Ironman Australia - Port Macquarie 2016

Sunday May 1, 2016.

Swim 3.8km – 1:05:56

T1 – 6:00

Bike 180km – 5:37:57

T2 – 4:58

Run 42.2km – 3:43:40

Overall time – 10:38:42

I felt much different in the lead up to this event. The pressure was off. I wasn’t racing to qualify for anything, as was the case in my two Ironman 70.3 races earlier in the season at Ballarat and Geelong. Therefore, I wasn’t thinking about what the end result needed to be. I had some general time goals but a high place finish in my age group would have just been a bonus if it turned out that way.

I would have loved to have finished in less than 10 hours, and I have no doubt that is achievable but it didn’t quite happen on this day. I’m not bothered by that at all because I really just wanted to see what I was capable of with a few more years in the sport behind me, since my previous full Ironman attempt in Melbourne three years earlier, along with now being a ‘fat-adapted’ athlete. The funny thing about comparing the two races is I did exactly the same time – 10 hours 38 minutes – in both events. However, in the Melbourne event of 2013, the swim was shortened to just 1.5km so I would say my improvement has been at least 40 minutes to adjust for the extra 2.3km of swimming I completed in Port Macquarie. I’m certainly a much stronger athlete now, both physically and mentally and this was a great indication of that.

I went into this event with clear intentions of how I would use my fat burning capabilities to fuel my day and it was a process which began well before the event. In fact, I have been preparing for this major test of my fat burning ability for more than a year by doing much of my training in a fasted state as well as performing many long sessions, up to three hours, consuming only water. In the 10 weeks of specific training I did for this event I ensured this was a focus whereby I only consumed calories in my longest rides of more than three hours. Even then it was only in the way of real food and normally not until about two hours into the ride did I start to consume them.

During my taper period of approximately two and a half weeks I maintained a very low carbohydrate, high fat intake. Each day, I focused on consuming a lot of non-starchy vegetables, 3 – 5 eggs from genuine free-range pasture raised chickens, nuts, seeds, avocado, kombucha, fermented vegetables and bone broth. I alternated between grass-fed red meats, high quality pork and fish with other meals. I cooked in coconut oil and butter along with plenty of spices, pink Himalayan salt and black pepper. I added cheese to some things and had small amounts of fruit usually mixed with nuts and pure cream.

As well as the training done in a fasted state and the low carbohydrate, high fat eating, I performed intermittent fasting which would consist of not eating my first meal of the day until approximately 3 – 8 hours after getting up. It all depended on when I was training and/or working but I would be intermittent fasting to some degree every day to maintain my body’s ability to burn fat for energy with ease. This definitely worked.

The day before the race was no different. I didn’t eat bigger quantities to saturate my body with extra calories and I definitely didn’t ‘carbo-load’. I ate the foods that I was used to that I knew would provide me with necessary nutrients.

On this day, after a coffee (long black with a dash of milk) and a light ride in the morning I had my vegetable-scramble which started with sautéing some silverbeet, mushrooms, capsicum, and spinach in coconut oil. Then, I added a large knob of plain butter (about one heaped tablespoon) and when just melted, added 4 beaten eggs. I sprinkled over about a teaspoon of ground turmeric and a generous amount of pink salt and cracked pepper then stirred through gently until the eggs scrambled and everything was combined. When on the plate, I grated some full-fat cheese over top and added half an avocado for some extra fat and goodness.

After this nourishing breakfast I went and did the necessary racking of my bike in transition and dropped off my transition gear bags for the race. A little later I enjoyed some banana and blackberries with some almonds and macadamias. I topped it with about two tablespoons of pure cream and added some cinnamon and maca powder. My pre-race dinner, at about 6:00pm, was a tin of sardines followed by a large plate of steamed vegetables consisting of broccoli, green beans, cauliflower and carrot with a knob of butter melted through and plenty of pink salt.

Finally, I finished off my ‘fat-loading’ for the race with a special dessert drink. In a pot on the stove I heated up one 270ml can of coconut cream and a heaped teaspoon of coconut oil. I then added a teaspoon each of cinnamon, maca powder and turmeric and stirred through. It was delicious and nourishing.

On race morning, despite only getting about 5 hours sleep, I felt good when I got up at 4:00am. I knew my race start time would be about 6:45am, due to the self-seeding, rolling start format. This meant if I was going to eat breakfast I would need to do it straight away to allow enough time to digest before swimming. But, I didn’t feel hungry at all. This is very normal for me so I just had a big drink of water and a coffee, prepared my drink bottles for the day and made my way to transition to get my bike sorted. I then walked back to the accommodation and did some stretching before applying some zinc and getting my wetsuit on. I still didn’t feel hungry, my energy was great and my digestive system was feeling light and comfortable aided by the normal race morning toilet stop. I sipped more water in the last hour before the race start and I felt as energetic as ever prior to beginning the race.

My energy never subsided throughout the swim and I kept a consistent pace while trying to maintain technique and as low a heart rate as possible. I tried to stay on the feet of faster swimmers who passed by and gain any advantage I could when the opportunity presented itself. I was very satisfied when I exited the water. I hit my goal time and I hadn’t used up much energy. It was a great start to the day.

I didn’t rush through transition. I made sure I had everything I needed, made a quick toilet stop and jogged to my bike. Keeping my heart rate under control all day was essential to being as comfortable as possible and maintaining a consistent flow of energy for the duration of the race. As I jumped on my bike I felt in a good place both physically and mentally.

The bike course in Port Macquarie is notorious for rough and undulating roads. The main undulations are within the first and last 10km of each 90km lap but the rough roads are scattered throughout. The worst of those undulations is a very steep climb about 10km before the end of each lap known as ‘Matthew Flinders Hill.’ It is only about 300 metres long but as steep as 20% gradient for much of it. I saw plenty of guys busting their butts to get to the top as quickly as possible and it’s hard not to when you’ve got the crowd there who devote their day to cheering the athletes up the hill. However, my approach was to get to the top with as little effort as possible to preserve my strength for later on. I went into my lightest gear – 39-tooth front chain ring and 26-tooth on the rear – and climbed the hill standing out of the saddle and staying mostly upright to use my body weight to push the pedals as opposed to trying to muscle it up the incline while seated or leaning forward. I felt this worked very well and I wasn’t smashed when I got to the top so I was able to easily change back up the gears and continue on my way comfortably.

Unfortunately, despite feeling physically and mentally good as I went onto the second lap of the bike, the weather changed significantly. I completed the first 90km bike lap in 2 hours 38 minutes which I was wrapped with as I had ridden conservatively. I was spot on my target pace but that was before the wind and rain moved in. The wind wasn’t a huge factor in going slower on the second lap but the rain definitely was. I needed to take a lot of corners extra slow and start braking a lot sooner as I approached them because my brakes weren’t quite as effective with the moisture. The other problem it caused was fogging up my sunglasses quite badly but when I took them off the rain kept hitting me in the eyes making me squint so I could barely see anyway. I decided to keep my glasses on but the foggy vision made it very difficult to see what the road was like ahead with bumps or potholes, etc. I certainly hit a few which didn’t help my rhythm at all. I ended up completing the second lap in 2 hours 59 minutes but I rolled into transition feeling pretty good considering the almost seven hours of racing so far.

My nutrition during the bike leg was very important to my day and what I was looking to put to the test. I was carrying with me two small bananas and 6 ‘fat gels’ which contained predominantly coconut oil and butter with a few other natural ingredients for a beautiful flavour. I didn’t consume my first fat gel until about 45 minutes into the ride which was almost two hours into the race. This was approximately 14 hours since I had last eaten (dinner the night before) but at no point before that did I feel I needed to consume any calories. In fact, I could have kept going longer before I started eating but I decided I would begin my steady consumption of calories at that point as a preparation for the marathon to come. For the remaining five hours on the bike I consumed five fat gels and the two bananas. The last thing I had was a fat gel with about 20 minutes to go before transition which was a good amount of time to digest it before running.

My fluid intake consisted of the two bottles I carried on my bike which had half coconut water and half plain water with some pink salt. I sipped from these throughout the bike leg and at each aid station that I passed on course I grabbed a bottle of water and took a good drink before discarding it. I took in approximately 4 litres of fluid during the bike leg and I was happy with how I felt both physically and digestively.

Again, I took my time in transition. I used the toilet and didn’t rush trying to wrestle off my rain soaked cycling jersey and socks because I knew it wouldn’t be an easy process. I made sure I was comfortable in my run gear before I headed out, minus my sunglasses which I decided weren’t any use in the dull afternoon weather.

The run is where my fat-adaptation was really going to be tested. In the build up to the race I had done several long runs of more than two hours where I only consumed water and the most recent was just two weeks prior where I ran 30km in 2 hours and 45 minutes. This long run was also done in a fasted state pre-breakfast. My plan for this marathon was to get through the first 30km on water alone and from there I would do what was necessary to continue onto the finish. One other goal I had at the start of the marathon was to ensure I ran continuously for at least the first half-marathon. This turned into the first 30km because once I reached the half way point I knew I could keep going so I decided I must get to that point. My pace and energy flow were consistent and my legs were more or less cooperating with my requests.

When I reached an aid station at the 30km mark I walked through it, about 100 metres, and took a bite of some watermelon to get a flavour hit. I chose the watermelon over banana because I knew the calories would be negligible as it obviously contains plenty of water and I knew it would be much easier on my digestive system. I had a drink of water too and then got back to running. For the remainder of the run I walked through one more aid station and had a couple of mouthfuls of the electrolyte drink provided. Again, more for the flavour as it wasn’t enough to contain any significant amount of calories or electrolytes for that matter. The rest of the time I continued to take on water each time I went through an aid station.

There is one significant uphill section on the run course. It is about 200-300 metres long and you have to go up it four times being that the run course is made up of four laps. The third time going up it I was able to stop to give my wife, Mel, a quick kiss and explain what I would like for dinner. On the final time up the hill I walked about the first 100 metres and had a chat to my mum as I did. In the end, I estimate that I was running for a minimum of 41.5km, and probably closer to 42km, out of the 42.2km marathon distance.

Overall, I was very happy with how I paced my run. It wasn’t based on maintaining any particular speed. Instead, I was maintaining a pace where I could breathe reasonably comfortable and hold strong technique while moving forward consistently. I did just that and, although my muscles were gradually being zapped of their strength, I was able to maintain a consistent stride and cadence, despite the puddles and mud, and a constant flow of energy through fat burning.

In the last couple of kilometres of the run, as my race finish drew very near, I felt this great sense of satisfaction and happiness come over me. I began to assess the outcome of my day and understand that I had achieved so much of what I set out to do. As I past the last two aid stations I thanked and applauded the volunteers with great delight. It’s one thing to be out there racing in such conditions but to be out there purely to assist others is truly generous. They deserved all the thanks they were given.

As I entered the finish chute I heard the cheers of my wife and mum along the barrier and I was able to stop and give them, and my son, Joshua, a hug. It was a very happy moment to see them after such a big day. Then, I continued down the chute towards the finish line, took a quick look over my shoulder to see if any other competitors were coming and, when I saw there wasn’t anyone, I knew I could soak up the atmosphere a little bit more. So, I applauded with thanks to the crowd, smiled from ear to ear and crossed the line with my arms raised high as Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, proclaimed to me, ‘You are an Ironman’.

It was a great day, in a stunning location, with amazing support from the local community. I highly recommend participating in this event and it doesn’t have to be the full Ironman because they run a 70.3 (half-Ironman) there as well which, on this occasion, was on the same day. Either way, you would love the experience.

Here ends another successful chapter in my development as a fat-adapted, low-carb athlete. At this stage, I won’t be doing another full ironman event in the foreseeable future as I would like to focus on sprint distance, standard distance (a.k.a: Olympic distance) and half-ironman in the coming seasons. The main reason for this is the world championships for both standard and sprint distance will be held on the Gold Coast in 2018. In order to give myself the best chance of qualifying I will go back to short course racing next season to hone my speed in preparation for the qualifying period during the following 2017/18 season. I will continue to do some half-ironman races purely because I enjoy that distance and I think I am most suited to that type of race. However, I am very interested to see how focusing on short course racing will affect my half-ironman events. I dare say it will only benefit my long course racing after hardly doing any short races in the past four years or so.

As with every race, I try to dissect my preparation for the event and decide where I can improve. It is no different after this Ironman event and I very much look forward to implementing my proposed changes as I get back to training now that seven weeks have passed and I feel properly recovered from the race. I will bring you the details of those changes in the near future.

I hope this piece has helped to illustrate that you don’t need mainstream sugar-based sports nutrition products to do endurance events. The most important thing is consuming the highest quality, nutrient dense nutrition all of the time so that your body can do what it is designed to.

Cheers,

Lincoln.