I had to give this report several days to form since I was in no state of mind in the immediate days after the race to write up a positive summary of how the day unfolded. I’m very disappointed with my result but I wanted to take the time to realize the good things that came out of this race – it’s been a tough task to do since I’m such a goal-driven person, so when I don’t hit a goal I struggle with finding anything positive that came out of the process. But I’ll try my best here…
Race Goals:
- Qualify for Kona – NOPE (missed it by ~35’)
- Top 10 in AG – NOPE (31st)
- Personal record – YES (by 48’)
Pre-Race
Spent race week very focused on my nutrition to maintain body comp. Also increased salt intake as I got closer to the race by adding more of it to my food. By Saturday I was heavily salting everything. I’ve practiced with this before in races and big training days in hot conditions this year with good success, but I think I got a little carried away this time – more on this later…
My family (wife, 2 year old son and Mom & Dad) arrived Saturday afternoon. It was nice to have them around to distract me a little from the pre-race hype. This was the first triathlon my parents came to see me compete in so I was especially excited to have their on-course support.
Got to bed soon after 8:00pm, woke up at 2:00am for a Naked Juice smoothie and a baked potato. Then up at 4:00am for good and had a bowl of Koala Crisp cereal with almond milk and a banana and 2 cups of coffee. Sipped a ½ bottle of Naked Juice smoothie in transition at 5:15am and topped off the pre-race nutrition with a 100 calorie bottle of EFS Drink just prior to getting in the water at 6:45am. Felt good, cleaned out and ready to go.
Swim (Goal: 1:00-1:05; Actual: 1:03:04)
Positioned myself on the left side of the ski jump and 2 rows back. This is where I found the 1:00-1:05 peeps. Treaded water for about 15’. Started to get a little cold but once I got going the 67-degree water felt great in the full-length wetsuit. The cannon went off and I immediately locked in behind some fast feet. My plan was to push it pretty hard to the first turn buoy then settle in to a comfortable pace. This went exactly to plan. I never get into any scrums. I swam comfortably and controlled. Took a glance at my watch after making the first loop – 29:55. Decided to swim a little more easily on the second loop. I lost my draft on the long stretch back and found myself looking up to sight regularly but it was made difficult due to the bright sun. I finished the swim feeling good about my time but I know I could have swam sub-60’ pretty easily.
T1 (Goal: 5:00; Actual: 5:03)
My goal was to absolutely fly through both transitions and I did just that. I was red-lining it to the wetsuit strippers, up the helix, into Monona Terrace, got my T1 bag, into the changing room, threw my wetsuit/cap/goggles on the floor, emptied bag contents on the floor, put on my helmet, grabbed my shoes and took off to my bike (arm warmers and race number belt were already on since I wore them under my wetsuit on the swim). It was a hell of a long run through all the bikes since mine was on the rack closest to the bike out (benefit of being a Janus Charity Challenge athlete!). Matt Sullivan had my bike ready and waiting – that was awesome to see him!! Put my shoes on, then sunglasses (had them resting on my aerobars) and rolled out.
Bike (Goal: <5:30; Actual: 5:33:30)
FTP: 295 watts
1st hour target power: 200 watts
Total ride target power: 210 watts
Legs were a little tight starting out but they loosened up after about 30’. Started with my hydration/nutrition 30’ into ride: a sip of Infinit followed by a gulp of water every 10’; an S-Cap at hours 2 and 4; 2 Motivators at mile 90. Followed this plan exactly, except I may have taken in a little more water than I had planned. I had a hard time gauging this since all of my training rides/RRs were with water bottles in my jersey pockets. In the race I would grab 2 water bottles from each aid station: I’d take a huge swig from one and put the other one inside my singlet down my back (to both keep me cool and to have a reserve supply between aid stations). Peed 4 or 5 times on the bike, can’t remember for sure, it was a lot.
Had a great time on the bike. It really flew by. I especially looked forward to getting to Old Sauk, Timberlane and Midtown to break up the monotony and feed off the crowds as well as the hammerheads cranking out 500+ watt efforts (and there were plenty of them!). Saw a lot of fellow Endurance Nation teammates out on the course which always provided a huge lift.
A few minutes before arriving back at Monona Terrace I took a little assessment of my body to prepare for the marathon – everything seemed ready to go. Took a look at my TSS (nice to have it real-time with the new Joule!) – 255. I was surprised how low it was. This helped set my mind at ease that I should be fully prepared to nail the marathon I planned. Prepared my mind for the impending pain that I knew I would encounter come mile 18 and felt confident I could push my body deep into the pain vault to hit my run goals. Got back to the Monona Terrace feeling ready to run a smart marathon.
Entire workout (190 watts):
Duration: 5:35:13 (5:35:20)
Work: 3816 kJ
TSS: 255.7 (intensity factor 0.677)
Norm Power: 198
VI: 1.05
Pw:HR: 4.72%
Pa:HR: 2.06%
Distance: 113.201 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 442 190 watts
Heart Rate: 86 173 123 bpm
Cadence: 30 218 93 rpm
Speed: 0 47.4 20.2 mph
Pace 1:16 0:00 2:58 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 39 8 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 698 178 lb-in
Temperature: 60.8 89.6 75.0 Fahrenheit
T2 (Goal: 2:00; Actual: 1:38)
Ditched the bike, sprinted into Monona Terrace, grabbed my bag, into the changing room, on with my shoes, off with my helmet and took off with my Fuel Belt and visor in hand. T2 time ended up being the 3rd fastest overall! Too bad that doesn’t get you anything.
Run (Goal: <3:30; Actual: 4:11:30)
As soon as I crossed the run out line I immediately slowed to a walk to get my heart rate where to its normal long run place. It didn’t take more than about 20” so I started with the run pace plan:
Vdot: 56
1st 6 miles pace: 8:15
Miles 6-18: 7:45
Miles 18-26.2: Don’t slow down
As soon as I took the first step of the run something felt off. I had very little flexibility in my legs – my calves, ankles and quads were all VERY tight. It also felt like my legs suddenly doubled in weight as my feet were hitting the pavement with loud thuds, not the way I typically run. I had never had this feeling all year during any bricks or long runs. No matter how tired my legs were from a cycling session I always felt light on my feet for my brick runs and nailed the paces EVERY SINGLE TIME! This feeling was very foreign. I was struggling to hit the 8:15 pace in the 1st mile! On top that my left foot was numb. Finally at mile 4 I stopped and loosened up my laces thinking that maybe I cinched them up too tight. This helped a little with the numbness in the left foot but the heavy, tight legs continued to be a problem.
By mile 10 I was working very hard to hit an 8:00/mile pace. I started losing focus (mentally and physically as I had a tough time seeing more than 10 feet in front of me). I felt very nauseous and “spacey”. I tried everything to get my pace to my target of 7:45 with no avail. I tried to run marathon pace for 1’ – not happening. Tried doing 30” strides – nope. No matter what I tried I couldn’t get the pace any faster than 8:30. Maybe food would fix it…I tried potato chips at one aid station – nothing. I tried Coke – nothing. I tried chicken broth – nothing. Banana – nothing. My feet felt like stumps and my insides felt like exploding. There was one point where I looked down at my feet as I was doing my shuffle and saw pee streaming down my leg – what the hell was going on?!
I made the turn at mile 13 and realized I was dealing with something I didn’t know how to get through. By mile 14 or 15 I lost all focus. I don’t think I looked at my watch once from that point on. I couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of me. I know there were a lot of ENers out there all along the course but I don’t remember seeing any of you, not even the pink speedos. I do remember fellow ENers and new friend Todd Glass passing me and saying something to encourage me to keep going. I couldn’t stay with him, though.
Somehow I shuffled my way to the final turn before the finish chute. I tried not to look at my time as I couldn’t bear seeing 11 hrs and something on the clock. To my surprise I was still in the 10th hour but barely. I entered the finish chute in a much different place than I wanted to be. I really wanted to enjoy it this time but I was having trouble even putting a smile on my face. I think I did raise my arms, though , as I crossed the finish so at least I had that left in me.
Overall Time: 10:54:45 (Goal: 10:00:00 +/- 15')
As soon as I stopped I fell into the arms of 2 volunteers. The world was spinning. They took me into the medical tent where they first took my weight. I had gained 10 pounds!!! WTF?! They loaded me up with chicken broth and Gatorade. My family found me and I felt good enough to get out of there and make the 3 block walk back to the hotel. As I was showering I noticed how puffy my legs and hands were.
It’s now 6 days after the race and everything from my knees down to my toes is swollen and puffy. I’ve been wearing compression tights or socks everyday since the race. If it doesn’t go down after this weekend I think a visit to the doc may be in order.
Even though this race didn’t turn out quite the way I had hoped I’m happy with my execution. I was on track with my goals up to about mile 10 of the run where I now realize I was dealing with a situation I had never encountered and still don’t have an answer for. I know it was only my first real attempt at a Kona qualification but I can’t help but feel very disappointed about the outcome. I’m not sure if I’ll give it another go or not at this point.
At least I can say I gave it all I could on this particular day. I didn’t give up. I didn’t leave anything in the tank. I dug deeper into the pain and suffering area of my mind than I ever have before, even at those utterly slow paces that normally would be a walk in the park – that’s Ironman. I just wish I could say I learned something from this that will make me stronger and more aware for next time, but I really can’t at this point. The only thing I can point to is the heavy amount of salt I was putting in my body preceding the race. Did this lead to all that water retention, which led to the tight, inflexible, swollen legs? I guess I’ll have to get medical opinion to figure that out. If that’s the answer to my problem then I’m ready to attack this goal again. Time will tell.
Thanks for everyone’s support this year! I had such a great time training this season, especially with all of my Endurance Nation friends at various camps and local rides, runs and swims. I never felt burned out or not excited to get out of bed to start a workout. I’m in the best shape of my life – it just sucks that this race result isn’t indicative of this fitness I built. There’s always next time…
