Holy Crap - I signed up for a full Ironman triathlon!!!

It's been a little over a month and I go from excited to scared to 'what the hell did I do'.  Peej and I had been talking about me signing up for a full Ironman since last year but talking about it and actually hitting the submit button..... a big difference.

From what I've been reading about doing a race this length is accepting that you have the take the conditions that you're given on that day and adjusting your plan and goals accordingly.  And I get it - its a huge commitment and you need to keep your head in the game. However, who knew that just selecting a race was going to be the first obstacle.

Originally I had planned on doing Ironman North Carolina - aka Beach to Battleship.  I had decided on this one because it's later in the year and it would give me more time to train outside.  I diligently followed both Facebook groups, trying to learn as much as I could, not only about the race itself but how other triathletes were preparing, the obstacles they were dealing with and how they were overcoming them.  I was heartened by the camaraderie within the group.  As the race got closer there were postings popping up saying there was not going to be a full IM in 2017.  A lot of these postings were ' my friend - who's in the know' kind of postings but never anything definitive.

Unfortunately these 'rumors' turned out to be true so I needed to find another venue.  So I started looking at Rev3's Cedar Point in Ohio - another race that's later in the season - again rumors were swirling that turned out to be true - no race in 2017.

So I was back to the drawing board - my other late season options were Louisville, Chattanooga or Maryland.  Maryland was quickly ruled out because in 2 years its had really lousy conditions and the logistics of the race are tough.  Looking at Louisville and Chattanooga - Peej and I decided that Chattanooga would be the best fit for me.  And so - I signed up and realized right away that I needed to get my lodging in place as well.  Done and done..... now comes the hard part.... training my butt off to make my big dream.... my goal.... come to fruition.

Timberman 70.3 2016 1 hour 2 min. PR!!!

So much went right with Race Day it’s hard to know where to start.

Heading into to race day there had been a lot of concern that the race would not be wetsuit legal. The Sunday before the race the water temperature was 79 degrees, wetsuit legal is 76.1 for age-groupers. Fortunately, the week leading up to the race featured cooler nights and a little bit of rain.  Hard to believe that Lake Winnipesaukee was almost 80 degrees. Phew!!!

Swim – 54:59 (2:29/100 yds.) 13.5 min. course PR and overall PR

I’m so happy with this time.  I worked really hard all season on my swimming.  I did a lot of it without my wetsuit so that I would have to work on body position – and truth be told, it was so damned hot all summer the thoughts of trying to get my wetsuit on was going to be a workout and not worth it.  I also swam in Mystic Lake a lot because it’s bigger than Walden Pond (although I still love Walden), has buoys to practice sighting and has more variable conditions – i.e. changing winds and waves. 

Because I had a hard time on the swim last year I spent the morning reminding myself of all the open water swimming I’d done and to swim my own race.  I lined myself up at the back of my age group to keep out of the fray as much as possible.  When the gun went off, I took off with my group, the water was really low so no dolphin diving, I just started.  I kept reminding myself to swim my own race – to stay within myself – and I’d be successful.  Holy smokes – I’m at the first buoy – ok keep moving. As the next group of swimmers catch up to me I’d get a bit jostled but it gave me the opportunity to draft a little – try and catch some of the bubbles, stay in a pocket as long as I could.

Another thing that I changed was how I sight.  I had been taught to lift my eyes out of the water like a crocodile, however I never really saw anything but water.  When I was watching the Men’s Triathlon during the Olympics I noticed that they were lifting there head up out of the water to sight – I decided if they could use that technique then so could I – HUGE difference (see picture – I swam pretty darn straight). 

 

First time I've ever stayed this straight

I’m sure there’s a few people that can relate – every time I see a picture or video of a swim start it makes me almost nauseous and very hesitant.  During one of my sighting ‘looks’ I noticed that ‘my’ swim was just like the pictures I’d seen – holy crap – don’t panic – keep moving.

T1 – 5:47

I thought I was quicker than this because for the first time ever I tried to jog to my bike – still not very successful running with my bike shoes on – work in progress

Bike – 3:57 - 26 min. course PR    Fastest speed – 40.6 mph

All of the hill repeats, 120% FTP workouts and hilly training routes really paid off (Thanks Coach Patricia Brownell).  I’m not a great climber, I’m not even a good one, but I’ve worked hard to get stronger and more consistent.  Of course, anyone riding near me going uphill probably thinks I’m a wee bit crazy because I sing or talk to myself in beat to the cadence I’m trying to keep – it also keeps me from either holding my breath or hyperventilating.

There are a ton of hills on this course with 2 that are killers, one is long and the other one is really steep.  First up is the long, killer one.  I took the hill in my steady but slow pace, concentrating on a) staying out of the faster rider’s way, b) breathing and c) my cadence.  There were a number of people walking this hill.  I’m not sure if it’s technically being ‘chicked’ but one of the walkers was a guy that was almost ½ my age.  All I could think was ‘dude – get on your bike, I’m way older than you’. 

During the out and back portion, I worked hard to stay within my plan and not get sucked into the pack and go too fast.  I knew if I did I’d pay for it on the way back. Before I knew it, I was turning onto Brown Hill Rd. (mile 41ish) the scene of my little crash last year and the second hill – this one is really snotty.  I’ll admit that I did breathe a little sigh of relief when I passed the scene of my crash.  At the end of the street you take a left and the hill is standing there, a little bit like a wall and if you weren’t prepared and in the right gears you’re (or at least me) going to have a hard time.  There were more people walking on this hill but I wasn’t surprised.  I hit the hill, knowing I had a short window of pain and the worst of the hills was done. 

You get a lot of nice downhills for all the work that you do and this year some of the really long downhills had been repaved, this meant I could ‘fly’.  I don’t have my bike computer set up to show me how fast I’m going – it can either be discouraging (going up a hill) or scary (flying down a hill) – so I go by my comfort level.  On the longest, newly paved, downhill section I pedaled until I had no more gears and then I let Oz fly.  I got to the edge of my comfort zone and then let my toes go a little over before I started to feather my brakes but I still went 40.6 mph – on a damn bike – and it is pretty cool to fly up the next hill.

Nutrition – I did pretty good on this – I had one tiny issue though – I forgot to open the Ziploc baggy with my Farbars.  I’ve gotten a lot more stable on my bike but I have a long way to go and I spent a few minutes trying to figure out a plan that wouldn’t require me stopping.  I decided that if I used up my Barnana Bites first then I could open the baggy and get it back into my bento box without losing any.  I also knew that if I did lose a couple of the squares I had extra GU with me.  I went with this plan and SUCCESS – not one square was lost.  I have to say that I was pretty damned pleased with myself. 

I get back to T2 – no crashes feeling really strong!!!!

T2 – 4:45 (it felt faster)

Run – 3:06 - 24 min. course PR

This is the only portion that I wasn’t that happy with.  I did better than last year but still struggle to not walk.  I made sure that I kept moving forward and I didn’t linger at the aide stations (volunteers – You’re the best!).  I spent the time trying to figure out how to make this portion stronger, I can run for hours without stopping so I need to work with Peej (my coach) to figure this part out.  We do agree that I really struggle in the heat – and I did keep hydrating, putting ice in my hat, down my shirt and shorts to keep my core cool.  I also think I need to figure out my fueling on my run – I may not be getting enough but I’ll be working with Marni @ TriMarni Nutrition and Coaching. 

Overall Time 8:09 – 1hr 2 min. course PR