http://happyvalleyironman.blogspot.com/...ake-placid-2016.html
Friday, July 29, 2016
[/url]Ironman Lake Placid 2016
Race Report...
I suppose I write these things more as a journal/scrapbook of the event, so hopefully one day when I'm old I can remember when I was in great shape. Read on if you like.
This was my 8th Ironman. 10 years in the sport.
M45-49
THURSDAY:
Finished last 24 hour on call and drove to Lake Placid from Central PA. Good drive, Tracie, the girls in tow. Our lodging was at the Whiteface Lodge, somewhat away from the commotion of the race. I would highly recommend this place, lovely. After a long drive, I like to do a short run and then as a family we had a nice dinner.
Kate, of course, had a determined look bringing the bike into the lodge.
FRIDAY:
Met up with Bob Larcome for an early am swim. I decided to bring along a 13 year old shark to swim with us.
Swam one loop easily in 33'. Megan swam without wetsuit, often stopping to wait for her old, slow Dad. She's kind that way.
My parents arrived Friday late in the day. We decided to go for a Chinese buffet, probably not the wisest choice, but oh well. Actually wasn't that bad.
My goal was to stay away from some of the hype downtown, so after I registered, I spent a little time over at the Zoot tent and got out of there.
SATURDAY:
The continued goal was good hydration, this I stuck to.
Short ride to test the setup and short run. Felt strong. Racked my bike and bags.
That evening, we all had a nice little pasta meal with bolognese sauce, greens. Had a nice glass of wine that evening... Cake bread Cellars Chardonnay.
Time with the family was the focus.
SUNDAY:
Race day. My Iron Dad and my Iron wife got up with me at the usual ridiculous hour. I was up by 3:40am
Breakfast was:
1 black coffee.
3 hard boiled eggs.
1 UCAN bar.
Hydrated well with water and GU electrolytes and we went off to the race. My Dad drove Tracie and me into an area near transition. Some jerk off almost killed us on the way in, passing us on the RIGHT as we were slowly turning into a side street in their M-DOT decorated car. My Dad's reflexes were vital in saving this from becoming a disastrous day. Apparently we weren't going fast enough? Crazy...
Setup the drinks, nutrition, bags etc. Then headed with Tracie to the swim start. UCAN 3 scoops with water at approximately 6:00 am. Tracie kept me calm as per usual...
SWIM: 1:06:41
Time trial start. This was infinitely better than the mass start/melee of the past. I swam the first lap relatively cleanly as I stayed away from the cable on loop 1. 32 minutes... bit slow, but ok. Unfortunately hit my lap button, which sent the Fenix 3 HR into transition mode, but whatever. Second loop was slower. Overall, I swam very, very easily. This was far from my best IM swim, but sometimes holding back a bit early isn't completely idiotic at the Ironman distance, lol.
I've had time from 1:04-1:11 in IM, so this was definitely ok. Zoot Prophet, of course ;-)
37th in AG, 282 overall.
T1:
5:05. Not bad, took my time, but was deliberate.
BIKE: 5:18:52. 21.07 mph.
For those that don't really know me, my bike and run games are much better than my swim. This was a very solid ride. Initially perfect riding conditions. Definitely became hotter and windier later in the ride. I was burned by under hydration at last year's ironman and was determined not to make the same mistake.
Nutrition was UCAN plain powder only. 3 scoops at 1:15 into the ride. 3 more scoops at 3:30 into the ride. 2 last scoops at 5:00 into the ride (this was to prove crucial later!)
Why UCAN? I am not sponsored by them, but was turned onto the product by Matt Bach, elite triathlete and former teammate of mine on Zoot. I hate sugar on long training and racing days, so this helps avoid the lows that often occur with Gatorade, gels or the like. I've become a big fan. Total calories for the whole ride? 720.
On the second loop you start to pass the slower female pro's who started 30' ahead of us. I really had no idea how well I was placed in the race, but I figured I was doing well.
POWER FILE
197 average watts, but at Lake Placid with the long Keene section with almost zero power, I think the Normalized of 211 is a much better estimate. I had targeted 210-220, so pleased with that. FYI, HR data was not correct.
Keene descent turn:
Trying to stay aero , loving the Zoot speed suit!
If you look closely, I've modified the Speedfil setup. I like to pick up the bottle to drink instead of using a long straw. This worked perfectly for me. Love my Speedfil!
Ironman bike leg reports are plush with people feeling weak on the second loop of this course. I actually felt great, but had two issues going on. One was that there was some sort of grinding sound coming from the drive train side of the crank. I wasn't sure, but it made me careful not to push too hard as it can be possible with a power tap that I wouldn't be picking up the true estimate of the effort if there were significant losses there. The other was the fact that it became much windier and warmer on the Whiteface climb. I pushed a slight bit less, but was feeling strong. The UCAN is something I really swear by these days. PM me if interested, I'm not trying to be a salesman, but it seems to be a real key for me.
Came into T2 seeing my family for the second time. What a great boost! My Dad turned 80 this year and I was just so thrilled to see all of my family, but especially him out there.
Overall, I moved to 9th in the age group at the end of the bike. 37th overall.
T2:
3:06
Made a mistake by forgetting to take my first run bottle of UCAN. Didn't panic as I had taken a late dose of UCAN on the bike...
RUN: 3:38:20. 8:20 min/mile
As most who have done these crazy events know, the real challenge starts on the run. When you come out of T2, there is always the chance you will not have the legs. Maybe you went too hard on the bike? Maybe you didn't get enough nutrition in or hydrate well enough?
In either case, I started out feeling really good. That of course is a "first loop" smile below. It goes away after awhile, haha!
Plan was easy effort for the first few downhill miles and then settle into something just over 8 min/mile pace.
Nutrition plan was to drink water, salt tabs and took in zero calories until special needs (around mile 12). I took about 1.5 scoops of UCAN with water (135 calories). Never felt low on sugar or GI distress beyond the usual battle to get fluids in. Then I would switch around mile 21 to coke and Red Bull. At that stage it's survival, and I would accept the pro's and con's of sugar.
SPLIT NAMEDISTANCESPLIT TIMERACE TIMEPACEDIVISION RANKGENDER RANKOVERALL RANK3.9 mi3.9 mi 30:407:04:247:51/mi5.5 mi1.6 mi 12:507:17:148:01/mi7.3 mi1.8 mi 14:377:31:518:07/mi11.7 mi4.4 mi 36:528:08:438:28/mi12.6 mi0.9 mi 6:438:15:267:27/mi17 mi4.5 mi 35:448:51:108:01/mi18.7 mi1.7 mi 13:169:04:267:48/mi20.4 mi1.7 mi 15:489:20:149:17/mi24.6 mi4.2 mi 39:4910:00:039:28/mi25.5 mi0.9 mi 6:5210:06:557:37/mi26.2 mi0.7 mi 5:0910:12:047:21/miTotal26.2 mi3:38:2010:12:048:20/mi84145
There is a substantial climb at the end of each loop. The first one I flew up at an overall 8:28 pace. Slower the second loop, but still really happy with it. No walking except at aid stations to get fluid in.
I really had no idea of where I was in the race, however at the turnaround somebody said I was in the top 50 overall?
Saw the family twice at the end of the first loop, again a great boost for the mind at this stage.
I truly believe in the saying that the body is stronger than the mind. We just need to convince our mind of this. It's not easy, but seeing the family cheer was just so awesome!
Second loop smile is somewhat different...
As the run progressed to the last big climbing section, I knew I could finish strong. No one in my age group had passed me on the run, but I also suspected that some were ahead on the bike (they were).
The first loop is very quiet and lonely as there were so few runners around, the second loop I passed 100s of people running their first loop. Saw Bob Stocks in his beautiful race outfit...
After the climb by the horse show area, there are some rollers and then the last big climb into town. Made it up without walking a step. Then on the flat out and back picked up the pace nicely. Surprisingly felt really good for being at the tail end of a 140.6 mile race.
One of the single greatest things at IMLP is the finishing area. It's in the Olympic oval where Eric Heiden won all the gold medals in 1980 in speed skating. Just before that is a crazy split, where if you are heading out on your second loop (for another fun 13.1 miles) you go left. If you are finishing, you go right. Going right feels so fantastically good!!!
Came into the oval pumped. Made sure nobody was immediately behind me and raised my hands. Saw my family and yelled to them Finished strong!
That is my Dad, wife and youngest daughter in the background.
Kate, my youngest seemed pretty happy to see her Daddy come in below!
After the finish, met up with my family. Decided drinking a coke immediately after would be a good idea. It wasn't.
OVERALL: 10:12:04
45th overall.
41st Male.
No Kona, no podium.
I actually wasn't interested in Kona this year (or really that much at all anymore) as we travelled a bunch this year including San Francisco for Escape from Alcatraz. Kona is not my penultimate goal. It's likely not reachable without sacrifices I am unwilling to make.
I had felt the podium was in range for me, but my age group was incredibly fast this year. No negative feelings from me, those guys beat me fair and square and I performed very near my best possible result. Heck, our age group winner out split Brian Duffy on the run in this race, I'm simply not in that league. IIRC Brian had one of the fastest AG run splits at Kona a few years ago!
I'm a husband, a Dad and a physician first. Pretty stoked that I could have a nice day at IMLP and not compromise those other things.
It was a great experience overall. There were no catastrophic mistakes. I had fun for the vast majority of it and it is and was as always a journey, yet I could always improve.
Thank you's:
1. My Iron wife, Tracie! She is the strength and the glue behind me in triathlon, work and life.
2. My family. Kids were great helping with things after to get the bike out of transition, also my parents were beyond awesome in their support. Ironman gets dark near the end, and having people that you love nearby helps a ton.
3. My coach Shane MacLeod. Great coach who understands my schedule. My best results in the last 10 years have been in the 3 that I have worked with him.
4. My good friends in the sport. Most are on the Triathlon Discussion Group that I host and am part of on Facebook. Lots of great idea from them and support!
5. Team Zoot. Great bunch of men and women who have been very supportive, both team mates and captains, and the company. Love the gear, Really love the aero suit as I wore it all day with zero issues.
6. Garmin. Great sponsor and love, love my Fenix 3HR.
7. Speedfil. Love the hydration system.
8. The Bicycle Shop in State College, PA.
Thanks for reading,
Fred Doucette
Founder of THE TRIATHLON COLLECTIVE (Closed Facebook Group). A SBR discussion group without the white noise/trolling!
Friday, July 29, 2016
[/url]Ironman Lake Placid 2016
Race Report...
I suppose I write these things more as a journal/scrapbook of the event, so hopefully one day when I'm old I can remember when I was in great shape. Read on if you like.
This was my 8th Ironman. 10 years in the sport.
M45-49
THURSDAY:
Finished last 24 hour on call and drove to Lake Placid from Central PA. Good drive, Tracie, the girls in tow. Our lodging was at the Whiteface Lodge, somewhat away from the commotion of the race. I would highly recommend this place, lovely. After a long drive, I like to do a short run and then as a family we had a nice dinner.
Kate, of course, had a determined look bringing the bike into the lodge.
FRIDAY:
Met up with Bob Larcome for an early am swim. I decided to bring along a 13 year old shark to swim with us.
Swam one loop easily in 33'. Megan swam without wetsuit, often stopping to wait for her old, slow Dad. She's kind that way.
My parents arrived Friday late in the day. We decided to go for a Chinese buffet, probably not the wisest choice, but oh well. Actually wasn't that bad.
My goal was to stay away from some of the hype downtown, so after I registered, I spent a little time over at the Zoot tent and got out of there.
SATURDAY:
The continued goal was good hydration, this I stuck to.
Short ride to test the setup and short run. Felt strong. Racked my bike and bags.
That evening, we all had a nice little pasta meal with bolognese sauce, greens. Had a nice glass of wine that evening... Cake bread Cellars Chardonnay.
Time with the family was the focus.
SUNDAY:
Race day. My Iron Dad and my Iron wife got up with me at the usual ridiculous hour. I was up by 3:40am
Breakfast was:
1 black coffee.
3 hard boiled eggs.
1 UCAN bar.
Hydrated well with water and GU electrolytes and we went off to the race. My Dad drove Tracie and me into an area near transition. Some jerk off almost killed us on the way in, passing us on the RIGHT as we were slowly turning into a side street in their M-DOT decorated car. My Dad's reflexes were vital in saving this from becoming a disastrous day. Apparently we weren't going fast enough? Crazy...
Setup the drinks, nutrition, bags etc. Then headed with Tracie to the swim start. UCAN 3 scoops with water at approximately 6:00 am. Tracie kept me calm as per usual...
SWIM: 1:06:41
Time trial start. This was infinitely better than the mass start/melee of the past. I swam the first lap relatively cleanly as I stayed away from the cable on loop 1. 32 minutes... bit slow, but ok. Unfortunately hit my lap button, which sent the Fenix 3 HR into transition mode, but whatever. Second loop was slower. Overall, I swam very, very easily. This was far from my best IM swim, but sometimes holding back a bit early isn't completely idiotic at the Ironman distance, lol.
I've had time from 1:04-1:11 in IM, so this was definitely ok. Zoot Prophet, of course ;-)
37th in AG, 282 overall.
T1:
5:05. Not bad, took my time, but was deliberate.
BIKE: 5:18:52. 21.07 mph.
For those that don't really know me, my bike and run games are much better than my swim. This was a very solid ride. Initially perfect riding conditions. Definitely became hotter and windier later in the ride. I was burned by under hydration at last year's ironman and was determined not to make the same mistake.
Nutrition was UCAN plain powder only. 3 scoops at 1:15 into the ride. 3 more scoops at 3:30 into the ride. 2 last scoops at 5:00 into the ride (this was to prove crucial later!)
Why UCAN? I am not sponsored by them, but was turned onto the product by Matt Bach, elite triathlete and former teammate of mine on Zoot. I hate sugar on long training and racing days, so this helps avoid the lows that often occur with Gatorade, gels or the like. I've become a big fan. Total calories for the whole ride? 720.
On the second loop you start to pass the slower female pro's who started 30' ahead of us. I really had no idea how well I was placed in the race, but I figured I was doing well.
POWER FILE
197 average watts, but at Lake Placid with the long Keene section with almost zero power, I think the Normalized of 211 is a much better estimate. I had targeted 210-220, so pleased with that. FYI, HR data was not correct.
Keene descent turn:
Trying to stay aero , loving the Zoot speed suit!
If you look closely, I've modified the Speedfil setup. I like to pick up the bottle to drink instead of using a long straw. This worked perfectly for me. Love my Speedfil!
Ironman bike leg reports are plush with people feeling weak on the second loop of this course. I actually felt great, but had two issues going on. One was that there was some sort of grinding sound coming from the drive train side of the crank. I wasn't sure, but it made me careful not to push too hard as it can be possible with a power tap that I wouldn't be picking up the true estimate of the effort if there were significant losses there. The other was the fact that it became much windier and warmer on the Whiteface climb. I pushed a slight bit less, but was feeling strong. The UCAN is something I really swear by these days. PM me if interested, I'm not trying to be a salesman, but it seems to be a real key for me.
Came into T2 seeing my family for the second time. What a great boost! My Dad turned 80 this year and I was just so thrilled to see all of my family, but especially him out there.
Overall, I moved to 9th in the age group at the end of the bike. 37th overall.
T2:
3:06
Made a mistake by forgetting to take my first run bottle of UCAN. Didn't panic as I had taken a late dose of UCAN on the bike...
RUN: 3:38:20. 8:20 min/mile
As most who have done these crazy events know, the real challenge starts on the run. When you come out of T2, there is always the chance you will not have the legs. Maybe you went too hard on the bike? Maybe you didn't get enough nutrition in or hydrate well enough?
In either case, I started out feeling really good. That of course is a "first loop" smile below. It goes away after awhile, haha!
Plan was easy effort for the first few downhill miles and then settle into something just over 8 min/mile pace.
Nutrition plan was to drink water, salt tabs and took in zero calories until special needs (around mile 12). I took about 1.5 scoops of UCAN with water (135 calories). Never felt low on sugar or GI distress beyond the usual battle to get fluids in. Then I would switch around mile 21 to coke and Red Bull. At that stage it's survival, and I would accept the pro's and con's of sugar.
SPLIT NAMEDISTANCESPLIT TIMERACE TIMEPACEDIVISION RANKGENDER RANKOVERALL RANK3.9 mi3.9 mi 30:407:04:247:51/mi5.5 mi1.6 mi 12:507:17:148:01/mi7.3 mi1.8 mi 14:377:31:518:07/mi11.7 mi4.4 mi 36:528:08:438:28/mi12.6 mi0.9 mi 6:438:15:267:27/mi17 mi4.5 mi 35:448:51:108:01/mi18.7 mi1.7 mi 13:169:04:267:48/mi20.4 mi1.7 mi 15:489:20:149:17/mi24.6 mi4.2 mi 39:4910:00:039:28/mi25.5 mi0.9 mi 6:5210:06:557:37/mi26.2 mi0.7 mi 5:0910:12:047:21/miTotal26.2 mi3:38:2010:12:048:20/mi84145
There is a substantial climb at the end of each loop. The first one I flew up at an overall 8:28 pace. Slower the second loop, but still really happy with it. No walking except at aid stations to get fluid in.
I really had no idea of where I was in the race, however at the turnaround somebody said I was in the top 50 overall?
Saw the family twice at the end of the first loop, again a great boost for the mind at this stage.
I truly believe in the saying that the body is stronger than the mind. We just need to convince our mind of this. It's not easy, but seeing the family cheer was just so awesome!
Second loop smile is somewhat different...
As the run progressed to the last big climbing section, I knew I could finish strong. No one in my age group had passed me on the run, but I also suspected that some were ahead on the bike (they were).
The first loop is very quiet and lonely as there were so few runners around, the second loop I passed 100s of people running their first loop. Saw Bob Stocks in his beautiful race outfit...
After the climb by the horse show area, there are some rollers and then the last big climb into town. Made it up without walking a step. Then on the flat out and back picked up the pace nicely. Surprisingly felt really good for being at the tail end of a 140.6 mile race.
One of the single greatest things at IMLP is the finishing area. It's in the Olympic oval where Eric Heiden won all the gold medals in 1980 in speed skating. Just before that is a crazy split, where if you are heading out on your second loop (for another fun 13.1 miles) you go left. If you are finishing, you go right. Going right feels so fantastically good!!!
Came into the oval pumped. Made sure nobody was immediately behind me and raised my hands. Saw my family and yelled to them Finished strong!
That is my Dad, wife and youngest daughter in the background.
Kate, my youngest seemed pretty happy to see her Daddy come in below!
After the finish, met up with my family. Decided drinking a coke immediately after would be a good idea. It wasn't.
OVERALL: 10:12:04
45th overall.
41st Male.
No Kona, no podium.
I actually wasn't interested in Kona this year (or really that much at all anymore) as we travelled a bunch this year including San Francisco for Escape from Alcatraz. Kona is not my penultimate goal. It's likely not reachable without sacrifices I am unwilling to make.
I had felt the podium was in range for me, but my age group was incredibly fast this year. No negative feelings from me, those guys beat me fair and square and I performed very near my best possible result. Heck, our age group winner out split Brian Duffy on the run in this race, I'm simply not in that league. IIRC Brian had one of the fastest AG run splits at Kona a few years ago!
I'm a husband, a Dad and a physician first. Pretty stoked that I could have a nice day at IMLP and not compromise those other things.
It was a great experience overall. There were no catastrophic mistakes. I had fun for the vast majority of it and it is and was as always a journey, yet I could always improve.
Thank you's:
1. My Iron wife, Tracie! She is the strength and the glue behind me in triathlon, work and life.
2. My family. Kids were great helping with things after to get the bike out of transition, also my parents were beyond awesome in their support. Ironman gets dark near the end, and having people that you love nearby helps a ton.
3. My coach Shane MacLeod. Great coach who understands my schedule. My best results in the last 10 years have been in the 3 that I have worked with him.
4. My good friends in the sport. Most are on the Triathlon Discussion Group that I host and am part of on Facebook. Lots of great idea from them and support!
5. Team Zoot. Great bunch of men and women who have been very supportive, both team mates and captains, and the company. Love the gear, Really love the aero suit as I wore it all day with zero issues.
6. Garmin. Great sponsor and love, love my Fenix 3HR.
7. Speedfil. Love the hydration system.
8. The Bicycle Shop in State College, PA.
Thanks for reading,
Fred Doucette
Founder of THE TRIATHLON COLLECTIVE (Closed Facebook Group). A SBR discussion group without the white noise/trolling!