Kona bound Ralph Pickett explains how to perform up to one's potential while going 10hr14' on
a tough IMUSA course. (on less than 20m/week running and similar biking)
Michael - Thank you for your insightful training program, which I believe, enabled me to
qualify for Hawaii. The focus on short, intense workouts allowed me to reach a high fitness
level without burnout and while still maintaining my job and relationships with my friends
and family.
I started this year carrying an excess 15 pounds and poor aerobic fitness from limited aerobic
activity dating back 16 months to the 1998 IM Canada. In the Master's words, I was "a
beached white whale". I have to say that when training started in January, I had significant
doubts that I'd ever get back in condition for another Ironman. Those doubts continued for a
good 4-5 months as I worked my way through your EA and PS workouts, but the aerobic
fitness returned only slowly. The last two months before the race as I got further into your
program (namely the ST workouts) and added miles to both my runs and my rides, I started
to shed the excess pounds and my fitness finally improved noticeably.
Although my initial running and biking distances were very modest I made sure to at least
do the focused workouts each week. For running, the key workouts were track (+/- 3 miles of
work + warm up/down) and the endurance outing. For biking they were the Wind/ Computrainer
workouts (typically 45 - 60 minutes) and the endurance outing. As it turned out, this
minimal number of weekly workouts continued for the duration of my training due to time
constraints and other considerations (some more valid than others).
To highlight this point, in the four months prior to IM USA, I did one ride of 100 miles and
three others ranging from 70 - 85 miles in length. The remainder were either focused hilly
rides of 55 to 60 miles or Computrainer workouts. As for the run, I averaged less than 19
miles per week during this same 4 month period, but again I got in all my track workouts
and my weekend outings. My longest pre-race run was 18 miles and I did a total of 5 other
runs in the 13 - 15 mile range. Although you did not prescribe, nor would I recommend,
such a minimal amount of bike and run training, I think that your focus on shorter, high
intensity workouts was key to my results in the IMUSA run despite my light training load.
The other aspect of running that made a huge difference for me was your recommendation to
shorten my run stride and increase turnover. I found that created less pounding on my body
and seems to produce a faster pace with less effort. I went back to this constantly during my
run.
In the weeks leading up to the race, I had doubts about whether I had done enough quantity
in my training. However, by race day I had worked myself back to the fact that I felt good
running off the bike; that even though my bike rides were shorter in distance, they were high
intensity and often lasted as long as my expected race riding time; and lastly, that no matter
what, I definitely had enough training to finish the race. Bottom line, worrying about all the
"what if's" was a waste of time.
On race day I felt very calm. The swim started out as a complete "free for all" which was
very unnerving, but I worked myself out of the crowd and settled in for phase one. I utilized
the Master's mantra "swim fast, not hard" to produce a respectable time for me while
remaining fresh for the bike. The first five miles of the bike I felt a bit flat, but then found
my legs and rode to a Z3 - L1 HR for as long as possible, which turned out to be about 2/3 of
the race. After that, I just rode as strong as I could while focussing on gearing efficiency. I
probably maintained a Z2-Z3 HR during this part of the ride. Given that my ride was
relatively successful, I was excited to get my run started, since I had done a number of 15-
minute bricks during training at a low 7:00 min/mile pace and was looking forward to seeing
how that would translate to the race.
My approach to the run was to break it into 3 segments of 8 miles each with a goal to run the
first 8 miles at a 7:30 pace, the next 8 at an 8:00 pace and the last 8 at an 8:30 pace (I
planned on using the crowd to pull me in for the final 2 miles). I felt great immediately on
the run, focusing on short strides and high turnover. The result was a better than
anticipated 7:20 pace for the first 8 miles. I did have some rough spots in the middle of the
race due to poor fuelling, loss of form, etc. During this time, I refocused on the short strides
and fast turnover and also imagined I was running with friends during training outings at a
cruiser 8:00 pace. This helped me pull my form and my mind back together and in turn
improved my pace. Things came back around for the last 8 miles due to the "on my way
home" psychology and a singular focus on short strides / fast turnover. Once I hit the last
couple miles, the crowd and my own adrenaline pushed me to the finish line.
My final results were as follows:
Swim: 59:18 (thoughts at completion: "no damage done - ready for the ride")
T1: 5:57 ("worth the extra time to be comfortable than to suffer on the ride")
Bike: 2:38:50 on the first loop ("went out a little too hard, try to sustain on the second lap")
2:55:32 on the second lap ("faded in the last 12 miles - consequence of no long rides?")
5:34:22 total bike ("glad that's done, time to hit the run")
T2: 5:01 (same thoughts as T1: "comfort, fresh socks, clean feet, greased toes, etc.")
Run: 1:40:26 first 13 miles
1:49:52 last 13.2 miles (restroom break and rough patches)
3:30:18 total run
Total 10:14:54
Post-race, the body was feeling pretty beat up for a few days, but since the stiffness has gone
I am feeling ready to get back into training mode. I think the lighter training load has left
me with the mental and physical "reserves" necessary to be excited about getting back on the
bike and to take advantage of what I see as a growing fitness level, not a peaked fitness level.
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