Jorge Duque IMLOU 2018 Race Report
Short version: Finishing is a victory in itself despite it all.
Long version: This is IM number 3 for me, and year number 2 doing long distance racing. Also year number 2 with EN. I trained by the book this time, was healthy all year round, was able to cut 10 lbs from my previous race (still need to cut 20 more), feel like I have learned a lot in the past two years, and overall had great expectations for this race. PR dreams in my head going into it. All my training was showing positive and consistent results.
Flew out of Seattle on Thursday via Minneapolis with @David Glenn and we lost the connection by 10 minutes so we had an unexpected 7 hour overlay and we ended up arriving to the hotel almost at 1:00 am. As soon as we got there we unpacked the bikes (there was no TBT service from Seattle so we had to fly with the bikes) from our brand new Sci-con bags just to find that the wire going to the rear derailleur was cut on my Di2. That meant waking up early the next morning and having it fixed. No spare parts available so they just made a temporary repair that "should hold through the race". After going through the motions of registration we met with the team for brunch and it was really nice to put a face to a lot of names.
Race day was cold and wet as you have read on other reports. Wake up at 4:00 am, Nutella and PB sandwich with a cup of coffee for breakfast and walk to the transition area. Our hotel was at the finish line and it took a good mile to get to T1. All of this walking in the cold and rain. After putting nutrition on the bike, setting up computer, and body marking, I decided to put my wetsuit on to stay warm. Another good mile walk to the swim start and seeded myself in the 1:20-1:30 group. I have swim consistently at 1:25. We waited in a park close to the swim start and we sat down for 1 hr in the rain waiting for it to start. Went through fluids and gel according to plan but the race didn't started. We waited and waited in the cold until they announced the swim was shortened. Finally the swim began sending one by one into the water. As I was in line, I could see people already in the bike course, and at least 1,000 people behind me. Finally jumped in the water at 9:17 am.
Swim: Not much to say here. Distance was only a mile with very strong currents. The buoys and the kayaks were drifting all over the place, the water smelled really bad, and it happened in the blink of an eye. I am a confident open water swimmer so I don't freak out with currents but some people were very stressed. I had to extend my arm to help a woman next to me to hold for a couple seconds. Swim time was 15 mins. Not sure this counts as a PR? 😂
T1: Out of the water into a very long transition. I jogged through it as planned an it felt long. Went into the tent and my aspirations of a super fast T1 time went down the drain. I had to layer up including a dry top, arm warmers, socks, shoes, rain jacket, head beanie, helmet, glasses, and winter gloves. As I left transition I stopped by the toilet, rushed in just to find a woman in there doing her thing. We both had a good laugh and she promised she would lock the door next time.
Bike: I knew I would not be able to do a bike split as planned or trained for. With wet conditions I had to be more careful. The bike course started really good despite the rain and cold, my layering system was working good. By mile 26 or so I had a flat (rear) so I stopped and began changing tubes. I usually can fix a flat in less than 5 mins on my road bike. Deep carbon wheels tend to be more tricky, plus the cold and the rain. It took me a good 15 minutes to replace the tube and when it was time to put air into it, the CO2 pump failed and only a small portion went in. The sad part of the story is that the day before at the expo I almost got a new pump but I didn't - Next time I will make sure the pump is working before the race. At this point I thought, that's it, I am calling this off. I have wasted another 10 minutes by now figuring out what was wrong with the pump. I never quit anything, I am stubborn as a mule, but today I didn't wanted to go through this nonsense no more. It seemed like everything was against us.
Then the biggest realization came to me, the "aha" moment. Why the hell do I do this for? What is my "WHY?" and it hit me like a sack of potatoes. I do this to show my daughter that you can do whatever you want as long as you put your mind and hard work into it. What kind of message would I be sending if I just quit because things go wrong or it gets tough . I need to show that kid that your true colors show through adversity, and with that in my mind I kept going. Next 10 miles were super slow since I had very little air on my rear wheel and it felt really unsafe as I gained any speed or hit any rough road. I was asking everyone if they had a pump or CO2. I stopped at every police/sheriff tent asking for air, but they didn't have none. The tents were packed with people suffering from hypothermia. Every single tent had a bunch of bikes parked next to them. After 10 miles a I found the same guy who had fixed the derailleur a couple days ago with an air pump. I only had 40 PSI on the tire. He pumped up and I could start going hard again. Then around mile 65 I lost my shifting. I though the repair couldn't hold the race and it was over. I had to stop again and try to see what was going on. After 5 minutes I saw the wire connecting to the rear derailleur loose. Reconnected and kept going. My average speed on the bike was 16.3 mph and the total time was 6:49:12. Not even close to what I wanted but considering all the stuff that happened I will take it. On a positive note I was able to pee on the bike for the first time and with the cold weather it felt amazing. I realized I just developed and unrivaled ability to urinate in public spaces while riding a bicycle. I don't want to over extend this report, but just want to let you know that my food strategy worked really good: Gel on the top of the hour, blocks on the 20's and 40's and a protein bar at hour 3 combined with two Gatorade bottles per hour.
Bike stats: NP 192 W (12 more than planned for), IF 0.73, TSS 352, AVG HR 139 (13 bpm higher than planned for).
T2: The walk from the dismount to the point where they take your bike was very long. Then another long walk into the tent. Dry socks, running gloves, hat, gels, calf sleeves, shoes and out. I kept the arm warmers. I walked my way out of T2 until it got flat. I though I flew by it so how in God's name that took 14 mins?
Run/Walk: I started the run feeling good. Smile on my face, heart rate matching my bike HR. Nice and steady was the mission here, during training I knew it wouldn't be fast but I could do this at a 12 minute mile avg. I started cramping really bad really soon. By mile 2, I was very stiff and my hamstrings were very tight. I had started a broth and pretzel strategy to put salt in the system and it worked. I was able to jog the first 10 miles. Since I was wearing my EN uniform, I was very recognizable and talked to a lot of team members, and that always helps. Some on their first loop and others on their second. Gel every 45 mins and walked every aid station. I had to pee like 10 times during the run. Never experienced this before, I had gone the dehydration route and I think i prefer this one. After mile 10 my legs shut down, I felt like mi hips were non responsive. Checked HR and it was good, checked attitude and it was great, but it seemed like I didn't had strength to catapult my self. No run, no problem, lets march until we finish. I started playing mental games of run walk, etc. I finished my first loop and Dave Marshall, @Trish Marshall husband was there, he give me a big hug and send me out on the second loop. He has no idea how grateful I am for that moment. Loop 2 was fun. I stopped by special needs to pick up a long sleeve since the temp continued to drop and the rain got stronger and as I started walking I could feel I was getting colder too. It was a mixed jog walk but always smiling. Volunteers were amazing. I knew I had like 5 hours left to finish so that took the edge off.
I had envisioned a completely different day. Trained properly and was ready to smash records. Was looking for a good bike followed by a decent run and it became a survival fight. As I had a lot of time to think during my second loop I realized that despite having a different outcome as expected, this race would be memorable. Dealing with all the shit in the world and still coming ahead is priceless. I was having fun, and I was setting a good example for my daughter. Its weird to say but I feel that I ended up accomplishing more of what I originally planned for, and going through the finish line felt amazing. Thanks @Jeff Horn for your cheering at the end. No regrets and a high sense of pride. We live to fight another day and we continue to learn. What's next you may ask? Texas in April where I will probably complain of the heat.
PD: As I crossed the finish line, my volunteer hugged me and took my finisher shirt ticket which said Men's large; she looked at me and said "Honey... you look more like an extra large to me" and she gave me an extra large 😂. Next stop: body composition.
PD 2: Big thanks to @David Glenn who played the Sherpa role and picked up the bikes at the end of the race. That's what you get for being so freaking fast.
Comments
@Jorge Duque Dave is so pumped he made the race report! He was very glad his cheering and hug made a difference in your day! He of course told me what you said about your hotel room race night. LOL! He really enjoyed meeting you at lunch!!!
I had no idea the crapola you dealt with on the day. You definitely surpassed your goals going in, if not your finish time.
It was a blast getting to meet you and Ferndale @David Glenn at lunch! I'm sure Texas will be awesome for you! But, ya know, maybe you two could make the trip and take another whack at IMKY too??? :D
Congrats on winning the battle on the bike an the hard earned finish. Enjoy some recovery and see you on Zwift!
Congrats @Jorge Duque on surviving and thriving on that challenging day! In don’t think I’ve seen that many mechanical issues on a IM bike, and thought how difficult a flat would be to deal with, and that most would either dropout or wait for bike support, and you dealt with it like a champ! Daughter should be proud (you should be too)! Thanks for the high fives on the run, good mojo!
@Jorge Duque
Most don't appreciate the physical/mental strength required to get through a long day like that in the cold, wet weather. Completely different kind of race with a whole set of unique challenges.
Great job hanging in there and getting it across the finish line bro!
Congratulations!
SS
@Jorge Duque - Your PS made me laugh. Its was just another kick for a day that kept kicking you. The "WHY" is what got you to the finish. It just keeps showing how important the mental game is. Thank you for the story.
@Jorge Duque it was great meeting you at Lou and racing with you. You faced a ton of adversity on that race. Way to shrug it off and keep plowing forward. So many opportunities to say F*** it and pull the plug but you got 'er done. Love your "why" and good time to dig deep and pull it out for the finish. Congrats on a very tough day my friend.
Wow, what a freaking hard, challenging, cold, wet day! I love your one thing and how you used that to stay in the race and adjust your attitude despite all your mechanical issues and then figuring out how to get the run done. A Big Congratulations on your finish!