Florianopolis, Brazil - May 31, 2015
1:07:09 Swim (1:46 / 100 M) - PR
6:29 T1
5:30:00 (20.34 MPH)
9:13 T2
5:22:50 (12:19 min/Mi)
Total 12:15:41 - PR
114th of 217 in Age Group
995th of 1391 Men
1086th of 1614 Athletes
PR for the Swim, 2nd Best Bike & 2nd Best Run
PR for Ironman Distance by 1:08 hours.
What an awesome place. Amazing Destination Race.
I am super excited to have been able to race Ironman Brasil.
Everything was awesome. The hotel was great, the race organization was great, race itself was awesome.
Race morning started by waking up around 4 am, from one of the best night sleeps I ever had before a race. The hotel had opened for full breakfast since 3 am so i went down and had a great breakfast.
After doing everything in Transition, i started the 1K walk to Swim Start. The swim start was very wide, on the beach. The place was awesome. Beautiful. And the weather was perfect. Not too cold. Water was flat as a pool. I lined up straight with the buoys, behind only a couple people.
Even though people were spread quite wide, it still was quite crowded in the water. Maybe because there were many fast people, i don't know. But it wasn't until 300-350 meters into it that i finally had a little room for myself.
As i got to the first Turn Buoy, things got really crowded again. And oddly enough, it seemed like the water got a bit choppy when we got to the far buoys. And due to that, and the amount of people around, i don't think i have ever drank as much water as i did in this race!
I did not think i was going very well. Maybe because of all the people around, maybe because of all the water i drank, but i thought i was going steady (not bad), but not great.
When i got out of the water for the first part, i checked my Garmin and saw 36 min. I knew that the first part was longer than the 2nd, so i was excited. If i did, say 30 min for the last part, i would have an awesome PR in my hands :) And thats exactly what happened.
Sighting for the exit was really hard. Very small buoys. I may have not gone as straight as i should, but wasn't too bad. The timing mat was very far from the water, and it took me almost a full minute to get past the mat, once i got out of the water. I did the swim in 1:06. I was very pleased.
I was 50th out of 217 in my AG out of the water.
T1 was fine. It was a long ways from the swim exit to the tent. I just made sure to do everything i needed to do.
I was ok with my time.
The bike overall was very interesting. Its a 2 loop, out and back course. The weather again cooperated greatly, as there was barely any wind at all (and i was told it can get quite windy).
The first 5 or so miles getting out were hard, partly through cobble stones, and bad roads. Then once in the highway, there are a few rolling hills, and the 2 "real" hills.
The hills were longer than what we see around Houston, and one of them was quite steep. I made sure to not force it going up, and then pushed a bit on the way down (with the help of gravity), hitting 40+ MPH a few times. That helped keep my energy.
Speaking of energy, I used my Infinit formula as always. Somehow i believe i may have miscounted the scoops and added more than i should. The mix was a lot thicker than in previous races. However, it wasn't too bad. it was fine for the race. I made sure to down it with water/gatorade.
I went through my full bottle, taking big sips during the race, making sure to have 1/2 a bottle at the half way point, etc...
The course was very neat. We went through the Center of town, riding through beautiful scenery, right on the water at times. We went through overpasses, near the famous Bridge, under a Tunnel.
For the most part, the course is flat and allows for a fast, steady pace. And the hills, as much as I worried before the race, werent so bad.
I worked on keeping my wattage according to plan, 180-190w, and i was able to stay very close to it. I was excited to have been able to execute my plan to the tee.
As a matter of fact, looking at the Garmin file, my NP was 185w - right exactly in the middle of the goal !!!!
I didn't feel tired on the bike at any time, and especially at the end, which was great !!! I was very pleased.
I was 48th out of 217 in my AG out of the bike.
T2 also went fine. I did take my time again, to get vaseline in my feet, to make sure to do all i needed to do. I also went to the restroom, which took some time.
Looking at my T2 time, it would be nice to have been a bit faster, but the most important thing was to do all i had to do.
I was ok with my time.
I was very excited starting the run, because I was about 8 min short of 2:00pm, which meant that as long as I had a 5 hr marathon (which was my goal to begin with), I would have been assured of breaking 12 hrs.
The course was an 8 mile out and back (which included 2 hills each way), and then three 10k loops.
Again, the weather was perfect !!! Not hot at all. No humidity. I felt great starting the run. Didn't feel exhausted off the bike. The legs were not hurting. The plan was to run at 10:30 pace for the first 8 miles.
I was running at a really nice steady slow pace for the first two miles (around 9:50) and feeling good. Then came the hills...
There were two hills on this out and back portion of the course, not super long, but steep, and one of them, extremely steep. I walked the hills. Once past them, there was a flat out and back couple miles to the hills again.
Again, i was feeling good. Coming to the hills the second time, i was right at 10:30 pace (including walking the first go around). Thats when i drank my Infinit for the first (and last) time.
Again, i must have screwed up the count on the scoops for the run formula as well. The two little Fuel Belt bottles don't allow for much water, and with the amount of powder that i had, it turned out to make a super concentrated gooey mess. I got a cup and filled with ice (had i known, i should have diluted in water too). As i drank it, it didn't taste good at all. It was so thick and didnt taste right.
Only a few min later, i started having real bad stomach cramps, which lasted throughout the race.
I gave my Fuel Belt to Jenna when i saw her a few miles later, so no more Infinit for this race. All i ate from then on was a couple of Granola Bars that i had with me, one around mile 7-8 and another around mile 14-15.
When i wasn't in pain, i was able to run at a half decent pace. But when the cramps would hit, i had to walk. Sometimes it was seldom, sometimes it was a lot.
I kept fighting it and moving forward.
Another first in this race, was that my Garmin's battery died while i was finishing my first loop. I saw Jenna and gave her the Garmin and asked her to charge it up for a while and give it back to me when i come around on the next loop. So for my second 10k loop, I had no idea how i was doing.
I saw her again when i started my 3rd loop and got my Garmin back.
I was quite surprised. Even with the stomach issues, I still had a chance at the 5 hr goal, if I stayed at around 11:00 min/Mi for the last 10k till the finish. The frustrating thing was that I was able to run at 11:00 pace for a while, but the cramps would make me walk. I soon realized that breaking 12 hrs would not happen in this race, but i still wanted to be as close as possible to the 12 hrs.
However, unfortunately perhaps due to the lack of nutrition, energy tank getting empty, tired, my usual mental issues... or a combination of the above, mile 24 and 25 were incredibly slow. When finally getting back to the main road, about a mile away, i guess the adrenaline kicked in, and i ran the last mile at a 9:20 pace ! Damn! Where was that a couple miles ago? :)
Anyways, it breaking 12 hrs was not to be this time, but it was still a PR. And i was very excited about the improvements i have been seeing.
I am excited for my next race. I hope IMFL ’15 will be the one where the 12 hr mark gets broken !!!