IM Chattanooga Race Report
Ironman Chattanooga 2016
I thought signing up for a late September race would mean mild temps, like a high of 80 maybe. Boy was I wrong. Temps hit upper 90’s with heat index well over 100.
The DNF (Did Not Finish) rate for this race was over 25% - the 2nd highest in Ironman history.
The swim was very nice. The water was warm, did not taste or smell funny and there was a helping current. I got kicked in the face once, but not too bad. I finished in 1:22, a 14 minute PR, but current assisted.
On the bike, I finished in 7:27, a 9 minute PR but on a bike course that was 4 miles longer and a whole lot hotter. I probably blew 10 minutes in stopping at aid stations and porta-potties (not to pee). I really tried to keep drinking Gatorade, but I just could not force down enough of it between aid stations. When I was on the last half of the bike course, my Gatorade consumption continued to shrink and I believe this setup my implosion on the marathon. I successfully kept myself cool with ice water and kept my power output low enough to have a good bike ride, but I did not succeed in getting off the bike fully hydrated. In future races, I need to figure out how to fix this. I finished the bike with an avg heart rate of 130, which is a little lower than my long rides. Considering the heat and conditions on the course, I think that the fact that I kept my heart rate in check was a good thing.
I felt good getting off the bike. I took extra time in transition to eat a banana and cool off a little. When I headed out, I saw Nancy and my friends and that was a good lift of spirits. On the way to the first aid station, my heart rate was in the 170’s, and I was jogging easy. I walked to get it down and it happened again. So, I did more walking in that first mile than I wanted to, but I had to get my heart rate down. By mile 4 I started feeling nauseous. By mile 6, I was not drinking or eating anything and feeling like I would vomit. After I crossed the bridge to the hilly part of the course around mile 9, I was walking only – no more running. And I was getting more dehydrated, dry mouth, not taking anything at aid stations. I walked most of miles 9 through 13 – it was bad. I was in a very dark place…feeling horrible both physically and emotionally, but I didn’t want to quit. Fortunately I saw Coach Rich on the course and he helped save my day by suggesting chicken broth and ice water. By mile 14 I was feeling better and started running a little. By mile 16 I was doing a 2/1 run-walk. I did the math on the race cutoff and determined I should finish in plenty of time as long as I maintained the run/walk and not resort to just walking. As the pain grew I got mad and told myself that I did not do all that training to just give up now! I whipped out my “one thing” more times than I could count. Coach Rich visited me again around mile 20 and told me to keep it up and do everything with a sense of urgency. I kept that in mind and maintained the run/walk and did not linger at the aid stations. I made it to the chute with 30 minutes to spare and saw Nancy waiting for me and cheering. It was the most beautiful sight! She ran along with me for part of the chute (on the outside of the barrier) and then I went into the lights…man, were they super bright and blinding! I felt so good about this finish…I have never dug so deep for something in my life.
My goal for this race was to PR all three disciplines and I feel like I should have if I didn’t bugger the nutrition and make myself sick and dehydrated. This bums me out because I think I could have done it – I was only about 30 minutes off and those were certainly eaten up by all the walking on the first loop of the run. I do not blame the heat for my poor performance – I blame my inability to properly execute a nutrition plan. This I must fix. The hardest thing for me is to choke down hot Gatorade. I think I will make a major change for next season to switch to water as the primary fluid (with appropriate adjustments for sodium/calories of course.
Comments
I can't tolerate GE exclusively for the whole race and straight water doesn't work either. I've used Skratch Labs for a couple of years now and it works for me. It means I have to get my calories in other ways, but I can handle that better than GE. You might want to give it a try. I've also used Osmo since it's very similar.
EN creates an expectation of perseverance and achievement. It starts at the top with our Coaches, but our EN teammates continually contribute to this culture. Your experience in Chattanooga exemplifies what we all hope we will be able to do when faced with such adverse conditions.
Congratulations on your finish and thanks for the inspiring Race Report. 
Don,
Heat changes everything, it resets your pacing, inhibits your ability to process calories, dulls your ability to stay focused and stay driven. Very hard to replicate that situation.
In those conditions, getting yourself across the finish line should be viewed as an EPIC accomplishment especially looking at the DNF rate.
IMO, there is no blame for you to find or assign. You confronted each moment in the day and found a reason and a way to keep moving forward vs. the alternative even when things were extremely dark. That is what an EN trained IM does, he finds a way to move forward, to get it done, regardless of circumstances.
Congratulations fighting that battle and winning my friend!
SS
@ Don...Congrats on finishing on a brutal day. I agree with others. It was the heat, so don't blame your nutrition as it is virtually impossible to "practice" how our bodies will process calories and react to the stress of the heat over 140 miles until you are confronted with it. You dug deep and made it to the finish when 25% of the field didn't. Take pride it that. Well done and wear that finishers gear with pride.
It was great to meet you and I hope to see you at other races.
Now that I've had time to process what happened and read your feedback and talk to Coach P, I feel really good about the race.
Here in Atlanta is was 59 degrees this morning when I went for a swim!
Why couldn't the race have been next weekend? lol
It's 74 degrees now (same in Chattanooga).