O.K. This is one of those “what would you do if” posts…I have a friend (really…no joke and it’s not me in disguise) that is signed up for IM Lou and after his last couple of 1/2s I’m just not sure he is mentally ready for what it is going to take to finish an IM in decent conditions much less if the day brings issues!!
He has done a bunch of 1/2s and consistently is in the 6:15 to 7:00 time groups…but his more recent races are tending toward the longer times…seems to be running out of power not “bonking” per se but unable to go faster…he just doesn’t seem to be one of those that has “long distance endurance”. Any advice on how to get him through?? Should he just plan on being one of those 16-17 hrs folks??
I am a slow guy and did Cal half in 6:20. I know I could have done better, but had a bad bike, 2 flats, and well, just wasn’t a great race for me.
I am doing IMLP this Sunday and know I will be out there near 14 hours.
If he has the thought of quitting he probably will. I just never think of quitting. pain is part of the process. You can do anything for 15 hours, just suck it up and keep moving forward. Why shell out $500 to enter if you may quit? The way I see it is I will cross the finish line or they will have to carry me off (cause something went REALLY wrong)
My mindset exactly, which is part of my concern…I’ll take whatever comes and get to the finish line even if it is not my day…I have that mental makeup.
My thoughts are that 1) he can get from beginning to end, 2) as the day wears on he will stay the same pace and really my gut is 3) he can go about 15:30…I just can’t understand how he can hang with me in training (even for the most part on long - 100 mile rides and 2+ hr runs) and not even come close to that on race day…I figure to go sub 13:00 or better…
and the answers are yes, yes and yes…it’s just when he goes out beyond about 4 hours his pace is really SLOW (but steady…not much walking)…I guess I’ll just plan on having a few beers and waiting come Aug 26th!
If he just want to be able to call himself one of those Ironman guys, tell him to swim 2 hours, nice and easy, ride 8 hours, no problem to hold about 14 mph, and then he can jog/walk a sub 7 hour marathon…He ought to be real fresh at the end, no injuries or real pain, and he can easily top off his tanks at those speeds. He can get his shirt and medal, and Mike Reily will have annointed him an Ironman… Or he can go hard, blow up, have a miserable day, maybe go 15 to 16 hours, maybe DNF, which is really no different than 17, unless he is in the 65+ age groups…If he is older, then at least he is racing with his peers…
Then it’s really going to come down to his/her mental fitness, their ability to pace themselves reasonably, particularly on the bike and then getting the calories in to keep them going for the duration of the event.