Ironman Japan - Analysis

With a week to reflect, here is a bit of postrace analysis:

1. Should I have pushed myself harder on the bike?
I know, it is easy to say now, sitting here in comfort, largely recovered from Sunday's event. And taking it easy on the bike was my core, pre-race strategy (my only real pre-race strategy for that matter). Still I am inclined to think a 10% increase in bike effort would result in less than a 10% reduction in run performance. On the other hand, 10% extra effort on the bike might result in a dramatic reduction in pure Ironman event enjoyment (as I recall from Wildflower triathlon).


2. Why did I "hit the wall" during the final few hundred meters of the run?
a. I simply bonked - in other words I stopped eating too soon
b. My 4:15 per kilometer surge on kilometers 37 and 38 caught up with me
c. I abandoned my walk/run strategy at 37k
d. Cumulative effect of the whole 12 hours
e. Lack of really long training runs
f. Mental weakness - Soft, suburban, American upbringing
g. I subconsciously decided to create a more dramatic story and more interesting pictures for my blog
answer - all of above?

3. Why was the ironman so much easier for me than the Wildflower half-ironman 4 years ago?
a. Better training, particularly the long bicycle rides
b. Nutrition - I was conscious to eat much, much more at IM Japan
c. Weather - The 80 degree F. California midday run zapped me at Wildflower
d. Run/walk tactics
e. Slower bicycle pace
answer - These past 6 months I have been focused on bike training to avoid the struggle I had at Wildflower, and I definitely noticed improved condition in December and January. But I think nutrition, weather and run/walk tactic also helped.

3b. Which is more difficult - Ironman Japan or the Obuse half-marathon?
answer - Definitely the Obuse half-marathon is more difficult. The Obuse half-marathon is run in late July in a valley north of Nagano, Japan where the conditions are mind-boggling humid. The Obuse course zigs and zags through dusty fields and in the end passes tantalizingly close to the finish line creating a cruel mental torture. Last year every step beyond the first 2-kilometers was absolute misery for me.
You might argue that Obuse is only 80 minutes of pain versus 12 long hours for Ironman Japan. However it is 80 minutes of sheer hell versus 12-hours of alternating periods of mild discomfort, giddy euphoria, and general fatigue.

4. How much did cool weather help me?
So many of triathlons are held in hotter climates and the half-ironman distance means doing the run in the middle of the day. The 15k run at the Saipan triathlon was a real slog for me because of the heat. So am I doomed at Sado in early September?