IM WI - Dave Tallo
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN | OVERALL | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| 1:04:52 | 5:22:03 | 3:40:01 | 10:15:16 | 56 | 8 |
| LEG | DISTANCE | PACE | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| TOTAL SWIM | 2.4 mi. (1:04:52) | 1:42/100m | 232 | 33 |
| BIKE SPLIT 1: 54 mi | 54 mi (2:35:22) | 20.85 mi/h | ||
| BIKE SPLIT 2: 94 mi | 40 mi (2:02:18) | 19.62 mi/h | ||
| BIKE SPLIT 3: 112 mi | 18 mi (44:23) | 24.33 mi/h | ||
| TOTAL BIKE | 112 mi (5:22:03) | 20.87 mi/h | 62 | 7 |
| RUN SPLIT 1: 8.9 mi | 8.9 mi (1:19:24) | 8:55/mi | ||
| RUN SPLIT 2: 13.2 mi | 4.3 mi (35:24) | 8:13/mi | ||
| RUN SPLIT 3: 21.95 mi | 8.75 mi (1:12:04) | 8:14/mi | ||
| RUN SPLIT 4: 26.2 mi | 4.25 mi (33:09) | 7:48/mi | ||
| TOTAL RUN | 26.2 mi (3:40:01) | 8:23/mi | 56 | 8 |
| TRANSITION | TIME | |||
| T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE | 6:05 | |||
| T2: BIKE-TO-RUN | 2:15 | |||
Prerace
Okay sleep, up at 1am for 4 x Ensure, back to sleep and wake to “triple redundancy” race morning alarm clocks.
Swim
1:04:52
I ballparked this swim between 1:03 and 1:05. Took Mancona’s recommendation of inside the ski ramp and one row back, and this seemed to be fine positioning, inasmuch as I was hit, but not pummeled, and was able to find a similar pace group after 5-10 minutes.
Execution was fine, as it was my first attempt at pushing beyond an easy zen pace in a race. I had intended to put the first 400m in as a hard effort, but I was having difficulties moderating the so-called hard effort from RRs on race day. Simply, I didn’t feel like I could be in control and go hard at the same time: there were just too many things going on, and I was either going far outside of my comfort zone because I was distracted by the scrum, or I was focusing too much on RPE, and letting my attention stray from the group around me and losing drafts or a line.
On race tactics: pace and drafting offered some learning opportunities. I was trying to spend a lot of time on other swimmers’ hips and ride out a draft, although I was finding this quite difficult to sustain beyond two or three minutes, and hard to see a hip in the murky(ish) water unless it was RIGHT THERE. I was finding that I would often get knocked off course or pushed away by another swimmer, so a lot of time was spent searching for the next wave to ride. I was, however, trying to confirm for myself if there was, in fact, any tangible benefit to a swim draft for a guy like me, and I am now convinced that it is the difference between an RPE of approx 7.5/10 and 6/10, or at least a few minutes. I had a guy with a snorkel in my sights for much of the swim, and this was a very easy marker to find when sighting. More importantly, catching where I was in relation to that snorkel confirmed that whenever I would drift off his hip and swim draft free in open water, I would be working my tail off until I next caught him. I’d then grab a ride, slow the engines down, and repeat. Takeaway where is I gotta get some practice in and really develop this skill – I think this will get me to the low 1:00s eventually, and isn’t too much a time investment to learn and improve.
Also, swimming in arm coolers was terrible. These were causing major overheating from the get-go. Put them on when out on the bike in the future.
T1 6:05
This is a long-ass t. I normally excel here, but this one was so-so. Bag was misplaced in an entirely different line, so this also hurt me. As well, I’m becoming more convinced that wetsuit strippers are a frill, and I could remove my wetsuit faster on my own with practice. Add the future purchase of a Desoto t1, and this will probably add up to a near-best-in-class T1 at big races.
Bike 5:22:03
TSS 281.9
IF .728
VI 1.03
NP 197
Special Note: Distance was 113 miles.
I tried to execute this one by the book, but it also took a very different approach in WI. Normally, I’m following the dual maxims of “ conserve, find free speed; bank beats and watts by looking for opportunities to coast.” Here, I was trying to follow a lot of Rich’s recent thinking on a very low VI, and spinning out hills and other terrain features to maintain speed through what’s further down the road. This was spot-on, 100% correct for racing a fast bike, and definitely codifies an EN competitive advantage on this course. Main point, which took me until midway through lap 1 to clarify my thinking around, was this approach still has to exist in the larger framework of smart and conservative execution on climbs. I was finding it very tempting to replace my time-tested EN hill watts with a “maintain your speed” effort, which was far too aggressive an approach. Luckily, I clued into this early enough to prevent any real damage.
Ditto riding smart. Learning how to corner effectively and ride draft-legal, but still draft where possible, is probably is worth a few minutes on this course. Future WI camps might even devote a few hours to a “how to really ride a bike” seminar.
Finally, to Rich again, miles 85 to finish were the Big Money. Knowing that I wanted these to be strong and making sure there was minimal dropoff was a major advantage, and treating these as the key to the race was a major strategic pillar. These also fell exactly where I normally start to mentally disengage from the race, so a switch that flipped on at mile 85 telling me “it’s game time” instead of the normal dimming was a minor change. Not sure if it cost some mental matches that I needed later in the day.
Significant damage started to accrue after Shady Oaks. My lower back started to flare, and this hasn’t given me problems since a disaster race at IM Switzerland. By about 100-105, this moved from a point of discomfort to making riding in any aero position unbearable for more than a few minutes. I was able to hold power, but it just kept getting worse.
T2 2:15
Faster, and no mishaps. But I know things were going off the rails.
Run 3:40:01
Lower back was in full-on attack mode by the time I started the run. I shuffled out of Monoa Terrace, and after 4 mins of inching ahead – not running – I was ready to call it a day. I had to sit down, but knew the strain on my back wouldn’t make my body lower itself to sit on the curb, so I went to a portapotty, and just sat there for 4mins 30s (NTD: a portapotty is not a place you want to go just to hang around). Until 4:29 of the 4:30, I wasn’t sure if I would to continue, but decided to go, and go I did. I looked at the Garmin at the mile 2 marker, and was at about 20 minutes. Still shuffling by that point. Most frustratingly, run form was impossible to achieve, and I was trying to mask frustration of months of mind-numbing form improvement being wasted. Finally tried a cold sponge on my back, and bingo, it did the trick. Then, I look at Garmin, and the “low battery” message pops up, and a few seconds later, the screen is blank.
At this point, I decide I’m just going to run it in by RPE, and will keep powering up Garmin to catch my heart rate before it automatically shut down.
Thinking back on this, the dead Garmin was probably what saved my race. It was hot, but I didn’t realize it. The run was hilly enough and perfect pace would have been hard to attain, but I didn’t realize it. Instead, I just went by what I know.
By this time of the day, I was also aware that my spits across each event were on the outside of the goal times I set. Bleh. So, I had to make a mental shift from a set of goals based around time, AG place, and OV place, to goals around running the fastest race I could. I made the decision to Science Lab this one a bit. Even though I would follow the general pattern of 0-6 / 6 – 18 / 18 – 26, I decided I would run this whole thing fairly close to the edge, and instead of having a bank of stored energy at mile 18, I’d just work towards holding on.
Rich and I had a few conversations after the race about the ability to suffer being worth 5-10 minutes in the pointy end of Ironman. I was in that place for pretty much the entire run. It is dark, and that is worsened because you know the forecast is “dark, with 100% chance of continued dark for the foreseeable future.” And it’s a weird game with time, because you have to negotiate with yourself that you will make a choice to move forward for 2 more minutes, but you also know that after those two minutes, you have another two hours ahead, and have to make that choice another 60 times. We’ll probably riff on suffering in the podcast or forum in the year ahead, but IM suffering is a very different animal that is very tough to recreate in artificial circumstances – you really have to be motivated to get to that place, and stay in that place for a long time.
Not a lot to say about the run, other than I owe the execution to Rich. We crossed and gave a few quick shouts of encouragement on my return from lap 1 and into his lap 2. Crossed paths again on the Main street out-and-back in lap 2, and I could see I had put some time into him. Another shout of encouragement. Crossed paths again on the UW bike path. But instead of encouragement I shouted “I’m coming for you, Rich!” I feel bad for this – even catching this guy this was my carrot for miles 12-23, it was a corny thing to shout. And even though it was coming from a place of good fun and smack-talk, there’s smack-talk on the forum, and then there’s smack-talk when you are in the hurt. I owe this dude – who is racing his ass off – my endurance sports existence. Finally caught him at 23, shouted “dude - you are running like a mofo – keep it up” and went on from there.
Strong finish. Came to the chute in a sprint with two other dudes, and was 3 of 3 for our group. Collapsed, and carried out by arms and legs by 4-5 volunteers.
Remember … by this point, I had been missing all my marks over the course of the day, and how knowing that my finish as about 20- minutes slower than hoped, and about 20 minutes outside last year’s KQs, I had come to peace with the outcome. I figured I was in 30th or 40th place for M 40-44, but had a good race.
Massage, 6 x pizza, a coffee, bag pickup. Really happy to have met Matt Ancona and Adam Weeks after the race. Watched finishers few a few hours and enjoyed a perfect September night. Reminded of why this is a special sport and lifestyle. I’m lucky.
Went back to grab my bike later, saw an EN jersey, and introduced myself to Jon. Dude tells me Rich was 10th. Gerbil on hamster wheel in my brain starts running and brain tell me “if Rich is 10th, and I passed Rich, I therefore must be 9th or better.” Jon tells me I was 8th. Stunned silence.
8th in 40-44 would have been good enough to KQ in any of the races where I’ve missed a slot. 8th in 40-44 would have been good enough to KQ for any of the races I’ve read about. This is happening. But don’t be too sure … the numbers don’t get posted until tomorrow, and until the cheque is written, this is still an uncertainty. But damn, this is happening.
Bask in this for a few hours. Beers with ENers. Rich gives me shit for yelling “I’m coming for you, Rich.” Twice.
Hotel. Kona Slot awards tomorrow at 9. I set 4 alarms, ask for a wakeup call, send a email to my SO back home to ask for second wakeupcall. Send email to brother in BC to ask for a third wakeup call. For those counting, that’s seven alarms.
I am there at 7am. Hawaii registration doesn’t open until 9. I drink 6 coffees.
I am the first one standing outside the doors when they open. I peek in, see that they are taping up the results and drawing the cut line. They just posted the number of slots per AG but I can’t see it because my contacts are shot from the accumulated salt. I ask how many for 40-44. They tell me eight.
**********
I’ve worked a long time on this and got a lot of help along the way. I’ve been with EN since the doors opened, and with Rich since his Crucible Fitness days (I think I freak him out when I throw back quotes from material he wrote in 2002). Pat and Rich – and the team, through the team coaching vision they have developed - have got me to the goal I was working towards, and helped make triathlon a fulfilling, rewarding part of life along the way. I can’t adequately express my gratitude for their help, leadership and coaching over the years.
I'm going to Kona in 2012!
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Postscript: I'm thinking back issues could have been remedied by continued core work. I was doing three weekly sessions until June, but then it fell of entirely.
Comments
Hard earned and well deserved! Your hard work and perseverence payed off in the end as well as your ability to suffer. It was great meeting you and exciting to see you achieve your goal.
Congrats, Dave! Could not be happier for you!!!! You certainly did work your tail off for that spot, and there it is! You've also given so much back to all of us here sharing your knowledge, experience, and questions.
Looking forward to following the journey to Kona! Very well done, sir!
I witnessed a lot of that dark you talked about -- from behind the catcher's line. The people coming in around the time you and Rich did had all just been in a dark, hard place and were pretty dazed and all looked like they fought some crazy physical and mental fight. That's the pointy end of the stick.
You rock dude. Wish I had met you before the race instead of afterwards. We apparently swam together without even knowing it. I was near the snorkel guy as well, our swim times are about the same, and I think you are literally right behind me in a race pic where I'm getting out of the water.
Big congrats, happy to see all that hard work pay off for you. Let me know by email if you ever have sights on a race in Europe!
Thank you for your insightful words on your time in the dark side. You kept pressing and did not give in to the easy path of slowing down.
You will love the Desoto T1. Recover well and enjoy your journey to the big island!
I had the same measurement of 113 miles! Threw me a little bit. Not a big deal, but you were expecting to be done!
Nice meeting you and huge congrats. That is so awesome.
Congratulations on the Kona dream coming true: chapeau!
There are several things you said in your report that rung a certain bell with me that I don't often hear. I believe this will be a breakthrough race for you (mostly from a mental perspective). It's one thing to have an incredible "performance day" and get your spot but it's hard to explain to someone what it feels like when you know you truly suffered and dug to a depth you didn't know existed. The true effect of this one might take some time to fully appreciate.
Apparently you like coffee. ;-) So do I. How about a meet up at Lava Java?
Awesome mental toughness, and what a reward after all your years of effort, a Kona slot!
Would you care to share with us your IM times throughout your career? It will be interesting to see where you started in this game having now reached the big leagues.
Congrats!
Big congrats. I'll be using you as a template moving into 2012.
Joanna
Dave,
Great race. As I was following you on race day the RPE really worked as you picked up the pace at the end of the marathon. That stop in the portapotty is definitely not the ideal place to stop.
I had a good laugh at the 7 alarms for the day after and the 6 coffee's. Enjoy training and the race in Kona you definitely earned it.
Gordon
in watching your times on race day, I would have never guessed about the PortaPotty break. And now after hearing about Patrick's PortaPotty experience too, I just might have to find one as maybe they have some magical IM power - like IM Force! or maybe it's just the fresh smell knocks folks back to their senses?
Have a great experience in Kona and thanks for all you give back.