IMCDA Race Report
Pre-race.
IMCdA was my second IM and first with EN. I got started with the program late and continued to train with heart rate and distance; I look forward to switching over to power and pace for future races. EN is by far the most professional training program that I have used; the attention to detail, available resources, and personal input from the coaches and other athletes will not be found elsewhere. It is a phenomenal product.
The coaches stress the use of checklists and I, as a pilot, agree. Starting weeks before traveling to Coeur d’Alene, I starting building my lists and checking off items. Race planning, the controllable and uncontrollable, can be relatively stress-free by using them; they provided a sense of preparation and ease. Lots of things are required to participate in an out-of-town race—the checklists help you remember all that is required.
The flight and travel to CDA on Thursday was very uneventful. We got into town in time to check into the hotel (the Hampton Inn CDA—I highly recommend this hotel) and drive down for the EN dinner at the Wine Cellar. Dinner was a well organized opportunity to meet some of the 24 EN athletes, eat, and then head back to the hotel—jet lag was catching up to us.
Friday morning, my son and I got up to join EN for an 8:30 planned swim at the lake; however, we realized we only had one set of goggles with us and the other was in my bag checked with TriBike Transport. Unfortunately, TriBike did not open until 9:00, so we had to wait to do our practice swim. The water was cold (high 50’s) but more tolerable than I expected. What I found was that a single swim cap would work, that ear plugs were a good idea, and Dramamine would keep the wave-induced nausea to a minimum. After the swim, I attended Rich’s Four Keys lecture which provided a concise review of the EN principles and an overview of race execution. When finished, I walked over to register for the event; by that time, the line had decreased in size and it took only a half an hour to register (another good tip from the coaches). That afternoon, I rode some of the hill portions of the bike course (thanks to a recommendation from Al Truscott). The hills were tougher than I had anticipated.
We got to the IM Welcome Dinner at 6:30 anticipating the talks to start at 7:30; to our surprise, the talks were already going on and every table was full. We ended up standing to eat our meals and watch the mandatory briefing. One of the good things that came out of the time there was the advice I received from Coach Rich; I told him about my practice ride of the hills that afternoon. He told me to change my cassette to at least 11-25 or higher. I was able to find a great bike shop that was open that night. John Kozak runs CycleMetrix from his house. I called (208-755-6324) and he said bring the bike over and he would fix it. He worked on my bike until 9:30 that night changing the cassette and making other adjustments. I cannot recommend this shop highly enough—excellent service and attention to detail. In fact, my girlfriend and son went back out to his house Sunday to watch the bike race with him and his family (as an aside, female pro Hillary Biscay was staying at their house will racing CDA).
Saturday, got in a short bike ride (to make sure everything worked properly) and a run. After breakfast, I checked in my bike and gear bags. Afterwards, we ate lunch at The Olive Garden and I ordered an extra meal for dinner. The rest of the afternoon, I rested and ate dinner early. I went to bed at 9:00, up at 12:30 to drink two bottles of Naked protein drink and back to bed. Up at 4:30, ate a light breakfast and dressed—again following the EN checklist.
Got to race site in plenty of time to get marked, put air in my bike tires, use the restroom before the line got crazy long, and relax before the start.
Swim. Goal: 1:10 Actual: 1:19
The swim starts with everyone standing on the beach, the canon goes off and everyone either runs, walks, or waits to hit the water. With 2300 athletes and a small beach on which to start, it is crowded. I badly miscalculated my starting position. I did not listen to the coaches’ advice (start in the middle to middle-right); instead, I seeded myself to the left and about two rows back. I based this on strong swims in past races and thought I could hold my own here. Wrong! I hit the water and took about three stokes until the masses overtook me and never let go. I thought at one point I was going to drown and never be seen again. I could not get a free-style stroke or good breath of air; there were so many bodies around me that at no point could I catch water but only solid objects. I started to panic about 400 meters into the swim after the second kick to the head and someone twisting my leg to the point I felt a pop in my knee. My right hamstring and calf tightened up and I thought my race was over. I bobbed for a few minutes in the middle of the mass (a scene I well never forget) and was shoved every which way; after what seemed like hours, I got my head back together. I thought about the “one thing” I was there for and started moving again. I moved with the crowd, slowed down for the waves, and at was blinded by the sun at the first left turn, but somehow finished the first loop. I did not, unfortunately, think about moving to inside the buoy line during that time to give myself more room (I could not move to the outside—too many people between me and that position). After the first loop, I felt mentally and physically exhausted. Once back at that beach, I decided to swim to the outside and was able to get into my groove of freestyle, counting strokes, and relaxing. I actually enjoyed the second lap and it went much better. My advice for the swim—listen to the coaches and start to the right side of middle and wait until the masses get out of your way.
T1 and T2. Goals: sub-10 mins. Actual: 8 and 7
Bike. Goal: 6:15 Actual: 6:48
The bike is hilly. I decided to ride it easy to save my legs for the run. I kept my heart rate in zone 2 the entire time, which lead to getting passed on every climb. But, I gained the loss back on the descents and flats most of the time. The wind on the ride into town picked up on the second loop, but was not unmanageable. I used two bottles of concentrated Infinit with protein during the first four hours (280 cals per hour) and one bottle of Infinite without protein for the remainder of the ride (I did this to prepare my stomach for the run—I had bad cramps on the run from the protein at IMAZ). I drank a bottle of water an hour and stopped for bathroom breaks three times and once to adjust my right armrest which had slipped during the first loop. As I mentioned earlier, Al had recommended riding part of the hills for recon—I thank him for that and pass it on to anyone racing CDA in the future; it is well worth your time and effort.
Run. Goal: sub-5 hours Actual: 5:05
I am not a fast long distance runner, although my VDot tells me I can do much better. I wanted to run at a steady pace the entire course—it didn’t happen this time, but I came close. I got off the bike feeling pretty good, but the pop I heard from my knee during the swim started to make itself known. There was a slight pain but nothing with which I could not deal. I kept moving and paced myself with a heart rate in high zone 1 for the first half of the race and let it drift into zone 2 for the remainder. I made the mistake of walking sooner and longer before I got to mile 18—in hindsight, I know I could have kept the run-between-aid-stations-and-walk-during-them pace up until at least mile 18, but I got lazy and it just felt good. I did not find the course particularly hilly except the two climbs that are advertised—and they are short. I was extremely happy that I did not have stomach issues that forced me to walk; I kept my nutrition simple by using water with Nuun, Cliff Shots, and later on, Coke. I think I am narrowing in on the run nutrition and not taking in more than I actually need (I believe you could gain weight from grazing at the aid stations if you let yourself). What I learned—pace is so important for the entire run. Don’t let your mind take over and make it too easy.
Overall. Goal: sub 13:10 Actual: 13:29
What a great race venue and support from EN. The swim start was crazy, but I learned a lot from it; the bike was hilly, so I will prepare for them in the future; and, the run is a marathon at the end of an Ironman—‘nuff said but I will improve on it. While at dinner and talking to Al Truscott (yep, him again, but what a resource), I told him I thought triathlons were a runner’s game. He gingerly corrected me and stated: “No, it is a triathlete’s race.” You have to be smart and well prepared in all areas, not just one. All around race execution is so important and that is the beauty of what Endurance Nation preaches.
0
Comments
Glenn - Glad to hear from you, with your analytic pilot's summary. The funny thing about the CDA swim start is that a gazillion (this word is actually in this forum's spell checker!) people line up as far to the right as they can (away from the buoy line), and about a third of a gazillion line up right on the left hand side, along the buoys. About a third of the way to the right - no one! Starting there, I avoid the mass mauling all the way until the first turn buoy.
Given your overseas travel schedule, the potential for disruption to a steady training program seems inescapable. We've all got busy lives, and I bet others here could benefit from strategies you found in getting the work done while being out of town half the time. I guess you can't bring a trainer or treadmill into a 777, or large Airbus?
It is very difficult to keep a steady training program going on the road-especially the bike portion. Not only is the location a factor, but I constantly have to deal with jet-lag (it is a balancing act).
Stationary bikes in ill-kept hotel gyms are not the ideal training equipment. Occasionally I will find a health club that has spin bikes that I can ride- but spending more than an hour-an-a-half on them is painful. So, I try to adjust my schedule to get in the long rides on my days off and do the runs (short ones) and swims on the road. For example, today I am flying to Moscow Russia. We will get to the hotel at about 4 a.m. equivalent time on the east coast. After a three hour nap, I would normally get up, eat something for breakfast (it is lunch time or later in most European countries by then), and run in the gym on a treadmill or outside park (if one is close by--not always available in most big cities) or find a pool in which to swim. Back to the room for a shower, meet the crew for dinner, then bed. Our usual wake up call happens around 7 local time (midnight back home), and then we fly home. Those three days flip my world pretty well.
Back home, I try to get into the routine as quickly as possible. Paying attention to healthy nutrition and rest. With a small law practice and other commitments, I really have to focus on scheduling. So, doing the ironman was a big feat for me; I like the EN way since it offers efficiencies not found with other trainers. I look forward to using them as soon as I recover from IMCDA!
Al - I hope not to have a repeat swim experience at IMAZ. I've seen some online posts that recommend starting near the center of the 'lake' to avoid being pushed into or near the canal wall as the lake bends to the right. I would be very interested in your recommendation to avoid having to fight for my life.
Hey Glenn,
Great race report and thanks for the props! I'll be sure to put together an EN dinner, etc the next time in Atlanta.
@ Paul - Maybe it's a timing issue. I'm swimming near the front of the MOP scrum @ 68-9 minutes there. But my two years, I had no issues either time. First time, I was about 1/2 way between buoys and the wall, and gradually neared the buoys just by swimming a straight line - the "lake" has a right hand bend in it. The second time, I started near (not at) the wall, and again just drifted towards the left/buoys.
To me, a key thing is not to get locked in to a specific start spot in my mind. Rather I walk around (CDA) or drift around (deep water start like AZ) until I find the least dense mass of people about 2-3 lines back from the front (i.e., I want to have about two "rows" worth of people in front of me, as I am swimming @ the 80th percentile, or 20% of the swimmers will finish in front of me.) If masses of people invade my area before the start, I don't get territorial about it, I just wander around a bit and find a better spot. A good way to start looking is on the way in from a warm up, looking into the group of people who are NOT warming up, just standing or floating in one spot, and see what looks good from that perspective.
Yes, Jim Kozak at CycleMetrix is a great guy! He seems to be a pretty well-respected bike fitter and mechanic among many pros that have raced CDA (as well as EN's own Al Olsen!), based on the testimonials on his website (http://cyclemetrix.com/about.htm). I wanted to pick up my Hammer nutrition products out there rather than travel with them, so Jim was kind enough to order some items and hold them for me to pick up a few days before the race. My training partner and friend who traveled with me to CdA is also a bike fitter interested in opening a fit studio, so it was great for him to meet Jim and talk about his business. I highly recommend anyone out in CDA to stop by and check out Jim's shop. It's right along the bike course, on the way out to Hayden.