Monthly Archives: June 2012

Ironman Coeur D’Alene Race Report – Part 3 – The Run

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If you missed it, here are Part 1 and Part 2 of my race recap.

Run 26.2 Miles

Starting the longest run of my life

Ah the run. I’ve read many things about the Ironman run portion, but nothing can prepare you for it. Races are easily won and lost on the run course – poor nutrition or pacing on the bike can come back to haunt you on the run. Given that I am trained the most in running and that at Oceanside the run was my strongest leg, I had hoped to run the majority of the marathon at around a 10 min/mile pace, with some walking through aid stations and hills, of course.

I remember at the June TriClub La Jolla Cove Swim Potluck I said something to the effect of, “maybe I’m naïve but I don’t expect the entire marathon to be really hard at the Ironman.” I thought, perhaps, half of it would be awful, but I was hoping I’d feel ok for much of it. Rick, an older man that we had met through a IMCdA TriClub Facebook group who has completed several Ironman triathlons, responded, “yes, you are naïve.”

Well, ladies and gentleman, Rick was certainly right. Nothing can prepare you for the fatigue of running a marathon after 112 miles of cycling and 2.4 miles of swimming. I’ve heard that the Ironman run is a mental battle rather than a physical one and it was certainly that.

I started the run off feeling actually fairly well. I saw numbers in the high 8 min/mile range at first and slowed down to the low 9s. Running through the crowds of downtown CdA was fun and I was smiling with joy at being off the bike and onto the run with nearly 8.5 hours left to complete a marathon. I was high-fiving kids in the crowd and smiling ear to ear. I knew I would finish.

Crowd support means everything at these races!

The run course was MUCH more entertaining than the bike course. Now that the sun was shining (it seemed HOT – sunny and in the 70s) and it was mid-afternoon, people were energetic and excited to cheer us on. After we ran through the streets filled with restaurants and shops, we headed into residential area where people were partying outside their homes, blaring music, shouting and ringing cowbells. About ¾ of a mile into the run I saw the lead pro woman (being led by a motorcycle that had sign telling me so) running toward the finish. Soon after that I saw Mike, and for some reason in my head I figured that he must be also about to finish. I said hi and yelled at him “1 more mile! You can do it!” It wasn’t until after he passed that I realized that clearly Mike didn’t make up the 40 minute head start the pros had and that he had one more lap to go. Duh. However, the next thought of Mike catching up to me so that we could race together was a good one, and for the next several miles I waited for him to catch me.

Nothing better than seeing your best friend on the course!

Starting with the first aid station, I started a routine of pouring ice down my bra and I grabbing a sponge and squeezing it on my head and then putting it in my tank top just over my heart (Thanks Macca for the tip). The sun felt really hot and I knew I needed to make sure I didn’t overheat. Since I was carrying my water bottle with Nuun, I didn’t have to take any of the food or drink at the aid stations and I had taken a Gu right out of T2 so I was set on nutrition for a while.

Everything was going fine until just before I made the turn out of the neighborhood and onto the long out and back portion that parallels the lake. My heart suddenly was beating really fast – my Garmin said my HR was in the mid 200s. I freaked out and for the first time, stopped to walk. I was disappointed – I didn’t want to walk and feared that this was a sign of bad things to come. Doubt began to creep into my mind – what if my body wouldn’t let me run? What if I had to walk? What if I passed out and they took me out of the race?!

I waited for my heart rate to calm itself down, and then started running again, this time at a slower pace. I wouldn’t be seeing a 9 in front of my pace again for the rest of the race.I had hoped that the marathon wouldn’t be very painful for the entire 26.2 miles. At Oceanside, I felt really good on the run for pretty much 10 of the 13.1 miles so I figured maybe at IM CdA I’d feel good for at least half of the marathon. I had also read in Going Long that if you paced and nutritioned right on the bike (which I felt I had) you should be able to run a marathon abotu 20 minutes slower than a recent open marathon time. I recently ran a 3:49 marathon so I should be able to run a 4:09 marathon at Ironman, right?  Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. My legs were heavy and it was a mental battle from the start.

About halfway through the first lap I saw Jeremy, who was on his way back on his first lap as well. Jeremy looked GREAT – he was running quickly and he cheered for me very enthusiastically. I was surprised at how great he seemed to be feeling – I was nowhere near a place to be that enthusiastic. I thought to myself,  ’either he is going to catch Mike or he is going to bonk.’

Ironman Coeur D’Alene is considered one of the more difficult Ironman courses due to a few factors – a cold, choppy swim, a hilly (and previously, very technical) bike course, and a hilly run. I had heard about the hills on the run but when we biked them, they didn’t seem so bad. However, on this day, the hills seemed daunting. Since I was feeling fairly good (in retrospect – at the time I thought I was doing pretty bad), I was able to run about half of the hills. I would run until my heart rate got a little high and then I’d walk and repeat. On my way out I saw Katie and a friend of Mike’s from work who were on their way back. I kept hoping for the turn around and it seemed to take forever to get there! Turning and heading back to town was a relief – now I just had to focus on getting to the halfway point.

Wet sponges helped with the heat!

After I climbed and descended the large hill again, I saw Mike, who was now nearly 5 miles behind me rather than 2. I asked him how he was doing and he gave me a thumbs down. Later I learned that he had felt great for the first lap but then suddenly his stomach was really upset (read his great race recap here). He sat on the side of the course with a few cups of chicken broth until he felt better and then got a second wind. I also saw Rachel and waved to her.

Shortly after, I caught up to Katie a little ways later and we ran together for the next four miles or so. She was running a bit slower than me and told me I could go ahead, but I gladly slowed down and ran with her. I figured I probably needed to pace myself a bit better and I also knew that mentally these next few miles would be easier with a friend to chat with. Katie and I chatted about the race and in the meantime I kept my eye out for Asia, who I figured I’d see on my way back to town. Katie asked me about my teammates and I mentioned not seeing Asia but that I probably just missed her or something.

At this point my stomach wasn’t feeling great. I had kept up with my Gu every 40 minute routine until now and had even taken a few salty potato chips (these were the ONLY thing that tasted good on the entire run course) and was continuing to drink water. However, my food didn’t really feel like it was digesting. I also had taken a couple of electrolyte pills since I wasn’t planning on drinking the Ironman Perform electrolyte drink and I knew it was really hot. It felt like everything was just sitting in my stomach.

As we got back into town, Katie and I both shared that we would be stopping to see our families when we got there and at the last aid station before the turn around, I stopped to go pee (pit stop #5!) and she went ahead. When I got to my parents at nearly the halfway point, I stopped and gave them hugs and immediately proclaimed “it’s so hard!” We took some photos and they wished me luck and said they’d see me in a few minutes after the turnaround. I took off, heading to the turnaround, which was one block North of the finish chute. I could hear Mike Reilly calling athletes in and was quite jealous that they were finished!

The second lap was even harder than the first, naturally. As soon as I passed the turnaround, I slowed to a walk. I wanted to run by my parents but couldn’t even get myself to run up the street. As soon as I knew I’d see them, I started running again to save face. I felt like crap. I walked every aid station and poured ice down my shirt and took turns drinking Coca-Cola or chicken broth and occasionally eating chips. I gave up on Gu – the thought of having another one made me want to gag. Going through the neighborhoods the second time was harder and the music and crowd entertainment wasn’t quite as entertaining. All I could think about was how unbelievably painful it was to run, yet every time I walked, running was harder so I didn’t want to walk either. Not to mention, my pace going up hills was 30 min/mile – I had to run when I could, otherwise I’d be out there all day. Although I knew that I would finish, negative thoughts were popping in my head. Why would I subject myself to such torture? Why in the hell did people race Ironman over and over again, knowing that they would have to put up with this pain!? I thought of Maria, who told me that she knew I wasn’t a “one and done girl.” I’ll show her! I’m never doing this stupid race again!!!

As I was about to exit the neighborhood, I saw Mike! We stopped and gave each other a hug and a kiss. It was so nice to see him and instantly lifted my spirits. He was feeling better and was about to become an Ironman for the 2nd time. I was so happy for him. Once I got back on the lake front course, I ran past someone who turned and said “Nicole!” It was Brian, a guy I had met on Twitter who was also competing in his first Ironman at CdA. He started jogging and we ran together for a bit, talking about our days. He told me that he had seen me a while back and he knew I would catch him. When we approached the next aid station, he slowed to a walk and told me to go ahead.  I later saw him on my way back to town and said hello again.

Mike out of the pain cave and ready to finish!

Now I was on the alert for Asia. I wondered why I hadn’t seen her yet but it never crossed my mind that she might not be out there. I was also looking for Jeremy since I figured he shouldn’t be too far behind Mike. I didn’t see either of them and began to get worried. Finally, about ¼ mile from the turn-around, I saw Jeremy, who was walking up the hill as I ran down it. I said to him, “You look a lot different than the last time I saw you” and he said “I’m in the pain cave.” Team WODS was not having a great day!

After I turned around and headed back, I caught up to Jeremy, who was also walking the downhill. I knew something was wrong when I saw that. We lamented to each other about how hard the race was – that it was harder than we expected and that we both figured we would NEVER do an Ironman again. Jeremy went as far as to say he didn’t want to even run a marathon again and that qualifying for Boston seemed stupid. He was in a dark place – a place I had been just a few miles prior and a place that Mike had also visited that day. Then I asked about Asia and he said that when he saw his family at the turnaround they said they still hadn’t seen Asia get off the bike. He said he was afraid she missed the bike cut off. I started to get worried too – the thought had never crossed my mind that she wouldn’t make it.

I convinced Jeremy to run with me for a bit but he fell back and told me to “Go become an Ironman.”  I told him I’d see him at the finish. I got a second wind after that. I was now in the home stretch – it was time to get this done. I knew the more I walked, the longer I had to be on the course. I already knew that my crazy Sub 12 hour finish thoughts on the bike were not happening, but I also knew I had plenty of time to go Sub 13. I could even go Sub 13:30 if I kept up the pace. I continued my strategy of running between aid stations and only walking hills. I gave up on solid food completely and switched mostly to Coca-Cola and water since the chicken broth didn’t seem to be helping and I knew it barely had any calories.

At one point I started to run with a guy from Chicago who lamented that this course was ridiculously hard compared to his first Ironman at Texas. He said something to the effect of “ Every time you turn, there is another damn hill! Hills everywhere!!!” I later saw him at the finish line and we congratulated each other on the race. The Ironman really is a day of highs and lows.

As a consistent runner, I was passing people left and right.  On the first lap, the stronger athletes were still on the course and many of them were running. Now all of them had finished and many of us were on our 2nd loop and many were starting their 1st loop after having much slower swim and bike legs. It was a death march for many. My high 10 to low 11 minute miles were helping me make my way up in the field. Later I found out that I passed 400 people on the run. In my mind, however, I was kicking myself to having to walk so much and running a pace I had never seen before. I did, however, take pride in the fact that I was still able to run.

The spectator support through the final miles was awesome. Through the neighborhoods, everyone was cheering me on. Throughout the day I had been called out by my bib number or by name (which was printed on my bib) and also complimented on my neon pink running outfit. The comments and compliments increased even more as I made my way through the final miles, especially since I was one of the few people running. At this point, I knew Asia hadn’t made it and I nearly came to tears thinking of how upset she must be to have not been able to complete this journey.

The finish line is a slight decline (thank you, race directors) down Sherman Avenue. The streets are lined with thousands of spectators. As I turned the corner and saw the finish line and heard Mike Reilly’s voice, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I nearly came to tears thinking about the last year of hard work as well as the physical battle I had been in for the last 13 1/2 hours. As I made my way down the chute, I started to speed up to a mid 8 min/mile. The heaviness in my legs disappeared, breathing was easy, and all that mattered was that I would be an Ironman in the next few seconds. The crowd was going wild. I felt like a celebrity walking the red carpet. People were shouting my name and my number – I was all alone running down the chute. Soon a woman passed me and I let her go, even slowing a bit so that I could have my own space. I veered to the left so I could get closer to the spectators and started slapping their hands as they held them out for high-fives. Then I saw Jeremy and Asia’s families, and then Asia. She was cheering for me and I looked at her and made a sad face, tears welling up in my eyes, now knowing for sure that my good friend and training partner’s (we’ve raced 2 half marathons and 2 marathons side by side) Ironman dreams hadn’t been achieved that day.

After I passed the WODS Squad, I saw my parents cheering for me along with the nice new friends they had made. It seemed everyone was there to cheer for me as I made my way down the final few yards to the finish line. All the pain, frustration and negative thoughts I’d endured for the last 26.2 miles no longer existed and were all worth it. I didn’t even look at my time, I just relished in the moment, throwing my arms up and jumping into the air as Mike Reilly spoke the words that would induct me into the small group of human beings that call themselves Ironmen.

Run Split – 4:49:28 

I am an Ironman!!!

Final Time – 13:27:59 – 24th in age group, 1154 overall 

Ironman Coeur D’Alene Race Report – Part 2 -The Bike

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If you are just tuning in, check out Part 1 of my race report here.

Bike 112 miles

Leaving T2

As soon as I got on the bike I was overwhelmed by the cold. My teeth were chattering and I had goosebumps all over my body. As I rode through town and past all the spectators, all I could think about was how cold I must have looked to them. It was pretty surreal to be on the bike – now that I’d survived the swim start which I was most fearfully anticipating, I had to conquer the bike, the sport that I have the least experience with and the one that I was currently nursing an injury from.

Starting the bike

The bike course is two loops in total and each loop is made up of two smaller loops. The first small loop (about 16 miles) goes through town, then winds through some neighborhoods briefly before heading out and back down a gorgeous lakefront road. This portion of the race is on the same road as the run course but it extends a little bit further than the run. There are a few rolling hills on this part that on the bike were manageable (later on the run though they would be torturous!). After the turnaround, you head back through town and then out to Highway 95 for a much larger, longer and hillier loop (about 40 miles). The course in total has 4,600 feet of climbing, most of which is on the way out to the turnaround on Highway 96.

My race plan was to keep my effort “stupid easy” for the first 30 minutes, which was basically the entire little loop and until the turnaround on the larger loop. I kept my heart rate in zone 1 for the majority of the time and tried to ignore all of the people passing me. During the first 30 miles I was passed by hundreds of people, mostly men that I had out swam, but were stronger on the bike. I was also passed by a lot of women, which I expected. I told myself I’d catch them on the run. I was happy that on the little loop I was still averaging about 17 mph without much effort, so I didn’t feel the need to push it any more.

After about 20 minutes, I started to take in nutrition, starting with my CarboPro/Nuun water bottle. As I headed back into town on the small loop I stuffed 1/4 of my sandwich into my mouth. I remember wishing it would warm up because I was so cold from the swim. My feet were completely numb and I was still shivering. In retrospect, I’m glad it wasn’t hot outside, but at the time all I could think about was getting warm.

After a trip back through town, I was on Highway 95 and started the most difficult portion of the loop. The Highway 95 loop has one very large, steep incline but also a very steep decline to coast down, but then there is a long climb for the rest of the way out of town with relatively few declines. While I was climbing the first big, steep hill I spotted fellow blogger Rachel who had just passed me. I caught up to her and got her attention and we rode the entire hill together, chatting about the swim and the course so far. It was really nice to have someone to talk to and keep my mind off of the race for a bit. We both complained that we had to pee and I told her I planned to stop at the next aid station which I knew was coming up. We split up at the top of the hill but I saw her several more times on the bike course which was nice!

At the next aid station the line for the bathroom was about 20 people long so I skipped it. I grabbed a water bottle and filled up my aero bottle and kept going. I kept looking on the other side of the road for Mike and Jeremy, who I knew would be several miles ahead. At the point where I passed an intersection with a fire truck, I saw Mike and made a mental note of the mile I was at so that I could determine how many miles ahead of me he was. When I got back to this place later I realized he was over 13 miles ahead already. I knew he was racing well and I was glad. On my way back I saw Asia around this same point so I knew she was about the same distance behind me as I was behind Mike. I had seen her earlier on the small loop as well and was happy that she had survived the swim – it was choppy and cold and definitely not ideal conditions for someone fairly new to swimming (and with no ‘channel fat’ to keep her warm!).

The next few miles were definitely mentally tough because there was so much uphill and not much reprieve.  There were several miles of false flats that seemed like they should be easy but due to the headwind and a slight incline were slow (later a woman I was riding near complained that both directions had a head wind – I heard a lot of complaining about the race course throughout the day! I think people forgot we were racing an Ironman or something…). There wasn’t much in terms of crowd support on this portion of the bike course either. When I reached the turnaround point at around mile 34 (after bypassing yet another aid station bathroom with a long line), I was disappointed that my average pace had dropped from nearly 17 mph on the little loop down to 14.9 mph according to my Garmin. I had been spinning up the large hills at about 8 mph and that really took a toll of my average pace. But I knew the way back would be faster and that I could make up some time since now I was allowed to get my heart rate into zone 2.

Immediately it was easier -no more headwind and a lot more downhill! My legs were feeling a bit fatigued now and this was the longest I had ever been on the bike without getting off, so I was relieved when I saw the aid station ahead had a short line. I hopped off my bike and racked it and was glad to see there were just a couple people in line. The line went fast and it was such a relief to finally pee. It was also extremely rejuvenating to get off the bike. I felt amazing once I got back on. I saw Rachel had also stopped at the aid station and we both agreed that the stop was well worth it!

As soon as I got back on my bike it was downhill. I tend to get passed on the uphill and am usually the one doing the passing on the downhill portions so I enjoyed making up a bit of time on the way back to town. I was cruising down the big hills with my heart rate well below zone 2 at nearly 40 mph, passing people as I went. It felt great to watch my average speed creep up to 16 mph. I had a feeling that I would make it to town and hit the halfway point with a split of 3:30 which would put me on track for around a 7 hour total bike time.

Feeling good!

Zoom!

Passing through town the second time was definitely more fun. I was warm now and my feet were no longer numb so I was able to take in the crowds and smile as they cheered for all the racers. My parents had met this couple at a B&B a few hours South of CdA on their drive up from California that were friends with another couple that lived in downtown Coeur D’Alene. The generous couple invited my parents to camp out in front of their course-front house for the race and even gave them a key so they could use the restroom when needed! I knew exactly where they would be and was happy to see them cheering for me and snapping photos as I passed by.

I knew that Special Needs was coming up and it was in my race plan to stop at the aid station just past it and use the restroom and refill my CarboPro/Nuun water bottle. At this point my nutrition plan of 250 calories/hour was right on track – I had completely emptied both my water bottles and eaten my entire peanut butter nutella banana sandwich. Special Needs was at the turn-around of the second loop but I didn’t need anything from it (I had put an extra empty water bottle in case I dropped mine and a salty snack in case I was sick of sweet) so I continued on and then stopped, as planned, at the next aid station. There was a short wait again for the restrooms and while I was there one of the volunteers filled both my water bottles and held my bike for me. When I got out, I added my CarboPro to the cage bottle (which was filled too high so I lost some of the powder when I poured it in), hopped on and was on my way. This stop was longer than the first but like the first, it rejuvenated me for the next leg.

This is the point where I even started to pass a few people on the flats and hills, not just downhills. Of course, strong cyclists that were weaker swimmers were still passing me, but in general I was keeping up with those around me and also passing some. I noticed I was playing cat and mouse with the same few cyclists over and over again so I knew I wasn’t slowing down too much. My watch also told me that my average speed was now up and over 16 mph once I got into town for the third and final time. I saw my family again and looked out for Asia and Jeremy’s families who were wearing the WODS Squad shirts, but I never saw them!

After I headed up the No Pass Zone up the freeway ramp and started on the final of the 4 loops, I started to feel really optimistic. I was feeling great, my knee wasn’t hurting and my stomach was taking in the fuel just fine. Crazy thoughts of a sub 13 hour Ironman started going through my mind. In my head, going into this race, I was hoping for a sub 14 hour Ironman. I had calculated I could swim and get through T1 in under 1:30 (check), do the bike in 7-7:30 and then run a 4:30-5 hour marathon. I never thought a sub 13 would be possible but I started getting optimistic, thinking that I could most likely run the marathon under 4:30 and 1:30+7+4:30 = 13. I knew it might be close but I had it my head that it was a possibility.

Also around this time, I got a sharp pang in my left knee, the one that has been bothering me. It hasn’t been speaking up much at all for the entire ride thus far so I was surprised by the sudden, intense pain. Out loud, I told it “You are not going to hurt today!” Apparently it worked, because my knee was fine for the rest of the race. Mind over matter.

The second loop was less entertaining in the fact that I didn’t make conversation with anyone. I was, however, passing guys up the hills and some of them did not like it and were trying to pass me back. More cat and mouse. The sun was out and it really started to warm up and I took off my arm warmers on the first big hill. I saw Mike and Jeremy and yes, I made a THIRD bathroom break. I have a bladder the size of a pea. Since my bike computer stops when I stop and my Garmin doesn’t, I knew that I had wasted nearly 10 minutes by stopping at bathrooms, but it was worth it to me. At this stop I also grabbed two packs of Gu Chomps because I was making my way through my 3 Stinger Waffles and my Carbopro pretty quickly and my stomach was starting to growl. The Chomps tasted delicious and they rejuvenated me to make the final stretch to the turnaround.

Once I got to Mile 90, the turnaround point, I let out a “wooohoo!” Home stretch! None of the cyclists around me joined in my cheer – I guess they were tired but I was feeling fairly good still. At this point my legs were feeling tired, but not nearly as tired as I had expected. However, my back was aching and my lady parts and bum were screaming for some relief. Aero was getting increasingly uncomfortable but given the significant downhill portions on the way back, I knew I needed to stay there. I didn’t even slow down for the next aid station and just focused on getting to T2. I had kept up my speed but I knew I would be cutting it close on getting back under 7 hours. I decided that hitting some lame sub-whatever mark on my Ironman wasn’t worth pushing myself harder, so I decided just to ride by feel, not race the clock back to transition. I continued to pedal down hills, passing people along the way.

Just before I approached the last aid station, I saw Asia on the other side of the road. I waved to her and said hello. She didn’t seem as spirited as the last times I had seen her, but I just assumed she was tired. Soon after I passed her, however, I noticed that the aid station behind her was shutting down. I knew she was toward the end of the field, but never doubted her ability to make it back to T2.

As I coasted down the final steep descent into town (no pedaling this time – I figured it was the last time I wouldn’t be using my legs for the next several hours!), downtown CdA and the gorgeous lake came into view. A girl in my age group said to me as I passed by “that is a sight for sore eyes!” and I wholeheartedly agreed. Almost time to run a marathon!

Bike Split- 7:03:28, 31 in Age Group, 1424 Overall

T2

As soon as I got into T2, the volunteers grabbed my bike for me and racked it. They called out my number so someone could find my bag, but I bee-lined for the bathroom (yes, again) and relieved myself. After I grabbed my bag, I headed for the changing tent, where a volunteer once again rushed to my aid. I didn’t need a lot of help but she was nice and waited for me to completely change into my run gear.  After I grabbed my previously frozen water bottle with a Nuun tab dissolved in it, I ran out and saw Sister Madonna, a famous nun triathlete in her 80s who is often featured in the Kona World Championship television coverage. Great inspiration!

I made sure that my entire body was covered in sunscreen before I headed out of T2 and then ran down the chute and began my 26.2 mile journey to the finish line.

T1- 6:16


 Part 3, the run, is here. 

Ironman Coeur D’Alene Race Report – Part 1 Pre Race & Swim

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After a year of hard work all for the sake of one goal, I’ve accomplished something that for a long time I never even imagined I’d have the ability to attempt. Running down the finishers chute lined with thousands of cheering supporters at Ironman CdA was unlike any other feeling I’ve ever had – a mix of excitement, exhaustion, sadness,  and mostly, pride and accomplishment. That moment wasn’t just about the hours I’d spent on the course – it was the culmination of over a thousand hours of training and preparation, hundreds of early morning wake-up calls, dozens of long bike rides, gallons of sweat and even a few tears. The pain I had endured for most of the last five hours during the marathon was washed away and the heaviness in my legs disappeared as I crossed the finish line, raised my arms and jumped into the air as Mike Reilly announced, “Nicole Woyski from Encinitas, California, YOU are an Ironman!”

Pre-Race Prep

On our way to bike and bag drop off

Easy to spot these bags!

Can you find my bag?

I already went over a lot of our pre-race activities in another blog post, but left off at Saturday. After a quick 20 minute run and stretch, we headed out for lunch with the rest of Team WODs and some of our families and then grabbed our Bike and Run bags and bikes and dropped them off at transition. I was glad that I bought hot pink duct tape and decorated my bags because it was easy to spot them in the massive collection of bags. After we put our bags down, Mike and I asked a volunteer to explain the progression through transition. It was very helpful to visualize where I’d be entering and exiting during T1 and T2 and I was glad we asked, since it was not yet labeled.

Transition areas are complicated!

I racked Rory and made sure to check his brakes and tires. I made a mental note of where my bike was in relation to landmarks and the bike exit, said one last goodbye to Rory and left transition. We met up with my Dad and Denice, as our plan was to show them where our bikes are in transition, but they had already found them on their own. Next we headed to the Ironman merchandise store and I made my first round of purchases (I got the shirt with all the registrants names on it, a coffee mug, a glass, a sticker, an iPhone cover and a M-Dot tank) and then we sat out on a bench next to the lake and chatted for a bit before heading to dinner at a local Italian restaurant where we filled up on bread sticks and pasta. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to read and unwind before bed.

Rory racked and ready to go!

Team WODS full of pre-race excitement

That’s how you carbo-load (Mike finished his and I barely ate half – although I did eat 3 bread sticks before this)

I had been nervous all day, especially about my knee. I searched the Expo and even went to a few stores in CdA looking for KT tape for my knee, although I had never used it before. I wasn’t able to find it which was probably a blessing in disguise since I”d never used it before and it probably wasn’t smart to try it for the first time on race day. However, my anxiety of my knee came too a head at about 1:30 AM when I woke up in the middle of the night and my knee was throbbing a bit. Thoughts of DNF overwhelmed my mind and I began to panic. Mike woke up and knew something was wrong and I started to cry. If my knee hurt for the hour ride we took on Friday, I could only imagine the pain I might be in for 7-8 hours on race day. I took some Advil which helped with the pain and tried to go back to sleep, but it was a fairly restless night.

Fueling up for a long day

When the alarm went off at 4:30 AM we hopped out of bed immediately and began preparing for the day. My knee wasn’t hurting now and I tried to push the negative thoughts out of my mind. I had a big bowl of cereal for breakfast, made my peanut butter banana Nutella sandwich, poured my coffee into a travel mug, got dressed and gathered my things. Asia, Jeremy, Mike and I walked the 0.4 miles from our B&B to the start of the Ironman together, discussing our disbelief that the day we’d been anticipating for so long was finally here. The weather was cooperating quite well – it had rained VERY hard on Friday night and it looked like it had rained overnight Saturday night as well. Rain was on the forecast for Sunday but we were greeted with clear skies. The air temperature was about 54 and the lake had warmed up to 57 degrees. We knew the weather forecast was showing a high of 75, but at least the morning was nice and cool.

Race Day

Once we arrived at transition, my nerves were kicked into overdrive. It was quite possibly the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. The nerves were affecting my stomach, but this is normal for me so I tried not to worry about it.  After dropping off special needs, pumping up my tires, getting body marked, putting on sunscreen, and stretching, we met up with my parents for a few photos and I turned over my phone to them so they could use IronTrac to track me and the rest of team WODS. They wished us luck and we got in line for the bathroom while we put on our wetsuits. I got a little panicked since the line was long and they were announcing that transition would close in 5 minutes, but we made it in time. There was a big backlog to get out of transition and onto the beach since they wanted us to cross a timing mat before going to the beach, so Mike and I stood amongst hundreds of other green and pink capped nervous triathletes for at least 10 minutes as we slowly funneled out of transition and onto the beach.

About an hour before the start – nerves were at an all time high

Body marked and ready to go!

My #1 Fans and Paparazzi

I was overwhelmed with nerves – my face was probably as white as a sheet. The mass beach swim start has been one of the moments I have been most fearfully anticipating since we signed up for the race. I had heard that it was one of the most intense swim starts in all of Ironman – 2,600 athletes storming the beach at the same time and having no mercy as they made their way through the water – hitting, swimming over, and kicking fellow athletes to get ahead. Once we reached the beach, it was very crowded and Mike decided that he would just start right there instead of to the far right like we had planned. I kissed him goodbye and we wished each other luck before heading off in opposite directions. I made my way to the far right of the beach and seeded myself about 3/4 of the way back in the crowd. Within a few seconds I saw Jeremy and Asia and I immediately felt relief to have some familiar faces. Jeremy left and went back to find Mike (and he actually did find him) and Asia and I chatted very nervously as we waited for the gun to go off.

Swim 2.4 Miles

The calm before the storm

Suddenly, the cannon fired. Asia and I looked at each other, terrified and said something to the effect of “here we go!” As we started walking (yes walking, not running) down the beach toward the water, Asia said “put your goggles on!” They were still on my head! I put them on and waded into the water. No one around me was in a huge rush to get into the water, so I just walked a few feet out and then started swimming. The start was certainly chaotic, but nothing like the washing machine I had heard about. I had to strategically swim around people or avoid their arms, but overall it wasn’t that much worse than the start at TriClub aquathon or Oceanside 70.3. I got a slight kick to the face at one point but it didn’t really hurt and there were several times that I had to adjust my stroke to avoid a collision, but all in all nothing too terrifying happened.

Chaos!!!

Since I had started so far to the right, I had to swim at an angle to get closer to the buoys. I sighted fairly often but not as often as I had planned since I was just kind of following the crowd. I just kept thinking that it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be but was also on the defense for any flying arms or kicking legs. I wasn’t able to draft off of anyone for longer than 30 seconds unfortunately but I felt I was swimming at a fairly good pace on my own so I wasn’t too worried about finding some feet to follow. I didn’t end up near the buoy line until I was practically at the big red turn around buoy. I was pretty close to the buoy which meant that I was also close to a lot of other swimmers and it got a bit more rough around this point. Once I swam parallel to shore and turned around the second turn around buoy and started heading back to shore, I checked my watch and saw it had been twenty minutes. Definitely not as fast as I was hoping, but I’d take it.

Nothing too eventful happened on the swim back to shore. I was very happy to exit the water on my first loop and see a time around 36 minutes. I had estimated my swim time would be around 1:15-1:20 and if I kept this pace up, I’d beat that expectation! I was feeling good and not tired at all, so I knew I could maintain the pace for the second lap. As soon as I started the second lap, however, I knew it was going to be more difficult. The water had suddenly become very choppy and there were small waves knocking me out of balance as I swam. I had a harder time sighting and swimming in a straight line. I tried to draft off of one guy for a while but he was going just a bit too slow and I kept hitting his feet so I moved on. I was relieved when I rounded the turn around buoy for the second time and started to make my way back. At this point I was pretty sure my second loop would be slower but I was just relieved that the swim was nearly over. I wasn’t particularly tired but my feet were cold and I was just ready to get out and start the bike.

When I got closer to shore and saw the crowds on the steps and could hear Mike Reilly’s voice, I started to kick a bit harder since I read that it helps get your legs ready for the bike. As I got up on shore and saw the clock say 1:18, I was a bit disappointed but still really happy that I came in under 1:20 considering the roughness of the second lap.

Swim – 1:18:18 – 28th in age group – 909 overall

T1

I didn’t rush too much in T1. I jogged up the beach and then had my wetsuit stripped by the volunteers. I took my time walking down the rows of bike bags and grabbing mine (easy to spot with the hot pink!). I went into the changing tent and sat down. A volunteer asked if I needed help and I said yes. She dumped out my bag and started putting my wet suit and swim items back in the bag. I took off my wet sports bra and put on my dry one and asked the volunteer if she could clip it because my hands were too shaky and cold. She tried to clip it but since she was an older woman and it was dark in the tent, she couldn’t see well enough to clip it. After what seemed like an eternity of her trying to clip it, she asked another volunteer who also tried and finally I just did it myself.

Everything else in transition went fine except for the fact that I semi had to pee and cursed myself for not doing it in the water before I got out. I decided I would just try to hold it since I didn’t have to go very bad. On my way out I made sure to get sunscreen slathered on my entire body AND that it was rubbed in. I was shaking like a leaf from the cold as I rubbed in the sunscreen.

As I was about to run to my bike I realized I was still carrying my bike bag. I asked some volunteers where I should put it and no one seemed to be paying attention so I repeated myself and finally caught the attention of a few of them but no one seemed to know what to tell me. I kept repeating “where do I put this bag!?” and finally one of them just took it from me. I then rushed down into the bike area, waved to my parents who were waiting at the fence near by bike in transition, grabbed Rory and took off!

T1 – 10:29

Part 2 of the race report is here. Part 3 – the run is here.

Pre-Race FUN!

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It is gorgeous here!

We’re here in CdA!!!! It is still surreal to me – even though the race is tomorrow – that this is happening. I will be an Ironman tomorrow. Crazy! This day that we have been anticipating for so long is less than 24 hours away.

I was pretty blown away by all the support I was getting even before I left for my trip. My boss brought in bagels to work, organized a dessert potluck in my honor and also sent me away with a card and a gift bag full of endurance racing goodies. Pretty good way to start 7 days of vacation.

Homemade Lemon Cupcakes Thanks to My Boss!

We arrived in CdA in the late afternoon on Thursday. Our luggage was pretty unreal:

 

I don’t know how to pack light

My large suitcase weighed 50 lbs and I’m sure between my smaller suitcase and my backpack, there were another 50 lbs of Ironman supplies to add to that. Packing for 3 sports plus 6 days of “normal” clothes isn’t pretty.

Our flights were on time and we were greeted by a loquacious elderly woman who would be our shuttle driver to CdA. After brief questioning about our Ironman, she thanked us for not showing up with bike boxes (we used TriBike transport) and proceeded to launch into a detailed account of her most recent Bus Derby, essentially a competition for bus drivers which involves testing of skills such as parallel parking and driving through cones. Our driver has apparently placed in her age group at the Bus Derby and is quite proud.

Mike getting chatted up by our driver

Once we checked in to our Bed and Breakfast (where Asia and Jeremy were also staying and had already checked in), we headed down to the Expo to pick up our bikes from TriBike transport, which was less than a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We were amazed at the beauty of Coeur D’Alene – the colors of the lake and trees are so vibrantly blue and green that it looks like something out of a postcard. The weather, however, is not what we are used to. Upon arrival the thermometer at the bank near our hotel announced it was in the high 80s. Coming from southern California coastal, we rarely see temperatures over 80 so to us, this was unbelievably hot!

Enjoying CdA!

Athlete Check In had just closed so we couldn’t check in but we did pick up our bikes and bring them back to the room. We had planned to do about a 2 mile run to loosen up, so we got on our running shoes and ran back toward the expo and out past it for a bit, then back to it and stretched at the park. After stretching we ran into Rachel, a fellow blogger and also a CdA participant. Rachel is from Sacramento and commented on how great the weather was in CdA- it has hit triple digits where she’s from so this was a cool reprieve from the heat for her.

We then headed home, cleaned up and went out for a really delicious pizza dinner. I put on a dress and we got a seat on the patio and had a couple of beers. We felt like we were on vacation and just enjoyed each other’s company and the great food and beer. Toward the end of our meal we spotted Katie, one of my favorite bloggers who is also racing CdA as her first Ironman. We chatted for a bit but also knew we’d be seeing each other for the 7 a.m. group swim the next day.

Date Night!

Friday was full of Ironman festivities. In the morning we did a group swim, including simulated beach swim start (Asia and I started toward the back), of about 1 mile. The lake felt REALLY cold at first, but I warmed up within a minute or so. After the swim we met up with a big group for a bike ride of the run course (and part of the bike course) held by TriBike Transport. It was really nice to ride with a group and not worry about navigating the course. The beginning of the run course has quite a few turns in it but once we got out of the neighborhoods we were riding directly next to the gorgeous lake. I kept anticipating the “huge” hill that I had heard was on the run course, and we did find it around mile 6. It was about ½ mile up and apparently about a 6% grade, but wasn’t as steep as I was anticipating. Unfortunately we also have to run down the back of the hill and then run back up it and back down it on each loop of the marathon –meaning 4 big climbs in total over 26.2 miles.

TriBike Group Ride

Getting ready to ride

The group ride helped me mentally prepare for what is going to come on race day. As a faster swimmer and slower cyclist, I am going to be passed by most likely 1,000 people on the bike course. We all coasted together on the flats but on the hills is where I was getting passed the most and I’m sure it will be similar on race day. I just need to focus on MY race, not theirs, and keep my heart rate low. I did that on the group ride, trying to keep my heart rate in zone 1 for the majority of the ride. All in all, we rode over an hour and nearly 17 miles and unfortunately the pain in my knee started coming back. It wasn’t by any means sharp, but it was there and it got me worried. It definitely is better when I’m in aero, and I didn’t ride in aero for most of the ride, so I think that some of it will be alleviated during the race due to that.

Ice Helps!

After showering, we headed to the Expo to Athlete Check In. There was no line and the process was well organized and went smoothly, just like at Oceanside 70.3. These M-Dot events are like well-oiled machines. We were super excited to be checking in – it was REAL! They gave us some nice quality Ironman CdA backpacks. We explored the athlete store but didn’t get anything – I have my eyes on a few things but the line was huge and I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted so I waited. After we exited to athlete store we saw Mike Reilly, who works with Mike and I met last year when we were all in the Dominican Republic for 5 days together for a wedding. He mentioned that the bike course had a nice tailwind coming in as of now (in past years there was a headwind heading in), but we all k now that can change in an instant!

IM CdA Athlete Check In

Mike Checking In

The Voice of the Ironman!

After some downtime, my dad and step-mom, Denice, arrived and we drove the bike course together. I was happy to see that there were no sharp turns on the bike course – it’s basically just a few very large climbs and a few very large descents. The course could get a bit boring – it’s really just an out and back on a highway, but as a novice cyclist, I think it will be a good course for me.

After dinner we met up with Asia and Jeremy’s family, who made t-shirts that say “WODS SQUAD” on them, in honor of our 4 person Ironman training group. My parents didn’t get in on the fun early enough and ended up shirtless. We had a drink and appetizer at the restaurant in our B&B before heading to the Athlete Welcome Dinner. We waited in quite a long line to get in, and while we waited I found Beth, another blogger and fellow first time Ironman. Beth sat with us and the rest of our huge group during the 2 hour dinner and then the 1 hour athlete meeting that followed. I love meeting blog friends!

 

The Wait for the Athlete Dinner

 

The Athlete Dinner was a little disappointing – pretty terrible food and the presentation wasn’t quite as exciting or inspiring as I had hoped – but overall I was still glad that I went. The last video they played was one of several 2011 CdA finishers crossing the finish line and it got me pretty excited for my moment to cross on Sunday.

Stormy CdA

During the dinner it started POURING rain. The tent was overwhelmed with the sound of raindrops pounding on it and water started pouring in from the outside, soaking the floor. At one point it let up and all of the non-athletes left before the Athlete Meeting started, including my parents, but just a few minutes after it started to pour again. My poor parents must have been soaked! It was still sprinkling on our walk back to the B&B and we all talked about our fears of terrible weather on race day. The rain had been expected for Friday, but earlier in the week it had been predicted to clear up by Sunday. Now Sunday was showing 77 degrees with scattered thunderstorms and a 40% chance of rain. Since I’ve learned that the weather changes in an instant here in CdA, I’m not too worried yet…but there is a chance I’ll be drenched at some point during the race!

If you want to track me on race day, my bib # is 215 and I’m going to teach my parents how to use my iPhone to post updates to Twitter and Facebook via the IronTrac app. Thank you to everyone who supports me by reading this blog and/or sending me shout outs on Twitter. Your support has meant so much to me and I will be thinking of all of you on race day!!!

Next time we speak, I WILL BE AN IRONMAN!