2016 will be even more challenging (and rewarding) as I tackle a very demanding work schedule, completing my Masters in Accounting & ‘training’ to pass the CPA Exam. This wouldn’t be possible with the support of my family, friends and sponsors.
All roads will lead to October 8th, 2016 – Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii!
Swim : one loop lake swim in 63 degree waters. Cloudy skies made sighting the buoys very easy. The lack of yardage over the past couple of months of training translated to a 1:15:xx swim. Nonetheless, I felt good coming out of the water and was ready to tackle to bike course!
Bike : 3 loops on a very mentally challenging out and back course. Essentially, the entire way out is a false flat and coming back is a net “descend” back to Tempe Beach Park.
The legs took longer than normal to settle into race pace. During the first loop, I tried to keep heart rate below 170, holding about 225 watts to the turnaround. As I suspected, wattage would fade just slightly on the way back to town. The heart rate stayed between 160-165 bpm for the first 50 minutes of the ride, so nutrition was limited to liquids. After the turnaround, I began eating some solids and hydrated more when heart rate dropped down to 150’s.
The second loop was almost identical as the first – keeping heart rate and wattage at a manageable level without burning too many matches. There was a slightly stronger headwind going out on the second loop, so the idea of a stronger tailwind also provided some extra motivation to get to the turn around as fast as possible. Once I hit the turnaround, I kept the perceived effort level for as long as I could. The “descent” back to town on the second loop was my fastest for the day.
The winds had changed, and shortly after loop three, we were hit with rain, and plenty of it! The headwinds going out to the turnaround were no longer as strong as the first two loops, and neither were my legs. Heart rate remained in the low 160s and high 150s for the remainder of the ride, and so did the rain. The latter portion of the ride featured a couple of turns, which made it tricky when passing cyclists finishing up their second loop – passing with caution was my number one priority since a bike crash would be unacceptable.
I ended up with a split of 4:51:xx on the day and felt good once I stepped off the bike.
Run : Nature calls after a long bike ride so hitting up the bathroom was first, then a quick change into my running clothes and Newtons. This was the first time I did not have a volunteer help me in the changing tent, given there were only a handful of other guys changing next to me. I ran out of transition and quickly settled into a comfortable ~7:30 pace. The first 4-5 miles of the run went by quickly. I saw Christina at mile 4 and then at mile 6. By the 10km split, the rain intensified. My socks were soaked, my insoles would no longer stay in place, and the constant need to stop and adjust my shoes diminished any run rhythm I had left. I saw Christina at mile 11 and remember saying that I can no longer continue with these conditions. The rain subsided for a brief period between mile 11 and 12, before picking up again when I stumbled my way through to the second loop. By then, my legs have started to lock up (a familiar feeling from running the 60km in Central Park). This feeling meant that if I were to continue, I would be putting myself into more trouble by gambling with injury.
Was the risk of being sidelined and not able to run for two to three months worth the glory of finishing?
The answer was a definite no.
Couples with decreasing temperatures, and a shivering body by mile 14, I decided to pull the plug. My day was done. I turned around, headed back to transition, cheered on the other competitors, and turned in my timing chip.
I am truly blessed to be able to start the race, and although finishing it is important, my wellbeing and physical health was more critical. This was a tough decision to make, but it is one that was most appropriate.
So, a huge Congratulations to all the Ironman Arizona finishers and also to those who didn’t make it all the way to the finishers line. Every race is a learning experience. There will be other races and other opportunities to shine.
The build up towards Ironman Louisville was shorter than ideal – something that many athletes doing the Ironman 70.3 World Championship & Kona would agree with. Essentially, it was allotted me about 5 1/2 weeks after coming back from Zell Am See, Austria to build and taper. I quickly got to work after getting back and took a much shorter taper, something that I have found success in throughout the season.
I made my way out to Louisville from NYC on Thursday. Because of some meetings on Thursday morning, I didn’t get out on the road until noon. The drive took about 12 hours. After 9 hours of driving, I made a pit stop in Columbus, particularly Elevator Brewing Company for their steak and microbrews (and Thursday Night Football). I arrived in Louisville by half past midnight, checked into the hotel and promptly passed out!
steak me!
The next morning, I met up with some friends who were also staying at the Galt House. We had breakfast, then made our way to registration. I spent most of the day getting my gear together and eventually, Jill and I went out for a quick spin to finalize our bike setups. The latter part of the afternoon and evening was more relaxation, capped off with a Mexican styled dinner.
On Saturday, we went to the official practice swim. The Ohio River’s water quality had recently been plagued by algae blooms, but by race week, it was good enough to swim in! My swim felt strong during the practice swim; maybe it was the Zone3 Wetsuit?
Jill and I checked in our bikes as early as possible. I would later check in my bike and run bags since I wanted my shoes for a quick shakeout run – I ended up running 5 miles…I couldn’t resist the view from the walking bridge (it connects Indiana & Kentucky). Look at the view!
After checking in my bike and run bags, I jogged back to the Galt House to meet up with Christina [sherpa]. If you read my previous post, you would know that her race (Ironman Maryland) was postponed two weeks, so she was stuck with an additional 2-week taper. I was overjoyed when she still decided to come sherpa my race. It’s heroic!
Race Day – October 11th, 2015
If you are unfamiliar with Ironman Louisville, the swim is a self-seeded start (first come first in the water) format, so getting on the swim line was most important. I got up at 4am to prep a nice and hearty breakfast…and of course, COFFEE! By 4:45am we had made our way down to the lobby where we met up with Jill towards transition. Thanks to Ironman’s frequent flyer program (All World Athlete), our bikes were racked within 5 feet of each other, so I was able to double check Jill’s bike after getting mine ready.
We waited on swim line for a while. Even though I thought that we had made it out of transition early enough to get a good spot on line, it was not the case. By the time we started the race, the gun had gone off about 20 minutes prior.
Swim – The swim was pleasant. I started at the same time as Jill but soon had lost her in the mix. Sighting towards the sunrise for the first 40% of the swim made navigating to the turn buoys more difficult. After the turn, it was a matter of swimming as smooth as possible towards transition. I found some feet to follow for a large portion of the race and comfortably reached the shore in 68:55.
To put this into perspective, my previous Ironman swim of similar caliber was a 76 minute ordeal at Lake Placid.
Bike – I quickly mounted my CEEPO Venom and headed out towards River Road. I got dialed in early on and found that the swim was not as taxing as expected. Maybe next time I’ll swim faster! The Louisville bike course is quite unique, since I have either done a very large 2 loop course (like Lake Placid) or a loop course like Kona and Florida. Our ride took us out towards La Grange county, where we first descended and climbed on a road 1694; the road was recently repaved so that was where I was able to hit my top speed when I tucked in low. Throughout the ride, I kept my heart rate between 150’s and 160’s, knowing that this zone was where I was most comfortable pushing out my watts. Through 60 miles, my wattage was dialed in but I started to fade just a tad bit, most likely from under eating. I never like to overload my stomach, but its definitely something to work on for future races. By mile 80, I was back on track. The second loop through La Grange was inevitably slower than first due to stronger winds coming from the west. Luckily, by mile 90, I was able to find some carrots up ahead to help keep up my wattage as I caught and passed fading cyclists. The last 10 miles were all in headwind, nothing extraordinary but strong enough to mess with your head if you weren’t feeling well. My legs were feeling alright by that point, so I decided to drop the wattage just a little bit to save some oomph for the run. I splitted a 5:04:38, reaching T2 first in my age group.
Run – I took my time with a full wardrobe change in T2, stripping down as soon as I entered the men’s changing tent. I apologize to the 6 women volunteers that had to see my birthday suit…the entrance was not closed off! It was critical for me to simulate the run as close to a regular long run, noting that comfort was my top priority. I took a nice long pee break before leaving T2 in 6 minutes and 21 seconds.
After leaving the transition area, I saw Christina and didn’t hesitate to get my hug. For some reason, I was in no rush to run, and I later found out why…I had under-ate way too much on the bike and paid for it at mile 2 of the run, where I had to walk and eat before continuing on my run.
coming in for that hug!
The legs felt great from then on and even through the finish line. I managed to negative split for a good portion of the run. I think my 1/2 marathon split was just under 1:38 (I don’t like to look at my watch). In the end, and after battling over 10kilometers of side stitches, I managed to run a 3:38:55. Certainly not my best, but also not my worst run but it was a nutrition red flag I have to address.
RESULT – The goal for this race was to punch my ticket back to the Big Island for 2016. And so, the next day, I accepted my Ironman World Championship spot.
Thank you to my friends and family for putting up with my crazy schedule.
Thank you Christina for being the best sherpa – I’m blessed.
And…
Thank you to Perfect Fuel Chocolate Elite Team, Zone3 Wetsuits, CEEPO Triathlon Bikes, Newton Running, Rudy Project, Headsweats, ISM Seat, and SCODY Australia for providing me with the support I need to achieve my race goals.
