JW's 2018 IMWis Race Report - Kona Bound!
I sent out an email a few days before IM Wisconsin to many of my friends, family, and teammates describing how they could track me vs my Executive Challenge (XC) Competition. I gave them my expectations for each split, then in the following font told them what really mattered to me:
“The finishing time doesn’t really matter because my ONLY goal is to Qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI in October of 2019. I will consider anything less than that as a failure! To qualify, I need to win the XC Division.”
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Ironman is NOT an individual sport. Having teammates on the course to support and be supported by is invaluable to help you get through a long Ironman Day. But even more important is having a core of supporters for the months and months of training to even get to the starting line. My wife Jess is a bit of an Ironman “junkie” and has helped me integrate my crazy training into our family life in a much healthier fashion than in years past. She honestly supported me on family vacations where I did very early long runs every single day before heading to the Theme Parks and on planning our “spouse” long weekend away while the boys were at camp around long rides and runs each day in upstate Minnesota. She was also my nutritionist researching supplements and always making healthy meals and pushing me into my Normatec compression boots every night during dinner for months at a time. I cannot wait to be that Sherpa for her someday in the not too distant future!
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~4.5 hour drive to Madison on Thursday before the race, checked into hotel and went immediately to the XC Welcome reception and got the race check-in process over in about ~5 seconds and then made small talk with my competition.
Full ~8.5hrs sleep Thursday night.
Friday morning, had an XC “Breakfast with the Pro” - Linsey Corbin. Linsey was super humble and super cool as she talked about how she would like to try to break the women’s Ironman Wisconsin course record (which she actually did on Sunday).I told her not to draft off of me when I passed her on the bike!
After breakfast, I drove to the outskirts of Madison to Saris headquarters to get a replacement set of the Powertap P1 Powermeter pedals since mine died during my last big ride the prior Saturday. Returned to the hotel, installed them, and headed out for a ~40 min ride to break them in and get everything tested. I followed this up with a ~20 min swim in the VERY choppy afternoon lake, then headed to the EN team dinner. It was super cool to finally meet many of the people who I felt like I have “known” for years through interaction inside the EN Forums!
Another ~8.5 hours of sleep Friday night, and Saturday was pretty chill. Saturday’s XC lunch was super cool as it was attended by Dave Orlowski, who told us his story of finishing 3rd in the First Ever Hawaii Iron Man in 1978. He even brought his actual finisher’s trophy and finisher’s shirt! Dave is such a humble dude who I saw again before the swim start and had the pleasure of hanging out with at the finish line after the race. Such a cool, cool, dude!
Lights out at ~8PM Saturday and got almost a full ~8hrs of sleep (with the exception of a few bathroom breaks) and was wide awake the second my alarm went off at 4:00AM. I can honestly say this was the most relaxed and laid back I have ever been prior to a big race.
Breakfast was Sweet Potato smothered in Maple Syrup and topped with walnuts, a Kind bar, and bottle of Skratch labs as well as my normal supplements. I made it down to check my gear bags and put nutrition and computer on my bike and actually went back to the hotel room for a second bathroom break before heading to the 6:00AM EN Team photo, then made my way to swim start. I was a little bummed that nobody was allowed into the water for a swim warmup, but instead made it into the starting corral super early and just hung out with the EN peeps near the ~1:05 group and awaited the cannon.
Swim: Actual – 1:15:24 [Expected: ~1:10-1:14]
Even though I expected a 1:10-1:14, I secretly thought I would be closer to ~1:11 based on all of my training swims. The water was a bit choppy with the winds and had some currents, but the real reason I think I took longer was that I sighted poorly in a few spots and found myself wide of the course on 3 occasions. This was the least comfortable I have felt in my 10 IM swims. I really felt like I was working too hard and never got into a smooth rhythm. In the final return leg I was to the left of the main pack and swam headfirst into the side of a kayak, wrenching my neck. It took me a couple seconds of frustration wondering why the heck a volunteer on a kayak wouldn’t just back up a foot or two as to not have some dude swim headfirst into the front section of his kayak, but I guess I’m the idiot for not knowing he was there. Given the super high water levels, swim exit was a bit of a big step up and slip-n-slide, but eventually made it safely.
T1: Actual – 6:39 [Expected: ~5:30-6:30]
Because of all of the recent flooding in Madison, they had to move the swim start/finish ~100yds or so farther away from the changing area. So after I had my wetsuit stripped off by some very capable volunteers, I took off at what seemed to be a full barefoot sprint along the paved sidewalk for what seemed like forever to just get to the base of the 3 story parking lot “helix” we had to run up just to get to the changing tent. I couldn’t have spent more than a few seconds in the tent to put my helmet on and grab my gloves as I ran out of the tent holding my shoes after asking a volunteer to stuff my wetsuit back into my bag for me. Another barefoot run on concrete for what seemed like a quarter mile, and I finally arrived at my bike with my gloves and helmet on. I noticed that I hadn’t taken the stupid “seat cover” off that the XC folks put on my bike the night before, so allowed myself a moment of frustration for needing to waste the ~10 seconds to rip it off now. I put my shoes on here and grabbed my bike to run the final ~20yds to the mount line to start the bike leg.
Bike: Actual – 5:28:48 [Expected: ~5:20-5:40]
Even though I publicly stated that I expected a ~5:20-5:40 range, I secretly thought I’d be in the ~5:10-5:20 window with potential upside from that if I could hit my power numbers (hint: I didn’t). The first thing I noticed was that my HR was WAY higher than normal. I have been averaging in the low ~120’s for most of my training rides this year, even when I have been putting out well higher than my goal IM watts. When I looked down in the first couple of miles of the bike it was in the low ~140’s. I figured if I just took it a bit easier for a little longer than planned that it should drop quickly (like it always has this yr), but it didn’t. It lingered near ~140 for at least the first ~1.5 hours. So I tossed out my plan to be riding at ~230-235W for the day and only averaged 211 for the first 30 mins. The next 30 mins was 219W, and the next 30 mins was 220W. I averaged ~217 W for the last 4 hours, so basically even split the entire ride from a power perspective even though my HR stayed in the low ~130’s for pretty much the remainder of the ride (higher than expected, lower than the first ~1.5 hours) but I never felt like I was really “pushing it” on the bike, even though my quads started feeling it a bit in the last ~25 miles. For you data geeks, that’s a 217NP for 5:28 which is 234 TSS, VI of 1.05, IF of 0.65, 137 avg HR (recall that my 6hr power this yr was a 269NP at ~121bpm avg HR)
It took me nearly two hours to pee on the bike. I knew I was way behind and focused intently on drinking as much as possible and once it started to flow, it was pretty regular about every ~45 mins after that for a total of 4 or 5 times. I started the bike with 2 bottles of Infinit (one BTA and one behind my seat) and I went through 5 bars (2 clif bars, 2 stinger waffles, and a Kind bar). I also drank Gatorade endurance through most Aid stations and either re-fill my bottles with the GE or Water and used water at most Aid Stations to squirt on myself and cool myself down. Guess of total Calories: ~560 from Infinit, ~1,000 from bars, ~500-600 from GE for a total of ~2,100 calories, or ~380 cal/hr. I also took 9 Amino acid pills and 3 Magnesium during the ride. I will say that my stomach never felt “right” the entire race, starting with the swim. I kept letting gas out and was happy that’s all it was. If I would have been willing to take the time to stop at a porta potty, I likely would have had success, but didn’t bother. I think it was the overload of sugar/carbs in the couple days before the race and the entire day of. I’m just not used to dumping that much sugary crap into my system.
I basically rode most of the bike to my Best Bike Split targets (minus ~15W) and tried to carry as much speed around this technical and hilly course as I could. I carried momentum up the bottoms of each of the rollers and worked the crests a bit. I rode the longer hills almost completely steady and didn’t mind getting passed here. I tried to corner smoothly and pretty much disregarded the locations of any orange cones on the corners as I chose my own apex through or before them. I also took the few technical downhills on each lap VERY fast.
Strava showed my Top speed at 51.4mph, but Trainingpeaks “only” had it at 48.8mph. I was also a bit disappointed that (according to Strava) Linsey Corbin [the women’s pro who broke the course record] beat me on the sketchy Garfoot technical descent by 2 seconds and the Amateur Male race winner (with a 4:55 bike split) beat me by 9 seconds on that nearly ~4 minute descent, so clearly I was a bit too cautious compared to my “normal” aggressive downhill riding style.
The winds picked up on the 2nd loop and I was buffeted around a bit on a few of the sections… And it seemed like the last ~15 miles of the stick was into a direct headwind (I had originally planned to make up time on this section). At one point, I was putting out ~230W and looked down at my bike computer and saw that I was going 9 mph! oomph. I had actually known about this wind the day before the race… I knew it would be a headwind here and my pre-race preparation actually made me smile at what most would have considered a low point. I actually got excited because I knew if I was having a hard time in these cross and head winds that smaller/weaker riders must REALLY REALLY be suffering!
T2: Actual – 2:34 [Expected: ~2:30-3:00]
Not much to say here. Ran to the change room, took extra time to put on my Injinji’s, put on (and tied) my Nike Vaporfly 4%, grabbed my run belt and ran out the door skipping the sunscreen appliers.
Run: Actual – 4:03:20 [Expected: ~3:45-4:00]
I burst onto the run course and experienced something I had never experienced before… It was empty. Like weird eerily empty. I came off the bike in 109th place out of ~2,150 starters of the race. And most of the REALLY fast people were way ahead of me and I was way ahead of mostly everybody else… So I literally could not see another runner ahead of me on the course and there also wasn’t anyone behind me. There were lots of spectators, but I really felt like I had the course to myself. My plan was to run “easy” for the first ~6 miles until Observatory hill. So I did. I glanced down at my watch only occasionally to look at my HR and for the first 6 miles every single time I looked down it was pegged right at 140bpm. I noticed my pace only at the end of each mile when it gave me a split notice and they were all in the low-mid 8’s. That’s probably a bit faster of a pace than I should have been running, but I was exactly where I wanted to be on HR and felt great.
Being that I didn’t “really” care what my ultimate finish time was, I had 2 guys on the course who were acting as Spotters and they were invaluable! Jeremy Behler and Evan Odim were ALL OVER the run course. It felt like I saw each of them ~4-5 times per lap at different spots which meant I could get an update every couple of miles for the entire Marathon. I had built a spreadsheet with all of the names and bib numbers of the XC racers prior to the race and Jeremy had turned it into a Google doc so any of the ~35 people I sent it to could update it for tracking purposes. I knew I was in a good spot on the bike as Jeremy had already told me that I was in the Top ~10% of my AG midway through the 2nd lap of the bike. Within the first ~6 miles of the run, I learned that I was in the Top ~7% of my AG and the next closest XC’er was in ~20% of her AG. This meant that I had to be at least ~20-30 mins ahead of where I needed to be to win my Kona slot. Now I knew that all I had to do was not have a meltdown and I would win the XC Division… I followed Jeremy’s pre-race advice by running all the way to the 2nd drainage grate ~2/3 of the way up Observatory hill, “angry-man” walking to the top, and then resuming running. I also took it super easy on the steep downhill while trying not to “brake” to make it as smooth as possible on my calves and quads.
There was a ton of EN support on the course - I regularly saw the Retzbach crew, the Bachmans, as well as 4-5 other groups of people wearing EN gear on each lap. A couple of the EN fans would tell me what place in my AG I was in, which was also super helpful. I knew I was in 15th place and that never changed for the entire run. I was right on my planned pace as I finished the first 13.1 miles in ~1:54. If I could repeat that I’d cruise in with a ~3:48 Marathon… Then I got to mile ~16 and logged a ~9:22 mile. At this point I was supposed to be running ~8:30’s but my quads were dangerously close to cramping. I actually felt pretty great (considering) at that point but my dreaded quads were feeling like they were right on the edge. I faded by about ~10s per mile until Observatory Hill where I still ran to the 2nd grate, but walked a bit longer/slower and actually walked the steepest parts of the downhill to avoid the ever so close quad-cramping.
After the hill on the 2nd lap was supposed to be my “Go Time”. This is where I had planned to ignore all pain and push myself into that very dark place I thought I would need to go to in order to win my “race within a race.” Here’s where I get philosophical. To get to that really dark place, you need a damn good reason. Because even though I pride myself on being mentally tough, having already worked really hard for ~8.5 hours is actually, well, kind of hard… And my quads were “on the edge”. And I knew I was really far ahead of 2nd place. Part of me was afraid of repeating what happened at Vineman in 2016 where I pushed over the abyss and my quads and calves cramped so bad that I was relegated to a running stride that barely resembled a slow jog.
I can’t remember what mile it was, but somewhere in the ~18-20 range when I still knew that I had another hour or so to go, I had questioned why I do this sport. I’m too damn slow. And even though I am literally the fittest I have ever been (at 42 yrs old), my stupid quads simply won’t allow me to run the way I “think” I should run in these races. I literally hated my legs at that point and swore that if I didn’t win this stupid race that I would sell my bike and never ever do another triathlon. Maybe even if I did win I would do that…
So instead of having a reason to push into that dark, dark place, I actually had a reason to stay the heck away from that edge. This time I just kept telling myself to focus on my core, shorten my stride, stay upright and try to run with my glutes. I couldn’t help seeing my pace slow, but I still kept getting reports that I was still in 15th place in my AG (well ahead of where I needed to be).
So I don’t know if this was a conscious choice in the moment, or it just organically happened but I started intently focusing on people’s calves. I knew if nobody with a 40-44 on their calf passed me that I had the Kona slot, regardless of how slow I was going… so that became my new game.
I had taken ~5 gels and a bunch of banana pieces and a couple of oranges throughout the first ~18 miles. I also took a swig of Gatorade every couple of miles and regularly doused with water and had ice in my handheld Racesaver bag. I stopped the Ice around mile ~16 and went to coke at every aid station after mile ~20. I also took ~6 Amino Acids and 2 Magnesium as well as 3-4 hits of Base Salts during the run.
A single male with a 44 passed me in the last 7 miles and when I saw his calf, I worked my way back ahead of him and put him well out of site behind me before I got close to the finish line. Once I got to where I could see the Capital, I knew I had it even if I cramped now, so I zipped up my jersey and ran a high 8-handle pace for the last half a mile and cruised over the finish line.
The Finisher’s chute was actually fun! I was all alone and Mike Reilly announced to the crowd that I had done IM Wisconsin in 2015 on my Fat Bike! I pointed to him and smiled as I crossed the finish line! One final perk of the Ironman XC was that you can have a friend or family member behind the finish line to give you your medal. Evan Odim was there and gave me a big hug as I crossed. He was totally flummoxed. He has seen me at my worst during races, many times helping drag me into the med tent. He could not believe that I never turned grey, and even had the wherewithal to ask him (midway through the run) how my Steelers were doing (lame that they tied the Browns) and how my Fantasy Football team was doing. He couldn’t believe that I was totally fine after the race, didn’t need the med tent, and actually walked to get my own bike and bags. I even showered and made it back to the finish line to give my good friend Eric Bachmann his Finisher’s medal for his PR race and was his Sherpa and got his bags after the race and again made it back to the finish line to watch Steve Boer set an 80 minute PR in his race!
I had some interesting “emotions” after this race… In 2014 at IM Mt Tremblant, I felt like I was in the race of my life to beat a guy who on paper should have been faster than me to win the XC by ~8 mins. I was ecstatic to win that race and could barely control my emotions afterwards. For all of 2018, I had told anyone who would listen that it was “Kona or Bust” for me - I even had it in my EN signature line all year as constant motivator (long before I knew who I’d be racing against). On paper, I should have been the favorite in the XC at this race, and I knew that coming in, but a lot can happen in an ~11 hour race. So I would say my emotional state upon finishing could be described as “Relieved”. I was relieved that it was over and that I had done what I thought I was supposed to do and what I told everybody I was going to do. I had accomplished the work I had set out to do. But I was not ecstatic, just relieved…
I thought I had more to give on the bike… I knew I had more to give on the run (definitely so if my quads wouldn’t have been in their almost cramping position). I was originally disappointed with what I thought was a pathetic run performance, but with ~5 days of reflection, I remembered that it was my 2nd fastest IM run split (out of 10 tries). I have always considered myself a ho-hum swimmer, a strong biker, and a crappy runner. However, this was the first time that I actually “held serve” on the run. I finished the run in the exact same spot I came off the bike both in my AG and amongst all Men! So to not give up a single net spot to anyone in my AG after a relatively strong bike is actually a big improvement for me. I placed 17th in my AG (out of 225) which was also my highest AG finish to date (compared to 23rd in M35-39 at IMMT in 2014).
My Goal now is to “RACE” Kona in 2019. To do this, I will dedicate this winter to actually taking ~10 mins off of my swim (it’s time to finally focus on this). I will continue Zwift racing on my bike. And will run train even better than last yr from a pretty good starting point right now.
Comments
Well done, JW!
And Linsey, she's my fave! 😍
@John Withrow : I was following you and the EN team all day. Given the up and down weather of race week, was thinking something crazy would happen. I think you nailed it with attitude, confidence and perspective when you said during race week that you hoped the weather was crappy so that the EN approach to racing would be a difference maker. Turned out the weather was great and you nailed it by going beast mode on the bike and run.
Hope you take some time to savor what you accomplished. I sense a little deflatedness / 'what if' / 'if only'... between the lines in your race report. I think the term you used was 'relief'.
FOR GOSH SAKES MAN -- YOU ARE GOING TO KONA!!!
Nothing 'pathetic' about any part of your performance.
That is simply how Ironman goes -- we plan to the nth degree but something always happens to derail the plan. Turns out the smarter and more experienced we are the better we can adapt to what gets thrown at us. Turns out you made very wise decisions all day, except, of course, for swimming into a kayak 😛. Seriously though, it took a lot of guts and patience to dial it down a bit on the bike. In hindsight, that decision likely saved the calves and quads on the back half of the run.
Hope you indulge in a little well deserved sugar, but all things in moderation, even excess! BTW, I think we must listen to the same fitness/nutrition podcasts as I eat a 'big ass' salad, take magnesium, fish oil, etc. as well.
Congrats. The All or Nothing Approach Wins !
Bike Power- This is a recurring routine question in Race Reports. Why do you think you could not hit "known and proven" power targets? Was it the swim? Do you swim for an hour before doing your long rides in training? (I do occasionally but dont like to for time management but it does reveal good data). Bottomline - missing your target power by 10-15 watts is pretty minimal and certainly wouldnt read too much into it, just want your real thoughts on why? "I got excited when the bike got windy and hard because the smaller/weaker cyclists would be suffering more".... Love that but this smaller person woulda been laughing as he punched a much smaller hole through that relative wind :-)
Supplements, Amino's, Magnesium - I know you research and practice this but I cant help but wondering do you really need that extra stuff in your body for that 10hrs? I only take a multivitamin , vitamin D , and turmeric daily but will always forego on race day. Removes moving parts from my day and unessential stuff from my stomach.
T2- smoking considering putting on injini socks... I struggle with those while putting them on in a relaxed manner at home... Funny story from SOS, at the awards I take a walk to the bathroom and pass a guy sitting in a chair putting on injini socks, about 5 minutes later , I come back past him and he is still working on getting the first sock on.
Emotions, Med Tent - So you didnt finish as JW Death warmed over this time, I get not having that extra motivation when you already know you have it in the bag, however I would argue based on your single male runner story that JW was still racing and we dont always need to finish Gray in color , incoherent, and in the med tent to have had a great race. Look at the Pro Winners, some come in jumping around like they just got up from a nap and had coffee and others collapse... You had an amazing race , improved astronomically in your AG ranking, and did 100% what you set out to do.
KONA- I cant wait to watch the JW build/race for KONA.
Forgot to ask.... Vaporfly feedback?
Another fantastic race! You have an incredible knack for doing very special things at that race. I think the common factor is the goals you set for yourself. I enjoy seeing your training on Strava and loved following you during the race. You totally embrace Prefontaine "Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."
@John Withrow - never disappointing and always leading!
A blessing for the IMWI team to have you there racing with them, leading the way, calling your shots and getting it done!
WOW!
Sincere congratulations!
@John Withrow - So glad to finally meet you in person. You had an amazing race! I really enjoyed reading this race report. I had a similar experience with the kayakers. I did not run into one, but I noticed they were not moving out of the way when I got close. You and I both need help with sighting!
I will see you on Zwift and best of luck with over a year to think about and prepare for Kona!
Thanks Guys!
@Scott - Linsey is even better in real life!
@"Tony Ledden" - Yup. I'm already up ~5lbs, but don't plan to go crazy this time around...
@"Tim Cronk" - I did several of my long rides this yr immediately following long swims (~40-115 mins), but there seems to be a huge difference for me in energy expenditure in swimming in my glass like lake, alone, in the dark (peaceful), when compared to fighting all of the other crazies and sighing better and the waves and current and energy of an IM swim, not to mention a ~7 min all out sprint before hopping directly on my bike. You may be smaller, but you are also ~4.0W/Kg strong... I knew from past race stalking that could not be said about my XC competition (when the winds on the bike picked up)... Regarding the Aminos and Magnesium, probably fodder for a longer separate post, but the Mg was because I'm still trying to figure out my leg cramping issues and the Aminos were to fight some of the triggers for Central Governor slowdown. I do the same for EVERY long run and ride (including my 208 miler). Re: T2, the Injinji's were BRAND NEW and I use them for every single training run and always practice the smoothest way to put them on quickly. Re: the Vaporflys - They were great, but didn't think about them much on the run... But, I will be doing every race in them going forward. And thanks for the level-setting nice words. Compliments from you (who I deem to be exceptionally humble and wicked smart and Super Human in your physical accomplishments) mean a whole lot to me!
@Ed and SS-- I love following your escapades on Strava and IRL. You guys are real leaders on this team, I'm just trying to keep up!
@Brian - Thanks and agree. We shall meet again in the virtual world soon!
@JW, sorry I’m late to the party. What a great report on a great day (and great responses from your teammates). Now I have a reason to head back to Kona ‘19 and spectate. Or, after reading this, perhaps take a stab at racing it. Now I need to go read something de-motivating to get that KQ crap out of my head. Bravo. And congrats.
@John Withrow You have to be so happy for all you did, I know I am! You did great and you held off the cramp monster. I can't believe you take in all the solid food that you do on the course. I went away from that a few years ago because I couldn't digest it fast enough. You did great and I look forward to riding Zwift with you this year.
Great race and a big congratulations! It was fun riding with you on Zwift and in Colorado this year. Looking forward to riding with you the coming year as well. Thanks for all the great info in the race plan and report! Super helpful for me and I'm sure others as well.
@John Withrow so proud of you ! I remember how your SR went and I am so happy for you of the results you got.
you are in a very competitive AG, I dont know for the other XC, but in the end, you achieved it.
rest well and focus on what you need to do to "race" Kona!
@John Withrow Congrats on the KQ race overcoming some issues early on. I've experience the swim making the bike more difficult, including the power drain or inability to hit know power targets. Great decision to back down on the bike to set up the run. Enjoy the down time and training for Kona next year.
Congrats John! I had no doubt you would meet your goal. I had a blast tracking you and the crew all day!
As to your feelings post race, I am not surprised that they were different than your last KQ in IMMT. Every race has its own fingerprint, and while you met your very high goal, you only KQ your first time once. Add to that your felt that you left some performance out there and there you have it. Success, relief that the hunt was over, and thoughts of wanting more from yourself. Classic Withrow.
I am sure your new goal of RACING Kona will provide you with yet another fingerprint of excellence come next October.
Please hug up the beautiful Jess from me...you are a lucky dog to have her on your side mister!
PS...I have PT1's on the way to me right now...my right one died. Did you have issues before your last big ride or was it a slow death like mine??? :D
total model of inspiration from how you laid down the gauntlet to KQ from the beginning of the season. Now the only thing to do is to cut an hour from your time and KQ the regular way. I know you've said that will never happen and you have told me once in an email that "you are a whole lot closer to KQing than I will ever be..." the Time difference to KQ from where we both stand is a whopping 15' apart, and yes that's a huge divide... but what else are you going to do after Kona once the market tanks and you are retired?
I think you train up for Kona and then roll that fitness forward into an all out effort to go even deeper. You did this event coming off of a rest year when you were not trained up and skinny, what would it look like at the end of a 2-3 year buildup....
@Trish, You are ABSOLUTELY correct about Jess. I am truly blessed! Re: the P1s - I had a few glitches over the ~3.5 yrs I had my P1s. It sounds like you, me, and Jeremy all had the same thing happen within a month or 2 of each other. If I had more time to mess with them and test before the race, I may have been able to get them working again (with another battery cap replacement or something), but given the ~4 day time constraint I had, the path of least resistance was to shell out $$ and get a new replacement pair. I still think they are pretty reliable technology given how much use and abuse they get in all types of weather, etc...
@Scott, Maybe when I retire (or get a cushy job like you have...)! But in all seriousness, Ironman is the easiest race in the world to do and calculate PR's for on a Spreadsheet... It's when the real world effects of actually racing that things get a little (okay, a LOT) harder. But because it's what I do and because you asked for it, I'll engage you and show that yes, it is "Possible" If I continue to improve over the next couple of yrs. I do age up in 2020, but I'm hopeful, that will be Jess' Ironman year instead of a "me" year. But just for shits and giggles, here's the math. My AG got 4 slots and had 1 roll to #5. 5th in my AG this yr did a 10:08:52, which if I had the PERFECT bury myself race was in the realm of possibilities even this yr... It's not an accident that one of my goals for this winter is to actually learn how to swim. So here's what I "did", versus what Ideally I "could" do if I actually learn to swim, execute the bike "better", then simply match my Ironman PR run (ideally the run should also improve by a few minutes as well).
I think swimming a 1:02, then doing a 5:14 bike and a 3:43 run seems like a more reasonable path than swimming a 1:10 and riding a 5:06... Because as I've seen by the people who have made REAL improvements in their swim, the ~1:02 swim probably actually takes less out of them than my 1:15 likely took out of me.
I can also imagine a ~1:02 swim and a ~5:10 bike (if I rode at my actual goal watts, would still be below 250 TSS point ride) and following that up with a ~3:35 run. That would have gotten me 4th and not needed the rolldown. FWIW, 3rd (last KQ) in M45-49 was actually faster than 5th (last KQ) in M40-44, so it's also not obvious to me that this next age-up yr will change all that much for me where I happen to fall in the AG decline (or not declining yet) curve. (much different than the change at say 55 or 60...)
Congrats on your race and KQ @John Withrow !
I especially like how you managed your race to keep Quads from cramping!
I've had that issue in both of my IM's, so am encouraged that you were able to sense they were coming and then keep them at bay ... shows me that it's possible and gives me something to shoot for!
@John Withrow - the issue is where you have gains to be made. you have virtually zero low hanging fruit. The only one is doing work on your stroke work.
I on the other hand have weight to lose, but I started at the same point, at Lake Placid (old bike course) and what it would take to get there with my current swim.
so, lose some upper body muscle mass, and develop a bit more of a run. I see the run and the swim as the two places you can gain and possibly a marginal improvement on the bike. But remember you went from zero bike to a rage on the rollers in six months, where would you be in another 12 without backing off on the intensity, can always build the volume after you build the fast....
as for the cushy job, when you retire from the fund, we can discuss how you can keep a toe in the game by bringing clients to my door, lots of retirement income to be had for you with your knowledge base! Then we can do Zwiftpower lunches!
Great race report JW and congratulations on getting a Kona slot! I like how you changed your bike execution plan on the fly based on your HR...very smart decision. Likewise on the run managing your pace to prevent quad cramps. I've had several races where I had to reduce my pace to just below the point of preventing a muscle cramp.
It takes confidence and courage to announce big goals publicly...and you delivered! Well done!
Great report JW and thank you for your candor - we all learn SO MUCH from what the real emotions are behind the numbers. Now, the really important question is when does Jess make her debut and will your Sherpa skills be on par with JB's??!?
Congrats dude, enjoy racing the show!
@John Withrow Wow, somehow I missed this while traveling to and around Colorado. I did follow your race very closely, maybe I thought that served as my reaction. But a report this insightful and complete deserves a full read.
Swim: At least we know you were keeping your head down. Lucky you didn't gash your forehead on that kayak.
Bike: VI of 1.05. WOW! On that course, that is some solid steadiness. I shouldn't be surprised though, after I saw how rock solid you were on your tri bike in CO. You were like a metronome.
T2: Man, it takes me 2:30 just to put on my Inijnjis, much less run up and down and out and around...
Run: Here's where it all happens, of course. "To get to that really dark place, you need a damn good reason." This is so true. It's a good lesson for JW to learn he doesn't always have to kill himself to succeed. While it's kinda fun to flay your legs silly the last hour or so, if you don't have to, why do it?
And next time, a year and 2-3 weeks from now, you will be much better prepared for that run, so you won;t have to worry about it, you can just run it. Because you are going to work on (a) run durability, and (b) getting some speed runs into your system, like a 10k every month, or maybe some XC skiing races?
As you know, I fully intend to be there with you, even if I have to do 5 IMs between now and the second Saturday of October, 2019.
Congrats John. You make this MN boy proud. Send me some MN mojo for IMCHOO this weekend.
@Derrek Sanks -- Thanks man. I'm not sure if I actually "changed my plan on purpose" or if my legs and output changed my plan for me. I could pretend that I'm so smart that it was entirely calculated... but more likely it just happened and I didn't force it to be rigid to the original plan. I know it's a subtle difference, but still different.
@Jenn Edwards we're hopeful that Jess will throw her hat back into the IM ring in 2020 (maybe Chatt). ZERO chance I could have the Super Sherpa skills like @Jeremy Behler but I'll sure try!
@Al Truscott I had been waiting patiently for your comments. Super insightful as always. Thanks for your guidance and generosity! I agree on your run comments. And I am 100% confident we will be enjoying the Team Activities together next Oct!
@Kyle Kolquist Mucho MoJo will be sent from Minny! It will be great to track you!
" I was originally disappointed with what I thought was a pathetic run performance, but with ~5 days of reflection"
The post IM reflection always provides a perspective that is less emotional and more objective. It takes guts and humility to put it out there 'Kona or Bust". I have a friend that won the XC in IM Florida and is Kona bound in three weeks. It's an amazing program. Congratulations on earning a coveted slot.
Regarding your muscle cramping - have you looked into the theories behind Hot shot and Pickle Juice. Neurotransmitters?
Aloha. 😎
Thanks @Sheila Leard !
"Regarding your muscle cramping - have you looked into the theories behind Hot shot and Pickle Juice. Neurotransmitters?"
I have looked into them a bit (and it makes intellectual sense to me), but I have never actually tried them. Stay tuned, because I've been waiting to organize a dedicated thread to this (not exactly this, but related) and would love your insight once I organize it.
@John Withrow : interesting podcast from Matt Dixon to help with your cramping research...
https://purplepatchfitness.com/education/podcasts/s1-e37-muscle-cramps-training-and-racing
Welcome to Episode 37 of Purple Patch Podcast. Muscles cramps are unpredictable and the topic can be confusing. In this episode, Matt breaks it down from a collation of conversations with passionate experts in the field, review of existing literature, as well as coaching observations and review.
Matt takes a deep dive on:
It is a complex subject without an opportunity for definitive cause or prevention, but as with the rest of your performance, maintaining positive habits and a fit n’ fresh mindset is your best path toward mitigating the risk of occurrence.
@Tony Ledden That's actually funny (we seem to have the similar feeds for Podcast stuff...). I listened to that exact Matt Dixon Podcast on the Friday before the race...