IMLou RR - Coach P, I peed 10x on the bike
Ironman Louisville: August 28th, 2011
Total: 11:56:27 (overall 581/2865, division 101/365)
Swim: 1:11:52 (1:53/100m) (overall 776, division 115)
T1: 7:37
Bike: 5:53:46 (19.0mph) (overall 605, division 102)
T2: 6:27
Run: 4:36:45 (10:33/mi)
Charity Team: Team ReserveAid www.reserveaid.org/TeamRA
Training/Coaching: Endurance Nation (EN) http://www.endurancenation.us/
Summary: This was the charmed day that ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING went perfectly right! I really had that race that everyone talks about and wishes and dreams about that they could maybe possibly ever have... I had it! This was the highest overall and age group % finish I have ever had in a race of any distance.
If you actually want all of the very long and boring details, see below.
9:00PM day before the race, took 2 Advil PMs and a half a shot of NyQuil.
2AM woke up (no alarm) and ate a package of shot blocks and drank some water.
4:15AM woke up just before my alarm went off and ate a Honey Stinger Waffle and some water, then for breakfast I ate a bagel with peanut butter, jelly, and honey and drank a 20oz Gatorade and 16oz of water.
4:55AM, met Team ReserveAid in the lobby to the walk to the transition area together.
Dropped off my Infinit bottles and pumped my tires to 115 psi.
Drank a total of 32oz of blue Gatorade and drank 20oz of water before swim start.
Walked to body marking and got in line for the swim start approx 6AM.
6:30AM hit the portapotty and was happy to make a very large deposit...
6:45AM had a Powerbar Gel
6:50AM, heard the pros start and had what I thought was my last pee.
7:00AM the line started to move
7:20AM, got within 50 people of entering the water and they stopped the swim start line for ~5 minutes (they tried to rescue the 48yr old man that had a heart attack 8 minutes into his swim)
Peed on the dock while I waited...
~7:25AM crossed the timing mat and jumped off the dock into the water.
Swim (1:11:52):
I wore my Xterra speedsuit over my kit shorts. I entered the water, gathered myself and started casually swimming. I immediately went to the left side of the channel and swam ~15-20 feet from the island the whole way. It was nice because I can never swim straight, but keeping the island in my sight every time I bilateral breathed to the left made it easy. I cruised just past every buoy and made it to the turn around and glanced at my watch and I think I saw 27 minutes. Swimming downstream was just as easy, I still kept the island on my left side, but now it was about 50 ft away. I sighted every 3rd breathe to find the buoys. This was a lot more sighting than normal for me, but I wanted to swim straight. I literally swam straight through/under every buoy and just swam as fast as I could keep my form (the EN way). I kept focussing on my form and my breathing, I caught a couple of drafts but didn't focus on that. I swam into a few people, but overall it was an uneventful swim. I peed 2x during the swim. I was surprised to see 1:11 on my watch when I exited the water as I was expecting 1:15-1:20.
T1: I jogged up to the transition. Didn't run, but didn't walk. I yelled out my number and they handed me my transition bag as I jogged past into the tent. I had one (tiny) snafu as I was wearing my Garmin watch band and my Timex watch. When I saw my DeSoto cool wings I realized I had to take my watches off to put the cool wings on first, but that only cost me 30 seconds or so. Then I put my watches back on, my Team ReserveAid kit top , my bike shoes, helmet and applied sunscreen to my tramp stamp area. I handed my stuff to a volunteer and ran out. I stopped at the sunscreen appliers (very cool) and got another coat on my tramp stamp area and any other exposed spots. I then put my Oakley Jawbones on , grabbed my bike and ran to the mount line.
Bike: I got on my bike and dialed in 175-180 watts. I took it easy for 45 minutes and then picked it up a bit. I cruised out of town and kept my cadence up. A close friend (James) passed me about 5 miles into the ride which shocked me because we started together and I know he's a great swimmer. I had already peed once. I actually laughed as I went up the first hill and had ~50 people blow right by me... This was the plan and it was hysterical. I allowed myself 200-210W up the hills, but still got passed by everyone except 2 people (and they were both wearing EN kits). I hit the out and back and absolutely loved it! I bombed down the hill and passed like 50 people. Then I kept my power constant and got passed again up the hill. Turned around and bombed down the hill the other direction. Wow, this is fun! I started the first loop and just cruised. I kept my cadence between 95 and 110 which is higher than normal for me, but it just felt right. EVERY aid station was exactly the same for me. Grabbbed a water from the first person and squeezed it into my aerodrink, took a swig and tossed it. Grabbed a bottle from someone in the middle, took a drink, squirted the rest on my cool wings (arms), down the back of my neck and tossed it. Grabbed a bottle from the last person, took a drink, squirted it on my crotch, and any other dry spots on my arms or body, took a final drink and tossed the bottle. I drank from my Infinit on the down tube every 15 minutes and chased it with water. I literally took a drink of water every 5 minutes. (I kept hearing Coach P tell me he was going to ask me how many times I peed). I peed again. I rode up to Jeff Braaten (of EN) and identified myself since I was wearing my Team ReserveAid kit. For the next couple of hours we literally leap frogged each other. People passed us going up hills and we passed them going down. He would get ahead of me and then I would get ahead of them. We actually talked about pee. I told him that I had peed on the bike 6 times at that point and he thought I should be checked for a disorder. Like clockwork, every 10 mins or so I would pass him, or he would pass me. It was kind of comical after a while. On one of the fast downhills, there was a truck pulling a boat and people riding on his right so I couldn't pass. Then the knucklehead slammed on his breaks and since I was already going over 30mph, I decided to pass him on the left on the double yellow line as there was a car coming up the hill. Sorry Coach P, but I massively spiked my watts up to do this but I thought this was a good use of a match. Going through the town of LaGrange was Awesome! People were lining the streets and I just kept imagining that I was in the TDF. The fans and volunteers were so good. I ran out of my 3hr bottle of Infinit exactly 2 miles before BSN. I called out my number and they had my bag waiting as I rode up. I stopped, grabbed my new 2.5hr Infinit bottle (there was still ice in the bottle as I had put it in a cooler bag inside my BSN bag) and my reward Honey Stinger Waffle. I ate that as I rode off and continued on. High cadence, constant power. Easy! About 3.5 hrs in, my lower back got a bit sore so I took 2 Advils. I had a total of 3 salt sticks on the whole ride. I caught my friend James again after about 75 miles and we leap frogged for an hour or so. I had saved something for the last 20 or so downhill miles where I smiled and flew past people. I took 2 more Advils at about mile 105. I had about 1 oz of Infinit left when I finished the bike and for good measure I peed for the 10th time (yes, I counted) on the bike at mile 110. The last mile or so I stretched and coasted in to the finish of the bike.
Bike Data:
Time: 5:53:46 (I did my 2 RR's in 6:14 and 6:17)
NP: 181W
IF:0.668
VI: 1.04
TSS 262
3400 ft elevation change
Avg Speed: 19.0 mph
Avg HR: 136 (max 145)
Avg Cadence: 94 rpm
T2: I dropped my bike off and jogged down to the Tent and was handed my bag as I passed. I entered the tent, put on my Injinji toe socks, and my Newton running shoes, grabbed my fuel belt and put my hat on and jogged out. I stopped to have the sunscreen appliers lather me up, stopped at the porta-potties for one last pee and I was off.
On the way out of T2 they were handing out waters I took at least 4 of then, drank one and soaked myself with the other 3...
Run: It was sooooo hard to slow down. The problem was, I had just swam 2.4 miles and biked 112 miles, but it literally felt like I hadn't even done anything yet! My legs felt great, I was fully hydrated, and topped off on calories. I felt great but I forced myself to slow down to ~9:30 pace (I planned 10:30 pace for the 1st 6 miles). Every Aid station was exactly the same for me... I took 2 sponges and put them in the front of my kit and put one in the back of my neck in my kit. I put ice under my hat every 3rd aid station. I put a cup of ice into each sleeve of my cool wings and it stopped right at the crook of my elbow. I doused myself with ice water. I drank 1-2 cups of ice water. Then at the last person, I grabbed a cup of ice and put half of it in each hand. This ice melted and I chewed on it until it disappeared about 3/4 of the way to the next aid station. I literally did this every mile for the whole marathon. I ate a gu about an hour into the run and another one at almost 2 hours (I had a total of 3 salt sticks during the run which was not enough, but they made my stomach burn). I knew this wasn't enough calories but they were making my stomach curl just a bit so I was cautious. I had a sip of Perform at the 1st aid station and I knew I wouldn't be doing that again. I saw "Terminator" (my Sherpa) at ~mile 3 or 4 and she told me I looked great. She told me she saw my wife a couple of times on the bike which gave me a huge boost because I was happy she made it through the swim and was doing well... I saw Coach P around mile 8 or so and told him I felt great because I really did (he told me to stay cool). Things started to get a little scary right around mile 13 or so. I started to swerve a bit and I was getting tunnel vision. At least I was well aware what was going on as my blood pressure was getting low and so was my blood sugar. I knew I was about to bonk and I needed calories and more water. This is right around the time I saw the Terminator again and I told her I was feeling bad, but she told me I looked great. This was literally the only 10 minute stretch of the whole race that I felt bad. At the next aid station I grabbed a banana chunk and a handful of pretzels (I had never trained with these, but I was desperate). This luckily solved my problem and I immediately started to perk up again. This was now added into my routine for every aid station for the rest of the way. I now started to do advanced math in my head as I was running... I had 13 miles to go and I was at 10:37... If I simply kept an 11 min/mile pace (including aid station walking) for the last 13 miles I could break 12 hours, piece of cake! (12:30 was my soft goal for the day) Now every mile that I broke 11 min/mi I felt as though I was "banking time" that I could call on later to go over 11 min for mile if I needed it. I had never run more than 17.3 miles in my entire life. As I passed mile 18, there was nobody there, but I saw "The Line" on the road and smiled to myself as I thought of my EN team... I was looking forward to this line, but I didn't have any of the pain I had expected when I got there... I couldn't run much faster, but I had no need to slow down. I simply ticked off the miles as if they were 26 discrete events. I couldn't believe how many people were walking. Probably 3 people walking for every one running. I had no intention of walking, nor did I need to, I actually really felt great! I had expected to draw on my "One thing" to keep me going and thought I would be able to call on my mental strength to force myself to run instead of walking. Fortunately, I didn't need any of that. It never got hard. At 6 miles to go, I knew I only needed a 11:30 pace to break 12 hrs. At 3 miles to go, I only needed a 12:30 pace... At one mile to go, I only needed like a 14 minute mile. instead of using any of this "banked time" I gradually sped up for each of my miles. I'm not joking that I think I could have done 10 more miles at that pace if I needed to even though I couldn't have sped up much more for any of the ones I did. I saw Terminator again with less than a mile to go and gave her my hat and fuel belt... She told me to enjoy this last mile. I had enjoyed the whole day, but was in no mood to high five anyone in the finishing shoot... It felt so good to hear "John Withrow... You are an Ironman"!
Run Data:
Official Time: 4:36:45 (10:33/mi)
(Garmin 310XT had 26.58 miles at 10:25/mi)
Avg HR: 143
Max HR: 153
4 mile laps (pace): 9:45, 10:24, 10:02, 10:52, 10:41, 10:41, 10:33
Total Time: 11:56:27 (I had hoped for 12:30-12:45)
Post race: Immediately after I crossed the finish line I exited the magical "zone" I was in and and got a bit light headed. I was escorted to the med tent where I asked for a fluid IV bag and 2 Advil. I had 2 cups of warm chicken broth which were magical and after about 30 minutes I was up and about and went to get some pizza and potato chips and headed to the finish line to watch my wife Jess become an Ironman!
I truly had a magical race on a magical day! I had studied EN execution for months like it was my job and I read ~50 EN race reports before it was my day. I dialed in my power and I had a specific plan that I stuck to. I knew pacing, hydration, and staying cool were going to trump the fact that I am not all that fast! I figured a slow Execution Ninja would be better than a fast dude that blows up! I was right! Best of all was the support from my EN teammates as well as Team ReserveAid. Seeing everyone out there was inspiring. As Team ReserveAid, we raised over $180,000 for our troops and I believe the positive karma of that effort came back to me on this race day!
Comments
Great job John and great RR.
John - I love this quote: "... The problem was, I had just swam 2.4 miles and biked 112 miles, but it literally felt like I hadn't even done anything yet! My legs felt great, I was fully hydrated, and topped off on calories. I felt great..."
Isn't it great to have that "problem" going into an IM marathon? Yee-hah!
Must say I'm a little worried to go on a ride with you now back in NJ. "Holy Pee on the Bike" batman - I'm going to have to make sure that I'm riding in front of you! Let's get together soon to celebrate your being an Ironman!
@Scott- my 10 pee stops on the bike maybe cost me 1 full minute of slowing down time, but I stopped a grand total of 1 time on my bike and that was for the 30 seconds it took me to get my BSN bag and I didn't pee then. I did need to clean my seat and bike shoes after the race though, yuck...