First Ironman Podium: Ironman Canada Whistler 2014 - Race Report, Reflections and the Three Bears

Ironman Canada Whistler 2014: Race Report, Reflections and the Three Bears

Season Interview with Coach Patrick Available Here: http://enation.libsyn.com/jenn-edwards-team-endurance-nation-athlete-interview-and-cda-whistler-recap 

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Getting to the Start Line: “It doesn't matter when you cross the start line or when you cross the finish line, just that you cross them both.” - Unknown

“Will you do it again?”  This was a question we heard often in the days leading up to Ironman Canada (IMC).  I’d purposefully planned on doing IMC four weeks after Ironman Coeur d’Alene (IMCDA) to test one of a few avenues of getting to Kona.  Accumulating twelve finishes will potentially earn a “Legacy” slot and a chance to race on the Big Island.  Two IMs a year would cut the time in half and if all went well by the end of 2014 I’d be at six finishes, with six more in “only” three years! 

Managing recovery and training in the four weeks between two IMs isn’t exactly a precise science or a good idea from many perspectives.  I arrived in Whistler with much less refined estimates of my splits but in good spirits and without so much as a niggle of pain anywhere.  I was fairly confident that barring any major catastrophe I could earn that sixth finish but a lot can go wrong and finishing was certainly not a forgone conclusion.    “Well, I can’t answer that ‘till after Sunday!” was my response to those questions!

*** The Performance Management Chart out of Training Peaks: The blue line represents “Chronic Training Load” and is an indicator of overall training volume.  It starts out as a very pretty graph (in my opinion) followed by pretty ugly! **

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The Swim: Swimasstrophy

I was only half joking when I’d told Mark I had no idea whether my swim time was going to be back to the 1:05 I’d turned in at a couple of my early IMs or a leisurely 1:15.  He figured it would be somewhere in between and darn it he was right!   If anybody ever asks me where to line up at the IMC swim start I PROMISE to redact myself!   I thought I’d lined up similarly to last year where I had a relatively unencumbered and successful swim.    Unfortunately my experience was a 180° from 2013.  

 *** IMC 2014 Swim Start: It was little consolation that Mark was out there… somewhere… rescuing someone ELSE!  ***

We all expect congestion in a mass start but significant body contact continued ALL the way around the first two turn buoys and really didn’t open up much at all ‘till the second lap.  I didn’t get the sense anyone was intentionally trying to clobber me, just that there was no room to get into any sort of rhythm.  I tried to swim further to the outside but as the lone anchovy in the school going diagonal to the flow, let’s just say it didn’t work out very well.   When I saw 1:11 on the clock I was bummed – my worst swim time ever in very good lake conditions.  Oh well.  I figured this had already put me out of contention of a top-ten placing in my age group like the 9^th I’d earned at IMCDA but I stuck to the mantra for the day of “emptying my tank” and had no intentions of phoning it in.  I hustled through transition looking forward to getting on the bike! 

*** An Overhead View of Turn Two:  It looks so serene from here.   ***

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The Bike: Strong, Steady and the BooBee Target

I’d reduced my target wattage for the bike since IMCDA in consideration of how I’d felt there and assuming I’d lost some power in the weeks in between.   As a result of NOT crashing at the start as I’d done in 2013  and a very conservative effort I felt REALLY good for the first hour and regained some optimism for the day.   That was buoyed further by an exchange with a competitor going up the first ascent.  “Hey, #642! That was my number when I had my best race ever!  I think you’re going to have yours today - it’s a lucky number!”  Who was I to argue?     

*** Postcard views like this ALL DAY LONG! It Doesn’t Look Like It – But I’m Up Because This is a Climb! ***

I stuck to the plan for the entire ride and although it got predictably more difficult to hold that effort.  Even though Whistler it is one of the toughest bike courses with significant elevation gain there is a 30-mile segment late in the ride called the “Pemberton flats” that is just that, dead flat.  The temperature pushed to over 95° and in a sick way I wished for the headwinds that had plagued us at IMCDA.  I probably passed over 150 folks in those flats as the heat continued to climb and the collective enthusiasm waned.  

My revised nutrition plan was working well and being thoroughly vetted in the heat.  Nearing the end of the flats I was quite rudely stung by a bee that made its way into my top where boobs should be.  In my frantic digging around to flick out the (still stinging) bee I managed to fling my stash of Wheat Thins out too.  I know, I know… Wheat Thins? Yes, five Wheat Thins an hour are a part of my (highly sophisticated!) nutrition plan.  They keep my stomach from getting overloaded on all the sugar that makes up the REST of the race day nutrition.  Arg.  Oh well - I was just about to start the fourth hour and would only miss two “servings”.   When I made the final turn to begin the 20-mile ascent back to Whistler I still felt relatively good and was confident I’d finish the bike strong.    

 *** After three stings in my top on this course in two years, I’m thinking this angle just shows that I must look like target practice for bees. Or maybe I just need bigger boobs.   Also, for the record, I’m not cranky here, honestly! **

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The Run: Gonna Get Run Down?  Not Today! 

After a good transition I hit the run curious as to how I’d feel.    I began the mantra I’d planned for the first half of the run: “comfortably hard, comfortably hard, comfortably hard… ” My target pace at IMCDA had been just under a 10-minute-mile and in that race during the first few miles of that race I’d actually had to hold myself back.   Alas, not surprisingly, today was different.  My “comfortably hard” effort was turning in a 10:30 – 10:45 pace.  Although it didn’t feel great, it did feel better than in The Epic Bonk of 2013.  I was fairly certain I’d be able to run the entire way, it just wasn’t going to be the 4:20 I’d run at IMCDA. 

Somewhere out there a bear was having a little run of its own on the race course.  Although we did see a bear on a reconnaissance ride early in the week I didn’t actually see this one but it is a very FUN video.  Note the runner that decides she’ll go ahead a walk a bit as she passes where the bear went into the trees! 

*** Bear on the Run: Added a Swim in the Spirit of Ironman! ***

For the record, there is literally almost NO stretch of the Whistler run course that is straight or flat so it is hard to gauge effort.    The run is constantly twisting, turning, up, down, asphalt, gravel, dirt - a smorgasbord of trail and just what you’d expect for a nice Sunday trail run in a beautiful resort town.  Of course today we had the benefit of aid stations and lots of people to cheer us on!  I revised my race plan to go based off of RPE (Rate of Perceived Effort) and HR (Heart Rate) for the balance of the run.    

Miraculously, at about mile three or four, “comfortably hard” started to result in a 9:45 or even a 9:30 pace.  Awesome, I thought - the day is looking up!   At mile 13 I saw Mark for just a second and he told me I was in fourth place.  Say wha???? He must have meant fourth off the bike.  I was fairly certain I wasn’t in fourth at the half-marathon point.  Teammate Steve S. had made a “podium” comment earlier in the week and I almost laughed, certain it was jinxed.  Er…. well… that’s cool but… um….  well it’s time to grab the mantra for the second half of the run:  “Empty the tank, empty the tank, empty the tank….”   

*** Again with the Postcard Scenery!  Yes, That’s a Floatplane in the Background! ***

Shortly after seeing Mark I bumped in to RTB teammate Craig P.  We had a quick chat about how our days were going.  I mentioned that Mark just told me I was in fourth but that I usually get run down on the run so that was probably wrong.  “Well”, he said, “Not today!”     So, I added another mantra:  “Not today, not today, not today!”  To which I was promptly passed by a gal in my age group (AG).  Sad trombone.   Time to HTFU.  I kept plugging away and made note of my HR determined to keep my effort up.   And then well, well, well, what do we have here?  I was about to PASS someone in my AG!  She was looking pretty dejected and I made the pass with a few pleasantries and little worry she would rally.  Score: Them: 1, Me: 1.  Not today, indeed!

As far as I can tell there wasn’t any more passing in my age group for the balance of the run.  After a quick high-five to Mark with about a mile to go I made the turn down the finishing chute elated to be finishing strong, running and HAPPY! 

*** If You’re Happy (To Be Done) and You Know It, Clap Your Hands! ***

*** SUPER Happy Here and Not Even Crying All Over Some Poor Teammate!!!  ***

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Fourth Place!

“Can anyone tell me what place I finished?” I asked around in the finishers area.  The (otherwise fabulous) volunteers looked at me like it was the craziest question they’d been asked all day.  Um, at IMCDA they had a timing table and handed you a card with all your splits and placing, certainly I wasn’t making this up!   Without data on Mark’s cell phone we had no way to know. Ultimately I ended up calling my brother 3,000 miles away to get my finish. Fourth, indeed! 

We spent the rest of the evening cowbelling on teammates to the finish and relishing in a great day.  We knew there were three Kona spots in my age group at IMCDA and if that held true here there just one spot would have to “roll down” for me to get a slot.  It was unlikely, but possible!  I tried not to dwell on it just waited for whatever the award ceremony would bring.

Monday morning Mark and I headed to the Olympic Plaza for the ceremony.   We set up shop at a table we shared with a nice couple I’ll call Mama Bear and Papa Bear.  We shared our experiences from the race and they were excited to hear I would be in contention for a Kona spot.  Our Endurance Nation team collected First Place in the Tri Club competition and I was called onto the podium to collect my fourth place award. 

*** BAM – On the Podium!!!  ***

Next came the roll down.  We excused ourselves from Mama Bear and Papa Bear to make our way closer to the front in case my name was called.  As anticipated, there were three Kona spots up for grabs.  Fast Gal #1: Want your spot?  Yes!  #2?  Yes!  #3?  Yes.  Ouch, that hurt.  Tears started to well up.  Mark put his arm around my shoulders and sheparded me to the exit.  I hadn’t expected to get a spot but it did hurt to be so close.  I’d promised myself a maximum of a one-minute pity party and let loose a few tears.  I swear I saw a couple in Mark’s eyes as well.    

I pulled out the last mantra for the weekend: Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. I am so lucky to be able to do this sport with these great people in this beautiful place. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.  I managed to get the tears under control within the minute allotted.   As we continued back to our hotel and we bumped into Mama Bear and Papa Bear.  Mama Bear had tears streaming down her face FOR ME!  Hugs all around.  Geeze lady, now I need to have ANOTHER one-minute pity party.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude….

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Reflections

Yes, it takes me FOREVER to get my race report done!  I think this is partly because I do a lot of reflecting after the race and partly because writing the report is kind of like me finishing that chapter and moving forward.  It’s cathartic!

* Compared to IMCDA I was, indeed able to keep my HR up late in the run.  Also, coincidentally my average HR for both races was EXACTLY the same.  Even though the time was a bit slower, it was hotter and I’d probably lost a bit of fitness so in retrospect it makes sense.

* My subpar swim may have benefited my bike.  I’ve consistently had difficulty getting my HR to come down in the first hour of the bike.  This year, it was almost 7 BPM less in that first hour.  We’ll call that the consolation prize for the craptastic swim. 

 * After the race I was pleased to see that my “Variability Index” (VI) was 1.03, down from the VI of 1.06 in 2013 indicating I’d had a much steadier ride and metered my effort smoothly.

Overall, I’m really pleased with my effort on the day.  Although I wasn't completely spent as I was in IMCDA, at the most I figure I could have squeezed another couple of minutes out of myself with better execution.  The third place finisher was 20’ in front of me and fifth place was 7’ behind me – there wasn't really anything I could have done to catch third place and fourth place was relatively safe. 

Also, I’m proud of how hard I worked this year. I spent fifteen weeks with fifteen or more hours of training and four different weeks approached twenty hours.  By working hard I don’t mean that I blindly threw a lot of time at all sports, but I was very strategic in what I did, how I did it, and why.  In particular, I listened to my body and backed off occasionally when something started to hurt or I got a a sense of getting over-trained.  Sure enough, I did not get injured and stayed motivated. I also learned a lot and will have a few tweaks for next year.  The “behind the scenes” part of this is how well it went on the home-front.  I don’t take for granted that it “takes a village” to get an athlete to the start and Mark is 95% of that.  I also am humbled by the the support of friends, family, teammates and training partners.   What a great community! 

***  There is a lot of support that goes into getting this amount of training done!  ***

Will we do it again?  Yeah, probably.  IMCDA suits my strengths and nobody is more shocked than me that I can contend at IMC as well.  With races not selling out the day they open there isn’t an urgency to sign up but I suspect if this fall goes well I’ll be signing up for both over the winter.  As long as we are both having fun in this crazy journey…. Anything is possible!

  

*** Hardware!   ***

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A Contender

“Wanna go skinny dipping?” I joked to Mark as we shuffled back to the truck near midnight.  Lake Coeur d’Alene was glassy smooth and reflected twinkling stars from the clear night. It was hard to believe seventeen hours prior that same lake had been wind whipped and frothy with swimmers churning their way around the course in their quest to become an Ironman.

The build up to Ironman Coeur d’Alene (IMCdA) 2014 had gone really well.  I’d been working with Endurance Nation (EN) Coach Patrick on a 1-1 basis for a couple of years on a “Be All I Can Be” plan which had significantly increased running frequency and further pushed my bike volume.  The goal was to enable me to finally run to my theoretical potential in my fifth Ironman on race day.

*** Work Works! Graph of Training Load Leading up to IMC in 2013 and IMCdA in 2014.  ***

After doing four Ironman Canada (IMC) races with just a few friends or teammates, this race would be very different.  Over thirty local racers from Raise the Bar (RTB) team and over twenty from my Endurance Nation (EN) team would be on the course.  Those fifty peeps brought with them a ton of mojo and support crews!    As a bonus, Coach Rich from EN would be in attendance as well.

*** Happy Campers at EN Team Dinner ***

The week included the usual few days of race prep including the EN Four Keys talk and fun EN and RTB team dinners.  Race day came soon enough and began with yet another Husband Hero save.  I’d set my alarm for 3:00 AM.  Unfortunately it was the WEEKDAY alarm.  Luckily Mark had set his too so we got out the door on time.  It’s always some tiny detail…  sheesh.

*** This is NOT How to Set Your Alarm for a Sunday Race! ***  

***** SWIM *****

The swim caused me quite a bit of trepidation over the course of the year.  Although I was considered a relatively strong swimmer, it could be argued that I was tempting fate with the notoriously cold swim at IMCdA. I’d had an incident of Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema (SIPE) the previous summer and one of the risk factors was cold water.  I armed myself with a good understanding of SIPE risk factors after an extensive conversation with Dr. Moon at Duke University.  A new, better fitting wetsuit and more cold water practice swims than I’d have liked also helped. Luckily, the lake temperature on race day was 61+ degrees - still too dang cold but well above some of the worst swims at IMCdA which have been in the mid 50s.

After watching the pro start Mark helped me get into my wetsuit and I was off to get warmed up in the small swim area. And by warming up, really we mean cooling off!  It was important to get into that cold water to get the mammalian dive reflex out of the way so it wouldn't be such a shock when we started swimming.

The warm up went well and soon enough it was time to queue up on the beach and it was go time!
The new Swim Smart protocol (I call it paratrooper style) was awesome!  We simply lined up according to our predicted swim times and after the cannon went off everyone proceeded in a relatively orderly fashion.  No being swum over, no kicks to the face, no grabbing – no drama!

After about three strokes I had a good sense of what the outbound leg would feel like.  ROUGH!  The water was choppy, the wind was whipping and about every third breath turned into big gulp of extra special Lake Coeur d’Alene mouthwash.  I knew right away it would impact my time but it would impact everyone so I stuck to the plan and just kept chugging (literally and figuratively) along.  My time was my slowest IM swim to date but considering the conditions I was really happy with the result.  Soon enough I was out of the water and into the T1!

*** Swim Start ***

This 2’ video gives a sense of the wind we faced and also of how the swim smart protocol works. I think I’m the pink cap that trots over to the right, wades into the water in front of the first TYR flag and pushes off casually at about the 1:55 mark. 

*** Plenty of Water for Everyone! ***

Swim Time: 1:09:44 

T-1 Time: 4:36 – “Smooth is fast, fast is smooth.” – Coach Rich  

***** BIKE *****

This was my fourth IM with power.  Unfortunately a few weeks prior to the race my Power Tap Pro+ went on the fritz and I found myself with new Garmin Vector pedals.  It was a happy circumstance as I’d wanted the pedals for some time, however I hadn't had the opportunity to calibrate them properly.  In my final race rehearsal I felt they were a bit more generous so I adjusted my race plan to push 165w on the Vector pedals up from the 160w I’d been working with on the Power Tap.

Of course, that all promptly went out the window within the first hour because right off the bat where our protocol calls for us to go “stoopid easy” my heart rate was MUCH too high.  This was consistent with problems I’d had in previous IMs.  I’d do my race rehearsals at a relatively reasonable and comfortable heart rate but on race day coming out of the water it just doesn't ever seem to come down.  After about 30’ I kicked it up to what would end up being my target watts of 160.  Although my heart rate still hadn't come down, it didn't go up either so I stuck with that as the new plan for the day.  

I got quite a jolt early in the ride when I heard a tire or spoke blow out near me. I was sure it was mine but fellow RTBer Dave assured me it was not, so I pressed on, thankful my day hadn't ended that soon.

In the second hour we started our first significant ascent and were greeted with a howling wind directly in our face that would last all day long.  Ug, this was gonna be a tough ride.  My heart rate was still a bit high, I was going as slow as 12 MPH at times and I already wanted to be off the bike.  Furthermore, pushing 160w seemed hard when just two weeks prior I’d pushed 175w for five hours. Oh well, in Jennerator fashion I stuck to the plan and turned my attention to riding steady and keeping my nutrition on track. Of course that meant I was passed like I was going backwards in the first loop but patience paid off as sure enough I did all the passing in the second loop.  It was difficult to pass into the wind and to make it worse there were a lot of stubborn guys who didn't want to be passed. They would surge as I got alongside them which caused me to surge even more to complete the pass.  Eventually they were behind me though, and afterwards we heard it was the windiest race day on record with sustained winds of 25+ MPH and many DNFs.

*** Very Rude to have 40 Tattooed On My Calf Two Weeks Early! ***

Bike Time: 5:49:45

T-2 Time: 2:55 – Jones Family Sighting!

***** RUN *****

I knew I was in second or third place coming off the bike but I’d been there before and faded to ultimately finish 25th or so.  To me there is an important principle difference between being run down by a better runner and fading because I couldn't keep it together.  My race execution goal was to keep it together - faster runners would have to come and get me.

And so the rubber met the road.  I was greeted just out of transition by the Jones family cowbelling their hearts out, started my watch, and I was off!   My goal was to average a 10:00 minute mile for a 4:22ish marathon and to run fairly steadily throughout the day. The first mile clicked off at 9:22 on my Garmin and I thought it was a mistake.  It felt as easy as any mile I’d run and completely different (in a good way) than I’d felt in any brick.  Hmmmm, maybe it hadn't acquired the satellites correctly quite yet. The next mile was a 9:34 – whoa Bessie… slow down!  Through mile 18 I was able to steady my pace to between 9:30 and 9:45.

*** Hi Jones Family!  Coming out of Transition ***

There were many Mojo Moments along the run.  Of course the biggest highlight was seeing Mark who popped up here and there on his bike and said just the right things at all the right places. Mark and RTBer Brian gave me updates as to where I was within my age group and it was fun to know I was actually finally in contention.   Additionally there was the RTB cowbell crew, EN and RTB peeps racing and handing out high-fives and the entire Sattler family cowbelling too!

Right on schedule at mile 18 AKA “The Line” it started to get TOUGH.  I’d been passed by a couple of ladies in my age group not so much because I was slowing down a lot but simply because they were fasties. Little victories.  Everything hurt and my entire world became about just the 5’ in front of me.  It would have been easy to throw in the towel but I knew I was on track to have my best race to date and was determined to hold it together and push to the finish.

I’d peed once on the bike and had to pee again.  I just let it fly. I hadn't stopped all day and there certainly wouldn't be any stopping at this point.  I've had legendary poo issues on long runs and in previous races and thankfully I made it all the way to mile 23 without any concerns when the need arose.  I thought I might have to stop but I simply made a decision not to. Luckily there were no consequences to that decision!  I made the final turn onto Sherman and it’s a nice easy but loooong downhill to the finish. I gave it my all and for the first time didn't savor the finishing chute – I wanted to earn every second I could!

Run Time: 4:20:37

I crossed the finish line completely spent.  A wave of emotion came over me as my knees started to buckle. “Do you need anything?”, “When did you pee last?”, “What day is it?”, a volunteer asked.  “I’m fine”, I assured them, when I spied Dave who was also in the finishing area.  “I guess I just need a hug from friend”,  I said, and promptly bawled all over Dave.  The next victim was Coach Rich, who, earlier in the week had assured me he was not a hugger.  Well, he got a big one, complete with snot and tears – sorry Rich!  More tears all over the Jones family, and of course Mark got them too as they continued off and on throughout the evening.  I’m not sure what all the blubbering was about but certainly I was thrilled that I left it all out there (sans poo) and finally executed a great race!

**** Poor Dave, Just Finished an Ironman and Now a Crying Girl?!***

Total Time: 11:27:37

We capped off the evening with post-race grub and drinks with both the RTB and EN crews. Then it was back onto the course to cowbell in the remaining racers!  Congratulations to all the finishers on a tough day!

Reflection and Learnings
I’m thrilled with the race I had in Coeur d’Alene and exceeded my execution goals.  It does sting a bit that the time of 11:27 would have earned me a Kona spot with a second or third place in both 2012 and 2013 on what were arguably easier days. This year it placed me ninth.  I can’t control who shows up, I can only give it my best effort and I’m quite sure I didn't leave the seven minutes between me and the Kona spots on the table.  Aside from a couple small blisters I think I’m only going to lose one toenail!  One notable war wound is my legs which got some unusual cuts from the grippers on my shorts.  Pearl Izumi has done a wonderful job addressing the issue so I won’t be dealing with it in the future.

Successes to Build On
1. I trained hard and as planned without getting injured or over trained.  As a bonus I am still married AND employed!
2. I stayed calm all race week enjoyed the positive mojo from the 50+ people I knew racing the same race without getting spun up.
3. I swam within myself and never went over the edge effort wise
4. On the bike I was able to adjust my game plan on the fly and was relatively steady.
5. I ran well and didn’t poop myself!

*** Coach Patrick and EN Teammate Robin give Kudos – Of Course This Prompted More Tears ***

What’s Next
I’m racing Ironman Canada in Whistler on July 27th as planned.  The second race in one year is part of my “Three Ways to Kona” idea generated last year.  One of those three ways is earning a “Legacy” spot with twelve finishes.  My theoretical best race at IMC places me well out of the running for a Kona qualifying slot but I will give it my all again as a means to solidify what I executed so well in IMCdA and to earn an additional finish.

Things to Improve
1. Although I am currently a healthy weight and it hasn't varied more than 5# since the my initial 80# loss, next year I’ll come into IMCdA 10–15# lighter.  Lighter runners are faster runners and I aim to do some of the running down next year.
2. I completely revamped my nutrition protocol after the epic fail of 2013 and although it worked well for me, I wasn't able to take in as much as I’d have liked late in the run.  It was a relatively moderate day temperature wise so I wasn't tested too much either.  I'll need to keep an eye on my strategy.
3. After two race rehearsals with a VI of 1.01 I was disappointed to see my race came in at 1.03.  I’m thinking this was due to having to pass people into a headwind but it is something to be mindful of in future races.

*** A Glassy Lake Coeur d’Alene – 17 Hours Too Late!  ***

A sincere thanks to all who have supported me along this journey and continue to support me along the way. And of course a special thanks to Mark who makes it all possible and FUN!

This quote posted at the venue resonated with me:

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."   

 --  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finally, I’m a contender.

Ironman Canada 2013 Race Report

Ironman Canada 2013 Race Report

Smooth Swimming, a Zero MPH Crash, the Port-a-Pottie Parade, the Kona Question and Doubling Down in 2014.

It’s Go Time! It really does take a week to do an Ironman.  After a late night trip to Whistler we fell into bed at about 2 AM Thursday.  The next few days were spent checking in, doing tune up workouts, successfully launching the boat and enjoying the village.  Yep, race day came quickly!  For the first time (ever, I think) Mark was out the door before me at 4:00 AM.  He rode his bike in the dark (in the thick of bear country!!!) to rendezvous with the CBC camera crew he would be piloting at the swim start.  Heidi and I took the shuttle to the start, wished each other well with biiiiigggg hugs and got down to it!

  

 *** Mark at the raw launch in his underwear.  Why not?  ***

Swim 

The layout of the swim start was pretty unique with the start line perpendicular to the shore followed by two loops in the small shallow lake. That meant that the front of pack swimmers would venture out to start in deep water, but many folks remained on the shore creating kind of a triangle of starters.  I couldn’t bring myself to wait on the shore and seeded myself up front as usual.  My plan was to swim conservatively for the entire outbound leg of the first loop to hopefully avoid another SIPE incident.  It would be challenging with this arrangement! 

*** Swim Start – Most of the swimmers lined up within the yellow circle.   ***

And  booooom!!!!!  The race was on!  It was tight quarters for sure but I didn’t get hit in the head and occasionally even found a tiny bit of the lake for myself.  There was no panic or drama and honestly holding back was harder than pushing hard.  By the first turn buoy I knew my lungs were fine and resumed my usual pace.  Two short laps later I was exiting the water in 1:07:xx.  Sure it was well off my 1:04:xx PR but I was pleased to have had no drama, was around the top 10% of the field and excited to get onto the bike!

*** In this video you can see the swim start and Mark piloting our boat in the background. ***

Bike 

My bike was almost over before it started.  I crossed the mount line and got clipped in.   As I pushed off (straight!), a gal to my right was also pushing off.  She started to teter (left!) towards me as I shouted increasingly louder “on your left, on your LEFT, ON YOUR LEFT!!!!” to no avail. She did a 90-degree turn smack dab into me and took me out.   The crowd went from a roar of cheering and clanging cowbells (and you know I LOVE cowbells) to so quiet you could hear a pin drop.   I get it, stuff happens, but then she just pushed off without so much as an apology or checking to see if I was okay.  Now that was just plain RUDE!  My retribution would come much, much later….    

I pulled myself together and assessed the damage.  My bike was fine but my knee was scraped and bleeding.  I washed it off, gave myself a slap in the butt, garnered all available moxie and pushed off for the second time.  The crowd redoubled it’s efforts - cheering and clanging their cowbells like I was Rudy or something.  Well that was an exciting start to say the least!

Once on the road I felt great and was looking forward to capitalizing on my strength.  Within the first few miles I hit a hard bump and lost my nutrition. This would prove to be a pivotal moment, as from thereon out I relied on nutrition available at aid stations.  I pushed along at the prescribed watts, but didn't do math well on how many calories I should be taking in and got behind.  

*** Zoom, zoom zoom… ***

The course lived up to its tough reputation summed up nicely by pro Matt Russel: “I think this was the toughest bike course I've ever ridden. Trevor Wurtele thought the same. I think Trevor had a little over 6000 ft of climbing. I rode the fastest time which was 4:42. If I was at Kona I felt like my effort would have been a 4:32 as I have ridden mid 4:40's at Kona both years.”    Up and down, up and down, up and down I went on the hilly course enjoying the views and pushing merrily along save for being stung in the chest by one very tenacious bee.  

My only frustration with the race itself was on the very flat 30 miles of the course there were long tightly grouped pacelines that went unregulated by the referees.  I’d pass these groups of 5 – 15 men only for them to get their knickers in a twist and pass me back. I knew I was riding steady watts, so that jockeying was ALL ON THEM.  This led to me having an unnecessarily unsteady effort in that segment because to stick to my plan so I’d have to pass them back as they invariably slowed few minutes later.  My only consolation was Heidi had convinced me to buy a #YOUGOTCHICKED t-shirt at the expo and I figured at least I had legitimately earned the right to wear it.   

**** Yep.  Get over it! ***

By the end of the bike I should have taken in about 1,800 calories and I estimate I took in only 700.  That I'm not sure is a clear indicator I don’t do math well within a race.  I should be able to say precisely what I took in.  This is arguably the most critical point of executing an Ironman and a total rookie mistake on my part.  D’oh, d’oh, d’oh!   In any event, I finished the bike in 5:51:xx which was also near the top 10% of the field.  I didn't realize I was behind on my nutrition at that point and hopped off ready to RUN! 

Run

I hit the run ready to execute a 10:00 pace. The first mile clicked off at 9:40. Good, I told myself… now slow down. The second was 10:03 and then I suddenly found myself struggling through a 10:30 and distinctly hit the wall like never before.  My legs felt like concrete and my head spiraled as I tried to figure out what was happening.  I began thinking through the bike leg, began realizing how behind I was and started trying to mindfully recoup the caloric deficit.    The girl who took me out at the mount line on the bike passed me. I felt horrible for not being able to execute for Mark who had escorted me on so many successful long runs.  By mile five my pace was holding steady at about 10:30 which I considered a minor victory at the moment but then the port-a-pottie parade began.  At first I was in and out in a minute or two, but the stops became increasingly unpredictable and, um, lengthy.  Sigh. 

*** Plod, plod, plod… ***

Without the lure of a PR or even what I would consider a successful run, I did some serious mental gymnastics to keep plugging along.   Everything hurt.  My knee hurt.  My head hurt.  The list of excuses and pseudo-injuries that plague any Ironman athlete could go on and on.  I’d knew I’d be seriously tempted to DNF at the half-way point as the course conveniently takes you on two loops though the village.  Why not just call it a day at 13.1 and live to fight another day?    Time to HTFU, I told myself.  

Why finish?  Pride?  Yes.   A years’ worth of training to earn at least afinish?  Absolutely.    A trip to the finisher’s merchandise tent to see if I could melt the mag strip on my credit card in the morning?  YES!         Mark’s hug at the finish line.  Unequivocally.

Mark was waiting in the village at that tempting half-way point.  We had a quick conversation while he ran alongside me for a few minutes.  I had a mini pity-party, let him know that my goals had been significantly revised and tried to find some humor in the moment so he wouldn't worry.  At that point, goal #1 (to survive) was probably still on the table.  Goal #2 (to have fun) was a bit difficult at times but I promised to do my best.  My new goal #3 was a stretch goal and that was to keep running - no walking it in!    Things were looking up.  I felt better and better as the run progressed and I re-passed the girl who took me out at the mount line of the bike.    Sweet (mini) victory. 

*** Have I mentioned the scenery?!? ***

Finisher!

At mile 20 I had my most lengthy port-a-pottie stop on the day.  I actually started to feel woozy in there had visions of passing out and not being found until the morning.  That certainly wasn't the way I wanted to end my race, so I peeked out and I asked a (saintly) volunteer to check on me in a few minutes if I hadn't emerged. She stood duty like a Canadian Mountie and met me with a bit of chicken broth to kick off that last 10K.  Thank you AGAIN volunteers! 

I was able to plod along steadily enough to the beautiful Whistler finish. I missed the bear sighting and was in before dark though perhaps that would have prompted a faster run?!?  Coming into the village the crowds lined the course and Mark popped up at all the right moments.  I crossed the finish line for my fourth Ironman in 12:26, well off my 11:35 PR.   Regardless, I can honestly say this was my proudest finish because of the mental fortitude it took to just.keep.going. 

  

“I'd rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” Robert H. Schuller

Thanks to Nicole for the image! 

Hindsight is 20-20 Two weeks of reflection has brought me to some key points to implement next year.  Between now and then I will:

- Revisit my nutrition plan and be able to do math on the fly if I need to move to plan B.  Or C or D…

- In addition to the nutrition SNAFU on the bike, the variability of my ride was my worst to date. This had been a strength of mine and I was surprised at my result.  It means I wasn't as steady as I could have been and wasted effort.  Moving forward I will analyze my bike file after race rehearsals break the bike into logical segments. I’ll be able to identify where opportunities to smooth my effort lie and further refine the details of my race plan. 

- Figure out how to NOT poo up and down the course. 

*** Would be glad to never see another port-a-pottie! ***

The Kona Question  Yes, of course someday I’d like to race in Kona.  Fortunately, there are now three ways to get there: talent, stubbornness and luck.   

Talent will get you to Kona if you place within the top few in your age group.  At most races that means I’d need to be in the top two or three of 100 – 150 finishers.  They offered double the usual slots at IMC 2013 as a carrot to encourage people to come to the new venue.  A member of our Endurance Nation team summed up the result pretty succinctly:  “Just general observations, but now that all the results are in, it was extremely competitive out there in the KQ hunt. It seems like the promise of double slots drew a significant number of would-be potential qualifiers from other races. Kind of ironic that looking at the times and how tight the groupings were, looks like you'd have had a better chance to KQ at some of the less popular 50-slot races like IMLOU this year than you did at Whistler.”    Truthfully I’d have done IMC anyway.    I like being able to drive and that Mark can participate on the swim course.  I suppose I'll continue to attempt to “outwork your talent” as they say.    

If you add up my typical 1:05 swim, and 5:45 bike to my *** yet unproven** 4:20 run, plus transitions, my overall “perfect day” race would be 11:15.  Historically at IMC this would place me somewhere around 10^th – 20^th while at Ironman Couer d’Alene this would place me 4^th or 5^th.  Add a little roll-down luck to my “perfect day” and yes, anything is possible. 

Stubbornness will now get you to Kona under the new “Legacy” program. This allows a person with twelve Ironman finishes to race Kona.  I have four to date – just eight to go!

 

Luck can get you to Kona as well! The race has a lottery where ANYONE can win one of 100 spots to race. They simply have to validate their spot by completing one finish that year.

I’m moving forward on all three fronts: trying to outwork my talent, continuing to be stubborn by working towards those twelve finishes and playing the lottery for a little luck. 

I’ve asked myself and Mark the ultimate litmus test for our adventures:  “If Kona sank into the ocean tomorrow (or the Legacy program was discontinued or I was unable to race for some reason), would we be glad to have put so much into the process?”  The answer for both of us is an unequivocal YES!  We love the sport, the people and to train.  It really is about the journey, not the destination.

*** Talent, Stubbornness or Luck!  ***

Doubling Down

In 2014 we will be doubling down and I’ll be racing both Ironman Couer d’Alene and Ironman Canada.  This will give me an opportunity to earn two finishes towards the twelve for the Legacy program and also to race at a different venue which may play more to my strengths – who knows!?!  One thing is for sure - the races are four weeks apart and managing them both will be a new adventure! 

*** Looks downright tame compared to the 6K + of IMC! ***

Diana Nyad’s quote rings particularly true this year.  “I have three messages. One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three, it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.”.  A sincere to everyone who has been a part of the continued journey. The training partners, understanding and interested friends and family, the bevvy of doctors and specialists and of course Mark for making sure it’s always FUN!   

*** A boat in T2 – Always a fun adventure with Mark ! ***

The Journey to the Start of Ironman Canada 2013

 The Journey to the Start of Ironman Canada 2013

My first 1st, an experience with SIPE (Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema) and running all over (our new!) town. 

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Home and Health High off a solid finish and wonderful trip to the Big Island for Lavaman, we returned home to the realities of life in a new house.  A series of fantastic housewarming parties, our first $500 water bill (ouch!) and the sweet satisfaction of enjoying a quiet evening on our new patio gave way to the load of Ironman training.    Although I had learned that my shoulder pain was due to a torn labrum that will require surgery to fix, I started the build with relatively little pain and luckily it remained that way ALL year.  If I knew what kept it from flaring up, I’d bottle it and sell it!     As it turns out, I’d make it all the way to the start line yet again without so much as a cold and completely uninjured.  ***Knocking on wood now… ***

Valley Girls  A highlight of the summer was our annual pilgrimage to Valley Girl where I was lucky enough to experience leading a race from start to finish.  There certainly is something magical about swimming though unfettered water, following the pace motorcycle on the bike and being the first to cross that line! To me though, this race is truly about friends and family.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Annette, Steve, Patrick, Diana, Kathy, Greg, Christine, Heidi, Chris and their families.  The trip was polished off with a road trip home with four girls in Christine’s 1980s Bronco!   What happens in the Bronco, STAYS in the Bronco! 

*** My First 1st!  ***

 

 

*** Valley Girls ***

 

 

 

*** Valley Girls Road Trippin' Home! ***

 

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Swim Training  Introducing SIPE: Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema  (Not so glad to meet ya.)

Seems my luck ran out on the swim this year.  I started the build slower than in previous years and it was clear I was well off the 1:05 pace I’d enjoyed with relative ease in my three previous IMs.  After a poor showing at a Friday Night Swim race, Brad provided some solid advice and suggested I up my yardage.  He even offered to do some “over distance” open water swims of 6,000 – 8,000 yards with me.    I was humbled that (ridiculously fast and experienced) Brad would take the time to swim with me and eagerly accepted.  The first over distance swim went really well.  I swam strong, recovered quickly and was eager to do it again the next week. 

 

 

*** Lake Sawyer Over Distance Swim ***

 

I arrived at the second swim excited to get another over distance workout under my belt.  We were joined by our friend Julie and once assembled we jumped in and were off!   Within the first few hundred yards I knew something was wrong. Brad and Julie swam ahead as they typically did, but they seemed to be pulling away faster than usual.  Hmmmm.  I slowed down and did breaststroke for a bit. They waited.  When I got going again it felt like I was swimming though quicksand and they were pulling away faster than ever.  I couldn’t catch my breath.  My wetsuit felt tight.  I stopped again and tried to catch my breath.  Self quiz: Was I having a panic attack?  No, I wasn’t breathing fast or scared, I just felt like I couldn’t get enough oxygen with each breath.  Was I too cold?  Hmmmm, nope – it was the middle of July and I was in a full wetsuit!  Is this what asthma feels like?  Sheesh – I don’t know because I don’t have asthma!  

We had gotten about a third of a mile down the lake when we regrouped again and Brad knew something was wrong.  He could hear my lungs crackling (I thought it was my imagination!) and knew what SIPE was.  After some conversation and a few attempts to get going again, I ended up getting out of the lake and doing the “walk of shame” back to my car. I took this video shortly after getting out so that I could share it with my doctor.  Warning: It’s not pretty.  ;-(

 

*** This SIPE Thing SUCKS! ***

Mark met me at my car and my lungs continued to crackle with fluid, though they did start to improve after I took my wetsuit off.  After a few tears I headed off to work.   I was extremely lucky to have been with Brad who knew what my symptoms meant as that cut my research time down dramatically.  A cursory internet search brought me to Kat Calder-Becker who is the Ultra Distance Triathlon Champion of Canada. She was kind enough to call me and walk me though what SIPE is, how she is managing it and what I can do to mitigate the risks. She helped write an article on Slowtwich that resonated almost precisely with my experience.    Additionally, she put me in touch with Dr. Richard Moon of Duke and he was also kind enough to call me.  It so happens that Dr. Moon is doing a research study that I am being considered for. 

As I understand it, the risk factors I can control are getting a thorough warm-up, not being over hydrated and not overexerting myself at the start.  Obviously, these three tips are almost the exact OPPOSITE of what an Ironman start looks like so I’d need to change my plan for race day significantly.  Additionally, if my lungs started to fill with fluid, I'd been advised to scrap the entire day as it takes at least several hours to resolve and additional exertion would only increase the damage to the lung tissue.  Sigh.   I did get back in the water the next week and had a couple more successful (and FUN!) over distance swims.  My yardage topped out at about 16,000 – 18,000 yards with one week at 20,000.  I was feeling strong and back to my usual pace, but my confidence wavered with a mass two-loop swim start at a new venue to face on race morning.    My race plan was to go easy for the outbound leg of the first loop and if my lungs felt good to bump it up to a more typical race pace. 

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Bike Training  The bike continued to be a relative strength for me this year and I improved my functional threshold power from about 200w to 219w.   I did a lot of hard work in our new Pain Cave and although it wasn’t flashy or easy those hours certainly paid off.  On Sundays I enjoyed trying to keep up with the big boys on the Northwest Tri and Bike ride and the accompanying Strava smack talk. Pride can be a painfully effective motivator!      

*** Our New Pain Cave ***

 

I did big ride up Mr. Rainer from Crystal Mountain for my first race rehearsal.  In the end I was on the mountain over seven hours and it took quite a bit of bargaining with myself simply to NOT hitch a ride up the last six mile climb back to Crystal! At one point I got off my bike for a few minutes to regroup and wondered if I looked pitiful enough that someone would stop and offer a ride.  But, alas, NOBODY was going up Crystal that late in the day.  Ultimately I made it and was rewarded with hitting a milestone of over 10,000 feet of climbing on the day.  I felt my bike was well prepared and my race plan was to stick to the prescribed wattage and let the time result fall where it may. 

 

*** Mt. Rainier Mental Toughness Test***

 

 

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Run Training Even though it certainly isn’t my strength, my run training also went really well.  The frequency increased on the Endurance Nation “advanced” plan and I was actually surprised at how well I was able to manage the load.  I was running faster and longer than ever and was lucky enough to be escorted by Mark on most of my long runs.  We had lots of great long chats (him talking, me nodding…) and you never know when you’ll need a TP delivery man!  My long runs alternated a mile at my “easy pace” of about 9:55 with a mile at “marathon pace” of about 8:25 up to a couple of 20 milers.  These were by far my longest runs at any accelerated pace and my confidence increased each week.  My race plan was to hold a 10:00 pace for the first half of the marathon and then see what the day had in store. 

 

*** Husband Hero Exhibit: TP Delivery! ***

 

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Race Rehearsal  Two weeks prior to the race we headed to Whistler for our scheduled a race rehearsal with our friend Ann.   My oh my, those are some HILLS!  I’d been advised to check my time goals at the border and that proved to be true!   Ann, Mark and I enjoyed the first half of the course together.  For the second half, Mark proved to be our knight in shining (Ford F350) armor delivering high fives and Diet Coke at just the right moments to get us through it. The next day we ran one loop of the run course and I also splashed around in the lake a bit.  We also scouted the boat launch which, frankly, looked a little sketchy as it was a “raw” launch without pavement or dock which could prove challenging launching the boat for race week.  All three of us left Whistler feeling much more prepared and confident for a successful race week!   

 

 

*** Penticton Race and Whistler Rehearsal Comparison ***

 

 

 

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Soon enough it was race week and with boat in tow and Heidi tucked into the crew cab of the truck we were headed to Whistler!  I felt very prepared although I knew I’d have to temper my excitement on the swim start to ward of another SIPE incident.  Although nowhere near as light as the “fast girls”, I headed into the race lighter, faster and stronger than I had personally been on any year to date.  We were ready! 

 

 

 

*** MOJO Exchange with Ann ***