IMAZ 2008

I'll start by saying Jason Lester is now going to Kona, so we now have 6 from Odyssey Coaching going to Kona 2008 (4 first timers). We arent finished as there are more races to come for a few of my athletes. Strong work everyone.

IMAZ 08

The good: Handled the conditions fairly well after some adjustments. 4th Kona and 4th Podium in an IM

The bad: 90 seconds from AG win. The third run segment near 8 min pace part of the race is what cost me.

The ugly: Lost an hour's worth of nutrition as the bottle fell out of my top on the run. I always carry 3 gels in case this happens, but regardless, I believe this contributed to my 3rd segment near bonk. Once getting my new nutrition at special needs and getting it down over the following hour, my pace and performance came back.

In the past 6 IM races (not including Kona) I've now placed 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7th. Yet, the number 1 spot has eluded me. It is necessary to find the weaknesses to improve. I have 3 consecutive PR's at the IM distance in this 10 month period, in part because I've improved on my weaknesses.

Never decompensate and make last minute changes because race conditions are unfavorable. I did carry extra sodium caps with me but did not use them. I did not alter my sodium in my nutrition bottles at all on the bike or the run and my nutrition remained as it has for 2 years now in every race. This is the constant factor despite all the conditions I have race in. Now, this doesnt mean a tweak is wrong, just dont freak out and make any change beyond a "tweak".

My "tweak" for this race occurred during the race, on the fly.

Part of what can salvage a race is the ability to make decisions during a race based on real-time events. Its difficult for me to coach these things if I havent encountered them before in other races, like the harsh conditions we had in AZ,. I did things during the race I havent done in the past, and I think it helped me handle this race. For me, these were as follows.

1: I stayed in the aero position in the harsh head wind at all costs. Yeah, I wanted to sit up multiple times, but sitting up was an extreme disadvantage in 20+ mph headwinds. I stayed as low and my head as close to my aerobars as possible. I saw hundreds of athletes out of their aerobars on the 2nd and 3rd laps, which takes you several minutes longer to get to the turn around to get to the tailwind.

2: My inner thighs began to get sore by the end of the first lap. I remembered this happening in Kona 2004 in the headwind. I then realized it must be from my knees bowing outward slightly more than normal to fight the headwind, thus putting more stress on the inner thighs. On the second lap, I purposely kept my knees directed forward and slightly inward, keeping an eye on my knees frequently as I pedalled. The soreness resolved by the end of the second lap.

3: I realized going 17 mph out against the wind may hurt me after 3 laps. So, at the turn around, coming back 28-32 mph in the tail wind, I decided to coast 10-15 seconds every 2 minutes, all the way back. When flying at 29 mph, I realized my average would be around 23 mph after the first lap, so several 10-15 second energy saving coasts at zero watts may help me later in the race. Thus, when my speed got up to 32+ mph, I would coast until my speed dropped to 29-30, which was 10-15 seconds, then pedal again.

4: Because of my "coast" decision above, I reset my watt meter at the end of each lap. Thus, my average wattage would start over at the beginning of laps 2 and 3. Had I not done this, my average watts would have been falsely low due to my coasts. It was critical to know my true average watts going into the headwind on each lap so as to not go over my wattage cap.

5: I decided to drop my average watts by 10 on the second lap as the headwind was just very strong and I just didnt know if 270 watts in that headwind would be too much after 2 more laps.

6: All athletes absorb fluids and carbs a bit slower in extreme heat. I realized this was happening to me as I became a bit nauseated after 1 hour of nutrition, which is not typical for me. So, the next 2 twenty minute nutrition cycles, I backed off 5 minutes. This solved the problem for another couple of hours. When it happened again during the third lap, I simply waited an additional 5 minutes again for a couple of cycles, which again solved the problem.

7: By the end of the second bike lap, my feet began to ache. I again remember this in the headwind at Kona in 04. I just remained aware of this and kept my toes pointed slightly downward on the tired lap, avoiding the "push" with my toes at the 3-6 O'Clock position. Within about 15 minutes, the aching resolved.

8: I lost one of my nutrition bottles in the first mile of the run, 3 doses, or 1 hour worth. I have carried 3 gels in my pocket for over 3 years racing now and this is the first time I have had to use them. Gels are very different than what I usually use but at least allowed me to maintain some nutrition. I did wait 25 minutes between each gel, so after 3 of them, lost a 25 gram carb cycle. I think this is what contributed to my slow 3rd segment. Once at special needs, I resumed my nutrition on schedule and within 30 min or so, started to feel somewhat "strong" again.

8: Independent of my nutrition intake, which remained relatively constant each 20-25 minutes, through each aid station I had the same routine.

Grab 2 sponges first and tuck them under my top at the shoulders. Final 10 miles or so I was just squeezing them onto my head, every aid station.
Take drink of cold water every aid station.
Take small sip, like 2 ounces, of gatorade every other aid station.
Take the next cold water and cup of ice, throw the water into the ice to mix, then dump on head every aid station.

So, that's how I tried to deal with the heat and wind on this course.

My ultimate goal for this race was to get to Kona for their 30th. I didnt want to be watching Ann out there. Now the important decision is whether to race ITU long course world's over labor day weekend or not. This race is basically 3/4 of the IM distance and if I go...I'm racing hard.
My worry is, Kona is 6 weeks later. I am uncertain if we can recover in time. Sure, recovery to race, but to have a great race may be tough.

The numbers:
Swim 1:00.42 (17th divison, 179 overall), my 2nd fastest IM swim
Bike 5:04.48 (2nd division, 25 overall), my 2nd fastest IM bike
Run 3:22.49 (3rd division, 35 overall), one of my slowest IM runs ever
T1 3:38
T2 1:35
Total 9:33.32, 2nd division, 27th overall , 24th male

So, this ones over. Its been a productive season for me, now that's its over.
3 IM races in just under 10 months, and 3 personal bests (9:37, 9:11, 9:33)
3 1/2 IM races in the same period, and 3 consecutive personal bests (4:28, 4:21, 4:15)

I will leave the emotional portions of my race report out this time. I just wanted to give some ideas on the the things I did to alter my pre-race plan, and the "on the fly" things I did which I believe allowed me to place high in this one. I am pleased with the result, but realize at the same time, I lost this race on the run. I will make a few changes in my own running plan this summer.
Well, there is the part of wearing a piece of Ann's cut-up shorts (from her accident) as an arm band for the entire race. Knowing she was with me kept me going many times during the race.

The plans before Kona?
2 1/2 IM
ITU World long course
3 Olympic
3 Sprint

I really wanted some actual rest, but with the schedule I've developed for Ann and I, we will have to start on Monday. Man, the past 5 days have been nice though.

-Dave C