2016 Ironman Word Championships Race Report Part III of III: The Big Show
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The Big Show
Sunrise in Kona is a magical thing. Race day began with a big hug from my brother Kyle and a relatively traffic-free trip to transition with Mark. I’d done a ninety-minute Bikram yoga session on Friday and surprisingly felt as pliable and loose as I’d felt all year. I channeled my inner Zen, soaked up positivity and let negativity go like water off a duck’s back. It was gonna be an AWESOME day!
The view of the sunrise from transition on race day.
I didn’t have as much time as I’d have liked to get every thing settled for the swim. Getting marked took over forty-five minutes and resulted in more than a bit of hand wringing. Maybe the new tattoo style is a wrinkle the organizers haven’t sorted out yet? Regardless, the volunteers were AMAZEBALLS and with a quick kiss and hug to Mark I was cut loose for the day!
Thank you volunteers!
SWIM
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Soon enough we were queued up for the swim and with (quite literally) a BOOM from the cannon we were off! I’d lined up towards the left and immediately felt really good in the water. I knew that typically the current is against us on the way out and with us on the way in. The bottom was moving by VERY quickly and I wondered if perhaps the reverse was true that day. I was able to get my breathing under control early. There were the typical swells and they needed to be timed correctly to sight. Luckily there wasn’t any crazy chop. All in all it looked to be a pretty drama-free swim!
Turtle at our swim start. Wonder what he was thinking.
The women’s age group swim start. We were the last to go after Pro Men, Pro Women and Age Group Men. I lined up pretty far left, past the Roka buoy.
I hit the second turn buoy and allowed myself the one quick check of the time. It read 32:30. Wooo hoo!! If the current was with us on the way back I’d have a great swim time. If not, I still felt really good so no worries.
Post-race analysis shows a pretty good line. No wandering off to follow the turtles today, sadly.
T1
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Up the stairs we went and into the fresh water showers lickity split. (Get it, “SPLIT”?!?) Anyway one of the benefits of having a relatively good swim in a typical Ironman is having your own own volunteer. No such luck at this race with ALL the pointy-end swimmers! Socks on, shoes on, Quarq race belt with Qollector on, Kiwami Kona Wings top (sorta) on and I was outta there.
I had just about finished the ten-mile run around the pier (only ½ joking) to my bike when I realized I’d forgotten to take my swim skin off. D’oh! My lack of non-wetsuit swim Ironmans was showing. I'm betting a volunteer would have caught that. Rather than run the nine miles BACK to transition, I grabbed a lucky volunteer and asked her to take my swim skin to lost and found. I didn’t realize ‘till later I’d managed get out of the Quarq belt too! So instead of my family being able to track my exact location all day it looks like I sat on the pier all day ‘till we returned with it to the condo that night. D’oh. D’oh. D’oh!!!
Up the stairs and out. I’ve watched SO much footage of this exact location. It was really neat to run through it myself on race day!
BIKE
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Onto the bike we went! I’d done a full race rehearsal ride on the island and knew what power target was realistic. The first focus was on letting my heart rate come down as a lot of over zealous athletes zoomed past me. I really liked how the separate women’s start allowed our race to be fairly isolated from the men’s but there were still a lot of draft packs. I quickly got my strategy in order: If they passed me on an ascent I’d pull back to a little under my target power until I was out of the draft zone. Then on flats and descents, where I typically gain the most ground on the field I’d put down a touch more power than ideal. This worked really well and after a couple of yo-yos with each pack they’d be behind me for good and I was able to remain at a legal distance (plus a healthy margin of error!) throughout the race.
All sorted and headed out on the Queen K for a fabulous ride with a few of our best friends!
The big blustery crosswinds Kona is know for were certainly present, but not in epic proportions and my nutrition was going exceedingly well. On the return from Hawi I was thoroughly enjoying the Ninja Pac Man strategy of gobbling up everyone in front of me on the descent. Zip, zip, zip I left them all behind with the new 53/39 “Big Girl” chain rings. Too good to be true? Yep. Crunch, my chain dropped to the inside of the chain ring. Well crapola. This happened twice in Whistler as well. WOE!
Headed up to Hawi with the chain right where it’s supposed to be. Ahhhh… memories.
I finally slowed enough to stop, unclip and assess the damage. Yep, the chain was off of the front chain ring but it was also off the back in some kind of unrecognizable tangled mess. Deep breaths. I attacked the front first. It wasn’t quite squeezing up past the derailleur. The scientific method went thusly: Tug, tug, spin, twist, more deep breaths, a few skinned knuckles and it finally snuck back onto the ring. Okay now the rear. This was quite literally a “What the fuck?” moment. (Sorry mom.) It was twisted and outside of the rear derailleur cage. How does that even happen??? I straightened the chain and it seemed to snap back into place so I decided not to question the logic of it all and get back to racing.
Impressive, yes?
I got rolling again and wondered why the helicopters would be out at Hawi. The pro field was well back on the Queen K by now, I was sure. Hmmm…. Maybe they want some shots of the age group race? At another point when I had to coast the helicopter noise stopped. Erg. Either that helicopter crashed or it was my drivetrain making that noise. I “sorta” thought I could feel something but with the rough roads and crosswinds I couldn’t be sure. My power is measured at the pedals so any loss due to friction in the drivetrain wouldn’t impact my power target, I’d just be going slower at that output. Blerg. As someone who REALLY enjoys optimizing the bike in regards to aerodynamics and friction, the irony of having a jacked up drive train was not lost on me. 
Headed down Hawi after the mechanical. If you look closely you can see the chain is riding outside the rear derailleur cage. Also, no longer smiling.
Back to business on the Queen K. I was humming (a little TOO loudly) merrily along doing the Pac Man thing with the folks that went out too hard, and the chain dropped to the inside AGAIN! I had a mini-internal meltdown for two seconds then set up shop on the yellow line dead center of the Queen K. I was able to get the chain back on the front chain ring fairly easily but this was the moment I realized the chain was riding on the OUTSIDE cage of the rear derailleur.
A post-mortem of the bike drivetrain has yielded a clue. The derailleur cage is bent a little and pulled away from a pin. Our best guess is that under pressure the chain slipped out through the gap in the cage and then it snapped back (nearly) into place. This could have happened when I spun the pedals backwards on the descent. As to what caused the bend to begin with, it could have been during the mechanical or maybe even in those racks that grab the bikes precariously close to the derailleur in transition. The silver lining is a new derailleur with EXTRA fancy big low-friction pulleys is in my future.
Yeah that little gap at the upper pin isn’t supposed to be there. And those two grooves in the lower pin? They were caused from my chain rolling over it. So much for low friction!
Oh well, the bigger picture is I made it back! My Garmin is set to “auto-pause” when I stop so the difference between “Time” and “Elapsed Time” is roughly how long I was on the side (or middle!) of the road. Looks like it was about 3.5 minutes. It felt like an ETERNITY!
The vertical line is the moment of the first chain drop. Notice the heart rate spike when I got back at it. I was a wee bit stressed…
T2
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RUN
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When asked about my race goals I think folks are surprised when I don’t pop off with a specific time. To me, making sure my family and friends had a good experience was of primary importance. That meant basic things like surviving, finishing and smiling. That being said, I did not execute my Ironman Texas run very well and I REALLY wanted to make good decisions all day and finish strong on the run in Kona. I had what I felt was a pretty solid run plan in place based primarily on heart rate. I’d done a ton of hot yoga before we left. That, coupled with almost two weeks of training on the island and I figured I was as acclimated as I could realistically be.
So, off to run a little marathon I went! The course is essentially two out and backs. First you go South out and back on Ali’i Drive (past The Fans!!!) and then you go North out and back onto the Queen K to the Energy Lab before you turn around for the return trip. Out there you pass almost exactly ZERO fans. It’s hot, desolate and demoralizing to many.
Early on the run. This is gonna be a piece of cake, right?
The Ali’i outbound leg was CRAZY TOWN! I saw everyone!
- Coach P: “How’s your heart rate, I can’t see it?”
- Me: “Um, a little high, you’re right, I’ll slow down…”
- Mariah: “Smile, you’re on camera!!!”
- Me: “Cheese!”
- Mark: Waving
- Me: “Hi Honey!” (waving madly)
- Heidi! “You’re killing it, you look great!”
- Me: “I just peed myself but thanks for saying that!”
And then…. .The FANS!!!!
Dawwww! Hugs and kisses to EACH ONE!
Well if Ali’i was crazy town the Queen K was a ghost town. It was time to focus and do my thing. I’d been keeping my heart rate pretty close to the target all day. It was a tad high, but well below how I’d started Ironman Texas. I turned into the Energy Lab and pressed on the gas a little. The heart rate ticked up but it’s a slight descent out with a bit of a breeze so honestly it felt really good. For how good it felt going into the Energy Lab it felt horrible coming back. That breeze was going exactly our speed hence ZERO air movement. I was sure glad that was over when I took a right back on the Queen K and headed to town!
They say this is the toughest part of the race and I’d have to agree. It’s about FIVE AND A HALF MILES out of the Energy Lab to the turn on Palani. It’s exceptionally hot, the sun radiates off the asphalt and it’s very desolate. To top it off they were out of water at about mile 21. Arg. Smile and move on! I loaded my top doubly with ice and shoved about two cups of it into the Race Saver bag to tide me though to the next one. This is where I went into what I call “machine” mode. I just checked my “gauges” at every 1/4 mile beep of my watch and adjusted heart rate, pace or nutrition accordingly. I shut out everything that hurt and focused on picking off one person at a time. With about a half mile to go to the turn on Palani, like a mirage Mark appeared on the rented cruiser bike and the home stretch was a reality.
I made the turn on Palani and picked it up a bit. A gal came past me in a way that let me know she had noted my number and we were likely in the same age group. Hmmmm…. I had no idea if I was in 100th or 10th place in my age group. Did it matter? Well at that moment, it kinda did. I stepped on the gas a bit more and was able to stick with her. We made the turn down Hualalai and what to my wondering feet should appear? Another gear in Jenn’s run speed! Bam, I dropped her and she couldn’t rally. I took the right onto Ali’I and suddenly everything was very bright and very loud. There were RTB peeps for high-fives and I could see the finish arch. I knew my family was in the crowd somewhere, if only they were easy to spot. Yep, there they were you can't miss The Fans!!! High-fives to the family as as I ran the final few yards to the finish and BAM, I was across the finish line of the Ironman World Championships!!!!
Mom awaiting the finish. 1,000% Priceless.
Well that was awesome!
So, how did that marathon stack up, really? It’s hard to say as the field is so different in Kona. I did take a peek at the other qualifiers from Texas and it looks like they all ran about fifteen minutes slower than they did in IMTX. Perhaps their fitness had faded or their execution on the day was lacking. Regardless, I did feel my run fitness had improved and I know executed the Kona marathon well for my ability. And geeze, mile 26 was run in 8:11 according to my Garmin. I’m just gonna put that in the win column and leave it riiiiight there.
Texas Qualifiers at the North American Championships in Texas
Texas Qualifiers at the Ironman World Championship in Kona
After the race I felt really good! No need for medical, happy to schlep around and round up my bike and such. We made our way back to the condo where the fourth discipline of the day awaited: The Ice Cream Time Trial. This is an Endurance Nation tradition with a scoring system for downing a pint of ice cream typically on the weekend of the IMWC. All the more reason to participate since I was actually HERE, right? Performed pre-shower (ewe!) while chillin’ with Mark, Kari and Kyle.
Ice Cream Time Trial: A half an hour of decadence condensed to less than five minutes!
RECOVERY
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Recovery from an Ironman is a funny thing. I typically do pretty well but this one went better than the previous nine. I did have the typical (for me) edema and also struggled with a new one: insomnia. But, miracle of all miracles - I had ZERO chafe from my kit. Yay Kiwami! But the one article of clothing I didn’t get to practice with, the timing chip strap, did leave some pretty gnarly strips of missing skin!
Missing skin and edema courtesy of WTC. Candle courtesy of Heidi!
Sunday
- Sleep: I awoke with maybe two hours of sleep total. Ug. I chalked it up to Advil PM losing the battle with five Clif Shot Mocha gels on the run.
- Weight: Down three pounds from race day weight which was up 3 pounds from carbo loading. I’d call that a wash and validation of good fueling!
- Activity: Um…. errands and packing and yes that timing chip chafe does hurt! No problem going down stairs, though. VICTORY!
Monday
- Sleep: Got maybe four hours, better than Saturday night but this girl wants NINE!
- Weight: Here comes the edema. Up three pounds from the prior day
- Activity: Splashed around in the Kona Aquatic center for a bit, enjoyed a chat with the Pitt Crew and promptly plunked down on a plane. This would be a great time for some sleep, right? Not when you’re sitting next to Coach P and Mariah!
I mean really, would you sleep on the plane with these two crazies to chat with?
Tuesday
- Sleep: Woke with another whopping two hours in the books. Gah.
- Weight: Oh fun, six more pounds of edema. Blerg.
- Activity: Laundry, laundry, laundry…. Oh and feeling a little cold coming on.
Wednesday
- Sleep: Yay six hours! I’ll take it!
- Weight: Down a pound. Maybe it’s done getting worse.
- Activity: Vinyasa yoga. I felt like my skin was gonna split. SO SWOLLEN! And now have a full on cold. Yuck.
Thursday
- Sleep: All hail the eight hour night!
- Weight: Bye by edema, down five pounds.
- Activity: Hatha yoga. Oh so good. Bendy and sweaty and it felt great! I turned a corner on the cold.
Friday
- Sleep: Alright, we’ve got this sleep thing down now! Eight hours from Thursday night despite a big rain storm outside.
- Weight: Phew. Down another two pounds. Yep that’s a nine-pound swing in four days. Fun!
- Activity: Race report posted. CATHARTIC! And a swim date with the HH on the calendar! And that cold is almost gone.
I deem myself CURED!
REFLECTION
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I’ve given myself two months to fully reflect on this experience and to decide “what’s next” as is often asked. In looking at the race, I couldn’t be prouder. I made (mostly) good decisions beginning with riding a steady bike at the appropriate power with a Variability Index of a solid 1.03. I was rewarded with an awesome marathon and a PR to boot! I smiled for my family and they had an amazing time. I tend to be motivated by execution goals and don’t typically have time goals but hey I’ll take a PR, and a sub 4-hour marathon does have a nice ring to it.
We will never be able to replicate an experience where I had those closest to me enjoy the sport I love on the world’s biggest triathlon stage. Moving forward I know it doesn’t have to be epic to be awesome, I can simply do it because it’s fun and I’m grateful I have the opportunity to do so. But make no mistake, I’m still driven to be the best I can be and hopefully that’s faster and stronger. At least in the old lady age group.
Someday I will not be able to do this. Today is not that day!
With cheers, cowbell, gratitude and MUCH Aloha.
THANK YOU!!!
