It's funny how things change over time. For a while, I could not really bring myself to sit down and write a recap of what I see as my worst IM race so far. But now that we are in the midst of a cancelled season, and after having spent a ton of time reading numerous threads on the web about various races cancelled/postponed/not coming back at all, I have realized that there is a non-trivial chance of this being my last IM race for a long time... and so, it is time to write it down, because some key lessons were learned on 11/24/2019, and in retrospect there were some bright spots in my IM number 6. Alright, here it goes.
In terms of the gear, I was worried about the desert heat in the middle of the day, so brought with me my old Rudy Airwing helmet and my LG M2 one piece suit. The wind situation was pretty uncertain, so I opted for the trusty Zipp 404 FC set that handled well in any conditions. I definitely remembered the lesson from Boulder and brought my Hoka Cliftons v1 reissue edition shoes. The lower legs felt a little tired from a big hike the weekend before, so I brought some calf sleeves just in case... for placebo effect mainly.
Here's the bike setup for the race.
In theory I was about 25% fitter in mid-November based on the Elevate app as compared to my pre-Boulder fitness level. By the end of November I had logged about 1800 miles more vs the previous year. I had my bike dialed in real good. I was swimming well and often. It looked good, and I was heading into the race thinking of going sub 10 hours. With that mindset I drove to Phoenix and got there late on Thursday night. The whole place was drenched from the rains in the last 2 days - so much for the desert!
Day 1
Woke up on Friday and had to switch rooms the first thing in the morning. I ended up with a room right next to the elevator after the check in since I got there so late and at night the noise drove me nuts. The hotel clerk was super accommodating and I ended up with a massive room upgrade too! That was a good start. I ate breakfast after moving, went food shopping, got the necessities (PB, gatorade, bagels, turkey, Budweiser 😀) and met up with my buddy Brad at 11am at the IM village. We got checked in, went down to Tempe lake, made sure it is still there - and it was pretty gnarly looking water quality wise as always, with debris and dead fishes.
After enjoying the view, we made plans to grab dinner later on. I went back to the hotel, assembled the bags, checked the bike... realized that I was probably short a tube, a GU or 2 and possibly a CO2 cartridge. Made plans to stop by a bike shop nearby before dinner to get the missing items.
Took a nap and then headed downstairs for some hot tubbing. Almost drowned my cell phone, had a bit of a scare with the water getting into the charging port (hair dryer to the rescue), and then drove to the bike shop. After buying the stuff I was looking for and receiving a sage advice to get some Gatorskins to avoid thorns inflicted flats on the Beeline highway, I met Brad for some beer and Mexican food near ASU. We talked about the weather, whether it makes sense to pre-swim tomorrow, old work anecdotes... He had to leave early to pick up his wife from the airport, and I drove home, and was in bed by 10.
Day 2
Got up at around 6:30 am and did a quick pre-ride/pre-run near the hotel. It was pretty chilly and I did not do anything too strenuous. The area was not super bike friendly or perhaps not friendly period
and so I was back in the lobby for breakfast by 8.
I had my drop off time at around noon, and I drove to Mill ave. Everything went well, except for somehow getting stuck behind a very slow moving train at the rail crossing for good 15 mins! After the drop off walked around the village again, but headed back by 1. Later at night met Brad (and his wife Mara) again and we tried to get into an Italian restaurant near their hotel, but it was packed. We ended up in a place that looked a bit like Chucky Cheese's but had decent sandwiches. Brad told me that he had swam in the morning and the water was cold. I joked that now he knows what to expect and is already infected with the TTL bacterium. And yep, more dead fish and odd colored things were in the water during the swim!
Well at least we will have a protein snack available if it comes to it. Was back at the hotel by 9:30, and in bed by 10.
Race day
Got up at 3:00am, ate 2 bagels with PB and bananas and a Starbucks espresso. The forecast looked perfect - mostly mid 60s to the low 70s, some overcast, no real wind. Was out of the door by 3:50 am, parked at the same lot as I did on Friday. The T1 was the usual chaos. Found my bike, attached the bottles, the batteries and the Garmin, pumped the tires to about 90 psi, checked on the gear bags... tried to meet up with Brad, but we kept missing each other. Went to the water at around 6:40 am. It was still dark, but the sun was poking through the clouds. Lined up with the 1:10 group and started making peace with the Universe once again.
Swim
I took it pretty easy early on but got into a good rhythm after 200 yards. However, by the time we got to the 1st bridge, I started to get cold. By the time we turned around I was very cold - as in starting to shiver. No idea why - the water did not seem that cold... but yeah I should have listened to Brad. The swim to the Tempe bridge was the worst. I wanted to quit several times, and caught myself looking longingly at the paramedics who would rescue me from this watery hell. I tried to go faster but the muscles were not having it. The last 800 yards were done on pure adrenaline. It almost felt like I was struggling for my life in some bullshit 2 mile swim, how pathetic. Never been happier to see the finish platform before. Total time 1:27:48, Garmin file here.
T1
We had to run from the exit point near the museum back to the park - about 600 yards. I was so cold that I was not thinking clearly.... and took off my weitsuit. That was a seriously dumb move. I got even colder by the time I got to the tent. Had to sit full 20 mins near the heater (which got crowded quite fast), sip some chicken soup and shiver in my space blanket. Eventually I got warm enough to put on my bike gear with removable sleeves and head out. Total time 28 mins.
Bike
The first few miles through Tempe were a struggle. Was still cold, shivering and not quite seeing straight. Tried eating a a Clif bar that I taped to the top tube, and after about 15 mins I started feeling a bit more normal. The first lap on Beeline was not bad, and the turnaround came up quite quick. I lost the sleeves, stopped for 20 seconds to stretch the back and flew down that hill. During that stretch for the first time in the morning I felt fine. A bit better than fine perhaps. The second lap came and went quick but I started to get that grinding sensation in the lower back and the slow ambient heat from the desert was starting to bake me ever so slowly. On the way back into town I got a new set of bottles from the special needs and a cold cola, chugged half of it and continued. The goal was to start preserving energy for the run since I knew that the 3rd loop will be a struggle - and always is.
But to the contrary it went pretty easy. I had to push some watts up to get to the turnaround, but coming back felt quite good save for some chafing in the nether regions. Unfortunately the spec needs already chucked my bag, so I could not get my lube... but the good people manning the station gave me some Vaseline and it helped. I pulled into town feeling kind of exhausted and having to dodge the pot holes on Rio Salado. Bike time 5:53:18, Garmin file here.
T2
It went quick. I left the shoes clipped in as always, grabbed my bag, threw on the HR strap, changed socks, put on shoes, calf sleeves, race belt, a hat and sun glasses and was out of the door. Total time 5 mins.
Run
I knew that the swim and the T1 fiasco killed any chance of it being a PR or anything close to it. I also knew that during the first 20 mins of the bike I burned a lot of matches... so the goal was to run a steady pace of about 8:20. I was planning to stick with the trusty diet of cola and water, and an occasional Clif shot or 2. It seemed doable pretty much until mile 11 or so where I started to feel (quite suddenly) that the bottom is about to fall out. In fact I was panicking that I could not even make it to the split to the 2nd lap. I got there though and the next 3 miles went ok, but once I crossed the lake I felt that I had to hit the portapotty which meant peeling the top off from my sweaty skin... and that's when the run/walk started. From that point everything was bugging me. The M2 suit was chafing, the glasses were hurting my nose (I ended up chucking them), the shoes felt wooden... The race was effectively over and I sort of limped along to the finish line, although I ran up that pesky Curry Road hill with some spark. It was a weird feeling - the stomach was perfectly fine, but the energy was just gone. I walked the 24th mile aid station and after that jogged to the finish line in darkness. Mike Reilley butchered my last name for the 2nd and the final time that year - here the finish chute video. Thanks Mike nonetheless.
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