ironz
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Race Report: Ironman Canada
August 24, 2008
Training:
This was my 7th Ironman start since Sept. 2002, and I had mixed feelings of excitement about the event.
I hadn't really wrapped my head around the race until the last big training block. But I was determined (thanks to some encouragement from my coach Andrea) to make the best of it, hit all of the workouts with a good attitude and feeling strong....and that's what I did. It was huge, to feel good and fit starting my taper 2 weeks before race day. The last couple of big training weeks had plenty of running, including the 10 x 1 mile repeat workout that I had to do on my own, in a strange town, and I dreaded it for a week...but I stuck to the plan, ran steady, and met that goal...so I felt like I was going to have one of the best Ironman runs I've ever had. Not to mention I wouldn't be starting the race after having a stress fracture, or any other focal injury.
Pre-race:
I flew to Spokane, WA with my friend Tony. We had a blast on the plane, talking about music and triathlon. We were reviewing our past Ironman performances and goals and making plans for a good day in Penticton. After arriving in Spokane, we took the rental van over to Coeur d'Alene, site of another Ironman race, and went for a swim. We found out the water was chilly (about 70 degrees)...Tony didn't know why I was hesitant to get in (no wetsuit with me--had shipped it ahead), and I didn't know why Tony thought the water would be so inviting (he had his wetsuit!). We had quite a laugh when I pulled out my little lycra swimsuit and Tony pulled out his neoprene wetsuit!
I was game for a swim anyway, and braved the cold (ok, it wasn't really bad at all if you kept moving) to swim in the choppy waves with him.
After the swim, we went to the local brewpub for some Huckleberry Ale, and a bite to eat, then for a little walk on one of the local trails overlooking the lake. Very pretty area, and I may have to get geared up to do the Ironman there in the near future. We then went to Spokane to pick my friend Greg up from the airport, and all stayed in Spokane that night. The next morning, we picked up Julie and Jen from the airport and started making our way north to Penticton. It was about a 4.5 hour drive, including views of the Great Coulee Dam, and we had no delays crossing the border. When we got to Canada, we drove on part of the bike course so had a little preview for race day. We didn't get to Penticton in time to get checked in for the race, but we did get our hotel rooms at the Days Inn. Not a bad location for the race...easy enough to ride your bike to the expo, etc, or even walk. We also got our bikes and gear bags from the TriBike Transport people--what a great service to not have to disassemble/pack/assemble your bike! We met up with some of the other folks from Austin and had some pizza and pasta and terrible cheap wine for dinner.
(until I made them order real wine)
Friday morning, after our free continental breakfast (always a plus), we went to the beach at Lake Okanagon to swim. The lake was chilly...I had heard 60 degrees a couple of days before the race, but it was warming, and I guessed it felt about 64. By race day, they said it was 66 degrees, I think. Vicki hadn't picked up her wetsuit yet, and was a brave soul to swim without it that morning! I swam for about 15-20 minutes, thoroughly enjoying the very clear water. Got smacked in the head by some man swimming the opposite direction...he was so apologetic, but I just laughed and said it was great practice for the beatings we might get on race day! Rest of the day was spent at the expo, shopping, getting some ART treatment to make sure my right calf wouldn't seize up like at IM Lake Placid in 2006, relaxing. Tony was a dear and took me on a drive of the bike course, so I could check out the hills and make sure I knew what I was up against. I like to be well prepared mentally for a race....if I'm not going to be fast, I need to be smart. The welcome dinner that night was fun, but the food was awful. Cold pasta. ugh. Met a girl who was doing IMC for the 2nd time and hoping to qualify for Kona...turns out she did! Super for her!
Saturday was the day to get our gear together, turn in bikes and transition bags, and get focused for race day. I rode for about 30 minutes with Tony and Julie along the side of the lake that we would swim toward. After turning in my gear, I ran most of the way back to the hotel (about 10 min). I felt good with both bits of exercise, and at the end of each one, I felt like I could go on all day, but stopped and held those moments and that energy in check for the race. I felt really good, and calmer and more confident than I have going into many previous races. We had dinner at a local pasta place that evening, with one glass of wine, and watched the men's Olympic marathon--those guys are fast! They make it look so easy. I packed up my nutrition and special needs bags and don't think I had too much trouble getting to sleep.
RACE DAY!
The Days Inn was kind enough to the athletes to open up for breakfast at 4:30 am so the athletes could get food and coffee prior to reporting to the race site. I had a bagel with peanut butter, as I usually do, plus some Diet Coke. I took a banana and some gel blocks to the transition area to eat prior to race start, as well as some water.
Jen dropped us off near the transition area, and we really all just went about our business, checking bike tires, loading nutrition into the appropriate spots, dropping off special needs bags, and the very important trips to the potty! Turns out the casino next to the transition area has real bathrooms, and not nearly the lines that the portapotties in transition have! I ran into my friend Kerstin, who was there to cheer and volunteer (and sign up for 2009) and she helped me get sunscreen on my back in the places I can't reach. I found Tony, and we walked to the beach together. The beach was all abuzz, and friends and family were cheering and hugging their athletes, a bagpiper marched along the beach front, and we settled down for the Canadian national anthem. Got a hug from Greg, then lined up for the swim start near the Texas Iron cougars: Julie, Vicki, Trish, and Cheryl.
Swim:
"30 seconds to start" I hear from the loudspeaker....then, Boom! goes the cannon, lit by previous IMC winner and IM World Champion Peter Reid. The water felt a little cold to start, but I just joined the crowd and swam towards the buoy line. I was a little short of breath early on, as I think I generally am for a mass swim start, but then was finding my rhythm when I took a frog kick to the right goggle. Dang! I think it's number 1235 or 1325...dumb guy kicking like that in a crowd. I was going to yell at him, but he wouldn't turn around, so I just tried to stay away from him. That was probably a bit of wasted energy. I found my rhythm again (and my eye didn't hurt badly), and it didn't seem to take super long to get to the first turn. They have houseboats at the two turns of the rectangular course, so it's easy to know where to swim to. I noticed Julie over to my left, so I thought I was on a good pace. The short side of the rectangle went quickly, and then we were heading for the shore! I didn't see Julie anymore. I kept telling myself, "finish your stroke" as I tend to not get that last push at the end of each stroke. I wanted to be as efficient as possible. Then I ran into some chick, swimming a complete perpendicular line to the race course. Bless her heart..no idea where she was heading! I also pulled up once after running into some dude who was sort of flailing. I get nervous swimming by people who I don't think are going to be predictable. My calves were tightening up, I think due to the cold, and my face was getting cold. I didn't realize that I must have slowed down...was I just losing focus? because, after swimming all the way in to the shore, my swim time was 1:33. I usually swim about 8-10 min faster than that for Ironman.
Transition 1: I had a quick transition in 4:02, having my wetsuit peeled off by the volunteers, then getting my bag with my bike shoes, sunglasses, and helmet, and race belt.
Bike: As I rode out for the bike start, I was happy to see the crowds cheering on Main Street. You always feel like a rock star at certain points of the day, and this was one of them. I was berating myself for a few minutes about my swim time, but then got firm and told myself that it was over and done with, time to focus on the bike.
The IM Canada bike course is gorgeous! I've always been partial to the Lake Placid course, but something really spoke to me in the grandeur of that section of Canada, not to mention some almost primal feeling about seeing the fruit trees and vineyards, full of fruit, in all their glory. We don't have much like that around where I live and train...somehow the corn, cotton, and maize fields don't provoke the same feeling of the earth's abundance in me. I had bought some fruit (sweet and juicy peaches!) and visited with several local vendors at the farmer's market a couple of days before the race, so I felt a small connection to that area and the community.
Riding out of town is nothing too special for a few miles, then you course along the west side of Skaha Lake, which is also the run course, and it's very nice to look out over the water. It's fairly flat, and generally a quick part of the course, though we started experiencing a headwind. I knew we would face this all the way to Osoyoos due to the course layout. There is one significant climb early in the bike, at McLean Creek Road. It climbs for about 3/4-1 mile, and I realized then that I should have not listened to my ego and put a 12-27 cassette on my bike for one more gearing option to get up hills. Oh, well. I can climb, albeit not fast, and got the job done. The aid station at the top of the hill was a nice sight, and I had to laugh at the giant bra they had hung up (the aid station was run by a breast cancer awareness group). The course winds through some farm/ranch land before getting back to the highway, and this may be one of my favorite places on the bike ride. I could ride on that road any day! There's a fast curvy downhill before reaching the highway in Okanagon Falls, and that took a bit of bike handling skill.
So...back into the headwind for about 25 miles. ugh. This may be where the race went wrong for me. I know, in long distance racing, that the bike sets up the run. If you push too much on the bike, or fail to get your nutrition in, you are in for a world of hurt on the run. Well, I think I worked too hard into the wind. It never felt all that comfortable, and I was aware of some level of effort. (as opposed to my best bike ride this year, in a 1/2 Ironman, where I never felt like I was working hard at all.) My stomach was a little gassy, so I made a (needed) stop at a portalet in the town of Oliver. Glad I did, because the lines for the next portalet heading towards Richter pass were about 15 people long! There is only one smaller hill just before reaching Osoyoos...I used that as my marker that we would be climbing Richter soon, but more importantly, that we wouldn't be in the headwind any longer!
Turning towards the approximately 4 mile climb to Richter, I felt good and confident. I knew I could climb that hill...it's long, but not very steep, maybe a 4% gradient. There are also a couple of breaks so you are not climbing the entire time. At one pullout, I saw friends Jim and Ken, who were there to cheer on their girlfriends (and the other training friends). That definitely brought a smile to my face. It seemed like a fair amount of time to make the apex, but once over, it is bombs away, down hill! I don't have a speedometer on my bike currently, so I don't know how fast I was going, only that I knew I had to keep my hands by the brakes just in case, and feather them a bit to keep my speed under control. I knew Julie would have simply flown down this hill ahead of me--she loves to descend, and does it fast!
Crossing the pass also means that the terrain changes. It's a very interesting course. This side was not so much the verdant farms and orchards, but a starker beauty, with tall mountains and brushy terrain. The next section of the bike course goes over the "Rollers" as everyone calls them. They're not super long or steep, but you do get to make sure all your gears work as you shift down to get over the hills and then back up on the downhill sides. It's fun to try to get as much speed as you can on the downhill to carry you up at least part of the next. I had counted 8 of these rollers when Tony and I drove the course (have heard some people count 7)....we were over the next to last one, when a girl rode by me, and I said, "I think we only have one more, right?" Turns out she trains in the area, and she said, "yes, just one more, we call them the Five *****es." I was all, "oh, fine, now I hear that they are *****es, I just knew them as rollers!" *****es sounds tougher. Well, they didn't scare me, and in fact, I enjoyed this section of the course. By the way, we finally had a tailwind!
The next section to ride is an out and back. It's about 8 miles long or so, on rolling terrain. The "out" portion was back into the wind, but it didn't feel too bad. People say it feels like forever, going the wrong way, until the turnaround...it didn't seem all that long to me. At the turnaround (approx. mile 75) is the bike special needs bag pickup. I rolled up just after Julie and just in front of Vicki. We all stood there and chatted for a few minutes, while reloading our bike bottles, grabbing snacks, and Vicki shared a bit of heaven in a bottle...frozen coke! yum! That was a great pick-me-up, but especially because it was a moment shared by friends on this long day. I left special needs ahead of them and made my way back to the turn that would take us back towards Penticton.
The next section is generally uphill...much of it with false flats, so it can wear you down. My little buzz from the coke must have died around here, because I just felt like I was working too hard again. The last big hill is going to Yellow Lake (it really looks sort of yellow-green!), and the crowds were still out cheering here (saw Jim and Ken again), which was a boost, though my mental fortitude was beginning to wane. I was never so happy as to see the top of the climb, knowing that the course was almost completely downhill all the way back to the bike finish. It started to rain around this time, but I tried not to slow too much on the descent. I was curious as to my speed, so I yelled to one of the passing cars (filled with race supporters), "How fast am I going?" They slowed a bit to match my speed, and the girl in the back seat yelled back, "65 Kph! And you're looking good!" That made me smile. About 40 mph, and I was heading for home. Cars had knocked some of the traffic cones into the bike lane, so it was a bit of an obstacle course, but we were flying home and loving it. So happy to see the crowds on Main Street again.
Bike time: 7:21:05, with a 15.24 mph average. About right for the terrain and how I was feeling. I got in about 1900 calories on the bike, using a Carbopro mix, gels, and a PB sandwich (at special needs).
T2: uh, oh. I got off my bike and my legs felt dead. Oh, dear God, please give me my legs back, I thought.
I was pretty fast in transition, focusing on the tasks at hand: helmet off, put on socks, put on shoes, grab visor and gels, and get out, in a time of 5:56.
Run:
It was just bad. That's about it. I ran by my friends Jen R. and Jen S. just after mile 1, and I said, "I have no legs." Jen R was hopeful, and said they would come back to me and have a good run. She is so supportive, and I was so happy she had made the trip to Canada with us. By mile 3 or 4, I knew it was just done. I would try to run (more like shuffle) and my legs hurt and were sort of crampy. By mile 5, I was getting upset. It's really hard to look at the "Mile 5" marker, and know that you have 21 more miles to cover, and that you don't have any running in you. Ironman math is hard--I think your mind just isn't firing on all cylinders--and I started doubting whether I was walking fast enough to finish the marathon by the midnight cutoff for the race. I tried many times to shuffle/jog, and could get about 20-40 yds up the road each time. It was very frustrating. Looking back, I realize now that I didn't pull out all of my mental toughness. I had a mantra all prepared to use on the run, but it was the wrong one. In my training, I would do some of my workouts at a bit too fast a tempo compared to my goal pace, so used the movie "Hitch" where Will Smith was teaching Kevin how to dance, thinking, "Keep it right here. This is home." to remind myself to not go out too fast and burn up. Well, I forgot to plan for a mantra to use if I wasn't moving fast enough. I forgot all about the good run workouts I had completed. I had been sure enough that I was going to have a good run, I didn't really prepare for how to get myself through a tough spot (or 20+ miles of tough spot). It has taken me a couple of weeks to realize this, but it is an extremely valuable lesson that I learned.
On the plus side, the volunteers and spectators and other athletes, throughout the whole race, but especially on the run, were so supportive and great. Local residents would sit under their umbrellas at the end of their driveway and cheer on each athlete, even into the late hours. There is absolutely no way to get through an Ironman without them, even on a good day. I doubt I expressed it well enough while I was out there on the marathon, but ...thank you. The town of Penticton absolutely supports the Ironman and the athletes.
So....there was a lot of shuffling and walking. And some tears. The run course is really pretty, along the lake, mostly flat, but a few hills near the turnaround, but that wasn't much consolation. I got to see all my Texas Iron teammates going one way or the other, and was so happy that most everyone was having a good time. A couple were walking, but hanging in there. Around mile 11, I was walking/jogging by a woman from Australia. I told her I thought we would make the cutoff...so we started doing the math. She said that we could easily walk a 5K in an hour...we were at mile 11 and had about 5.5 hours left before midnight. hmm....It was like a math word problem! Like I said, Ironman math is difficult...I knew that 13 miles to go would be 21 km....but that's about as far as I could get with the conversions....how many 5K's go into 14.5 miles? and does that match the amount of hours we had left? I couldn't do the math and just decided to move as fast as I could.
It had been raining intermittently, and by the time I was approaching the 13.1 mile turnaround, and run special needs, I was looking forward to putting on a long sleeved shirt and some dry socks. As I approached special needs, a woman walking near me came across some friends...they were so excited for her, and there were hugs all around. I asked them if they had any extra hugs to give, so they all came and gave me a group hug. That's just how nice people are at Ironman.
With about 8 miles to go, Coach Jamie came up on his bike. I was just walking up the road, trying to focus on moving forward. Of course, I lost my composure when I saw him, because I was struggling to get the race finished and deal with the disappointment. I let him know that I was the last one in our group, and he was very encouraging. He rode up ahead of me for most of the way back to the finish. I kept trying to send him back up to town, partly because I didn't want anyone seeing me doing badly, and partly because I didn't want to get a penalty for outside assistance. He didn't pace me (how do you pace a walk), but kept stopping up the road and making sure I was moving as fast as I could. I could tell more certainly by mile 21 or 22 that I would make it in by midnight for sure, but that didn't stop me from still trying to walk as fast as I could. I'm not one to try to finish casually...though that may not be evident by my having to walk so far. Of course, there was a fleeting moment when I thought I should just try to be the last one in, to make the "final finisher" video, but I didn't want to take even more time out on the course.
Jamie peeled off at mile 25 to go straight to the finish area, and I was never so glad as to hit the last out and back section on Lakeshore Drive with the finish line within hearing and within sight. The crowds were great...this is the best 'rock star' moment in any Ironman, and is a big part of the day for all the finishers. I finally found some running left deep within...and ran more of that last 1.2 miles than I had for the previous 18 or so. Tom Ziebart took the microphone from Mike Reilly and announced my finish, as he promised he would when I saw him the day before the race.
Total run time: 7:01:58 (first half 3:26:32, second half 3:35:26).
Total finish time: 16:06:07. (previous worst time 15:44:22, personal best time 14:12:34)
Post-race:
So, it was my worst Ironman out of the 6 I've finished (dnf'ed one in 2005 due to a stress fracture), and by far the worst marathon. Funny, because I didn't know it could get much worse than the 6:40 marathon at IMLP in 2006. But like they say for Ironman, Anything Can Happen. I don't like to diminish the accomplishment of getting it done and finishing...many people try and don't make it...or don't even try in the first place. Though I can't lie and say that I wasn't disappointed in the outcome. I thought this would be one of my best races. I learned a valuable lesson about being prepared for a tough day, that's for sure. I am not 100% sure if I could have dug a little deeper to get moving, but some doubt will linger in my mind for a while. So the plan is to move forward. I'm not going to do another Ironman race until 2010. I'll use next year to get stronger and faster, and work on my mental game some more. I had some good fun at quite a few races this year, so I want to get that mojo back.
I thoroughly recommend this Ironman event to everyone. It's gorgeous, and the organization and volunteers are top notch. I've always been partial to Ironman Lake Placid, and this race is just as good, and in some aspects better than LP.
Thanks to my coach Andrea...she gave me encouragement when I needed it, and had faith in me. Coach Jamie....having you around at the end was very important to me. To the Texas Iron group, esp. my travel buddies...it wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you! And my family...thanks for supporting me and knowing this is important to me.
August 24, 2008
Training:
This was my 7th Ironman start since Sept. 2002, and I had mixed feelings of excitement about the event.
I hadn't really wrapped my head around the race until the last big training block. But I was determined (thanks to some encouragement from my coach Andrea) to make the best of it, hit all of the workouts with a good attitude and feeling strong....and that's what I did. It was huge, to feel good and fit starting my taper 2 weeks before race day. The last couple of big training weeks had plenty of running, including the 10 x 1 mile repeat workout that I had to do on my own, in a strange town, and I dreaded it for a week...but I stuck to the plan, ran steady, and met that goal...so I felt like I was going to have one of the best Ironman runs I've ever had. Not to mention I wouldn't be starting the race after having a stress fracture, or any other focal injury.
Pre-race:
I flew to Spokane, WA with my friend Tony. We had a blast on the plane, talking about music and triathlon. We were reviewing our past Ironman performances and goals and making plans for a good day in Penticton. After arriving in Spokane, we took the rental van over to Coeur d'Alene, site of another Ironman race, and went for a swim. We found out the water was chilly (about 70 degrees)...Tony didn't know why I was hesitant to get in (no wetsuit with me--had shipped it ahead), and I didn't know why Tony thought the water would be so inviting (he had his wetsuit!). We had quite a laugh when I pulled out my little lycra swimsuit and Tony pulled out his neoprene wetsuit!
I was game for a swim anyway, and braved the cold (ok, it wasn't really bad at all if you kept moving) to swim in the choppy waves with him. After the swim, we went to the local brewpub for some Huckleberry Ale, and a bite to eat, then for a little walk on one of the local trails overlooking the lake. Very pretty area, and I may have to get geared up to do the Ironman there in the near future. We then went to Spokane to pick my friend Greg up from the airport, and all stayed in Spokane that night. The next morning, we picked up Julie and Jen from the airport and started making our way north to Penticton. It was about a 4.5 hour drive, including views of the Great Coulee Dam, and we had no delays crossing the border. When we got to Canada, we drove on part of the bike course so had a little preview for race day. We didn't get to Penticton in time to get checked in for the race, but we did get our hotel rooms at the Days Inn. Not a bad location for the race...easy enough to ride your bike to the expo, etc, or even walk. We also got our bikes and gear bags from the TriBike Transport people--what a great service to not have to disassemble/pack/assemble your bike! We met up with some of the other folks from Austin and had some pizza and pasta and terrible cheap wine for dinner.
(until I made them order real wine)Friday morning, after our free continental breakfast (always a plus), we went to the beach at Lake Okanagon to swim. The lake was chilly...I had heard 60 degrees a couple of days before the race, but it was warming, and I guessed it felt about 64. By race day, they said it was 66 degrees, I think. Vicki hadn't picked up her wetsuit yet, and was a brave soul to swim without it that morning! I swam for about 15-20 minutes, thoroughly enjoying the very clear water. Got smacked in the head by some man swimming the opposite direction...he was so apologetic, but I just laughed and said it was great practice for the beatings we might get on race day!
Rest of the day was spent at the expo, shopping, getting some ART treatment to make sure my right calf wouldn't seize up like at IM Lake Placid in 2006, relaxing. Tony was a dear and took me on a drive of the bike course, so I could check out the hills and make sure I knew what I was up against. I like to be well prepared mentally for a race....if I'm not going to be fast, I need to be smart. The welcome dinner that night was fun, but the food was awful. Cold pasta. ugh. Met a girl who was doing IMC for the 2nd time and hoping to qualify for Kona...turns out she did! Super for her!Saturday was the day to get our gear together, turn in bikes and transition bags, and get focused for race day. I rode for about 30 minutes with Tony and Julie along the side of the lake that we would swim toward. After turning in my gear, I ran most of the way back to the hotel (about 10 min). I felt good with both bits of exercise, and at the end of each one, I felt like I could go on all day, but stopped and held those moments and that energy in check for the race. I felt really good, and calmer and more confident than I have going into many previous races. We had dinner at a local pasta place that evening, with one glass of wine, and watched the men's Olympic marathon--those guys are fast! They make it look so easy. I packed up my nutrition and special needs bags and don't think I had too much trouble getting to sleep.
RACE DAY!
The Days Inn was kind enough to the athletes to open up for breakfast at 4:30 am so the athletes could get food and coffee prior to reporting to the race site. I had a bagel with peanut butter, as I usually do, plus some Diet Coke. I took a banana and some gel blocks to the transition area to eat prior to race start, as well as some water.
Jen dropped us off near the transition area, and we really all just went about our business, checking bike tires, loading nutrition into the appropriate spots, dropping off special needs bags, and the very important trips to the potty! Turns out the casino next to the transition area has real bathrooms, and not nearly the lines that the portapotties in transition have! I ran into my friend Kerstin, who was there to cheer and volunteer (and sign up for 2009) and she helped me get sunscreen on my back in the places I can't reach. I found Tony, and we walked to the beach together. The beach was all abuzz, and friends and family were cheering and hugging their athletes, a bagpiper marched along the beach front, and we settled down for the Canadian national anthem. Got a hug from Greg, then lined up for the swim start near the Texas Iron cougars: Julie, Vicki, Trish, and Cheryl.
Swim:
"30 seconds to start" I hear from the loudspeaker....then, Boom! goes the cannon, lit by previous IMC winner and IM World Champion Peter Reid. The water felt a little cold to start, but I just joined the crowd and swam towards the buoy line. I was a little short of breath early on, as I think I generally am for a mass swim start, but then was finding my rhythm when I took a frog kick to the right goggle. Dang! I think it's number 1235 or 1325...dumb guy kicking like that in a crowd. I was going to yell at him, but he wouldn't turn around, so I just tried to stay away from him. That was probably a bit of wasted energy. I found my rhythm again (and my eye didn't hurt badly), and it didn't seem to take super long to get to the first turn. They have houseboats at the two turns of the rectangular course, so it's easy to know where to swim to. I noticed Julie over to my left, so I thought I was on a good pace. The short side of the rectangle went quickly, and then we were heading for the shore! I didn't see Julie anymore. I kept telling myself, "finish your stroke" as I tend to not get that last push at the end of each stroke. I wanted to be as efficient as possible. Then I ran into some chick, swimming a complete perpendicular line to the race course. Bless her heart..no idea where she was heading! I also pulled up once after running into some dude who was sort of flailing. I get nervous swimming by people who I don't think are going to be predictable. My calves were tightening up, I think due to the cold, and my face was getting cold. I didn't realize that I must have slowed down...was I just losing focus? because, after swimming all the way in to the shore, my swim time was 1:33. I usually swim about 8-10 min faster than that for Ironman.
Transition 1: I had a quick transition in 4:02, having my wetsuit peeled off by the volunteers, then getting my bag with my bike shoes, sunglasses, and helmet, and race belt.
Bike: As I rode out for the bike start, I was happy to see the crowds cheering on Main Street. You always feel like a rock star at certain points of the day, and this was one of them. I was berating myself for a few minutes about my swim time, but then got firm and told myself that it was over and done with, time to focus on the bike.
The IM Canada bike course is gorgeous! I've always been partial to the Lake Placid course, but something really spoke to me in the grandeur of that section of Canada, not to mention some almost primal feeling about seeing the fruit trees and vineyards, full of fruit, in all their glory. We don't have much like that around where I live and train...somehow the corn, cotton, and maize fields don't provoke the same feeling of the earth's abundance in me. I had bought some fruit (sweet and juicy peaches!) and visited with several local vendors at the farmer's market a couple of days before the race, so I felt a small connection to that area and the community.
Riding out of town is nothing too special for a few miles, then you course along the west side of Skaha Lake, which is also the run course, and it's very nice to look out over the water. It's fairly flat, and generally a quick part of the course, though we started experiencing a headwind. I knew we would face this all the way to Osoyoos due to the course layout. There is one significant climb early in the bike, at McLean Creek Road. It climbs for about 3/4-1 mile, and I realized then that I should have not listened to my ego and put a 12-27 cassette on my bike for one more gearing option to get up hills. Oh, well. I can climb, albeit not fast, and got the job done. The aid station at the top of the hill was a nice sight, and I had to laugh at the giant bra they had hung up (the aid station was run by a breast cancer awareness group). The course winds through some farm/ranch land before getting back to the highway, and this may be one of my favorite places on the bike ride. I could ride on that road any day! There's a fast curvy downhill before reaching the highway in Okanagon Falls, and that took a bit of bike handling skill.
So...back into the headwind for about 25 miles. ugh. This may be where the race went wrong for me. I know, in long distance racing, that the bike sets up the run. If you push too much on the bike, or fail to get your nutrition in, you are in for a world of hurt on the run. Well, I think I worked too hard into the wind. It never felt all that comfortable, and I was aware of some level of effort. (as opposed to my best bike ride this year, in a 1/2 Ironman, where I never felt like I was working hard at all.) My stomach was a little gassy, so I made a (needed) stop at a portalet in the town of Oliver. Glad I did, because the lines for the next portalet heading towards Richter pass were about 15 people long! There is only one smaller hill just before reaching Osoyoos...I used that as my marker that we would be climbing Richter soon, but more importantly, that we wouldn't be in the headwind any longer!
Turning towards the approximately 4 mile climb to Richter, I felt good and confident. I knew I could climb that hill...it's long, but not very steep, maybe a 4% gradient. There are also a couple of breaks so you are not climbing the entire time. At one pullout, I saw friends Jim and Ken, who were there to cheer on their girlfriends (and the other training friends). That definitely brought a smile to my face. It seemed like a fair amount of time to make the apex, but once over, it is bombs away, down hill! I don't have a speedometer on my bike currently, so I don't know how fast I was going, only that I knew I had to keep my hands by the brakes just in case, and feather them a bit to keep my speed under control. I knew Julie would have simply flown down this hill ahead of me--she loves to descend, and does it fast!
Crossing the pass also means that the terrain changes. It's a very interesting course. This side was not so much the verdant farms and orchards, but a starker beauty, with tall mountains and brushy terrain. The next section of the bike course goes over the "Rollers" as everyone calls them. They're not super long or steep, but you do get to make sure all your gears work as you shift down to get over the hills and then back up on the downhill sides. It's fun to try to get as much speed as you can on the downhill to carry you up at least part of the next. I had counted 8 of these rollers when Tony and I drove the course (have heard some people count 7)....we were over the next to last one, when a girl rode by me, and I said, "I think we only have one more, right?" Turns out she trains in the area, and she said, "yes, just one more, we call them the Five *****es." I was all, "oh, fine, now I hear that they are *****es, I just knew them as rollers!" *****es sounds tougher. Well, they didn't scare me, and in fact, I enjoyed this section of the course. By the way, we finally had a tailwind!
The next section to ride is an out and back. It's about 8 miles long or so, on rolling terrain. The "out" portion was back into the wind, but it didn't feel too bad. People say it feels like forever, going the wrong way, until the turnaround...it didn't seem all that long to me. At the turnaround (approx. mile 75) is the bike special needs bag pickup. I rolled up just after Julie and just in front of Vicki. We all stood there and chatted for a few minutes, while reloading our bike bottles, grabbing snacks, and Vicki shared a bit of heaven in a bottle...frozen coke! yum! That was a great pick-me-up, but especially because it was a moment shared by friends on this long day. I left special needs ahead of them and made my way back to the turn that would take us back towards Penticton.
The next section is generally uphill...much of it with false flats, so it can wear you down. My little buzz from the coke must have died around here, because I just felt like I was working too hard again. The last big hill is going to Yellow Lake (it really looks sort of yellow-green!), and the crowds were still out cheering here (saw Jim and Ken again), which was a boost, though my mental fortitude was beginning to wane. I was never so happy as to see the top of the climb, knowing that the course was almost completely downhill all the way back to the bike finish. It started to rain around this time, but I tried not to slow too much on the descent. I was curious as to my speed, so I yelled to one of the passing cars (filled with race supporters), "How fast am I going?" They slowed a bit to match my speed, and the girl in the back seat yelled back, "65 Kph! And you're looking good!" That made me smile. About 40 mph, and I was heading for home. Cars had knocked some of the traffic cones into the bike lane, so it was a bit of an obstacle course, but we were flying home and loving it. So happy to see the crowds on Main Street again.
Bike time: 7:21:05, with a 15.24 mph average. About right for the terrain and how I was feeling. I got in about 1900 calories on the bike, using a Carbopro mix, gels, and a PB sandwich (at special needs).
T2: uh, oh. I got off my bike and my legs felt dead. Oh, dear God, please give me my legs back, I thought.
I was pretty fast in transition, focusing on the tasks at hand: helmet off, put on socks, put on shoes, grab visor and gels, and get out, in a time of 5:56.
Run:
It was just bad. That's about it. I ran by my friends Jen R. and Jen S. just after mile 1, and I said, "I have no legs." Jen R was hopeful, and said they would come back to me and have a good run. She is so supportive, and I was so happy she had made the trip to Canada with us. By mile 3 or 4, I knew it was just done. I would try to run (more like shuffle) and my legs hurt and were sort of crampy. By mile 5, I was getting upset. It's really hard to look at the "Mile 5" marker, and know that you have 21 more miles to cover, and that you don't have any running in you. Ironman math is hard--I think your mind just isn't firing on all cylinders--and I started doubting whether I was walking fast enough to finish the marathon by the midnight cutoff for the race. I tried many times to shuffle/jog, and could get about 20-40 yds up the road each time. It was very frustrating. Looking back, I realize now that I didn't pull out all of my mental toughness. I had a mantra all prepared to use on the run, but it was the wrong one. In my training, I would do some of my workouts at a bit too fast a tempo compared to my goal pace, so used the movie "Hitch" where Will Smith was teaching Kevin how to dance, thinking, "Keep it right here. This is home." to remind myself to not go out too fast and burn up. Well, I forgot to plan for a mantra to use if I wasn't moving fast enough. I forgot all about the good run workouts I had completed. I had been sure enough that I was going to have a good run, I didn't really prepare for how to get myself through a tough spot (or 20+ miles of tough spot). It has taken me a couple of weeks to realize this, but it is an extremely valuable lesson that I learned.
On the plus side, the volunteers and spectators and other athletes, throughout the whole race, but especially on the run, were so supportive and great. Local residents would sit under their umbrellas at the end of their driveway and cheer on each athlete, even into the late hours.
There is absolutely no way to get through an Ironman without them, even on a good day. I doubt I expressed it well enough while I was out there on the marathon, but ...thank you. The town of Penticton absolutely supports the Ironman and the athletes.So....there was a lot of shuffling and walking. And some tears. The run course is really pretty, along the lake, mostly flat, but a few hills near the turnaround, but that wasn't much consolation. I got to see all my Texas Iron teammates going one way or the other, and was so happy that most everyone was having a good time. A couple were walking, but hanging in there. Around mile 11, I was walking/jogging by a woman from Australia. I told her I thought we would make the cutoff...so we started doing the math. She said that we could easily walk a 5K in an hour...we were at mile 11 and had about 5.5 hours left before midnight. hmm....It was like a math word problem! Like I said, Ironman math is difficult...I knew that 13 miles to go would be 21 km....but that's about as far as I could get with the conversions....how many 5K's go into 14.5 miles? and does that match the amount of hours we had left? I couldn't do the math and just decided to move as fast as I could.
It had been raining intermittently, and by the time I was approaching the 13.1 mile turnaround, and run special needs, I was looking forward to putting on a long sleeved shirt and some dry socks. As I approached special needs, a woman walking near me came across some friends...they were so excited for her, and there were hugs all around. I asked them if they had any extra hugs to give, so they all came and gave me a group hug. That's just how nice people are at Ironman.
With about 8 miles to go, Coach Jamie came up on his bike. I was just walking up the road, trying to focus on moving forward. Of course, I lost my composure when I saw him, because I was struggling to get the race finished and deal with the disappointment. I let him know that I was the last one in our group, and he was very encouraging. He rode up ahead of me for most of the way back to the finish. I kept trying to send him back up to town, partly because I didn't want anyone seeing me doing badly, and partly because I didn't want to get a penalty for outside assistance. He didn't pace me (how do you pace a walk), but kept stopping up the road and making sure I was moving as fast as I could. I could tell more certainly by mile 21 or 22 that I would make it in by midnight for sure, but that didn't stop me from still trying to walk as fast as I could. I'm not one to try to finish casually...though that may not be evident by my having to walk so far. Of course, there was a fleeting moment when I thought I should just try to be the last one in, to make the "final finisher" video, but I didn't want to take even more time out on the course.
Jamie peeled off at mile 25 to go straight to the finish area, and I was never so glad as to hit the last out and back section on Lakeshore Drive with the finish line within hearing and within sight. The crowds were great...this is the best 'rock star' moment in any Ironman, and is a big part of the day for all the finishers. I finally found some running left deep within...and ran more of that last 1.2 miles than I had for the previous 18 or so. Tom Ziebart took the microphone from Mike Reilly and announced my finish, as he promised he would when I saw him the day before the race.
Total run time: 7:01:58 (first half 3:26:32, second half 3:35:26).
Total finish time: 16:06:07. (previous worst time 15:44:22, personal best time 14:12:34)
Post-race:
So, it was my worst Ironman out of the 6 I've finished (dnf'ed one in 2005 due to a stress fracture), and by far the worst marathon. Funny, because I didn't know it could get much worse than the 6:40 marathon at IMLP in 2006. But like they say for Ironman, Anything Can Happen. I don't like to diminish the accomplishment of getting it done and finishing...many people try and don't make it...or don't even try in the first place. Though I can't lie and say that I wasn't disappointed in the outcome. I thought this would be one of my best races. I learned a valuable lesson about being prepared for a tough day, that's for sure. I am not 100% sure if I could have dug a little deeper to get moving, but some doubt will linger in my mind for a while. So the plan is to move forward. I'm not going to do another Ironman race until 2010. I'll use next year to get stronger and faster, and work on my mental game some more. I had some good fun at quite a few races this year, so I want to get that mojo back.
I thoroughly recommend this Ironman event to everyone. It's gorgeous, and the organization and volunteers are top notch. I've always been partial to Ironman Lake Placid, and this race is just as good, and in some aspects better than LP.
Thanks to my coach Andrea...she gave me encouragement when I needed it, and had faith in me. Coach Jamie....having you around at the end was very important to me. To the Texas Iron group, esp. my travel buddies...it wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you!
And my family...thanks for supporting me and knowing this is important to me.
You know how many people ever even dream tehy can do a marathon? Not many! Then, to do it after teh swim and bike. 
So many thoughts here. The one that really got me is that you faced 26.2 miles of walking. In teh 2007 Disney full, I added some walk about mile 12 due to the heat. Somewhere around mile 20, I started doing teh math and realized how long I'd be out there if I didn't run more. Say what you will, but that's more daunting than anythign I've ever experienced. I know you're not thrilled and think you weren't as mentally tough as you could have been, but I think you're dead wrong. I can't imagine anythign tougher. 
I know it was likely hard to share, but I'm so glad you did. Your report just says so much about your character adn what perserverence will do for you. BTW, I failed my 0.5 mile swim math. No way could I do Ironman math! 
I will tell you again that I think your effort was "SuperHuman!" and worthy of all of the praise and accolades that everyone is giving you.
