I did this Full Ironman race last year and it was a bit of a grueling experience. So much so that at mile 18 of the marathon I told myself that I wouldn’t do this race again no matter how many people in the Pasadena Triathlon Club (PTC) signed up for it next year! Well so much for that! My race calendar was pretty heavy this year with 3 Half Ironmans so when Mont Tremblant’s race date got closer and closer, I was really torn. In the end I decided it was only an extra 5 weeks of training from my last half iron race so I decided to do it and race with a bunch of fellow club members. My wife also got tired of me asking her if I should do it or not! She said just do it and get it over with already!
Last year was very hot and humid but this year, much like Ironman St George 70.3, we got the exact opposite! It would pour rain on us throughout the day on the bike and the run. On the bike it made for some dangerous conditions and I came across a pretty bad accident where a rider descending Chemin Duplessis lost control and took out a number of racers climbing on the other side of the street. Other than that, the heavy rain made for some cool, wet and interesting racing! Goals: Main goal was to PR and best last year's time of 12:58. That said, I had a few levels of satisfaction with the possible outcomes of my race. < 12:45 = Very, very satisfied 12:45-12:58 = Happy to be able to PR 12:58-13:05 = Meh > 13:05 = Happy to finish but something went wrong.
Race Morning
Got up at 4:30 am. I was happy that I managed to get 3-4 hours sleep! Breakfast consisted of Ensure, Blueberry muffin, and a banana. I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade leading up to race start along with a gel. I went down to the bike transition to put my nutrition on my bike and drop off my special needs bag. I then went back to the room and grabbed my wetsuit and headed to the swim start.
Swim (2.4 miles) - 1:32:20
Canadians really rolled out all the stops with an F-18 fighter jet flyover at the race start. I didn't see it coming and it flew pretty low and really caught me off guard! It was loud! (I jumped!) Got to the swim start line with just enough time to get into the water to warm up for like 2 minutes. I saw Joe and Zack at the race start, gave them a high five, and off we went into the water. The swim was uneventful. We did hit some swells the farther we got out but not any different than last year. I’m a bit disappointed to come out 2 minutes slower than last year. I was hoping for a 3-5 minute improvement!
T1 - 11:03
Wetsuit strippers were great. They helped me out of my wetsuit and was off to the changing tent. There was a bit of a run to get to the tent, maybe ¼ mile, but it was on carpet so that was cool. I was a bit indecisive on what to wear for the bike with the coming rain storm. I decided on arm warmers and full fingered gloves. I took time lubing up my feet with liquid Body Glide thinking I would be wearing the same socks during the run. Turns out that I would have to change out of my wet socks in T2. Oh well. My transition time was slower than last year. I have to prepare better!
Bike (112 miles) - 6:06:36
Soaking wet!
The bike started out dry and I left my arm warmers rolled down. It was congested getting out to the highway and not much room to pass as the lane was only 2 bike widths wide. Once on the highway I settled into my race pace around 160-180 watts. The rain started coming down and it wouldn’t quit for the rest of the bike. It didn't bother me too much except for the descents. Especially on the hilly Chemin Duplessis where there were some pretty bad accidents. The second loop I began to feel a bit fatigued and decreased watts a bit as I backed off in preparation for the run. My tri jersey would be an issue as it was a bit loose and even more so wet from the rain. It would hang down and catch the wind with a parachute effect. Oh well.
My power profile compared to last year bike leg looks pretty good (for me). (Note: I'm not that adept at analyzing these figures but I like to pretend! For those of you who know better, please comment!)
I'm happy with my Training Stress Score (TSS) of 285 meaning I didn't leave anything on the table during the bike but didn't blow up my run. My Variablity Index (VI) of 1.14 mean that I did do some surging and coasting where I should have tried to keep a more even pace. (Difficult with weather conditions) My Intesity Factor (IF) of 0.69 was pretty much where I wanted to keep my power so I’m happy with my bike split. In the end my bike split was about 5 minutes faster than last year.
T2 - 6:32
I got into T2 soaking wet and had to decide what/if I was going to change. I stripped off my wet socks and bike shoes and put on fresh socks after I lubed up my feet with Aquaphor. I was a bit unsure if I wanted to change into running shorts or leave on my trishorts but decided I didn’t need to change because my running shorts would get soaked from the rain anyways. I then slipped on my running shoes, chugged down a bottle of Ensure, and got under way. I’m not sure why my transition time was so slow! Two minutes slower than last year! Maybe it is from when I stopped to pee which seemed like it took forever. I’m not sure if the port-o-potty was before or after the timing mat though. Either way, I have to speed up my transition times!
Run (26.2 miles) - 4:33:51
Still raining on the run!
The run was really tough for me last year as it was hot and humid. This year the cool rain made it a lot easier. The first 6 miles I felt really good at a 9-9:30 pace which really lifted my spirits. If I could keep a decent pace I should be able to kill my 5 hr marathon time from last year. Around mile 10-11 I started to get a bit of a stomach cramp and the whole last half of the marathon I would be visiting the port-o-potty every other aid station. One didn't have any toilet paper left but someone had left their glove liners in there so..... I had to make do! Easily spent 10 minutes or more overall in port-o-potties! Around mile 22-23 I started to think I might break the 12:30 mark and tried to pick up my pace. When I got into the town the finishing chute was rocking with all the spectators cheering! What a great feeling to finish! Overall I'm pretty happy with my run even with all the bathroom visits. I had no muscle cramping issues whatsoever which is a first for me. I missed the sub 12:30 mark by 22 seconds! Ugh! Oh well I'll take my 12:30:22 as it is still a great PR time for me!
Final Race Time: 12:30:22
It was great racing with friends from the Pasadena Tri Club and VOLT. Passing a few them and getting passed by others. It really made for a great race experience and I’m glad I did it. Wondering the “what if’s”, my swim definitely could use some improvement. I also know that I could have definitely done better on the run had I not had bathroom issues, but I guess that’s part of the game. I think going with mostly gels for nutrition was the culprit. Either that or the Chicken\Cheese crepes I had for dinner the night before. (Not the best idea) The pain\agony factor never reached the level of last year's race. I may even do another Full Ironman in the future if the stars align correctly! Most likely though it will be Half Ironmans as it's hard to devote so much time to training! Now back to regular life and trying not to get too fat in the off season!
This was my first year doing this race. Every year it seems to sell out fast so I never really got a chance to do it. It also didn't seem very popular with my tri club (Pasadena Triathlon Club). I think it isn't that popular because it is so early in the season and people are reluctant to start training so early in the year. Anyways, this year it seemed like a few members of the club were going to go so I decided to do it since Oceanside is so close. I had been training through the winter but my my diet was out of check and I was a good 10 lbs heavier since Ironman Mont Tremblant last year.
Swim (1.3 miles) : 45:38
Coming out of the water looking a bit winded!
Was very nervous about the swim as I heard it is a cold swim. It was pretty cold that morning and it turned out that the water temp wasn't that much different from the air temperature so it didn't feels to bad. The swim is in the bay so the water was pretty calm until we got to the out edge of the bay. I didn't have a spectacular swim but that is the norm for me when it comes swim. Bike (56 miles) : 2:52:12
The bike was a tough route with some good climbs through Camp Pendleton. It would be the first race on my new Felt IA10 Tribike. I would encounter a problem right off the bat. I hit a bump and my front hydration system flipped over dumping the entire contents out on the course. I would have to ride the rest of the ride with one bottle grabbing hydration whenever possible from aid stations. It wasn't a deal breaker but definitely changed my hydration plan. Over I felt I did well on the bike but in hindsight might have pushed a little too much. Run (13.1 miles) : 2:08:13
This run is on a rather flat course. Immediately I started cramping in the first mile. So much so that I had to stop and stretch it out. I never really recovered and would suffer for the rest of the race. I'm a bit disappointed with my run performance this race. I could only think that maybe I rode too hard during the bike. I still managed to squeak in under 6 hours but I thought I could have done much better. Overall I really enjoyed the race and enjoyed the close proximity of the race to my home. I will definitely be doing the race again next year!
Ironman Mont Tremblant would be my first attempt at a full Ironman distance triathlon. The idea started last December where I thought life conditions (child care, work, family) were right and I would be able to fit training for an Ironman into my life. I'm not getting any younger and who knows when I might have this opportunity or time to train like this again. Life gets in the way sometimes! This was going to be a big deal for me so I decided that I would take my family along. They had never seen me race so I really wanted them to share this experience with me. The cost was substantially higher taking everyone to Canada but we were making a race vacation out of it and in the end I was really happy they were there! As things would have it, my wife Kelley has a friend, Lisa, who lives in Toronto. Her and her family would end up driving 6 hours to stay the week with us up in Mont Tremblant. They would end up being a huge help and a pleasure to spend the week with!
The Trip
Tuesday (Finish packing, catch late 11pm flight)
Mont Tremblant is a small ski resort town about 90 minutes out of Montreal Canada. It would be a 5-6 hour flight from LAX to Montreal. We left on a Tuesday night redeye flight out of LAX. Fellow Pasadena Tri Club member Shane gave us a ride to the airport. The kids were excited as this would be their first trip on an airplane! I was hoping we could catch some sleep on the plane but still be a little tired so to jump start the time change acclimation and get to bed early the next day.
Thanks Shane for dropping us off at LAX!
Girls got to visit the cockpit
Wednesday (Arrive Montreal, Commute to Mont Tremblant, Dinner with Canadian Friends) We arrived in Montreal around 7:30am and got out of the airport car rental about 8:30am. I had planned on doing a little sight seeing in Montreal before going to Mont Tremblant but everyone was zonked out and it was raining so it was mostly just driving through Montreal without getting out of the car. We then headed up to Mont Tremblant stopping at a Walmart on the way to pick supplies and a few toys to help keep the kids occupied for the week.
This is what you see for most of the drive to Mont Tremblant, trees and more trees!
Our 2 bedroom condo is a privately owned suite within the Hilton.
Mont Tremblant pedestrian village. We will be running down this on race day!
We would meet up with Lisa, Peter and their boys, who drove up from Toronto to hang out with us for the week. It was a reunion of sorts as Lisa is my wife's Kelley friend from China when they were young. They have seen each other in 25+ years!
My wife Kelley (left) reunited with her long lost friend Lisa from Toronto.
Thursday (TriBike Transport, Expo, Run Preview, and EN Dinner)
I went and picked up my race packet in the village and also my bike from TriBike Transport. Fellow Pasadena Tri Club member Sebastian texted me that afternoon to go on a run so I met up with him and we did a little course preview while the family and crew went to explore the village and expo. Later I met up with Endurance Nation teammates for dinner. It was great meeting the other EN athletes and picking their brains!
The support crew (My girls and Lisa's boys) at the Expo.
The kids planning their support banners.
Lisa, Peter, their boys and my girls.
Friday (Swim practice, Athelete's Welcome Banquet and Mandatory Meeting)
In the morning I went out for a swim preview. Water was a nice 70 degrees. I'm kind of a chicken when it comes to swimming in open water when there aren't a whole lot of people around. Something about being by myself and not being able to see the murky bottom. For some reason I got spooked when I came across a large underwater mossy pipeline leading from somewhere. I'm just not a fan of stuff like underwater algae covered pipes, algae covered buoy lines, etc. Soooo.....I cut my swim a bit short..... I just wanted to get a feel for the water anyways.... :) Yeah I need to HTFU!
Going for a little swim recon! This is actually at the swim exit.
Later that night was the athletes banquet. I went on my own and Kelley and the kids had dinner with Lisa and her family. The food was so-so but they had a cool Euro dance music band playing along with Circ de Sole type dancers. After dinner came the mandatory athletes briefing and the voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly, was there doing the MC. It got kind of boring because they had to keep repeating everything in French. After the meeting I meet back up with the family to watch the fireworks show! Pretty classy if you ask me. The EN guys say they don't do fireworks at other IM races, just here!
Circ de Sole type dancers at the banquet. Weird Canadians!
Electronic Music with Harps.... Musicians from Quebec.
Mike Reilly, voice of Ironman. I was hoping I would get to hear him say "You are an Ironman!"
Kids loved the fireworks!
Saturday (Bike and gear bag drop off)
Things are getty pretty serious now. Race is just 24 hours away! I would spend a lot of time putting together all my gear bags. EN provided me with a wonderful checklist/playbook that I was going by that was a huge help. I dropped of the gear bags and the bike in transition and had dinner with Samantha because Kelley was with Jessica who was still on her afternoon nap even though it was 6pm. Time zone change was tough to get a hang of for everyone. After dinner it was time to go over my special needs bags and race plan and get some rest. I managed to fall asleep around 12 midnight with a 3:45 am alarm set!
That's a lot of bikes!
Bike dropped off and set up in transition with my own marked transition spot.
Pre-race dinner at Coco Pazzo. No wine for me please!
Race Report
As this was my first Ironman my main goal was just to finish. I used a triathlon time calculator and padded my times given that I've never been on this course and came up with this time goals\happiness meter before the race:
< 13 hours = happy
13-13:30 = satisfied
13:30-14:00 = meh
> 14 hours = happy to finish but something went wrong
I was hoping for a cool weather race. Mont Tremblant historic average temp is around 75 but this day would push 90F with 90% humidity! Ugh! I was thinking it wouldn't be as bad as the athletes had at IMCDA (Zack) so just count my blessings. Race morning was cool enough. I woke up at 3:45 and had breakfast and had plenty of time to get my PRP on. (Pre-Race Poop) I headed down to transition to drop of my special needs bags and walked to the beach for the swim start.
Swim (2.4 miles)
Expected Split: 1 hr 40 min (From my last swim practice at Belmont Shore.... I know, SLOW!) Actual Split: 1 hr 30 min 03 sec IMMT is a wave start so I start at the back of my wave as I'm not that great at the swim and didn't want to get beat up by people swimming over me. Water temp was around 70F and there was plenty of room and time to warm up for the swim which was great. At St George I pretty much went in cold and ended up paying for it a bit. Here I didn't have that problem so it was a great start to the swim. It was pretty foggy when we started and could just barely make out the next buoy. There was a stretch where the water got choppy and I got a little worried about getting motion sickness but it smoothed out after a bit. Nothing eventful about the swim and for some reason I didn't see that large underwater pipeline near the swim exit that I saw a couple of days earlier! After the wetsuit stripper peeled of my wetsuit I was still getting my head straight so I walked\jogged instead of running the red carpet to T1 to change into bike gear. I get into the transition tent, find my bike gear bag and head to the changing room. I throw on the helmet, sunglasses, and gloves. I then put on anti-chaf on the toes, put on socks and bike shoes and found a volunteer who gives me a good coat of sunscreen and out the door I went.
Transition 1 time: 10 min 20 sec
Race morning, hard to see but you can see between the flags.... man those buoys go waaaaay out there!
I wasn't the fastest in the water for sure! (I live to far away from GRA...)
Bike (112 miles) Expected Split: 6 hr 15 min (Course Average) Actual Split: 6 hr 12 min 29 sec
As I started the bike it was cool and overcast. Cool enough for me to forget to hydrate often and after the 1st hour I didn't even finish 1 bottle. I did stay on my nutrition plan which was pretty much 1 gu, salt tab, and 1/2 lara bar every hour. After the first couple of hours it started to get hot and I picked up my hydration. Soon after I had the urge but was afraid to stop at the aid station because it looked crowded at the port-a-potties but as I passed it I saw a vacant one and I slammed on the brakes and jumped in. Altogether I had 6 minutes of non-moving time on the bike which equates to 2 minutes a pee stop (3 stops). I guess I need to learn to pee on the bike. I contemplated it but I was wearing socks and did want to ride all day with pee soaked socks. I finished the first loop in 2:58 which gave me hopes of doing a sub 6 hour bike.
The second half is when the it started to get really hot and I started to fatigue and my time suffered adding maybe an extra 10-12 minutes compared to the first half. My target power was just above 160w but I pretty much knew I couldn't hold it as the heat and the up coming marathon run was weighing heavy on my mind.
Stats
145w NP (target was 160w)
227 TSS
.605 IF (target was .70)
It was nice a cool during the first hour.
The support crew looking out for me! They are so awesome!
Giving the crew a "Hang Loose" sign.
Hard to notice the scenery when you're racing.
Transition 2 time: 3 min:56 sec
I got off the bike and handed my bike to a volunteer. That was a first. I've always had to rack my bike before. So there I was in my bike shoes running without my bike to get to T2. I should have learned how to dismount leaving the shoes on the bike. I stopped and unbuckled and carried my shoes to the T2 tent and was hit by a giant wave of pee stench when I entered the tent. I guess a lot of people pee on the bike and leave their smelly shoes, socks and whatever in the T2 tent and it smelled pretty bad! I grabbed my bag, changed into my Hoka Clifton2 running shoes, threw on my hat and headed for a volunteer sunscreener. There we only 2 volunteers and the one I had ran out of sunscreen and I got kind of pissed at them. I really shouldn't have as the volunteers are the heart and soul of the race but I got caught in the heat of the moment. He grabbed another bottle and layered a huge glob on me and I ran out looking like a ghost!
Here I am trying to rub off excess sunscreen while I'm running!
Run (26.2 miles)
Expected Split: 5 hrs
Actual Split: 5 hr 00 min 06 sec
I get started into the run which almost immediately starts with a climb. I took it slow as I've been hit by leg cramps many times before coming off the bike. No leg cramps but unfortunately my stomach starts to give me problems. I had been dealing with stomach issues for the past couple of months. Doctor had me on a RX of dexilant and sucralfate. I was hoping I wouldn't have any issues during the race but on the start of the run I was having big time cramps. I did have sucralfate in my special needs bag but that was at mile 13 and even then I wasn't sure how the med would affect my performance. The run was hot and they were handing out sponges with cold water to cool down and a lot of the locals were out turning on hoses and spraying down athletes as they passed their houses or businesses to help cool people off. After the first 6 miles stomach started to feel better and I picked up the pace a bit according to my race plan. The run course has a good portion on a bike trail that runs through a forest. Here we were protected from direct sun so it was somewhat a relief. I saw Danny, Seb and other EN teammates on the course. It was good to see familiar faces among all the suffering souls on the course.
My feet were starting to hurt and thought maybe my Hokas were the culprit even though I have logged maybe 50 miles in them before the race. I had my Asic Gel Lytes in my special needs bag along with calf sleeves and liquid body glide and contemplated a change. As came in to special needs I decided to stick it out with the Hokas and just put more lotion on the hot spot I was developing on my feet along with other body parts that were starting to chafe. The volunteer asked me if I wanted my calf sleeves and I declined because I was already taking too much time in special needs. I would end up regretting not wearing the calf sleeves just 2 miles later when my calf started to cramp. I came to the split where you either finish the race or go back for the second 13 mile leg. I wanted to finish and it was crushing to know that I had to go back out to repeat the last 13 miles!
On the second leg there was a lot of carnage on the course. Guys walking and limping, a women crying. This one guy called it quits repeatedly saying "I'm done, I'm done, I'm done" to a medical volunteer at an aid station. I was really feeling fatigued and chafing all over because of how much I was sweating. I even had to stop and move my timing chip to the other leg because it was chafing my leg too much. I struggled to keep an 11 min pace as I walked the aid stations. I think around mile 17 there was chicken broth which was great. At mile 20 while heading back I looked at my watch and did some numbers. I could go Sub-13 hours if I picked it up. It was going to be painful but I picked up my pace. That's when Sebastian lapped me on the run! I knew he would as he was looking strong when I saw him on the first loop. I was thinking I was so stupid to spend so much time in special needs! The last 6 miles were painful trying to make my self imposed deadline. I was thinking I must be doing a 9:xx mile pace but then looked at my watch as it was 10:xx! As I got near the finish I saw Kelley and gave her a quick high five as the course wound through the village to the finish line. I didn't know my exact time at this point so I didn't even spend time enjoying the finishing chute because I was too busy trying to make a sub 13 time! In the end I finished with only 2 minutes to spare!
On my way into town on the first loop.
Only a few meters left! I must go sub-13!
I was so happy to have my family there to share this moment with me!
We get poutine (gravy fries with cheese curds...it's a Canadian thing) and beer in the finishers tent. Yum! They also had healthier choices like pasta and other stuff but I didn't want any of that!
Summary
Mont Tremblant was a great experience. The location was great even though everything is in French and the Time Zone change was a bit of a pain. It was a pretty expensive trip but worth it. My Endurance Nation Training Plan had me well prepared and although I did struggle a bit more than I wanted to, I'm still happy with my sub-13 hour time even if it was just by 2 minutes! There were definitely lessons learned on this race but I'm not sure if I'll do another Ironman to apply the things I've learned. I know I told myself while suffering on the last part of the run that I wouldn't do another one but now that it's done, I don't know.... never say never!
Some things for me to remember in case I do another one....:
Expect chaffing everywhere once on the run. Even around the timing chip. (Maybe do at least 1 of your longest training runs in full kit so you know where to lube.)
Don't wait till you're in pain to take Tylenol/Advil on the run. Keep meds with you instead of at Special Needs station.
No need to carry 3 bottles on the bike. 2 will do until the next aid station.
Practice leaving shoes on the bike on dismount. You don't want to run to T2 with bike shoes on.
Train without socks just in case you might want to pee on the bike (ewwww!)
A huge shout out to our friends Lisa, Peter and their kids for all the support they gave us and for driving 6 hours from Toronto to spend the week with us. It made the trip so much more fun!
Lastly I did return to watch the last of the athletes come in at midnight and the finish line was jumping off like a rock show! Lights and everything! So cool!
St George was the 4th Half Ironman Distance triathlon that that I've raced. It is considered one of if not the hardest 70.3 races on the circuit with lots of hills on the bike and the run. With that said, Wildflower Long Course to me felt tougher. It could be that I wasn't as well prepared for Wildflower as I was for this race. I decided trying a new training plan for this race and used Endurance Nation. The volume of the training plan was bit more than I was previously used to so my strength training suffered a bit because I didn't have the time to do both. Never-the-less I felt well prepared for the race and the info from Endurance Nation regarding race execution and planning was invaluable.
Our rental home in St. George. Just a block from T1!
Planning started 5 months out when I rented a house on VRBO.COM close the finish line in St George. I then recruited 6 other Pasadena Triathlon Club(PTC) athletes to stay with me. Turned out to be a great idea. Having a kitchen and fellow athletes to hang out with during the down time was a great! We ended up also having the PTC after party there which was a bonus. The only negative thing that happened me leaving the party early to view the Mayweather\Pacquiao fight. What a disappointment!
Course Reconnaissance
Riding the run course.
Thursday PTC as a group took our bikes and rode the hilly run course. Wow it was going to be a doozy of run! We stopped for a few pictures of the amazing scenery along the way. The run would have lots of climbs in the heat. There was some talk of people wearing cooling towels during the run so that night some of us went to Dick's Sporting goods and picked some up.
Cool group pick in Pioneer Park. Courtesy of Joe Wong
Friday was admin day. We had to drive over to T1 and drop off our bikes. We decided to drive the back half of the bike course, have lunch, then drop the bikes at T1 and do a test swim. It ended up being a long day and by the time we got back we were pressed for time and had to find a place for dinner. Driving around aimlessly we decided on Chuck-A-Rama buffet. I know what you are thinking that a buffet is not a good pre-race meal but it actually was great! I got to pick out the exact protien and sides that I wanted and it was fresh and cheap for only $12. Much better than a saucy filled pasta dish before a race. Highly recommended if you are in St George. I would do it again in a heart beat for a pre-race meal. Got home and had a vodka and orange juice to relax and then hit the sack after watching a little sport center. I actually got 5+ hours of sleep and woke up at 3:45 fresh and ready to go.
Race Report
Pre-race selfie in T1.
Here are some numbers from last 2 half iron distance races and my goal for this race. Note that at Wildflower I died on the run so I expected to do much better than that race.
2014 Wildflower
2014 Vineman
GOAL SPLIT for IMSG
Swim
46:42
45:34
46:00
T1
10:39
04:35
6:00
Bike
3:27:15
2:47:28
3:00:00
T2
04:19
04:10
4:00
Run
2:35:53
1:54:29
2:00:00
Overall
07:04:48
05:36:16
5:56:00
Swim
I anticipated a split time of 46:00. This was the time of my last race rehearsal swim in the pool. I've been putting a lot of time in the pool but haven't really been getting faster. I guess I need some professional help! IMSG was pretty well organized with port-a-potties right next to the staging coral so I was able to be fully empty before my wave started. We all got in the water and only had a minute or two to dog paddle warm up. We anticipated a cold swim but the water wasn't bad at all. I had brought some stretch cords to do on land warm ups but couldn't really find a place to attach them so I left them un-used. That was a probably a mistake because when I started the swim it felt like I couldn't get enough air to match my heart rate. I had to dog paddle at 300yds and 600yds to try and catch my breath and it wasn't until the first turn at the red buoy where my heart rate came down and I could start swimming comfortably. In the end the swim was rather uneventful and I think the dog paddle only cost me a few minutes but it was enough to make me feel like it was a FAIL.
Goal Swim Split 46:00 St George47:07 T1
I was wobbly out of the water and it was a good trek up a ramp so I didn't run it as I wanted to make sure I didn't get any surprise cramps running up the ramp. The wetsuit strippers were great and had my suit off in seconds! I put on my helmet, shoes, sunglasses and stuffed my wetsuit in the collection bag and was on my way. They also had volunteer sunscreeners that were quick and made me feel well protected on the bike out.
Goal T1 Split6:00 St George5:59 Bike
The course was supposed to be tough and it didn't disappoint. I had planned to keep it at around 180-185 watts on the flats and around 220 max on the steeper climbs. I passed Glen and Joe somewhere in the first half and was feeling pretty good. I felt equally strong on the second half of the bike and had to hold back knowing the tough run ahead. The Snow Canyon climb at mile 40-45 really didn't bother me and was over with rather quickly. The descents were beautifully long and I took advantage of them as best I could. I spun out a lot on the downhills, enough to make me want to try a "Semi-Compact" crank to give me a 52 big ring instead of the 50. There was some talk among some club members in the weeks before the race that maybe even a road bike would be better for this race because of all the climbing. I'm glad I had my tri bike as I felt like I was flying by people on road bikes. I basically stuck to my power plan and I think I executed my bike plan to perfection as my goal was a sub 3 hour split. I think I might have not drank enough as I only finished a combined 1 bottle between my down tube bottle and my BTA bottle. I did drink 1/4 to 1/3 of each of the Gatorade bottles they handed out at the aid stations but didn't keep any of them. I had 3 gels on the bike and maybe 6 salt caps. I felt like peeing by the 2nd aid station but held it because the potties were too far from the road. I forgot to pee at the 3rd aid station but still made it to T2 without bursting. NP:175 watts \ IF: 0.72 \ TSS:157 \ Avg Speed: 18.7mph
Goal Split3:00:00 St George 2:58:45 T2
T2 was uneventful. I did fumble a bit to find my hat and get my Chilling Towel wet and around my neck. I started looking for an empty potty on the way out and saw Gregg leaving one. I yelled hi and grabbed his potty. I knew his wave started behind but knew he would pass me as he's a good swimmer. I had to pass him in the run and gap him by more than a few minutes to beat him but wasn't going to hold my breath. I took what seemed like a 5 minute pee and got started on the run.
Goal Split 04:00 St George 02:50
Run Things started getting tough right from the start. The climbing start really hit me as I tried to find my legs after the bike. I started feeling very crampy. I knew the feeling would go away after a mile or two but it was very slow going and had to walk about 10-15 yards at one point to keep from locking up. I downed a couple of salt tabs without water and kept plugging along slowly and by the first aid station the legs started coming back but never felt 100%. The climbing got tough on Red Hill Parkway and it was time to work. It was hot and the cooling towl was a big help but I was still walking through every aid stations getting hydration. I saw Coach Rich flying down the decent as I was climbing around mile 3 and yelled a greeting. I got kind of mad because it seemed like there was an aid station missing between 4 and 6 miles leading into Pioneer Park. Looking back at the run course map it is indeed missing! I passed Gregg around there and tried to keep plugging along. Things started to become a blur in the heat. I remember seeing Steve Mackel and Gabe Peterson on their return leg and wanted to be where they were. The turn around seemed like it came rather quickly but I was deflated by the confusing loop-de-loops on the return leg. I really wanted to keep on track for a 2 hr half marathon but as I got to mile 10 it was apparent that it wasn't going to happen. I still tried to keep to the 3/7/3 strategy (3 miles easy/ 7 mile work/ 3 mile blitz) but I couldn't muster any thing resembling a burst the last 3 miles. I saw a guy in full fireman gear with air tank as well as some people just leaving to start the run during my last couple of miles and thought they wouldn't make it.
Goal Spit2:00:00 St George 2:11:37
Summary
Goal Split
2015 IMSG
Goal Diff
Swim
46:00
47:07
+1:07
T1
6:00
05:59
-0:01
Bike
3:00:00
2:58:45
-1:15
T2
4:00
02:50
-1:10
Run
2:00:00
2:11:37
+11:37
Overall
5:56:00
06:06:18
+10:18
Overall I wasn't too disappointed with my 6:06:18 performance even though I didn't go sub 6 hours. It was pretty tough conditions. Things I learned:
Do some kind of pre-swim warm-up to get the heart rate up.
Cooling towels (Eduracool?) rule on a hot course.
Run harder! - (Easy to say....)
Have an aid station plan. (I drank way too much a couple of times and felt slooshy)
I'm sure walking less through the aid stations would have helped. I need to get serious about watching my diet more and dropping more weight. I'm think taking it easier on the bike would not have helped me on the run because my power plan was conservative compared to my indoor FTP (249). In the future I will do an Outdoor FTP test to make sure my power plan is correct. I had tested all indoors and was unsure if the power accuracy on my Wahoo Kickr matched the Powertap on my bike. I should have tested at least once on Chantry.
Post Race
The PTC after party was great. It was fun trading race stories over adult beverages. I'll link over to Joe's blog as he has it well documented there. A few of us stopped in Vegas for the night before heading home but I have nothing to report about that because what happens in Vegas.....
Checking out the Exotic Car Race Track on the way home.
