So here I was like the others 750, on Wrightsville Beach. First IM distance ever and weather was going to suck. Other than that, everything was fine I guess.
The lead-up to this race was pretty good, save a little cold the week before but nothing major. Training wise, I leaned heavily on the run just because it is more practical to train that way. Had a 90 mile week in the middle of August, with a lot of 16+ miles runs (stopped counting them). Longest was maybe 20-21 miles long. Bike training was less than optimal with maybe one 150 miles week, some in the 100s and most of them in the 80s, with my longest ride being 80 miles. Swim training was around 2000-4000 yard/week 3 month before the race. Best I could muster given my circumstances (and I actually had favorable circumstances), but I thought it should be enough to get going.
Organization of the race was spotless, extremely speedy packet pick up, clear instructions, good sized expo with what all the last minute stuffs you might need plus some extras. TONS of wetsuits, pretty much all the brands I know of, I wish I was on the market for one as it would be the best place to try them on, but it was not the time to do that the day before. So everything went pretty smoothly up to the start line, including bike setup, bags drop-offs. I heard how some people talked about the logistical nightmare of having distinct T1 and T2, so I paid extra attention, and there was no problem at all. No parking problem, nothing. Organization did a great job explaining it in details, but you better review it by yourself before you get there, because I can see how confusing it could be otherwise.
SWIM
So here we are on the beach, after a small walk to the start line. I’m cold even with my wetsuit on. Water was supposed to be warm, relatively speaking, so I jump in the 1st chance I get. It feels good instantly and relieves some of the anxiety. First mistake, I see some dude dip his goggles in the water and do the same, as I always do……in a swimming pool. Salty water is a different matter entirely. Let’s just move on. I wait the last moment to get out, and we are sent off in no time. I got a little pushed around and swam over at the start, and naturally drift to the outside after the first orange buoy. I read in the past that this was where the current was so I was happy there as I did not want to get caught up in someone else’s pace, and to heck with drafting. I was determined to have my own race, and that is something I will stick with until the run. Soon there were only a couple of us out there, and I could see all the others on the inside. That is what I relied on to sight, because I could not see anything for sighting. Too foggy, too dark, too wide of a line. So I just followed “the flow” hoping that I would not miss the last orange buoy. I didn’t, and sighting got even worse after that turn as there was really no buoy for me to sight. They were out there, just couldn’t see it. We finally get to the pier to climb up some wood ladder, take off the top of my wetsuit and look at my watch: 42mn and change. What the hell. I have no business being under an hour for an IM swim. I did not even feel the current, but my watch did. Maybe the outside line was good after all. Note to RD: PLEASE put a carpet for that run to the transition. I passed a load of people, but my feet were hurting bad. I got out of transition 50mn after the start gun. Slow transition as usual for me. I downed a powerbar and I was out.
BIKE
I was wearing arm warmers, neoprene toe covers and that new DeSoto windcutter biking vest. I was grateful I invested in it. Actually got a brand new outfit for this race: DeSoto forza Riviera short and Skins top. They did their job, but I think that compression stuffs are not in my future. I was riding a Cervelo SLC outfitted with RDW rentals (Zipp 900 and Firecrest 808 front, no issues with handling at all), even though I swore I would not ride it for an IM event. I tried to convert it in the past but could never get comfortable. This time I actually positioned it by myself, using the ST community knowledge: got myself a Cobb saddle, a new handlebar to widen the clip-ons, turned the seatpost and slammed the seat all the way forward, put a longer stem level and all the way down on the stirrer. I did not measure anything, did it by feel. And guess what, the bike was handling great and I stayed aero the whole way. ST>previous fitters. Maybe I don’t need a TT bike after all.
So the bike was cold, as you already know. I was ready to bag my 1st iron distance around mile 40. It was bearable until we got off the highway, and then it was miserable until mile 60-70. Like others, lost fingers and toes feeling and couldn’t properly eat. We were given no respite: when we would somehow get out of the wind, it would start to drizzle, keeping us nice and cold. My nutrition plan was pretty simple luckily: one bottle of Accelerade (1000 cal) and 4 packs of Cliff shot blocks. Had to use my teeth to open packets and the Accelerade was so thick that I couldn’t muster enough force to squeeze it out of the bottle. Picked up water bottles at aid station but missed a lot because: 1- I could not physically grab them 2- I had to stop to pee twice because we were not sweating and 3- volunteer would remove the caps so when put horizontally between my bars it would spread nice cold water all over me. Lots of guys passed me, I never followed. I stayed within myself by PE. But then we got our reward: route 421 to direct to Wilmington, no escale. Felt like I was riding on a slide, an epic stretch of road where I actually ran out of gears: 24-28mph stable, with a peak at 33mph on the last 10 miles on a flat section. The rear disc loved it. Icing on the cake, half distance people were coming in from the right a little later, and we were blowing by them, reinforcing the feeling of speed. I felt like a bully, but man it was fun. Really got a high there, and arrived in T2 in high spirits. Good enough for 5h24mn, not that fast but good enough for me. Was out of transition 3mn later.
RUN
I put on my Asics Speedstar 4 (5? Not sure anymore) and cap and got out. Again, simple nutrition plan: grab gels every 45mn, plus water and electrolyte caps when available. Same as my marathons. Legs were feeling great from the beginning, probably because I got to really relax on the last stretch of the bike. Started with 7mn+/mile, and quickly started clipping 6’50s and lower. I was flying by peoples, and felt I had some more in stock still. Got to the first turnaround in 44+mn, half point in 1h29mn+. But I really started to feel stiff legs in the last part of the first loop (bridges and wind did not help with that), and I already started to lose speed. Somewhat voluntarily because I know that feeling pretty well so I know I had to back off a bit if I wanted to finish somewhat strong. Got to the 2nd turnaround in 2h18mn, and know that if I could held on 8mn miles, a sub 9h30 was in the bag. I held on, the second loop was 10mn slower than the first but it was still good enough for a 3h09mn+ marathon, 9h24mn+ finish and freakin’ 5th OA. Unbelievable. I started the day hoping for a sub 10 and more reasonably sub 11. I even got some prize money out of this! I am thinking of not cashing the check and frame the darn thing.
So why is ST useful you might ask? Well I really believe my race went well by following a few mantras from this site: 1- made me believe that you can do it no matter how talented you are, you just need to regularly put on the work, 2- big shoot out to Devavish Paul, BarryP, Desert Dude etc who got my running to another level. I did not necessarily got extremely faster, but I became extremely resilient and more importantly injury free, 3- big shout out to Tom A, Rappstar, Jackmott etc who made me pay attention to details on my bike setting and related nutrition plan. I looked in transition and my bike, despite being a road bike, looked pretty clean and that made me feel good. 4- In general thanks to the community who drove a few points home about the need to lose weight (even though I raced way heavier than I would have liked, but still lighter than a few years ago), consistency and specificity. Maybe it’s brainwashing, but it’s somewhat efficient.
I might post some pictures later so people can rip my bike position, set up and approved in the “shadow” tunnel.
Congratulations to all racers that day, I don’t know about the worst conditions ever to race an IM distance, but this one sure was not optimal.
