IMC Race Report- Finally
Canada race report....short, to the point.
Overall, the race didn't meet the expectations I had developed from all I read and heard...having said that, the locals were GREAT, awesome people.
I had a race plan to swim 1:10, ride 5:20 and run 3:45 and have an outside chance at a Kona slot. My training leading to this race had been good, so I had high expectations.
My day went well until the very hot run....I hadn't trained for that, in spite of living in SC. I had done alot of indoor treadmill running, and some in NC mountains, so heat acclimation wasn't there for a 90+ degree day ( not sure I could have trained for this !) Swam 1:12:xx ( most people said swim was slow, I had a good swim). No nonsense T1 and out on bike course. Took water at every aid station, and needed it. Biked 5:25:xx and had nutrition/electrolytes on target, even on hot day. Headwinds from top of Yellow Lake back to town were brutal. So at this point I'm only about 6 mins off target, as I had good transitions. Started out on run and it was just hot. I also underestimated the hills from miles 9-14 or so, and my mental state just went to hell. Took in too much EFS at mile 4, by mistake, and my gut knotted up. Just took in water until mile 15, then went to coke and water and gut was ok. I knew I wasn't a good heat runner, as I'm a bigger guy, but it just melted me that day. Much more walking than planned. Run time 4:09 ish, way off goal. Finished 14th AG, the run time being the difference between my season ending that day and being extended to Kona...no dice.
The good news...Best IM swim yet, best bike yet on hilly course and PR by 20' overall, final time 10:54:00...broke the 11 hour barrier. The older I get, the faster I get....( EN testimonial ! )
The bad news....dramatically missed run target. Some was heat, some was mental and frankly, I spent too much time indoors on treadmill and not out on road. I adopted that approach 2 years ago to stay healthier and control environment, need more time outdoors in heat and hills next time.
The trip out and back from SC is a marathon in itself....I slept more in the week after race than I've slept in years...guess I needed it. Now into some very ez unstructured training/moving around...plans are to run my first open marathon this December at Kiawah Island, in spite of EN approach, which I've followed to the letter for past 2.5 years. I just have to know what I can do without a 6.5+ hour warmup...Also signed up for IMCDA next year with my Columbia buds....should be fun.
Comments
Hard to train for that kind of heat William! Good luck at IMCDA…. we are glad to have you out here in the NW! And you may have the opposite problem – too cool!