Did anybody tear up IM Kty?

Triathlon Forum
1

I’ve read all of the negative posts about the heat, humidity, lack of water, closing of finish line, medical, sag, cost, mechanical issues etc.

I’m curious as to whether anybody trained in the heat, didn’t run out of water, had no mechanical issues, and laid down a serious new PR. If you did, tell me your secrets of how you trained for this race knowing what the conditions were going to be like. Did you do 4 p.m. rides or runs? Did you wear long-sleeve jerseys? Did you ride your trainer without a fan? I’d also like to know whether you train and race well in the heat/humidity anyway, or whether you did something special this time around that made all of the difference.

Lastly, if you raced IM Kty this year and laid down a new PR, have you also done IMF and/or IMAz and can you elaborate how you trained differently for Kty than those races. Those are the only two I’ve done, and I’m doing IMF again this year, but considering IMKty 2011.

Thx

2

I did 10:25 this year. I’ve done IM lou all 4 years and that is by far my best time. I did 11:15 last year when it was a high of only 78. I did IMAZ 2009 as well in 10:53. AZ is an easier course in my opinion, but be prepared that swim can be cold. IM SG is a harder course. How did I do it, I don’t really know for sure, part of it is luck I suppose, some experience. Largely though, I just trained for it. I live in Louisville, so I trained in the heat and humidity all summer…and really every summer for the past however many it is I’ve been doing tri’s…

3

Congrats on the big PR and the time. That is very impressive given the conditions. But like you said, you trained in the heat so you knew what to expect.

I live in Atlanta, so we have plenty of heat here too, but I try to avoid it. I can ride early in the morning and get done before the afternoon sun is really heating up the place, and I’ll also run early morning too. Even though it is August in Atlanta, we are getting low 70s in the mornings when I do most of my training even when it is 90 by 3 p.m. So I guess if I do decide to do Lville next year, I’ll just have to do more afternoon work to make sure I’m ready.

4

No PR for me this year, but the main reason was a foot problem on the run. I live in TN, so it isn’t hard for me to come by hot and humid weather to train in. I think that is key. The other key would be embracing the heat and being OK with it mentally. You can’t fight it, you know. Test your fuel, salt and water needs, nail it down to a T, and be OK with changing it if you have to. Weigh before and after training in the heat and really understand how much it takes to keep from getting dehydrated.

Compared to FL, it is hot and hilly. They aren’t at all the same. I haven’t done WI.

Registration is open, join us!

5

I live in Atlanta, so we have plenty of heat here too, but I try to avoid it. I can ride early in the morning and get done before the afternoon sun is really heating up the place, and I’ll also run early morning too. Even though it is August in Atlanta, we are getting low 70s in the mornings when I do most of my training even when it is 90 by 3 p.m.

Don’t do that if you are going to Louisville in 2011. I live in Lexington and trained all summer in the heat. The one thing I didn’t do was multiple 8 hour bricks that ended at 5pm. You need to figure out how to avoid dehydration/electrolyte depletion or whatever it is that causes cramping at the 8 hour and beyond mark.

Three weeks ago I ran 11 miles in upper 90s afternoon sun with full humidity on NO water or food and felt fine despite losing 6 pounds in 1:15. It’s what happens after hours and hours of this that you need to solve.

I had a great swim, rode exactly as I had planned, and ran well for 6 miles before my body completely shut down. It was a PR for me (11:46) because it was my first IM, and third tri ever after doing a sprint each in 2008 and 2009, but there is obviously a lot I have to learn about training, nutrition, and suffering.

Good luck in your training if you decide to go for it.

6

I had a PR 10:20 in KY and got my first Kona spot and my buddy got 2nd in the AG 40-45… Both of us rode hard and took ridiculous amount of salt on the bike and run (20 salt sticks on the bike and 15 on the run). We are both from Florida so maybe that helped.

Overall it was not a bad race. The expo was lame but the TT start was cool and I like the flat run course. I wish the aid stations were better stocked. I can not imagine how bad the aid stations were later in the day as they ran out of ice when I was still on the course.

7

I had a PR 10:20 in KY and got my first Kona spot and my buddy got 2nd in the AG 40-45… Both of us rode hard and took ridiculous amount of salt on the bike and run (20 salt sticks on the bike and 15 on the run). We are both from Florida so maybe that helped.

Congratulations on a great time and your Kona slot. How much and what type of fluid did you take in with all of that salt?

8

A pro friend of mine that raced KY said the heat really got to him. His race this year was not as good as last year’s. He trains in heat, but I don’t know what the humidity is like for him in HI.

9

2 full bottles on the bike at each aid station and what ever I could drink (4 pills an hour). 1 bottle of perform and I would mix it with water to dilute it. Plus I would grab a bottle of water and drink that when I finished the bottle between my bars.

On the run I took a salt a mile (a la rappstar - IMAZ) for the first 8 miles plus some water and perform plus I would fill a 7oz Nathan bottle and drink that during the next mile. I drank what ever I could and drenched myself with sponges. After that I tried to take 2 salts when ever I remembered.

10

giving away our secrets!! yes, the key was salt tabs! and a strong bike. i was amazed to see everyone just wilt on the bike. you have to have a strong bike!! everything depends on it. my friend didnt tell you that i swam a total of 5-7 times all year. spend the time on the bike! also, imfl is a draft fest! there is no way to use your strong bike to separate yourself from your competitors. this race allowed us to do just that because of the hills. I had my pr, not in time but in place.

11

I did L-ville last year, it was my first Ironman. I PR’d it by 38 minutes this year, breaking all three splits. I did a 12:15:22 this year, 2009 was 12:53. I am only 150 miles north of L-ville and trained my ASS off this year (Triple T to start, Racine and 3-4 local sprints followed by long runs). Indiana had some hot temps this year and I would try to get out at 4pm for a run or ride at least twice a week.

I took in a salt tablet once an hour (mine are Rx grade, 1000mg per tablet) + all the sodium in the Perform. I have to say that Perform is GARBAGE. I hated it, I even bought another case to train with the week before. WTC…Please go back to Gatorade. I took two to 3 bottles every aid station on the bike. Forced the fluids. Run suffered a lot though and blaim it all on the heat. I ended up having to take a #2 at the aid station before the final turn around. That Perform really messed up my stomach!! Almost had a blow out!!

I think the best thing that helped me with the heat was the fact that I went down there the 14th and hit that open water race in Prospect. After that, me and my buddies that were racing L-ville did about 50 on the bike in the 111 degree (with heat index). Just getting out in that humidty all summer long in the midwest really helped. That and my goal of shaving an hour off last years time stuck in my head for 364 days!!

12

I’ll play- My first IM, although plenly o’ long races over the years. Did it in 9:20 or so. I stink at swimming as mentioned earlier in the week, but I agree that the bike can make or break your day. I saw a lot of people just wilting out along the roads.
Step 1- ride yourself fit enough so that a slightly hilly course will not hurt you. Training in the heat helped too.
Step 2- Know your body so you can adjust accordingly. I had 4 of my own bottles, probably 7 or so regular water bottles, and choked down 3 perform bottles. I took what I could get at the aid stations and ate what I had to go off of that. I used a lot of sport beans and nuun tablets. There is no shade so I used a regular old helmet so I could dump water over my head the whole day.
Step 3- Take every chance you can to make time. Cornering well, taking momentum up hills, and finding a good spot in the feed zones to take on board fluids are easy ways to lower your bike time. I think I could have done better but I’m new at this and I had PLENTY of people in front of me!
Step 4- Find a routine in the run. I took the same thing everytime at every aid station. Water on the head, ice in the shorts, coke for energy. It works for me, but find something that works. I also ran the first three miles like I was going to bonk, but that paid off as I kept the same pace the whole way through.

Hope that helps!
Josh

13

Very impressive. Thanks to you and the other posters for the advice. Training in the afternoon heat versus the morning would be a big switch for me. I know the secrets of salt tabs, and staying cool, but still not sure I want to race in those conditions for a full ironman. The event is hard enough as it is without requiring participants to overcome mother nature. But I guess every IM race has its own issues.

14

A pro friend of mine that raced KY said the heat really got to him. His race this year was not as good as last year’s. He trains in heat, but I don’t know what the humidity is like for him in HI.

Just out of curiosity, where in North America would someone not be able to train in the heat in July/August? Maybe Alaska and parts of the NWT?

15

Was your question rhetorical? What I meant was that he trains in heat so that should not have been the issue he had, but humidity might be a different story for him.

16

Ben Schloegel went 9:45 as MPRO last year…blew up, think he passed out on the run and had to sit in an ambulance, did finish though.
This year, went 9:11 as 32AG; 3:02 on the mary.

17

Ben did awesome for sure. He was actually disappointed last year that it wasn’t hot! Ben was born to race in the heat, wish I was. I remember some training runs after a long bike, with he and Bob Schloegel, his mutant cousin, 2nd in 45-49 at IML 2010, and my HR was about 170 in the heat with sweat dripping everywhere, those guys are humming along at 150 and not sweating. So part of it is genetics I think and their 5% body fat and the fact that they are much better looking than I am.

But the best thing you can do is figure out pacing and nutrition. Like the guys early talking about sucking down salt tablets, for me I need about 1200 mg per hour, so I get that however I can. I use Succeed tablets which you can open up and put into your drinks works really well. For me I start to get nauseaus and stomach shuts down if my pace exceeds what it should so I just have to learn for given conditions what that pace is either by HR or Power.

I’d be cautious to put yourself too much in the heat of the day. You’ll be acclimating when it’s 85 with 80% well enough. Training in 90-100 degree temps too much will just wear you out and diminish the quality of your workouts. I just moved from Minnesota to North Carolina this summer and it’s amazing how much more intensely I could train there, but how poorly I raced in the heat when living there. It’s definately a tradeoff.

MC

18

PR’d this course. I’ve done this race 3 times now and this year was by far the best. PR’d by over an hour (10:44 and change).
Yes the heat was a factor but it always is at LV.

Secrets to a good day for me:

  1. Preparation. (Thanks to my awesome coach BigZach!!!)
    Nothing matters unless you put in the work before the race. Still a hard race but much easier to get thru if you’re prepared.
  2. Hydration. I dumped in fluids throughout the day. Much more than I normally take in on training rides. I took my own mixtures, water and perform. NO problems with the one bottle of perform that I took on the bike and all that i had on the run.
  3. Cooling methods. I literally cold showered at every single aid station on the bike and run. There was no water wasted if it was in my possession. it either went down my throat or on top of my head. On the run I used the ice sponges and ice water over my head every chance i got. Cola, water and perform the whole way.
  4. Salt. I used Salt stick and took 1 per hour on the bike along with EFS flasks during the bike and about 1 an hour on the run also. Looking back I could have probably doubled that amount. I started to have problems with leg cramping during the last 3 miles of the run but still managed to finish ok. I know I should have taken in even more salt tabs on both the bike and run and I think it would have turned out even better.
  5. Smart racing. After a bad experience in 2008 with the heat because I didn’t change my race day plan with the heat and humidity I decided to stick to the plan more this year and stay within myself on the bike/run. Felt great the entire run.

Just my thoughts on race day success.

19

I didn’t tear it up, by definition, but in just finishing, I guess we can call it that. I didn’t know what to make of my time at the end of the race. It was my third IM total, all three having been in Louisville, including last year’s cool-day PR of 11:18 (with SLOW transitions). I was happy to make it through fine this year, and even happier that I didn’t need medical and that I felt fine by mid-day Wednesday.

Then, after reading all the scathing reports and lots of rants, I felt REALLY GOOD about my day. 12:10, again with a really long T2 (11+ mins, to regroup and catch my breath, plus I walked inside the entire T2 section). Here are my thoughts, reflections, and maybe some advice.

  1. I have a swimming background. I didn’t train much in the pool this year, maybe 2-3 times per week, but usually just twice. The difference was that the last three weeks, I did some pace work in the longcourse pools: 10 x 100 @ 2:00, holding faster than race pace, even in warm water. This was after doing some drills. I decided on a lark to wear my soon-to-be illegal swim skin. Considering my lack of volume this year in the pool, I felt myself holding back on the swim, even feeling the tiniest twinges of cramps in both calf muscles. I was SHOCKED to go a PR on the swim of :55+! But, there were consequences of overcooking the swim, and I knew I was in for a long day.

  2. I ate a salt-stick tab in T1, drank some Perform and downed a gel. Then, I hit the road, JRA (just riding along) for the first 30 miles, trying to eat as much as possible and try to see where the edge of the envelope was for the cramps I knew would come. I was surprised to see people blasting by me like they were at the start of a sprint tri. I’m not a strong cyclist, the weakest of my events, but still it was surprising. I just thought I’d see them later in the day, bonked, exploded or something else. It was HOT out there and getting hotter, so I decided not to press the bike race. Really, the whole race is a matter of getting to mile 18 of the run with resources relatively intact (that is, if you aren’t a pro, or aren’t racing for a KONA slot). I have a double carrier on the back, and a cage on the seat tube, but for most of the bike, I just carried one bottle. I would slug whatever I could at an aid station (usually a full bottle of water or Perform) after finishing whatever bottle I carried, and picked up just one bottle to carry. I also ate gels and chews. I did have some stomach issues, and I felt crampy in aero, but felt like my stomach emptied when I sat up and I passed gas (sorry to those behind me). I had a Starbucks espresso in my SNB, and ate a powerbar at mile 92. I pushed salt stick every 45 minutes, just one tab at a time. I didn’t face a water shortage.

  3. The last few miles of the bike were hot, but I just made the decision to take back the edge a bit and just push through. People were still passing me on the bike, and I felt like crap, but decided I’d try to see what I could do. I changed my entire kit in T2, and hit the road, with just 4 salt tabs remaining. I shuffled along, walked every aid station, and took whatever I could there (water, Perform, broth, gels). I just decided to see how far I could go until I walked the whole way. I ate a half-bag of Sun Chips at SNB, and just kept moving along. I had some blisters. I did find that I went farther into the course running than I thought I would, so I was glad to be relentless, and I finished running. Even though my run split was my slowest, I still negative-split the thing, which was great. I faced no water shortages. I went to medical just to get a free IV on board. Turned out that I didn’t even need it, since BP and sodium were actually normal, even though I only had the 13 salt stick tabs I started the day with. I didn’t cramp once the whole day.

What do I attribute this finish to, in terms of not feeling terrible and not bonking out? I didn’t train as well as in years past. I wasn’t all that smart about nutrition, having my last 13 salt stick tabs with me. I almost under-hydrated. What I do think is this:

I did everything on the course with very careful second-to-second self evaluation. Mostly, I respected the DISTANCE of the course and the HEAT of the day. I know I am not a gifted triathlete, and my training wasn’t even the best. But I do know that I decided that the mantra of the day was “RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.”

  1. I didn’t press the bike, like the hammer heads out there who wanted to win the day on the first 11 miles of flats. I let them go as I decided if my leg cramps were going to come. I know that some of them are studs and were going after times or places, and that some I would catch later in the day. I was REALLY SURPISED at how many people stood to climb. I recall standing only to stretch, on downhills. I never stood to climb once. I carried 50-39 and 12-27 and basically spun everything up hill. Again, the thought was that I had a full day ahead of me. Basically, I didn’t care who passed me on the climbs because we still had lots of course ahead of us.
  2. On the run, I just kept thinking about the hours ahead, and finding the best place to be not to cramp.
  3. I’ve always felt a little sheepish when I hear about the training loads of others. I did only 1 century ride this summer, and only 1 long brick, with three total bricks all summer. My one 20m run was 4 weeks out. Maybe that’s why my time isn’t awesome, but I also think I wasn’t overtrained. I’m sure that there are quite a few people out there who are training beasts who went too hard on the day and ended up DNF or walking vast segments of the course. They may have bagged three century rides with plenty of bricks, but I did it my way and have my medal, and I am still in a pretty good percentage of my age group.

If I had some advice, it would be this: respect the distance and respect the heat, and adjust accordingly. Decide if the goal is a series of great splits or the final piece of work. IM is NOT three separate events, but the management of how the three fit into the context of a longer day. The context of the day is 140.6 PLUS 95 degrees. To me, the medal was on the line, not the speed at which I went to collect it.

I’m taking a year off 140’s, maybe back to master’s swimming and another run at Boston.

20

Also, it helps to have healthy and attainable goals. Several goals ranked heirarchically. These are based on circumstances like training load and conditions on the day.

Mine were:

  1. Finish. 16:59:00. From my previous PR on a hot day, I had 5 hours to play with. I took into account that I heard from my family and from my wife “DON’T BE A HERO.” This meant that it’s better to cross the line alive than blow it all and end up in medical or worse.
  2. No glow stick.
  3. 12:30
  4. Previous hot-day time, from 2008 IML.
  5. PR
  6. Kona?

I don’t know if enough people realize that just making it through healthy is a great deal.

So, prerace, in the week ahead, noting the weather forecast and my training state, I crossed out 4-6 (KONA was always out unless all 75 guys ahead of me totally bonked out somehow). I am left with 1-3, which isn’t bad at all.

Considering it all, I’d say that going 1-3.5, it was a good day, and I have my medal and I was greeted with “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN” at the finish.