Placid Report

I was not going to post this as I dont think my race execution was very good....but after a week, I changed my mind!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pre-race:
Wed: drove over from ME as I knew if would be a long day with the family in the car. Arrived in LP ~6:00PM grabbed some pizza at Mr Mikes (this would be the only meal I ate out all week…get a room with a kitchen for sure!)

Thurs: AM, up and into town ~7:45, swam 1 loop of the course…EASY in 29:30 (this will be relevant on Sunday), then back to the room for some rest and catch up on the Tour. In the afternoon I rode 65min with 4 x 90sec at threshold watts. Felt lousy…usually a good sign for meJ

Fri: no training. This was my “social” day. I went to the expo (bought nothing, but you can buy anything with the IMLP logo on it!) got my packet and was weighed (in clothes 146 pounds) then back to the room for more time on my back.

Sat: my usual pre-race workout 1 hour total with 15min swim, 30-35min bike and 10min run all with 2 x 30sec pick ups. Starting to feel better. Check the bike over and turn it over to transition…in the pouring rain.

Race Day:
Up at 3:30 AM for a Boost and 2 packets of oatmeal, a banana and some maple syrup ~800kcal. In the car and on the way to town at 4:40AM. Had to park ~1 mile from transition. Walked to transition in the rain, pumped tires, checked bike again and walked back to the car…realized I had left my wetsuit draped on my bike…DOH! Walked back to transition to get suit. Down to the water and in my suit at 6:20, in the water at 6:30, swam 2-3 minutes easy then went to the second row about 20 feet off the end of the dock.

Swim: the gun goes off…then the melee starts. For the next 4200 yards I was kicked, punched, shoved, swam over, swam by…etc. I NEVER got clean water or a good draft. My first lap was 30:40 (remember the 29:xx from Thursday WTF?). during the middle of the 1st loop some idiot grabs me by the ankle and pulls me back 6-7 feet as he slingshots by…so I grab is wetsuit by the back and pull him back…he then proceeds to punch me square in the jaw…this is 100% truth here folks. It gets ugly out there. The second loop was actually slower and just as rough for a swim of 1:04…goal was 58-59min.Damn. Long run to T1, put on helmet, socks and shoes, long run to bike.

Bike: within 100 feet of T1, both my bottles (500 cal each) eject from the cage and I don’t stop…this would be crucial. So I keep pedaling and just focus on my pace. Goal watts are 190 average and ~200 normalized with a cap of 250w on any hill and coasting above 30mph. Luckily I had 8 gels and 2 power bars on board so I could “freelance” the nutrition a bit and try to stay on track. Took Gatorade at every aid station and 1 or 2 waters for the 112 miles. My cages sucked so I lost pretty much everyone. Pee’d 9 times on the bike (and no, I did not stop).

Was flying by people and felt like I was soft pedaling the whole time. Then at ~mile 45 I get a draft penalty on an uphill 7mph spot where there are like 20 people around and no where to go…totally bogus. Even the people around me yelled at the marshal, he just had my number and I was hosed. 4min in the penalty box out on course. Uggh. So anyway, 5:22 bike split was actually a 5:18 and would have been 2nd in AG.

Run: I hit t2 in around 70th overall, including 35 pros I think, so I am feeling good. My legs feel like they rode 12 miles, not 112. I am fired up. Quick transition, new socks (see the number of pees above to know whyJ), my visor and a flask with ~350cal in it. My stride comes right to me. I feel awesome. Heart rate is actually settling to high Z1 low Zone 2. Start clipping off 7:20’s to 7:30’s…whoa, a bit fast, but it feels so easy. So I start to walk the aid stations to try to slow down. Still running 7:45’s. back to town and hit the 13 mile mark in 1:37…7:30 pace. Hmmm. Did I just run to hard? I head back out, at mile 15 I feel a bit of fatigue, but I should right, this is an IM! Mile 16, the stomach is revolting. I walk the aid station and get some Gatorade and water in me…by mile 17 the stomach is in full shutdown mode. I am dry heaving, cramping, dizzy, wobbly legged. I looked like Chris Legh from the Gatorade commercial. This gonna be a long 9 miles. My stomach never came back; I shuffle/walked the next 9 and was passed by 120 people in the process. DAMN! Finally with ½ mile to go I muster a fast jog and onto the oval. I crossed the line and felt fine. I was pissed though. Erika had left the finish chute as she had expected me 40 minutes earlier and was checking to see if I was in the med tent!

So finish time was 10:40, 40 in AG, 173 overall from 2100+ finishers. I was not happy about my execution but was happy to be finished. I promptly ate 2 cheeseburgers and some ice cream!

Some lessons for the next one:
get my position on the bike more aero and ride just as fast with fewer watts.
Swim the first lap harder to get in some “clean” water
Buy some new bottle cages!
Run even easier the first 13 miles. The IM really comes down to being able to run from mile 16 on…and I could not.