Howard Matthews IMAZ 2016 Race Report
SUMMARY
All-in-all, I am pretty happy with the results. The facts and circumstances leading up to this race were quite challenging, so I am just happy to have made it there and finished. Technically, it was a PR by 16 minutes, but there is a lot of room for growth and improvement and I am confident it’ll happen with Team EN as I know I have lots of potential to go as much as 3-3.5 hours faster. In fact, I’ll just lay it out there: my 2018 Goal is to do an IM in 10:30 or better!
Here were my goals and actuals for IMAZ 2016:
Swim
Goal: 1:50:00 Actual: 2:05:16
T1 – Under 10:00 Actual: 9:47
Bike
Goal: 6:00:00 Actual: 6:21:57
T2 – Under 5:00 Actual: 5:30
Run
Goal: 5:00:00 Actual: 5:14:55
Total
Goal: Under 14 Actual: 13:57:25
BACKGROUND
This year has had a lot of moving pieces for my family and I (military family). This summer I came out of a pretty demanding assignment in Washington, DC, and went right into another demanding assignment, but with a much better location…Hawaii. So, it was a big move for the family (sold the house, two daughters began second year of college, youngest daughter finally leaving pre-K). As for training and events thru June I had completed IM New Orleans 70.3 and C&O Canal 100-miler; so, I was pretty confident in my fitness and run endurance. Surely I could find a way to muddle thru IMAZ regardless of work schedule issues and the summertime move, right? However, what I didn’t anticipate was that my mother would pass away in July and that I would confirm that I had a stress fracture in my foot a week later. So, emotionally challenged (although I compartmentalize pretty well and always find a way to “get’r done&rdquo
physically wounded (no running for two of 3.5 months leading into IMAZ…oh boy, this would be fun and quite interesting.
Quickly realizing I could use some help, I joined Team EN and what a fantastic move. Coach Rich and Coach Patrick got me training within my limitations and Mariah instantly gave me some Aloha mojo, and I was sure that I could still do this.
PRE RACE:
Coming into EN resources a little late, I jumped on board with Coach Patrick’s recommendation to use the same nutrition provided on the course. Additionally, I decided to go all in with Coach Rich’s race nutrition plan…So carb loaded the two days prior to the race and then no solids after 7pm the night before…stayed off the feet on Saturday afternoon/evening and finished polishing off my checklists to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
RACE MORNING:
Stuck to the checklist and got out of the room, to the transition area, and set up all according to my checklist (and for the first time in a dozen tri’s didn’t forget a single thing (using the checklists is definitely a sustain).
Made it to the linkup location for the Team Picture and it was very motivating to see the coaches, Mariah, and team members, racing, as well as spectators and family members. Key lesson was don’t waste time getting the wetsuit on as the assistance from Mariah, Tim Cronk, and Coach Rich was very much needed and truly appreciated. Then hustled over to hand off my things to my daughter, get that much needed hug and smile.
SWIM:
Lined up toward the back of the pile with the 1h:50m crew as I expected to think about Dory and “just keep swimming.” Swim was pleasant (virtually no contact, and on the few occasions of contact, it was calm and soft). Water wasn’t bad (quite glad I didn’t double up on swim caps or additional warmers). Was able to pee midway thru, which was a good indicator that I was relaxed and easy. The last 1-1.5K I became a little nervous that I may have been swimming to easy and would not make the cut off as there was virtually no one around me as I tried to look around a couple of times…but I thought I was swimming pretty straight and relatively close (within 20 feet of the buoys; which I latter confirmed). However, that was just my paranoia with being so slow, for once I reached stairs and saw the clock, I was quite elated that I actually had plenty of time to spare (however, I definitely expect to see improvement with some drastic adjustments in form and technique over the next year and get under 1:30 as I know I have the fitness for it).
Once out of the water, shuffled over to the wetsuit strippers, which went really smooth, although I could now feel the burn on the back of my neck. Need to apply Glide and or Vaseline on the back of my neck. Started shuffling toward the transition tent and then noticed my heart rate had spiked into the high 160s and decided to walk the rest of the way. Grabbed my bag from one of the volunteers…they were just flat out awesome…my bag was headed toward me as the volunteers called out bib numbers.
Sat in a chair closest to the exit of the tent, dried feet, put on shoes and helmet and thanked the volunteer that grabbed my bag and put my wetsuit in it. Ran to bike, Started Garmin 500, and headed for the exit… Mounted, and was off. It was great to see Mariah, Coach Rich and my daughter.
BIKE:
Having attended the IMAZ 4keys talk on Friday, I decided to follow coach Rich’s advice (as well as other ENers) and ride easy to the top of the BEELINE. As I spent quite a while in the water, I had a gel started pounding water as I expected hydration and sodium intake to be a challenge. Felt like the wind was beat me up a little and my heart rate was quite a bit higher than normal so I made sure to back off to get it under control. On the 1st loop, I had a few folks passing me, but on the way down the BEELINE I then passed a lot of people as I tried to stay aero and find a grove. Only problem was that I was not able to keep the Gatorade down that I started sipping on the way back. Most concerning was whether I was getting enough sodium to ward off the cramps.
On the 2nd loop, the wind wasn’t as tough going out, but on the way back, there I had my first cramp in my right thigh. Time for a quick deviation, I started taking a couple licks of Base salt every 15-20 minutes, reduced my effort and increased my cadence (it was at that point that it became crystal clear that I absolutely needed to start using power for my training as my heart rate had evened out and was coming down, but I felt like I was working harder).
Although I had gone thru 5 water bottles and 3 Gatorades by the end of lap 2, I had not peed once. I figure, it must have been because I puked several times (mostly after consuming Gatorade) and must have flat out sweated out the remainder of the fluids.
On the 3rd loop, the winds had completely shifted and now were a crosswind on the way out as well as they way back. That said, I tried to keep my effort consistent and steady, but I had a bigger problem with staying aero as I was cramping more and sitting up them stretch them out. As I otherwise felt good, I tried try to push the effort but stay right below the spasms. I did what I needed to do to get off the bike. Upon nearing transition, I quickly pulled my feet out and left the my shoes on the bike. Dismounted and shuffled to transition in which I had another great experience with the volunteers calling out my bib number and meeting with my bag. Was able to quickly grab a chair just outside the tent role my socks on, slip on shoes, and shuffle out with the rest of my items in a Ziploc bag. Quick note of improvement, double check that my number is on the belt correctly as that too a full 1.5-2 minutes fooling with my race number, as I could exit without it on. Moreover, I had too much stuff in the zip lock bag that I ended up just passing to my daughter 200 meters into the run.
RUN:
Plan initially was to go out and run the marathon like I always do…start strong and hold it for as long as I can (which is 18-20 miles). However, noting that I had issues with cramping on the bike and remembering Coach Rich hammering home about staying in my box, as long as and wide as I can keep it, and making sure I don’t hit that line before 18 miles, I decided to not run harder than my average heart rate on the bike of 155 and start of walking then slide into a run pace of between 10 and 12 minutes per mile. Upon making it to the first aid station I hit the port-a-pot and clearly I was dehydrated. So it was clear, I needed to stick to my new plan, and start pushing Gatorade and water at every aid station. Additionally, about mile 7 or 8 I started filling up the extra ziplock bag I had with ice and stuck it at the base of my neck; that was absolutely money! (Thanks Coach P). Everything went according to plan thru mile 23. Along the way it was extremely motivating and absolutely awesome to see my daughter, other Team ENers, and of course the EN Bacon Station (extra Kudos to Mariah shooting across crowd to cheer me on!).
Just shy of mile 23, my line hit me like a Mack truck and my box suddenly got very small….and I just flat out walked to the next aid station as I had one of those deep conversations with myself. My one thing (my wife and kids, seeing my mom the last and final time at IM 70.3 New Orleans, my Army JAG Ohana, and my new EN Ohana that had been supporting me all day) was overwhelming convincing. Even better, I saw my daughter who gave me a big hug. When I finally reached the aid station, I started taking cola and red bull and by mile 24, I was back! My box stayed small for the rest of the race, but I stayed consistent and kept smiling…I was about to be an Ironman, again. As I made the final left, I composed myself and started high fiving and looking for my Daughter, brought it home in style…how awesome was it to hear Mike Riley say, “Howard Matthews…you are an Ironman!”.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Having my Daughter with me was huge, and was amplified by the support from the rest of the Team and their families…extra shout out to Dave Richmond’s family who cheered me on throughout the day. Wish there was more time to meet with ENers and their families. It was a perfect day for an Ironman, the weather was excellent and the course was great.
I don’t plan to do an IM in 2017, for I hope to spend more time with and resources on the family and focus my efforts and time on how I train (make those drastic changes to my swim form and technique, use and understand power for my cycling (already have the power meter...just need to use it), and increase my run durability…I know I can run sub four in an IM and I will do it for my next one); focus on attaining my over all goal to do an IM in 10:30 or better in 2018! Also will improve my body comp and work to resolve the cramping issues in my legs that I have had in every event over three hours in the last couple of years).
I do anticipate doing one or two HIMs and will attend some tri camps and swim clinics (Perhaps Kona and Tahiti...hoping Dave can pull it off).
Thanks for all the support especially reading my report, and I look forward to learning a lot, making some massive gains, and more importantly sharing as much as I can.
Comments
Tahition Triathlon comitee is holding their big meeting this week and the HIM will probably be moved to september. Xterra tahiti is in may 6th (I think) so will work on the probable unofficial Tahiti camps for the xetrra in may and the HIM in sept. Stay tuned for more more info in the next 3 weeks
@Clark: thanks. It was very nice meeting you. Congrats on your fantastic finish and PRs. When I finally grow up, I hope I can race with your discipline and temperance. Look forward to learning a lot from you.