IMSG by the Numbers
People who are pure swimmers, cyclists or runners often affectionately refer to triathletes as "tri geeks." (Don't believe me? Check out this super-geeky race analytics website.) That term isn't far from the truth for any endurance athlete, because the analysis of data becomes a big part of one's training and racing strategy. (In that respect, my career in data-driven marketing is analogous to my endurance sport hobby.) If I asked you to go out and run at 4-minute-per-mile pace right now, you would likely be able to do it. The question is: how long could you keep that up? Thirty seconds? One minute? Two full miles, like an Olympian? There are tests and calculators that we can use to estimate the answers to those types of questions, and the complexity of those calculations will multiply as we add swimming, cycling and duration to the equation. Thus, it's important to measure our success in more ways than just our final finishing time.
I'm a big fan of the Endurance Nation training methodology. This triathlon program, created many years ago by two exceptional Ironman athletes and coaches (Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann), is the world's most expansive study on long course triathlon training and results. Thousands of athletes have collected millions of data points to determine the best practices for training and racing. If you want to know how to become a more efficient swimmer, how hard you should go on the bike, how to get faster on the run or how many calories to consume, there are strong guidelines and, in some cases, definitive answers. So, aside from the information provided by the official race clock, here is how I would grade my performance at Ironman St. George based on the other metrics which should be monitored:
Training volume (C+) This is an area where I really did not excel. I can't share my training plan with you because it is a proprietary Endurance Nation document, but I can say that it looks nothing like my training log. There are a few logical explanations why I missed so many bike intervals, swim drills and tempo runs: My commute to/from the office took three hours from my day, I lost a lot of weekend days to my coaching responsibilities, and my need to learn to swim trumped some of my other workouts. Still, I definitely went into my race undertrained on the bike and the run, and my lack of brick workouts was very apparent.
T1 (A- ) My first transition was a deplorable 12 minutes, but with my hands being frozen from the swim, it would not have been easy to try to put on arm warmers, gloves, shoes, etc any faster. Either way, I'm sure I could practice and cut that time down by a couple of minutes. I do find it ironic that many triathletes will go to great lengths to cut 30 seconds from their transition time, but through incorrect pacing, they will lose 30 minutes later in the day.
T-Pace (A) This is the pace per hundred yards at which someone swims an all-out 1000 yard test. Mine was roughly 1:50/100 and, considering that I spent a full minute of my 1:17:02 swim split clinging to kayaks, I ended up slightly beating my anticipated swim time. I had never been in a triathlon, sighted buoys in open water, or dealt with crowds before, so I'm sure I did my share of zig-zagging along the way. Swimming, like golf, has a lot more to do with technique than might, and I think I can probably learn to shave off a few more minutes by continuing to work at it.
IF (B+) A person's Intensity Factor (IF) is the percentage of their Functional Threshold Power (FTP, or average wattage during an hour all-out effort) at which they ride. The Endurance Nation program encourages people to ride a full Ironman at 70% IF and a half Ironman at 80% IF in order to save their legs for the upcoming run segment. I use a device that measures wattage on each pedal stroke (called a PowerTap) and I was happy when I downloaded and analyzed my numbers after the race. My IF at Ironman St. George was 69.9%. I have to thank Coach Patrick, who analyzed one of my training rides a few weeks earlier which was done at 78% IF and he helped me learn to be more patient. However, I did fail at staying consistent throughout the ride. On the first 22 miles of the course, I was at 182 watts (or 72% IF). On the next 45 mile loop, I was at 185 watts (or 73% IF). On the last 45 mile loop, I was at 166 watts (65.7%). The drop-off in intensity shows that I was becoming fatigued as the bike portion transpired, which didn't bode well for my marathon.
VI (C+) The Variable Index (VI) shows the disparity between the highest wattage numbers and the lowest wattage numbers on a particular ride. The ideal scenario is to have a VI score of 1.0 (or close to it), showing that there were no peaks or valleys to the intensity throughout the ride. My VI score was 1.11, which is somewhat reflective of the hilly course, but I have training partners who rode at 1.07 VI. This means that I need to get smarter about backing off on the uphills and pedaling harder on the downhills. Being more disciplined about staying in my aero bars would also help.
FTP (C-) Due to my undertraining (mostly on the bike), my functional threshold power remained virtually unchanged between August of 2009 (255) and March of 2010 (252). Most members of my team were seeing gains of 10-15% power during the months preceding the race. I think, through a concerted effort, I should be able to improve upon that number by 10%, which will raise my watts/kilogram (the true test of a cyclist's strength).
Nutrition/Hydration (D+) I did a very poor job of hydrating and eating during the race. I had a bagel, a banana and some water before the race. I ate and drank nothing at T1. I spent almost seven hours on the bike and had only four bottles of water (the goal is a bottle per hour) and approximately 900 calories (the goal is 250 calories per hour). I spent almost five hours on the marathon and had one gel, a few snacks (orange slices, a cookie and a banana slice) and some drinks (probably the equivalent of two bottles). There is really no excuse for this error...it's an ongoing challenge for me in all of my races and it's something I need to work on. I don't know if my legs would have felt any better if I had doubled my nutrition and hydration, but I'm sure I would have had more energy and more grit.
VDOT (A-) In my run training, we use legendary coach Jack Daniels' velocity at VO2 Max (VDOT) method to determine pacing. My VDOT score leading up to the race was 56, which meant that I should be able to run a standalone marathon in just under three hours and an Ironman marathon in approximately three hours and forty minutes. In February, I ran my fastest 5K since high school and a couple of weeks before the race, I ran a 10-mile course within a minute of my personal record. So, although I was lacking tempo runs, mileage volume and brick runs, my run fitness was improving well.
Run pacing (B+) Given the hilly course and the fact that this was my first triathlon, I would have been happy with any time faster than four hours. In looking at my Garmin data, including my walks through the aid stations to force myself to hydrate, I was averaging roughly 8:30-9:00/mile. Thus, I don't think I made a tactical error on the run...I did exactly what I set out to do. I probably could have done more downhill training to prepare my muscles more for the pounding of the course, but I still think I picked the right pace.
Fun (B+) More important than any metrics or times is the fact that we do these things in our spare time, so we need to enjoy them. Overall, my experience in St. George was a very positive one. I signed up to challenge myself and I rose to the challenge. Being able to share the week with some good friends and training partners was icing on the cake.
All of this analysis has one common theme: there were a lot of places where some time could have been shaved off. A flatter course, a more efficient swim stroke, a higher FTP on the bike, more nutrition and hydration, better execution, etc would all have led to a better time. I mentioned in a previous post that I had no desire to do another full Ironman. I still want to focus on other life priorities right now, but I can't say I never, ever want to give it another shot. I'd love to go shave off a couple of hours someday, and I reserve the right to do so, regardless of my talk of retirement a couple of weeks ago = )
Comments