Curious George Triathlons

Weekend List: One day early

Yeah, yeah, so call me crazy...I'm looking forward to the weekend.

My kids are off school for 10 days starting tomorrow. I'm insanely jealous, but it will be nice having them around. Oh wait, the youngest one just got her license...they probably won't be around much. Boooo.

I'm re-knitting some sleeves on a really cool sweater I made, but I made the sleeves too big. One sleeve down, one to go. I started a really cool scarf out of sock yarn. I should (keyword: should) also finish up my other projects that are lying around in bags. Just sayin'.

I've had a weird feeling this week of having too much time on my hands. I don't even recall the last time I said that. It could be decades ago. I talked about this to my friend AJ last night and he said, "that is why you do Ironman...you go until you fall asleep". But this week with certain parts of my life not being as busy as they usually are, I feel the need to add something in. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  What is wrong with this picture? I'm doing two workouts a day, full time job, but I feel bored right now. I can't put my finger on it. I'm sure it will go away soon.

Okay, so here is the Weekend List:

1) Brick. Saturday.

2) Long run. Sunday.

3) Swim: Sunday.

4) Finish 2nd sleeve of "makeover sweater".

5) Work on new scarf.

6) Expense reports (2). El yay!

7) Photograph the Beer Mile. Participation was fun last year, but once was enough. OMG.

I think that's about all I can handle this weekend. Don't you agree?

Pacific Crest half ironman 2009

Pacific Crest half ironman 2009

June 27, 2009

Weather:35F when I woke up,  41F when I got to the lake, 94 at end of run. Very hot, very dry.

Night prior, went to bed at 10, sleep came easily once I knew I had my alarm set. Woke up at 5:30, made 2 pieces peanut butter toast. Ate one, looked at the other one. Sipped water all morning. Had packed up the night before, so all I needed to do was to get the family in the car and load the bike onto the rack.

Pacific Crest is a point-to-point race, meaning you start swimming, then bike *to* your running stuff. This means you have to set up two separate transition areas. So, on our way out of Sunriver, we stopped and I took my running shoes, visor, and bottle of 500 calories of diluted Hammer Gel (yummy after sitting in the hot sun all day, later on…ew) and an orange hand towel to place it on so that I could spot it easily. After doing many triathlons that are not point-to-point, just seeing your running shoes and visor sitting there looks like you’ve missed something and I had to stand there and really think about whether I was missing something important. We were about to drive for 45 minutes to get to the lake, so if I missed anything, I was out of luck.

Nerves were pretty bad. I know this course and it is hard, and I saw the sun and knew it was going to be a scorcher. But mainly, I was nervous because this race was a test of where I was in my training at this time and I was hoping for good indicators. I knew I’d put in the training, but I had my memories of the year before, running in 98 degree weather and that added to the nervous stomach. (Post race note: After I finished,  I had been thinking in my head that this race is harder than IMC and then I heard two women saying the same thing after the race.)

Got to the lake and it was beautiful, as usual. It’s in the middle of the Deschutes National Forest

and there’s just nothing to improve upon up there. I had been up for a practice swim on Friday morning and while a little cold, nothing too bad with the wetsuit on. The race was postponed due to many of the competitors not making it to the lake on time due to not reading construction signs. HELLO, people, the race company posted it all over the Expo. Put your glasses on.

The race started 30 minutes late, which I knew meant for a hotter run but I really didn’t let it bother me. I had a rice cake and 2 extra Hammer Gels that I was lucky enough to have brought along or mooch. Oh, and I *did* eat that second piece of PB toast, by the way, on the drive up to the lake. I was in the 5^th wave, so started at 9:46. The first buoy was under the tallest tree on the lakeside, so I decided to sight on the tree, not on the buoy. Good move. It was so bright up there that the white buoys were hard to see at certain angles. I swam about 5 minutes to warm up and felt great. Felt strong, very excited to race, and energized. Situated myself way to the right of the group in the front row. Had watched other waves and they were swimming way to the left of the buoys, adding yardage to their swim. I didn’t need that!

The spectators helped the announcer count down for us and we were off! I tried and tried to get on toes, but couldn’t. The one guy I was trying to draft off of was exactly my speed and I tried to slow down and stay on his feet but then was too slow, even at the lower effort that I was putting out. Scott (coach) had said to try to draft, even if going slower, because of the lesser effort, but I wasn’t moving following this guy so I tried to draft off his side, which worked for awhile. Maybe 500 yards. The only other guy my speed in my wave was too far off course for me to want to draft off him.

I felt great in the water, just nice and strong. In spite of not being able to draft, I did get some drafting when I passed some folks from other waves. I love catching up to the next wave…it’s a morale booster early in the race! I had a bit of a cramp in the lower part of my left quad, which kind of freaked me out, never having had a leg cramp on the swim before, EVER. I just stopped kicking and it would work itself out. Kick hard and it would come back. I was breathing heavily, but comfortably, and pushing a lot of water, just concentrating on good form and massive pulls. I love lake swimming. If I could swim in a lake every day I would be one happy girl.

As I rounded the last buoy, with maybe 400 yards left to go, I started to visualize my exit from the water and my transition. That is when it hit me. “Oh shit, I forgot to put on my timing chip!!”  I had been (and am usually) very organized in my race preparation and my chip was on the ankle strap in the “swim” pocket of my bag. Now, I’m lucky that my son Graham knows how organized I am because when I exited the water  I heard Graham’s voice and I tried to locate him by running to where the family had been. Nope…not there. Duh, they were right by my bike…WITH MY BAG! Graham knew I would have put the chip with the swim stuff, so, while I scrambled out of my wetsuit and into my helmet, bagging all the T1 goods in a plastic bag for transport, tying the bag (risk of DQ if you don’t tie the bag), Graham and Jon and Sara were scrambling in my bag, looking for my chip. “Here it is!” Graham yelled and tossed it to me. I velcroed it on and ran back to the timing mat (to start my chip activation) crossed over, and back and then finally got my bike and ran like crazy to the bike mount. Transition was like 4-5 minutes…UGH. But, since T1 is such a long run, I’d put my bike shoes on my bike and tried to do a cross mount (one foot on pedal, throw leg over and after getting some momentum, wiggle into and fasten shoes). I’m sure I was the laughingstock of T1, but whatever, I put my shoes on while I was riding! I’m making progress.

Settled in and at mile 7, Alan passed me, which meant I’d beaten him out of the swim! 7 years of triathlon and I FINALLY beat him on the swim. Turns out I was first woman out in my AG  (age group) and 6^th in my AG overall, men and women. Cool! 31^st overall of all the racers in the swim. 32:00.

Anyway, the bike…at around mile 7, when I’d settled into a nice pace and was rolling up and down the initial hills, I started to take on my nutrition. I had 3 bottles of Infinit, planning for one per hour, but a little less. I knew I’d be over 3 hours for this bike leg, but knew I’d be okay with a little less than 250 calories per hour. I felt pretty good on the first 20ish miles of the bike…then my butt started to call out. “Body? Can we take a short break please?” to which body replied, “Butt, don’t pay attention to the pain, we have 38 miles left to go, just ignore it.” And the conversation went on like that for the rest of the ride. There are 3 difficult climbs on this bike leg, but the most significant is miles 32-39. I was in my lowdown granny gear, chugging along at something like negative 6 mph. I had some cramping on the bike too – a new thing for me. Lower left quad and inner left thigh. Ow. If I spun them out, they got better.

Oh, and by the way, my bike computer wasn’t working. Can you imagine? Me, who relies like crazy on my 80 rpm and my 19 mph, and all that. I went by total perceived exertion and heart rate and did quite well, but it threw me for a loop at mile 1 when I discovered it. I chose to not let it rattle me and just went on.

So, back to the bike at mile 20. Was feeling strong and handling the small rollers okay, but I’m no climber. My family passed me in a 3-car caravan, which was awesome, to say the least.  I’m not a great climber and it’s a little of a poke in the self esteem when other cyclists pass you with what seems like little effort, but I also passed my share of men, so there was a little bad, but a little good, too. I was doing fine, mentally. On the second climb, same thing, but there was a short respite of a flat and then I had to mentally gear up for the rest.

Mile 32-39 I would rather not revisit, but let’s suffice it to say these miles took a very long time. So long that I thought I’d missed a mile marker here and there. BUT…but then MY FAMILY! There they all were again, this time on the side of the road, jumping up and down, yelling for me!  These people were at a beautiful resort and would have without a doubt rather been sunning themselves at the pool, and they drove miles and miles in the heat to cheer me on. Addison, Kaylie, Mariah, Tony, Aaron, Hattie, Melissa, Colleen, Jon, Jay, Graham, and Sara. They basically got up early and spent all day in a car or standing, waiting in the 94 degree weather to cheer me on. Thanks you guys, so much. I appreciated your shouts and your smiles and your waves. Oh, and Sara, that snowball…well…a snowball to the chest never felt so good.

I need to work on climbing.

My HR was about 165 during the big climb and nothing I did made it slow down. I was having some cramping issues at the base of my right glute, so would stand up for 8-12 pedal strokes from time to time, but that helped to keep me loose, so it was all right and didn’t increase my HR. The plan was to stay at 160, but I managed that for the bulk of the ride, so I stuck to the plan most of the time.

At mile 39, I shifted up and got my body down as low as I could go and just went as hard as I could for about 14 miles of the Best. Descent. Ever. It’s wide, hardly any cars, no crap in the road…what extreme fun!! Graham has been telling me to be less of a scaredly cat and I think I’m getting better now.  I think I got to about 35 mph in some spots, which for me is comet-speed. Around mile 46-48, I noticed a huge cramp in the outer underside of my right foot. It nearly brought me to tears trying to stretch it out, and it was worse if I didn’t. I didn’t know what to do. Get off the bike? No, never. Streeeetttch. Ow ow ow. Finally, finally it went away. I have never had cramping issues. I hydrated and had electrolytes and still, huge cramp. I’m chalking it up to the altitude.  I’ve never had any cramping in any triathlons. This was a new thing for me. Annoying.

Around mile 56, I rolled into Sunriver, started to spin and stretch and visualize my run transition. I wiggled out of my bike shoes and dismounted (can you say…ungainly?) and ran to my shoes. There was no space to rack my bike. People are such JERKS when they rack your bike over your stuff! This is the second race this year at which this has happened. Karma will get those people. No doubt J  Bike split approx 3:35.

I threw my bike at the nearest open spot, put on my shoes, tugged the lace locks and grabbed my race number belt and visor and started running, slowly. Put on the race belt and number as I loped down hill over the rocky, sandy, exit to T2. There is an immediate uphill and The Fat Man was sitting on my chest (4821 feet) and I decided to walk up the hill so as not to spike my HR that early in the run. In retrospect, that was a smart move. I ran it last year (pride) and I don’t think I ever recovered from that half mile. Then there is a downhill and lo and behold, there was part of my family again! Little Kaylie, my 4-year-old niece was there with her Ironheads visor on and it gave me the boost I needed. My strategy was to get to mile 3, because right before mile 3 is a hill that, when you are looking at it and not racing, is negligible. When you are racing with The Fat Man sitting on you, it is a mountain. After mile 3, my next goal was to get to 5, then to 8. Jay, Sara, Graham and my friend Eryn were going to be at 8, and that was the point where my coach, Scott, had said to “let it all hang out”. Well, for the day and the heat and the altitude, I did what I call, “the best I could with what I had.”

I was putting ice cubes in my sports bra at every aid station and 5 cups of water on my body at the same time. 2 down the back, 1 down the front, and 1 down each arm. It is basically what got me to the finish. I wonder how many women were running with “square ice cube boob”. Probably all of us!

At mile 7, I started running with this one woman, Jill. She was a chatty one, and it kept me running. I kept quiet (I know…what a concept, right?) and saved what little oxygen I was taking in. At mile 8, Jay and Sara and Graham and Eryn were there. I tossed Graham my bottle of Hammer, because I’d taken in only about 100 calories of the 500 and thought I was going to puke twice, so I knew my stomach was shutting down. Oddly enough, after I stopped taking in calories, my stomach settled but I had, um, gas. J  Anyway, having the cheers of my kidlings and my hubby got me boosted up and I found another gear. I left chatty Jill behind (I was surprised!) and kicked it in. I was looking and looking for mile 9 and got a little bummed when I couldn’t find it, only to come up on mile 10. Someone had ripped out the mile 9 marker. Oy.

 

At 10, I basically shuffled in (ran as hard as I could) to the next mile and the next. At 12, Graham started to run me in and I entertained him with my farting. (“My mom is cooler than your mom, she can fart these HUGE farts!). Graham passed me off to Sara for the final 100m. and we held hands for a sprint finish. Run split: approx. 2:32. Slower than my last Ironman split halfway through. But. I still feel like I did the best I could with the conditions of the day.

I bent over to take my chip off and started to see circles and other lovely swirly things and in about 2 seconds, Mr. Paramedic was there, escorting me to the medical tent for some tasty, tasty oxygen. My HR wen from about 172-121 in about a minute. The funniest thing was when they made me spell my last name! Jeez, couldn’t they have made me spell something like “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”?

Took a cold shower after getting a clean bill of health from the Paramedic Dude and went to find my wonderful support crew. I saw my friend Ann Ciaverella and she said, “Dude, your lips are purple, are you ok!??” So I knew that I needed to just sit and breathe.

Total time: 6:46.33

Swim: 32:00

T1: way too long (4:10)

Bike: 3:35.16

T2: 2:34

Run: 2:32.33

All in all, I stuck to the plan, but the altitude killed me. I am very, very (very) pleased that I am back to pre-car-accident times. That just thrills me to no end. This was my PR for this course. Not sure I want to do this race again. I’ve done it 3 or 4 times now and it’s so damn hard and it’s so hot! But who knows. I’m a masochist, after all J

Mentally, I did a great job on this race. The two major screw ups were all mine (forgot timing chip and didn’t test out bike computer before racing) but I didn’t let those screw ups ruffle me. I passed a lot of people on the run at mile 9 and 10 who’d zoomed by me at mile 5. My shuffling steadiness paid off those last few miles. A teammate of mine said I looked good, form-wise. This isn’t a person who’d toss sunshine around for good measure, so that was a good compliment. I wish I could improve my speed in this race, but again… “did the best I could with what I had”.

My husband and kids and the rest of my cheerstaff are second to none. Really.

 

15th in AG out of 28.

1st F swimmer out of water, 6th overall AG swim, 31st swimmer OA

Blue Lake Olympic 2009

June 14, 2009

Gresham, Oregon

weather: overcast and between 60-70, a bit humid on the run

 

Got in the front row for the swim, in the middle. Set off strong, but not sprinting, tried to get a draft, but it was *very* crowded. As it was, another swimmer and I "vee-d out" my uncle! I didn't mean to. One woman was stroke for stroke with me, trying to push me to the right and she was there so long I just got angry, but I wasn't going to stop swimming. I really didn't have to sight much. I could see Alan (my uncle, who is right at my speed) and my friend Darrin, who is about my speed, over to my right and I just stayed a body length to their left. Pays to race local where you know the field! :-) The back stretch of the swim is nice and long and I just put my head down and tried to go hard. As I rounded the last buoy, I couldn't see many gold caps, so I knew I was up front in the wave. After touching the sand three times, I stood up and there was Alan, right ahead of me. I ran ahead of him and we crossed the timing mat at the same moment. We had the spectators lining transition laughing as we pushed each other out of the way a little. :-)

 

Transition was fast. I had no problems with the wetsuit, and just jammed on my helmet and glasses and ran out. It's a bit of a long run in cleats, but I don't have the skill yet to get on the bike and get into my shoes after that. 2:38 with kind of long runs into and out of T1.

 

 The start of the bike is flat with a slight uphill to more flat. I think the entire course only has two or three very small hills. I settled into 19+ and just rode hard. I wanted to see how hard I could ride and still have enough left for a respectable run. I had beaten Graham out of the water, but I knew he'd be close behind. Turns out he'd seen me pass him on the swim and had tapped me but since it was so crowded in the water, I wasn't sure it was him. I thought it might have been, just wasn't sure till afterwards. Anyway, he passed me on the bike when I was at 2.55 miles and we had some nice encouragement to pass back and forth. Other people around us were like, "That's your son? That's so cool!" There are two turns in an office complex and then the bike goes back out onto the main road towards the PDX airport. I just tried to maintain that even 19+ pace because that's where I was breathing hard and my legs were really working hard, but I wasn't out of my league. At the turn at about 15 miles, we either had a slight tailwind or the road slopes ever so slightly down, because I was able to hold 20+ with the same effort. I pushed it when I could, but that was about what I could manage on the tired legs. I was pleased with the effort level and was wishing the bike would last longer for a shorter run, but no such luck! haha. Slipped out of my shoes and while I don't have the cross dismount down, I was able to get off the bike in bare feet since I didn't want to run in cleats again for the length of that transition.

 

Racked the bike, put on the race belt and shoes and hat and was out of there in 1:38 -- again with kind of long runs in and out of T2.

 

Got breathing under control and SURPRISE...my legs felt OKAY! What a great surprise. Even Jay, who usually criticizes my shuffling run form said I looked good on the run and said that he could see air under my feet. I've been working on keeping good run form, even when I'm really tired, and this came into play today. It worked for me and any time I'd want to slack off a little, I'd talk myself out of it and would make myself get back on track. I was pleased with the mental aspect of this race. I've been working on that a lot and the work seems to be paying off. Usually the run goes on forever for me and this one was mentally faster. Before I knew it, I was at the turnaround. My friend Tamar was volunteering there and she had the whole aid station cheering for me, which was awesome. Also, during the run, it was fantastic to see all the Ironheads out there and we were slapping hands and shouting encouragement. Great atmosphere. I saw Graham getting ready to overtake a kid in his age group, and that was also a good mental "upper". About mile 4, my legs were starting to fall off but I just kept going as fast as I could and tried to stay strong. Mile 5 came and went and then we were back into the park with some short ups and downs which were very hard about then! I was just trying to maintain the "going fast as I can" pace. Sara was looking for me by sitting atop a jungle gym in the park and she spotted me and cheered and ran back to tell the family I was coming in. Right before the finish line, there is a small hill that is really tough, but my family was on top of the hill and I muscled up it and ran as fast as I could to finish. 2:39.48. I had really wanted to get under 2:40 so I was really happy. Couldn't even move to get my chip off!

 

Went and had a very short massage and a large chocolate soy milk and a turkey sandwich and felt pretty good. Something was sore toward the back and underneath my hip joint but I kept trying to walk it out all day and today -- day after -- it is mostly gone. Today my traps are a little sore from the aerobars, but legs are not sore at all. Another surprise.

 

All in all, I'm pleased with this race. My PR for the course is 2:35+, but that was in 2004, pre-accident and re-hab. Last year I went a 2:43+, which is another reason I'm happy with this time for this year. I think the swim was a little bit of a snafu, as it was so crowded and I had to fight for a lot, but I did the best I could with what I had.

5th in AG out of 22.

Canby Gator Grinder 2009

Canby Gator Grinder 2009
May 9, 2009
sunny and quite warm -- maybe 80 by the run finish

Had a pretty good race on Saturday! 6:59 swim!!! That is fun. A post-college PR. They put me first in my lane and the guy behind me was on my tail the entire way, which probably helped me to keep going strong. I wasn't going to let him pass me :-) With getting out of the water and crossing the mat, they had me at a 7:08 split. T1 went very fast and I was out on the bike quickly. Settled in and went fast, as the first few miles were relatively flat. They had miles spray painted on the road and for the first 10 miles, they were right on, but at 11, my computer read 10.71 and it kept up like that. Both G and I had 11.84 on our computers at the end of the bike. So, I think it was short. Did a 40 low, and I don't think my time would have been that fast for such a hilly course. After those first few miles, it was quite hilly and have I mentioned that I SUCK AT CLIMBING? Tried to be aggressive on the downhills and flats.

 

Anyway, when I came into T2, some bonehead had racked his bike right on top of my transition. What an ass! I shoved his bike over, as there wasn't even room to rack my bike. My shoes were at his front wheel and I was getting more and more pissed off. So, T2 took a tad longer than it should have, but not bad. I felt GREAT on the run. After settling my breathing, I just tried to keep it at redline and build. I thought I was going to PR, but ended up at 27:10 -- not far off, (26:57 is my PR) but not what I was expecting by feeling so relaxed. It dawned on me later that maybe some of the relaxed feeling meant I could have possibly pushed harder, but who knows? I felt like I was going as fast as I could for 5K.

 

1:17:10 overall for the ... AGE GROUP WIN. I've never won my age group before! Son and daughter won their age groups too. G went a 1:06 for a PR! S wanted to go under 1:35 and she did a 1:34.41. Pretty cool.

Albany Sprint Triathlon 2009 race report

Albany Sprint Triathlon

April 19, 2009

8:00 am start

Quite cold – 38-40F, but sunny. Warmer at the end – 55F

Swim: 750 meters: 11:45.

Bike: 20K: 39 low.

Run: 5K: 28+

 

Started strong but not sprinting on the swim. That distance sucks to sprint! Stayed very strong the whole time. Glanced at watch at finish and was at 11:45. Transition was fast -- approx. 1 minute. Redlined the bike -- wanted to go under 40. Barely made it with a 39 low. The results have me in at 40:40, but that is with dismount and short run in to transition. I felt really strong on the bike. Route was pretty flat with a minimum of sharp turns. Really think I managed the pace well. Trouble getting helmet off (again) because of cold hands, but finally unclipped it and went out on the run. Felt really good and thought I was going pretty fast. But, their first mile marker was early -- I mean I KNEW I hadn't run a 7:30 mile (dammit) -- and I was trying to build the pace but they didn't even have a 2nd mile marker, so no idea what I did for the miles on the run. Was a little bummed with a 28+, especially for a mostly flat course, but I went as hard as I could. Don't know what happened. Was completely sprinting the last 400m and probably not going very fast! :-)

 

1:22.49

 

2nd AG

 

13th OA

 

Not sore afterwards, just back and upper forearm tiredness from the bike, I think. Actually planted our garden after we got home. Was really tired, but felt good.

Beaver Freezer Sprint Triathlon 2009 race report

Beaver Freezer Sprint Triathlon

April 4, 2009

Weather: very cold – 38F-45F, but clear and sunny

500 swim: 7:03

20K bike: 39 high

5K run: 26.57 (!)

1:16 -- PR in all 3 legs, PR by 3 min. overall

 

Warmed up in the diving pool -- so not a great warmup, but not bad, either.

 

Was in first position in my lane, but about 150 into it, the guy in position 2 passed me, and I had to wait on the wall 3-4 seconds (this is funny...remember this fact...). Felt strong the whole swim, if not a little freaked out. I think I did a pretty good job, got a split of about 7:03, I believe (they haven't posted results) which is a post-college PR for me for the 500.

Ran out to transition. It was about 38 - 40F. Brr! But, I was warm enough to *not* pull on my arm warmers and just put on my shoes and helmet and went. Fast transition -- 1:15 or so.

 

After settling my breathing, I pretty much went as fast as I could manage for 12 miles. At mile 6+, I tried to add some effort, and it paid off. I passed two men who'd been just a little bit in front of me for the first 6 miles and I was able to hang on to my pace. Oddly enough, the only part of me that was cold were my thighs! Anyway, came into transition, took my shoes off and ran barefoot. The transition is long. Made the switch to running shoes, but my hands were pretty cold and I really had to focus to get the clip of my helmet undone! Still, had a fast transition -- something like 1:15 as well.

Ran out and realized I hadn't pulled one of my shoes tight so quickly bent over to pull it but then took off with somewhat numb feet. Hadn't noticed that on the bike, but the cold must have affected them a little. It wasn't a big deal -- they came around within about 200m. The run is a 3-loop thing with only one slight rise at the end of each mile. My plan was to increase the pace each mile and I did. Jay got me at 8:43, 8:39 and approx. 8:36. Not sure if that adds up, but my split was a 26:57. I felt surprisingly good on the run. I had no idea what my pace was till Jay told me, but I felt like I was going 10:00 on the first mile, so it was a nice surprise. That split is my best 5k run split.

So, ended up with a 1:16+ and 2nd AG. 1st in my AG was (see above) 3 seconds ahead of me.  Ha! Dang.

 

I was 15th woman.

 

Fun race, very cold day, but no rain.

 

My legs were not sore afterwards which was a huge surprise. Tired muscles, but not sore. I did have a little soreness in my back and neck, probably from the bike.

Ironman Canada 2008

Ironman Canada 2008

August 24, 2008

Penticton, British Columbia

Weather at 7am start: overcast and approximately 65F

During the weeks leading up to my second Ironman, I felt more butterflies than I did last year, I think. Of course, I may have blocked out some of that, but in any case, for the week leading up to the event, I was very nervous and excited. The family had a great time hitting the road for our vacation, spending some time in Leavenworth and reconnecting after a busy summer. Luckily, my kids are really fun to spend time with and my husband rocks, so I was having a really good time, butterflies or not.

I had been watching the Penticton weather online every chance I could, as though it would make a difference. I was mostly concerned that I would have the right tools to deal with a hot day, should that have been the case. Never in a million years did I think I’d get rained on during my entire marathon!

I slept pretty well for a pre-race night. Got right out of bed at 4am, though, with butterflies accompanying me to the toaster for my usual pre-race breakfast of two pieces of peanut butter toast. I ate it all, albeit slowly, as I got my nutrition bottles stuffed into my Special Needs bags. I’d already stashed my transition bags on Saturday, when I turned in my bike. I planned on taking in 250 calories of my Infinit mix each hour on the bike, but took along some gels just in case I needed more. I also had 250 calories of diluted tropical Hammer Gel available for the run…more on that later.

The body marking was changed for the better this year and thus I had plenty of time to sit with Jay for a bit after that was taken care of and to take in the huge crowd that was amassing along Lakeshore Blvd. It will never cease to amaze me that folks literally hang out of trees to see 2500 crazy people start this race!

 

I had decided a few days prior that I was going to start right in the middle, up front. I’m a strong swimmer and just hoped that I was strong enough to manage the crowd from that starting point. I placed myself about two or three rows back and got my head wet to make sure my goggles were on correctly and just stood there, watching the pros make their way to the houseboat. Peter Reid was manning the cannon and while the announcer got us going with some cheers and some AC/DC on the loudspeaker, I stood in the water up to my waist and wondered at the fact that this is my hobby – something I do “for fun”.

There was a guy near us who reminded all of us, “No breaststroke kick, people!” and we all laughed, hoping his warning would be taken to heart. Darrin Smith was near me, and we chatted nervously, hugged each other good luck and then stared straight ahead, waiting for the countdown and cannon blast. “Five, four, three, two, ONE!” and I hit my watch as the cannon went off and I dove off to start swimming. I felt very strong and while the start was a complete mess, I managed to keep calm, just telling myself over and over to reach out, keep calm, stay strong.  It worked.  As I approached each buoy, I clicked it off in my head and worked on getting to the next one. I saw the same two women near me the entire way. I approached the house boat and made my turn. Way more crowded there and I had to talk myself into being calm again. I had a little trouble seeing and thought I was supposed to turn, but there was still another buoy before turning for home.  Luckily, I didn’t get off course.  Too many people there to do that!  I got picked up and moved by one guy at that point, so maybe I did make a slight turn, but was back on track very shortly. The rest of the swim felt really great, and I only got kicked in the head one time with about 500 meters to go. I had purposely not looked at my watch at the halfway point, and was absolutely thrilled to see a 1:01 as I finally stood up!  Crossed the pad at 1:02, 7^th in my age group and a four minute improvement from my split from 2007.

The wetsuit strippers made quick work and I ran to my T1 bag and then ran to the tent.  Put on my helmet and shoes, stood still for a second for the volunteers to slather on the sunscreen, and made my way to my bike. It’s about 200 meters from where my bike was racked to the bike mount and I had had trouble deciding whether to leave my bike shoes in my bag or to run transition with them on. I don’t yet have the skill to clip in while my shoes are on the bike. I ended up running my bike with my shoes on my feet, since I wanted to avoid stubbed toes. Mounted the bike and saw a couple of Ironhead supporters right then, shouting encouragement.  Rode down Main Street catching my breath and saw Jen Thompson and some other Ironheads on my right! After a few blocks, I saw my father-in-law and my wonderful kids and some other family members, but Jay hadn’t planned on me being out of the water that early and barely missed me as he waited for his caffeinated beverage from Fibonacci’s.

 

I felt at an advantage at knowing the course from last year, and planned on riding the first 40 miles conservatively, which I did. I do remember coming into the little town of Oliver and wishing I could have stopped for some breakfast – the smells coming out of some of the restaurants were pretty enticing and I still had an appetite. Sarah McMillan, Kaytee, David C., Scott B, and Ryan all passed me on the bike (um, yes, I actually am the ONE person who wishes the swim were longer for an Ironman) and we exchanged words of encouragement. The weather was great for a ride – overcast and cool enough not to wear arm warmers, neither too cold nor too hot. I enjoyed that section. And then I reached Richter Pass.

I was determined to “trot up Richter” like my coach had advised.  But how do you do that when you pretty much suck at climbing? It’s mental. I got down in a very easy gear and didn’t kill myself. I got to the crest of the third climb and dammit…I only remembered three climbs making up the pass and there were four! Crap. Up again.  I saw Linnea and her coach at the summit and was just glad that part of the bike was behind me.  Again this year, cannons were being shot off in the orchards to get the birds away from the fruit and it provided moments of laughter as various riders would feign being shot. Obviously, this was prior to The Hard Part at the end of that pass.

The ride seemed to go quickly for the first 65 miles. I was pretty surprised by that. At 65, my ass was killing me, and my neck and upper back were really starting to feel some honest pain. I was doing my stretches for my neck and back, but you can only do so much. As for the other parts…some things can only be remedied by getting off the bike at mile 112.

I really dislike the “Out and Back” portion of this course.  The pavement sucks, there are fewer spectators, it’s between mile 70 and 82 when you’re wanting off the bike more than at any other point in the race, and it’s just generally The Devil. I only got off my bike for about 20 or 30 seconds at Special Needs to replace my bottles and then rode off to finish that sucker and see my family at The Bear (fruit stand) at mile 85. I had to get off that saddle, even if only for a short moment. It helped a lot, but what helped SO much more was seeing my three awesome kids, my husband, and my in laws and aunt and uncle at the side of the road, yelling encouragement. My oldest son had these goofy sunglasses on and I had a good chuckle. A few miles later, I saw my wonderful parents who’d made the long trek to Penticton for their second year in a row, and good family friends who were driving them around the course. What a great few miles that was!  Was distracted enough to not feel any more pain for a bit until the bottom of Yellow Lake Pass.  From the bottom, you only see a short incline.  You don’t see the whole of it, which ends at a rest area full of spectators at the top.  The kids and Jay were there again, amazingly, and Miss and Alan were at the bottom cheering me on.

Last year, it was Yellow Lake that seemed the easier of the two passes.  This year, it was definitely Richter that took less of a toll on me. After the crest of Yellow Lake FINALLY, I started to descend the scary-ass descent into Penticton. I had to get out of the aero position several times as I passed people who I was sure couldn’t hear me or as the wind nearly picked me up and moved me a meter to the right!  At one point, I was going 43mph, which for this coward is my highest RPM ever. That was pretty cool, and I was having fun.

At the point where the airport is on your left and Skaha Lake is on your right (about 102 miles) I had to completely get out of aero and grab my handlebars to make sure I wasn’t blown off the course. I saw the guy in front of me doing the same thing and I’m pretty sure the same words were coming out of his mouth that were coming out of mine. Not nice words. Coming into town was a blast. I knew I’d killed my split from last year and was trying really hard to get in under 7 hours.  As the volunteer said, “dismount here”, my response was, “GLADLY” and I jumped off and pulled off my shoes and tried to run to the T2 bags.  I was kind of weaving, but not due to lack of nutrition, just due to time spent on the bike. Nutrition was right on on the bike, and I took in 250 calories per hour, except for in the 4^th hour where I had 100 calories because I was starting to feel bloated.

The transition to the run was good. I pulled on my running shoes, changed shorts and stuffed a couple of gels into my shirt pocket and ran off, putting on my visor as I went. No sunscreen needed at this point, as it was starting to (gasp!) rain!  I heard my name being bellowed (those who know Steve know that this wasn’t just “yelling”) and looked to my right and saw teammates Steve Perkin and Marie Gansemer.  Leaving transition was like night and day from last year. Last year, I could barely walk and only did so out of pride – my family was sitting nine minutes into it – and this year I was jogging just fine and my heart rate did not spike at all. My mom and dad were in front of the condo at Tiki Shores and my kids were all there with Jay. Some teammates and family friends and Jay’s parents and aunt and uncle were there. I didn’t say much, just smiled and knocked fists with my dad. Jay asked how I felt and I honestly said, “pretty good!”. Frankly, I was just amazed that they were there at mile 1 after having just seen me at Yellow Lake. There is this back road…but I don’t share that secret.

My strategy was the same as last year, but to go faster. It is simple: first get to mile 13, then to 18, start working very hard, then to 22, then just bear down and push.  Who said Ironman is like labor? They are right. So, I started clicking off the miles, one by one. I didn’t keep mile splits. I have found that it doesn’t motivate me and actually works in reverse for me if I start to slow down in a race.

The rain certainly didn’t deter any of the spectators; it just prompted them to bring out their umbrellas and probably more beer. I only stopped very briefly at around mile 7 to stretch my back, and at mile 13 to get my Special Needs bag, which I didn’t use at all, but handed to my dad. Our friend Monte and my sweet dad braved the pouring rain to see me at the turnaround and my mom and Barb were watching and waving from the car. I could actually see them waving through the sheeting rain!  My father-in-law Jon and Uncle Alan rode the run course heckling and encouraging me when things got ugly.  They couldn’t ride beside me, but I could see them every now and then and they made calls to Jay and reported my progress to my parents.

During the run I saw the other IH competitors at various points in their effort. It was just great to feel the support coming from each of them and their families on the course.

 

Note to self: I need way less calories on the run than I think I do. For the entire run, I had about 150 calories from my diluted Hammer Gel and after mile 13, I alternated a little chicken broth at one aid station and a little cola at the next and back and forth. With three miles to go, I was very hungry, but downed two little drinks of cola and was just fine for the finish. I walked a little on mile 14 to get up that awful hill and then did a short stop again at 15 to do one last back stretch. The small of my back was seizing up any time I ran even slightly uphill and it was killing me. After 18, though, I think some strange endorphins kicked in and I was pretty motivated to Get. It. Done. 

Around mile 21, I saw a familiar figure running down the sidewalk toward me! It was Sara…and wow, was I ever glad to see her. Miles 18, 19, and 20 were pretty hard and seemed very long but there was Sara!  In a few more yards, I saw Cameron, Graham and Jay and then I could hear Mike Reilly at the finish line!  I knew I could handle my pace for 4-5 more miles and hearing the finish line and seeing the family again was just the thing I needed to get there. 22, 23, 24…then the throngs of people downtown. As I hit 24, I think they were three deep on Westminster! At 25, I was really about to fall over from hitting the wall that I was hitting, but the kids were there, my parents, Jay, the rest of the wonderful cheering section!!  When I made that final turn, I was elated, but I don’t think you could see it on my face. The kids were running down the sidewalk yelling encouragement and then finally, I could see the bright lights and the finish chute. It seemed to take forever to get down that final stretch. It was completely surreal. Sara finished through the chute with me and helped my catchers put the space blanket on me and get me my recovery drink.

I had knocked 17 minutes off my run split and 1:06 off my overall time for a final time of 13:12:32!!!! I was completely thrilled. The volunteers and Sara delivered me to Jay, Cameron and Graham and we walked a bit in the rain to try to get my stiff left knee to move and my back to feel better, but finally settled for just getting back to the condo.

 

As my two sons walked me back, very, very slowly to my waiting parents, they threatened to bring a wheelchair to transport me back next year. I reminded them that I’d vowed never to get in one of those again after 2006. They then changed their tune and said they’d bring a wheelbarrow instead.

Pacific Crest Half Ironman 2008

Weather at start: 70 and beautifully sunny. Lake: 63 degrees.

Weather at finish: 100 degrees and searingly sunny.

Altitude: between 4500 and 5000 feet. 8000 at peak of highest climb on bike.

I had been dreading the cold water for this race and all that dread was misspent. It was beautiful and the temperature of the lake was perfect for a wetsuit swim. I was very nervous before this race. I remembered how difficult the bike climbs were from three years prior and was just generally nervous for the effort. However, all in all, I felt very strong and told Jay that I felt I could put together a really strong race. I had no doubts in my abilities, just excitement and standard (if not more acute because of the climbing involved) pre-race nerves.

This race is point-to-point, so you set up T2 before the long drive up to the reservoir. Set up T2 with no problems except the nerves again and did the passenger seat freak out on the drive up to Wickiup. It's about a 40 minute drive of beautiful Ponderosa pine forest in the Deschutes National Forest. We got up to Wickiup in plenty of time to set up a good T1, visit with teammates and family, slather on the bodyglide and pull on the wetsuit.

I hugged Graham and kissed Jay and went to do my warmup swim. The elite wave had already gone off and I just wanted to get the arms moving and the heart rate up a little. I felt great. Saw a friend in the water who was in the wave after me, which was nice. I found a little rock to stand on so that I'd have some leverage and waited about 3 horrible nervous minutes before our wave got started. I hit my watch as the announcer counted down to 3-2-1 and pushed off the rock and started swimming. My legs felt horrible at first and I was in a much higher heart rate than I knew would be comfortable for 1900 meters, and I freaked a little bit, thinking my swim would totally suck. After about 300 meters, I got into a good rhythm and found clear water and just swam strongly toward the buoy. I had a really hard time seeing the second buoy and had to breaststroke a couple of strokes to make sure I was on course, which irked me. The buoys were white and hard to see in the bright sunlight. Anyway, I felt great about my swim overall, and was the first woman out of the water in my age group in a 32:50. It was great to hear that news from Graham upon exiting the water!

Ran to T1 and except for a bit of minor tugging and jumping around to get that first leg of my wetsuit off, had a pretty fast transition with a 2:39. I usually have more trouble with my wetsuit, so even though this time doesn't sound all that good, I was okay with it since there was less swearing at the neoprene than usual.

The first 3-5 miles of the bike are always a challenge for me, as I want to head off fast, but I always have to pull my heart rate down and get into a good cadence. I knew that the major climbs began at 27 miles, but I was feeling really strong, so I pushed fairly hard while still feeling very much in control and my breathing began to stabilize, I was trying to drink my first bottle of Infinit before that first climb, and I did. The sun was pretty hot, but there was snow along both sides of the road and spectators were handing out snowballs. I love you, spectators!

I was pleasantly surprised by my biking. I'm not a great climber at all and on the shorter climbs that were not very steep, I had no trouble at all. I hated the 3 really long climbs (one is 11 miles) but what can I say...weight room in early 2009, I guess? But, all in all, at the altitude we were at with the climbs that we did, I had a really solid bike leg.  I tried to make up a bunch of time on the down hill portion into Sunriver, but there was a huge headwind that was pretty powerful at times.  As is standard, with about 10 miles to go I was counting backwards until I could see T2, as my ass wanted out of that saddle. It was funny...when I came into T2 and saw my family and friends I was thinking, "there is no way I could do this without these people!"  My family (in 3 cars) leapfrogged me and my uncle during the entire bike leg, shouting encouragement for well over three hours in the high desert heat. I cannot fully describe how I felt upon cresting the summit at Mt. Bachelor, but my throat closed up and I got teary through my big smile at seeing them all. These are people who would have undoubtedly much rather spent their day by the pool with a boat drink rather than drive in 100 degree heat going 25 mph, but there they were, again and again, and I really think they are wonderful. Thanks you guys! 

Anyway, I came into T2 smiling, but don't be deceived. I was only smiling because I was off that bike!  I had a good transition and started running out. The first short portion is a slight uphill and it nearly killed me.  I started to think, "oh oh, it's going to be a long run...damn". My coach had told me to take it 30 seconds per mile easier than planned pace for the first 3 miles. Um, well, I don't know how slow I was going exactly yet, but suffice it to say, any slower would have been walking. My throat literally felt like it was closing up. I was hitting a heart rate of 163 going about as slow as I could and was struggling to breathe. I had to remind myself that it was going to be all right...that I was at 4500 feet or whatever it was...and that my breathing would regulate soon.  Well, it never did. I walked and ran slow miles 2 and 3, which were slightly uphill at times, and tried to run as much as possible between the aid stations. I wanted to call Jay to tell him to get the car and come to get me. I wanted to DNF, I didn't care. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that a bunch of my family and friends had made the effort to come support me and I didn't want to let everyone down. Plus, I've never DNFd in my life and I didn't want to start. At every aid station (thank you, volunteers!) I would pour one cup of ice water down my front, one down my back, water over my head and into my bod. I drank only half of what I planned of my nutrition because I would have thrown up if I would have had any more calories.

At mile 12, I was ready to walk it in, but there was Graham, sitting in the shade in the grass waiting to run me in. What a kid. He ran me in and put up with me bumping into him countless times as I struggled to finish. That mile took everything out of me that was left. I grabbed Graham's hand and he said, "there they are!" meaning there was my cheering section. Graham crossed the finish line with me and I just bent over and tried to breathe. Someone put me in front of the cold shower tent and I just stood there under the cold spray for a long time. Once out of there, I was given an iced towel and guided to the shady area for the recovering athletes. Alan was in there and I was comparing notes with him and he'd had a very similar race experience to me, complete with wanting to call his spouse to come get him in the car at mile 3.

When I talked to Dave, my coach, after the race, he reminded me that this race experience had made me stronger, both mentally and physically. Now, a couple of days after the race as the soreness is abating and my sunburn is going away, I know that I am very happy to have finished that race. I am glad I was able to be out there, competing with myself, doing the best that I could. What a great sport!

Ironman Canada 2007

Ironman Canada 2007 -- August 26, 2007 – Penticton, British Columbia, Canada

7:00 am weather was approximately 55F and overcast.

I had set the alarm for 4:00 am.  Got right out of bed, put on a jacket and went outside to check out the weather.  It wasn’t very warm! In past years when I’d gone to watch my father in law race, it had been 85 degrees at 5:00 am. But, there were stars coming through the clouds and I could tell that it wasn’t going to rain. The lake was smooth.  Went back into the condo and popped in two pieces of toast for my usual pre-race breakfast of peanut butter toast.  I was also sipping on a bottle of water all morning.  Plugged in the coffee and got into my race suit and sweats.  I was having major butterflies and couldn’t talk much. When the toast popped and I tried to spread the peanut butter, I noticed that I was shaking slightly. I didn’t want to be that nervous with that much time to go before the race start, but I was.  I forced myself to eat the toast and to keep drinking water. Logic told me I needed the calories and I wasn’t going to play with any portion of the race that I could actually control. Jay was taking photos of the clock (4:33 am) next to the coffee machine and me, with that “deer in the headlights” look on my face. Our good friend John showed up from his hotel at about 4:40 as I was trying to get the pre-race calories in the tank.

At about 5:25, I kissed each of the still-sleeping kids goodbye and Jay and John and I we left for the scary half-mile walk to drop off Special Needs bags and to get body marked.  Next year I will leave the condo at 5:00 or earlier.  I will also body mark myself.  The line for body marking was a complete cluster, with people feigning that they didn’t understand English and taking cuts as a result.  Once body marked, I got my picture taken by Jay and John again and then kissed Jay good bye and went into transition. The emotion in that area was palpable.  People were having quiet moments alone near the fence.  There was efficient movement as people were adding items to their transition bags, but not a lot of talking and certainly not a lot of the noisy hellos and shouts that you come to expect at other races. I’d intended to meet up with the family and John at The Peach, but the lines at the porta potties were WAY long and by the time I’d taken care of that and put on my wetsuit, it was 6:45 am and the pros were starting.

 

I dropped my dry clothes bag on the ground after being assured by a volunteer that they’d put it with my other bags at the end of the race.  I then crossed the timing pad on the way to the beach, which activated my chip (without starting it) and walked around the back of the crowd to find a place in the water. Our friend Garren who’s a little faster than me in the water suggested I go way left and start at the front, so I made my way over there, but there were so many people, I just thought that I’d find a spot near the front and hope for a pair of heels to drag from.  I turned around, just to see if I could find Jay and the kids and what I saw took my breath away.  Spectators were PACKED up against the fence, maybe five deep, up in the trees, on peoples’ shoulders, everyone cheering.  The announcer was asking things like who was here for the first time and there was a lot of screaming and cheering. With about three minutes to go, I seeded myself in the third line, fairly far to the left. At 6:57, I couldn’t wait to start.

It wasn’t far enough to the left.  The first 400 yards or so were all right.  The announcer said, “Go have the best day of your lives!” The cannon sounded and I immediately hit the water.  Swam strongly for 400 yards, and was promptly vee’d out for about the first of 40 times.  I’d been told to grab a draft, but all I wanted was six inches in front of me to swim with a proper stroke.  Plus, since I’m a strong swimmer, I was up with a lot of guys and let me just say…guys who swim well are strong too.  I have bruises on my arms.  My goggles came off once when one guy tried to swim over me. I was pushed down and swum over.  I never expected this, being a somewhat of strong swimmer!  It got worse when we rounded the first turn and the crowd got more dense. It seemed that everyone  was there at the same time.  There were three buoys we had to pass and it was a complete mess. Every time I tried to sight, I got a mouthful of water, so I quit trying to sight and just followed the crowd.  2500 people can’t be wrong, right?  I basically tried to stay where I was and keep my goggles on.  Finally we turned the corner and headed toward the beach. I tried to bear right to keep toward the buoys.  Easier said than done.  Still a complete fight.  But, I’m a good fighter and managed to claw my way from buoy to buoy.  I kept seeing the Lake Shore Hotel’s lights up ahead and I knew I wouldn’t have to keep swimming much longer.  Finally, I could hear the announcer’s voice when I turned to breathe.  I knew I could stand up pretty soon.  As soon as my hands hit sand three times, I knew I could stand up and wade in.  I checked my watch.  1:04. By the time I waded in and got over the timing mat I was at 1:06 and I probably should have swum in closer to the beach, but I was very happy about my swim time considering the environment.  Paying attention to advice, I walked, rather than ran up to the wetsuit strippers, laid down and had them peel off my wetsuit, held out my arms, got pulled up and walked to my Swim-to-Bike bag.  My heart rate went down very quickly, and I had great volunteer who did exactly as I asked.  Spent 5 minutes doing what I needed to do to get out on the bike and then got my bike off the rack and I went out onto Lakeshore Drive, then turned right onto Main.  “Oh my God,” I thought, “Where is my family?  Will they be there?”

After a couple of hundred yards, I heard my them yelling my name.  John was up on a planter and I could see him.  I missed the rest of them, unfortunately, but I had heard them, which was very important.  As a strong swimmer, you might think that I wanted a longer swim.  However, I’d told Graham that I knew once I was out on the bike that I’d have less nerves.  I don’t know why this was the case – I think it was a mix of relief that I didn’t have to wait for the start any longer and the knowledge that I had completed one of the race legs.

I kept it VERY easy these first miles.  I didn’t eat or drink anything the first 20 minutes of the bike, making sure I didn’t have any residual stomach upset from the water ingestion on the swim.  We turned left at the Husky station after Main Street and went down through many, many cheering spectators and then took a left and went behind Big Horn Mountain. Came out at the Royal Legion Hall and Tickleberry’s and turned left and made my way to Osoyoos.  It was flat or nearly so the entire way.  Not much wind.  Spirits were high and it was an easy haul.  I started drinking my Infinit and getting in some calories.  Felt great.  Was going an easy 16 MPH.

 

Came through Oliver and then Osoyoos and started to have some more nerves, knowing the hills were coming up shoon.  I turned right up to the start of Richter and was hit by the wind!  Um, oh…there is WIND!  Three huge hills with not much rest between.  There were these cannon sounds to keep birds off of the orchard trees and guys would fake a yell like they’d been shot – funny.  It was hot and sunny and really pretty and I was still in good spirits in spite of my lack of climbing ability.  I knew that all those times going up Mt. Hood would stand me in good stead and they did.  I made it up to the summit just fine and while overjoyed that it was over, was a bit apprehensive about the upcoming huge rollers. The wind did not stop.  You could hear it through your helmet and you could feel it on your face.

Well…there they were, the rollers, right away.  No rest for the weary.  I looked to the right of me and there was a guy barfing on his hands and knees in the bushes.  That  made more me see reality a bit clearly.  The rollers after Richter were great in that they kept any possible boredom at bay.  That and the incessant wind. Up, up, up and then a quick down.  I amused myself by keeping track of how many times I’d seen the red Mini or the guy in the green sweater or the woman with the Sexy Bitch sign.  Spectators were everywhere, even in the middle of long, empty stretches of nothing but orchards and wine grapes and mountains. Cowbells, cheering, signs waving, horns honking…these people were amazing!

I honestly didn’t know what to expect about my parents and seeing them during the race.  I knew exactly when I would hope to see Jay and the kids, but I didn’t know about my parents.  Monte, our family friend from the area, drove them to about halfway through the bike and there they WERE on the SIDE OF THE ROAD!  My parents!  I couldn’t believe it. They’ve had some major health issues in recent months and it was huge that they were even at the race venue, let alone cheering me from along the course.  I really choked up and smiled and waved.  I yelled and smiled and waved and my cousin was jumping up and down and my mom and dad waved and wow – it was just the medicine the doctor ordered after a slew of hard uphill work in the fierce wind.

Between about mile 56 and 72, I saw my parents and cousins driving past me on their way to their next stop when they’d get out of the car again.  At mile 72, we headed into the “out and back” which I’d thought was about 2 miles each way. I’d tried to drive it the Wednesday before the race, but the turnoff was small and I missed it and was sick of driving and headed back to the condo that day. It was actually at least 6+ miles each way.  One spectator had a sign that read, “Smile if you peed on the bike!”  Who didn’t smile?  I didn’t keep exact track of how many miles I was into the out-and-back since I had a rough idea in my head that Yellow Lake Pass would end at 90 miles, so I just endured.  I didn’t want to know. No one was talking, no one was laughing, we were just looking for our Special Needs bags.  Finally, FINALLY, I got to Special Needs and got off my bike to change bottles.  I only spent maybe a minute there tossing empties into my bag and filling my bike up with bottles of calories for the rest of the race.  My volunteer was the sweetest lady.  She would say things like, “Dear, would you like to have a little sit down here?” I knew I couldn’t sit on the ground or I’d never get up.  She held my bike up while I loaded it up with the rest of my gear and she also sprayed me with my sunscreen.  She understood when I couldn’t part with my Trek bottle because Graham would want to keep it.  (You don’t get your Special Needs stuff back.) She sent me off with a light push and after some more mental endurance, I finally got back onto the main road and began my ascent of Yellow Lake Pass.

 

That Out and Back sucked. I have never experienced wind like that and finally understood how on earth Madonna Buder could have been blown off her bike in Hawaii that year.

I surprised myself by running out of transition feeling pretty good! One idea I’d had for the run was to run 9 minutes and to walk 1 minute, but when I saw my kids, Jay and my parents and my cousins at 9 minutes, the LAST thing I was going to do was to walk!  Sara, Graham and Cameron ran with me for a bit during mile 1 and then they sent me out on my own.  I ended up running most of the first 13 miles.  I walked the uphills, but my real plan was to get to 13, then to 18, then to 20, then home.  Once I got to 11 miles, I knew things were going well.  I was slowing, but still running. I ran the first two miles at 10 minute pace and had high hopes, but ended up slowing to 11, then 11:30s, then 11:45s.  I didn’t care, I was still running and my HR was around 145. 

Yellow Lake Pass was hard, but nothing like I’d set myself up for.  It was like the Tour de France going up there.  Spectators cheering four deep, people running alongside.  Jay and the kids were at the fruit stand at about mile 84 and Jay and Cameron were taking pictures and John and Sara and Graham ran up with me for a bit.  I tried not to think about how they could run up easily as fast as I was biking up it!  They then got back into the cars and left me to it, but it was a great experience getting up there with all the cheering and people running next to me and finally getting to the summit and feeling that I could RELAX for a few minutes as I went down hill for a bit before the final two hills.  God, it was all I could do to pedal.  I just wanted to coast.  It was still super windy and my new race wheels were giving me some grief since they’re deep dish and I wasn’t very  used to them in a descent.  I’d only ridden on them for a week and who knew I would have to deal with this kind of wind?  After the final two hills, I just grabbed onto my drops and went as fast as I felt safe for the descent into Penticton. Once I got into the town again, it seemed a few more miles than I’d hoped until transition but at least it was flat and then, finally I was there.  A volunteer took my bike after I was about to throw it down on the ground and I limped over to my Bike to Run bag.  My left foot was stiff, but it eased out of it and I went to the loo and then into the T2 tent to change out of my shorts and shoes.

I had no idea that my parents were going to be at the turnaround. I heard my name and my wonderful cousin Suzanne was jumping up and down yelling my name.  Then guess what happened?  I FELL DOWN!  In front of my PARENTS!  I probably gave them a heart attack, considering the accident and surgery of 2006.  However, luckily it was the least pain I’d felt all day and I bounced right back up, got the lip balm out of my Special Needs bag and turned the loop.  Kissed both my parents, told Suzanne what to tell Jay in her next phone call to him and started the final half of the marathon.  As soon as I thought I was out of sight of my family, I began the walk up the horrible hill between miles 13 and 14!  Ugh, that was awful.  I began to drink the soup.  I alternated soup broth/water at odd aid stations and Pepsi/water at the even ones.  I couldn’t take in any more Infinit. I was either sick of it or it was sick of me, but I tossed out my last full 8 oz. bottle so it wouldn’t weigh me down.  I still had a couple ounces of it, but I needed the broth and Pepsi more.

 

My longest training run was 14 miles, so when I got to 14 and felt like a (humbled and weak) human, I was in a pretty good mental state.  I knew that Jay would have Graham waiting for me at the Husky station going into town at mile 22, but my goals were 13, 18, 20, then home and it was hard getting to 18.  This one guy who I was trading places with a bunch of times ended up puking twice on the side of the road, the crickets were coming out and it was windy and dusk.  It was cold.  I was in a sweaty race tank and there were whitecaps on Skaha Lake.  But then…then…look!  There was mile 16! And then 17! And then LOOK! There was 18.  Oh shit, and then there was a hill.  It wasn’t a very big hill to anyone who hadn’t ridden 112 miles and then run 18, but it was a huge, insurmountable hill to me at that point and I walked it.  I made myself start again, through sheer will and saying, “OW OW OW”, and “Get to Graham, get to Graham”, and kept running to my wonderful support group.  Jay and Graham and Sara ran with me for a bit, asking about my progress.  After awhile, they left me to go with Graham and Jay was going to drive the everyone else back to the condo so they’d be ready to run me in.  Graham ran me from mile 22 to the end, slowing when my stomach told me I needed to.  He was incredible, wonderful support.  He understood that I didn’t want to talk.  He understood when I told him that the fast food places on Main Street smelled like ass.  He spotted the 24 miles sign when I did and we ran to it together.  It was invaluable!  I am very lucky.

I had to walk a bit somewhere in early mile 24 because of my stomach.  I didn’t want to, but would have lost it if I didn’t.  Began running again as soon as I could and when we finally turned left and then right toward the lake, I began to pick it up.  I’d seen where the Mile 25 sign was on the way out and I wanted to get there.  The noise was DEAFENING.  Graham and I began to laugh a little, just amazed at all the yelling and noise! Spectators had to move out of the way to let two of us go by – they were so thick between mile 24 and 25 that they were out in the middle of the road on both sides. We turned the final left after the 25 mile sign and I tried to spot my family.  Luck of luck, our condo is right at the final turnaround.  My mom, my dad, my cousins, our family friend, John, and Jay and the kids were all there yelling and waiting for us.  Graham stayed with me and Jay and Cameron and Sara joined us.  We made the final turn together and began the last few minutes to the finish chute together.  As we got closer and closer, the spectators in the grandstands were stomping and yelling and throwing confetti.  We picked it up and Jay yelled at me to run through to the second tunnel, which was the timing pad for the finish line.  I could see the finish banner stretched across the finish line and I lifted my arms and just SMILED. I was amazed.  14:18:14. Jay and Cameron caught me when I finished and I was given my finsher’s shirt and hat and escorted on down the chute to the space blankets. I have no idea how I ran those last two miles feeling so good, but immediately after I finished, my legs buckled and I couldn’t walk!  Graham and Cameron alternated holding me up on my right and Jay managed me on the left.  The curbs were impossible.  I didn’t want anyone to touch my leg muscles, so the thought of a massage made me wince.  They got me a Pepsi, a water and a PowerBar recovery drink and escorted me back to the condo where my wonderful parents and cousin were waiting.  Knowing that they were going to be there was the single thing that got me through that half mile walk!  Well, that and Jay and the kids helping me.

 

That finishing mile was one of the most mind-blowing experiences of my life.  The entire week of the race and the entire race day are etched onto my memory forever.  My children, my parents, my cousins, our good friends John and Monte and my wonderful, wonderful, patient (and fast-driving) husband were the reasons that I was there, smiling.  I feel like the most fortunate person in the world to have such a fabulous support crew.

 

Anyone up for a trip to Penticton in August of 2008?

            

New Balance Half Ironman 2007

New Balance Half Ironman 2007

Victoria, BC, Canada

Overcast, 55 degrees. Slight wind.

Day before: Got up and had a huge breakfast of eggs, potatoes and a few pieces of sausage in the eggs, and coffee. Did a short, 30 minute run along the water with a few accellerations.  Felt very strong and no foot pain that had been there the week prior.  Thoroughly enjoyed the view of the water while I ran, even though it was very windy. The house we were staying in was great, by the way, and our friends Eryn and Brian were wonderful travel partners and housemates.  No stress, just lots of laughing and bad jokes. Lunch that day was a turkey and tomato sandwich and dinner was spaghetti that I made -- probably the best I've ever made, by the way! :-)

Race Day: For the first time ever on a race day, when the alarm went off I was confused.  My brain told me that I'd set my alarm too early on accident.  Then reality kicked in when I realized that I'd set the alarm, willingly, for 4:15am.  Got up, made peanut butter toast and started loading the car.  Everyone else got up and we left the house around 5am.  Thank goodness, because we got a prime parking space about 25 yards from transition!  Woot!  Eryn and I set up our transitions and did the bathroom line and got our wetsuits on.  By the time I got my wetsuit and cap on, the announcer was telling me that the old chicks had only six minutes left, so I went and got into the water and walked to the swim start and edged my way to the front.  "Ladies, you have 30 seconds left, there will be no countdown. BEEP!"  Um, that wasn't 30 seconds, but I jumped and went.  The buoys were not close at all and it was hard to sight them, even though I was in front, with no one thrashing in front of me.  I got going in a great rhythm and felt very strong.  Weirdly, the four other women out in front with me were not on course at all and I kept checking out where they were just to make sure I was on course.  I was. I exited the water at 33+.  I had wanted to hit 31 or something like that, but since I felt so strong and was in such a great rhythm and was on course, I was happy with the 33.  Went to T1 and was able to get my wetsuit off very quickly which is a new experience for me. haha. Got into my bike stuff and off I went.

The bike was 2 loops and very hilly.  Damn hills.  But, one reason I chose this race was for the hilly bike/flat run combo that is similar to Ironman Canada. I had not tapered, and I could tell.  At every hill, I uttered a profanity and stood up in the saddle and tried to dig deep.  The bike course on this race was flawless when it came to police and traffic.  I think that over the course of the bike, only 10 cars passed me and I never once felt "iffy" about an intersection. The police had no qualms about holding back a tour bus or a line of 25 cars. It was great! Looking back, I guess I did pretty well on the bike but the hills were really one after the other after the other and it was demoralizing. I peed four times on the bike and only ingested about 60 ozs. of Infinit, so I know I was hydrated.  It was overcast and not warm, so I wasn't sweating profusely.

Came in off the bike at 3:12.  Had wanted to hit 3 hours, but no way could I have gone faster and managed to run the entire half marathon. I think that all in all, I did a smart bike leg. 

When I got to T2, I was instantly PISSED OFF.  Some stupid whore had thrown her bike where my bike was supposed to go and had actually thrown her stuff on top of my transition!  You get 18".  Each person gets only 18".  I took maybe 16". I cannot imagine ever being that rude.  I shoved her stuff out of my way and tore off my helmet and bike shoes and got my Fuel Belt, my race number and my hat and just left in disgust.  VERY SURPRISINGLY, my legs felt good.  All those bricks I've been doing have helped me out so much.  Note to self:  keep doing bricks.  Jay was on the side of transition and as I was shoving my hair under my hat and running out he asked how I was doing.  I said, "pretty good!"  and I meant it, in spite of the bit of demoralization I was experiencing after the bike.  My legs felt good and that was all I could ask for at the beginning of a half mary.

Headed out for two laps around the lake.  Luckily, Canada means kilometers, which meant the numbers kept coming faster than they would have in the states. I think I was the only one cutting corners (not cheating, just going from the inside curve to the inside curve of the path) on the entire course.  I had to pee (again) and at 8k found a nice big tree and dropped trou for a second.  Whew.  Now I could run!  I tried to drink a Fuel Belt flask every 20 minutes, but it's too many calories, despite what I thought  2 months ago.  I'm going to dial it down a bit next time I order.  I was a bit bloated, but because I was peeing enough, I knew that I wasn't going to go into deficit.  From 8K to 10K is fun, since there are massive spectators.  9K to 10K is literally a lane of spectators on each side and they call out your number and tell you how great you are doing.  The pain disappears for a minute.  I saw Jay and Brian, our friend, and tossed my clear glasses to Jay.  It was overcast and there weren't many bugs, so didn't need them cutting up my nose.  The first 2K of the second lap sucked.  Ugh.  Speed it up and relax.  Get to 5K left to go and then turn it on.  I got to 6K of the second lap and started to think, "Next is 8K and then it's nothing to finish this thing."  Little did I know, I'd forgotten about SEVEN.  D'oh!  Ya, 7 comes between 6 and 8.  Maybe I *was* in a little bit of calorie deficit after all.  Got to 9 and teared up a little bit, thinking about what I was doing last year at this time.  Lying in bed.  On crutches when I was up.  On Vicodin.  Depending entirely upon my husband and children for everything. I just turned on all I had and ran as fast as I could to the finish.  I saw Jay as I got to about 100 yards left to go to the finish and I was SO glad to see him.  I saw 5:57 on the timing board and crossed the finish line with a big smile and a few happy tears at 5:57:12. 

Jay came over to hug me and to ask me how it went and I couldn't talk.  I had no words for that. We both just knew.