Yikes! Hope you heal up soon!
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I cannot believe I didn’t realize you were here for the race, especially after you have so diligently tracked our (and my) races. I feel terrible. I’ll PM about today.
The current was real and so was that downpour. And, so many accidents, several of which appeared to be quite severe, and punctures. Wow. Yes, survived.
Race report to follow because it’s 5:20a and I cannot sleep any longer.
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IMCH race report. At least three TR users active on this forum did IM Switzerland yesterday, @JoeX, @AustinPT, and me. Any others? @AustinPT and I connected before the race to do a quick recce and to get in a swim in the lake and the 50m pool that’s set in the lake (down the coast from the event area). Hopefully, I’ll see @JoeX today. I look forward to his and @AustinPT’s race reports as well, both of which will be far more enjoyable than mine, I’m sure.
The weather was forecast to be drizzle at the start and the beginning of the bike. It was a very light rain at transition prep and before the swim. Soon after leaving T1, the heavens opened and it poured. It was a solid downpour. At least, I thought, we won’t overheat. Hmmm, I’ll get back to that.
Despite the sage advice of @Alen, @BaggieBird, @JulianM, and @rcbtri, I went with the swimskin. I wavered until the last moment (literally, I had the wetsuit in the car when the wife dropped me off) but went with the swimskin to try it out and compare. This was not a consequential race, although any major event like this is nothing like jumping into the local 5k or even marathon, as we all know. It is a local event that ends this year as IM Switzerland, after 23 years in Zurich, moves to Thun from Zurich. The transition was a 5mi bike ride from home and my wife walked to watch me at Heartbreak Hill. Enough of that, on to the report…
On the swim, the water temp was a comfortable 73/74 F / 23+ C. I wore the swimskin and felt good in the water. If I had a Farmer John (are they now just called sleeveless?) wetsuit, that would have been better, I suppose. I self-seeded at the front of the 60-70min group thinking I’d get into the tail of the <60 group as I got into the rhythm. But before the start, people jammed themselves into the non-gap. A lot of people I suspect were neither <60 or 60-70min. The 8-abreast rolling start made for some turbulent action nearly throughout the swim. That, the dark skies and my dark, day-time googles made for some difficult sighting. Too many swimmers were following the intermittent ‘helper’ buoys (which did not require swimming on one side or the other) and not aiming for the turn buoys. As @JoeX noted above, there was a bit of a current. Also, at one point about 2/3 through, there was a some relatively noticeable chop. I put more energy into this swim and felt I did well, but I did not find out my time until after the end of the race (when I hit lap on my watch, by the time I looked, the watch was showing T1 time). I was several minutes slower than I should have been, considering the effort and that was likely because of not using the wetsuit, confirmed by my lower relative placement.
On the bike, soon after exiting T1, the sky opened up and it poured. It was a heavy rain, the kind of which that if you were planning an outdoor ride, you’d definitely say, “Nope, no way, I’m doing TR this today.” The hills were not bad and always rewarded with a downhill. However, I was reminded that I’m an idiot when I realized I had not put on a 32 on these wheels. That would have been nicer than the 11-28. Got passed by a lot on the climbs. On the flats after the hills and between the hills, I opened it up and felt great and passed a ton. Around the lake, especially the outbound toward the major hills, I always feel like it’s a downhill ride, which is mostly psychological as it’s along a lake and can’t have too much variation in elevation, but whatever helps. On the descents (some of which were extremely steep), I got past by crazy people I envied (I used to be a decent road descender until breaking ribs Jan '18, but never on my Tri bike).
By the way, “Heartbreak Hill” is the bump circled in red. Seems misnamed, except it’s in a heavily residential area and easily accessed by tons of locals and visitors (via a nearby train station) so it makes for a great cheering spot. In other words, it’s a good marketing gimmick. And, the ride was 2-loop but only 170km due to rerouting for construction along the route. Fortunately, some of that construction was done and we had some pristine asphalt. (My long road runs get to that part of the lake as running along the lake is the best option for an uninterrupted flat around here.)
The rain stopped somewhat early in the first loop. The roads dried relatively quickly to the point most had no sign of rain on the second lap. There were a lot of flats, possibly due to debris on the road from the rain, but I suspect more so by running too high pressure. They pumped in the cold, wet morning, but then the sun came out and lifted the road and air temps (I saw no flats on or after downhills so heat from braking seems to be ruled out). There were also several severe accidents. The first was just 9km from the T1.
I knew I pushed it on the swim (somewhat) and certainly on the bike (primarily on the flats), so I aimed for a 5hr ‘easy’ marathon. The sun was out in force by T2. I started out on a comfy sub-4hr pace, but then it slowly fell apart. The run is brutally flat with about 5 ‘climbs’ each lap: up an easy, long ramp to a rooftop passage right out of T1, a subway tunnel under a road, a minor climb in the city center (followed by a steeper descent, reflecting how easy the climb was), and a ‘climb’ over the arch of the central, iconic bridge where everyone takes their photos in Zurich. In other words, a brutally flat run. There was tremendous support, well-spaced aid stations with great volunteers and lots of sponges and ice. I sucked down electrolytes at each station, enjoyed several sponges, and partook in cola, and occassional bananas and oranges. And still, I was suffering badly. Even better was seeing the wife and son twice each run lap (though the boy went home after two laps, can’t blame him, I wanted to do the same).
In the end, I can see why people love the race. I’m sure it’ll be awesome in Thun, which is, if you’re interested, 1:20 by train from Zurich Main Station, or nearly 2hrs from the same by car.
Times:
Swim: 1:03 (11th in AG, 50-54, 209 overall) … and then it goes downhill
Bike: 5:56 (66th AG, 668 overall)
Run: 5:15 (122 AG, 1221 overall)
[late edit the day after:] Finish Time: 12:26
Because I did the Rapperswil 70.3 (near the other end of Lake Zurich, only a bit farther from where yesterday’s bike turned up and away from the lake) earlier this year, I received a special second medal, so that was nice.
On the plus side, this morning I’m now down to my race weight of 174lbs, seven pounds less than yesterday morning. I’m sure the dehydration from yesterday’s run (I pee’d in T2 and again 5hrs after finished and not since) has something to do with it 
I have my 8th IM in 4wks (incl 5 finishes 2000-2004, 6th was last year), my only A race of the year. Yesterday affirmed my decision to not race IM next year (I’ll be focusing on road and gravel next year to enjoy the scenery) and likely switch to 70.3 in 2021. IM is hard.
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I believe wetsuit strippers is a US thing. I’ve used the service at US races but have never seen them here in Europe. My first European IM, in 2003, I recall a clear answer to the question, “will there be wetsuit strippers?” along the lines of “we don’t do that here.” But I haven’t seen or heard of it in the European m-dot races I’ve done, which aren’t many.
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Looks like a lot of misfortune at the moment with injuries 
I might be in the same boat; my race is on Sunday and I’ve started getting knee pain. The first time was a week after Holkham, after my long Sunday TR workout + brick run; the day after the back of my right knee hurt when extended and this faded over the next day or two. This weekend I had it the day after a 90 minute TR workout and 30 minute brick. Still did my long ride yesterday and a recovery run. The pain is less today and it’s a rest day so I’m going to take it easy. Not sure if I should do my taper workouts this week or go for total rest.
It’s an odd sensation; I can’t feel it at all when I’m sat down. It’s really noticeable when I stand up but fades when I’ve been moving for a while (a bit like DOMS, so maybe it’s inflammation?) No visible swelling anywhere. No recent impacts either except falling on it more than a month ago.
Other than that, it’s time to check all my bolts, weigh myself in race kit and the bike, then finalise the best bike split plan 
If I do have to bail on the race I’ll put it down to bad luck, try not to sweat the sunk cost and aim to smash one next year. Doing much better than I’d hoped at Holkham will take the edge off, definitely.
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I didn’t know about that difference with races in EU. Without strippers it can take a good bit of time to take that wetsuit out. Congrats on your race! Well done!
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Good race and super report, I thought Zurich was a good place for an IM and I enjoyed it a few years back.
Put your feet up and enjoy the down time. I won’t take it personally about the ignored advice!!
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Okay team, my IMCH report - I’ll try to avoid duplicating anything from @mountainrunner a report, but forgive me if I do.
The swim
I dropped my son with the VIP team to board a boat, first time I’ve used this option, and definitely a good idea if you have a teenager with you. Caught up with another British triathlete in transition and again at the swim warm up. It was relaxed, water was warm, the music was something mild and classical, not the usual AC/DC rocking the heartbeat up - I missed that.
Say what you like about rolling starts, it’s made me famous! (2XU to the left of the yellow shirt)
Two to the right dove in too early, to my left was a dawdler, so I found space and ran in deeper took a dive and settled into an easy cadence until I found some feet.
The swim was very calm compared to the brawl at Lanzarote, I got clocked a couple of times in the head but that was about it, neither to the face. It’s funny how you wonder about other swimmers when you’re going at it - I imagined the AWA I followed first to be a an experienced calm guy, just from seeing his light almost absent beat. Then later I followed a real thrasher, figuring he was burning himself out I decided to pass him at the end without much effort
I’d felt the current but couldn’t really tell how I’d done, I got caught in no mans land a few times with no one ahead but two streams of swimmers either side so I wasn’t sure how my pacing was going. On exit I glanced at my watch and figured I was basically in the right ball park…turned out to be a personal best by 3 minutes 
1h06.
T1 was encouraging, I looked around and saw a lot of guys who looked fatigued already…but I was slow. Several guys came in after me and left as I struggled with the wetsuit, not usually a problem for me but something to work on.
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The Bike
Just to emphasise the point on the weather though, as I mounted my bike it started to rain. Biblical style. The pros being on the other side of the lake were unaffected though.
Before & after
I couldn’t see the road as I set off and had to laugh. Once again my Garmin failed to give me the BBS power targets for each segment. I’d prepped for this and learned my numbers before hand. The first 22km were flat so I actually switched to speed, something I never do, and aimed for 33-35kph. I was aiming to burn it up on the bike, and see what happens on the run…what could go wrong? 
Okay, but seriously, I had gone far too slow at Lanza, I needed to push the boundaries to see what I’m capable of. 
It’s the first time I raced on anything relatively flat, so I enjoyed this but I’d underestimated how hilly the hilly section was. Especially on the second lap I was cooking in the heat, and suspect I was drinking enough - about half what is drunk at Lanza. Not good. The riders were 99% good but I found a couple of drafters behind me on the start of lap two, followed by a bit of a peloton on aero bars blocking the road and messing up my rhythm. Not nearly so bad as some races, but the fact it angered me should have reminded me to feed and water more - I get grouchy when I’m dehydrated.
It’s a beautiful ride in places with great local support, Heartbreak Hill was a riot and I got the crowd going with a bit of banter…my son caught this moment although this is the end of the crowd, there were probably a hundred or so lined either side.
Some minor hold ups were cars shared the road but it was basically great roads and politeness all round
I started to fade at 120K and had to push but still lost a few kph. I aimed for NP 176 IF 0.7 and a BBS predicted sub 6 but came away with NP 167 IF 0.675 and 6h30. I had the course as 175km +1450m. Maybe I could do better, but for the training time I’m happy. Plus it was another personal best
T2 I felt only a little stiff dismounting but otherwise okay. Worried about the exertion on the bike, and peeling off my socks saw that my feet had been soaked the whole time…not a good sign. Wiped feet, fresh socks, dry shoes, suck down a gel, changed too, cap on and off we go.
The Run
Well, well. What can I say? It was actually a good start. Running is my weakest leg, and this time I was going to go by feel. On paper I should be able to do sub 5, but 5h45 is my best IM run so run comfortable walk every ten minutes…under 6 would be a win.
I loved the run course, flat helps, but a route through old town and around the lake with beautiful views and beautiful people, here and there music and crowds, apart from being cooked alive it was great! 
Then about 17km in to the run on the gravel section just before the turn around I got a stone in my shoe. I knew I had to get it out, and so very tentatively I sat and removed the shoe, but as I lifted my leg the cramp I had feared struck and I yelled out quite embarrassingly for a while. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t put the shoe on 
I hobbled forward and across with one shoe in hand a bit daft really, eventually got the shoe on from a standing position and after about twenty minutes got going again.
So that was the end of what might have been and I walked the whole third lap. The shoes had been soaked again by cooling water sprays so both feet were covered in blisters, I’d been feeling nauseous but thirsty for at least an hour - another reason I think dehydration had started on the bike.
As I saw my son though starting the fourth lap, I figured he didn’t want to be sitting there another two hours so I decided to risk collapse and forced a jog/walk for the last lap…then with about 2k to go I realised I had a chance of beating my PB. All of a sudden there was still drama to be had, and I pushed as hard as I could ran through the high fives, cheerleaders, and took the congratulations from Paul Kaye and another high five but I’d missed it by just two minutes.
14h32 of drama, fun and suffering
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Well @mountainrunner - hubby and I were looking at signing up for LCW-Wales 2020 and started searching for accommodation. It all appears to be sold out apart from camping and glamping and extreme luxury some distance away. Booo.
That said, now I’m thinking Jervis Bay 2020 might work…
I just looked and there are some places it left. There will also be cancellations of course. I had to follow up with hotels my first year and one called me back saying someone cancelled (so a hotel may keep a list and follow up with you, it is a small town). What I use (and just checked now) is booking dot com. Didn’t appear any hotels were available but flats were. And, tbh, a flat may be better because the old hotels may make it hard to get the bike box(es) upstairs (if flying) or may not allow bikes in the room (not generally a problem, owing to stairs or size of the room, they’ll be kept safely in a common room). And the rooms are typically, say, cozy. For next year, I booked a flat instead of a hotel. Good luck!
Hoping it’s OK to post an IM 2020 question here. Doing IM Chattanooga next year, new to TR and unsure of which plan to precede Full Distance Tri plan.
Thinking of rolling with Half Distance plan and then start full plan in March. But lots of talk about SSB. Any suggestions? I’ve perused the forum and AACC but haven’t found my exact situation.
Goals are both distance and FTP gains - 172 this AM on 20min test : (
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Here’s my 2c:
There’s advantages and disadvantages to both. SSB is good and people see good results but half distance is designed to take account of the stress from swimming and running in addition to cycling. Last year when I had lots of time, I actually did traditional base and pulled swim and run workouts from the full distance base - I had good results from this.
This far out, I’d say it’ll be easy to get training fatigue so do what seems fun to you. Enjoying your training and being consistent will go a long way.
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For me, it kind of depends on your background and where you are - new to triathlon, a Kona qualifier, or somewhere in between…happily, we’ve got them all!
I would have a look at the first few weeks of the FD base plan and think about whether you think you can handle all the swim bike run sessions. I think there’s a pretty long run in the first couple of weeks which is out of reach for a new runner.
If you’re an “old hand” I would do some unstructured training the weeks before starting just to get the volume up.
If you’re a total newbie, I’d do some triathlon plans this year and race too.
Low Volume is the go to.
Wherever you’re at, I absolutely recommend a break from structure before starting the FD plan. It’s tough, and it’s long, and being consistent is hard over 28 weeks.
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That’s just awful news, commiserations…
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Definitely this!
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I had an extra few months to fill before my plan was due to start so I just aimed to repeat the base phase. There was a help article on this that recommended doing that or doing traditional base (less intense, more volume) but that particular one seems to have disappeared. This one is still around though: https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025556952-Extending-your-Training-Plan
My FTP went up during both full distance mid volume base phases and the build phase. Managed to time it so I had a couple of weeks off to coincide with the holidays too.
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Never mind the age, that’s too much for anyone surely! 
And it too much with a 3rd place result methinks. Well done sir.
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How’s the shin looking today, @JoeX?
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Struggled to get anyone to see it yesterday but just got a GP appointment this morning.
The swelling isn’t massive, maybe a little better today having been basically inactive yesterday.
As far as pain goes, it’s fine as long as I’m not doing anything. Standing or walking it gets more and more until I stop after a few minutes and it subsides.
It’s only when you’re avoiding walking and lifting you realise how much you need healthy legs! 
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