Ironman Los Cabos was my 4th Ironman and the hardest one so far! I also trained the hardest for this race, so am slightly disappointed/puzzled as to why I didn't get better results. I have been trying to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona since coming in 3rd place in my AG in Ironman Chattanooga in 2015. My training was really inconsistent for IM Cozumel in 2016. Training for IM Texas 2017 was slightly better but not up to par for a KQ. From reading blogs & talking to fellow athletes, I gathered that 18-20 hours/week is generally what is needed for getting to Kona. So, I wrote myself a training plan and mostly followed it. I found that 20 hours/week was pretty much my max, given my full time job and having enough time to eat and sleep. Here's what I did in preparation for Los Cabos in comparison to Texas & Cozumel:
I also purchased a power meter for the bike --> the Garmin Vector pedals <-- and started training with power for the first time ever. I bought this book and did workouts from the book designed to increase FTP:
I did an FTP test on the trainer every 4 weeks and over the course of 3 months improved my FTP by 24 watts. (This was from July to Oct; I didn't do another FTP test after my last build b/c I started tapering). I also did a timed 500 yd swim every month and improved from 7:20 (1:28/100 yds) to 6:56 (1:23/100 yds) over the same time period. I didn't do test sets on the run since that has historically been a strength for me and I was focusing on trying to improve my cycling. So, going into this race I felt I had done as much as I could do. I felt confident that I would have a good race.
The Swim - 2.4 miles - 1:07:53 (1:35/100 yds)
The swim was really enjoyable! The water was not as clear as Cozumel, but visibility was still decent. Water temperature was around 80 degrees and felt perfect! I settled into a comfortable pace and felt good for the majority of the swim. The water was a little wavy and a few times I felt little tiny jellyfish stings, but neither of these things bothered me and for the most part I think I swam pretty straight. I drafted when I could. I wanted to get out of the water and not feel tired and that's exactly what happened. When I finished the swim I felt like I had plenty of energy left for the bike and the run. I had also posted my fastest non-current IM-distance swim. So far, things were off to a good start!
T1 - 4:01
Transition was interesting because you put your bike shoes on in the changing tent and then ran through the sand to get to your bike:
To my surprise and delight I ran into Bobby! We exited T1 at the same time and laughed about how both of our shoes were totally filled with sand. Then we started the big climb out of transition and he was gone like a rocket!
The Bike - 112 miles - 6:22:19 (17.6 mph)
I knew the bike was going to be hilly and tried to prepare for this by riding hilly courses in training. The most elevation I could find around Pensacola was a 128-mile route with 3000 feet of climbing. Between Sharon, Bobby, & my Garmin's the race course was somewhere between 6000-7000 feet of climbing, so essentially double what I did in a training ride! I got up to over 40 mph on the descents and was crawling at 7 mph on some of the climbs. There were two longer climbs - one 5 miles and the other 3 miles, both of which were done twice. I don't remember any flat sections. There was a small section of sand that we had to ride through b/c they hadn't gotten finished paving the road, there were boards over grates to ride over while descending one of the climbs, and there was this nice little ramp that they constructed the day before the race to get us off the highway:
This makeshift ramp didn't go all the way to the pavement on the other side. When you got off the ramp, there was a thick blue carpet that they had laid out over the sand to bridge the gap. LOL! Despite these quirks and how slow I was going I did enjoy the bike. It was very scenic with great views of the water coming down the descents. I didn't like the fact that it felt like the entire race was passing me, but I didn't want to push too hard and over bike. I stuck to my plan of keeping within a certain power range, which was a little challenging because it was hard to gauge overall output of effort since the terrain was so hilly. However, my normalized average power was only 10 watts higher than my average power, so I think I did a decent job. It got up to the low 90's, but I was ready for the heat and it wasn't a big factor in my performance on the day.
T2 - 5:25
Not much to say about T2. Changed into running attire and commiserated with fellow athletes in the changing tent about the difficulty of the bike :)
The Run - 4:01:11 (9:12/mi)
At first I felt really good getting off the bike and my first 5 miles were 8:00-8:30. I was happy to be chasing quite a few people down. Then things started getting harder and didn't get any easier until the finish. I think it was simply overall fatigue b/c my nutrition was on point all day. My legs were so tired and it was taking everything I had to not walk. I didn't let myself walk at all b/c I was afraid if I walked, even through an aid station I wouldn't start running again. It was great to see Bobby & Sharon on the race course and my spirits were lifted a little bit each time we ran by each other. The course was 4 loops, which was a tad bit monotonous. My last loop was mostly in the dark and really could've used a head lamp. I got a little pep in my step once I only had 3 miles to go and clocked my final mile at 8:04. I was sooooo happy to make that final turn into the finish chute and hear the announcer call my name, "Tara Martine - you are an Ironman!" Those words never get old!!!
Total Time - 11:40:47 (5th AG)
I'm really happy and proud that I finished my 4th IM and the toughest one to date! It was an awesome experience and I enjoyed the entire thing and appreciated every moment. Since the race I've been mulling over how I feel about my results and I do feel disappointed. It's not that I didn't make it to Kona (or wasn't even close). It's more the fact that I put in all that time and effort and didn't see tangible gains in speed. On the contrary, I had my slowest bike ever and slowest run (not including Cozumel where I walked a lot). I'm not sure if I over-trained or just had a bad day or the course was just that difficult.... It has left me wondering whether or not to pursue another Ironman in 2018. I'm considering doing more local sprints & olympics, perhaps a 70.3, perhaps another full but focused more on fun than trying to KQ. I'm not sure what I would do differently in my training if I wanted to KQ. Cut down the hours a little bit to allow for more recovery? Or is it just a matter of stacking multiple years of the type of training I did for this race to get to Kona. I'm not sure I have the motivation for that kind of dedication right now. So, I'm going to enjoy the off season and do things like hang out with friends I have been neglecting, go for some walks on the beach, and take advantage of the fun things to do here in Pensacola. I've gotten back into cooking and remembered how much I love to cook and try new recipes. It's truly amazing how much time there is when you're not training 20 hours/week!
The entire trip to Los Cabos was awesome and I loved hanging out w/ Sharon, Matt, & Bobby! Major congrats to Bobby for finishing his 10th Ironman!!!!! We had tons of fun, went to the beach, partook of the swim-up pool bar, got massages on the beach, saw some big a$$ waves, went on jet skis, explored the marina, visited Cabo Wabo, found a delicious vegan restaurant, and of course took a boat to the famous arch! Can't wait for the next adventure...
