This is the email post that I sent to my coach:
Mr. Dave Scott: You are very perceptive about my run. I was on track for about a 1:32 or 1:33 but blew up spectacularly at 15k – went up this tiny little steep hill on the trail and wham-o…. just lost it. Took some salt tablets and around 4k later recovered and ran out of my mind the last 3k.
So here is the synopsis:
1. Before the race: perfect – no delays in the air, had a buddy with me that drove to Muskoka, relaxed, compexed, easy loose massage, ate smart and well, hydrated, bike went together great, wrote down my plan for nutrition for the whole day, weather is great, people are great, everything is going according to plan, relaxed the whole day before the race with my feet up after a 30 minute ride and 7 minute run that morning, even my workout preparation the week before went very well.
2. Race Day:
· Put all my stuff out for the bike and run (at least I thought I had – more on that in a moment), weather was cool and slightly rainy and overcast – perfect, went to the workout room and did 6 min of easy rowing, 6 min of easy running on treadmill, 5 min of spinning of recumbent bike, good easy sweat and went back to room to get wetsuit.
· Swim: very easy – warmup for 10 min doing slight sprint and backstroke, gun goes off and I sprint at the start but didn’t need to, focused on making the straightest line possible but had to swim around tons of people after being the 4th wave, didn’t stress at all on the swim – actually could have swam harder but didn’t need to . … got out and ran up the 300meter hill to the bike…anaerobic after running in that damn 10mm wetsuit…. Will strip it off next time before running…but it is what it is….
· Bike: transition to the bike went very well, no trouble getting into my shoes at the beginning, relaxed but my heart rate was pumping from the run up the hill, my heart rate stayed quite high in the 150 – 160 during the first 8k going through the hills…. Interesting as I’ve never watched my heart rate in a race before….. got into a rhythm on the bike that was absolutely fantastic….. kept my heart rate between 136 and 144 which worked very well….. really throttled it back during the first 45k but wasn’t going slow…. Always bombed the downhills to take me up the other side as easily as possible….. I noticed that the folks ahead of me would work it hard over the top but then go easy and coast on the other side and I would go by them like they were standing still,…. I took the other approach and geared down up the hill and ½ way over which set me up very well. Rolled into the T area feeling like I had only ridden about a 40k which was very nice.
Nutrition on the bike: perfect: started drinking around 10k – drank ¼ bottle every 10k of my special mixture – took 2 electrolyte pills every 20k – took a gel at 10k / 50k / 90k - ate a Bonk Breaker bar at 45k. took ¼ bottle of water at 30k and ¼ bottle of Gatorade at 67k. didn’t really like the orange Gatorade at all – will stick with my 3 bottles of special mixture to get me through
· Run: rolled to stop very nice and ran to the T area without the usual heaviness and lactic acid feeling that I usually do – transition went very well – I was relaxed and focused – a bit of tightening up on my lower quads at the connectors at the knees, hamstrings were doing fine but I could tell a bit of uneasiness – I actually think that I might need 3 electrolyte pills every 20k on the bike,….back to the run – so I start off on the rolling part and feel absolutely fantastic – I think I was running 6:30s right out of the T area and felt that way all up through 7k as I was passing people, I was actually leading the two younger age group waves that had started 5 minutes ahead of me in the swim,…. so from 7k through 10.5k it is rollers stepping up and that was where I start feeling the bonking sensation creeping up on my so I relaxed trying to focus up the hills. (Note to Self: I had completely abandoned my nutrition plan that I had set up for the run the night before as I forgot to take my own special gels and forgot the Power Bar Gel bytes right in the back of my jersey – also forgot to take a small bottle of my special formula along with me – Very Stupid!!!!), so from 7k to the turnaround at 10.75k I really focused on staying relaxed and smooth but it was getting difficult….. so hit the turnaround knowing in the back of my head that I really don’t feel so stupendous any longer, ran the downhills for the next 3.5k really well and maintained momentum up the little rises….then at 14k this guy catches me and I hammer it out with him for 1k when he passes by me going up the f…ing hill and the wheels came off, took 2 electrolyte tablets at 16k and literally stumbled like a drunken idiot for the next 2.5k I bonked so hard,… this whole time since 7k I was drinking bits of water and taking those disgusting Powergels (absolutely awful!) and almost throwing up, once again I used my momentum for the downhills and walked about 3 uphills, at 19k I finally told myself (out loud) to get my butt in gear and not waste all the money I spent to come this whole way for a race. I had no idea I had such a lead so I was still running for my life (or at least 1st place in my age group)…. Ended up at the end of the race totally expended.. spent 19 minutes in the med tent but recovered very fast…. I was 90% satisfied as walked out to get my finisher’s medal, shirt, and cap (bling! Bling)
· Awards: fantastic awards and presentation (and lots of people)! Got up on the da podium and looked like a stud (at least in my own mind)…. the guys in my age group looked old though!
· Final Synopsis: Pre Race – great, Swim – great (except going around all the people), Bike – 98% great (mechanical issue with getting in my 53 x 11 as I had to slam it in), Run – 65% good, 20% okay, 15% bad – 1. Why didn’t I follow my pre-race nutrition plan, 2. Why didn’t I throttle back the first 7k when I was feeling good as my coach, Mr. Dave Scott ( who knows what he is talking about) told me to do and then I didn’t follow it, and 3. Why didn’t I wear my heart rate monitor on the run when it obviously paid dividends on the bike? These 3 things are easily fixed which I will do at the ½ Silverman!
All in All I give this race a 90% success factor (B+) however truly a confidence builder that I CAN run well off the bike in a ½ Ironman… my confidence had taken a beating from California and Lubbock 70.3. … also I’m very much aware that I really need a true unobjective measurement tool (heart rate or power monitor in lieu of my own internal guidance) during these races to throttle or boost me…..
So….. for the future:
This week – rest and recover with easy swims and spins and maybe a run or two – keep up on my supplements….
Next couple of weeks – get back into my regular routine of workouts with spin sessions, Transition sessions, get some Master’s swim workouts in, Sept 19th – 1st part of October.
Next racing: Oct 3rd in Mission Bay Sprint (Flat Fast Course), and/or Oct 10th in Orange County Olympic Distance (Hilly and Challenging Course): not sure I will be able to do both? Mission Bay is very important for my sponsors: Breakaway and Compex, OC is important because the course is like ½ of Silverman and it gives me a very nice setup for ½ Silverman. Not sure right now.
Conference in Las Vegas from Oct 17th – 20th, going to try and get to the Silverman run course if I can. Will have to find a Master’s swim and maybe a Spin Class near Caesar’s Palace
Then 10 – 12 days of solid training leading up to ½ Silverman? Kick some butt in Vegas!
Alex
