Mary R's IMLP Race Report
All of the training in the world could not have prepared me for the weather we had on race day. However, I did swim, and ride, and run in rain, cold, wind, and all conditions. So, as it happened, I said, "Let's do this!" and we did 
Race Morning breakfast: 3 cups applesauce, 3 scoops protein powder and a banana at 4 am. I took a bottle of Infinit and sipped 24 oz from 5 - 6:15 am. I headed over to swim start and warmed up then it was time to get into corral for swim start. I was excited.
The Swim: Stormy, heavy rain, lightning, thunder. I stayed in my box during the swim. I counted strokes and tried to stay out of the fray. There were many, many swimmers who went in this wave who swam much slower which was frustrating. But, they were not in my box. I exited the water, met a very nice wetsuit stripper, saw my husband and gave him a high five, then headed in to transition.
I don’t think I would do anything different for the swim except start closer to the front of the wave and a little bit more to the left. I may have experienced tough swim conditions because I was very close to the line.
The bike: I had 3.5 hr of nutrition with me (one in a bottle and 2.5 hr in a gel flask) and another 4 hr in bike special needs. I did not finish my nutrition on the bike. I did take salt tablets every 20 minutes or so and supplemented the Infinit with water. This strategy seemed to work well as I stopped to pee twice (once on each loop). Target Bike Time: 7:00 – 7:30 Actual Bike Time:7:18:58
I was very nervous approaching the descent into Keene. The newly paved road, not knowing how others would ride, and the torrential rain had me worried. None of this was in my box though, so I tried to stay calm and pedal steady. I messed up my Garmin, somehow hit the lap button and spent a few minutes trying to get it to register the bike. I have no power meter recordings as a result. 
The remainder of the ride was uneventful. I stayed in my box, rode steady and enjoyed the improving weather. By the 2nd loop, I was able to put my sunglasses on and ride.
The Run: Target Run Time: 5:30 – 6:00 hr Actual Run Time: 6:16:10 Nutrition: (2) gel flasks with Infinit run mix (6 hr)
The wheels came off, and it was not a good run almost from the beginning. I went to the first portajohn and visited another twenty times over the course of the 26.2 miles. I was able to run a steady pace for a few miles (12 min/mi) but the time deteriorated with the need to stop at the portajohn. I saw a friend who was throwing up and wondered what to do. I told her she would work through it and finish the race (she did). I did not drink Coke til mile 23...and that seemed to help clear things up. I decided to just keep moving forward and I would see the finish line. It was beyond wonderful to see Coach Patrick after my finish. He provided the best chicken broth ever created (it was so delicious I had 2 big cups) and I enjoyed post Ironman finish euphoria. The other highlight of the run was that my husband brought our 12 yr. old yellow lab to the run turnaround. I was elated! He gave me big licks on the leg and off I went to finish the race.
It was an unforgettable experience with a few surprises. I am so grateful to all my EN teammates who cheered and supported me during this journey!
Comments
Congrats on your race! Any thoughts on what caused your stomach/gut issues on the run?
I'd love to see my doode on the run course!
Mary, Great report. You are very strong both physically and mentally. Your ability to keep going when your run became truly difficult is a great testament to your strength. It was great meeting you at the camp and seeing you on the course.
I wish I did know what the heck happened. My bike nutrition was Infinit bike mix. I have been using it all through training and two race rehearsals. Never had an issue. My run mix was a run blend from Infinit. I added the salt tabs after AC Challenge Aquabike (never peed) and used them on my last RR. I had two stops on my last RR. Could it have been what I ate Friday night and Saturday not being entirely cleaned out? Usually the applesauce/protein powder mix does the trick for me. I felt fine on bike but as soon as I started running/slogging things fell apart.<img src='http://members.endurancenation.ushttp://members.endurancenation.us/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/sick.gif' align="absmiddle" border="0" class="afEmoticon" />
It was great meeting you and racing with you. Hope to see you at a future race or camp! Maybe see you at one of your local races if I choose to do some in my old home state.
Ordered more Infinit just before race and they had just turned on the new site. Most recent blends were not transferred over and I ended up speaking with Michael, etc, etc. Long story short, I just compared labels and the batch I used for Placid has 4 G protein.
Oh boy. That is a very stooped rooks mistake.
And, nothing I can do about it to correct it til I attempt another 140.6
Feeling super deflated and embarrassed