Ironman Chattanooga 2014
Build Up & Training2014 was to be the year of Tiffany's first Ironman. We discussed several races and finally decided on Chattanooga when it was announced the inaugural race would be on her birthday. My goals for the race were to break 9 hours and finish as the first amateur. After an up and down year where I became a little obsessed, I adjusted my goals to focus more on having fun while doing the best I could.
After my last race in Milwaukee, I had 7 weeks to focus on Chattanooga. I added an hour of steady cycling prior to my swim sessions and reduced my speed work & lifting to once a week. I was doing 2 higher intensity days with everything else being steady aerobic. I based my build up on Matt Dixon's new book and in conjunction with previous knowledge from Brett Sutton and Gordo Byrn. My big change was to do a 3 day taper. From what I read, it would keep me at peak fitness, while not losing the hard earned adaptations that typically decline during a traditional 2-3 week taper. With that said, one's weekly/monthly training has to account for the short taper. All in all it worked great. I never felt so strong and fast.
Tiffany and I woke up at 4am (3.5 hr before race) and consumed our morning breakfast of Kefir, Heavy Whipping Cream, and Dextrose. Next we walked down to transition to put our nutrition on our bikes and in our run bags. Mike Reilly was already there greeting athletes and informing us that it would be a non-wetsuit swim. Tiffany and another athlete were happy, while everyone else was a little disappointed. From transition, shuttles were provided to transport athletes up the river for the swim start. It was very well organized and fast. Now came the waiting. It was 6 am and the race didn't start until ~7:30 am. Once the race started, the line moved pretty quick, but it was hard to know exactly how close you were to the start. The dock was a temporary platform that was assembled specifically for this race. It started in the grass and extended about 25 yards into the water. At 7:30 am I took one serving of U-Can to get me through the swim. Without much warning, at 7:45 am Tiffany and I were jumping into the water. We kissed and wished each other well. The water was comfortable and not too congested. I focused on sighting the buoys and turning over my arms. Before I knew it, I was finished. We had heard rumors of a current, but one never knows from hour to hour or day to day what the conditions will be. I looked at my watch and I had completed the swim in ~45 minutes (officially 44 minutes). I saw Holly, Val, and Cathy cheering, which helped fuel my competitive fire.
My transition was super smooth thanks to the non-wetsuit swim. I always have trouble getting those things off. The first section of the bike goes up a small climb, but I didn't even notice it as my legs felt great. I focused on breathing and staying steady. It was helpful knowing the course from our July expedition where we rode portions of the course twice. Soon there were several 35-45 year old athletes around me going about the same pace. I tried to stay in front and not draft. When a faster athlete passed, I picked up my speed and tried to stay with them without going anaerobic. Eventually I would usually pass them. There was one guy, on a black Dimond, that got away and I think he rode a 4:48 finishing as the top amateur. The course was fantastic, lots of small rollers, smooth roads, and scenic mountains in the distance. The town of Chickamauga, Ironman shuttled spectators out to this location, was hopping and I saw several Cincinnati folks. On the second loop, I slowly pulled away from others without increasing my speed too much. I really felt awesome. Coming home was a little lonely, but I had one age grouper and then one female pro in the distance to give me a carrot. My Castelli Free Tri shorts were the most comfortable shorts I've ever worn. I did not feel one ounce of discomfort throughout the whole race. After 116 miles, I finished with a time of 5:01 and an average of 23.1 mph.
Run
Transition went well and I was able to use the restroom prior to the run. The urge to pee was moderate, but once I started I couldn't stop. It felt like I was in there for 5 minutes. Once I started running, my stomach felt a little queasy, but I figured it would go away after a few miles. The course starts out on city roads before transitioning to a bike path along the river. It was pretty, but lonely. I did not see anyone until mile 5. Crossing the river, I was told I was 5th amateur and I soon passed another athlete. Then I passed a male pro, whom I congratulated on wearing my same awesome Asics Gel Hyperspeed 6 shoes. I could have run 100 miles in those 5.6 oz shoes. On this section of the course, there were a few small climbs and the pounding from the descents really upset my stomach. I tried slowing down on the calories and increasing the water, but nothing helped. I saw another athlete up ahead and focus on catching them. As I got closer and closer to mile 13.1, I thought about quitting. My stomach was in such pain that I didn't think I could continue. I didn't know if I was coming down with the cold my wife had earlier in the week or if I over-consumed calories on the bike. All I wanted to do was go to the medical tent. After the special needs bags I started to walk. I eventually sat down at the side of the road and tried to throw up. Nothing came up. I talked to a few friends, but nothing motivated me to continue. On the other side of the street, I saw Kevin Severs finishing mile 7 and decided to call it a day. He encouraged me to continue, sharing stories of friends who had quit and always regretting it. I also heard another friend was slowly approaching and I decided to walk thinking that I could chat with him for awhile. In a surprising twist, Tiffany caught me during her first loop. It was exciting to see her and I was relieved she was doing so well. We walked and eventually started a slow jog. I was feeling better and she encouraged me to go ahead. In total, I walked for about 4 miles at 18 mph pace, losing 70-90 minutes. I switched over to coke and water and walked the aid stations. With each mile, I felt better and better. Once I finished, I decided to go back out and run Tiffany's second loop with her. Run split was 4:20 with a finish time of 10:13.
Questions
At this time, I'm really not sure what happened. I prepared the same amount of calories I've trained with and used at IM Lake Placid. I was careful on the bike to consume enough water and even skipped a few calorie sessions when I felt the slightest discomfort. I stopped calories with 5-10 miles to go and focused on plain water. Maybe I need to be more conservative and consume fewer calories? Maybe I needed more water? Maybe I had a slight stomach virus? Maybe my dietary changes affected my ability to consume large amounts of simple sugars? It's really frustrated because I was in the best shape of my life and had the potential to break or come close to breaking 9 hr. Part of me wants to rationalize and block out the pain, but another part of me is saying experience the disappointment, that it's natural to mourn the loss of an opportunity.
Positives
- On the plus side, I was able to run with Tiffany for 13.1 miles during her second loop. She did amazing and I had fun experiencing it with her. At mile 23, I realized she could break 14 hr, which was in sharp contrast to her fears the day before of finishing within the 17 hr cut off. In true Tiffany fashion, she sprinted the final mile. Once I caught up, we held hands crossing the finish line.
- It was nice to experience what other athletes go through when the sun goes down. There is such camaraderie among the athletes and volunteers.
- I made the race recap video at minute 3:40.
- My mother in law bought me a fantastic Patagonia trucker hat and these amazing light weight taupe Cushe slippers.
- I also learned a lot about ultra-running, gear, and races in Chattanooga during my visits to Rock Creek.
No comments:
Post a Comment