IMWI RR: Flu I will not quit: Lessons Learned
Race Report Ironman Wisconsin: 9-11-2011
Several days leading up to the event I had muscle soreness and body aches. I attributed this to the taper. The muscle soreness was in odd locations: my neck, hips, lower back, calves. I again attributed this to the new position on the bike and my body adjusting to that position. My head was hurting, increased headaches over the last several days.
Race Morning: SWIM (1:21:52)
6:40am: entered water-seated myself between boat ramp and first buoy behind 4-5 people w/ some open water in front of myself. Left of the boat ramp, centered between the boat ramp and large orange buoy. It wasn't crowded there. I was surprised by the volume of athletes massing thru the timing mat to enter the water right during the start of the swim at 10 min before the swim (approx 1000 people still trying to get into the water). I was pleased to have entered the water early and found it easy to find a spot. Early bird gets the worm in this case. It looked like approximately 500 athletes were still entering the water when gun was going off.
7:00: (no count down) Gun goes off and mass of humanity converges. Despite being mentally prepared for the physical contact of the swim I was startled by the violence. Although athletes seemed “polite” and not being overly aggressive the sheer volume of bodies and space converging creates significant force to deal with in the swim. I was pulled under several times during the 1st 1000 of the swim. It seemed common place to be punched, kicked, swum over, squeezed by swimmers on either side. Stayed in my “box” mentally and focused on “looking for clear water” rather than sighting for a buoy. The churning of water, legs, and arms made it nearly impossible to sight for a buoy. Rather, I found it far more significant to sight for clear water directly in front of me. That allowed me to stay calm, focused, and out of harms way. The body contact of swimmers seemed to quiet during the 2nd loop by the 3000 meters of the swim. However, as I finished the swim I had to wait to exit the water due to the crowd of athletes.
T1 (12:22) : jogged out of water and had wetsuit stripped. Found that to be cool and helpful. Very nice guy. Stopped to say hello to my family. jogged up the Helix to T1. Noticed that I felt flat and tired running up the helix-fatigued (Red Flag). Found myself wanting to walk but ran bc of the crowd cheering. Walked thru T1. I was surprised by how crowded the changing room seemed-couldn't find a place to sit down at first. No free volunteers. Changed and ran out w/ bike shoes on-new cleats. No prob running. Used restroom. Ran to bike.
BIKE: 7:57:03 (ride time 7:41 show's you my stops); 127 avg norm watts; 14.6 avg speed.
Rode bike down helix and was nearly taken out by some chick who was struggling to control her bike down the helix. Lovely. She also almost took out some guy. The bike path section was slowed down significantly due to an early accident w/ injury. “Traffic was backed up”. The accident took place in the tunnel under the road. An athlete was on a stretcher on the ground when I passed. Scary. Said a prayer for him.
While biking on the “stick” I noticed that my bike wouldn't shift into lower gears (I just had it tuned up at bike shop). We'd rode recon on Thursday not problems. For the first 10 miles, I continuiously struggled w/ my gears as I shifted up the rollers trying to follow my race plan. I could only use big gears-not going to work on this course. Need to problem solve.
My original race plan according to my training was 150-165 watts avg and 200-220 watts on the hills. This was conservative as I wanted to have a strong marathon and run 4hrs. During my training I averaged a little more than that on my RR rides and long rides, as well as generated 240-250 watts on hills.
As I biked during the first 10 miles I noticed that I wasn't able to generate my customary watts. I struggled to generate 130 watts. I felt flat. I had acute pain in my stomach & right lower quadrant pain, and I had chills. Need to problem solve.
I saw a Trek Bike Mechanic truck stop at mile 12 so I stopped and had them fix my derailleur. Told him I was so thankful I could kiss him (he was a really hairy dude-I didn't kiss him). “what COULD you do and then what SHOULD you do”. I shouldn't kiss a hairy dude b/c I'm thankful, just thank him and that's what I did. Off I rode.
Now that my bike was working, I could focus on the symptoms that I was having. Over the next 20miles I assessed the problem. I felt like utter dog shit. I ruled out appendicitis because although I had intense lower right quad pain, my fever wasn't high enough. Though, thought about the area hospitals and how I might get there. Option B was that I was sick which included fever, chills, vomiting, nausea, body aches and stomach cramping. Lovely.
I continued w/ my race plan: modified. New watts: 130 on the flats or avg. Hills: 170watts. Unfortunately, I'm 5”11 and 155 lbs. so that kind of watts generated for my size equals SLOW. However, that was all my body could produce without engaging enormous amounts of effort. Mentally, I wanted to quit the race at mile 12, 20, 30, and 45.
At mile 30-ish I dropped my chain riding up some hill halfway up the hill. Hairy Trek dude must have set my derailleur over just a little too much b/c I dropped my chain 4X that ride. 2X on a hill. It was so demoralized at that moment, I was feeling so physically
sick, drained, overwhelmed and then to drop my chain I felt like I just couldn't face the task at hand. I wanted to cry and give up. It was all just too much.
Just before Old Sauk, where the road become a cobble stone nightmare, my saddle must have shook loose. I was riding along and it slowly slipped down. Finally, I felt as if I was doing deep knee bends. I stopped and reset my saddle but the tape mark had been pushed up by the force of the seat moving. Not sure I reset the saddle height correctly for the remainder of the ride.
By mile 45, I wanted to call it a day. I expected to see my Father-in-Law Joe (nicest guy you'll ever meet) there watching the bike. I had started looking for him at mile 41-45, but never saw him. I was also experiencing sleepiness-couldn't hardly keep my eyes open as I was riding. I've experienced this driving but not riding a bike. I kept shaking my head to waken myself up. I wondered if that was my body shutting down.
By mile 50 I need to make a decision about the race. My internal dialogue went something like this. “I'm not a quitter. What I'm experiencing is not going to kill me or harm me in any permanent way. I'm not putting myself in danger and if I thought I might I would stop. Although I'm suffering right now, I know how to suffer. When I think about what this day is about, the men and women of 9-11 didn't have the luxury of quitting. The men and women fighting to protect our country don't quit. So HTFU. Use God's strength and move on.” My mantra for the remainder of the ride was: “I will not quit”.
At mile 54 saw Joe (Father-in-Law) stopped to talk w/ him. Explain what was going on and new expected ride time would be 8hrs not 6:30-6:45. Painful but true. He tried to talk me into dnf. He was worried and scared, which was appropriate given the situation. I lied and told him I would dnf if I thought that was needed, but I would just give the loop another go.
Mile 56: Special Needs: refuel water bottles of infinit, took no-doze, and gel. I noticed on the second loop that the crowds really thinned out as time passed. That was such a relief for myself, although maybe demoralizing for others. Something for athletes to prepare for if they expect to be out for a long time. The crowd support really dies down after about 6.5hrs. I don't blame them-that's a long time. I was relieved to not have to noise.
My race strategy included mapping the flat sections of the course. This was especially useful when I was sick b/c I knew the sections I could mentally and physically relax vs gear up and preparing to work hard. I followed EN hill climbing strategies that allowed me to conserve enormous amounts of energy on the bike. Otherwise, I don't think I would've completed the bike as sick as I was feeling.
My hill climbing conservation EN strategy allowed me to really take advantage of the down hills while lessening my work load up the climbs. This was essential since I couldn't generate a lot of watts, I had to find ways to capitalize on what was available to me. My focus became utilizing the downhills, corners, flats as my work stations of
maintaining or gaining speed.
The hills I would sit back focus on cadence without engaging my body too much to produce watts. I also stayed aero 90-95% of the ride. I was stunned at how many expensive, tricked out bikes guys were riding w/ aero helmets and then NOT IN THE BARS! WTF. It was like a Sunday ride in the park. I was aero up hills, down hills, flats, corners if I could, you name it.
The stick home! I really took advantage of the false flat, pacing home. Wow, did I make up some time. I kept the same watts, remained aero, and “hammered” home. It stunned me how many athletes had “given up” at this point of the ride. Again, I was sick, unable to increase my power, yet flying past people because I merely kept on the gas during this section of the ride, that allows you to really make up time on the bike. Crazy.
T2 (7:57) : Changed into tri shorts, running shoes, took my evening meds (that was the plan although it really upset my stomach after the fact). Very nauseated-just sick.
RUN : (5:42:32; 13 min mile) I'm not sure that I can call my pace a run or a jog. My race plan was to run the marathon. Saw my family at mile 1 of the run. David my husband was finishing the first loop of the run. I was extremely nauseated while running, even if I only drank water it was difficult to keep water down. My nausea seemed to go in waves throughout the day, vomiting on the bike, taking in nutrition on the bike, etc.
Walked from mile 2-5 to see if I would settle my stomach. Walked w/ David. Loved walking thru the stadium b/c it was so quiet and peaceful. Realized that I had to take in nutrition or my day would end. Mile 5: took a gel and water and was able to keep it down! So I started to run and kept on running. I was worried that I wouldn't make the Midnight cutoff. It was so demoralizing to think that a) I would be finishing in the dark: b) my husband was on mile 18 and I was on 5; c) I was so far behind my original goal. I really had to re-group my mental state and refocus my thoughts.
My new race plan for the run involved running unless I was eating. My stomach required that I walk to take in water or gel. I also couldn't run up any inclines, I just didn't have any power. I ran thru all aid stations from mile 5-19. At the turn around I told myself “go earn it!”.
It was notable that most people walked the run as I had noticed in IMLou 2010. I became a “rock star” by shuffling the run after mile 18-no one was running at that time of day nor at that place on the course. My body began breaking down at mile 19 but I continued to run and ran thru the finish. My boys, mom, husband, and father-in-law were all waiting at the finish with cheers and smiles-priceless. I teared up a little when I crossed the line. Relieved. Finishing time: 15:21
Lessons learned:
1: For athletes planning on a 14+hr Ironman, I think their mental game may need to be a little be different. What I noticed on both the bike and run course was the crowds thinned out or became non-existent after a certain time of day. If you count on that energy for support, but plan on a long day, it won't be there. My second loop of the bike was very quiet. My second loop of the run was dark, quiet, and lonely. Hardly anyone was out. The other athletes were supportive but few and far between. Having a mental plan for that quiet time is ESSENTIAL. You are left with your thoughts which was fine for me, but may not be for others.
2. The 14+hr athlete may burn more mental “matches” in their day. What I mean by that is they face more time on the bike and run to experience mental, emotional, and physical fatigue. Although they may follow their race plan, it allows for more opportunities for things to go wrong, mistakes to be made as you bike. Then on the run, those matches burned on the bike begin to express themselves on the run. More “matches” are needed mentally and emotionally on the run to remain focused and motivated. On the second loop of the run, crowds were non-existent outside of state street. The internal dialogue becomes more demanding the longer one is out there exerting the effort to run. It's something to really prepare for if you plan to be longer than 13+hrs. Have a plan for how you are going to spend your mental and emotional “matches” in the race.
3. Have several mantra's ready to go; Have your reasons for why you do this. NO SHIT. A mantra can provide that emotional and mental support and focus more than your reason for doing this. For example, my mantra on the bike was “I will not quit”. I was feeling demoralized on the run. My mantra on the run was “God is with me, I will finish”. These were different from my reasons for doing this race, which were also very clear in my mind.
4. Problem solve. Be ready to roll with any and all things that go your way. An ironman is not about fitness. It's about execution, mental preparation, and problem solving. How a person works through problems becomes essential in how your day expresses itself. I had numerous problems sent my way on my day.
5. Listen to your body and the signals that it sends. Be in tune with what your body is needing and how to provide those nutritional needs.
Comments
Recover well..
Congrats on crossing that line
I am so sorry to hear how horrible you felt and am so amazed and proud that you stuck with it. I hope you're feeling better now...
I wish I'd gotten to meet you in person over the weekend, I was looking forward to it - hopefully some time soon.
Congratulations - dealing with all that you dealt with makes you all the more deserving. You are awesome, chica!
Kelly - Wow!!! All I can say is you are one tough lady. Not sure that I could have overcome all the challenges you faced. True Ironman spirit. Thanks for sharing you race and lessons learned.
I appreciate your comments on the 14+ hour IM as I am one myself. Everything you state is true, no one on the bike course. I was not prepared and did not handle it nearly as well as you did. I let it mentally 'get to me' and it affected my run.
Looking forward to see what a healthy race will bring you!
Thanks
Mary
Kelly,
Great race and great race report! An excellent example of problem solving and thanks so much for the tips for the 14hr+ crowd!