Scott Liston's IM Chattanooga Race Report

2019 Ironman Chattanooga Race Report

Summary

·       4th Ironman

·       Goal was Top 25; slowtwitch psych sheet had me seeded 26th; I got 19th!

·       PR by 2:10 @ 12:46:33

·       Best DPI (89.3), AG (19th), Gender (245th), Overall (301st) in an Ironman race

·       Better Gender and Overall Place than any 70.3 race too.

·       Scored some good points for the team which got 1st Place in the NA TriClub Championship

Background

My result in this race is the culmination of changes made from October 2016 to now. After a decent result at Ironman Wisconsin in 2016, my “aha moment” was realizing that I needed to work at a harder intensity factor on the bike in training than I was doing. I did that and it resulted in improved results for both 2017 and 2018. Last year I was 10th AG at 70.3 Steelhead and 16th AG at 70.3 Ohio which motivated me to see if I could also improve at the Ironman distance. I got on Strava in August 2016 and TrainerRoad for a year. I got on Zwift in November 2017. I kept track of the percent of my time in Z3 and Z4 and greatly increased those. This resulted in modestly improved bikes but much improved runs. So, I was ready to go after this season to see what I could do at Ironman distance.

Training Build Up

This year’s training included a December-February OutSeason, a build up to a full marathon in early May, then a build up to 70.3 Steelhead 6/30 and then Chattanooga 9/29. I worked through the plan with quarterly calls with Patrick to keep me on track. The marathon build-up proved to be too costly. Too much, too fast. I got a right calf strain three weeks before the race and during the race I had quad cramping about three different times. As I moved into my Ironman build-up, I had some issues with right side high ankle pain and left foot metatarsalgia, so I did lots of calf stretching and ankle strengthening. I switched to more supportive shoes (NB 1080) with a structured and cushioned after-market insole.

New bike, new bike fit

I bought a new bike, the Ventum One, and got a Retuil bike fit at the local bike shop. Staying aero is a weakness I will continue to work. Having gotten more comfortable with a more aggressive position this year, I will likely take some height off to the stem for 2020 as well.

August Chattanooga Camp

I did the race camp with Coach P and nine others. It was so valuable to ride the course twice and be familiar with the bike course on race day.

The dog chase and broken ribs three weeks before the race

Finally, on Saturday, September 7th, three weeks before the race while on my long ride, a country dog chased me, and knocked me off my bike into the ditch. I got checked out at the ER and had a huge contusion on my left hip/thigh and broke two ribs on my left back. So, I got to switch to a three-week taper. By race day the ribs weren’t hurting too badly. My bike was damaged, so I had to order new parts and have it repaired. I got it Tuesday evening the week of the race with not a lot of time to get comfortable with it again. Jim Troutt of Velofit Nashville checked it out race week and declared it ready to go.

So Tell Us about your race

The night before the race I had 600 calories – 32 oz. of Mighty Mango naked juice smoothies at midnight

At 4am I had 3 oz. bread, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, two boiled eggs, 1 banana

I brought a Clif bar and a gel to have on the bus, at the Swim start.

As most know, this was a hot race, so hydration and heat management were key.

Swim (Not Wetsuit Legal – 80.3 temp)

Result: 1:10:35 (37th, DPI 86)

Goal: I didn’t really have a time goal because of the downstream flow but this was about 10 minutes faster than typical in training.

I lined up at the end of the 1:00 – 1:10 group. I met Bruce Thompson and his friend Mike there. Bruce and I stood in line together. Jeremy saw us and wished us good luck. The swim was pretty uneventful – I had to swim around some slower folks. I had some faster folks pass me and I’d stay on their feet for 10 strokes but no more; I was mostly alone. I had the EN two-piece race kit on but don’t own a swimskin. I’ll buy one for next year. I was concerned that someone would hit me in the ribs so I was mentally prepared for that, but it didn’t happen, thankfully.

T1: 6:44 (17th), +9 positions to 28th

I jogged through the transition. I had practiced my transition in the hotel room multiple times, and it went smoothly. I stood up and put my bag on the chair like Coach P. One step was to spray sunscreen on me but in my practicing, I didn’t notice the spray has a cap that has to be rotated to open so none came out and I moved on. Instead, I let the sunscreen folks outside slather me up.   

Bike 6:20:58 (22nd, DPI 89.6), +7 positions to 21st

Goal: 6:10 – 6:30

I kept my shoes on the bike and got my feet into them during the first half mile. I had a full Ventum bottle to start and that was it. I made sure I was drinking from the start. The plan was to get a GE and a water at every stop and that’s what I executed – with the onboard fluid – 12 GE bottles for 6+ hours. I have an XLab Versa upfront to rack the GE and one bottle cage in the back for the water. On climbs, I would fill the Ventum reservoir and pour water over my head and body. I had arm coolers on. I immediately saw the impact of the heat. The watts for the heart rate were low. So, I adjusted from the beginning to accept the watts the day would give me for the heart rate. The proven plan from my training, including race camp, was 170 watts (68%) at 125bpm. The day gave me 160 watts (64%) at 130bpm. But I did stick my nose right on top of the bottle and my computer, so my aero position and speed (18.2MPH) was better than in training; I’ll take it. I did not chase watts. I was watching heart rate instead to ensure it did not exceed my 133 cap. My NP for the first two hours was 158, second two, 160, last two+, 164. So I metered the effort out over the course well. The VI was 1.08 – so not great – but as I look at the data it was because I was coasting more than usually to pee and get heart rate down rather than spiking watts on the climbs – lots of zero and low watts on descents. I did stop at the aid station at 75 to get a full pee in at the porta potty. I also had to stop at a few of the aid stations to get the GE and water. The slow down and catch just wasn’t working with the volunteers and I would not go on without GE and water so stopped and they came to me with the bottles. I also had one GE eject but had enough in my Ventum reservoir to keep going. I also got one GE without the inner seal taken off toward the end of the bike and got figure that out while rolling. They were doing the best they could!

T2: 6:47 (16th) +2 positions to 19th

I took the time to dry my feet and change socks and really get them straight before I put on my running shoes. Otherwise, I had the Go Bag and did the rest of the admin on the run.

Run

Run: 5:01:49, 20th, DPI 87.3) - held 19th position

Goal: Run of 4:36 +/-

The slower time is 100% heat – 9% slower than plan. I expect if I put the day’s conditions in the Heat Calculator it would predict a more than 20% slow down. I had to work for about twenty minutes to get my heart rate from 146 down to 130 – the average of the bike. I was still working it down when I saw Patrick and Rich Stanbaugh early on. It felt stupid slow, but I was content to stay focused on staying cool and getting wet, getting ice, and getting GE and gels. I had a race saver bag in each hand and was diligent to get ice in them at each aid station. I stuck with GE until about Mile 18 then switched to coke and three 341mg S-caps/hour. My Stryd power plan was 195 for the first seven miles and then take it up as I could to 207 after the first seven miles. Like the bike, I switched to heart rate – knowing that I could live in the 130s but no higher. So, I let Power be an outcome of what heart rate would give me. My average heart rate was 137 for the day and it slowly crept up over the course of the day. Average NP was 181W. Once I got to Mile 17, I was able to keep the heart rate up – heart rate as a whip. I am most proud of Mile 7 through Mile 20.5 (crossing the bridge on lap 2 to Northside). Pace 11:08, VI 1.03, NP 187W, BPM 139, aerobic decoupling 3%. Very steady. After crossing the bridge, I felt my quads tightening so then the quads were in charge of pace after that. I had to slow down to keep them from seizing up. This portion was 55 minutes @ pace 12:33 and NP 167W. I am very happy with this. I think it was a smart decision and slowing down only 95 sec./mile to manage the quads seems like a victory. 

Lessons Learned

So, I am very pleased with this result! The higher bike volume for more of the year this season enabled me to sustain a good pace on the run for longer. I made good choices for hydration and heat management all day long. Familiarity with the bike course from race camp was very helpful. I can improve my transition time a bit. I will continue to develop neck, back and shoulder strength to get and stay more aero and for longer. I can be more focused on body comp to lose those last five pounds. Buy a swimskin.