Race Report IMKY 2009

Prerace

We arrive in Louisville on Thursday past midnight. Fellow Cayman triathlete Rebecca Lillywhite (Beccy) has booked accommodation at the Galt House Hotel. Staying at the Galt has its advantages. It houses the expo, athlete check-in and is within walking distance of swim start and transition.

Friday morning we make our way to the designated practice swim area. The swim course is in the Ohio River, supposedly a polluted river with strong currents. My first impression of the river is actually pretty good. I guess it helps when expectations are low. The water isn’t visibly dirty, but visibility is zero. This basically means that we will be swimming blind. The current is fairly strong but easily manageable and water temperatures are pleasant. Although I have brought my wetsuit to Louisville with rumours of colder water temps, there is no way we will be swimming in wetsuits on race day.

After a successful dip in the river we head back to the Galt. Breakfast buffet is on the second floor. We meet up with Beccy’s friends from BVI: Ian and Ashling. Ian is racing. I stuff myself with all the breakfast goodies. Registration is next. It takes nearly two hours. My weight is measured at 145 lbs (65.8 kg) and body fat is 7%.

In the evening there is a Pre-race dinner at a convention center nearby. A massive room has been converted into a dining area. A large scene is placed at one end with a screen running commercials. After dinner the race briefing commences. But no race briefing can commence before the national anthem with appointed soloist and a prayer. It is way over the top, but typical American and I love it. I don’t know what it is about the Star-Spangled Banner, but it never disappoints, maybe it is because it's set to the tune of an English drinking song.

Saturday we check in the bikes and transition bags and go for light pre-race pasta meal before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Race day

The alarm clock is set for 4 am. Coffee, oatmeal and two small bottles of Ensure, approx. 1,200 calories. At 4:45 am we are on our way to transition at the Great Lawn. Bikes are loaded and wheels receive a top-up of air and we’re off to the swim start at Tumbleweed about 1 mile away. We queue for body marking at the swim start. There are plenty of body markers on hand so we are soon able to follow the herd of athletes making their way to the end of the line for the time trial start.

Most Ironman events are mass starts. Louisville is different. Athletes self-seed themselves at the start based on their arrival at the swim start. A mass swim start for the pros is scheduled for 6:50 am followed by a 7:00 am time-trial start for the rest of us.

The line seems to snake forever along the river bank. How did all these people manage to get here so early? We didn’t leave it till last minute. Waiting in line is cold and I feel a bit miserable. There is still an hour till the start. Worse still, the anticipation of the race and low temps triggers a bladder filling reaction and I have to relieve myself on several occasions. Starting the race in a slightly dehydrated state is not ideal.

Finally we hear the gun and the pros are off. I spot the pros through the trees making good progress along the river bank. 10 minutes later the age groupers start entering the water one by one. The line is moving quickly so they must be getting the athletes into the water at a very fast rate. As the line works its way forward and we approach the start the volunteers are prepping us for the entry. Final “good lucks” pass between Beccy, Ian and I and we cross the timing mat and jump into the water.

The first 200m I am zigzagging between swimmers, but soon find some clear water. I had anticipated swimming along either left or right side of the bank, but surprisingly find plenty of room in the middle. I am kicked a few times, but this is really nothing compared what I have tried in the past. I reach the turnaround point feeling okay but not great. I know from training that it sometimes can take 1-2 km before I feel comfortable and can start cruising. Especially without any warm-up and a cold hours wait I don’t expect my body to be in full race mode yet. We are now outside the sheltered area and in the main river. I can see the bridges in the distance. The swim exit is just passed those bridges. I try to sight a good line, but the course is now so wide that athletes are spread and congestion is less of an issue. However, it seems to me a wide right is a good option. After a couple of minutes I settle into a nice grinding rhythm. The pace is a comfortable hard and I do a combination of two, three, four and occasional five stroke breathing. I feel strong all the way to the exit.

Swim Time 1h02m18s
Overall 117th
Age Group 14th

T1

As I exit the water I feel great. I can’t believe it, maybe I should have pushed harder? I sprint up the hill to transition passing several athletes in the process. It must be those monster swimming efforts with a maxed out heart rate at the Stroke and Stride that are now paying dividends. I look for the race clock to give me an idea of my swim time. No clock in sight. I find my bike bag after a bit of stuffing around and head into the change tent. Speed suit off, helmet, sun glasses, bike shorts and race belt on and I’m off running again with Garmin and bag in hand. I drop of the bike bag (which now contains goggles, swim cap and speed suit) outside the tent. Locating the bike is easy. By now I have put on the Garmin and turned it on. I head out of the bike park crossing the timing mat to register my time.

Time 3m53s.

Bike

I jump onto the saddle, gather some momentum and slip my feet into the bike shoes. About 2 minutes into the ride I hit a bump and one of my Power Bars fall out of my bento box. Damn it, that was 240 calories. Oh well, will just have to grab something from one of the aid stations. I make sure to drink plenty of water straight away to make up for the dehydrating start. My Garmin is still trying to find the satellites. How long can this take? I have no idea how fast I am going. I don’t want to push the pace too much to start with. Finally, it comes online. Yikes, 41 km/h that is much faster than I want to go. I regulate speed and perceived effort and finally settle into a good rhythm.

After about 15 km the hills begin. The temperature is still quite low and I’m not sweating as much as I am used to. My nose is also a bit runny from the cooler weather. I reckon I might be able to skip water at a few aid stations.

The course contains an out and back section and two counter clockwise loops before we head back into town.

The out and back section is very picturesque and contains some fairly steep but short climbs. These are not mountains, but they are steep enough to get you out of the saddle for a while. There is a bridge crossing across a creek at the bottom of a hill that is marked for danger, but it doesn’t give rise to any trouble even though travelling at 65 km/h.

Finishing the out and back, I embark on the first of the two loops. The roads are good, the terrain is still rolling and the temperature is still nice and cool. The rolling terrain is making me shift gears constantly. By the end of this ride I will probably have shifted gears more than I would in a year in Cayman. Until now I have been passing riders constantly since the start, so I am surprised when a rider overtakes me. Fine, I’ll use him as a focus point to keep up my pace. I stay about 7 meters behind him to avoid a drafting penalty. This can be difficult at times with differing riding styles on the hills. I probably push too hard on the ascents and too little on the descents. But this is the way I like to ride. At La Grange the crowds are out. Lots of cheering, shouting and cow bells. Awesome. I lose contact with my riding “buddy” as he surges up a longer hill. While I could have stayed with him, I feel I’m riding at a good solid pace and there is no need to increase the perceived effort at this stage in the race.

At the start of the second loop I pass Beccy. She shouts words of encouragement. Thanks Beccy. This time around the course is seriously congested. I am constantly passing slower riders. I approach a rider on one of the downhill’s going suspiciously slow with one leg to the side. He is relieving himself. I swerve far left to avoid the stream of fluid.

Having completed the second loop it is time to head back to Louisville. I am alone again. I spot one rider in the distance that’s all. I look at my Garmin and try to calculate my final time. I know that I started the watch about 2km into the ride and assuming for simplicity an average speed of 40 km/h for those first 2 km gives 3 minutes to add to my Garmin’s time. Okay so I won’t be going sub 5 hours, but it will be close to 5h10m. I’ll take that as long as I can run!

Unfortunately my stomach feels tight. Not a good sign. Should I eat? My nutrition plan calls for a Power Bar, but I haven’t any left since I dropped a bar at the beginning. The bike ride has set its mark and I’m feeling tired. I decide on some calories despite the tight stomach. At the final aid station I grab a gel. It’s café latte taste, definitely not my favorite, but nothing I can do about it.

I make the final turns towards the bike park, get my feet out of my shoes and start thinking about the run. I dismount and hit the ground running. Now we’ll find out whether the stomach is agreeable or not.

Time 5h09m22s
Overall 50th
Age Group 9th

T2

I hand off the bike and start running towards the transition area. I grab my run bag and continue into the changing tent. A volunteer runs with me. My helmet is already off so I proceed to take off my bike shorts. The volunteer asks what I want from the bag. I tell him to empty the contents in front of me. I put on cap, socks and shoes and dump the rest on the ground. The volunteer says he’ll take care of the bag for me. I thank him and head out of the tent. I can feel the stomach acting up so I decide to visit a portaloo. If that can solve the problem it would be well worth the extra time. After about a minute I emerge feeling none the better. Damn. Will just have to get on with that marathon.

Time 4m08s

Run

First part of the run is an out and back on the bridge. My stomach is in turmoil and I’m running much slower than I want to. I am being passed by several athletes. This is so annoying. You can swim and bike to your very best, but if you can’t pull off a decent run your overall time will suffer. I have to do something to calm the stomach. A guy named Charles runs up beside me and we exchange a few words. He is easing into the run and happy to go at a slower pace. We start the first loop. I try some deep breathing. It’s helping!! After about 500m I feel great. As Charles drops something and stops I speed up. This is it, crunch time. I decide to take full advantage of the fact that I feel good. My pace increases to sub seven minute miles or close to 3 hr marathon pace. I start passing the athletes that overtook me earlier. This is such a high.

After about 3 km I settle on a more reasonable pace. The initial surge was very well, but I risk burning out at that pace. A guyed named Evan comes flying past me. Wow, he is killing it. Post-race I look him up and he did a 2h55m marathon. Amazing. I can see the pros coming in the other direction finishing their first loop. I guess it won’t be long before race leader Luke McKenzie passes me.

We are running through a residential area and the locals are out, blasting out music and cheering us on. It is pretty flat. Feed stations are about every mile and I’ve been taking on water and coke. I figure the coke will help settle my stomach. I also grab a few cold sponges which I place inside my tri suit in the chest area. Ice is somewhat sparse at the aid stations. When I do manage to grab some ice I toss it down my tri suit where it settles in my crotch area. From experience I know this is one of the best places for cooling the body as some major blood veins pass in that region. So far I have been running through each aid station slowing only a little. Walking aid stations will kill my running splits so I purposely try to keep running.

I finally reach the turnaround. I see race leader Luke McKenzie. It won’t be long before he passes me. I pass the half way mark in around 1h39m (I later find out the split was 1h38m28s). I’ll take that. It is actually faster than my half marathon at Florida 70.3 earlier in the year. If I can just keep a reasonable pace I should be able to go under 3h30m. With a good swim that means I am easily heading for a sub 10 hr finish. Excellent.

A cyclist pulls up beside me bearing the marker “1st Male” and Luke is right behind. As he overtakes me I shout some words of encouragement. Within a couple of minutes the second placed male pro Viktor Zyemtsev comes storming past and I mean storming. I can’t believe how fast this guy is running. Unbelievable. He’ll catch Luke in no time. Post race I read that Zyemtsev was surging at this point in the race to catch Luke.

I am nearly in town again. There are lots people and lots of noise. I turn right less than 200m from the finish line and head out on the second loop. Now it’s a case of holding on. Mentally it is tough, but I am determined. I run with a guy on his first loop. We’re running 8 min mile pace (5 min per km). I lose contact with him when I decide to walk an aid station (my first). However, I quickly catch up with him again. Slowly mile after mile are ticked off. I’m still managing at least 8 min mile pace, but walk the aid stations to ensure sufficient calorie intake. Don’t want to risk running into a serious bonk.

I pass the 25 mile marker. It is really starting to hurt. My stomach and quads are tight. To compensate, I lean into the run. I must look ridiculous, but who cares getting to the line as fast as possible is the prime objective. I can get through this, less than 10 minutes to go. As I reach the home straight the noise is deafening, I try to straighten my back and run strong, but it is impossible. I normally always have something left at the end, but not this time. The race clock reads 10h12m so I’m sure my own time is under 10 hours. My body gives in as I cross the finish line and a volunteer grabs me.

Time 3h28m25s
Overall 95th
Age Group 10th

Total Race Time 9h48m06s
Overall 46th
Age Group 5th

Post Race

A volunteer takes me to the medical tent in a wheelchair. The medics check my vital signs and ask several questions. I try to drink some Sprite but can’t seem to stomach it. After lying down for another 10 minutes they offer me an IV. After a liter of fluid I feel much better. They check my vitals again and sit me up. Pro athlete Peter Kotland is sitting next to me. He has also had an IV. Incredibly he is doing another ironman in two weeks time!

I head back to the hotel to check my time. Facebook comes up per default and I can see Marius has already commented on my time. 9h49m (corrections where later made so I ended on 9h48m). How good is that? With that time I would easily have qualified for Kona last year. I check the official website, fifth in my age group. My hands are shaking. Last year there were 8 slots in my age group, if there are the same this year I will have qualified directly, no rolldown needed. There is supposed to be a listing of the slot allocations somewhere, but I have no idea where and I am too drained to go looking now. I call Majken in Denmark. It feels so good to talk to someone about the experience. She and her dad had following me closely on-line all day and she is full of praise and excitement. Have I really done the impossible? Surely I have, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. I will wait till the morning to find out.

After a shower and a few biscuits I head down to transition to pick-up my bike. Once back in the hotel room I check Beccy’s time. She is about half way on the run. I wait another 45 minutes and then make my way slowly to the finish line. I meet the BVI gang. Ray has just finished and Ian a bit before him. They continue on to the post race area for some drink and food. I find a look-out spot about 50m from the finish line. I take a look at the race clock and estimate that Beccy is at least 30 minutes from finishing. Plenty of time to grab some food and drink. As I‘m finishing a coffee, bagel and strawberry banana milkshake concerto, Beccy approaches the finish line in strong stride. She looks remarkably fresh. Her major concern is her time because the race clock shows 15 hours something. I confirm that she has gone under 15 as we have to deduct 24 minutes to reflect our later start time. Well done Beccy.

The next day I head down to the slot allocation area. Standing in line with the other hopeful athletes makes me nervous. Finally it is my turn. I approach the table and indicate name and age group. I see a list of names. I’m above the cut-off line. I’ve fricken qualified!! It’s a near impossible dream come true. I’m so happy. All the hard work and sacrifice has paid off. A three year plan has been executed to perfection. In fact it only took 2 years.