2017 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACE REPORT

2017 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
RACE REPORT

KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII

OCTOBER 14, 2017

The following is my race report for the Ironman World Championship race held on the Big Island (Hawaii).  It is a long race report as I start back when I qualified in late September of 2016 and carry forward to the actual race.  I hope it’s not too boring and that the reader can take away some tidbit of information that either helps them prepare for their next race or simply enjoy reading what the experience was like.  I broke it with titles for various topics, so you can skip to whatever you may prefer to read.  This is simply to provide insight to the approach I took and what the race was like, but I emphasize there are many ways (many probably better) to reach the finish line successfully other than mine.  The key is to have fun doing it.

QUALIFYING FOR IMWC

My qualifying race was at Ironman Chattanooga in 2016.  I’d trained very hard for it over the previous six months.  It was a hot day hitting 97 degrees which is unusual for Chattanooga in late September.  The day went well for me, and I took away a lot of ideas for how to approach Kona when I race it.  It was my 8^th Ironman, so I’d been working towards this day for seven years.

MONTHS LEADING UP TO IMWC

I started training in earnest in January of 2017.  I was lucky enough to have qualified for the Boston Marathon, so I started the year heavily run based.  I ran the Tallahassee Half Marathon in February as a build up to Boston and had a personal best.  I’d been running between 40 and 50 miles on my build weeks while mixing in some swimming, cycling and weights.  I didn’t quite hit my goal at Boston, but still had a solid race.

After Boston, I had 6 months until the IMWC.  I got a little loose and training fell off for a month or so.  But it then picked up to a solid level in middle to late May.  I had started training with groups at the beginning of the year, and this made all the difference in the world.  I’d always trained as a lone wolf for the last 7 years in triathlon and my whole life in running.  Training with others gave me an enjoyment that I’d never experienced.  I’d been coaching myself for a number of years with very specific workouts each day.  I now took a totally different approach and just planned to do whatever workouts my friends were doing.  My closest friends are a group we all like to call the “A Team”.  They have brought a light to my life that I’d not experienced in years.  I owe my success this year to their influence and support.  They are the group that gets me out of bed every day.

TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK

My typical training week involved 4 swims (+/-12,500 yd), 4 bikes (150 – 200 miles), 4 runs (30 – 45 miles) and 1 to 2 strength days (35 min per session).  In terms of hours, I probably ranged anywhere from 13 up to 18 hours per week with recovery weeks at 8 to 11 hours.  I did some kind of workout every single day from May to race day with the exception of maybe 5 days.  I typically did the build process of 4 week rounds.  Week 1 was heavy, week 2 heavier, week 3 heaviest, week 4 recovery.  It spanned over periods of base, build, peak and race.  This was 5:30 am group swims on M/W/F, super long swim on Sunday.  Track intervals on Tuesdays at 6:30 am.  Eight mile group run at 5 am on Thursdays.  13 to 20 mile steady/hard run solo which covered a mixture of sidewalks/roads/trails on Friday afternoons.  Group rides were on Saturday or Sunday depending if there was a race Saturday.  Rides would range from 40 to 100 miles.  I often would start early before the others and meet up with them for my last portion of my long rides.  Longish run on Sundays.  Bike workouts on the trainer were in the evenings starting around 6:30 pm after work on Mondays (recovery spin), Tuesdays (super hard bike of tempo & threshold), and Thursdays (drills + tempo).  Strength days were Wednesday evenings and, sometimes, Friday afternoons.  I also started doing +/-120 pushups and +/-120 situps every day on June 1.  I missed maybe 3 or 4 days until mid-September.  I totaled 5 rides over 100 miles with one hitting 113.  I had maybe two or three runs over 20 miles.

Throughout this, I raced local 5Ks and nearby sprint to Olympic triathlons to keep it fun.  I even did a 1 mile race on a track and PRed that (4:32) beating my high school best time.  I am a very big believer in keeping high intensity, short distance work incorporated in training no matter the goal race distance.  I never had any injury issues throughout which is very lucky in a lot of ways.  One downside was sleep deprivation.  I averaged between 5.5 to 6 hours of sleep per night which was a challenge.  I am a big coffee drinker, so that is what carried me through the days.  I would average at least 7 cups of coffee per day which is probably much too high.

Two of my toughest training days were what I like to call the Crazy Brick and The Big Day.  I’ve used these as go-to workouts for years.  The Crazy Brick typically falls about 60 days (+/-9 weeks) out from race day.  It is made up of the following: Start around 6:30 am or so.  2 hour bike, 40 min run, 1.5 hour bike, 30 min run, 1 hour bike, 20 min run, 30 min bike, 10 min run.  The goal is to hold race speed throughout and possibly negative split.  Transition time between the sports is to be kept to a minimum.  The Big Day falls about 45 days (+/-7 weeks) out from race day.  It goes as follows:  Hit pool (open water is even better if you have access) at 7 am and swim for 1 hour straight at race effort.  Immediately drive out to location to park and start bike.  Start bike by 9 am and ride 5 hours at race effort.  Rest max of 1 hour, then start 2 hour run at race effort.  The day totals to 8 hour of workout and simulates an Ironman without hitting the full distance.  Race day nutrition and equipment is to be practiced throughout.  On both of these big workouts, I’d take a large cooler and fill with more fluids and nutrition than needed.  The Crazy Brick worked well to do out-and-backs so that all nutrition was waiting at the truck.  I did these on HOT days to simulate what Kona may offer up.  The main key to these workouts is mental focus.  No matter how tired you get, keep your eye on the prize and remember why you are doing this.  That drove me through the down moments and made the high moments that much higher.  Without vision to your goal, you have nothing.

MENTAL STRENGTH, CONFIDENCE AND VISUALIZATION

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am big on visualization.  This goes with everything in life – work, sports, coaching, etc.  If you can’t see what your end goal is, then you are shooting blind.  In my mind, I worked backwards from the finish line to the present I was in at that moment.  I then filled in the gap of months between.  Throughout, I visualized myself on the lava fields with gusting winds and blazing sun. I saw the pros.  I saw the age groupers passing me.  I saw things that went wrong.  I saw things that went right.  I knew there would be problems that would happen before they happened.  Growing up, I did this in all sports, and I swear I had times where I caught a line drive in baseball or stole a ball in basketball that I’d already seen happen in my mind.  It is practiced de ja vu in a sense.

We all set limits on ourselves mentally.  It is how we break those limits that allows us to move to the next level.  I’ve found the harder it gets, the more you learn.  There are so many inspirations out there for us to use as a guide and build upon.  I’ve always believed Michael Jordan was the true master of mental strength which then allowed him to do amazing physical things.  He, in my mind, is the greatest athlete I’ve ever witnessed.  A true champion mentally and physically.  And I always thought John Wooden is the greatest coach, and one of the greatest leaders and teachers, in sports.  He taught his players not only to be great basketball players, but more importantly to be great people.  The graduation rate of his players was over 95% which is phenomenal in itself.  He enabled them to break many, many barriers, which inspires me to this day.

NUTRITION

As for food, I had a pretty consistent schedule.  I ate Greek yogurt every morning with honey, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and raspberries.  It was probably a half pound I’d eat.  I never ate before the morning workouts – just after.  I’d only drink coffee before – not even sports drinks.  I always drank some Gatorade after the workouts.  I typically liked to eat sandwiches and chips for lunch.  I also drink a lot of whole milk (this south Georgia boy likes sugar).  Throughout the day I snacked on bananas, nuts and snack bars.  For dinner, it was a mixture of homemade pizza, grilled chicken or grilled steak with two vegetables, crock pot boston butt, and/or Mexican night.  Booze was pretty controlled at maybe 2 to 4 beers a week and maybe a martini mixed in (with the exception of Devil Takes the Hindmost - ouch!!!).  I never weighed myself throughout my training as I didn’t really care as long as my body felt good and could fit into my speedo.

TECHNOLOGY

I bought a lot of toys this year (thanks a lot to the bad, bad influence of Jeff Spicoli – I mean – Mike Weyant).  He convinced me to purchase the Garmin 735 along with the Garmin Edge 520 which turned out to be very, very helpful.  I’m not real tech savvy, but I do like to see the numbers I generate as a way to better understand where I was, where I am and where I want to go.  With this technology and the wonderful program of Training Peaks (I’m a big fan of TP), I could review all of my data on the computer including heart rate, power, speed, elevation gain, cadence, routes, and much more.  I really liked reviewing my PMC (Performance Management Chart) to see where my fitness and fatigue were.  It was surprisingly accurate in matching to how my body felt.

DAYS LEADING UP TO RACE

I flew out to Hawaii the Sunday before the race to give myself time to acclimate to the 6 hour time difference from the east coast.  I was in a condo within a ½ - ¾ mile walk of the swim start, so that was convenient. My bike had been damaged just before shipping out to Hawaii which I didn’t realize.  As soon as it arrived, the bike shop informed me and the scramble was on.  Mike put me in touch with the CEO of Quintana Roo, who just happened to have a rental that was cancelled.  Miraculously, it was my size.  I locked it in, and was able to get it on Monday before the race.  I had two test rides on it which really helped.  But I wouldn’t have power which I’d trained on.  I got three test swims on the course which was great.  They had a coffee boat a bit out where you could swim up and get a free small cup coffee.  No wonder I swam three times. It had to do while I was away from my morning swim coffees with my big “sis” Steph. Also ran a bit on the course – maybe twice.  Otherwise, I laid low and relaxed.  My folks flew in from Georgia and my bro from NYC on Wednesday and Thursday.  It was great having them there for support.

Entrance to the "Energy Lab" that is mile 16 of the run.

Welcome Dinner for Athletes

View as one enters the start to the swim.

I watched the Parade of Nations. This is quite fantastic to see all the countries represented by athletes.  It totaled 66 countries ranging from Russia to Panama to Australia and beyond.  The Australians and Brazilians were hands down the liveliest.  I also participated in the Underpants run.  It is thousands of people in underwear which is pretty hilarious.  Proceeds from it benefit the local community there.

The Aussies

The week finally reached Friday night before the race.  I’d already checked my bike and bags.  They treated us all like pros.  They give each athlete their own volunteer who guides us through transition.  This is mostly for security, but it is also very helpful and relaxing.  It was amazing to see the bikes in transition which is as tight as any transition I’ve ever been in.  It was my lucky day, too, in that I got a spot at the end of the rack.  I got to bed by 9 pm or so and slept like a rock.

Sweet bike rack location.

PRE RACE

The check in was very slow as they are only letting one athlete in at a time for body marking where they apply the numbers to the arm. And they don’t put age on the calves which I liked. They then weighed each of us for medical purposes.  We finally got out to an open area where we could mill about and hop in a tiny bay to do some warm up swim.  At some point I heard the cannon go off for the Pro men and then the Pro women.  It then got to be time for the age group men to enter the water…..

SWIM

Distance:  2.4 miles

Time:  1:02:30 (1:37/100m)

Equipment:  Swim cap, Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 Goggles, Castelli sleeved tri suit, TYR speed suit (brand new)

Nutrition:  Nothing in swim.  Ate yogurt w/ fruit 45 min before and drank Gatorade and coffee leading up to start

Start Time:  7:05 am Hawaiian time

  Training Peaks map showing my swim route.

The swim is about an epic of a start as can be imagined.  It is in Kailua Bay where thousands of people cram to the edge of the water to observe.  We had to swim around 200 yards or so out to the start line.  On my way out, I turned to look at the crowd on the edge of the wall and soak it all in.  I realized that all of my training had led up to this moment.  This was really happening, and I was fired up.  I felt strong and my head was clear.  I eased over to the far left side of the start line where it was less congested.  I’d gotten to the front of the line where the surf boards go back and forth to keep us from edging out.  It would be a longer swim but with less banging.  Just before the canon went off, the Hawaiian drums started beating and all of the age group men let out a loud roar and you could feel the energy.  Within moments after that, the cannon blasted.  I immediately sprinted to establish a spot and was surprised to find I found some open water.  That lasted a short time as space collapsed all around me.  From there on, it was banging on any side.  But it was respectful and no one tried to drown each other.  It was unlike past races in that all the swimmers around me were just as good as me.  So the guys I was next to at 10 minutes into the swim were next to me at 50 minutes into the swim.  I caught some drafts and was getting drafted throughout.  We were just a mass of people moving along.  On the final span in along the pier, it got a bit chippy with some more aggressive swimming.  I held my own and came out okay

TRANSITION 1

Time:  0:04:30

I ran up the steps, grabbed my bag (which they hang on a hook) and went into the tent. I took my sweet time in transition.  It is tightly packed on the pier in how they stack the bikes.  I ran the whole way through, but when in the changing tent, I took time to put on sunscreen and get my socks on properly along with all clothing and nutrition right where it needed to be.

Swim to bike bags in transition 1.

Heading through T1 with the bike.

BIKE

Distance:  112 miles

Time:  5:15:46 (21.3 mph)

Equipment:  Castelli sleeved tri suit, Quintana Roo PR Six with electronic shifters (last minute rental), Reynolds race wheels (similar to Zipp 808s), Shimano TR9 bike shoes, socks, Look pedals, Rudy Project helmet with built in visor, Profile Design aerobottle (9 years old), 20 oz bottle in bottle cage

Nutrition:  Started with Lemon lime Gatorade in aerobottle (+/-15 oz for +/-110 cal), concentrated mix of Fruit Punch Accelerade in 20 oz bottle (5 scoops at 120 cal ea for +/-600 cal), plastic baggy in bento box on top tube holding 4 bars of loose Clif blocks (24 indiv cubes total for +/-800 cal), Base salt in small, pop top capsule in tri uniform.  Over the course, I took Gatorade at every station to top off aerobottle and chug some.  Drank some water at most stations.

Training Peaks map showing my bike.  Climb to Hawi is the big grey bump in middle.

The bike course is known to be very fickle.  It can be slightly windy or very windy, but you don’t know where and when the wind will hit.  It also has a deceptively large amount of elevation gain at what is listed as over 5,000 feet.  Winds can go from a head wind to a tail wind in a short time or vice a versa.  There are no super steep hills other than a decent climb right out of transition.  You then descend that same hill hitting the mid 30s mph followed by the steepest climb up Palani Drive.  It is then out onto the Queen K highway.  This is where the athletes are fully exposed to the sun and wind for pretty much the remainder of the bike portion.  There were times I was moving at 28 mph on flats with a tail wind.  At others I was down to 14 mph on flats.  It was all about racing within yourself and always feeling like you could go harder.  I was being passed in droves over the first 40 miles.  It felt like I was passed by 15 riders for every one that I passed in that span.  There was some level of drafting, but it didn’t seem like they were really trying to do it.  It was more a result of there being so many great athletes going at similar speeds.  The race officials were all over the place and were penalizing a lot of riders.  In our pre-race briefing, the head race official guaranteed they would give out over 200 penalties.  At about mile 20, I saw a good omen.  It was in the middle of the lava fields, and I looked over to an outcropping on which stood a goat like a statue.  One of our A Team, Jillian, is referred to as “Billy Goat” because she climbs hills super hard.  So I knew the bike was going to be good.  At around 53 miles, the infamous “Climb to Hawi” begins.  It is a 7 mile span that is mostly all uphill and into a headwind.  You see a mile marker sign with “Hawi 7” and the winds almost immediately hit.  We were all down to 10 or 12 mph in portions of this span.  I started to pass some people here who had gone a bit too hard or had been much faster on the swim than me.  By the time I got to the turnaround at mile 60 in Hawi, I was feeling good.  I skipped the special needs bag and put the hammer down to take advantage of downhill and a tailwind.  At one point, on a slight downhill, I was rolling at over 41 mph in aero position.  The view out to the right was across the Pacific Ocean which was amazing (on a later day when driving, I saw whales leaping out of the ocean in the distance from the same span).  The wind was a tail and cross wind.  So the trick was to watch the cyclists in front of you.  When they suddenly swerved to the side of the road for no reason, you knew a big cross wind was coming.  So you just brace yourself and get ready for it.  Over the final 40 miles of the ride, the sun was really baking us and people were starting to fade hard.  I’d held back well enough that I felt quite good.  I was passing a lot more than were passing me at this point, so it felt good mentally.  I get hot spots on the balls of my feet in a bad way.  It usually starts at mile 80 or 90 and can be excruciating by the end.  At Kona, they have aid stations ever 7 miles which was a life saver.  At every single stop, I grabbed a bottle of water, put in bottle rack.  Then I grabbed a Gatorade bottle and filled aerobottle, then tossed.  Then I grabbed another water bottle and sprayed my left foot fully, my right foot fully then doused my face, head and core fully, then tossing.  I drank off the other water bottle while spraying myself until the next station while drinking the Gatorade.  I think I peed three or four times on the bike which was a good sign.  The winds picked up over the final 20 or so miles, and we had to put our head down and grit it out.  Once back to the town, it was nice to use the final two miles to spin out a bit and get mentally ready for the run.  I knew I’d held back on the bike and had plenty left in the tank.

Overall, I probably took in over 2,000 calories on the bike since I started with the 1,500 calories and drank a lot of Gatorade on course.  I would say I averaged out to an intake of 380-400 calories per hour.  I also took two “thumb touches” of Base salt every 45 minutes or so.

TRANSITION 2

Time:  0:05:44

Again, I took my time.  I felt really good dismounting from the bike and handing it off to the volunteer.  I ran through transition and legs were almost fresh feeling.  Once with my bag and in the tent, I switched socks, dried off, put on all of my run equipment and then stopped by a table to apply sunscreen all over again.  Sunscreen at this race is paramount with the exposure it has to the sun.  It was then off to the run.

RUN

Distance: 26.2 miles

Time: 3:18:51 (7:36/mile)

Equipment: Brooks Hyperion Shoes (almost brand new), socks, headband, Castelli sleeved tri suit, free IM sunglasses picked up at some past race, race belt with number

Nutrition:  Started with two strawberry Clif Gels and one capsule of Base salt.  Over the course, I took water, ice and Gatorade at every stop.  At probably 4 or 5 stations, I drank Coke.  Ate four Clif shots over the course.  Ate one full clif block over the course.

Training Peaks map of my run.  Every single water stop is shown by the dip in green line.

Heading up Palani Drive out of T2 just before my

brother's high five almost ripped my arm off.

The run takes a quick shot up Palani before turning right and eventually working down to Ali’i Drive for an out-and-back.  On the way out, my brother gave me a high five that about ripped my arm off.  After that, I decided no more high fives.  I had Base salt and two Clif gels that Jillian had given to me.  I’d never used them before, but I went for it anyway.  Luckily, they turned out to be fantastic.  I ate one at 4 miles and then at 8 miles.  I was actually a bit hungry.  Somewhere around mile 5 I dropped my Base salt and didn’t realize it. At mile 8, I realized the insoles of my shoes were curling from under my forefoot and wrapping to the top.  This was annoying, but I ran through it.  The pain kind of numbed out after a few miles and it became a non-issue from there on out.  People were dying on the run, so I was passing them one after the next which felt good.  The heat and sun were fully out with temps in the 80s.  I had a process I followed at every aid station (25 total).  I’d grab 2 – 3 cups of water and dump them on me and drink some.  Grab 3 cups of ice and dump in my uniform.  Grab one or two Gatorades and drink them.  And keep going.  Ice sponges were mixed in, too.  I believe all of this saved me at IMChoo and it saved me here.  So at mile 9 you come back into town and work your way to Palani Drive.  This is where it is a very steep climb up to the Queen K.  I made it up pretty well passing a lot of walkers.  When on the Queen K, I saw the Base salt tent and grabbed two capsules from them which was perfect timing.  The next portion of the race I relished.  It was full sun through the lava fields.  I knew all the summer months of Florida training would pay off.  I concentrated on taking what felt like tiny steps to keep high cadence and avoid the charley-horses I always get.  I was seeing pros headed back towards town. I had some rough patches here and there.  But I wasn’t about to slow down knowing a ton of people back home were watching a little dot move across their phone screen representing my speed on the IM tracking app (no pressure right?).  At mile 16, I then made the turn and started down towards the Energy lab.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected.  It is a span of maybe 3 to 4 miles.  On the hill in and out, one group had freezing cold ice sponges the size of a football.  I dumped two over my head that took my breath away.  The climb out is what gets a lot of people because it is uphill without much wind to cool off.  I made it out of there and was soon down to a 10K to go.  At this point it was no guts, no glory.  I just pushed to my limits trying not to cramp up.  I was then down to a 5K and gave it all I had.  The last part of the Queen K is a slight uphill and then the runners go down Palani Drive which becomes a massive downhill.  With about one mile left, my left hamstring and right calf totally locked up simultaneously.  I was hopping and probably looked like an ostrich with a broken leg.  I stopped, worked it out and then took off again.  After a couple of turns, we were emptied onto the famous finish chute along Ali’i Drive.  The crowds are thick and full of energy.  At this point, the athletes are literally carried by the energy coming from the crowd.  Once I was in eyeshot of the finish line, I stuck both hands out and weaved back and forth giving fives to all the outstretched hands.  It was pretty magical.  Fully on my mind at this point were my blood family, my friends and all of my Tallahassee family back home who supported me.  That support had allowed me to be here on this day and to have this experience.  Crossing that line represented the pinnacle of my racing career.  My place didn’t matter.  I was just honored to be a part of this renowned event. I will always cherish it and never forget it.

FINISH

Time:  9:47:18 (4:52 pm Hawaii time)

This race is an experience that leaves a mark on all that get to be part of it whether racing or spectating.  The beauty and harshness of the Big Island are like no other.  To think you are racing with the best in the world on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a quite a thing for the mind to absorb.  Thanks to everyone who supported me, especially my family and the A Team.  Love you all.

Mom and Pops with a support sign.

Pops and Willy with a sign that I thought said "GC, OJ" when I ran by it. Was confusing.

Top of the Big Island (on Mauna Kea with Mauna Loa in distance) over the cloud bank.