Ed Eovino IM Louisville RR
Short:
Swim... 1:10:05
T1... 5:51
Bike... 5:40:30. http://www.strava.com/activities/741175650
T2... 6:14
Run... 4:04:09 http://www.strava.com/activities/739969271
Total.. 11:06:49
Rank.. 286
AG... 46
Long:
In Wisconsin I had a pretty good bike leg. I was able to hit the numbers I set out to, but my day kind of fell apart after mile 18 of the run. After 18 I had to slow down a bit to deal with cramping in my calves and quads. I had the desire and fitness to keep running... but the legs just wouldn't let me.
I though originally that I had not taken enough salt. Coach P suggested otherwise, he said the major problem was that I never brought my heart rate down after exiting T1. I just rode my race pace from the start and I paid for the mistake later in the day. After some thought… I bought it… it made sense to me. So…I had a plan for Louisville. I was going to correct the early pacing on the bike and see if the results were different.
*(Spoiler alert… Coach P knows what he’s talking about)
It was a tough transition into this race. During the race at Wisconsin a bee stung me just above my knee at about mile 60 of the bike. It didn’t really bother me once I pulled the stinger out and I didn’t really think about it again until a few days after the race. I started to get some soreness in the lymph node in my groin and it appeared that the spot I got stung was getting infected. Took a couple more days of antibiotics to get back to normal… but after a week I was training again.
I felt good enough week two to start getting consistent again. I swam a few times and did a bunch of 4-mile runs at TRP and was able to do 3 rides of 35-48-47. That Saturday I did something stupid. I ran in a 4-mile race at our zoo. The KC Zoo run was the first race I ever did and I’ve done it every year since. I had planned to just go out and jog it… but…. I ran! I was able to do 27:27.. just a few seconds shy of my PR in that race.
Week 3… I just tried to stay busy doing something… more 4 mile runs…swim when I could (nothing more than 2000 yds) and a 45 mile ride on the weekend. I’d have liked to do more… but just couldn’t find the desire.
Week 4… Just followed the taper.
I was fortunate to have my son want to make the drive with me. Louisville is about 7 hours from KC. We left on Wednesday morning and rolled into town at about 4pm. We went out for a nice dinner at Proof on Main (recommend). It was pretty trendy and I’m not sure bone marrow and flights of bourbon make it onto many pre-race meal plans… but that didn’t stop me.
Having focused on my first race exclusively, I rolled into town woefully unprepared from a course execution perspective. I chose not to even do a race plan. My goals for the day were simple... finish the swim...soft pedal the bike and eat until HR hit 118, then try to hold 185 watts for the rest. For the run... 135 BPM for 6... then mid 140's until the chute. Don't slow down.
I knew the basics of the course… river swim… rollers on bike… flat run, but I hadn’t done my homework. I planned to just ride/run the terrain in front of me until I was given a great gift in the form of Paul Curtin. He had been out to do a camp week a few weeks earlier and met with me to ride a 20ish mile section on Thursday afternoon. It was a great ride and I appreciate Paul risking all by subjecting himself to my driving!
I did no workouts Friday or Saturday. I just didn't feel like it. I went to eat some pancakes at 7am the day before...didn't get out of there until 8... big time suck! Went home and laid around... bike check at about 2... then it was timer on for legs up! 9:00... a new record! Wife arrived by air and her and my son went out to dinner providing a great window for a nap.
I came into Wisconsin with a CTL of 144 and TSB of 39. This race they were 101 and 45 respectively. I was worried by the decrease in the fitness number, but lots of people told me I'd be OK.
Race day I woke at 3:30 and ate a couple of NV granola bars. I also downed two scoops of Endurox mixed in water and took a few salt stick tabs (I had cramped at Wisconsin so I made sure I took 2-3 salt pills each day for about three days before the race). Then I went and laid back down for an hour. I slept pretty well during the night and didn't feel that tired. My wife and I left for transition at 6. I added the nutrition to the bike... pumped the tires and set up the bike computer... and we were off to wait in line for the swim start.
This was probably the worst part of the race...but there really isn't another way to do it. The wait in the line was about 40 minutes before we heard the canon go off to start the race. It wasn't the worse thing for me but I can't imagine what that's like for a first timer. After the canon the line started inching up and I noticed a guy next to me with that blank stare. It was obvious this was his first. He was alone.. so I started talking to him. I told him to relax... that'd it be a day he'd remember forever. He couldn't stop thanking me or Connie as we approached the dock to start. I guess that's what he needed.
The wait is horrible, but this was the easiest swim I've ever participated in. There was minimal contact... plenty of room...easy to sight.. perfect temperature... everything you could ever want! I just relaxed... counted strokes a bit and kept trying to pee. I need to work on the swim pee for sure... never felt like I could get it out... even with no kicking.
Out of the water at 1:10... new PR
Transition was pretty busy at this point of the race and you could tell a lot of them didn't have a plan. 5:50... pretty bad... but I did keep the HR in check.
The easy bike out of transition was the main focus for the day. I looked at the watch and the HR was in the130's. So… agonizingly I soft-pedaled. I was still riding at a pretty good speed, about18-19, but I was giving up much more. It sucked looking at my watts and seeing…75-90. I did what I could…I ate. I had a bottle of GE had two fig bars and a couple of PB gels by mile 5. It took until between miles 10-15 until I finally saw 118 on the HR monitor. My power averages for each 5-mile segment… 97, 128, 166. I could never have been disciplined enough to do this if I had cared what my finish time was going to be for this race. From the start I viewed this as an experiment in execution… so I was all in!
The rest of the bike I tried to keep my effort steady.. but I had mixed results. If you view my HR profile (135 BPM… rising into the high 130’s toward the end) great, but the power profile (1.06 VI) was not so good. One thing that could be the cause is how many times I had to stand on the pedals and pee. All day long I felt like I couldn’t fully empty my bladder. It was uncomfortable at times and I kept trying. If you average in all those times it could account for the high VI I guess?
I heard some great execution talk while I rode. One guy was passing me on a hill and commented about “how sick the Ventum looked”. After passing him and getting re-passed two or three times… he said “we keep going back and forth”. I told him “I can’t crush hills at mile 20” to which he replied “You are riding much more steady than me”. Then at about mile 60 I kept going back and forth with another guy for what seemed like miles. He passes me on a hill and complains to a girl he was riding next to “I told you he’d hit a wall again!”. I loved that one!. My only regret is I didn’t get his race number. I’d have loved to see his run.
I saw a bad crash. It was a single bike. I stopped for a minute to offer help and the guy told me his aero bar broke and he went down. It was amazing to me that 20 people just rode right past him before I got to him. He sat up very slowly and started to drag his bike out of the rode. I asked him if he was OK and he said, “yeah..I think so”. I could see a dent in his helmet so I was a little worried. I talked to him a little more asking if he’d be OK while I went and got help. He seemed pretty coherent so I decided to ride hard for the next intersection. After I left him I flagged down a truck coming the opposite way and asked him to wait with him until I could get someone to send some medical support. When I got there I was relieved to find out that one of those people who past him had told the officers and they were in the process of sending help.
T2... long run past the dismount line in the bike shoes while pushing the bike. I got through pretty easily...but decided to stop in the PJ to finally empty the bladder... seemed like it took a while and my T2 time shows it.
Run... Exited T2 with my Go bag... EN trucker on...check... race belt...check...banana...check... stupid slow.
Everyone was racing out of transition. Only people I passed for the first few miles were people cramping up ( same as Wisconsin). I eased into 135 BPM... Same as I finished the bike and held it for the first 6...average pace ended up being between 9:20-9:30 during that stretch. I felt great...eating... smiling... enjoying it. At 6 I moved the heart rate into the low 140's and just held it. For the next 11 miles the HR netted me a pace just below 9/mile. I kept the effort steady and for the rest of the race I was about 9:10's.
As I was about to finish lap one I saw Connie and Troy out on the course. That gave me a smile and helped with the discomfort... but as I got past them I had to turn a few times and saw the finish/lap two split. That's the worst part of the race for me... really messes with my head. I'm always questioning.. " Do you have what it takes to feel this way for another lap?" I was feeling pretty bad.... Then Bam!,,, right at that point some friends from KC there to spectate the race... jumped into the street and started cheering for me! Kinda startled me... but it broke the dark patch instantly!
About 5 miles later a local guy rode a bike with a wooden frame to support two big ass speakers... came rolling up slow, blasting "It's Tricky" by Run DMC. He was paced perfectly...not too fast so that I only heard a little... I got a whole 4 minutes of distraction. Thanks radio dude!
Only mistake I made on the run was at mile 22. My hands started to tingle so I knew I was needing some potassium. I grabbed a half a banana at the next aid station. I should have asked myself "can I possibly digest this banana right now?" . I ate it and it didn't sit too well. It slowed me down a little over the next few miles and at 25 I actually had to make an emergency PJ stop. The stop cost me 2 minutes directly... but the slowing down on the few miles before kept me from possibly finishing the marathon under 4 hours.
Finished up strong and felt pretty good after the race. Looking to do something similar next year. Maybe IMMT/IMLOU... I think there's 6 weeks between. That might just be the sweet spot.
Swim... 1:10:05
T1... 5:51
Bike... 5:40:30. http://www.strava.com/activities/741175650
T2... 6:14
Run... 4:04:09 http://www.strava.com/activities/739969271
Total.. 11:06:49
Rank.. 286
AG... 46
Long:
My A race for this year was Wisconsin. I raced 4 weeks ago and despite what I felt were a few minor mistakes regarding choices I made with gearing, nutrition, and pacing… (Wisconsin RR: http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/21768/Default.aspx ) I left Madison happy with my performance. It wasn't until I reached out to Coach P about how best to prepare for Lou with such a quick turn around that I was convinced to feel differently.
In Wisconsin I had a pretty good bike leg. I was able to hit the numbers I set out to, but my day kind of fell apart after mile 18 of the run. After 18 I had to slow down a bit to deal with cramping in my calves and quads. I had the desire and fitness to keep running... but the legs just wouldn't let me.
I though originally that I had not taken enough salt. Coach P suggested otherwise, he said the major problem was that I never brought my heart rate down after exiting T1. I just rode my race pace from the start and I paid for the mistake later in the day. After some thought… I bought it… it made sense to me. So…I had a plan for Louisville. I was going to correct the early pacing on the bike and see if the results were different.
*(Spoiler alert… Coach P knows what he’s talking about)
It was a tough transition into this race. During the race at Wisconsin a bee stung me just above my knee at about mile 60 of the bike. It didn’t really bother me once I pulled the stinger out and I didn’t really think about it again until a few days after the race. I started to get some soreness in the lymph node in my groin and it appeared that the spot I got stung was getting infected. Took a couple more days of antibiotics to get back to normal… but after a week I was training again.
I felt good enough week two to start getting consistent again. I swam a few times and did a bunch of 4-mile runs at TRP and was able to do 3 rides of 35-48-47. That Saturday I did something stupid. I ran in a 4-mile race at our zoo. The KC Zoo run was the first race I ever did and I’ve done it every year since. I had planned to just go out and jog it… but…. I ran! I was able to do 27:27.. just a few seconds shy of my PR in that race.
Week 3… I just tried to stay busy doing something… more 4 mile runs…swim when I could (nothing more than 2000 yds) and a 45 mile ride on the weekend. I’d have liked to do more… but just couldn’t find the desire.
Week 4… Just followed the taper.
I was fortunate to have my son want to make the drive with me. Louisville is about 7 hours from KC. We left on Wednesday morning and rolled into town at about 4pm. We went out for a nice dinner at Proof on Main (recommend). It was pretty trendy and I’m not sure bone marrow and flights of bourbon make it onto many pre-race meal plans… but that didn’t stop me.
Having focused on my first race exclusively, I rolled into town woefully unprepared from a course execution perspective. I chose not to even do a race plan. My goals for the day were simple... finish the swim...soft pedal the bike and eat until HR hit 118, then try to hold 185 watts for the rest. For the run... 135 BPM for 6... then mid 140's until the chute. Don't slow down.
I knew the basics of the course… river swim… rollers on bike… flat run, but I hadn’t done my homework. I planned to just ride/run the terrain in front of me until I was given a great gift in the form of Paul Curtin. He had been out to do a camp week a few weeks earlier and met with me to ride a 20ish mile section on Thursday afternoon. It was a great ride and I appreciate Paul risking all by subjecting himself to my driving!
I did no workouts Friday or Saturday. I just didn't feel like it. I went to eat some pancakes at 7am the day before...didn't get out of there until 8... big time suck! Went home and laid around... bike check at about 2... then it was timer on for legs up! 9:00... a new record! Wife arrived by air and her and my son went out to dinner providing a great window for a nap.
I came into Wisconsin with a CTL of 144 and TSB of 39. This race they were 101 and 45 respectively. I was worried by the decrease in the fitness number, but lots of people told me I'd be OK.
Race day I woke at 3:30 and ate a couple of NV granola bars. I also downed two scoops of Endurox mixed in water and took a few salt stick tabs (I had cramped at Wisconsin so I made sure I took 2-3 salt pills each day for about three days before the race). Then I went and laid back down for an hour. I slept pretty well during the night and didn't feel that tired. My wife and I left for transition at 6. I added the nutrition to the bike... pumped the tires and set up the bike computer... and we were off to wait in line for the swim start.
This was probably the worst part of the race...but there really isn't another way to do it. The wait in the line was about 40 minutes before we heard the canon go off to start the race. It wasn't the worse thing for me but I can't imagine what that's like for a first timer. After the canon the line started inching up and I noticed a guy next to me with that blank stare. It was obvious this was his first. He was alone.. so I started talking to him. I told him to relax... that'd it be a day he'd remember forever. He couldn't stop thanking me or Connie as we approached the dock to start. I guess that's what he needed.
The wait is horrible, but this was the easiest swim I've ever participated in. There was minimal contact... plenty of room...easy to sight.. perfect temperature... everything you could ever want! I just relaxed... counted strokes a bit and kept trying to pee. I need to work on the swim pee for sure... never felt like I could get it out... even with no kicking.
Out of the water at 1:10... new PR
Transition was pretty busy at this point of the race and you could tell a lot of them didn't have a plan. 5:50... pretty bad... but I did keep the HR in check.
The easy bike out of transition was the main focus for the day. I looked at the watch and the HR was in the130's. So… agonizingly I soft-pedaled. I was still riding at a pretty good speed, about18-19, but I was giving up much more. It sucked looking at my watts and seeing…75-90. I did what I could…I ate. I had a bottle of GE had two fig bars and a couple of PB gels by mile 5. It took until between miles 10-15 until I finally saw 118 on the HR monitor. My power averages for each 5-mile segment… 97, 128, 166. I could never have been disciplined enough to do this if I had cared what my finish time was going to be for this race. From the start I viewed this as an experiment in execution… so I was all in!
The rest of the bike I tried to keep my effort steady.. but I had mixed results. If you view my HR profile (135 BPM… rising into the high 130’s toward the end) great, but the power profile (1.06 VI) was not so good. One thing that could be the cause is how many times I had to stand on the pedals and pee. All day long I felt like I couldn’t fully empty my bladder. It was uncomfortable at times and I kept trying. If you average in all those times it could account for the high VI I guess?
I heard some great execution talk while I rode. One guy was passing me on a hill and commented about “how sick the Ventum looked”. After passing him and getting re-passed two or three times… he said “we keep going back and forth”. I told him “I can’t crush hills at mile 20” to which he replied “You are riding much more steady than me”. Then at about mile 60 I kept going back and forth with another guy for what seemed like miles. He passes me on a hill and complains to a girl he was riding next to “I told you he’d hit a wall again!”. I loved that one!. My only regret is I didn’t get his race number. I’d have loved to see his run.
I saw a bad crash. It was a single bike. I stopped for a minute to offer help and the guy told me his aero bar broke and he went down. It was amazing to me that 20 people just rode right past him before I got to him. He sat up very slowly and started to drag his bike out of the rode. I asked him if he was OK and he said, “yeah..I think so”. I could see a dent in his helmet so I was a little worried. I talked to him a little more asking if he’d be OK while I went and got help. He seemed pretty coherent so I decided to ride hard for the next intersection. After I left him I flagged down a truck coming the opposite way and asked him to wait with him until I could get someone to send some medical support. When I got there I was relieved to find out that one of those people who past him had told the officers and they were in the process of sending help.
T2... long run past the dismount line in the bike shoes while pushing the bike. I got through pretty easily...but decided to stop in the PJ to finally empty the bladder... seemed like it took a while and my T2 time shows it.
Run... Exited T2 with my Go bag... EN trucker on...check... race belt...check...banana...check... stupid slow.
Everyone was racing out of transition. Only people I passed for the first few miles were people cramping up ( same as Wisconsin). I eased into 135 BPM... Same as I finished the bike and held it for the first 6...average pace ended up being between 9:20-9:30 during that stretch. I felt great...eating... smiling... enjoying it. At 6 I moved the heart rate into the low 140's and just held it. For the next 11 miles the HR netted me a pace just below 9/mile. I kept the effort steady and for the rest of the race I was about 9:10's.
As I was about to finish lap one I saw Connie and Troy out on the course. That gave me a smile and helped with the discomfort... but as I got past them I had to turn a few times and saw the finish/lap two split. That's the worst part of the race for me... really messes with my head. I'm always questioning.. " Do you have what it takes to feel this way for another lap?" I was feeling pretty bad.... Then Bam!,,, right at that point some friends from KC there to spectate the race... jumped into the street and started cheering for me! Kinda startled me... but it broke the dark patch instantly!
About 5 miles later a local guy rode a bike with a wooden frame to support two big ass speakers... came rolling up slow, blasting "It's Tricky" by Run DMC. He was paced perfectly...not too fast so that I only heard a little... I got a whole 4 minutes of distraction. Thanks radio dude!
Only mistake I made on the run was at mile 22. My hands started to tingle so I knew I was needing some potassium. I grabbed a half a banana at the next aid station. I should have asked myself "can I possibly digest this banana right now?" . I ate it and it didn't sit too well. It slowed me down a little over the next few miles and at 25 I actually had to make an emergency PJ stop. The stop cost me 2 minutes directly... but the slowing down on the few miles before kept me from possibly finishing the marathon under 4 hours.
Finished up strong and felt pretty good after the race. Looking to do something similar next year. Maybe IMMT/IMLOU... I think there's 6 weeks between. That might just be the sweet spot.
0
Comments
I guess the moral of this race report (same as what I learned in IMWI) is find a way to race your desired watts at the proper dropped HR. Tricky. I am planning on doing as many swim/long bikes as I can manage before race day to dial that in. I am lucky to have a local park that I can do that in. Boring for sure, but hopefully it will get me better prepared for LP. Enjoy your off season...for real this time!
Ed, congratulations on what must feel like a very satisfying race. A ten minute improvement on your run PR in Madison certainly shows the value of restraint in the early miles on the run. Retaining that lesson for your efforts next year will be a key to getting the absolute most out of yourself the next time around.
Gold star for your Good Sam episode on the bike.
A few notes from my perspective:
-- my early bike miles also had low power numbers. I wonder how much the cold weather impacted power
-- on that course I think a VI of 1.06 is outstanding. I don't see how you can get much lower given the EN plan of JRA early and hills in the later miles
-- double kudos to you for stopping to help that guy
-- we had very similar runs; both in time and sequence of events; although I did not get to hear Run DMC
Looking forward to seeing what you do next year!
Also, good sportship (dunno if thats the good word) on the bike, that was a nice gesture of you.
Looking fwd to meet you next year !
I have IMLV on targets maybe for 2nd race next year, will see during winter
EE, I was jumping up and down as I followed you on the tracker and watched it all unfold man!
If you compare your IMWI and IMLV files, I think one of the biggest differences in the two is that you let that HR come down at the beginning of the bike and you say the payback on the back half of the marathon with a negative split run, and a PR IM time!!
Now, its one thing to execute an IM well and show it in a negative split run with a PR, but do pull this off only 4 weeks after a tough IMWI race is close to impossible just considering the mental fatigue alone you have to manage through.
I hope you are celebrating and resting hard for the remainder of the season, you very much earned it and you are going to be scary dangerous next year!
SS
nice work.
I have taken to giving myself a stop and pee break in the middle of the bike, every race. the 30 seconds is more than returned with the bladder relief and stretching.
I may do the six week gap thing if I do AZ. I think the 3-4 week thing is easier for me, just recover and then race again.
nice talking to the scared swimmer. always nice to give back that positive energy during the day.
@Trish...I did love it...You'll love yours too!
@ Ed... Thanks man for keeping my eyes on the ball for this one. You're a big part of this success. Watching you execute your ass off at Wisconsin on such low volume left me absolutely no excuse to not just go and do it. You constantly checked in and made sure to keep my motivation high when things were toughest. I'm fortunate to have you in my corner and can't wait to work all next year with you in route to MT!
@ DJ... You ready to try and win back this fiver?
@Al.. I can't wait to meet you! I've been on this team for about 3 years and every time I race you slip some Yoda-like words into my thread which change the way I think about racing...Thanks
@Paul.. Early morning coolness wasn't a factor for me this time. I did start about a half hour after you though... maybe that has something to do with it. Thanks again for the La Grange tour... more helpful that I can express. Hope you do another IM.. I'd love to see what you can do in Hawaii!
@Francis..I'll be following you in AZ and looking forward to some of those fries!
@SS... It is nice to be done, but I'm already looking ahead to following you this OS. I'm going to do my best to follow... cause you're always out front leading!
@ Robin... Congrats on your race man!!! I know it was a long time coming...I can't imagine what it was like when that plane hit the tarmac!
Last year I did TX with you and Boulder 10 weeks later... too much gap for me. I lost interest. I liked 4... but truth is I only had a fraction of the fitness I had at Wisconsin. I think 6 might be the magic number for me too...