Venkatesh Krishnamurthi IMWI Race Report
Race day stats:
44 yrs/ 5’7”/ 148 lbs/ Vdot 48/ FTP 240 W (3.6 W/kg)
3rd year in triathlon and 2nd IM (did IMWI 2010 14:22)
Saturday
In bed ~ 8:30 PM and asleep soon thereafter.
Awake 3:45, ½ bagel w/ peanut butter and some black coffee. All summer long ate the same thing every day (3 organic waffles w/ jam) so felt lost w/o my usual breakfast. Wonder if I should have eaten more but didn’t feel particularly hungry. Don’t think I had any calorie deficit but would value others’ thoughts.
Swim Goal <1:20 Actual 1:27:35</span>
No expectations to be out front but felt like I should be able to go around 1:20 based on my 100 yard T pace (1:55) and training partner in last year’s race who went 1:18 and was generally slower than me (in a pool). Started between buoy line and water ski ramp, about 6 rows back. Typical swim, lot’s of contact, tried to find some feet and follow. Felt as though I had a good swim (for me) and got out and saw 1:27 and thought I had gone 1:17 (thinking the clock was off by 10 mins due to pros start). Only found out later that 1:27 was accurate. So maybe need to recheck my goals for next IM.
T1 12:00 mins
Should have been faster. Too much time w/ shoe change, Chamois Butter, etc. Have to simplify. Better to put the Chamois butter/Aquaphor/etc. before the swim so you don’t have to worry about it later?
Bike 6:33 (17.3 mph) Goal watts 168 Actual watts 146 W VI: 1.13 TSS 244
Nutrition on bike: 2 20 oz. bottles Infinit for 56 miles (estimated 3 hours) w/ lots of water at aid stations. 1 gel ~ every 90 mins. 2nd 56 miles probably took 1.5 bottles Infinit.
Was pretty happy w/ effort on bike. Broke the ride up into 4 intervals:
1) Start to Whalen Rd: Goal was JRA watts (~ 160), actual was 134
2) Whalen Rd through 1st loop: Goal 165ish, actual 147
3) 2nd loop: Goal 170 ish, actual 150
4) Verona back to Madison: Goal 165, actual 135
Overall, in hindsight, didn’t ride @ my goal but wasn’t able to prove it with a good run. While on the bike, felt very good, never felt like I was pushing too hard, etc. Have to get better holding steady wattage. Wonder if I pushed it more, would I have a better bike and maybe the same run?
T2 7:19
Same as T1. Only thing to do was change shoes and socks, get hat and go. Little too much time here.
Run 5:11:28
I’ve always been a Polar fan so used the Polar G3. Found the pacing data to be quite a bit off so didn’t really trust what the watch was saying. Started out w/ plan of EP+30s. Felt OK for ~8-9 miles. 30 seconds @ aid stations w/ water and ice. Just didn’t feel like drinking anything sweet. Around mile 11 started to get really fatigued…sleepy…could barely keep my eyes open. Had this same feeling last year. At ½ way point, decided to walk ‘cause was concerned I wasn’t really running straight anymore (wasn’t sure if I was delirious or just couldn’t keep my eyes open). Walked from 13-17, drank water, few grapes, 1 gel, lots of ice on the face, etc. Then made deals w/ myself to run 1 mile and walk 1 mile. Ended up feeling better and then would walk for 2 to 2.5 mins and run the rest of the mile. Last split ended up being a little faster.
Run Splits:
8.9 mi (1:31:28) 10:16/mi
4.3 mi (51:46) 12:02/mi
8.75 mi (1:56:22) 13:17/mi
4.25 mi (51:52) 12:12/mi
Total time 13:31:29
Overall pleased to improve by ~ 50 mins in 2nd IM. But …
1) Got to figure out that sleepy/exhausted feeling that sets in after 2 hours on the run. Talked a lot w/ IMWI race group and Coach Rich about caffeine pills so will probably look into training with these next year.
2) Have to be mentally a little stronger on the run. Have run several marathons in 3:35 range so disappointed in not breaking 5 hours in 2 tries. The problem (so far) hasn’t been pain, cramps, etc but more “exhaustion.” Is that what everyone else feels when they start to slow down? Suggestions other than caffeine to combat this?
3) Is it worth doing long bikes (5 hours) and long runs (3 hours) to feel that exhausted sensation during training and try to figure out how to push through? Any other training suggestions to experience this feeling?
Thanks to all
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Comments
I'm thinking your sleepy/exhausted feeling may have something to do with too few calories. My math has you at
maybe 300 calories for breakfast,
nothing pre-race/pre-swim
1100ish on the bike
and about 100 calories on the run, which is far, far too few calories for any Ironman. That could be causing the slow feeling. I know I always feel foggy and have trouble paying attention when my calories are low.
What happened on your race rehearsals, being out for c. 7.5 hours? Any exhaustion there? How was your nutrition?
Thanks Beth,
Race rehearsals went very well. The last RR, rode 6 hours @ IF of 0.72ish then ran 6 miles in about 52 mins. Didn't have any problem holding this pace for an hour run. So, w/ 7 to 8 hour workout, sleepiness/exhaustion doesn't seem to happen.
Good point about calories. I have consistently eaten about 300-400 calories for breakfast, regardless of working out or going to work (eat the same thing every day
). Only difference is that during a workout, I'm taking in calories more regularly. I'm pretty sure I took about 1500 calories during the 6:33 bike split (3.5 bottles of Infinit and 3-4 gels). This works out to about 250/hour. I was under the impression that you really couldn't absorb more than this.
Any reason why you didn't do your normal breakfast that morning?
Congrats on IM #2!
That's the problem with being a creature of habit. I eat 3 organic waffles w/ organic blueberry jam every day! No freezer in room and no toaster in room to make the waffles (couldn't even get a 'fridge from Hilton). Probably should have gone to the grocery store and bought my usual. That was dumb
. Is there a calorie goal for breakfast before long workout/IM/etc? I noticed that many people wake up at 2 AM and take in calories. Having never done that in training, I didn't want to try it at the race but maybe it's something to incorporate.
Congrats again on your 2nd IM and for the overall time improvement!
1. Caloric intake: I really focus on eating a lot more calories especially Thursday and Friday so that I have a good reserve in my tank on Sunday. I don't have a huge breakfast race morning, a bagel (with or without peanut butter), a banana and a soy milk. I rely on the fact that I've eaten enough in the days leading up to it, plus I like to race on an empty stomach. As you've found out, you can't always rely on what you eat at home so you need to find out what else you can take just in case.
2. As far as a booster, I rely on the 5 hour energy but I use that in my training (long rides and RRs) and it works for me. I've used it in my last 3 Ironmans and it provides just enough for me with an occasional cola on the run.
Enjoy the rest and have a great off-season!
Joanna
On the swim pace, we all need to get our data into the excel sheet. Thre aren't enough data there to really say, but I made a guestimate from what WAS there to think that race pace was typically 90-92% of T-pace.
In scy times, my T-pace was 93 seconds per hundred. Converting my IM WI swim time to 100 yard pace, it was 105 s. By that measure, I come up 88.6% having had an abdominal cramp, so I'm good with calling that pretty close to 90% had I not had the cramp.
I think your friend has an "issue" with his swim. He either is wasting his time swimming in the pool or killing himself with the hardest swim of his life if he has a ~2:00 Tpace and is putting up a 1:18. Just multiply that out. 2:00 x 42 = 84 minutes = 1:24.
Your stated vdot and FTP indicate you have good muscular strength and speed. I touched on this myself in a post about ones fatigue rate. To me, it seems like your rate of fatigue is quite high compared to me, for example. My vdot was 45-46 during my last IMs and I ran in the low 4-hour range.
For my n=1 experiment, I have success in having better run performances during a Tri, not by running longer, but by cycling longer and holding intensity longer during such rides. For example, all Spring I rode long, multiple century rides and rode those hard (one with Coach Rich in a time of 4:33). The subsequent bike legs of triathlons are then not too taxing compared to the riding I did all Spring (lots of duration, intensity, and massive climbs) and leave my legs in much better shape for the run. I'd examine your nutrition as well, making sure you have not got into too much of a deficit calorie-wise by the time you jump off the bike.
congrats! I had no idea you were struggling when I saw you out on the run, sorry to hear it.
1) as far as doing chamois butter, etc on pre-race - that's what I do. I body glide everywhere I need to (including chamois) when I get dressed and have extra body glidie in T2 and RSN bags.
2) In the past I've done (and trained) the morning smoothies, and then a light breakfast, and a gel or something pre-race. I didn't do the smoothie this year, but did the other things. I believe in the wiki there's a write up re how many calories you should shoot to take in each hour on both the bike and run and I know my race plan includes that. Admittedly I thought the perform was absolutely gross (flavor and being warm) but drank it. I didn't do gels on the run this year bc of the heat, I was worried my stomach would reject it.
As far as mental toughness, I never wear headphones when I ride or do brick runs of any length - to get used to long periods of solitude. Most of my Sat long rides were alone this year, too... not fun but I guess it helps to gut it out - and this year I really did struggle mentally on many of those long rides.
In any event, congrats on the race! great to race with you twice this year.
VK, great race! I agree that you are selling yourself short calorically. Breakfast should be about 750 calories (you did 50% of that), and you didn't do 2 gels at 15 mins prior to the swim (missing another ~ 200 calories). Beth's math has you at 1100 cals on bike, when at 6.5 hours X 250 cals per hour you should be looking at 1625. And you probably ate nothing (perform or otherwise) on the run other than some grapes. Call it 100 calories when most folks are taking in 150 cals per hour (on avg), or 5 x 150 = 750 calories.
So doing the math you were about 1800 calories short during the race. You took in about 1500 calories, which, I venture, is LESS than you eat in an average day with just a 2 hour workout and your job. Only this time you decided to go another 12+ hours on the same fuel. INSANE.
Fixing this should be priority #1...just no way you can race when you are under eating!
Good luck!