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| Spoiler: I was still smiling after melting in the hot sun! |
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| Shannon's ready to go! |
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| THE Tommy D of Garmin-Cervelo |
We were back at the hotel around 8pm after swinging by the grocery store for some needed breakfast food for Shannon. Dark chocolate sounded good so I picked up a bar. Only had one square! Discipline!
We were in bed by 9:30ish. It took me a while to fall asleep, but once asleep I slept pretty well. Got up a couple times, which meant I was pretty well hydrated.
RACE DAY!
Once we got to the res we parked, headed to transition and got set up. I had plenty of time so I wasn't hurried at all getting everything out of my transition bag that I would need. My clients, Carley and Shannon, also seemed to be doing well.
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| Carley and Tory are all smiles |
It was then time to hit the line for the port-o-potty, which was pretty darn long! I had planned to take a 2nd UCAN (Cran Raspberry at 45 minutes before my start, but it was closer to 25 minutes by the time I was able to take care of business.) I had just enough time to get my wetsuit on, do a short (and I mean short!) swim warm-up and then join my wave in the staging area about 10 minutes before GO TIME.
Swim: 45:21 (61/94)
I was predicting a 45 minutes swim, so was pretty much spot on. My goggles worked great (changed straps on a good pair that had broken - and they worked like a charm!) The start was a mad-house, but I wanted to be in the fray because Ironman Arizona might be a litte chaotic. Probably had my head up for longer than ideal, but once I found some space it was smooth sailing. Well, until the lady doing the back stroke kept clobbering me. And it wasn't like she was going to find another path to avoid me. So I took a look around and got out of the way. This was probably my 21 seconds. :) But overall I felt nice and steady during the swim, trying not to sight too often. And if anyone reading this wonders why my swim is not up to par with my bike and run, check out this article. I'm probably a worst-case in terms of shoulder flexibility, and I have even been to physical therapy to release my pecs, lats, etc... I'm a work in progress, but I have some serious stretching/flexibility/massage work that needs to get done if I want to bring my swim times down. And that's a lot of time and $$$. (I feel better now after the little vent...I agree the potential is there, but I suppose I've put my priorities elsewhere in regards to my swimming performance. And to note for the fun of it, only one other person in my AG with a slower swim finished ahead of me...)
T1: 3:10 This includes the run up the beach and is on par with my other transitions this year. Not particularly speedy, but I certainly didn't lolly-gag around. I trotted up the beach at a comfortable but quick pace and found my bike pretty easily. Took the wetsuit off (a little slow getting it off the ankles) and then put on my shoes, glasses and helmet, and then grabbed my bike. On to the bike out I was ready to ride.
Bike: 2:49:01 (25/91) My goal was to stay in the mid-upper 140w to low 150w for my power and I did just that. This was the first time I actually watched my power while racing. I was comfortable so it seemed like about the right effort for this distance race. I might have dropped power a tad the second half (warmer and the wind was starting to pick up) but overall each lap was pretty consistent. The race timing has my first lap as 1:24:48, which is almost dead-on half of my total time. I saw Sonja pass me early on Hwy36 so I gave her a big shout out. I kept wondering if I'd see Mary, my TNT coach back in 2006 and 2007 (she knew me when I didn't know what the heck I was doing!) but she was just enough ahead that I didn't see her, even on the out and back. When I wasn't sipping at my UCAN or fluids, or trying to enjoy the scenery, I was singing this song, thanks to Shannon the night before, who said a PB&J would be her post-race treat.
T2: 1:48 Again quick but not super hurried. I made sure to grab my UCAN "gel" that I had in a carry flask, along with my container of endurolytes.
Run: 2:10:15 (not sure the AG run rank yet, the results page doesn't report it). I knew I was going to get HOT so I grabbed water and tried to get my hat wet in the "shower" they had set up for us. My hydration plan revolved around sipping the UCAN every other aid station and taking enduryolytes (2-3) at the other aid stations. I planned to walk each aid station (which I did, and unfortunately a little more). The run starts slightly uphill as you exit the parking lot, then you turn onto a dirt road, which then gives you a nice downhill for a bit. My pace started about where I had planned and felt good, so I was hoping to keep it. But man those hills that popped up between miles 1-3ish and lack of shade (one, maybe two, trees on the entire course). And it was HOT. The high was 95 that day and I started my run about 11am. No clouds, either. The word for the day was brutal. However, around the first mile a lady, thanked me for being a part of Team In Training. (I was wearing my TNT kit today.) Her son had a friend (7 year old) who dealt with Leukemia and didn't make it. (I think I'm recalling the details correctly.) Anyway, she asked me to run for Blake, so I did. And so did the lady who was just ahead of us and overheard the conversation.
"Run for Blake" popped into my head many times during the run...as I trotted along realizing my pace slowed more than anticipated. So was it fuel or was it the heat? Or both? I drank water at each aid station, alternating endurolytes and UCAN as planned. I made it to the second lap and ran under the shower again. I walked a bit more up those hills between miles 1-3. I decided to see if my slowing pace was fuel related so I took a gel that I had in my pocket. It did perk me up and I was able to keep moving. I did this about mile 8 or 9. I decided I'd take part of my other gel at the mile 11 aid station to get me through the finish. That got me there, along with Blake and Peanut Butter Jelly Time! The wind was picking up as well...I'd say 12-18" swells on the lake! Heat + wind = tough conditions for anyone! Fortunately, because my pace was much slower than I had planned, my legs didn't feel too bad at all - a bit tight the last 2 miles or so. In coming down the dam road at the end, trying to stay upright with the crosswind, I kept it as steady as I could. No more walking (except up the tiny hill going back on the paved road). Once on the paved road I set my sights on the tree, as once you get to the tree, it is all downhill into the finish chute. Coming into the finish chute I practiced my ironman finish line "let's get cheering" arm wave (it worked!) and did a few fist pumps across the line. And yes, that was part of my race plan. Another 70.3 in the bag!
Total Time: 5:49:35, 25/91 Age Group
Not a HIM PR, but still a solid race!
(fun fact: this was my first HIM way back in 2007. Time then was 6:33:36. And it was almost as hot.)
After finishing, getting my cold water soaked finisher's hat, medal, and not falling over when they took the timing chip off, I wandered to find the other peeps I knew. Mary came in about 5 minutes before me, so she was in some shade at the Rocky Mountain Tri Club tent. (I couldn't find the Pikes Peak Tri Club tent...hmmm). There was an awesome support crew there as all of us racers tried to get sorted out mentally and physically after that endeavor in the sun! I actually felt like eating so I made my way to the food tent. We "chilled out," if that's what you want to call it in that heat! I made it back over to the finish line to see Carley finish, and some other folks.
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| Always a party in Boulder, CO! |
(For those interested in my nutrition "experiment" details, there will be another post soon on my coaching blog.)
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