Henry Sacco IMLP Race Report
Summary: This is my second time doing LP. My first was in 2010. I PR’d the course by 35’ this year, but I did NOT execute well.
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I believe it was Thursday, a week prior to the race when I pulled something in the back of my left knee. I’ve never had knee/leg problems with running, but can only guess that I was very tight (possibly from the taper) and I pulled something when doing 10’ of Zone 3 work that day. I assumed it would go away quickly, but still had the problem when I tried running over the next two days. At that point, I decided to hold off on all running.
I arrived in LP on Thursday feeling very rested, but worried about the run. I continued to rest the leg with some light stretching, icing and a wrap. Friday, one lap swim, and 30 minutes on the bike helped to loosen things up. Saturday was a total rest day.
Saturday lunch, wheat pasta and a turkey wrap for dinner. Really couldn’t sleep well that night, maybe got in 4 hours total. Woke at 4 to down 2, 350 calorie Ensures, banana and Gatorade on the way to the event.
We left the Hostel at 5:45 or so, which ended up making me pretty late. After checking on the bike, dropping off SN bags and saying hello to the family (they arrived at Midnight) I still needed a Bio break before the start. Jumped in porta potty line near the start and waited. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and I headed for the swim start.
Swim: 1:30:06
I planned on waiting on the beach until 30 seconds before the gun, but ended up getting caught up in the rush by the dock. I surely don’t like it when folks behind you are trying to swim, but instead hit the back of your feet, pretty much making it impossible for you to get horizontal.
The rest of the swim was uneventful, but my time was not as I expected. I swam inside the line both laps, drafting when I could and feeling like I was making good time. I am not a great swimmer, wore my wetsuit and expected something closer to 1:22. Need to figure this one out.
T1: 5:41
Ran down to the changing tent, went directly to the end near the door and put on helmet, glasses, socks and shoes. Everything else was strapped to bike. Forgot Sun block!
Bike: 6:22:39
Lost some time exiting the oval as there was a backup by the mount point. Started the bike planning to JRA for the first hour. Took it easy on hill out of town and tried to maximize speed on the descent. Watts were a bit over from going up the hill, but expected them to level out. Finished my first bottle of Perform and started on the second. At this point, something happened and I really couldn’t stomach any more Perform. I planned on 1 bottle and 1 gel per hour. (260 cal/hr, which I’ve practiced many times) Long story short, I was behind on nutrition the entire day. I should have tried something different, but didn’t.
I also had a lot of trouble keeping my watts down on the hills. In some areas, it seemed like if I went any slower I would fall over. In the end, my IF for the full bike was 71.2, NP of 147 and TSS of 320. Plan was an IF .69, NP of 143 and TSS of ~300. Definitely not setup for a great run!
T2: 2:28
Actually felt ok coming into T2. Only had to put on my sneakers and knee wrap. Everything else was in a plastic bag. Was already pretty burnt, but got Sun block…
Run: 4:50:21
Started running out of town feeling good. I suspect it had to be the energy from the crowd. I didn’t realize until the 3rd mile that my knee was not hurting. Awesome! I definitely kept the pace down the first 6 miles, closer to EP plus 1 minute. Started run nutrition after about 30 minutes. Plan was to use only gels with water. This is what I’ve practiced and it has worked well for me. Maintained EP plus 1 minute up to mile 13 when my energy started to wane. I know that in most cases, we dial down nutrition on the run, but feel pretty strongly that I needed more. I unfortunately wasn’t able to digest fast enough. Hung on mile 13-26 by walking the aid stations as well as once in between each.
Takeaways
1. Nutrition was off. Good time to start transition to Infinit.
2. Biked too hard! For courses like LP, practice keeping watts down on hills.
3. Although I couldn’t take in Perform, I should have ensured I took in enough water on the bike.
4. Get to transition earlier!
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Comments
Bummer about the bike nutrition. Did you ever figure out why it wasn't working? Different flavor or too warm?
It was great seeing you out on the run course - you looked strong and in control. Great job.
Congrats on the finish and persistence. I do NOT like Perform, either, but I've bought another jug of the powder, to see if I can learn to stop worrying and love it.
BTW, those are some awesome transition times - laser focus.
Thanks everyone. I'm still not 100% sure why i couldnt stomach the Perform, but suspect it may have been the temperature. I'm still planning to try Infinit, but may also practice with the Perform when warm. Regardless, my big mistake was execution on the bike and i realize that. Lesson learned!
@Steve, i'm surely going to give it a try, possibly for Arizona.
Again - great race and now you know what to do better the next time.
Henry,
Great job even with some execution troubles the 35' PR is great.
Gordon
Thanks Gordon and J.T...
Just finished reading your RR Pete. Most importantly, i'm glad your ok. No worries on the strap...
Beyond the usual congratulations on a new IM PR, the big thing that jumped out at me reading your RR was your transition times; you rocked those! T-times are oft-overlooked sources of gobs of time; well done.