Brenda Ross - IMChoo RR
I usually draft my RR a day or two after my race when it is fresh in my mind, but I was a bit distracted until yesterday
, so here it is folks.
We arrived in Chattanooga on Wednesday to meet up with team mates Brent Pilon, Trevor Mclean and Woody Freese. Lead up to race was uneventful. We rode mile 20-34 of bike course as suggested by Coach Rich on Thursday, went to team dinner on Thursday eve and went to the 4 Keys Talk on Friday. After the 4 Keys Talk we drove what we could of the run course to see the beefie hills on the other side of the river (yup, them are some beefie hills for sure) and then we drove the complete bike course. Saturday was bike drop off and then feet up.
Woke up at 4am on Ironman morning. Was not hungry, but managed to put in oatmeal and a banana. Left the house at 4:30 to be in transition for no later than 5am so we could make it to the team pic. Dropped off our special needs bag, pumped the tires, loaded fuel on bike and quickly realized that my fuel for my bike special needs bag was not in the bag. Team Mate Brent Pilon exchanged some lube for him taking my fuel to special needs. Sounded like a good trade off to me. Made it to the team pic and team prayer (Thank you Mariah for leading the prayer), then went to the bathroom and got on the bus to head to the swim start. Everything went very smoothly. Never felt rushed and had plenty of time to chill when we arrived at the swim start. Got in line for the porta potty which took.....wait for it....45 minutes, then met Steve and Trev at the tree, put wetsuit on to waist and joined the line to move down to the race start. They moved the wetsuit peeps off to the right while the non wetsuit peeps started (saw Carol and Turby). Peed in my wetsuit a couple of times before entering the water (do not judge - I did it on the grass).
Once we were allowed to move down to the water, I started to feel the nerves. Steve walked down with me to the dock, gave me a kiss and said "have a great race" and I said "see you at the finish" - little did I know.
Swim: Predicted time: 1:30. Actual time: 1:11:16 (aided by current) Division rank: 45
This swim is fast due to the current, but I still feel I had to work. It seemed like it went on forever and there were sections where I would come up on groups of people and would have to work through it to get clear. Run up to transition is a bit long and it did not help that I kept on calling out the wrong number when I got to the bags (from the time I got my number I was having problems remembering it.) When I got into the tent I was on my own, but moved through a quickly as I could.
T1: 10:48 (as Tim Cronk would say - what where you doing Brenda? Baking cookies)
Bike: Predicted time: 6:45 IF: .68-.70 Actual time: 6:28:52 Division rank: 31 Actual IF: .71
Since we were unable to come down for the training camp, I asked Trish Marshall, who attended the course about the bike course (hence my predicted finish time) and listen intently to Coach Rich during the 4 keys to make sure I had a clear picture of what this course was like. I think riding mile 20-34 and back was also very helpful. I do not have much to say about the ride. I stuck to my plan regarding power and fueling and stayed consistent through out the ride, coming off the bike feeling good.
T2: 10:36 (I made some mistakes. like trying to use a watch I never use (fiddling with trying to get it to work), having to fiddle with my hair, forgetting to take my bike shorts off and having to come back and having to go to the bathroom because of womenly issues - ladies you know what I mean)
Run: Predicted time: 4:45 Actual time: 4:49:28 Division Rank: 25 Goal: run aid station to aid station and run the beefie hills for both loops - DONE AND DONE
I was unsure how this run was going to go. I injured myself 6 weeks out from the race (soleus strain), resulting in a week off and I decided that intervals and hills should be removed to avoid another injury. Then 2 weeks out I hurt my back and had another 4 days off of running, so without the intensity and hills I thought I could probably do a 4:45 marathon. I have also been having issues with diaphramic cramping, so I was a bit uneasy going into the run. Since I did not have the watch to tell me my pace (see above), I went by feel. I tried using a heart rate monitor in training but for some reason it registers when I am not moving, but quits as soon as I start to exercise. Cray, cray I know, but since I have been racing multisport for 15 years I know my body and knew that I could do this using PE.
Coach Rich says the first 6 miles is flat and I beg to differ. We had to climb out of transition and I was looking for Mile 1 from the onset. I told myself this is not good. I should not be searching for the mile markers this early into the race. Luckily after mile 3 I was starting to feel like myself. I used the baggy trick on filling with ice, which was very useful for 13 miles and then the sun started to set and it cooled down a bit and I did not need it anymore. At about that time I developed my first diaphramic cramp. I did what Coach Rich suggested (grab the muscle and squeeze the shit out of it) and it seems to make it go away. I decided at that time I was going to switch to coke and base salt for the remainder of the run, with gels at every 3rd station. The cramping camp back again at mile 20, but again I was able to get it under control and finished the race with the biggest smile. I actually got a bit chocked up coming into the finish line. I had DNF'd at IMMT last year so I really needed this finish. I had a really good day finishing in 12:51:00
My excitement was quickly squashed with the news that my wonderful husband had crashed on the bike and had been taken to SICU with a spleen and rib injury. Thankfully I had the support of Mariah, Brent and Trevor at the finish line. Steven received amazing treatment and was sitting upright when we got to the hospital. He was able to talk and tell us about the accident. Luckily he did not hit his head and did not loose consciousness and that the doctors were able to stop the bleeding of the spleen and stabilize his collapsed lung. With multiple breaks in ribs 7-11 you can imagine how much pain Steve was in, but he insisted that the officials and doctors not stop me during the race and as soon as I walked in he asked me.....how did it go???
Thank you all for your amazing support during our stay in Chattanooga. We feel blessed to be part of such an amazing team.
Comments
Rest up and take good care of the patient.
I know what you mean about the run. I also had similar issues leading up to the race where it became more of a "I'm not getting any faster, and let's just get there not injured" end of my build. To run that kind of time on those kind of hills truly shows not only what a strong athlete you are, but that you're a smart one too.
Congratulations on an epic finish, with epic ag placement. I hope to race with you both again soon! Hugs your way, EB
I laughed with the squeezing thing!
Brenda, it was so nice to meet you and your husband at the team dinner. Congratulations on an amazing race!!!! I saw you at the start of the bike you called out Yvette just JRA right??? in such a calm voice! Good to see you ! So happy your husband is home and on the mend.
Brenda, Great race execution and taking the Ironman tour of Tennessee and Georgia. We are lucky to have a great team around us for support in the good and tough times. I hope Steve is recovering quickly.