Scott Liston IMWI Race Report
Scott Liston Ironman Wisconsin 2016 Race Report
Summary
· 3rd Ironman (first since 2011) in 13:09
· Best AG and Overall Place Finish yet, five years after latest IM
· 2404 points for the team
· Within my goal time range of 12:30 – 13:10 (a 78 to 73 USAT score)
· Swim good; .67 IF Bike good; first 18 miles of run good; slowed down about 3 mins/mile more than I wanted on the run costing ~25 minutes
· Overall, pleased with the result
· Plan to improve: continue to work on run durability; get FTP up 10%, lose the last five lbs., train for the mental toughness needed in the last 15k of the run
Overall Goal & Results
I wanted to go 13:10 or under as my first goal, which I achieved. This is what those who do a USAT score of 73 have typically done on the IMWI course the last four years and what I did my first two IMs. The stretch goal was 12:30 which is what those with a USAT score of 78 do on this course and consistent with what I do in short course when I have a great day. That did not happen for me this day, but I’m OK with that. I moved up in my age group and overall vs. previous efforts and it’s been five years and overall my results were consistent with results from five and six years ago!
It was a picture perfect day and an enjoyable time with the Rich, Mariah and the team!
BASIC FACTS
5’8”, 154 (~15% body fat), FTP 242, so 3.46 W/kg.
VDOT 45 (but my estimated Marathon VDOT is more like 40)
2008 Cervelo P2C with regular wheels with wheel cover in the rear. Profile Design FC25 Drink System up front, cage on the down tube, two Gorilla cages in the back.
50/34 compact crank on the front, 12/28 cassette on the back
Garmin 910XT
Rudy Project WingSpan helmet
Pre-race
Nothing at all going on pre-race other than execute my plan. Felt rested and ready. See my Race Execution Plan for the many details J.
Nutrition
· 600 calories – 32 oz. Mighty Mango naked juice smoothies at 2am
· 3 oz. bread, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, two boiled eggs, 1 banana about 4:30am
Swim
Goal: 1:07 plus or minus 3 minutes
Result: 1:10
I always think my goggles are going to leak so I spent time messing with them before the start. Determined that even if they did, I would power through, which I did. Lined up left of the ski ramp about three/four people deep. I would say I had feet to follow about 1/3 the time. According to my Garmin my sighting was excellent – a beautiful rectangle then the turn for home! Felt good about the swim. Note for next season is to find a style of goggle that fit super well!
T1: 8:56
I jogged up the inside of the helix. The strippers struggled getting the left arm over my Garmin L. I had no goal time but was pretty efficient once I found a place to sit and execute. I ran in socks all the way down the parking lot to my bike (581) and had a volunteer hold my bike to put my shoes on and mount the bike.
Bike
Goal: Rolling time: 6:20 plus or minus 10 mins. 6:30 if use port-a-potties
Actual: 6:28
Got my admin work done on the multi-use trail through town, parking lot, etc. I expected to settle in to a heart rate of 120 which would rise over the day to 132 with an average of 127.
Coming out of the helix and through the JRA/BOC pace (155 watts, 64% IF) heart rate still stayed around 139! So go stupid slow and see if it will come down or stick to the watts plan?
My choice: Stick to my 155 watts JRA plan through the top of Valley Road and then move to 164 (68%). Perhaps I should have gone even slower to try to get the heart rate down. I didn’t. My heart rate ended up averaging 139 for the whole bike, 12 beats and 9% higher than I expected. But from a Watts standpoint, I followed my plan exactly with NP 162.5 (67%) and AP 151.5 (VI 1.07).
Nutrition
· I took 10 bottles of Gatorade Endurance. I stocked up and did not take bottles at the last two aid stations.
· I took a piece of Clif block or ¼ Clif bar every lap for the first 9 laps and then every other lap beginning at 11 – so about 410 calories/hour total.
· I felt good the entire bike and rode like an EN ninja! Very cool cat climbing and very aggressive descending. Was constantly thinking that I’m just setting up the run. The higher heart rate was a slight concern but I took comfort in nailing the Watts plan.
· I choose to use the port-a-potties and stopped three times.
· My Garmin file was corrupted so I only got the swim, but looked at it enough on the bike and run that I know the numbers. Bummer for post-race analysis but out of my control.
· I chose to take my Garmin 910XT off my bike and put on my wrist with about three miles to go and accidentally hit the lap button to start T2. Err…I also got off the course briefly where there was a little bridge on the multi-use trail with just a mile or so to go. Errr….little things to correct next time, right?
T2: 3:02
· Only three steps like an EN Transition Ninja! 1) wipe face with a towel, 2) put on running shoes, 3) grab “Go Zip Lock” with sunglasses, hat, Race Saver bag, gel and contact case-with-sun-screen, waist pocket containing S-Caps and Endurolytes. Next time I don’t get to wipe my face J
Run
Goal: Run of 4:37 plus or minus 15 minutes (I did 4:56 and 5:00 my first two IMs)
Actual: 5:18
· I took ice and cooled myself down with the Race saver bag until it got cooler.
· I switched to Coke and S-Caps/Endurolytes for the run and took about 250 calories/hour.
· Was extremely consist over the first 18 miles. Did my plan which was to work to a 10:40 minute pace for the first 6 miles and then try to pick it up after mile 6 to around a 10:00 minute mile.
· The actual heart rate consistent with that execution? Not the 125 – 128 that I saw in training (and planned for) but 139, again. L
· So Choice #2: I stuck with the pace plan and did not slow down to try to get back to 125 – 128.
· After mile 6, the plan was to pick it up to ~10:00 minute mile with HR rising from 132 to 135 with 138 as the cap until the last 10K. I did 10:00 – 10:40 from mile 6 – 18 and stayed about 139-140 heart rate. I felt pretty good; even hammed it up for Rich and Mariah the first time I saw them – still fairies and pixie dust so far!
· At Mile 18, the second pass of Observatory Hill, I walked. After that, I could not get back to the 12:00 – 13:00/mile pace I had done at my two previous Ironman races after Mile 18. I ran through my mental folder of One Things but still the muscles (and the brain?) didn’t have it. I only walked a little bit other than aid stations but was not moving very fast averaging 15 minutes/mile.
· I had hoped to do the last 8 miles in 95 minutes and I estimate I took two hours. Perhaps this was the effect of the high heart rate over the first 11 hours. I’ve done the math all week to try to figure out if I slowed down on the bike whether I could have gotten those 25 minutes back. Maybe, maybe not. But I look forward to talking it with Rich on the debrief call!
· So I kept moving and finished with a smile on my face!
My lessons are in the Summary above. Great experience, would like to improve, but pretty happy overall. Thanks to Rich, Mariah, and the team for being a part of a great weekend and great race!
Comments
And yes you can wipe your face in the next race...just put face wipes or baby wipes in a zippy bag inside your go bag and do it on the run! Nothing feels better than that face wipe heading into the run!
Thanks for the detail. Hard to parse it out from your RR but did you try to get your HR down in the first 6 miles to that ~128 number that were expecting? I had a similar situation last year at IMWI:
The net of this strategy was that I didn't slow down at all on the run.
It's clear that many of us, including me, experience a higher HR coming out of the swim, compared to what we see in RR's, that carries on to the rest of the day. As a result, I figure that my actual race day watts are about 10-15w less than what I think my RR watts should be. That is, last year I did lots of hammer centuries at ~230-235w and 112 RR's at ~222-225w but I ended up riding IMWI'15 at about 209-211w at the same HR.
This is spot on, in my own experience as well. EG, this weekend, I did my final RR, going 112 in 5:50, with an Avg HR of 102, 107 in the last 45 min. I DO NOT expect to be seeing those numbers on race day. I expect I will see 107 >> 115 at the same watts as my RR. This (disconnect between RR HR and race day HR) has always happened to me as long as I have been using power on the bike - so I'm talking 10-15 IMs. So using HR as the number one metric to limit work (a "rein") is the way to go, IMO. Let the watts and the TSS fall where they will, but don't exceed high zone 1 for most of the bike (may creep into very low Z2 at the very end). The same thinking applies to the run - start a touch below where you finish the HR on the bike, hold the effort level for the first six miles, then slowly ratchet up the effort (RPE), observing the pace and HR. Use HR as a "whip" - if it gets below the level seen at the end of the bike, work harder. Simply observe the pace during the run; don't try to chase a specific humber. That method has also given me my best results.
Thanks, Jeremy. Hope to catch you on the circuit in the future. Good skill at Kona!!
Thanks, Ed. Great to meet you at camp. Congrats on your race. We're all learning the game.
What a great idea Trish! Heading to update the race execution plan for next time right now!
Scott - Congrat's on a PR after 5 years w/out an IM! Older and faster, nice! Even better, you learned some things for next time that could lead to another PR.
Scott,
Great return to the world of IM. It was a blast sharing the course with so many teammates during the day. Every race is an opportunity to learn. Enjoy your results and look how to improve. Congrats.
Todd
Scott, glad I got to put a face to a name I had been training with virtually during CAMP. You put in a lot of work and that work paid off in terms of a best ever AG placing. That is a win. Congratulations getting the entire training cycle done, showing up on race day, and moving it across the finish line on a tough course!
I think you highlight the importance of performing Race Rehearsals that include a 3,800M open water swim just before the bike/run leg. I know this is not logistically possible for all, but when possible, I believe it helps us all see how our HR/watts profile will more accurately manifest on race day.
I like Tim Cronk's method of doing long rides a tick or two higher than race day pace, then pulling that back for race day and allowing that to compensate for the swim exit fatigue.
I also believe that building a deep swim base will allow you to exit the water less tired than otherwise, drop your HR faster in the first 20 miles of the bike as well as lower and give you a better place from which to begin the bike work.
That lower HR, IMO, will manifest in terms of better run performance on the back half of the marathon.....
Congratulations and thanks for making the IMWI team that much stronger!
SS
congrats on the best AG placing and great comeback after such a long layoff