Another lesson learned - trust your hr monitor
Result: 2:18:04 (4:37) 2:17:37 (chip) avg hr: 161 (zone 4 for me)
Breakfast:
Up at about 6:30 for my standard breakfast of oatmeal, brown sugar and maple syrup. It wasn’t going down too well so I ate less than usual. Arrived in Hamilton at about 8:10am and proceeded to get changed at Craig’s place - thanks for this - it was a lifesaver after the race.
Warm up:
Jogged 1200m to the race start at about 9:00am and then stood around waiting for the race to start. Had to pee with only 20min left to race start so had to stand in line for the port-a-potties (it was one of those mornings - I must have peed three times at Craig’s place before we left for the race). When I went back to the start line it was packed, but I found out that the 2:15 bunny was about 50m ahead of me and on my left - goal for first 5k - find the 2:15 bunny!
Weather:
Between 0 and -2C, windy and snowing/raining (mostly snowing), roads mostly clear, but very wet and slushy in places. A lovely day for a race …
KM 1-5 Getting Started
For the first 5k I just tried to find the 2:15 bunny (which I did, at about the 4.5kmark) and settle into a nice, easy rhythm. I felt pretty good at 4:30 pace, although I thought my hr was a bit on the high side for that pace (more on this later). We went through 5k at 22:15, just ahead of schedule, as the bunny wanted to put some time “in the bank” for the hills in the last 10km.
KM 6-10 Settling In
Once I found the 2:15 bunny I just sat in the group that had formed around him, and tried to keep out of the wind as much as possible. The pace felt pretty easy, despite the fact that my hr was in the low to mid 160s most of the time. We went through 10k in 44:43, not having put any additional time “in the bank”.
KM 11-15 Pace Management
I stayed tucked in the group, and out of the wind as much as possible and as we made the turn to run along the water the wind was almost directly in our faces, and it started snowing HARDER (did I mention is was snowing?). The group fell into a bit of a lull for kms 12 and 13, but we woke up and picked the pace back up to come through 15k in 1:07:17.
KM 16-20 Time in the Bank
The 2:15 bunny decided that we needed to put some more time “in the bank” for the hills, so he picked up the pace a fair bit in the next few kms, cumulating in a 4:10 at km 17, which sent my hr to 167. I still felt pretty good, although I was starting to tire (I had just run 20k, after all). We went through 20k in 1:29:13 - 47 seconds would not be enough …
KM 21-25 Meltdown!
The hills started at about the 19k marker, and as we passed the 21k marker I popped like a cheap balloon, and lost the 2:15 group for good. My splits went from sub 4:30 to over 5:00 in a hurry, and my hr fell to 160 or so for the first time in almost an hour. I went backwards in a hurry, and I must have gotten passed by 100 people in the next 3km.
KM 26-30 Saved by the Hottie - Salvaged my Race
I decided at the 25k mark that I was not going to allow my last 10k to take me over 50min, and I started to pick up the pace a bit. Just as I did so, a woman in black and pink (who I had seen in the 2:15 group for a bit early in the race) came up on my hip. She asked me how I was doing, and I told her that the wheels were falling off and I was trying to put them back on. She told me that she had gone out too hard (through 15k in 1:05) and had had a bit of a meltdown herself. We decided to work together to salvage both of our races. She was tuning up for Boston after having been injured for quite a while, and knew the course. As we hit the bottom of the hill at the 26k mark she said “this hill is longer than you think, but then it’s downhill to the finish”. We ran up the hill shoulder to shoulder, and then willed our way to the finish at about 4:40 pace. I doubt I could have managed that pace without her help. Thanks Alison.
As soon as I stopped running, my legs started to cramp, and everything from the waist down started to hurt. The uphill walk to Craig’s house seemed a lot longer than it had earlier in the day, but the hot shower was worth it!
Nutrition:
Red Bull 45mn prior to the race, Hammer Gel, Clif Gels and water in a profile 4 bottle system around my waist. Gel and water about every 3-5k (I used mostly Hammer Gel as the Clif Gels are thicker and I couldn’t get them to mix with the water in the flask). No nutritional issues during or after the race.
Recovery status:
Aerobically I felt pretty good during the whole race and I feel fine today (resting hr is at 54 sitting here right now). My legs, however, are trashed!
Performance Assessment: 7/10
I would have liked to have gone faster, but I simply don’t think it was doable. Even if I had started out at 4:35 pace, my finish time would likely have been very close to the time I posted. Given that this was my first race at this distance and on this course, I am pleased with this result. I am especially pleased that I was able to “survive” my meltdown, recover a bit and pick up the pace to finish strong.
Lesson for Ironman: It is exponentially harder to run a 4:30km after 25km than it is after 15km.
If your hr is even a little too high on the flats, you will blow on the hills.
Goal for Ironman: Keep km splits between 5:00 and 5:30 - total run time - 3:30-3:50
Splits and hr reading are below. I missed some of the km markers, and my hr monitor did not read on some of the splits - I think it is time for a new battery.
km split cumulative hr
1 4:49 4:49 152
2 4:20 156
3 4:20
4 4:19 17:48
5 4:27 22:15 159
6 4:32 26:47
7 4:26
8 4:26 35:40 160
9 4:29 40:09
10 4:33 44:43
11 4:30 49:13
12 4:39 53:52 160
13 4:37 58:30 160
14 4:25 1:02:55
15 4:22 1:07:17 164
16 4:28 1:11:46 164
17 4:09 1:15:55 167
18 4:30 1:20:26 167
19 4:23
20 4:23 1:29:13
21 4:25 1:33:38 169
22 4:48 1:38:26 160
23 5:10 1:43:36 160
24 5:22 1:48:59
25 4:53 1:53:52
26 4:53 1:58:45
27 5:11 2:03:57 165 (hr at top of hill 173)
28 4:40 2:08:37 166
29 4:46 2:13:24
30 4:39 2:18:04
mp
how did everyone else do?