IM Lou Summary, In Detail

Right off the bat, I did not think I was capable of a 2:55 IM run, at least not this year. Sure, I've thought to myself that at some point in the future I can run sub-three hours in an IM, but I thought that was two or three more years of hard training down the line. 3:05 or 3:10 seemed like a more realistic yet still very ambitious goal for the run. I'm ecstatic about my run split.

Back to the week or so before the race, I had a lot going on. I left my job (permanently, that is) on the Thursday before the race. All week I was a bit stressed trying to wrap-up everything at the office to ensure the transition went smoothly and that my former employer wouldn't skip a beat once I left, not to mention the stress of trying to figure out what to do next! On top of that, Stacey and I are moving out of our apartment starting tomorrow, just three days after the race. Immediately after that, we're driving out to Colorado for about a week of relaxation, a job interview for Stacey, a family wedding, and just scoping the place out in general. Needless to say, all of this had me stressed out. I was not going into the race under ideal conditions, but I didn't know that'd be the case when I signed up a year ago.

With all that going on, I couldn't focus much on the race until two days before the race. Still, packing all my gear, driving down to Lou, and getting my gear organized for the race and into the transition area the day before hand went extremely smooth. At my first IM two years ago I spent nearly an entire day getting my gear in order, so to do so in such short order made me feel like I was missing something, or that I was taking things too lackadaisically. I had plenty of time to lounge. Big thanks to Stacey for packing two grocery bags and a cooler full of good food so that I didn't need to worry about pre-race meals and to Conor and Teresa for driving down there with me and helping make everything as easy for me as possible.

When race morning rolled around, I was extremely calm. I even leisurely skimmed the Detroit Freep Press online while eating my breakfast and read to my great horror that the University of Michigan is being accused by former and possibly current players of NCAA violations. AHH! Anyhow, once I got to transition, I spent all of five minutes readying my bike and made it over to the swim start in time to get a decent place in line.

About that swim time...1:12 is not what I was hoping for. I thought I executed well enough while swimming. I was focused and kept my effort up. Perhaps I didn't spot well. Perhaps I swam a bad line. Previewing the swim course wasn't possible for me, so I was winging it to some extent. Next year, I'll try to do a bit more research about the course. When I looked at my watch upon exiting the water, I was dissapointed, but I told myself that maybe the current was odd and that perhaps everyone's swim times were off. Without knowing for sure that my time was bad relative to the field - and I didn't yet know that because I only knew my time - I was able to remain positive.

As I said in my short race summary, the bike was tougher than expected. On the positive side, the time trial start meant I rarely had to pass packs of people and as a result I was able to race my own race without fear of violating drafting rules by not passing quickly enough or by getting caught in a pack. I was quickly able to settle in to a comfortable pace that didn't violate my predetermined power cap. I kept the wattage at a moderate level, 250-300 W uphill depending on the slope and apparent duration of each climb. (On a side note, and I am not trying to be condescending here, but AG guys really, really, really need to learn how to pace themselves. Five or ten guys, all without power meters but almost all with carbon bikes and wheels, would pass me on every hill while I was riding circa 275 W only for me to fly by them on the next flat while only pushing 190-200 W. I would bet that these guys are setting themselves up for awful run splits by attacking each climb like its a hill-top finish in the Tour de France. When I first got a power meter, I was amazed by how easy it is to put out the watts when going uphill, so I would urge each of these guys to at least test one out.)

My bike nutrition seemed to go well. I urinated four or five times on the bike, mostly in the first 70 miles. Despite all that pee, I remained thirsty and so I continued to drink plenty of Gatorade. I didn't drink any water, even while eating my Powerbars and gel.

My bike pacing was about right. Around mile 80 I started to tire and had to push through it. My lower back was getting pretty sore. At Lake Placid, this isn't an issue because there's so much climbing toward the end of the bike that I'm out of the aero position a lot. At Lou, however, the last 20 miles are best handled while predominantly in the aerobars. Before next year, I've got to increase lower back flexibility or adjust my position a bit. I haven't had time to check out my power file yet, but I averaged 214 W without zeros and 147 bpm (which I do not think is accurate despite my CPU battery change because the CPU showed my HR as >170 bpm during my easy ride the day before the race).

One final note about the bike: There were WAY too many cars on the course. During many portions of the ride, neither lane was closed to vehicular traffic. Cars were often stuck between riders, prevented by oncoming traffic from passing or even moving away from the right lane line. I was held up numerous times on the second loop of the ride because a car would be stuck behind a slower rider. It seems that a better solution for both drivers and racers would be to close one lane to traffic and have all cars travel in a single direction. One reason I choose to race Ironman brand events is their typically excellent race organization (another reason is top-notch competition). I was not impressed with the traffic control at this race.

Near the end of the ride, I felt just slightly better than at the end of my ride in Lake Placid. I wasn't hurting quite as bad, but I wasn't feeling great. My legs were shelled, or so I thought. Also, I was again dissapointed with my bike split. 5:07 is only a few minutes faster than at IMLP, which has a reputation for a much harder ride. Maybe my expectations were not in line with the difficulty of the Louisville course, but I was anticipating sub-five hours. Still, I was off the bike in just over 6:20, which I thought should still put me in position to potentially win my AG.

Once off the bike, I felt great. My fatigue was gone. I sped off running what I thought to be around 6:45 to 7:00/mile, but what was in reality sub-6:00/mile. (One might wonder why I didn't notice my pace was so fast, seeing as I wear a Garmin, and my answer is that I don't care about my pace because I don't have much control over it.) I kept my HR in check, and was happy to see it at 153 bpm a quarter mile or so into the run and at 154 bpm running slightly down hill off the bridge near the start of the run. I checked again a few more times during the first three miles and every time my HR was right about 160 bpm.

The first three miles of running went by quick. At Lake Placid, the first mile marker of the run seemed to take forever to reach, while now I was past mile 3 in seemingly no time. Stay calm and slow, I told myself, there's a lot of racing left. I was popping a salt pill or two right before each aid station, then drinking just coke and water. Since I was dissapointed with both my swim and bike, I avoided looking at my run time or pace for almost the entire run. I didn't want to risk being further discouraged. Instead, I just kept going, always trying to keep myself from running too hard. I went through the halfway marker still feeling good, but knew I was on the verge of having to dig a bit deeper.

I wanted to push it until mile 20 and then let the anticipation of the finish carry me from there. I told myself I'd check my run pace at mile 21. If I was running well, which I suspected I was, I would get some positive affirmation that would further help carry me to the end. At mile 21 I checked my watch and was amazed to see that only 2:20 had elapsed since I left T2. My god, I realized, I can run well under 3:00 if I keep pace! I just pushed to the end, never walking a step for the second IM in a row, and finished in 9:20. It felt pretty good.

Immediately post race, I felt pretty good. No stomach issues all run. Indeed, the run felt easier than any stand alone marathon I've run. Dealing with muscular fatigue isn't too bad, much better than puking and going to the med tent.

So that's that. A 21 minute PR despite a dissapointed swim and what seemed at the time to be a dissapointing, all due to a run that far exceeded my expectations. Once again, I finish a race and immediately think, "Okay, what do I need to do to improve from here?" The answer is pretty obvious. In my next post, I plan on discussing my thoughts for the upcoming so-called "off-season".