IMFL 2010 Race Report -- Mark Roberts
IMFL 2010 was a good experience for me. This was my 5th Ironman and 3rd time racing Florida (2002, 2004). But even with 4 other races under my belt, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. This has been a very busy year for me -- The Air Force moved us from Texas to Mississippi in April, we bought a new house, I started a new job/position, our son turned 2 and 6 weeks before Ironman, Daniel was born. It was not a year that was conducive to the best training, but i still got in solid workouts and my numbers (FTP and VDOT )were right where they were for Lake Placid in 2008 although my CTL was probably 20 points lower due to less volume.
Nevertheless, I entered race week rested and uninjured and ready to execute on race day. Having moved to Ocean Springs MS, we are only a 3.5 hr drive from Panama City Beach and went over on Monday to spend the week. My parents also came down from Tennessee to visit and help with the boys. Race week, was uneventful, checked in on Wed -- Did one swim in the Gulf and a few easy rides / runs throughout the week.
EN dinner Thursday night was great -- It was good to meet all the other EN folks who racing as well as I was able to score an EN jersey from Patrick for Saturday! Big help given the weather forecast was 40 degrees for the start of the bike.
Friday my family and I went out to lunch, I checked in my bike and gear early afternoon after getting the kids down for nap. Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner in the condo and in bed by 9:30. Got to sleep fairly easily and woke up on my own around 1:30 -- Drank 300 cal of Sustained Energy and back to bed. Alarm went off around 4:00. Another bottle of Sustained energy, yogurt with granola, half a banana and coffee for breakfast. Went down to transition around 4:30 -- Bodymarking, pump tires, place bottles on bike, put Garmin in Run bag, check bike bag, and back upstairs in the condo by 5:15. For those doing Florida in the future I HIGHLY recommend staying in the Boardwalk condos. The Summitt is almost as close . Either way its great to be able to go back up to your own room and chill before going down to the beach.
SWIM -- Goal - 1:05-1:10 Actual time -- 1:07:32
Got down to beach in plenty of time and lineup up about halfway between the buoy line and the edge of the corrall maybe 2-3 rows back. I felt pretty confident about my swim and always prefer for a few fast people to swim over me than for me to have to pick my way around people doing the breaststroke. It was crowed til the first buoy where it practically came to a standstll as it seemed everyone stopped and was just bobbing up and down in the water. Finally got going and it was a fast trip back to the beach. I hit the turn in 31 min which is a little fast for me but I was feeling good. Run down the beach, back into the water for the 2nd lap. The 2nd lap was smooth sailing -- Almost no contact - but I got a little wide coming back in. The current seemed stronger on the 2nd lap. I swam a 1:07:32 which was not as fast as my 1:05 at Lake Placid but a PR on the Florida course. Up the beach through showers (took some extra time to get all the sand off) and into T1
T1 -- 13:29 (yes you read that correctly)
The layout seemed longer than in previous years. The tent was also more crowded than Ive ever seen and I had a hard time finding a place to stand let alone a seat. I had made the decision before had to towel off and start with dry clothes. I am very sensitive to cold and if my core temp goes way down, bad things happen. I about froze to death at Lake Placid in the rain in 2008. That being said I put on shorts, knee warmers, singlet, arm warmers, and a jersey. Could have cut some time here but I really felt it was better for me to be as warm as possible and give up a few minutes.
Bike -- Goal 5:30. Actual time -- 5:56:15
This is where I'm still trying to figure out what happened. I biked a 5:49 in 2002 (road bike, no aero gear, 1st ironman) a 5:35 in 2004 so I felt a 5:30-5:35 this year on what I thought was better fitness was very reasonable. Given my FTP of 267 and an estimated ride time of 5:30 -- I planned to aim for 192 watts and an IF around .72. Race rehearsal had been in the 19.5 avg range on a hilly course with no aero gear so again this estimate seemed reasonable.
On a side note -- this is in my opinion the biggest weakness of our power model -- It requires a very accurate educated guess (SWAG) at your total ride time in order to select your intensity level/ goal watts. The reality is that it is very difficult to nail this number with any degree of accuracy.
Ride Stats:
Hr TSS IF NP VI HR CAD MPH
1 49.3 .702 188 1.03 131 92 19.1
2 50.9 .719 192 1.01 128 89 21.0
3 51.1 .735 196 1.01 128 87 19.0
4 52.4 .723 193 1.02 127 85 17.2
5 49.8 .715 191 1.02 127 86 19.5
6 35.4 .688 184 1.03 122 85 20.0
Total 288.9 0.715 191 1.02 128 88 19.3
This doesn't include 6 minutes on the side of the road (natural breaks and I just couldn't go on the bike) and my computer quit at mile 109 so the total time on my ride file is a little short.
Nutrition on the bike was 4.5 bottles of Infinit, around 250 cal/hr as well as half a cliff bar. No stomach issues, Felt hydrated and fueled during the entire bike.
Looking over the numbers A few things stand out: I probably went a little too hard the 3rd hour. I lost most of my time in the head wind on HWY 20 --- (HR 4) And the last part of the ride I backed off to save TSS as I was creeping toward 300. This probably cost me some time as I probably didn't make full use of the tailwind.
I rolled into transition ready to get off the bike and start the run.
T2 -- 7:41 - Again -- not fast, but having conceded that a PR on the day was out of reach I just wanted to have a methodical transition and be fully prepared to start the run.
Run --- Goal 3:50-3:59:59 Actual -- 4:10:15. A PR!
Previous run best in an Ironman was 4:18 in 2004. With a VDOT of 51.7, and much better run fitness than 6 years ago -- I really felt I could go under 4. Would shoot for a goal pace of around 8:20, 1st 6 miles at 8:50.
I felt great starting the run -- Literally had to hold back to not run too fast.
Miles Pace HR
0-6 8:58 132
7-12 8:59 135
12-18 9:43 132
18-26.XX 9:46 135
After mile 6 I ran a few miles in the 8:30 range but my pace kept slipping back to around 9, to 9:10. At this point I decided that 8:30's were probably not going to happen and I did not want to blow -- Goal became to try and hold around 9 minute pace and wait for the line. Starting the 2nd lap i really got into a rhythm and was just trying to get out to the park so I could hit mile 18 and get it done. I was probably running about 9:10 pace but was walking 30 steps or so at every aid station and as the miles ticked off the 30 steps got slower and slower. Saw Rich and Patrick at the entrance and exit to the park and really pushed the last 6-8 miles. I ran mile 24 at 9:36 and mile 26 at 9:24 so I think i definitely finished strong even though I did not even split the marathon. I Ran with Clinton Fletcher for awhile around mile 23-24 and then went on to the finish.
The last mile from 25 to the finish was really special. In Florida it occurs right after you cross Thomas drive on Utes and turn right down Surf Drive. If you look up the road you can see the lights and even from a mile away you can hear the finish line. That last mile is the reward for all the training and all the hard work. Sometimes I wish you could bottle it up and take with you,. As I neared the finish line I saw my Wife, 2 boys and parents on the sideline of the finishing chute and was so glad to see them.
Hit the line in 11:35:10. Not a PR, but still a great day. Looking at my race I'm not sure where I could have executed better. I rode my goal watts within 1 watt and a 1.02 VI. While I have ridden better in Florida before, that's no guarantee that it can be replicated any given day. I'm also 6 years older
I still think I have a sub-11 in me -- but it'll have to wait a several years. I'm ready to focus on shorter distances, halfs, getting back to Boston and spending time with my wife Katy and our 2 boys.
Best part of the day was seeing my family at the finish line, and getting done in time to read stories to James and tuck him in for the night!
It was great meeting all of you who raced, I'll probably drive over and spectate next year!
Comments
” Best part of the day was seeing my family at the finish line, and getting done in time to read stories to James and tuck him in for the night! “ --- what a way to finish an excellent day!!!
2x on Patrick’s comment on bike fit – your watts have more speed to be realized.
Great execution. I'm sure you can improve the bike, but very nice PR on the run!