Ironman CDA 2012
First id like to thank all the Endurance Nation peeps for their support along the bike and run..great mojo and just what the Dr ordered
Pre race
- no issues on travel but will entertain bike transport next year for less admin time and a cheaper rental
- bring less stuff-Geez was only there for a week with My niece and her awesome family but brought enough for probably a month
- co2 no good in travel case..as they rifled thru and broke my steering hadle on bike case
- practice open water swimming with a group or go dancing in a crowded Mosh pit...
Got to spend lots of time with My niece and her Awesome family( they are so motivated by the race that all signed up for swim lessons and 2 of the kids are training for iron kids for next year) I will post tons of pictures just as soon as i figure it out.She gots lots of team EN on the run
Morning of
- went to bed 8ish woke up every hour with the sweats...not nerves but not feeling well..."this fooking sucks" i thought..hydrated and got in another 6-700 calories to top off the tank
- hydration and drop off bags went well-with exception of special needs bags..i panicked and headed to drop off point with 20 min to start time...thank goodness a vonenteer saw me and took the bags
- all was good still sweating-not good-shakes accompanied the sweats
Swim
- always second guessing my goggle choices..nothing worse than leakage..do i choose the Blueseventy or go with the Kayyenne..next time go with kayanne
- seeded with 1:20-1:25 swimmers but didnt really matter swim time was 1:39..first lap was 45 min and very brutal..got kicked in the face by a one legged guy(yep he propably got out of the water sooner than me too).Began to cramp up around 2nd turn bouy so no kicking...legs had no feeling after first lap with the exception of the lingering cramping( didnt want to drink the lake so only kicked occasonally and was forced to left side breath entire race
- got out of the water and couldnt feel my legs...they were there cuz i was walking on them ..just frozen due to time spent in the water im sure..note to self -need better booties as bluesewventy was not that good
Transition1
- over 9 minutes-Way better than St George but sucked just the same..strippers were great..had to find my own bag(2544 or 2455 i couldnt remember(look at your arm dumbass)
- took a gel and a swig of water bagged by stuff and off to the bike..Note to self dont wear long sleeve EN bike Jacket over arm warmers ...way to hot after 30 mins
Bike
- non eventful till i looked at watts My ftp is 220 and was riding 260 or better oops had to bring it back
- riding and riding and riding just very easy but watts said otherwise
- the Micca road was tough..average watts 185 at 6-7 mph
- back into town geez my time was slow..looks like a 7+hour bike ride ..wanted 6:20-40..ended up 725 and with average watts around 185 for entire ride ...if i kept my watts where they needed to be it may have been more like 8 hours
Transition 2
- around 5 minutes...about where i planned it..take my time..crap my feet fooking hurt..toes on both feet numb
Run
- took off and felt ok..trying to dial in pace 10:07..water after first mile and a little infinite
- now my feet really hurt-thinking just like St george it will go away..Think again
- Coach Rich gave me the needed words..good pace nice and easy
- feet still on fire
- gel after 3or so miles and felt fine
- after mile 8 wheels came off..couldnt keep pace walked a whole lot ...a whole lot.seems my walk pace at 12:30 was better than my run pace of 13+
- finished in 14:41 well past my goal of sub 13hrs..lots to work on
Conclusion
- mental toughness needs work
- execution really needs work
- Support from race and family was awesome(kept me going)
- do a better job on gang sign ..looked like E > not E N
- go out faster on swim..lots of wait time with arms and legs flailing around
- better pacing on bike watts(need to be stronger ftp) and on the run(stronger LTH)
- fix feet issue(kleat position, art work needed)
Resigned for next year hope to see ya all there again
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Comments
Way to hang.
Probably no more cdas for me so maybe see you elsewhere.
Great to meet you and see you out there James. Good luck next year. I wn't be there then, but will be back.
I also checked my bike on the plane. I demanded (nicely) that TSA open the box and review the contents and then let me help them get everything back together. Even on the way back in Spokane (where TSA typically checks the contents in a separate room), TSA was willing to allow me to work with them on the bike box, which gave me a lot more confidence that my bike would arrive unharmed.
James, it was sure great to meet you in CdA. You bring a great vibe to the team environment! Sorry you didn't have the day you hoped for, but way to gut it out against a tough course! I was so impressed to see you already signing up for 2013! I wish I could be doing it next year with ya' but I am an every-other-year gal. So I will have to cheer from the virtual sidelines.
Uh-oh, James, seems like you've caught the Ironman addiction ... "must ..keep .. trying... until I get it right" Once you do (and you will), the race actually gets easier! And shorter.
James,
Great to meet you, congrats on your day, and that's an excellent list of lessons learned!