In 2003, as a relatively new runner and new triathlete, I set a goal of doing a full ironman in 2011, when I turn 50. The plan was to do 3 full marathons and 3 half-IMs in the years leading up to 2011. With Calgary 70.3, I’ve now completed all 6 of these pre-IM races. Because I only do a big race once every year or two, this ½ ironman represented a fairly important race for me, and I knew it was my last triathlon before the “big one”: IM CDA in June 2011.
I’m so glad I had you as a coach, Angie (and thanks Nola!). I enjoyed the novelty and variety of your workouts in the 2 months leading up to the race. You’ve been awesome!!
Richelle’s pre-race meeting and race briefing on Saturday was hugely helpful in getting me prepared and knowing what to expect. Thanks, Richelle, for answering all my many questions!! It was also cool to meet other Team TriLife athletes. I wish I had time to train with others, but due to time constraints (full-time job, plus writing books, plus 2 kids) I’ve had to do all my workouts on my own. It felt good to be part of a “team” this weekend.
Things did not go well for me before race start. Waking up to and boarding the bus in pouring rain was disconcerting. Also, I had worried about whether I should bring my own bike pump, but ended up not bringing one knowing Angie would bring hers. Not wanting to wait, though, I borrowed one from another athlete. That’s when things went badly wrong – rather than pump up my tires, I managed to deflate one tire and bend the valve stem of the other tire into a 90 degree angle! I don’t know what happened, but the other athlete (bless her!) tried to help me and was also unsuccessful with either tire. Luckily the bike mechanic was able to deal with it (even with the badly bent valve stem) but lining up for help with the bike cost me tons of time and left me scrambling to put my wetsuit on and use the porta-potty in time. It also left me feeling panicky and rushed… I didn’t get a chance to do a last-minute bike check or mental run-through of anything. If I had, I might have noticed that my Profile bottle Velcro strap had come unthreaded (and fixing that cost me valuable time in T1). Thanks so much, Angie, for being there to help me with some of the last-minute stuff!
After that, the swim went remarkably well. I calmed down and relaxed more than I have in other races. In future, I’ll try to get over my fear of the mass start and start further up front. Starting toward the back forces me to pass people and makes it hard to find “fast feet” to follow. Even so, my swim time was fine.
T1 was incredibly slow – almost 7 minutes!! Fixing the Profile bottle was one thing that cost time, and somehow everything took far too long.
The bike ride felt comfortably hard, but not very hard. I followed the nutrition plan of one bottle of Infinit per hour and it felt like I was absorbing it. It was really neat to see Angie and others in familiar Team TriLife colors at T1 – wish I knew more of you!! Thanks for volunteering at the race and for cheering on a fellow TriLife athlete!!
The race plan was to “hold back” during the ride and keep my HR under 145 for the first 1/3 and then under 150 and under 155 for the subsequent two 1/3s. What amazed me during the ride and even now, was that I found myself riding a PR pace (31 km/hour) at a much lower HR than expected. (Avg HR of 132 and Max of 148)!! That avg HR was just 1 beat above my bike zone 2!! And this in spite of the fact that, to my consternation, my front derailleur wasn’t working! I’d checked my gears Friday after bringing it home from Speed Theory after a full tune-up, and again Saturday before dropping the bike off at Ghost Lake. It was fine then, but during the race, it refused to shift down from the higher sprocket until about ½ way to 2/3 of the way up the long hills. For the short hills I was totally out of luck… At first I worried about how that would affect me (and my quads), but it seemed to be ok. Over all, I’m extremely happy with my ride!! I think I can credit Angie’s training plan over the last 2 months, and before that, all those dark cold winter commutes with my studded tires up and down Edworthy Park hill and Home Road.
The run was another story. Stomach problems!!. Lots of pain and four (yes 4!) bathroom breaks!! I’m frustrated!!! Using Infinit and holding back on the bike was meant to deal with this… Now I’m not sure what to do…My goal was a sub-2-hour run. With 2:01:13, I was short of that goal, but it’s still a best run in a 70.3 so I can’t complain, I guess…It’s just frustrating because I know I could run better if I could only conquer the gut issues. Angie’s training plan had made sure I was more than ready for those hills!
Overall, I’m happy with this race, though. It was just 16 seconds short of a PR. (But as you reminded me, Angie, the bike is 4 km long, so really it was a PR of sorts…) I’m actually incredibly consistent – all 3 of my full marathons and all 3 of my 70.3s now have been within 5 minutes of each other in overall time.
It was really cool to have a coach at a race – a first for me - and to be part of a team! And, most importantly, I feel one step closer to my ultimate goal of a full IM.
Lessons learned:
· I will _always_ bring my own pump to a race after this.
· I will try to start a bit further up front in the swim.
· I can use Aid Stations on the bike and the run! (I’d always carried all my own fuel and water before. not feeling confident in my ability to grab a bottle while riding or to drink from a cup while running.)
· It’s ok to walk at aid stations during the run.
· Even if things go wrong before race start and I don’t have time to regroup or mentally prepare, I can still turn the day around and have a good race anyway.
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