IM Louisville RR
Swim: 1:00:03 (1:25/100)
Bike: 5:44:53 (19.5mph) on 208W IF .66 and a VI of 1.04. Garmin said 5110 feet of climbing which sounds high.
Run: 4:06:40 (9:13 pace)
Total: 11:03:18
Training volume since November 1, 2010:
Swim- approximately 81 miles not starting until March 2011
Bike- 4184 miles at an average speed of 19.2mph
Run- 934 miles at an average pace of 7.8mph or a 7:40 pace. That's 22 miles per week. I don't know if I ever ran over 30 miles per week.
53rd AG, 277th overall and a 43 minute PR
Total nutrition for the day was 600 calories of yogurt at 5:15am, 1200 calories on the bike in the form of a concentrated Gatorade bottle on the downtube, 280 oz of water on the bike, an estimated 500 calories in Perform on the run, and an estimated 80 oz of water on the run. No salt tablets, no gels, and no solid food.
My goals for the day were to execute my plan, have a great swim, go easy on the bike, run the whole marathon, and have a finishing time that starts with a 10.
I had a great spot in the swim line about 3 boats from the start. The water seemed choppy and more crowded than last year but I just kept it to 4 count breathing knowing that if I am forced to go 2 count my form will drop off. I got offline a couple of times but felt great and knew I was going fast. I got out and the clock said 1:10:xx and I though wow that doesn't seem right. I was hoping that included the 10 minute gap between the pro and AG start but didn't find this out until after I finished.
I had forgotten my race belt and decided to safety pin my numbers onto my two EN singlets. When I got into T1 to put one on, I had safety pinned it to the back and the front, so I had to redo it and lost some time there. I headed out on the bike and just rode along for 90 minutes averaging about .68 IF. After the first 90 minutes I knew it was time to start getting to .7 or so but I thought I would feel better on the run the easier I went on the bike so I decided not to push the pace. I was averaging over 20mph and feeling strong so I didn't see a need to go harder. I took two water bottles at every aid station and was sipping on my concentrated Gatorade feeling great.
At about mile 60 just before the turn to start the second loop, I was passing someone, heard a gunshot, and was instantly riding on my rim. As I was slowing down I could see and hear something in my tire hitting my brake caliper as it went by each time. I thought, OK don't panic, just see what's wrong and fix it. A 3 inch wood screw had entered the tread of my tire and exited through the sidewall creating two holes about 3mm apart from each other. I knew if I just ripped it out it would create one big hole and my day would be done. I thought, this is not good because I only have spare tubes, not a whole spare tire!
Over 11 years of riding road bikes and more than 30,000 miles this has only happened to me one other time on a training ride and I used a dollar bill to create a barrier between the new tube and the hole in the tire but I didn't have a dollar bill. I ended up using a gel wrapper and a piece of electrical tape from my handlebars. I inflated it and got back on the bike. I was determined to stay positive and not let this ruin my spirits, but I didn't think the patch would last. I got another gel (but didn't eat it) at the next aid station in case I got another flat.
About 20 minutes later, I was passing someone who was passing someone else, and as I completed my pass and continued on, the race referee pulled up next to me and said, "1868, yellow card for crossing the yellow line. You cannot cross the yellow line." Wonderful. I assumed this meant a 4 minute stay in the penalty box and decided to complete the ride and serve my penalty back in transition.
I knew the last 33 miles was the time to push the pace since it is net downhill and had a tail wind, but I decided to keep things under control and save it for the run. For the first time ever on a bicycle, I was getting little cramps in my calves and hamstrings and I was concerned about surviving the run. I can remember Patrick saying once, "think you went too slow on the bike? Well now you have 26 miles on the run to show it." My overall IF was .66 with a race clock time of 5:44. My Garmin time was 5:31 and I had not stopped except for the flat. I pulled into T2 and handed my bike off as I was looking for the penalty box. When I got there, they had me sign my name and initial something and said I could go. I said, "really? OK!" As I came out of the changing tent I looked down at my wrist and realized I had left my Garmin on my bike. I asked one of the volunteers applying sunscreen if I could go get it and she said, confused, "uh, I don't see why not." So I ran back to my bike, got it, and headed out on the run.
At this point I couldn't believe I was even on the run course. After the cramps I was so delighted to be running at all, and that my day hadn't been ruined by the blown tire. My pace for the first 6 miles, corrected for the heat of the day, was supposed to be 9:23. I had to really slow down to try and achieve that and I still didn't. At each aid station I got two iced sponges and put them in my shirt, put one on my head, and put a whole cup of ice in my shorts and I alternated water and sports drink. At one point I dropped a sponge and as i bent down to pick it up my hamstring locked up. I stood right back up and it went away but I knew that was a bad sign. I made a real effort to run with as little contraction of my muscles as possible because I knew they were going to cramp up at some point.
Last year I began to wilt around mile 6 and watched my splits increase by about 30 seconds per mile until I could no longer run. I told myself as long as my legs don't lock up again like last year, I am not going to stop running except for walking the aid stations. I also knew I was fully hydrated after going several times on the bike and needing to go already at this point in the run. My legs continued to feel like they were going to cramp but I kept running. I instantly noticed how quickly the mile markers were coming up compared to last year.
Louisville is an out-and-back course so you have so mini goals within the run. The first one is to get to the turnaround at Iroquois Park around mile 7, next is when you near the finish line but head back out onto the second loop, and of course usually the next one is the Iroquois turnaround at mile 21. But I knew Coach Patrick was going to be at mile 18 and I was determined to not only still be running, but to look GOOD! The nature of the course also lets you see others while you're running so it was great seeing my teammates out there in their EN kits looking strong.
At about mile 15, I was delighted that I was still running and hadn't locked up, but my legs really started hurting. This is the point when you start asking yourself why you're doing this, why would you put yourself through this much suffering, what is this meaning of this, I wish my legs would lock up so I can start walking, how can I be "running" so slow, etc. The day before during the 4 Keys Talk, Coach Patrick had said how at this point in the day it's all mental and I realized he was right. Assuming it's physically possible, continuing to run was a conscious decision and I was determined to not quit. I saw Coach P at mile 18 and he gave me some words of encouragement. When I hit the turnaround at mile 21 to head home, I started to think I was going to make it without walking. I also felt a crust of salt on my face and knew I had to stay on top of my nutrition. I continued the ice, sponges, water, and sports drink. At one aid station they had chicken broth which was really good. I had never tried that on a run, but it sounded so good and I knew I needed the salt.
I continued to run all the way in, and to my surprise, my wife Cara was there on the finishing stretch along with the rest of my family. She wasn't supposed to be there due to work but she had gotten off early and drove up. What a treat! As I crossed the finish line I saw 11:03 and my heart sank. I was glad to be done, and really glad I had run the whole marathon, but knowing I could have had a 10:xx without the my transition blunders and the flat was disappointing. Overall it was a good day.
What would i change? On the bike I had a gut feeling I wouldn't be able to sustain .70 IF and I was right. I still barely survived the run and may not have if I had pushed any harder. I will now carry a spare piece of tire in my flat kit in case of a hole, I won't safety pin my number to both sides of my jersey, I'll put my Garmin on my wrist before I get off the bike, and I won't cross the yellow line…before looking to see if the referee is behind me!
Nutritionally I'm wondering if I need to consider salt tablets and/or more calories. The heat index was 86, I peed 3 times on the bike, twice on the run, and three more times within 2 hours of the finish so I don't think I was low on fluid volume, but the crust of salt on my face and being on the verge of cramping the entire run makes me wonder if I needed more salt. I may have even been hyponatremic. I never got to a point in training where I felt I needed salt so therefore never tried it and didn't want to try something new on race day. Walking the aid stations was great, doesn't cost much time, is something to look forward to at each mile, and my Garmin time was only 3:30 faster than the race clock and that included two stops at the porta potties.
Most importantly, I need to find out why I wasn't able to run anywhere near my predicted potential despite going so easy on the bike. I would love to hear anyone's input on this.
This was my first IM with Endurance Nation and I really enjoyed meeting everyone. The encouragement on the course was great and I didn't see a single ENer walking on the run. Execution works.
Comments
Wow, Chris, what a steady, steady day. Pure presence of mind to not panic and just get on with the race after what appears to be a crippling blow to your tire. And, it seems you've got another double digit PR awaiting you on the right day in he future.
Note to self: cut up old tire and put boot in bento/tool bag :-)
NOTE: I've carried a boot in my saddle bag the last several years after having a similar 'blowout' ruin a long bike ride for me. I'd highly suggest it for EVERYONE.
Chris - I really enjoyed reading your race report. The lesson I take from you is to keep your cool and stay in the box even when things don't seem to be going well. Looks like you made some really smart choices out there. I'd say sorry that you didn't get you're 10-handle on the race clock, but think of the time you might have lost if you overcooked the run without the Garmin. At the end of the day, you were 0.5% from your race goal. Well done!
Thanks everybody. I updated the report to include my VI for the ride and total training volume since the start of the OS.
Chris, it was great to meet you. Congrats on an amazing time, despite all the troubles. Very inspiring!
It sounds like cramping was your problem on the run and that was a relic of the bike? I would play around with salt tabs/s-caps on the bike and run. When lukewarm/cool broth is like manna, you know you are needing salt, believe me I've been there.
So great to meet you - thanks for organizing dinner!
Thanks! I'd be lying if I said a little "if only-itis" hasn't kicked in but that's not the right way to look at it. I could say, "well without the flat I would have been in the 10s" but if I hadn't screwed up both transitions I would have been in the 10s as well! After saying I wasn't going to do another full IM next year I find myself still wanting to execute not a perfect race, but one where I feel like I at least performed to my potential. Whatever finishing time that gives me will be fine. This was my second IM and 5th triathlon overall so I still have a lot to learn.
Very nice to meet you.
That improvement is outstanding.
a VI of 1.04 on that course is unbelievable.......
on to the 10:00+ time range.......
Thanks. In the week I've had to reflect more on the race, I've realized how little respect I gave to running the whole marathon. Doing that was much more difficult than I had anticipated, and the more I think about it, the happier I am that I was able to pull it off despite having underperformed pace-wise. What brought everything home to me was hearing the 4 Keys Talk in person. Up to that point, I was still thinking too much about fitness and not enough about execution. I thought my 20 mile long run in 2:32 three weeks ago meant something. Had I tried to average 230W like I did in my rehearsals I wouldn't have run 10 miles, and had I tried to run that 3:35 split I would've been walking before the first hour was up.
I enjoyed meeting you and thank you for being the race captain!!!!!