I had a secret, unpublished goal for this race:
- Swim 1:15
- Bike 6:30
- Run 5:30
- Transitions 10 minutes between the two
I figured if I made all these I would be done in 13:20.
So how did I do?
- Swim: 1:15:29
- T1: 3:26
- Bike:6.27
- T2: 6:26
- Run: 5:20:56
- Total: 13:13:48
YEAH ME!
RACE MORNING BREAKFAST
I woke at 4 am.... OK not exactly. I woke at 2 am or so and tried to at least relax and rest since I couldn't sleep. So I started my day prior to 4 am by eating what sounded good for breakfast. I started with a little quinoa that I had left over from the night before for my protein and then had 1/2 a bagel with peanut butter and then some cornbread with honey. I just ate what sounded good at the moment. I tried to eat enough but not too much. It seemed to work well for me.
THE SWIM
I had decided not to look at my watch coming out of the swim because I was nervous that if I didn't make my goal time or at least do what I have in the past that I would be discouraged and it might affect my attitude. When I came out I saw Zan right ahead of me. I tapped her on the back and said howdy and she told me I made my time! I was thrilled. My legs had started to cramp up on the swim. I don't know why I repeatedly have this issue during an IM swim. I swim this distance all the time and I don't have the issue except when I am in an Ironman even though I have taken electrolytes prior to the swim. I usually take 2 tablets prior to the swim so its not an electrolyte issue. I kind of wonder if its because the wetsuit restricts my muscles of the blood flow that I get cramps.
My mantra for the day was to stay in the moment and stay curious. So I just let the cramps relax and tried to deal with what was happening in that moment instead of worrying about the rest of the day.
The Bike
I flew out to Osoyoos. I think my avg speed was about 22 mph. It didn't feel like we had a tailwind until we turned up richter then I knew that the rest of the bike was going to get tough. I chose to shift to my easiest gear and do my best to save my legs for the run. I spun up richter and then flew down the other side passing cars that were slowing for other cyclists.
When I hit the rollers i just tried to relax and again tell myself that I needed to save my legs. So I took full advantage of the down hills and then spun up the other side. i was glad to tick off 7 in my head and just be faced with wind.
Being such a big race it was hard not to draft. I am strong on the flats so I tend to fall behind on the climbs and then catch back up on the flats. It was really windy but I tried to stay back 3 bike lengths from everyone but is hard to do that when it is just a steady stream of cyclists.
We got to the out and back and I was getting worried. I was completely out of nutrition on my bike. I had taken water at the last aide station to wash down the hammer gel but my stomach wasn't dealing with the hammer gel very well. So I ended up grabbing gatorade at the next aid station. I was afraid of what would happen because hammer tells you not to mix corn syrup with their products but I was getting desperate.
Next year I need to remember that special needs is about mile 85 so I need to carry concentrated versions of things on my bike and then dilute them with water because I was out. Once I had a tailwind I got my second wind. I had gotten retty tired pushing into the wind even thought I had tried to tell myself to take it easy. Fortunately the out and back gave me an opportunity to ease up and finally get some more nutrition on board.
At the turnaround we were back into the head wind but it didn't feel so bad for some reason. I was hoping to see Zan after the turn around and wish her luck but I didn't. Once we got onto 97 the wind was blowing right into our face. It is a little bit of a down hill but I was just trying to spin it out in a small gear. There were lots of people trying to push a big gear but with that headwind it didn't make any sense. It also started to sprinkle just a little.
Quite frankly I was happy to see the start of the climb to yellow lake because I knew finally we would be out fo the wind and soon I could rock and roll the descent.
As usual I fell behind on the climb but not too bad. Many had faded much more than I had. I was keeping up with most of the women climbing at this point. The men still passed, no surprise there.
When we finally got to the top I just let it go. I relaxed and enjoyed the drop into Penticton and saw my avg speed bump up from below 17 to by the time I reached T2 17.4. I was stoked.
I hadn't had to stop which concerned me a bit. I had to pee a little but not too bad. I hoped I wasn't underhydrated.
T2
In T2 I quickly made the decisions aobut what I would and wouldn't need. I prayed it wouldn't be too cool for a tank on the run but on the way in on teh bike i noticed lots of people wearing taknks so I figured I would be OK.
To be finished later
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