So much to unpack so strap in! Although this wasn't the Kona I was looking for, it brought me one step closer to the real deal.
Pre-Race: The thing that worried me the most going into
this race was recovering from a calf strain 12 days out. I wasn’t sure if I’d be
able to finish, let alone compete at the level I wanted. Without much
improvement, I cut running for 10 days and biking for 7 prior to the race. I
added a few extra swims to offset but felt this was the worst taper I’ve ever
done. I intended to bike a few key parts of the course and run at elevation to
solidify my final preparation. This was my hardest course to date with 7,300 ft
of climbing on the bike and 1,500 ft of elevation gain on the run. The weather
also played a factor where the 2nd half of the bike had 20-30mph winds,
and temps hit 90 on the run with more wind. Overall, I was intimidated by the
course and had a poor mindset from the super taper.
When I went to athlete check-in, I got pulled for a random
drug test. I was very happy to see Ironman taking this seriously, but I also
hate needles and it took about an hour to get through the entire process. Every
supplement I take needed to be listed with duration and frequency, so it was very
extensive.
Swim (1:01:23 – 20th AG / 200 OA): A 1 minute
PR lake swim for me! 1 thing I did differently was cover my watch under my
wetsuit so I could peel it off quicker. Plus it prevented me from checking the
time and my 500 splits. The water was a chilly 60 degrees and calm race
morning. Other than the initial minute after running in, I loved the colder
swim. I went out hard for the first 100-150 yards hoping to find the feet of
someone swimming under an hour. Unfortunately, we caught the swim wave in front
of us early on, and I started to lose the green caps in a sea of purple. I kept
pushing along until I got to the first turn buoy about ¼ way through the swim.
The water opened up after working through that first wave, and I felt the tickles
of someone swimming on my feet. They never disrupted my stroke and backed off
any time I needed to swim through more swimmers. Around the halfway point he pulled
around me and I quickly took advantage. I swam at a very comfortable effort on
his feet and let him take care of plowing the path. Any time I was outside the
wake, I had to increase my effort to stay on him. Based on that, I knew I wouldn’t
drop much (if any) time by going around. Other than down river in Louisville,
this was my easiest Ironman swim. I had no issues and got through
it at a moderate effort.
T1: (4:53): This transition was not good. I struggled
to undo my velcro and couldn’t get the wetsuit pulled down before the strippers.
Instead, I continued running to the change tent while I worked on it. The tent
was packed since I was in the last male swim wave, and I had to walk behind a
bunch of athletes taking their sweet time. Luckily, I decided to do a flying
mount, so I only had my helmet hanging in the bag. I threw my swim gear in,
popped the helmet on and ran out with the bag. I located my bike quickly and
had a very fast run to the mount line. Nothing fancy swinging my leg over and
stepping on the shoes to get going. I made sure the rubber bands all snapped
and slipped on my shoes without issue.
Bike (5:23:46 – 16th AG / 184th OA):
Normally I’m not the biggest fan of mantras, but I chose one for this race.
Respect the course. The bike started out in the low 70s, so comfortable and not
too warm before the sun got up. Early on the course was Packed. Riders were all
over and it was very difficult to navigate around them all. The most dangerous
parts were the early descents trying to work through traffic at 40mph. I
settled in quickly though and accepted that I was not going to hit my power targets.
I knew what was coming, so I decided to hold steady and keep my HR where I
wanted it. As I continued to settle in and tackle the early hills and wind, my
power slowly started to go up, so that was encouraging. Nutrition was flawless,
and I ended up grabbing a lot more water from aid stations than I originally
planned on. I was drinking at such a rate that I only skipped 3 aid stations
the entire ride. Once I got through 60 miles of mostly headwind, I was through “part
1” in my mind. This was where I would climb about 2,000 feet in the next 25
miles. Everything was going smooth, and I even had a few words with some athletes
I was playing merry-go-round with. 60-85 is what I considered “part 2” and it
got me to the highest elevation of the day around 5,000 ft. The climbs getting
there were tough, but manageable with a tailwind to help. At the top I noticed
myself feeling a little nauseous and dizzy. It clicked that I hadn’t done any training at altitude, so I just stayed focused on waiting for the descent to begin. I
checked my average speed at 20.1mph, so I was happy to see I’d be close to
biking a 5:30 by the end. Going down the canyon was nerve-wracking with the
20-30mph crosswinds increasing throughout the day. I knew fast and confident
descending would pay off, so I pedaled until my legs spun out and tucked it
best I could. Once I got to the bottom, I had one last 1,500 ft climb back up Snow
Canyon, then it was all downhill to the finish “part 3”. Even though I drove
it, I underestimated how difficult this climb would be. With the wind at my
back, it got incredibly hot and it was the first time I noticed my sweat
dripping. My HR was in the 160s and I had to maintain the effort to stay
upright. Once I hit the top, it was time to bomb down one last time. This time
the crosswinds were even worse, and I just needed to get to transition safely.
This being lap 2, there were more athletes to weave in and out of. The final 5
miles, I averaged 34mph =O
Overall, I was happy with my time, but the average watts were
about 20 lower than I had planned. Normalized was about 10 lower.
T2: (2:59): This transition was smooth other than a
struggle to get my socks on. Having bike catchers sped it up and it was just an
ok transition for me. I grabbed my hat/nutrition/bib and got everything in
place on the go. My run legs have felt better out T2, but overall I was pretty
happy with how I handled my effort on the bike. 1 thing I did different for
this race was stash a water in my T2 bag to stuff in my kit during the run.
This bottle came in handy between aid stations as they got more crowded on lap
2.
Run (3:22:05 – 5th AG / 84th OA):
I lowered my expectations for this run before the race started, so I was hoping
to run a 3:15-3:20 given the elevation and conditions. I started off hugging
the top end of my HR zone for the first 6 miles and used that as my guide
regardless of pace. I believe this was a good decision because pace was relative
when ascending or descending the 2 main hills. In the back of my mind, I wanted
to be under 10 hours. It helped me press more as I hit key points in the run
and kept my mind busy with time calculations. I stuck to the plan and focused
on seeing my wife, dad, and other supporters to push me along. The heat was tough,
but I believe the wind hurt my pace just as much. My legs were the limiter
though, and I never really challenged the HR zones as they were meant to
increase throughout the run. Around mile 3 Ty decided it was time to tell me I
was in 17th place with 3 guys in striking distance. Just stick to the
plan and I’ll work my way through them. The next update I got was I was in 14th
place with a long (but manageable 8 minute gap to 10th, according to
Ty). After I got through lap 1, I knew what to expect for lap 2. My final
update from Ty told me I was in 11th, but 4 minutes back from 10th
with 5 miles to go. Ty’s instructions, “make these the best 5 miles you have
ever run”. Even though my pace was fading, I shuffled up that final climb.
Checking splits at the top, I knew I could run 8-minute pace and still break 10
with over 250 ft of net downhill. I ran hard when I felt “good” and managed when
it was time to fight. Most of the last 5K was a blur, but I remember cruising
by the struggling runners as I made that final turn around the M-Dot monument
towards the finish.
Total (9:55:04 – 10th AG / 66 OA Amateur):
Overall I thought I managed my day incredibly well. I would also say that is
the deepest I ever had to dig, but it was pretty much on the run alone. I may
have had a little more to push on the bike, but I expected some carnage on the
run to make it back up. It ended up working out because I Pac-Man’ed my way
from 17th to 10th AG.
I wanted to land myself a top 10 AG finish and be under 10
hours, both accomplished in the final miles of the run (once again). For now, I
believe that is just how I need to race until I can further my swim and bike.
On this course, and with the competition present I am stoked with my performance.
But as I do, I am already analyzing and trying to figure out where I need to
train more and be better. This was a world class field of athletes, and I want
to elevate my performance to become a true competitor. My next Ironman will be in KONA!
I also got to chat with someone from Triathlete Magazine about how this race compared with Kona. Check out the article here: https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/how-did-the-world-championship-in-st-george-stack-up-to-kona/
This was a novel, so thanks for sticking it out until the end!
Despite how much I wrote, there is so much more I neglected to include. Hit me
up if you want to hear more, and I’ll have another race report coming after
Chatt 70.3 in 2 weeks.
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment