Jenn's IMCdA Race Report: Finally, I'm a Contender!!!
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 fellow 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.
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Comments
Superb race, Bubble Girl. Two thoughts after reading:
Keep at it, it's just a matter of time ...
You crushed it! Great job on a fantastic race marked by superb execution. It was so great to meet you and I loved your encouragement on the run! I'm confident a trip to Kona is in your future! Keep going!
- David
Jenn....have truly enjoyed following you from afar on Strava, etc., and congratulations on continued massive improvements over the past few years. Seems like you really are close, but as you said, you can't control who shows up....
Great report, love the pictures. Love your enthusiasm and wit. Best of luck/execution at IMC.
It's been great to have you on the team and to watch you progression!
Also what Al T said.
I have come to the realisation (as you have), that the only way I can improve my run is to show up at the start lighter.
All the best in your chase to get to the Big Show.
So looking forward to your future!
~ P