Race Report - IM USA!
Summary: Finish time 12:05:28
Ironman race entry fee… $450.
Money raised for the Bridge of Hope… $25,395.
Passing 400+ competitors in an Ironman marathon… priceless!
Race morning had me well nourished and rested. Yes, I was nervous, but I’m guessing not nearly as nervous as most other competitors.
I warmed-up by doing some easy swimming just before the race start, then stood in 4-feet of water to take in the 15,000+ spectators, the 2,400 competitors, helicopter, AC/DC blaring on the PA system, etc, etc. In short – total madness!
Swim – 2.4 miles
I seeded myself up front about 50-meters to the right of the buoys. The gun sounded and we were off! Again – total freakin’ madness! I was quite relaxed heading out. Early on I headed toward the buoy line and found myself in the middle of the melee. I was spending too much energy fighting off other swimmers so I moved slightly out to the right again. Coming out of the water after loop #1 I heard the emcee shout out my name. That was pretty cool. The second loop was a little crazier than the first – probably because I was determined to stay closer to the buoy line.
Transition #1 was, you guessed it, more madness - A crowded 1/8-mile jog to grab your transition bag and into a more crowded changing tent. Then out of the tent to fetch my bike and a pretty long jog to the mounting line. So many folks ran so hard through transition… I just don’t get it! Seems to me movement should be steady and efficient to minimize time and heart beats.
Bike – 112 miles
I expected several hundred riders to pass me as they took a “crush and destroy” attitude toward the ride. That’s exactly what happened. Many riders passed me huffing and puffing, standing out of the saddle on the long climbs. What a mistake! I settled into my target wattages and stuck to plan, which included a lot of slow grinding on the hills. I was quite cold for the first 20 miles but the sun really started to kick in after that. My heart rate rose pretty quickly – quite a normal response for me on hot days. I unzipped my top and began pouring water over my head to cool down.
Riding back into town after the first loop was amazing - so many cheering spectators for about a 4-mile stretch. Really gave it a Tour de France sort of feel! Even though I felt quite strong, my heart rate continued to drift upward. I was most worried about taking in massive amounts of calories to carry me through the day. Too high of a heart rate would result in my digestive system shutting down prematurely so, at about mile 75, I decided to ride off of heart rate – bagging my plan to pace purely off of output power. This resulted in a pretty slow second loop but I was rewarded with a ton of strength for the marathon.
Run – 26.2 miles
My heart rate raced upward early in the run so I walked quite a bit through the 2nd and 3rd miles. I was totally focused on keeping my digestive system working and was able to continue on solid food well into the marathon. Somewhere between miles 3 and 4 I was able to get my heart rate under control and I gradually picked up the pace. From this point forward my run became a series of short-term objectives – the aid stations. Entering an aid station I would slow to a walk, tucking cold sponges and ice into my chest and pouring water over my head to keep my core temperature down. Then I would take in whatever nutrition appealed to me before running to the next aid station. I continued this cycle – mile 4, mile 5, mile 6, mile 7, etc. I refused to let myself think beyond the next aid station. At times I felt pretty lousy but was consistently able to focus on simply getting through the next mile.
By mile 21 I couldn’t eat anymore. My belly had shut down for the day. I started taking in de-fizzed Cola and water. That REALLY worked. My legs responded nicely. I passed the 22-mile marker on the return trip to town and started to get fired up. At mile 23 I decided that anyone could run a 5k and started to rely on my fast-twitch gifts. Cruising up the hills back into town I was reeling in competitors in large bunches. The crowd was cheering hard and shouting out my name (names on race bibs at an Ironman). This only added to the adrenaline flow. Most everything from mile 24 on is a blur except I know I was really suffering after the 25-mile marker. I ran HARD into the old Olympic speed skating oval. What an incredible feeling to cross that finish line! Something I’ll always remember!
Post Mortem
My greatest successes of the day… Controlling my emotions and adrenaline – Crushing my nutrition plan – Modifying my biking strategy on the fly – Detaching myself from other competitors – Breaking the race down into a series of short term objectives – AND all of this leading to the ability of running a 4:02:59 Ironman marathon!
I can’t say I had any failures. I probably could have broken the 12-hour mark by working transitions more efficiently. Competitive athletes finished theirs 5 to 8 minutes quicker than me. I also could have tried to hold the buoy line for the entire swim and shortened pit stops, but I really think I had nearly perfect execution of my race plan - A very satisfying feeling.
Key to greater success in the future – More cycling! This distance caters to those who are extraordinarily powerful on the bike and have the mental toughness to hold back through 112 miles. I ran down a lot of better pure runners than myself simply through executing a patient riding strategy.
So many thanks to my friends and family for an incredible outpouring of support. Thanks also to my fabulous coach, Patrick McCrann, who had me SO physically and mentally prepared. Congratulations to Patrick for finishing 30th overall and qualifying for the big dance in Hawaii for the second year in a row!
One more post before I declare this blog irrelevant...
Ironman race entry fee… $450.
Money raised for the Bridge of Hope… $25,395.
Passing 400+ competitors in an Ironman marathon… priceless!
Race morning had me well nourished and rested. Yes, I was nervous, but I’m guessing not nearly as nervous as most other competitors.
I warmed-up by doing some easy swimming just before the race start, then stood in 4-feet of water to take in the 15,000+ spectators, the 2,400 competitors, helicopter, AC/DC blaring on the PA system, etc, etc. In short – total madness!
Swim – 2.4 miles
I seeded myself up front about 50-meters to the right of the buoys. The gun sounded and we were off! Again – total freakin’ madness! I was quite relaxed heading out. Early on I headed toward the buoy line and found myself in the middle of the melee. I was spending too much energy fighting off other swimmers so I moved slightly out to the right again. Coming out of the water after loop #1 I heard the emcee shout out my name. That was pretty cool. The second loop was a little crazier than the first – probably because I was determined to stay closer to the buoy line.
Transition #1 was, you guessed it, more madness - A crowded 1/8-mile jog to grab your transition bag and into a more crowded changing tent. Then out of the tent to fetch my bike and a pretty long jog to the mounting line. So many folks ran so hard through transition… I just don’t get it! Seems to me movement should be steady and efficient to minimize time and heart beats.
Bike – 112 miles
I expected several hundred riders to pass me as they took a “crush and destroy” attitude toward the ride. That’s exactly what happened. Many riders passed me huffing and puffing, standing out of the saddle on the long climbs. What a mistake! I settled into my target wattages and stuck to plan, which included a lot of slow grinding on the hills. I was quite cold for the first 20 miles but the sun really started to kick in after that. My heart rate rose pretty quickly – quite a normal response for me on hot days. I unzipped my top and began pouring water over my head to cool down.
Riding back into town after the first loop was amazing - so many cheering spectators for about a 4-mile stretch. Really gave it a Tour de France sort of feel! Even though I felt quite strong, my heart rate continued to drift upward. I was most worried about taking in massive amounts of calories to carry me through the day. Too high of a heart rate would result in my digestive system shutting down prematurely so, at about mile 75, I decided to ride off of heart rate – bagging my plan to pace purely off of output power. This resulted in a pretty slow second loop but I was rewarded with a ton of strength for the marathon.
Run – 26.2 miles
My heart rate raced upward early in the run so I walked quite a bit through the 2nd and 3rd miles. I was totally focused on keeping my digestive system working and was able to continue on solid food well into the marathon. Somewhere between miles 3 and 4 I was able to get my heart rate under control and I gradually picked up the pace. From this point forward my run became a series of short-term objectives – the aid stations. Entering an aid station I would slow to a walk, tucking cold sponges and ice into my chest and pouring water over my head to keep my core temperature down. Then I would take in whatever nutrition appealed to me before running to the next aid station. I continued this cycle – mile 4, mile 5, mile 6, mile 7, etc. I refused to let myself think beyond the next aid station. At times I felt pretty lousy but was consistently able to focus on simply getting through the next mile.
By mile 21 I couldn’t eat anymore. My belly had shut down for the day. I started taking in de-fizzed Cola and water. That REALLY worked. My legs responded nicely. I passed the 22-mile marker on the return trip to town and started to get fired up. At mile 23 I decided that anyone could run a 5k and started to rely on my fast-twitch gifts. Cruising up the hills back into town I was reeling in competitors in large bunches. The crowd was cheering hard and shouting out my name (names on race bibs at an Ironman). This only added to the adrenaline flow. Most everything from mile 24 on is a blur except I know I was really suffering after the 25-mile marker. I ran HARD into the old Olympic speed skating oval. What an incredible feeling to cross that finish line! Something I’ll always remember!
Post Mortem
My greatest successes of the day… Controlling my emotions and adrenaline – Crushing my nutrition plan – Modifying my biking strategy on the fly – Detaching myself from other competitors – Breaking the race down into a series of short term objectives – AND all of this leading to the ability of running a 4:02:59 Ironman marathon!
I can’t say I had any failures. I probably could have broken the 12-hour mark by working transitions more efficiently. Competitive athletes finished theirs 5 to 8 minutes quicker than me. I also could have tried to hold the buoy line for the entire swim and shortened pit stops, but I really think I had nearly perfect execution of my race plan - A very satisfying feeling.
Key to greater success in the future – More cycling! This distance caters to those who are extraordinarily powerful on the bike and have the mental toughness to hold back through 112 miles. I ran down a lot of better pure runners than myself simply through executing a patient riding strategy.
So many thanks to my friends and family for an incredible outpouring of support. Thanks also to my fabulous coach, Patrick McCrann, who had me SO physically and mentally prepared. Congratulations to Patrick for finishing 30th overall and qualifying for the big dance in Hawaii for the second year in a row!
One more post before I declare this blog irrelevant...
posted by dan kerr at 8:13 PM
1 Comments:
Dan-
I checked out our placements a couple times on Sunday - you did GREAT!
M
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