I don’t often write or post these so I apologize if it is boring or too long. I first want to tell you a little bit about me. I’m a 31-year-old math teacher from Nova Scotia, Canada. I started triathlon and competitive sports 5 years ago, in the fall of 2010, when I signed up for my first running race. It was a half marathon, and I registered the week before. At that time, the longest I had ever run was 10 kilometres. Three weeks after that race, I finished my first marathon. Around this time I got involved with my local triathlon club (Cape Breton Barbarians). I signed up for an Ironman before I had ever participated in a triathlon. I feel it’s important to mention that I did not have a background in any of the 3 sports. Two of my first four Ironmans were the World Championship races in Kona in 2012 and 2013, and I qualified at Mont-Tremblant each time (4th, 25-29 in 2012 and 4th, 30-34 in 2013).
Please don’t think I’m writing the above to boast; this is not my intention. I feel it is important because I believe huge goals CAN be achieved with hard work and determination. Find a passion and put your heart into it. Mike Riley mentioned the following quote at the Lake Placid awards banquet: “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.” (Spoken by Tommy Lasorda.)
Last summer, I decided to sign up for Ironman Lake Placid. I knew the competition would be tough and my goal was to qualify for Kona again. I’ve come far on my own, but I decided to hire a coach. I signed up with Carmichael Training Systems and was paired with Matt Ison. I can’t say enough good things about Matt.
In the 12 weeks leading up to the race, I spent a significant amount of time training at and above race pace on the bike and run. A typical 5-hour ride would consist of 3 x 1 hour at goal wattage. Several weeks had tempo runs. A typical tempo run would be 75 minutes, where one hour was spent building from 7:00/mile to 6:30/mile. I practiced fueling the same way I would during the race. Although the workouts were challenging, the total time commitment was not unreasonable. During the last 12 weeks, I only went over 20 hours, total, a couple of times.
I arrived at Lake Placid on the Wednesday before the race. I got a chance to swim one loop of Mirror Lake and complete a couple of rides and runs on the course. I recommend that anyone wanting to do IM Lake Placid ride the descent to Keene before the race. I hit a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph) during this portion of the course.
SWIM [58:58]
I thought the rolling start would be awesome – the banging and crashing would be minimal and allow for a faster swim. I was wrong. It still felt like a washing machine for several hundred metres. During the second loop, I caught many of the swimmers who got into the water after me. It became crowded, especially near the final turn buoy and exiting the water.
BIKE [5:14:44]
I knew the bike course was hilly, but there was more climbing than I expected. My goal wattage for the bike was to have a NP between 240-250. Because there are so many descents, I didn’t look at average power. I used the lap button on my Garmin a lot to stay focused.
The climb out of town at the start of the bike course is where athletes can destroy their race before it even starts. I kept my watts around 260-270 on the steepest parts, and right at my goal wattage when it flattened out. The descent to Keene was fast! My legs really got a chance to rest here. After Keene, toward the first out-and-back, I kept my watts between 240-250, and after about 5 miles I caught the main chase pack of 6 riders. I knew they were moving and pushing about the same watts as me. I sat in for 10 miles or so, keeping the legal distance apart. I made the decision to stay with the group because, even at the legal distance, it is easier to ride with other people. Eventually I saw the lead motorcyclist and I started counting riders. I was in 9th place, riding in a group of 7, and I was 8 minutes behind the leader.
Once the group hit the hills approaching Whiteface, the rest of the riders pulled away. They must have been pushing over 300 watts. I stuck with my race plan and let them go. The race hadn’t even started yet, in my mind. The long climb back into Lake Placid had some considerable headwind. I rode the first loop in about 2:35, which was slightly slower than my goal, but you can’t control the wind. I executed the same plan on the second loop.
RUN [3:09:38]
My goal for the run was sub-3:05. I started the run in 4th place. The spectators were incredible. They were shouting and telling me how far I was behind the runners up ahead, and saying how strong I looked. I stuck to my plan and ran the first half in about 1:32. My goal for the last 13 miles was to pick up the pace, but the heat started to wear me down. I didn’t get many chances to train in the heat leading into this race.
I moved into first place with 8 miles to go. The heat forced me to walk the last 6 aid stations. I wanted to make sure I took in enough nutrition. During the last couple of miles, I felt like a rock star. I couldn’t believe how supportive and loud the crowds were. They were yelling my name. With no pros in the race, it gave competitive age groupers like me a chance to experience something I otherwise could have only dreamed about. I was first across the line in an Ironman. I even had an interview with Mike Riley. Unbelievable! It doesn’t even matter that I missed my overall time goal of sub-9:20. There are some things you just can’t control.
I can’t thank my Coach, Matt Ison, enough for his guidance and expertise over the past year. I’ve learned so much about how to properly train for an Ironman to be competitive. I’ll keep pushing hard and hopefully keep improving. In the end, I turned down the Kona spot, but I did achieve my goal of qualifying again.
I’d be happy to answer any questions about my training. Just send me an email: coreydeveaux@hotmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
Corey
Zoot Team Canada Athlete, sponsored by GU, Cervelo and
Cyclesmith Racing.
http://www.coreydeveaux.com
Please don’t think I’m writing the above to boast; this is not my intention. I feel it is important because I believe huge goals CAN be achieved with hard work and determination. Find a passion and put your heart into it. Mike Riley mentioned the following quote at the Lake Placid awards banquet: “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.” (Spoken by Tommy Lasorda.)
Last summer, I decided to sign up for Ironman Lake Placid. I knew the competition would be tough and my goal was to qualify for Kona again. I’ve come far on my own, but I decided to hire a coach. I signed up with Carmichael Training Systems and was paired with Matt Ison. I can’t say enough good things about Matt.
In the 12 weeks leading up to the race, I spent a significant amount of time training at and above race pace on the bike and run. A typical 5-hour ride would consist of 3 x 1 hour at goal wattage. Several weeks had tempo runs. A typical tempo run would be 75 minutes, where one hour was spent building from 7:00/mile to 6:30/mile. I practiced fueling the same way I would during the race. Although the workouts were challenging, the total time commitment was not unreasonable. During the last 12 weeks, I only went over 20 hours, total, a couple of times.
I arrived at Lake Placid on the Wednesday before the race. I got a chance to swim one loop of Mirror Lake and complete a couple of rides and runs on the course. I recommend that anyone wanting to do IM Lake Placid ride the descent to Keene before the race. I hit a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph) during this portion of the course.
SWIM [58:58]
I thought the rolling start would be awesome – the banging and crashing would be minimal and allow for a faster swim. I was wrong. It still felt like a washing machine for several hundred metres. During the second loop, I caught many of the swimmers who got into the water after me. It became crowded, especially near the final turn buoy and exiting the water.
BIKE [5:14:44]
I knew the bike course was hilly, but there was more climbing than I expected. My goal wattage for the bike was to have a NP between 240-250. Because there are so many descents, I didn’t look at average power. I used the lap button on my Garmin a lot to stay focused.
The climb out of town at the start of the bike course is where athletes can destroy their race before it even starts. I kept my watts around 260-270 on the steepest parts, and right at my goal wattage when it flattened out. The descent to Keene was fast! My legs really got a chance to rest here. After Keene, toward the first out-and-back, I kept my watts between 240-250, and after about 5 miles I caught the main chase pack of 6 riders. I knew they were moving and pushing about the same watts as me. I sat in for 10 miles or so, keeping the legal distance apart. I made the decision to stay with the group because, even at the legal distance, it is easier to ride with other people. Eventually I saw the lead motorcyclist and I started counting riders. I was in 9th place, riding in a group of 7, and I was 8 minutes behind the leader.
Once the group hit the hills approaching Whiteface, the rest of the riders pulled away. They must have been pushing over 300 watts. I stuck with my race plan and let them go. The race hadn’t even started yet, in my mind. The long climb back into Lake Placid had some considerable headwind. I rode the first loop in about 2:35, which was slightly slower than my goal, but you can’t control the wind. I executed the same plan on the second loop.
RUN [3:09:38]
My goal for the run was sub-3:05. I started the run in 4th place. The spectators were incredible. They were shouting and telling me how far I was behind the runners up ahead, and saying how strong I looked. I stuck to my plan and ran the first half in about 1:32. My goal for the last 13 miles was to pick up the pace, but the heat started to wear me down. I didn’t get many chances to train in the heat leading into this race.
I moved into first place with 8 miles to go. The heat forced me to walk the last 6 aid stations. I wanted to make sure I took in enough nutrition. During the last couple of miles, I felt like a rock star. I couldn’t believe how supportive and loud the crowds were. They were yelling my name. With no pros in the race, it gave competitive age groupers like me a chance to experience something I otherwise could have only dreamed about. I was first across the line in an Ironman. I even had an interview with Mike Riley. Unbelievable! It doesn’t even matter that I missed my overall time goal of sub-9:20. There are some things you just can’t control.
I can’t thank my Coach, Matt Ison, enough for his guidance and expertise over the past year. I’ve learned so much about how to properly train for an Ironman to be competitive. I’ll keep pushing hard and hopefully keep improving. In the end, I turned down the Kona spot, but I did achieve my goal of qualifying again.
I’d be happy to answer any questions about my training. Just send me an email: coreydeveaux@hotmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
Corey
Zoot Team Canada Athlete, sponsored by GU, Cervelo and
Cyclesmith Racing.
http://www.coreydeveaux.com
Last edited by:
CB_Triathlete: Aug 4, 15 18:29