IMAZ Race Report: power/pace datas and pics
Ironman Arizona was my second Ironman. I have been serious about triathlon since 2005 and did Ironman Lake Placid in 2007.
Thursday November 19th
Thursday morning, I watched the 4 Keys DVD one more time on the trainer.
We flew from Tampa, FL in the afternoon and drove directly to the EN diner. It was nice meeting the coaches and other athletes I had only known through the forum.
Friday November 20th
The main task of the day was the test swim in Tempe Town Lake. Coming from Florida, the coldest water I had ever swum in was 66F and I had been losing sleep over the cold. After picking up my wetsuit at the Tribike Transport tent (best way to ship your bike and gears to the race, in my opinion), I tiptoed my way to the lake. It wasn't as bad as I imagined. I was wearing a Profile Design long sleeve wetsuit (made by Aquaman) and a neoprene cap (blue seventy). I swam for about 30 min and exited the water. The exit was a flight of metal stairs and not that easy to negotiate with frozen feet.
After the swim, I picked up my bike and went back to the hotel, as the packet pick up line was too long. The rest of the morning was spent checking that my bike was ready for the race.
In the afternoon, I picked up my packet and drove the bike course, seeing lots of people riding it in traffic.
At night, it was time to prepare the transitions bags.
T1 bag: Bike shoes, socks, helmet, harm warmers, gloves and race number
T2 bag: Running shoes, extra socks, and hat
Saturday November 21th
One day to go.
After a short run and breakfast, I checked my bike and transition bags. Then, we went to Sport Chalet to get a new pair of goggles as I had noticed on Friday that mine were leaking.
Race day nutrition preparation:
Bike: 2 bottles of Infinit with about 550 cal each, one Clif bar.
Run: 2 gel flask with 3 mocha Clif shots mixed with water in each one.
Special need bike: 1 tube, 2 CO2, 1 Clif bar
Special need run: 1 T shirt
Pizza dinner and early to bed.
Sunday November 22th
Race day
Woke up at 3:30 and had two plain bagels with PB and tea.
Got to the transition area at about 5:15, inflated the tires, set computer and nutrition on bike, put Garmin 305 in T1 bag and gel flasks in run bags.
Easy jog to warm up and bathroom break.
Swim
I went in the water 10 min before the start so I could place myself in the middle.
It is not a good idea to start close to the wall as the lake bends and boat ramps get in the way of the swimmers.
The swim was pretty uneventful. I counted my stroke as RnP advised in the 4 Keys DVD. I counted until I touched somebody or somebody touched me. I managed to go up to 140 strokes. Never got really cold.
Total time 1:16:27 which is the time I swam in practice in the pool so I guess I did not become a swimmer overnight. Too bad.
T1
I grabbed my bag and decided to change on the grass as I remembered the chaos in the tent at IMLP.
Cold fingers and feet made the change a little bit long: 6:25
Bike:
First loop was crowded. Wind on the way out with people standing up and hammering, attacking, drafting. Lots of energy wasted. I watched my watts and avoided any surge.
I passed lots of people on the second and third loop as the wind was turning.
Time: 5:21:20
| 1st loop | 2nd loop | 3rd loop | Total | RR #1 | RR #2 | |
| Duration: | 1:43:24 | 1:50:04 | 1:47:53 | 5:21:20 | 5:18:49 | 5:28:44 |
| TSS: | 84 | 94.6 | 83.4 | 262.1 | 295.8 | 305.4 |
| IF | 0.7 | 0.72 | 0.68 | 0.7 | 0.75 | 0.75 |
| Norm Power: | 171 | 176 | 167 | 171 | 183 | 183 |
| VI: | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.04 | 1.03 |
| Distance (mi): | 37.79 | 37.52 | 37.69 | 112.99 | 112.17 | 112.10 |
| Avg | Avg | Avg | Avg | |||
| Power (W): | 166 | 172 | 160 | 166 | ||
| Cadence (rpm): | 87 | 89 | 87 | 88 | ||
| Speed (mph): | 21.9 | 20.4 | 21 | 21.1 |
Tss was lower than the ones I had during the race rehearsals. I have been a little bit more conservative on the bike. I also suffered from back problems and it did not help either.
T2
Much faster than T1 thanks to the volunteer who put all my stuff back in the bag for me.
1:59
Run
The start of the run was the toughest part for me. My back was hurting, even so I had tried to stretch it on the third loop of the bike. I used the EN 6 fist miles rule to walk and stretch it more. It worked and I managed to run the rest of the marathon at goal pace. The course was not that easy. On top of the concrete surface, there were lots of turns to deal with.
Time: 3:31:31
I tried to take it easy in the first 6 miles and picked up the pace afterwards. I lost my focus after mile 21 and wasn't looking at my Garmin anymore.
I finished the run with more energy than I thought.
Total time 10:15:17 good for 202 overall and 45/386 in age group.
Overall conclusion:
My goal for this race was to focus on the execution according to the EN principles. This was a success as my times for each leg were the one I established in training. There was no surprise during the race.
| Race | Year | BIB NUMBER | OVERALL PLACE | TOTAL TIME | RACE DIVISION | DIVISION PLACE | SWIM DIV PLACE | SWIM OVR PLACE | SWIM TIME | SWIM 100M PACE | T1 | BIKE DIV PLACE | BIKE OVR PLACE | BIKE TIME | BIKE PACE | T2 | RUN DIV PLACE | RUN OVR PLACE | RUN TIME | RUN PACE |
| IMLP | 2007 | 528 | 312 | 11:25:11 | M30-34 | 65/257 | 202 | 1519 | 1:21:05 | 2:09 | 12:20 | 130 | 691 | 6:15:05 | 17.9 | 3:40 | 15 | 57 | 3:33:03 | 8:08 |
| IMAZ | 2009 | 693 | 202 | 10:15:17 | M35-39 | 45/386 | 195 | 1032 | 1:16:27 | 2:01 | 6:25 | 76 | 312 | 5:18:57 | 21.1 | 1:59 | 22 | 108 | 3:31:31 | 8:05 |
My fitness level was similar to the one I had when I did Lake Placid but a better execution and an easier course gave me a PR by more than 1 hour.
Acknowledgments:
The pictures and video are courtesy of my wife. Despite her injured shoulder (Thanks to an old lady who cut in front of her while she was riding a month ago.), she is the best supporter ever. Not only, did she encourage me in my training all year long, but she was also everywhere on race day. I saw her several times on the Bee line highway and on the run course. It was a very long day for her too.
Comments
nice report and big congrats on the PR! killer bike split and solid run to back it up.
But, after my DNF at IMCDA earlier this year, any length spent in cold water - even in the 60s - can have a devastating effect on your body after 90+ mins. Guess I just need to get faster and get out of the water sooner!
Bryan,
What I meant by no surprises is that EN prepares you very well for race day:
Swim rehearsals: 1:13 to 1:17 => IM Swim 1:16
Bike rehearsal at 70-75% FTP: 5:15 to 5:25 => IM Bike 5:18
E pace from Vdot: 8:08 => IM run pace 8:01
I also followed the nutrition plan I had established in training and did not try anything new on race day (except the new googles I tested in the hotel pool).
Of course I am lucky nothing bad happened. No flat, no fall (some closed calls only), no sickness, no bad weather,...
Fantastic Race and Race Report! I aspire to race that fast and produce such a report! I will keep this one for inspiration! Good to meet you in Tempe!
By any chance do you have power and pace data from LP? I have never seen a 6 plus hour ride followed by a 3:30 ish run.
Here you go:
Entire workout (145 watts):
Duration: 6:13:54 (6:13:56)
Work: 3246 kJ
TSS: 337.2 (intensity factor 0.736)
Norm Power: 169
VI: 1.17
Pw:HR: 23.19%
Pa:HR: 26.19%
Distance: 111.901 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 448 145 watts
Heart Rate: 0 221 99 bpm
Cadence: 22 141 85 rpm
Speed: 0 40.1 17.9 mph
Pace 1:30 0:00 3:21 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 296 66 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 804 146 lb-in
I was very new to power (6 month) and applied the HR zone from a programm to power zone. My FTP was also underestimated.
My race report is here: forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi
Oh and I guess that Dev underestimated your bike potential.
Great job on the race and loved the report! Nice to have all of the pictures and the charts
Arnaud -
Great meeting the two of you in Tempe. Congratualtions on your well-deserved smile in the finish photo!