Ed Croucher's Race Report
My overall race report for the 2018 IMMT race is that this was a terrific race. I totally enjoyed the entire experience. The race venue and organization is the best of any Ironman race I have completed. I came here with some goals and I was able to accomplish a few of them and a few I was not. However, the goal of enjoying the race was accomplished.
The day began a little earlier than my normal work day. I got up at 3:30 a.m. and headed the kitchen. I started my day the same way I always do. I made a pot of coffee and a fruit/protein smoothie. One & ½ cups were all the coffee I had this morning. I collected my "Bike special needs bag" and climbed in @Doug Johnson’s car along with @Shaughn Simmons, @Rory Gumina and @Trent Prough for the ride down the hill.
This morning I did not talk much with anyone and tried to focus on execution. We had a short walk to the Bike racks. I pumped my tires, attached my computer and removed the plastic bags on my bike and it was all set. I met my friend and co-worker Shaun Smith. (Yes, another Triathlete with initials SS)
We borrowed Rory’s pump and got Shaun’s bike set up. I headed into the transition area where I checked both bags. I already knew my visor/shield for my helmet had broken. I brought a roll of tape and made a quick repair. The visor is a definite vision advantage for me. I walked out and got my body marking done. I was heading back to drop off my "Bike special needs bag" when I saw Doug again. He took that bag from me and I started to walk to the Team picture. At Team Picture, I met my wife.
This was a great boost to my morning. I felt pretty calm and I walked into the swim start. I did a good warm-up and then I waited for the start.
I stood around in the swim start where I saw Shaughn Simmons, Trent Prough & Shaun Smith again. I got to see my wife one more time and then tried to focus. Swimming is an area that I had been working on all training season. Unfortunately for me, some major road blocks developed from the end of June and I was not getting consistent quality swim work in. I raced once in June and my swim performance was off and that continued for this race. When I got in the water I was expecting a lot of contact and surprisingly there was not much. For the entire swim I had very little contact and felt in control. My stroke rate was good and I felt like I was swimming fast. I have never been able to figure out drafting and I tried a couple of times during this race. I always felt like I was following a swimmer off course. I just settled back into my swim and focused on a straight line from buoy to buoy. I never saw my swim time when I got out of the water. However, when I did get out, I switched to transition mode. I knew it was a long ways from the beach to T-1 so I got after it. I ran straight to a wetsuit stripper then I was up and jogging. As I ran, I thought move faster and you can settle your heart rate on the bike. I grabbed my bag and plopped my butt down in the first seat I found. Helmet was on and clipped. Shoes on I handed my wetsuit and bag to a volunteer. I was jogging out to my bike. I crossed the mat 5:26 after I left the water. This was my fasted ever T-1.
I got on my pedals and was off. When I turned onto the Chemin Duplessis I started saying out loud calm down. I knew I was amped up and a little dizzy still so I didn’t fool with anything on my bike and just tried to pedal easy. I was over that first little hill and around the traffic circle without any problems. Just up the Monte Ryan I saw my wife and Rory’s wife Janet!
Just like always, I got charged. It helped me run through my bike plan. When I got along the golf course, I looked at my power meter and checked my heart rate. My power was where I wanted but I was a little high on the heart rate. I knew that would be the case when I pushed the transition. I just stayed calm and focused on a light pedal stroke. By the time I made it to Route 117, my heart rate was settling down. From that point on, I stayed focused on watts and just checked the heart rate on and off. About 5 minutes on Route 117, I had Shaughn Simmons ride alongside me.
I didn’t even try to contain the smile. He asked how I was and I told him I was just riding in my box. We talked quick and he was off. Throughout the ride out I saw lots of EN gear. I recognized some. Some (Coach P) went by me so fast that I didn’t realize they were teammates until they passed. Before I made the turn-around, I started to feel the need to pee. This has always been an issue for me. I was determined to get it done while riding this race. Well, I did, but what I was able to do was not worth the effort. By the time I was almost to the turn-around on Chemin Duplessis, I was in pain from not being able to go and I had to stop. I took care of that and I was off again. Throughout my ride, I was giving the effort I had planned. I tried not to overcook it on the pointy section of the Duplessis. I know I did a little but I don’t think it hurt me too much. On the second time around in this section I passed Rory. He looked great! Even though I felt like I had ridden as I planned, I did have a problem on the bike and I know that it hurt me on the run. The aero bottle I had for between my bars did not fit on the new bike. The Premier Tactical!!!
I bought a new one the day before. I didn’t even think about the drink tube. This bottle had a bite valve. Getting a drink was work. I tried to yank off the bite valve on the Monte Ryan. I nearly broke off my teeth. So, I was stuck with this for the entire ride. The end result was that I was not able to drink as often or as much as I wanted or planned. My plan called for 6 to 7 bottles of fuel. I only got through 4.
After finishing the ride, I did another good transition. I Jumped out of my shoes and jogged into T-2 taking my helmet off as I ran. Before the race, I decided I was not going to wear calf sleeves until the run. So, I sat down with my bag and put on calf sleeves and socks. Shoes on, I grabbed my go bag and headed out. In the future, the calf sleeves with be on from the start. Even with the extra time it took to get the sleeves on, I was out on the run in 3:49.
I was excited to start the run but I was surprised that I did not feel great. My legs only felt ok but I still needed a bathroom stop. As I ran away from T-2, Rory caught up to me.
We ran together for a few steps and he started moving out. I saw a pota-john before that first hill and headed in. This made a huge difference to me. I headed out again and just tried to stay steady. By the time I was heading into my 3rdmile, I was feeling very good. My legs were back and I was running like I wanted. I had caught back up to Rory. He still looked great. I knew I hadn’t fueled enough on the bike so every aid station I was grabbing at least two drinks and ice. I made it through 6 miles when I was passed by Shaughn Simmons going the other way. He yelled some encouragements and I was really feeling good. I was running the pace I wanted to be at. I made it through 12 miles before I could feel the dehydration slowing my pace. At mile 16 I stopped for a bathroom break and nothing happened. I stepped back out and knew the fight was on. At mile 18.5 I saw Shaughn heading the other way. He looked outstanding. I was in total fight mode. After the final turn-around, I was still on the running trail section when I saw Shaughn step out of a Porta-john. It really looked like Superman just stepped out of the phone booth.
I tried to hold his pace but by the time we had run another mile, he was stretching the cord. From there on I just held the pace I could and finished.
I finished this race feeling great. I rode the two loop bike course better than any I had ridden in the past. I was 163 watts NP on the first loop and 166 watts NP on the second. The time difference between loop 1 & loop 2 was 30 seconds. My bike time was 5:44:00. This was my fastest Ironman ride (other than the flat Florida) and I finished feeling totally ready to run. My T-1 & T-2 times were my fastest Ironman transitions. I could have dropped T-2 by a minute or more if I had my calf sleeves on to start the race. Better Fueling would have given me a better run. I have other areas to work on.
Comments
PS...love the superman porta pot line! LOL!
see you next year in LP !
I must say, every time we race, (every time) you impress the hell out of me at how well you manage each of those 3 legs! Definitely a veteran performance here, and that bike leg with the way your applied your watts over the course of 112 miles is just a thing of beauty.......a MUCH better example than what I did that day!
The most impressive thing I want to call out here is the way you supported me and the rest of the team before, during and after the race. That's what shows the real strength brother!
Congratulations and keep leading!
SS