Finding Even More Speed With Jordan Rapp's Data

First off, I have to say that I'm a huge fan of Jordan Rapp.  One of my racing highlights was just seeing him on the run at IMTX.  While I armchair quarterback what he should have done in Kona, I realize I'm talking about somebody that is far, far above my own talent level.  Jordan could have crashed twice, had three flats, and run the marathon backwards and still beat me.  That being said, you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs, so let's get crackin'.

So, I'm re-reading this article about Sami Inkinen about how he wins nearly everything in his age group on just 12 hours of training a week.  He won Wildflower, Kona 70.3, and the list goes on.  The interesting thing about Sami is that he is extremely scientific in his training.  He creates a spreadsheet of all his possible variables and keeps tweaking his life and training schedule until he gets the most speed out of the least amount of training.  His scientific approach sounds a little similar to Jordan, actually.  What struck me in particular is this quote - 

Inkinen approached the heat problem like 

he would any problem, including one in business. First, he talked to world-class experts, 

then he read as much as possible, and finally 

he tested what he had learned on himself and 

adjusted, just as a scientist would. 

Through this process, he discovered that 

pace control was the key to performing well 

in the heat—and in Hawaii.

“Ali’i Drive is ridiculously hot for someone like me. I could go out in 6:45 miles, but 

if I run 45 minutes at that pace in that heat 

and there’s no wind, I’m totally toast,” Inkinen said. “I’ve tried it once and it’s done. So 

the pace control is the No. 1 thing.” 

In other words, when Inkinen reaches a 

particularly hot section of the course in Kona 

or in any race, he holds back a bit. When he 

gets to a cooler section, he pushes the pace a 

bit. In fact, he won the overall age-group race 

at the 2011 Hawaii 70.3 by pushing the pace 

a little too much on the bike in the morning, 

when the air was cool, and then walking up 

the run course’s short golf course hills, which 

were naked to the scorching sun.  

“Anything that was exposed and sunny 

and uphill, I just walked,” Inkinen said. “And 

it’s kind of funny because people were like, 

‘You can do it! Keep running! You can do it!’ 

And I’m like, ‘No, actually, I’m not. I’m just 

going to walk.’ And I won the whole thing.”

He used a similar approach to win the agegroup world title in Las Vegas.

Inkinen also manages the heat through 

hydration, insisting that he drink enough on 

the bike so he hasn’t lost any weight by the 

time he starts the run.

“I always take as many water bottles as I 

can at every single aid station. I know how 

much I need to hydrate,” Inkinen said. “I start 

from the first aid station onward. So it’s not 

like I wait until I feel hot.” 

When he’s riding up a steep hill, he pours 

water over his white arm coolers, and when 

he’s running, he periodically fills the arm 

coolers with ice.

Basically, the fastest way to get from point A to point B on a hot day is to go just a little bit too hard when it's cooler because you will have to go slower anyway when it's hotter.  Leverage the temperature to your advantage against the competition because you can only go so fast when it's hot.  If you are going to go too hard and have to slow down to regroup, might as well make the slow times when it's really hot and you couldn't have gone faster anyway.  

Then, I came across this article detailing Jordan's power file on the bike.  The author is claiming how great it is that Jordan went harder than usual on the second half of the bike.

"The impressive aspect about Jordan's Kona race was the 2nd half. In New York, the difference in watts between the first and second half was 27 watts, a 9% drop off. In Kona, Jordan managed his pacing much better and averaged only 8 watts less on the 2nd half, only a 3% difference." 

Well, I'm seeing a glaring problem.  It's 8 degrees hotter than his previous victories, yet he's going even harder than his previous races on the second half of the bike, which is in the hottest part of the day.  Sami's strategy would say to do the opposite - If it's going to be really hot, go make the effort level between the first and second halves of the bike much more different.  Go even harder than usual on the first half to put in time against your competition, then back off on the second half because heat is now your limiter, not ability.  

Jordan himself said that he fell behind on the swim and spent then entire bike ride trying to catch up.  A different strategy might have been to try even harder to catch up on only the first half of the bike, then start backing off as the day got hotter.  When he hit the run, he would have finished the bike at the same time anyway, stayed cooler, refreshed his legs a little, and then have an even better run, pushing him up a few more places.

I wanted to share this interesting take on racing strategy with the readers so they too can think about how they might race better in hot conditions.  It might or might not work for you, but it something to keep in the back of your mind and at least test out during some training sessions.

Macca Explains Why He Bailed on Race Day

I kept hearing "attitude", but I think he's saying "altitude."  What do you think?

Ironman Hawaii Winner Pete Jacob's Bike

Pete Jacob won this year's Ironman Championships on a Boardman Air 9.8.  Many of us don't know much about this bike, so here's a video to explain more about his ride.

Of course, there's the bike you can buy, and then there's the modifications to it that make it your own.  Here is a link to a detailed article with pictures that show how Pete added his own touches for race day.

Kona Predictions

The Ironman Championships are upon us!  Tomorrow will be a great battle, especially because there are so many top contenders this year.

Luckily, TriRating.com has a detailed analysis of the pro field.  With it, you can calculate that Crowie should beat Macca by at least a couple of minutes.  The real question is - does this stand up when Macca spent most of the past year getting even faster for the Olympics?

I found this video of Macca talking about the race on TriRig.com.  There's lots of detail about the bike towards the end.

Macca doesn't seem all that worried.  And he's definitely "here to win."

Moving on to the women's field, it looks like Rinnie should beat everybody else by 15 minutes!  That's an amazing gap.  She didn't pull it off last year and has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about not training enough, so she might crush it this time just to prove a point.

Follow the madness tomorrow on www.ironmanlive.com.

ZenTri 502 - Interview with Vinnie Tortorich

(Vinnie Kicking Butt on the Bike)

Vinnie is the real deal.  He was a full scholarship footballer for Tulane, then converted over to endurance sports.  He eventually became one of the first "Hollywood Trainers", making appearances on many shows, including Oprah's.

After crossing paths a few times, we eventually recorded his take on how to train at a high level.  This interview is all about his life, nutrition, and his top-rated podcast, "America's Angriest Trainer."

I now consider Vinnie a great friend and a valuable resource to help make sense of the multisport world.  I'm sure you will, too.

Enjoy!

Quick link to the show MP3.

The Ironbaby is on Oct. 26th!