IRONMAN Cozumel 2016 Race Report

28 November 2016

This is my IRONMAN Cozumel November 27, 2016 race report.

Preparation

We arrived at Cozumel on Wednesday after an overnight flight and took the rest of the day to rest. On Thursday, it was time to go pick up the bike from TriBike Transport. I took the bike out for a “quick” one hour ride on part of the race course. I noticed that the average speed on my ride was almost 36kph which is quite fast. I had also planned a 5km run but decided against it given my heel condition. I checked into the race on Friday morning and attended the pre-race meeting at noon where I found out that I would not have any access to the T1 and T2 bags on race morning.

I had prepared every gear bag in advance and prepared individual packets in zip lock bags. I had rehearsed the entire race with these bags and I everything seemed to be in place. I double checked every bag on Friday evening before heading out to receive my dad at his hotel.

Saturday, I rehearsed the entire race again with my race bags and double checked my checklists to make sure everything was in order. I packed the swim-to-bike and bike-to-run bags, loaded the bike with nutrition gels and set out for the practice swim in the morning.

During the swim practice, the current was very strong in the direction of the race course. I was swimming well and felt loose. I was confident after the practice swim that it would be a fast swim. I then went back to pick up my bike and do a final 20 minute systems check on the bike before checking it into transition 1 (swim-to-bike). I then jogged to the hotel which was 10 minutes away. I set out to transition 2 (bike-to-run) to drop the run bag and spent the rest of the day at the beach with the kids. Before bed, I prepared my drink bottles for the bike with CarboPro and Cytomax. Went to bet around 9pm.

Race Morning

I woke up at 4:15am. The restaurant at the hotel opened at 4am for the athletes. That was awesome and one more reason to stay at a host hotel. Had breakfast of two PB sandwiches, a bagel with butter and jelly and two scrambled eggs around 4:45. I was anxious but not nervous. I kept thinking about what I had forgotten and couldn’t shake the feeling that I had forgotten something (I didn’t). Got dressed and ready and took the shuttle to T1 at 5:45. All I really had to do in T1 was load the bottles onto the bike, pump up the tires and turn on the bike computer. Everything seemed to be in order. I waved goodbye to the family and took the shuttle to the start line and got there 6:30, an hour before race start.

Start Line

I put on my swim skin and prepared to drop the morning clothes bag and head to my swim start corral (1:00 to 1:10 swim time). I then had the last minute urge to go to the washroom. The lines were huge, a lot longer than any other race I’ve seen. I stood in line for the port-a-potty and waited for my turn. It took a good 40 minutes to get there. Business done, I headed to the start line. Lots of jostling on dry land to get to a good start position. The pro men went at 7:00am, then the pro women at 7:15am and finally, it was time for us mortals to start at 7:30am.

The Swim

The “rolling start” was quite interesting. We had to walk along a narrow floating pier about 50m out into the water and then jump into the water and start swimming. The pier was only wide enough for two or three people so it took a while to get going. Once at the edge I jumped in. Fuck! I hit the bottom and there were rocks. My feet hurt. I hope I didn’t do any major damage and fuck up the race. Anyway, no sense in stopping now, let’s get going.

I’m behind a good swimmer. I had positioned myself behind her at the start thinking she would be good. I was right. She is powerful. I can barely keep up at her feet. I can’t see shit and I don’t know where we’re going. I hope she can see. We seem to be doing alright. We’re consistently at the buoys. This looks promising. Fuck, why did she stop? OMG, clear water in front of me now. My draft is gone and I don’t know where she went. Probably back because she stopped. I estimate we’ve done about 1km at this point. I can’t find a draft, there is nobody close to me. Shit the current is going the wrong way, I can see the plants at the bottom of the ocean pointing behind me. I’m fighting the current and the swells which are coming sideways. I’m not even close to the next buoy. I hit a line of buoys from a resort, the same resort I’m staying at, I think, that means a) I’m off course by about 50m inland and b) only about 1.4km to go. OK, there’s a line of swimmers here, I’ll join the train. It’s hard to join the train as the train is swimming the same speed I’m swimming at. As soon as I get close and the draft effect kicks in, I start passing it… and fighting people. I’m caught on some elbows and legs, just like a mass deep water start. No big deal, just pass them and leave them.

Oh, look, the swim finish is over there. Still kinda fighting with the lead of the swim pack I was with. He does not make the turn to the exit. We crash. A few guys crash into us behind us. Now the current is really strong against us. I have to power hard just to move. I can see the bottom and the fact that it moves sideways, up, down but rarely forward is making me dizzy. Only 50m to go. Kicking hard. I get to the stairs. I thought that was going to be an easy swim. What happened? 1:10 and change for the swim. OK, wasn’t too bad. I think it is about 1:50/100m pace which is not great but not terrible given the conditions. Probably my best swim in years even if the time does not reflect it.

Down the path to the change tent (about 200m away) jogging. Hey I don’t feel bad at all. Normally I’m dizzy and falling over and can barely stand but today I feel really good. My heart rate is not through the roof. Swim coaching seems to have paid off really well.

I see my dad. A few meters away I see Lorena and hear Tristan and Victoria yelling. This is good. Good day so far.

Transition 1

OK, so there’s supposed to be fresh water hoses or something around here to wash off the salt? My mouth is extremely salty from the swim. Just one water cup? Are you fucking kidding me? Never mind, I have water on my bike. Get the bag… check. Get to the tent… check. Do as rehearsed… check. Ask for Vaseline (had some irritation during the swim… chub rub on the arms)… check. Sunscreen… check. Make sure you ask for sunscreen on the back too… check (more on this later). Hand bag to volunteer…. check. Out the tent and put your helmet on… fuck, the visor on the helmet came off. Try to put it in place as you slow jog to the bike… ok, I think I got it. There’s the bike, exactly where you’ve visualized it. Good. Grab it and go. Cross the mount line and start riding. I think that was about 5 minutes. Still on schedule, on the slow end of the schedule but still on schedule. That could have gone better but that wasn’t too terrible.

Bike

Riding down the highway. 40kph? That’s great. Power is in the right zone. I have the wind at my back. Keep going. 20km in, we turn into the wind. OK, these winds are not that terrible. Mostly cross wind and I’m still maintaining above 30kph. At this pace I’ll average close to 35kph. 20km more and we turn again away from the wind and into the island. Heading to town and I’m riding 34-35kph. Loop 1 of 3 done. Two hours in and I’m at km 70. That’s quite fast. Faster than I expected. Peek at the heartrate and it is not too too terribly high. Definitively not low though. I think it is the heat.

Hit the wind again. I think the wind is starting to pick up. I’m passing a lot of slow riders. I think I’m lapping people. Oh shit a wheel just appeared on my left and just passed me. I have to drop back out of his draft zone…. WTF? There is a fucking pace line of like 5 guys right behind these guys. OK, fuck that. Find space on the right about 3m on the shoulder to be out of the draft zone of these cheaters (Ironman is not a draft legal race). Crank the power and get away from them. I left them behind.

I pass special needs again but I don’t need anything. That’s half way done. Finally out of the wind again and back into town. Back in town in 3:20 and change. I’m on pace for a 5:00-5:05 bike split. I start getting concerned. I’m riding too fast. My heart rate is elevated; it has been elevated since I hit the wind the second time. Something is wrong. The power doesn’t seem excessive. My legs feel OK. Why have I been riding so fast? Oh… did I?… No I did not calibrate the power meter. I’ve been riding too hard for the first two laps.

Lap 3 downwind section. A little slower than last time. Heartrate is not coming down. I’m hot and covered in too much salt from sweat. I’ve been taking my nutrition and salt tabs but I feel like I need more salt. Oh, my visor is coming off. I try to put it back in. Fuuuuuck I broke it.

Into the wind again. The wind is very strong now. Did it pick up that much or is it the lack of visor? Also, it is now a headwind and not a cross wind. Speed is quite a bit lower than the last two laps. Wow, the going here is tough. My back. Fuck. My back is hurting. 160km. I can’t stay in the aero bars anymore. Try to keep low and out of the wind though. This course is not flat and it is slightly uphill all the way into the wind. 165km. Bad cramp on my hamstring. Can barely pedal. It’ll pass. I’m being passed by a lot of people now. They ask me if I’m fine. I lie. On and off the aero bars. On and off the cramp. I’ll soon be out of the wind with 15km to go so maybe 30 minutes.

I know my run is going to be terrible. I don’t think I can run a marathon with this cramp. But we are now back in town and almost off the bike. Cramp has passed. 500m to go, get out of the bike shoes… ouch, soles of my feet hurt a bit. It’ll pass, you’ve been there with that same feeling before. A couple turns and there’s the dismount line. I’m going to cramp off the bike, I know it. Be ready. Dismount, slight cramp, it’ll pass, this happens every time. OK, I’m on my feet. 5:24 I think. Wow, that last lap was slow and very hard but overall not a bad bike split.

Transition 2

Get the bag and do as rehearsed. Everything is packed neatly so you don’t have to think. Drop the helmet, bike pants off, run shorts (best decision ever), socks, shoes, and grab the inner bag with “the other stuff”. Vaseline and sunblock again before leaving. Volunteer packs and picks up the bag. Awesome. I’m off. I see Lorena and the kids just as I exit transition. Unpack the inner bag (hat, glasses, nutrition) as I jog to run start. That was 3 minutes or so. Not too bad.

Run

As I turn into the run course, I look at my heartrate and it is through the roof. Wow, I feel terrible. I slow down and my heartrate is not coming down. Shit. Get to the first aid station (1km) and pour ice water on me, drink a bit and more ice down the back. Wow, I’m overheating. It is hot, humid, and windy here. I think that’s it. Sun and wind have done a number on me on the bike. Ice water on me every aid station. My feet are soaking wet. Fuck, I’m going to have blisters. Turn-around point at aid station 7 (they are every km). Finally, my HR has dropped below 140bpm on the walk. Run back to the start now. Wow this is hard… and hot… and humid. Heartrate is spiking again. I’m dying. I can’t think. I can’t hold this pace. What pace am I going? I can’t compute. OK I think this is 13km. End of first loop and turn-around again. I see Lorena, the kids and my dad. She asks me how I’m doing. I don’t remember what I said.

Aid station 14 right after the turn-around. Walk, even though family is watching. Don’t care. I had said run between aid stations and walk the aid stations. Stick to the plan. Thankfully the aid stations are every km and not every mile (unlike most other Ironman races). I think this is 4:20 marathon. But heartrate is out of control again. Get it down now. Walking a little past the aid station and run only as fast or slow to keep heartrate within target of 145bpm. This pace is slow but I think I might be able to finish like this. 16km… I think I can finish. Hold constant heart rate until the far turn-around. Seems to be working. Heading back to town now. Damn it is hard going back. Sun in the face and no wind. Feels hot. Pace is still slow but I feel better than last loop. 25km… only 25?! A marathon is a long way… 28km, end of loop 2 and turn-around again. I’ve got to do this one more time. I see the family again. I think I look better than last loop and they seem to think the same. Time is 3:05. If I keep the same pace for this lap, I’ll make it under 4:40. This is my new goal.

Third time out. Going out feels much better. Temperature is starting to drop I think. I feel OK. I can do this. Run to the next aid station. Pace is still 6:00/km while running. Walk the aid station. They are long, very long. That’s OK, they are not over crowded. Great setup. Run, walk, repeat. Last turn-around and I take a bit of a break. Stop at the potty, walk the aid station and ready to go back. Last 7km. Wow, that was a longer break than I expected… 5 minutes go by so fast when your body doesn’t want to run.

OK, 7km to go. Worse case you walk from here. If I manage to run 6:00/km between aid stations and walk the aid stations that’d be just about 6:30/km pace. I can make it back in about 45 minutes and hit the new 4:40 marathon goal. Let’s go. I can’t think. Everything is a blur. It is getting dark now. 6km to go, then 5, then 4, then the 24-mile marker. Only 2 miles to go! Counting down the aid stations. My quads are screaming to stop. My feet are so numb now I can’t feel them. 2km to go. Should I skip the last aid station? Nope, I stop. 1.2km to go. It is hard to run. I want to stop, to walk. I haven’t walked the last 41km, I am not about to start now. Just hold on. 5 minutes to go. I can’t move. I’m moving. Volunteer insists to go on the turn-around lane. Screw that, I’m going home! Turn towards the finish line. I’m in a daze. I think I heard Lorena. I guess I’m done now? Yep. I’m an Ironman again.

11:23:31… Personal best by 17 minutes

Aftermath

Picture, flowers, medal, volunteer leads me to the finisher area. There is a pool with ice cold water. I jump in. I get a coconut with a straw handed to me. I stay in there a long time. Then pizza. Then I guess I get out. Gear pickup. TriBike transport takes the bike and hands me a bag with my pedals. That service was awesome.

Back to the hotel. Remember those quads that were screaming? They won’t shut up now. I regain feeling in my feet. Fuck they hurt. I have bruises on my feet and my heel. I guess we have dinner at the hotel. I fall asleep. I was already half asleep before we got to the hotel. I guess I posted on Facebook but I don’t remember that. I can’t sleep well, I never can sleep well after a big workout but I sleep anyway. Next day I have very bad sun burn on my shoulder blades. I guess the volunteers didn’t apply the sun screen all the way back to the shoulder blades. I have seriously bad buns.

Lessons

• Ironman is fucking hard even when you are in your best shape.
• Rehearsing is key. On race day you cannot think.
• Zip lock bags are my friends.
• Having a “great bike ride” is a recipe for having a bad run.
• It’ll pass. Even if you feel terrible one moment, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Positive attitude and knowing that it’ll pass will get you through even some of the toughest things in life… like an Ironman marathon gone wrong.
• Calibrate the measuring equipment you are going to use for pacing. It is no use to ride to a number if the number doesn’t relate to anything.
• Pacing, pacing, pacing. As hard as it might be to slow down when you feel good, it is important to do so…. or you pay for it later.
• I have a sub-eleven-hour race in me but blew it with improper pacing.
• Sunblock. Make sure to apply it to all areas.
• I could lose a few pounds.