Black Diamond Half Ironman 2009

I have to admit I was really nervous about this race. The morning of I was almost in tears thinking I did not have the fitness to even complete this race. So I set my task for the rest of that day to change my expectations for the race.

I always strive to improve my time from my previous time. However this year (or rather past 2 years) has been very different than what I had seen in my life when I did Ironman Canada in 2007. I would not exactly say that I "trained" for this event. I worked out and did workouts that would possibly enable me to complete this distance, not necessarily race this distance.

On my way up I worked on developing my "intent" for the race. I decided it was time for me to give up my expectations of how I should have trained or what I didn't do in preparation for this race. All that was behind me and there are no excuses. We all choose to spend out time the way we do and we all make other decisions that impact us every day.

So my "intent" for the race was a mantra of Enjoy the Experience, Relax, and Smooth. That is what I concentrated on. I did not concentrate on who I was passing, who was passing me, how fast I was going, etc. I concentrated instead on listening to my body, enjoying the sheer fact that I have the priviledge to participate in these type of events, I have the priviledge of getting to be around some extraordinarily motivated people who share at least some of the same ideals, and to appreciate the fact that there are still people out there who will go out of their way to come cheer me on in what must be one of the unproductive, boring events they can imagine.

I listened to my body in the morning. I had concentrated on eating a good amount the day before to make my glycogen stores pretty full so i did not have to have a huge breakfast that day. For breakfast i only had 1 bagel and peanut butter, not my usual pre race meal for this distance but it is what felt right. When i got to the race I set my stuff up and walked away and went to the lake and relaxed. My mom was there supporting me all along the way. I did not let her worry get to me either or annoy me which it often does. I tried to give her my perspective of the race and teach her about how to read the maps, figure out timing of things, etc. There's alot I just know from doing the race that makes it almost intuitive for me to figure these things out. I forget that most people don't have the same experience.

The swim was a bit rough at first. I felt my chest getting tight and I seemed to only be able to breathe on 1 side. Finally I relaxed and just enjoyed the feeling of being on top of the water. I could tell that my body position had changed this past year. In my wetsuit I felt like I was on top of the water. As a matter of fact I could feel myself lifting my leg out of the water sometimes when i kicked because I was riding so high. I found that I had lots of speeds I could maintain and i played with them.

Out of the water and onto the bike i expected the same route as last time. They cut out a big hill from the previous route. It was a perfect bike route for me gentle rolling hills and some long flat stretches where I could just push a big gear. There were times when i would get anxious about whether I would have enough in my legs to do the run. So I didn't go all out on the bike. i held back some.

Into transition and out the chute straight to the bathroom. one thing I know about this race is that 3 miles can be a long way to the next blue room. I knew that there was only 1 blue room per stop too which meant you could wait awhile. I went coming out of transition and was glad I did. I found another woman who was just my pace and I kept her in my sites the entire time. We traded leads on the run a couple times and I was impressed with her endurance because I honestly think of myself as being an exception to the rule that I have this pace and just have the endurance to hold it. I don't think many people my speed have that level of endurance. She surprisingly did. She held it until mile 10 where she fell off somewhere off the back. I did not even see her finish.

On the run I set my intent to make it to the first 5K without walking. This included the stretch of really rough unimproved road that I don't like. Once I got there I felt great (the first 30 minutes are always the worst part of any run for me). Then I concentrated on making the next 5 K as easy as the first, then at 10K to make the last 10K feel as good as the first 10K. I did pretty well to this point. In the last about 1.5 miles I started to really feel a muscle in my quad knotting up. Cardiovascularly and fatigue-wise I felt pretty good. My stomach was good for the most part except the initial sip of anything but that went away quickly. It was just this one muscle that was getting shorter and shorter that was hurting me. Makes me remember why you put in all those hours for an ironman. to just get your body used to the pounding more than anything else. The fitness cardiovascularly comes but the muscles learning how to stay loose and endure the pounding is quite another situation.

Anyway, I finished. I didn't know my time as I did not have a watch nor did I see a clock posting it anywhere. When I saw my brother I looked at the time and it was 3:25. That means I did it in 6.5 hours. I was amazed. i had no idea. I expected around 6:45 or so for this race. It was a nice surprise.

Now, 3 days after I again remember why you do all the things you do for an Ironman. you ride the bike you will ride for miles on end because you need to get the muscles (not necessarily your legs) used to holding you in that position. My traps are very sore as is my neck which is what I usually experience during an Ironman. my legs are still a bit sore but i swam most of that soreness out today.

All I have to say is I LOVE being Fit and Healthy. I just hope that I can keep doing this until I am 65. that is my goal.