It is rare in life that one can walk away with all objectives accomplished. This will be no exception. I hold no regrets as the journey getting to this level has made me a better person in every way. At 45, I am of the view that the science of aging and athlete performance has not yet caught up with the trend in sports. I also want to be upfront and candid, sub 10 hour Ironman on Arizona course on 11/20/2016 is a good time, one to be content with, but by no means represents an exceptional level. The day was near perfect conditions.
Since Soma 2011 race, I have had my eyes on this race. I am attracted to desert. I am always in awe looking at rock, sand, brush and cactus. Why? Have no idea, just brings the happiness in me.
Few words about the race itself. It may serve as a guide to those that are contemplating racing it. It is arguably the most popular North American race, known for it's fast course, stacked fields of competitors and beginners alike. Phoenix is very accessible with reasonable airfares and plenty of flight options. Hotels in and around Tempe area are numerous. No lack of choices either.
The venue is well put together with transition and course layout. I will not discuss personal preferences on loop courses and such matters. I take the courses as they are. This is very easy logistically to handle and clearly remains as one of the easiest races to complete the admin and prep on the race day. Volunteers are in abundance and no lines were noted at any point during check in. I did complete the race admin on Thursday as opposed to Friday, expecting the lesser crowd.
The Prep Summary
We all know what it takes to prepare for Ironman. I will not spend much time discussing that. I only want to point out that after 3 years of traditional long course training with QT2 Systems, I am significantly dropping times across long course events, putting in the work that is necessary. Yes, that means repeated 20hr weeks. Braking through many years of plateaus where I experimented with high intensity training and various advertised shortcuts.......Ultimately, there are no shortcuts in Ironman training. Let's close that argument. You will either do the time with poise and quality, reaching your potential or repeated failure will become a norm.
More importantly, this time, more than ever, the infrastructure of support has been developed to a whole another level. During my years at NetJets, I have come to know an Iranian sedan service driver Reza. He was a first generation immigrant, much like myself. He would be chosen by my company to shuffle us between airports in Denver. During one of our pleasant talks about life and things, he once said:
"Aleks, build it, they will come."
That sentence rings so true in many ways. I am blessed that I am surrounded by people in life who understand who I am and know what makes me tick. It is clearly my wife and her relentless support that drives my success. It is my children who give unwavering commitment to their sport, that makes me get up and go out the door. It is looking them in the eyes and being credible that picks me up at some of the lowest points during races. I have athlete friends whose support makes me accountable to them. Those that I coach, deserve a credible coach who walks the walk. Choosing a coaching service and a methodology behind it, along with health professionals in the field of sports PT and massage are key to have. Yes, I have that all behind me in my pursuit.
It is that infrastructure that makes this possible. It cannot be emphasized enough.
The Race Week
Coaching staff of QT2 Systems prepares the race plan and delivers it for review prior to race day. The Nutritionists on staff have prepared the race week nutrition guidelines as well as race day fueling. I am no stranger to either, have executed them before.
The pacing plans are well anchored in the training data we collected over the season. I felt very confident that I was at the level appropriate to execute the plan. The power and pace will be just a brief summary below, along with their projected times.
The Race Pacing Plan
Swim:
Go out moderate, no sprinting, not needed, than settle in the steady aerobic pace, find fast feet and sit tight.
Time estimate: 59-1:02
Bike: Hold back first 20min, allow HR to settle, spool up after to the mid range of power target, after 2.5 hrs, if feeling well, push power to upper range of target and hold.
Time estimate: 5:01-5:06
Run: Come out of T2 at pace on the upper end of range, settle in, allow HR to dictate where will that fall....maintain and expect to dial back by use of RPE, slow down will happen and it will be predictable how much, walk aid stations when needed to down fluids/calories......
Time estimate: 3:30-3:38
Total time estimate with T1/T2: 9:36-9:51
I was confident and believed in this plan with my whole heart. I put the work in and I have consistently seen numbers in training that were well above this.
The race week was excellent in many ways and I was feeling rested. No more difficulties walking up the stairs......no more soreness. I was sleeping well. Having Sladja with me got my mind of the race in a healthy way. I had all the good signs lining up. Taper was working as intended. Yes, an occasionally doubt would pop here and there but I was able to calm myself down quickly.
The weather was checked, equipment choices were made and there was nothing significant that would impact the race.
There are mistakes made that will clearly come back to impact the race day and hunt me. I will list them in order:
1. Left hip area injury that I believe was contained and under control, was not. I was seeing a specialist for Active Release Therapy and Graston for 8 weeks as I was nursing this nagging pelvis area pain. It was diagnosed as Psoas Strain. I was having immediate relief after treatments and it was not stopping me. It would be painful after long runs.......
2. I followed nutrition guidelines to the T in the days leading to the race. I did so with little regard for the feedback I was getting from my stomach the day before. The day before was nearly 4000cal for me and I never got to empty my stomach properly before the race.
3. I did not sodium load this time. I was fooled by moderate weather forecast and it never really crossed my mind. My honest belief is that this had the most significant impact along with hip issue.
Excessive consumption of water+Nuun likely lead to diluting the concentration of sodium leading into the race. Done that to myself many years ago, just forgot about it.
The Race
The entire pre race routine was accomplished per plan and flawlessly. Felt still significant pressure from food waste in my lower abdomen. Could not clear. Oh well, I thought. Gonna be fun at some point, I am sure. Indeed it was. Later.
I was relieved to opt for sleeveless wetsuit top. No sleeved suit ever felt good as it would restrict. I put it on, kissed Sladja and went to line up at sub 60min swim corral.
Sladja's words kept ringing, "Race Happy", I stuck with that. I honestly felt grateful for being able to do this. How amazing to be lined up with 2500 other athletes, at dawn, ready to rip another Ironman.
The Swim
Gun went off, metered entry by the fence, than down the stairs, final look at my trusty 920XT, start button hit, jump in the 65F water, off we go.
Numerous contact from all sides did not deter me from settling in and going for that moderate effort at start. I never sprint at these. How silly is to watch some people do that, it baffles me every time. If you are one of those, sit and think. It's a long day. You can sure loose it on the swim.
It always thins out quickly for sub 60 swimmers, so it was no different this time. Clear line was not hard to find. What was exceptionally hard, was sighting and eventually joining up on the buoy line. Very murky water, cloud cover, chop in the water, all made me literally use my instinct as to where the line would be. Did not let that unsettle my rhythm. Maintained a very solid stroke rate coupled with crisp body rotation and I enjoyed it. No hard breathing, no gasping. Caught a pair feet to my side that looked moving about my speed, hopped on and drafted for a bit. Seeing feet in that water was impossible, so more by feel is what I relied on.
We swung it around for return trip, caught the tailwind and cruised home. No fatigue was felt and nice steady stroke rate, occasional sighting, locating columns of Mill Street bridge. I remember being forced by kayaker twice to angle to the right to stay on course.
The Garmin file shows dramatic decrease in pace in the last 1000. It even includes two interruptions to GPS signal shown as me stopping during the swim. There was no stopping at any point and no slowdown.
Approaching stairs, last 200, I kicked a bit to wake the legs up. Grabbed the railing to pull myself and immediately took two cramps, one to left quad and one to right hamstring. Of how much fun that was. Could not walk myself up the stairs at first. Managed somehow the top of stairs, seeing strippers realized I was not ready with the suit for them to pull.......
I moved gingerly through T1 trying to prevent the onset of cramps again. Legs were twinging on the verge entire time.
Rest of T1 uneventful. Mounted the bike past the mount line and was happy the swim was over.
1:00:36- within the window and no overexertion. 7th AG out off the water.
2016 IMAZ Swim File
Out but not prepared to take the suit off by strippers.
The Bike No Drama
Initial thoughts while leaving T1 were , oh going to be a long day with these early cramps, but I quickly talked myself out of negativity and remained positive. This was my day and I was not going to let it derail. Instead, I began addressing the problem.
I drank early and I drank a lot. I knew that additional intake of salt will help. My above knee left quad was sore from cramping, so was the right hamstring. I was cautious to hold the power back early and let things settle.
I stuck to the plan and executed it per plan. Early on I hung in 215-220w range, allowing the HR to settle back into mid zone. It was all coming nicely. Wind was noticeable but made no difference, I rode with power holding horses back. I was being past left and right. Patience and wisdom.
Each one of three loops I rode was higher in power and gradually built. I rode up to Beeline first loop at 220W, subsequent loops at 224W and 228W. I stayed on the power coming down and first two loops brought a lot of guys back. I drank ahead of schedule and peed 5 times during the ride. Stop to special needs was made. IMAZ does an awesome job preparing the bags with minimal time loss switching bottles. I really enjoyed the ride ad while it felt like work it was by far the easiest long ride of the year. Third loop coming down, I still had to hold back and control myself. It was still easy producing 240-250W. I would see it on display and reel myself back down to target. Glad to be done and dismount uneventful. I was interested to see what my legs have left. Surprisingly no cramps at all on the bike, not a trace. I was optimistic that I would deal with it effectively.
5:05:06- per plan. 13th AG, rolled back 6 spots.....I am no slouch on the bike, I wanted to think that I was riding smart and getting ready to take time back out of AG during the run.
2016 IMAZ Bike File (Ignore IF and TSS, I did not reset my true FTP prior to race, FTP estimate would be around 295W.
The Run Drama
I was relatively efficient running through T2 but felt that legs were not responsive and a tad heavy. Usually takes a few miles for my legs to come back so I was in no panic, stayed focused and positive.
The first mistake was made here. I forgot my Clif blocks in the run bag and went on the course. No harm, the course served them too, so I was going to live off the course in addition to my two flasks tucked in my Zoot shorts.
First two miles are gently rolling climbing up and down the levy. I was not forcing the effort and letting my legs turn at their will. The plan called for spooling up to 7:40 or HR target and staying there early on. First decision came quick, 7:40 was not happening and I was not going to force it. I was heading downwind too and was really maintaining easy effort. Caught up to one of the locals, my AG competition. I came behind, checked on watch for pace, he was running my clip. I tucked in and was conserving. As we approached any crowds, they all knew him. His name was Dan and he was quite a star. It was great witnessing that kind of support for one of the locals. At two miles we turned back towards transition and into the wind. I tucked in even closer and stayed put. We were clipping 8:05s-7:55s and I was content. I was fueling per schedule and at this point waiting for mile 6 to start working. Passing mi 4 Dan was struggling so I came around and offered to pull. We struck up a conversation. He was a 4x KQer. I thought I was in good company and that he would eventually pull through, mile 5 and 6 I held steady 8:00s and began to pull away.
Took my first gel at min 45 of the race. The regimen was quite simple, Cliff blocks alternate every other mile with gatorade. Gel every 45min. I took additional Base salt every other mile, 1-2 licks. Began to notice my stomach unsettling. It was not classical bloating but more a building bulge in lower abdomen from leftover food from yesterday......I knew I will be dealing with porta putty again much like last year at CDA. This time, the weather was near ideal with cloud cover. Pace was holding up, first hill on the course cleared but knew that porta putty stop was coming. Came down flying downhill past mile 9 and head straight into Johny. It was fast, I was right out and back at it. I lost some time, not sure how much was not dwelling on it. Running gradual uphill in the next mile I noticed twinging in hamstrings. I took additional salt and pressed on. Running half way, glanced at split and was running a 3:31 marathon. It was very doable as long as I could fend off cramping.
Cliff Blocks in my mouth all the time. Sladja's advice worked perfect fending off the thirst and providing a flow of carbs.
I was heading downwind and allowing the wind to push. The undulating part of the course was causing serious cramping in my right hamstring, I was pushing through, gritting teeth and backing off only if I felt it coming on. Pace was slowing and it was a low point. I took more gels, more blocks and more salt. There was constant lingering of hip soreness that was traveling into groin, much like in training. I learned to ignore it. Miles 15-16 into the wind and more stomach unsettling, another trip to Johny, fairly fast again and bit more concerned if I could keep taking fuel. I had to back off to give stomach a chance to process it. I was rarely looking at HR or pace. HR was low, no concern. Into mile 16 my left hip pain dramatically escalated to the point that every attempt to drive the knee forward was met with breath zapping sharp pain, I was fumbling forward, limping and just thought keep moving forward. It was that first time where I was genuinely worried if I can continue and complete this race. Limping for 10 miles and not taking fuel was really hard to cope with. Than, thoughts of having to sit at the table explaining to my son that I quit for whatever reason just was not an option. Yes, at that moment Marko was the only thing that mattered. He rises at 4am to go swimming, he is relentless, he never backs down. I am a father of a child that is like that, I cannot be any different. Amazing moment. I decided to limp until the leg let me push it. Saw Sladja at that critical moment. Her look gave away determination, there was no weakness there, she knows she sacrificed. I know she did. I owed it to her, I owed turning inside out to get this done. I put my head down, began to drive that knee regardless of pain and worked my breath to relax. I was moving again, moving decently fast too, 8:30s-8:20s-8:10s. I ran it right up to pace that would produce cramping and just slightly back off. That was the game. I maintained the fueling schedule with walking aid stations and taking additional salt and gatorade. It was only temporary relief. At 9mi to go, I was counting time to go under 10 hours. That is what I came here for and I was going to fight for it. I had 9min miles and no slower to make it. 8 to go came, clipped it at 8:35, padded 25sec....7 to go 8:40, padded another 20sec, so every mile I was making a cushion knowing that cramps could bring me to a halt.
At mile 23 uphill, both of my legs seized up, the pain was unbearable. I was squealing and limping forward, than stopping and trying to position legs on curb for cramps to release, next I walked, than easy jog and I was moving again. Clock was ticking. At 2 miles to go, I went for more fluids and more salt trying to salvage further slowing down from cramps. That additional liquid caused side stitch. Great,, I thought, what else can I deal with. By this time, pace has slowed into 8:45, quads were screaming, hip was too, but I ignored it. Last mile I was collecting myself and cold chills began. I was getting weaker, could not pick it up not even a bit. I knew I was packing in a sub 10 and was only in damage control mode. I could not afford to walk off another cramp.
Last right turn on Rio Salado, then left, the finishing shute came. Relief. Mike Riley was calling my name for the 3rd time in my career, I was an Ironman! :)
I crossed the line, was holding up until volunteers approached, than my legs just buckled, I had no legs under me. They held me, I was aware and told them no legs to stand on. They carried me to the chair, set me down. I could barely hold on. I saw Sladja and joy overtook. Wanted to hug her and hold her, wanted to tell her what I just lived through. Somehow, shortage of words at first. She greeted me with "Sub 10, 9:57:18 she said" All smiles and laughter, crazy how I pulled this off. By all accounts, I almost wrote it off at mile 16.
3:43:34- under-performed clearly but extremely proud for overcoming with grit and strength, remained 13th on the run
2016 IMAZ Run File
9:57:18- 13th M45-49, 143rd OA, no KQ and no remorse
There have been a few times where I gave it my all. Never have I had this long battle within myself. My mental strength came through. We all have those low points and we all go digging finding reasons to endure. I am grateful I found it that day. This run will go down as one of the hardest I endured, right up there with 2012 70.3 Champs. This time, I found inner strength staying positive and upbeat to the very end. I raced happy. I managed to race happy even when things were not going my way, I did not get down on myself, I did not criticize, I just focused on moving forward and dealing with issues at hand.
When feeling great, hold back, when feeling down, patience, act to change it and it will change, Ironman is a long day.
I will be back chasing the dream again. Never back down.
Cheers.
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