Post-Race IM Wisconsin Report
I wasn’t planning on writing another post-race report, but enough folks have asked that I thought I’d give it another whirl. This go-round lacks life-threatening circumstances, but I’ll begin with the dream that started my day…
It was Monday morning after IMWI, and I awoke – again, in my dream, here – not remembering if I finished the race. I remembered getting off the bike, but not starting the run. I was very nervous and was about to check for results online when I realized I was still alive. Hey – at least I didn’t have another PE and at least I didn’t die. I woke up, sitting upright in bed and with a smile on my face, and looked at the clock. It read 4:56am, and I just knew it was going to be a good day.
I realized going into this race that it was going to be tough. Not that any IM isn’t tough. My training had been going phenomenally well, and the fitness was really coming around from my 8-month PE-induced, mall-walking hiatus, but I just hadn’t been doing nearly enough training. My day was going to be about pacing and setting realistic goals, of which I had three:
1. Finish, and break my two-IM race DNF streak, regardless of time
2. Even split the bike
3. Follow my nutrition plan
KP drove me down to the start, and for whatever reason I was unusually calm all the way through the boom of the cannon. The swim was more or less uneventful. I got beat up a bit, as does everyone in an IM swim, but nothing that wasn’t expected. I followed as many feet as I could, and actually had a great time for about the first 45 minutes. Then I started to get tired. The last 1,000 meters seemed to take at least 90 minutes, and I exited the water in 1:07, and I was completely pooped. Pooped, and thrilled to be out of the water.
My plan on the bike was to take it very easy for the first 80 miles, then see how I felt. It was strange, because usually the bike is my strength, and I normally don’t get passed by anyone in an IM (ok, maybe one or two cyclists). On Sunday, however, hundreds of riders whizzed by me during the first 30-40 miles. I knew I wasn’t going that slowly, and I began playing a game, trying to remember what people were wearing, what bikes they were riding, and guessing when I would see them up the road. I kept to my pace and followed my nutrition plan, taking in 14 PowerBar Gels, 6 large bottles of Endurance beverage (this stuff is amazing - I used exclusively this entire year and never got tired of it), 2 bottles of water, and a Pop Tart (don’t ask). I ended up positive splitting the bike by less than a minute and a half, and got off feeling far better than I ever have at an IM. Funny thing was, my 5:42 bike was only 20-25 minutes slower than usual, so I guess it goes to show you what even pacing can do. Of course, I’ll be sure not to learn from this experience and I’ll go back to making my normal mistakes next time…
The run…well, the run was where it got ugly. Again, I expected this, and had planned accordingly. Usually I have a pretty specific goal and plan in mind, but I knew the run could turn into anything given my lack of run training. I pretty much guessed my swim and bike times within 3-5 minutes, but I was thinking the run could be anywhere from a 3:30 to, say, 7.5 hours. And I’m not joking here.
The plan was to run for a mile and follow it with a minute of walking until the wheels came off. Well, by mile 3 the wheels were getting loose, by mile 5 they were falling off, and by mile 14 they had rolled off the road, down into a steep gully, and burst into flames. At mile 14, I needed a break and I decided to walk for an entire mile. This, I reasoned at the time, would serve two purposes: first, it would give me a chance to pull it back together mentally and physically, and second, it would allow me to figure out a worst-case scenario in terms of time. At any of my previous IM races, I would have dropped out if faced with the decision to walk for several miles, but not on this day: I was going to finish even if it meant walking the final 12 miles.
Between miles 14 and 15 I came up with a plan: I would alternate walking/running for 1-minute, gradually extending the time I spent running until I was back up to my mile run followed by a minute walk. This worked flawlessly…for one mile. I made it through 15 with my 1-minute run/walk intervals, but when I attempted my first 2-minute run/1-minute walk interval at mile 16, I only got 1 minute into the run before I realized that was about as much as I could mentally handle. So, I ended up alternating 1-minute run/walk intervals from mile 15 to the finish. Not especially proud of it, but there you go…it got me to the finish in 11:20:16, and I was happier than I have ever been at the finish of an IM.
I also saw Andy, Megan, KP, Steven, Amy – a bunch of friends – at several points along the course, and this really helped. Nothing like seeing a familiar face cheering you on to keep you going – thanks guys!
Even though I set a personal worst IM time by 40+ minutes, I can honestly say this was the best IM race I have ever had. I met my three goals, and I raced within and to the best of my abilities. Overall, I am extremely happy with my race.
I’d like to end by saying I’m smart enough to enjoy my accomplishment, to take a break from the distance, to return to a ‘normal’ and more balanced life. But I can’t…I have IM CDA just 9 months away, so I’ll need to start training again soon. J
I wasn’t planning on writing another post-race report, but enough folks have asked that I thought I’d give it another whirl. This go-round lacks life-threatening circumstances, but I’ll begin with the dream that started my day…
It was Monday morning after IMWI, and I awoke – again, in my dream, here – not remembering if I finished the race. I remembered getting off the bike, but not starting the run. I was very nervous and was about to check for results online when I realized I was still alive. Hey – at least I didn’t have another PE and at least I didn’t die. I woke up, sitting upright in bed and with a smile on my face, and looked at the clock. It read 4:56am, and I just knew it was going to be a good day.
I realized going into this race that it was going to be tough. Not that any IM isn’t tough. My training had been going phenomenally well, and the fitness was really coming around from my 8-month PE-induced, mall-walking hiatus, but I just hadn’t been doing nearly enough training. My day was going to be about pacing and setting realistic goals, of which I had three:
1. Finish, and break my two-IM race DNF streak, regardless of time
2. Even split the bike
3. Follow my nutrition plan
KP drove me down to the start, and for whatever reason I was unusually calm all the way through the boom of the cannon. The swim was more or less uneventful. I got beat up a bit, as does everyone in an IM swim, but nothing that wasn’t expected. I followed as many feet as I could, and actually had a great time for about the first 45 minutes. Then I started to get tired. The last 1,000 meters seemed to take at least 90 minutes, and I exited the water in 1:07, and I was completely pooped. Pooped, and thrilled to be out of the water.
My plan on the bike was to take it very easy for the first 80 miles, then see how I felt. It was strange, because usually the bike is my strength, and I normally don’t get passed by anyone in an IM (ok, maybe one or two cyclists). On Sunday, however, hundreds of riders whizzed by me during the first 30-40 miles. I knew I wasn’t going that slowly, and I began playing a game, trying to remember what people were wearing, what bikes they were riding, and guessing when I would see them up the road. I kept to my pace and followed my nutrition plan, taking in 14 PowerBar Gels, 6 large bottles of Endurance beverage (this stuff is amazing - I used exclusively this entire year and never got tired of it), 2 bottles of water, and a Pop Tart (don’t ask). I ended up positive splitting the bike by less than a minute and a half, and got off feeling far better than I ever have at an IM. Funny thing was, my 5:42 bike was only 20-25 minutes slower than usual, so I guess it goes to show you what even pacing can do. Of course, I’ll be sure not to learn from this experience and I’ll go back to making my normal mistakes next time…
The run…well, the run was where it got ugly. Again, I expected this, and had planned accordingly. Usually I have a pretty specific goal and plan in mind, but I knew the run could turn into anything given my lack of run training. I pretty much guessed my swim and bike times within 3-5 minutes, but I was thinking the run could be anywhere from a 3:30 to, say, 7.5 hours. And I’m not joking here.
The plan was to run for a mile and follow it with a minute of walking until the wheels came off. Well, by mile 3 the wheels were getting loose, by mile 5 they were falling off, and by mile 14 they had rolled off the road, down into a steep gully, and burst into flames. At mile 14, I needed a break and I decided to walk for an entire mile. This, I reasoned at the time, would serve two purposes: first, it would give me a chance to pull it back together mentally and physically, and second, it would allow me to figure out a worst-case scenario in terms of time. At any of my previous IM races, I would have dropped out if faced with the decision to walk for several miles, but not on this day: I was going to finish even if it meant walking the final 12 miles.
Between miles 14 and 15 I came up with a plan: I would alternate walking/running for 1-minute, gradually extending the time I spent running until I was back up to my mile run followed by a minute walk. This worked flawlessly…for one mile. I made it through 15 with my 1-minute run/walk intervals, but when I attempted my first 2-minute run/1-minute walk interval at mile 16, I only got 1 minute into the run before I realized that was about as much as I could mentally handle. So, I ended up alternating 1-minute run/walk intervals from mile 15 to the finish. Not especially proud of it, but there you go…it got me to the finish in 11:20:16, and I was happier than I have ever been at the finish of an IM.
I also saw Andy, Megan, KP, Steven, Amy – a bunch of friends – at several points along the course, and this really helped. Nothing like seeing a familiar face cheering you on to keep you going – thanks guys!
Even though I set a personal worst IM time by 40+ minutes, I can honestly say this was the best IM race I have ever had. I met my three goals, and I raced within and to the best of my abilities. Overall, I am extremely happy with my race.
I’d like to end by saying I’m smart enough to enjoy my accomplishment, to take a break from the distance, to return to a ‘normal’ and more balanced life. But I can’t…I have IM CDA just 9 months away, so I’ll need to start training again soon. J
