This was my second attempt at IMLP. Last year I finished in 11:47, with race report to be found here. 2012 was not as I hoped, but they can't all be I suppose. I've learned a lot with each race and I'm determined to nail the distance and logistics.
Swim: 1:07:28
Usual contact, blah blah. Felt fine and I actually don't mind it anymore. I was more nervous prior than during it. I would call this considerable progress in two years. I swam inside or at the line the whole time. I didn't take advantage of a draft much of the second loop. Sortive regret that as I positive split by two minutes. I ended up swimming about 5 minutes faster than last year. I would attribute that to being more comfortable with contact and being willing to fight for position.
T1: 9:17
I again lost my glasses. Volunteer emptied my bag on the ground and my glasses ended up...somewhere... who knows. Dark and steamy chaotic, they were lost in the mix. Next year I'll tape them to my bike frame. I was on track for a quick transition though. I tested and stuffed my glucometer into my jersey pocket and ran out to my bike. Took it from the rack and then realized my tester had fallen out en route to bike. I had to re-rack my bike and run ALL the way back through athletes to the tent looking on the grass for my glucometer. I found it, but wasted a lot of time. About the same as last year for T1.
Bike: 5:48:54
Loop 1
My plan was to bike much more conservatively than last year. I was testing every safe spot I could. I just slowed down as I had practiced and tested in aero position. It was pretty seamless, but required me to lose time. I was ok with that. The goal was to run the marathon. I was disciplined and stuck to watts goal that was about 5-10% BELOW last year. On the beginning of my first loop I noticed my glucose trending up again. I was worried I was on track to repeat what happened at Tupper Lake(went high glucose after swim). So I dosed to compensate. I was trending high and I was not yet consuming much nutrition so I needed to take some insulin. Ultimately, I should have probably been more patient and held off on dosing because eventually my pre-swim bolus kicked in.
Loop 2
I was still feeling great even though my glucose seemed to insist on hovering at 85mg. This was not a good place to be. I had shut off my pump and did not seem to be responding to the sugar I was taking in. I must have overcompensated and stacked my doses because I couldn't get it back up, even with extra gels from aid stations. For the whole second loop my pump was suspended. I was having a really hard time keeping my power up and for the first time on that bike course, really felt like I was in trouble. The final 15 miles were pretty rough.
Watts: 189 NP
Avg: 174 watts
FTP: 308watts (I know, seems high considering my race but like I said, things fell apart out there. Target was 200NP to compensate for slower run)
Weight: 170-172lb
Height: 5'10"
Bike: Cervelo P2, Hed Jet 6 front, Hed Jet 9 rear with wheelcover
T2: 3:20
I tried to get my spirits back up and stay positive. I tested at 135mg and felt like I was back on track. Grabbed my camelbak and visor and intended to hit the mile 1 bathroom
Run: 5:03
I started out feeling "ok". I was tired and demoralized after the tail end of the second bike loop, but figured I could salvage a decent run. My plan was to stick to 9:00's till I hit Ski Jump hill. That felt good, I knew I could run way faster, but tried to keep in mind that second loop. By the time I was at the first turnaround I knew something was up. I couldn't piss. It felt like I really had to go, but whenever I tried it just wouldn't happen. Not a drip. I kept thinking I would piss myself running, only to find myself stuck unable to relieve myself. A strange sensation. I had taken a lot of extra calories to get my sugar back up during the bike and figured maybe this was some form of gastric distress. I struggled to breathe and my chest felt really tight. After the race I thought I might be having some kind of weird heart attack because of piercing pains in my chest when I tried to breathe in. It was basically downhill from there. I started cramping and was wheezing. I walked most of the second loop just trying to finish. Some wasted guys who were hooting and hollering at the uphill went oddly quiet just as i walked by and I heard one guy say in a low voice "Hit the aid stations dude..." and then to his friend "...that guy looks totally fucked." And I was. Completely and utterly.
The final time was 12:12. Not a good day. Considerably slower than last year. I'm signed up for 2013 and will give it another shot. Looking forward to it even after Sunday.
Swim: 1:07:28
Usual contact, blah blah. Felt fine and I actually don't mind it anymore. I was more nervous prior than during it. I would call this considerable progress in two years. I swam inside or at the line the whole time. I didn't take advantage of a draft much of the second loop. Sortive regret that as I positive split by two minutes. I ended up swimming about 5 minutes faster than last year. I would attribute that to being more comfortable with contact and being willing to fight for position.
T1: 9:17
I again lost my glasses. Volunteer emptied my bag on the ground and my glasses ended up...somewhere... who knows. Dark and steamy chaotic, they were lost in the mix. Next year I'll tape them to my bike frame. I was on track for a quick transition though. I tested and stuffed my glucometer into my jersey pocket and ran out to my bike. Took it from the rack and then realized my tester had fallen out en route to bike. I had to re-rack my bike and run ALL the way back through athletes to the tent looking on the grass for my glucometer. I found it, but wasted a lot of time. About the same as last year for T1.
Bike: 5:48:54
Loop 1
My plan was to bike much more conservatively than last year. I was testing every safe spot I could. I just slowed down as I had practiced and tested in aero position. It was pretty seamless, but required me to lose time. I was ok with that. The goal was to run the marathon. I was disciplined and stuck to watts goal that was about 5-10% BELOW last year. On the beginning of my first loop I noticed my glucose trending up again. I was worried I was on track to repeat what happened at Tupper Lake(went high glucose after swim). So I dosed to compensate. I was trending high and I was not yet consuming much nutrition so I needed to take some insulin. Ultimately, I should have probably been more patient and held off on dosing because eventually my pre-swim bolus kicked in.
Loop 2
I was still feeling great even though my glucose seemed to insist on hovering at 85mg. This was not a good place to be. I had shut off my pump and did not seem to be responding to the sugar I was taking in. I must have overcompensated and stacked my doses because I couldn't get it back up, even with extra gels from aid stations. For the whole second loop my pump was suspended. I was having a really hard time keeping my power up and for the first time on that bike course, really felt like I was in trouble. The final 15 miles were pretty rough.
Watts: 189 NP
Avg: 174 watts
FTP: 308watts (I know, seems high considering my race but like I said, things fell apart out there. Target was 200NP to compensate for slower run)
Weight: 170-172lb
Height: 5'10"
Bike: Cervelo P2, Hed Jet 6 front, Hed Jet 9 rear with wheelcover
T2: 3:20
I tried to get my spirits back up and stay positive. I tested at 135mg and felt like I was back on track. Grabbed my camelbak and visor and intended to hit the mile 1 bathroom
Run: 5:03
I started out feeling "ok". I was tired and demoralized after the tail end of the second bike loop, but figured I could salvage a decent run. My plan was to stick to 9:00's till I hit Ski Jump hill. That felt good, I knew I could run way faster, but tried to keep in mind that second loop. By the time I was at the first turnaround I knew something was up. I couldn't piss. It felt like I really had to go, but whenever I tried it just wouldn't happen. Not a drip. I kept thinking I would piss myself running, only to find myself stuck unable to relieve myself. A strange sensation. I had taken a lot of extra calories to get my sugar back up during the bike and figured maybe this was some form of gastric distress. I struggled to breathe and my chest felt really tight. After the race I thought I might be having some kind of weird heart attack because of piercing pains in my chest when I tried to breathe in. It was basically downhill from there. I started cramping and was wheezing. I walked most of the second loop just trying to finish. Some wasted guys who were hooting and hollering at the uphill went oddly quiet just as i walked by and I heard one guy say in a low voice "Hit the aid stations dude..." and then to his friend "...that guy looks totally fucked." And I was. Completely and utterly.
The final time was 12:12. Not a good day. Considerably slower than last year. I'm signed up for 2013 and will give it another shot. Looking forward to it even after Sunday.