Redman HIM Race Report
About me:
6’2”, 183
38
Previous triathlon experience – 4 sprints (1x each 1997, 2009, 2010, 2011), 1 Olympic (June 2011)
1 marathon (1999), 2.9 half marathons in 2010 (see link for explanation of the .9)
http://members.endurancenation.us/Training/TrainingForums/tabid/101/aft/4463/Default.aspx
Executive Summary:
This was my first HIM, so I went into it with pretty conservative execution plan with very specific big picture goals: finish with a smile and no trip to the med tent. Mission accomplished.
Swim: 0:41
Bike: 3:05
Run: 2:12
Total: 6:07
The Lead Up:
Decided last Fall that I would give this a go and found EN after my typical no-stone-unturned research. Started the OS in January and did the full 20 weeks, then transition. At Patrick’s suggestion, I did 4 weeks of general prep to get a headstart on ramping up volume, followed by a full 12 week beginner plan.
Trained through the hottest summer on record in Oklahoma. Generally didn’t miss many workouts and certainly none of the long runs or rides. Both race rehearsals went fairly well, but learned things from both that I applied on race day.
I have spent a TON of time this year hanging around the EN site and just generally being a sponge for knowledge. As my high school basketball coach used to tell me, “You may not have much talent, but you are coachable.” I bet I watched the 4 Keys video at least 20 times during rides on the trainer. (I can practically recite entire sections from memory now.) I always tried to pay attention to everything Al Truscott has to say, not the least of which is the quote in his signature: “Pay attention to nutrition and pace, time and place will take care of themselves.” I was also struck by Joe Matchette’s race report from IMLoo . . . remember reading it and seeing all of the pictures of him with a big smile on his face and thinking, “That’s what I want to do.”
Typical race week jitters . . . Monday and Tuesday was pretty nervous, but it slowly morphed more into excitement. I knew going in that I had put in some good training and was more than ready to accomplish my goals. The Beginner plan was no joke – I was betting there weren’t many first timers that were going to show up having done 4100 yard swim workouts, 10 3 hour rides, 20 minute runs to the pool to swim 3400 yards with a 20 minute run home, etc. Between the training, all of the execution guidance, advice on bike setup, transitions, etc., it sort of reminded me for studying for finals . . . I always knew I was ready when my attitude was “I dare you to try to ask me a question I can’t answer.” Very much how I felt, but definitely a quiet confidence.
The Day Before:
Race was on Saturday, so I took Friday off work to do a recon swim, registration, bike check in and pre-race meeting. The pre-race meeting was just like what Rich describes on the 4 Keys video . . . total bar fight waiting to happen. Seriously, the average number of MDot articles of clothing was 2.4 per person. Okay, I get it, you’ve done some races . . . but the hat, shirt, shorts, socks, tattoo combo was like a uniform or something.
Race Day:
Did the 2 am naked juice smoothie feeding, then up at 4 am for good. Got dressed, finished packing, hit the can and headed out. Had a banana at 4 am – that’s about all the solid food I can seem to handle pre-race or workout. Had 24 oz of dilute Infinit run formula (with caffeine) on the way to the race and while setting up transition. Had 20 oz water and a Roctane gel about 30 minutes pre start. Peed at least 3 times and could’ve gone more. In fact, I joked to a buddy that I was going to put my wetsuit on early so I just start peeing in it and not worry about getting back in the portapotty line.
My plan all along was to play the day very conservatively.
Swim: My RR swim times were all around 43:xx; was planning on 42-46 minutes since I was planning on going easy, counting strokes, etc.
Bike: Given my lack of experience, my pace plan was a bit of a HIM/IM hybrid. 30 minutes at high Z1/low Z2; then settle into Z2. 3 hour bottle of Infinit (800 calories) would be primary nutrition. Was planning on 3:00 to 3:10.
Run: vDot of 41 gives me a EP around 10:00/mile. Wanted to go out somewhere around this range for the first three miles, maybe a little slower. Based on the how I know I handle the heat and how my RRs went, I knew dropping down to anything close to MP was not wise for me. I’d be happy to run EP for 10 miles or so, then kick it in. Planning on 2:05 to 2:20.
The Swim:
Due to the drought we’ve had in the Midwest the lake where the swim takes place is WAY down. Swim course was changed to a triangle to accommodate this, but water was released into the lake the night before which caused the sighting buoys between the turns to float off. Result is that it looked like a slalom course all the way to first turn.
So now we’re sighting off a bunch of buoys to our right, even though we were swimming counterclockwise. Shockingly little contact, had plenty of clean water. I’ve known that I have some issues swimming straight at times, but it was really bad. I swear I was swimming at a 45 degree angle to the left . . . if wouldn’t have sighted I would’ve almost gone in a circle!
Swim seemed to take forever . . . tried to stay in the box by counting strokes, etc. but my mind wandered at times . . . not to negative things necessarily, more like making a grocery list kind of stuff. Not very racy, I know.
Came out of the water and heard “41 minutes” and couldn’t believe it . . . figured I was on the high side of my range at best. Was very happy, even ran over say hi to my parents on the way back to transition.
What I learned:
-Gotta learn to swim straight
-Lots of room to improve, both physically and mentally
T1: 5:xx
The couple hundred yards from the water to the transition area was included in T1 times. I was also as far as possible from bike out as I could be. Decided to put on my DeSoto Coolwings now as it was pretty chilly, plus I knew I would want them later. Ugh – trying to wrestle those things on wet was a whip – to quote the Randy Quaid character from “Days of Thunder” . . . I looked like a monkey effing a football. Decided to carry my shoes to the mount line rather than run with them.
The Bike:
3:05 official
3:02:20 moving time
2:30 portapotty stop
18.4 mph avg
Zone 2.0 avg HR (134 bpm)
93 avg cadence
Stock wheels, no aero helmet, but did run Vittoria tires/latex tubes
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117060923
Once I got HR down from the swim, I went into zone 3 only 3 times and then only briefly (10-20 seconds)
This was pretty much exactly according to plan. I wanted to make sure I left plenty for the run, so I was content to lock into Z2 and stay there. Even so, the 18.4 avg is as good as any ride I had during the previous 12 weeks.
Potty stop took way to much time, so I decided to learn how to pee on the bike after that. I was really struck by the irony of how hot urine feels going into your shoe at the same time I was pouring cold water over my head. Deep thoughts.
Saw friends at a few different places on the bike, which was really great. Quite a lift. Overall, couldn’t believe how much fun I was having. Made to sure to say thank you to every police officer and volunteer that I could . . . I was positively manic.
What I learned:
-Pay attention to how you tape gels to your top tube – mine were crocked and rubbed the crap out of the inside of my right leg.
-Need to get used to staying in aero off the swim – probably held it 85-90% of the time, but definitely had some shoulder fatigue
-Need to learn how to drink out of regular water bottles (horizontal and downtube) without coming out of aero
The Run
2:12:xx
Zone 1.9 avg HR (147 bpm)
Mile splits
10:02, 9:53, 10:33, 10:04, 10:29, 10:09, 10:10,10:37, 10:27, 10:44, 10:50, 9:44, 8:53
(Check out the pace/HR graphs – pretty proud of this)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117052389
One of the advantages to doing a race in your hometown is that it feels like a bit of a home field advantage. Normally I hate 2 loop courses, but I know this one like a back of my hand. I was going to walk the aid stations but otherwise just lock into my 10:00/mile EP pace and just start chopping wood. At the turn around, I saw my family and I remember saying something like “it ain’t sexy, but it’s steady.” Stopped and got high fives and kisses when I saw folks I knew, but otherwise just rocked along. Both Achilles were tight and hurting but in a different way than I’ve experienced before; didn’t seem to bother me though. Second lap started to feel a little more like work, but I knew that I had left plenty in the tank to kick it up. Found a few kindred spirits around Mile 11 and brought it home with a stronger finish.
What I learned:
-Um, shoes that drain would be a good idea. Sloshing in your own urine is gross.
-Need to strategize aid stations a little better – was good about shouting out what I needed but they were giving it to me all at once so I lost some time trying to figure out how to handle 2 waters, a Coke and 2 sponges.
Overall:
Very, very happy with how my first went. My family was shocked at how in control I seemed all day and that I seemed relatively fresh at the end. This was my definition of success for the day and absolutely owe all of the credit to EN – both training and learning how to execute. A few times on the course I saw people doing it so, so wrong and felt like I was cheating – like I got a copy of the test the night before. Just a huge advantage.
What’s Next:
-Definitely going to be unstructured the next few months; think I’ll try the 30 runs/30 days challenge and may run a 15k and HM for fun.
-Working on a way to talk my wife into a power meter – I have a lot of low hanging fruit in all phases, but this seems like a good investment heading into the OS.
-With a busy job and two young kids, not sure what my schedule will realistically allow in terms of long course races the next few years. Given my lack of racing experience, I’m thinking next year would be a good short-course focus year and try to do as many Olympics and 10-Ks as I can handle – just get used to racing more and going faster.
Thanks again to everyone – I’ve learned so much from this group.
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