Tim Cronk KONA 2017 RR
Race Plan is here.
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23981/tim-cronk-kona-2017-race-plan#latest
Prep, taper, carbo-loading went as planned. Heading into the day feeling relaxed, with lots of confidence , and high expectations.
4am up, eat, coffee, dress, relax
5:30am leave hotel for transition (highly recommend a close to swimstart hotel here like Holiday Inn Express)
Body Mark went quick
Bike set up
6:15am back to Gatorade Bottle for EN pic at 6:30am
6:45am kiss Heather, wish everyone good luck
6:50am gel and water
6:55am in the water easy swim to chosen swim position
7:05am swim start cannon goes off
Swim- Missed my goal of sub 1:10 with an actual 1:12:57 right inline with all previous KONA swims which actually surprised me since it felt smooth, fast, and uneventful. While I had no idea what my swim time was until around 30 minutes after I finished I went through my day thinking it was much better than it was. Coach Patrick and Mike Roberts both swam about 1 minute faster on race day vs. the Ho'ala swim we did last week compared to me who actually swam 4 minutes slower than the Ho'ala swim. With the exception of allowing myself to drift out of the group a couple times on the return portion, it did feel really good, maybe I was just a bit too relaxed in my effort. Either way I certainly came out of the water feeling fresh.
T1 - Achieved the goal of 3.5minutes with a 3:21- the transitions here can be very fast if you want them, out of the water, rinse , grab empty T1 bag, into tent, swimskin, cap, goggles off and into bag, run to bike
Bike- Missed my goal of sub 5:30 with an actual 5:43:18 and I also missed my goal wattage of 155-165 by 5 watts....
Total Ride 145ap/150np , 144hr , .71IF , 1.03VI , w/kg 2.67
First 60 148ap/153np , 143hr , .73IF , 1.02VI , w/kg 2.73
Last 52 141ap/147np , 145hr , .70IF , 1.04VI , w/kg 2.60
My last 2 races here the wheels started to fall off on the bike, I really needed to make sure this did not happen again, so similar to the swim perhaps I went a bit too easy. Certainly capable of another 5-10 watts and another 5bpm HR but in these KONA conditions I am just not sure of that . Eased into my day over the admin on Kuakini and went to work on the QK, I drank every 10min or more, and ate every 30 min. No highs no lows just steady. Winds were stronger than they had been all week but not worse than previous years. Bike file is pretty nice, even though the power dropped 6 watts from the first half to the second half (some of that is the descent from HAWI) the HR increased 2bpm so there was NO fade in the "chosen" effort level. Dia from Ventum came up along side me on the back of a motorcycle pointing which freaked me out cause I thought I was getting a drafting penalty but they were just taking pictures. Saw quite a few Marshalls out, I think they were being very forgiving, the course was crowded all day and very hard to continuously ride clean, however they were giving out penalties as the tents were busy. I consumed 1 cliff bar, 8 cliff blocks, 2 gels, roughly 140oz of gatorade/scratch/water for 240cal per hr and 24oz per hr... Turning off the QK eased up, stood, stretched, peed one last time, drank as much as I could, took my feet out of shoes in the last mile, nice easy slow dismount at the line.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1230737912
T2- Achieved the goal of 3.5 minutes with an actual 3:34, hand off bike, run to bag , into tent, find chair, socks/shoes on , helmet in the bag, go with race belt and visor in hands... No go bag this year, I had everything I needed (watch, gel flask, race saver bag) either in or attached to my race belt. Thank You @Teri Cashmore for the idea of putting my watch on race belt.
Run- Missed my goal of sub 4hrs with an actual 4:02:08.... Started the run feeling pretty good. Eased into the first mile, taking my watch off race belt and putting on wrist, gel flask in hand, and race saver bag on wrist. Found Heather got my kiss and went to work pacing via RPE. In the past there has been a fair amount of cloud cover for pretty large portions of the run, that did not happen. Saw Coach P @Patrick McCrann, @Mike Roberts , @Frederick Guesneau , @peter lautenslager , @Mike Blackburn , multiple times , saw or heard a few other EN'ers either not in kit, or I did not recognize, or remember because of I was out of it. Heather, Mariah , @Trent Prough who actually came to KONA just to watch us race under the guise of some business trip, @Sheila Leard , The Ashworth's who make the Ironman Medals , so many other EN'ers , family, and friends who I didn't know, didn't remember, or otherwise , all out there and cheering in that brutal heat... All those people in and around the race , family, friends , EN'ers, and those watching from home truly lessen the "uncomfortableness of the day" As usual down Alii and back is the fastest and coolest(less hot) part of the run, got another kiss from Heather before heading up Palani, ran Palani very slow and easy, felt pretty good until mile 16 where the cracks began to show, made it to the end of the energy lab and flipped it, the cracks grew larger, even though the pace begins to drop here I was able to maintain effort until out of the energy lab probably thanks to the Cliff Bar Aid station in the Energy Lab with HUGE red freezing cold sponges , those were MONEY and even gave me an ice cream headache, fought the good fight until around mile 22.5 and then really came apart with the pace and HR really falling off. Finally down Palani, one last kiss from Heather and another agonizing mile the finish line was in sight... #4 KONA in the books. I drank maybe 4oz of fluid every aid station in the form of gatorade, water, cola, had 3 gels, couple pretzels, for roughly 24oz per hr and 260 cal per hr.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1230689002
Bottomline- While I missed every goal except transitions I could not be happier with the way the day unfolded. I brought my "A" game and believed I raced to my potential on that day. I am pleased and can't ask for more.
Ranking- Via the data from https://www.obstri.com/?search=tim cronk , came out of the water in 49th (IM said 51st) , out of T1 in 44th, off the bike in 40th, out of T2 in 37th, and completed the run in 24th out of 137... Best ranking for this race (thanks to my new AG) with a second best KONA time of 11:05:18.
HR notes- I dont look at HR at all through the day but it sure does help analyze/correlate my pace/power/RPE afterwards... Really showed that I hung on effort throughout the bike and then it clearly showed where I cracked for good on the run at mile 22.5.
Weight/Hydration - I tracked weight all week at the hotel 117.8-119, the day before was 118.3, the morning of 119.7 showing a good carbo load, checked in at pre-swim at 121 on there scale, back at the hotel scale that night was 116.5, next am was 117, and this morning was 121.8 as my body absorbs like the sponge that it is... I been using the pee strips for a couple weeks now to track hydration and I have my doubts, I'm dehydrated every am, but if I take a high amount of sodium the night before I will test hydrated in the am, I drank a scratch hyper-hydration the night before race and tested well hydrated that am, I also tested hydrated at the end of the day at 116.5lbs and again tested hydrated the next am at 117lbs feeling about as depleted as I possibly could... You cannot convince my that I was hydrated... So I believe those to just measure the amount of sodium in your urine.
My Heather and Team EN absolutely rocks.... Thank You so much for everything....
Whats next? Home to Tucson where I get to take care of Heather as she is scheduled for Rotator Cuff surgery on thursday... Then its on to IMAZ... Then I am heading back to KONA to Crew for Simon Shurey on UMWC... Then we are going to rescue a dog to keep Otto company.... Then I think I will relax a bit before starting the Journey to an Ultrarunning year 2018...
Questions comments etc always welcomed.
I leave you with a picture of the artwork to commemorate my 4th KONA... Local artist prints that are unique to every year.. Yes I have the other 3 I have done as well..
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23981/tim-cronk-kona-2017-race-plan#latest
Prep, taper, carbo-loading went as planned. Heading into the day feeling relaxed, with lots of confidence , and high expectations.
4am up, eat, coffee, dress, relax
5:30am leave hotel for transition (highly recommend a close to swimstart hotel here like Holiday Inn Express)
Body Mark went quick
Bike set up
6:15am back to Gatorade Bottle for EN pic at 6:30am
6:45am kiss Heather, wish everyone good luck
6:50am gel and water
6:55am in the water easy swim to chosen swim position
7:05am swim start cannon goes off
Swim- Missed my goal of sub 1:10 with an actual 1:12:57 right inline with all previous KONA swims which actually surprised me since it felt smooth, fast, and uneventful. While I had no idea what my swim time was until around 30 minutes after I finished I went through my day thinking it was much better than it was. Coach Patrick and Mike Roberts both swam about 1 minute faster on race day vs. the Ho'ala swim we did last week compared to me who actually swam 4 minutes slower than the Ho'ala swim. With the exception of allowing myself to drift out of the group a couple times on the return portion, it did feel really good, maybe I was just a bit too relaxed in my effort. Either way I certainly came out of the water feeling fresh.
T1 - Achieved the goal of 3.5minutes with a 3:21- the transitions here can be very fast if you want them, out of the water, rinse , grab empty T1 bag, into tent, swimskin, cap, goggles off and into bag, run to bike
Bike- Missed my goal of sub 5:30 with an actual 5:43:18 and I also missed my goal wattage of 155-165 by 5 watts....
Total Ride 145ap/150np , 144hr , .71IF , 1.03VI , w/kg 2.67
First 60 148ap/153np , 143hr , .73IF , 1.02VI , w/kg 2.73
Last 52 141ap/147np , 145hr , .70IF , 1.04VI , w/kg 2.60
My last 2 races here the wheels started to fall off on the bike, I really needed to make sure this did not happen again, so similar to the swim perhaps I went a bit too easy. Certainly capable of another 5-10 watts and another 5bpm HR but in these KONA conditions I am just not sure of that . Eased into my day over the admin on Kuakini and went to work on the QK, I drank every 10min or more, and ate every 30 min. No highs no lows just steady. Winds were stronger than they had been all week but not worse than previous years. Bike file is pretty nice, even though the power dropped 6 watts from the first half to the second half (some of that is the descent from HAWI) the HR increased 2bpm so there was NO fade in the "chosen" effort level. Dia from Ventum came up along side me on the back of a motorcycle pointing which freaked me out cause I thought I was getting a drafting penalty but they were just taking pictures. Saw quite a few Marshalls out, I think they were being very forgiving, the course was crowded all day and very hard to continuously ride clean, however they were giving out penalties as the tents were busy. I consumed 1 cliff bar, 8 cliff blocks, 2 gels, roughly 140oz of gatorade/scratch/water for 240cal per hr and 24oz per hr... Turning off the QK eased up, stood, stretched, peed one last time, drank as much as I could, took my feet out of shoes in the last mile, nice easy slow dismount at the line.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1230737912
T2- Achieved the goal of 3.5 minutes with an actual 3:34, hand off bike, run to bag , into tent, find chair, socks/shoes on , helmet in the bag, go with race belt and visor in hands... No go bag this year, I had everything I needed (watch, gel flask, race saver bag) either in or attached to my race belt. Thank You @Teri Cashmore for the idea of putting my watch on race belt.
Run- Missed my goal of sub 4hrs with an actual 4:02:08.... Started the run feeling pretty good. Eased into the first mile, taking my watch off race belt and putting on wrist, gel flask in hand, and race saver bag on wrist. Found Heather got my kiss and went to work pacing via RPE. In the past there has been a fair amount of cloud cover for pretty large portions of the run, that did not happen. Saw Coach P @Patrick McCrann, @Mike Roberts , @Frederick Guesneau , @peter lautenslager , @Mike Blackburn , multiple times , saw or heard a few other EN'ers either not in kit, or I did not recognize, or remember because of I was out of it. Heather, Mariah , @Trent Prough who actually came to KONA just to watch us race under the guise of some business trip, @Sheila Leard , The Ashworth's who make the Ironman Medals , so many other EN'ers , family, and friends who I didn't know, didn't remember, or otherwise , all out there and cheering in that brutal heat... All those people in and around the race , family, friends , EN'ers, and those watching from home truly lessen the "uncomfortableness of the day" As usual down Alii and back is the fastest and coolest(less hot) part of the run, got another kiss from Heather before heading up Palani, ran Palani very slow and easy, felt pretty good until mile 16 where the cracks began to show, made it to the end of the energy lab and flipped it, the cracks grew larger, even though the pace begins to drop here I was able to maintain effort until out of the energy lab probably thanks to the Cliff Bar Aid station in the Energy Lab with HUGE red freezing cold sponges , those were MONEY and even gave me an ice cream headache, fought the good fight until around mile 22.5 and then really came apart with the pace and HR really falling off. Finally down Palani, one last kiss from Heather and another agonizing mile the finish line was in sight... #4 KONA in the books. I drank maybe 4oz of fluid every aid station in the form of gatorade, water, cola, had 3 gels, couple pretzels, for roughly 24oz per hr and 260 cal per hr.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1230689002
Bottomline- While I missed every goal except transitions I could not be happier with the way the day unfolded. I brought my "A" game and believed I raced to my potential on that day. I am pleased and can't ask for more.
Ranking- Via the data from https://www.obstri.com/?search=tim cronk , came out of the water in 49th (IM said 51st) , out of T1 in 44th, off the bike in 40th, out of T2 in 37th, and completed the run in 24th out of 137... Best ranking for this race (thanks to my new AG) with a second best KONA time of 11:05:18.
HR notes- I dont look at HR at all through the day but it sure does help analyze/correlate my pace/power/RPE afterwards... Really showed that I hung on effort throughout the bike and then it clearly showed where I cracked for good on the run at mile 22.5.
Weight/Hydration - I tracked weight all week at the hotel 117.8-119, the day before was 118.3, the morning of 119.7 showing a good carbo load, checked in at pre-swim at 121 on there scale, back at the hotel scale that night was 116.5, next am was 117, and this morning was 121.8 as my body absorbs like the sponge that it is... I been using the pee strips for a couple weeks now to track hydration and I have my doubts, I'm dehydrated every am, but if I take a high amount of sodium the night before I will test hydrated in the am, I drank a scratch hyper-hydration the night before race and tested well hydrated that am, I also tested hydrated at the end of the day at 116.5lbs and again tested hydrated the next am at 117lbs feeling about as depleted as I possibly could... You cannot convince my that I was hydrated... So I believe those to just measure the amount of sodium in your urine.
My Heather and Team EN absolutely rocks.... Thank You so much for everything....
Whats next? Home to Tucson where I get to take care of Heather as she is scheduled for Rotator Cuff surgery on thursday... Then its on to IMAZ... Then I am heading back to KONA to Crew for Simon Shurey on UMWC... Then we are going to rescue a dog to keep Otto company.... Then I think I will relax a bit before starting the Journey to an Ultrarunning year 2018...
Questions comments etc always welcomed.
I leave you with a picture of the artwork to commemorate my 4th KONA... Local artist prints that are unique to every year.. Yes I have the other 3 I have done as well..
Tagged:
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Comments
Not only were you very close to your goal but most important you felt strong and relaxed for most of the day. That is priceless.
See you at IMAZ
MR
congrats on another inspiring performance
Congrats on a fantastic race. As always, I learn something from you. Will be sending your lovely lady lots of love and juju this Thursday and beyond, and can't wait to see the pics of your new family member when it's time.
I am glad that you found something to do for next year.. but I am sad that we wont share a race together next year ! that's something I am looking fwd to do
Will be interesting to follow you on your next adventures !
@Tim cronk, I learn from every RR you post. I followed you and the team the entire day and at every turn.
Glad to see you planned the details of your morning schedule and included the 6:45 a.m. kiss in the schedule. Nothing like starting out your KONA race missing important steps in the race morning checklist.
Fantastic day all around in my view.
Congratulations!
@Mike Roberts I don't often sing. But when I do. Its "Happy Birthday" to Mike Roberts on Alli Drive in the middle of the Ironman World Championships.
@David Richmond yep that was "the moment" thank you
@Rich Stanbaugh thanks ... be be engaging that discussion on the road to CABO
@Al Truscott Thank you ... It really did feel like something was missing without you there.. But hey I realize you cant be at all my KONA's and I may not make your next one... But I knew damn well you were following at that always makes a difference... If anything I did not push the swim/bike as hard as I maybe should have, but the way the wheels came off on the run at the end I cannot say that for certain... Just gonna be one of those unknowns... Was my run better by not pushing early? and/or If I went harder earlier how much time would I have then lost on the run? I have 2- 4hr marathons on the big island and I have a 4.5hr and 5hr so I know how bad they can get.... As bad as I did feel the last 6 and really the last 3, it never even occurred to me to walk more than just a portion of the aid station.... I like thinking back on that....
@Turby Wright Thanks buddy I missed you running by me in the Energy Lab :-) Give Carol a hug from Heather and I.
@Trish Marshall will post the new member as soon as she arrives.... I say she cause I want a little girl but ya never know???
@Derrek Sanks and Francis Picard thanks for the kind words, was a blast to follow you guys the next day... I was up at 3am so didnt have to wait long LOL...
@JeremyBehler those words coming from you are HUGE... Thank you so much... Our paths will cross eventually... It was supposed to be IMLP 2018 as we were going to support but I believe my planned Vermont 100 is the same weekend this year (they were a week apart in 2017).... I'm afraid of meeting up with you at a camp though, unless I am doing unstructured stuff (4 months out from A races) I like to keep the Withrow type stupidity to a dull roar...
@Shaughn Simmons You know how I feel about my secret weapon. Here is a picture of me utilizing it on the course.
BTW, I'm tired reading about your post Kona recovery plans!!
@Mike Collins Thanks ... yeah I didnt think we would find anyone who didnt love those sponges, sure hope they make all the aid stations like that in the future!
@Brian Hagan Thanks for the kind words.... While I was on the IMWC course I couldnt help but looking at portions of the UMWC course in absolute wonder at the distances from a different perspective. It made me appreciate even more what I accomplished at UMFL, and think about you , Stephanie, and Simon.... The 1st was at the team dinner at Sam Choy's where we were about 6-7 miles down from the Swim start and on a hill looking back towards KONA , I took a picture to tease Simon with since there was a Huge Cruise Ship in Kalua KONA bay that looked like a tiny dot, and I said we were at Keyhou Bay the swim exit, only to find out that the swim exit was just a little bit further and not quite in the picture.... The 2nd time was at the Bike turnaround at HAWI where its 52 miles of pure hell back to KONA on a bike, only to realize this is the Day #3 run course on foot!... I realize its a different course than UMFL but the distances are the same and you cant fake it... Chuck Kemeny the RD for UMFL and UM record holder was in KONA and he still believe UMFL to be more difficult than UMWC , I disagree , but its semantics....
When I attach the watch to the belt its on there snug. I also have the belt buckle closed so the watch doesn't slip off. While I'm putting on my shoes I step into my belt so when I'm ready to go I just have to pull it up to my waist as I'm standing up and I'm all ready to go. No need for a good bag as everything is already attached to my belt. Or you can do what Jan Frodeno does and put it over your head and then slide it down as you're running out of T2.
@Teri Cashmore thanks for the idea I think it worked perfectly :-)
@Jenn Edwards Thanks for the kind words... I'm glad you commented because I really wanted to say this... I know its only been a year since your KONA... After doing KONA a couple weeks ago , I actually looked up your race again, I was impressed then, but I am even more impressed now after going to battle for my 4th time on that island... Just awesome... Hope all is well!
@Robert Sabo Thanks for following along !
Many congrats on a fantastic race....and as always thanks for sharing your experience with the team here. We only met briefly in person however I appreciate everything you have to share that makes us all smarter on race day. Very impressive calendar you have and I look forward to seeing how the rest of your year goes.
Congrats again!