This race report got a little long.  Ok, it got really long.  Actually, War and Peace called at some point in the middle because they were worried I was going to take the title of longest novel from them.  I tried to keep the writing somewhat entertaining, but it’s still a little like watching a triathlon – you have to be really into this sort of thing to enjoy it.  You’ve been warned.

The Short Version

IM Canada rocked.  I had a great time before, during and after the race.  The swim was beautiful and not too crowded.  I swam a little too easy, but decided it was better that than swimming too hard.  The bike started out well, but to the fellow racer that so strongly encouraged me to crash: please pay more attention in the future, thanks.  The bike course is mostly awesome even when your shoulder stings and the seam in your shorts irritate the road rash on your hip.  The run course is really nice, and I felt pretty great until about mile 10.  To the resident at mile 10 who’s lawn I totally puked in, I’m really sorry.  To the resident at mile 13.5 whose lawn I napped in, thanks.  Mile 14 to the finish rocked, and passing about a dozen people in the last half mile was really fun.  Missing my goal time by 3 minutes was a little bit of a bummer, but a 7 minute PR and being able to leap across the finish line is still totally worthwhile.  The rematch is on the calendar for next year, and I’m already excited about the training and the trip up there with Fast Forward!

The Long Version

Pre Race

We flew into Spokane having heard that it was not that much shorter of a drive from Vancouver and the plane tickets were definitely cheaper.  It took us almost 6 hours to get to Penticton, and about 5 hours on the return trip.  Next year, we’ll be flying into Kelowna which is a little more expensive but only about 45 minutes from Penticton.  Well worth it to avoid such a long drive.  All of the logistics leading up to the race went very smoothly.  Our pre-race swim was fun – the lake is clear and beautiful and the atmosphere is very relaxed.  Packet pickup was easy – we picked a good time to go (1pm) after all the type-A triathletes had come and gone.  As type A minus athletes we have a big advantage.  Our pre-race dinner was great – good friends, good food, good times.
Everyone was surprisingly relaxed and yet still excited for the race.

Race Day

The forecast called for 92 degrees and no cloud cover, so I didn’t have to make any major last minute adjustments.  Breakfast went down well at about 4:30, and I packed a PB&J for a little later in the morning.  We piled seven of us into the Subaru and made the short drive down to the race site.  Parking was surprisingly easy and we were all able to get to our gear and do what needed to be done before the race start.  At about 10 minutes before 7, I was in the water swimming a quick warmup.  With a few minutes to spare I made my way to the starting spot I wanted which was right on the front and about halfway between the point right in line with the buoys and the far left edge.

Swim

Shortly after listening to the Canadian anthem the announcer counted down the race start.  I got a good clean start and was swimming in open water at a strong but not ridiculous pace.  No one climbed over me from behind and I was rarely crowded from either side.  When people got close I just made sure my elbows found them (gently) and I never had any issues.  Rounding the first turn at about 25 minutes I felt like I was swimming just a touch harder than I might like.  I caught a glimpse of my HR and although it was right about where I expected it to be, I made a point of making sure to draft very close on the feet of the person in front of me to keep my effort minimal.  After rounding the second turn to head back towards shore I felt like I was swimming a little too easy.  I tried to pass the person I was drafting off of, but it seemed like a lot of work and I decided that I would rather get out of the swim feeling like I had done nothing at all, rather than go harder than I should.  Although it was the right decision at the time, based on what I know now, I should have pulled closer to the main line of swimmers and used their collective draft to pull myself along a little faster and hope to find some feet that were accelerating at the end of the swim.
As it was, I got out of the water a few minutes slower than I hoped which was a little disappointing.  Still, I knew exactly why it had happened and I was totally fine with the decisions I had made.  Ironman is a long day and I had a lot of time to make up the 3 minutes that I missed my goal swim time by.

T1

I had heard from veteran athletes that the swim exit is a bit rocky so I continued swimming until the absolute last possible moment and had no trouble exiting the water.  I found my bag quickly and jogged into the very crowded transition tent.  I skipped trying to find an empty chair and just pulled up a spot of grass near the exit.  I keep my transitions very simple, so all I had to do was throw on my shoes and socks, helmet and glasses, grab some chamois cream, and stash my nutrition in my pockets.  Everything went smoothly and I even managed to stuff most of my gear back into the bag to make sure it didn’t get lost.

Bike

Normally I don’t run in my bike shoes to my bike, but as it turns out, my bike shoes are pretty easy to run in, as far as bike shoes go.
However, I didn’t count on the fact that my nutrition might bounce out of my pocket on the way.  I had more on the bike, so it wouldn’t have been a huge deal, but just after mounting the bike I was rolling along and another athlete came up behind me on the bike and asked if I had dropped them.  He then handed them off as we passed each other, and I really hoped that he would get that good karma back at some point later in the race.

Just a couple of miles into the bike another athlete had dropped something right in the middle of the one lane we were riding in.  She had gotten off her bike and was warning other athletes about it while trying to find a way to step into bike traffic to try to retrieve it.  I certainly didn’t want to run into her or the small container she had dropped so I moved over to about 3/4s of the way across the lane.  After I had moved over, another athlete came past me on my left, and then cut over too quickly.  His hip hit my shoulder and I leaned against him to keep from falling over and to notify him that he had just run into someone.  He kept pushing towards me, and unfortunately I kept leaning into him thinking he would straighten up.  Instead he simply pulled away from me, leaving me leaning on air.  A few seconds later I was sliding on my hip and shoulder across the road towards the curb.

I stayed very calm but stood up quickly to check to see that I was ok.
I could tell I was going to have some nice road rash, but otherwise I felt ok.  Two spectators reminded me to check my bike, and I lifted up the rear end to checking that the pedals still turned, which thankfully they did.  The front brake had been pushed out of position, but that only took a moment to fix.  The only real casualty was my water bottle cage which had broken off and was beyond repair.  I had another cage which I had luckily installed a couple of days before the race and fortunately it worked great.  After one last deep breath I took off again and made a very conscious effort to ride no harder than I had been riding before.

As I started riding I worried that I had bruised my hip in such a way that it would affect my run, similar to a MTB crash I had earlier in the season that had kept me from running for a couple of weeks.  It didn’t feel that serious, but then again I had a marathon to run which under the best of circumstances is not easy.  I tried not to think about it, which honestly wasn’t that difficult since the sting from the road rash plus trying to maintain a steady pace, plus remembering to eat and drink on schedule was more than enough to occupy my little oxygen starved brain.

As you might expect, compared to a crash, the rest of the bike course was really pretty fun.  I got passed by people on the climbs because they ride much harder on the uphills than they do on the flats.  I kept my heart rate within 5 beats or so of where I was riding on the flats and felt great.  The descents on the course were a lot of fun.  None of the were particularly technical, but I still managed to pass people in some of the turns and in some cases just by pedaling whenever the descent started to flatten out and tucking whenever it was too steep to pedal.

I checked my watch after the first 40 miles to get a rough idea of where I was at time-wise.  I was WAY ahead of schedule even though I had been riding extra easy for the first hour.  A tailwind and an overall loss of elevation make for some fast miles.

Richter Pass was entertaining.  Someone had told me that it was three pitches, but I wasn’t sure what constituted a “pitch” so I was content to just keep climbing until the road went downhill.  Even as I started going downhill I could see another big climb up ahead.  It looked like the world’s biggest roller.  As it turns out the top of this next climb is actually lower than the top of Richter pass, but all I knew is that after descending for a minute I was busy climbing again.  Once I crested this climb I got a nice downhill and then enjoyed some flat to lightly rolling country roads until the out and back section.

The out and back section was a little tough because you end up heading back the way you came on a parallel road for 7 miles, the roads are a little rough, and there are more small hills than I felt were strictly necessary at this point in the race.  At the end of the section I picked up my special needs back and enjoyed a still somewhat slushy Dr. Pepper which I had frozen the night before.  I also picked up the rest of my nutrition and a little more chamois cream.  All very welcome treats!
The return trip was fine and when I finished I thought I was pretty close to the climb to Yellow Lake.

Just after the out-n-back things started to get a little tough.  I was expecting the climb to Yellow Lake and looking forward to the descent on the other side.  Instead I was faced with about 7 miles of very gradual uphill – just enough to slow me down, but not enough to justify sitting up and settling in for a climb.  Not expecting this section, and not knowing how long it would last made this a rough section for me.
Fortunately, I have a very stubborn auto pilot which settled me in at the appropriate effort level and chipped away at the miles until I reached the start of the climb to Yellow Lake.

Climbing up to Yellow Lake was great.  Any time I get on a climb, I start getting passed by people.  This has nothing to do with my climbing skills (which are solid) or my power to weight ratio (favorable).  It’s simply due to the fact that most people push hard uphill just because they feel slow when they’re climbing.  Since I knew there was a descent on the other side, I was willing to push the effort slightly (heart rate
5 bpm above target) but no more.  I waved goodbye to all the paste eaters knowing that I would see them soon.

After the climb I was very much looking forward to the descent.  I was at a point in the race that I just needed to regroup for a minute or two and I felt that the downhill would be the perfect opportunity to do that.  When I saw the sign reading 200m to go, I was stoked.  When I reached the “summit” I was suddenly less than stoked.  It was flat for as far as I could see (at least a couple of miles) and there was a bit of a head wind.  Bummer.  Again, I had to just let the auto pilot kick in and I cranked out the next 5 miles of flat (including another small
climb) without being particularly happy about it.

As I started the final descent I got my chance to regroup and after just a minute I felt much better.  I worked hard to get up to top speed and made sure to pedal through and flattish sections to make as much of the downhill as I could.  Although the downhill came much later than I would have liked, it made up for it by being slightly longer than I expected and dropping me off right in Penticton, less than 5 miles from the finish of the bike.  The last few miles I ended up having to make the choice between working hard and passing folks or just sitting up and taking it easy to avoid drafting penalties.  I chose the latter and it paid off by making the transition from biking to running very very comfortable.

Calories: 2100 (370/hour – exactly as planned and practiced)
12 Fig Newtons (600 cals)
18 Clif Bloks (600 cals)
1 Dr. Pepper (300 cals)
4.5 Gatorades (600 cals)

Fluids: 136oz  (24oz/hour – 8oz/hour lower than planned) 100oz Gatorade 24oz Dr. Pepper 12oz Water

Sodium: 6390mg (375mg/8oz for 1200mg/hour – exactly as planned and
practiced)
16 salt tabs (5440mg)
100oz Gatorade (950mg)

T2
I had a moment of concern getting off the bike.  My hip was a bit sore
from where I had crashed on it and I wasn’t sure it was going to loosen
up.  I slowed to a brisk walk, picked up my transition bag and headed
into the tent to change.  I took the opportunity to stretch my hip
before putting on my shoes, hat and fresh sunglasses.  When I started
jogging again, my hip was feeling better and I just hoped it would hold
up for the run.

Run
The run started off VERY well.  I felt much better than I had ever felt
starting an IM marathon.  My plan called for holding back by 30 seconds
per mile for a pace of 9 minutes/mile.  Without a GPS watch I had to
guess a little at the speed, but I had a pretty good sense of where I
needed to be and I came through the first mile in 8:45.  I walked the
aid station casually, and ended up running the next mile in exactly 9
minutes.  At this point I looked at my watch and realized that with if I
could run a 4 hour marathon I would break 11 hours easily.  This seemed
incredibly doable since I had run sub 4 the previous year with
significantly more discomfort.  I was relaxed, running well, and felt
that I had nailed my bike nutrition.  As an added bonus, my stomach felt
pretty decent and I gingerly tried a a clif blok at mile 2, a half
banana at mile 3, and then a gel at mile 4.  I even tried a couple of
pretzels for a little extra salt but were too dry to be really worth the
trouble.  Since none of those things tasted that great I went back to my
original plan which was to rely on mostly liquid nutrition.  I wanted to
hold off on the coke until I really need it, so I alternated Gatorade
and water at aid stations, and continued on the salt tabs (3/hour).

I came through mile 6 at exactly 54 minutes feeling like I had barely
started running.  Perfect.  At this point the plan called for picking it
up by 30 secs per mile and I was ready.  Over the next three miles I
started to feel a little fatigue, but nothing unusual or unexpected when
hitting a pace that was appropriate to my fitness.  My stomach starting
feeling a little worse, but again nothing I hadn’t experienced before.
I don’t remember feeling that bad when I hit the big hill at mile 10.  I
shortened up my stride a little and pushed on up completely under
control.  At the top I suddenly realized I didn’t feel very good at
all.  I pulled over into the shade and immediately vomited up the entire
contents of my stomach.  It was a substantial volume of fluid, easily
30oz when it was all said and done.  Although my stomach now felt a lot
better than it had in miles, I was left feeling a little drained.  I
found a buddy to run with for the next mile or so and really took it
easy.  After about a mile I was feeling better so I picked up the pace
every so slightly.

I felt good enough for the next couple of miles until the turn around.
After rounding the turn, I again pulled off into the shade.  I was
feeling pretty weak and light headed and thought it might be a pretty
good idea to sit down for a bit.  I put my head down between my legs and
that felt so good I decided that lying down completely might not be a
bad idea either.  That felt even better and so I decided to lay there
for a minute.  I could definitely feel myself improving, and I figured
my body would tell me when it was time to get up again.  As it turns I
didn’t have to wait that long – the paramedics stopped by to say hello
and that kinda kicked me into gear.  Like a lot of competitive souls I
don’t like appearing weak and so when the paramedics asked me if I was
feeling ok I of course answered that I was.  When they asked if I needed
help sitting up, I assured them I could do that on my own and sat up
with what I hoped was convincing speed.  Then they asked if I need help
standing up, and I of course had to show them that I could do that too.
The light headedness hadn’t completely subsided so I leaned against a
telephone pole just in case.  I’m pretty sure the nice paramedics were
still waiting for me to collapse so after a little bit more polite
conversation I decided it was time I started running again.

In hindsight, I think I laid down for pretty much exactly the right
amount of time.  I think if I hadn’t stopped I would have been in really
bad shape, and if I had stayed down much longer it would have been more
than I needed.  As it was, when I started running I got the chills badly
enough to cause my teeth to start chattering, which was definitely not a
good sign in 90 degree heat.  Fortunately, it passed after a couple of
minutes and at the next aid station I started in on the coke.  I started
feeling better almost immediately and felt like I was back on pace.  At
the next aid station I had two cups of coke, and at the next I
discovered that I could take the ice they were offering and dump it in
the coke which made it even more palatable.  Every aid station from
there to the end I had two cups of coke and was running like a champ.
Although I felt like I was running 8:30s, with the aid station breaks I
was closer to 9 minutes/mile.  Given the setback I had received at the
turn around I just wasn’t concerned about my pace and stayed very
focused on my effort.  I was pushing as hard as I felt I could do safely
given the number of miles left in the race.  When I hit 5 miles left to
go I felt really good, and powered up the hill into town passing people
left right and center.  The next few miles are rolling to slightly
downhill and I pushed for all I was worth.

At about mile 25 you pass within spitting distance of the finish line
before heading directly away for about .6 miles.  As I passed, I could
hear the announcer telling the crowd to give it up and cheer hard to
bring as many athletes as possible in under 11 hours.  I looked at the
finish clock and saw that with only a little over 6 minutes remaining I
was not going to be one of those athletes.  Still, I wanted to get as
close as possible so I pushed as hard as I could.  About 9 minutes later
I crossed the line, thrilled to be an Ironman for the 4th time.

It’s hard to explain the feeling of being simultaneously thrilled and
disappointed.  I raced as hard as I could have on the day.  I played the
game as intelligently as I knew how.  I had a good plan, the best I
could come up with given my experience and the knowledge that I had
begged, borrowed and stolen from everyone and everywhere.  I had
practiced my plan to the best of my ability all summer.  I executed the
plan better than I had in any prior race – for once I never had a real
lapse of concentration or execution.  Despite not feeling as good as I
would have liked on the run, I still managed a very respectable 7 minute
PR for the race as a whole.

All of these things together, combined with the excitement of crossing
the finish line healthy and happy, truly thrilled me.  Still, there was
a part of me that was disappointed to have missed my goal time by such a
small margin.  There were so many ways in which I could have made up
those three minutes.  I could have swum a bit more aggressively, I could
have avoided crashing on the bike, I could have taken more salt, or I
could have started on the coke earlier in the run instead of aggravating
my stomach with solids and Gatorade.  There’s a part of me that is
disappointed that I didn’t perform as well as many of my team mates.
Another part of me is scared that the next time I get to the start of an
Ironman that I won’t be as fit as I was this year.  I’m scared that I
won’t have the same good fortune to remain uninjured for the entire
season, and I worry that the conditions next year will be worse, or that
I’ll experience a more significant problem during a race.

And then I just take a deep breath and let it all go.  I raced as well
as I could have on the day and there is absolutely no sense in second
guessing the decisions I made on course.  I’ve certainly learned from
the decisions that didn’t work out so well and I’ll incorporate
everything I’ve learned into next year’s plan.

There’s no point in comparing my performance to anyone else’s.  Every
athlete is unique, the day’s conditions and the course affect everyone
differently.  If I’m worried about my fitness next year, that’s good -
it’ll keep me motivated and excited to start training again next year.
I’ll keep these feelings close to my heart all season and use it when
I’m dreading the winter, or the hard workouts, or the long workout days.

There’s also no point in worrying about the weather next year – it will
be whatever it will be and 12 years of racing and training in all
conditions has me better prepared than most to handle whatever mother
nature throws at me.

And I can’t believe I’m worried about the race not going as “well” as it
did this year – I crashed on the bike and puked on the run!  Sure, it
could have been a lot worse, and I’m very very grateful that it wasn’t,
but let’s be honest – it could have been a better too.

Regardless of what the race throws at me, I’ll do the best I can with it
and when I cross the line I’ll be proud of how I handled and the day and
I’ll celebrate the fact that I am privileged enough to even attempt a
2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run.  The fact that
I get to take on a challenge like this with my wife, with good friends
and great teammates is way more than any person has a right to ask for.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the 2009 Fast Forward Ironman season
so memorable, and here’s to F4 Ironman Canada 2010!

Louisville Ironman  8.30.09

Marjie Hemstreet

I have really enjoyed the FastForward Tri and Run training these last few years.  I had never really thought of doing an Ironman.  It was never a goal of mine.  So, it was natural that I deleted the email from Scott August 2008 regarding the Louisville Ironman training (no offense Scott J ).  I don’t even think I actually read through the entire email.

As the week progressed however; my attitude towards doing an Ironman changed drastically.  A few exchanges with friends and a dare…”Steve said he’ll do it if you do!”…and just like that I had a new goal for 2009.

8.29.09  Night before the Race

I felt great.  We had a fun group dinner together @ a local Italian restaurant.  I wasn’t really that nervous…just ready to do the IM!  Swim practice went well that morning.  Everything was prepped (morning bags, special needs, clothes, etc. etc.) and bike was already in transition waiting for my arrival.

RACE DAY

Woke up at 4 am and ate breakfast.  I ate the usual fare like toast, with pbj, banana and coffee.  Left for swim start @ 5:05 am.  Found fellow F4 IMers and hung out in line with everyone.  Once the pros started the line moved relatively fast.  We all wished each other Good Luck and we were off to start our day.

SWIM

It was a time trial start so I jumped off the dock and started swimming.  It was pretty cool swimming without a wetsuit.  The water was warm…a little dirty but warm.  So many swimmers!  I kept trying to get away from a woman who kicked me and then smacked me in my right eye.  I didn’t sight a ton as I just followed the mass of people.  Besides, I tend to go off on my own too much.  I felt like a poi fish in a small pool at feeding time.  People kept trying to swim over me so I ended up kicking way more than I usually do.  Before I knew it I was done. Yeah!

BIKE

T1  Lida helped me in the changing tent.  I really took my sweet time.  I found that I had a lot to do in that changing tent.  I went to the bathroom.  I chatted with Lida.  Finally, I was on my way.

Right away I noticed a bunch of stuff…I witnessed a guy take a turn too fast and he crashed not even a mile into the ride.  Yikes.  I drank some Gatorade and kept a fairly slow, even pace.  In looking back I think I got distracted too much and didn’t stay very focused.  I saw some guy in a pickup truck (stuck in traffic) giving all of us riders the finger.  I also noticed a huge chalk sign on the pavement of ‘IRONMAN’ with a line through.  Great.  Then I saw  a tween boy throwing Huge sticks in the street maybe wanting to see a crash?!  Nice.  Other than these issues I thought the police, volunteers (loved them!) and spectators were awesome!

I had a minor muscle cramp in my left calf that just got worse as the day went on.    I’m sure it was from all the kicking I did to carve out my own space in the swim.  It really started hurting around Mile 30.  I was constantly standing up and stretching it.  Also, my cyclometer decided not to work on race day.  I kept messing with it until about Mile 60 or so and finally realized I was not going to see my cadence number or mileage.  That was kind of a drag because seeing my cadence helps me so much when my mind starts to wander.   Oh well.

After stopping for Special Needs bag and using a Port-O-Potty I charged through LaGrange for the 2^nd time.  I was looking for Mike, Hana and my parents since somehow we had missed each other at the Swim exit (I later heard they were worried and thought I needed medical attention!).  I saw them as I was going downhill and starting to pick up speed.  That helped make my cramped calf a little more bearable.  After the rush of seeing them, I lost it a bit and got emotional.  I kind of felt a little wacky and tired at that point.  My calf pain kept increasing and would not subside no matter what I did.  I saw Lida, Jen and Scott for the 2^nd time.  Scott told me to eat some bananas…of course!  By this time though, all of the aid stations were out of bananas (yes, we have no bananas…).  I upped my salt intake and kept stretching whenever possible.  I tried to keep the negatives out of my head.

At around Mile 85 I got a really bad side cramp.  Oh good I thought, now I can focus on a different part of my body.    I kept drinking a ton of water and trying to talk to the other cyclists to pass the time.  “Hey…isn’t that tobacco growing over there?”  most ignored me.  Did I already say I get off task?  I don’t think I will ever drink Perpetuem again.  I feel that it caused my major side ache.  I kept drinking water and massaging my side.  Finally, I was in the final stretch so I forced down a GU and more water and rode to T2.

T2  Bathroom Break.  I was a little wishy-washy on what to wear.  A Tank or a Long Sleeve shirt?  I asked my volunteer and we discussed it at length.  I ended up ignoring her advice and wore my new Long Sleeve white tech shirt for fear I might get cold on the run.

RUN…It was all about the Tylenol and Coke

Once I was out of T2 and on the run I realized I was way too overdressed!  So, I wrapped that Long sleeve around my waist and ran in my jog bra for the first half of the run course.  I actually stopped a race photographer from getting a shot of me at Mile 2.  I had no intention of seeing my pale stomach anytime soon.

I saw everyone from FF which made the race more enjoyable.  I was so glad to be on the run and be able to talk to people.  Other than a bathroom break and finally finding a banana the first half of the race was fairly uneventful.  At the beginning of the 2^nd loop I ran with 2 young guys…23 & 26 yr. olds. We ran together for 6 or so miles.  It was great to run with them but they ended up taking too long at the Aid Stations and by this time I just wanted to finish!  My body was really achy.  My lower back was killing me and so were my feet.  I was definitely running in Zone 1.  I took a Tylenol around Mile 18/19…Relief!!  Yeah.

I got into a grove at each Aid Station…first getting ice water and then Coke.  The Coke was the highlight of my run.  I am not a big soda drinker normally but I felt like an addict during that run.  I was almost in a panic when a volunteer at an Aid Station said she didn’t have any Coke.  “Really?”  I made her repeat it.  Thankfully, every Aid Station had  an ample supply of Coke after that.  Once the Tylenol kicked in I was able to pick up the tempo a bit and keep good running form.  I was feeling really good the last 10K.  I couldn’t help smiling as I turned the corner.  I saw Lida and Jen smiling!  Almost there.  I ran to the Finish and heard Hana say ‘Go Mommy”.  I saw Mike and my parents and felt so awesome and proud of myself.

And just like that I did my first Ironman.  It was done.  That was that.  Yeah!  What an awesome year I have had.  I loved the wonderful experience of training with my new FF friends and learned so much from my coaches, Scott and Michael.  Philip and Susan were really inspiring too.  Canada?  I’ll be there…

Next Time    ~ Transition:    Be more decisive and pick up the pace a bit

~ Ride:           Try to stay more focused and ride a bit more aggressively.  Also,

be prepared for leg cramps…pack bananas

~ Run:            Be more decisive about what to wear

Swim:      1:35:04

Bike:        7:39:39

Run:         5:06:39

Overall:  14:43:56

T1:  11:46

T2:  10:43

My First Ironman, Steve van Schouwen

Louisville,  KY

August 30^th, 2009

Travel Day Thursday:

Cindy, Story, Maggie (my wife and daughters) and I flew into Indianapolis on Thursday, rented a car and stopped in Bloomington for dinner and to visit Cindy’s alma mater, Indiana University. After a nice dinner and stroll around campus we headed down to Louisville and arrived at our hotel, The Galt House, at around 11 pm. We checked in, dragged our luggage to the room and hit the sack. So far, so good.

Lesson Learned: I should have sent my tri-bag with TriBike transport. That way I could have sent CO2 cartridges which you can’t bring on the plane and it would have been one less bag to drag around the airport. The cost, $30, was the same as checking a bag.

Friday:

The Fast Forward team took an easy swim in the Ohio River. The river current was barely perceptible, but the split times going upstream and downstream were significant. My first split was 10:00 up /7:30 down. After the swim several of us picked up our bikes from TriBike Transport and headed back to the hotel. I registered for the race, picked up my race packet, checked out the expo for a bit then headed back to my room.

At 1:04 the FF crew split into groups to drive the bike course, it was raining heavily which made viewing the course and navigating difficult, but I had a general feel for the bike course, it was hillier than I expected.

That evening we met for the Welcome Dinner which was inspiring. The youngest (Steve from our group) and oldest (77) participants were pulled on stage as were those who has lost the most weight (the biggest loser lost over 100 lbs). We were also notified that the water was too warm and wet suits were not allowed. I expected that and had trained for it so I wasn’t concerned.

Saturday:

We started the day with another quick dip in the Ohio as a team; the water was warm and visibility was better than I expected. After the swim I packed my transition bags and brought my gear down to the transition area where a helpful volunteer walked me through the swim-in, bike-out, bike-in and run-out. Cindy, the girls and I then drove down to the swim start and had lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the swim course. That evening we had our team dinner, which included friends and family, very nice, though I would have been a bit more social if I weren’t so nervous.

After dinner it was back to the hotel to go to sleep–or so I thought. That night I did not sleep more than 15 minutes at a stretch, I watched the clock all night and calculated how many hours of sleep I would get if I could fall asleep immediately, 7,6,5,4,3,2 and 1. (Cindy told me not to get iced tea at lunch, but didn’t listen.) I’m not sure if it was the caffeine or nerves, but I was wide awake at 4:00 and turned off both of my alarms before they went off. The good news is I wasn’t tired and I was ready to go.

Lessons Learned: No caffeine after 10AM the day before the race, plus get to bed early to allow some time to unwind/relax/read to fall asleep.

Race Day:

I ate my traditional race breakfast of coffee (sweetened with a couple oz of chocolate hammer gel), coffee-maker-oatmeal, and hammer perpetuem, plus 6 fig newtons. Then I headed down to transition with Cindy for final bike set up and to drop off my special needs bags. I found Scott in transition; he came right over to see how I was doing and to top my tires off with air. I told him I had 15 minutes of sleep that night, his response was “that’s optimal” which cracked me up.

Cindy and I then walked down to the race start where Sherpani Jen spotted me and directed me to the rest of the  F4 crew. The line eventually started moving, I packed up my morning clothes bag, said goodbye to Cindy and started down the line to the start. Louisville has a time trial start, we formed 2 lines then walked to the end of a dock, crossed a time mat and jumped in the water one after another.

Swim:

Ah the swim.

The swim course went upstream for about a third then downstream for two-thirds. The upstream portion was protected by an island in a relatively narrow channel. I was able to stay out of the pack long enough to warm up and felt pretty good at the beginning of the swim (aside from the 2 logs I ran into).

Things started going south for me when I made the U turn to start heading downstream. Somehow I got stuck in massive traffic; I had swimmers in close proximity on all four sides. The swimmer behind me kept trying to make his way over me, with hands hitting behind my knees pushing my feet down. It was very frustrating. I was occasionally able to get out of the pack and was able to swim with decent form, but I could never fully break away, (specifically from one very choppy swimmer who seemed to find me throughout the swim).

I was fighting foot and calf cramps but was able to swim through them. At about the halfway point I had a swimmer up on the backs of my legs, he stayed there for about 10 strokes and I had enough, I decided to do a few strong kicks to pull away and give that swimmer the message to back off. I kicked hard with my left leg and immediately my leg cramped-solid from my hamstrings down to my toes. I couldn’t believe it. I thought that might be the end of my race.

I hobbled my way over to the side as much as I could and tried to pull with my arms and relax my leg, which was contorted in a twisted, bent, curled fashion.

I swam with one leg and my arms for a bit, then I got a foot cramp in my other foot. Unbelievable! At that point I’m dragging my spazzed leg and stiff kicking my other leg through the water. Thankfully the traffic had let up (probably because the pack had passed me). I concentrated on moving forward as fast as I could and tried to gently kick-out the cramps. Eventually, the leg cramps subsided and I was able to finish the swim. Scott greeted me as I came out of the water and I made my way to transition with some tense calves.

Lessons Learned: 1. Stay in your bubble, even if you are surrounded by bad swimmers. Don’t do anything rash which could result in a cramp or worse. 2. If you can’t get out of a pack and it is affecting your swim, take the time to break away from the pack so you can get back to your race, even if you have to go to the edge of the course. 3. focus on swim kicking to strengthen legs and hopefully prevent future cramps.

T1: (My transitions took forever; I think both were about 12 minutes.)

I changed from my swim suit to my bike shorts and jersey, put on my HRM. Then put my helmet and shoes on grabbed my sunglasses and headed over to a table in the transition tent for some sun screen. I managed to cover my HRM screen with sunscreen and glob some on my arms. I put my sunglasses on only to discover that one of the slider lenses had fallen out. I panicked a bit and began to look for my lens on the dimly lit grass floor of the transition tent. I was relieved to find it quickly, I proceeded to grab the lens and slide it into the frame while covering it with sunscreen. I sat down, cleaned my lens and my HRM, then headed over to the porta-let line. FINALLY, I headed out on the bike.

Lessons Learned: Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast. I might leave sunglasses and helmet on bike next time.

Bike:

At the start of the bike course I was feeling pretty fresh (after my leisurely transition). My legs were still a bit tight from the swim but I knew they would loosen up after a few miles. I took about 10 miles to warm up then set into my pace, using heart rate as my indicator. I noticed my heart rate was about 2 beats slower than I would expect, I assume that was from the low altitude. My right leg quickly loosened up, but I noticed a dull pain building in my left knee when I would push forward and down during the pedal stroke. It wasn’t a sharp pain and I knew I would be able to finish the bike portion, but it slowed me down a bit and by mile 60 I knew I would not hit my goal time. I set a new goal time and kept cranking. The bike course was beautiful and I got to see most of my fellow Fast Forward teammates which was great. I hit the porta-let about 5 times during the bike since I wasn’t sweating much and I was depending on Gatorade for most of my calories. The last 10 miles of the bike were mentally taxing; I couldn’t wait to get off the bike and to start running.

Lessons Learned: I need to factor weather into my nutrition plan. I need to be able to get non-liquid calories when the temp is below 80. I need to practice with solid foods and Carbo-pro. I need to measure my sweat-rate at different temperatures so I can optimize my liquid intake during races.

T2: (Pretty smooth and easy, but too long.)

I quickly changed from bike clothes to running clothes, put on some body glide, then got sun-screened by a helpful volunteer. I hit the porta-let then headed out, I saw all my family and supporters as I left transition which really pumped me up for the run.

Run:

I have never been so happy to start a marathon. My knee was really bothering me by the end of the bike and I was hopeful that running would be easier it – it was.

I felt great at the start of the run, I did my first 3 miles at about a 10 minute pace. I ran into Scott at mile 3 who reminded me to take the race a mile at a time. I didn’t feel I could realistically keep my current pace so, to be cautious, I slowed a bit and maintained that pace for the rest of the race. I walked through the transitions and drank Gatorade. The miles went by and I got to see my family and teammates again which kept me going. The support provided at the aid stations was phenomenal and the citizens of Louisville cheered the racers on throughout the course.

Lessons Learned: Spend some time improving running efficiency.

FINISH:

It was night when I finished. The final stretch to the finish line was an unlit street. At the end of the dark street I could hear the cheering crowds and see the bright white light at the finish line. When I crossed the finish line the crowd went wild and I felt like a rock star. Scott was there to present me with my finisher medal, to listen to my babble and hand me off to my family. Priceless.

I crossed the finish line at 14:09. That was an hour and ten minutes past my goal time of sub-13, but I am very happy with that time because I gave it everything I had.

Many thanks to race Louisville sherpas Lida and Jen whose worried about the details so the racers could concentrate on their race.

It’s been a true pleasure training with all the members of the F4 2009 IMAN team. You all have my email, give me a shout anytime you want to ride, run or swim, (or drink a beer)!

I couldn’t have completed this race without the Fast Forward Ironman training program and the coaching of Scott, Michael, Phillip, Lance and Cameron. The program literally transformed me into an Ironman athlete. It has been an amazing experience.

Posted courtesy of Doug’s Blog.

Thursday morning around 10:20 a.m. Jolene dropped me off at the airport. It was an uneventful day of flying. Met Michael Kelly and Susan Davis at the Spokane airport, got a rental car, and drove to Penticton. Beatrice, (a.k.a. Navigon on the iPhone), gave us a small run-around in Spokane but all in all things went pretty smoothly (well, okay, there was about THIRTY miles of grooved pavement and one-way traffic, but besides that things went well). The city of Spokane isn’t particularly pretty however the drive up highway 395 was.

We arrived at the rental house sometime after 8. The driveway was pretty hard to find – an unlikely in-between sandwiched in two other driveways. Finally pulled in and saw that there were no other cars or signs of habitation. The three of us debated what to do for a good fifteen minutes – text messages, a phone call, and brainstorming all possible ways we might have gotten the wrong address. I finally got out of the car to knock on the door and found the sticky note, “Gone to dinner, come on in!”

Friday morning we walked into town, visited Tri-Bike Transport to pick up my gear, and went for a quick swim. The water is SO clear. I was concerned about the wavy conditions since I’ve never been in water like that. I felt like I was “flying” over a miniature forest of trees (well okay, they weren’t trees obviously, they just kinda looked like them) at the bottom of the lake. It really was surreal to glide over the undergrowth in such clear conditions – quite a contrast to the Boulder Reservoir where your hand disappears about a foot from your face.

Walked back up to the house, got the car, went into town to get registered. Very smooth process later in the day – definitely a good idea to wait until the lines went down.

Friday night – dinner at the house, crashed out early, waited for Jolene to make the late-night drive into town. Her flight didn’t get into Spokane until 11-something and she didn’t escape the airport with her rental car until almost 12. I saw her at around 4 in the morning after her somewhat eventful drive across the border, getting lost in town, and finally figuring out where she was on a map to get here to the right address. That’s dedication for you!

Saturday morning – Went for a short bike ride to check everything out. Bike was working well though the shifters needed some tuning. I decided to leave it alone since it worked and I didn’t want to screw anything up this close to the race. We rode into town, checked the bikes and transition bags, and got ride back up to the house. The crew made a fantastic pasta dinner that night. Everyone was there: Me, Jolene, Michael Kelly, Susan, Mike B, Jocelyn, Paul, Michael Stone, Kitty, and Ivy. Great meal, some good laughs, and lots of carbs to burn the next morning. I was stuffed. I think I ate more in the two days leading up to the race than I ever have in the past. I felt calorie-saturated, though as I was to discover on race day, I don’t think I gained a single pound in the end.

Race morning: Woke up early, had breakfast, and got ready for the big day. I personally need a lot of mental focus race morning to walk through everything that’s going to happen during the day. I like to imagine all of the key events in the race and make sure I haven’t forgotten anything. Got a ride down to the race from Jo, dropped off one special needs bag for the bike (which I never used), found Mike and Jocelyn and wandered over to the beach for the swim start. Looked around for my girl but didn’t see her (though she was there taking photos of course). 15 minutes prior to our race the pro racers were released. The countdown to chaos begins! 3, 2, 1, and the flags are lifted, officially beginning what promises to be a long day of physical and mental exertion. More than 2600 athletes, 140.6 miles, and a very special brand of fun.

The swim was chaotic of course – how can you put 2600 people in the water at the same time and expect anything different? There were quite a few bumps and unexpected detours but nothing really bad ever happened. No elbows to the nose or goggles knocked off my face. I think I swim fairly conservatively in that respect. When I feel someone swimming over me, I kick a little harder just to let them know I’m there, and if they’re on my side I bring my elbows up a little to make sure their arms, elbows, and hands tend to deflect above my head. I probably pay for that with a slower swim time, but I suppose it makes me feel pretty secure and non-stressed for the start of the day. It paid off as I had a great swim (for me at least) at roughly 1:10 and I actually enjoyed the whole thing.

Transition 1 was a busy affair. Exiting the swim beach is actually a little painful as the rocks on the bottom are large and uneven. My advice to those doing this is to swim as close as possible to shore before standing up. It’s tempting to walk/run it in very early as the water is shallow; however the lake bottom is less than ideal until you’re much closer to the exit. A quick run into the transition area to collect my T1 bag and into the changing tent. There were a LOT of volunteers in here, but at this early stage of the day, even more athletes and thus I (and I think most people in the group) did not receive any personalized attention. You’ll probably be on your own at this point so just be efficient and get your bike gear on. I opted to leave my bike shoes off at this point and run to my bike barefoot. (Note that you are not allowed to leave your shoes on the bike – you must have shoes on your feet before mounting the bike.) I put my shoes on at the bike and ran it out to the T1 exit. All in all I think this took me a little more than 5 minutes. Not spectacular – I’m sure I could have streamlined the process a bit – however it was quick enough and more importantly much faster than the transition times from IM Wisconsin which was all I was hoping for (a goal that was virtually guaranteed due to the nature of Wisconsin’s transition area).

Off on the bike ride! The first stretch of the course is actually pretty mellow. I chose to really take it easy here, taking to heart some advice coach Michael Kelly offered in the last few weeks leading up to the race. My plan was to ride the first 70 miles as conservatively as I felt I could and then really pick it up in the second half. I think a lot of riders probably busted that section of the course out much more quickly than I did. There’s a short climb before Richter Pass which I didn’t think was terribly difficult. Then the fun begins! For those of us in Colorado, I will say that I feel this course favors our riding terrain in that there are longer steady climbs and steep descents. The rollers are also much longer and typically gave a bigger payout with nice steady downhill sections. Having said that, there IS a fair bit of climbing at this point so be prepared. I also had to pee and opted for the “on the bike” experience for a second time (the first being in Wisconsin and it ended with a shoe full of warm yellow water). The strategy this time was to snag a bottle of water and host myself down as I was… hosing myself down. Worked out just fine! Felt much lighter for the climb at least. There was a good crowd at the top of the pass to give some much-needed encouragement and a nice sendoff down a long and gorgeous descent.

On the way down I had one freaky moment as another rider closed on me from behind. I was in my aero bars enjoying the speed, likely going around 40 MPH, and I heard this guy shout “oh!”, felt a hand push my butt, and then I heard him crash right behind me. I only had a moment to glance back but I can’t imagine he made it out of that one in good shape. I can only guess that he was tucked down in his aero bars, didn’t see me until he was about to run into me, gave me a shove to “fix” the situation, and wound up crashing out instead. It happened so fast I didn’t even get an adrenaline rush – it was just an instinctive wobble-correction and then the other guy crashed. Awful. I hope he was OK and damn am I glad he didn’t push me over at that speed.

After the pass, the course retreats to a series of long rollers up to the funky T-shaped out and back. I enjoyed this section of the course though it could be mentally challenging for many riders. The road is also rougher here so be prepared to have your butt massaged by your bike seat.

The final difficult section of the bike course starts at the base of the climb to Yellow Lake. This climb was actually shorter than the elevation profile led me to believe. I think it’s because the out and back portion of the course actually starts a subtle climb which then significantly increases at the entrance to the pass. It IS pretty steep and I was in my granny gear for the entire climb. Also be prepared for the throng of incredible supports on this climb. I felt like I was riding a stage in the tour – it was slightly overwhelming, especially since I was working my ass of just to get up the pass, but looking back I’d say it was a highlight of the ride. It’s just intense!

Don’t be fooled once you get to Yellow Lake. You are most certainly NOT done climbing at this point – there are actually several climbs to follow. I think it was more of a mental letdown as I had heard you’d be mostly headed downhill after this point. There is some good downhill riding to be had but not until you climb out above the lake itself. From that point, you start to get your payback in the form of a series of descents back down into Penticton. You know you’ve got it in the bag when you see the big lake below you and the city in front. It’s not a free ride, but you can seriously kick some butt in the last section of this course.

Once back into the city I ran into some congestion. We were riding peloton-style for a good 3 or 4 miles simply because there was no other option. The course narrowed to less than one lane and there were too many riders coming in to avoid drafting. We also slowed to around 14 or 15 MPH so it really didn’t matter – I suspect we all would have been through the gate sooner without the traffic. My GPS also froze at this point and I really didn’t know what my bike split was.

Finally to T2 – drop off the bike with a volunteer, run to retrieve your T2 bag, and head into the tent. This time the throng of athletes had thinned enough and there was a volunteer to help me with my things. I tossed all my bike gear on the ground, put a *$#@-ton of Body Glide on my shoes, strapped the gooey monsters on my feet, and headed for the exit. (I opted to race the entire day with no socks, hence the need for body glide in the shoes.)

The first 1/3 of the run went pretty well for me – I was definitely on track for a good running day. Unfortunately fatigue and minor GI distress struck around mile 10. I slowed down at this point, taking an extra walk break beyond the aid station to settle myself and bring my heart rate down. I think I’d simply had too much sugar and not enough salt to cover myself at this point in the day. I took some extra salt capsules and only water for a few aid stations and things settled down for the most part. I was still quite fatigued though, enough such that I really didn’t have the mental or physical gusto to make the mile run to each aid station for my short walk. Also worth noting is that the run course is relatively flat in the first 1/3 and then becomes much hillier in the outer miles. It follows the lake for the most part but the road also follow the contour of the surrounding hillsides. My strategy at this point was to walk the uphill sections and run as much of the downhill and flats as I could. It was definitely the weakest point of the race for me.

4-ish miles from the end I saw Ivy again (he was EVERYWHERE – how did he do that?) and I finally got up the nerve to ask “what time is it?”. I had mentally set a goal for myself to finish this thing in under 12 hours and at this point it was a complete unknown. I actually thought that I had gone so slow on the run that there was no way I’d finish in time. Ivy answered with another question, “What’s your PR for this distance?”. I told him 13:04 at Wisconsin last year. He took one more glance at his watch and said “You’re going to have a very good day.”. Turns out I had 55 minutes to complete the last 4 miles and still be under 12 hours! This really lit the fire under my ass and I started running harder (which means running again at this point ). Kitty passed me somewhere around this point as well, looking for all the world like a woman just out for her Sunday afternoon easy jog.

The out and back “Kona-esque” finish is a little rough – the last straight-away before the home stretch seems awfully long, but once you round that corner you are basically done. I also saw Jolene for the first time on the course (though of course she’d been there at all the key transitions and I was too focused to see her) and I have her a huge kiss. Finally the clock looms into view and I read 11:48. I think to myself that if I bust my ass I can buy 10 minutes extra beyond my goal time. It’s actually amazing what the body will still do for you at the end of a really long day like this. My mind said “go” and the body followed at a pretty rapid pace, crossing the finish line at 11:49:34.

Finishing the race is an experience in its own right. The volunteers are there for YOU and will absolutely take amazing care of you. They were awesome and I am very grateful for their generosity. Pizza hand-delivered to me, inquiring if there was anyone else they could find, ushered straight to the massage line, and wouldn’t let me go until they were sure I was completely OK and in good hands.

Some random thoughts:

To Jolene, you were awesome and such a great supporter. Thank you SO much for helping all of us out with transportation and being a rock-star out there on the course. I can only imagine how long the day is for a spectator and you handled it (like you do everything else) with amazing stamina and a great attitude. You are the best and I love you.

To the team: Training with all of you this year (Canada, Louisville, Wisconsin) has been awesome. I am constantly inspired and pushed by your individual spirits. For some of you this comes in the form of the right words at opportune moments, for others it’s the spirit of friendly competition that’s driven me to push harder than ever before to keep things interesting.

To Scott and Michael: Being a coach must be hard with so many athletes, competing schedules, ups and downs, bad weather, injuries, doubts, fears, and of course the daunting task of logistically organizing a schedule to get ALL of us to the start in the best possible shape. Somehow you both did just that and every single one of us has made it to the start and finished! I have no doubt the MOO racers will also experience the same success we’ve already seen at Canada and Louisville.

Can’t wait to see what 2010 holds for all of us.

See Pics here

In his sixth Ironman, Philip PR’d by over an hour!  Here’s how he did it:

Ironman Louisville ‘09

At a bit of a loss as to what to write about this race and this season. My blog has a lot of the details as far as numbers go. And I have a lot of numbers from Louisville (pronounced ‘LuhVul’, as one syllable). But those don’t really tell the whole story.

The days leading up to the race were uneventful and went well. No real stresses. Being my 6th IM, and having a fair amount of confidence I was well prepared for this one, helped quite a bit.

Got to Lou Thursday evening. My buddy Wes was already there. Keri came in on Saturday with good friends of ours, Megan and Erik. The rest of the F4 folks were already there. Got settled in and relaxed. On Friday, did all the race check in stuff, blah, blah, blah, put on numbers, got weighed, etc etc

Let’s just jump to Race Day shall we

Swim :
In line a little before 6 and was a good 1/2 mile from the swim start down the line. Ugh. In the dark on the sidewalk, no facilities. IM really needs to address the logistics of this swim start. The line moved fast once the cannon went off and I was in the water ~ 7:30am.

The swim felt long, but really was uneventful. I did get a kick to the jumblies that hurt quite a bit, but did my best to shake it off and keep swimming. Actually, it was a real ouch. But what are you going to do, just keep swimming. My mind wanted to wander and I found myself dreaming of “fast finish times”. I’d catch this and give myself a mental slap on the wrist and remind myself to stay in my box, focus on what I can control.

Eventually, I made it to the steps.  1:11 something.  No biggie, got up, took off to T1

Got through T1 as relaxed and quick as I could. Took some extra time to sunscreen and was off. One the way out, to the mount line, I heard my folks yell. I ran back a gave them hugs and kisses. They have always supported me with this crazy sport. They were there for my first IM, which was a tough day, and it was good to have them there for this one.

Bike:
Started out easy and brought it down a notch. Not a lot to say here. Just tried to keep things under control for the first few hours. The bike course was very pretty, lots of green, grass, trees, rolling farm land. Since I started so far back in the field there were lots of folks to pass. Aside from a few folks refusing to ride to the right (I don’t understand why this is so hard for some people to do), the traffic wasn’t that bad. I didn’t see much drafting going on either which is a nice change from the last few ironmans I’ve been at.

Things were going smooth until about mile 80. I noticed my stomach was a little upset and taking in more calories seem to make it worse. I was on the back side of the LaGrange loop and headed home at this point. I knew the course was pretty friendly here and originally had planned to pick up the effort here. But with this stomach thing going on, I went to plan ‘B’. Plan ‘B’ in this case was to shut it down and soft pedal home. I sipped water and rolled along as easy as I could. I hit my target power numbers going up the hills, but then let off the gas for the downs and flats. I kept telling myself that the race didn’t start until mile 18 of the marathon. I was hard to let my “fast finish” plan go, but the day is bigger than bike split.

The last 10 miles felt like they took forever, but eventually, I rolled into T2 with a bike PR and my stomach in decent shape. I was, however, super stiff. My neck and upper back were killing me from all that time in the aero bars. (Note for the future, this is an aerobar course for sure, the hills are plentiful, but fast).

T2: I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. I was moving very slow off the bike and walked to my transition bag. Into the tent for a costume change, med tent for ibuprofen for my sore neck, and a stop at the blue closet. 8 + minutes later it was time to get’r dun.

Run:
Wow….I really can’t believe how well this run turned out. Started stoopid slow per my plan. Took off out of T2 and heard Keri yelling, stopped for a hug and kiss. It was one of the highlights of the day actually. I’d been looking for her on the bike, so it was super to catch her there. Out on the run I went. Came through the first mile at 9, perfect….but off the bridge and through town I ended up running too fast. Five miles came along fast, 41 minutes. WAY too fast for this early in the run. I backed off a little and took some extra time in the aide stations for the next few miles. I was rolling past people very quickly. It was sort of fun to be “that guy”. Normally I’m the one running and getting pasted thinking “who was that guy running so quick”. At ten miles I was still feeling decent. At 13, I saw 1:50 on my run split and decided that sub 11 was going to happen. At 18, I saw Rich and Patrick from EN and they yelled “race starts here!”. I started my ‘road kill’ count and got to 283 people passed some where near mile 24. I lost track after that as the race finally got tough. I kept the pressure on, kept walking the aide stations, eating and drinking, and was able to hang on for the rest of the run. Proper and realistic pacing brought me to a 45 minute run PR.

Finish:
Hard to explain what it feels like to finish an ironman. This one was specail to me as well. My folks were there. My girlfriend, who gave never ending support and kindness was there. I ran down the chute feeling like I was graduating. I am proud of this race and of my season. And being able to perform on the biggest race of the year was the perfect ending to the season.

General Thoughts:
*Keep it real.  If you haven’t done it in training, you can’t do it race day.
There’s no such thing as ‘race day magic’
*The solution to most problems is ’slow down’.  Take a few minutes to fix a problem
when it appears, rather then waiting until the problem is out of hand
* Stoopid slow on the first hour of the bike and first hour of the run.  Start off easy and then back it down!
*Patience. Let the race come to you. Don’t attack the hills on the bike, let them come to you, don’t push on the run, the run will get hard enough on it’s own. Patience
*Passing people is FUN
*This ironman was different in that, I decided when it was going to be tough. I made proactive decisions on pace and effort rather than reacting to fatigue and conditions.
*Another difference was that I had a very solid idea of what my race day paces could be. since my goals were realistic, I was making decisions on realistic data, rather than “swags” or “would be nice”s. In other words, I was truly in control of my ‘box’

Below are the numbers and such for reference purposes.  so if you are a data geek, read on. 

OVERALL PLACE : 209
TOTAL TIME : 10:43:39
LAST NAME : MAZZA
FIRST NAME : PHILIP
RACE DIVISION : M40-44
DIVISION PLACE : 30
SWIM OVR PLACE: 411
SWIM TIME : 1:11:57
SWIM 100M PACE: 1:52
T1 : 4:36
BIKE OVR PLACE : 337
BIKE TIME : 5:38:05
BIKE PACE : 19.9
T2 : 8:42
RUN OVR PLACE : 171
RUN TIME : 3:40:18
RUN PACE : 8:25

The last Kona spot in my age group went 10:12, finishing 12th in the AG.

If I ever want to go to Kona, I need to get faster on the bike.

Power numbers and pictures to follow shortly.

Kia Kaha

For future reference:  Power Tap numbers for IM Louisville 2009

Note. I think my IF numbers (% of FTP) are high as I was using a test from the beginning of the summer. Not sure why I didn’t test more during the Ironman build. Fear I suppose. I’ll be better about this aspect of training next year)

0 to 56 miles
Time: 2:48
TSS : 161
IF : 75.9%
Pnorm : 169 watts
VI : 1.08
Pavg: 156 watts
Cad: 93rpm
Spd: 20.0

56 to 112
Time: 2:48
TSS: 137
IF: 69.9%
Pnorm: 156 watts
VI: 1.1
Pavg: 142 watts
Cad: 92 rpm
Spd: 20 mph

Total
Time: 5:37
TSS: 300
IF: 73.1%
Pnorm: 163 watts
VI: 1.09
Pavg: 149 watts
Cad: 92 rpm
Spd: 20 mph

This tells more of the real story….rode too hot for the first 80. Not eating enough…figured this out later than I should have. The course was faster from here on in to the finish though. This was plan ‘B’. I figured if I got in trouble, just make it to ~85, then soft pedal in, fixing whatever problem I was dealing with. It worked out ok.

First 82 miles
IF: 75.6%
VI: 1.08
Pnorm: 169 watts
Pavg: 156 watts

last miles 30
(Shut it down here. Focused on getting home in good shape. Worked the hills, coasted as much as I could, just rode the avg speed, anything over 22mph and I let up)
IF: 63.9%
VI: 1.11 (worked up the hills, but then coasted as much as I could. used the down time sip water and take in a few additional calories)
Pnorm: 142 watts
Pavg: 129 watts