Jacqui’s Ironman Canada Race Report- 2012
As I sit here, 4 days after Ironman, my legs are feeling great, and the day is moving behind me quickly. (which is why some of us get that Post Iron depression!)
Ironman Canada came as a quick decision for me. I had not intended to do another IM after IMCDA in 2009. But with a move in June of 2011, August came around, and I thought- “well, I have nothing else to do- I have no commitments, a clean slate in a new country”. So I did it, I signed up, with Allen of course, (who sadly had to drop out of the race 7 weeks before race day due to a knee injury), as well as friends from Houston- Shannon and Jay (Jay, sadly would have to pull out of the race too)
I look over this past year, I see how in many ways God provided me with everything I needed to prepare for this day. We moved into Monterra, and the first person I saw, was Carla McPike- who quickly told me I needed to get with Team Tri Life. I don’t think that’s just a coinsadence - I have faith, and believe that when God works in your life, and puts you in new areas, He also provides.
Overall, it was an amazing training year. I battled 5 months of SI joint sprain/strain, but managed to get through it with the help of my awesome friend and massage therapist Mandie McLeary. I don’t know how many hours I spent with her either running, or on her table- but she was key in my recovery and made me stronger that I have ever been. Huge goals were accomplished this training year- breaking a 2 hour 1/2 marathon, and also breaking a 6 hour 1/2 ironman in July by 11 minutes- these goals were HUGE, and I couldn’t believe after many years of trying and failing, I move to Cochrane, train in the hardest conditions I’ve ever seen, and I’ve met those goals- all with the support, help and guidance of Coach Angie Anderson!!!
This brings me to Race day- Canada Ironman. I can’t believe I’m here, in my birth country (yes, I’m actually Canadian, but I do talk funny!!) After a great 4 days with Team Tri Life of pre-race activities and workouts, I am ready to take on this day.
Race morning came with minimal sleep, which I expected, and embraced. I got to the transition with Allen, Ty and Mandie (she had driven up on Saturday, to give me my pre-race massage and cheer me on in my long day- I’m so humbled and touched she did that). Allen had picked up his packet, so he had his IM bracelet on that let him get into all the racers areas- HUGE help and support to me. I was surprised that I was a bit more calm than I was at CDA. No tears yet, or freak outs, just going through the day in my mind. I met my Houston friend Shannon at her bike, and we found TTL and got our wetsuits on. Allen said goodbye, and Shannon and I found our way to the beach. I just happened to hear “MOM” and turned and saw Ty and Mandie behind the spectators fence. I quickly ran over and could only reach their hands, and say goodbye. Ty had gotten up at 4am with me- which meant so much to me- (he is 16- do you know how sacred sleep is to a 16 yr. old?) He also, on Saturday night, gave me something. He had found a really pretty shell on the beach, and it happened to have a hole in the middle- he bought some PINK string (yes- I LOVE my pink) and made it into a necklace- I wore it on the bike and run- so special!!
Ok, so Canadian anthem rings in the air- I LOVE the Canadian anthem. It’s my birth home anthem, it’s always been a part of me, and I love hearing it!
Here we go- gun goes off, I tell Shannon she is going to do great (her first IM) and we head out to swim. I LOVE the swim! I’ve always loved to swim. It’s my happy place, even with almost 3,000 other people. This swim wasn’t as violent as IMCDA. I was in a groove from the get go, and was really enjoying it. The course was 1 loop, and going out, other than a few bumps, it was pretty uneventful. Got to the turn around, smelt the nasty fuel smell from all the boats, and turned for home. Even better return- no one was around me, and I just swam. At one point, I think I fell asleep in my mind- I woke up and had to remind myself I was swimming at Ironman. Got out of the water at 1:18. Awesome I thought, I was happy, and feeling great. I wish I could have swam another loop instead of heading out on the bike.
T1- I think I was in transition for about 7 minutes. Got my gear, grabbed my bike, and headed out for what I knew would be the hardest course I’ve ever ridden.
At the mount line, there was the loudspeaker playing music. Ok, so if you know me, you know how cool I thought this was. A BON JOVI song was playing!! I can’t remember what song it was now (it was a long day- I’m sure I lost brain cells). It got me pumped up, and off I went. I was smiling, happy and ready to take on the long day on the bike. Saw some TTL supporters, (but not Allen, Ty and Mandie). Bike course was actually really good. There were a few moments of mental lows, but I got through them, and my main thoughts were “soft pedal and lose Richter's”. These were Coach Angie’s tips for the bike course. The first 40 miles are faster, and you can push too hard at the beginning. So here I was, letting people fly by me, and thinking to myself “see ya later- I’ll catch ya when you are too tired.” Thankfully, we rode the course at camp in July, and I knew after mile 40, you make a turn, and you are now on Richter’s Pass. An 11k (7 mile) ALL uphill climb! The flat Houston girl in me is thinking “who thought is would be fun to put a 40 minute climb in this race”. But I was prepared, and just pedaled up the hill, enjoying the cheers from the crowds that drove out to yell you up the climb. Rest of the bike was great. No issues, stuck to nutrition, and heart rate stayed where it need to stay. Got to Yellow Lake climb, and again, knowing the course- knew that this was it- “get up yellow and you’re golden, home free, you got the hardest part done” (Yellow Lake climb is at around 90 miles into race). After that climb, comes the decent. I HATE this decent. It’s a steep, windy, and usually cross winds decent. Angie made us ride this decent Thursday before the race. I didn’t want to do it, because it scared me to death at camp in July. But, I did it on Thursday to try to break through my fears, and I hated it on Thursday, but did it. So, here we are on race day- here comes the decent. I can do this, I thought, just relax and go. I’m sure everyone else hated this- but there was a headwind. I LOVED this! Ha. It made me feel more steady, and my speeds were faster than the other 2 times I descended. And then, the tears came- I was crying- but they were happy tears. I had a breakthrough on this descent. “I can do this- I’m not scared”. It was awesome!! On the homestretch now, and I got to see Ty, Allen, Lane, Mandie and her fiance David. I waved, smiled, and was so happy the bike was almost done. I finished it in 7:04 I think.
T2- came in, took my time getting my compression socks on (prayed I didn’t cramp getting them on!) And headed out of T2, here comes the run- the “cool down” as us crazy people like to call the marathon in the IM.
Felt pretty good coming out on the run, was happy, ready to tackle this last part of the race. Saw some fellow TTL racers, and was so happy to cheer them on, and be cheered on. I saw Angie around 6k on the course, and told her about my breakthrough on the bike, and was so happy. I then saw Allen, Ty and Lane, Mandie and David. I was doing ok, and going a pretty good pace. Left them, and caught up to John Bosma around 8 or 9k. We said hi, and I started running again, when around 10k, something happened that I wasn’t expecting. Stomach cramps (side stitches on both sides) and my mental state took a huge dive. So here I was walking. Thankfully, John caught up with me, and we walked together for a bit, then started running together. (remember how I said God provides for your needs- John was my running hero!!) We ended up staying together, even though I told him to go on, I didn’t want to ruin his race, but he informed me that I was helping him too (he helped me way more that I could ever have helped him). We run/walked for a while, which helped, and said hi to all the TTL runners who were all looking better than I felt, but mentally I was still ruined. I don’t know why. Got to a mile before the turn around, and surprisingly, there were my boys and Allen sitting on a concrete wall. John said he would walk ahead while I stopped for a minute to say hi. I needed them at this point, and it was then that I bent over the concrete wall and sobbed. “I don’t want to do this anymore” were my words, and “death would be better than this” was my fav. phrase on the run. I just mentally couldn’t break through and it was killing me. I wanted everyone else to join my pity party, but the best thing that John said to me after I calmed down and started moving again was “Suck it up”!! It shocked me at first, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. John- for that I’m grateful!!. So here we go, got to the timing mats at the turn around, and our feet are pointed in the right direction- toward the finish!! (yes, it would still be 3 hrs away, but at least were weren’t running away from it anymore). Off we walked/ran, and actually got some good stretches of running in. John and I had fun playing leap frog with a few people, and we made a fun game of it with them, which passed some time.
We counted down the miles/km’s we had to go, and enjoyed hearing spectators encouraging words. (but if I heard one more “you’re almost there” at mile 20- i was gonna choke someone). The best sentence we heard was “Way to battle it out there”- yes, that’s what the run is, a battle. A battle of wills. A battle of your mind and your body wanting to quit, but your heart and your desire want to finish more than you want to quit. So you battle! You plod, you walk, you run, and you get through it. 1 mile left, and out pop Ty and Lane to run a bit with us. I loved it- it was such a huge high for me. I love that they are proud, and excited to see their mom do something crazy like this. I also came up to Allen, Mandie and David, and knew I was almost done- almost, until you take a left turn, when, if you take a right- the finish line is RIGHT THERE!! WHAT?? Who thought of this?? You have to run a 1/4 mile AWAY from the finish line, on the same dang street! Oh this is cruel! But once you got to the end cone, you turn around, you turn and know what’s ahead. Angie and TTL were at that turn around, and it was such an amazing site. High fives, and cheers from them get you through that. Angie started running with us, and the athlete in me started to tell her how horrible the run was- but the coach in her said “are you going to finish this IM?” I said, “Yes”, she then said “who cares what happened, go finish this”!! Oh I loved those words. John and I ran in together and this time, I took the time at the awesome blue carpet that funnels you into the finish line, to high five any strangers hand that was sticking out. I was thrilled, I was happy, I was touching that awesome shell necklace that Ty made, I was done! I am an Ironman again. I did it. I battled against my mind, and my body that were screaming at me to quit, but I WON, I didn’t quit. And with John’s help, I didn’t walk the whole last half of the marathon.
The finish was amazing, that they have “catchers” to help you once you cross. And I saw Cindy, and Danny from TTL. They caught John and I, and we got our pictures taken with them. It was so cool, to finish and have people you know caring for your physical needs and making sure you don’t collapse. Another surprise was seeing Allen there in the finishers area too. Because he had his IM athlete wrist band on, he was able to get back there. So he was with me right when I finished.
14:45 was my finish time. I know I shouldn’t care, but it was 17 minutes slower than my first IM. After 3 days of feeling a little down about that, I have come to realize many things. (1)it wasn’t the same course, so I can’t compare. (2) No one cares but me about my finish time- I FINISHED an Ironman..again! I haven’t heard anyone say “oh that’s a bad IM time” to me or anyone else- we all do 140.6 miles that day, and we all are winners no matter how long or fast it takes. (3) I am stronger now having battled things on that course that I didn’t plan on battling (4) IM is a day that gives and takes away, it’s all about the journey.
I am so grateful to have done IM Canada, and to be apart of an amazing Triathlon Team in Team Tri Life. I have made new friends, and have enjoyed training with so many of you guys, you have no idea how much it means to me. I had nothing, no one when I moved here 13 months ago. I was longing for tri buddies again, and you guys welcomed Allen and I into your group and let us become part of an amazing group of people- for that I am so grateful. John Bosma- you are my forever IMC running hero and buddy!
To my awesome family and friends, who supported me long distance- who tracked me all day, and posted on FB, I am so thankful for your love and support.
To Mandie- you have a huge part in my IM journey of getting my body ready for this huge task. I love you so much and cherish our friendship.
To Angie- words cannot express my gratitude to you. You have gotten this girl to do amazing things that I NEVER thought I would do. You believed in me, encouraged me, and your approach to coaching is life changing!! I love you bunches!!
And to Allen, and my boys! Boys- I pray that this inspires you to do anything your heart desires. It takes work and dedication, but whatever you choose to do, do it with all your heart. And Allen- I know how hard it was for you to go from competitor, to supporter. You should have been on the course with me, but things didn’t go the way we planned. You are my number one fan, and for that, I am forever grateful. I will happily sit out and support you in your next IM goal, wherever it is. I am so lucky to be your wife.
Ok- I’m done now. Sorry for the book. But for a year long journey, what do you expect :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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….
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….
Monday, August 20, 2012
Danny's Lake Chestemere Race Report, July 2012
Race Chestermere Triathlon, Sprint distance Race Date July 15, 2012
Name Danny Woo Race Time 08:50 AM
Location Chestermere Report Date July 16, 2012
Distances
Swim:750 m, Bike: 23.2 km, Run: 5 km (measured 4.6 km)
Goals
Swim: Finish well and not panic
Bike: Bike strong
Run: Faster than Vulcan
Overall: Finish my first open water swim race
Result
Swim: Very comfortable, decent pace
Bike: Felt good, pretty steady pace
Run: Ran ok, about the same as Vulcan, but had stomach cramps
Overall: My first open water swim race! Was happy with the race and glad the swim went very well. Did not win a door prize.
Finish Time
Swim: 16:20, Bike: 50:44, Includes transitions, Run: 27:43, Overall: 1:34:46
Transition Time (my watch)
Swim-Bike: 3:56, Bike-Run: 1:11, Total: 5:52
Elevation
Bike: Gain 65 m, Run: Gain 45 m, Overall: flat course
Placing
Swim: 72nd overall
Bike: 44th overall
Run: 80th overall
Total: 61st /117 overall, 15/23 in age group
Race Preparation
Followed training program.
Normal diet. Was a hot week so had trouble sleeping earlier in the week.
I got my bike checked out at Bow Cycle. Luckily I took it in a bit earlier as some adjustments had to be done. Earlier in the week I put the chain into the wheel, causing the wheel to go out of true and the derailleur to get really out of whack. I’m not sure if this was because of me changing the cassette last week, or if it was just getting old. Regardless, Bow was able to adjust the gears and true the wheel that night. One less worry.
Race Day
Weather was Overcast & cloudy, around 20 °C. Moderate wind. Threat of rain but it stayed dry.
Race – Sprint Start @ 8:50, after the Olympic start at 8:20.
Pre-race
I got up at 5:30 was out the door by 6. I packed everything the night before. I was pretty excited for the race, and wasn’t able to get to sleep really early. Took a while before I could fall asleep.
Went to Denny’s for breakfast (maybe not the best choice) before getting to Chestermere at 7:00. I grabbed all of my gear and bike and found a spot in the transition zone. I really should get a gear bag. One of the reusable shopping bags I use as a gear bag developed a hole and I was dropping things along the way: CO2 cartridges, tubes, and who knows what else.
I tried to pick one close to the bike exit/entrance so I wouldn’t have to run as far with the bike. It was pretty full already at that time. Then I went to the very long and slow line-up for timing chips. I don’t know why they didn’t give this out with the race package. This took about 30 mins and then the pre-race meeting so I didn’t really have time to have a decent warm-up. I ran for about 5 mins, and got into the water for another 5 mins. The pre-race meeting was good because that’s where they told us the swim was clockwise, not counter clockwise as the map and website indicated.
I moved my bike in the transition zone after getting my chip as a few other people crowded up my spot. I set it-up in the same way that Angie showed my in Vulcan. I did notice a lot of people used plastic containers. I thought that might come in handy on rainy days, and for wet ground. The transition area here was on a patch of grass and was quite wet from the overnight rain.
I found John B. and Melanie B., who were also racing. They were in good spirits too.
Swim
Mass start, one lap around the buoys. Splits (from my watch) First half – 5:56, Second half – 7:02
476 strokes measured w/ “the watch”. I really like my Garmin 910xt.
Side note and apologies for the ad: best review of this watch: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/10/garmin-forerunner-910xt-in-depth-review.html
The start was pretty straight forward: mass start from the boat launch ramps. I found the spot near the back where I could stay out of the way of the faster people. It was a bit odd to do the mass start and go across the way of the Olympic swimmers. Some of them had to stop to let us go through. That was likely very annoying for them.
My swim goal for this race was to just complete the race in a comfortable pace without getting into any problems.
The graph below shows my speed and route I took. No overly straight on the first half, better on the return.
From the start, I found a “pocket” of space where there weren’t any other swimmers. I was fortunate enough to keep the open pocket for pretty much the whole race. I bumped into people, on maybe five occasions the whole race. I had to slow down a bit or adjust my position so nothing serious. Only once did someone swim right into my right side, but he adjusted quickly. I didn’t have any issues sighting: I was able to see the buoys well, and I could use the other swimmers as well. On the return leg, I thought I was a bit too far left of the “line”, by maybe 20m. But it was a bit hard to tell as there really wasn’t anyone around me until close to the finish.
The swim itself was fine. I thought I had a consistent pace, but it looks like I was about a minute slower. I think there’s a moderate current in the lake or I was just slower. I thought I kept a consistent pace. The water was murky, but had decent visibility around me, say about 5m, with the light shining through. The weeds were close to the surface at the start but cleared up until the return leg. The weeds on the return leg were just below the surface in spots. I got tangled up a few times with the weeds. Nothing too serious, but annoying.
The last 150m or so is where more swimmers bunched up. There was a bit more bumping and I noticed a lot more people doing breast stroke so I would run into them a bit more.
Transition 1
Watch time – 3:56, included with the bike split
I got out with help from the volunteers. Good thing too as my first few steps were a bit wobbly and the boat ramp was slippery. I ran through the timing right after that and took off the top half of the wetsuit myself and then got the wetsuit stripper volunteer the help me with the rest. I thought this went fairly quickly. The run to the transition was short, but I was slow. I thought it went well, but putting on the HR transmitter was slow, especially since I forgot to put it out. I should just wear it while swimming next time. This took about four minutes.
After running to the bike mount spot, I tried to do a quick stop to mount my bike but ended up slipping and almost falling on my bike. I saved it, but that killed a bit of time and would have been very bad.
Bike
Two laps around the community.
As measured on my watch: First lap 23:14, Second lap 22:27, total 45:54. Official time 50:44 w/ both transitions.
Avg speed 30.4 km/h, Avg/Max HR 165/172, Avg/Max Cad 93/115.
My goal here was to maintain steady, fast pace. The course was quite flat and my only concern was riding on the highway as it wasn’t a closed road for the race and road debris. Luckily, traffic was fairly light as it was Sunday morning, and there was very little road debris (a bit of glass on the road). They had lots of volunteers to help direct people and traffic.
There was a bit of head wind going west, and then north, but got a tail wind coming back so that was nice. I think I was around 27 km/h going into the wind, and 33 km/h coming back with the wind. During the bike ride, I really felt bloated. I wasn’t sure if it was my breakfast, or I sucked in a lot of water and air during the swim. Either way, I didn’t drink as much as I should have. I had a decent ride, probably could have gone a little bit faster. I was with one rider had a very similar speed for most of the race and we would alternate leads (no drafting of course). This was my first no-drafting event but that wasn’t an issue as people were either much faster or much slower than me, other than the one fellow.
Attached is the graph and info from my watch. Speed varied quite a bit, but cadence was relatively steady.
Transition 2
Watch measured time of 1:11, but it was longer than that as I didn’t stop the watch until I put the bike on the rack. Included with bike split.
Coming back into transition, I thought I had a decent change. But time wise it was slow as I had to tie-up my laces. Really should look into quick laces.
Run
Two lap course, True distance of 4.6 km, not 5 km as advertised.
First lap 13:56, Second lap 13:46, total 27:43.
My watch “intervals”, for 1.6 km (1 mi) were 9:52 (6:08 pace), 9:37 (5:59 pace), last pace 6:04, average speed 9.96 km/h, 6:02 min/km
Avg/Max HR 163/170
My goal here was to be a bit faster than Vulcan, but with a better pace. I thought I was uneven with pace there.
The course was flat with one small hill. I tried to keep an even pace mixed in with some fast pace every five minutes or so (“strides”). Unfortunately, I felt my bloated stomach a bit more here and had stomach cramps about halfway through my first lap, for about a minute. I kept running, but it felt slow. My cramp mostly went away on the downhill portion of the run, but was there for the rest of the race. I did get in some water along the way. I did pick up my pace on the second lap, though I did feel crappy going back up the hill. I almost ran past the turn for the finish, even though the finish line was quite visible from a long ways back.
Post Race
MY FIRST OPEN WATER TRIATHLON!! Very happy to finish. Everything went pretty smoothly, other than the stomach cramp.
I felt pretty good after the race, and no muscle or joint pains. I felt a bit bloated still.
It was great to finish and to finish fairly well. Considering I really only started to learn how to swim in June 2011, this felt really good.
Thanks to Angie for really teaching me to swim and to get the fitness, training and confidence to finish well.
Two days later, no abnormal aches or pains, from the race. Some muscle fatigue, but nothing more. The soccer game after the race was another matter.
Learnings:
1. On short races, fast transitions are really necessary. It’s hard to make-up time lost there, and should be a good place to save time.
2. Probably should not go to Dennys for breakfast before a race. At least not 2hrs before.
3. Have something to keep the gear dry in the transition area on rainy days.
Prizes
Sadly, no door prizes. Really thought I would have a good shot at something as most people left by the time they started giving out the prizes. It was odd as they just wrote people’s numbers down on a piece of paper.
Everyone got a medal, and it was nice.
Name Danny Woo Race Time 08:50 AM
Location Chestermere Report Date July 16, 2012
Distances
Swim:750 m, Bike: 23.2 km, Run: 5 km (measured 4.6 km)
Goals
Swim: Finish well and not panic
Bike: Bike strong
Run: Faster than Vulcan
Overall: Finish my first open water swim race
Result
Swim: Very comfortable, decent pace
Bike: Felt good, pretty steady pace
Run: Ran ok, about the same as Vulcan, but had stomach cramps
Overall: My first open water swim race! Was happy with the race and glad the swim went very well. Did not win a door prize.
Finish Time
Swim: 16:20, Bike: 50:44, Includes transitions, Run: 27:43, Overall: 1:34:46
Transition Time (my watch)
Swim-Bike: 3:56, Bike-Run: 1:11, Total: 5:52
Elevation
Bike: Gain 65 m, Run: Gain 45 m, Overall: flat course
Placing
Swim: 72nd overall
Bike: 44th overall
Run: 80th overall
Total: 61st /117 overall, 15/23 in age group
Race Preparation
Followed training program.
Normal diet. Was a hot week so had trouble sleeping earlier in the week.
I got my bike checked out at Bow Cycle. Luckily I took it in a bit earlier as some adjustments had to be done. Earlier in the week I put the chain into the wheel, causing the wheel to go out of true and the derailleur to get really out of whack. I’m not sure if this was because of me changing the cassette last week, or if it was just getting old. Regardless, Bow was able to adjust the gears and true the wheel that night. One less worry.
Race Day
Weather was Overcast & cloudy, around 20 °C. Moderate wind. Threat of rain but it stayed dry.
Race – Sprint Start @ 8:50, after the Olympic start at 8:20.
Pre-race
I got up at 5:30 was out the door by 6. I packed everything the night before. I was pretty excited for the race, and wasn’t able to get to sleep really early. Took a while before I could fall asleep.
Went to Denny’s for breakfast (maybe not the best choice) before getting to Chestermere at 7:00. I grabbed all of my gear and bike and found a spot in the transition zone. I really should get a gear bag. One of the reusable shopping bags I use as a gear bag developed a hole and I was dropping things along the way: CO2 cartridges, tubes, and who knows what else.
I tried to pick one close to the bike exit/entrance so I wouldn’t have to run as far with the bike. It was pretty full already at that time. Then I went to the very long and slow line-up for timing chips. I don’t know why they didn’t give this out with the race package. This took about 30 mins and then the pre-race meeting so I didn’t really have time to have a decent warm-up. I ran for about 5 mins, and got into the water for another 5 mins. The pre-race meeting was good because that’s where they told us the swim was clockwise, not counter clockwise as the map and website indicated.
I moved my bike in the transition zone after getting my chip as a few other people crowded up my spot. I set it-up in the same way that Angie showed my in Vulcan. I did notice a lot of people used plastic containers. I thought that might come in handy on rainy days, and for wet ground. The transition area here was on a patch of grass and was quite wet from the overnight rain.
I found John B. and Melanie B., who were also racing. They were in good spirits too.
Swim
Mass start, one lap around the buoys. Splits (from my watch) First half – 5:56, Second half – 7:02
476 strokes measured w/ “the watch”. I really like my Garmin 910xt.
Side note and apologies for the ad: best review of this watch: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/10/garmin-forerunner-910xt-in-depth-review.html
The start was pretty straight forward: mass start from the boat launch ramps. I found the spot near the back where I could stay out of the way of the faster people. It was a bit odd to do the mass start and go across the way of the Olympic swimmers. Some of them had to stop to let us go through. That was likely very annoying for them.
My swim goal for this race was to just complete the race in a comfortable pace without getting into any problems.
The graph below shows my speed and route I took. No overly straight on the first half, better on the return.
From the start, I found a “pocket” of space where there weren’t any other swimmers. I was fortunate enough to keep the open pocket for pretty much the whole race. I bumped into people, on maybe five occasions the whole race. I had to slow down a bit or adjust my position so nothing serious. Only once did someone swim right into my right side, but he adjusted quickly. I didn’t have any issues sighting: I was able to see the buoys well, and I could use the other swimmers as well. On the return leg, I thought I was a bit too far left of the “line”, by maybe 20m. But it was a bit hard to tell as there really wasn’t anyone around me until close to the finish.
The swim itself was fine. I thought I had a consistent pace, but it looks like I was about a minute slower. I think there’s a moderate current in the lake or I was just slower. I thought I kept a consistent pace. The water was murky, but had decent visibility around me, say about 5m, with the light shining through. The weeds were close to the surface at the start but cleared up until the return leg. The weeds on the return leg were just below the surface in spots. I got tangled up a few times with the weeds. Nothing too serious, but annoying.
The last 150m or so is where more swimmers bunched up. There was a bit more bumping and I noticed a lot more people doing breast stroke so I would run into them a bit more.
Transition 1
Watch time – 3:56, included with the bike split
I got out with help from the volunteers. Good thing too as my first few steps were a bit wobbly and the boat ramp was slippery. I ran through the timing right after that and took off the top half of the wetsuit myself and then got the wetsuit stripper volunteer the help me with the rest. I thought this went fairly quickly. The run to the transition was short, but I was slow. I thought it went well, but putting on the HR transmitter was slow, especially since I forgot to put it out. I should just wear it while swimming next time. This took about four minutes.
After running to the bike mount spot, I tried to do a quick stop to mount my bike but ended up slipping and almost falling on my bike. I saved it, but that killed a bit of time and would have been very bad.
Bike
Two laps around the community.
As measured on my watch: First lap 23:14, Second lap 22:27, total 45:54. Official time 50:44 w/ both transitions.
Avg speed 30.4 km/h, Avg/Max HR 165/172, Avg/Max Cad 93/115.
My goal here was to maintain steady, fast pace. The course was quite flat and my only concern was riding on the highway as it wasn’t a closed road for the race and road debris. Luckily, traffic was fairly light as it was Sunday morning, and there was very little road debris (a bit of glass on the road). They had lots of volunteers to help direct people and traffic.
There was a bit of head wind going west, and then north, but got a tail wind coming back so that was nice. I think I was around 27 km/h going into the wind, and 33 km/h coming back with the wind. During the bike ride, I really felt bloated. I wasn’t sure if it was my breakfast, or I sucked in a lot of water and air during the swim. Either way, I didn’t drink as much as I should have. I had a decent ride, probably could have gone a little bit faster. I was with one rider had a very similar speed for most of the race and we would alternate leads (no drafting of course). This was my first no-drafting event but that wasn’t an issue as people were either much faster or much slower than me, other than the one fellow.
Attached is the graph and info from my watch. Speed varied quite a bit, but cadence was relatively steady.
Transition 2
Watch measured time of 1:11, but it was longer than that as I didn’t stop the watch until I put the bike on the rack. Included with bike split.
Coming back into transition, I thought I had a decent change. But time wise it was slow as I had to tie-up my laces. Really should look into quick laces.
Run
Two lap course, True distance of 4.6 km, not 5 km as advertised.
First lap 13:56, Second lap 13:46, total 27:43.
My watch “intervals”, for 1.6 km (1 mi) were 9:52 (6:08 pace), 9:37 (5:59 pace), last pace 6:04, average speed 9.96 km/h, 6:02 min/km
Avg/Max HR 163/170
My goal here was to be a bit faster than Vulcan, but with a better pace. I thought I was uneven with pace there.
The course was flat with one small hill. I tried to keep an even pace mixed in with some fast pace every five minutes or so (“strides”). Unfortunately, I felt my bloated stomach a bit more here and had stomach cramps about halfway through my first lap, for about a minute. I kept running, but it felt slow. My cramp mostly went away on the downhill portion of the run, but was there for the rest of the race. I did get in some water along the way. I did pick up my pace on the second lap, though I did feel crappy going back up the hill. I almost ran past the turn for the finish, even though the finish line was quite visible from a long ways back.
Post Race
MY FIRST OPEN WATER TRIATHLON!! Very happy to finish. Everything went pretty smoothly, other than the stomach cramp.
I felt pretty good after the race, and no muscle or joint pains. I felt a bit bloated still.
It was great to finish and to finish fairly well. Considering I really only started to learn how to swim in June 2011, this felt really good.
Thanks to Angie for really teaching me to swim and to get the fitness, training and confidence to finish well.
Two days later, no abnormal aches or pains, from the race. Some muscle fatigue, but nothing more. The soccer game after the race was another matter.
Learnings:
1. On short races, fast transitions are really necessary. It’s hard to make-up time lost there, and should be a good place to save time.
2. Probably should not go to Dennys for breakfast before a race. At least not 2hrs before.
3. Have something to keep the gear dry in the transition area on rainy days.
Prizes
Sadly, no door prizes. Really thought I would have a good shot at something as most people left by the time they started giving out the prizes. It was odd as they just wrote people’s numbers down on a piece of paper.
Everyone got a medal, and it was nice.
Leslie-Anne's Calgary 70.3 Race Report, July 29, 12
My Best Race Ever
By
Leslie-Anne McKenzie
Once upon a time, there was a triathlete whose dreams and aspirations were to be able to say, “that was my best race ever!”
She trained hard and did everything (well almost) her coach told her to do. She ran, swam and biked hard each week. She even entered in stand-alone runs that even though she really disliked, she did because it was all towards the goal of being able to say one day, “That was my best race ever”
The 5th triathlon for the summer of 2012 was a half ironman, the 2nd one for the summer and within 4 weeks of the 1st one!
The triathlete thought this may be a bit too much to take on but since she had successfully completed IMC the summer previously she figured she’d be able to handle the training.
All the other races this triathlete had done were stepping-stones towards the Calgary 70.3, a qualifier for the World 70.3 championship in Las Vegas.
A sprint in Vulcan that shook out some race cobwebs as well as the thrill of “racing” her new bike!
A very cold Wasa, Olympic Distance taught the triathlete that cold water doesn’t really affect her. Running on what felt like “stumps” for feet was a new experience but encouraged her to press on in the race.
Great White North Half Ironman was the 1st time the triathlete had to bike in the rain.
Another sprint race one week out from GWN reminded the triathlete that it was a very good decision to do the sprint and not the Olympic, her legs would not have been able to “go the distance”. As a surprise at the Regina Beach Sprint, the triathlete was 3rd woman overall! Behind a 16yr old elite athlete and young whippersnapper 28yr old, both these ages do not even add up to 51! HA!
The triathlete really started to focus on the training for the Calgary 70.3, as after all, it was a qualifier for the World 70.3 championship! A dream for the triathlete, is to go to a race saying, “from Canada…”
Lots of training, including a wonderful, amazing weekend helping out at the IMC training camp which meant riding some of the course. The triathlete loved the experience and came away from the camp very ready to take on Calgary 70.3. The triathlete especially enjoyed the swimming sans the wetsuit!
The week leading up to the race the triathlete ensured she got lots of rest, hydrated and ate good food (minding the gluten intake). This was to try and eliminate the on going gut issues that have plagued the triathlete for some time.
During the week leading up to the race a transformation began. The triathlete had checked on some of the athletes who were in her age group. What the heck!? This had never been done before! She checked out a couple of the Americans and decided they may not pose a threat to the goal of getting to Vegas. A few more names to check picked one and the triathlete knew it, she would be given a good run for “her money” from this particular athlete. The athlete had placed 2nd in the same age group at Wasa. Although the triathlete was out of the water and off the bike ahead of her it was the run that determined everything. It’s always the run… (run, not rum…)
The transformation that began was the focus and purpose of the race. The athlete thought that if the soul purpose of the race was to “make Vegas” then what would she do if she didn’t make the cut? How would she be able to see the race as a learning experience or a challenge or simply a good old-fashioned half ironman?
Thinking long and hard about this choice, the goal then became, to do her best, have fun and enjoy the course. The goal became to have her “best race ever”.
The pre-race day meant heading down to infamous Ghost Lake, where the water was “colder than it has been” according to a local. After a relaxed entry, the water was cold but manageable. The triathlete felt strong in the water and knew that she would not have an issue with the swim on race day.
The bike (lovingly cared for by the most awesome staff at Bow Cycle) was cleaned, tuned and ready to go. A quick run through the gears before setting up in transition and handing off the bike to run bag all was good to go.
Before heading back to the city, the triathlete really began to believe that Calgary 70.3 was not a qualifier race for her but rather the race to really see what could happen if she allowed herself to have a race of all races. In other words put it all out onto the course to have her “best race ever”.
This is what she told herself and began to tell others so they would be able to see and hear her vision of the race.
The triathlete arrived home and treated herself to watching the Olympics, “putt zing” around the house, prepped race fuel and even had a small nap! What a treat that was!
A dinner invite to a friends house who had volunteered to be “Sherpa” for race day and off the triathlete went, token Pilsner beer in hand as it was after all “Game Day”. Her team decided to choke in the 4th quarter but that would not deter the triathlete, rather fuel her to show the Riders what it meant to finish something.
The triathlete told her coach (also at the dinner) that the Calgary 70.3 was going to be her “best race EVER”. If Vegas was meant to be it would be, but the race would be her best race EVER.
Race day dawned and the triathlete saw that it was going to be a perfect day. The triathlete was somewhat sad as her husband was not coming this time, a family member birthday that required his presence. The triathlete stayed focus and was able to get ready.
A protein shake, coffee (sans the cream) her Sherpa was on time and they headed to the race start.
The athlete was thrilled to be surrounded by so many like-minded people. Family and friends who come to support the other triathletes, seeing the pros mill about and stand in the loo line like all the others the triathlete was inspired, excited and thrilled to bits about having the best race EVER! This was especially true after “Oh Canada” was sung.
A quick hug/conversations with another triathlete who was nervous about where to start in the water had the triathlete became a wee bit nervous herself but by getting “gobbed” by Leo the dog was wonderful and the triathlete was ok once again. Dogs are great they just share the love!
The triathlete saw the pros start and see the eventual overall winner come out of the water and head to his bike, wow, talk about impressive!
Getting the wetsuit on the triathlete had a moment, a span of a few seconds where the nerves took over and focus was lost momentarily. She regained her focus with the unwavering support of her Sherpa and her Coach’s most awesome Boyfriend who willingly stepped into help in any way possible. Wet suit on, hugs and high fives it was time to head to the water.
The triathlete’s feet and hands were cold from the morning air and as a result the water, dare it be said, felt almost warm against those appendages! Perfect! No shock just complete inner calm as the triathlete did a warm up and found her place in the water. That’s right, in the water, as it was a deep-water start. A first for this triathlete and to be honest it was excellent! Starting on the left (favourite place) the horn went off and the race began!
A lovely swim, relaxed pace, slowly working up to race pace (being mindful of the water temperature of 16c) the athlete simply enjoyed the non counting of laps and focused on the markers in the water ahead. She even passed some of the men who had started 10 minutes prior the women! For a brief moment out there, the triathlete had an odd sensation, one that she had heard of yet never experienced; a brief chill ran through her body. “Aha!” she thought, “This is what it is like to feel cold” Thankfully it was brief.
Next thing she knew, the final buoy was ahead and making the final turn she could see the crowd on the shore, and then could hear Steve King’s voice and the crowd cheering and clapping for all the athletes as they exited.
Approaching the boat ramp, two-hand touch and up stands the triathlete accepting help as she was a wee bit off balance. Wetsuit unzipped by a volunteer (Wow, that is service!) then stripped off by two amazing volunteers (two of many amazing volunteers) and her bike gear was placed in front of her. Wetsuit in the bag, the athlete as she was putting on her socks asked the vollie what other athletes had been doing, shoes on or off to run to the bikes? “50-50” was the reply. “Shoes on it is” and on they went and up to the bike.
A few moments were required to put on the borrowed aero helmet, glasses on, and soon the bike was being guided further up the ramp to the mount line. The triathlete ensured she was past the mount line to the side before getting on her bike; she was off towards the great blue yonder!
The bike ride was a most amazing, breathtaking (for the most part not from pedalling) experience. The sun was shining, few clouds in the sky, clean roads and the most wonderful gift~ wind from the west. That’s right a tail wind a rare event and thoroughly enjoyed by all that day.
The triathlete rode hard and smiled even harder as she rode the course. Passing folks, getting passed, she soon noticed there were few women around. A couple went by that she remembered, younger gals who seemed to stall a bit on the climbs but managed to pull ahead on the flats. Something to be said for the triathletes love of climbing and the method of spin easy and keep the spin going when cresting. As the ride continued it was mostly with “the guys”.
The triathlete “whoo-hooed” each corner and was thanking the local RCMP for stopping traffic on the major thoroughfares Cochrane. Climbing out of Cochrane was actually fun! The training paid off big time!
Precisely at 80km, she slowed to a stop and took another precautionary method, her 2nd Emo. No WAY did she want issues on the run and this was part of the plan, take one more before getting off the bike. Thank goodness for the 80km marker!
She “cat and moused” a few other riders and finally passed “jacket man” (had a light windbreaker on that was billowing behind him) with approximately 2km left.
On the final approach before transition the triathlete began talking to herself, getting mentally prepared for the 3rd stage of the race. The run. The triathlete said out loud, “It’s only a 21km run.” “Last stage of the day” “You’ll be done in 2hrs 15mins or so” “It’s only a 21k”. “This will be your best 21km ever”.
When racking her bike, there were not many around, “How odd” she thought how could that be?” “Never mind, need to focus on the run now” and she was off!
The first few km’s in a run are always the hardest for the triathlete, she tends to go too fast and that is not good as she is unable to keep that pace. For that reason alone, the triathlete wears a simple watch. The 1st kilometre flew by and even though it was fun for a fleeting moment, the triathlete knew she had to slow down, as that pace would not be able to be kept. Slowly she manoeuvred her pace to something that was manageable and continued on. The sun was shining, very little wind, a beautiful but challenging run course, really a perfect day. A perfect day for her “best race ever”.
The triathlete was able to see some of the pros come in and as she headed out, the faster age groupers. “Kudos to them” she thought, I hope they are having their best race ever.
As the run went on, the triathlete started to feel the heat. Not a fan of the sun when running she began to think about what she needed to do in order to stay focused and to keep running. The aid stations were more like an oasis, with water, PowerAde, gels and some with ice all manned by the most awesome human being~ a volunteer.
The triathlete was seeking one aid station in particular, the Team TriLife station; She knew there was a little “sumpin’sumpin” especially for her. The neckerchief that she borrowed from her Sherpa for IMC was waiting for her, soaking wet and cold to cool off her neck. “Ahhhhhh, purrrrfect” as it was applied! Triathletes serving triathletes during a triathlon, it’s amazing! They truly understand what each participant is going through.
A walk break allowed time with her coach to get some inspiration (she was told she was 1st in the swim!) and of course coaching!
The run course is mostly exposed which meant the sun was beating down. The triathlete caught up to and ran with Conrad from Colorado. He was basing his run via a heart monitor that at a certain rate he would slow to a walk and when his heart dropped to a certain rate he continued running. This was perhaps one of the biggest aha moments for the triathlete. She really understood (let’s hear for experiential learning) the purpose and usefulness of a HR monitor. This kind man pulled this triathlete through to and past the turn around. She eventually had to leave him and before she left, turned and faced him, shook his hand and said thank-you.
It was just past the turn around that the triathlete saw a woman go by her, she noticed the age on the calf, 51. That was the 1st time she had seen someone from her age group on the run. Not bad, not bad at all thought the triathlete! She began to think that Vegas was not going to be and was at peace. She continued to focus on her run and do what she needed to keep up a good pace, finish strong and have her best race ever.
The triathlete caught up to “jacket man” (remember she had passed him on the bike and he in turn passed her earlier in the run). They continued for at least 8km together, keeping each other going, respecting the need to walk and pressing each other for support. When they came through the Team TriLife Oasis, the triathlete soaked up all the run mojo, ice, cheering, kudos etc that she could get. She did not take anything but fluid and this seemed to be working, along with the Emo.
The triathlete left the oasis cooled, calmed and pumped up about the rest of the race. Wet shoes and socks did not matter; the blister that was there was ignored (not bad enough to stop) all was good to go. Refreshed and rejuvenated, the remainder of the race didn’t appear to be that bad.
As the triathlete and “jacket-man” (aka Bill) continued a funny “slap-slap-slap” run was heard. The triathlete wondered who that was, “Odd sounding run. Perhaps they are injured,” she thought. It was a member of Team TriLife who caught up to her and told her she was 1st in the bike. “SERIOUSLY? OH MY GAWD!” A huge smile broke out and the triathlete truly believed that this was her best race ever.
The triathlete kept pushing the pace, Bill did the same, respect was given when one needed to back off the pace or even walk if need be.
Weaslehead hill loomed ahead; the triathlete and Bill agreed to walk it. Giving herself permission to walk was huge. Yes it had been done at IMC but that was after all, IMC.
Before she knew it, they were at the top of the hill and another aid station.
At the top of the hill, it was only a few kilometres to the end. Once again the triathlete had to “avert her eyes and ears” (said with a southern belle accent) of the finish line and Steve King’s voice. Once past it seemed an eternity before they came to the turn around. Bill was asked for a story and the triathlete said she could run with him but wasn’t good at talking and running at the same time (she can chew gum walk at the same time if that is any consolation!). The only story she could muster was the fact she holds season tickets for the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina. Bill liked that!
The last aid station, last bit of water and liquid fuel the triathlete and Bill were ready to press on. She even got some of the volunteers to sing Bill “Happy Birthday” as it was indeed his birthday! That elevated our moods and we continued. With 2 km’s left, Bill needed to stop and walk, the triathlete didn’t want to or more along the lines didn’t need to, so she went on.
The finish line could be heard, she could hear the cheering, the cowbells, the clapping. She heard Steve King’s voice urging the pace to be quickened. The triathlete did just that, she increased her pace, used her arms to pull herself forward and she was crossing the finish line! She was done!
In recovery the triathlete leaned on Lynn, another stellar volunteer who assisted her to get water, some post race food and finisher t-shirt. The triathlete thanked Lynn for her support and got her legs up against a fence, took in some water and got her heart rate down to a comfortable place. She enjoyed the camaraderie of other competitors, volunteers as she reflected on her race. To her delight realized not one stop was due to a gut issue! She will certainly use the double Emo again!
The suspense of her overall placing eventually took over and she strolled over to the listings that were posted. She found her name and to her utter joy and through watering eyes she saw something that she thought was never possible, 2/13. 2nd in her age group! In a half ironman! She cried tears of joy with another triathlete friend, as she couldn’t believe what she had read. She had to go back several times to ensure she hadn’t made a mistake.
“This calls for a post race beer!” the triathlete shouted. “Who can lend me $5.00?!” The beer was cold, the triathlete over the moon with joy and more so when she saw her Coach, Sherpa and Coach’s Boyfriend. More hugs, more tears of joy!
The race continued on and upon completion the awards were given out. It was really great to see the professional triathletes on stage. These folks work hard at what they do and they appeared to have genuine admiration and respect for each other’s accomplishments that day.
When the age group awards were given, the triathlete was somewhat nervous with excited anticipation to hear her name called.
When it was called she leapt up onto the stage and smiled from ear to ear!
Once the awards were over, the names of the people who qualified for the World 70.3 Championships in Vegas were stated. Somehow the triathlete knew she would not be going to Vegas and in someway was almost relieved. The training would now be over, no more long rides; weekends could be focused on other things. She knew that the 1st place finisher was going to take the Vegas spot and rightly so, she had earned it.
The triathlete waited until all the spots were taken and was okay with not getting one. It was odd to see her Coach and others seem more saddened by this. The triathlete simply stated that all she wanted from this race was to put it all out on the course, to leave nothing behind, to swim, bike and run as hard as she could. In the end, she did all of that and was rewarded a placing in her age group in a distance that she thought she never would.
She proudly stated to all that day and has been ever since:
“I HAD MY BEST RACE EVER!”
Conclusion:
Swim: 33:41, 1st in Age Group, 30th Female, 116 Overall
T1: 3:11
Bike: 2:53:19, 1st in Age Group, 34th Female, 212 Overall
T2: 1:58
Run: 2:18:01 5th in Age Group, 55th Female, 282 Overall
Final Time: 5:50:08
Age Group Place: 2/13 Overall place 256/545
PB’d Swim from GWN (35:35) and Bike (3:01:09). The run was slower than GWN (2:14:04) but this was a more challenging course. GWN also had two pit stops that did not occur during Calgary 70.3. GWN overall 5:50:47, wow!
The triathlete in this story would like to thank all those that helped, inspired, and cajoled her along the course. Her Husband, Coach, all TTL’ers at the best aid station (aka oasis), and the other amazing volunteers who set up, spent time during and cleaned up after the race was over. Without your support this triathlete would be forever thirsty, hot and lost.
By
Leslie-Anne McKenzie
Once upon a time, there was a triathlete whose dreams and aspirations were to be able to say, “that was my best race ever!”
She trained hard and did everything (well almost) her coach told her to do. She ran, swam and biked hard each week. She even entered in stand-alone runs that even though she really disliked, she did because it was all towards the goal of being able to say one day, “That was my best race ever”
The 5th triathlon for the summer of 2012 was a half ironman, the 2nd one for the summer and within 4 weeks of the 1st one!
The triathlete thought this may be a bit too much to take on but since she had successfully completed IMC the summer previously she figured she’d be able to handle the training.
All the other races this triathlete had done were stepping-stones towards the Calgary 70.3, a qualifier for the World 70.3 championship in Las Vegas.
A sprint in Vulcan that shook out some race cobwebs as well as the thrill of “racing” her new bike!
A very cold Wasa, Olympic Distance taught the triathlete that cold water doesn’t really affect her. Running on what felt like “stumps” for feet was a new experience but encouraged her to press on in the race.
Great White North Half Ironman was the 1st time the triathlete had to bike in the rain.
Another sprint race one week out from GWN reminded the triathlete that it was a very good decision to do the sprint and not the Olympic, her legs would not have been able to “go the distance”. As a surprise at the Regina Beach Sprint, the triathlete was 3rd woman overall! Behind a 16yr old elite athlete and young whippersnapper 28yr old, both these ages do not even add up to 51! HA!
The triathlete really started to focus on the training for the Calgary 70.3, as after all, it was a qualifier for the World 70.3 championship! A dream for the triathlete, is to go to a race saying, “from Canada…”
Lots of training, including a wonderful, amazing weekend helping out at the IMC training camp which meant riding some of the course. The triathlete loved the experience and came away from the camp very ready to take on Calgary 70.3. The triathlete especially enjoyed the swimming sans the wetsuit!
The week leading up to the race the triathlete ensured she got lots of rest, hydrated and ate good food (minding the gluten intake). This was to try and eliminate the on going gut issues that have plagued the triathlete for some time.
During the week leading up to the race a transformation began. The triathlete had checked on some of the athletes who were in her age group. What the heck!? This had never been done before! She checked out a couple of the Americans and decided they may not pose a threat to the goal of getting to Vegas. A few more names to check picked one and the triathlete knew it, she would be given a good run for “her money” from this particular athlete. The athlete had placed 2nd in the same age group at Wasa. Although the triathlete was out of the water and off the bike ahead of her it was the run that determined everything. It’s always the run… (run, not rum…)
The transformation that began was the focus and purpose of the race. The athlete thought that if the soul purpose of the race was to “make Vegas” then what would she do if she didn’t make the cut? How would she be able to see the race as a learning experience or a challenge or simply a good old-fashioned half ironman?
Thinking long and hard about this choice, the goal then became, to do her best, have fun and enjoy the course. The goal became to have her “best race ever”.
The pre-race day meant heading down to infamous Ghost Lake, where the water was “colder than it has been” according to a local. After a relaxed entry, the water was cold but manageable. The triathlete felt strong in the water and knew that she would not have an issue with the swim on race day.
The bike (lovingly cared for by the most awesome staff at Bow Cycle) was cleaned, tuned and ready to go. A quick run through the gears before setting up in transition and handing off the bike to run bag all was good to go.
Before heading back to the city, the triathlete really began to believe that Calgary 70.3 was not a qualifier race for her but rather the race to really see what could happen if she allowed herself to have a race of all races. In other words put it all out onto the course to have her “best race ever”.
This is what she told herself and began to tell others so they would be able to see and hear her vision of the race.
The triathlete arrived home and treated herself to watching the Olympics, “putt zing” around the house, prepped race fuel and even had a small nap! What a treat that was!
A dinner invite to a friends house who had volunteered to be “Sherpa” for race day and off the triathlete went, token Pilsner beer in hand as it was after all “Game Day”. Her team decided to choke in the 4th quarter but that would not deter the triathlete, rather fuel her to show the Riders what it meant to finish something.
The triathlete told her coach (also at the dinner) that the Calgary 70.3 was going to be her “best race EVER”. If Vegas was meant to be it would be, but the race would be her best race EVER.
Race day dawned and the triathlete saw that it was going to be a perfect day. The triathlete was somewhat sad as her husband was not coming this time, a family member birthday that required his presence. The triathlete stayed focus and was able to get ready.
A protein shake, coffee (sans the cream) her Sherpa was on time and they headed to the race start.
The athlete was thrilled to be surrounded by so many like-minded people. Family and friends who come to support the other triathletes, seeing the pros mill about and stand in the loo line like all the others the triathlete was inspired, excited and thrilled to bits about having the best race EVER! This was especially true after “Oh Canada” was sung.
A quick hug/conversations with another triathlete who was nervous about where to start in the water had the triathlete became a wee bit nervous herself but by getting “gobbed” by Leo the dog was wonderful and the triathlete was ok once again. Dogs are great they just share the love!
The triathlete saw the pros start and see the eventual overall winner come out of the water and head to his bike, wow, talk about impressive!
Getting the wetsuit on the triathlete had a moment, a span of a few seconds where the nerves took over and focus was lost momentarily. She regained her focus with the unwavering support of her Sherpa and her Coach’s most awesome Boyfriend who willingly stepped into help in any way possible. Wet suit on, hugs and high fives it was time to head to the water.
The triathlete’s feet and hands were cold from the morning air and as a result the water, dare it be said, felt almost warm against those appendages! Perfect! No shock just complete inner calm as the triathlete did a warm up and found her place in the water. That’s right, in the water, as it was a deep-water start. A first for this triathlete and to be honest it was excellent! Starting on the left (favourite place) the horn went off and the race began!
A lovely swim, relaxed pace, slowly working up to race pace (being mindful of the water temperature of 16c) the athlete simply enjoyed the non counting of laps and focused on the markers in the water ahead. She even passed some of the men who had started 10 minutes prior the women! For a brief moment out there, the triathlete had an odd sensation, one that she had heard of yet never experienced; a brief chill ran through her body. “Aha!” she thought, “This is what it is like to feel cold” Thankfully it was brief.
Next thing she knew, the final buoy was ahead and making the final turn she could see the crowd on the shore, and then could hear Steve King’s voice and the crowd cheering and clapping for all the athletes as they exited.
Approaching the boat ramp, two-hand touch and up stands the triathlete accepting help as she was a wee bit off balance. Wetsuit unzipped by a volunteer (Wow, that is service!) then stripped off by two amazing volunteers (two of many amazing volunteers) and her bike gear was placed in front of her. Wetsuit in the bag, the athlete as she was putting on her socks asked the vollie what other athletes had been doing, shoes on or off to run to the bikes? “50-50” was the reply. “Shoes on it is” and on they went and up to the bike.
A few moments were required to put on the borrowed aero helmet, glasses on, and soon the bike was being guided further up the ramp to the mount line. The triathlete ensured she was past the mount line to the side before getting on her bike; she was off towards the great blue yonder!
The bike ride was a most amazing, breathtaking (for the most part not from pedalling) experience. The sun was shining, few clouds in the sky, clean roads and the most wonderful gift~ wind from the west. That’s right a tail wind a rare event and thoroughly enjoyed by all that day.
The triathlete rode hard and smiled even harder as she rode the course. Passing folks, getting passed, she soon noticed there were few women around. A couple went by that she remembered, younger gals who seemed to stall a bit on the climbs but managed to pull ahead on the flats. Something to be said for the triathletes love of climbing and the method of spin easy and keep the spin going when cresting. As the ride continued it was mostly with “the guys”.
The triathlete “whoo-hooed” each corner and was thanking the local RCMP for stopping traffic on the major thoroughfares Cochrane. Climbing out of Cochrane was actually fun! The training paid off big time!
Precisely at 80km, she slowed to a stop and took another precautionary method, her 2nd Emo. No WAY did she want issues on the run and this was part of the plan, take one more before getting off the bike. Thank goodness for the 80km marker!
She “cat and moused” a few other riders and finally passed “jacket man” (had a light windbreaker on that was billowing behind him) with approximately 2km left.
On the final approach before transition the triathlete began talking to herself, getting mentally prepared for the 3rd stage of the race. The run. The triathlete said out loud, “It’s only a 21km run.” “Last stage of the day” “You’ll be done in 2hrs 15mins or so” “It’s only a 21k”. “This will be your best 21km ever”.
When racking her bike, there were not many around, “How odd” she thought how could that be?” “Never mind, need to focus on the run now” and she was off!
The first few km’s in a run are always the hardest for the triathlete, she tends to go too fast and that is not good as she is unable to keep that pace. For that reason alone, the triathlete wears a simple watch. The 1st kilometre flew by and even though it was fun for a fleeting moment, the triathlete knew she had to slow down, as that pace would not be able to be kept. Slowly she manoeuvred her pace to something that was manageable and continued on. The sun was shining, very little wind, a beautiful but challenging run course, really a perfect day. A perfect day for her “best race ever”.
The triathlete was able to see some of the pros come in and as she headed out, the faster age groupers. “Kudos to them” she thought, I hope they are having their best race ever.
As the run went on, the triathlete started to feel the heat. Not a fan of the sun when running she began to think about what she needed to do in order to stay focused and to keep running. The aid stations were more like an oasis, with water, PowerAde, gels and some with ice all manned by the most awesome human being~ a volunteer.
The triathlete was seeking one aid station in particular, the Team TriLife station; She knew there was a little “sumpin’sumpin” especially for her. The neckerchief that she borrowed from her Sherpa for IMC was waiting for her, soaking wet and cold to cool off her neck. “Ahhhhhh, purrrrfect” as it was applied! Triathletes serving triathletes during a triathlon, it’s amazing! They truly understand what each participant is going through.
A walk break allowed time with her coach to get some inspiration (she was told she was 1st in the swim!) and of course coaching!
The run course is mostly exposed which meant the sun was beating down. The triathlete caught up to and ran with Conrad from Colorado. He was basing his run via a heart monitor that at a certain rate he would slow to a walk and when his heart dropped to a certain rate he continued running. This was perhaps one of the biggest aha moments for the triathlete. She really understood (let’s hear for experiential learning) the purpose and usefulness of a HR monitor. This kind man pulled this triathlete through to and past the turn around. She eventually had to leave him and before she left, turned and faced him, shook his hand and said thank-you.
It was just past the turn around that the triathlete saw a woman go by her, she noticed the age on the calf, 51. That was the 1st time she had seen someone from her age group on the run. Not bad, not bad at all thought the triathlete! She began to think that Vegas was not going to be and was at peace. She continued to focus on her run and do what she needed to keep up a good pace, finish strong and have her best race ever.
The triathlete caught up to “jacket man” (remember she had passed him on the bike and he in turn passed her earlier in the run). They continued for at least 8km together, keeping each other going, respecting the need to walk and pressing each other for support. When they came through the Team TriLife Oasis, the triathlete soaked up all the run mojo, ice, cheering, kudos etc that she could get. She did not take anything but fluid and this seemed to be working, along with the Emo.
The triathlete left the oasis cooled, calmed and pumped up about the rest of the race. Wet shoes and socks did not matter; the blister that was there was ignored (not bad enough to stop) all was good to go. Refreshed and rejuvenated, the remainder of the race didn’t appear to be that bad.
As the triathlete and “jacket-man” (aka Bill) continued a funny “slap-slap-slap” run was heard. The triathlete wondered who that was, “Odd sounding run. Perhaps they are injured,” she thought. It was a member of Team TriLife who caught up to her and told her she was 1st in the bike. “SERIOUSLY? OH MY GAWD!” A huge smile broke out and the triathlete truly believed that this was her best race ever.
The triathlete kept pushing the pace, Bill did the same, respect was given when one needed to back off the pace or even walk if need be.
Weaslehead hill loomed ahead; the triathlete and Bill agreed to walk it. Giving herself permission to walk was huge. Yes it had been done at IMC but that was after all, IMC.
Before she knew it, they were at the top of the hill and another aid station.
At the top of the hill, it was only a few kilometres to the end. Once again the triathlete had to “avert her eyes and ears” (said with a southern belle accent) of the finish line and Steve King’s voice. Once past it seemed an eternity before they came to the turn around. Bill was asked for a story and the triathlete said she could run with him but wasn’t good at talking and running at the same time (she can chew gum walk at the same time if that is any consolation!). The only story she could muster was the fact she holds season tickets for the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Taylor Field in Regina. Bill liked that!
The last aid station, last bit of water and liquid fuel the triathlete and Bill were ready to press on. She even got some of the volunteers to sing Bill “Happy Birthday” as it was indeed his birthday! That elevated our moods and we continued. With 2 km’s left, Bill needed to stop and walk, the triathlete didn’t want to or more along the lines didn’t need to, so she went on.
The finish line could be heard, she could hear the cheering, the cowbells, the clapping. She heard Steve King’s voice urging the pace to be quickened. The triathlete did just that, she increased her pace, used her arms to pull herself forward and she was crossing the finish line! She was done!
In recovery the triathlete leaned on Lynn, another stellar volunteer who assisted her to get water, some post race food and finisher t-shirt. The triathlete thanked Lynn for her support and got her legs up against a fence, took in some water and got her heart rate down to a comfortable place. She enjoyed the camaraderie of other competitors, volunteers as she reflected on her race. To her delight realized not one stop was due to a gut issue! She will certainly use the double Emo again!
The suspense of her overall placing eventually took over and she strolled over to the listings that were posted. She found her name and to her utter joy and through watering eyes she saw something that she thought was never possible, 2/13. 2nd in her age group! In a half ironman! She cried tears of joy with another triathlete friend, as she couldn’t believe what she had read. She had to go back several times to ensure she hadn’t made a mistake.
“This calls for a post race beer!” the triathlete shouted. “Who can lend me $5.00?!” The beer was cold, the triathlete over the moon with joy and more so when she saw her Coach, Sherpa and Coach’s Boyfriend. More hugs, more tears of joy!
The race continued on and upon completion the awards were given out. It was really great to see the professional triathletes on stage. These folks work hard at what they do and they appeared to have genuine admiration and respect for each other’s accomplishments that day.
When the age group awards were given, the triathlete was somewhat nervous with excited anticipation to hear her name called.
When it was called she leapt up onto the stage and smiled from ear to ear!
Once the awards were over, the names of the people who qualified for the World 70.3 Championships in Vegas were stated. Somehow the triathlete knew she would not be going to Vegas and in someway was almost relieved. The training would now be over, no more long rides; weekends could be focused on other things. She knew that the 1st place finisher was going to take the Vegas spot and rightly so, she had earned it.
The triathlete waited until all the spots were taken and was okay with not getting one. It was odd to see her Coach and others seem more saddened by this. The triathlete simply stated that all she wanted from this race was to put it all out on the course, to leave nothing behind, to swim, bike and run as hard as she could. In the end, she did all of that and was rewarded a placing in her age group in a distance that she thought she never would.
She proudly stated to all that day and has been ever since:
“I HAD MY BEST RACE EVER!”
Conclusion:
Swim: 33:41, 1st in Age Group, 30th Female, 116 Overall
T1: 3:11
Bike: 2:53:19, 1st in Age Group, 34th Female, 212 Overall
T2: 1:58
Run: 2:18:01 5th in Age Group, 55th Female, 282 Overall
Final Time: 5:50:08
Age Group Place: 2/13 Overall place 256/545
PB’d Swim from GWN (35:35) and Bike (3:01:09). The run was slower than GWN (2:14:04) but this was a more challenging course. GWN also had two pit stops that did not occur during Calgary 70.3. GWN overall 5:50:47, wow!
The triathlete in this story would like to thank all those that helped, inspired, and cajoled her along the course. Her Husband, Coach, all TTL’ers at the best aid station (aka oasis), and the other amazing volunteers who set up, spent time during and cleaned up after the race was over. Without your support this triathlete would be forever thirsty, hot and lost.
Steve W's Calgary 70.3 Race Report, July 29, 2012
I don't usually do race reports...mainly because the litany of my errors is something I like to keep between Angie and me....sort of like going to confession....
ANYWAY
I wanted to write a race report because I finally learned something and listened to my coach(s) (Angie and Janice the Adrenaline Rush running coach)
Angie has been trying for quite awile to stop me blowing myself up on the bike so I can acutally have a good run. Janice the AR coach was aware of this gave me some code words sort of a mantra to keep saying on the ride.
First Third of the bike---PATIENCE
Second third- STEADY
Last third- STRONG but not to the point of "emptying out" that last bit really resonated with me cause I usually do...feel like I really don't want to bike anymore.
I would have to say I think I did overbike a bit still. My RPE felt right but did not match my HR which was faster than I wanted. It may be because I am not riding my tri-bike enough.
It was also suggested to me that I should think especially about the first few km of the run as a time to RECOVER from the bike. Generally, I my legs don't feel well off the bike and I just push through it and run slow. However, this time...I .LISTENED!....and backed off after the first frenetic km and waited until my legs felt better...then I found I could really start to push it....INTERESTING...If you read anything in this race report read this bit. It was amazing.
Angie also saved my bacon at the aid station...at 14km I was booking it and I got the mother of all cramps just below my ribs left of the midline....I couldn;t breathe came on all of a sudden, totally panicked how the hell am I going to run 7km like this!!!!!. I yelled for angie at the aid station (picture Marlon Brando in a Streetcar named Desire but more of a dying gasp....)
ANYWAY she made me stop completely (which I would not have thought of.....man thing you know, we just push on through the pain....to the point we can't run anymore...) and she made me wait until it stoped then I started running again...I had to keep testing it and backing off but after another 1km it didn't bother me again even though I was sure I was running faster than when it hit....
So in the end I had a way better run than the pain fest of last year (7 min faster) and 11 min off my PB.
So that's it. For those of you who have always listened to Angie/Sarah/Sharon/Rachelle (Janice) and haven;t got carried away with the adrenaline of the race I suspect this was highly redundant BUT for those of you who haven't (Yes I am talking to you the guys here)
LISTEN TO YOUR COACH(s)!!!!! That's what you pay her/them for isn't it???
Sincerely,
Stephen
ANYWAY
I wanted to write a race report because I finally learned something and listened to my coach(s) (Angie and Janice the Adrenaline Rush running coach)
Angie has been trying for quite awile to stop me blowing myself up on the bike so I can acutally have a good run. Janice the AR coach was aware of this gave me some code words sort of a mantra to keep saying on the ride.
First Third of the bike---PATIENCE
Second third- STEADY
Last third- STRONG but not to the point of "emptying out" that last bit really resonated with me cause I usually do...feel like I really don't want to bike anymore.
I would have to say I think I did overbike a bit still. My RPE felt right but did not match my HR which was faster than I wanted. It may be because I am not riding my tri-bike enough.
It was also suggested to me that I should think especially about the first few km of the run as a time to RECOVER from the bike. Generally, I my legs don't feel well off the bike and I just push through it and run slow. However, this time...I .LISTENED!....and backed off after the first frenetic km and waited until my legs felt better...then I found I could really start to push it....INTERESTING...If you read anything in this race report read this bit. It was amazing.
Angie also saved my bacon at the aid station...at 14km I was booking it and I got the mother of all cramps just below my ribs left of the midline....I couldn;t breathe came on all of a sudden, totally panicked how the hell am I going to run 7km like this!!!!!. I yelled for angie at the aid station (picture Marlon Brando in a Streetcar named Desire but more of a dying gasp....)
ANYWAY she made me stop completely (which I would not have thought of.....man thing you know, we just push on through the pain....to the point we can't run anymore...) and she made me wait until it stoped then I started running again...I had to keep testing it and backing off but after another 1km it didn't bother me again even though I was sure I was running faster than when it hit....
So in the end I had a way better run than the pain fest of last year (7 min faster) and 11 min off my PB.
So that's it. For those of you who have always listened to Angie/Sarah/Sharon/Rachelle (Janice) and haven;t got carried away with the adrenaline of the race I suspect this was highly redundant BUT for those of you who haven't (Yes I am talking to you the guys here)
LISTEN TO YOUR COACH(s)!!!!! That's what you pay her/them for isn't it???
Sincerely,
Stephen
Jacque's GWN Race Report-July 1, 2012
This race went well. The swim was ok, not slow but not fast either. With the mass start the first lap was slow, almost coming to a stand still while rounding the buoys. The second lap was better. I wasn’t able to find feet for drafting, I managed to draft of the hip of a few people but too many people swimming crooked and not worth following. Kelly came out of the water right behind me, the two of us should try drafting off each other during a race.
My T1 was decent, I wore a tri top on the swim then pulled on a bike jersey because it was raining and cold. I liked the idea of this as then I could carry a second bike tube in case of emergency. I put on socks and pulled on sleeves just to my wrist as well as gloves, once I was off on the bike I pulled the sleeves up to save time. As the start was uphill I didn’t worry about attempting a flying start.
The bike was good, I was very happy with my time, 3:52! Under 3 hours which was a goal for the race. I did find myself biking a bit too hard about 25-30 k or so into the ride as a big group of people were drafting and then blocked me in, they would catch me on the downhill then slow down on the uphills. So I ended up working pretty hard for a while to try and lose them. It worked finally though. They were riding so dangerously not in any lines and taking up the whole road so I didn’t want to hang out anywhere near that group, they also would have slowed me down in the long run. One of the guys in this group touched wheels with another guy causing him to veer off into the opposite lane where he wiped out and smacked his head on the road. In this effort I passed Tara, so I knew I was over-biking a little. I don’t think it was too bad as I tried to slow it down a bit once I got rid of them. Tara ended up passing me again so I knew I had backed off a little. I did some leap frogging with Kelly and another TTL rider called Carla. I may have taken it a little too easy as I headed back to town, I knew there was about 6-8 km from the final turn but I wanted to give my legs a little spin.
My T2 felt slow as I changed shoes and moved my orthotics to my runners. I kept the bike jersey and sleeves on as it was raining. Grabbed the gels for the run and off I went. My heel was sore right from the start, although this was not surprising as it has been sore for the last week I think. I wore my zoots for the run.
My aim was to run about 6min kms for the first half and then see if I could pick it up a little. I was running a little slower than this but not too bad, the first 5 k felt good except for my foot.
At the 5 km mark I stopped to stretch my foot. It rained for about half of the run which was ok as it kept it cool. The second 5km wasn’t bad fairly close in time to the first 5k, the 3rd 5k was tough, it stopped raining and the sun came out so it was a bit warmer. I didn’t know the run course at all which would have been a good idea I was confused at the beginning, as there are 2 out and back sections. I told myself not to worry, I wanted to run a solid last 5-6km and although I wasn’t going to make it in close to 2hrs or under as I’d hoped I was still doing ok and had a shot at finishing the whole race in under 6 so that became my new goal. I stopped again at 15 km to stretch my foot, I had developed a new foot pain by this time, the hot spot I’d had at the BMO half only worse – it was in fact a huge blister! Likely from wearing wet socks and wet orthotics on the run – BAD!
The last 5-6 k went well, hard in spots but knowing you only have ~30mins to go makes it seem easier and you can make yourself run harder so that’s what I did. It was also really great fun to have so many TTL people on the course high fiving each other and wishing each other well, even ones I didn’t know. I’ve never done a race with a team before and it certainly helped in spots to have the support and distraction of all the TTLers out on the course. It was fabulous to see Paul in a few places, as I did the final out and back section I tossed Paul my bike jersey, I had taken the sleeves off a while earlier – so much cooler. Seeing Angie, tara and the TTL tent as I ran up the street to finish was great. Angie was cheering that I was doing great and I’d make it in under 6 – something I was trying hard to do and it made me smile! Angie’s enthusiasm is amazing and infectious. I saw the clock counting up towards 5:56 as I came around the corner so I boogied to try and make it in under 5:56 – I just missed it but my legs cooperated in my effort. Whew -happy to stop and I really needed to take off my shoes! I drank a Hammer recoverite citrus and cheered on other TTLers at the tent as they ran up the street.
Jacque-Lynne Johnson
Great White North Half Ironman, July 1, 2012
Total Time - 5:56:03 (392 overall/ 46/104 in AG)
swim – 40:18 2:01 (297 overall/33 in AG)
Bike – 3:00:23 29.9 (322 overall/ 32 in AG)
Run – 2:15:22 6:25 (471 overall/ 69 in AG)
My T1 was decent, I wore a tri top on the swim then pulled on a bike jersey because it was raining and cold. I liked the idea of this as then I could carry a second bike tube in case of emergency. I put on socks and pulled on sleeves just to my wrist as well as gloves, once I was off on the bike I pulled the sleeves up to save time. As the start was uphill I didn’t worry about attempting a flying start.
The bike was good, I was very happy with my time, 3:52! Under 3 hours which was a goal for the race. I did find myself biking a bit too hard about 25-30 k or so into the ride as a big group of people were drafting and then blocked me in, they would catch me on the downhill then slow down on the uphills. So I ended up working pretty hard for a while to try and lose them. It worked finally though. They were riding so dangerously not in any lines and taking up the whole road so I didn’t want to hang out anywhere near that group, they also would have slowed me down in the long run. One of the guys in this group touched wheels with another guy causing him to veer off into the opposite lane where he wiped out and smacked his head on the road. In this effort I passed Tara, so I knew I was over-biking a little. I don’t think it was too bad as I tried to slow it down a bit once I got rid of them. Tara ended up passing me again so I knew I had backed off a little. I did some leap frogging with Kelly and another TTL rider called Carla. I may have taken it a little too easy as I headed back to town, I knew there was about 6-8 km from the final turn but I wanted to give my legs a little spin.
My T2 felt slow as I changed shoes and moved my orthotics to my runners. I kept the bike jersey and sleeves on as it was raining. Grabbed the gels for the run and off I went. My heel was sore right from the start, although this was not surprising as it has been sore for the last week I think. I wore my zoots for the run.
My aim was to run about 6min kms for the first half and then see if I could pick it up a little. I was running a little slower than this but not too bad, the first 5 k felt good except for my foot.
At the 5 km mark I stopped to stretch my foot. It rained for about half of the run which was ok as it kept it cool. The second 5km wasn’t bad fairly close in time to the first 5k, the 3rd 5k was tough, it stopped raining and the sun came out so it was a bit warmer. I didn’t know the run course at all which would have been a good idea I was confused at the beginning, as there are 2 out and back sections. I told myself not to worry, I wanted to run a solid last 5-6km and although I wasn’t going to make it in close to 2hrs or under as I’d hoped I was still doing ok and had a shot at finishing the whole race in under 6 so that became my new goal. I stopped again at 15 km to stretch my foot, I had developed a new foot pain by this time, the hot spot I’d had at the BMO half only worse – it was in fact a huge blister! Likely from wearing wet socks and wet orthotics on the run – BAD!
The last 5-6 k went well, hard in spots but knowing you only have ~30mins to go makes it seem easier and you can make yourself run harder so that’s what I did. It was also really great fun to have so many TTL people on the course high fiving each other and wishing each other well, even ones I didn’t know. I’ve never done a race with a team before and it certainly helped in spots to have the support and distraction of all the TTLers out on the course. It was fabulous to see Paul in a few places, as I did the final out and back section I tossed Paul my bike jersey, I had taken the sleeves off a while earlier – so much cooler. Seeing Angie, tara and the TTL tent as I ran up the street to finish was great. Angie was cheering that I was doing great and I’d make it in under 6 – something I was trying hard to do and it made me smile! Angie’s enthusiasm is amazing and infectious. I saw the clock counting up towards 5:56 as I came around the corner so I boogied to try and make it in under 5:56 – I just missed it but my legs cooperated in my effort. Whew -happy to stop and I really needed to take off my shoes! I drank a Hammer recoverite citrus and cheered on other TTLers at the tent as they ran up the street.
Jacque-Lynne Johnson
Great White North Half Ironman, July 1, 2012
Total Time - 5:56:03 (392 overall/ 46/104 in AG)
swim – 40:18 2:01 (297 overall/33 in AG)
Bike – 3:00:23 29.9 (322 overall/ 32 in AG)
Run – 2:15:22 6:25 (471 overall/ 69 in AG)
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Sarah VanTine's GWN race report-July 1, 2012
Great White North Triathlon: first half Ironman distance July 1, 2012
I still can’t believe that I did a half Ironman distance… I always thought that OD would be my farthest distance because I just thought you had to be crazy to do a half Ironman and even crazier to do a full. I remember sitting in a meeting one day at my office in Banff and a lady from our marketing department had just finished IMC at that point I thought it was an amazing accomplishment and that I would never do triathlons… I guess I was very wrong
July 1, 2012 came very quickly I know that I had done all my training and Hawaii helped so much in this process and all the training I had been doing all year… It is funny how sometimes you start to doubt yourself just before a race, and then you just have to give yourself a slap in the face! As the training has been done and now it is time to go out and have fun with everything that you have trained for.
I had soooooo much support on race day, before race day, during race day. I think I was going a little crazy 2 weeks prior to the race it was like I could not remember things and my focus on everything was soooo short. The day prior to the race I went out with the team and that helped me mentally in a big way everyone was so patient and Leslie Anne (LA) was so supportive telling me where all the aid stations were and making me laugh
It was now race morning and I was very nervous but I managed to eat and I felt very organized and ready. I have a great second coach, my husband Jaison. I really don’t think I could have done this without him he was so incredibly patient and knew what I needed even if I did not…. It was like he was the other side of my brain that morning and weeks prior…. Also having my dad there meant the world he was supportive in other ways and just knowing that he was there helped. My friend Amber knew how to make me laugh and has been an amazing supporter and she will be very honest with me which I greatly appreciate. I just knew that morning that I had so many friends and family thinking of me that I knew I could do this.
It was time to go to the beach it was quite nerve racking one by one everyone going down to the beach and starting all together. I am a strong swimmer so I knew I could do it just needed to breathe. I found LA as I knew where she was starting it was so nice to see her, and of course I was so nervous the tears started… but LA calmed me down and made me breath thank you for that LA your support will never be forgotten! Then my friend Amber turned up and we were able to start together, now I know she could have gone in the middle where she likes to start but she did not she wanted to start with me and that meant the world, what are friends for!
Off the gun went. I stayed on the far left and stayed calm and to my surprise it did not take me long to get into a good pace. I only had one man try to swim over me and the funny thing was he had all the room in the world! So I just started kicking harder and I think that scared him off Second lap, waved at Jaison and my dad I knew I had this in the bag! Second loop was good back into my pace and then I was done the swim.
Then came the bike…. I had no idea that it was raining but unfortunately it was… thank goodness I left a long sleeve shirt in T1. Left T1 and off I went. Once I was out on the road I was being passed left and right so often and then one person passed me on the right, grrrrr. I struggled on this bike ride mentally, at times I felt like I was going know where and I know this is not a hard course. It was pouring rain and I was entering into a negative space. But I was not going to give up. The one thing that got me through the rain was thinking of my friend that is just a little older than me that is battling cancer for the 3 time, she was with me for this whole ride and yes at times I caught myself talking to myself or imagining that she was with me and would not let me give up, I kept telling myself what I was doing was nothing compared to what she was going through and that is what helped me push. I finally got to the turn around, and had to stop to use the outhouse or else I would not make it back, to my surprise there was a line up!
Off I went I was now on my way home and the rain was tapering. Once I could see the town I knew then I could finish this race. As I came near T2 I saw the TTL tent my dad and Jaison were cheering but I could not make eye contact as the tears were not going to come yet Off my bike I got running shoes one and off I went! I felt happy and ready to finish this. I was thankful to know that I had to do this one part of the run twice, thank you TTL! I decided that I would walk through the aid stations and that worked well for me. I have to say that I loved the oranges! I was smiling throughout the run and it was so great to see other TTL team mates along the route. On my way back I said to one of the volunteers I can’t believe that I am going to finish a half Ironman! The end was near and I was smiling and so excited, the last aid station I grabbed some coke that was the best thing ever at that point. I met up with this one lady at the end that I will never forget she lived in near Stony Plain we chatted the whole way in. I could see the TTL tent and I knew I had done it! I could hear lots of wonderful people yelling my name, my dad whistling and having a proud father moment, now I just had to hold it together, Angie yelled out that Jaison was at the corner when I saw Jaison it was a like this overwhelming feeling of happiness and such a surreal moment, a moment that I thought I would never have, but I did Now I am a half Ironman chick!
My goal for this race was to finish and finish healthy with a smile on my face, and I accomplished that. Thank you Angie for being such a fantastic coach through this process I could not have done it without you, I look forward to many more races Now it is on to my next race Calgary 70.3……
Thanks for reading everyone!
Sarah Van Tine
I still can’t believe that I did a half Ironman distance… I always thought that OD would be my farthest distance because I just thought you had to be crazy to do a half Ironman and even crazier to do a full. I remember sitting in a meeting one day at my office in Banff and a lady from our marketing department had just finished IMC at that point I thought it was an amazing accomplishment and that I would never do triathlons… I guess I was very wrong
July 1, 2012 came very quickly I know that I had done all my training and Hawaii helped so much in this process and all the training I had been doing all year… It is funny how sometimes you start to doubt yourself just before a race, and then you just have to give yourself a slap in the face! As the training has been done and now it is time to go out and have fun with everything that you have trained for.
I had soooooo much support on race day, before race day, during race day. I think I was going a little crazy 2 weeks prior to the race it was like I could not remember things and my focus on everything was soooo short. The day prior to the race I went out with the team and that helped me mentally in a big way everyone was so patient and Leslie Anne (LA) was so supportive telling me where all the aid stations were and making me laugh
It was now race morning and I was very nervous but I managed to eat and I felt very organized and ready. I have a great second coach, my husband Jaison. I really don’t think I could have done this without him he was so incredibly patient and knew what I needed even if I did not…. It was like he was the other side of my brain that morning and weeks prior…. Also having my dad there meant the world he was supportive in other ways and just knowing that he was there helped. My friend Amber knew how to make me laugh and has been an amazing supporter and she will be very honest with me which I greatly appreciate. I just knew that morning that I had so many friends and family thinking of me that I knew I could do this.
It was time to go to the beach it was quite nerve racking one by one everyone going down to the beach and starting all together. I am a strong swimmer so I knew I could do it just needed to breathe. I found LA as I knew where she was starting it was so nice to see her, and of course I was so nervous the tears started… but LA calmed me down and made me breath thank you for that LA your support will never be forgotten! Then my friend Amber turned up and we were able to start together, now I know she could have gone in the middle where she likes to start but she did not she wanted to start with me and that meant the world, what are friends for!
Off the gun went. I stayed on the far left and stayed calm and to my surprise it did not take me long to get into a good pace. I only had one man try to swim over me and the funny thing was he had all the room in the world! So I just started kicking harder and I think that scared him off Second lap, waved at Jaison and my dad I knew I had this in the bag! Second loop was good back into my pace and then I was done the swim.
Then came the bike…. I had no idea that it was raining but unfortunately it was… thank goodness I left a long sleeve shirt in T1. Left T1 and off I went. Once I was out on the road I was being passed left and right so often and then one person passed me on the right, grrrrr. I struggled on this bike ride mentally, at times I felt like I was going know where and I know this is not a hard course. It was pouring rain and I was entering into a negative space. But I was not going to give up. The one thing that got me through the rain was thinking of my friend that is just a little older than me that is battling cancer for the 3 time, she was with me for this whole ride and yes at times I caught myself talking to myself or imagining that she was with me and would not let me give up, I kept telling myself what I was doing was nothing compared to what she was going through and that is what helped me push. I finally got to the turn around, and had to stop to use the outhouse or else I would not make it back, to my surprise there was a line up!
Off I went I was now on my way home and the rain was tapering. Once I could see the town I knew then I could finish this race. As I came near T2 I saw the TTL tent my dad and Jaison were cheering but I could not make eye contact as the tears were not going to come yet Off my bike I got running shoes one and off I went! I felt happy and ready to finish this. I was thankful to know that I had to do this one part of the run twice, thank you TTL! I decided that I would walk through the aid stations and that worked well for me. I have to say that I loved the oranges! I was smiling throughout the run and it was so great to see other TTL team mates along the route. On my way back I said to one of the volunteers I can’t believe that I am going to finish a half Ironman! The end was near and I was smiling and so excited, the last aid station I grabbed some coke that was the best thing ever at that point. I met up with this one lady at the end that I will never forget she lived in near Stony Plain we chatted the whole way in. I could see the TTL tent and I knew I had done it! I could hear lots of wonderful people yelling my name, my dad whistling and having a proud father moment, now I just had to hold it together, Angie yelled out that Jaison was at the corner when I saw Jaison it was a like this overwhelming feeling of happiness and such a surreal moment, a moment that I thought I would never have, but I did Now I am a half Ironman chick!
My goal for this race was to finish and finish healthy with a smile on my face, and I accomplished that. Thank you Angie for being such a fantastic coach through this process I could not have done it without you, I look forward to many more races Now it is on to my next race Calgary 70.3……
Thanks for reading everyone!
Sarah Van Tine
Monday, July 9, 2012
Leslie-Anne's GWN Race Report July 1, 2012
GWN 2012 Race Report
For the fourth year in a row, I signed up for this race. I approached this race as prep for Calgary 70.3. I needed to figure out a few things and GWN would be the place to do so.
I headed out of town with fellow TTL’ers, Tara, Nola and Jenny. Roger followed up later with Tara’s bike and mine. It is always a fun ride with “girl talk” race stories and a good sense of camaraderie was established.
Check in to the hotel and headed off to the pre race banquet.
As it was “game day”, I was dressed in my Rider gear; I did have my TTL jacket with me of course. I will say, I was not alone in my green and white; I followed the game via text messages and was very pleased with the end result. A Rider win is always a good thing!
This year the vibe was a bit different to get race packages, no ATA number, no package, no personal i.d., no package. Orange bracelet to wear all weekend, tattoo numbers, wow, GWN has kicked it up a notch. I enjoyed the venues and the apparel that was for sale was varied. I did pick up a nice jacket, not in the orange and black colours as were the jerseys, too much like Halloween!
Good meal, good laughs and cold beer only $4.00 a can. I only had one beer, wanted more but only had one. We did not stay for the meeting, and headed back to the hotel to get some much needed rest.
Saturday morning we met for a pre race ride of the run course. That was a great way to see the course from a different point of view and I believe was beneficial for those that have not done the course before. I enjoyed the nice weather; the sun was warming my pasty white skin, all was good. A quick brick and that was it, we were done. I decided I wasn’t going to do a pre race swim, as we could not get in the water until 2:00pm. I did not want to run the risk of my wet suit still being wet the next day.
Tara and I headed to transition to set up our bikes and soon I was back at the hotel to settle in for the rest of the day. A rare occasion occurred this particular race; Roger and I were “kidless”! We could just hang out, watch some TV that included some CFL football (not the Riders but still CFL).
Prepped my fuel for the race, Infinit, 3 bottles, froze two and had one ready for my front aero-bottle. My run fuel was ready to add water, packed my bags and finally settled down.
My usual GWN pre race dinner of cooked chicken and quinoa salad from Safeway was enjoyed. I also enjoyed my pre race 40 Creek Rye on ice, soooo tasty!
I was just getting into a classic Ingrid Bergman (black and white no less) movie and Roger said, “Ok, that’s it, time for bed” What? “It’s almost 10pm you are up early and you need sleep”. Like a good little girl I went to bed. **Sigh** Roger is a helluva manager I am lucky! I did have a good night’s sleep as a result!
Race Day:
Up and at ‘em around 4:45am with breakfast of 2 pkgs of instant oatmeal. Met the gang downstairs, grabbed a coffee and we were off to the swim start. I didn’t expect Roger to come along but I am always thankful when he does. We gave Trevor and John a lift and getting there in good time allowed for Roger to get a decent parking spot for his escape afterwards.
Mother Nature was good to me and I decided not to take the Imodium, a mad scramble for Angie though and I did find her some and as a result she loves me! HA! J
As much as I was laughing and joking with everyone I still had a moment with Roger where I was nervous and self-doubt was trying to creep in. He got me to dismiss those thoughts and sent me to my bike with a hug and a kiss. At least I remembered to put the zinc on after I kissed him this year!
Swim:
Headed to my spot on the beach and saw Sarah Van Tine, who was doing her 1st half. She was nervous and I totally understand where she was coming from. I just looked at her with as much peace and calm that I could muster for her and I hope that she was able to take from me what I was giving her.
I was sad that I missed singing “Oh Canada”, but I was able to watch the clock and when it went off I was ready.
The goo and “odor” of Hubbles Lake has not changed! The water was warm and I found my space very quickly and headed towards the bouy. The one bit of feedback that I would like to give the race director is the colour of the men’s swim caps needs to be changed. Orange caps/orange buoys, kind of confusing at 1st for this old gal!
The Power Bar arch was a HUGE improvement and it was so easy to site the shore for the get-out-and-run-back-in spot. I heard the cheering and was very pleased to hear Roger call my name before I headed back in to the goo and water.
I pressed on for the 2nd loop and still enjoy just being able to swim and not count laps!
As I exited the water I was able to get my suit unzipped much easier than I did at Wasa perhaps it was because I could feel my hands on my suit as they weren’t frozen? Got my suit stripped and found my bike on the 1st try! (I have been known to miss it).
Swim: 35:35 Good enough for 1st in my AG! PB as well!
Transition wasn’t too bad. I had decided to wear my bike jersey, as the weather didn’t look too promising. Speaking of which, the weather forecast stated rain around 2 or 3pm. It ended up backwards.
I was comfortable with my transition execution and I was on the bike ready for the next stage of the race.
Bike:
As I spun up the hill, I was taking in some Infinit right away. For the 1st time it actually tasted decent! Probably due to the fact I was thirsty and needed to rinse out the Hubbles Lake taste. It was great to see Roger as I turned left he said I was right on time! J
I always find the 1st 10-15k of the bike interesting. This time the added attraction of rain made it more challenging. I know I have a decent swim time and what “gets” me is all the athletes, in particular the guys who are hell bent for election right from the get go. So few yelled “on your left”, I may not be the fastest cyclist but their need for speed had me riding a bit more cautious as I did not wish to be hit or called for blocking as they all jockeyed for positions riding past me.
I was glad when I could settle into my pace and aerobars. Once I got going I sipped on my infinit as one of my goals was to ensure I consumed all 3 bottles on the course. I did miss my arm warmers and my toes got cold as well so my toe covers would’ve been a plus. I stayed in my aeros as much as possible as it was WAY warmer there!
“The rain in Spain is mainly on the plain” or in this case, Stony Plain. It didn’t really let up the entire ride and this was a 1st for me, riding in the rain. I didn’t like it but I was ok as my core was warm. I was glad I had my jersey on. There were times where my visibility was challenged with the spray from the vehicles and the bikes that went by. I had a good ride and even managed to make it to 37km before I had to stop and pee. Finally two vehicles on the same side of the road that I could pull over and use as semi cover! As it turned out they were from Saskatoon and Rider Priders, we are everywhere!
As I was getting on my bike, I heard a “Go Leslie-Anne” from the other side; someone in a blue pick up truck was cheering me on. No idea who it was but thanks for the support!
Due to the rain I was a bit hesitant on the hill descents. I stayed as far right as I could to give other cyclists as much space as possible. I was concerned enough for the ones descending in their aerobars (one crossed the yellow line and where were the race marshals?) that I decided that I needed to feel safer and slowed up a bit should they crash I might be able to avoid them. The climbing was good and I was happy with how I executed those climbs. I made sure to yell “on your left” as I went by!
A slight head wind on the return I noticed my legs were getting cold and somewhat stiff. I kept pedalling and as I was on the final stretch into Stony I finished my Infinit. I successfully transferred my fuel without stopping to do so AND consumed it all! J
I was glad to get off the bike, not because I was tired of riding (well a little) but I the fact my legs were cold! As I dismounted I am sure I looked like the little old man from the show Laugh-In as I felt stiff and unable to move out of a crouch position.
Bike: 3:01:09 slightly slower than last year (by 1:09) but due to the weather I am ok with this time. 11th in my AG.
I was a bit un-coordinated in transition due to brain freeze and other parts near frozen, I did ok. The athlete who caught me on the last 1 km of the ride managed to get out of transition just before me! Soooo close!
Run:
The moment I’ve been waiting for, the run. Given my challenges the last few half marathon races I was very focused on execution for this race. I added water to my run fuel in transition, as I didn’t want that fuel to be sitting for hours in the sun. In hindsight what sun but at least it was “fresh” as I began the 21km ahead of me.
A quick pit stop and I was off. The goal was not to start too fast, keep it even, keep focused on moving one foot in front of the other and above all keep pace. It did take almost 2k before I could feel my feet!
A slight deterrent as I came out of the downtown and that was to see Angie on the pathway. I ran over to her to check in. I thought it was odd that she was over there, 1st thing I thought was she was having gut issues. As I got closer I could see she was upset and I learned that she was pulling herself off the course.
I wanted to help but I couldn’t. I checked in with her to ensure she was ok and it wasn’t until she yelled at me to get going I knew she would be. Very challenging to see someone so focused on racing not being able to complete, I had to put it aside and focus on what I needed to do, and that was to finish. Off I went to complete my race.
I was running merrily along but soon felt warm and realized I should’ve taken my jersey off. I was hoping that Roger would be some where along the course and he was. As I approached him I could hear his cousin say, “She’s trying to take her shirt off, if she can!” I went by him and yelled, “Oh look, I dropped my jersey” in case any race marshals were nearby and could not accuse me of getting assistance from a bystander. That helped but soon afterward the familiar cramping began for which I was prepared and made it to the once again, “perfectly placed porta potties”. In I go, in goes the Imodium and I continued on I suspect I lost close to 5 mins but I thought I was going to be ok for the rest of the run.
The weather was holding but my guts were not, the fuel I brought was not going to sit in me so I did not take any in. Water at the aid stations and that was it until towards the end when I took in some oranges. Did that hurt me in the end time wise? Maybe. Next time I will dilute the fuel as it works in training. There was NO way I was going to take in Gatorade, that stuff really makes me gag.
The turn around was there before I knew it and as I headed home those familiar cramps appeared and I hit the loo in perfect timing. Damn! That wasn’t supposed to happen! That being said, I did say this race was to test a few things out and I now know for Calgary 70.3 the Imodium goes in before the race starts and one more before I get off the bike.
I did “drop” my fuel belt and Roger picked it up. Glad he had not moved off the course!
The last 6km were tough as the sun came out and the humidity was challenging for me.
That is when I believe the lack of fuel intake hit me as well. All that did for me though was to focus even harder. I know this wasn’t my “A” race but I was determined to finish strong. Stopped to check in with another TTL’er on the course that wasn’t having a good day. Mike would finish, just wasn’t a good day for him. He wished me well and I accepted those wishes and forged ahead.
As I came up the main street I could see Trevor ahead of me and I did my best to catch him. That last climb I was close but when his girls came out to run with him across the line I knew it wasn’t my time. He did not need anyone going past him like a crazed fool when it was so important to his girls to be there with him. I smiled and enjoyed their moment as a family.
One more thing about that last climb I could hear Angie’s voice from the bottom of the hill. I am not kidding, it was loud and clear! I loved the cheering from all the TTL’ers, other people who were there; it’s always such a rush to come to a finish line!
Roger was at the finish line with my ice cold Pilsner, ahhhhhh, soooo tasty!!!
Run: 2:14:04 (7 minutes faster than last year.) 24th in my AG
Overall time: 5:50:47 Good enough for 10th! I MADE THE TOP TEN!!!! OMG!!!
I am SUPER pleased with the overall result. It was a goal to make the top 10 and I did (stated in my race plan) Secret goal was to place 1st in the swim (not stated in my race plan)
Lessons learned for Calgary 70.3 (and any other half ironman for that matter): Take Imodium before the swim start and before I get off the bike. I will gladly pay the price afterwards in order to see that run time better. I KNOW I can do better and if it weren’t for those two stops…
Run fuel will be diluted, in other words less in the bottle before I start. I will have the powder in the bottle before I begin and add water as I start the run. I cannot stand stuff that sits in bottles for too long (part of the challenge I have with taking Infinit).
I had a good race and I am pleased with how things went. I don’t mind the cold, didn’t really like riding in the rain but I did it and survived.
As I started the run, I was ok with the thought of 21kms. Funny how that is as it seems not so long ago that I was terrified to run that distance and now I can approach it with a more relaxed mind. Slowly but surely I will conquer the run and all the demons that I face each time I am out on the course.
I consumed a massive burger, sweet potato fries, veggies and beer before heading home. Drove through the worst hailstorm! My gawd that was loud! No damage, which is a good thing.
I’m looking forward to the challenge of Calgary 70.3; it will be just that, a challenge.
Thanks to all of the support from my coach, Roger as well as family and friends of TTL’ers, we are formidable team and I am very proud to be a part of it!
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