Tara's 2012 IMC Race Report!!!!

It all began with 1 minute and 53 seconds…..

Tara’s IMC Race Report 2012

For those of you who have trained with me, you know exactly what my obsession is with 1 minute and 53 seconds. For those of you who haven’t you may think I am a bit crazy so let me explain. I did my first Ironman in 2010. I had a great day! I was thrilled with my race. However, my time was 13 hours 1 minute and 52 seconds. I was super excited, but in the back of my mind, there was always “Couldn’t I have found 1 minute and 53 seconds out on the race course to come in under 13 hours”….

Hence my quest for IMC 2012 began.
Last summer I went out to Penticton to volunteer and had a great time. It was the next day that John P, John B, Jacque, Kelly, Lara, Tracy and I signed up. A couple months later Shannon, Trevor, Leana took the plunge with community spots. Sorry Jacqui, Claire, Lawrence and Nate I have no idea…..when/how you decided to do the race!
Fast forward a few months….Training was on! I biked, I swam, I ran. Then I biked and swam, and ran some more. Somewhere, somehow, if the stars all aligned I was going to improve my finishing time by 1 minute and 53 seconds. Now before I continue, I know it is dangerous to put time goals on an Ironman. Anything can happen on race day…Heat, rain, hail, wind, gut issues….they can all affect overall performance and time. I wasn’t naïve, I knew these were all factors, but 1 minute and 53 seconds pushed me to train through rain, cold, heat and the days I just didn’t want to get out of bed.
After months of training with some awesome training partners (thanks to Kelly, Leana, Trevor, Shannon, Megan, Tracy and all the other TTLers who met me at the pool, ran with me and biked with me), it was race week and we were off to Penticton.
Pre-Race jitters were full-blown on the days leading up to IMC. There were some tears, a couple horrible swims a decent descent down Yellow Lake and a great 20-minute run with Tracy. I was staying right across from the Sicamous so it was super convenient, and a lot of fun since Trevor, Jacque and Kelly were staying there as well. Tracy and I drove to Penticton together and we got into town late Wednesday afternoon. We immediately went to the Bike Barn to get someone to look at Tracy’s bike and while we were there I commented that my shifting still wasn’t great. The mechanic told me to go get my bike, and he fiddled with it, and fixed it within about 10 minutes! Thanks!!! That night a bunch of us got together for a casual BBQ at the hotel. A perfectly relaxing evening. On Thursday we did a quick swim, checked in, did some shopping at the merchandise tent, hung out at the hotel and then descended Yellow Lake. Thursday night was the TTL dinner (thanks for organizing Sarah) and then off to bed. Friday morning I got a text from Tracy wanting to know if I was interested in a run. I was jumping out of my skin at that point, so after a quick text to Angie to make sure it was okay, we went for a 20 minute run down Lakeshore and back. After that it was another swim (in really choppy water….really messed with my head). I was lucky enough to get an appointment with Owen’s massage therapist so I headed out quickly after the swim for that. Later that afternoon I took a 2 hour nap – can’t remember the last time that happened – and then headed to the athletes dinner. On Saturday I decided to skip the team swim, but headed out for a short ride, to make sure all my gears were working and a short (and I mean short) 5 minute run. Time to get organized and head to bike check. I ran a couple of errands with Jacque and Kelly and then headed to bike check in with Tracy. After getting all our stuff organized in transition and running through what would happen on race day we headed out for some ART. When I was done and back at the hotel Andrew had arrived in town. Mitch had gone into Kelowna to pick him up at the airport for me (thanks Mitch), so it was feet up and time to relax (HA!). Chilled for the afternoon, had some dinner, went for ice cream with Shannon and Trevor and then it was off to bed. Tomorrow I was going to do an IRONMAN!
Sleep did not come easily that night, but at 3:55 I finally got out of bed. I showered, ate, dressed, and sat around for 15 minutes until it was time to meet the gang. At 5 am, Kelly, Trevor, Jacque and I headed out to the race start. We got to special needs drop off I was shaking to badly I couldn’t even handle my bags. Luckily Steve to the rescue! He organized my bike special needs and dropped it off for me. It was GREAT to see a friendly and supportive face. Next onto body marking. The women didn’t really know what to do since I was going to wear my calf guards, so she just put my age on the back of my leg. Off to my bike to get everything organized. Took it to the Bike Barn tent to get my tires pumped (I was worried about losing pressure in my tubulars overnight). I put my nutrition and computer on my bike and then went to stand in the porta potty line. Went to check my bike again, get some stuff organized in my T1 bag, and then back to the porta potty line. Ran into all the TTLers in transition. It was great to see everyone! Then shortly after it was time to get the wetsuits on. I found Kelly and Leana and started to get ready and then Kelly told me that she had just seen Angie. I went to find her and apparently I looked pretty panicked because she was quick to ask “What do you need”? I replied that I just needed to see her! She gave me some last words of encouragement and then off to put the wetsuit on. Met back up with Kelly, Leana and Shannon, got donned in our swim gear and then it was off to the beach. Shannon and I stuck together which was really great for me since we ended up started the swim together in 2010. Thanks Shannon! We got to the beach and I kept looking for Andrew…Didn’t see him, but I heard him so that would have to do! I ran into Jacque on the beach and I was so excited to see her. She was the one who first got me into triathlons. I am so honoured that I got to share this day with her. The pro’s went out and then I went for quick dunk to make sure my goggles weren’t leaking. Then it was time to wait. I hung with Jacque and Shannon on the beach. O Canada was sung (very emotional) and then we waited for the gun. FINALLY it went off. Jacque and I hung back and walked together for about a minute and then it was time to swim. We wished each other luck and then our IM journey was on. I started swimming – long and strong.

The swim.

I had a decent start to the swim. I found water and didn’t get beat up. Then about ½ way to the first buoy I ran into a mass of people. Wasn’t really expecting that. And then it got choppy, and I felt like I was being pushed to my left. I also swallowed more lake water than usual. There was also this awful diesel smell in the water (which may be an important tidbit later). The white Subaru buoy seemed far away. Getting around the buoy was pretty chaotic but I managed. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast…..I kept swimming easy, bilateral breathing to make sure I wasn’t going too hard. Around the second buoy and then I was heading back to the shore. I was still in the mix of a lot of people. Had to stop and find open water a few times. There was someone drafting off me and kept grabbing my calf. After about 20 strokes of this I turned around and told him to cut it out. Had to stop and make sure my timing strip was secure a couple time due to all the people grabbing my feet. About half way back I accidently hit someone so I stopped to apologize to her. We chuckled together and kept swimming. For most of the time I felt pretty good. I had no idea if I was going fast or slow, but I was feeling decent so I was trying not to think about my time. Finally saw the red TYR buoys and knew I was getting close. Hit the rocks and kept swimming for as long as possible. Saw a lot of people standing up and walking over the rocks, but I was swimming much quicker than they were walking. When the water was too shallow, I got up, out of the water and onto transition……My swim time was 1 ½ minutes slower than 2010, but given the rumours that 2010 was short and that 2012 was bit long, I will take it (I could find my 1 minute and 53 second elsewhere on the course – I hope!).

T1

I ran out of the water and onto the wetsuit strippers. I was yelling my number and got handed my T1 bag and then off to the change tent. I was shocked!!!! It was so crowded. There wasn’t a single place to sit or a single volunteer to help. Last time there were tonnes of seats available and I had a volunteer all to myself. So I found a corner of grass and got ready for a bike ride. I had worn my arm warmers and calf guards under my wetsuit so I didn’t have to worry about putting them on while I was wet. Put on my socks, shoes, bike gloves, helmet, racebelt and sunglasses and then I was off.

The bike

I was now headed out of town. I heard Angie, Andrew and the other TTLers cheering as I left transition. I settled into a nice leisurely pace and got into my aerobars…..and then it started - a horrible stomach pain that lasted throughout the bike and much of the run. I have had stomach issues before on the bike during races but I thought they were due to nutrition as they usually start after I start drinking my Infinit. I have tweaked my nutrition this year and I have had no stomach problems. However here I was on the bike, in pain and I was only 2K in and hadn’t yet taken in any calories, so I had no idea what was causing the discomfort. I kept riding hoping I could manage it. Easy cheesy out of town, letting tonnes of people pass me. Easy cheesy to McLean Creek. McLean creek was incredibly chaotic and crowded with lots of people riding together and drafting. Trying to avoid drafting or blocking, once we got to the top of McLean Creek hill, there was a group of 4 riding together that I wanted to pass. I yelled, “Can you please break it up so I can get through?” One guy yelled “Bitch, you should pass on the left.” My response was “if I pass on the left of you I am across the yellow line and you are blocking me”. They didn’t really move, but I did manage to get by them and jerk guy yelled, “I hope you win the race”. I yelled back “I just want to play fair and not get a penalty”. Then I got rid of them, thankfully. I kept riding and things were feeling good. I felt decent up through Oliver and Osoyoos. Stomach still bugging me, but I was managing. It was time to climb Richter’s. I kept spinning easy watching my power and heart rate. Didn’t want to burn too many matches! Slow and steady wins the race . Saw Neil and Mr. and Mrs. Keto part way up the climb. I threw my arm warmers on the ground by Neil (thanks for picking them up for me) and kept climbing. Finally made it to the top. One of my goals this years was to be faster on the downhills…..let’s Go!. I flew down after Richter’s. I think saw 70km/hr on my Garmin. Wow! But I still felt in control. The rollers were pretty uneventful and I was playing leap-frog with about 5 other girls at this point (all of which I ultimately dropped!). The ride into Cawston wasn’t as bad as I remembered and soon I was at the out and back. I was so excited as I was really anxious to see my teammates! And one by one I did. I saw Owen and John, then Tracy and Trevor before I hit the turnaround (I missed seeing Nate). They all seemed really strong – wow can they ride. Got to the turn around and special needs and fumbled a bit with my stuff, but ultimately got organized and on my way again. On the way back I saw almost everyone else – Jacque and Kelly, Jacqui, Lara, John, Lawrence, and Andrea. I missed Claire and Leana though – sorry guys. What great motivation to see everyone out on the bike course. Made it through the out and back and then it was onto climb yellow lake. Again, easy cheesy up the false flats. About 10K up I saw Andrew, Mitch and Paul….great to see you guys, thanks so much! Then it was the final grind. I put my bike in an easy gear and spun up to the top. I passed a couple of people who wanted to know where the top was. And of course, I knew exactly how much climbing I had left to do so I was happy to provide them with the information. Finally made it to the top. Now for the downhill – now to make up some time………except smack into a headwind! So not as fast as I would like but not too bad. I really had to restrain myself from pushing too hard; after all I still had a marathon to run. I took a gel at the bottom of the descent to make sure I had calories in me for the run. I also should mention that I was having tummy troubles on and off for the entire ride. Tried GasX, salt tabs, gels, infinit, but nothing was really working. I knew I needed to get in enough calories but I wasn’t sure how my tummy was doing. I was hoping the pain would go away on the run like it has in the past. I tried to keep it easy back into town. I passed the TTL tent and got tonnes of cheers then shortly after, I was off to T2 (with a gliding dismount).

T2

I was running in my socks calling my number and was handed my bag. Much less crowed in T2 than T1 and this time I had a volunteer help me. I changed my shorts and socks (actually tried to put on one of my run socks while I still had my bike sock on) put on my shoes and grabbed my arm coolers, ice scarf and gels. A quick sunscreen re-apply from my volunteer and I was off.

The run.

As soon as I started running, my stomach was really hurting. As Angie says…stop and solve the problem. However, I had no idea how to solve this problem. I saw Collette going out on the run course and she suggested that I breathe out slowly through pursed lips. Tried that and it worked a bit. Got to the aid station on Main St. and hit the porta potty to see if that would help – not so much. I kept on running. Finally hit Cherry Lane mall where Andrew and Angie were. Angie told me to smile and I tried to wave at Andrew but I was really worried. I wasn’t sure how I could run a marathon like this. I ran with Angie and told her what was happening. I was going to manage as best I could. I kept walking though the aid stations taking in water and perform. My stomach didn’t hurt when I was walking, so I just kept telling myself I just have to get to the next aid station. I had planned to run the marathon with walking though the aid stations, so I was still following my race plan. Took a gel at mile 5 in the run and that made things worse. Tried GasX. Tried Salt Tabs. My tummy was still hurting. My plan was that most of my calories would come from gels, but it was quite apparent that wasn’t going to work. I kept running. Trying to ignore my discomfort. By about 11Km in, I was contemplating trying to throw up. Tracy told me that in 2009 she felt better after she threw up – maybe that is what I needed. I was still trying to take in water and perform, but I was getting concerned that I wasn’t taking in enough calories. Surprisingly enough, I was still running at my goal pace for the first ½ of the marathon. I remembered watching a replay of the 2010 IMC race and Victor Zyemtsev talking about “patience and suffer” at the end of the race that he eventually won. That is what I kept saying to myself. I also reminded myself that “I can get tougher”. Come on Tara, this is an Ironman, you didn’t think it would be easy did you? Finally at 15Km I had to do something. It was at that point I tried coke. I hate coke. Never thought I would ever use it on a race. Turned out to be my saviour. It settled my stomach enough so I could concentrate on running rather than pain. Somewhere in all of this I saw John and Tracy heading back from the turnaround. I saw Trevor just before the turnaround and he told me that he and Tracy were having gut issues. I said “that makes 3 of us” (turned out to be many more of us with the same issues). Made it to OK falls and the only thing I took from my special needs was more GasX, salt tabs and my container of Advil and Tylenol (just in case). For the entire run I was watching only my HR and the split of the current mile I was running. During training camp I struggled with being a slave to the pace on my garmin and getting upset when it was not what I wanted. I decided that running based on RPE, HR and just keeping track of the time for the mile I was running was going to be much better mentally for me on the run. And that is what I did. I was feeling better and kept taking in water and coke at each aid station. Once the chicken soup was available, I started taking that too. I was watching to make sure my HR didn’t get too high up the hills and I managed to run the entire course, including the hills, except for my planned walk breaks at the aid stations. I was feeling pretty good during the last half and I started picking up my pace just a bit, but still keeping my HR in check. On the way back I saw all my teammates! Jacque and Kelly were looking strong; Jacqui and John were running together; Claire Lawrence, Lara, Andrea, and Leana were all on their way out to OK falls. Saw Shannon who seemed to be struggling. I asked her what she needed (since I had a bunch of stuff in with me) and gave her some GasX and Salt Tabs. Then I started running again back into town. I was still only monitoring my specific mile splits so I had no idea what my run time was. I did check my watch a couple of times to see what my overall time, was but I was really trying not focus on that. I was so relived when I saw the 20-mile mark. I commented to the guy I was passing , we can do 10K! I finally came back into town and saw Angie at Cherry Lane where I ditched my neckerchief. I joked with her before the race that my goal was for her to still be at Cherry Lane when I was coming back on the run. I know she stayed ‘til she saw me (sort of defeated my goal of getting there before she usually left but I really appreciated her waiting!). I think the first thing I said to her is “do you know what time it is”. She said yes and told me at was just under 12 hours, at 11 hours 50 something minutes (don’t remember the exact time), but I do remember thinking if I ran a decent 5K I might come in close to 12 ½ hours. I told Angie that I was going to find 1 minute and 53 seconds if it killed me! She told me I was running at a great pace and joked that she couldn’t keep up to me. 5K til I was done. Picked up the pace just a bit and noticed my HR climbing up to 140 (may sound low, but that is high for me). I figured I could keep that up for 5K. I was checking off the miles. I was heading back and I could hear Steven King announcing the finishers. I saw Andrew just before I hit Lakeshore and he ran with me for a bit. He said he’d see me at the finish line and then I turned the corner for the final out and back. It was still light out. I still had my sunglasses on. I was going to finish before dark. I had a bunch of people in front of me and I started picking them off, one by one. I saw John on his way to the finish while I was on my way to the turn around. Heard all the TTL supporters cheering! I selfishly didn’t want anyone else in my finishers photo so I made sure I passed people so that no one was right in front of me in the last 500m towards the blue carpet. This year I remember the blue carpet. I saw Andrew this time. I heard Steven King announce my name. I grabbed the finishers banner and raised it above my head. I WAS AN IRONMAN!

The Finish

A wonderful volunteer caught me and got my hat and T-shirt (thanks whoever you are insisting that a medium shirt would be far too big, the small fits perfectly). She took me to get my timing chip removed and asked if I wanted to get my picture taken. I of course said yes. She got me a bottle of water and a mylar blanket and we headed to the rest area. After that Cindy and Sarah took over. They were angels taking care of my every whim. I met up with John who was thrilled with his day. Cindy got me water, watermelon, grapes, chips and pretzels. I thought I wanted the watermelon until I tried it….my tummy was not so happy. I saw Andrew and then just wanted to get out of there. I was concerned that if I went to medical I would never get out of there, so I wanted to get going. Cindy delivered me to Andrew and we headed out. Hit the porta potty and then I told Andrew the porta potty was spinning. He wanted to take me back but I told him no, I wanted to get back to my hotel and get my own recovery drink. We slowly made it down to the Golden Sands and I saw Angie, Tracy, Mitch, Neil, Mr and Mrs. Keto, Michelle and the girls (and I am sure I am missing people). I asked Angie to check my marathon time, I had no idea what it was, and whether or not I negative split my run. She joked and asked me “can’t you just enjoy this moment”. Yes I could, but I would enjoy it more if I knew what my run time was . Tracy and I then headed to my room for a quick shower, change and my recovery drink and then headed back to the turnaround to cheer everyone else in. I saw most of my teammates come in. What a fantastic day for everyone!

It was an incredible day, but it was not without its challenges. I was happy with my swim, ecstatic about my bike, both the time and how I paced it, and proud of how I dealt with my challenges and executed the run. It turns out you can run ¾ of a marathon on nothing but chicken soup, coke and water – who knew? I exceeded what I thought I was capable of. I stuck to my race plan to the letter for the swim, bike and run and was incredibly pleased with my race execution. And for those of you wondering, I found my 1 minute and 53 seconds.

And now for all the thank you’s. Angie…..you are a wonderful coach and friend and I am so proud that you have let me be part of such a fantastic team. Over the past 3 years I have achieved things that I never imagined I could accomplish. Thanks for everything. To Leana and Kelly….well we did it – again! And again, I have no idea how I would have gotten through all the training and the emotional roller coasters without you. To Jacque – you started my interest in triathlons and I am thrilled that we were able to do this race together! To Trevor and Tracy for the long rides. You guys made definitely made me stronger. And again to Tracy for running at my pace for our long runs. You pushed me harder than I would have on my own and I was faster on race day for it! To Megan, Shannon, John P. for the rides and support all through this crazy journey. And of course to all the IMC TTLers for support on the course….Jacqui, Lawrence, John B., Claire, Lara. To Cindy and Sarah for helping me at the end. To Leslie-Anne for her support and friendship during this past year. And of course to all of TTL – thanks for being such and amazing team.

And last but certainly not least, to my family. You guys have been so supportive and understanding, letting me go on this crazy adventure yet again. I can’t express how grateful I truly am. And don’t worry Andrew, I have no desire to chase 24 minutes and 52 seconds!!!! Yet….