It’s no easy task to train for and race in a 140.6 mile
event as it is huge undertaking for the body and requires a big commitment in
life.
I can’t believe that in the past 14 months, I have crossed 4
Ironman finish lines. For three of those races, I had 3 consecutive PR finishing
times (10:43, 10:37, 10:17). Incredibly, in 2013 I raced two Ironman races within 14
weeks from one another and in 2014, I raced two Ironman races within 11 weeks
of one another. My body has not only let me finish every Ironman I have started but I also recently qualified for the Ironman World
Championships twice, within the past 14 months.
In the past 14 months, Karel (who just learned how to swim 2
years and 2 months ago) has progressed extremely quickly with his triathlon
fitness and is now racing at the top of his age group.
As Karel and I continue learn more about the sport of
endurance triathlons, we continue to train and race smarter. And the biggest
contributor to us getting faster and stronger over the past few years is
training the least amount possible with the most performance gains. We train hard but recover harder.
In the past two years, I have experienced huge gains in my
bike fitness. I contribute a lot of this to being married to a great cyclist
and bike tech who knows everything and anything about bikes, bike racing and
bike training. Although there have been some tweaks to my new Speed Concept
Trek bike thanks to Karel over the past two years (shorter crank length,
saddle, wheels/tires, Hawk ceramic bearings, Di2 shifting, RETUL fit) the
biggest change has been training less hours on the bike than when I started
training for Ironmans.
It is very rare for us to ride more than 5 hours, even for
our peak Ironman training. Typically we do one ride around 100-110 miles and
maybe one more ride around 5 hours but most of our long rides are around 4-4.5
hours and almost always include a 30-60 min run off the bike.
The reason why I mention this is because it is possible for
you to be a faster cyclist without long hours on the bike. We are firm
believers that to get faster, you must ride faster. But you must train faster before you go longer.
Additionally, I can speak first-hand about how my cycling
skills have improved while living in Greenville for the past 3 months (and learning
from/training with Karel) and this has helped me take my cycling to the next
level.
Far too often I hear Ironman athletes talk about wanting to
be better runners off the bike and also being faster cyclists. And thus, they
train more. And more, and harder and harder and more.
Sometimes it works but I
ask you this, if you could work less hours and get paid more, would you?
More
time to spend with friends/family, more time to get restful sleep, more time to
make time for healthy/balanced eating and more time to enjoy life….would you
work less....even if you LOVE your job?
Since Ironman athletes can spend up to 40-50% of total race
time on the bike, it is extremely important that if you want to have a good
race day Ironman performance, you must get faster and stronger on the bike. And
to get stronger and faster on the bike, you have to train smart. And when you
train smart, it’s NOT just about the miles but instead, knowing how to ride
smart.
There are a few tips that I have for you (that we believe in for us and our athletes) to help you improve
your cycling time in a triathlon and concurrently your overall finish time.
-Strength train in the off season and think beyond long,
slow base miles to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
-If you train indoors, have a coach who reviews your training files, perform
intervals in training and want to use your time wisely when you train, invest
in a power meter and bike computer (ex. Garmin Edge) and learn how to use them properly.
-Take good-care of your bike and get regular tune-ups. It’s not just about the
parts that you see but also consider how the inside parts are working to help
you have a safer, more efficient ride.
-Invest in electronic shifting (Di2). This may be the best investment you will
ever make on your bike because you will not only be able to shift more often
but you will keep a steadier cadence. You will also ride safer as you will
minimize the time your hands are off the bars.
-Be sure your fueling plan not only meets your needs and is easy to digest and
absorb (ex. liquid nutrition and not 3 different methods of obtaining calories,
fluids and electrolytes) but is also practical for your race day course. Hydration
systems should be easy to reach, bottles should be secure and you can actually
fuel/hydrate yourself consistently (ex. every 10-15 min) throughout your entire
bike ride.
-Get a professional RETUL bike fit from an experienced fitter that understands
your fitness, flexibility, race goals/distances and riding style.
-Incorporate longer bricks into your training plan instead of just focusing on
long solo bikes and runs. We do not believe in runs longer than 2.5 hours OR
bricks/long bikes longer than 6.5 hours.
-Understand your race course so that you can pace and fuel effectively and be
mentally prepared for your race day.
-Your bike leg prepares you for the run. Overbiking and underfueling does not
make for a strong run off the bike.
-Improve your cadence and use your gears when you ride. Learn the best way to
ride hills for your weight/height and improve your skills on turns, descends,
rollers, windy sections and climbs.
-Be smart with your race day gear. Wheels, helmet, tires….it’s not about the “fastest”
gear in the wind tunnel but instead, what helps you ride your best on your race
day course.
After a 6 minute and 12 second transition (over ½ mile
transition!) I was down the helix and ready to wake up my land legs. I immediately
took a MAP (BCAA amino pill) and a sip of my custom INFINIT sport drink. I sipped my sport drink at least every 10 minutes (2-3 gulps at a time, typically while sitting up).
The first 10 miles of the IMWI require you to stay alert. There’s a short
no-passing section on a paved trail (can we talk about how much this frustrated Karel- haha) and then there is a section throughout a
parking lot. During these first few miles, your bike is quickly introduced to
the theme of this course: Hills, bumps and turns.
There’s a good 17 miles or so to get out to the 40 mile loop
that we repeat twice. We encounter hill after hill, bump and bump and turn
after turn. Yep, that pretty much sums up the ride. But despite this extremely
taxing course that provides very little opportunity to recover after each hill,
the sights are beautiful. Farm land everywhere and the scenery extends for
miles and miles.
I wasted no time to settle into my rhythm on the bike. As I
mentioned before, Karel and I both took a lot of risks in this race. Rather
than using our power meters to pace ourselves, we simply used it as a tool to
give us feedback. We were out racing our competition and because of that, we
both knew we could not hold back BUT we still had to ride smart.
It was very important to me to stay up on my calories from
my liquid nutrition as there really is no easy way to conserve energy on the IMWI
course. As you may guess, Karel and I were not looking for a conservative ride
and we know how much energy it takes to ride hilly courses (as we train on
hilly courses all the time). It was extremely important that I get in a bit
more nutrition throughout the 112 mile bike ride (however not too much that I
could not empty it from my gut and absorb it) so for the first time, I used
special needs. I carried 3 bottles with me of my custom INFINIT drink that I
created and have used in all my past training, each bottle containing around
300 calories. I had the same in my special needs bag. There was a lot of bottle
dropping on the course so I made sure that my bottles were secure in my cages
by doing my last bit of IMWI training prep on bumpy, hilly roads here in
Greenville. I also had some Clif blocks (1 package already open for easy
consumption) and a sport bar (already opened) for additional energy.
Miles 1-17:
I felt really good during these miles. There are a few rollers but nothing too
difficult or technical. My main focus was keeping a nice high cadence which has
been years in the making (I have gone from 78 average cadence in an IM just a
few years ago to 91 at IMWI!! This is HUGE! All those cadence-specific
intervals in the early season have paid off!) so that my legs would not be too
toasted throughout the bike and on the run. Since Karel and I rode most of this
section (and 1 loop) of the bike course on Thursday, I was aware that I needed to keep up with my
nutrition as it could be very easy to not keep up with it due to all the bumps. Also,
early frequent, consumption of liquid nutrition has been shown to postpone
fatigue so never neglect your nutrition in the first 1 hour of your IM race.
I
wasn’t sure how many women were ahead of me and since I anticipated a handful
of fast swimmers in my age group, I thought that I was around 5-6th
in my age group. I passed a few girls within these first few miles and
eventually, I was just riding with the boys.
Loop 1:
Karel and I had several discussions as to how we would each pace this course.
We both decided that we would not have a pacing strategy so much (ex. hold back
or to focus on specific watts). It is important to understand that Karel and I
both race Ironmans differently because of our strengths.
As a life-long
swimmer, I am near the front of my age group when I race so this puts me at a
prime spot to see where I am at in my age group. As for Karel, I think his
theme is “on your left” when he races for he has a lot of catching up to do
after the swim.
Because of this, I am not forced to play catch up, like Karel. So for both of us racing for a Kona slot at IMWI, Karel is the one who is really
digging extra deep, especially in the first hour of
the IM.
(this is not something that I would recommend to other athletes as Karel
is an experienced Cat 1 cyclist who has taught his body how to suffer for
almost all of his life. He has learned how to think differently as a triathlete
but because of bike racing, he has an extremely high pain and anaerobic
threshold and often still races like a cyclist).
So, I primarily went by feel in this race with a close eye on whoever was
around me but also to not dig a hole I could not get out of. I do not wear a HR monitor when I race so when I did look at my
Garmin Edge, I focused only on cadence and normalized power. I would also look
at speed but really this was just to keep me honest with my efforts, along with
power. I have all my mini screens set to lap so every 10 miles (markers on the
roadside) I hit lap (see very bottom of page) so that I was only focusing on one-10 mile (or around 29-31
minute) segment at a time. This was the best way to pace myself and it is just
like how we train….lots and lots of intervals to focus on only one segment at a time.
I did a really good job with my nutrition on this course and I found myself to be really
comfortable on the climbs. I was also handling my bike really well with every
turn and descend on the course (I’ve heard there are 91 total turns on the IMWI
course).
There is no one “big” climb on this course but instead, several. Each climb comes with its own
description but what makes this challenging course so incredible is the crowds.
They are everywhere! There are 3 climbs that are packed with spectators. Tour
de France-like feeling. The cheers can be heard before you even get to the
climb and even if you are having a low moment, the crowds know how to give you
energy that you do not have.
It was close to around 2.5 hours in the race (so around 75
minutes or so of riding, if I remember correctly) when I hear Karel’s voice next
to me (and his disc wheel). We talked about our usual topic when we see each
other “how was your swim?” and we both told each other our times and wished
each other a great race. Hearing Karel tell me that I looked great on the bike
gave me a huge boost of confidence.
I can’t recall the miles but on the first “big” climb (of three), I heard
someone in the crowd yell “Go Girls!” Girls, I thought? For so long I had been
cheered on by the fans as “you Go Girl!” so suddenly I was being passed.
It was
Stacey and I knew she would be strong on the course due to her past race results.
Because I knew of her, I didn’t try to pace off her. Although I reach my higher
limits as an athlete because of girls who are faster than me, I was honest with
myself as to what I could handle on this course and riding with Stacey was not
practical. Rather than getting upset, I stayed focused as I was having a really
strong ride. There was no need for me to overlook my success on race day by
comparing myself with others. I had a feeling that Stacey would win our age
group (unless something happened which I would never wish I any athlete – I need
those faster girls to help me be a better athlete!) and I figured 2-3 Kona slots
so I was still in the running depending on where I was in our age group off the bike.
Special Needs:
How long was my spot? 10 second stop according to my Garmin.
How long was my spot? 10 second stop according to my Garmin.
Since we rode by special needs when we started our first loop, I made sure to check where my bag was placed on the ground according to the many rows of bib number ranges. I actually ended up spotting my bag on the beginning of the first loop thanks to my purple ribbons so when I yelled out my bib number and pulled over to the side right next to my bag, the volunteer had my bag ready, I asked her to put the bottles in my rear cages as I quickly stretched out and took one last sip of my last bottle before I tossed it (I had tossed the other two on the course at the feed zones where I also grabbed water to sip and cool my body and then toss) and then put the 3rd bottle in my frame cage and off I went.
What a great decision to use special needs!
Miles 56-112
One thing that I have learned in Ironman racing and has been repeated to me
many times by Gloria (my mental coach) is that there are highs and lows in
Ironman racing. You just have to keep yourself going. I certainly am no
stranger to lows in racing and I wish I could say there has been an Ironman
when I felt good for the entire 112 miles of the bike...or even the entire 140.6 miles.
Nope, it hasn’t
happened.
From miles 50-80, I was just feeling a low. Performance wise, I was ok
but it was just one of those times when I had to keep on trucking along. Since
most of my pacing was with guys, as I had only been passed once on the bike by a
female, I gave myself a little pep talk that I was riding really
strong. Probably stronger than I have ever ridden before!
Strong is very relative as I was not anticipating a "fast" time close to 5:30 on the bike like I did in Kona or 5:29 in IM Austria. A strong, fast 112 mile IMWI ride by a female would be between 5:40-5:45 and that was a goal of mine, that I felt was also achievable with my current fitness and the current weather conditions.
Strong is very relative as I was not anticipating a "fast" time close to 5:30 on the bike like I did in Kona or 5:29 in IM Austria. A strong, fast 112 mile IMWI ride by a female would be between 5:40-5:45 and that was a goal of mine, that I felt was also achievable with my current fitness and the current weather conditions.
We were blessed with great weather with most of the bike
being around 77 degrees but my Garmin told me it did get up to 86 degrees in the sun for about an hour (around 4 hours on the bike so this would be around noonish).
The clouds went away at times and I found myself a bit
warm at times but I made good use of water at the aid stations to keep my body as
cool as possible. By the time I got to the last 3 climbs (and saw my homestay
Ed and his wife Judy along the course – cheering super loud for me which was
awesome and also my new Trimarni friend Kayla) I got some mojo back and it was
time to get my mind focused for the marathon. I continued to take 1 MAP every 30 min or so
throughout the bike.
Riding back into town, on the path again (no pass zone) and up the helix, I was
impressed with myself. It’s moments like that when I remove myself from
competition for a Kona spot and I thank my body. I thank my body for not only
being healthy that I can race in an Ironman but for not failing me and for
being so strong when I ask it to be strong. It may not be my fastest 112 mile
bike ride in a race but on the hardest Ironman course I have raced, I feel this
was my strongest performance and I gave it my absolute best effort, stayed up
on my nutrition and paced myself to the best of my ability.
It was certainly NOT an easy ride!
It was certainly NOT an easy ride!
As for Karel…he was on a mission..... Don’t let anyone pass me,
move on up.
And wow, did he ever move on up!
Karel felt good on the bike, stayed up on
his nutrition (he had 3 bottles of his custom INFINIT mix that I created +
perform on the course, his own nutrition that he brought) and made sure he gave
his absolute best effort. That was our only goal.
No excuses, race the
competition and not the finishing time.
When I gave my bike to the volunteer after I dismounted my
bike, I removed my cycling shoes from my feet and carried them inside the
Terrace. I grabbed my T2 (bike to run) red gear bag quickly and was greeted by
a dozen awesome female volunteers.
I couldn't stop smiling but quickly did I realize that I am the only female in this
changing tent!!
They gave me the most awesome welcome!
The volunteer lady told me that I was probably the 10th or 11th
female but I immediately thought age groupers. I wanted/needed to know AGE
GROUP 30-34..where is my competition? Ahead of me, behind me…where am I?
I quickly put on my Brooks Pure Flow Run shoes and grabbed my race belt, my dad’s
favorite Corvette hat and two Infinit
Napalm run flasks and I was out of there
with volunteers all around me, cheering me on. But first, I need a potty stop!
I went pee twice on the bike but because I was working really hard, I was not
able to fully empty my bladder in the last 40 miles. Oh how I needed to pee!
While in the port-o-potty, I put on my race belt and hat (multi-tasking,
Ironman style) and oh did it feel good to just sit. Oh wait, I have a marathon
to run! As I was enjoying my brief “rest” in the potty, it just dawned on me…I
was only passed by 1 female and she was the female that I thought would win
overall amateur for the race and if I am 10th female per the volunteer and there are pro women ahead of me...... Could it be that I am not only 2nd age
group but also 2nd amateur female? Holy cow! I got to get out of her. Potty stop is over!
It’s time to run for a Kona spot and find Karel out on the course.
112 mile bike stats:
Marni
112 mile bike – 5:42:58, 19.59mph
2nd age group after the swim, 2nd age group after the
bike
21st female after the swim, 10th female after the bike
2nd female amateur after the bike
Karel
5:11:30, 21.57 mph average
89th age group after the swim, 5th age group after the
bike
521st overall after the swim, 43rd overall after the
bike!!
41st male after the bike
Marni bike splits per Garmin Edge 510 (every 10 mile marker)
Elevation (somewhere around 5,000-5,300)
Normalized power: 160
91 cadence average
Variable Index (VI): 1.07
10 miles: 19.93mph, 96 cadence, 172 NP (normalized power)
20.43mph, 94 cadence, 165 NP
19.13mph, 93 cadence, 175NP
20.89mph, 94 cadence, 166NP
19.68mph, 91 cadence, 177NP
20.13mph, 91 cadence, 145NP
18.64mph, 90 cadence, 165NP
19.77mph, 88 cadence, 155NP
18.66mph, 88 cadence, 151NP
19.21mph, 88 cadence, 148NP
19.02mph, 88 cadence, 128NP
First 56 miles: ~2:47, NP 168, 20.07mph, 93 cadence
Last 56 miles: ~2:53, NP 150, 19.04mph, 88 cadence
A big thank you to Gloria and all of the Team Sumbal
followers on race day!!
I can’t believe that I was 2nd overall amateur for all of the bike and I didn’t even know it!
I can’t believe that I was 2nd overall amateur for all of the bike and I didn’t even know it!
Thanks Adam B for the pics!