Musselman HIM 7/17/11
Musselman HIM race report
As this was my 1st HIM I had many goals – most importantly Finish!
I saw some EN colors on the course but not afterwards.
Like many others are experiencing the weather forecast was 91 – actual = 93 in shade, some locals were reporting 102 in the sun.
The course is located the Finger Lakes region of NY state - rolling hills, Amish farms, wine country and beautiful lakes. Nearest town = Geneva NY, on the shores of Seneca Lake
FTP = 225, vDot = 43 ish, MP = 8:37, Pool TT = 38:00, swim TT pace = 1:43/100 yd
I did the 0200 Coach R breakfast (300 cal) routine – with a couple pop tarts & Gatorade @ 0500. I started in the 6th wave with wetsuit.
Swim – 8-10 mph breeze directly towards shore – a little chop but nothing major. Course = .25 mi straight out, left turn .25 mi till next buoy, left turn .75 mi back towards shore & into a boat channel – last leg directly into sun – sighting was very difficult.
Start in thigh deep water. Many chose to walk till it got deeper – I began the swim immediately thinking “save the legs for later”. A little jostling along the way, some “not so” straight navigating and 39:17 later I was in T1.
T1 – 2:56 – uneventful
Bike – leaving the state park immediately we gently climb a few hundred feet to the ridge top. From there it’s 25 mi of rolling hills between Seneca & Cayuga lakes. Drop down and ride along Cayuga shoreline (wineries) then back up the hill and over to the shore of Seneca Lake and back home. Most roads were super smooth and fast.
Based on my long Saturday rides & RR’s I felt confident @ 175 watts (.78) I would still have some legs. However with the heat I decided to back off my goal to 160 watts (.71). My ride was pimped with a HED H3 front, rear wheel cover, and Vittoria CX tires and felt fast. On the course I was passing lots of people while maintaining 160 watts. I got passed by a few studs but still felt like I was riding my race. As expected I was passed by many on the 2 big up hills but caught them all and then some on the down & flats. I also saw some of the strangest things – riders standing on a climb while still in the front big gear or small rear gears – duh! – if they only knew. I ended with a 3:01 bike split – a little faster than I was predicting – Pnorm = 162 watts & .72 IF. I got off the bike with HR @ 127 (max = 175 ish) and I was pumped, the race was playing out just as I hoped (other than the heat). Later I found my VI = 1.07 – I was happy considering the rolling course.
My nutrition was dialed in with 40 oz (560 cal) of Infinit in my SpeedFill and water in my upper 32 oz aero bottle. At each aid station I topped off my water bottle and poured the rest in my helmet to keep cool – worked great. I was drinking about 20 oz of water each 10 mi. I was also drinking my Infinit every 15 min. On the hour I was taking some shot blocks or Gu so I felt confident my calorie intake was good (I had 6 oz Infinit left over). Overall I think my fluid intake was about 120 oz water & 34 oz Infinit – in 3 hours.
T2 – 3:21 – changed into running gear – hat with foreign legion flap on back, white long sleeve tech shirt, sunglasses and headed out.
Run course is a lollipop shape – 2 mi flat along lakeshore – 9 mi loop thru town & college campus (5 mi up & 4 mi down) – 2 mi retrace lakeshore.
I left T2 and the temps were high. I knew this was gonna suck. Based on all the info from Matt S in the forums, I guessed adding 1 minute would be a good heat adjustment factor. Goal 1st 3 mi 10:30 then work down to 9:30 for 6 and then hang on for the last 3. It took me about ½ mi to get my pace dialed in but I was shuffling along @ 10:30/mi. Hit the 1st aid station put ice in my hat, a sip of coke and a cup of water and then onward. My HR monitor not working so I stopped to restart it - no luck – looks like RPE today. Along the lake the breeze from earlier was gone and the heat was building. I left the lake shore heading into town where we hit the 1st hill – about a 50 ft climb using stairs thru a backyard and out on to Main Street. Running along Main Street felt like a furnace – heat from the stopped traffic, fresh black pavement and no breeze made for a real challenge. Hit the 2nd aid station for ice, coke, and water and some live entertainment to lift our spirits. There were a few other live entertainment sites along the course. We meandered thru city streets and a college campus working our way up the hill. Around mile 3 I was struggling to keep from overheating. I was slowing my pace and began to throw in some walking. By mile 5 it was obvious that walking was going to part of my day. On the flats I was running @ 12:30 and walking @ 14:30 ish. I kept thinking I want to be one of the 11min superstars but the conditions just weren’t allowing it. I kept my aid station routine coke, ice, water. The ice in the hat felt good but I think it also kept my head in the game. In between aid stations many locals had their hoses out for us. Many people were dropping out and some not by their own choice. Around mile 7 we had our last big climb – up a gravel farm road. At the top of the climb was an African drum band. An ambulance on top picked up a few more casualties from the heat. We traversed a country road and began heading back down into town. Eventually I made it back down to the lake road and back to the finish. The last 2 mi were tough looking @ the finish line in the distance and suffering thru the heat w/no appreciable shade to be found. Orig run goal = 120 min, heat adjusted goal - 135 min, actual run = 174 min 
Going into the race I was hoping to break 6 hours. By race time I had adjusted my goal to 6:15 due to the heat. I ended up @ 6:41, 12/25 AG finishers. All in all happy to complete and a couple lessons learned.
- Heat has always been a weak point for me. Certainly my run fitness was part of my problem. I struggled this year with run frequency (due to “Life”). Goal for next season better run fitness.
- Heat adjustment factor – goal is to dig more into the details of EN heat adjustment tables – adjust accordingly. I think a 2 or maybe 3 min heat adjustment might have been better for me.
- I’ve revisited my recent bike training and race data pretty closely and I think I rode within my means. My early/mid season FTP was 225. My last FTP test was 3 weeks before race day (after LP camp). It wasn’t our typical 2x20 but rather 3x15 with a SWAG @ end. Due to life I couldn’t get to my normal course so I chose to ride some nearby long hills (15 min climb). I rode those hills @ 257, 260, 255 (with 4 min downhill) and still felt like I could go for a 4th w/o a problem. So I figured my FTP has to be > = 225 (I used 225 baseline on race day).
- I’ve got 2 more Oly’s this year then I’ll be transitioning to run focused fall season.
I’ve been training hard for this race since last Nov. Like many others I’ve had my share of trials and tribulations as we try to navigate “Life” and chase our Tri dreams. I can honestly say the EN training has been awesome and support/knowledge from the coaches & WSM’s prepared me well for this event. I attended the LP rally last month and came away with a huge boost in confidence after training on the big course with the big boys. I had never ridden 100 miles before camp. I learned a lot about myself and how to handle major challenges on the tri course. I’m headed to IMLP this weekend to volunteer, cheer on our EN teammates, and signup for 2012.
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