Jeff Phillips 2019 IMAZ Race Report
Thanks in advance for reading and for any reactions and impressions you may have.
Overall
Time: 11:07:08 via IM Tracker (OMG, 4 minutes from YOLO), 11:06:36 via my Garmin. Guess which time I tell people 😊
Overall Place: 42/ 368 age group (45-49); 244/1,696 gender; 296/2332 overall
This is my second Ironman (first was Madison in 2017) and first long course race with Endurance Nation. I felt very fortunate to get to meet and hang out with many ENrs over the course of the week, I can’t thank you all enough for the good conversation, course insights, and loads of humor: @Coach Patrick , @Gary Lewis , @Al Truscott ,@tim cronk ,@Sid Wavrin ,@Brian Gaffin ,@Satish Punna @Robin Rodriguez @Ken Mclaughlin @Rich Stanbaugh @Nam Lam @DAVID RICHMOND Anyone reading this who hasn’t gone to a key race or a race with a large number of teammates should definitely consider doing so. It was awesome.
Post-Race Perspectives: I am very happy with my time as my non-stated goal was 11 hr 15 min, which also netted me a PR (75 min better than IMWI). I got stronger in my age group throughout the day which shows I did execute a good race. But there are many “process” points that have been nagging at me over the last week post-race: 1) I easily left ~15-20 min on the race course (or more?) as I couldn’t execute at points as I planned or hoped; 2) I can’t say I ever felt good or necessarily excited to race at any point during the day, which is the first time that has ever happened to me. What impact did that have?; 3) Ironic to ask, but could I have suffered more? I was certainly uncomfortable, but was there space to go harder those last 6-8 miles? I think the answer is definitely “yes”.
I’ve been pondering these as the process is more important to me at this stage in my IM career than a particular time goal, given I’m not near KQ territory. All that said, I’m happy with the knowledge that I can stick to it and grind out a pretty good result (for me) when I just felt off on the day. I even had the extra burden of having race #1111 YOLO
Pre-Race
I arrived Wednesday afternoon, checked into the Tempe Mission Palms, and went for a quick 30 min shake-out run in the rain. I got oriented to where the IM Village would be, got my first views of the run course, and the brown puddle called Tempe Town Lake. Hit Whole Foods that night to get snacks for the week as well as race morning. Finally, got race bags organized.
Thursday IM check-in as soon as registration opened and then met Gary and Satish for lunch. It was great to get to know those two and learn about their previous IM experiences. After lunch Gary checked into the race and I picked my bike up from TBT (I noticed they scratched and gouged the drive-side crank arm on my Quarq). Gary was then gracious enough to drove the bike course to give me a view of the streets and turns in town and then the slight elevation changes out on the Beeline Hwy. Capped that off with a drive up Curry Rd to see the one “hill” on the run course (and validated what Al told me, “That hill is not long enough nor steep enough to walk”). Thursday night dinner with Satish, Robin, Sid and his wife Kelly, Al, Brian, and Ken.
I had a 30 min jog Friday morning in the dark, followed by a quick meet-up with Coach P and Rich at Starbucks. It was great to meet Coach and get some quick insights for race day. Easy 30 min swim at an outdoor pool Satish recommended followed by a fast few miles on my bike to check the gears and verify everything was smooth. I spent the rest of the day in my room adding value for my real job until my family got in the afternoon. Great team dinner Friday night and awesome to meet a lot of people on the team.
Saturday morning my kids did the Ironkids race and I’ve got a great video of my son electing to not return a turkey-costume clad Mike Reilly’s high-five at the finish line. I asked him about it, “I had to beat Samantha (his sister), and that might’ve slowed me down”. Bike and bag drop off took longer than expected due to the line, but on the plus side I got to see a few of the ENrs who were racked beside me. Spent the rest of the day watching football, reading my race report, reviewing transition pics. Bed around 9 pm.
Race Morning
I didn’t sleep well at all Saturday night and not because of the ASU post-football game after party. I wasn’t especially nervous about the race as I was confident in my race plan, I just couldn’t sleep. I slept from around 11 pm to 1:30 and rather than toss and turn, I got up at 1:45 and read. Ate two pieces of Ezekiel toast with almond butter, Naked juice smoothie, and a banana. Two cups of coffee got the system going and I could feel the caffeine since it’d been 3 weeks since I’d had any coffee at all. I sipped on Nuun throughout the morning. Chamois cream and Glide everywhere, HR strap and kit on, I left for transition around 4:45 am and got there when it opened. Pumped tires, check gearing and brakes, and loaded bike with nutrition. I put some finishing touches on my T1 and T2 bags and double checked T1 in/ out and T2 in/ out. Even though I got there early, I felt rushed as I wanted to make sure I got to the swim start early enough to avoid long lines to get to my starting corral. Talked with my friends and brother-in-law for a while, then lined up at the front of the 1:10-1:20 group right beside Brian and Ken. When the pro women went off, I thought, “It seems really dark outside and I don’t even have my dark tinted goggles on yet”. Some deep breaths, one last pee in the wetsuit, a couple good lucks to Brian and Ken, high-five to Mike Reilly at the start, and the day began!
Swim aka “UFC while swimming in the dark”
Goal time: 1:10 - 1:15
Actual 1:21:19, 147th age group
Gear: EN Castelli sleeved tri suit, Roka Maverick X full-sleeve wetsuit, Roka R1 Dark Grey Mirror goggle, extra swim cap
I wasn’t expecting a great swim, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this slow. I had some very good swim workouts the 5-6 weeks leading into the event and was hopeful they would translate… it was not to be. My Garmin 935 had the swim at 4,298 yds, which is in line with sentiment I heard of the course being long by ~300-400 yards. Upon entering the water I didn’t find it especially cold and after a few Tarzan-style strokes I got in a rhythm. I made the two 90-degree right-hand turns and then realized I could hardly see anything due to my dark goggles and the dark sky. Given the layout of the course I knew I could never get too far off course, so I continued to swim towards the gorgeous sunrise and soon found myself just on the inside of the buoy line. I was happy with this position but early on my arms felt heavy. I kept at it and soon my watched buzzed meaning I’d gone 1,000 yards and I seemed to be loosening up a bit. I focused on exhaling underwater, rotating my body, and touching my thumb to my thigh to help drive a full stroke. I had very little contact on the “out” part of the swim course, but that changed at the turn. I got kicked in the face as hard as I’ve ever been by a breaststroker at the turn buoy. Luckily it was to my right goggle and not my nose or mouth, but I saw stars for some strokes after that. The water seemed choppier on the return leg and the contact was consistent. I never seemed to be able to find clean water. Annoyingly, for the last 2,000 yds of the swim I had somebody behind me grabbing my left heel with every one of their strokes. This wasn’t a “tickle your toes” type of tap, this was hand on my left heel pulling my foot down. I tried everything – kicked harder to let them know I was there, swam faster, changed my swim course, etc. – none of it worked. I must create a good draft because this person was locked on me for a solid mile. For a second, I thought it could’ve been my timing chip coming undone, but I had safety pinned that on and put it under my wetsuit. This really started to irritate me and took me out of my game mentally. Random contact is one thing, consistent contact every stroke is another. Kicking harder than normal made my left hamstring feel like it might cramp at any moment too. During all of this I was able to burp a couple times during the swim which was a relief as I normally have a tight stomach after long swims from ingesting too much air. My watch buzzed a third time at 3,000 yds I realized I was very tired. I could tell my form was falling apart and I had no snap in my stroke – people would pass me, and I couldn’t stay on their feet. I doubled-down on the body awareness goals, breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the last turn buoy and fought through the crowds to swim exit.
Swim Takeaways: 1) I need more outside, wetsuit swimming in 2020. I will look to translate the swim workouts in the open water and just practice, practice, practice outside; 2) Contemplating swimming once a week with my local Masters group in the Out Season; 3) Be more vigilant using swim bands during Out Season
T1: 11:43
Cycled Garmin and quickly shrugged off swim time. Found wetsuit stripper and started 0.4-mile jog back to T1 area. I rubbed as much water off me as I could on the run and didn’t feel the cold really at all. Got my bag, found a chair outside of tent and dumped out contents. Quickly dried off, reapplied chamois cream, gobs of Vaseline on toes, vest on, sock arm warmers on, gloves on, took 3 tums proactively. Stopped to pee in the port a potty, grabbed helmet and jogged to bike. I expected a long T1 given the distance and the extra gear and am not surprised with the time.
Bike aka “Tour de Porta Potty”
Goal time: 5 hr 30 min, even though Best Bike Split had 5:15 at goal power (170 watts)
Actual 5:37:04, 75th age group
Gear: 2017 Cervelo P5, Enve 7.8 wheels, Dura-Ace 9000 group set, GP 5000s tires front and rear, latex tubes, XLab BTA, single bottle behind saddle, aero bottle on downtube for gel mixture, Giro Aerohead MIPS helmet
I stopped to pee 5x on this ride. 😪 Twice on the first and second loops and once on the third. The first time was planned, the other four I just couldn’t get it done in the saddle. Believe me I tried and tried and tried. I wouldn’t say I’m proficient with this skill, but on race day, this was a big miss. I could have easily titled this section, “Where did the watts go?” as I never could push the watts I wanted. I finished with 157 watts NP (vs goal of 170), 0.64 IF (vs goal of .69) and 230 TSS. Lower than planned and lower than what I had rehearsed. I could hit the target watts on parts of the Beeline climb, but had trouble hitting those numbers on the flat admin sections in and out of Tempe. Lastly, I could have also titled this section, “Where are the gears?” I ran a 50-34 chain ring up front and 11-28 cassette on the back and spun out on every descent at 35-37 mph. I had debated a 52-36 up front and likely should have done that.
Started out on the bike and saw my family right at the turn on to Rio Salado Pkwy. Stayed intently focused on the riders near me as I navigated my way onto and around McClintock Dr, McKellips Rd, Alma School Rd, McDowell Rd and finally the Beeline Hwy. I felt cool, not cold, and questioned whether I needed the vest I put on. I took my first drink of EFS Pro about 10 min into the ride and then started my nutrition plan – EFS Pro as liquid nutrition for the first hour, then GE, every 10 min; EFS Liquid Shot at the 30 min point; 100 cal Clif Bar at the hour; water as needed to rinse mouth. I started having sharp pains in my stomach in town which I have experienced after long swims. I continued with nutrition and monitored if any aspect of my plan made my stomach worse (it didn’t) or better (it didn’t). I hit the Beeline and felt what seemed to me a pretty good headwind. I’d heard the course gets windier throughout the day, so I wondered what laps 2 and 3 might bring, but quickly got that out of my mind and focused on Lap 1. My plan was to ride ~160-168 watts to the top of the Beeline with an expected HR of 115-120 bpm. I saw my HR steadily rise into the low 130s on my way up the Beeline, which is my go-all-day HR zone. I got there earlier than planned, kept my effort steady, and wasn’t going to let off the gas unless my HR climbed to my cap of 138 bpm.
I found Lap 1 to be very crowded and impossible to avoid packs of riders. I could only go so far on the left edge without risking running into oncoming riders. (I got to see all the female pros zip by on their descent of the Beeline which was cool). A rider would pass me, get in front of me, then moderate their effort so I had to re-pass them. This was continuous to the turnaround. Near the top of the climb I was getting warm and had to pee and wanted to shed some layers. I tried to remove my vest on the move but my left arm got caught up, so I stopped at the bathroom, handed off my bike, vest off, arm warmers off, gloves off, quick pee, back on the bike. I loved the descent into town and near the admin section into town (near McDowell Rd) I had to pee again. I tried to pee for a few minutes, couldn’t and elected to stop. Made the call to adjust my nutrition to more solids at that point and focused on gels and Clif bars. I think it was McKellips Rd on the way in where the pavement seemed like quicksand, or was that just me?
I saw my family at the turnaround in Tempe and their joy and excitement was great. Lap 2 I attempted to push the watts in town and up the climb to 170 watts. HR was staying bang on in the low 130s bpm, occasionally I saw 136 or 137. RPE was good and I had no trouble staying in my aero position. The ride felt like a training ride I wasn’t working hard at all, but as I wrote at the start, mentally I wasn’t there. I saw Brian and Sid a few times on Lap 2 as I’d pass them, pee, they’d pass me, then I’d pass back. It was good to see the EN kit out there and share a quick word of encouragement. I saw Al descending on the Beeline and he was locked into position. My stomach pains subsided around mile 50 and I just kept plugging away.
Surprisingly large number of people sitting up on Lap 3 but I had clean roads on the climb. One dude sat on my wheel the whole way up the Beeline only to pass at the start of the downhill. I started to do some Ironman mental math and realized I probably didn’t have a 5 hr 30 min split, but I could get under 5 hr 45 min if I kept on the accelerator. I tried to keep the power on, passed a lot of people on the descent , ate my last mini Clif bar around 10 miles from downtown, and rolled into T2.
Nutrition on bike:
- 24 oz bottle EFS Pro = 240 calories, 60 g carbs, 2,800 mg sodium
- 5 mini Clif bars = 500 calories, 90 g carbs, 300 mg sodium
- 3 flasks EFS Liquid Shot = 1,200 calories, 300 g carbs, 1,200 mg sodium (one more flask than plan)
- 3.5 GE = 630 calories, 154 g carbs, 2,100 mg sodium (1.5-2 less bottles than plan)
- <1 water bottle
- Total: 2,300 calories, 538 g carbs, 5,500 mg sodium (418 calories, 98 g carbs, 1,000 mg sodium per hour)
Bike stat breakdown:
Bike Takeaways: 1) Learn to pee on the bike. I already have speedplay cleats on an old pair of biking shoes and they are just waiting to get peed in once spring is here; 2) I’m doing the JOS this year on my road bike in an attempt to drive up my absolute watts. I recognize the positional differences between my road and tri bike, but perhaps gains over the 14 weeks will translate into my TT bike; 3) Ride more outside to practice actually generating race watts vs. Erg mode; 4) hard look at bike nutrition, although I think the problem is due to the swim.
T2: 3:27
Cycled Garmin and started to run to the bags. Volunteer already had my bag, so I grabbed it on the run and sat down in chairs outside tent. Helmet off, shoes off, socks on, shoes on. Quick spray sunscreen application to legs, forearms, back of neck. An overzealous volunteer tried to put my race number belt on me as I was doing these other activities and ripped through one of the race # holes –it was hanging by just one loop. A buddy who came to see me race was on the other side of the fence and ran up after I had been struggling with trying to tear a new hole in the paper for ~30 sec. Luckily, he had a pocket knife with him, I cut a new hole, attached my # and was off. Go bag had visor, sunglasses, hand-held water bottle, Clif block sleeves, Base salt, and banana.
Run aka “Et tu, Brute?”
Goal time: Under 4 hours, stretch goal of 3:45
Actual 3:53:37, 22nd age group. Negative split by ~2 min 30 sec
Gear: Nike Next % shoes, socks, visor, sunglasses
I saw my family and friends right out of T2 and their energy was infectious. The banana was cooked from the sun and unappetizing, I dumped that and started with two Clif blocks (one cherry caffeine and one margarita sodium) and a shot of water. I settled into my Zone 1 plus 30+ pace of 9:25-9:35 per mile and worked to keep my HR to 135 bpm. As usual it took a ½ mile to settle into that pace. I was excited for this run given I had ridden the bike more conservatively than I planned. Right away I had a sharp pain in my stomach like I was being stabbed (hence the Caesar reference above) – it didn’t feel like any cramp I’ve had running, yet the pain was sharp and intense. I was annoyed at the thought of working through a 26-mile run with stomach cramps and wondering what, if anything, from my bike nutrition was wrecking my system. I saw Heather Jackson and got passed by Meredith Kessler and was in awe at how smooth they were on their second laps. Coach P gave me a shout-out when I was around mile 3.5 and he was at the start of his second lap. My body settled into 9:15 pace for those first 6 miles at a 133 avg HR. I stopped at a port potty around mile 9 to pee, hoping that would relieve some stomach pressure (it didn’t).
I walked every other aid station when I needed to take in GE. The other aid stations I would take two Clif blocks before it started, drink some water, dump water on my head, grab some GE and get in what I could, and grab some ice for my water bottle, all on the run. After Mile 8 I started to walk ~20 steps every aid station, getting some GE in, and refilling my hand-held bottle. I had a friend tell me around mile 10 that a sub-11 hour day was possible. That lit my fuse, but I couldn’t translate that to speed. Miles 6-13 were at a 9:05 pace (HR 135).
I tried Base salt at mile 6 hoping additional sodium would lessen the sharp stomach pain. I think it helped a little, but I was nervous about over salting so only took “a lick” every ~4-5 miles. I stopped eating Clif blocks early in the 2nd loop and just stuck to GE for calories and water to cleanse my mouth. At times I would just hold the GE in my mouth for ~15 seconds or so and spit it out, but that didn’t seem to help my stomach either. I saw Robin around my mile 6, his 10.5-11 and he looked to be having a great run.
Lap 2 was in a word, a grind. I wasn’t excited to be racing, the energy from the crowds and my family and friends were neither positive nor negative. I was singularly focused on trying to drive my pace to TRP (8:15-8:25 per mile), controlling my HR, and just moving forward. As I mentioned at the start of this lengthy report, this is where I am disappointed in myself. I believe I had the running legs, yet Miles 13-19 were at a 9:02 pace (HR 133). Great from a consistency standpoint, but when I tried to hit the accelerator it was simply stuck in one gear. My HR would say I had more beats to give on the day as I expected to have it be in the mid- to high-140s towards the back half of the run. It wasn’t to be. I think this is where I need to be comfortable being more uncomfortable in the IM marathon.
I hit a dark spot from Mile 19-23 when my friends told me sub-11 was out the window and mentally I gave up. Pace for those miles was 9:52 and HR was 129. Here is an easy ~4 min that I just gave to the IM gods. Had I kept on the gas, that sub 11 might have happened. I saw Dave Richmond and Tim Cronk after mile 20. Dave was having a tough day but passed on nice words of encouragement and Tim looked to be in the zone.
At the aid station at the bottom of Curry Rd (which I ran both times by the way) I saw my family, got a boost, and tried to quickly run in the last 3 miles. Miles 23-26 were at an 8:49 pace with HR at 133. It hit me as I was running those last 3 miles that this was the feeling I should’ve had for the previous 5-8 miles. I was working, it felt like work, and while I wasn’t hitting TRP I was going faster than my low 9 min miles.
I was hoping to beat the sun, it wasn’t to be, but the sunset was just as gorgeous as the sunrise. I got fooled by the lights at the Mile 25 aid station, I thought for sure those were for the finish line, but nope! I saw Stephanie and am not sure if the encouragement I mumbled was audible or not 😊
I made the turn, saw the lights, double checked and saw that I had the finish chute to myself. Quick wave to my family (no stopping, I wanted to be done), heard Mike Reilly call name, gave a meager smile and a few fist pumps to Mr. Reilly, and crossed the line.
I negative split the marathon by 2 min 36 and I’ve learned from this team, anytime you can do that, it’s a great IM run.
Run Takeaways: 1) Be willing to suffer more, deep into the marathon; 2) I’m doing a run focused OS and a run focused HIM plan next year, I’m excited to see what results those plans yield.
Post-Race aka “The Shakes”
I saw Tim Cronk at the back of the finish area and shared some congratulations with him. It was great to get initial feedback from someone with as much experience as he’s got. I saw Coach P and Rich Stanbaugh near the food tent and I learned Rich had a killer race. Coach P was gracious enough to grab me some food and a chair and I gave him a quick recap of the day. He left to take Rich to the massage tent and that’s when I realized I needed to hit the med tent. My world was closing in on me, my body felt like it was buzzing, so I stumbled there, which is my first time ever in a race. The med students were amazing – took my vitals, gave me an anti-nausea pill, gave me a couple cups of chicken broth and some chips. Towards the end of my 30 min stay my whole body started to convulse, most noticeable in my hands – assuming this was from electrolyte loss and dehydration. I was in the tent for about 30 min and walked out, much to the relief of my mother.
I came back to the finish line after changing clothes and was able to see Al finish and catch up with him immediately post-race. What a legend. I also saw Gary right after his finish and was able to learn about his day. I missed the post-race team festivities as I had some catching up to do with my little kids who wanted to hear my stories from the day and tell me all the crazy things they saw during the race. Beers with everybody would’ve been great, but this was the perfect way for me to end my day.
Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far and any perspectives and insights you have are appreciated!
Comments
Great RR @Jeff Phillips . A great window into your day. You really had a good day ending with a negative split marathon. I really feel like your run will become a weapon. You looked really comfortable. That is huge. Demonstrates that you managed whatever challenges the day presented. The peeing is a problem! That is bunch of time back and is pretty easy to fix. I have a very similar experience to what you described at every IM finish. Nausea, shaking and that odd buzzing inside the body. What is that?! Unnerving. This time I sat outside the medical tent vowing not to go in, freezing and holding a puke bag. Smart. I really think you have a bunch of time to gain here by just managing a couple of simple things. Couple that with the fact that you will for sure simply ride and run faster, I would expect to see even faster IM times from you soon. Your training swims would indicate that there is time to be had in the water also as you get more comfortable the IM swim. Congratulations on great race. It was really nice to meet you and big boost seeing you on the course. I hope we get race together again soon. I would expect you will way out front!
great run and overall day! especially considering the gut/stomach issues. (can it be from the cold water/air on your belly?)
Yes: learn to pee on the bike AND run... that's 10 minutes there... if u consider how hard u need to work on the bike and run to gain 10'...
glad i've shared the day with u
keep us posted if u find out what triggered the convulsions
I'll see u in JOS
@Jeff Phillips - Congratulations! Was really nice meeting and racing with you.
My 2¢... you need to push yourself to get stronger on the bike this offseason! Based on your bike numbers, you think your FTP is around 240w-245w? I'm not sure how much you weigh, but that seems pretty low to me based on physically seeing you and how well you ran. There are big gains to be had on the bike that will drive big gains running - seems like low-hangin fruit to me. Good luck!
@Jeff Phillips Great to meet and race with you. 11hr IM on your second go. Can't learn it all on the 1st or 2nd attempt, gotta leave something for the future, or what fun would it be, the puzzle is alive and well. Very well done, bask in the impressive success. Congrats!
"1) I easily left ~15-20 min on the race course (or more?) as I couldn’t execute at points as I planned or hoped; 2) I can’t say I ever felt good or necessarily excited to race at any point during the day, which is the first time that has ever happened to me. What impact did that have?; 3) Ironic to ask, but could I have suffered more? I was certainly uncomfortable, but was there space to go harder those last 6-8 miles? I think the answer is definitely “yes”. "
I'm gonna venture a NO. Go back to that point after the race when your world was closing in, or better yet, when your body was convulsing and ask your self. Could I have gone harder ? On the other hand many view the negative split marathon as some magical accomplishment, to me it only indicates the possibility of leaving a little on the table. But I really think the med tent experience pretty much answers that question.
"I needed to hit the med tent. My world was closing in on me, my body felt like it was buzzing, so I stumbled there, which is my first time ever in a race. The med students were amazing – took my vitals, gave me an anti-nausea pill, gave me a couple cups of chicken broth and some chips. Towards the end of my 30 min stay my whole body started to convulse, most noticeable in my hands – assuming this was from electrolyte loss and dehydration. I was in the tent for about 30 min "
As long as you were drinking GE on the run , its hard to imagine you were electrolyte depleted, however that hand issue sure indicates that it was. Maybe potassium vs. just sodium?
11:07 for your second Ironman with a sub 4:00 marathon!
@Jeff Phillips - I trained with you virtually and saw you meticulously follow the plan and put in the time but, to arrive in AZ and apply that fitness engine so successfully they way you did on your second pass at this game is quite amazing!
You have more bandwidth yet to explore and you will go sub 11:00:00 at some point down this road.
Was a great pleasure watching you get it done this cycle!
Congratulations Ironman!
@Jeff Phillips What a great report; I'm sure you learned a lot (whether you realise it yet or not) from just systematically reviewing your day, and translating it for an audience.
No question, if you (a) had a PR, (b) went sub 4 hrs on the run with a (c) negative split, you had a successful race and should feel proud of your performance. Having done that, of course you want to get better. Good!
And your race...I don't see that you put a foot wrong, given the fitness and speed you currently have. If you want to look at small changes to execution, the run could stand to be a little steadier. Aiming for 9:15-9:10 for all the miles would probably not have got you there any faster, but it might have made you feel more like you were working at the proper effort level thruout. I know EN guidance is to "give us 30 seconds a mile for the first hour/6 miles, then pick up the pace, and start to race at mile 18". But I think the athletes who are trying to find their peak performance on our team usually start off with and hold a steady pace throat. What changes during the course of the run is both the HR and the RPE. They both can be allowed to slowly rise through out the 4 hours if you have sufficient fitness from following the training plan, and have exercised prudence and steadiness on the bike. After mile 16-20 (~mile 18), "90% of the game is half mental" as you are learning. You found you were able to run hard after going at it for 10+ hours - your sub 9 miles @ the end. Take that lesson home with you, and apply is when things start to get dark there somewhere between 16&19. But you've got to have a really good reason to up the effort level at that time. It will be different for each person for each race, but without that internal motivator, it is just so easy to mail it on in at that point.
I agree with everyone above, having seen you in person, learned about your motivation and consistency while training, and seen the results in this race, that you are nowhere near your upside in this distance. IMO, except for the very exceptional athlete, it takes at least 3 years, and maybe 5-6, to get all the little pieces right and find your upside. After that, there are still small gains to be made.
So where should you look first? Take your pick. The biggest bang/buck time-wise would be to find that 10-15% boost to your FTP in each of the next two off-seasons. But you can;t go wrong trying to improve your run either. In either case (or in both, in you attack them simultaneously), the key is to try to get really fast over shorter distances. Personally, I'm a big believer in frequent racing at shorter distances for at least six months of the year, such as Zwift for biking, 5-10Ks for running, and sprint and Olympic distance for triathlon. Other people like a methodical approach, setting training targets and goals and working at them progressively for months at a time. I think racing gives us a mental strength and confidence to a greater degree than simply hitting training targets. In either case, learning how to push and break out of the envelope is a key element for racing success.
If you're working on run improvement, here's a challenge to consider overt the next couple of years: try to make the Century Club. A little thing I made up, trying to have your VDOT + your age = or greater than 100. So, a 50 year old would have to do a 5K in 20'; faster if younger. You are about at the age where that goal is conceivable.
The other stretch target is getting your w/kg up to 4.0. Again, a multi-year project, setting 10% targets each year.
As for swimming, buy some clear lensed goggles! Most triathlon swim legs occur very early; IMs often take off before sunrise. Here's what I use: https://www.tyr.com/shop/special-ops-2-0-transition-goggles.html these darken in the sun, but remain clear in early morning light.
Learning how to pee on the bike? Try biking in the rain...
@Jeff Phillips , there is not much to add, simply congratulations on a great race and great season. You broke 5 hours on your SuperiorMan Half IM earlier in the season and getting close to 11 hours with a sub 4h marathon is really impressive. And that is IM # 2 only...lots of potential ahead
I've also trained virtually with you and saw that you're also a great swimmer, more than your IMAZ time would indicate. You were swimming 1m:30 pace per 100 meters on your OWS, I'm sure that there is also some minutes that you would gain should you be able to repeat this pace in a race.
As for peeing on the bike, it's a great skill to learn... as one of the benefit is that it discourages people to draft off you...
@Sid Wavrin Thank you. Good luck in your build to IMSG. I look forward to following your training.
@DAVID RICHMOND These gut issues were present in my first IM, but they were more performance debilitating in that race. So definite progress has been made. Something happens between the HIM and IM distance as this plan worked great for my 70.3 this past August. I think it's tied to swimming and not fully exhaling and swallowing more air when I'm fatigued. Good thing is, if this is the issue, I know what it takes to solve it.
@Rich Stanbaugh Agreed, building bike strength this OS will be a focus.
@tim cronk Interesting idea to to look at the race from the perspective of me in the med tent. At that point, the answer is as you suggest, a resounding no. The inability to increase HR on the back-half of the run bothers me a bit, but as you suggest, I left it all on the course.
@Shaughn Simmons Thank you. Congratulations as well on another IM finish at COZ.
@Al Truscott Thank you, I appreciate your comments. I like your idea of not running as slowly at the start and it's a tactic I want to take into some 1/2 marathons and my 70.3 next year to see how it plays out. I'm in the run-focused OS and run-focused HIM plans next year, but as you and Rich suggest, there is opportunity there to drive my FTP up; 4.0 w/kg is a good, long-term target. To that end, I'm doing the OS on my road bike this year in the hopes of driving up overall bike fitness and then seeing how much of that translates to my TT bike. I'm with you as well on doing shorter races throughout the year. Since 2020 will be a non-140.6 year, i'll do some local sprints and Olympics in prep for TC 70.3. Lastly, I'd never heard of the Century Club, that is a great goal. I'm "92" now (47 vDOT) and really like the idea of working towards this.
nice to be out there with you. sorry i couldn't stay to mix it up.
sorry you got beat up on the swim.
pretty much all the improvement work is mentioned above.
i find floaty shorts in the pool are great for approximating wetsuit use.
i agree that running a negative split means you left something on the table. not something to strive for in an ironman. but in your case on this day, sounds like you did more than enough.
one can go crazy chasing the KQ. but you are probably closer than you think. you have many minutes to take from each leg, and this is very doable.
until the next.
Wow. Awesome race @Jeff Phillips ! A sub 4 and negative split marathon is unheard of. Great report and race
Congratulations @Jeff Phillips ! Well executed race, especially the negative split sub 4 hr run. It's common to question whether you could have gone harder/faster until that race when you actually go too hard and struggle to the finish line. In other words, you never know your limits until you exceed them. Finding that line is part of the IM puzzle. Though your bike power was lower than expected, was your HR also lower or in the range you expected, same question for your RPE? If HR and RPE was in normal range for race pace, it's possible your PM was reading low or not calibrated (temperature affects PM calibration). Good decision not to force your goal watts.
Great race!
Thanks @Tim Sullivan
Thanks @Derrek Sanks . MY HR on the bike was in the range I expected it to be in, although it got there a little quicker than expected. RPE was in-line too. I chalk it up to one of those days where the bike just was off, but that probably helped me on the run. Thanks for reading the report.
@Jeff Phillips Hi Jeff, Just read your race report. Looks like AZ is going to go in 2020. HIM is next week so we will see how that goes.
Since its been almost a year, do you think you would have changed anything on your bike nutrition? I am struggling at dialing in my nutrition, especially salt intake and wanted to see if you had any thoughts or ideas about how to dial that in?
Thanks
Hi @Joe Gretsch , thanks for reaching out. If I had to do an IM today I'd probably go with the same nutrition plan for the bike that I used for AZ, but that's only because I haven't tested anything different yet. I really like EFS Pro given the amount of sodium and other electrolytes it's got. I've taken extra salt pills on the bike in the past and it's just one more thing to have to worry about.
This plan works very well for me with HIMs and I still contend that swimming and swallowing air when I get tired (I tend to stop exhaling underwater) is the cause for my stomach issues on the bike. If IMMT 2021 occurs, I will do more swim-to-bike bricks to practice this nutrition plan to see if I can replicate what happens on race day. I didn't do any swim-to-bike bricks last year.
Keep in mind, last year was cool and windy in AZ on the bike. I found I had to eat more solid nutrition as the liquids were just running through me making me have to pee a lot.
I might have needed more salt and electrolytes on the run and that's something I'll test next year too. You'll hear a ton of ENrs rave about Coke and RedBull on the run, I've never used them... yet. I'm wondering if my body is just getting too much GE through the bike and it doesn't want anymore on the run. I might be better off switching to those calorie sources and adding Gatorlyte into the cup or being more proactive with BASE salt.
I'm happy to connect on the race more if you'd like. Good luck with your training!