Dana's IMLP Race Report
First off, congrats to all the EN peeps who participated in IMLP, finisher or not. It is a super tough course that commands respect and props to all of you for getting out there and doing it!
Secondly, thanks to the entire EN family and coaches. This was one long year and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the forum and the coaches.
Ok, enough sap and on to the day…had a great time at the Thursday dinner. It was so nice to meet everyone and be in the “same boat” as everyone else. I was so excited for my husband to meet all the other great EN people that I was able to meet online during the last year. And the t-shirts and bracelets were great! (Oh-the food was fabulous, too!).
Friday was a practice loop of the swim and the 4 Keys Talk. Even though I’ve heard the talk a few times, it was great to listen and take it in as it related to me and how I was going to the race the course. As the coaches say, it really helped me get my head screwed on right. (Wink, wink…DO NOT miss this at your IM race!)
Saturday I woke up with a HUGE headache. Ugh. Medicine in and a large Dunkin’ coffee later, I’m in town, dropping the bike and heading out as soon as possible. Rather than going out for a big lunch, my husband made his famous meatballs and a huge pasta dinner for all the fam and friends. Off to bed, with visions of transitions in my head.
Got up at 3:45 (we had a 30 minute drive into town) and had a good breakfast. Double checked the last of the checklists, climbed in the car and off we go. Ok, did the thing P says NOT to do…checked the weather. Uh-oh, rain in the morning. Any other time is fine-just not the morning. I’m terrified of the downhill into Keene. Ok, put it away. I’ll deal with it when it’s time. Not now. Keep it out of the box.
The morning routine went very well. As RnP said, the less moving parts the better. It was smooth getting body marked, dropping off the nutrition and dropping the last minute things into bags. The checklists also really helped. It also really helped having my husband walk up to drop off the special needs bags…one less moving part.
Wetsuit on, met up with Carly, Barbara, Suzanne and Tracy. It was great seeing the chicas before getting into the water. Hugs to the family and I was into the water. Hung out and relaxed, chatted with people around me. Focused on my box…my stroke count was 17 and that was what I was going to stick with. The gun went of, I took a deep breath and settled into my box. Yep, I got bumped and hit and kicked, but kept focusing on my stroke count to 17 and focusing on my form. I tried to remember what R says all the time- never swim faster than your form will allow. Kept up the count to 17 and kept telling myself to be patient. Before I knew it, I was out of the water.
Swim time: 1:27:46
T1 time: 13:30
Ok, head out on the bike, feeling super nervous about the rain. I did not want to race down the hill into Keene with the rain. I found myself riding super conservatively in the rain and kept my eyes focused on my powermeter. And P was right…everyone was crushing it on the first hill. Peeps were out of their saddles and getting their whole bodies into it. I just kept my watts in my box and rode steady up the hill. The first loop of the bike went great, nutrition settled in well and held my watts. The downhill was fine! The roads had dried up enough and the descent was great! The second loop was much more tough mentally for me. I was tired and getting frustrated. I kept going back to my “one thing”, which was my daughter. My husband had made a sticker with her picture on it and I just kept looking at her and keeping the watts in my box. I also knew that if I got too tired and frustrated that my nutrition plan would start to suffer and so affect the run. I kept that in my box as well. Every 15 minutes I took a sip of infinit, chased by a sip of water. This also helped keep me focused. I was out there for a long time (8:08 to be exact) and I would be lying if I didn’t tell you there was a time between 6:30 and 7 hours that I was ready to rack the bike and call it a day. It was the 4 keys and the support over the year from the EN community that really helped me hold on to that last hour.
Bike Time: 8:08:38
T2: 8:20
Ahhhhh! Finally off the bike and on to the run. I was feeling much better mentally by now and was so excited to see my family (they all had matching tye-dye shirts on!). Headed out and just like RnP predicted (man, these guys are smart!) I found myself flying down the first hill. Looked at the garmin and got it back in check to LP + :30. I was able to hold this pace until about mile 5 when my legs begged me to stop running. The nutrition (infinit) worked well on the bike and so I didn’t feel any stomach problems on the run. I walked every aid station and took 3-5 pretzels and water and coke at every one. This really suited me and the salty pretzels did wonders. From then on, I walked every aid station and walked when I felt I needed to. To help keep this in check, I counted steps. I walked 50, then ran 50. If I felt like I could, I would run 50 more. I just kept counting to 50. So, for those who don’t finish in the dark, it turns into a party out there. The aid station volunteers are super motivating, the music is loud and my favorite part- the race course starts handing out glow necklaces! (It really is the little things!). As I told P in the podcast, by that time, there’s not a ton of people out there to pass, but I was able to pass 35 on my way to the finish line. It was a great feeling to know I still had some life left in my legs and was jogging when it was clear that others were out of gas. Coming down that last hill into the oval is a feeling like no other…rounding that bend and seeing the lights of the finish line. I had made it!
Run time: 6:17:19
Finish time: 16:15:31
Comments
You rock Dana! Way to stay focused on your one thing and stay in the box. One step at a time. I am really impressed. It was great to meet you at the team dinner along with your husband and your darling daughter. She kept making me smile with her ice cream cones. I would have kept going on the bike for her as well and now her mommy is an ironman twice over. Maybe we'll see each other at another local race. Let me know if you are coming this way at all for the Skinnyman or the Syracuse 70.3.
Total ninja. Excellent job, Dana! Excellent job!
Congratulations on a race well done, my friend!
Great job Dana!
Dana, it was so great to finally meets absmom in person! Congratulations on a great race. I loved that I was able to cheer for you as you were heading out onto the second loop of the run. I'm sorry I missed you as you came back into town.
Well done.
Dave
Awesome! An inspiration as I start to think about IMFL! Congrats!!!
Now that is EN-PERFECT!!!! Wow, nice, nice, nice work all day long! I totally am going to carry this with me through my own journey to WI. Wonderfully inspiring. Congratulations, Dana! SOOOOO happy for you! I know what it took for you to get there, and it was not an easy deal from start to finish of the training, which makes it all even grander. Beyond fabulous. Thanks for sharing it all so truthfully.
PS
The throwing-the-bike-in-a-ditch moment--so been there.
Nathalie
"close' and worn out too! way to hang tough though...!! and I like your strategy on the run! nice work. m