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Source: Patrick McCrann
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Swim: 1:00+ T1: 5:30 Bike: 5:26+ T2: 2:30 Run: 3:25+
Total: 10:01:56 Place(s): 9th AG, 48th OA
Outcome: Kona slot through rolldown.

Pre-Race was awesome. If anything, this is the part that I have really nailed down. Condo outside of town with my buddy Vinu, our amazing wives, and a bunch of supercool friends. A totally chill, fun experience. Lots of laughs and good times (isn't that what it's all about?) instead of getting stressed and worked up about the race. Hell, I had beer, whipped cream, and even stayed up to 1am one night! And I wouldn't change a thing. Thanks everyone!!!

Race Morning was straight-forward and low-key. As Vinu and I went down on our own, no one else was up to be in the kitchen or ask us things like, "Are you ready?" or "Excited yet?" All the things you don't want to talk about...so we ate, had coffee, packed and went down to the site. I think I spend less than 8 mins in the transition area checking the bike, nutrition, and getting my transition bags set. Very quick and focused.

The Swim was by far the most punishing IM swim I have experienced. I lined up at the front and paid a very heavy price for it. I lost my watch to some random mugger, but managed to grab it as it floated down (don't ask me how) and thought to stuff it down my wetsuit. I was never quite able to find a nice place to swim...I think maybe I had 5-7 minutes of peaceful swimming at the start of the second lap, but that was it. The rest of the time I was being shoved around the course, with folks grabbing my elbows, shoulders, ankles and my hips. The first half was 29+, so lap two must have been 31+. Definitely not too excited as I wanted to be sub-60, but I was really happy to escape in one piece. Note to IMNA - 2200+ folks in a mass start is not a good idea! It sounds anal, but 1800-2000 is manageable...those additional folks are too much!

T1 was pretty quick for me, even though the time doesnt' show it. I got rid of the swim cap + goggles at the stripping zone and I handed my bag and wetsuit to a volunteer to coordinate, so those both saved me time. This time I was slowed by the fact that I had to analyze my foot bandage (the heel patch worked wonders Charlie, thanks!) and by the intermittent rain. I tied the top of my T1 bag shut so that rain wouldn't get in, and I couldn't open it! I finally tore it open and got down to business. I had no volunteer help on finding my bike, as I yelled "410!" and the guy just ran all the way to the end of the bike rack - about 50 feet away from my bike! Just as well, I was off and on the bike pretty quickly.

The Bike was pretty solid. It was wet at the start, and I was pretty worried about not getting any data from my Powertap as the contact points on the bike computer are pretty water-sensitive. I put duct tape around it, but as we had no hard rain, it was hard to say how effective that was. My biggest issue with my powertap was that my torque repeatedly got out of whack, and I would have to coast down a hill - with zero pressure on the pedals - to recalibrate it. I think I did this about 12 times on the first lap...by the second the issue seemed to resolve itself as the weather improved and the roads dried up. When my watts went haywire, I toggled the 'puter to read HR so I could watch my HR zones as well. The first loop was crowded until we hit the 28 mile mark, at which point, most of the good swimmers / not so good bikers faded away. The rest of the first loop was pretty crowded, but I felt pretty strong and despite the torque issues, I felt like I was right on target. I also peed several times (two first loop, once on the second), so I knew my hydration strategy was working pretty well. The hardest part for the nutrition piece was not having a rolling clock for feeding times. As most of you know, I am pretty anal with my food intake, so I was concerned. Instead of time, I was able to go ahead and use miles on the course, treating the 20/40/60/80/100 marks as my one hour marks and then eating / drinking accordingly.

For you power freaks, you can see the CyclingPeaks data below. My race gears were: Coast/Warm Up - Sub 220W; Steady / Goal Pace - 235W; Long Hills / Headwind - 275W; Short Hills - 295W; all based upon an estimated FT of 300W. After early power issues, I pretty much held to plan. Folks were moving up and down all around me, but I felt pretty darn steady all day. Really felt the course recon had helped as I was able to choose the right gear leading into each section, whereas lots of folks would change front chain rings and really lost speed. I really worked on the bike this year, both in terms of endurance and strength and feel that both really helped me be successful on race day. This was a 13-minute improvement over last year at a lower HR. FWIW, I weighed in at 180lbs. Power outcomes were as follows:

Lap One
Time: 2:40
TSS: 140.5
IF: .80
Pnorm: 240W
Pavg: 212W
VI: 1.13
AvgHR: 130

Lap Two
Time: 2:46
TSS: 168.7
IF: .79
Pnorm: 238W
Pavg: 221W
VI: 1.08
AvgHR: 134

The Run was tough but pretty much what I had hoped for: run within myself for the first loop, then try to push it for loop #2. By push it, I mean go hard enough to feel fast without going too hard and cramping/bonking/crashing. I headed out of T2 with my nutrition and running with as short a stride as I could muster (cadence drills really work!). Despite my efforts to hold back, rudimentary calculations on maura's watch had me doing 7:30 pace. As my heart rate was 139 (bottom of Zone 2), I decided to stick with it. Once I hit lap two, I was bouncing back and forth between 139 and 142, and slowly brought the effort up over the remainder of the course. It makes sense that I slowed down, as I kept my HR at 139 for most of the run. This was definitely a shift for me, as I have usually run at 145 for most of my IM races. Regardless, I was pretty psyched to see such a low HR and now, after the fact, I am glad that I decided to stick w/ that low HR instead of running at an effort that would have pushed me up to 145 (don't think that was in the cards for me).

I held off from coke until lap #2, relying instead on a recovery drink mix that I carried out of T2. That mix gave me about 350 calories with 20g of protein. I got water from volunteers right outside and then carried it for the first 3.5 miles, sipping as I went. In previous races I used to cram in a couple of gels, but in training I had a much better time getting calories in by taking them in true liquid form. I was also hoping that carrying a bottle would slow me down for the first few miles. Once I finished the bottle, it was water/gatorade (x2) and water/gel (x1) for the rest of the first loop. I also think I could have used more salt for the second loop, as my tummy started to get a bit wishy-washy and my mouth was getting that flat, i-have-no-taste-buds-left feeling from all the gatorade, coke, and gel. Of course, unpacking my race gear, I found two more salt tabs in my race belt. Dowh!

I got a lot of feedback from folks that they couldn't tell if I was happy, running well, about to die, etc. I have to say that when you are running at your top end in an IM, there isn't a lot of emotion that you can display. I can muster a wave, hand-slap, or a finger to point, but that's about it. It's also important to note that the wheels can come off at any minute...and when they do, your time goal is toast. You could be 13 miles or 1 mile from the finish, and you can add 10+ minutes to your time. So while I was beat, I was also really playing my cards close as I just wasn't sure what was going to happen.

For example, as I ran the first loop, I was concerned about loop number two. As I ran out on loop two, I was concerned about the hills on the return trip. After I ran the first hill by the ski jump, I was concerned about the big hill entering town. As I crested that hill, I was concerned about the out-and-back. Hell, as I entered the oval, I was immediately concerned with the massive Ford truck mounted next to a platform that I had to run through...which, of course, was raised about 9 inches off the ground. Thankfully there was a slight ramp up to it so that I was able to make it safely up without killing myself. I had one guy pass me just before the line, but it was no sweat as I knew he was 27 and not in my age group.

Overall I am very excited about the race. It was really the first time I was engaged the entire day, making active decisions on how to handle the various challenges that came up and responding quickly and effectively. I had a great time being with my wife, her parents (thanks for coming up!), and all of my friends (racers and non-racers alike). I am also crazy excited about getting that slot to Hawaii. Ten years ago, before I had ever done a triathlon, I made it a goal to do Hawaii. If I knew then what I know now, how hard it is to get there, how many years I'd have to work at it, etc., I might not have chosen it as a life goal. But to have done all this and actually succeeded, well, it doesn't get much better than that. Well, maybe not until I am crossing the finishline on Alii Drive, with our newborn in my hands (moving at a controlled walk, I promise honey!) with a huge smile on my face!

See you on the course!

Coach P

Deltas
· New, more durable, watch-band.
· Waterproof that PT (can I use vaseline around the edges to seal water out?) or get a waterproof power solution.
· Consider a full hat for hotter races instead of a visor (for ice, etc.).
· Tell my amazing wife not to cry every time I run by as it really gets me worked up! :)
· Improve early marathon pacing and stay more on top of splits for second half.
· Continue run drills to improve form in second half of the race.

Patrick McCrann is head coach and founder of Performance Training Systems, is an Ultrafit Associate, and is a USA Triathlon certified coach. He can be contacted at pjm@performancetrainingsystems.com.