Yesterday’s RR was frustrating and very helpful, informative, and reassuring.
Background: I’ve had a long season, really no stop since Feb 2012, when I took 2 months of running to cure Plantar Fasciitis. Since then I did two pretty sluggish IMs Aug and Oct 2012, then moved right into the Nov OS, a month of extensive racing all over the map in May 2013, a quick 8 week prep for the Missoula Marathon and qualifying for Boston 2014, then training for my two fall IMs, LT and AZ. The previous 4 days, I did a 17.6 mi/ 2.5 hr run on Thurs, two hard swim sessions Fri & Sat, a hard 2.5 hour bike interval session + 5 mile run on Sunday, then 3 x 1 mi TP intervals on the track on Monday. So I didn’t realise it, but I was pretty fatigued going into this RR.
The day was great – first extended period of clear, sunny weather we’ve had in weeks. Visibility was unlimited – mountains 100 miles away were visible , and the air was crisp – 38F @ my 9 AM start. The night before, I’d been working, so my sleep had been disrupted, just like before a real race.
By about mile 50-55 of the bike, I was feeling like I did not want to finish this thing. I was 23 miles from my car, so if I wanted to pull the plug, I still had more than an hour to go. Up to that point, I’d been unable to get my over 0.67 IF for any extended period and my HR was hovering around 104 (usually, I[m hitting 110-118 during an RR), and I was wondering if it was worth the effort. I decided at that point I should maybe shift focus. So, I switched from outcome – how fast was I going, how hard was I pushing? – to process: was I getting the nutrition I needed? was I riding steady? was I maintaining focus?
I have a tendency to “forget” to eat and drink during an RR or an IM bike leg. So, from mile 50 onwards, I determined to, for once, hit my nutrition plan targets. On this day, with the cool temps, that meant maybe as much as a large bike bottle of Infint with 260 cal per hour, plus an ounce or more of EFS gel, 90 cal/oz. Every 15 minutes, 7 slugs from the bottle, every 30 minutes, a slurp from the gel flask. The first time, I doubled the dose, and that seemed to revivify my spirits and attitude at least. But not my effort level. I continued on in the low 0.6X IF range, but at least was able to stay down, aero, and pedaling for the next 2.5 hours, which involved fairly level riding along a bike path for 17 miles, and then 23 miles of flat to gentle downhill most of the rest of the way back. 100 miles in six hours, with a TSS of 217. Pretty weak; 8 weeks earlier, I’d done 112 miles in 5:56, with a TSS of 262, in prep for IM LT.
But I felt proud that I’d gotten it finished. I’ve developed a nasty habit the past year of quitting during my IM races (walked some during the runs last year, and just plain DNF’d this year), and, really, I’m done with that. I’ve used every workout since LT to re-train my self to work hard, pace well, and finish strong. What I haven’t really had a chance to do was factor in the nutrition, which becomes critical in an effort longer than 3 hours. On my 4.5 hour rides, I can get away with skimping on the fuel and fluids, and I’d been able to avoid trying to fix my bad habit. So my success at finally finishing all my pre-planned fluids and calories counts as a big success. Also, I noticed that the slight adjustment I’d made to my bike fit had eliminated the low/mid back pain of the right side I’d had after getting of the bike in LT. I raised the aero/base bar by 5 mm, the saddle by 2 mm, and increased the height of the elbow pads by a couple of mm. That seemed to have done the trick, getting me slightly more upright with a little longer leg on the pedal. Apparently my 17 cm drop from saddle to armrests was a bit too much!
On to the run. Here, I devised a goal of staying at precisely the RPE I should be at on race day. So that meant starting out stupid slow, and any time I started to feel or hear my breathing, back off. My LRP is 9:07, and I think I can realistically run 9:27s on race day, given temps in the high 60s/low 70s. Despite EN dogma, I will run an IM marathon at a steady pace throughout, meaning whatever I’m running at mile 2-6 is what I hold for the entire race. Also, I know that if my HR gets above 123, that my pace will start to deteriorate over the course of 26.2, but if I can run around 118-123, I can hold it the whole way.
This was a fairly flat out and back course, with an gently sloping downhill over the first 1-1.5 miles. My pace/HR per mile was : 9:22/111, 9:24/116, 9:12/117, 9:07/119, 8:50/122, 9:00/123. The last two miles, it was a struggle to keep going easy; I just wanted it all to be over, but I managed to slog along instead of picking it up. I told myself that, just the day before, I’d done 3 x 1 mi on the track @ 6:55/149, so I didn’t have to prove how fit or fast I am; I had to prove how steady and slow I could go on race day. I also remembered to walk 20-30 steps every mile, and take 3-5 sips from my bottle.
Despite feeling like “How am I ever going to have a good race if I can’t push myself beyond 0.65 IF on the bike?”, I took away a lot of positives from this RR. My bike fit is better, with no problems staying aero, and no back stiffness during the run. I can actually get enough fluids and fuel while biking, if I just remember to slow down, sit up, and drink every 15 minutes. Even if I’m feeling like I can’t go on, actually, I can. The last 40 miles of the bike felt a lot better than the middle 30. Paying attention to the details of pace and nutrition really does work, and I should just listen to my own advice: Pay attention to your nutrition and your pace, and your time and place will take care of themselves. I’m thinking of tatto-ing “Nutrition” to my left forearm, and “Pace” to my right, where I’ll see those words every time I look down while biking.