Full Vineman Triathlon - Triathlon

The swim went more or less according to plan for me. I usually keep my longer swims around 1:35 sec/ 50 yard pace. This swim was a bit quicker but the wetsuit is mostly to blame. I was also trying to conserve energy for the long day ahead. I was expecting the field to open up a bit more than it did. Throughout the entire 2.4 miles there were people on all sides of me. Luckily I did not get kicked in the face..success! The start was pretty ideal. Self-placing into groups of your expected time (50-59 min, 60-69 min, 70-79 min, etc.) and then we were released just about one at a time to actually enter the water. I had to stand up once because it was too shallow to pull my arms through, but after walking a few paces got back to it. I found a good rhythm after 200-300 yards and the halfway turnaround came sooner than I expected. Once the bridge comes into sight on the way back, you know you're in the homestretch..a welcome sight indeed!

Not much. Swim was executed pretty well. I swam on the inside (buoys always on your left) and got cut off once or twice by someone veering their course to pass inside the buoy. So maybe go a couple yards closer to the middle. But hey, shortest distance between two points is a line, so I wouldn't changed my strategy too much.

I was moving with haste but not panicking or wasting energy. Wetsuit strippers really helpful. It was a good idea to have a towel in the T1 bag because the ground was very muddy. Volunteers were great and told me to leave all my swim gear out and they would pack it into my bag for me. Other volunteers applied sunscreen on the way out of the tent. I ran the bike up the intial short hill before mounting. Not a great T1 time but I was fine with it.

Slower than I was hoping. I think my inexperience (first IM, second tri) was the main reason. It was really cold for the first hour or so but I felt great. On one of the first short but steep hills I got caught in the wrong gear (mind not paying attention in the anxiousness of my first IM), so I ran the bike up and someone yelled "Chris Froome!" Spirits were high and everyone was very supportive and encouraging throughout the day.

I passed the halfway point at 2 hr 54 min and felt fantastic, on pace to achieve my goal of breaking 6 hours. I drew some energy from the crowd and seeing my supporters at the halfway point and that carried for a few miles. At about mile 70 I started to feel out of it. My back and neck and butt and toes were sore and maybe I was a bit dehydrated too? I drank 8, 24 oz bottles throughout the course but it was very hot (upwards of 90 on Northern part of course) and I only used the bathroom once. Anyways, I slowed down 2 or 3 mph and at the aid station at mile 85 I got off my bike and just stood there. About 5 minutes of standing, eating half a banana and half a bottle of water, getting some life back in my legs, and just recooperating. It killed me to see so many bikers pass me and my goal of 6 hours go down the tube, but I knew I wasn't there to win and I still had 30 miles and a marathon ahead. So ultimately it was a wise choice. I spun in pretty easy on the last 30 miles and had done a lot of hill work in training so Chalk Hill wasn't much of an issue. Overall 6:16 was slower than I wanted but not the end of the world.

I had heard a lot about poor road conditions at this event. They were fine. A couple of stretches that were pretty bad but about 70% good and 20% great, maybe 10% poor. All potholes were designated by neon tape on the ground. The worst part was Faught road which they said would be re-paved before the 2017 event.

Nutrition: 6 Clif Blok packs (36 bloks) so 1 pack/hour
2 EFS Liquid shots, so one every 3 hours, frontloading a bit so as to have my stomach settled for the run
2 water bottles filled with EFS Pro. Finish those and fill with water from aid stations. 2 fresh bottles of EFS Pro at special needs. Finish those and fill 1 water/1 gatorade. Drank 8 bottles total

Train more I guess. I did 6-7 rides of +70 miles and only 1 of +100 in training. Having been on the bike for at least 6 hours only once before, I was getting really sore. Perhaps 2 or 3 more of those rides in training would've made me more comfortable with the aches and pains. Then again I've only been biking for 6 months. Also, drinking more in the first half might have prevented me from hitting a wall in the second half.

I was really in no rush here. The bike leg just finished was long and the run leg ahead was long so I was pretty casual without wasting any time. A volunteer comes to take your bike and rack it while you grab your T2 bag. As I gave the volunteer my bike I said "get his thing out of my sight" and she laughed. Threw on shoes, hat, sunglasses, did not change socks, took some advil (anticipating pain), applied sunscreen and vaseline and was on my way. Not an awesome time but I wasn't there to win either.

I knew the run would be a struggle. In my 5 months of training for this event, I had only about 4 weeks of being able to run without injury. I battled tendinitis, shin splints, and some unkown IT band demon. I hadn't run at all for about 2 weeks leading up to the race, hoping that rest would allow any pain on race day to at least be controlled enough that I could push through it. After about 10 steps on the marathon my knees were in pain and I knew I was in trouble.

I was hoping once they warmed up the pain would subside a bit which is exactly what happened. I went 9.5 miles at my goal pace of 10 min miles, aiming to be done in under 4 hours 30 min, and break 12 hours total for the race. At about mile 10 one of my knees locked up and I could not bend it. The last 16 miles were a struggle. Multiple runners saw me limping and offered me help or salt tablets and one girl even gave me her icy hot. The encouragement and camaraderie amongst us athletes was incredible. I wanted to finish strong so I planned to run the home stretch of 4.5 miles without stopping.

It was frustrating to be feeling good cardio-wise and to have trained so hard that my heart was ready to run the whole thing at my goal pace, but my body would not allow. But I've learned so much of the training and ironman process is mental, and mental toughness was required here even more than fighting through the physical pain. I gave every ounce of effort in my body and ran down the home stretch as fast as my legs would allow. I knew if I really pushed those last 4.5 miles I could still break 13 hours and so that was my new goal. Crossing the finish line and hearing "You Are An Ironman!" has to be the best moment of my life.

Nutrition: I ran with a water bottle and put in Gatorade and water at alternating aid stations (1 mile apart). Kept cool by dumping ice water on my neck and head at most aid stations. I took salt tubes 3 times (once per lap) to help prevent cramps. Ran with 2 EFS liquid shots in the tri suit but only downed half of one because I couldn't stomach any more of them. I executed run nutrition largely off of feel. I ended up eating half a banana, one handful of pretzels toward the end, and 3 Clif gu's with caffeine to keep the HR up.

Just bad luck with injuries. I saw doctors, ate right, rested when advised, and did everything I could to be healthy on race day, but it wasn't to be. Hard to know what to do differently since I was limited.

I went to the medical tent and got ice and attention on my knees. Stomach had been great all day but I had no appetite. Just drank fluids until about 3 hours after the race we went out for an 11pm dinner and I devoured a burger.


Injury


Volunteers were amazing! So helpful and cheerful. I tried to thank and encourage them, but I often felt like they were underappreciated because the most you can do is give a thumbs up when whizzing by at 20mph. So thank you volunteers! You make a world of difference.

Excellent organization and gorgeous venue. If I ever were to do another IM I would love to come back to Vineman. Top notch all around.