IMSG Race Report
SGIM 5/1/2010 Race Report
Race morning set up went smooth. Had a good length of time to visit with my wife Brenda and two friends, Cat and Ingrid, who shuttled to the race start. Thanks you guys for your support throughout the day! Although it added to the logistics to have the swim start so far out the buses were very timely and well organized. I usually shed my glasses and leave them with my bike but I figured I would take advantage of the glasses table. Turned out the glasses table was no where to be found at the entry where it was advertised to be. I found a nice lady who agreed to take them from me and find the table. Although it would be a long day without them I let them go and didn't worry about seeing them again. By then Black Sabbath's Ironman was blaring over the PA and I was one of the last ones to enter the water. This was a very tactical time for me as my strategy was to be in the back of the pack and not get tied up in the masses. I got in position right before the gun and was amazed to see a large group of competitors still on the beach.
The water was cold, but no colder than the water I had did my last two open water swims; the neoprene water socks and cap I usually wear for winter swims served me well. Subsequent reports had the water temps between 53-58 degrees. The temps definitely ruined the day for many. My feet never got comfortable. My strategy for positioning was rewarded as I had very little contact throughout the swim. The downside was that it took me at least five minutes to get to the start line. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of spotting every ten right strokes but I kept drifting to my right. About halfway through I dropped it to every five right strokes and did a much better job of staying on task. I never felt in jeopardy of not completing the swim, no anxiety attacks, I made the final turn and was soothed to hear the PA calling names. I exited the water and was glad to have a couple of volunteers there to steady me, there is no way I could have stood up on my own. I had enough of my faculties to request my glasses; a volunteer handed them to me and proudly stated that they were handing me the last pair. Time out of the water 1:51, predicted split 1:45.
The transition was interesting. Not quite an out of body experience but definitely not fully in control. I was fortunate to have a volunteer fully dedicated to my getting into my bike gear and packing out my swim stuff. I was moving pretty slow and although I thought I was dry the clothing was responding as if I was still soaking wet. I wore my IMCDA 2006 jersey, a full bib and arm warmers. As I exited the changing tent two volunteers applied sunscreen. I knew it didn't all get rubbed in but seeing the picture it was more like none of it got rubbed in!
I took a moment to let my wife and friends know I was doing well and was very pleased with my swim leg, no issues is our code for no anxiety attacks which translates to full breathing capabilities. I learned the hard way that when I get into wrestling matches in the water I inevitably have an anxiety attack and although I manage to settle myself down and get through the swim it is at great cost; the inability to take a full breath. This led to my first DNF at California 70.3 in 2009 and a miserable experience at the Silverman Half in 2009. I was intent on not repeating those experiences and so far I knew that I had avoided the potential catastrophe in the water and was therefore off to a great start.
The bike leg started off well as I focused on relaxing and not pushing it, especially up the early elevation gains. My primary race goal was to run the marathon. I had the opportunity to attend Coach Rich's four keys presentation Thursday morning prior to the race and throughout the bike I just kept telling myself to hold back.
I enjoyed the bike leg, it was the first race I have ever done where I didn't go all out the entire reviously) bike. Having never practiced this strategy didn't have me concerned as the downside risk was non-existent, unless I missed a bike cut-off split!
My goal for the bike leg was to average 14-16 mph, it was becoming clear as I progressed through the first lap that hitting 14 mph was going to be tough. After getting up the Wall the first time I was looking forward to the downhill section heading back into St. George. A quick stop to slam a V-8 from my special needs bag and I was back on my way. I was doing a good job of executing my nutrition plan of 250-300 calories and 1,000 mgs of sodium per hour.
The first time down into St. George was amazing. The wind wasn't too bad and I was staying aero and hitting speeds above 40 mph. There was one section where I could see that the hill was about to flatten and I realized I had a shot at my PR speed, I hit 47 mph a new PR (46 previously).
As I made my way through the second loop I hit the section where the rough road began. I started to get a bit concerned that I could miss the bike cut-off. I told myself the holding it back strategy was over and I really just had to bear down. I was in a zone concentrating, looking at my front wheel and BAM! I hit a woman who was standing on the course next to her bike facing me. She went straight down, hit her head on the pavement. She did have her helmet on, her head must have bounced a foot in the air she hit it so hard. The fall knocked her wind out of her but she recovered quickly. I apologized over and over but finally said "you were standing in the middle of the road", she replied "I was on the side of the road". She was sitting up when a volunteer came running over. The first thing he asked her was if she was going to be able to finish. She replied that she was prone to fainting and she wasn't sure. She seemed fine with the exception of shaking off the cobwebs so I had to make a quick decision, get back on my bike and take off or bag the rest of the race and coddle her. I apologized again, said that I was glad that there was a volunteer there to assist her and told them I was heading back out on the bike. I then realized that I had dropped my chain and it was very possible that my bike wasn't going anywhere if it wasn't mechanically sound. I fixed my chain got on and hoped for the best. My left gear shift cover was gone and it was sideways. I turned it back into place and quickly realized that there was nothing at all wrong with my bike. She was going to be fine, probably DNF, I had lost probably five minutes and was back on the course. It was surreal, I tried to figure out who was in the wrong and decided it was my fault as I should have had my eyes out in front. Oddly enough about five miles later I came upon a guy who was changing a flat with his bike on the road actually sideways taking up almost a full lane. Maybe I am crazy but why don't people get off the road and do their maintenance?
I continued to push through the second lap knowing that I had little to no breathing room and that if I got a flat tire or had another absurd situation I would miss the bike cut-off. I made it up the wall for the second time but by now the winds were picking up and I knew I wouldn't make as good a time heading down hill into St. George. Turned out that my top speed on the second lap was 41 due to the increased winds. I completed the bike leg in 8:07 13.8 mph. Two bathroom stops and one accident included. When I hit the dismount it felt like my shoes were cemented to my pedals. I had all I could do to bust them out but managed to before falling over. Had two volunteers catching my bike, that was a huge help.
Took my time through transition, changed everything except my arm warmers which seemed dry. I knew I would need them as it would be dark before I was done running. I stopped and said hello to my wife and friends and off I went on the run.
I decided to wear my Florida Gator's shirt and hat, my son is in graduate school there. It provides a source of encouragement as so many people identify with the Gator's. Being that I made the bike cut-off with approximately 15 minutes to spare I was back into the hold back mode. I ran my first miles around 11:30 and walked through each aid station. It was amazing how many people were walking the course, I would say that most were. I was switching off between Coke and Chicken Broth but the Broth started to give me an upset stomach so I stopped that and went from water to Coke at each aid station.
At the special needs bag I got my regular glasses. The plan was to hand my sunglasses to my wife a the run turn around but she was no where to be found. What to do with the sunglasses? I still had my special needs bag so I decided to put them back in the bag and drop it off at special needs. My hope was to pick them up before finishing.
The rest of the run went well. I saw maybe five other people besides myself running on the second lap. I was planning on picking up my pace with 8 miles to go but when I hit that point I was in the why bother mode, told myself I would pick it up with 2 miles left. When I got to the 2 miles left I had the same thought, why bother. I hit the final aid station for one more sip of Coke and made the final turn. To my dismay there was no one at the special needs area however all the boxes were still there. So here I was digging through a box of bags looking for my sunglasses instead of finishing! I probably lost a minute but felt great once I had my hands on them (prescription sunglasses very expensive!). I put the glass case down the back of my shorts and headed towards the finish. I was glad that I was all a lome and had the finish chute to myself. It was cool to hear my name, age and home town called over the PA. My wife and friends were there and it was a very special ending to a very long day. 16:47 - I definitely left a bit on the course however I felt great and knew I was set up for a good recovery. The volunteers were awesome throughout the day. The course was definitely challenging. My first full was IMCDA in 2006 in 15:37. I would say one hour of my time difference was due to the course. All of my splits were slower at IMSG except my run of 5:20 (12:15 per mile) was actually 20-25 minutes faster than IMCDA.
Since finishing IMSG I have joined Endurance Nation (class of May 2010) and I am really looking forward to seeing the fruit of being part of the team. My next A race will be IMFL in 2011 where I hope to do much better than my IMCDA PR. In the meantime I will do the Silverman full and California 70.3. This was my first ever race report, thanks to an EN teammate who encouraged me to post one, otherwise I would have not taken the opportunity.
Comments
Geoff - thanks for the stellar report. By all accounts, that day in St George ranks as one of the toughest IMs EVER. Finishing that day, especially running when all around you are walking, is testatment to our coaches' belief that executing a race EN-style can produce "11-12 minute rock stars". Another race, another day, and you are going to knock up to 2 hours off that time, I bet.
Nice Race and very well written RR. I agree with AL.
Next time add pictures