Race Report for Honu -- Chris Whyte
Wind was blowing quite good early in the morning and everyone was scared. It didn't really bother me because it's Hawaii and you never know what you're going to get until you get out there.
Swim was very fun but quite choppy after the first turn buoy on that back stretch. Much more choppy than when I did it in '06 and '07. I swam as well as I could swim in those conditions. I was reasonably happy.
Swim: 33:16
T1 was sucked big time. Very disappointed...
Bike had wind but it was almost all head and tailwind stuff. Very very little crosswinds so the ride wasn't difficult at all but it was probably about 3 min slower than typical. My execution was near perfect but I was initially a little disappointed in my time until I reviewed my data afterward.
Entire workout (213 watts):
Duration: 2:35:03 (2:35:32)
Work: 1980 kJ
TSS: 169.9 (intensity factor 0.811)
Norm Power: 219
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 57.305 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 409 213 watts
Cadence: 32 191 89 rpm
Speed: 7.1 40.9 21.8 mph
Pace 1:28 8:24 2:45 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 266 73 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 863 203 lb-in
1st half power: 213w/218w
2nd half power: 213w/220w
Don't ask me why the mileage says "57.3." My computer has always read courses almost dead on. I don't know but that kind of messed me up because I was really holding back the last 5 miles because I calculated I would come in around 2:32ish (which was a bit of a tactical decision on my part). Of course, I was a little perplexed when I turned the corner at Waikoloa toward transition only to realize that something was wrong.
Anyway, it is what it is and wasn't really bothered because I was heading into transition with Keish Doi who has always come off the bike in front of me in the last couple of years. Plus, I felt like I was really holding back the entire bike. I was very fresh (at least I felt like I was fresh)...
Bike: 2:36:04
T2 was fine.
Run started fine but felt a little twinge in my quad which went away eventually (around mile 3 or 4). I focused on getting in a decent amount of calories early in the run. It was just the strangest and one of the more difficult HIM runs I've done recently. First off, the course is quite tough. Secondly, I would feel great for 2 miles and then felt like shit for 2 miles. That went back and forth until I hit around mile 9 and then just felt like total shit the remainder of the run. I never found a groove and things just weren't working for me on this day. It was just a real dreadful and painful battle the last couple of miles.
The other thing is that I don't like being hunted. I like to be the hunter. I had some insight prior to the race that the "usual suspects" in my AG weren't planning on taking their Kona slots which improved my chances greatly. Anyway, I saw Chris Stephenson behind me (about 2 min back) around mile 3 and could see he was running well. I had this awful feeling that I needed to beat him to better ensure a Kona slot. Anyway, he ended up catching me around mile 10 and then his freakin' wife (I know both of them quite well) passes me about 3 secs later. I was right, I needed to beat him to get a Kona slot. Amazing how your intuitions work...
I was completely toasted by the end. A total mess which was cured by a large cheeseburger, chocolate-mac cookie and 3 beers afterward (when I realized I had lost a Kona slot to a freakin' guy in my AG who was only 10 secs in front of me).
Run: 1:36:39
Total: 4:51:28
Overall I just wasn't that pleased with my race. I'm one of those who just has to run well in order to feel good about my performance. I just didn't do that on this day. It wasn't about the Kona slot. I didn't feel like I deserved it anyway.
Thanks, Chris
Comments
10 seconds! That is frustrating. Even more so that you just seemed to have one of those mysteriuous days when the run wasn't working. Sure doesn't seem like you cooked yourself on the bike nor had nutrition probelms. From my perspective, still a solid race considering you had to push through the misery of those last miles.
Congratulations
Chris, sorry bout you missing a kona slot-big bummer! On the other hand, your swim time, bike execution and run times are awesome! Wish I could run the time you did!! Guess it is all relative
If I can execute like you did tomorrow, I will be a happy camper!
I posted in the wrong place prior. Chris when you see my times you are going to feel awfully good about yours. I too found the swim very rough, I have not had many rough water swims so it took me 50 mins to complete, I got kncked around a lot and found myself under one of the later bouys getting head punch.
My T1 time was ridiculous I put my bike gloves on and then decided to put my arm coolers on and couldn't so my time was close or was 10 lousy minutes.
My bike time was the best ever for me and was in the 4 hour range, but my average speed was 14.7. Only Patrick understand how this was a personal best. I went over there in April and feel like I nearly lost my life on a training ride to Havi with side gusts between 40-50 MPH. I was so nervous and worried about this for the race but like you I found the first half climbing with headwinds challenging but not too difficult with the side winds.
T2 better, I think around 5 minutes not sure
But it was in the run that I suffered. I felt good for only about 15 minutes. The "line" for me happend just after the 1st mile and my "box" became smaller and smaller. I have not been able to run for almost a year having had 3 major knee surgeries (including two full knee replacements) so my longest real run was 3-4 miles and I only had a few. I had to pull very deep in order to finish. I thought I had lots of time but after the "road to nowhere" which was as bad as race directors and others predicted, I was walking more than running. But the wonderful news for me was i finished 8:50 minutes before the clock. I coudn't have been happier. I raced with my 34 year old son and it was his first race ever. So to do so with him was out of this world and I will cherish this memoery forever.
So Congratulations to you Chris, you are one of those athelets I stand around and stare at and go "how does he do that"?? Sure hope to go back and give it a little better time . . I love the Hawaiian energy. Linda Hopkins
I'm currious as to why you don't feel you would have deserved the Kona spot?
Chris - As you well know, everyone hurts running in the heat. Speaking as someone who has been on the wrong side of the bubble for getting to Kona at least as often as I've actually qualified, I suspect that no matter what your outside is feeling/showing, there is both regret and determination for improvement on the inside.
Chris... ditto to what others have said a lot above in that looks like you did pretty nice job of pushing through a tough race. I though, like Coach P, wonder a little about your bike holding back to the .81 numbers versus going .83 or .84. With your experience and speed I could see that in you, but maybe something else was a factor for the day. I've did two HIM's with EN protocol and went .84 and been fine so far with decent runs in my opinion for my Vdot. Just curious to your reasons why.
Thanks for sharing your race report. I felt like I was there with you. I have raced there when it was the old course in keahou(sp?). That heat is wicked and a shock to the system because the training leading up to it is usually not hot yet back at home. I hear what you are saying about the run and feeling dissappointed because you never really got into a groove. That is frustrating after all the hard training.
I hope you have had time to rethink your race and be less bummed. You are a truly gifted athlete. Sit with that thought for a moment. We can't always have what we define as our "perfect" race. So many factors. You executed that ride to perfection. You ran the best you could on the day and that is that. Not good or bad... It just is. I for one am very impressed.
Chin up Chris! Life is so good!
Happy recovery!
Carrie
Eric
Thanks for the encouraging words.
Admittedly this was my lowest power/IF in a HIM in about 3 years. The appropriate IF is always a bit of a tactical decision for me but at IMAZ I rode real easy and ended up with a 10min run PR (on very average run execution) so that strategy is something I considered for this race. The run course at Honu is quite tough, imho. All you have to do is see the number of sub-1:30 runs on this course and you'll get a sense of what I'm talking about. Add to that heat, humidity, etc. This race is always chalk full of talent too.
So, the idea was simple: Ride a little easy and lay it down on the run. This is a course where you can pass a lot of people if you run well. I remember I ran a 1:33 in '06 and passed half the field in front of me. This time I ran a rather poor 1:36 and still passed ~25% of the field in front of me and 33% of the field in my AG.
More is coming to light. I started coughing quite a bit shortly after I arrived in Kona (I stayed in Kona as opposed to Waikoloa). I thought it was related to the vog which is quite bad in Kona these days. It got progressively worse but honestly never felt it was impacting my performance. The last 4 days I've been coughing up some really nasty stuff. I might have been fighting something while I was there. Who knows. Either way, it's just one race.
Trust me, you want to give me a Kona slot and I'll take it. However, I didn't feel like I deserved a Kona spot because I just felt I performed poorly. I should have been able to come in around 4:45 on this day.
Btw, I'm notoriously hard on myself so take my "poor me" attitude with a grain of salt. ;-)
Thanks, Chris
Chris,
Great race and way to tough it out on the run. With your better bike split you will have to work on that mental game of being prepared to be the hunted.
I know that you have raced in Kona a number of times but I'll ask the following:
1) Could your increased nutrition to compensate early on the in run have caused the feel bad for 2 miles, then better.
2) That hamstring issues was it cramps or salt/nurtirion related. Did the wind cause you to drink less than you should have on the bike.
Of course fighing off sickness could be explanation enough
Gordon
Yeah, I definitely have to ignore the person hunting me. I don't think it was good to know that all of my key competitors were either Hawaiians, not taking Kona slots or already had a slot prior to the race. Gotta race your own race... ;-)
1. I actually ate more than I normally eat early in the run at Honu. Almost to a point where I was concerned about eating too much. I've bonked/suffered before due to lack of nutrition (even in a HIM) so I definitely didn't feel that was the case here. In addition, I've never really had a situation where I went from feeling good to feeling horrible (back and forth) in a race like that. Usually I just go from feeling bad to feeling good or vice versa.
2. It was actually one of my quad muscles (vastus medialus). It felt like it was going to cramp but never did. I also popped a bunch of Salt Tabs early in the run as a precaution. In addition, I had Salt Tabs in my Speedfill on the bike. Either way, it never developed into anything serious and went away pretty quickly. My calories on the bike appeared to be well within my normal intake.
As far as sickness is concerned, like I said, I don't know. I honestly felt fine the entire time I was in Hawaii. And even though I sound horrible right now (eg hacking, etc), and my wife won't touch me, again, I feel perfectly fine and I'm riding and running quite strong too. Just did a 5:20 ride on Sunday at IF = .80.
No excuses. HIMs have always been a challenge for me. I'm much better at IM distance.
Thanks, Chris
I've often toyed with the thought of executing that bike-easy/run-hard(er) strategy in HIM. Obviously I tried that here to no avail. That said, if you're at the pointy end of the field, I'm not sure it's a good strategy any way you look at it. The reason why is it seems that there are just too many guys who can bike hard and run hard without falling apart (even in relatively bad conditions). HIM is just short enough to make a couple of mistakes here and there yet still perform well.
What do you guys/gals think?
Thanks, Chris
I do think that folks at the pointy end have to take a few more chances with their pacing strategy than those of us in the middle of the pack. But if you rode any harder on that particular day, would you have gotten an overall faster time? Or just fallen apart more on the run? Hard question to answer- especially since it seems you were fighting some unknown bug on the day. That said, 10 seconds is a rough pill to swallow, frankly- 10 seconds could have been the crappy T1 time. Don't blame it all on the run.
Stating the obvious, HIM and IM are different races. HIM has a broader spectrum of choices available for pacing and nutrition. While I've had my best success in IM with easy bike then run 'em down in the marathon, in HIM I've done best by pushing the bike, almost to the level of my Olympic effort, and then seeing what I've got left for the run (which would be suicide in 140.6). While I'm not the same speed as the true pointy end, I am talking about AG-winning efforts.
Sorry, haven't been on the forum in a while.
The question wasn't really related to my race, just a general question about HIM pacing at the pointy end of the field. I was thinking very much along the same lines as Al. Easy bike + hard run doesn't seem to be near as successful in IM. I'm always amazed at how har d some guys ride in HIM and still run well. Just wanted to see if that observation was shared by others.
As far as my race... Yeah, being more than a month later I discovered I picked up an upper respiratory infection while in Kona or just prior. I'm still coughing up phlegm but getting very close to 100%.
Thanks, Chris