IMCDA Race Report
Hi to all who are interested in the ironman experience! Well I'll stArt by saying this one didn't quite go as planned, nor was it as easy and joyful as the first. However, the whole experience was still awesome and I learned alot. First I learned I really can do anything I set my mind to. I signed up for an ironman this year because I wanted to do another one before I started my second career as a teacher this fall. So I had to choose am early summer one. I chose coeur d'alene because it was close to much of my family, most importantly my 88 year old grandma I don't get to see often enough!
I wanted to do my second im in 2010 because I thought it would be easier than when I started teaching. However I underestimated how tough it would be to manage training, raising 3 busy kids, finishing grad school, and completing my student teaching. Not to mention trying to find a job. It was really a tough balancing act that I felt I was failing at much of the year!
The training went suprisingly well despite countless hours on the indoor trainer and treadmill!
Despite everything I was very ready for this race both mentally and physically. Though I will say that I did not make it the same priority it was the first time I did it. I couldn't -- I had way more important things in my life that required more attention.
So anyway my best friend and training partner and I planned a huge vacation road trip with an ironman sprinkled into it. We arrived in the coeur d'alene area on Wednesday before the race. We did all the prerace activities and enjoyed the festivities. My kids ran the ironkids race too! Here is how the week played out:
Thursday- swam 45 minutes at race start time to simulate conditions. There was no Gatorade swim so the course was not marked for us... The swim went well, cold but ok 60 degree water not too choppy. Feeling good about swim at this point. Them we biked the majority of the run course (one loop) which was also first loop of bike course. Beautiful scenery but very Nasty near 1 mile hill on run course (6%) grade. That will suck I say to myself.
Dinner Thursday night with team EN- fun!
Friday- swim at 8:30am for 30 minutes with team. Totally different from Thursday -- very choppy!! I pray it won't be this bad. Run easy for 30 minutes- knee feels good-yeah!!! Go to coaches talk. Feeling ok except about swim....
Drive bike course.... Doesn't look too intimidating except the crazy sweeping downhills. Some big climbs but from the car don't look too bad.... I will regret thinking that!!!
Attend athlete dinner Friday night. Fun and inspiring!
Sat- sleep in as much as we can with pacific time! Go for easy 25 minute jog with Connor along too. Bring bags and bikes to race site. Meet my parents for big late lunch. Try to relax rest of day and then have a nice pasta dinner with family at the house we were fortunate to have for weekend. Watch movie and get to bed by 9pm. I'm relaxed and fall asleep easily. Hydrate all day with g2 and preloaded ecaps weather is predicted to be hot. Played a game of apples to apples with family before bed.
Race day : here are the details. I followed my plan and set my alarm for 2:30am and ate my breakfast - bagel with honey and banana. Get up for real at 4am. Drink ensure and get ready. We are parked at race by 4:30 and have plenty of time to load fuel on bikes and pump tires and take pump back to car.
We chill in car for a bit .... Hit port o potties again and head down to swim to meet my family for send off. We say goodbye and try to fend our way to the beach! It was packed with people!! We barely had ten minutes to get our spot on the beach and test water and try to find good start location. Selina and I lined up with new en friend, carrie from Colorado. The beach start was much different from water start at Madison. I thought it would be easier but was very mistaken. All I can say about swim was it was about surviving! It was the washing machine times ten. I was barely touched in Madison during my swim but here I thought I might drown several times. The chop was horrible and got worse throughout the swim! I was pushed under water several times and hit in the face multiple times. The turn at the first buoy was a nightmare! After the first loop I came out of the water and had a serious talk with myself about continuing. I found out later many people had these same talks and many chose not to continue. I thought the second loop would get easier with less crowding....no the waves intensified and it was a major fight to the backside! I was never so happy as I was when I got out of water! I knew the swim in cda would be bad but I didn't think that bad. On a positive note the Vaseline on my hands and face kept me warm.
T1- it was non eventful and simpler than in Madison I was beat up from the swim but I got it together and got in my shoes and headed out.
The bike.... Ok so I knew the first part of the course would be fast and flat and I had been coached to go easy and not get caught up in the speed. I brought 300 calories in carbo pro and 540 in shot rox. This would carry me to mile 65 where special needs was along with water and a couple bananas. Or so I planned. But what I didn't plan was for my shot rocks to go flying out of my pocket at mile 5. Shit! Now what??? I had a brief moment of complete panic but then realized this Is outside my box and all I can control is how I react to it (thanks en!!). So I quickly adjust my plans and tell myself I can use power bars at the aid station since they are carb/protein mix like what I'm used to. However, my stomach (always an issue for me) revolted at this idea. I got sick 3 times on the bike. Also the coaches did not lie about the hill section of the course and what a toll the hills and headwind would take on me. So by the time I got to special needs I had taken in about 500 calories and threw up 3 times. This was not good. At special needs I drank half of my diet coke and grabbed my new shot rocks (though this time I emptied the bags into both pockets so I wouldn't lose them all!!!). I poured my red bull into my water bottle as planned and headed out. I knew I was in bad shape though because I really was in no hurry to leave special needs... I even took time to get off bike to pee and apply sunscreen neither of which are like me to do. I reluctantly headed out for second loop. My dad and stepmom were still waiting for me at mile 70 (I had seen them already once at mile 51). My dad hugged me and then told me he thought I felt very cold. I tried not to think about that but was worried since it was 85 degrees out and I'd Been out for a Long time already. I left them and headed back to the hills. I really knew I was in trouble when I hit one of the big hills and I knew I would never make it up. I actually got off my bike to walk it up which is completely unlike me. The hills were bad but not that bad!!! I was also starting to get dizzy and had completely lost sight of my fuel plan which is another sign of bonking and dehydration. At this point I was in a major nutritional hole. I probably took in a total of 1000 calories for the whole 7+ hours and had thrown up 3x. There was a point at mile 95 when my bottle full of tube, co2, tools etc also flew off my bike and I said a prayer to give me a flat so I had an excuse to bail out of this miserable race becuz I would have nothing with me to fix it!! No such luck.... When I finally reached t2 I might have said some inappropriate things about taking my
$&@!? bike to the volunteer. I'm sorry if I offended him.
T2- pretty uneventful except for the fear setting in of how was I ever going to run a marathon feeling like I was! But I knew I had enuf time to finish even if I had to walk the whole thing. And I don't care what anyone says whether you walk or run you are still covering 26.2 miles on foot and you are still an ironman!
The run- ok so I tried to run my preselected 11 minute pace for the first 6 miles. That lasted about a half mile. I felt fine but there was just no energy there. Still I kept going running as much as I could and walking when I couldn't. I drank water and liquid carbo pro. At mile 14 I made an error according to en by making a friend on the run course. Lol. I knew I was supposed to avoid making friends but let me tell u that Stacy and I really helped each other out! We talked and commiserated together. This was her third im and she was an hour off her best time and having a horrible day too. We kept each other company the rest of the day. We started a walk/run plan and worked our way up to walking one minute running one minute. It was not what either of us was capable of but it was all we had in us that day. The run course was littered with carnage that day. We saw people all over the course hurling in bushes laying on the side of the road with ivs. Sad. It was crazy hot on the course for the whole first half at least. I started drinking coke at mile 15ish and that really helped but it was too little too late. Thanks to Selina for always stopping to check on me while she was on the other side of the course.
The finish: Stacy and I ran the full last half mile Down Sherman street which was packed! Selina, and my family were there waiting for me! After being caught by the catchers, I was surprised to see coach rich waiting for me. He took me from the catchers and handled everything! He was supposed to be at the brewery but since it was such a tough day for so many he waited at the finish line to catch us all. He helped my son figure out where to get me food though I was too out of it to eat. Thanks rich! Sorry I didn't have the race I should have but I used your words to get me through it! I'll be back for another!
Lessons learned: ironman is hard. You can be trained so well and something can happen and the best laid plans can fail. How you reAct to those things and how you move on affects whether you finish. Finish times mean the world to some, but not to me. I'll sacrifice my time anyday to meet a new friend! Perhaps I would have run more if I stayed alone but you know what I thoroughly enjoyed those last 12 miles with Stacy and wouldn't trade that in. We helped each other and that made for the most enjoyable time In that race!
I'll go on to do another ironman and hope for the best that day too. I'm just happy I have the ability and means to do it at all. I'm happy my family was with me and my kids were proud of me and supported me the whole year I trained for this! I hope I've taught them the importance of never giving up. I'm happy my closest friend was willing to travel to Idaho to do this race with me and I'm happy she had a good day. I'm happy I met a new friend carrie who I hope goes on to do another im too! I'm happy I chose to do a destination ironman with a vacation - there are some beautiful places to explore in this country and so many great people involved in the sport of triathlon to meet!
I'm happy I'm done now and can just have fun the rest of the summer!
Thanks for caring enuf to read
special thanks again to my cousin Angie who helped with my kids all day at the race and to my parents, my kids and my aunt and paul for being there for me!! Spectating an ironman is not easy either!
I wanted to do my second im in 2010 because I thought it would be easier than when I started teaching. However I underestimated how tough it would be to manage training, raising 3 busy kids, finishing grad school, and completing my student teaching. Not to mention trying to find a job. It was really a tough balancing act that I felt I was failing at much of the year!
The training went suprisingly well despite countless hours on the indoor trainer and treadmill!
Despite everything I was very ready for this race both mentally and physically. Though I will say that I did not make it the same priority it was the first time I did it. I couldn't -- I had way more important things in my life that required more attention.
So anyway my best friend and training partner and I planned a huge vacation road trip with an ironman sprinkled into it. We arrived in the coeur d'alene area on Wednesday before the race. We did all the prerace activities and enjoyed the festivities. My kids ran the ironkids race too! Here is how the week played out:
Thursday- swam 45 minutes at race start time to simulate conditions. There was no Gatorade swim so the course was not marked for us... The swim went well, cold but ok 60 degree water not too choppy. Feeling good about swim at this point. Them we biked the majority of the run course (one loop) which was also first loop of bike course. Beautiful scenery but very Nasty near 1 mile hill on run course (6%) grade. That will suck I say to myself.
Dinner Thursday night with team EN- fun!
Friday- swim at 8:30am for 30 minutes with team. Totally different from Thursday -- very choppy!! I pray it won't be this bad. Run easy for 30 minutes- knee feels good-yeah!!! Go to coaches talk. Feeling ok except about swim....
Drive bike course.... Doesn't look too intimidating except the crazy sweeping downhills. Some big climbs but from the car don't look too bad.... I will regret thinking that!!!
Attend athlete dinner Friday night. Fun and inspiring!
Sat- sleep in as much as we can with pacific time! Go for easy 25 minute jog with Connor along too. Bring bags and bikes to race site. Meet my parents for big late lunch. Try to relax rest of day and then have a nice pasta dinner with family at the house we were fortunate to have for weekend. Watch movie and get to bed by 9pm. I'm relaxed and fall asleep easily. Hydrate all day with g2 and preloaded ecaps weather is predicted to be hot. Played a game of apples to apples with family before bed.
Race day : here are the details. I followed my plan and set my alarm for 2:30am and ate my breakfast - bagel with honey and banana. Get up for real at 4am. Drink ensure and get ready. We are parked at race by 4:30 and have plenty of time to load fuel on bikes and pump tires and take pump back to car.
We chill in car for a bit .... Hit port o potties again and head down to swim to meet my family for send off. We say goodbye and try to fend our way to the beach! It was packed with people!! We barely had ten minutes to get our spot on the beach and test water and try to find good start location. Selina and I lined up with new en friend, carrie from Colorado. The beach start was much different from water start at Madison. I thought it would be easier but was very mistaken. All I can say about swim was it was about surviving! It was the washing machine times ten. I was barely touched in Madison during my swim but here I thought I might drown several times. The chop was horrible and got worse throughout the swim! I was pushed under water several times and hit in the face multiple times. The turn at the first buoy was a nightmare! After the first loop I came out of the water and had a serious talk with myself about continuing. I found out later many people had these same talks and many chose not to continue. I thought the second loop would get easier with less crowding....no the waves intensified and it was a major fight to the backside! I was never so happy as I was when I got out of water! I knew the swim in cda would be bad but I didn't think that bad. On a positive note the Vaseline on my hands and face kept me warm.
T1- it was non eventful and simpler than in Madison I was beat up from the swim but I got it together and got in my shoes and headed out.
The bike.... Ok so I knew the first part of the course would be fast and flat and I had been coached to go easy and not get caught up in the speed. I brought 300 calories in carbo pro and 540 in shot rox. This would carry me to mile 65 where special needs was along with water and a couple bananas. Or so I planned. But what I didn't plan was for my shot rocks to go flying out of my pocket at mile 5. Shit! Now what??? I had a brief moment of complete panic but then realized this Is outside my box and all I can control is how I react to it (thanks en!!). So I quickly adjust my plans and tell myself I can use power bars at the aid station since they are carb/protein mix like what I'm used to. However, my stomach (always an issue for me) revolted at this idea. I got sick 3 times on the bike. Also the coaches did not lie about the hill section of the course and what a toll the hills and headwind would take on me. So by the time I got to special needs I had taken in about 500 calories and threw up 3 times. This was not good. At special needs I drank half of my diet coke and grabbed my new shot rocks (though this time I emptied the bags into both pockets so I wouldn't lose them all!!!). I poured my red bull into my water bottle as planned and headed out. I knew I was in bad shape though because I really was in no hurry to leave special needs... I even took time to get off bike to pee and apply sunscreen neither of which are like me to do. I reluctantly headed out for second loop. My dad and stepmom were still waiting for me at mile 70 (I had seen them already once at mile 51). My dad hugged me and then told me he thought I felt very cold. I tried not to think about that but was worried since it was 85 degrees out and I'd Been out for a Long time already. I left them and headed back to the hills. I really knew I was in trouble when I hit one of the big hills and I knew I would never make it up. I actually got off my bike to walk it up which is completely unlike me. The hills were bad but not that bad!!! I was also starting to get dizzy and had completely lost sight of my fuel plan which is another sign of bonking and dehydration. At this point I was in a major nutritional hole. I probably took in a total of 1000 calories for the whole 7+ hours and had thrown up 3x. There was a point at mile 95 when my bottle full of tube, co2, tools etc also flew off my bike and I said a prayer to give me a flat so I had an excuse to bail out of this miserable race becuz I would have nothing with me to fix it!! No such luck.... When I finally reached t2 I might have said some inappropriate things about taking my
$&@!? bike to the volunteer. I'm sorry if I offended him.T2- pretty uneventful except for the fear setting in of how was I ever going to run a marathon feeling like I was! But I knew I had enuf time to finish even if I had to walk the whole thing. And I don't care what anyone says whether you walk or run you are still covering 26.2 miles on foot and you are still an ironman!
The run- ok so I tried to run my preselected 11 minute pace for the first 6 miles. That lasted about a half mile. I felt fine but there was just no energy there. Still I kept going running as much as I could and walking when I couldn't. I drank water and liquid carbo pro. At mile 14 I made an error according to en by making a friend on the run course. Lol. I knew I was supposed to avoid making friends but let me tell u that Stacy and I really helped each other out! We talked and commiserated together. This was her third im and she was an hour off her best time and having a horrible day too. We kept each other company the rest of the day. We started a walk/run plan and worked our way up to walking one minute running one minute. It was not what either of us was capable of but it was all we had in us that day. The run course was littered with carnage that day. We saw people all over the course hurling in bushes laying on the side of the road with ivs. Sad. It was crazy hot on the course for the whole first half at least. I started drinking coke at mile 15ish and that really helped but it was too little too late. Thanks to Selina for always stopping to check on me while she was on the other side of the course.
The finish: Stacy and I ran the full last half mile Down Sherman street which was packed! Selina, and my family were there waiting for me! After being caught by the catchers, I was surprised to see coach rich waiting for me. He took me from the catchers and handled everything! He was supposed to be at the brewery but since it was such a tough day for so many he waited at the finish line to catch us all. He helped my son figure out where to get me food though I was too out of it to eat. Thanks rich! Sorry I didn't have the race I should have but I used your words to get me through it! I'll be back for another!
Lessons learned: ironman is hard. You can be trained so well and something can happen and the best laid plans can fail. How you reAct to those things and how you move on affects whether you finish. Finish times mean the world to some, but not to me. I'll sacrifice my time anyday to meet a new friend! Perhaps I would have run more if I stayed alone but you know what I thoroughly enjoyed those last 12 miles with Stacy and wouldn't trade that in. We helped each other and that made for the most enjoyable time In that race!
I'll go on to do another ironman and hope for the best that day too. I'm just happy I have the ability and means to do it at all. I'm happy my family was with me and my kids were proud of me and supported me the whole year I trained for this! I hope I've taught them the importance of never giving up. I'm happy my closest friend was willing to travel to Idaho to do this race with me and I'm happy she had a good day. I'm happy I met a new friend carrie who I hope goes on to do another im too! I'm happy I chose to do a destination ironman with a vacation - there are some beautiful places to explore in this country and so many great people involved in the sport of triathlon to meet!
I'm happy I'm done now and can just have fun the rest of the summer!
Thanks for caring enuf to read
special thanks again to my cousin Angie who helped with my kids all day at the race and to my parents, my kids and my aunt and paul for being there for me!! Spectating an ironman is not easy either!0
Comments
Lisa, great report, thanks. Ironman can be so life affirming.
It's funny, all the triathletes I meet before and after the race are such nice people. Where do they all go when the gun goes off and we start swimming?
Thanks for writing up your race and congrats on your finish!! It was nice to meet you briefly this past Saturday, hope you enjoyed your ride.
You finished what you set out to do, most people would of quit.
Great Job
Way to fight on what was a tough day. I was suprised at how hot it felt out there and have raced there when it has been way hotter! Swim was brutal, but that is IMCDA. I believe IMCDA will become known for how brutal the swim is. Just seems to be that way.
Dominic
Great job on your race! You really triumphed over a tough time. I always make friends on the run too
, it really helps me to stay in a better place. Great job!
Hope your teaching career is a blast. Put your IM finisher photo on your desk