IM Mont Tremblant Race Report-Venkatesh Krishnamurthi
Race day stats. 45 yrs/ 5’7”/ 151 lbs/ Vdot 48.xx/ Trained (a lot) at FTP 240 W (3.6 W/kg) but had not tested in a long while. 4th year in triathlon, almost 2 full years with EN.
2 previous IMs (Wisconsin) 2010 14:21 and 2011 13:31. Goal this year was <13 hrs and <5 hours on marathon. Trained for Mt Tremblant with 5 other friends from Cleveland Ohio who were also doing the race. Most of our bike training was done together so couldn’t really do “power specific” intervals with our long rides. </span>
As an aside-stayed at new condo complex (Elysium Etoile du Matin) since we made it a vacation with my parents, wife, 11 and 9 year old boys. Great condo, reasonable price, about 5 min drive to village/race start.
Race Day
Awake 3:45. 4 waffles w/ jam and some black coffee. Wife dropped me off at transition by 5:10. Finished marking, etc., waited with Cleveland friends until 6:15.
Swim: Goal-improve on 1:27 swim in 2 prior IMs Actual 1:24:37
Started towards the back on the beach. Good amount of contact for about ½ of the way out then could find open swimming. Focused on keeping it easy, counting strokes, etc. Kept swimming until basically touching the bottom. Noticed that I was passing people who were walking at this point. Got out and saw 1:24:xx and was pleased. Swam a lot less this year, essentially no work on improving and still went a little faster. Going to focus on swimming this winter 
and maybe can shave off another 5-10 minutes.
and maybe can shave off another 5-10 minutes.T1 10:37
Getting better. Don’t know if it’s really possible to have a < 5 minute transition at Mt. Tremblant if you’re a > 1:20 swimmer. Too long of a run, too much traffic, etc. in transition area.
Bike 6:27:50 Goal watts 168 Actual watts 153 W VI: 1.14 TSS 308.4
Nutrition on bike: 2 20 oz. bottles Infinit for each 56 miles (estimated 3 hours) w/ lots of water at aid stations. 2 gels or Stinger Waffle~ every 60-75 mins. Goal was to keep power steady, possibly even to increase watts on the 2nd loop. Overall was happy w/ effort on bike. 2nd loop the wind picked up on the 117. Didn’t want to push too hard so may have accounted for lower watts. Broke the ride up into 3 intervals:
1) First hour goal was JRA watts (~ 150), actual was 149 VI: 1.14, 18.8 mph
2) Rest of 1st loop: Goal 168, actual 160 17.4 mph
3) Entire 2nd loop (56 miles):Goal 168 actual 149 17.4 mph
T2 4:00
Fastest IM transition for me. Only time spent was changing socks/shoes. Do most people put on new socks before the run?
Run Goal < 5 hours Actual: 4:41:28
Stand alone marathon 3:36 but in 2 IMs I’ve been 5:11 and 5:16 so really wanted to break 5 hrs. Hoped to avoid the long patches of walking that happened before. Took 400 mg Vivarin 30 mins before bike finish. First half felt good, finished in 2:11, which included about 6 mins of stopping. Started to feel tired but not as bad as previous years. Walked the uphills on the 2nd loop. On the flat trail kept up pattern of 8 mins running/2 mins walking. Overall pleased with my run but of course, want to avoid any significant walking on the next one.
Run Splits:
13.1 mi (2:11:24) 10:00/mi
6.7 mi (1:09:18) 10:17/mi
6.4 mi (1:20:46) 12:40/mi
Total time 12:48:31
Very pleased 
to improve again by 48 mins in 3rd IM. Seems like I’m getting better but have to acknowledge the different course (probably easier than Wisconsin) and the day–last 2 years in Wisconsin were much hotter than Tremblant so weather definitely slows down the run. That being said, I’m pleased and hoping to do even better next year. Realize that I’m not going to improve by 50 mins every year but think I can push 12 hour mark. Questions …
to improve again by 48 mins in 3rd IM. Seems like I’m getting better but have to acknowledge the different course (probably easier than Wisconsin) and the day–last 2 years in Wisconsin were much hotter than Tremblant so weather definitely slows down the run. That being said, I’m pleased and hoping to do even better next year. Realize that I’m not going to improve by 50 mins every year but think I can push 12 hour mark. Questions …1) As much as I try, can’t get the VI down on these hilly course. Have a standard crank (54/39) and 12/27. I definitely avoid pushing the watts on the uphills but can’t often keep the watts at goal on the downhills. Is a VI ~ 1.0 possible with a standard crank on a hilly course? Is it me not pushing enough on the downhills?
2) Going to do some non-specific riding for a while but planning to do Mt. Tremblant again next. Is it worth working on FTP before the outseason?
3) What’s a reasonable expectation for an IM marathon based on your stand alone marathon performance? When people get “good’ at IM, are they able to run within 15 mins, 30 mins, etc. of open marathon time. When I look at my own Vdot, MP is ~ 7:40 or about a 3:20 marathon. My EP is ~ 8:49 which comes out to 3:50+.
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Comments
As to your questions:
(1). You are never going to get close to a 1.0 on a hilly course. I've done CdA with a 1.07 IIRC. I haven't seen other numbers for your course, but I'd guess under 1.1 would be good. For gearing, the only other option would be going to compact cranks and possibly an 11-28. It would allow you easier uphills. Were you having power spikes up the hills or just spinning out going down? On the downhills, sooner or later you have to stop pedaling. Spinning like crazy is just a waste of time and energy.
(2) Take some down time. Your next race is a year a way . Serious FT work can wait.
(3) I haven't done a stand alone run in a while, but a range of 30-45 minutes is probably a good estimate for managing expectations.
Good pb. Sorry we didn't know you out there.
great race and congrats on the PR
A good PB to boot
I think a compact crank would make all the difference to your bike split and keeping a lower VI.
First off, you are on such a positive roll, with spectacular improvements in your first three IMs - a pretty rare feat, and testament to your focu and committment to race execution principles.
Bike improvement for you shoud involve two things you can train for. First, riding steady is a learned skill, and paying particular attention duuring your "Sunday Rides" to restraining watts on uphills and increasing them on the downhills will eventually pay dividends. Second, you still have oportunities to perform better based on your current FTP - don't worry so much about increasing it until you can ride to your current ability for a full six hours. The Saurday Rides, with their hard work at the start and then staying steady @ 70-75% for the remainder should help here. Also, in the OS, finishing the interval days with steady 80-85% effort will improve your mental tenacity at the end of a long ride.
As to "expected run time", don't use stand alone marathon times as a comparator. The IM run is a different beast what with 7-8 hours of good effort preceding it. The pace predicted by your VDOT, as modified by the temperature on race day, should be your target/goal. So when people get "good" at IM marathon, they are close to hitting the marathon at their LRP, modifed by the temp on race day. That is, on a 60F day, you may get very close to your LRP. On an 85F day, it will be 15% slower.
Anyway, great race and great improvement. 48 minutes is a great PR.
Thanks everyone for your kind words and awesome advice. That's the real strength of EN!
BTW, Al-I used your advice about putting on the wetsuit (inside-out). It works great