Laura B IMMT Race Report
Laura Becker – Race Report
Total Time; 12:20 (AG 16 out of 56)
Recap of my season: 2017 started had an uncertain start as I struggled to find out what was going on with my body. In March, I was diagnosed with IAE (iliac arterial endofibrosis) which impacts the circulation in my legs and therefore muscle function. I had to really listen to my body and dial things down to train my body to adapt. This took a few months. Leading into IMMT my body felt very differently- stronger and ready to go. I stayed extremely focused on my training block, and my build was pretty strong. I had a lot of miles under my belt before race day. I was proud of my training because I knew I gave it all I had. A few weeks ago my calf started to bother me- becoming painful when I ran (which may have stemmed from some ankle issues after running down mount washington) . So I took a solid 1 ½ week off of running. This helped tremendously, but made me nervous about what the marathon would bring on race day. But all I knew is my love for triathlon was back and soaring!! and I was grateful to toe the start line.
TRAVEL AND PRE-RACE WEEK:
Thursday: Well I would love to say that travel to MT was uneventful, but nope, not this time. As I was driving through VT and big truck was tailgating me very closely, I move right to let him pass...he doesn’t!! Then I am coming up on a slow moving car and I didn’t want to slam on my breaks because of the bikes on the back...so I gun it to move left and pass the slow car...As I gun it I pass a state trooper. YUP. Perfect, getting pulled over. I explained what happened, he asked where I was going- to do an Ironman in Canada….he came back with a warning, no points, no fine, said good luck at your race and slow down. AH! Talk about an unnecessary adrenaline boost. Border was backed up and Montreal was INSANE but we finally arrived around 4:00. Did not make it to team dinner because had to wait for parents and they were STRESSED. But once settled we walked through town.
Friday: Weather was not good when we woke up. High winds and rain. They were not letting people swim in the morning. I really needed to get into the water to shake out. 4 Keys was cancelled. I was anxiously awaiting getting into the water. Went down with EN around 10:30. Got in and I had never felt colder water. I went out 500 yards, turned around and booked it back. When I got out I was shaking and couldn’t feel my hands or feet. I felt dizzy and sick. Got inside the training house and couldn’t move. Hands and feet were white- no circulation...and this was after 15 mins. I was totally freaked. If the water was that cold I thought to myself I will NEVER be able to swim 2.4 miles and function. I tried to put it behind me and go on with my day. Got a quick ride in which felt awesome and then a quick run- with no calf pain! So I was pumped for that. Went to athlete briefing and hung with family and friends.
Saturday: Sleep in. Got my gear bags ready which took entirely too long. Went and checked in my bike. Then i NEEDED to get back into that water. I had Steve take me down to the lake. It was warmer out today and not windy. I decided to try and splash around in just a bathsuit because I didn’t want my wetsuit wet for the morning. And BAM! The water was fantastic! I almost cried because it was like night and day. My heart filled with joy and I instantly calmed down. Then we did a quick drive of the second part of the course called Duplessis where there are lots of punchy hills. It was good to see. Back to the room, dinner with family and friends, nutrition bottles ready. Time for bed!
RACE DAY:
- Woke up, coffee, ate, tattoos, get out the door. Down to transition where they announce that water temp went down to 66. OH SHIT. Tried to stay calm, nothing I can do now, it will be fine. Everything on the bike- bags dropped and checked, back to the room….running late….bathroom….missed team picture :-( Then off to the lake.
THE SWIM (TARGET 1:05/ ACTUAL 1:11) (AG rank:12)
My nerves were high getting down to the lake. I was worried about the cold water/ and just how the swim was going to play out. I got down to the water and got in to test it out. It didn’t feel too bad but it was cold. I got right out ran to get a sweatshirt but no time to put it on before they started shuffling us in. I seeded end of 1:05….but as they corralled us, I let people go in front of me...I was delaying going in the water. “WTF are you doing Laura- get in there” Finally got in- by the first buoy my arms were cold, by the 3rd it was my legs. I just kept on the inside and did my thing. It was a bit choppy- this was no mirror lake. I thought if I kicked more I might warm up but everytime I tried to kick my muscles would feel like they were going to cramp. So I backed down. Last thing I needed was cramping legs. The other thing I was not used to was not being able to see the turn buoy- unlike placid- this was one loop- so when you look out you cannot see the red turn buoy because it's over a mile away. The rest of the swim turned into- don’t think about the cold- stay steady- don’t cramp- get to the turn buoy. As soon as we turned at the buoy we were directly into the sun- it was BLINDING. Turned for the next mile back into shore and the sun was still a problem. I found myself off course a few times- but I kept on the inside. FINALLY see the shore- get out- frozen. Looked at my watch- 1:11 and I was PISSED. So disappointed. I had worked so hard and my swim has really improved...and this was my worst IM swim time yet. It was in my head.
T1 : THINK SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST (9:22)
- My feet were completely numb so running (and it was a longer transition run for sure) was difficult/painful. I felt out of it. Got to the tent shivering. Arm Warmers, gloves with hand warmers, thermal socks, and out.
- Saw Steve- told him I had a shitty swim- he said it's 5 minutes- forget it and go bike.
THE BIKE (TARGET 6:20/ ACTUAL 6:22)(AG rank:19) First 45 minutes were so cold- I couldn’t even get my HR up. Finally I warmed up and felt like I could ride!! I just stayed aero and tried to stay consistent. Watching watts/HR. Mentally was in a better place on the second loop even though the wind was kicking. Really picked up and I was being pushed around like a rag doll. I had to come out of aero a few times because I literally almost got blown over. But I really felt good on the bike. Kept up on my fuel and switched off of UCAN and onto GUs at 5:00.
Shortly after 5:00 mark I was riding up a hill with my head slightly down- I was coming up on this guy but still a ways back- marshal came by and said I was too close! LIke what!! I am such a rule follower. Blue Card= 5 minutes at the next tent. I was not happy but tried to stay focused. Kept looking for the tent but couldn’t find it. Did the hills in Duplessis again- and of course the tent is literally like 2 miles from the bike finish. I will not lie. I got to the tent and tear up. I was angry I had to stop when I knew I was close to my goal. I was just emotional because I wanted to keep going and I felt like I had not been drafting and the penalty was unfair. I saw a TON of drafting out there- and they were catching people but seriously, I was going up a hill! Here nor there it was not a good use of energy and I was loosing salt LOL. Pull it together and use this energy on your run.
T2 : THINK SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST (2:56)
- Nothing exciting here. Got my stuff and out I went.
THE RUN (TARGET 04:20/ ACTUAL: 4:33)(AG rank: 15)
Out of transition with the question in my mind….will I feel my calf?? First mile done, feeling strong and NOPE! WOOHOO!! Time to rock. Felt really strong on the first part of the run, went back to UCAN because I was worried too many GUs would mess with my stomach. Used UCAN the first loop- then switched to GU. Fueling may have played a part in my low HR mid run.
Starting at around mile 6-8 calf was a little tight but not bad...bigger problem was my FEET THEY WERE ON FIRE. The bottom of my feet were killing me. I could feel blisters ALL OVER. Like what?? I didn’t change ANYTHING. WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM??? I tried to move my feet around a bit just to dull the pain. Made the decision in my mind to PUT IT OUT OF MY MIND. I started taking 30 sec walk breaks when calf tight/feet burned so badly. Took my first GU roctane and that helped alot. At special needs I stopped and picked up band aids thinking that would help...I could tell one of the blisters was so big and worried about getting my shoes back on. So out the door that idea went. (And I forgot to put vaseline in my bag, damn it). The rest of the run I tried to just be consistent. I felt strong the whole way- it wasn’t my cardio that was stopping me- it was the other stuff. Maybe I should’ve pushed more through this but I really did give it my all and grit through. I wanted sub 12 SO BADLY. And I felt I was close. But I tried to race smart as to not damage my calf or blow up to where I couldn’t run anymore.
Disclosure- sorry my foot is not pretty- but what would the cause be?? This is my left foot. I had 3 smaller ones on my right foot too and another on this foot on my pinkie toe.
REFLECTING:
I am proud of my race overall. This is a big PR for me (14:01) and I felt strong the whole day. I need to hold on to that. I am also very disappointed with my swim. Also wondering if I held back too much on the bike, bummed about the penalty and wonder how I could’ve adjusted my run. I am super pumped with UCAN and how my stomach felt the whole day!! YES! Such a change for me.
I know I have a lot to learn and there is some room to grow! Lots of ideas and thoughts in my mind right now about where to go next, what my next goals should be.
There it is….thanks for reading!! Any feedback welcome!!!
Comments
You had a great race. Way to overcome all the obstacles just to get to the starting line, and then dealing with all the adversity that IM always offers up on race day. Swim was slow for almost everyone, and distances and currents change race-to-race and day-to-day, so I always pay much more attention to AG and OA place than I do time. My last four IM swims were :55, 1:12, :49 and 1:00. What do I take away from that mess? And, as hubby correctly noted, it's 5 minutes. Of course, that 5 minutes doubled when you decided to cheat on the bike.
Bike went according to plan, other than the cheating thing. Especially glad the nutrition part worked.
Blisters. We've probably all been there. I'd offer to donate to your favorite charity if you would remove that photo from your post, but I'm afraid the image is burned in the back of my brain. Thanks for that. You rode with thermal socks. If your feet got wet from rain, splashed Gatorade or other fluids, then your feet might have been nicely wrinkled and softened up for the run. Our strides during an IM run are almost always a bit different/shorter than during a training run, so there can be new landing spots and pressure points. Often our race shoes are different than our training shoes. Then our feet often get wet on the run from ice, water and other fluids. Again, that doesn't happen during a typical training run. Taken altogether, our feet face a different situation on race day than they're used to. What's helped me is, I bike sockless and make sure my bike shoes drain well. My run shoes also drain (many don't). I wear really good socks on the run that are pre-lubed. Finally, in the last 2-3 weeks before the race, I run a couple of times per week sockless in my race shoes, to the point where I develop some hot spots/near-blisters. Toughen them up. I do century training rides primarily to train my legs, but they also help strengthen the neck muscles and toughen the undercarriage. Same principle. Of course, that' just me.
Congrats on a killer race. Very, very happy for you. Can't wait to see what you do next.
MR
Laura - super congrats on an outstanding race. When I saw you on the run you always looked strong and I wouldn't have guessed you were having feet issues!
On the swim...not much we can do about water temps however thinking to the future, perhaps more time to warm up before hand could help? If there is any possibility to practice OWS near your house in training with cooler temps could get you used to it. That said...agree with your comment...we are talking 5 minutes here or there...not the end of your race either way.
I got a penalty in my last half and know exactly how you feel. It happens to all of us so it's one you need to sweat it out and get out of the tent as soon as you can. I can say that the officials were giving A LOT of penalties on the day..more than I have seen in any race before. If you were not super careful, you did get picked up.
Run..MR has some good suggestions here on blisters. Overall I am most impressed with how you handled the fact that your calf was not 100% (and your feet were on fire) but yet you kept going and didn't let yourself blow up. This shows you have the right mindset to get through anything.
Many congrats and on race and take time to enjoy what you have done. It was great to meet in person as well and look forward to our paths to cross again.
Can't tell from the angle of the photo, but might you be developing a bunion on your left foot (big toe)?
Just a great race performance all around LB! Was nice to see you at the back rack early before race start. You looked like you were read to get the show started!
My data shows the swim was long and the bike was short in terms of distance...wonder if WTC did that on purpose having one leg offset the other? About 4,400yds on the swim and 109.9 miles on the bike...
Regarding the blisters, MR makes good points. I bike and run sock-less in training. My longest run coming into the race was a 20 mile run, no socks, no blisters. During the race, I did see some very small red areas after going 26 miles in no socks, but mostly due to what MR describes from ice, water and other fluids.....training and racing sockless does require you wash those shoes in the washing machine much more frequently...
Congratulations!
SS