Clark Mitchell's 2016 IM Arizona Race Report
General Athlete Info
· Age: 50
· IMAZ ‘16 will be my fifth full distance race and my third IMAZ
· Last year in AZ I went 11:02, which was a 30 minute PR
· Weight: ~172 (same as last year)
· FTP: 287 (255 last year)
· W/Kg: 3.67 (3.27 last year)
· Vdot: 50 (49 last year)
Background / Preparation
Last time out I tried to really race an IronMan and I was pretty successful. There were a few things that didn’t go as planned, but that’s always going to be the case in this game. This time around I think I can actually be competitive and possibly even crack the top 10. I’ve moved up into a new age group and I’ve gotten faster, so I think competitive is within reach.
I had a great performance in AZ last year and I’m measurably stronger this time around. I had a fantastic build in September and October, during which I set a number of personal bests. I worked harder and smarter in this round of training and I’ve seen the results in my long workouts and in both race rehearsals.
Last year my improvement came almost exclusively on the bike and I actually slid backwards slightly in the swim. This year I don’t expect such a big “win” in any one discipline, so if I’m to hit my overall goal, I will need smaller jumps in each of the three sports. (I’ll also need to hold the line on transitions!)
So much of what we do in race preparation can be self-limiting. We pick times and heart rates and IF goals that are designed to get us through the day. Last year I tried to push the envelope a little and, although I ended up going faster, that was because I was more fit, not because I was successful at pushing the envelope. Once again I’m more fit that I was the previous year and once again, I’m going to try and push the envelope. Maybe this time I’ll have more success. I did have some success pushing IF during my RR rides and on many of my long rides, but I’ve always had trouble carrying that through to race day. I guess that’s why I like racing since each race is a new opportunity to see what’s possible.
To achieve my overall goals, I will need exceptional EN style execution.
My specific goals around execution, I will:
· stay in my box
· ride my numbers
· remain patient and disciplined
· push the suck out far into the run and when the suck does come I will embrace it and turn it into a source of motivation and energy
· be nearly perfect in transition
· not let the conditions of the day dampen my spirit or focus
· be smart on course and make good decisions
· evaluate my situation frequently, asking “what should I be doing, right now, to give myself the best chance of achieving the exceptional outcome?”
Mental Focus
In preparing this plan, I looked at other examples, I looked at past race results and I looked back at my training. I’ve done the work and I know where I want to be when this is all over, but many things are beyond my control. Thus the most important focus for me is to stay in my box.
Race Week
Relax, have fun, be smart and make good choices. I get to spend time with my Phoenix family and friends and I’m going to enjoy that time.
Friday: Travel day. Arrive, get through check-in, Four Keys and then get to my in-laws. Build my bike, take a quick test ride and then put my feet up until the Team dinner. Sort out how I plan to carry the Quarq Qollector pod.
Saturday: Setup transition and then get home and rest. Don’t linger in the village, get in get out and get home. Again, make smart choices.
Race Morning
· Up at 4:00AM and eat according to plan
· Apply sunscreen, glide, etc
· Put on tri suit under casual clothes (remember a jacket and a head lamp)
· Depart by 4:30 AM. Drive to event and park.
· Transition to top off tires, load bike with nutrition, and double check T1 and T2 bags
· Drop special needs bags, if I’m using them.
· Nurse a bottle of scratch labs while driving and waiting
· Walk to the swim
· Consider throw away socks or flip flops for waiting in line
Swim
· Eat a gel at 6:35
· Work my way to the middle of the 1:15 group
· Swim start: I’m calm and collected, long easy strokes, look for feet, sight as necessary
· Follow the buoy line, breathing to the left so I can see it
· Look for bubbles to follow since I won’t be able to see feet
· Use the rising sun to sight off of on the way down
· Maintain form and pace; remember that this is a race.
· At the first turn refocus on form and keep pulling
· At the second turn evaluate RPE and adjust as necessary.
· On the way back – form, form, form, form
· Site off the landmark I identified on the pre-race walkthrough (not sure what it is yet)
· On swim exit, let volunteers help me climb the ladder
· Move quickly to a stripper. Leave goggles and cap on, carry wetsuit into transition
T1
· Move with purpose – slow is smooth, smooth is fast
· NO RUNNING! The goal here is to try and keep my HR from spiking.
· Pick up my well-marked transition bag
· Find a clear spot on the grass.
· Helmet on and buckled, arm coolers, bike jersey and socks on
· Suit, goggles and cap in bag. Run thru tent.
· Sunscreen station for any spots that rubbed during the swim
· Grab bike and follow my pre-planned route out of transition
Bike
· Ride my numbers, stay in my box, “eat, drink, pee, repeat”
· Refill at all aid stations: min 30 ounces per hour, more if thirsty or hot
· Eat per plan: solids first then switch to gels
· Ride easy until HR comes down (this is critical for me)
· Once HR is down, work up to 72%+
· Stay aero and relaxed
· At every aid station ask: how do I feel, what do I need right now?
· Don’t fret the conditions, ride my numbers, STAY POSITIVE
· Maintain cadence and IF on the downhill, don’t get lazy or lose focus
· Leave shoes on bike heading into T2
· Garmin
o Screen 1 – 3 sec AP, current lap AP, current lap NP, HR, Cadence, lap distance, lap time
o Screen 2 - last lap AP, last lap NP, last lap time, last lap average HR, total time
o Screen 3 – race AP, race NP, race average HR, total distance
T2
· Best in class (My time was 2:01 last year so try to beat that!)
· Don’t change in tent!
· Grab run-bag and stop somewhere outside of tent to put shoes on
· Put helmet, gloves and jersey in bag.
· Grab go-bag and go
· Once on course, put on hat, run belt with number, sunscreen, sunglasses, salt tube, gels
Run
· Miles 1 – 6 @ goal pace while watching HR and RPE
· Miles 7 – 18 Watch HR and adjust as necessary. I expect I will have to work to keep my HR up, so do that work.
· Miles 19 – 26.2 This is where the fun begins. Don’t slow down. Finish with nothing left in the tank.
· Keep cool using sponges, water and ice
· Focus on nutrition – 4-5 ounces GE per mile, 1 gel per 30 minutes and 1 salt lick per mile
· At every aid station ask: how do I feel, what do I need right now?
· Adjust as necessary
· When it arrives, EMBRACE THE SUCK, turn it into ENERGY.
· Cross the line and smile for your picture!
· Garmin
o Screen 1 – HR
o Screen 2 – HR, lap pace, lap distance, lap time
o Screen 3 – last lap time
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Incremental improvement: If I get the weather and the day I want, then I want to go sub 11:00 and here’s what that might look like:
· Swim: 1:20:00
· T1: 0:05:00
· Bike: 5:25:00
· T2: 0:02:00
· Run: 3:55:00
· Total: 10:47:xx
Extraordinary improvement: If I get the weather and the day I want, if I execute like a ninja, if I take calculated risks and if I have the strength of body and mind to carry off those risks, then I want something more than incremental and here’s what that might look like:
· Swim: 1:18:00
· T1: 0:05:00
· Bike: 5:15:00
· T2: 0:02:00
· Run: 3:50:00
Total: 10:30:xx
Crazy? Maybe. Achievable based on my recent training? Absolutely! I know what it will take to achieve each of these scenarios and I’m ready to take the smart risks and do the work to make this happen.
Comments
see ya this week end!
Love the plan. Tim's advice is the same stuff that helped me move ahead. Pay attention to the race clock or time of day when you leave T2. That will tell you whether you're gunning for 10:30 (6:30) or 11 (7:00). Then, go for it.
I would swim with a group 5 min faster and draft like a madman. Many people fade the last 1/4 to 1/3, thinking about the bike, the run - anything but swimming. Double-down at that point and move up on the field.
Shave a min or two in T1. Should be sprint to bag, remove/put on helmet, stuff wetsuit, and drop off bag - all while moving. Jersey? Put coolers on the aerobars, roll them up once rolling. If you really need socks, you gotta stop. But count out loud, giving yourself no more than 5 seconds per foot. If you keep the coolers in the bag, give yourself 3 seconds for each. Next season ride without socks - extra moving part not needed if you're really racing. For me, the counting out loud - whether it's while transitioning, stopping in a porto or walking aid stations - is a constant reminder to myself that I'm racing for seconds. If your mindset ever gets to, "I've got until midnight," you're no longer racing.
On the bike, stay aero, keep the gas on. Get mad at yourself if you sit up or start to daydream (I always lose focus late in the ride). Like on the swim, use the last 1/6 to keep watts up and move up on the field on that downhill section.
T2 looks perfect.
If you've got deep run fitness, then your 50 speed will take you into that 3:50 range. But you need to believe it and be willing to fight for it. Be smarter than me during the first six, setting yourself up for a miserable but glorious final six. If you need to run 9's the final six to reach your goal, then that's what you do. Period.
Hope you have a great race. I can't wait to track all day.
MR
Clark,
This being your 3rd or 4th time at this specific venue combined with your improvements is BAD for your AG competition. All the data says sub-11.
I can't add too much to the golden advice MR and TC have laid out there. I have noticed one common attribute across all sub-11 performers, they pay much more attention to details in their execution of nutrition, transitions, and strategy across the 3 disciplines and they do not waiver in their focus/execution of those details throughout the day as fatigue sets in. This sums up what MR and TC are communicating.
Don't let all the race day details, distract you from focusing on your prior day nutrition strategy as well. Don't put so much pressure on yourself to go sub-11 that it works against you, let it come to you, remember, ..........it is a long day.
For me, the most important point in all of this is what MR said, .......at the end of the day, you have to believe it, believe in yourself, trust your experience and training,.......something I am still working hard at personally.
Have a great, safe race brotha!
SS
@TC - My HR coming out of T1 is a nagging issue and I don't race often enough to fully understand what it means or the overall impact. Last year it took almost four hours for my HR to come back down to something close to normal. I soft pedaled much of the first lap, 171W vs 177W for the second, but at some point I just had to say screw it and start pushing race watts. My race last year was 177W at 138 avg HR. My two race rehearsals were 182W at 126HR and 187W at 129HR. I was pretty happy with the 177 race wattage, but the 138HR was high for me.
This subject was an area of focus for me this year. I actually used my vivoactive HR to record my HR after every RR swim. The good news is that I never saw anything like the 17o HR that I had coming out of T1 last year. The bad news, I saw the same kind of spike coming out of T1 in the HIM I did in Sept.
Long story short, this morning in the shower, I decided I would flip my 910 over to "bike" as I started T1 instead of doing it at the end of T1. That will give me real feedback on my HR in transition and I can use that feedback to push or not.
Regarding the screens on the garmin, to some extent, my long rides looked the way they did because I was watching both AP and NP. I realize it's bordering on data overload, but it's what I trained with, so I'm going to stick with it. I ride 99.9% of the time looking at the first screen. The only time I look at the second or third screen is after the lap flips. I realize it's history, but it helps me get a better sense of where I am.
I've read and reread MR's race report and Rob's feedback and I believe I'm ready to go there.
@MR - I lined up with the faster swim group last year and I got the crap beat out of me. That said, nothing is gained by holding back, so thanks for the push. The idea of counting out loud is a great tip. I will do that for sure. I am highly sun sensitive and the jersey is the only way I've been able to solve the sunburn problem. Everything gets put on while I'm moving, so it's not a time suck. Maybe I'm missing something on the socks, but I only put them on once, in T1 vs T2, so I see that as a wash.
I negative the marathon in '14 and I came pretty close to a negative split last year. The consensus seems to be that a negative split is not the fastest way to run an IM marathon, so I pulled that off of my goal list. Based on your experience in NC and Rob's feedback about how hard it is to push HR late in the marathon I'm planning to go out harder that I have in the past. I'll use HR and RPE as my guide, so I don't get myself into trouble but I'm going to push harder, earlier than I have in the past.
@SS - Thanks, I'll keep a close eye on nutrition and the other details. FWIW, your consistent and impressive effort this year was a strong motivator for me during this build. Thank you!
Clark,
Sounds like you've got the right mindset for T1, and the jersey seems like a necessity. I too only put on socks once, but I do it in T2. And that's the only time I sit, so I get a 2-for-1 (socks and shoes in one sitting, not a wash). If you're going to sit in T1 anyways, socks are fine then. But if you want to get to the point where you don't sit in T1 and put serious time on your competitors (I put 2.5 minutes on 4th place at NC in T1 and held him off by a mere minute at the finish), then move the socking to T2. My guess is 75% of people walk during part of T1 and 99% sit. That 1% = opportunity. Maybe not for you this year, but something to think about in the future.
Rob's comments in my NC post reminded me of an event I attended a while back where Chrissie Wellington spoke. She said she constantly gets asked what separates a champion from, say, a top-10 finisher, her answer has always been the "ability to truly suffer," and the audience full of tri geeks always nods in agreement. But most of them really don't get it, she said, or they simply have a different definition of "suffer." As she says in her book about her breakthrough in triathlon: "Maybe my discomfort is someone else's debilitating pain. But, this time, I got it. This was bad pain. Persistent and deep, deep pain." I'm not wishing that kind of suffering on you, of course, but it's a good reminder that the body can do so much more than our brains think we can/want to do.
@ Clark...solid plan. I agree with the comments about moving quicker thru T1. If you plan to sit for a few moments, might as well run to the seat.
See you in Tempe and look forward to racing with you.
@MR - I typically don't sit in either T1 or T2. I unroll socks onto my feet while standing and I use the elastic laces so no need to sit to get my shoes on. I agree with your mantra that it's easier to gain a minute in transition than anywhere else. You guys have me totally reconsidering my T1 plans...
As for suffering on the run, that's something that I'm still trying to learn. Each time I try to dig a little deeper and this time I'll do the same.
@BT - Thanks! See you shortly.
A 5:25 bike goal (assuming you get the desired weather) looks highly achievable given your improvement - an eleven percent FTP gain is very impressive! Not sure what the weather was last year when you rode 5:36 but even that ‘extraordinary improvement’ goal seems achievable. However, bike time is irrelevant from a planning perspective; you can only focus on early heart rate/RPE control, sustained power, and nutrition.
The run is where your IM race experience will make the difference. I like how MR states it: a miserable but glorious final six.