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Project Breaking12: Tony's 2018 IMMT Race Report
After 5 Ironmans, all at IMWI and with a PR of 12:02:58 in 2017, I thought IMMT in 2018 would provide the best shot for me to "Break 12". The combination of smooth roads and a premier destination race/event was too enticing to pass up, especially after the success of my first year with EN and 2017 IMWI. Fortunately, I got the go ahead from the folks at home to continue the journey, this time at Mont Tremblant. Unfortunately, I had to make the trek to Mont Tremblant by myself with school starting up for my wife Anne (5th grade teacher) and life getting in the way for everyone at home.
Bottom Line: Based on the parameters of my life situation (7 kids, 5 grandkids, demanding job, time pressures, etc. , etc. ...) my goal for IMMT was to use and apply every last drop of the racing engine, knowledge and mojo I've been able to build up since the 2017 IMWI with EN in order to be a better husband, dad, grandfather and more effective and higher performing actuarial consultant. In terms of times, I was shooting to "Break 12" with an overall expected time of 11:22:00. I finished in 11:47:04 -- a new PR and a successful "Breaking12" project!
I placed 17th out of 146 in my 55-59 age group. The top finisher in my age group finished in 9:51:28 and the 10th place came in at 11:06:07. Very fast times under ideal racing conditions on a course that is challenging but fair.
Arrived Wednesday and did the admin stuff. Checked into the Holiday Inn Express. Didn't need a condo as I was by myself, but it was still pricey. I guess I'm paying for the convenience of being so close to transition and the race venue, and since I was by myself without a sherpa, I didn't mind paying a premium for the convenience.
On Thursday rode Monte Ryan to the McDonalds and then back up to Lac Superior. Felt good about the ride. All the training this summer on the IMWI course (I live in Chicago and it is a 2 hour ride to Madison) really paid off and I felt tapered legs finally come alive on that recon ride.
Unfortunately, I tweaked my knee on Monday as I was packing (patella femoral pain I had been battling after the 2017 IMWI until the end of January 2018), so held off running. Used my Theragun, Marc Pro, ART and tape . On race day, I had no issues at all with the knee and as of Monday post race, still good. Don't know if it was just pre-race phantom pains or something real, but I wanted to do all I could to make sure I could still race.
Swim
Target: 1:15
Actual: 1:18:36
Warmed up in the special warm up section but then had to wait an hour for the fog to lift.
Lined up in the 1:10 - 1:15 group. Loved the red light/green light set up.
I've heard it said that Canadians have the reputation for being polite; well not triathletes in an ironman swim. I experienced more and rougher contact throughout the entire swim than at the IMWI mass starts. Heard through the grapevine that someone got pulled from the swim due to a concussion from the contact.
This year the run to T1 was shorter by about 300 meters. They added a bridge to the water that takes you up and over a bird sanctuary and puts you on the intersection of Chappel and Voyagers. After the wet suit strippers just had to run about 200 meters on the soft red carpet to the tent.
T1
Target: 8:00
Actual: 5:10 Definitely helped to Break 12 - not complaining about the new set up
Bike
Target: 5:55:00
Actual: 6:00:18
Drank 38oz fluid per hour: 26 water + 12 GE per hour. Goal was 36 ounces/hour based on 90+ degree temps during RR and sweat rates and prior racing experience as to what I need to stay hydrated.
Pee'd 8x on bike -- yep may have over-hydrated given the lower temps and increased early hydration before the swim and early on bike due to delayed swim start, but given my past kidney stone issues I was fine with being conservative here and not going into the run dehydrated. Plus the swim was delayed 1 hour and worked to catch up on the hydration early on the bike. So I was fine with giving up ~ 5 - 7 minutes with the extra peeing while moving on the bike.
Na: 1,214 mg/hour => 4 Salt Stick per hour + 4.75 bottles of GE + 2.5 flasks of Liquid Shot. Goal: 1,250/hr.
Calories: 309 / hour = >12.5 ounces of EFS Liquid shot = 1,000 calories plus 4.75 bottles of GE = 855 calories => 1,855/6 hours = 309 calories/hour. Goal was 200 - 225. I took in too much GE which I believe caused bloating issues on my run. Lesson learned here -- stick to three flasks of Liquid shot = >1,200 calories = 200/hr and improve its osmolality with sips of water.
VI was way high at 1.11 where the goal was 1.04. I believe this was due to hammering to hard on the downhills (yep, the downhills); I thought I did a good job of riding easier on the climbs.
Hit my goal IF of 0.70. Target TSS was 282 and came in at 289 (FTP= 265; watts/kg were 3.48).
Based on my RR, training and race plan feedback, I changed up my nutrition plan. I decided to go back to a higher focus on sugar vs. whole food on the bike. So no almond butter and no macademia nut bars. The upside was that I hit my time targets. The downside was that I overdid the calories and sugar which led to some gut rot on the run.
T2
Target: 4:00
Actual: 3:58
Run
Target: 4:00:00
Actual: 4:19:04
I hit the porta pot 3x to deal with the bloat and managed to pee 2x.
I think the excess calories on the bike cost me 5 - 10 minutes on the run.
I was only able to take in 2 - 3 ounces of a 50% liquid shot/ 50% water mixture during the first 3 miles of the run, then turned to water, ice and salt stick. After the turn and heading out of town, I did find some liquid gold: Pepsi!! That stuff really helped, along with swishing GE and then spitting it out.
Was able to steadily build heart rate over the entire run and pretty much even split the run: 2:08:09 after the first 13 miles and 2:09:03 over the next 13 miles.
In summary, IMMT is one tough all around course and the vibe/venue/production is like Madison on steroids. I found the swim to have a lot more contact than at Madison. I got hit, swum over and knocked around a lot. Even though there is more elevation gain at IMMT on the bike vs. Madison, I think IMMT is a faster bike course because the roads are smooth and 117 is straight where you can pick up a lot of speed being aero. In Madison, you have to make a decision on gearing or eating every 3 minutes; a much more technical course with less time being aero and the roads are brutal on the body. I think Madison’s run course is faster because it feels flatter. I had to walk the hills getting out and coming back into town in order to preserve heart beats. Would love to do IMMT again some day, but for the next few weeks need to bank SAUs and be a rock star at work.
Bottom Line: Based on the parameters of my life situation (7 kids, 5 grandkids, demanding job, time pressures, etc. , etc. ...) my goal for IMMT was to use and apply every last drop of the racing engine, knowledge and mojo I've been able to build up since the 2017 IMWI with EN in order to be a better husband, dad, grandfather and more effective and higher performing actuarial consultant. In terms of times, I was shooting to "Break 12" with an overall expected time of 11:22:00. I finished in 11:47:04 -- a new PR and a successful "Breaking12" project!
I placed 17th out of 146 in my 55-59 age group. The top finisher in my age group finished in 9:51:28 and the 10th place came in at 11:06:07. Very fast times under ideal racing conditions on a course that is challenging but fair.
Arrived Wednesday and did the admin stuff. Checked into the Holiday Inn Express. Didn't need a condo as I was by myself, but it was still pricey. I guess I'm paying for the convenience of being so close to transition and the race venue, and since I was by myself without a sherpa, I didn't mind paying a premium for the convenience.
On Thursday rode Monte Ryan to the McDonalds and then back up to Lac Superior. Felt good about the ride. All the training this summer on the IMWI course (I live in Chicago and it is a 2 hour ride to Madison) really paid off and I felt tapered legs finally come alive on that recon ride.
Unfortunately, I tweaked my knee on Monday as I was packing (patella femoral pain I had been battling after the 2017 IMWI until the end of January 2018), so held off running. Used my Theragun, Marc Pro, ART and tape . On race day, I had no issues at all with the knee and as of Monday post race, still good. Don't know if it was just pre-race phantom pains or something real, but I wanted to do all I could to make sure I could still race.
Swim
Target: 1:15
Actual: 1:18:36
Warmed up in the special warm up section but then had to wait an hour for the fog to lift.
Lined up in the 1:10 - 1:15 group. Loved the red light/green light set up.
I've heard it said that Canadians have the reputation for being polite; well not triathletes in an ironman swim. I experienced more and rougher contact throughout the entire swim than at the IMWI mass starts. Heard through the grapevine that someone got pulled from the swim due to a concussion from the contact.
This year the run to T1 was shorter by about 300 meters. They added a bridge to the water that takes you up and over a bird sanctuary and puts you on the intersection of Chappel and Voyagers. After the wet suit strippers just had to run about 200 meters on the soft red carpet to the tent.
T1
Target: 8:00
Actual: 5:10 Definitely helped to Break 12 - not complaining about the new set up
Bike
Target: 5:55:00
Actual: 6:00:18
Drank 38oz fluid per hour: 26 water + 12 GE per hour. Goal was 36 ounces/hour based on 90+ degree temps during RR and sweat rates and prior racing experience as to what I need to stay hydrated.
Pee'd 8x on bike -- yep may have over-hydrated given the lower temps and increased early hydration before the swim and early on bike due to delayed swim start, but given my past kidney stone issues I was fine with being conservative here and not going into the run dehydrated. Plus the swim was delayed 1 hour and worked to catch up on the hydration early on the bike. So I was fine with giving up ~ 5 - 7 minutes with the extra peeing while moving on the bike.
Na: 1,214 mg/hour => 4 Salt Stick per hour + 4.75 bottles of GE + 2.5 flasks of Liquid Shot. Goal: 1,250/hr.
Calories: 309 / hour = >12.5 ounces of EFS Liquid shot = 1,000 calories plus 4.75 bottles of GE = 855 calories => 1,855/6 hours = 309 calories/hour. Goal was 200 - 225. I took in too much GE which I believe caused bloating issues on my run. Lesson learned here -- stick to three flasks of Liquid shot = >1,200 calories = 200/hr and improve its osmolality with sips of water.
VI was way high at 1.11 where the goal was 1.04. I believe this was due to hammering to hard on the downhills (yep, the downhills); I thought I did a good job of riding easier on the climbs.
Hit my goal IF of 0.70. Target TSS was 282 and came in at 289 (FTP= 265; watts/kg were 3.48).
Based on my RR, training and race plan feedback, I changed up my nutrition plan. I decided to go back to a higher focus on sugar vs. whole food on the bike. So no almond butter and no macademia nut bars. The upside was that I hit my time targets. The downside was that I overdid the calories and sugar which led to some gut rot on the run.
T2
Target: 4:00
Actual: 3:58
Run
Target: 4:00:00
Actual: 4:19:04
I hit the porta pot 3x to deal with the bloat and managed to pee 2x.
I think the excess calories on the bike cost me 5 - 10 minutes on the run.
I was only able to take in 2 - 3 ounces of a 50% liquid shot/ 50% water mixture during the first 3 miles of the run, then turned to water, ice and salt stick. After the turn and heading out of town, I did find some liquid gold: Pepsi!! That stuff really helped, along with swishing GE and then spitting it out.
Was able to steadily build heart rate over the entire run and pretty much even split the run: 2:08:09 after the first 13 miles and 2:09:03 over the next 13 miles.
In summary, IMMT is one tough all around course and the vibe/venue/production is like Madison on steroids. I found the swim to have a lot more contact than at Madison. I got hit, swum over and knocked around a lot. Even though there is more elevation gain at IMMT on the bike vs. Madison, I think IMMT is a faster bike course because the roads are smooth and 117 is straight where you can pick up a lot of speed being aero. In Madison, you have to make a decision on gearing or eating every 3 minutes; a much more technical course with less time being aero and the roads are brutal on the body. I think Madison’s run course is faster because it feels flatter. I had to walk the hills getting out and coming back into town in order to preserve heart beats. Would love to do IMMT again some day, but for the next few weeks need to bank SAUs and be a rock star at work.
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Comments
I am just about to try efs liquid shot for running. I've be using the EFS Pro on the bike mixed to my sodium and calorie needs the last 6 weeks and really like it. Hoping the liquid shot stays settled in the tummy as well. It's great to read how you used it in your race.
Recover hard and enjoy the kids and grandkids for a while!
@John Withrow : I'm planning to head up to Madison on the 9th to spectate and cheer on the EN team. Will keep an eye out for you.
@Trish Marshall : can't forget about the dog Ranger! Definitely a challenge to balance all the competing time commitments with a large family. Fortunately we all work together to help each other out and the program @Coach Patrick has put together with EN really helps with time and $ ROI and efficiently using my training time to maximize performance within the context of balancing other life responsibilities. I also used the First Endurance Pre-Race Caps at the mid point of the bike and run (3 caps at both points and also used TUMS for a boost of refreshment and to settle stomach -- thank you at @Sheila Leard for the tip) and that helped provide a boost going into the second half of each discipline. Haven't tried EFS Pro. For the next bite at the apple will stick to EFS Liquid Shot, water (to help with the dilution/osmolarity) and salt stick tablets on the bike and first part of the run. Then switch to coke/pepsi on the run when can't handle the Liquid Shot anymore (than you @Al Truscott for that tip -- the pepsi at IMMT was pure liquid gold on the back half of the run).
Tony, it's always so satisfying when things come together on the run in an IM. Your numbers and graph look nearly picture perfect. That's one you can put in the memory bank and draw from when ever life deals a low blow.
If you come back at IM, you're probably right - tweaking the nutrition execution, and managing the run a little tighter, along with a more forgiving swim, will reap further rewards, I bet.
I know you didn’t hit your optimal performance, but as the others have said, that was a pretty darn good race! I’m sure the stomach issues slowed you down and certainly made the day uncomfortable. That said, it really didn’t seem to affect your ability to run steady. That is a testament to your training and execution.
The only thing that causes me to raise my eyebrows is how long it took for your heart rate to come down out of transition at the start of the bike. As you can see it’s a very long slow decline, and I’m wondering if your bike might’ve been better served with a little bit easier riding in the first 30 minutes?
Looking forward to catching up with you!