IM RSA Race Report (1 of 2)

As I was nearing the end of my run I was thinking about the mistakes I made during the race.  This helped me push to the finish with a strong last couple kilometers.  So, below, is a list of top 10 mistakes people can make before/during an IM.  I've answered them to see how many I made, not as many as I thought, which is nice, but the ones I did make, made a difference.

1) OVERTRAINING 
 Didn’t make this mistake, as I was not looking forward to tapering and I was “low” on volume for this build.  

(2) POOR DIET 
50/50 here.  I have been much better since when I first arrived in the UAE, but it can always be better.  At least I am not eating fried foods anymore and more veg.

(3) IMPROPER FINAL WEEK PREPARATION 
This was good. I did fly in late, but there was only 2 time zone difference and that was favorable for me going -2 hours (East to West).

(4) IMPROPER PRE-RACE HYDRATION 
Good here too.  I carried my water bottle around, not drinking too much and keeping the pee clear.

(5)  IMPROPER RACE-EVE PREPARATION 
Got the swim/bike done early, bike check in was later due to the large cue.  However, while checking in my bike I picked up a thorn, flat rear tubular.  Very unhappy about this as it was getting dark and I needed to get food and get off my feet.  I took it to the bike guys, they fixed it while I went and bought the last tubie at the Expo.  Pretty stressful, because now I thought I needed and extra spare for special needs.  The bike guys said they would have some in the morning if I wanted to get another.  They didn’t, but would be on the course if I did need help.  I didn’t but I thought my front was leaking the whole time.  The roads are super rough here.  Like uneven chip seal, makes Wildflower chip seal feel like butter!  It was good that my tyres were slightly under inflated.  They recommend 23mm, my 19mm Contis might have made it rougher than need be.  In addition, it might have been wise to wear the compression socks during the bike leg to battle the jarring road and reduce leg fatigue. 

(6) POOR SWIM STRATEGY 
Two loop counterclockwise swim in a rectangular shape.  The sea was relatively flat compared to the days prior.  The swells were a bit large, but the sea was calm, if that makes sense.  With largish swells it made finding the giant triangle buoy 700m away difficult sometimes, requiring several sight attempts or head up swimming.  Not that big of a deal, but going out slightly too fast in the first 300m was.  First lap was a bit fast for what I thought I should be doing, so I settled down for the second. 

(7) MISTAKES IN TRANSITION 
No mistakes here and right around 2 minutes for each considering a longish route through T1/T2.  I did complimented on the best sunburn so far coming off the bike!  I’m not really burnt, as it doesn’t feel bad right now.

(8) GOING OUT WAAAAY TOO FAST ON THE BIKE 
Relax!! But, I didn’t…    I pretty much didn’t believe my PowerTap for the first lap…bad idea.  I reset it everyday before the race and again in the first lap.  However, it was right and I paid for it on the second lap.  It was just so easy, I mean disgusting easy for the watts, but it was the speed that was low, which is why I didn’t believe it.  No one was passing me really, but still.   Shortly before the first lap was over, my legs were hurting.  Knowing that is was in for a long day if that kept up I relaxed and went in and out drafting people.  They were really strict, so it was mostly legal.  It was hard to go fast on the really rough section, which was almost 30km long.  Enter the second lap, I was feeling better picking up speed, nutrition going well, but stomach ache every drink.  It took me until then to discover I had shorted myself 50cal/hour.  Each bottle contained 28oz water with 250cal, needed 300cal.  So, I drank a lot of water, never peed.  I had one gel and that made the pains go away and my new bottles much have been slightly more concentrated (special needs – 3 new bottles) because those were less painful to drink.  I was also drinking water every 20km at the aide stations…which I maybe I shouldn’t have, but I still didn’t pee, so I guess I needed the water.  

Question:  Comparing someone coming from cold to race in hot vs. going from hot to race in hot; given they both drink 28oz of water/hour during the bike...who is going to pee more?  Rather, why didn't I pee drinking that much water?  

(9) ABSOLUTELY NO RUN PLAN 
I planned to run 5min/km, which is a 3:30.  I really believed with my training this time around I could do this.  My heart rate was near 150 the whole bike, and stayed there for the run.  I slowed down after the first 4:30min km, felt really slow which gave me confidence.  I quickly lost it as my legs were not coming around after 10km.  Loops really suck when you aren’t in it mentally.  I was down on nutrition from the bike, but was keeping on target for the run.  Somewhere around 20km I wanted to quit, but Jen wouldn’t let me.  I was feeling very fatigued, but she said I looked fine.  I never did find a good excuse to quit, nor did I find a good one to keep going.  Again, I lost the mental battle.  Of course in hindsight, I could have been 5^th in AG if I would have walked less and maybe ran into 4^th… It's over and done with now.     

(10) ABSOLUTELY NO EATING-DRINKING PLAN FOR THE RUN 
I had a plan, it just didn’t involve being down calories on the bike…  The last 10km I tried to see how much coke was too much.  I drank coke every two kilometers, and was fine, so that’s good news.  I also think I could have run a much quicker marathon if I could get my head in the game.  I really didn’t want to finish injuring myself, as my Achilles bothered me off and on lately, for France. 

By the numbers:

SWIM                 56:54

BIKE                  5:12:24

RUN                  4:09:03

OVERALL           10:22:59

OV RANK           60^th

AG                    6^th

I am happy with my swim/bike (both PRs) and obviously dissapppoited with my run.  Guess what I will be working on fro France?  Although I have said that I am working on my run for 4 IMs now...  Thanks to Jen for not letting me quit.  I would have regretted it big time, she gently reminded me of that.  Thank you everyone from afar cheering, ringing cow bells and whatever else, it was much appreciated.