jrplatt
11-29-2009, 04:18 PM
Here is my race report and hopefully Cindy will stop yelling at me!!!
After IM Canada in 2008, I wasn't planning on doing an IM in 2009 as I was still getting settled in Seattle (after moving from Portland) and starting a new job (that included working a fair amount of night shifts). But for some reason last November, when online registration was available, I asked my wife what she thought about going to AZ in November '09. Her response was "sure, it will be sunny, warm and a good time to get out of Seattle" (of course she knew that she wasn't the one that had to do all the training)! So, I signed up online and didn't really think about it for a few months. I approached this race without having any set goals (i.e. time, place) other than I wanted to be beat my IMC time (ok, I had a goal to eat In-N-Out Burger after the race). But, you can not compare them as the courses/weather are different, I had another year of training behind me (and with power meter that I didn't have last year) and I didn't have any big changes in my life, mid-training, like I did last year. Chris Whyte gave me some last minute advice that really stuck with me, in that if you go out and just do your race, the time (e.g. results) will come (sorry, if I misquoted you, Chris). Simple enough for me...the training was done, now on to the fun part!
Swim:
I knew it was going to be a cold morning when the water was warmer than the air! At all the practice swims I would get out and immediately bundle up to get warm. So, on race day I knew it was going to be a bit chilly for a few miles on the bike. The start of the swim was pretty uneventful; I started right on the buoy line at the front. There was a bit of bumping but nothing significant as I figured most people in that area are pretty competent swimmers. It usually takes me a while to warm-up and we only had about 10 mins before the start. I started to get chilled a bit near the end of the swim so I tried to kick a bit more than usually do to keep some blood in my feet. The exit of the swim is bit different as you have to go up a set of stairs but, the kicker is the bottom stair is only a few inches below the waterline and it's too deep to touch the bottom of the 'lake'. If they added 2 or 3 stairs it would be much easier but, knowing this from the practice swims made it easier.
T1:
I skipped the wetsuit strippers as it is a relatively long distance to the change tent and I figured if I kept my wetsuit on a bit longer I would retain as much heat as possible. My feet were so cold that I felt like I was a pirate walking on two wooden peg legs! Nothing too exciting in the change tent (sorry ladies), when I exited I felt how cold it really was (my bike computer said 46 def F)!!
Bike:
This was my first IM with a power meter so, it was a great way to pace and collect data for evaluation. The course is relatively flat but, has its own challenges (not as bad as the old April race). On the way out to the turn around is when I felt the head wind. I was initially cruising close to 20mph and when I made the turn onto the Beeline Highway, it felt like a wall. I looked at my PM and say 14mph! Oh well, I just stuck to my power plan. Shawn passed me and was nice enough to slow down and say hi! At the turnaround, it was just opposite; I could barely keep my power up as I comfortably make 30+ mph! I was thinking I should have put my bigger chain ring on as my cadence was over 100rpm trying to my power on target! Coming back into town was fun as there were lots of people cheering and was able to see my wife (who got some great pictures). At the start of the 2nd loop I had taken a salt tab which almost ended my whole day. About 10 minutes after I took it, I burped and the contents of the pill were now stuck in my throat. It felt like my throat was burning and closing-in on itself, I could barely inhale and thought I might pass out. I pulled to the side of the road as I figured if I passed out I wouldn't crash my bike too! At this point I thought well, "who would have thought one little salt tab would end my race, "! I drank some water slowly to help wash down the salt and after about 5 minutes the burning was going away and I could breath a bit more normally. I was able to get riding again but my throat still burned for the next hour or so. The winds on the second lap started to die off a bit and by the third lap had actually shifted. I did see a couple draft packs of people 3 bikes wide and about 10 bikes long. The worst part was that a guy at the back of one of the packs purposely threw his empty bottles into the vegetation on the side of the road, no where near an aid station trash drop. It was bit harder to ride an even power level on the last lap as there were more people on the course that were on the 1st or 2nd lap. They do a great job with road closures and the aid stations were very well run with enthusiastic volunteers.
T2:
I put on my Craft ProCool shirt (the one Torbjorn Sindballe wore) to keep me cooler and keep the sun off my arms & back. I also take a small water bottle (about 8 oz) that has a hand strap so that I can sip water/take a gel in between aid stations.
Run:
I used my polar foot pod to pace myself as I know it is easy to go out too fast in the early miles. The run is also 3 loops that go around downtown Tempe and the across the 'lake'. I was able to see my wife a couple times on each lap which is a nice change from most races. The aid stations on the run were really fun as they were themed differently. For example, Trisports.com (http://trisports.com/) hosted one and they had an Old West theme with people dressed up and even a ghost town façade! I focused on one mile at time and walked though the aid stations to fill up my bottle and get a gel when needed. Fortunately, I didn't have any issues with salt tabs on the run! The only downside of the 3 loop course is that you see all the mile markers for the 2nd and 3rd laps. So, while you may only be at mile 4 you see the mile marker for mile 22! Except, when you make the turn to the left that says "to finish" instead of going straight "to 1st, 2nd, 3rd lap". My wife was able to see me finish (and I was still smiling) and meet near the athlete food area.
Post race:
It felt great to be able to sit down and I was actually able to eat some pizza and French fries. I didn't eat too much as I wanted to save room for In-N-Out Burger and fortunately there was one with a couple miles of the finish line. This is also the same one that you pass 6 times on the run course...such torture! I didn't see Chris or Shawn as I figured they were showered, changed and half way back to Seattle by the time I finished! We stayed in Arizona until Wednesday afternoon so, it was nice to relax and do a bit of sight seeing and eating!!
After IM Canada in 2008, I wasn't planning on doing an IM in 2009 as I was still getting settled in Seattle (after moving from Portland) and starting a new job (that included working a fair amount of night shifts). But for some reason last November, when online registration was available, I asked my wife what she thought about going to AZ in November '09. Her response was "sure, it will be sunny, warm and a good time to get out of Seattle" (of course she knew that she wasn't the one that had to do all the training)! So, I signed up online and didn't really think about it for a few months. I approached this race without having any set goals (i.e. time, place) other than I wanted to be beat my IMC time (ok, I had a goal to eat In-N-Out Burger after the race). But, you can not compare them as the courses/weather are different, I had another year of training behind me (and with power meter that I didn't have last year) and I didn't have any big changes in my life, mid-training, like I did last year. Chris Whyte gave me some last minute advice that really stuck with me, in that if you go out and just do your race, the time (e.g. results) will come (sorry, if I misquoted you, Chris). Simple enough for me...the training was done, now on to the fun part!
Swim:
I knew it was going to be a cold morning when the water was warmer than the air! At all the practice swims I would get out and immediately bundle up to get warm. So, on race day I knew it was going to be a bit chilly for a few miles on the bike. The start of the swim was pretty uneventful; I started right on the buoy line at the front. There was a bit of bumping but nothing significant as I figured most people in that area are pretty competent swimmers. It usually takes me a while to warm-up and we only had about 10 mins before the start. I started to get chilled a bit near the end of the swim so I tried to kick a bit more than usually do to keep some blood in my feet. The exit of the swim is bit different as you have to go up a set of stairs but, the kicker is the bottom stair is only a few inches below the waterline and it's too deep to touch the bottom of the 'lake'. If they added 2 or 3 stairs it would be much easier but, knowing this from the practice swims made it easier.
T1:
I skipped the wetsuit strippers as it is a relatively long distance to the change tent and I figured if I kept my wetsuit on a bit longer I would retain as much heat as possible. My feet were so cold that I felt like I was a pirate walking on two wooden peg legs! Nothing too exciting in the change tent (sorry ladies), when I exited I felt how cold it really was (my bike computer said 46 def F)!!
Bike:
This was my first IM with a power meter so, it was a great way to pace and collect data for evaluation. The course is relatively flat but, has its own challenges (not as bad as the old April race). On the way out to the turn around is when I felt the head wind. I was initially cruising close to 20mph and when I made the turn onto the Beeline Highway, it felt like a wall. I looked at my PM and say 14mph! Oh well, I just stuck to my power plan. Shawn passed me and was nice enough to slow down and say hi! At the turnaround, it was just opposite; I could barely keep my power up as I comfortably make 30+ mph! I was thinking I should have put my bigger chain ring on as my cadence was over 100rpm trying to my power on target! Coming back into town was fun as there were lots of people cheering and was able to see my wife (who got some great pictures). At the start of the 2nd loop I had taken a salt tab which almost ended my whole day. About 10 minutes after I took it, I burped and the contents of the pill were now stuck in my throat. It felt like my throat was burning and closing-in on itself, I could barely inhale and thought I might pass out. I pulled to the side of the road as I figured if I passed out I wouldn't crash my bike too! At this point I thought well, "who would have thought one little salt tab would end my race, "! I drank some water slowly to help wash down the salt and after about 5 minutes the burning was going away and I could breath a bit more normally. I was able to get riding again but my throat still burned for the next hour or so. The winds on the second lap started to die off a bit and by the third lap had actually shifted. I did see a couple draft packs of people 3 bikes wide and about 10 bikes long. The worst part was that a guy at the back of one of the packs purposely threw his empty bottles into the vegetation on the side of the road, no where near an aid station trash drop. It was bit harder to ride an even power level on the last lap as there were more people on the course that were on the 1st or 2nd lap. They do a great job with road closures and the aid stations were very well run with enthusiastic volunteers.
T2:
I put on my Craft ProCool shirt (the one Torbjorn Sindballe wore) to keep me cooler and keep the sun off my arms & back. I also take a small water bottle (about 8 oz) that has a hand strap so that I can sip water/take a gel in between aid stations.
Run:
I used my polar foot pod to pace myself as I know it is easy to go out too fast in the early miles. The run is also 3 loops that go around downtown Tempe and the across the 'lake'. I was able to see my wife a couple times on each lap which is a nice change from most races. The aid stations on the run were really fun as they were themed differently. For example, Trisports.com (http://trisports.com/) hosted one and they had an Old West theme with people dressed up and even a ghost town façade! I focused on one mile at time and walked though the aid stations to fill up my bottle and get a gel when needed. Fortunately, I didn't have any issues with salt tabs on the run! The only downside of the 3 loop course is that you see all the mile markers for the 2nd and 3rd laps. So, while you may only be at mile 4 you see the mile marker for mile 22! Except, when you make the turn to the left that says "to finish" instead of going straight "to 1st, 2nd, 3rd lap". My wife was able to see me finish (and I was still smiling) and meet near the athlete food area.
Post race:
It felt great to be able to sit down and I was actually able to eat some pizza and French fries. I didn't eat too much as I wanted to save room for In-N-Out Burger and fortunately there was one with a couple miles of the finish line. This is also the same one that you pass 6 times on the run course...such torture! I didn't see Chris or Shawn as I figured they were showered, changed and half way back to Seattle by the time I finished! We stayed in Arizona until Wednesday afternoon so, it was nice to relax and do a bit of sight seeing and eating!!