Andrew's IM LP 2019 Race Report

They say completing your first IM will be a life-changing experience. I thought this was over-hyping, designed to motivate. Having completed IMLP 2019, I have to agree. This was a very hard but transforming experience. However, it would not have happened without my teamates' support, especially @scott dinhofer who not only had me sign up, but provided his time, as well as never-ending guidance and support.

Coming into this race, I had only done one half before (Quassy 70.3) in June and was unable to race last year due to a nagging Achilles issue. My goal was to complete the race. I expected my swim to be in the range of 1:30, bike 7-7:30, and no idea on the run.

Overall time 14:42:13 (144/227 50-54), 1374/2,060 OA)

Pre-race 

Checked in and organized my gear at 4:30 am. Got a high five from Mike Reilly and scooted back to the hotel to take care of some extra business instead of using the deluxe porta potties at the swim. Team pics, Mariah took the special needs bags, and was off to Mirror Lake. 

Swim

I seeded myself 1:20-1:30 given my practice loops were in the high end of that range. My thought was to avoid swimming the cable, out of a fear of being pummeled. When the swim started, I was very out of sorts -- off-course, couldn't find my stroke, and thinking I would be DNF in only 3 minutes. Fearing having to explain all this prep and being done before 7:00 am, I tried to follow the mantra "keep moving forward". After about 175 yards of doing everything to swim forward, I somehow managed to find my stroke. And, instead of being of course, suddenly I found myself swimming the cable. Funny thing is that being on the cable was no less physical than not on it, making it the best place to stay. Was fine getting out of the water in 1:20, looked for the 2 biggest strippers I could find (one commented "This guy knows what he's doing"), and I was off to T1.

T1 was a little disorienting to me, but got out in 9:43, 2 minutes to slow, but overall 10 minutes ahead of plan. 

Bike

Focused on the plan to get a bottle in and starting to eat before the Keene decent, which I managed to do. Because I don't relish consuming 30 GUs in a ride, my nutrition consisted of cut up Clif bars (thanks @Al Truscott ) and blocks in my bento box, supplemented with bananas and GUs at aid stations. Throughout the ride I focused on keeping my heart rate in the 120s (up to 140 on a hill), and my cadence in the 80s. @Mariah Bridges caught me with a picture, and saw my friend’s daughter working running aid station no. 2 (getting a big smile). I generally managed to keep to this plan. The ride was fairly manageable until about mile 43. The road near Whiteface until the top of papa bear is brutal, and the wind in my face didn't help. Quickish stop at special needs where I tried to eat a cashew butter and jelly sandwich (ate 1/2), and was back on the road. The second loop was not much different, except the mile 86 section was exceptionally brutal. There was a decent rain dumping down on me exiting Hazelton that continued for a number of miles, followed by what I thought was a very strong headwind throughout the remainder of the ride. Made my way through it, saw my wife and son in front of the brewery who cheered me on, and entered T2.

Bike Time: 7:19

T2: At this point I was pretty tired, but happy that I was head of schedule and could pretty much walk the marathon if needed. I laced up my shoes which instantly started to hurt (Damn vaporflys). While in T2, Mike Reilly announced the first age group entrant to complete the event. A loud groan went over the men's changing tent. 

T2 Time: 8:36

The Run

Exiting T2, got a good dose of sunscreen from an awesome volunteer, and set out on the run. My wife and son were at the exit, encouraging me to continue, even though I felt like the run was not going to happen.

Started running and found @Coach Patrick. He was very enthusiastic, but immediately got down to business. I needed to get wet, slow down, and start my nutrition. He asked about my heart rate, which I had forgotten to even check (plus my pace was an unsustainable 8:30). I took his words to heart, got my heart rate down in the 120s (my goal for the run) and started to dump water on myself. It was getting very hot, but I was trying to stay cool. My goal on the run was to jog to the aid station, get water on me, get hydrated, and consume some sort of nutrition that I could reasonably keep down. I also planned on walking up the hills. It was very hot and it was a real challenge to continue. I never checked my pace, focusing only on my heart rate. Got the first lap down, and then saw Coach who simply said "you are going to grind this out" (I’m not sure if it was a question or a command). On the out and back found my wife and son, who wouldn't let me quit. Lap 2 was going to be brutal. I did the best I could to jog/walk to River Road. Around mile 15 I dropped a Base salt capsule they were handing out. Tried in vain to pick up and a participant (Matt) offered to get it for me. I managed to pick it up and we continued walking together. Matt was 32 (20 years younger than me) and was also competing in his first IM. After a short time, he said "I want to get this over with". I agreed, and said, let's jog slowly to the aid station. We proceeded on a modified march forward – would jog to the next aid station, take liquids, take some sort of nutrition, walk with our bounty, and start jogging again after consuming. At times, I had to tuck my cups into the back of my kit and chuck at the next aid station. We powered through the next 10 miles with this plan, passing many walkers even with our slow pace. Approached the Christian Rock at Mile 18, and felt no worse than I did at mile 2. We were getting excited thinking that at the current pace we could easily break 15 hrs. We separated at Townie Hill where I saw @Kori Martini Retzbach who was out riling up the crowd for the remaining ENers. She was joined by my son Matthew, who wanted to sprint it into the finish with me (this was not happening on many levels). Kori walked me through how the last 2 miles would play out. Saw my wife Jill at the top of the hill and made my way through the last out and back with the same jog/walk strategy until the entry into the oval. 

Entering the stadium was very emotional. The crowd was screaming, I crossed the line, Mike Reilly butchered my name, and the catchers did their thing. Scott Dinhofer was there at the finish line for me, quite fitting since this would not have happened without him. 

Run time 5:42 (about 2 hrs ahead of where I expected to be)

After a failed attempt at eating the athlete food, Coach P swung around to the finishers area to talk through the run with me. As I was talking to him, my words began to slur and everything was spinning. Was brought to the medical tent (teammate Dr. @Jason Baldomir in the tent). The medical staff weighed me (down about 5 pounds from pre-race), and tried to get me fluids. After a few hours, and blood work that came back normal, special thanks to Dr. Heidi and the nurses Justin and Mike (and others) who took care of me. I was discharged and walked back to the hotel, sore but extremely proud.

Looking back at my training peaks stats, I see that I was able to keep my heart rate for both the bike and the run in the mid 120s - exactly where I wanted it. This to me was the key to success.  

N.B. IMLP 2019 had a 14.9% DNF rate, which was the highest at least since 2010.

Coach P frequently refers to "inside the team". Given that triathlon is an individual sport, his motto was hard for me to understand. IMLP changed that for me - the EN team really does exist.

For future: Need to work on body comp, bike technical skills, and longer training runs/bikes, learn to ride outside with power.