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Brad's 2017 IMSR Race Report

Brad's 2017 IMSR Race Report

My season unfolded a little different than past years. I entered the OS with the normal fire in my belly looking to better myself across all levels of triathlon. Top goals for me this year included getting stronger and faster, solving the nutrition obstacles that have plagued me during racing, and PRs in the half and full IM distance. My OS was sidetracked a couple weeks in by a nasty car accident that forced me to sit out while I rehabbed my lower back through PT. Once back on track, I may have ramped it up a little too fast causing some plantar fasciitis, which again set my running back some. I was really ok with all this, knowing that I would have enough time to prep for my June HIM and July IM. Although, I never got back to "full speed" on my run, my bike and swim improved and I felt pretty healthy. My June HIM yielded a 9min PR time of 5:10, and I was able to run hard off the bike on a new nutrition plan of Gatorade and gels only. I felt good about this and it mentally set me up for my upcoming IM in Santa Rosa. The next month and a half consisted of a fairly typical IM build of quality long runs and bikes. I really focused on my 5 hour bike power so there would be no surprises on race day. I also focused on almost solely open water swims turning up faster times than previous years.

Ironman Santa Rosa is a new course for IM. I had registered for IM Vineman in early September 2016, only to find out 2-3 weeks after that Ironman decided to discontinue that longstanding race and replace it with a new lake swim, a new point to point bike ending in Santa Rosa, and a run which would take place on a bike and run trail. It was advertised as a better swim, a flatter bike (3000ft), and a mostly flat and "shaded" run. I had raced the Vineman Half 4 years ago, and although I had a great race, the super shallow swim in the Russian River and scorching hot run left a lot to be desired. So, these changes seemed a win-win to me! Besides, Heidi and I decided that we would parlay this IM into a great trip in Napa afterwards - an added bonus.

Heidi and I showed up in Santa Rosa on the Wednesday before the race which was scheduled for Saturday. Yes it was hot (90's), but it was the dry heat that we don't usually get in the north east. After the early morning fog would burn off, you couldn’t find one cloud in the skies any day that we were there. Back home, some of my long runs and bikes were in 85 degree temps with 90% humidity. I figured I'd still be ok with this. On Thursday, Heidi kept me company on a short run. We found a portion of the trail where I would be racing right behind our hotel - perfect! Unfortunately, we soon found that Santa Rosa had a large homeless population who seem to reside on this very trail. We found ourselves holding our breath as we ran through the large clouds of marijuana on a cool morning. Maybe it conjured up some memories from long, long ago, but not what I was looking for! We later took a drive up to Lake Sonoma, about a 40min trip by car to see the lake and go for a swim.  There was a lot of talk during the athlete meetings that the lake temps were already over the 76.4 wetsuit legal level. We suited up, got in the beautiful lake, and although it was warm, we had a nice out and back swim. I took note of the VERY steep climb exiting the water, up the boat ramp, and into the parking where T1 would be - about 1/3 climb of 8-10% grade. After driving back to Santa Rosa, I picked up my bike at Tri Bike Transport. After going through the bike and prepping it, I took it for a short ride on the same trail that we had run on earlier that morning. Although the bike trail was not part of the IM bike course, the traffic in SR is fairly busy and the last thing I wanted to do was risk an accident 2 days prior to the race. Everything about my bike seemed to be in good shape and my power meter and other electronics were in good working order. Heidi and I showed up for the EN team dinner that evening only to find out that 2 other athletes racing joined us. It was so great to meet Jackie Moore and Tom Box, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that there were only 3 of us there for a race that had been billed as an "EN Key Race". Still, we all had a nice time and Heidi and I even had a run in with Mike Reilly on our walk back to the hotel. He was even kind enough to take a pic with us! Friday morning we drove my bike back to Lake Sonoma to rack it in T1. I dropped Heidi off about 5 miles out from the lake by some beautiful vineyards so that she could get in a run since I didn't like the idea of her running on the bike path by herself after seeing all the shady characters out there. I made sure to let a good amount of air from my tires as I racked my bike since the temps that day would be around 100 degrees. I walked the entire T1 area, taking note of how the flow would work on race day. We drove back to SR and took the rest of the day nice and easy. Early pasta dinner and in bed by 8pm. I managed a restless night of sleep, but it wasn't horrible.

Hangin with MR. Notice the name on the jeweler in the back round

I woke up on Saturday at 3am, 15 minutes before my alarm sounded. Prepped myself and Heidi and I headed out at 4am towards the shuttle bus that would take us to Lake Sonoma. I walked the early darkness feeling very confident without the usual overwhelming sense of nervousness that I've had prior to past IM races. Heidi signed up to volunteer in the early morning shift, which also assured her a spot on the bus. We had been told that it would be a mistake to try to drive and park ourselves that morning. The bus was crowed and the trip seemed slow. When we finally arrived on the road leading to the last 5 miles up to the lake, traffic was at a standstill. I glanced at my watch several times as the bus inched painstakingly towards our destination. When we finally arrived, it was 5:15am. Swim start for this race was scheduled at 6:10am in what was an age group only race - no pros. I had to get moving! The first order of business was to find a porto-potty. Lines for each one several people deep, and this all dipped into my already shortened time. I finally got to my bike and went about the usual tasks of attaching my flat kit and Garmin, filling bottles, calibrating my power meter and inflating my tires. I really had to hurry. As I went about all this the man on the loudspeaker announcing how we had very little time left in transition was weighing heavily on my nerves. So much for feeling relaxed. To my total surprise, I also heard him announce that the water temp was 76.1 degrees, and it would indeed be a wetsuit legal swim. I was shocked, but very happy as I am typically a much faster swimmer with my wetsuit. I quickly got my wetsuit on and headed down the boat ramp towards the swim start where athletes were self-seeding according to their expected swim times. I found Heidi, who gave me a kiss and hug along with words of encouragement, and I fought my way through the back of the line searching for the 1:10-1:20 athletes. As I was doing this, the race had begun. Although I finally slipped into my time slot, I realized that I had seeded myself towards the back. Not my plan, but I was happy that I made it for the start. I downed a quick gel and before I knew it or had time to think, I was being told it was my turn to step into the water and just like that, my race day had begun.

The swim was a double loop with a brief exit of the water between loops. The first half of the first loop seemed very crowded with lots of contact. Since the water was so warm, and the morning air is cool (50's), there was a thick fog over the water surface. Sighting was a little difficult, but I was able to swim buoy to buoy. As I turned around to head back, the sun was coming up and there was a serious glare off the water. I was happy that I chose my polarized and tinted goggles, which helped. By then, I was happy to see that some space opened up around me and I could swim more freely. I recall reminding myself here, as I did several times that day how very lucky I was to be able to participating in an IM. I found that I was either swimming too wide of the buoys or swimming inside of them. Was I zigzagging, or were the buoys misaligned? I finished loop 1, climbed out of the water and glanced at my watch which read 38 mins. Not as fast as I hoped, but not totally out of my realm either. After only a few brief seconds, I climbed back into the water to begin lap 2. The second lap was more of the same crowdedness, except it seemed to be equally so going out and coming back. In fact, towards the end of my swim, it became apparent that I was most certainly swimming past athletes on their first loop. By the end, I felt good but was getting warm. However, something told me that later in the day I'd be wishing that I could jump into the lake again to cool off. I'd find out later how true that was. I climbed out of the water for the final time, and went to work on my wetsuit zipper and headed for the climb up the boat ramp towards T1. Heidi found me as my walk turned into a slow jog being careful not to jack up my HR. I was so happy to see her and gave her a quick kiss. She asked how I was feeling? "Good". I asked my time? "1:18". She told me she'd see me later on the bike. With that I ran up to the wetsuit peelers, found the biggest guy there and thanked him for doing a great job.

Sizing up the big climb to t1

I continued running along long mat finally finding my way into T1. I grabbed my T1 and ran into the tent. There were almost no volunteers in the tent, and we had been told in the athlete meeting that they would be instructed not to assist us in there or in retrieving our bikes. Expecting that, I dumped my bag out and went about my business: shoes on, arm coolers on (this took a little time), applied chamois cream and sunscreen, helmet and sunglasses on, and out I went to grab my bike. I found the mount line and it was scattered with athletes either putting on their bike shoes at the line or falling off bikes since they appeared to be in the wrong gear since there was a slight incline from the start. I navigated an open spot and away I went. A few hundred yards into the bike I saw Heidi again or cheered me on. After a mile or so of a non-eventful climb, there is a steep and technical downhill area where we had been told we'd be riding in the left lane, and that it would be a "non-aerobar zone". This downhill zone would be about 2 miles. As I picked up speed, I focused on the twists and turns, as well as the other riders around me. The uneven pavement became bumpy and as if in slow motion, I watched my Father's Day gift (Garmin 820) dislodge from my BTB mount and fly off my bike! In horror, I squeezed my brakes, but quickly realized that there were many cyclists around me and I was traveling so fast down the steepest section of the 112 mile bike, that stopping there would be super dangerous. As I neared the bottom of the hill, I had to make a decision if I should turn back, either on foot or my bike, to try to retrieve my lost Garmin. I made the split decision that it would be very unsafe for me to do, and reluctantly pedaled on into a semi-flat stretch of road. I fumbled with my watch settings, and put it into bike mode trying to figure out a way to get power readings and heart rate. I didn't want to pull over and reprogram my watch, so decided on a page I had set up that read normalized power, average heart rate, distance, and time. I couldn't watch my actual power and HR, but this would have to do. Although the IMSR bike course only has about 3000 ft in elevation gain, almost all of it falls in the first 65 miles. I was forced to use most perceived exertion after my Garmin debacle, occasionally glancing at my watch for my overall NP and avg HR. After 5-10 miles, I noticed that my NP was somewhere around 191 and avg HR was north of 130. My goal for the day was NP 175 and avg of 125, so I was off to a bad start. As I navigated the hills, I focused on gradually getting those numbers down, which took a while, but eventually I was closer to where I needed to by. After reviewing files after the race, I realized that I most certainly spiked watts here and there, but did the best that I could by feel. I took the liberty of pushing a bit to get over the smaller rollers and carry over the crests so as not to lose momentum, but I was trying to be somewhat conservative. In typical EN fashion, I was passed going up most of the larger climbs, only to be doing the passing myself on the downhill and flatter sections where most athletes were coasting. Those first 65 miles went fairly well, and I cycled on mostly well maintained roads with gorgeous views of the Sonoma vineyards. I stuck to my plan of Gatorade + gels + salt tabs without incident, averaging close to 20mph. The bike course is point to point and although the first 65 miles is mostly a “stick”, the remaining 45+ miles is a loop though the city of Santa Rosa that we would ride 2 1/2 times. By the time I entered this loop, the temps had already heated up. I began pouring water on my arm coolers and down the back of my neck at aid stations to keep cool, which turned out to be a good idea since I quickly found out that this portion of the course afforded little to no shade. In addition, the road conditions and car traffic in the city were really awful in comparison to what I had encountered thus far. We would either be riding down the center of a main road that was coned off on either side with heavy traffic moving on our right and left, or on some side road with conditions that rivaled the back streets of old-world Europe. Those back roads were littered with potholes, and then lost bottles, and took a toll on my upper body. There was no riding aero through them. I passed by the area that would later be splitting off to T2 and this is where the crowds were cheering. Someone yelled “Go Endurance Nation” to me, and then I somehow saw Heidi in the crowd who was cheering me on. I gave her the thumbs up as I began lap 2 of the city. This was more of the same, except I knew what to expect this time around. My NP at this point had lightened up to 176, which was where I needed to be and my legs still felt decent. I was most certainly passing more athletes at this point who seemed to be fading. I passed through an aid station, went about my business of Gatorade and water and continued on. At some point shortly afterwards on one of those main roads that we were sharing with many cars, I first heard the noise coming from my rear wheel. Could it be a flat or was it just another chip-seal road vibrating? It kind of felt like a flat, and I asked another athlete in the vicinity or shrugged his shoulders. I need to pull over, but there was no space in our coned off lane to do this safely. I carefully crossed through the cones to my right while checking getting between the oncoming traffic moving through that lane and pulled under the shade of a large tree. Upon inspecting my rear tire, it was most certainly flat. Damn! I had not seen one athlete changing a flat to this point. I calmed myself as best as I could and got to work as a spectator stood by and chatted me up. I’m not the quickest at this, but I knew what to do, and would say I probably got the job done in 15 mins. Not a total disaster, but not what anyone wishes. I got back on the bike and got back to work noting that my NP had dropped to about 170 while I was standing still. Lots of people had passed me, but this was behind me at this point. I worked to get myself back in the flow, and passed through the crowds in town for lap 2. I spotted Heidi again, and slowed enough to relay my reason for falling behind and gave another thumbs up. The last lap weighed more heavily on me in terms of the heat (now 84 degrees) and my upper body discomfort on the bike. Once I had flatted, I passed a dozen or more athletes on the side of the road who were in the same boat. After passing through the area of rough roads again, I could swear I had flatted for a 2nd time. I pulled over and checked it out, but it must have only been a combination of more chip seal and my mind playing tricks on me.  I continued on and at one point my remaining co2 rattled loose and I heard it bounce on the pavement behind me. With only 10 more miles to go, I pressed on and rolled into T2. Bike time was 5:56.


Not a bad distraction on the bike


Santa Rosa’s finest

After dismounting and heading into T2, I noted that my legs felt pretty good. I grabbed my bag, entered the tent and went to work. Helmet, sunglasses off. Body glide, sunscreen, socks and shoes on. Grabbed my “go-bag” (visor, race belt, race-saver bag) and headed out. I quick stop at a port-o-potty so I wouldn’t need to do this later, and I exited T2. I saw Heidi again on my way out and spoke to her without stopping this time. The run course is on a series of paved, crushed stone and dirt pathways. Mixed in are some short ramps and a turnaround that is near the finish chute. It is mostly flat. Athletes would run this 8-9 mile “loop” 3 times. As I began my first loop, I was getting the feeling that it would feel like a long run as I was already feeling the heat, now 86 degrees. My legs were feeling loose and I noticed in the first mile or two that I was off to a good sub 9min pace. But, I also took note that my HR was already getting into my z2 area that I wanted to avoid so early on. I backed off into the “TRP zone”, with a plan to let me HR slowly get back to z2 after an hour or so. Some aid stations were placed pretty close together (3/4 mile), while others were wider apart (1.5 mile). I made it a point to stop (and walk) at every one of them at this point. I took gels in early on, and downed them with water, and took in Gatorade at the other stations. I also started taking base salt at this point in place of salt tabs. I knew that taking in nutrition at this point would be crucial, since I was not sure if I’d be able to get it down in the later miles. I also was dumping water on my arm coolers and over my head to try to keep as cool as possible, but the paths were getting a lot of sun and it was feeling very hot. By mile 5 or so, I noticed a bunch of folks around me were already walking. By the time I got to the dirt path section I noticed that clouds of dust were being kicked up by all of us running and it made it a bit uncomfortable. Also, any part of your body that was wet from water would pick up this dust, leaving our bodies covered with the stuff. Heidi planned to be stationed on the path behind our hotel, around mile 8. I was happy to see her along with a good friend of ours who lives a couple of hours away, who came to cheer me on too. I also saw Jackie and her husband there.  I found out later that Jackie apparently got sick during the evening and was forced to DNS. My heart went out to her.  The next loop was more of the same. The IM run is really about mile to mile, and sometimes a minute to minute management. I found this become more evident around the 13 mile mark. I did my best to watch my HR, stay in tune with what my body needed, and remain mentally strong.  I passed Heidi again at mile 16-17 and I heard our friend remark to her that I looked like I was suffering. At this point, I really was. I found it tough at the turn around being so close to the finish line. There was one arrow marked “finish” and two others marked (2nd loop and 3rd loop). So close, but so far away. Somewhere around miles 19-20 I broke. I decided that I needed to walk between aid stations. In my mind I only planned to do this for a few seconds, but that led to ¼ mile or so before I resumed the run. This was the beginning of the end for me. At the aid 20-21 mile aid station I tried to get down some water and got hit by a sudden wave of nausea. I was no stranger to this feeling on the IM run, except that it came later in the day this time around. I found a tree across from the aid station and grabbed on as my gut went into convulsion. I dry-heaved, and of course nothing came up. I had taken in nothing but Gatorade, water, salt and gels the since 3:30am. I was pretty dehydrated and there was nothing there. I waited for this to make me feel better, as it has in past races, so I could resume my run, it just didn’t happen on this day. In fact, every time I tried to stand back up, there were more convulsions coming from my gut. I was there for what seemed like 10 minutes, unsure what to do. Finally it subsided and I began walking. My HR had dropped from 145bpm to <100bpm. I tried to run again, but as soon as I did, the nausea would come on fast. This went on for several miles, and although I did not stop walking again, I found it impossible to run. This had never happened in the past. It was a long final 5 miles. I watched what had been a 9:20 avg pace very quickly fade with 15,16,17 min splits. I realized that I went from being so incredibly hot to actually shivering. It wasn’t that the temps had dropped, but that my HR did and something unfamiliar was going on with my body. It was both demoralizing and humbling. At this point I was questioning both myself and the journey. Truth is, if I weren’t so close to the finish, I may have DNF’d…that’s how badly I physically felt. But, I knew I had to get to the finish line, and I hoped that as I got closer, I could bring myself to some sort of a run down the chute. With about a ½ mile to go, I brought the pace to a shuffle. It wasn’t a walk, and it certainly didn’t resemble a run, it was something in the middle. I was passed by many proud athletes on either side that looked strong into their finishes. Being in survival mode, I just wanted to get to that finish line and have my day end. The rest was foggy to me. I’d heard that from some that Mike Reilly did not call my name and others who said he did. I have no recollection of that or what song was playing. I crossed the finish line very emotional. Run time 5:11.


Before the Sh*t hit the fan!

The very nice volunteers try to put a medal around my neck, give me a finisher’s shirt and finally tried to get me into a wheelchair, all of which I declined. I finally heard Heidi screaming my name. I got myself over to her, who looked frightened. She took one look at me and told me I was going to the med tent. Once I was in there, and they sat me down, there was more dry-heaving. They took my blood-pressure and body temp. BP 80/60. Temp 95. There was little wonder why I was freezing. The nurse even got me to drink some chicken broth…I’m vegetarian. That somehow started to bring me back a little, and after 30 mins or so, I pleaded to be released back to Heidi who brought me back to the hotel.  The day was over. Total time 12:42, and one minute shy of an IM pr for me.

Heidi and I followed up with a wonderful week in Napa. Lots of r & r, wine, and good food. After a week to reflect, I am at peace with the experience. No sadness, anger, or self-pity. In fact, there are lots of positives that I can take away from the experience. There are still lots for me to dig into and figure out. Although it’s improved, the nutritional aspect of the race is still a mystery to me. Ironman forces us to dig deep. It teaches us so much about ourselves. It uncovers both our strengths and weaknesses, both physically and mentally. One thing I know is that NO ONE has a perfect IM race. The day is about learning to adapt to what is put before you.  As I reminded myself so many times during that day, I am very fortunate to be able to do this. Heidi and I are taking on IM Austria next year. I have lots of time to prepare for that next adventure.


Hydrating and recovering like it’s my job

Thanks for reading.






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Comments

  • Brad, what a pleasure to meet you and Heidi and to race with you.  Bummer about your 820. And I was wondering how I got back ahead of you on the run after you passed me on the bike.  Now I know it was the flat.  When I saw you on the run I thought you were still ahead of me until Heidi said you were not far behind.  I thought "what? That doesn't make sense. He's got to be ahead."  
    IM is a tough one to figure out sometimes with the nutrition and stomach issues that plague many.  You just dont have many opportunities to practice it to get it dialed in, 6 mile race rehearsal runs just aren't long enough.  
    Great job in staying inside your box and controlling only those things you have control of. Please let Heidi know how much I appreciated her encouragement on the course.  Enjoy the recovery and have fun I Austria next year.
    ps perfect picture of Santa Rosa's finest!
  • Brad, congrat's on hanging tough under pressure!  Lost 820, flat and stomach issues would demoralize many, and yet you missed a PR by just 1 minute!  Good work!
  • Great race report! I am so sorry you didn't have the day you were prepared to have. I am very happy that I was able to meet you and your lovely Heidi. 

    I have been thinking about you. Glad to hear that you had a great time in Napa. I hope we can race again someday. There were a lot more EN racers than you would have thought from the the threads. I was able to I.D some of them by their kits. There were several I never figured out who they were.

    Have a great rest of your summer!
  • Great report Brad, you seem in peace with what happened on race day (stomach and flat) - anyway what can you change when its all happening ?

    I followed you all day on the app and was wondering what was happening when you were moving slowly around mile 18-19

    Really hope for you that you can put the fingers on what needs to be done so that your body can handle the full run without almost dying on the run =)

    Hope you had a great time in the wine county, that place is gorgeous !

    Rest well !
  • Brad, great report on a really tough day.  Way to perservere.  You most likely got dehydrated on the bike, and it's really difficult (probably impossible short of an IV) to re-hydrate during a hot run.  For me in a hot IM, I prioritize drinking and salt way ahead of food, knowing that a calorie deficit is pretty easy to cure on the run, but dehydration is a done-deal once I get to T2.  Sure, it turns my bike into somewhat of a rolling waste treatment center (I think 7 is my record number of pees), but I start the run in far better shape than 95% of the field.  But that's just me.

    I owe you and Tom a lot.  I had been on the fence about signing up for this race, and it's now moved to my "never" file.  I am becoming quite selfish in choosing IMs, looking for great overall experiences instead of the novelty of covering 140.6 that thrilled me years ago.  IMSR just doesn't fit the bill.  It's a long flight, in an expensive city that I purposefully drive through at 75mph when I visit wine country, logistically dumb, really dumb two-loop swim in a gigantic lake, terrible roads, ridiculously dumb second half of the bike, and too few volunteers.  I can drive a few hours to Choo, where their only major drawback is the inability to count to 112.

    Congrats.  Enjoy racing in Europe next summer.

    MR
  • @Brad Marcus - great report. And my comments are basically on par with MR above. I know you, i know you are capable of so much more. Assuming that this GI problem was 100% dehydration, THAT was preventable. If it is something else, that's another story. Don't let THIS experience dissuade you from the IM selection for next year... think of the right race, as per MRs comments above.. It may be doing a fall race (hard to train for) like Louisville, or later.

    Pick the course and have your best day ever, which you are yet to have. Even with missing an IM PR by a minute. I've seen you S, B & R, I know you've got a lot of grit & perseverance, you have so much more inside when it all lines up. 

    I also echo MRs comments above on the SR course. I used to think I wanted to do the entire circuit, now it's about finding the right courses.. 

    get a good race hydration & food plan that can be specifically altered on race day if cooler, and execute it. 

    Can't wait to see what you do in Austria!
  • Brad - congratulations on your grit and persistence, as well as grinding out the end of that run. It could not have been anything resembling fun.

    I've heard Dinhofer talk about you enough that I took some time to look through your bike and run files from the race, and some long run files from a month earlier, on Strava. In addition to Mike's recommendation that more fluids on the bike would have helped, I think there is also a lot to be learned from how you paced the run itself. Looking at your long run of June 29th, when it was in the 60's - overcast? - you were turning over sub 8:30 miles, getting faster as the run progressed, all at an HR in the 140s towards the end. So I know it can be frustrating to start out the run in an IM 1.5-2' per mile slower at the start, but giving up 10 minutes in the first hour and a half might have saved you 45 minutes in the last 2.5 hours. Your HR at the end of the bike was in the mid 120's. A very good rule of thumb is to use that as your set point for miles 2-8 or so in the run. But you were up in the 140s nearly from the start. Indicating probably that incipient dehydration Mike suggests, as well as misunderestimating the required impact of the heat on your run pace. You should have been using those first 90 minutes to hydrate up on the run, but with your HR where it was, you had too much blood in your skin (for cooling) and your muscles (for running) to leave enough for your gut (for water absorption). This probably set off the GI issues as you kept putting stuff in, but couldn't absorb enough of it.

    Having done my share of IM marathons in 85-95F temps, some successfully, some not, I learned that no matter how fit, no matter how well acclimated to heat, I am going to have to simply run slower, in the range of 70-100 seconds/mile (given that temp range), if I expect to absorb enough fluids to keep running the whole way. In the past few years, Patrick has helped us learn how to use our HRs to keep ourselves in check. I mainly use RPE, but double check on it with my HR. If I can hear myself breathing in the first 8 miles on an IM run, I'm going too fast. No matter what my pace, I slow down if I start to become aware of my breathing, or if my HR gets above what it was averaging in hate last hour or so of the bike. In addition to patience and discipline, success in the IM requires a large dose of humility, primarily in the first 60-90 minutes of the run.
  • @Brad Marcus - remember that the guy who wrote ^^that^^ is a doctor!
  • Brad, your fought through some awfully tough conditions.  However, I am just am impressed as always with your reflection at the end of your report.  Your continued hard work and focus is a great example.  
  • Thanks for all the kind words from everyone. Cracking this nutrition issue has been a tough one for me.

  • Brad, great report on a really tough day.  Way to perservere.  You most likely got dehydrated on the bike, and it's really difficult (probably impossible short of an IV) to re-hydrate during a hot run.  For me in a hot IM, I prioritize drinking and salt way ahead of food, knowing that a calorie deficit is pretty easy to cure on the run, but dehydration is a done-deal once I get to T2.  Sure, it turns my bike into somewhat of a rolling waste treatment center (I think 7 is my record number of pees), but I start the run in far better shape than 95% of the field.  But that's just me.

    I owe you and Tom a lot.  I had been on the fence about signing up for this race, and it's now moved to my "never" file.  I am becoming quite selfish in choosing IMs, looking for great overall experiences instead of the novelty of covering 140.6 that thrilled me years ago.  IMSR just doesn't fit the bill.  It's a long flight, in an expensive city that I purposefully drive through at 75mph when I visit wine country, logistically dumb, really dumb two-loop swim in a gigantic lake, terrible roads, ridiculously dumb second half of the bike, and too few volunteers.  I can drive a few hours to Choo, where their only major drawback is the inability to count to 112.

    Congrats.  Enjoy racing in Europe next summer.

    MR

    @mike - I hadn't thought once that I was dehydrated until I was in the med tent. I stuck to the plan and drank and ate until I just couldn't anymore. That's not to say that it was enough. It was a hot day, and after reading your and Al's comments, this very well may be the case. Regarding race choice, I am not currently in the Kona hunt, and because my wife and I both race and we have kids on the younger side, race timing is really at the top of the list in importance. Although there are some venues that I'd like to go back to race for a 2nd time, I'm not sure SR is currently on that list.
  • Brad - congratulations on your grit and persistence, as well as grinding out the end of that run. It could not have been anything resembling fun.

    I've heard Dinhofer talk about you enough that I took some time to look through your bike and run files from the race, and some long run files from a month earlier, on Strava. In addition to Mike's recommendation that more fluids on the bike would have helped, I think there is also a lot to be learned from how you paced the run itself. Looking at your long run of June 29th, when it was in the 60's - overcast? - you were turning over sub 8:30 miles, getting faster as the run progressed, all at an HR in the 140s towards the end. So I know it can be frustrating to start out the run in an IM 1.5-2' per mile slower at the start, but giving up 10 minutes in the first hour and a half might have saved you 45 minutes in the last 2.5 hours. Your HR at the end of the bike was in the mid 120's. A very good rule of thumb is to use that as your set point for miles 2-8 or so in the run. But you were up in the 140s nearly from the start. Indicating probably that incipient dehydration Mike suggests, as well as misunderestimating the required impact of the heat on your run pace. You should have been using those first 90 minutes to hydrate up on the run, but with your HR where it was, you had too much blood in your skin (for cooling) and your muscles (for running) to leave enough for your gut (for water absorption). This probably set off the GI issues as you kept putting stuff in, but couldn't absorb enough of it.

    Having done my share of IM marathons in 85-95F temps, some successfully, some not, I learned that no matter how fit, no matter how well acclimated to heat, I am going to have to simply run slower, in the range of 70-100 seconds/mile (given that temp range), if I expect to absorb enough fluids to keep running the whole way. In the past few years, Patrick has helped us learn how to use our HRs to keep ourselves in check. I mainly use RPE, but double check on it with my HR. If I can hear myself breathing in the first 8 miles on an IM run, I'm going too fast. No matter what my pace, I slow down if I start to become aware of my breathing, or if my HR gets above what it was averaging in hate last hour or so of the bike. In addition to patience and discipline, success in the IM requires a large dose of humility, primarily in the first 60-90 minutes of the run.

    @Al - Thanks for the insights here. 100% agree on the run pacing. I usually have more discipline on this front, and I most definitely got off to a fast start on that run. The plan was to never run by pace for this IM, especially given the heat, and I did back off to my TRP HR once I realized I was getting ahead of myself. I'd be very interested to know if dehydration is the cause of the issues I've been having. Although not exactly the same in the 3 IM's I've completed, I had very similar issues on the 2nd half of the run. Weather conditions were different in all 3 races, ranging from humid to cool and rainy to hot and dry. I have changed what I've been eating on during the race, but always drink what is on the course. This year I fueled with Gatorade, gels and salt only. I'm starting to think that my body gets to a point where it will not absorb what it needs because of the amount of sugar I've taken in all day. Would you think that this could be a possibility?
  • Brad

    Great race report.  The way you fought through to the end is proof you're mentally tough and will take this with you into all future IMs. The thing with dehydration is you don't know how dehydrated you are until it's too late...which is another piece to the IM puzzle.  Congrats! 
  • @Brad Marcus

    Damn tough day brotha!  Way to fight through and get it across the finish line!  These are some of the race stories/experiences I admire the most because of what it takes the find your way to the finish line when the shit hits the fan.

    Bottom line is that it is extremely difficult to race in hot conditions if you are not able to train in those conditions.  It takes a lot of practice in terms of both nutrition and pacing as both Al and Mike have eluded.  I live in Texas, train in heat and still struggle with getting all that right during a long day like the one you had.

    I am also experience with things flying off my bike during races and damage control management that ensues thereafter.  You did a fantastic job but sorry about the loss of the 820.

    Sincere congratulations Ironman!

    SS
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