Now that Ironman Florida is behind me and I’ve had a chance
to reflect on what was such an awesome day way over and beyond any previous
attempts at that distance, here are a few thoughts on
what I think contributed to my “perfect” race.
1.
This was my first flat course Ironman. I live in a flat and windy part of the
country. Why I wasted my time on hilly
Ironman courses prior to this proves how much of an idiot I am at heart. I’m much better suited to tucking into my
aero position and maintaining an effort, and I was able to train really well
for that here at home. Now, I had been
told that on those hilly courses, “You’ll do great in the hills because you’re
a strong cyclist.” I don’t think I quite
get that. I really am not suited for
uphill cycling (though I enjoy it immensely!).
2.
My plan was to crush the bike leg of the race, no
matter what the consequences were on the run.
Every prior Ironman I held back or gave up with fatigue on the bike leg,
yet felt great on the run. I told myself
“not this time” and that’s how I trained.
3.
Combine 1 and 2, and I was able to nail a few sub-5 hr
112 bike sessions followed by a goal-pace run.
So, on race day it wasn’t a guess. Those hilly Ironman races prior, I had to
show up on unfamiliar terrain thinking, “I guess I can do this. I dunno.”
At IMFL, I toed the line thinking, “Just do what you did in training.”
4.
I put a lot more time on the bike in training. In my last Ironman, I only did four rides
over 100 miles and the longest was 120 miles.
This time, I did seven and the longest was 134. My weekly mileage increased too. During the long rides, there was a clear plan
in the form of lengthy intervals (for example, 6x40 min @ IM to HIM pace, w/ 10
min RI) or a complete time trial effort over the entire length of the
ride. None of them were just “trash
miles” as perhaps I was guilty of in previous Ironman training seasons.
5.
I dipped down to uncharted territory on my weight. I got down to 5.6% body fat. I’ve never been there before. My last Ironman I got down to about 7% body
fat at best. It was a gamble and it took
a ton of sacrifices and perhaps a voluntary eating disorder, but as long as I
felt healthy and was turning in good workouts and felt energetic it felt right.
6.
Can I give some mad props to God without turning anyone
off? At the very least, He dealt with me
constantly bugging him for a second wind, for the pain to go away, etc. Maybe He just said, “Fine, Richter. Here’s your breakthrough Ironman. Now leave me alone so I can solve this world
hunger thing.”
7.
And, finally, I think I put together a lot of little
nitty gritty things that hopefully all added up to a second here and a second
there. Those you can piece together in
my race report, which occurs below.
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