mancona's ironman wisconsin 2011 post mortem ;-)
Not only can I not get this race right, this is now my third attempt to post this to the forums. IE9 and EN appear to not get along.
The first two time I copied, pasted, and reformatted this, but this time I'm just including a link: http://ironmancona.blogspot.com/201...t-aka.html
In addition to the report on my blog, here is some other information for the team. that I wont share on my blog.
Bike Data:
|
Segment |
Distance |
Target/Goal |
Actual |
Delta |
|
Out |
13.5 |
198 |
201 |
Over 3 |
|
Loop1A |
21 |
206 |
202 |
Under 4 |
|
Loop1B |
21.5 |
206 |
207 |
Over 1 |
|
Loop2A |
21 |
208 |
201 |
Under 7 |
|
Loop2B |
21.5 |
208 |
198 |
Under 10 |
|
Back |
13.5 |
210 |
171 |
Under 39 |
Entire workout (193 watts):
Duration: 5:05:40
Work: 3532 kJ
TSS: 247.5 (intensity factor 0.698) ****** Target was 0.74
Norm Power: 199
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: 1.14%
Pa:HR: -1.67%
Distance: 113.138 mi ***** Rimrock Detour added about 1.25 miles
Elevation Gain: 4071 ft
Elevation Loss: 4106 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-31 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 575 193 watts
Heart Rate: 141 196 173 bpm ******* Typically IM heart rate is 160-165
Cadence: 20 139 88 rpm
Speed: 0 49 22.0 mph
Pace 1:14 0:00 2:43 min/mi
Altitude: 842 1243 1000 ft
Crank Torque: 0 601 188 lb-in
Temperature: 66.2 86 76.4 Fahrenheit
In total I took in 1450 Calories, 208 oz of water, and 3400mg of salt in a 5:05 bike ride:
· 1 Gu about 10’ into ride (100 Cal)
· 11 Scopes of Infinit (250 Cal and 540 mg of salt per hour of the ride) – mixed with 48oz of water
· 1 Roctane with about 15’ left in the ride (100 Cal)
· 2 Succed SCaps (~350mg of salt each)
· 8 x ~20 oz water bottles (estimate due to spilling/splashing)
Check out the red heart rate line that is declining the entire ride...that can't be good. FWIW, the power drop off was an intentional choice I made in an attempt to rest up for the run. That said I think if I would have tried to hold my target power for the full ride I would have been in even worse shape on the run.
Run Nutrition:
· About 3 cups at each aid stations (typically 1 cola, 1 sports drink, 1 water)
· A 20 oz bottle of gatorade that was in my t2 bag
· A 20 oz bottle of coke that was in my special needs bag
· I believe a total of 4 salt pills on the run (~350mg x 4 = 1400 mg)
· 1 Gu Roctane
I will race IMWI again, just not next year. I have to say it is quite nice not to have an IM on the calendar for the first time in over 3 years... not I have all my options open to do whatever races I want to do next year.
Comments
Now, forgive me because I'm a problem solver by nature. The first thing I think of is how to prevent this from happening again (or to others) so your report is very interesting to me. There's a huge red alarm going off when I look at your data and it all has to do with your HR. Honestly, when I responded to the following thread (http://endurancenation.us.dnnmax.com/Training/TrainingForums/tabid/101/aft/7082/Default.aspx) the classic example I was thinking of in my mind just so happened to be your IMWI race but I hadn't even read your RR yet.
It would be interesting to see some HIM HR data. Your HR in the first 1 - 2hrs on the bike is downright scary. You mentioned that your overall avg was about 10bpm high (over "normal") which makes the first hour on the bike look crazy considering your severely declining HR profile. I'm not sure your problem was dehydration unless you entered this race severely dehydrated. Your HR is just jacked from the beginning of the bike. Did it ever concern you while you were riding?
i did not look at my HR on the bike and never have in a race.... obviously that is issue number 1. I litterally felt amazing on the bike and was holding back for the fist 60 miles. Every time I looked down my watts were too high and I had to back down, which I think I did a pretty good job at. The ride felt super easy, like it should. FWIW, my 285 FTP is very solid and I hit those numbers week in and week out in the aerobars on the trainer and outside. I've never raced by HR and always just watch power until my PE doesn't feel right.
Aronud mile 65ish I went from feeling amazing to a headache and chils almost instantly. I had no problem holding my power, but I immediately easied up, took some water and a salt pill as I assumed I was dehydrated. I checked my HR and saw it was high (I think the average was 179 at that point) so I just keep slowly backing my power down and taking in a little bit of extra water. So yes it definitely concerned me and I was trying to adjust. I pretty much shut my legs down in the last 30' and total spun easy back to madison in an effort to get my HR to drop and to get be in the best shape I could for the run.
Here is some of my average HR data and some notes from other races for reference. In every case it started well over 180 and dropped in the first 15-20 minutes.
2009
171 at Kansas 70.3 - great bike and great run, not issues at all
165 at IMWI - side stitch for 23 miles of the run but still ran 3:22 (in a world of hurt)
2010
177 at high cliff half ironman (had side stitch on the run but still when 1:25ish)
171 at racine (minor cramping issues on the run but was over 90 and humid - ran 1:27ish))
162 at Kona - no issues on run other than mental weakness
2011
no heart rate data from oceanside and had my best HIM run 1:20:06 - my forerunner broke mid race, my gut feeling is that my HR was lower here as I coasted and brake a lot in the hills
174 in Muncie - 1:25 run (B+ on the run considering it was 90 degress, sunny, and hilly)
173 at IMWI per race report above
Based on that data, 160-165 seems about right for IM and 170-175 seems about right for HIM for me.
All that said, I really don't know what caused mine to be so high at IMWI as my PE was super easy. The only things I can think of are 1) the gel I took before the swim and early in the ride had caffeine and 2) the sinus infection/cold I was fighting off. Usually I don't take any caffeine in until the end of the bike start of the run... I never had a reason for this it's just what I did. I happened to only have gels with caffeine so I figured they wouldn't make a difference and took them anyways.
I had my normal amount of water the day before and morning of the race... which is more than a normal day, but not a crazy amount. I had to pee multiple times before the race and during the swim, so I believe I was hydrated when I started.
So, the two things I am trying to figure out are:
- What caused my HR to be so high in the first place when I was at or under my targets and following my nutrition (which has worked in more extreme conditions)?
- What else could I have done on the bike when I realized something wasn't right at mile 65ish?
As a physician I can tell you that that while number one of these two can have an effect its less important if you are a routine caffeine user(ie coffee drinker). We'll see heart rates of 180-200 from caffeine in our babies but that is a rare response(normal range for age is 120-160). Most tolerate loading dose and continuous treatment just fine. However being sick is another matter entirely. In general heart rate response is blamed on fever but I think its actually much more complicated than that when someone is fighting an infection. If that was the root cause, there was nothing else you could have done and you did an awesome job gutting it out and salvaging what you could with a great mental game.
Lynne
What's interesting is I took a roctane gel at both Oceanside and Muncie at the end of the bike ride and had a great run at both...so I wonder why it ***could*** have effected me so bad on the bike at IMWI, but it appears that I'm able to handle it while running.
We'll never really know but it's possible that you only had to throw out your power targets for the first hour, drink some extra fluids and then return back to plan in the 2nd hour. Sure, you would have lost some time but it's better than the alternative. Or it might have just been one of those days where you have to abandon your power targets altogether and ride more conservatively. My IM PR was done on an IF of .67, well below my target, but my HR was 155bpm which is probably equivalent to your 165bpm. I felt like I could have definitely gone harder on the bike but every time I did my HR started climbing too high. I know from experience that I can't keep my HR >155bpm on the bike and then raise it enough to run well too. You just have to accept what your body gives you on that day. Sure, your elevated HR very well could have been due to fighting an infection but it doesn't really matter either. You gotta back down because the alternative is walking.
Btw, there's just no evidence that you'll consistently see a tight correlation between HR and RPE and it's a guarantee that those two will be completely out of whack in the first ~20min of the bike and very early on the run.
I realize what I wrote above might not be something you want to hear but you're the type of guy who will read it, really think about it and decide whether this makes sense or not for you.
I have no doubt you'll be back stronger than ever.
Thanks, Chris
As much as I want to understand why my HR was so high, the reality is I will always watch it going forward and if it is not dropping to where it should be, I have to back off right away.
I thought I was doing the issue was I was doing it about 3 hours too late as I only watched power because my PE felt so easy. Another rookie mistake and it was my 4th ironman. In hindsight it seems so simple and I really thought I was just fine on race day.
My future bike power plans will no longer just be to ride easy for the first 30ish minutes, instead I will ride easy until my HR drops. Then I will also monitor my HR in addition to power for the rest of the ride and only hold my goal pace if my HR is in line with what it should be.
I still feel I need to sort out the caffeine thing as well. so I plan on doing some testing during long rides and 70.3s next year to see what impact the caffeine has on my race.
The one thing you are missing is what Dave Tallo did in the portajohn, what Rich did on his bike, etc, which is that veteran instinct to (A) feel when something ain't right and (B) make decisions on the fly that allow you to solve that problem for the overall win. I think you are getting there with every race, but it's something that comes with time.
For all we know, 30' at .6 IF might have solved it...maybe not. But next time you'll know what to (and not to) do. Thanks so much for sharing with the Team and for racing out in the open. You are an inspiration to so many of us!
P
Thank you again to everyone that provided suggestions, support, or just took the time to read my mini novel.
Matt's not a regular user and then he throws a bunch of it at his body early in a long day? Why? No wonder he was jacked.
It is indeed a wonder supplement in my experience better used later in the race. Like Popeye opening up that can of spinach. (old cartoon) Every time I've waited until my head says, man I wish I had some caffeine, and then I use it, it works.
I'm bummed for you Matt. I know from reading your stuff here how precise and prepared you like to be and how good you are at this. Good luck going forward.
Matt,
First of all great job on gutting out a tough IM race. A couple thoughts to add:
1) In the thread Chris W referenced I could not get the link to work but I believe its this one http://members.endurancenation.us/T...fault.aspx
I note in that thread that for me HR is really important on hot days and when sick. Given your training and fitness the heat at mid 80's may or may not have been an issues. There has been some great discussion on the heat caluclator and how there is less degradation of speed with greater fitness, lower weight etc. That is it takes a higher temperature to see speeds slowing. I don't think this is the main issues but just throwing it out there as race reports mentioned it was hotter than expected.
Being sick is the one time I really watch HR. You just can't predict what will happen I learned this one the hard way years ago.
2) On the caffeine I'd agree with Chris M's point that there is no free lunch and if you are not a caffeine drinker the effects could cause issues. From a personal perspective and years of university I know that if I need to pull and all nighter 2L of coke will do the trick and if I need an extra boost at 4am-6am tea will help out to get me to class the next morning with no sleep (even functional and able to write tests). From a training perspective caffeine will also give me an extra kick if I am tired but there is a recovery cost involved to this.
One additional point I remember Jordan Rapp commenting on his use of First Endurance Pre-Race which has 200mg of caffeine before his IM races. Two things stuck with me in this conversation. The first he noted to make sure you use this product prior to your IM, the standard don't do anything different on race day. Second was his note that there was/is for him an additional recovery period from using caffeine, basically allowing him to dig a little deeper (this last part was implied or my inferrence from the discussion IIRC).
Apparently this may have been two different conversations about pre race. I found the note on recovery in post 39: check out post 62 as well
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum....=ASC;mh=25;
Send a PM to Jordan he seems very willing to discuss things and get his perspective from a pro level.
Gordon
I love the 1st Endurance products. The consistancy of the EFS Liquid Shot is much more "liquidy" and goes down very smooth compared to other gels I've used. It also has some good electrolytes in it. Vanilla tastes fine, the Wild Berry tastes like Robitussion.
As for the pre-race....I also use it before big workouts or races. It is like crack, so use it sparingly and make it count for the big days. Even if you are a regular caffiene user, ease into it. Try a 1/3 or 1/2 a scoop first, as that may be all you need for a boost. Also, fair warning, I usually put it in some Gatorade or other drink I'm sipping before a race, because it tastes like crap.
Not saying there wasn't something you couldn't do different (e.g., Chris's advice), but I would spend my time thinking about how to deal with that kind of circumstance much more than what caused it. Seeing what others have said as well, it's really very easy to believe that the underlying issue was the sinus, possibly exacerbated by the caffeine. Worry about the rest of it, not that.