Hoping someone can shed some light as to what went wrong the last 9 miles of my run at IM Lou.
Me: 5’10",146 lbs.
Morning:Consumed about 1200 calories pre race.
Swim:I’m a poor swimmer,so i fought hard to get through it.After exiting the water i was overheated,and definitely felt a little dehydrated.
Bike: Bike for the most part went well.I consumed between 250-275 calories an hour(between high salt cliff bloks,gatorade,and power gels),and had 2 thermolyte capsules per hour.
Run: Felt great at the start of the run.Switched between water and gatorade,and water and cola every mile on the run.Had one Thermolyte capsule every other mile.I was running at a conservitive pace,and feeling good up until mile 17.Then my whole body started to ache(it even hurt to breath),and I was forced to walk/jog the last 9 miles.
At the finish I was physically,and mentally exhausted.Once I had 2 slices of pizza post race,I felt much better.
Is it possible that being a little dehydrated that early in the race affected me later on in the day?Was it the heat?Not enough sodium/calories?
Thanks
Maybe it was because thats the hard part of the race? Who doesn’t have a hard time for the last 9 miles of the run?
Because it’s an Ironman?!
This was my 5th Ironman,and I never felt that crappy late in the race.
At times I literally felt like I was going to pass out.
I agree that the last 9 miles of an IM are tough,but the last 2 hours of this race was MUCH tougher than any of my other IM’s.
You bonked. Low blood sugar was the likely culprit as evidenced by your feeling faint. Low blood sugar caused by a low intake of calories on the run. You were only taking in watered down gatorade and coke, not very high in calories. You should have probably taken in a few gels.
I ate probably 8 gels on the run in addition to gatorade at every other station. The last 4 miles were all coke and gatorade.
I ended up pretty dehydrated, as well. But, I never felt faint. The fact that you were able to eat food directly after finishing makes me think that you weren’t too dehydrated. My stomach shuts down when I am low on fluids.
Those are my thoughts.
Was that the hottest IM you have done? I felt worse the last 1/2 of IMLou despite better run fitness than my previous 2 (IMLP and IMF) by a mile! It didn’t seem so hot because it was hotter the week prior 100 degrees, but was still a high of 91 during the run for most 10-12 hour people and you won’t find too many marathons run in that kind of weather.
Louisville was my 9th IM and 1st DNF. By mile 5 on the run I was wobbling and could not breathe good. Around mile 9 I was stopped trying to catch my breath to keep from passing out. The medical personnel came by, checked me out and advised me not to continue and took me to medical. After a couple of hours I was better but still felt wiped out. I am hoping it was the heat. Good job finishing.
<<Was that the hottest IM you have done?>>
Yes it was.
I was just a bit suprised that I went from feeling great,to having a meltdown all within 2 miles.
I’d also suspect lack of calories, the metldown aspect is what leads me to think that.
8 ounces of gatorade has 50 calories in it, at aid stations you were probably taking in three ounces or so.
So you were burning more calories per hour by running but taling in less of them.
<<You bonked. Low blood sugar was the likely culprit as evidenced by your feeling faint. Low blood sugar caused by a low intake of calories on the run. You were only taking in watered down gatorade and coke, not very high in calories. You should have probably taken in a few gels.
I ate probably 8 gels on the run in addition to gatorade at every other station. The last 4 miles were all coke and gatorade. >>
I’m thinking that this might be the case. I tried sticking to just liquids,because I was afraid I might have some stomach issues,if i went with the gels. I normally take in pretzels/bannanas at every other aid station,but I was having a hard time eating solid foods.
I’m a lot heavier then you (180), but I typically eat 16 gels on the run, and have coke and water at every aid station.
<<Was that the hottest IM you have done?>>
Yes it was.
I was just a bit suprised that I went from feeling great,to having a meltdown all within 2 miles.
Like the others said, you most definitely bonked. When hot, this is much easier. I only had 2 gels on the bike since I had major calories from my InfinIT on the bike (450/hour - all liquid). I had 4 gels on the run and I should have had 1-2 more in hindsight with the heat (4 is usually enough for me for a 3:30 marathon split - but I didn’t run a 3:30 mary split there!)
I agree that you bonked, but I think the bonk was because of what you did on the bike, not on the run:
“Bike for the most part went well. I consumed between 250-275 calories an hour”
I am 5’11", 160lbs, and for an IM I shoot for 350-400 cals/hr on the bike. 3 gels x 90cal = 270 + 16oz gatorade (@ 50cal/8oz) = 370cal. Water with the gels, gatorade in between. That’s a lot of gels, I know, but it works for me. I practiced the hell out of my nutrition too until I got it right.
N=1, I know, but I wouldn’t even be able to finish the bike on 250 cal/hr.
Sorry you had a tough run, good job sticking it out.
mm
<<N=1, I know, but I wouldn’t even be able to finish the bike on 250 cal/hr. >>
I did Lake Placid 5 weeks earlier,and did ok going with 250-275 cal/hr.,but like rroof said maybe the heat came into play,and i needed to take in more calories.
I wasn’t there, but I would bet heavily that the heat was a major factor. Tim
have you considered that the statement below may have something to do with having a tough last 9 miles.
I would have put this in with the original details (ie. height weight nutrition etc etc
Not saying it is the cause but I would sure consider it among the factors
“I did Lake Placid 5 weeks earlier”
beat me to it…seriously it kind of sounds like you don’t respect the demands this event puts on you.
whoa whoa whoa
I am not saying that at all.
I have no idea who this guy is or what shape he is in.
I have 2 friends that did LP and will be in WI next weekend and both will be upper 1/3 racers.
I am merely saying one needs to consider another IM that close as one of the factors to having a tough last 9 miles.
beat me to it…seriously it kind of sounds like you don’t respect the demands this event puts on you.
I did Lake Placid 5 weeks earlier
Funny how you didn’t think that was relevant information to put in your original post.
I’m thinking that this might be the case. I tried sticking to just liquids,because I was afraid I might have some stomach issues,if i went with the gels. I normally take in pretzels/bannanas at every other aid station,but I was having a hard time eating solid foods.
Yeah, you bonked big time. Next time grab some pretzels anyway. 
But seriously, the heat has a pretty big impact. If you weren’t paying attention to your sweat rate you might not have noticed a sudden slowdown in sweating. When I get to about 3lb dehydrated my body switches off the sweat and my body temp jumps and I come to a screeching halt. If I’m out on a hard bike ride I can go from averaging 250W or so down to way less than 200W in a matter of 10 minutes.
PS-drinking cold water can mess up your digestion too. It’ll feel good and helps to cool you down a bit, but cold water doesn’t help you digest food.