Trains, Travels

I didn’t enjoy Kona much this year – I wasn’t there. I hate to admit it, but I followed the event with jealousy; I’ve only been twice, but after a few years trying to qualify it has become part of my season. Each blog I read or podcast I listened to made me more determined to return. I wanted to be there. I have unfinished business on the island – I’ve yet to race my best. My first year was good, a surprising result, but the second was marred by injury and performance fell short of expectations. I haven’t managed perfect race execution in Kona.

Checking results on Sunday morning I was pleased to see Nick Baldwin had claimed second in his age group with a time of 9:18:15. I’d met Nick in Hawaii the previous year when he had a solid debut. He wanted more and dedicated himself to improving, his goal was the age group podium. Following Nick’s blog there was no doubt about the commitment or the potential. His hard work paid off and he executed a perfectly paced race on Saturday.

He also logged it and was generous enough to send me his data to examine.

Swim

Nick doesn’t have a swim background. In 2010 he was a similar pace to me, but consistent training this year saw him out of the water in an hour; a good swim by Kona standards. While there’s no GPS or other data to look at, from Nick’s description it was a matter of controlled effort.

If one factor defines the day it was control – Nick was always working comfortably within his ability.

Bike

A text book Ironman bike. No spiking of effort, power comfortably within the cap and increasing over the ride. Nick’s tactics were similar to mine – hold back a little until Hawi, then on return to the Queen K lift the pace. In my experience many athletes push too hard to the turn around and struggle to sustain the effort back to town. Paced correctly you spend the second half of the race moving through the field. Not only do you gain places, but it’s a huge boost to morale.

Nick spent virtually no time above FTP, he rode almost the entire race at 70-80% of it. The most common mistakes I see in Ironman power files are riding too hard initially (see my recent Challenge Henley data for that) and spikes in power, particularly those crossing FTP. The former leads to an inevitable decline in performance as the race wears on, the latter can see a notable fade towards the end of the ride. Both drain the legs and if they don’t cost time on the bike they will on the run.

The final chart shows Nick quickly got his heart rate under control out of transition – the result of good pacing. The early section of the bike on Kuakini Highway is crowded, it’s tough to keep in control up this tough incline. There is a slight upward trend in HR and power over the 112 miles, nothing severe, but it shows how controlled that early part of the race was. Nick never worked beyond his limits and as planned was able to raise the effort for the retune leg.

I already mentioned jealousy – I am jealous of such a text book ride.

Run

In 2010 ! passed Nick about 10 miles into the marathon, it lasted for a mile before he came back. Shortly after Palani I started to fade on route to my detonation in the Energy Lab. Nick remained consistent and finished strongly, but he knew he needed more. One of his focusses for the season was improving his run. This year he stared with a goal of running 3:15, achieving 3:18 shows how carefully he paced himself.

The only change to Nick’s steady pace is when he walks aid stations, otherwise the consistency is impressive. Heart rate settles and holds steady from the start only rising as he lifts the effort towards the end of the race. Pace doesn’t change vastly, but at that point it’s often about being able to hold pace. Clearly Nick did – perfect execution that took him from third off the bike into second overall.

An impressive result from an impressively controlled race. To hold yourself back early on the bike takes discipline, but pays off. Nick spent a lot of time practicing riding above race pace, by race day he was confident he could easily handle the effort. He’s also been working to improve run performance with lots of consistent work to develop his marathon pace. It’s a step up, but running remains the area he has a lot to gain in. There’s ten minutes to the age group winner, something to target for next year.

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No race review is complete without examining the data collected over the event. Power, pace and heart rate give me a good indication as to what happened during a tough day out. After a month without training I had no idea what to expect – I was racing blind. With no real sense of fitness I followed my default race plan, acting as if I was properly prepared. Unsurprisingly I wasn’t at my best, but I was capable of more than anticipated.

Bike

I’d set an aggressive power target of 240 Watts, particularly ambitious given the recent lack of cycling. This number was my motivation, feel ultimately dictated my performance, but I was watching and attempting to hold that target. The first lap was easy – 240W was no challenge, but I would pay a price later on. Declining power and heart rate are a clear indication of fatigue – my legs couldn’t sustain the effort and intensity dropped. By the third lap I could only just hold on.

In view of my pacing targets and power caps it’s clear I pushed the first lap too hard. I didn’t cap myself, but drifted around 240W. Whilst spikes in power were minimal (out of the saddle efforts in the final lap produced more), the amount of time above my primary cap was too high. I knew I was pushing, but with my heart rate under control and feeling good I went with it. Perhaps with a better lead in I could have held it, but clearly the fitness wasn’t there. Had I genuinely capped my effort, I suspect my performance would have been even over the entire race.

Despite the decline I wasn’t overtaken, I suspect most people were suffering similar effects at those later stages. I was consistent, spent little time coasting, but used downhills for more recovery than I’d planned. Again it’s most visible in the final lap, fatigue sees me resting on the descents. Perhaps it helped save my legs for the run.

There is good and bad in this ride. In many respects it wasn’t a performance I’m proud of; it was painful and hard. I don’t know how well I would have performed after my usual taper, but I’ve no doubt that a month off significantly impacted my race. I made pacing errors though, I lacked the confidence to truly cap at my goal and tried to bank extra watts early on. You cannot bank watts, the cost of pushing early is too high.

Run

A huge surprise. After walking to a 4:10 marathon at the Outlaw I wasn’t expecting much from Henley. That lack of training would surely make me suffer and the way my legs felt coming into transition I couldn’t imagine running. I’d altered my race plan – aiming for a slower pace and short walks through aid station. Unlike the bike I stuck to the plan, as I chased someone out of transition I made the conscious decision to let them go. I pulled my pace down to 5:00 min/km and intended to hold it there.

That pace was optimistic. Throw in aid stations and a few seconds for walk breaks and the average speed drops. Then there are three notable breaks – two stops at Portaloos and a final walk break before the push home. Time lost, but each break left me feeling better able to run again; that final walk was added to help me finish strongly. An optimistic push at the 30km mark didn’t last long, but after the break I was able to lift my pace for the line.

Considering the near total lack of running in the previous month an improved marathon performance wasn’t expected. The pace was pedestrian, barely taking my heart rate to 135BPM, but it took its toll on my legs. Pains similar to the Outlaw were present, the consistent, slower pace made them more manageable. 3:45 for a marathon is a step in the right direction, even if I’ve a long way to go to my old form. Being able to do that on this season’s minimal running is a positive.

Before the race I commented that if I performed well this unorthodox taper would give me a lot to think about. I performed reasonably. I have no doubt not training for a month is far from ideal, it impaired my race day performance. I am surprised that it didn’t do more harm; there’s clearly a deep level of fitness that can get me round an Ironman in a respectable time. There’s probably room for me to do less in my regular taper periods. I need structure and training leading into a race, but perhaps not as much.

Overall – I badly paced the bike, started too hard and paid later. However my run pacing was on target and proved effective despite the poor preparation. I don’t need data to know the swim was bad and leaves a lot of catching up to be done.

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Immediately after I published my Henley race report I had reservations. It accurately reflected the day, but as has since been pointed out was very critical of my performance. I believe that if you are chasing improvements you need to be able to recognise when you fall short; the desire not to repeat your mistakes, to do better next time, is a powerful motivator. From the perspective of my racing goals harsh criticism was fair, but in a broader context I overlooked the significance of the event.

This year was a break from focussed training, a chance to put my energy into developing my coaching business. Despite that I entered three long course races and frequently bemoaned a lack of improvement or results. Work has necessitated a more relaxed approach to my training schedule, in that regard my results have been good. Instead of judging myself against previous standards, I should remember the plan – I never intended to be at my best.

More importantly, I disregarded how good it was to be racing locally. I had numerous supporters on the course – friends and family. Every bit of support is appreciated, but being cheered on by people you know is that much better. For the first time my parents were able to see me race. Having that support made the day a truly positive experience whatever my result.

I will be revisiting the race, picking through the data and considering my performance – particularly in light of the disrupted lead in. That can wait, it was more important I keep perspective on the day. Challenge Henley wasn’t my greatest race, but it was a good day. I’m not a very responsive athlete, I have tunnel vision, but I did appreciate the support I received and it did filter through. What could be better than racing in front of my home crowd? I’ll have better races, but that’s an experience that will be hard to match.

Despite the interruptions of the last month I’m in no rush to return to training. Recover first and keep training in perspective. I’m taking a break and heading to Pembrokeshire for the weekend. It’s not a perfect escape – whilst there I’m going to check out the Ironman Wales bike course with a view to entering next year. The mountain bike is coming with me, but the heart rate monitor is staying at home. No pressure, just fun. Time to relax and not stress about fitness.

I’ll worry about the next race when I return.

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