Race Report 

Jeff Caplan 

Ironman Florida, 11/2/13

I went into Ironman Florida with a feeling of cautious optimism. The 2013 race season had gone fairly well for me at the short-course and half ironman levels. The only race that left me disappointed was Ironman Louisville where I didn’t respond well in the heat. Training before and after Louisville had gone extremely well with strong numbers and pacing across the board – my coach Gerry Halphen and I were seeing exactly what we wanted to see in terms of bike watts, run pacing and other markers. I also was extremely hungry for a good result, as the last time I felt like I had really nailed an Ironman was Florida in 2011.

This fellow was at the Florida visitor center on the Flora-Bama border -- those are tri-bikes painted on it!

The couple of days before the race were produced significant nerves among all the triathletes in Panama City due to some rough weather. The two days leading into the race saw very strong winds, rough waters, and some heavy rain. The forecast for race day was excellent however with a favorable wind, mild temps, and low humidity. I spent most of the few days leading into the race hanging out with Jeff Brandenberg and a number of other folks from his Columbia, SC tri group. I was also fortunate enough to have Ben and Traci Holliday as my sherpas for the race. They were great folks to spend time with – very relaxed and easy-going.

Having a high-tech sherpa provided a strategic advantage! 

One thing that’s really nice about doing a race for the ninth time is that you have a set routine (to put it mildly). I started off race day with a bagel with peanut butter, banana and honey, an Ensure, and a Starbucks canned Double-Shot. I always like to run a bit early because I have had situations where I’ve been greeted by a flat tire when arriving at transition. I got down to body marking about 4:45, got my tires pumped, set up my bike, and then chilled with Ben until it was time to head to the beach.

Surfing, anyone?

For this year, Ironman has been experimenting with a number of different formats for its race starts as part of its “Safe Swim” initiative. I know there are a number of folks in the sport who aren’t fans, but I’m a huge fan – anything you can do to make the sport safer, all the better. I wasn’t a fan, however, of the particular format they used at Ironman Florida. The concept was that athletes would self-seed themselves once they crossed the timing mat and entered the swim corral. The self-seeding was to have been done horizontally going length of the beach, with faster swimmers closest to the buoy line for the counter-clockwise swim and slower swimmers at the far end. Signs were posted with estimated swim finish times to assist people in correctly seeding themselves. While it made sense on paper, the start line resembled a bell curve with a huge bulge in the middle. I was in the middle with the 1:10 – 1:20 group, and just got wailed on once the race started. This wasn’t helped by the fact that there were some pretty sizable breakers at the start that shoved everyone on top of each other. It was so bad that I actually had a mini-panic attack about 5-6 minutes into the race. I tried to stay calm and just swim to the right to get to some clean water. After a while I was able to do so and to find my stroke. I wound up doing around 40 min on the first loop and 37 the second loop. Given the start, I wasn’t unhappy.

Transitions in Florida aren’t known for being the quickest in the sport, but I moved through T1 pretty well. It felt good to get on the bike and get rolling. I did a gel in transition to recover from the swim, and then my plan on the bike was to take in a 600 calorie bottle of Infinit during the first 2 ½ hours. After that I did one gel every 20 minutes with a gulp of EFS liquid on the 10 minutes between the gels. The only solid I did was a Clif Bar at the 3 hour mark. For hydration I tried to go through at least one bottle of water per hour. In terms of effort level on the bike, the plan was to average 175 watts for the first half of the bike and then either hold or slightly increase watts the second half. It was kind of funny because I can’t say that I felt that great on the bike, but I was totally nailing it – my watts the first half were 175 and the second half were 181 (note: body weight for the race was 69.5 kg). Thanks to the awesome weather, my heart rate was low zone 2 for the majority of the ride. I wound up finishing in 5:21.

Although I started off as a runner, my Achilles heel in triathlon is definitely running. When I left T2, however, my legs felt great and like I had a lot of zip. I was pretty pumped from the ride and also in knowing that I’d be seeing so many friends alongside the course – there were a ton of ATL folks who had come down to PCB to spectate and provide support. The first ten miles of the run when pretty well, but I felt like I was starting to hit a trough around mile 11. My primary nutrition plan was to do gels every 3 miles, salt every 5 miles, coke every two miles, and lots of water. By that point in the race, however, I was really starting to get sick of gels and was not getting enough nutrition. After a few miles of a slower run-walk, I switched over to potato chips at the aid stations – the salt tasted great, and a couple of handfuls seemed to get me enough carbs. Once I got back out to St. Andrews Park on the 2nd lap I was moving with more purpose.

Oooof.  That is all.

The last 10K of any Ironman is always a challenging stretch. On the one hand, you are buoyed by the emotions of knowing that you are almost done. On the other hand, you’ve still got a ways to go and you’re hurting! This might have been the most I’ve hurt during any of the 18 Ironmans that I’ve done. I saw Ben Holliday with about two miles left, and that gave me a boost. With a mile left, both legs were cramping and I had a really bad side stitch. Near the finish, I saw my friend Harvey Gayer – he looked at me and yelled “RUN!” If I needed any motivation, that was it. A couple of minutes later I finished with an 11:53, my second fastest Ironman (and the fastest in five years).

I'd worked every single day for five years to see this result.  Happy!

There are many amazing things about triathlon – it’s a wonderful lifestyle and a great way to test yourself and your limits. My favorite thing about the sport is the people with whom you get to train, race, and work. This race was notable for all the support I got from Gerry Halphen (my coach), Ben and Traci Holliday, everyone at all3Sports.com and my all3Sports.com teammates, Dynamo Multisport (thanks Shanks and Matthew!), Dan Arnett and the Endurance Concepts team, and everyone who provided words of encouragement and support both before and after the race. As always the biggest thanks is reserved for my wife Lucye and my sons, for their patience and support – this wouldn’t be any fun without them.

See you in 2015!

IM AZ Blog Post

I try to be brief in my race reports because I frankly have a short attention span and expect that you do too. You really want to give everyone a shout out but it's impossible. I literally had hundreds of little efforts on my behalf and messages in various forms and formats and each one meant a lot to me. That is not BS. I was moved to tears several times (yes, Slayer has feelings) by little notes, the poster some of the TCGa team made,

and the little things people did for me. I think I may be getting sappy in my old age. I think that by giving a lot to others this year it came back to me in spades!

I kind of want to start by saying thanks to everyone that played a role in getting me there and through the day from my family, friends, teammates and athletes, sponsors, shops, triathlon community, etc. Some did more like my sherpas

, my coach , my inner circle, my mechanic, and others did less, but it all helped me. I can't say thank you enough. I don't do these Ironmen but once a year or so for a reason. They are logistical and practical nightmares fraught with anxiety, but this year, less so.

My race was a solid one, but not my best. I know I am capable of close to an hour less time on that course. However, I did make the most of what I had to deal with so for that I am pleased. I learned a bit more about the distance and the front group of racers and will make some tweaks before taking Ironman on again in hopes that I get the elusive perfect race. 

Pre-Race:

Everything about Tempe, Az rocks. It's a scenic, warm college town and there was an ASU game so it was buzzing more than usual. We ate and drank well and the hotel was close and perfect with a rooftop pool and hard pressure hot tub. There even was a lady that came in wearing a SLAYER shirt who lifted it up so I could click a photo of her completely covered SLAYER tattooed back! Coach Spartacus of TCGa and DocSlay and I had top floor rooms with full kitchenettes.

Several bike issues pre-race took my time up but we got it all sorted, except one detail that came back to bite me. Even though we checked the green light a few times, I did not fully charge my di2 shifters, which died 50 miles into the 112 mile bike. User error! The poster the team made imploring me to DYJ was just stellar as I walked out the door to do battle. 

Swim:

Into the water Spartacus and I marched, arms locked 

after saying hey to Peak's Coach Tony and Beatriz

My PR was 1:18 at IMFL in 2010 and I hoped to beat that with a long winter of swimming lessons and masters, which tapered off as the race approached so I could focus on my run and bike. I seeded myself way up front and that was the best call I could make. Ultimately, I PR'd the swim due to getting a draft from the better swimmers and avoided the normal melee much better this year. My spirit was high when I looked down at my watch (2 mins PR at 1:16) yanking myself up the hard to climb stairs. I was off in a flash and T1 was very quick without going into the changing tent or changing.

The one thing that was off was bloating post-swim that I never had to deal with in training. I think it was the bloating that led to my ultimate problems on the run in that my stomach never really settled until very late in the bike so I got way behind on hydration. This was compounded by a mechanical/electrical issue (see below) on the bike that caused me to force things on the back half. Overworking a body that is dehydrated in the increasingly hot and windy unshaded desert is unwise.   

Bike:

Even with a few problems I rode the course in about 5 hours flat barring the 4 mins in the penalty box (see below). That probably could've been 15-20 mins faster. The plan was to ride a controlled bike for the 3 x 37 mile loops of the 112 mile bike course. My watts were supposed to be 230-245ish tops which would leave me ready for a strong run, which was the goal for the day. My watts ended up being only 205ish. However, I rode the course about a half hour faster than in 2009. This means I theoretically worked less to travel much faster. I attribute the improvement to a lighter weight and more aero position from the wind tunnel trip. But the average watts don't tell the story.

The reason the average watts don't tell the story is because of the aforementioned user error.  Around mile 50 or so, my electrical shifters lost power and I was stuck in the big ring and middle of the back cog. This was great for the flats but no bueno for the slight climb and descent on the 8 miles or so of Beeline. Working too hard with wrong gearing on an Ironman is like dancing with the devil. Working too hard when you are dehydrated is just plain stupid and I was stupid for not dialing it back and catching up on my hydration when my stomach settled later in the ride.

Other things of note were my first penalty ever at around mile 88 for either drafting or blocking. I own it if the referee says I did it. However, anybody that rides with me will tell you I never draft so in my view it was not drafting per se on this very crowded course, where I basically pulled upwards of 20 riders for the entire race. Some folks should rejoice because they saved a shit ton of energy riding my wheel all day allowing them top 10 performances. 

Also, it was great seeing my sherpas (DocSlay, IronHorse,  Terminator), Mary Ann (TCGa Team Mom), Coach Tony of Peak, Brent Pease (all3sports.com) and Betty (Dynamo) on course along with my racing amigos, Lester, Spartacus and BAMF . T2 was another breeze but as I emerged I knew I was not myself. 

Run:

You are doing 2 x 13.1 mile laps on an unshaded hot cement course with lots of long stretches lake side at IMAZ. My goal was to get as close to 3:30 as possible. The lower the better obviously. My legs and feet had come back from a season of challenges and long training runs were phenomenal so I was ready. However, that was not meant to be.

The first lap was relatively easy but I was unraveling. Things were starting to get painful and I was dizzy and lightheaded seeing wavy lines. The coke at mile 8 didn't help much. Around mile 14 I slowed to a slog and hoped that I would get some kind of respite but it never came. Everyone hollered at me to keep pushing, and I am glad I did even though I was still dizzy and wobbling a bit.

I would walk so many steps and run so many steps never stopping but never getting very far running. A few women checked to see if I was ok, but most of my AG just ran past smiling to themselves. However, I did keep moving forward with everything I had left at the moment taking cokes on board every aid station. By mile 22 I figured it was time to look at my watch again and I saw that I had about 40 minutes to finish off before the race clock moved to 11 hours. I decided to see if I could hack running again to grab the 10 hour finish. It was pretty amazing that my legs starting turning back over and I made it in at 10:55 on a sub par 4:26 marathon. 

I got my medal, roared at the catchers, and smashed a water bottle much to the chagrin on the finish line photographers who I soaked. Then I headed for the VIP tent to get some brews by twos and to cheer everyone else in and lick my wounds.  14 hours or so after the swim I had my next pee. I think it was brown haha.

IMAZ 2013

Result 10:55 (50 AG, 382 OA) -2nd fastest IM of 4

Swim - 1:16 (PR)

t1 - 4:46 (PR)

Bike - 5:05 (PR and blocking penalty of 4 mins)

t2 - 2:37  (PR)

Run - 4:26

Post-Race:

Normally I would feel like crap. This time I felt bad but ok. My fitness was better. Mike Reilly, voice of Ironman, and the DJ there got everyone so whooped up that it turned out to be a special night unlike any other.  Lester, BAMF then Spartacus made their way in and we all hobbled and celebrated like we were Kings. The sherpas all ensured our every need was met. What a wonderful way to end the year.

I had an extra day in Tempe, where we ate PF Changs and did a pub crawl.

The flight home on Tuesday was quick and we stopped at my favorite shop to get my Sherpa some gifts. I was so glad to be home and see and hug my kids. Special shout out to DocSlay's parents for caring for them while we were away. Now onto Panama 70.3 in February!