My IMSG Ride & Run Recon Thoughts
Back from St. George having ridden and run one basically one loop of each respective leg of the course. Thought I’d provide some of my thoughts. Sorry for the somewhat stream of consciousness narrative.
A few summary thoughts if you’re not up for the rambling: The realities of this course will be hills and wind and probably heat in the afternoon. I live in the west and I know how winds can pick up fiercely in the afternoon. Expect that on course. I don’t see much room for error in pacing and execution on this one. Not that there probably ever is, but it seems to me that in this race it would be easy to bust it out on one or two climbs on the bike and already be in a sinkhole. The one other reality worth mentioning is that there really is some stunning scenery on this course. If we’re out there all day and don’t at least take a bit of the chance to take in and admire the views then something’s wrong with us.
My general summary of the bike is that there are no flat sections. It’s either up or it’s down and that’s about it. As you probably heard from Rich’s download, the initial segment of the bike out of T1 is uphill. Don’t call it a false flat or a gentle rise. You’re going up and it feels like it. It will really feel like it after that swim. During our ride on Friday we had some issues finding the route, so I wasn’t always following along mentally. Once we got on what we knew was the course I was better able to focus on what the road was doing and what that might mean for race day. There is a segment of not so stellar road surface early on. It’s not washboard or potholes but it shook me around quite a bit. I lost both of my nutrition bottles from the back of my bike at one point. Went back and found one of them, but gave up on the second one when I realized that the boys were waiting for me. That’s something I’ve got to fix before 5/1. After that first section we just seemed to continue to do gentle climbing, turning on to a road with a bit of a downhill that later turned to more gradual, consistent climbing. The story for me on this particular segment was a series of about 5 cattle grates. Shamefully, I admit that I got off my bike and walked across them. I’m going to have to employ some of my mountain biking mindset to ride over those on race day. During this section I had the pleasure of riding and talking with Allan Couch from Tennessee. What a joy! We both admitted to feeling a bit like we were in the middle of nowhere and were glad we weren’t doing the ride alone! We also admitted that there was something great and perfect in that nowhere’s-ville feeling though. After a bit we were on “The Hill”. The universal symbol for hairpin turn was our only hint at what might be ahead. So we found ourselves on a serious climb. About halfway up, Allan reported that his Garmin was showing a 12-14% grade. Seems really tough on paper, but in reality, we just did the climb. No dramas. In fact, we were rather engrossed in a conversation about patients’ initiative and responsibility as relates to their health vs. what they seem to assume is doctors’ responsibility. I thought that was a good sign! We weren’t talking about how much we were hurting or what a piece of crap the hill was! We just kept talking and in no time the hill was behind us and we were rolling in to a conveniently located “corner store” where Rich and Steve Hiatt were waiting for us. (across from the Rich’s fave Veyo Pies)
When we left the convenience store we had another short climb before what I thought would be a screaming, or at least fast-ish, descent into town. We rode the climb pretty hard as a group into a headwind. We crested the hill and continued to ride into the headwind as the road descended. So much for taking advantage of the downhill segment. We had to pedal pretty hard on that section as well. That’s where the boys really dropped me. I got no mass to keep me going in that sort of setting.
Unlike what we’ll do on race day we rode back to our cars which were parked at the swim location. So part of what we rode to get back was not on the course. About 15 miles out I got to ‘E’ on my gas tank. Had to administer some emergency calories and rally. Allan was so kind to wait for me!! Toward the end of the ride, Steve stuck with me even though I know he probably wanted to hammer it home. So great to have such a supportive crew!!
Saturday we met in town near where T2 will be and hit the road to do one loop of the run course. There really aren’t any flat sections on the run either. In fact, I’d say that the majority of it is up hill. This is going to be a CHALLENGING run to say the least. Especially because for some of the longest, sustained sections of climbing there are likely to be few spectators. Picture the park segment of IMFL, but with 5-6% grade hills. That’s the kind of alone time I’m going to prepare myself for and if it’s different, then so be it. I’m thinking that I might pack a headlamp in my run special needs bag like I did for Florida, in case I end up needing to actually see ahead of me. Anyway, the hills on the majority of the course are hard, but they’re not insurmountable. We ran them at a pace that allowed us to talk the whole way, and we weren’t crawling. The good news is that the approximately 3.5 miles back into town give you a nice downward slope which is going to help immensely, I think. The second trip out is going to be tough though. Doing it this weekend once was fine, but knowing what’s in store for the second loop may challenge the ol’ mental fortitude. I will not be surprised to feel some fatigue in my calves during the run.
The finish line has the potential to be SPECTACULAR! From Diagonal when we turn back on to Main on that second loop and head down hill toward the end of the race, I’m imagining an amazing turnout of families, friends, and locals, and a fast downhill run into the chute! They picked a great place for the finish IMHO.
I’m so glad we were able to pull this together. It was great to meet some of the team (and get a chance to ride outside!), and it turns out going out and doing this riding and running was a nice confidence and motivation booster heading into week 4 of 12 in race prep….onward.
Comments
Lynne
Heard a comment somewhere (Rich??) about the lake. Did you get a chance to see the swim area? If so, any thoughts?
tom
Gearing:
Swim: beautiful lake. This will be the mose scenic and unique swim venue on the calendar. It was windy when we were there but the lake looked pretty normal. However, I'd really pay attention to the logistics/athlete's guide for the race, as they will have to bus you there or something. T1 is a good 20 miles from T2 so the whole race week/bag check in thing will be very different from any other race. Just pay attention to the information when it's published and you'll be fine.
Crappy iPhone pics of swim area
The Pics that Coach Rich took are amazing, I am totally fired up for the race now. Not really looking forward to all the hills though.
Olivia, you and Stephen gave a really good summary of the bike and run course. It was really nice to meet everyone and have Coach Rich available. Also, thank you for riding with me on the bike loop. Not until the next day, when I rode it again, did I realize how much our conversation helped distract me from the pain of the climbs.
Sorry to not show up for the run with you all on Saturday AM. I decided to eat a BIG breakfeast that morning so I had to wait a bit longer before I could run. Also, with the help of my wife, I decided to do a little test of N=1 on Saturday. I rode from the reservoir and then did one loop of the bike course. After that, I ran the run loop. For my own curiosity, I wanted to do this because I did not like how my legs felt after the first day when we did the bike loop and a total of 86 miles.
To put it simply, it SUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is essentially 22 miles from the reservoir to the bike loop. Each bike loop is about 45 miles. Also, I was wrong when I told you guys it only had 2000 ft of climbing per loop. It was more like 2600 ft of elevation gain per 45 mile loop. During my solo effort on the bike loop, each of the three big hills on the course were very difficult, and made even worse by the chip seal road conditions. I would look down and see 2% on my Garmin and swear I was at 4 or 5%. It was probably a combo of the road and the wind. Parts of the course had Kona level wind gusts. This was NO fun while descending. That last long hill was terrible. 11 to 14% near the top. Without conversation occuring while I'm riding up it, I noticed every little hurt in my legs while climbing. Pacing will be super important.
As far as the run is concerned, it SUCKED even more. Up, up, up. No mercy. Especially after doing that damn hilly bike course. I live at an altitude of 1800ft. When in Colorado, I have never had trouble hiking to the top of Highlands Bowl in Aspen (which is close to 12,000 ft, I believe). Altitude usually does NOT bother me. For some reason, the 3200 to 3500 ft altitude on this course was really rough. I know it was an uphill course but man I was just dying. Maybe I was dehydrated or lacked salt. Whatever the reason, it was a bear. Be warned.
I'm a bigger guy (6'4" and 193) and rode a 12-27 without a compact crank. I believe I will switch to a compact crank for this race and keep the 12-27. I will take all the help I can get. For the run.........learn to love hills. Long sustained running uphill.
Allan
BTW - I think I saw you on Sunday on your bike. You were heading back to your place I think...I was just leaving there after checking availability for the race! I should have turned around to see if you needed anything. But I was on a mission for coffee. I went in to SBUX and who's voice did I hear? Rich's! Not that I should have been surprised. I'll bet part of why you felt so cruddy is that you were coming off a pretty hard day of riding on Saturday, we had all abandoned you, and the weather was really dreary. Don't talk yourself out of the possiblity of feeling great after a few more solid long days of training, a taper, and another day or so to acclimate after your travel day.
Anyway, I will add to the chorus of changing gearing. I generally climb OK to pretty well. I do a lot of it here in CO in most summers up to 10K and 14K feet. But I never have to do those rides twice and I never have to run after them. I haven't totally settled on what I'm going to do, but I'm going to change things up to give me a bit more range. I think it will be worthwhile. There certainly won't be any extra hero points in the end for running some supposed stud gearing.
Rich, Olivia, Allan, & Steve,
It was great to put a live person to the virtual online version. I don't really have much to add other then the fact that on the back part of the loop I swear I could hear banjos playing that tune from the movie Deliverance.
The other thing that was strange is I kept seeing bright reflections out in the rocks several times on both the run and the bike. I couldn't help but think about the movie "The Hills Have Eyes".
I will second the try to train as much as possible on hills, both on the bike and run workouts. I did swap out to a compact the week before the trip and was running a 12-25. I will look into an 11-26 or maybe even go to a 12-27.
Overall, I am glad I made the trip, again great to see everyone. See you in 59 days!!
Oh I got rained on good Saturday. Along with the thigh burning and cold weather, it made for the "perfect" day.
I enjoyed the misery so much on Saturday that I decided to run up into Snow Canyon Park and back on Sunday. 550ft elevation gain in 3.5 miles. That hurt bad too. Called myself "dumba$$" quite a bit on that run but the weather was so good on Sunday I could not resist.
You should hear my brother in law speak. He is British but has lived in Georgia now for 15 years. He has picked up a lot of the local speak. When he goes home to GB, his family can hear the subtle southern twang.
Allan
On my outdoor ride last night my legs were screaming! Definitely feeling the hills at this point. I don't think we're going to be able to walk from 5/2 -5/5!
Today I feel oddly rested. Just doing a swim this morning is like a cake walk compared to the usual weeks. Then again, I also went to bed at 8:30 last night.
Whatever you do....don't be a "dumba$$"! LOL!!
Ok so I am definately a little peep-5' nothing and 112 lbs-so here is the question-I have a Giant OCR road bike, compact gearing, 3 rings in front and I have a Felt Tri bike, also has compact gears, it is a 650c wheel, but only 2 rings in front. I can change the cassette easy enough. Is it better to take the road bike b/c of the hills or do I stick to the tri bike? I don't have a power tap on either bike-
thoughts/comments?
Cheryl, tri bike. Tell us specifically what gearing you have on your bike. Thanks.