Sabra Gonzalez IM LOU Race Report
Race Date: Sunday, October 15, 2017
PreRace Meal Notes: PreRace Lunch on Saturday: Turkey Lettuce Wich from WichWich, Lays chips, pickles. Sipped on diluted GE the day prior. Pre Race Dinner: Plain roasted chicken, salted plain brown rice, salted chips, couple squares dark chocolate w/ sea salt…bland and salty.
PreRace Breakfast: Overnight oats w/ Almond milk and maple syrup, ½ GF Jelly sandwich, ½ banana. Sipped GE all morning and ate 1 Untapped maple syrup packet just before the swim start.
Race Day Stats:
Total Time / AG Place / Overall Place: 11:45:02 / 17 / 588
● Swim Time / AG / Gender / OA Place : 54:04 / 1 / 5 / 59
● T1 Time: 5:42
● Bike Time / AG / Gender / OA: 6:34:50 / 68 / 377 / 1256
● T2 Time: 8:51
● Run Time / AG / Gender / OA: 4:01:35/ 14 / 84 / 380
Race Day Goals:
Goal 1: Swim: Sub 59 as this is the time I had swam in the lake during race rehearsal. I knew the downstream current after the turn buoy would assist in a faster time.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1232521529
Did you achieve it? Yes! 54:04 was the best time in my AG resulting in the ROKA FOTW award!
Goal2: Bike: 6:19 per BBS
https://www.strava.com/activities/1232519060
Did you achieve it? No. Bike time of 6:34:50.
IF: .723 VI:.95 NP:126
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Headwinds, wind gusts of 30+ rain, crazy weather conditions.
Goal3: Run a sub 4:00 marathon
https://www.strava.com/activities/1232522305
Did you achieve it? NO. Run time 4:01:35
What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Technically 1:35 off so not bad. I think my two bathroom breaks didn’t help and I slowed down a little more than I should around mile 21/22
The Swim -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Swim Time: sub 59:00 Actual Swim Time: 54:04
Weather / Conditions / Notes: Conditions in the morning were the best they were going to be that day. Cloudy with a slight breeze. The water temp was 73ish, so wet suit legal. I seeded myself in the sub hour corral knowing that my flat swim time was 59:00. I knew with the downstream current after the turn I should be well within that finish time.
The swim start was moved up to 7:35am to allow for just a little more daylight. I jumped in the water off the second dock. Water was very murky and I couldn’t see my hand. I honestly don’t like to look in the water so I just looked at the land and searched for buoys. The light was dim and I was glad for the clear lenses. The swim was a little busy in the channel going around Towhead Island. I had some body contact in this swim but nothing crazy. There were a few people that I noticed that definitely did not belong with this group. I promptly got away from them. I stayed calm and moved over to the right, away from the island, as that was more congested over there.
My sighting was good. I made my way around the red turn buoy into the main channel of the river without incident or body contact. It was noticeably choppy and windy. There were several strokes where I either caught a wave or caught air. It reminded me of swimming in the ocean. I knew the current was pretty good as I flew past the buoys. I set my watch to alert every 1000 yards and after the fourth alert, I started aiming for Joe’s Crab Shack’s Blue Roof. Spotted the black swim exit archway and made it over to the volunteers who helped me up the stairs.
Upon coming out of the water, ran to the wetsuit strippers. I thought the run from the strippers to the bags was long and tricky. There were several stairs to navigate and I was still a bit dizzy from the swim. My HR felt higher than I was wanting but would get that under control on the bike.
Got my bike bag and made my way into the changing tent. The volunteer that helped me was wonderful!
The Bike -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Bike Time: 6:19 per BBS Actual Bike Time: 6:34:50
Weather / Conditions / Notes:
Here we go. The bike. My nemesis. Based on my stats above...I probably was a little too conservative? Not sure I'm understanding the numbers correctly. River Road was fun. It had a slight downhill for the first 10 miles or so to the stop sign. Left at the sign and the hills started. Then the left turn onto SR42 the hills really began in earnest. So much for the great bike average. I knew the ride was going to be hilly from scouting it the day before in the car. The first loop I wanted to ensure that I didn’t go over my 125w average. I kept an eye on my HR and tried not to spike my watts. Going through LaGrange was fun. That lifted my spirits, especially on the second loop. While it was hilly, it actually seemed worse in the car than riding if that makes sense.
I stayed on top of my nutrition. I had probably 3 bottles in the first hour. I'm always so thirsty after the swim. After that I averaged about a bottle an hour for a total of about 9 bottles the entire ride. I did sip some water with my clif blocks and base salt. I had maybe 1 fig bar at the half way mark and ate about 3 banana halves the entire ride. I did not have any GI issues. Lost count of the number of times I peed. This was a huge success as I have been struggling with GI issues on prior rides.
There was one point where the sun popped out and it got warm. I doused myself with water to keep cool.
Challenge 1:
As a strong swimmer, I get in the water early. Then here come the fast bikers. This has become the norm in all my longer races. Maybe one day I can be a fast swimmer and not have as many pass me.
Challenge 2:
The weather. This will probably go down in history as THE windiest/scariest ride of my life. I knew going into this that there would be wind. It seemed like a constant headwind! The first time through the LaGrange loop wasn’t bad. Lap 2 was just such a downer. And then the last stretch of 33 miles back to Louisville was just almost unbearable. This did NOT feel net downhill to me at all! There were times that I was literally holding onto my bike out of aero crouched down out of the winds for dear life! I was riding at a slant with the gusts.
Then the front blew through on the last stretch to transition while I was on River Road. I was pelted with rain, sticks, leaves, other debris. I was dodging those huge green balls on the ground from the trees. The road was covered and I swear I hit every pothole on that road. I wanted a regular bathroom and warm dry clothes. I was ready to get off that bike. It was sad to see I wasn’t going to make my time goal, but, with the winds, I just could not afford to mash the gas and still be able to have a good marathon. I had to be patient and just accept that this was the way the day was going to unfold. So grateful to not have any mechanicals or crashes!
Challenge 3:
Traffic. The second loop was met with other riders on their first loop as well as cars. There were several spots where I was blocked by a car. The area around the BSN was especially hectic. On loop 2 on Ballard School Road I would come down the hill to the next uphill where there were people walking their bikes up the hill. It was unnerving.
The Run -- Race Day Evaluation
Target Run Time: 3:59 Actual Run Time: 4:01:35
Weather / Conditions / Notes:
The winds persisted and then the temperature began to drop.
Challenge 1:
Getting through the first 8 miles without going over 135 HR. I had to be patient. I walked the aid stations for miles 1-8 making sure I was getting the proper hydration and salt just like I had practiced in my RR. I had a rumble in my stomach. I was hungry! I grabbed a handful of pretzels and ate 3 Clif Blocks. Then a mile or so later I felt the dreaded GI rumble so I downed 3 TUMS.
At mile 7 I could no longer drink GE or eat my Clif Blocks. My stomach said no. So, I started alternating water/coke then GE every other aid station. I would also squirrel away pretzels in my back pocket and would suck on that in between aid stations. Trying to chew those were too dry but I liked the salt and the "real food" aspect them. At Mile 8 I made my first pit stop. After that I realized that I’m going to have to pick up the pace and start descending these miles to get to my goal or it wasn’t going to happen. So I ran the rest of the aid stations and seemed to get my second wind. Then I started feeling cold. I knew that I was supposed to be increasing my pace but knew I had arm sleeves in my RSN bag. Do I stop? Do I just keep going? I turned the corner and this sweet girl had my RSN bag in her hand waiting for me. What a Godsend! I squealed in excitement! I put them on while running and was so glad she was there.
After RSN, I moved at a pretty good clip up to about mile 21 where I started to fall off the pace a bit and had another pit stop. At the next aid station I grabbed what I thought was coke but turned out to be Red Bull. Ugh! But I think that was what I needed because I was able to charge the last three miles to home.
I crossed that finish line and was so happy to be done!! Grateful for NO GI ISSUES and so thankful for the catcher. I could not stand on my own. He propped me up for the finish line pic and then I ended up in the medical tent for a good 45 minutes. I had uncontrollable shivering, cramping and dizziness. I finally came around and had some warm broth. Then I finally made it to the food tent and ate some beef stew, and after that I was done. I was really wanting to stick around at the finish line, but I was just not in the condition to stand there.
Next Time – Reflections/Overall Lessons Learned
What an experience! As you all can relate, it’s hard to wrap your head around the enormity of this sport sometimes. Who knew that this girl, at the age of 10, refused to get in a pool. My poor mother had to borrow another lady’s swimsuit so that she could get in the pool with me at my first swim lesson. Sheesh! Then I eventually grew to love swimming and swam for the University of Delaware. I had no idea one day I’d actually become an Ironman, and add to that the First out of the Water in my first race?! I’m proud to say that I am an Ironman and I am one because of Endurance Nation, it's plan, coaching and teammates.
It was so wonderful to finally meet the EN Team Louisville in person after all the on-line chats. @Scott Dinhofer was super Sherpa extraordinaire! Thank you for scheduling all the meet ups throughout the weekend. A special thank you to @Kellie Moran-Jones for hosting us at her beautiful home Friday evening. Watching @Coach Patrick on Breakfast with Bob in Kona was so cool. He knocked it out of the park! I watched that clip multiple times before Sunday to give me a boost! Each and every one of you made this weekend the memorable weekend that it became. I’m so glad that I’m part of EN!
I’m enjoying the recovery so far this week. I’ve experienced a great deal of swelling in my legs. I don't think the ride home did me any favors. It’s becoming a bit easier to get up and down my stairs. I did also discover a huge blood blister and a black toenail on my right foot when I got back to the room Sunday. Just part of it.
As for the next race…I can’t believe I’m going to say there will be one, but there will. Just don’t tell my family just yet. As soon as I finished, I got a text from my friend and former college roommate and fellow swimmer to join her in Maryland next October. I’m seriously considering it.
Improvements for next season will be focused on the bike, obviously. Looking back I did the best I could with the conditions of the day at my skillset.
Thanks again for this memorable first Ironman!
Comments
There's not much to say about your swimming ... it's awesome! 1st in AG, 5th overall female, 59th overall (out of 2,300+ competitors at IMLOU). Don't change a thing.
Your bike was much better than you may think. We all missed our projected times. Your Strava file shows power was steady throughout, and your heart rate got even lower after mile 90 with the same power output. That tells me you had a great base of fitness -- most riders will have a significant drop in power or spike HR to keep the same output. Additionally, with that blustering wind, a lot of energy went into keeping the bike upright instead of propelling you directly ahead.
And as for the run: that's your secret weapon. 4:01:35 in a debut marathon in the worst possible conditions? That's legit! I knew from your Strava workouts that you had speed, and you sure put in a lot of hard miles at a great pace.
It was really nice racing with you at Louisville ... can't wait to see what you do next year!
I feel sorry for your competition at your next Ironman!
It was a pleasure meeting you in Louisville! I look forward to crossing paths with you at future events or on Zwift!
MR
Many congrats on an outstanding first IM. With a performance like this, you have a lot of potential ahead of you. I enjoyed meeting and spending time with you personally over the weekend and look forward to hearing what next year has in store for you. Look forward to keeping in touch!