Sheila Leard IM Boulder Race Report - the lure of the perfect race
I always give myself a week to process an Ironman. This gives me time to reflect on all that went into that time on the clock.
Starting with the victories: Redemption race completed, no crashes, no injuries and raced on course with EN teammates. Honored to be on the podium.
The disappointments: The weather pattern shifted and brought in wind and heat that we hadn’t had all week. The added hour on the run is something I’m still dealing with. My slowest IM marathon out of nine.
Stats:
Swim 1:31:20, 7th AG
T1 5:28, 5th AG
Bike 6:43:58, 2nd AG
T2 6:00, 2nd AG
Run 5:58:19, 2nd AG
Overall 14:25: 2nd AG out of 10
3 AG DNF’s
Keep reading for the back story.
Coming off the out-season I felt like I built some fitness after a year of Physical Therapy post-crash. I was excited to race again. Boulder is at 5200 elevation, not terrible, but requires some adaptation. Two weeks before the race I started a sauna protocol. Fifteen days out from the race I stayed and trained in Lake Tahoe (6000 elevation) for four days. I then arrived in Boulder five days before the race. This was about as much as I could do to create some adaptation.
Race day.
Pre-race:
We were bused in from the High School where the finish is. Tom dropped me at the buses and knows not to talk too much when I’m in race mode. I like to be quiet. Just my luck to sit next to a first timer that chatted it up the whole trip. Lots of questions and she was so excited. I thought to myself it’s important to give back and so we talked the entire trip!
Found teammates in transition and we all went through the ritual of setting up. Found Coach P and Mariah and got the Team Photo. Thank you @Mariah Bridges for the Team prayer.
@Daria Matthews ... you are a ray of sunshine! @Chris Oubre always positive when I saw you, never complaining.
Swim:
I seeded myself in the 1:20-1:30 group. Drank my bottle of NBS Pre-load. It was a very smooth entry into the water. The course is one loop counter clockwise. I swam with the yellow directional buoys on my right and then angled in before the red turn buoy to swim around it on my left. No issues. Little contact. Breathing was rhythmic. Told myself to stay smooth. Got out and saw my son, Bryan and Tom. He yelled my time and I said, “well at least I’m consistent”! Always a 90-minute swim.
T1
The mount line was a crazy long way from the changing tent. I stuffed my pockets with mini canisters of tic tacs, Tums, and salt stick caps. Helmet and glasses on and off to bike. Saw Coach P and Mariah before the mount. I heard Mariah say, “stay in your box”. As we looped around the reservoir I saw my son taking pictures.... my heart melted.
Bike
I had driven the entire course and was warned where the head wind would be. The heat was coming on, so I shifted to riding by HR. I saw my power dropping and decided to ignore it. The aid stations were about every 15 miles. As I approached the aid station I would squirt concentrated NBS into front aero bottle, grabbed a water and filled aero bottle and put some down my back. This worked great until about mile 70 when the wind and heat were peaking. HR was climbing. It was hot. I had peed twice, but my mouth was so dry that it stuck together. I honestly feel I was over-salted. When I raced in Kona in 2016 the same thing happened. My race weight was 120 pounds, I don’t need as much salt as a bigger athlete. I had to pull over (which I never do) twice to get ice and double the water intake along with my concentrated bottle. HR was staying in Zone 3 with spikes into Zone 4 despite my efforts to slow down. Staying wet lasted for 3 minutes.
As I approached the last aid station all I could think about was getting core temperature down before the run. I had seen Jeff Cornick pulling Pops at around mile 30 and hadn’t seen them again. I felt so bad for them.
On the second loop HR was 10 beats higher.
T2
I came into T2 and felt dizzy. The changing tent was a hike. I took my shoes off and jogged barefoot to get blood flow for the run. I had a flask of diluted gels that I wanted for the first half of the run. Somehow, I dropped it as I was leaving T2. I tried to get out of there quickly without HR spiking. They gave us iced towels as we left. It was heaven.
Run
All I could think of was get to the Boulder Creek Path to find some shade. I thought of @Shaughn Simmons and KMF.
The typical afternoon cloud cover was nowhere to be seen. Around mile 6 as I approached a little bridge I could see Coach P and Mariah. Words of encouragement were welcomed! He said keep ice in your hat.
By mile 10.5 I had been running a Zone 1 pace with a HR in Zone 3-4. Not good. Around mile 11 I could see HR coming down but by now I was walking/jogging. I saw Chris Oubre, Daria, Stephanie Weldon and Stephanie Stevens at various points. It was decided that we were in survival mode and would not DNF. The last time I saw Coach P and Mariah was around mile 16. Tom was also out there trying to say the right thing. I was told I was in 2nd but the gap to 1st was growing from 45 minutes. At mile 23 my Garmin died. But I always wear my handy little Timex that I hit at the start of the swim and keep chrono running.
The last 6 miles gave me time to reflect on where I was a year ago. I tried not to focus on my run falling apart but shifted to look what I get to do! When I got to the finish shoot I didn’t want it to end. The crowds make you feel like a hero.
Looking at my files I can see where it all unraveled.
Take away:
I’m glad I did my best to prep for the altitude and heat. Had I not the outcome could have been worse.
I ran and rode parts of the course. I did the pre-swim all of this gave me confidence going into the race. Many racers were DQ’d for missing turns.
Boulder weather can change quickly.
Always have a plan B for fueling.
Always KMF.
Never stop chasing the perfect race.
Enjoy recovery.
Comments
I was one of the extras (in the rainbow hat in your photo above) cheering at the tunnel. SO MANY RACERS WERE WALKING. You were running, and running well!!!! I am blown away by your performance. I know we always find ways to improve, but I hope you are happy with the result (PODIUM WOMAN!) on such a difficult day!
3 AG DNFs highlight the on course difficulty level.
A lot to be proud of and thankful for. These conditions and your placement in the ranks highlight, IMO, your race fueling/pacing success. Moving forward to the end under those parameters spells BAD ASS in my book.
Leading from the front, leaving no excuses for the remaining EN peeps racing Full course IM distance this year, making this team stronger you have.
Super congratulations Ironman!
SS
Loved the pictures intermixed with the story. Nice to see so many teammates in there
Thank you for being out there. Though I was in a fog of heat I appreciated all the support. It truly helps. I 'm trying to not be too disappointed in my run. It all has to assessed in the context of the day ... the race.
@Scott Imlay
So great to race with teammates. Just knowing we are all out there together is motivating.
@Shaughn Simmons
It means a lot coming from the KMF Man!!
@Gabe Peterson Thanks for the kudos. Dry high desert is a stinker. Boulder is not in the mountains. You probably don't realize how acclimated you are living in Utah!
@Paulcurtin
It feels good to have this IM under my belt. Sometimes when the adversity is high it makes for more of a sweet finish. But honestly I still want the 'perfect race'.
@Alicia Chase
It's true, we race the day. Experience in racing was on my side for this race. I could hear @Coach Patrick
saying that when conditions change, pace and power become irrelevant. But still - we're competitive and will evaluate performance by our own metrics.
I like the one loop swim. I can keep a momentum better than having to start again on a second loop. It's easy to let the mind drift so I do have to catch myself. I think it's less crowded. Also, for me it has helped to swim on the opposite side of the directional buoys. Meaning, if the red turn buoy is a left turn I will swim with all the yellow buoys on my right. It's less crowed and sighting is easier. As a BOP swimmer i'm looking for ways to stay away from the zig-zag swimmers. I've done this a few times and it works for me. I also seeded myself towards the front of the 1:20 - 1:30 group, knowing I'd be 1:30. Don't be reluctant to seed yourself a tad further up.
You're going to do great at LP!
Since I routinely look @ the men's 65-69 and 70-74 IM results now, I noticed that your time would have been 2nd and 1st respectively in those categories. As Shaughn often says, way to lead from the front.
About the perfect race...after thirty or so IMs, I know it's a Platonic ideal, not a real option. So I simply look for "satisfaction". I hope you feel that with your performance.
Your words are motivating and a reminder that as we continue to race in the 6th decade of life that assessment of performance is so much more than just the clock. I know that but I need WSM athletes to keep saying it.
You are leading from the front. I really appreciate it.
Many congrats again on your fantastic race!!!