In this week’s episode, we go over key takeaways from the 25th iteration of Ironman Lake Placid, where Katie was on course all day as a spectator and coach rather than a racer and where a dozen brave Endurance Drive athletes toed the line. Sub-topics include: creating a performance bubble, avoiding high LSS on the day before the race, chaotic swims, fueling and hydration insights, digging deep when the day becomes more mental than physical, and more. We also get an update on how recovery is going for Jim at 12 weeks post bike crash, share insights related to tapering and post-race blues, and a whole lot more. Check it out!
Extended show notes:
Jim injury update / takeaways:
Realistic expectations are key
Expected to not be talking about my injury at week 12 post surgery.
Expected at week 12 to be ‘all better’ and would celebrate with a long bike ride. Was even dreaming that I would do a century! But got to week 11 and my hip felt really blown up from a normal bike ride. The last two weeks have been a real struggle to feel like I was back at week 6 - 8 post surgery.
While recovery, at first, was noticeable by the day and especially by the week, you have to think about recovery in terms of months for a major injury.
Being strong and fit was an advantage but being mechanical sound is also very important. My left hip has chronically been shifted up and forward for years. And according to my bike fitter this spring, I was really internally rotating my left hip to get power on the bike. So I was already battling how to get biomechanically sound on the bike and run before the injury.
This is unfortunately the side I fell on and got a spiral fracture at the femur head where it goes into the hip. This has resulted in a lot of discomfort with the hardware and very challenging to keep that hip stable and find the proper hip/femur movement while walking and biking.
Key focus on strengthening, mobility and hydration for the next few weeks and staying off the bike except for dog running / rail trail 30’-45’ Z0 rides.
Coaching & Training Insights
Katie:
Why tapering is hard
Common to feel illness/injury etc. coming on, random niggles that never bothered you before
Change in the amount of endorphins and other happy chemicals that you are used to
Changes in eating habits, sleeping habits, etc.
How to make the taper more bearable:
Allocate time you would have spent in workouts to doing other non-training tasks that will help you prep for your race, such as packing, organizing gear, writing your race plan or nutrition plan out, working on mental prep
Allocate extra time to self-care -- get that massage!
Allocate time to people who lift you up and calm you down
Insights from Dr. David Spindler / Rich Roll episode Jim mentioned last week:
Happiness increases time to exhaustion; you can sustain a higher physical output for a longer period of time if you are happy. The more happy thoughts you can create, the better you can perform
Related: in the 10 days leading up to your A race, you need to do everything you can to eliminate allostatic load: “cumulative burden of chronic stress and life events”
Going back to the point on self care
Be really honest with yourself about things in life that are creating stress that you can control
Breathwork can help, box breathing, etc.
Finally: creating a “performance bubble”
Who are the people who are directly responsible for helping you perform -- this can be physically, mentally, emotionally?
These are the people you should be interacting with in the leadup to your event. It’s OK to be selfish and try to eliminate interaction with people outside of the performance bubble. To the extent that you can, say no to events/interactions/etc. that increase allostatic load
Obviously you may have to go to work, etc., but steering those conversations away from topics that stress you out as much as possible is helpful. Keep it brief and superficial
For both pro athletes and amateurs, a performance bubble could include: coaches, sport psychologist/therapist/mental performance coach, physical therapists, dietician, partner, close friends. Note that this circle should be as tight as possible.
How soon should you wait after an A race to sign up for 2025 races?
Wait at least two weeks; you want to see how you feel about your next race after the post-race high wears off and after you’ve adjusted back into what life feels like without an Ironman looming on the horizon
I.e. every day for two weeks, ask yourself “is doing an IM a hell yes?”
Include your primary support peeps in that conversation
It should be a hell yes from everyone in your primary support bubble if you are going to sign up for another IM
Note: IM will try to convince you that 2025 races will sell out the day after the 2024 iteration, but that is not the case
Jim: Emphasize talking to your coach before signing up for another big event. You and your coach can evaluate your skills and athletic capabilities and chart out a development path. Your skills and fitness should be a match for your A race.
For example, a lot of people sign up for IM races and then come to us to get coached. But some of these athletes would be better served spending another year or more building up their fitness and sport skills to tackle an Ironman. A year or two racing sprints, Olympics and Half Ironmans would build them up to where racing an Ironman is commensurate with their skill and fitness level.
Thoughts on post-race blues:
Very common to feel a bit of an emotional low after a big event, even if it goes perfectly
You put so much energy into preparing for this one moment that it can often feel like there’s a hole when it’s over
This is all OK! It will pass. Journaling is helpful and finding joy in other things that you can do now that your race is over is one helpful strategy. Emerging from the monk lifestyle you have needed to maintain to stay up late sometimes, spend time with friends, have a drink, etc. etc.
Your body will adjust quickly to the new normal but know that if you are feeling this way you are not alone!
Jim: One of the worst ways to combat post-race blues is to immediately sign up for a lot of races for the next year. I know because I did this for years and resulted in never taking an off season and finally burning out on the sport!
Main Content
Just got back from IM Lake Placid! Key takeaways from race day…
Katie: Coming off this race I had a renewed sense of being proud of doing this race in the past. IM is so, so hard.
Jim: If Ironman was a two day event, it would still be considered an insanely hard event.
It is so easy to get SO tired the day before a race. There is a lot you need to get done. High allostatic stress day whether you want it to be a high stress day or not. Do everything you can to: only complete tasks you MUST do; eat and hydrate well; be efficient with your timing and chill out whenever you can
“If you are standing but can sit, sit; if you are sitting but can lie down, lie down; if you are lying down but can sleep, sleep”
Power of the performance bubble. To the extent that you can, choose your spectators and people you are staying with wisely.
Bring an extra pair of goggles on race morning. Goggles break easily / easy to drop them.
The swim will be chaotic no matter what:
“As a swimmer growing up I thought the swim was going to be the best/easiest part but (as was stated above) it was the most chaotic. I likened it to swimming in a zombie apocalypse. I got kicked in the face at one point and had to do a mental reset to pause, take a breath and reorient myself - and truly just remain calm. I kept telling myself, just one stroke at a time and to concentrate on what I could control and not the chaos of my surroundings.”
“During the swim there was a lot of thrashing, kicking, clawing, and elbowing. I know how to swim, but I felt some panic coming on the first time I got kicked in the solar plexus. At that point I had to get my mind calm and focus on my swim stroke and try to block out the chaos.”
The bike:
“On the bike, I had to dig deep on the second loop on the new section. We hit a 13% grade at one point and I kept repeating the mantra, “you don’t have to do this, you GET to do this and you WILL do this.”
“During the bike my mind went to some dark places throughout. Trying to shift my mindset, hiding some of my metrics, and taking in nutrition were key.”
The run:
“During the run my legs felt like cement, but checking in with myself I realized I could still move them even if it felt like running through mud. Just one foot in front of the other, one patch of shade after another, a cup of ice to look forward to. My mind wanted to slow down and walk or even give up knowing that it was all optional and all I had to do was stop to make it not hurt anymore.”
“On the run that smaller out and back at the top of Lisa g’s was where it really became mental. You can hear the announcers and the stadium and the roar of everyone on the hill and once you crest the top you make a right and turn away from all that. It is that feeling of you are so close, yet so far. But in that moment I just thought of all the love and support I had throughout my months of training and the energy of the spectators in town. At that point I made it my mission to run (shuffle) back to that energy - telling myself just one foot in front of the other.”
Ironman is a slow day.
Mental prep is key. Many of our athletes this year did A LOT of mental prep and it showed on race day.
70-75 degrees and sunny is HOT. It doesn’t sound hot but it is. Cool effectively.
Fueling is the WAY. So many athletes crushed their days and were super consistent due to fueling.
Robyn example: 14.5 hours and 15.5 hours at previous IM. Nailed fueling this year and 12:45 at IMLP, hardest course of all IMs he has done. Super consistent run all day
More thoughts on best practices for spectators
Downtime is KEY. Talk through how I approached the day
Don’t try to spectate the bike, though you can zip out to see the course briefly if you live close to it without getting stuck in the full IM fray
Seeing the pros and seeing age groupers on run can be a 6-8 hour time delta. Be prepared.
Challenge of the Week
Katie: To improve sleep hygiene, spend less time on your phone. 3 tips:
Timer on social media apps
Put your phone in a different room before you go to bed (bunk bed story)
Try to have a 30 min buffer from screen time to bedtime (read, meditate, etc. instead)
Jim: Start dreaming about fall unstructured adventures.
Article/Podcast/Movie of the Week
Katie: circling back to last week, +1 on:
Jim:
Recommend following Steve Magness on Instagram
Outside online subscription
Gear Pick of the Week
Katie: LMNT hydration and LMNT seltzers
Jim: BikeHand Heavy Duty Precise Bike Bicycle Head Hex Allen Wrenches Set