Bit of Philosophy: Ironman obviously tests your physical abilities, however, when thrown some additional challenges you really need to dig inside yourself mentally. Do you have the perseverance and attitude to get through? I actually think anyone could do the race…as long as your head is in the right place. If your head and mindset are there, you can accomplish anything. I put this to the test on race day…and in reality I personally believe this concept of all people in "real" life, work and play. Hope you have a bit of time to get through my report and would love to hear comments.
Background: 3rd IM (prior 2 at IMMOO); last year was a 45 min PR/11th AG after taking a year out due to a torn hamstring…only started proper training in May ’15 for the Sept race. After that…I thought to myself….what could I actually accomplish if I stayed healthy in 2016?! Booked my spot in MT that month.
After WI, my hamstring was ok but sore, but I also started to feel some hip pain on the opposite side. MRI showed “possible” labrum tear but couldn’t say for sure without surgery. I wasn’t going to do that based on a guess. Strengthening and PRP got me through and didn’t cause to much of a concern through training. Last straw that I almost broke the camel’s back…foot pain (more of a sandpaper rub) while running. Really?! I cannot make these things up. Xray showed mild bunions (which I only thought my grandmother could get) and suggested stretching my shoes. My 2016 year of being uninjured didn’t start exactly to plan.
Started run durability program in November and moved into IM Intermediate from there. I stuck to the program almost to the T through around May…run paces were up, FTP was back to 228 which was a level I hadn’t seen since pre-injury. Overall felt good. After May, kept up with bike and swim training just fine….runs were more about making sure I kept to the time but missed out on some of the intensity. The injuries in the background were not a problem but now and again would remind me they were not 100% gone. Took a week out of training to calm things down. I didn’t want to risk pushing things to much to take things over the edge. I faltered on race day on the run…and perhaps had I kept to the intensity level of the program things would have been different…will need to figure this out.
A month so before MT my power meter died and got sent back to Quarq. They repaired it however in the most critical time/RR, I was without power and missed it. When the PM came back, it had very odd readings and finally settled in to be about 15 watts lower than where I expected it to be. On race day, I had a couple target ranges in my mind and was going to just see how I felt as I rode.
I was a bit concerned all summer that the race was going to be hot and humid. I love hot…for lying by the poolside with margaritas in hand, (Danielle...if you are reading this, can I have mine now?!) but not for running/racing in. In the end, you may have seen me “fall out of my box” the week before race day when they were forecasting 100% chance of rain! Guess I shouldn’t have been wishing away the fun in the sun conditions.
Few basic questions I need to find answers to:
1. It’s a bittersweet end: I am super happy with my placing and a PR. Coming in 5th was beyond what I thought could happen and I am still smiling at the result. Had I found 12 minutes in my day however….I would have come 3rd. Two spots for Kona in AG…1st took it, 2nd rolled to 3rd…means I could have gone to the big island. What should I have done differently on race day to get those precious minutes back? Ie, where do I need to work now to better prepare for next time?
2. Was I actually stronger and raced smarter than the >150 other ladies in my group…or was I just crazier to go faster than them down the decents in terrible weather? I need to ensure I am both stronger and smarter than the others…this defines my race selection and training plan for 2017. How do I up my fitness level, race smart, and pick a race that best suits my strengths (more than the other ladies)?
Short story: Finish time 11:41, 5th in AG, 66th gender and a 11 minute PR
- FTP: 228 (or 215 on dodgy repaired PM); Watts/kg: 3.8 (~3.6 on repaired reading)…target goal was to drop 2 more kg’s but didn’t quite make it
- Super secret goal (only husband, Julian and coaches were privy to)…20-30 Min PR & bump my placing to get close to Kona territory/a possible rolldown.
- Weather conditions were the toughest I have been through…mental focus and perseverance was critical
- Overall pleased with the final result, PR, and podium…know there are things to work on for next year...hungry to up my game!
Longer story:
Arrived in Mt Tremblant after a long 12 hour drive on Thursday. Friday Ironkids where we got the girls hooked on the sport…it was a wonderful time. Friday night dinner with EN and great to meet the team! I absolutely love the MT area. We spent time there this past summer for training and family time and it’s a beautiful place….people are wonderful and everyone supports and really goes all out for the Ironman crowd.
Morning of race, woke early, breakfast of porridge, applesauce and beet juice. Sipped Gatorade. We stayed in a timeshare right across the swim start which was perfect. Walked over to transition to pump tires (used latex so was a must to do so) where I saw Turby and Carol. I was nervous about the race so was great to see familiar faces and thanks for helping! Walked back to the condo and the girls and Julian walked me down to the start. It was a great atmosphere and loved the jets flying overhead.
Swim: Desired: sub 1:06min for a PR….expected: 1:11…actual 1:12, 15th in AG.
It was the first non-mass start I have done for a full race and expected it to be a bit quieter than what I was used to. I also watched the podcasts where Patrick mentions he wasn’t touched all day….good news! Lined up with my group…40+ ladies and headed near the front. For some reason all year I have gotten very anxious in open water and was hoping this would not happen. Calmed myself and from the beginning, I was able to find a good stroke…no freaking out so happy thoughts in my head. First leg waters were calm however there was A LOT of body contact. In fact, I was fighting with people throughout the swim a ton more than I have ever done on mass start. Not sure why however it wasn’t a quiet hour or so. First leg out uneventful apart from the bumps…turn the corner and WHAM….where in the world did those “Atlantic Ocean-like” waves come from?! The water had a lot of chop and we actually saw waves. I felt like I was getting tossed everywhere however kept my cool. I felt like sighting was off and based on garmin I swam 100 yards further than course. Turn the corner again to head back in thinking things will calm down and they didn’t. It was a very rough swim on what I thought should have been a pretty quiet inland lake. Going through my head was the looming storms that were to greet us on the bike….hmmm.
Looking back, 2 years ago through injury all I did was swim…and managed a PR in 2015. For some reason this year I lost some form and didn’t feel I got it back. At the same time, I did the program however also did a fraction of the swimming by comparison (as I was actually cycling and running) this year. I don’t think I can blame the water conditions or the body blows…I just have a bit of technique to work on to get some minutes off. I can actually swim a standalone 100 yards in 1:29 minutes consistently so I don’t think my technique is all that bad. I need to figure out how I hold that (or similar) pace/technique over the long course.
T1: 6:52…still not the quickest however shaved 2 minutes off what I normally do in T1 so happy. Surprised no volunteers to help you with bags but no big deal. There is a saying that has stuck in my head for a year now….someone said to me after looking at my Madison results that I need to “stop painting my nails in transition”. Thanks to John Withrow, I left the nail polish at home this year. Biggest issue I had in T1 was fighting to get my Castelli T1 cycling top over wet skin…good thing you didn’t see…it wasn’t graceful and many curse words were said.
The tent felt busy so guessed I hadn’t done that great.
Bike: Desired ~5:40, expected (with rain adjustment factor) ~6:00, actual 5:48 (including the rain of course!), 5th in AG off the bike. 17 min PR.
Bike stats: Avg power 140w, NP 150w, VI 1.07; TSS 251, IF .66, avg HR 133
Link to file for anyone who can help give me some input/thoughts on performance. Am new to training peaks so still learning the functionality so I would appreciate your critique…good/bad/ugly!
The bike is my favorite part of the race. As mentioned, I was freaking out at the thought of rain and had in my head I needed to be smart, slow down and mentally adjust my time expectations due to wet conditions. I was shooting for average power of around 150w…give or take considering the issues with PM readings. 140 on the low side and 160 on the high side and would just gauge based on how I was feeling. I didn’t have power on my race rehearsals so decided to run with the above.
I spent a lot of effort this year in getting more aero. Upgraded my bike, took a lot of non-aero bits off to streamline, and took the front end down quite a bit vs where I was riding for the last 5 years. Finally..thanks to everyone (Rich, Jeremy, John, Terri, others) who helped me with advice on getting DI2 in general and specifically shifters on the brake levers…this provided to be the most useful part of the bike in such difficult conditions on race day. Finally, I thought a lot about what I would wear…ended with EN tri top with Castelli T1 stealth over the top….not sure if that really does anything on the aero side, but it did keep me warmer which was needed.
Setup below...I am only 5' 4" so have to warn you...it's a small bike....and in my opinion doesn't look as "cool" as for the taller guys/gals...but works.
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Started the bike without rain so thought perhaps the weatherman could be wrong (Sorry Ed!). From the start, focused on getting my heart rate down and JRA pace. Julian and the girls were waiting for me a few miles into the ride which was a wonderful lift. I tried to picture their smiles/cuddles at the finish line..it felt like a very long way away. Shortly after, the heavens opened up and would not stop until I was nearly done racing for the day. As soon as it started….I started to freak out again. It took a while, but got back into my box and decided I would have to deal with it and get on with things.
As you have seen from other reports….thoughts of "dying/crashing" on the bike crossed my mind MANY times. The rain was coming down so hard it hurt. There was a lot of water pooling everywhere and it was difficult to see. I knew things were bad when I saw the mayor slowing people down after a bad crash. I was a bit nervous to use the brakes to much and cause things to slip more…it was mentally the toughest ride I have done. I could actually feel the tension and pain in my neck and shoulders from holding onto the handlebars so tightly. I didn’t take advantage of the downhills as I would normally do on a race and just tried to keep the speed to a safe level. There was actually a lot of congestion in areas and people getting dangerously close.
I knew I had to pay attention to hydration and nutrition and kept on track. I peed at least 4-5 times on the bike so as a gauge, knew things were flowing. Mixed water and Gatorade and for the first time ever, managed to get through the bike and to the run without a major GI issue. I learned from the past that taking only Gatorade gives me a terrible ache that just doesn’t clear. Ate gels every 30 minutes, ½ powerbar, one cliff gel, salt 1x an hour.
PSA: The “wrap your powerbar in rice paper” trick is a fantastic idea but AVIOD it at all costs if you think it will rain. The rice paper dissolves away and you are left with a soggy, separated powerbar stuck to your jersey…some even soaked into the threads of the material…yuck.
Pacing wise…wanted to make sure to stay on track so set the garmin to lap every 4 miles. It helped however I have to be honest, my mind did drift at times due to the focus I had on surviving the weather. I thought I kept it around 150…probably close to zero on big decent as I didn’t want to go to fast…on the climbs, didn’t want to max more than 200w. Fitness and nutrition wise felt good on the bike…even towards the end. It actually took a lot of energy out of me however to ride in those conditions and I don’t think I realized just how much until the 2nd half of the marathon.
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T2: Still no nail polish…4:55, I nearly cut my time in half vs last year. The fast cats out there can do it quicker so will set the bar for next year.
Run: Desired 4:00….expected ~4:10 (rain shouldn’t matter, temps were in my favor), actual 4:28, 5th in AG. Avg HR 137. Run file below:
I decided to change my socks in T2 and in doing so, I felt like a new woman! The fear of death on the bike was over…my feet were dry and I could now see where I was going as the rain had subsided for a bit. Here I come marathon!
Saw Julian and the girls within the first few miles and again, another wonderful pick me up! Seeing them several times on the run helped tremendously to push me on. I was having issues getting my heart rate bracelet to connect to my garmin at the start so was very agitated. Got connection issues sorted and focused on what I needed to do. I was targeting a pace of 10-10.30 to start however when I looked down at my watch, it gave me strange readings within the miles…8 min to 11 min pace…all when I was running the same. Guess was that with the weather above, I was getting some inconsistencies. Decided to focus solely on heart rate. Heart rate on long runs had been 140-150…I knew if I went up to 155 it was to high…unless it was the final sprint to the end.
Started the run and felt fantastic! Cautious to keep to HR, I was averaging around 135-140 max throughout. Considering the rate was low, I didn’t worry about pace. Looking back however I may have started to fast…but shouldn’t HR be the ultimate gauge? I averaged a 9.45 for the first 10k…running miles 3-5 closer to 9min. 1st half marathon just under 2 hours so tracking to the 4 hour marathon if I could hold it. Rain started after the first hour however I didn’t actually mind..it kept me cool and my feet seemed to deal just fine. I was taking gels every 45 minutes and salt for first 3 hours on the hour. I had trouble taking Gatorade early on so only took small sips and water. I am lovin’ life…until…
BAM….who in the world put that wall in front of me on mile 13/14?!?! I hit it dead on and life changed for the remaining half.
Injury wise….things were just fine…cannot blame this. My quads were on fire and hurting. The other 2 IM’s I did my legs didn’t feel a thing so this caught me by surprise. I watched my HR like a hawk and it didn’t spike. It held to the same 135-140ish as per the first part of the race. My stomach felt tight (not hurting however) but like I couldn’t take much down. I continued with gels 45 min and tiny sips of Gatorade or water. I looked at my pace however and where it felt like I was still running a 9-10 min/mile…I was sliding and holding more of an 11 min pace over the second half. I decided not to push the HR in fear of my legs bursting or my stomach knotting up…none of which happened. Special thanks to Turby who I saw many times over the run….his words of encouragement helped tremendously. I continued on and didn't feel like I could push it at the end. I knew less than a mile left but only sprinted once in town. Funny how all the pain in your body goes away at this point?! The run through the town was fantastic and will stay in my head for a long time. After crossing the line and out of the chute....I finally got Julians & the girls smiles and cuddles...guess it wasn't as long away as I thought on mile 5ish of the bike?!
Back to the beginning and the “bitter” part of my bittersweet day….it was a terrible run and kicking myself thinking about the second half. I am not sure if it was the stress of the day (weather) that contributed? Did I overcook the bike (I didn’t actually feel like I did?) Did I go out to fast (HR says no)? Part of me questions if I should have just pushed through it and raised the pace more. Quads on fire and a bit of a belly ache are really not going to kill me….I had room to get to 150 BPM and didn’t go there. Why?? At the time I didn’t feel like I could…but on reflection, I could have. The ~12 minutes I needed to find in the day were left on the table on the run.
But for the “sweet” part of the day….I tend to always look at the bright side of things in life and racing so like to end with these thoughts. Fantastic location…fantastic people. EN people and coaches are the best. I PR'd and got a podium place in the toughest racing conditions I have been though. No injury problems (knock on wood everyone), and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. This race may be on my hit list in 2017…will see.
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I will now take some downtime and rest and recover. I am pretty good at getting injured so need to resist the urge to book any other big races in 2016. I need to build in some core work this year to keep me strong….I really hate doing it but expect it’s good for me.
I want to make one final special mention to my husband Julian and my little girls. Without their support and encouragement I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have. Here is what they worked all night to produce (while I was sleeping) so I could have a send off on race morning.
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Thanks for reading….appreciate feedback/thoughts/critique!
Comments
Dawn - You're now officially a "bubble girl" - meaning you are on the bubble of making it into the Kona pool. You can see it out there, just shimmering through a filmy veil. In this race you demonstrated the speed, grace, and courage required to make it through that looking glass. To be in this position after three IMs is a very good place to be.
Congratulations on your bike. You had the third fastest split in your age (only 4 min off of 2nd), so clearly that is your strength. Looking at your bike file, I don't think you overcooked things during the first 90 minutes. On a dry day, you should be able to keep the variability down even more; that's probably the only thing you really have to improve vis-a-cis your biking, other than just keeping consistent with your training. Having gone thru the crucible of the downpour, future bike legs will seem so much more...tame! And easier to handle. Less stress, more mental energy to conquer the run.
I know you can get a better result out of your run, from two changes. The first is to start moving beyond HR and pace to simply knowing how hard (or easy) you should be feeling you;re working at any point in the race. Specifically, looking at your file, I think you went out a little too hot in the first hour of the run. It may have felt easy, but it needs to feel even easier, so you can better deal with the final 12 miles. Which brings me to the 2nd point, and this is where the *racing* actually happens.
"My quads were on fire and hurting. " And, "Part of me questions if I should have just pushed through it and raised the pace more. Quads on fire and a bit of a belly ache are really not going to kill me." Here's the awful truth: our training prepares us to be able to physically hold the pace even when your body is telling you it can't. But you can't train the pain away. Learning that means taking yourself into a dark and scary place in the last hour of an IM. If you want to get to Kona, you gotta go there. Ask anyone who's made it if they felt fine the last 12 miles of the run. You gotta (a) trust your training and (b) learn how to move beyond the negative feelings in those lower sensations.
I recognize the concern about whether the recent injuries might be putting you at risk if you push things harder. Been there, done that, if we ever meet, I can tell you a few stories. Two thoughts here. First, run frequency is your first priority over the next year; volume comes second, and intensity is last, at least for moving towards greater IM success. Second, if you do have bunions which are hurting, or even if they (it?) is not, the angle of the ball of your foot can throw your whole gait off, and be a cause of injury or weakness further up the chain. Bunions run on my mother's side of the family, and I started noticing mine when I was about 35. By the time I was 50, and starting to run, it was really noticeable. Three years of better shoes (I mean for work and everyday) and orthotics did not improve things. By the time I was 57, after my first trip to Kona, I pulled the trigger and had surgery. Off my feet for a couple of days, ran a 5K within 6 weeks or so. But: my fastest time for an IM run before surgery was 4:22; right after I was running 4:08/5/3, with no increase in HR or RPE. And instead of finishing 4th (I did that three races in a row), I started winning them. YMMV, but that's my story.
There's no question in my mind that, if you want to put in the consistent work, and learn a little more about run pacing, you will qualify for Kona, sooner rather than later. You are not yet near your potential in this sport.
Hi Dawn
It was nice meeting you at pre-race dinner (although briefly). You are clearly a superior athlete and I think you will have lots of success in the future. Your bike setup looks super-clean. Where to find 12 minutes- i would say 60s at T1 and T2 for 2 minutes right there. The swim felt like it was 300-400 m long (by time) and it may have affected some of us more than others. Maybe your run wasn't great for your ability- so there is a a lot of minutes potentially there. Perhaps given the problems with the gps, pacing with HR might have been a better idea? I personally found the latest guidance of using average bike HR as a benchmark for run HR works well. By this metric, your average bike HR was 133 but you started your run at 135-140 when maybe it should have been in the 125-130 range for the first 10k? Something to think about!
Anyway really great job on a tough day- a podium! Wow!
It was nice meeting you and your family, looks like we all had hard time managing that shitty weather. Consdering you got a podium on such a hard day, I cant imagine what would had happened with a wonderful day!
Like other have said and this is the only where I got expertise - I think you went a little too hard on the run for the first 10km.
As for saving time, I think maybe working on the transition, might maybe get 3-4 mins there.
Rest well and would be nice to see you again next year !
"My body tells me no but I won't quit
'Cause I want more 'cause I want more"
In the end we always revert to RPE , doesnt matter what the PM, HR, or Pace tells us , if its way too easy we will go above our targets and this is actually good IMO if you really wanna explore your risk envelope and race, if not we can use them to throttle it back some, if its way too hard you will not just magically put out more power , HR , or pace just because the numbers you see are too low. The PM is helpful keeping me honest on how I am doing. The HR has just too many variables for me, reviewing it after the fact can be very helpful determining......... " knowing how hard (or easy) you should be feeling you;re working at any point in the race" but in real time without knowing the outcome its hard to determine what HR is actually telling you.... I know I am the minority in EN regarding HR but those are just my thoughts.. I have an example of HR coming up in my Rev3 OOB report vs. Eagleman.
A strong performance from a strong woman all around.
Enjoyed watching you lead the team during the training cycle each week.
Your race results are quite strong given the weather, events and level of dark pain managed on the back half of the run.
If your IF of .66 is fairly accurate, I think that is where you are going to find most of your 12 minutes for the next rodeo. Granted it was raining and dangerous out there and it is something everyone had to deal with equally. Another thought I have is, what would a higher IF cost you on the run considering you hit the wall at mile 14..?
Glad I was not there to get chicked by you DC but happy you got the results very much deserved and earned from the work put in over the last few months.
Keep leading!
SS
Great race and a great report, thanks for sharing.
Having ridden a lot in the rain, I know that those rides are harder to do and take more out of me than the same ride in dry weather. You didn't mention being cold on the bike, but you might have burned more calories just to do the same amount of work. Just speculation on my part but I'll just throw that out there.
I too suspect that you went out a little fast on the run. It's really hard not to, I feel like I have to reign myself in after the bike and I find I'm still going out too fast. I've started walking every aid station to slow down and keep my pace where it needs to be. One of the things I started doing this year on my training runs was ignoring my watch and concentrating on RPE. I would sneak a peek at the watch every so often and when it hit the mile lap, but other than that just paid attention to my body. (I too had a lot of injuries to deal with this year so I was constantly taking stock and ready to shut things down if I felt something was amiss.) I think that really paid off for me on race day because I knew that my legs were fine even if my brain was saying otherwise. Yeah, the last 6 miles are really, really hard to keep going, but it sure sounds like you have all the tools you need to do it.
Just dropping to offer my congratulations and admiration for your race on a weather-challenged day. I love the notes your girls made for you ~ those are so precious.
It will be fun to track your future races.
Best and success,
Beth
Dawn, Congratulations on a great race...sub 6 hours on that course, on that day, is (in my humble opinion) awesome! When I saw you out there you looked great. It was great meeting you and sharing the stage to p/u the team award! You will definitely get to Kona! Just keep doing what you are doing...have fun...enjoy the process...don't be hard on yourself, you did great!
@Dawn,
Congrats on a great race. So close. You remind me of Jenn of a few years ago: AG-competitive in the swim, soul-crushingly dominant on the bike, lost a few precious spots on the run. She obviously cracked the code this year with a blazing run to seal the deal. Your execution looks pretty good. Perhaps got your HR up a bit too high on the first couple of hills, but nothing glaring. After you crested that hill at 15, your HR quickly went from the mid-140s down to the mid-130s, and really never recovered. That's kinda the standard IM marathon, and it's just tough to turn it around that late in the day.
Your training also looks pretty solid. I glanced at Strava, and you seemed to have hit all the key run workouts in the big 6 build weeks. You logged 28-30 miles per week. Great for a busy age-grouper. Perhaps not for someone trying to KQ. Not that you should just blindly up the volume, but something to think about and perhaps plan out with Coach P. To KQ, you probably need to be targeting a goal race pace of 9:15 or better. One of the potential "problems" with running by time is if you run at a pace slower than 9:15, it only yields 8.5 miles on a key 80-minute run like you did in Wk 18. We all have to run 26, so it begs the question whether that last meaty run in Wk 18 should really be 10 or 12 miles, even if it means going 90 or 100 minutes? Again, just something to ponder and question going forward. Finally, you basically stopped running a week out from race day. A single 2-mile jog on Tuesday, then four days of run rest. If you isolate run CTL and TSB in the TrainingPeaks PMC, I'd be interested to see where your run fitness and freshness went over the last 3 weeks. Did too much rest during race week cause you to go from a 4:05 marathon to 4:28? Of course not. But it probably left you a little flat. And when only a few minutes count . . . you want to be firing on all cylinders. You're a fantastic athlete, and I have no doubt you have the smarts and skills to put all the pieces together and get to the dance. Can't wait to watch it happen.
MR
Dawn, Without knowing, I'd guess your swim and bike splits were right in the mix with the four women ahead of you. That leaves your run and getting it down in the 4 hour neighborhood is now your priority. I saw the resolve in your face all those times during the race ( I know the look from seeing it on Carol so many times), so no it isn't mental for you. So much of Ironman racing comes down to the run. When I qualified for Kona I asked a friend of mine who had podium'd there several times in his AG for some tips. He told me "train your run harder". I told him I usually have the fastest run in my AG. He said "I don't care, train it more". I think he is right. Also after reading some articles and books by some world class distance runners I'm a firm believer in training building up over a period of years. When I was running open marathons it took me 5 years of solid training and racing to run my fastest times in the marathon. I think building your mileage to an average of 30-35 miles a week during race prep with a few 40 mile weeks should be good. One thing I always do on EVERY run I do is negative split. No matter what kind of run it is. For me it just teaches my body to run harder when I'm tired. I know it helps me in the Ironman marathon! The intense pain in your legs comes with the territory you are in now. If they don't hurt that bad you had more in the tank! When it comes welcome it, and challenge it to slow you down! Not a doubt in my mind you will get there!! Great seeing you, Julian and your kids. Rest up and big congrats!
Hi Dawn,
I was thinking about your bike and run some more and went back and looked at your file again. Overall your VI was 1.07 and you stated that you wanted to keep your power peak to 200 on the hills. Some of the laps had max power well over 200 and the VI was 1.15 or above. I know that there were downhill segments and that kills VI, but I wonder about those peak spikes. I remember reading a race report that Al wrote about IM Tahoe where he DNF. He quit the run at 13 miles if I remember correctly. He went back and looked at his bike file and found a very short segment, like 6-10 minutes, where he was jockeying for position with some riders and he burned some matches then. He felt that contributed to his bad run.
Congrats on podium finish in such a challenging day. I can only imagine how you felt, as we had a similar day 2015 IMAZ (without hills on the bike)
All I can say, is 'what a GORGEOUS smile' on the run after all that!! Just glowing!! Try as I might, my smile at the end always comes out pinched (not photogenic at all)
Great race report and lots of good advice below. I hope recovery is going well!!
Al - thank you very much for all the feedback....it's tremendously helpful! I have come a long way on the bike over the last years and agree if I can continue with that strength, and perhaps get a bit more out of me, it's solid. Second, on you comments regarding the "dark place"....agree 100%. As I have never been in this position before, I suppose I didn't exactly know how to handle it (it was a darker place than I was expecting to be in)...and on reflection don't feel I handled it well (hence getting 5th vs something bigger I guess.) On injuries and run frequency...support it. And to your comment on meeting...would love to one of these days as I am sure there is a lot we could chat about. I started run durability last November/December and should probably take a look at my history...how do I bump things up in frequency without taking myself over the edge (injury wise). I now have the time to think about it and start planning with plenty of time ahead of me. Bunions....good to see others out there with same issue. Going to see how things develop...and if an issue will consider taking care of them. To be honest, with the most recent shoes I have been running in, and through the end of training...they didn't really cause an issue.
Finally, thanks for the perspective on my future potential...and I love the analogy of the "bubble".....looking forward to 2017 to figure out how I burst through it!
Dawn
@ Satish - also good to meet you (briefly)...to bad we didn't have more time. On reflection I agree with you and the first part of the run I should have taken it down a bit so good learning for next time. I look forward to watching your journey as well for next year. You pulled off a fantastic race for your first one and I am sure you will be doing some great things in the future! Congrats on your race. Let's keep in touch.
@Francis, thanks for your comments...and a congrats to you as well. It was great to meet you and the family and appreciate you organizing the dinner. I am very tempted to book MT for next year so will certainly keep you in mind if I do. Will be focusing on run durability again and agree, perhaps a couple minutes in transition where there is "easy" time to be had.
@Tim - thanks for your comments and I love the phrase....I may just steal that next time! RPE is a very useful measure that I agree perhaps should have more weight. We all get hooked on the devices we have and the numbers they put out. Which critical and useful of course, RPE say a lot as well. Appreciate the help and thoughts on this one....will look to put it to use next year perhaps more than I have done until now.
@SS - thanks for the comments! Appreciate all of the helpful encouragement you have given me (and the team) through training. Looking forward to seeing how WI goes for you and will look to pull out some best practices from you.....will "steal" with pride if you don't mind?! ;-)
@Beth & Jennifer...thanks for the comments!! Jennifer, looking forward to following you at Kona next month!
@Turby - Thanks for your comments....as well as being my "pillar" on the run. It was great to see you cheering me on as we passed...and I personally love the finisher pic of the two of us. You have been to the big show and will look back at the photo when I need a little shot of motivation! I will also throw a deal out there...let's plan to take the next photo together on the big island. ;-) I like the idea about negative split....it's a useful one and agree it will help train your legs and your brain that things will get more difficult however you can run through it. Looking forward to seeing what's next for you and would love to keep in touch to see how things are going!
@Scott - Thanks a lot...and agree seems you and I could be in the same boat in terms of the race. Would love to keep in touch and see how training and racing is going...swap good ideas as well. Good luck in WI...that is a fantastic course and I would actually love to be there with you! Will be cheering you on from here however.
@Brad - Excellent to meet you as well....and good luck in your efforts for BQ! Will look forward to following you and see how the racing is going.
@Mark - thanks a lot for all of your comments....I appreciate you taking the time to have a look and critique. It's interesting how you pick out some areas that perhaps put more effort on me than I realized. Of course we look at how we are pacing by keeping check on the power/HR numbers however you also have to look at the road as well...so very possible I was going harder in parts that I realized. I also know that my mind was distracted with the weather away from the numbers. I think I have some tweaking to do when it comes to the bike...and some soul searching on the run. Both of which I am willing to meet head on so any additional suggestions you want to throw my way as I start the journey into next year...would love to hear from you!!
@Betsy - thanks a lot for your post and appreciate the comments!
Congratulations! What a great race! Ever since you hunted me down and passed me on the Wisconsin run, I knew you were a gamer! I think you had a great race and made an awesome progression to get further up the pointy end. Not a doubt in my mind that you will continue to make improvements and find those 12 mins (if you desire to). I have also been trying to figure out what went wrong on my recent IM run (not that anything was wrong with yours), so take my comments with a healthy grain of salt, but it always seems easier to diagnose "other" people's races than my own.
I think you'd have those 12 mins if you simply did the race again with good weather conditions. I don't mean 12 "absolute" mins, but 12 mins relative to your competition and I think most of it would come on the run.
Swim: Looks like you were ~4-5 mins slower than Wisconsin. That may have been a long course, but you were 15th out of the water vs 14th at Wisconsin. So I'll just say your swim time was what it was and not think much about it...
T1: Your T1 was only 30 seconds slower than mine was in IMMT in 2014, so you were definitely NOT "doing your nails". Nice job. Might you find ~30 more seconds here? Maybe? but given the weather conditions, etc. seems pretty good to me!
Bike: Looks like you had a solid bike to me. Couple of observations was that the few spikes you had "might" have had a negative downstream effect on your run... And you could likely get that VI down to ~1.04 or 1.05 on that course... But that will also come down with higher total NP. The Pro Men that are racing at a ~380-400W NP just have an easier time not spiking their power up hills because the 450W efforts just get absorbed in the numbers easier.... That's just the math of it. Could more "long rides" in training help? Yup. You should meet Al next yr in Aspen and crush yourself for 4-5 days? Yup. All of this will help to take you to the next level (from an already high starting point). I'd suspect that some of the run wall came because all of the extra effort you had to put out to achieve your NP under those weather conditions. If it super gusty windy, you naturally grip the bars tighter for 6 hours [Windy bike courses crush my quads more than any other type of course, even if flat, i.e. Cozumel or Florida] . If it's rainy, your body is also trying to heat itself for 6 hours, might be shaking even if you don't realize it. If you are descending in treacherous wet conditions, you are using more mental (and physical) energy to simply stay upright. All of this energy leakage has a "Real" TSS cost that is not measured by your power-meter or your bike computer. My guess is that under ideal bike conditions you would have gone ~10 mins faster with the same "measured" NP/TSS... However, that would have been MANY (think 15-30+) "actual physiologic" TSS points lower than what your body actually experienced on the bike in those conditions. Those TSS points likely materialized themselves halfway through your run...
T2: Your 4:55 was a vast improvement over your 8:39 in Wisconsin... But a FAST T2 in IMMT is a 2:15-2:35... The girl who finished in 4th in your AG did a 3:20 and one of my close friends in M30-34 did a 2:07 this yr in IMMT... So I think you can still find another 2:00 to 2:30 of time in T2.
Run: I feel for you... And I'm super proud of you for still pushing hard when things hurt. The girl who finished in 3rd in your AG actually only beat you by 10:35 overall, but her run split was 14 mins faster... You are ABSOLUTELY capable of a 4:00 marathon. I think you are already almost there... (i.e. the bike took more out of you than you thought). In assessing what when wrong on "my" run, I came up with several things, a lot of which you also may have... So I'll tell you them about you, then I'll go home and look in the mirror (...again, since I have already done that). Core work. You alluded to it and I think you slacked off compared to what you could have done. A strong core takes much of the run stress off of your legs and puts it into your core... Run Frequency. Totally agree with the fear of re-injury, but run frequency is less hard on your body than volume or intensity. Many above already mentioned that. But not that your injuries are even further in the rear view mirror, adding in frequency is a natural way to get faster (end of IM marathon faster). Bike fitness. You are already monster on the bike, but a great way to improve your run is to get off the bike even faster (less absolute TSS), after riding at an even lower IF (Higher 5hr power from training). Combining even better bike fitness with a fall/winter/spring of run frequency/durability "should" get you to a ~4hr IM Marathon at your "Current" run speed.
If you do all of that and get your ~4 mins back on the swim, ~2-3 more mins in Transitions, ~10-15 mins on the bike, and 25-30 mins on the run, you're not looking at the 11:30 time you are hoping for... Instead, I see you at closer to 10:45 or so which actually would have had you in 2nd place on the day... Piece of cake, right???? I really don't think any of that sounds crazy at all... I'm not kidding, those all seem very reasonable to me if you can stay healthy and continue your current trajectory! I'm glad I'll have a front row see to watch what you can do to solve this Ironman puzzle next year!
@ Jeremy - thanks for the post...appreciate all the advise you have given over the year as well. Looking forward to watching you compete next month and perhaps one of these days, I will join you (if I listen to all the words of advise above!)