About IMRoycer81

Richmond, Virginia, United States
Thanks for visiting! I'm a civil litigator at KPMLaw. I attended Cornell where I swam IM and Breastroke. In 2007 I filled the void of swimming retirement with triathlon. In my first tri I thought, "holy sh*t this is painful" and "when can I do it again?" Things escalated quickly and my first half iron was in Augusta 2009 and my first full iron was Louisville 2011. Since 2007 I've been chasing a dream of qualifying for the World Champs in Kona, Hawaii. Prior to September 2017 this blog focused on attempts (and failures) to achieve an elusive KQ. I got the monkey off my back in my 10th Ironman at Chattanooga in 2017. I was fortunate to qualify again in 2022. There is always room to improve, and I look forward to putting in the work to become a consistent podium finisher. I couldn't do any of this without my amazing family. I am lucky to train in a fantastic triathlon town with inspirational athletes. My job, training, and daughters keep me busy, but I update as often as I can. I'm always willing to share the knowledge I've picked up along the way. Thanks for reading!

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Ironman CDA Race Report

10:08:53
21st Men 30-34, 94th OA
Official Race Splits 

Before I jump into this race report I would like to thank a few people who continue to make it possible for me to enjoy this crazy "hobby".  Thanks to my amazing wife Brittany (who just co-signed on me signing up for IMKY on a whim), mom, dad, Lum, and Jacko. Thanks to Coach Flanigan and CVE.  Thanks to Brian Shea and Personal Best Nutrition for helping get my race day nutrition dialed in.  Thanks to the boys in the Hammer Tri Club for pushing me to be better at every training session, and thanks to Jay Peluso and the coaches at Peluso Open Water for putting together a great program that has helped me regain some of my old swim form.  I also want to congratulate Justin Moyer, Rob Green, and Jeff Tunstall who all had amazing races at CDA.  These guys each had a banner day and each deserved to be rewarded for their hard work.  It couldn't happen to a better group of guys.  I am proud to call these guys my friends and training partners.  Unfortunately we were down a man in CDA as our good friend Moose Herring (the Godfather of HTC) had to pull out with an injury. I know he was on all of our minds during the race and was a big part of helping each and every one of us get ready for the race. 

Exhibit A
The days are really longggggg in Idaho.  The sun comes up at like 4:45 a.m. and doesn't go down until almost 10:00 p.m.  There is like sixteen hours of usable daylight.  It is totally insane.  This was my first time in the Pacific Northwest and the scenery is beautiful (and so is my wife...note exhibit A), but the weather is damn crazy and changes at the drop of of a hat.  One minute it would be sunny and warm and the next it would be cloudy and cold.  The day we arrived it was 45 degrees and pouring rain.  The majority of the trip was cool and rainy.  It was quite a change from typical June weather in Virginia.  Fortunately we got lucky, and the day of the race was sunny and in the 70's with light winds.  Great conditions made for an extremely fast day across the field.  We arrived on Thursday before the race and spent a few days checking out the sights and getting acclimated.  We rented a house about one mile from the race site which was a nice change of pace from staying in a hotel.  Coeur d'Alene is a really great town and the people are wonderful.  They really embrace Ironman during race week and fan support during the race is second to none.

RACE MORNING
I woke up at 3:45 on race morning to get my breakfast down with plenty of time to digest.  I didn't get much sleep the night before which is pretty typical.  For breakfast I went with my standard pre-race meal which included two packages of raisin spice oatmeal, a cinnamon raisin english muffin with peanut butter, and a banana (approx 850 cals).  I washed it down with Gu Brew and two Salt Stick capsules.   I started heading down to the race site at 4:15 and planned to meet the boys when transition opened at 4:30.  I got down to the site made final preparations to my bike, checked my gear bags and tried to relax until swim start.  The swim at CDA starts a bit earlier than most races (6:35 a.m.) which is fine since the sun has been up already for 90 minutes.  At about 6:15 I pulled on my new Blue Seventy Helix Wetsuit and headed down to the beach for the swim start.  I ate half a bonk breaker (120 cals) about 15 minutes before the gun.  The morning was cool and crisp and initially cloudy/foggy.  The clouds/fog broke early and paved the way for a beautiful day.

SWIM- 52:36
Ranking at end of Swim- 8th AG, 16th OA
Ironman rolled out a new starting format this year and CDA was the guinea pig for the new system.  Rather than a mass start, we self seeded based on projected swim times.  Basically they set up corrals much like a running race.  I placed myself in the sub 60 minute wave.  I was concerned that people would cheat up into the faster wave but it actually seemed people were pretty honest about their positioning.  The lake was pristine and warmer than usual for race day.  Typically the water temp is in the 50's but we were fortunate to have a water temperature around 60 degrees.  60 is chilly but I never felt cold during the swim.   I think my adrenaline took care of the cold ice cream headache feeling I experienced during my warm up swims in the days prior.  Light winds kept the water smooth and we didn't have to deal with any swells or chop.  The plan for the swim was to swim strong and smart.  I wanted to be up with the leaders but keep plenty in reserve.  When the horn went off I sprinted into the water and swam hard hard for about 5 minutes to try and get clear of the crowd.  I immediately noticed that there were some strong swimmers in our wave.  Two guys broke clear of the crowd and then a group of about six of us settled into a chase pack.  I felt really comfortable in the water and everyone in our pack seemed to be about the same skill level.  Rather than push the pace I settled into the rear of the pack and got a nice draft going.  Our pack stayed together all the way through the first loop and halfway into the second loop.  At the first turn buoy on the second lap we caught the rear of the field and all bets were off.  The pack splintered and I did my best to keep clean lines and a strong pace into the swim finish.  I felt calm, comfortable and strong as I finished the swim and ran toward T1.  I glanced down at my watch on my way to the change tent and was pleased with my split.  I spotted my family and wife as I ran out of the water which gave me a nice boost.  So far the day was unfolding according to plan.

T1- 4:49 
In my limited Ironman experience I have learned to roll with the punches.  There are many times during the day when a curve ball comes your way and you  have to make micro or macro adjustments on the fly.  My first curve came during T1.  As I sat down in the change tent I started cramping pretty severely.  My quads, hamstrings, and calves all cramped simultaneously as I tried to get my bike gear on.  I'm not sure why this happened as I had upped my  amount of electrolytes and didn't experience any cramping in the water (which I usually get).  The only thing I can figure is that it must have been the cold of the water and air which locked me up a bit.  In any event, I had to sit in transition much longer than I wanted to allow the cramps to subside.  After an extra minute or two they went away, I ate half a bonk breaker (120 cals) and ran out toward my bike to hit the bike leg.

BIKE
5:22:39
20.83 MPH 
Avg Power- 238, Norm Power- 246, VI- 1.03
Ranking at end of Bike- 14th AG, 65th OA
The bike course took us along a large portion of the lake.  There were two out and back sections done twice comprising a two loop course.   The road surface was excellent with fast pavement.  Winds were light and temperatures were cool making for fast conditions.  My plan was to ride an average power of 215-225 and cap my efforts on the hills at 250.  I had strict instructions from coach not to exceed my FTP for even one second.  As we started the bike I realized quickly that there were some stud cyclists in the field.  Guys were hammering the bike course.  It was actually shocking how hard and fast some of these guys were riding the first loop.  I did my best to ignore the noise and ride according to my plan.  It is pretty difficult to ignore your inner competitor when guys are blowing by you, but I was resolute in my goal not to be too aggressive in the early stages.  I passed the time counting the guys going past me without power meters.  I decided that I would be seeing most of them on the second loop when they started to blow up.  I found it particularly interesting the number of guys that were mashing up the hills in big gears at low cadence. 

By the time I reached the long out and back section on highway 95, I realized I felt good and 215-225 was too easy.  The race was getting away from me and I decided on the fly that I had enough in the tank to push my wattage caps in a reasonable manner.  I decided to ride at 240 and cap the hills at 270-280.  I found that the long climbs were forcing me to climb at 260 even in my easiest gears.  Frankly keeping my wattage at 250 while climbing just wasn't possible unless I wanted go backwards.  The remainder of the first loop passed without incident and I headed out on the second loop.  I felt really good on the second loop and the second out and back on highway 95, I did start to re-pass some of the guys that had gone past me on the first loop.  I rode steady and confident and really settled into a good rhythm on the second lap.  I was riding my race and regaining some of the position I had lost early on.  I actually felt  I was getting stronger as the miles passed and my best segment was the long stretch heading back towards T2.


The nice thing about a multiple loop course was that I got to see my friends multiple times during the race.  It always gives a boost to see your buddies (especially when they are doing well).  Justin and Rob passed me fairly early on in the bike and I tried to keep my relative distance behind them to a minimum without straying from my race plan.  It was also great to see that Jeff was riding strong.  I could tell that he and I were riding about the same speed and it made me feel good knowing that he was having a great day.
The best way to describe the bike course is that it is an honest bike course that favors the good all around cyclist.  The course had a little bit of everything including long sustained climbs, fast descents, rollers, and even a few fast flat sections.  The climbs were significant enough that they would punish the overzealous on the marathon.  I was glad I opted for the 12-27 cassette in the back because I ended up using my granny gears quite a bit on the climbs.  This gearing allowed me to spin easy up the hills at a high cadence without unnecessarily burning any matches.

My nutrition plan on the bike included two bottles of liquid calories and a back up gel flask with watered down Accel Gel (400 calories).  My calorie bottles were a mixture of carbo pro, two gu brew tablets, and two scoops of EFS.  Each bottle had 612 calories and 1240 mg of electrolyte.  I upped my normal electrolyte intake per the suggestion of Brian Shea at PBN.  I opted to keep my electrolyte intake at the high end of medium hourly intake because of the cool conditions.  I supplemented my electrolytes with 12 salt stick capsules (2480 mg electrolyte) during the ride.  I alternated taking one or two salt stick capsules every 30 minutes.  I drank one third of each calorie bottle every 45 minutes.  I picked up the second bottle around mile 60 at special needs.  I drank 1/4 of my gel flask on the hour beginning one hour into the race.  Overall my energy felt good and I didn't experience any cramping.  The only other fluids I took on board was water at the aid stations.  My hydration consumption was fairly low.  I only drank about 1.5 bottles of water in addition to my calorie bottles.  I had to adjust my hydration plan after I  peed 3x on the first loop of the bike.  I realized I was overhydrated and didn't want to pee out all of my electrolytes so I backed down the water consumption considerably.  The plan worked and I leveled out only peeing once on the second loop.  Overall I consumed 1600 calories and 4415 mg of electrolyte on the bike.  This roughly equated to about 290 calories/hour and 885 mg electrolyte/hour.

As I headed into T2 I felt great and ready to attack the marathon. The day was unfolding perfectly and I was excited as I jumped off the bike.  My family was standing right by the rail and I got some much needed love as I sprinted toward my gear bag and into the tent. 

T2-2:28
Coming off the bike I felt a little bit stiffer than normal and my first couple steps were "ginger".  T2 was pretty uneventful except that I ended up in the change tent with a guy from Northern Virginia that I raced at the Kinetic Half....small world.  T2 went much quicker and I was into my run gear much more smoothly than the swim to bike transition.

RUN- 3:46:21
8:38/mile
Thus far in the race everything was going according to plan and the day was lining up as I had hoped.  I didn't know my exact place within the field but I knew I was farther back than Louisville last year.  Even as the race unfolded, I knew  this was a fast field.  Running out of transition I felt good and got to see my family.  I was cramping a bit in the first mile of the run which is pretty typical for me.  I just kept my legs going and knew the cramps would eventually subside.  I popped 4 salt stick caps and settled in.  I planned to take 4 salt stick capsules (860 mg) every hour (2 every 30 minutes).  I consumed all 20 and wished I had more.  I will definitely carry more in the future particularly in warmer races.  Another mistake was to carry the pills in a cloth pouch.  As I was sweating the pouch got soaked and the pills began to break down.  By the late stages of the run I was essentially eating clumps of salt....gross.  My nutrition plan was to drink coke and water at every aid station.  I basically stuck to this plan except when I started to feel full or queasy.  The first five miles were  on the money and I ran 7:39, 7:38, 7:46, 7:36, and 7:49.  At the time, the pace felt comfortable and I was running with a guy from Utah.  We were chatting and keeping pace with each other (for those of you that were there, it was the dude in the Faris al Sultan get up).  In hindsight, I went out much too strong and should have started at 8:00-8:15 pace.  I think that giving up 2-3 minutes on the front end could have potentially paid huge dividends on the back end....Huge lesson learned.  Interestingly my perception of the race during this time was a bit different than the reality of what was unfolding.  In my head I felt like my buddy Rob was putting major time into me on the run but the reality was that I was holding steady for the first six miles and didn't really lose any additional time until mile 10.  My perception of falling backwards started a mental cycle of negativity which  was beginning to take root and which would ultimately ruin the back half of my race.  During an Ironman you can be your own worst enemy and that is what I started to do to myself.  I started the process of defeating myself with 20 miles left to run.

The run was also a two loop course and the farthest point was the worst section.  It was a series of big
hills and the turn around was particularly cruel in that it was at the bottom of a hill which you immediately had to turn around and run back up.  My next 6 miles were still good but I started to feel pretty lousy.  I ran 8:14, 8:48 (bathroom break), 7:50, 7:55, 8:05, and 8:01.  At this point I was making my way back into town.  This is a particularly tough time for me mentally because you are lifted up by the crowds and then emotionally clubbed with the knowledge that you have to head back out of town to do the whole thing again.  The next 2 miles I really started to drop off and my overall mood and outlook started to nose dive.  Miles 12 and 13 were 8:41 and 8:38.  At this point I was back into town and as I ran past my dad I told him that I was starting to feel pretty rough.  It was amazing how fast things changed.  One moment I was on pace and feeling good and the next moment I was in excruciating physical and mental agony.  Normally I am pretty  resilient but  I just couldn't pull myself out of the tail spin.  My whole mood changed in the blink of an eye and I just wanted the experience to be over.

As I ran back out of town I passed my wife, mom and sister.  I remember feeling so much relief at seeing them and all I wanted to do was touch my wife.  As I ran by I reached out my hand and gave her a squeeze.  I think I was trying to gather some kind of additional energy reserve from that brief physical contact.  Somehow my sister captured that exact moment on camera. I continued to climb the ladder of pain and slower splits over the next few miles as I ran out of town.  Miles 14-20 were 8:34, 8:43, 9:17, 8:38, 9:02, 9:09 and 8:54.  At this stage I was walking the aid stations and trying to run in between.  My thoughts were all over the place.  I distinctly remember thinking "I just want a chair, all I want to do is sit down".  This thought must have run through my head 1000 times and I just couldn't shake the feeling. 
A very dark place

Things really started to take a turn for the worse during the last 10K.  By this point I was shot physically and mentally.  I was walking for long periods and just trying to convince myself to run from tree to tree or street to street.  The mental bargaining was in full effect and I was all too willing to break my own internal negotiations.  This is the lowest I have felt in any of my three Ironman races from both a physical and mental perspective.  At this point all of my thoughts were negative.  "I hate this", " Why am I doing this?", "I want this to be over", "This is stupid", "This isn't fun", "I need a long break",  "This isn't for me anymore".  All of these terrible thoughts were running on a loop through my head.  My mile splits continued to suffer and my last six miles were 9:08, 9:41, 9:33, 9:32, 9:34, and 9:44.  I was so low that I was predominantly walking as I got back into town.  In fact I felt so bad that I decided I was just going to walk it in down the last straight away and finishing chute.  Fortunately on the last turn to the home stretch a group of fans yelled at me for walking and snapped me back to my senses.  They yelled out "you are so close", "don't walk now!!!"  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  They were 100% right.  Why the hell was I walking?  I mustered up my last bit of strength and ran it in.  Although the race didn't end as I had hoped, in some ways the finishing chute was more enjoyable.  Because my time and placing was not what I had hoped, it freed me to unplug from my competitiveness and just enjoy the last quarter mile.  I actually drank in the fan support and slapped fives to the crowd.  It was a pretty nice way to wrap up what turned out to be a tough day.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Immediately after the race I was extremely disappointed.  Although the my time was good, I felt as though I had let myself down by cracking mentally.  There is nothing worse than disappointing yourself.  This was a challenging race and I found the course was much more difficult than Louisville (particularly the run).  All things considered, my 10:08 at CDA was probably a bit stronger of a performance than my 10:00 at Louisville in 2012.  I left this race with the nagging feeling that there was a distinct point in the race where I had the choice to take a path toward 9:50 or 10:08.  I was weak and chose the path of giving up on myself.  At the end of the day this was a valuable lesson and I take from it a deeper well of knowledge from which to draw next time I go into the black.

In the days after the race I thought long and hard about my next move.  I was leaning toward taking it easier and just sticking to shorter local races.  Then I received a text message on Tuesday morning from Rob and Justin telling me they had just signed up for Ironman Mont Tremblant in 7 weeks.  This gave me the push I needed to keep moving forward in a big way.  I am not done, I am better than my performance in CDA and I mean to prove it.  I talked with my wife, coach, parents, friends and although I was looking for people to tell me not to do it, every single person I asked told me to take another crack at it.  So I signed up for Ironman Louisville and in 8 weeks I mean to redeem myself.  Thank you for taking the time to read this and for all the support you have given me.  If you are reading this, chances are you are one of the people who has contributed greatly to my journey.  Back to Work!!!!! 8 Weeks until go time!!!!!


1 comment:

  1. Well said, What does not kill you makes you stronger a lesson I learned from Chemo. Sometimes you eat the Bear, sometimes the Bear eats you. At Louisville you will eat the Bear of pain.

    ReplyDelete