The 2013 season was originally focused around one race, Ironman Mont-Tremblant. Partway into my build, I picked up an awesome sponsor, X2 Performance, who was generous enough to get a team of athletes into Ironman Florida. I took a look at the timing and decided it was the year to take a stab at two Ironman distance races in a season. I know a lot of people achieve that and much more, but it seemed like a lot of focus for me. Nonetheless, I went for it and went all in. In my 7 days off of training after Mont-Tremblant, I extended my season with QT2 and we developed a plan to get after Florida. IMMT went so well that I really wanted to get after IMFL to see what I could handle. If the pace was too fast, I'd have some good data and it would help future races. If I was able to hold on, maybe I could find a way to take my racing to a new level. The plan was simple:
Swim with the best swimmers,
Pace the bike within reason but don't be afraid to get into the chase,
Close the season leaving everything else on the run course.
It was hard to find people to travel with me on short notice, especially considering most of my friends and family are around Buffalo and I am halfway to Florida in Richmond. I ended up traveling along in one of my most impressive weekends of travel, 2:45pm-1:30am directly after working all day Wednesday. Finished off the drive Thursday morning and made it to Florida in the early-afternoon. The 13 hours straight Sunday after the race was far more challenging.
Florida proved to be a challenge for lodging. The condo rental was easy although going to three different buildings looking for somebody to check in with was anything but easy. Once I ran around for two hours, I found myself with a pretty kick ass place to crash for the weekend.
My own little condo, right on the beach, a two minute walk from the race start. If only all races could be so convenient. I got in, settled, and finished up my workouts for the day by late-afternoon. From there on out, it was hanging out with Team X2 Performance, putting my feet up, and listening to the ocean.
Race morning was one of the easiest I have ever had seeing that I was essentially sleeping at the race start. My special needs bag drop was on the walk to transition, a short 5 minute walk from my doorstep. I ran into some Buffalo friends and we went back to their condo for a bit to wait for the swim start.
Leading up to the race, the weather had been a little wild with wind and a monster rain storm. The buzz in the air was all about how rough the water had been and what it would be like race morning. I really wasn't worried about how rough the water might be since rough water gives me more of an advantage. I'll take all the time I can over the runners.
Swim 0:53:59 (2 AG / 17 OA):
The water race morning wasn't flat but it really wasn't that bad. Unlike my shake out swims that beat the crap out of me and literally flipping me over at points, thw water was rolling with a few waves turning over near shore. 150-200 yards of swimming and things were no different that swimming in a like, aside from the salt.
Odd as it is being a swimmer, I never know what I'm going to swim in Ironman. My swim time is usually a product of whatever the lead swim group wants to do that day. Lucky for me, I found a guy from Rochester who I know to be a strong swimmer and I was able to ride his heels the entire swim. I swam extremely easy and relaxed and was a little surprised to see that I swam under 54. There wasn't much current to feel on the way out but you could really feel it giving a push on the way into shore on each loop. The swim was uneventful, I was able to close down all the gaps I cared to, and I used it as an opportunity to conserve some energy. The only damage from the swim was the nasty brush burn from the salt water under the edge of my cap.
T1 0:03:41:
Transition was pretty cool in Florida. We were able to change in a building but all our bags were outside in a tropical transition area littered with palm trees and woodwork. I stuck to my transition philosophy, grab what you need, change, and take care of any issues while you're moving on the course. Nothing to speak of here.
Bike 4:57:31 (7 AG / 105 OA):
Heading into IMFL, I wasn't sure where my bike fitness stood. Some of the numbers I saw in training were ok, others were troublesome, but overall I felt extremely comfortable on the bike for extended periods of time. I knew I had to make up for the pitiful ride I had at the Giant Acorn Intermediate but it was undeniable that performance was in my head a bit. I was beyond excited to get a chance to stomp around with my new disc and GrAce was looking fine, as always.
I started the bike with the guy I swam with and we were able to pace off each other to open up the ride. It was very difficult to get my HR to settle in to my target range early in the bike and eventually I decided it just wasn't going to happen. I had taken some X2 Performance and felt like I had a never-ending ball of energy in my system so I decided to rock with it. Two hours into the bike ride the bike groups of cyclists (legitimate peoltons) started to catch me and I started to take better inventory of myself. My avg HR was way high, my power numbers were about 15-20 watts higher than expected but I still felt fine, as if I could sustain that pace for a bit longer. I decided to pace off the groups and let things fall back into place a bit closer to my goals.
In the end, I ended up riding far harder than I had planned and thought I had spoiled plans of putting any sort of a marathon together. It was really cool to ride under 5 hours but, closing out the bike ride, I would have put money on being on my feet longer than I was on the bike; my legs were COOKED!
T2 0:02:57:
Same plan as T1, get what you need and get moving. The course has everything you need to fix the damage.
Run 3:30:29 (5 AG / 98 OA):
If there was one thing I was confident in heading into this race, it was my run. I had plans of really tearing up this course and I had a much better run that what is reflected by the time. Like every Ironman miracle before, I got on my feet and suddenly everything felt much better..well sort of. Leaving T2, I immediately wish I had found a bathroom somewhere in my haste to start the run. It was a troublesome run through the first mile until I found some bathroom on the side of the road. Leaving the bathroom. I was feeling a million times better and ready to rock. Unfortunately, I knew it was only a matter of time until the bathroom would soon again be a necessity. I started ripping through some miles really smooth at 7:25-7:45 and started picking people off left and right. A few miles later, time for the bathroom and another 8:45 poop mile. Back to running down the people I had already run down and what do you know, mile 11 calls for another break. That's right, three bathroom breaks in the first half.
The second half of the run course went much more smooth but my legs were not prepared to handle all the squats I was suddenly required to do. I had to use the bathroom around mile 14 and after that, the legs didn't want to fire anymore. Coincidentally, my Garmin threw a really silly split and I thought I was running much worse than I was. Doing the math in my head, I had to really start pushing if I wanted any chance of breaking 9:30. The second run loop was not impressive whatsoever although it happened and I'm sure the girls in next-to-nothing 2 miles into the course helped me run when I wanted to walk. I did get a spank on my first run loop and could use any sort of encouragement to bring it home. Things started to get really ugly with 4 miles to go and I thought I had thrown away my opportunity to race as fast as I wanted to. I linked up with another QT2 athlete and we started pushing to get each other home. 22-24 were the worst of time on the course and with two to go, I decided I was just going to go for it. I left the guy I was running with and started putting everything I had into my run to try to get back under 8:00 miles. My legs fought me every step of the way but with 1.25 miles to go, I caught another guy in my AG. I had no idea where I was overall so I knew I couldn't let him go with me. I put on a surge down a long road and fought every urge to look back so he wouldn't see I was about to snap. I was able to look back with about 0.75 to go and thought I'd see good news. Nope, he was clinging to me about 100 yards back and the harder I pushed, the closer he seemed to come. My mind told me, "I don't care how hard this is, this guy is not going to pull a pass-back inside the last half-mile of the marathon." IMFL closed my season and I wanted to take in the finish line and chute, but this guy made me fight it out until the very end.
Overall 9:28:37 (5 AG 98 OA):
If you would have told me that I was going to break 10:30 this season, I would have had a hard time believing you. Mont taught me a lot about myself and my limits but most importantly, it taught me how to surprise myself and how to believe in myself. After that race, I set the bar high, calling a 9:25 finish which I thought was lofty. 9:28 is not the 9:25 I called but in no way am I let down by the performance. I got after it, I tested my limits, and I was still able to hold it together on the run with exhausted legs and bathroom troubles.
I am happy to announce that I am starting to fundraise for IMLP 2014 and can't wait to redeem myself on the course that still has my number. I am a member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation PowerTeam and have set a lofty goal of $5,000. So far, things are moving along very well and if you would like to contribute to my efforts, please visit my DONATION page and contribute what you can! Please feel free to visit my friend Danny's page and help him reach his goal as well.
Thanks to all who help me along inthis crazy journey, you know who you are. A HUGE thank you to Team X2 Performance for making this race one of the most memorable of my life. You are true sportsmen and women! I hope we can all work together in the future!
QT2 Systems, you changed the image I have of myself and made me believe in myself more deeply than I ever though possible. I look forward to working with you in 2014. Looking forward to another big year!
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