KONA Race Report (Long Version)
After a week of rest, relaxation and family time, I finally finished my race report which is very long. Sorry. The abbreviated version is - fantastic experience and a new PR by 35 seconds.
Pre-race
On race morning, I got up at 4:00 for some breakfast (oatmeal, banana, coffee) and to fill my special food bag. Body marking started at 4:45 and I had heard stories that the lines could be pretty long so I left the condo at 4:30 accompanied by wife – sherpa extraordinaire. We parked in a small gravel lot by Lava Java, which left us with about a 10 minute walk to the race site.
The race site was a bit overwhelming and was busy with your typical nervous athletes before the race. Dropped off special foods and got through body marking in less than 15 minutes. No problems at that time of the morning. Headed out to my bike to pump the tires, top off the water bottles, get “escorted” to my T2 bag to drop off the Garmin, and then it was time to relax before the race. Hung out with my wife until about 6:15 when I made my way back into the transition area. The pros went off at 6:30 and then they wanted age groupers to start getting into the water. I waited until about 6:45 before I got in line and was in the water with only 5 minutes to wait before our 7:00 start.
Swim
The swim is tough for me. Of the three disciplines, it is my strongest sport from a time/place perspective, but I tend to get anxious in scrum of bodies. With the long, one loop (far from shore) ocean swim I was more nervous about this one than any other race. In fact, after receiving my lottery spot there were a couple occasions when I considered withdrawing because of the swim. Thankfully I had the opportunity to get in 3 practice swims before race day, but even more helpful was meeting up with Carrie Chavez at the EN lunch on Wednesday before the race. Carrie did a great job of putting my nerves at ease and I owe her a huge thanks.
After entering the water, I did a couple of dives and quick strokes just to make sure everything was okay with the goggles, cap, suit, etc. and then moved out towards the start line. I started to the left and behind the crowd so I could enjoy some open space and just floated around. Near the line it was a bit crazy, there were people hanging on the tires along the pier, hanging alongside a safety boat, hanging on the Ford car floatie-thing, and lots of people treading water with a purpose.
The canon went off and I started to work my way through some of the slower swimmers. No real congestion, I just worked my way through/around one group after another. The water was clear and the ocean floor was amazing. I just counted strokes, focused on my form, watched the fish and did not have any anxious moments. About ¼ of the way into the swim I found myself on the buoy line and I pretty much stayed there the rest of the race. I’m sure that there was a lot of contact going on somewhere out there, but I never found it. There were some bumps and touching, but it all seemed innocent and accidental. No one trying to pull off someone else’s goggles, leg pulling, or fist drills. The only time there seemed to be any real contact was when the waves/current bunched people together.
Sighting was a little difficult because I couldn’t see past the next buoy and with the distance from shore; it was tough to have any real landmarks. I just swam buoy to buoy until the finish. In the end, I had a great swim and exited with a time of 1:14:06.
T1
Like most of the day, T1 was an amazing, and at the same time, familiar experience. It started with exiting Dig Me beach on the turf steps that NBC always highlights when they talk about some poor sole that did not make the swim cut-off. Then it was off to the fresh water showers that the television coverage always shows the pros rushing through and then a parade lap around the outside of the pier, past all of the bikes, into the change tents. Inside the tents, it’s just another Ironman. Folding chairs, great volunteers, sunscreen, a trough, etc. pretty much the exact same as every other Ironman event.
I have always erred a bit on the comfort side of transitions, illustrated by my time of 10:04. I made sure everything was on, in place, and comfortable; applied sunscreen, made a pit stop, exited the tent, and then was immediately brought back to the amazing experience of getting my bike from off the pier at the World Championship race.
Bike
The bike course does a little loop through town before heading out on the Queen K, which is a great time to see family. My wife was on the hot corner and I got to wave to her three times before heading out to Hawi and back.
The bike started great, again soaking up the experience of being in this event. My legs took a little while to get going and were a bit sluggish up the little incline on Kuakini Highway, but I got into a pretty good rhythm by the time I hit the Queen K. I had driven and ridden the course several times in the week before the race, so I knew what to expect and just tried to dial in my watts and cadence and enjoy the day. One thing I didn’t expect was the quick succession of aid stations. I am not sure the exact distance, but they seemed to be every 5-7 miles and very long with tons of volunteers. At first, the stations seemed too close together, but each time I rolled up to one, my aero bottle of water was empty.
It was definitely hot on the course. The air temperature was forecasted at 87, which was magnified on by the black lava landscape. But, with the winds, the heat was never uncomfortable. For the first 45 miles, the winds were not much of a problem an alternating light head/cross wind. However, once I made the turn for Hawi at Kawaihae, things began to change. The next 18 miles to Hawi and 18 miles back were white knuckled most of the way. Heading into Hawi it was a strong head wind, with random, gusting cross winds. I don’t know how strong the cross winds were, but they seemed to be in the 40-50 mph range. I did the best I could to anticipate the wind, lean into it at a near 45 degree angle and then get upright again once it stopped; but I was still getting pushed all over the road. After I saw two women ahead of me get blown into each other (they went down, but were okay), I backed off the pace and rode the remainder of this section very conservatively.
On the way back, once past Kawaihae, things seemed to settle down and it was just a matter of getting back to Kona. Unfortunately, at Waikoloa the winds shifted again and there was a fairly strong head wind for the next 15 or so miles. I’m sure with backing off my pace approaching and leaving Hawi, I rode too conservatively. But, over the last 20 miles I was amazed at the number of people I passed.
My bike nutrition was 2 bottles of concentrated Infinit, 1 bottle of IM Perform, and 5 S Caps. All of this was washed down with approximately 14, 32 oz. bottles of water. Total calories 1,708 (263/hour) and 3,855mg of sodium (593/hour). Of concern, no bathroom breaks during the entire bike segment.
Overall, one of the hardest bike courses I have ever ridden. The terrain was not difficult, but the wind strength and sudden gusts were something I had never experienced. But, watching the pros fly by was definitely one of the coolest experiences. When I was at about mile 40 the pros were heading back to Kona, surrounded by media, helicopters, etc. Going in different directions it was tough to pick out who's who, but definitely spotted Raelert, Macca, and Stadler. I was hoping to be off the bike before the pros finished their run, but at about five miles out I heard an announcement at an aid station that Macca had just won.
BIKE SPLIT 1 |
5.5 mi. (19:05) |
17.29 mph |
BIKE SPLIT 2 |
28 mi. (1:17:41) |
17.38 mph |
BIKE SPLIT 3 |
59 mi. (2:02:30) |
15.18 mph |
BIKE SPLIT 4 |
88 mi. (1:35:01) |
18.31 mph |
FINAL BIKE SPLIT |
112 mi. (1:20:27) |
17.90 mph |
TOTAL BIKE |
112 mi. (6:34:44) |
17.02 mph |
Entire Ride
TSS: 287.7
IF: 0.659
Norm Power: 153
VI: 1.14 (Needs work!)
T2
Much like T1, handing off my bike to a volunteer at the pier, just like I have watched so many times on TV, was amazing. But, once inside the tent, it was just another Ironman event. I forced myself to take a bathroom break, changed my shorts and shoes and I very nice volunteer applied sunscreen to my back. (Unfortunately, I don’t think the WTC supplied sunscreen was waterproof and it all seemed to wash off with the sponges/ice/water on the run and I was left with pretty serve and blistering sunburn on my shoulders.) This stop was much faster and I was on the run course after 6:49.
Run
The run started off great and I was focused on keeping my planned pace. My vDot is 46 with an EP of 9:07. Factoring in the heat, the plan was to run at a 10:30 pace for the first 6 miles, 10:00 until mile 18, then see what was left in the tank.
Within the first mile or so, I saw Carrie cheering everyone on which was great. At about the 3 mile mark, the race went past the condo we were staying at and I got to see my wife which was a huge boost. Near the turnaround on Ali’i Drive I saw Matt S looking strong as ever and then ran past my wife one more time before heading out of town on the Queen K towards the Energy Lab. Everything was going great, pace seemed relaxed, nutrition plan was to walk aid stations taking in water and Perform at the first 3 stations, water and GU at the forth, and then repeat. Every 6 miles I would take 2 S Caps. I was trying to keep myself cool with sponges/water/ice at each of the first 4 aid stations. By around the 4 mile mark, I was sufficiently wet and it was beginning to cool off with a light ocean breeze. I knew at sunset it would be significantly cooler so I decided to stop the sponges/water/ice.
Unfortunately, at mile 14 the wheels came off. All of the sudden, I got nauseous and developed a stomach pain. I also noticed that my stomach was swollen and that race belt had become uncomfortably tight. My stomach was not sloshing, just tight and nauseous. Last year, at Lake Placid, I ended up puking at mile 22 on the run and had thought I learned my lesson. I was really disappointed to be going through this again, but realized the only thing to stop it from getting worse was to slow down and try and get things under control. The rest of the run was series of run a bit, walk a bit, and repeat until I started feeling better. I was worried about my calorie intake and every third station or so I would try Perform or Chicken Broth. Neither of these helped and just further upset my stomach. Around mile 18 I made pit stop, first sense T2 and only third of the day.
Earlier in the run I had meet someone who was familiar with EN and we spoke a bit before we each went our own ways. At around mile 20 he passed by me while I was on the walk phase of my run/walk and yelled “Remember your one thing, remember your one thing”. Very cool vibe. Unfortunately, I lost sight of him in the dark. Heading back into town from the Energy Lab on the Queen K it was pitch black and the only thing you could see were glow stick circles on runners heading towards you. At around mile 24 I made one more try at the aid station to break the run/nauseous/walk cycle and took a cup of ice cubes. I started munching on the ice cubes and, to my surprise, no problems. Not sure if it was the crunching of the ice cubes or their cooling effect, but I began to feel much better. I could now here the finish line festivities and was able to pick up the pace to run the rest of the way.
Heading into the race, everyone cautioned me not to rush it because it will be over way too fast, and that I should savor every minute. That was the plan, until I made the final turn on to Ali’i Drive. I heard Mike Reilly announce that we had 40 seconds to get in under 13 hours and my brain decided I wanted that more than the high fives. I ran the last stretch, celebrating as I went, but moving at a pretty good clip. Finished with 18 seconds to spare and a new PR by 35 seconds! Final time 12:59:42.
RUN SPLIT 1 |
5 mi. (54:10) |
10:50/mile |
RUN SPLIT 2 |
10.2 mi. (51:50) |
9:58/mile |
RUN SPLIT 3 |
17.2 mi. (1:25:59) |
12:17/mile |
FINAL RUN SPLIT |
26.2 mi. (1:42:00) |
11:20/mile |
TOTAL RUN |
26.2 mi. (4:53:59) |
11:13/mile |
Post-Race
Included with the registration packet was a ticket allowing family members finish line access which was great. I was met by two volunteer handlers and then my wife was right there as I was escorted over to the photo spot. Got my picture taken, tried some pizza (which didn’t work) and then we headed back to the condo regroup.
Huge thanks to RnP and the entire EN gang for getting me prepared and race ready. All-in-all I was happy with my race (a new PR is great), but I still have more work to do with figuring out my nutrition. Realistically, the problems I had on the run probably cost me 25-30 minutes. Obviously, I also need to get stronger and faster on the bike (and less of a nervous nellie in the winds) and am looking forward to gaining a few more watts in the OS.
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Comments
Great race and report!! I am so glad our talk and lunch about the swim settled your nerves. Sounds like you had a great swim experience. It really is the prettiest IM swim around. It is possible to have very little contact. So cool!!
As for the bike- felt like I was there with you reading about the wind. Just so hard to ride in. The run is a bugger there due to heat and nutrition. Sorry you had those issues but you sure did pull it out!! You rocked it!
Enjoy the post race high.
Blessings,
Carrie
Wow! All that went on in the run, and you still knocked out a PR? FANTASTIC!!!!!
Great report on a great day. Congratulations so very much!!!
My thoughts exactly! Congratulations! The stomach issues are a bummer, but WOW, what an amazing accomplishment. You are making me want to enter the lottery!
Brad - Sounds like a successful race to me. Despite how you FELT, your PERFORMACE, especially on the Kawaihae/Hawi out and back, and running on the Queen K, shows a high level of persistence and determination. Be proud, and carry it with you always.
Should have eaten some gummy bears
Great job, very cool experience and wonderful to have a PR to boot. See ya soon.
-Dave
Brad,
Great race and way to go with the PR. It's too bad about the stomach issues.
I had to laugh when you decided between enjoying the experience and sub 13 it was sub 13 all the way. You do realize that you could have sandbagged it for another 17 second, taken in the full finish experience and still had a new PR. There are just too many overachievers here.
Gordon
Matt