• I caught a head cold during race week. I didn’t feel sick and my energy was high, but I did have significant congestion.
• Race day was really, really hot. The heat index reached 101 F. I expected the heat but hadn’t been able to train in conditions this severe.
• My finish time was 5:25. My goal was 5:00.
Swim:
• It was long and we couldn’t wear wetsuits. There’s been enough documented about that. I wasn’t very smooth in the first few hundred meters, but eventually settled down and counted strokes. Enough said.
Bike:
• You can see from the power profile that my peak hour was in the front half of the ride (1st shaded region), after a warm-up period.
• My peak 30 minutes started at the midway point of the ride (2nd shaded region). I was preparing to set up a negative split.
• Around mile 40 Chris Walz caught me and streaked passed. Right on his heels was a group of 5 riders of somewhat equal ability. They caught me and I got stuck in their pack. My power numbers dropped off because I decided to stay within the group. My only other options were to blast through to the front or to coast for a significant period of time and let them go. Both of those options seemed foolish. We all did our best to maintain four bike lengths but still found ourselves playing leap frog. It all seemed OK to the race official who spent some time watching. I focused on staying hydrated and as cool as possible.
• I finished the ride with TSS = 143, NP = 200, IF = .75, VI = 1.02 at a little under 2:32. I ran well during my last race rehearsal after a more aggressive effort of IF = .82. I really thought I was headed for a strong run.
Run:
• I stuck to plan on the front half of the run, going quite slowly for the first three miles. I ran my target paces through the next six miles but took as long as a full minute walking through aid stations, compared to my plan of 15 seconds.
• Somewhere between mile 9 and town I started to develop a significant pain in my upper back and had some trouble catching my breath. It felt like asthma and I grew paranoid about having a major attack. For the remainder of the run I took turns walking and then jogging after the pain subsided. The pain would come back quickly after running again and I spent an awful amount of time walking those last three miles. Really disappointing.
Nutrition:
• Breakfast of 1-1/2 bagels with peanut butter, banana, and coffee around 4:30 to 4:45.
• Sipped water between 4:30-ish and 6:30.
• About 20 minutes before my wave I took a gel and some water.
• During the ride I drank about 550 cals of Infinit, which is basically the Ironman formulation. I drank a ton of water and poured a lot over my head. I opted for my vented helmet in lieu of aero due to the heat.
• During the run I popped a total 4 Hammer Endurolytes and alternated water / ice and Gatorade / ice at the aid stations.
• I did pee at mile 4 of the run, so really think I hydrated better than most.
Lessons Learned:
• Either estimated my cycling functional threshold too high or had physical issues from the combination of the heat & my head cold (or a little of both).
• Though I dialed the ride way back, it wasn’t enough in the heat. I rode IF .75 versus my rehearsals of .82 - .83.
• I did not measure heart rate during the race. If I did I probably would have noticed that my cycling effort was too high. Won't make this mistake at IM Louisville.
• Gained valuable experience racing in the heat, which is likely to be the case at IM Louisville in August.
• “The One Thing:” I need to figure it out between now and August 29. It’s going to matter.
Call to Action:
I’m worried that I have some giant blind spot. Anyone out there see anything else?
