IMAZ 2010: Carlos Mendoza

First of all a big Thank YOU! to my lovely wife Rika for her unending support. I could not be a triathlete without her support.

Nutrition/Taper

Nutrition the 12 weeks leading up to the race is as important as what you do during the race. I always try to go back to my taper time as I feel that the taper is crucial to any endurance event you are doing. Most of the tapers are set up based on what has worked for professionals and elites and there is no documented data on what an age grouper should or should not do. Most of you who are receiving this report fall into the similar Age Group as mine, with work and family demands so I tend to rest more than what the taper calls for in most of the books. The books don’t know that I had dinner programs with customers, games with daughters, meetings etc….

During my taper I make sure I keep an extra keen eye on my diet. I do not want to put on any weight during this period as it would have killed my run pace. Keep in mind I don’t go on a diet, I just watch it with more scrutiny. No complex carbs outside of my workout window!! Absolutely no simple sugars, they wreak havoc on the immune system and they can help you put on unwanted lbs. I also wash my hands a lot more than usual!

Race morning

wake 3:30 am, coffee, zone bar, 1 slice of PBJ with sliced banana all consumed 3 hours before the race. Head to race site to arrive 2 hours before race start. Set up all transitions… Put my wetsuit on and visualize a successful race.

Swim

My plan on the swim was to jump out front and get some clear water. I had positioned myself in the 3rd or 4th row in years past, but I went up front this year and had very little contact with other swimmers. I had really worked on sighting and found the best place on the Rural bridge to sight on . I made the turn at about 28 minutes. I sighted well, but the race crew started picking up the buoys and the boat with the buoys positioned itself right in the middle of the race course, so a large group of us had to divert to where the actual buoys were. Bad judgement on the race crew. As I started to fatigue, I concentrated on keeping the hands pointed downward and kept telling myself.. Grab some water, grab some water. I was relieved to get out of the water and not be freezing cold as I was two years ago. I practiced swimming in cold water to acclimate, and I would take dips in my cold pool to acclimate even further. I swam less this year than i have in years past, but I worked a lot more on stroke mechanics. I got an under water swim analysis done by my good friend Frank Sole, and I swam a PR at 1:02, and came out of the water very fresh.

Bike

The weather forecast on Friday did not look good for a fast bike. My biggest concern was being cold or cold and wet. I took my rain slicker with me on the bike in case of some heavy constant rain. My plan was to take it easy the first 30 minutes and as it is my custom to eat a bar Clif bar during these 30 minutes. After this I would take only liquids and gels. I packed my own HEED and plan to use it all and supplement it with Powerade off the course. My HEED tasted horrible, I think I got a bad batch as it went sour, I took only a couple of sips and did not want to risk getting sick off of my own drink so I tossed it all 1000 calories and adjusted my plan to go with the Powerade.. I was not too happy at this stage, but you have to adjust based on the conditions. I kept my strategy to take 3 endurolytes per hour, and 2 Advil at the 2.5 hour mark. The wind was helping us up the Bee line highway as it was at our backs. I went with a Disk in the rear and an 808 on the front. I questioned my disk at times, but the gusts moved my front wheel more than than the effect it had on the disk. My plan was to hit every loop at 1 hour 40 to shoot for a 5 hour bike split. I hit the first loop at 1:40 then headed out for the second loop and all was fine. At about 3 hours I felt horrible, weak legs and my power output was dropping and I was struggling, I looked at my HR and it was low so I knew I was low on calories, I had packed a mojo bar as a back up and my rules are to never take solids this late into the bike.. I broke the rules and I ate the bar then made myself take more Powerade. I also grabbed two gels off the course and I ended up taking them later as losing my HEED made me adjust my plan. I hit the 2nd loop at 1:40.. Right on track. As I started the 3rd loop the rain was pelting me and the crosswinds were now stronger. I kept telling myself that tough race conditions go to the tougher athletes.. be tough be tough, the winds in Kona are tough and you have to be tough if you want to make it. I saw a couple of crashes one based on rain, the other based on wind gusts, then I thought be conservative. As I made the u-turn on the Bee line to come home, the winds had picked up dramatically. I was struggling to push 15-19 miles per hour down this stretch. I knew if I made it off the bee line highway I would be fine to the final stretch as I would be out of the head winds. My bike volume for this race was a few 100 mile rides with a lot of intensity and hills. My longest ride was 115 miles about 8 weeks before the race, then I focused on intensity rides after that. If the wind had not been blowing I believe I would have made the bike at 5 hours or less. I was happy that I had managed my nutrition despite the issues with the HEED.

Run

My plan on the run was to try and run the first 2 loops and pace them evenly, being more conservative on the first loop and try to take in as much nutrition as I could that I would need in the 2nd and 3rd loops, I had to really contain myself on that first loop. I felt like running faster but I knew that there were many miles to go. I planned to drink water and Powerade at every station, and I stuck to that plan all the way up to mile 15. This is when I started taking in coke. Thanks to all my the support from my local tri club and some of the people I know from being a home town boy. I was getting updates on where I was placed during the race. I came in 8th off the bike and I knew I had to catch at least 3 people in order to get a slot. At the start of loop 3 I heard I was 5th, but I wanted to make sure I locked it in. I kept hearing my wife’s voice “No Regrets, no regrets”. I also kept telling myself “learn to hurt”, “learn to hurt, learn to hurt” became my mantra the last 10 miles of the run. I took 2 endurolytes every 45 minutes just as planned. I could feel that with one wrong move I could cramp in hamstrings and or calves but fortunately everything stayed in tact. At mile 23 my great friend Tim Connors who came in from NY to cheer rode someone’s bike to the other side of the lake and told me I was in 3rd, Thank you Tim! I knew I had a slot, but I thought how cool would it be to get a podium spot at an Ironman with an international field. I picked it up through Curry Hill and dropped back down into the lake as fast as I could move. I remember seeing 7:15 on my garmin, then I saw the 2nd place guy. I went by him and dropped it down to 7 min mile pace for as long as I could as I did not want him to think he had any chance of staying with me. As I came back on the dirt path heading back toward the finish line, I was overcome with emotion, and could not believe that I had put a solid race plan together and executed it. Being at home helped tremendously as the cheers from my family Anthem friends lifted me every time I went by them, I thanked God for my abilities and headed for the finish as I turned up the parking lot… Mr. Fresh and Loose and Steve Cavalli, two crafty run veterans were there to give me the final burst of energy with their enthusiasm to push up to the finish line. I saw the time on the clock and I could not believe I had just broke into the 9:30′s mark. It was also fitting that Terry Nugent a very good friend of mine from Colorado who came to watch me run caught me at the finish line and put on my silver blanket thingy.

Highlights

Rika screaming Honeeeeeyyyyy Honeeeeyyyy, seing my daughters at different spots on the course.
All the Anthem Fans at the Run stations on both sides of the grassy area.
The post my daughter put on my Facebook
Terry Nugent stripping my wetsuit and catching me at the finish.
Running side by side Chrissie Wellington for a few brief seconds when she passed me. (She Pronates)
Cavalli and Rink at the finish and how excited they were for me.
“FINISH STRONG”