2011 IM AZ Race Report - Samojeden
IM Arizona 2011 Race Report
Executive Summary
I aged up into the 55 – 59 AG this year. This is my 6th IM, 2nd this year (IMLOU) and 1st time for AZ. My primary goal was to PR on the run. My best run had been a 4:32 at LOU last year in 96 degree heat.
My time target for the day was 11:17. My fitness numbers indicated I had a solid chance of my best IM ever and a sub 11 hour potential if all wet well. The day went nowhere close to plan. I had significant issues in the swim, bike and run. I had my slowest run ever! My finishing time was 12:09:10 for 12th in my age group.
Even with my poor overall performance, I had a wonderful day with many great memories made possible by being part of the EN team.
Back Story
This year was my 3rd OS with EN. I had significant knee issues early in the year that forced a 7 week period of no running. I rebuilt the legs and the stride. I add strength training to help with muscle firing, knee stability, core strength and overall power levels. This was successful and I had a solid run at IM LOU with no knee issues. The volume of running was 60% of planned levels. So now the plan was to continue to build the run volume and have a best ever run at AZ.
Race Report (long as always!)
Fitness Stats FTP =260 w, weight 166 lb (up 6 from LOU) , w/kg = 3.47, vDOT ~ 46
Pre Race
I flew into AZ Thursday AM. On the flight I sat next to a man about my age that used to do TRIs and had done one IM. He was had torn an Achilles in one race and was never able to recover form after that. He was trying to get back into it. I pointed him to Leigh Boyle’s great website athletestreatingathletes.com.
The team dinner Thursday night was great. It was great to meet so many new faces! Al T looked ready to rock the race!
Friday I meet about a dozen of the team and did an hour ride on the grade section on Beeline Hwy. I had a great ride. The legs felt solid held 200 watts aero and HR was low with a great 22 mph avg speed. I thought well maybe a sub 11 is possible.
Saturday I went to do the practice swim. The cold water was a concern after the major leg cramps I had last year at CDA in the cold water. I have a Desoto T1 2 piece wet suit and love it. The 3 IM since CDA were all no wetsuit, so I had not used the suit in a year. I got suited up and into the water, well this is not to cold – great. I started to swim and within 20 strokes the suit was extremely tight on the chest. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest keeping me from breathing!!!??? I stopped, calmed down and tired again, same results. Wow this is going to be fun and an added challenge for the swim. Why is the suit tight? AH the strength training this season that had built up the chest and lat muscles and had helped drop my per 100 pace by 7 seconds was now making the suit to tight!! Ok let’s see if we just keep the pace to a cruise level. Ok this may work, I swam for ~ 20 min and got out. Rich had said – no weights
. Well I know knew my swim time goal was out the window.
. Well I know knew my swim time goal was out the window. Went to the 4 keys and watched Rich do a great job while he was being buzzed by planes in and out of the airport. Met and sat next to Leigh Boyle, a great person!!!
Saturday night, I slept well for a change. I did my 1:30 breakfast, protein shake and a banana for 500 cal then and set the cell to alarm for 4:00. Woke, drank 300 more calories, got race kit on, grabbed the rest of my gear and out the door I went. I hit the transition area at 5:10. I used the bike support air to top off the tires. This solved the issue of what to do with the floor pump. I added fluids, spun the wheels one last time, calibrated the power meter. It took me awhile to find where the special needs bags went. I got in line for the porta john, yes the coffee did its job! Okay time to chill for a few min, kept sipping on water. Ok its getting to be time. One last trip to the porta john line. This is moving slow!! Ok get the bottom of the wetsuit on, the booties on. I finally get my turn, now over to drop dry cloths and into the huge mass of bodies slowly moving toward the water. The pro’s cannon sounds. The mass of bodies is not moving??? I eat a gel and final sip of water. I was hoping to be in the water by now. I navigate around the left of the mass of bodies and make progress. I hear 4 min to start!! I get to the water edge and in I go. The shock of the 62 degree water fades quickly. I need to get to the start line. I swim through the crowd and seed a bit right of center and 4 people back.
Swim
Target 1:10 Actual 1:15:57
Gear – EN tri kit, Zoot Arm coolers, compression socks, Desoto T1 wet suit, booties, race issue swim cap, swim goggles, nose and ear plugs.
No sooner had I found my start position then boom, the canon sounded. The beatings started. The first 100 yds was bad then it got rougher as people started to compress to the buoy line. There was no getting into clear water or a smooth rhythm. I worked to stay in my box. Sighting into the sun was a huge challenge. I drank more water than normal. I was thankful that I put my goggles on under my swim cap or they would have been gone! The tightness on my chest was messing with the head. Twice on the way out I had to stop, tread water, get run over and reset my breathing and head. Ok go slower! The first turn buoy was an event; hundreds on my new buddies all converged on a little yellow buoy all at the same time. Forward progress came to a crawl. We were vertical in the water sculling forward to get around the buoy, once around as you tried to start swimming again the beatings commenced with a new vigor.
I was cool but not cold, I had the right level of gear on for the water temps. The second turn buoy was a repeat of the fun of the first. On the trip back there still was minimal clear water?? Well at least sighting was now possible. My nemesis calf cramps showed up with 500 yards to go. Wow the buoyancy of a wet suit sure minimizes the impact of leg drop when your foot is at 90 degrees to forward motion. The cramps moved from leg to leg, I stayed calm and relaxed the legs as best I could. Turn the last buoy and head to the exit ramp. I found a big exit partner and swam toward him. Pop, up onto the steps, slow walk to the top, the clock showed 1:29:xx, wow not good, I did not realize that this had the 15 min pro start time in it. Not pleased! I trot to the wetsuit stripers. Pick up the pace on to gear bag and T1. I shake the swim off and focus on now.
T1
Target 0:07:30 Actual 0:07:36
I jogged into the head then the tent and pulled off the booties, slipped into my bike shoes, popped on my race belt, put on my helmet, grabbed my baggie of stuff and trotted to the bike. I trotted to the bike mount line and on to the next stage of the journey. Wow where did the time go?
Bike
Target 5:38:00 Actual 5:43:42
Gear: Look 596, DI2, 50/34 and a 23/11, Zipp 808 front and back with cover, Power tap / Joule, Torhan drink system. Specialized aero helmet, Nutrition – Perpetuem,
My bike fitness coming into this race was solid. I had done my race my rehearsals at an IF of .75 for 195 watts and was good and ran well. So I thought a target of .70 or 185 w would be a conservative number to set me up for a strong run. That 185 level should put give me a bike split of ~ 5:25 depending on wind. So I felt my 5:38 target was conservative. Then there is reality of the day!!!!
The following is the key bike data for the 3 laps. Something is not right!!!!!!
Lap |
Time |
Speed |
NP |
AW |
VI |
IF |
1 |
1:49:11 |
20.55 |
173 |
169 |
1.02 |
0.65 |
2 |
1:59:33 |
18.67 |
162 |
158 |
1.03 |
0.61 |
3 |
1:54:58 |
19:52 |
155 |
151 |
1.03 |
0.58 |
Total |
5:43:42 |
19.55 |
164 |
159 |
1.03 |
0.63 |
My target for the first hour was 175 watts. Normally I have issues keeping the effort down for this first hour level. Today, the opposite, I struggled to hit 173 for the first hour. Lower GI cramps started within 15 min on the bike??? What is this? Drank too much lake water, a bug ?? Not sure but did not feel good and performed even worse! I fought the issue and at hour 1 had to head to the orange cans, 3 min later still hurting but back on the road. Ok control what we can, stay aero and maximize the impact of the watts being produced. The first lap was good from a ride perspective the tail wind back into town pushing me up to 34.7 mph!!! I spun out at >115 rpm in the 50/11. Was happy I brought the 23/11. There are no real hills on this course, the only times to not be in the drops is when you are navigating some of the corners and you can sit up and stretch the muscles.
The second lap was a continuation of the GI distress and falling watt levels. Now the winds were building and shifting for a more side wind to impacting the progress. Had to hit the orange cans again – great only 2:30 lost this time. My nutrition plan was on plan for the first hour at 250 cal but was starting to now slip a bit. Hydration was good, I consumed a little more fluids as I had the GI factor contributing to potential dehydration. The course was now congested with bikers. I saw a couple of big packs flying back into town, can you say drafting! In a lack of concentration moment I ran over an orange traffic cone. I survived with no damage – that likely used up my lucky card for the day! More and more people were up out or the aero position, we have a lot of bike still to go! Another stop in my favorite orange cans another 2:30 gone.
Ok made it to the start of lap 3. Shoot me now, I feel like crap. My watt levels are lower than when I do the 2 min recovery for a FTP test. Perceived exertion levels and watts are totally decoupled, what is up with this?? Continue on, stay aero, ride steady. I am passing people even with my watts in the mid 150’s or an IF of .58. I look for the bright side – this strongly confirms the impact of a good low aero bike fit. Keep moving keep moving. OK time for another trip to the orange cans – this sucks!! This was my 4th trip to the head and over 10 mins of time lost! This is not how to get a sub 11 and back to Kona!!! Ok put that out of the mind and get back to what I can control. I see marshals flagging multiple people for drafting as we head back into town and battle the now heavy head winds! Many are sitting up into heavy winds, I move past, time to get ready for the run. I check my core nutrition bottle and am not surprised that I am a bit short in consumption, it looks like I’m closer to 200 per hour vs my 250 target. Not a disaster but need to be mindful on the run.
Overall a 5:43 – 10 min stopped for a 5:33 ride time on 164 NP watts, even with the wind, this is a fast course. My 185 target would have been a ~5:20 ride. Next year I say!
T2
Target 0:04:30 Actual 0:02:41
The body felt bad to the second power. Stay positive – most cannot do what we are doing today! Keep getting it done! Now time for the hard part of the day!!! I dismounted the bike and handed it off to a great volunteer. Off to get my bag, grabbed it and headed to the tent. On the way I see a person in EN Kit sitting on the ground and changing. Maybe it is Al T. Yes it is, !!! I sit down next to him and go through my transition process. Slip on shoes, grab hat, and fuel belt and baggy of stuff. We get up almost together and out we go. We quickly do a first 6 mile pace check and are both targeting 9:45. Great I get to run with the master!!! How good is this, the body sucks feeling passes into background for the moment.
Run
Target 4:20:00 Actual 4:59:14
Gear: Zoot TT4, Hat, arm coolers, compression socks and fuel belt. Nutrition – Perpetuem.
I start out on the course and I have the best tour guide one could ask for. Like most we struggle to slow down. We are clocking 9:30s vs the target 9:45s. We run side by side for the first few miles chatting. By mile 3 I could feel a hot spot start to develop on my right ball of the foot. I had never had an issue there before? At about mile 4 my right sciatic nerve started to act up. A bit later, Al comments that I am starting to breathe harder. I check heart rate and I’m ~127 high for me at this pace – ok body stay in the game. On we go. Who said this course is flat??? We went up the significant fill on the back side or the run course and Al commented that “this hill is on hydraulics, each lap they raise it up on you”. Truer words have never been spoken! On the way up the hill I came on my St Louis training buddy Curtis, he was walking. I stopped and walked with him, we talked about how the day had gone and I encouraged his to keep pushing. He said go on so I moved forward and caught back up to Al. I loved the Jail house theme aid station. They rocked it! When conversation became more challenging, I dropped back to 3 steps off of Al’s shoulder and watched the master as he navigated aid stations, the hills and the turns on the bridges. He is amazing on the down hills, opening up 3-5 yards on me in a 50 yard down hill. He is so smooth. On the turns on the bridge he has a secret that I share with the team. He heads to the 180 degree corner at full speed and grabs the end post of the rail and swings around on the outstretched arm with all the energy now in a new direction! You do that ?? 10 – 15?? times on this course and that is 1 to 1.5 min you made vs others!
At about mile 8 I had to hit my favorite orange can again. I ran ahead of Al to give me some gap to try and catch him.. I exited the can and saw Al and Curtis 50 yrs ahead of me. I started to press to try and close the gap but it held constant for ~15 min. At the half marathon point they slowly pulled away. The blister was becoming a bigger problem. All the volunteers were great, on the second lap I remember exiting an aid station and I’m out the end and running again, a lady volunteer goes sprinting past me and 50 yrd in front of me she catches up to a runner and says “ hear is the ice you wanted”! I catch up to him and comment Wow that is one awesome volunteer. He agreed and said he would find a way to write back his appreciation. Thank the volunteers all day no matter how bad you feel!
My blister on the right ball of the foot was now ~1 ½ inch and impacting my stride. As the stride I had worked to improve over the last 6 months went to hell, so did my pace. By mile 18 I have slowed to ~12 min pace. My energy level was getting low. My right hip flexor was totally pissed off with this new stride. Somewhere in there Rich shouted words of encouragement. I took in more coke at the next 2 aid stations which seemed to help. I ran in to Dominic and we chatted, we went back and forth for a while and he finally moved on ahead. I came up on a hill and found David L, he was walking. I pulled up beside and walked while trying to encourage him. He said he had “nothing left’ we chatted a bit more and he said go get it done. I wished him continued strength, I went back to my painful running. I think at ~ mile 21 the wonderful chicken broth was available at the aid stations. I downed 2 cups and within minutes I felt a bit better. This stuff is great!!
So how does a fun day get more challenging? Around mile 22 my right foot had a new complication. From the instep back to the heal, a pain developed in a matter of a minute that was white hot!!! What is this??? I had never had this pain before??? My brain went back to the conversation with the man on my flight into AZ. He had torn his Achilles and was never able to regain form after that. I figured that the modification of my stride due to the blister had put new loads on the foot that it could not handle. I stopped and tried to stretch the foot and Achilles. After 10 strides we were back to the same painful point. I looked at my watch and saw that if I held my current pace I would break 12 hours. I had been there before so that time goal was not a “one thing” level of importance. I made the choice to back it down even more. A 13-14 min pace was bearable and the risk of damage seemed to be diminished. I kept moving forward. I was at maybe mile 25 and ran up to John Stark. I ran walked with him for a while. What a great person!!! He had a huge smile on his face and was making EN proud. You could not tell how much pain he was in and he embraced heading out onto his 3rd lap to finish. John you rock!!! What a mental 6 pack!
I struggled through the last mile and made the turn to the finish. The crowds energy picked up my body any carried it through the final yards. I was alone to cross the finish with arms in the air and a huge smile.
Target 11:17:00 Actual 12:09:10 12th in AG
Post Race
My catchers took be though the process medal, shirt, hat, pictures and determined they could release me. They gave me a silver emergency blanket and I help the volunteer understand he was putting the wrong side in on people. He thanked me and said that make sense, why did no one tell him. I saw Rich shortly after the finish shoot and he offered his cell to call Sandra. I said great but I can’t remember her cell number at the moment!
I got my dry cloths bag and my cell and connected with Sandra. Got the bike, and bags and to the car. Off to the hotel and for a shower. I felt like crap. I wanted to just go to bed. BUT I wanted to see by EN team members at the post race gathering point more. I headed down and bought beers for AL, Rich, Terry, Dominic …. Whoever I could congratulate! I had a great dissuasion with Al and soaked up his excitement of his come back and his return to Kona. So well deserved!!!
My time on the run with Al and the other EN members and the after party is what made this a great day and makes my performance issues take a back seat. As Rich has said
“This is just a game”. The people in the game are what add the special element to the game!!
I will be back to IM AZ next year with a score to settle. Sub 11 will happen!
Lessons learned
- Use every piece of gear before race weekend!
- When things got to hell focus on what you can control
- If you can’t control your way to a great day, focus on the great volunteers and team members
- The post race celebration and bonding is worth it no matter how tired you are.
- Chicken broth is still an amazing elixir.
- The training may have been done and the mind may be ready but if the body does not show up – all plans are out the window.
- IM is just a game!
- I love the game even on the bad days!!!!
Matt
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Comments
Matt great race report. Way to keep on keeping on!
1). Do you think that maybe you were a little over tired from IMLOU or that the problem was something that happened closer to the race or in it? I recall drinking some of the silt water at IMAZ last year, but fortunately no impact on my race. After a lot of thought about my Regensburg race this year, I've come to the conclusion that I wasn't fresh enough at the start. For Cozumel next year, I'm going to shift from a 12 week to a 16 week preparation and make sure that every 4th week backs off so I stay fresh throughout.
2). You mentioned that lifting weights had helped you drop 7 seconds per 100, but that Rich had advised you not to. Other than the wetsuit fit problem, why shouldn't we lift weights?
3). I'm curious on your thoughts on how the booties work out. The water at IMAZ 2010 was 61, about the same as IMCDA 2010 and I didn't use booties at either but in both my right foot was numb from the cold coming out (my left foot must have better circulation). Anyway, it wasn't unbearable, but I'm worried about even colder temps in some future races (after 2012). I've read that booties can trap water and end up slowing you down. What's your assessment?
Congrats again...hoping to learn from your studious approach! r/Paul
@ all thank you for the continued support!
@ Paul to answer your questions
1). Do you think that maybe you were a little over tired from IMLOU or that the problem was something that happened closer to the race or in it?
-----Normally I have a cast iron stomach and few things rattle the GI system. This was my first IM GI issue. I think my GI issue was due to drinking to much lake water and it had a system impact or I was sick with a bug (rare).
From a not recovered perspective, IMLOU was 12 weeks before and I had good RR rides leading up to the race. If I felt added fatigue I took an easy day or the day off. I consciously leaned to less is more. This taper was conservative in the last 2 weeks, again I was ok with 5% too rested vs 1% over trained! Last year I did 3 IMs in 14 weeks and performed better on the 3rd bike than this day! The ride on Beeline on Friday was solid, strong watts, HR and exertion levels right where they should be. So that told me the body was good. I slept well this week not like IMLOU. By my experience N=1, if managed right, 12 weeks is enough time between IM’s even for us older dudes. 8 weeks is manageable, 6 is the edge. Young pups can turn it in 4.
2). You mentioned that lifting weights had helped you drop 7 seconds per 100, but that Rich had advised you not to. Other than the wetsuit fit problem, why shouldn't we lift weights?
------I will continue to strength train. It has been a huge positive impact to my running stride, eliminating an ITB issue and providing greater power on the bike. 98% of an hour workout involves event specific exercises that involve the core, stability and balance and drive proper muscle firing patterns. Often only with body weight or 20-40 lbs is all the weight needed to drive a challenging workout. I would say 60% of a workout focuses on Gluts, hammy, core and the proper integration and firing patterns of these muscle to support stable efficient running. As we age past 50, strength training is required in my mind to maintain muscle mass.
3). I'm curious on your thoughts on how the booties work out. ……… I've read that booties can trap water and end up slowing you down. What's your assessment?
---------------The booties I used are neoprene socks with a fuzzy liner I purchased many years ago for sea kayaking. They are long enough to extend up under my wet suit and they are tight enough to not allow room for much water. So they did have water in them at the end of the swim but not enough to impact kick performance for me. I think the fabric liner is what keeps the stretch to a controlled amount and thus the amount of water gained to a minimum. The brand I used is SealSkinz http://www.danalco.com/products/waterproof/. REI and Bass Pro have them.
I hope these answer help.
Matt
Will look forward to you working towards another Kona possibility.
Matt, congrats on the thorough report! Oh, and the race, too.
Even with your positive spin at the end, I know you are disappointed with your performance on race day. A cuple of htoughts about that:
• Success at Ironman as a multi-year proposition. You are in year 3/race 6 of the journey. I suspect in years 4 & 5, you will find you have assimilated the experience and lessons, and your continued improvement will once again amaze you.
• You have a set of high internal expectations for IM racing. This is good, as it drives you forward.
• I don't know how much you race Olympic or Sprint distances. One thought I have is that you need to be thinking less during the race, and just letting your body, not your mind, do the heavy lifting. Doing lots of races trains your body/mind team to find their proper roles. This would apply to doing running races as well as multiple shorter tris. Just get out there and let it go.
I think the crowded swim, cold water, and the stubborn wind on race day were tough mental challenges, to which many of us succumbed. I was 3+ minutes slower than I though I should be on the swim, and also could not seem to get my effort level up to where I wanted it on loops 2 & 3 of the bike. E.g., I have done the race twice before at an average HR of 124 and 121; this time it was 117. And those two times were followed by faster runs. Maybe there was some negative biorythym vortex attacking us from Sedona, or something.
Nice job roughing it out, going to work on you as I am on others to do lake placid in 13!
@ al t, I am totally buying your multi year proposition since next year is year three for me!
This season I only did 1 long sprint tri and NO running races. This OS, I have planned to hit some running race at least 2x per month just to practice suffering if nothing else. Already have done 1. I agree that this could improving mind body roles and communications even at the subconscious level will be helpful.
Your comment that it was a rough day “Maybe there was some negative biorythym vortex attacking us from Sedona, or something” seems real. Prior to the race I had done my home work and knew top finishing times for my age group going back multiple years. This year there was only 1 to go sub 11. Prior 3 years all had 3 go sub 11. Statistically this was a different year.
@Matt - Congratulations on your race. It was nice running with you out there and catching up after the event. Thanks again for the beer post-race! Hope to repay the treat in the near future. Best of luck in 2012! D
Matt,
Way to tough it out on a rough day. This was also a good reminder about adjusting plans on a sub optimal day and getting it done.
Gordon
Congratulations on another good, although disappointing for you, race. If we play to expectations too much, and do not look at the whole "forest", we can sometimes lose track of what we have accomplished. You DID have a good race! I am looking forward on training and racing with you next year and let's both conquer IMAZ.