Eric Bachmann IMWI '16 Race Report and 2017 Outlook
Eric Bachmann
Male 50-54
Ironman Wisconsin (9/11/16)
Time: 13:14:53
Place: Age 71/262 | Gender 732/1976 | All 979/2881
Swim
Time: 1:54:44
Place: Age 196/262 | Gender 1594/1976 | All 2321/2881
Very positive experience. Entered water 15+ minutes prior to start. Good warm-up then relaxed. Posted to left and back of ski jump closer to buoy line. Swam smoothly never stopping except for one 15-20 second period to rollover and release a cramp in my right calf. Began passing competitors during final ¼ of race. Mental state was very positive with zero anxiety, zero spikes in heart or respiration rates and no crowd/bumping issues.
Notes:
-
Adult onset swimmer. First IM was IMCHOO 2015 – river swim – time: 1:11:xx. 2015/2016 training included significant focus on swimming with lessons and tons of OWS.
-
Huge personal achievement to swim IMWI non-stop with zero anxiety and spikes in heart rate and breathing.
Observation: on this day slow is smooth and smooth is slow! Very pleased win my overall performance except my time. Exited water and roared like a lion only to glance at my watch and note my time… 1:54:44 was soul crushing.
T1: Swim to Bike Transition
Time: 8:39
Bike
Time: 6:29:02
Place: Age 113/262 | Gender 1030/1976 | All 1363/2881
Rode according to plan and EN 4Keys. Immediately put the swim result behind me and focused on easy riding and hydration/nutrition for the first 15-17 miles. Rode conservatively with discipline and patience. Spinning up hills and powering over the top and down and thru the backside into the flats. Pulled moderate and steady on the flats. Continued to manage hydration/nutrition throughout. Developed a GI issue that forced me to stop and use the toilet twice (and pee in the corn fields multiple times&hellip
. Felt strong throughout the bike… also never felt like I was pushing too hard, risking fatigue or overbaking the ride. Topped up hydration/nutrition during the final 5-7 miles
Notes:
-
Hydration/nutrition plan was perfect. 3x 2hr bottles of Infinite, water and GA at every aid station, gu, blocks and bars. All good.
-
Bike dialed in and spinning like a top.
Observations: managed mental activity well throughout the ride starting with putting the swim behind me and thinking forward. Stayed disciplined and patient and constantly ran thru all checklists covering hydration/nutrition, mechanical, physical and mental triggers. I was smooth, focused and mechanical… two hillside observers referred to my ascent into Verona “…look at this guy, he’s riding up the hill like a locomotive…” Needless to say I grabbed that comment and topped up my confidence and spirits. Rode the ride I should, but feel like I left a lot on the bike course. I passed 958 competitors over the 112 miles.
T2: Bike to run transition
Time: 10:04
Run
Time: 4:32:04
Place: Age 71/262 | Gender 732/1976 | All 979/2881
Ran according to plan and EN 4Keys. Ran first 5-6 miles nice and slow… err tried to run nice and slow. Started a little too fast and couldn’t slow my pace down thou I consciously tried several times to slow down. I felt absolutely fantastic and revved up my locomotive and pushed on at a moderate pace. Managed my hydration/nutrition throughout the run and dutifully refilled my quart sized Ziploc bag at each aid station and iced every part of my body (the best secret squirrel trick). GI issues persisted… I didn’t let this knock me of my positive outlook and simply managed by stopping into the toilet maybe 5 times during the run. At mile 17 my locomotive started to gasp and feel the strain of the long day to this point… The Line (suck) lasted only for about a mile because I refused to succumb to the physio-mental tricks and got my mind straight with several “one things” with include… “If I can take it, I can make it” Louis Zamperini, “What would Withrow do?” fellow ENer and friend John Withrow is my coach and inspiration when the pain is at its best… and thinking of how badass it is to be 51 yrs old and competing in Ironman and other ultra-events! At around 19 miles I saw my wife and friend and shouted that the distance remaining is about one loop of Central Park where I do much of my weekday running… I ran the final 7 miles at negative splits and/or didn’t slow down. I felt great and continued my mechanical locomotive approach to finishing strong and enjoying the day. I passed 384 competitors over the 26.2 miles.
Notes:
-
Hydration/nutrition plan was perfect. Leveraged the comfort food available at each aid station, drank water and GA, iced up and cooled my body with water.
-
Walked 20-30 paces at each aid station. Ran the entire course including the hills… think locomotive.
Observation: the run was awesome… I felt strong and focused for 25.2 of the 26.2 miles… Managed my GI issue and stayed positive throughout.
Overall Comments
-
IMWI is a fantastic race venue and course. The spectators were over the top incredible and so large in numbers, dispersion throughout the entire race course and vocal and enthusiastic.
-
My preparation and training was very good. I felt well prepared for all four phases (swim, ride, run & nutrition).
-
Equipment all good.
-
Prerace travel and preparation all good.
-
Race plan and execution good. Can’t think of a moment or decision that I made that in hindsight I would do differently.
-
Pleased with my slow and persistent performance and passing 1,342 competitors during the ride and run.
-
Learned volumes from my 2nd IM
-
Learned how to swim and overcame significant fear and anxiety
-
Understand how to navigate and “finish” an ironman
-
Learned how to prepare and train for an Ironman
-
Reinforced my understanding and mastery of a positive outlook, managing and overcoming setbacks and embracing the pain (enjoying the pain! and mental strength derived from pushing and achieving)
-
Looking Forward
-
For 2017 I will compete in two Ironman races… IMLP 23-July 2017 (registered) and IMNC Oct 2017 (registration pending). Plus local short course triathlons (TBD) and possibly Amzoff 110 mile duathlon (May ’17)
-
For 2016/2017 training I want to follow the EN out season and race training plans. For IMCHOO ’15 (13:07:xx) and IMWI ’16 (13:14:53) I followed my own training plan with help from my buddy John Withrow.
-
For 2016/2017 training I am going to leverage my local tri club and locally based ENers (if any) to train with. Will also actively participate in EN’s outseason and race forums. I’ve been a “lone wolf” with all of my training and while I do enjoy the solitude I think I stand to learn from my peers and will likely push myself harder with a little friendly competition.
-
For 2016/2017 races I want to race and push myself. I know I can improve upon my swim results, I left so much on the bike course and I can incrementally improve my run time. IMLP will be an important test and IMNC will serve as my A-race.
Comments
Looks like we will see alot of each other next year as I am also doing the LP/NC double!
Watch the news feed as I am going to shortly try and rally up a tri-state ENers meetup in NYC around mid-November!
Robert, for the swim I think it was more of swimming too slow and being very reserved to avoid contact, avoid anxiety, jacked heart/respiratory rates etc. I was very pleased with the swim as it was happening because of all of the avoidance... really wanted to finish without stopping and survive. Sighting was not an issue because I swam the buoy line. However, I do recall the feeling of being pushed further out to the left and feeling the drag of the massive wake created by the 2,320 competitors ahead of me (suspect this had a distinct impact on my forward progress...). Thanks for asking.
lov the positive attitude
@Rob-- I'll defend Eric's swim time here for him because I'm sure he won't. I had been trying to get Eric to do an IM for a number of yrs, but he literally could not swim. Like zero. Could not swim a single length of a pool at 48 yrs old. And not only that, was afraid to get in the water. He finally signed up for Chat last yr because of the current assisted swim. After a lot of soul searching, he challenged himself this yr with an IM that had a "real" swim with a mass start. And I followed his progression throughout the yr as he learned to not only learn swim technique (from a starting point of ZERO), but more importantly learned to deal with his open water anxiety. I was his ear when he DNF'd an OW swim this summer because of anxiety in the water. He used that experience to motivate himself and eventually conquered his OW demons (after a ton of instruction, practice, and hard work). Honestly, I could not have been more proud of this really close friend of mine when I virtually watch him complete the swim at IMWIS. I loved the part in his report where he "Roared like a lion" when he exited the water.
@Eric, now that you've conquered the demons, they are behind you. Time to move on and move forward. Next yr's challenge is to learn to swim, FASTER. I realize that last yr was all about staying calm and getting it done, but for #3 and #4, I think you should set your sights on pushing the envelope a bit.
I challenge you to be more a part of the EN virtual community this winter (and spring/summer). And I challenge anyone reading this to help me keep Eric honest with that. The OS will be a great starting point for that.
Many congratulations on finishing your second Ironman (especially with such awesome execution), and I can't wait to watch the next leg of this journey! 11:30:00 for IMNC. Just sayin'
What they said^^^ EN is the most amazing group of people. Lock in to an OS...Participate and you'll grow more than you could ever imagine!
Eric, outstanding work on a long hard day!
I am also part of the adult onset swimming club. Welcome to the party. Regardless of being in the water for a long time, you got the rest of the day done and sealed it with a strong run on the back end. That is real IM stuff right there!
Sincere congratulations!
SS
David- thanks for your feedback. I do think I'm probably over-scheduled and will trim back once i meet with Coach and put my OS and 2017 season training plans together.