Challenge AC-Eric DePoto

Well I have to say that because of the training and "Obeying the rules" for the most part, this was a true success, so thanks to both Rich and Patrick.  The race was difficult, but not horrible.  I got to AC on Thursday and checked in to all the places.  It was nice to get that done and was able to get a small last run in before the team dinner.  Thanks goes to Rob Soto for being the race capt. for the event.  He picked a great place to eat with good food.  Friday I did a bike recon on a portion of the route and found it to be not so smooth, but was able to see where key points were (special needs area).  Saturday I did a recon/practice swim and found the area I was swimming to be nice.  So to this point all was seeming okay.

After dropping off my equipment to the T-area, I went to the course talk.  This is where things went a little south.  They said for the swim that there would NOT be a current.  They said the bike was going to be smooth and fast?  Finally they said the run was going to be great and no obstruction...not true.  I finished the day with a small dinner with some chicken and pasta, then off to bed at 830pm.

So I woke up at 3am on Sunday and got some breakfast in me.  I ate a small bowl of cereal w/ milk, coffee and a btl of IM perform.  I was at the race area by 5am to place btls and get things ready. The water temp was 80, so no wetsuit was needed (no big deal, I don't really train too often with on).   My wave was the first AG to go out and by 630 we were swimming. 

The current on the swim was noticed.  At the top of the course, the buoy to turn was like a washing machine and kept kicking ppl back to a previously swam area, so strong swimming was needed.  I was shooting for a 1:05/1:10 swim but ended with a 1:32.  Given the conditions, not too bad.  That and I heard even the pros were off by 15-20'.  T1 was my quickest of any LD race, so I was happy on that.

The bike started out great.  I felt great and kept telling myself to "Stay in my box." Nutrition wise, I was to take in 1btl of Infinite/hr and 1 gel.   At mile 5 I hit some rumble strips and like everyone else who hit them, I lost everything and almost wrecked.  They said that they were out there, but they were NOT marked and it looked like a bike equipment war zone because apparently everyone else hit them too.  I went back to gather my things and was able to get 2 out of 3 btls. of nutrition and my spare tire.  I could not reattach my tire so I just tucked it into the back of my shorts and rocked on.  I was a little worried about not having the 3rd btl, but I had enough to get me to the next aid station (25mi. away) and I could do a Gatorade endurance btl with some SS tablets that I packed for an emergency (Hey Patrick they DID come in handy, thanks).  The nice thing about this course is that the spec. needs area was at mile 40 and 60, so I knew that I just had to make it there and I could refuel.  I had my zone set to be within 166-179 for this ride.  You can see my info from my Garmin below.  I stopped at the spec. needs on the first lap, refueled and continued.  I did not stop on the second lap to save time, but did take a 5hr energy drink while on the bike.  The route back had a nasty head wind which dropped my speed down significantly.  I could have gone faster, but it would have only hurt me on the run.  So I just stayed in the bars and dealt with it.  My time I was suppose to be 6:05 and I pulled a 6:08.  Now if you look at my watts I could have done better than expected, so I was real pleased with this, especially given the head wind for the last 30mi. T2 took a little longer than I wanted but I was pretty mentally beat up from the bike, and wanted to do a self check and get back into the game so I took a little more time with a 10:49.

On the run I felt good.  I was to use the course liquid and carried SS and PB gels for my nutrition.  The temps were pretty high, but I have been training in the heat so I was not too phased by it.  My goal was to take in 4oz of Gatorade/aid station and 1 gel/2ss per hr.  Well the problem with this is that the aid stations were not evenly spread out!  The first aid station was 2mi. in.  Then the next one was 2.25mi. after that.  This went on on the south end of the course and on the north end of the course stations were as close as .25mi. apart.  This became a small issue for me but I just rolled with it and figured out that I could get in 4-6 4oz cups/hr along with my gels and SS.  Miles 0-13 were not bad, but I started to fade till mile 20.  Then I took a gel with some caffeine (as designed) and finished the run.  I went out a little fast but wrangled it in on the back half of the first hour.  Found my pace after that I tried to keep it.  After mile 14 I had a little bit of bloating.  So I started with some water, then went to a cup of coke.  After that, I was back in it and could maintain my nutrition.  Towards the end my thoracic area hurt, I feel because my muscles were tired of breathing like they were.  I did not have a HR monitor on but would check my rate at various time as I would run into the aid stations.  I never saw it go over140bpm.  I was not able to run the whole course.  I walked through aid stations as planned.  But I also walked about 2-2.5 mi. due to heat.  I also used the SN for a change of socks.  Mine were wet because of all the water I was dumping on my head to keep cool.  My goal on the run was going to be 4:16, start with a 10-10:30/mi. pace.  However, I finished the run in 4:53 with a overall pace of 11:13, not too disappointed in this. I also copied the run splits below.

This was my second IM, so I was happy to PR this and get into the 12hr club with a 12:51. This was also my first LD race where my nutrition did not fail me, so I am really excited for that. I still need to work on the run a bit.  All in all, a good race!

Bike info: 

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/533602175