Coach Rich Ironman Kona Race Report
Pre-Race:
Seemed pretty busy for me, with priorities being to swim often, acclimate on the bike and run, and enjoy my time in Kona. My big preview day was Wednesday, with the 9am Ventum ride, 10:30a TeamEN ride and 30’ brick in the Energy Lab…where I saw pace and HR numbers I knew I had no business seeing on race day!
But by Thursday afternoon I had everything packed, organized, check, in bags, and ready to go…and get out of my sight because I couldn’t stop myself from futzing with everything!
Friday bike check in was late, but fun and a bit of a red carpet experience with photogs taking picks, industry reps cataloging equipment choices, etc. Pretty cool.
RACE DAY!!
Goals:
Aware of my over all lack of IM fitness, and especially running durability, avoid at all cost a catastrophic meltdown on the run.
Be present to the uniqueness of this special opportunity to race Kona, and “enjoy” it as much as possible, whenever/if possible.
Breakfast: up at 2:30a to shotgun ~800cals of Naked Juice Protein Smoothies. Then 2-3x gels and 1 bottle GE up until swim start.
Transition Check in:
The security check (understandable), race number, have a volunteer take you to your stuff admin (cluster-F) easily added 30’ of admin time…I really should let it go and get over it :-)
Swim — 1:02:18 <— Yes, Jeremy, you beat me <img alt="" src="http://members.endurancenation.us/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/doze.gif" />
Got in 20’ early and cruised to the front, then slid around to the left side trying to find an open-ish patch to start from…with not much luck. When the gun went off it was sorta full gas for about 200m then I settled in. While this swim was easily my most crowded, I had surprisingly little contact the entire swim. I made myself relax by basically freewheeling my arms (didn’t want to feel like I was pulling with much force), breathing every 4th vs ever 2nd now and then, as a check of my effort, and making myself relax enough to pee 
. The net was a very, very comfortable, warmup effort swim.
T1: 4:38
Walked every step, but kept moving, and kept my HR down.
Bike: 5:36, 187w Pnorm, 138 average heart rate. Compare to 211w and 142bpm at IMWI’15
Goals:
- Hydrate
- Eat
- Hydrate
- Relax
- Hydrate
Admin through town and to the Queen K:
Gave myself a wattage cap of 220w on the climbs, coasted on the downhills, and made sure to keep my HR down. Ate 2x gels and started drinking water nearly right away. Went backwards to lots and lots of people, per the plan.
Queen K to Hawi, stuff in my head:
- Elsa, from Frozen, singing “Let it Go!” I made a concerted effort to take a lot of positives from many people passing me, that I was doing the right thing for me, my fitness, and my goals.
- “Today is a good day for a no-chain-day,” I wanted to feel like I was softpedaling all day, with very little pedal pressure, ever.
- “How low can you go?” Found and took opportunities to get my HR down and keep it down for as long as I could.
- “Drinking and peeing is constant and continuous” I basically rode with the Ventum straw in my mouth a LOT, always sipping, then peeing while standing on climbs.
Hawi to Finish:
I got to Hawi at 193w PNorm, or about .71-72 IF, I think. I decided I’d done enough work and now it was about driving that number, and my HR, as low as I could get it. So I rode easier but stayed very, very small, hiding from the wind.
Nutritional Friction:
Plan was to do 1x GE + 1x gel +1x sleeve of shot blocks per hour for the first 2hrs, then switch to water, gels, and shots. I had Base salt on hand for if I felt I needed to up the sodium. Note that, for whatever reason, it’s easy for me to reach an over-salted state, especially if I rely too much on GE…which is exactly what happened. At each aid station there where was only 1-2 people, maybe, handing out gels and I didn't see any shot blocks after the first couple stations. So that gel handup became VERY important…and I often missed it. The net was that I found myself relying on more GE than I would have liked for calories, but got in the calories I needed from the Coke they had out there…a nice treat.
So I got off the bike with great watts, great AHR, very well hydrated and fueled but a bit over-salted, with some puffiness in my hands and arms developing…ugg…
T2: 4:48. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast…but it’s not really about going fast it’s about just chillin’ and maintaining my perspective on the goals of the day.
Run: 4:58
Goals:
- Do everything and anything, NOW, to avoid a meltdown late in the run.
- Do my best to remain present to my objectives for the race and the uniqueness of the experience.
Alii to the Queen K:
I saw Mariah, Patrick, and Kandi near Lava Java, which was great. Fookin’ hot and, in retrospect, I should have slowed down a bit more, done more to get my HR down at the aid stations, etc. Not sure it would have made a tremendous difference, given how my head evolved across the day but it maybe a few minutes?
When I saw the Kona Cheer Squad again I stopped briefly to say high, to tell them I was going to have the run I trained for…
After walking up Palani to the Queen K, the run became an evolution of “Let’s Make a Deal,” and the adjustment of my Commitment to as time goals slipped away, became new ones, which changed again, but never at the expense of my larger goals for the race.
“Let’s Make a Deal:” I played lots of games, like run 400 steps, walk 50. Walk this aid station, get what you need, run 4’, walk 1’, run 3’, walk 1’, etc. In short, I was aware that the key, for me, was to maintain myself by not running so I could keep running 9:45-10:15 pace when I was running, vs pushing too hard and being left with no choice but to walk a very, very long way.
As a result I was very much aware of where I was in relation to the Suck, and all of the other things we talk about, with regards to ~miles 15-24 in our Four Keys Talk. I was aware of how I was at mile 16, for example, vs how we tell you you should be feeling at mile 16 and what you should do going forward. Basically, I felt I had a very good race execution-ey coach inside my head who was assessing how I was feeling, what my mental state was, was very aware of were I was on the course relative the finishline, knowing what to expect at 20, 21, 22, etc, from having been through ^this^ progression so many times with you guys: reading RR's, helping you with race plans, observing races, interviewing so many of you about your races, etc.
Sure, woulda been nice to actually do more with it vs run at 10' pace, walk 20-30" and repeat 
, but that's what my jump to 50-54 will be about in 2018.
As I result I was able to be step it back, freeing up my head to be more present to the race and to “enjoy” it more than I usually do…which was one of primary goals. I was able to really soak in my run down Alii, and a corner of my brain was able to appreciate what it meant in the scope of my coaching career, my history with this distance, with all of you, etc.
It was pretty special. Painful, but special 
Run Nutrition Summary
Like I said, I started the run very well hydrated and fueled, but moving towards an oversalted state. I started the run with a empty water bottle on a waist belt and 4x gels in my race belt. I wore arm coolers and had a RaceSaver bag. I filled the bottle with ice water at the first aid, drinking as much as I could between aid stations, refill it, drink, repeat. I took all 4 of the gels in about the first 45-60'. From there I felt I was in a good place, calorie and hydration-wise, but I needed to avoid salt and GE, for a while anyway. Across the rest of the run I'd say I drank mostly water, a little GE, some Coke, and about 3-4 gels. I didn't feel I was running hard enough to need to take in more calories, given how well I had fueled myself on the bike, and my larger concern being managing my high sodium state. Finally, I should mention that I took Hot Shots before the start of the swim, about halfway on the bike, at the start of the run, and at their aid station that I believe was at about mile 12. I can't say it really helped me, but I didn't cramp. However, I can say you want to be walking, not running, when you do it, as you do not want to get that stuff up your nose 
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions!
Comments
First off, congrats on executing the race you planned / trained for.
The analysis (in hot hard to think conditions) of calorie/salt intake is a great lesson for all of us to manage/adapt that process based on what we get/ don't get on the course & what we might actually need vs work done.
"let's make a deal," adding this one to my Mental inventory for my next race.. Great concept of dealing with the shrinking box!
Congrats again, what's next?
You'll likely forget the pain and the finishing time, but you'll never ever forget that feeling of soaking it all in on Ali'i. Awesome day!
Thanks! Writing this from my van in a campground outside Zion NP, with Kandi. Did 2 days of dirtbiking in the Zion / Bryce areas with some buddies, and now she's joined me for hiking and some light cycling.
As we discussed, looking to pick up a mountain bike and qualify for Leadville. Other than that, looking to run often when I get back home.
Yes, the conversations with myself were interesting. I started calling myself Timmy, ie, I stepped outside of my head and turned my coaching eye to what I was doing, feeling, managing, assessing how Timmy was doing. So lots of internal conversations like "slow down, Timmy, get your heart rate down, Timmy, get your shit together and run, Timmy, and I'll tell you when you can walk."
Stuff like that
It was great to see you out there! Thanks for the positive vibes, the fantastic example of how to do this, and your continued straight forwardness (is that a word?)
go coach! ( I am impressed that you are able to still bike after that! Enjoy and love Zion NP!!!!)
"...I was able to be step it back, freeing up my head to be more present to the race and to “enjoy” it more than I usually do…which was one of primary goals. I was able to really soak in my run down Alii, and a corner of my brain was able to appreciate what it meant in the scope of my coaching career, my history with this distance, with all of you, etc.
"
It was pretty special. Painful, but special
This is so very good to hear. You life as an IM racer will never be easy. Adding: being a leading voice in the coaching space; continually dousing your internal training fire with accidents, surgeries, and "life"; all the stuff you do for us, both words and deeds ... thank you, once again, for showing how it should be done.
As DR said, let's not have any bike-foot incidents this year so that you can be ready for your age-up in 2018!
Coach R,
Enjoyed very much spending IMWI with you and Mariah. Was a great memory.
Followed you during your KONA battle all day. Can't imagine that day with the wind, heat and humidity but you and the others really delivered all day long.
Enjoy the MTB excursion and BE CAREFUL. MTB is one of those sports that requires you to push the limits and take chances to find the edge in order for you to get better.
Sincere congratulations on this KONA finish and another outstanding year for EN!
SS
I will echo those above...don't get broken while enjoying your off season!
Rich, Your reports are always a fun read and make me smile! It was great to see you making that last trip down Kuikini heading into the finish. You looked strong and determined! Enjoy your fall trip and hope to see you guys soon!
All,
Thanks so much for the props and good words. I'm actually looking forward to simple runs nearly every day (Ian Kurth's streak of 42 weeks of continuous running has me scheming my own Forest Gump Project), plugging myself into the local roadie scene, getting a mtn bike and doing more of that. I also want to get physically strong again so look for me to participate in the OS Core and Body Comp stuff.
Writing this from a campground just outside Zion, up at 7a to jam out TSRs. Yesterday I took Kandi for an incredible ride inside Zion and then we did a very cool 2-3hr hike. Today I'm going to dump her out of the van to ride some very scenic stuff on the east side of Zion while I drive forward to meet her. Then we'll carry on to Bryce Canyon today. The motorcycle is safely tucked away in Saint George at a friends house.
Always fun riding a 500lb motorcycle in the dirt, especially when you come across Cletus, the drunk, stuck hunter who needs a ride out to his truck to pull his little 4x out of the mud...
#KonaBeard is gone, however
Coach Rich,
Great execution of your fitness. I've crashed a burned a couple times trying to chase goal times and not have the mental game in place to finish. Your report reminded me how to get it done with what you have on the day.
Coach Rich, GREAT report and congratulations! It was so much fun being in Kona with you and Kandi:-) I was so excited when I saw you running on the Queen K as I was coming in from the bike:-) You lead by example and had a race that you trained for. I loved the part about you talking to "Timmy". I'll have to try that trick sometime in one of my upcoming 70.3's. Thanks for all your guidance and leadership. Now keep out of trouble, will ya ?
glad you got it done.
very nice to share the week and race day with you.
catching up to you and staying ahead of you gave me some needed lift. someday would be fun to try to race you with each of us at full capacity.
thanks for all.
Rich - As always it was a treat to be able to hang with you for a bit prior to the race and to share the course with you on race day! Always a good time and always something to learn from you. It sounds like you did exactly what you said you were going to do and that's not easy especially on a course like Kona where you are always confronted with choices and temptation. Congrats on the finish and hope you have some fun on the motorbike, but please do try to be careful!!
Hey Coach!
AWESOME to get to spend some time with you (and P!) at the big dance. I tried to soak up at least 1% of the smartness and STILL felt like I was over my head.
Regarding the race itself: thanks for sharing your thoughts and it's cool to hear about someone actually ENJOYING(ish) their day. Even if little Timmy wasn't always a good listener...
Give Cletus a fist bump for us, don't break anything on the moto (or stairs, or anything....) and we need a pic sans #KonaBeard!
Cheers! - Jenn
Start easy and then slow down...that's a pretty good summary!