#IMCHOO144.6
Hopping
on the Chattanooga Choo Choo train!
Why
Chattanooga? Cos somehow I’ve always remembered the Chattanooga Choo Choo song!
Don’t ask me how I got to know about it. I just can’t remember when I first
heard it, but I just certainly did.
(Glenn Miller - Chattanooga Choo Choo - Sun Valley Serenade (1941) HQ)
And
many of the American friends I’ve met in the triathlon community here had raced
IM Chattanooga, and had raving comments about their race experience and the
hospitality of the Chattanooga folks. It’s also rated as a perfect first-timer
race, and therefore I figured it should appeal to one who’s not a first-timer,
with a couple of IMs under my belt.
So, I
suppose it’s a good race to go for. A race to challenge me.
- A race that isn’t as flat as my first two Ironman races - Western Australia 2013 (http://emmajoyfoo.blogspot.com/2014/01/capping-off-sporting-year-of-2013-imwa.html), and Texas 2018 (http://emmajoyfoo.blogspot.com/2018/05/2nd-one.html). I would like to see how I’d fare on a hilly course with bike elevation gain of 1200m and run elevation gain of 320m), especially since I missed out on IM Malaysia @ Langkawi in 2014 due to a broken clavicle.
- IM Chattanooga is probably one with the longest bike leg in the Ironman circuit, with distance of 186km instead of the usual 180km. Thus the endearing slogan of #IMCHOO144.6, due to excess of 4 miles (6.4km) over the standard Ironman 140.6 miles. So there, IM Chattanooga would be a nice cap-off to my Ironman races during my stint here in the US.
- Oh, and not so much of a challenge for this point, but the swim in the Tennessee River meant a relatively easy and fast swim for any participant. Haha! Good for an average swimmer like me.
Also, why
waste the training build that I gained over the winter-early spring 2018 season for
IM Texas, right? So ride on the build,
and keep the training sessions consistent, and I should be in good stead for IM
Chattanooga, right?
In large
part, yes. But it being summer break from school, it meant family summer trips,
which coupled with work trips peppered over the months, training oftentimes
would have to take a back seat.
But with 5 months
in between the two races, I knew I could manage all that in my own stride. It is what
it is. Just go with the flow, and make the best of the training sessions,
however disrupted and limited they may be.
So gearing up to the race in Sep 2018, training volume was found wanting
compared to IM Texas preparation, managing just barely 9.5hrs worth on a
handful of weeks. Most other weeks were about 6hrs-7hrs average. Definitely a
far cry from my desired 11-12 hours weekly load that I would have hoped to achieve in
the midst of work and family demands.
Disrupted
as it might have been, the months of training for IM Texas nevertheless provided
the base for IM Chattanooga, at least for the swim and bike legs. So on hindsight, training for IM Chattanooga
was certainly found wanting, especially run training, which definitely needed
more since IM Chattanooga’s run course was way more hilly than IM Texas’ flat
run course. The upside of the training journey
was that I felt confident in my swim and bike.
Race
Week
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| Lone 🇸🇬 Flag-bearer |
Sep was
also the peak of hurricane season, with higher rainfalls in many states. Those of us on the East Coast states saw
Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc in the Carolinas, and brought heavy rainfalls
in the neighbouring states. As a
Singaporean, I grew up not having any need to worry about inclement weather
that threatened human lives. This stint
here in the US had heightened my awareness of weather patterns and effects on
our livelihoods and activities. I had never watched weather with such keenness till I got here.
So in the
early part of race week, there was a continuous period of torrential rainfall
in eastern Tennessee, causing many flash floods, and excessive floodwater
run-offs that brought debris and dirt into the Tennessee River. This Sep 2018 was in fact the 7th
wettest Sep on record in Tennessee. As
such, Tennessee River saw increased river levels by about 3 feet, increased
river flow rate by about 3 times the usual, and increased E. Coli bacteria
levels of about 20 times higher the safety limit for swimming.
The
rainfall in that week leading up to the race was so bad that there was a
build-up of chatter of the swim leg being cancelled. That definitely got all participants edgy
with each passing day. True enough on
Thurs (27 Sep 2018), three days before race day, IM Chattanooga’s race organisers
announced that the swim leg would be cancelled.
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| IMCHOO - Swim Cancellation announcement (27 Sep 2018) |
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| Tennessee River - Water level flooded the river banks, and flooded part of the Run route (28 Sep 2018) |
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| Tennessee River - Water level back down, and previously flooded run path could now be seen (1 Oct 2018) |
The race organisers adjusted the race format to a 116mile bike-26mile run race. It’ll be a long bike-run brick day for many of us. Some chap creatively designed a new logo for this year’s event – BrickMan 142 miles! HA!
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| "BRICKMAN" Chattanooga 2018 |
The bike
would be a time-trial start format to commence at 8:20am on race-day Sunday (30
Sep 2018), with 2 age-groupers going off at every 5 seconds. The rest of the race will be the usual rigmarole
in any Ironman race.
Run route was
modified as parts of the original run route were flooded by the
higher-than-usual river levels.
Swim –
0:00
As
mentioned, swim was cancelled. I
personally would’ve relished the fast swim with the downstream river
current. A log was timed to float along
the 3.8km swim path down the river in just 38 minutes. The flow rate was 3 times faster than usual,
given the volume of water released from the upstream Chickamauga Dam. With that
kind of river flow, I would have gotten a massive swim time of perhaps 50
minutes or less, and without need for excessive swim effort to boot!! But I’m thankful for the organiser’s wise
call to cancel the swim, cos I sure don’t fancy swimming in shit water, nor do
I wish to have myself knocked by some debris floating down past me in the
waters.
 |
| Yep, that's right! Little Debbie didn't get to go to the waterfront to play with water! |
Bike 144
miles (186km) – 5hr 45min
5-4-3-2-Beep! 9:24am.
Off I went.
Bike course
brings one out from the Chattanooga valley, into the countryside in north
Georgia state. Two loops in the north
Georgian countryside, with the course inclines as one heads south, and generally
slopes down as one returns northbound. Lots of false flats, and one could be
duped to go hard and burn the legs on those stretches. Total elevation gain of 1208m.
Beautiful
scenery. Cool humid weather, with the sun only getting hotter on the second loop.
The conditions were just great!
Plan was to
control effort at no more than 150W NP on the initial loop, especially the
initial outbound on the inclines up to the first turnaround at the 50km mark,
and pick up the pace to the next turnaround at 92km mark. Then push the effort at
about 170W NP for the second loop back to transition.
It panned
out well. Managed a 152W NP overall, and a moving average speed of 33kph throughout
the 186km bike leg. Overall average
speed was 32.1kph, no thanks to my small bladder that forced me to make 4
pee-break stops. And no, I didn’t want
to pee on the bike, cos I just don’t fancy a stinking pee smell that would be
deepset in my shoes after they are left in the sun for hours after the bike
leg.
 |
| Spinning through the countryside roads in Chickamauga, GA |
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| Spinning through the countryside roads in Chickamauga, GA |
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| Spinning through the countryside roads in Chickamauga, GA |
I was
certainly glad that the legs didn’t cramp at any point during the bike leg,
just like IM Texas. In the past, I would
get cramps coming into the legs from the 80km mark onwards. PH1500 works!!
Rolled into the transition feeling happy. Legs were fatigued for sure, but not to the point of being totally toast and bonked.
Transition was by far my best to date in an Ironman race. 5min. Somehow I didn’t sit there stoned this time. Changed up. Ran out.
Run 26.2
miles (42.1km) – 5hr 24min... The Hills Are Alive! and they chewed me up good... 8 times over!
Run was 2
loops with undulating “gentle” slopes in the initial half of the loop, and some
nasty hilly terrain on the back end of each loop.
I usually take the first 3km to settle into my run rhythm. But I guess that is only when the run course is flat that my legs could turnover easier to get into my usual run cadence. So this time, with the adjustment to the run route, one hits a gentle slope almost immediately out from transition. Lack of hills run training certainly made its effect felt. It was not till the 7km mark that I got into a good run-feel pace. But that was shortlived. The numerous hills and slopes began to greet me.
At the 13km mark, Veteran’s Bridge greeted me. Slope up.
At the 14km
mark, Barton Ave giggled at me. This was
one nasty hill.
At the 15km
mark, Hixson Pike sniggered at me. What
a deceptive turn upslope after the Barton hill downslope.
At the 16km
mark, Riverview Rd laughed at me. What
the @#$@! Another slope at the turn?!!
At the 18km mark, Barton Ave hugged me ever so affectionately. Up the Barton Ave slope again. Brutal! After all that climbs prior.
At the 18km mark, Barton Ave hugged me ever so affectionately. Up the Barton Ave slope again. Brutal! After all that climbs prior.
At the 20km
mark, Market St bridge guffawed at me. Legs were just toast after the battering by Barton
Ave, Hixson Pike and Riverview Rd.
Market St bridge’s slope was still a substantial effort.
Legs still pretty ok in the first loop, I was then able to run/jog up those slopes without walking. Only walking through the aid stations to take in water, put ice into my tri shorts and tri top, and to mix my Perpeteum bottle at every hour mark.
First 21km, 2hr
28min @ 7min/km. Those hills… grrrrrr!!!!!!
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| Smiling... for some shortlived moments |
Second loop became a
huge battle. Every gentle slope certainly
felt like a mountain now. Had to fight
the demons. Dig deep. Decided to run/jog
on all the flats and gentler inclines, and walk those nasty hills on the back
end of the loop. Walk through the aid
stations to take in water and put ice into my tri top. Keep the nutrition game
going.
Soon enough, I met Veteran’s bridge again. By then, the sun was already setting. The real battle began. It’ll be a dark fight with the hills in this last 8km of the run leg.
Veteran’s Bridge was like getting pre-emptive air strikes on my body.
When I reached the bottom of Barton Ave hill, looking up the hill felt like getting a salvo of artillery estab neut on me.
Getting through to Hixson Pike and Riverview Rd was like getting artillery part renewal bombardment on my legs.
Told myself, “slowly, but surely”. Walked up those darn upslopes. Jogged on the downslopes and flats. Repeat. Repeat. And I drew strength from everyone else on the course. We were all slowed down to a walk on the upslopes, and everyone just kept egging each other on as we headed to the top of every hill. We were all in agony, but we drew strength from doing it together, side by side.
From the top of the Barton Ave hill top, I managed to run/jog all the way through, down the slope of Barton Ave, towards Market St bridge. Soon enough, I faced the last slope at Market Bridge. That meant 2km to the finish line! I couldn’t be happier! Kept the legs going, and by God’s grace the legs found a little more juice to pick up the pace from there. Up the bridge, cross the bridge, turn left into the “Turn here to Finish” lane, and headed towards the loud finish line!
Second loop of 21km, almost 3hrs @ 8min 30s/km.
Total run
leg - 5hr 24min 38sec.
Run elevation gain of 326m.
Run elevation gain of 326m.
 |
| Happy is the word! |
Finally done! Crossed
the finish line in 11hr
16 min, and boy, was I eternally
glad that I got over those hills and be done with the race. The timing was not the best, and it’s just
telling me what needs to be done in training for such a race course. For the effort, I suppose I could still give
myself a pat on the back! Hoo-ah!
I was certainly humbled by the run course terrain. Always respect terrain!
Nutrition
Following
years of cramps in endurance races, I finally got my nutrition and electrolytes
regime sorted out at IM Texas, where I finally did an Ironman race without
cramps!
I had to be self-sufficient for my nutrition and electrolytes needs, carrying all my Perpeteum mixes, and PH1500 powder and tablets, for the entire race, only taking water, fruits, and occasional coke from the aid stations.
IM Chattanooga was a chance to validate this nutrition plan, and it worked. No cramps. No bonk. So now with that out of the way, it boils down to more diligence on my part to design and stick to training plans for future races to overcome any terrain challenges of the respective courses.
Capping off
the race experience in the US
So it is
done. IM Chattanooga 2018! 142miles
worth! Mega bike-run brick workout!
11hr 16 min. It wouldn’t have been a sub-12 race outcome
even with the swim. With the swim and
transtition, I figured I’d add another 1hr 10min or so, to give an assessed IM race
time of 12hr 30min. I’ll still be happy
and take that for such a challenging course as this.
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| No. 3 - IM Chattanooga (142 miles) |
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| No. 3 - IM Chattanooga (142 miles) |
IM Chattanooga 2018 Highlights
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUNjwCMt-Q4)
IM Chattanooga 2018. Raced the course with some friends. Met new friends who were simply Badass (#BITRacing). Borrowing the words off the Chattanooga Choo Choo song, it was certainly a “solid Tennessee excursion”!! Raced the course with some friends. Met new friends who were simply Badass (#BITRacing).
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| With Cole Casey, representing Yorktown Triathlon Club, VA |
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| Newfound Badass #BITracing friends (Ann Marie and Chris Eckett) |
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| Newfound Badass #BITracing friends (JJ Schuster, Chris Eckett, Jay Holland) |
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| Newfound Badass #BITracing friends (Ann Marie, Cassey Wright, JJ Schuster, Dave Blohm) |
Thank God for strength, and for the journey in discovering the gift of health that God has blessed me with to be able to do endurance races.
What’s next? I’m not sure. I’m pretty much a go-with-the-flow guy when it comes to races.
For now, it’s back to the grind, back to coffee rides, sightseeing jogs, and back to the fight against snack binging and food feasts!
==== Statistics =====
IMCHOO 2018 (30 Sep 2018)
Bib 1802
Division: 40-44
Gender rank: 448 / 1331
Division rank: 96 / 215
Overall rank: 594 / 1966
Overall: 11hr 16min 11sec
Swim: Nil
Bike: 5hr 45min 58sec
Run: 5hr 24min 38sec
Transition: Bike-to-run - 5min 35sec
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3057331418
Transition: Bike-to-run - 5min 35sec
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3057331418
#IMCHOO #IMCHOO142
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