IM Coeur D'Alene 2012 - I'm Alive!
RACE REPORT
2012 Ironman Coeur D’Alene
Like many race reports before mine, I will preface this by saying it is pretty long, but I have tried to limit it to just race day to help with that. For those of you reading this who may be new to EN, or who haven’t read a lot of race reports or race rehearsal reports, I feel that there is so much to learn from them, and the more information there is, the more you can learn from them. Don’t be a lurker! Every question, every comment makes us all smarter and better triathletes. Pay it forward.
To begin, it has been long year for me. I signed up for this race a year ago fulfilling a promise I made months before. My sister-in-law, Melissa, got me started in triathlon 4 years ago. She always did long course but never an ironman. I knew she would do it eventually and I made her a promise that if she ever did one that I would do it with her. So when she decided to do this race, we signed up together. Then I moved to Alaska, did IMAZ, and went right back into ironman training indoors. It then turned out that the job I came to Alaska for sucked so I had to find a new one. I did that and then needed to start planning another trans-continental move. So to say the least, it’s been a stressful year. Needless to say, these things, combined with doing 95+% of my bike training and 80+% of my run training inside, added up to poor motivation and many missed workouts. I was prepared enough to complete the distance, but not to excel by any means.
Pre-race:
I ran 15 minutes Wednesday to stay loose. Thursday I swam 20 minutes to test the water and rode 1 hour on Hwy 95 to experience the big hill. Friday I swam 15 minutes and ran 20 minutes to feel the big hill. Saturday I did nothing. The rest of the time I just hung out with family, relaxed, and did my usual stuff race week.
Pre-race routine:
I woke up at 4:15 AM and had a bagel and my coffee. I sipped on a normal strength bottle of Infinit up until about 6:30. I got to transition at 5:30 and finished my checklist with plenty of time to spare.
Event warmup:
None.
Swim – 1:36:15
How can something that should have gone so right, go so terribly wrong. I’m not even sure where to begin.
First a little background. I’m a consistent swimmer, but have never put much effort into trying to get faster. I have pretty good form, but am not particularly fast or straight. That being said, I did a 1:15 at IMAZ 2010 and a 1:12 in 2011. I trained enough to expect more of the same. In my 2 pre-race lake swims, I felt good. I was OK with the temperature and was no less comfortable than usual before a race. The day before the race, when they put the buoys out, I even looked out there and thought for the first time in my life, “it really doesn’t look that far.”
Race morning was like any other race morning, except I didn’t get a swim warmup. They wanted us off the beach in the transition area. I always do a swim warmup because the only bad swim I ever had was on no warmup. I have always been able to swim at least a couple of minutes before every other race, but not this one. I also never gave any thought to where to line up. I just lined up behind the pole about 4 rows back, and never thought out whether there would be a better place for me considering the fact that I hadn’t done a beach start in over 2 years. I will never make this mistake again. I will always take into consideration all variables to decide where I’m going to line up for any swim start.
So the gun goes off and everyone in front of me runs into the water. At the same time, everyone behind me also runs in, forcing me, and of course others, into a clump. We were 30 seconds in, and there was nowhere to go. I tried to find space to no avail. I couldn’t get away. I have been in frays before, but never like this. I basically started to panic. I tried to regroup and settle down, but never could. So I flipped over on my back to catch my breath. I did some back paddling, some kicking, and mixed in some occasional freestyle to make it to the first turn buoy, then the next. On the way in it was more of the same. Back kicking/paddling mixed in with some short, crooked freestyle. For some reason, though, it felt easier coming in. I was so happy to get in close enough to stand up. Then I looked down at my wrist and saw that my Garmin 910XT was gone. I was so pissed. Everything was falling apart less than 45 minutes in. I screamed the loudest F-bomb in history. I seriously considered walking up the beach and turning in my chip. But then I looked out and saw relatively few people heading out on lap 2. I stood there for a minute then decided to go.
I hopped in and started swimming. It felt pretty good initially until I ran into someone like 30 seconds later. All I could think of was that I was never going to get away so right back on my back I went. It is only as I sit here and think about the words I type that I now realize I was swimming with people that are much slower than those I am used to swimming with. If I had thought that then, I would have just gotten pissed and found my way around them like I have done in the past. But at that moment, I had lost hope. I had also just realized that the wind picked up and now there were pretty significant waves coming into our faces. I also realized at that point why the inbound part was easier. The current was moving toward shore. So now I’m swimming into the current, into the wind, and into the waves. I was basically done. I knew I could make forward progress on my back so I just decided to get through it no matter how long it would take. Making it to the first turn buoy took forever. I thought I would feel better, but no. I came around that buoy and while heading to the last turn buoy, I hear a siren which turns out to be a medical boat with tons of people in it. I remember thinking that they were going to pull me out when they saw me on my back. I also remember thinking that would not be so bad. But then I just thought, if I can get to that next buoy, I will be heading down wind and down current. I have survived 75% of the swim spending 80% of the time on my back. I can make it in. So accepting that it was going to take a long time, I made the turn and got it done. When I got back to the beach, I literally fell to my knees and kissed the ground. I had sand all over my face.
I have never been so scared in all my life. I really feel like, short of drowning, that I experienced the worst feelings possible in a triathlon swim. I hope that I, or anyone else reading this, never has to go through anything like this again. But at the same time, I learned something about myself, as a person and a triathlete. I was in a worst case scenario and I was able to come up with a solution that kept me going, and kept me alive. I now know that if it ever were to happen again, that I could do the same thing and make it in fine, albeit slowly. This experience, as horrible as it was to go through, taught me enormous lessons, and ultimately will make me a better triathlete.
T1 – 8:06
Two words. Walked it. I was just happy to be on land. I needed the time to collect myself and get back into my box anyway.
Bike – 6:09:54
After getting through the swim, my day became about finishing. Big aspirations I had for my potential were put aside to just embrace the experience I signed up for…..racing with Melissa. I set out for a nice, easy ride to T2.
The new course is great. There are 2 laps, each with 2 out-and-backs. There is one along the lake, and one down highway 95. My nutrition went well with sips of concentrated Infinit followed by water. I used a two-sided PD aerobottle so I carried one concentrate bottle that I just added to the small side and kept the big side filled with water at every other aid station. I ended up taking in about 350 calories with 700mg of sodium every hour from the Infinit and supplemented with 2 salt tabs on each lap. I had no stomach issues to speak of and I peed 4 times during the ride so I guess I stayed well-hydrated. It wasn’t hot, though, so it wasn’t that difficult.
Here’s my power numbers. Thankfully I had my Joule since my Garmin was at the bottom of the lake. Interval 1 is from start to bottom of big hill on Hwy 95. Interval 2 is to turnaround. Interval 3 is turnaround to end of Hwy 95. Interval 4 is loop back to start of Hwy 95 on 2nd lap. Interval 5 is the entire Hwy 95 loop and the short jaunt back to T2. Note the distance my Joule recorded.
Interval 1:
Duration: 58:02
Work: 531 kJ
TSS: 43.1 (intensity factor 0.687)
Norm Power: 165
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 19.482 mi
Elevation Gain: 489 ft
Elevation Loss: 476 ft
Grade: 0.0 % (21 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 445 159 watts
Cadence: 1 129 93 rpm
Speed: 5.9 34.7 19.5 mph
Pace 1:44 10:10 3:05 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 410 30 lb-in
Altitude: 2162 2306 2197 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1637 145 lb-in
Temperature: 57.2 59 58.8 Fahrenheit
Interval 2:
Duration: 1:03:52
Work: 593 kJ
TSS: 49.2 (intensity factor 0.707)
Norm Power: 170
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 16.912 mi
Elevation Gain: 1124 ft
Elevation Loss: 701 ft
Grade: 0.5 % (426 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 384 165 watts
Cadence: 1 122 88 rpm
Speed: 6.8 39.3 15.5 mph
Pace 1:32 8:47 3:52 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 410 40 lb-in
Altitude: 2184 2706 2502 ft
Crank Torque: 0 794 160 lb-in
Temperature: 59 66.2 62.6 Fahrenheit
Interval 3:
Duration: 58:18
Work: 490 kJ
TSS: 38.1 (intensity factor 0.678)
Norm Power: 163
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 21.652 mi
Elevation Gain: 803 ft
Elevation Loss: 1290 ft
Grade: -0.4 % (-487 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 461 157 watts
Cadence: 2 136 89 rpm
Speed: 0 44.4 21.7 mph
Pace 1:21 0:00 2:46 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 410 58 lb-in
Altitude: 2125 2696 2412 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1793 152 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 66.2 64.2 Fahrenheit
Interval 4:
Duration: 47:49
Work: 425 kJ
TSS: 32.7 (intensity factor 0.671)
Norm Power: 161
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 16.141 mi
Elevation Gain: 366 ft
Elevation Loss: 380 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-20 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 415 158 watts
Cadence: 1 112 90 rpm
Speed: 8.1 38.3 19.3 mph
Pace 1:34 7:22 3:07 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 410 40 lb-in
Altitude: 2103 2250 2140 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1204 151 lb-in
Temperature: 64.4 66.2 65.0 Fahrenheit
Interval 5:
Duration: 2:22:10 (2:22:13)
Work: 1233 kJ
TSS: 96.6 (intensity factor 0.68)
Norm Power: 163
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 42.026 mi
Elevation Gain: 2021 ft
Elevation Loss: 2044 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-24 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 467 158 watts
Cadence: 1 121 87 rpm
Speed: 0 41.6 17.0 mph
Pace 1:26 0:00 3:31 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 410 50 lb-in
Altitude: 2083 2642 2377 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1574 159 lb-in
Temperature: 66.2 75.2 71.1 Fahrenheit
Entire workout (159 watts):
Duration: 6:10:15 (6:10:18)
Work: 3274 kJ
TSS: 259.8 (intensity factor 0.685)
Norm Power: 164
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 116.298 mi
Elevation Gain: 4789 ft
Elevation Loss: 4887 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-99 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 467 159 watts
Cadence: 1 136 89 rpm
Speed: 0 44.4 18.2 mph
Pace 1:21 0:00 3:18 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 410 45 lb-in
Altitude: 2083 2706 2345 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1793 155 lb-in
Temperature: 57.2 75.2 65.9 Fahrenheit
The best part of the ride was coming in at the end of my first lap where I stopped to ask my family if Melissa made it out of the water OK. They told me that not only did she make it out OK, she was ahead of me still on the bike. How stupid and presumptuous am I ?!?!?!? Of course she made it out! And she’s kicking my ass on the bike! I hauled ass out onto the second lap to reel her in. I was finally having fun! I didn’t want to cook myself, and I was never racing “against” her, but I wanted to chase her down and tell her how proud I was of her that she had such a good swim and what a good ride she was having. I finally caught her at mile 95 and we pushed each other back to transition.
T2 – 5:52
Just took it nice and slow. Got my stuff situated and got on my way.
Run – 3:53:11
Without a watch, I had to run on feel. My original goal was to stop at less than half the aid stations and have no miles over 9 minutes. I was carrying concentrated Perform and water in my fuel belt to provide about 250 calories and 20 ounces of fluid per hour. The course is 2 laps and has a few short, gentle hills plus one steep hill (6%) that is about half a mile long that you have to climb up, go down the back to the turnaround, and go back up again. I was able to run the entire first lap without stopping. I tried to just maintain a steady effort throughout. Once I knew that I had a sub-12 with a sub-4 marathon in the bag, I started walking aid stations, but still ran between them. I cruised it in and had fun with the stretch toward the finish. Here are my final splits:
6.6 mi |
6.6 mi |
55:14 |
8:55:21 |
8:22/mi |
|||
13.4 mi |
6.8 mi |
57:45 |
9:53:06 |
8:29/mi |
|||
19.5 mi |
6.1 mi |
1:00:07 |
10:53:13 |
9:51/mi |
|||
26.2 mi |
6.7 mi |
1:00:05 |
11:53:18 |
8:58/mi |
|||
Total |
26.2 mi |
3:53:11 |
11:53:18 |
8:54/mi |
|||
Overall – 11:53:18 (106th out of 345 finishers)
All things considered, I’m happy with how things turned out. If I had raced to my current potential, I probably could have knocked about 40 minutes off which would have moved me up to low 60’s in my age group. Not too bad considering I was undertrained and undermotivated. So I feel very fortunate to have come so far with this team in my short triathlon career.
And as for Melissa, she crossed the finish line shortly after me. I stayed in the finish area and was able to give her a big hug when she finished. She was 15th in her age group of 109 finishers and came in 40 seconds faster than my first ironman! At the end of the day, I couldn’t be more pleased.
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Comments
nice run to finish the tough day. way to keep it together. good to see you out there.
I remember exiting the water at IMWI, furious because I was out much later than expected, and then giving myself the first half hour of the bike to feel sorry for myself and the that time was done and it was time to focus, so I understand how recovering from a stupid swim goes!
Sub-12! Sub-4!
Big takaway is the "Box" - having it, getting back in it, and using it to regain control over the rest of the day. Nice work!
Well done Terry and thanks for sharing! Lots to be learned for sure and you obviously have great perspective. Very cool to enjoy with your sister as well! Sibling (and spousal) rivalry can be great motivators!!!
Terry, another great run for you after a rough start. Good job!