Karl Bonner - Ironman Frankfurt 1017 race report
Karl Bonner - Ironman Frankfurt 1017 race report
Race Times Target Times (on race plan)
Swim 1:09:20 Swim 1:20:00
T1 7:16 T1 5:00
Bike 5:30:11 Bike 6:00:00
T2 4:17 T2 5:00
Run 4:27:04 Run 4:20:00
FINISH 11:18:06 FINISH 11:50:00
My target times were realistic estimations based on what I had done in training/race rehearsals and what “best bike split” had predicted. The swim was based on a non wetsuit swim, best bike split got it spectacularly wrong, not sure why, the bike was 3k short due to road works, but, based on my ave speed this would have been an extra 6 mins at most. The run was based on my run last year at Ironman Vichy (France).
Pre Race. - Travel good, prep good, training went well.
Swim. - The swim was pretty uneventful other than the fact that it was Wetsuit legal which was unexpected (water temp 24.4 deg), I encountered very little contact & remember thinking what a polite bunch I must be swimming with. On the first loop I swam nice and steady, concentrating on staying smooth. On the 2nd loop I began steady again and then started to pick up my tempo & concentrated on trying to pull more water whilst staying smooth for last third.
T1. - T1 is a fair run up a sandy hill away (2:30), once in the tent with my bag all went smooth (3:00) & then another fair distance run to my bike and out of transition (2:15).
Bike. - The bike started well, I started to steadily get my my power up to where I wanted (69%) over the first 1/2 - 1 hour, then was holding it nicely & taking on my nutrition (SIS ENERGY DRINK & Cliff bar) every 20mins (as I've always done).
After about 15/20mi you hit a cobbled climb, cant say I enjoyed this very much & on the decent my saddle bag came of my bike, luckily I noticed it and the guys around me all shouted to say it had come off 50 meters back. I stopped put my bike up against a wall & turned round just in time to catch someone running back across the road, hmmm, I ran back to where I thought the bag should be only to see 3 guys off to the side (1 was a policeman) with my bag open & starting to look through it, I must admit I lost it, swore at them, snatched my bag, swore at them again and ran to back to my bike. I put the bag back on and carried on with my ride, calming myself down pretty quickly all things considered, thinking “I'm not looking forward to my second lap over that”
After Bad Vibel (a Tour De France style climb lined with spectators either side, awesome)(2h30 - 2h45) I started to feel a bit sick and I still hadn't had to go to toilet, bit worrying I thought, but keep drinking a bit more often, I'm obviously getting dehydrated. I carried on drinking (the now race provided) Powerbar ISO drink a bit more often & started to feel like I was going to be sick. I now started to seriously question what was going on as I still hadn't “peed” & was beginning to feel sicker.
As I started on my 2nd lap I tried to drop 1-2% off my power & go a bit slower, this was making me feel less sick but I was still not comfortable & I carried on like this for maybe another hour.
When my alarm for my next feed came along I made the decision to change my nutrition over to just gels, water & salt, I also really started to cover myself in water at every opportunity (I had previously been giving myself a little sprinkle down my back very so often), this seemed to work as I started to feel less sick & even managed to have a pee after about 4hrs. I carried on & finished the bike but was feeling very daunted by what lay ahead.
T2. - The bike is taken from you in Frankfurt which is great, I got my bag & was into T2 in no time, changed my shoes & socks, put on sun cream & then dithered for a bit (not sure why), then left with everything in my stuff sac.
Run. - Straight from the beginning of the run I felt awful, a little bit dizzy, sickly stomach and my HR was through the roof , even seeing Abbey didn't seem to lift my spirit. I kept saying to myself “relax & slow down” but I was only concentrating on the negative, I then saw Abbey again & she told me to keep smiling, she was right, a smile relaxes you & after a few more dark moments, eventually after about 3-4 mi, my HR finally started to come down to level that I knew was sustainable, I was doing around 10:45- 11min mi (about 1-1:15 min/mi over my start of run target), but, I knew I could finish.
The next time I went past Abbey I smiled & said, “it aint fast & it aint pretty but I'm moving forward”.
My stomach started to really play up again on second lap but I really didn't want to start on the coke (which I thought would sort it out) until at least halfway, telling myself to stick at it & try to stay relaxed.
Pace, mental state & stomach all stated to get much better after 12- 13 mi when I started on the coke.
On Lap 3 I got a bit excited and started running a bit too fast as I started to think about “the line”... I calmed back down & with 1 lap to go I knew that this was definitely going to happen.
At the beginning of lap 4 (final lap) Abbey told me I was predicted for an 11:23 finish but my head couldn't take that in so I told her that Id probably slow down (thinking, “that cant be right, don't get carried away”)
I started to pick up the pace again at 22mi & slowed again at 23mi (my line), told myself it was ok so long as I have another go at 24mi & sure enough I picked it up again at 24mi.
When 25mi clicked over I told myself it was a 1mi effort and that I needed to go as hard & fast as could until the end ( I can tell you that this wasn’t fast or pretty either ;-)). This I did, clocking my fastest mile of the run.
Down the cute I slowed as I realised there was no one behind me, time to take this all in and celebrate with a golf shot (I used to be a golf fanatic, my dad & brother still are) over the line....happy lad !!!
AFTER CARE
As soon as you cross the line you get a dedicated volunteer to take you through to the “athletes garden”, this is a nice touch, they run you through where everything is, get you a drink and anything else you want plus they get your clean clothes bag for you.
There were showers, massage tables, temporary cold pools, a bar and loads of food.
I Cant say I got that involved in any of this as my hotel was literally 2 mins away plus I'm never hungry and certainly don't feel like a beer, that can all happen later with the No1 person in my life, Abbey, the greatest person & support crew anyone could ask for.
Anyone thinking of doing this race should go for it, the organisation & support are really good, there is usually a good pro turn out which is amazing for us "mortals" to see. If anyone wants any information and I can help, just ask.
Thanks to Abbey for being an amazing source of positivity & the greatest wife & support crew ever. Thanks to Endurance Nation, the coaches training plans prepare you so well for race day and the whole community & forums are a an amazing source of information and gave me some real nuggets for race day that enabled me to A) finish and 
smash my previous time by over 40 mins. Looking forward to the rest of the season & Bring on IM Austria 2018 :-)
Comments
Before i say anything I'd like to see your data files. Race bike and your two race similation rides. You can put the Strava links here, plse makes sure all your stuff is public, thanks!!!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1075556338
Wk 18 - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1817648139
https://www.strava.com/activities/1053122651
Wk 15(2nd 112) - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1775327126
https://www.strava.com/activities/1018939048
As you can see your heart rate was about 7 beats higher on race day than in training. It's hard to say from the virtual power what you really did, but the heart rate file tells it all. In your training ride you build steadily over the last two thirds. Hillarystay it took a long time for your hurry to come down at the start and then you spiked it quite a bit even though you were strong over the first half. The second half things really started to feed heart rate wise if you were already starting to feel the fatigue. This is reflected in your power
Since your account is private, I can't access the wrong data, but my guess is it's also not pretty. One of the challenges about having a higher heart rate on race day on the bike versus what you're used to is that it inhibits your body's ability to process the calories. It's very hard to recover from that. You essentially need to slow down and reboot on the run which is sounds like you were able to do.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1075556182
Yes, you've confirmed what I suspected, my higher HR was the main factor in my bad stomach issues.
- 145
- 151
- 150
- 150
- 144
- 143
Somehow you got the HR down by mile 8....and still manage to be steady and finish strong. SUPER IMPRESSIVE....and now, good lessons learned as well!~ Coach P
Thanks for posting and sharing. I watched you put in some great training time over this cycle!
Can't believe those guys were actually stealing your saddle bag fallen off the bike!! Nothing like a mad Ironman in the middle of the race to convince you to give back a piece of property you just stole....!
Strong race as Coach P comments! Bike HR may have been running a little higher than the training ride just because you swam/raced 2.4 miles before you got on the bike....did you swim long before your training ride as well?
V.I. of 1.087 means you are only going to get faster in future races as you practice riding more steady and getting more efficient use out of those watts. .67 IF says you came off the bike with some good running legs under you.
Sincere congratulations!
SS
Thank you for your kind words & feedback.
Interestingly no, I didn't swim before my training rides simply because of logistics (lake not being open on the days I tend to get my long bike done etc), but, this will be something Im gonna try next year for sure, if for no other reason than to see if/ how it effects my HR.
Congratulations on your race at IMMT.
Karl