DS IMAZ Race Report
Starting with a Jan OS, I fizzled at the end of an 11 month 2016 season. This build was notable for what it was not: not a single true RR; no ride longer than 4hr, exclusively on the trainer; at most 5 swims/month; family vacation and business travel that left little time to exercise; a failed effort to shed some lbs; a bike upgrade that happened 2 weeks before race day, leaving no time to dial in the fit or even ride it outside once! In short, the encouragement of my wife, a granite-solid IMAZ team/support crew, luck, and a commitment to not just understand, but actually follow EN dogma, that got me to the finish line.
My plan was simple and stolen directly from Coach R: make IMAZ a victory lap, a celebratory sufferfest for the most athletic year I have ever had. I was prepared for the long slog. Expectations were out the window. Taking Mike R’s recommendation, my only micro challenge of the day was to run the entire marathon. In the end, I pulled off an upset 11:13:xx - a ~50 minute IM PR, which absolutely was built on a base of cool overcast weather and EN mojo.
The Inglorious Return of Dougie Bob the Swimtard
Previously not seen in competition since IMCDA ’15, Dougie Bob’s cameo appearance in Tempe was a show stealer. Anxious to get started, Dougie Bob slipped off the bottom stair for a 10-point belly flop. Choice entry. He got to work imitating an actual swimmer - you know, nice stroke rate, firm core, one goggle out, etc. Unfortunately, having selected shaded glasses (on a most overcast day), a particular pair he had not used since July, soon Dougie Bob lost vision after about 500 yards. Combined with the impossibly dark lake water (0 viz as they say in scuba), Dougie was entirely blind, more or less. It started off all gentle like, barely nudging his neighbors. He started to slow down, getting a light foot tickle in. His directional awareness took a major blow when one of his larger neighbors gave him the old Deacon Jones head slap resulting in a nice high pitched tinnitus. In return, Dougie Bob paradoxically swam onto Deacon, who responded with an impressive one-handed shove which brought Dougie to a complete stop. That ended poorly when Deacon’s drafting bestie T-boned Dougie in the face. Ouchie. Dougie escaped this mele, turning 90 degrees. He recalled his daughter explaining “if your goggles fog, flip onto your back and spit into them”. Dougie assumed the position, took off the goggles, spit some lake water into them. It was at about this time another swimmer ended up on top of Dougie, achieving the super rare ‘inverted’ flight pattern. (Think Top Gun, but slightly more homo). After the fly by, Dougie got his goggles back on and swam as far from the school as possible.
But this was no one pony show! He was joined by Billie Bob and Sue Bob in swimming Siberia. Not at all satisfied with the rigidly drawn swim course with all of those nice right angles, the three Bob’s decided to cut their own path which can be described in one word: wide. The three of them put together quite a show, bumping into one another and making the swim course many 100s of yards longer than necessary.
Time: 1:17:50
The Bike
Really, a boring affair. I spent the entire ride thinking about the run. The only point of interest was during the first descent on the Bee Line. I was riding the nose of my saddle, hit a bump hard enough to angle the seat steeply down. Very difficult to ride this way. Had to stop, pee, and then fix the seat, all told probably about 5 minutes of time off the bike.
However, having voided at the top of Bee Line on the first lap, with my dedication to drink fluids and avoiding the dehydration that zapped my energy in Whistler, I received a strong signal to pee at the top of the hill on both the 2nd and 3rd laps as well, giving me plenty of time to develop a little something called porto-potty hot yoga. Dynamic stretching performed during micturition in a confined hot and smelly space. Money. Thanks to the cool weather and over the top fluids on the bike, I did this a total of 7 times (3 on the bike, 4 on the run). You can laugh, but in my defense: there was already urine on the seat.
The data: NP 170, IF 0.67, VI 1.03, AHR 133 (11 beats slower than IMC)
Time: 5:38:XX (PR)
The Run
Time: 4:08, a 30 min PR
This effort goes down as my most well managed effort of any kind: swim, bike, or run. The confidence boost here is significant because it confirms 3 critical lessons in this sport: execution trumps fitness; fitness, once attained, does not leave you as fast as fitness confidence; running a IM marathon is mostly a mental challenge. It also challenges to reconsider the definition of success in this sport, as I got to this PR via a very slow, meandering, and boring swim/bike - not the grueling cardiovascular headache I had previously become accustomed to. Here were the keys:
- I stayed ‘external’, head up, high 5’s, chatting with people like a drunk, yelled at all the EN teammate as they jammed by, ate cheese itz and thanked every single volunteer (especially the vaseline guy. Love that man).
- I defined mile 20 as my ‘line’ based on prior efforts. For me, 8 miles is just too long to hustle. 6 is more mentally manageable.
- Prior to mile 20, my eyes were glued to my HR. Though the paces do not show it as well, I broke the effort into a typical PPR run based off HR: first 6 miles at easy Z1/TRP HR (AHR 138); miles 6-20 at a slightly faster (AHR 142), then after mile 20 - let it go (AHR was 155).
- Strategic tylenol was critical. I took 1 gram at the start of the run, a second gram at the 3 hour mark - just before the 20 mile mark. Yes, this was too much tylenol too soon. But at that moment, the pain was building and I was not confident I would be able to run well.
- Coke/red bull - amazing at the end.
- At the 20 mile mark, I simply started running as fast as my legs would take me and stopped looking at the HR. I defined “as fast as I could” as numb hands, feet and tongue.
Not a negative split, but awfully close, the pace line is flat the entire run, and I am happy with that. After all, I ran the entire thing for the first time.
The After
Fantastic support from Mariah, Coach R, and Cronk all day. Just huge to have these all-stars talk you through a race. I know the EN performances out there were all improved very specifically by this crew. The other racers - Gary gets the game ball in my book - were unbelievable. FP, DR, Sarner, Clark, Betsy, Bruce - absolutely amazing people, each of them. Lucky to know them. Tip of the hat to you all.
Caught a 6am flight the next day for a hard reminder that non-glorious work awaits….
Ah, the OS awaits. But not too soon. I now know what the coaches mean by saying “get your head right”. Triathlon became a lifestyle this year, maybe too much so. Need to reel it back in a little bit. Looking forward to work, kid activities, skiing before I even consider unpacking the rig.
Comments
DS,
I almost didn't make it past the swim portion of your RR because I was about to wet my pants laughing (something you should have done 7 times during the race, but instead opted for the creature comfort of indoor plumbing
). Glad I did make it past, though. You took base fitness that was better than you probably thought, followed smart plan and process on the bike, then set out to achieve a great run result. And in the process, set a huge PR. Very, very happy for you.
Enjoy some time off (not too much), then come back, set some goals that make sense to you and your busy life, and go achieve them. I'm already looking forward to Sub-11 Dougie Bob.
MR
Wow...and you finished 1st OA in RR turnaround time too!
Great race and lots to learn for everyone regarding residual fitness. it's one that's mentally difficult to accept as we get into a groove of 10-15+ hour weeks and feel strong/fast etc so it's hard to fathom that a workload that is a fraction of that won't yield a commensurate drop in performance. But your experience, coupled with many of my own confirm that. Certainly as you age it becomes more pronounced, but anecdotal feedback I've seen suggests that doesn't happen typically until your 50s or later.
You executed well and got the most out of the fitness you brought to that table which is the key success measure of any race. The fact that yielded a PR under less-than-ideal training shows there are many more PRs in your future. In fact, what I've seen in your run and bike numbers would suggest a sub 10:30 time is very much within reach even with Dougie Bob leading the way on the swim.
That confidence note...it is huge, but man you played it smooth. Well executed with firm goals planted in the confounds of your training reality. Nice, very nice! Rest up! And onward!
Loved this summation.... The confidence boost here is significant because it confirms 3 critical lessons in this sport: execution trumps fitness; fitness, once attained, does not leave you as fast as fitness confidence; running a IM marathon is mostly a mental challenge...
Was a pleasure to watch you earn those bike , run, and IM PRs.... Congrats!
Great run Doug... all those miles around Chambers Bay and Grandview paid off!
Love your race report DS! Big smiles seeing your performance on the day as well!
Also, shaking off that swim, moving forward to such a huge PR, making it stick on the IM run is phenomenal!
I like the way you give credit to your coaches and teammates.....BIG!
Congratulations Ironman! Well done all around!
SS
@ Doug...a very entertaining report, but hidden inside are some real jems of wisdom on how to nail a PR. Congratulations on a great race. Running the entire marathon in an Ironman is a huge achievement in itself. That's how you set a PR.
It was nice to spend a few minutes chatting before the start of the race. You seemed calm yet focused and ready. I said to myself, "He's going to have a good day", and you did. BTW, talking with you helped me to keep my nerves in check too. Thank you for that.
Good luck in the future.
So happy for your results, I remember how you seemed worried on the forums about that races... looks like a monster was hidding somewhere inside you and it pulled out on race day ! That means alot on you
I am sure the ventum did help
Fully run the marathon also means alot and doing so is a sign of success!
Was really nice to finally meet you and hang out before race day
Rest and take care of your people at home and get back strong for the OS!
In the weeks coming into the race your confidence seemed low in your fitness and the ability to ramp up, but you did it on race day when it counted. Your execution just doubled down on that, enabling the great run.
I hope to race with you again.
Super job on the report and race day. Now stay upright on the slopes, and roll that confidence over into next season. Don't rest on your laurels; you've got at least 20 minutes more to drop on the run, an equal amount on the bike (especially when you get willing to pee while rolling). And once you kick Dougie Bob off the team, you'll be hitting sub 1:50/100 meters in the IM swim.
I am already knee deep into the swim book. Sense the need for better conditioning (core/weights), and I plan to get serious about the bike fit this winter.
Next warm saturday let us consider a road bike ride.
You have a big tire road bike ? Also, maybe sometime a John Wayne trail ride in the spring. Crank out some miles between North Bend and Ellensburg. Maybe we can organize an EN big day in the gravel.
See you at texas in april.