Sheila Leard IM lOU 2019 RR

This race was dedicated Chief Warrant Officer, Ryan Connolly. Thru the Memories of Honor Program, I will donate my finishers medal to his family. CW Connolly perished in a helicopter accident last year during a training exercise. This program is meant to honor the fallen and keep their legacy alive. I learned of this program from our teammate Gary Lewis. Thank you Gary.

As with any race you go with a plan and execute as close to it as possible. I did IMLOU in 2015 and loved the time trial swim start, rolling, however challenging bike course and a flat run.

As we entered race week The Ohio River was 78 degrees and green, so the swim was cancelled.  A cold front was moving in to give us 40 degrees at the start of the bike. Being a Master female athlete with not a lot of muscle mass, I do not well in the cold. Enter plan B.

For the first time Ironman had an AWA Challenge for additional Kona slots, one per AG. The AWA athletes were given perks such as starting the swim first, so in this case starting the TT bike first.

Swim – Oh well.

Bike – Time Trial start.

So grateful to get going on the bike early. My bib number was low. I was ready for the elements. Almost comical. My layers included: a big strip of a space blanket under my jersey, a lightly quilted vest (from my daughter’s horse-riding clothes), arm warmers made of two throw away socks, full gloves, cap under helmet, leg warmers and toe covers.

Before the bike I did as much as I could in transition to get core temp up. When I started the bike, I could feel my HR was elevated, too high. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. What I learned was “cold weather makes your heart work harder to keep your body warm. Your blood vessels constrict so the heart can concentrate on pumping blood to your brain and other major organs.”

I never felt good. I was losing power and burning matches to not shiver. I increased my calories by taking gels on the bike WHICH I NEVER DO. Always have a plan B.  Kept fluids up and felt an increase need to pee, another affect from the cold.

At two hours in, I removed the space blanket.  😎 Then at three hours had to stop and throw away the vest and arm warmers. Still had my cap, gloves and leg warmers on. I don’t like stopping in a race but trying to remove clothes while moving was risky.

At this point I settled in to enjoy the spectacular sprawling horse barns and homes. The nicely paved roads and thought about CW Ryan Connolly. Tried to stay relaxed and not destroy my run.

Bike Time: 6:41 (2015 - 6:34) Pleasantly pleased that I was only 7 minutes slower including a stop, freezing and four years older. 😊

T2 – 7:39 (2015 – 7:50) This course has a long route to the tent. So ready to get my feet on the ground.

Run – This was going to be the big test for me. I decided to do the run/walk method, 10 min run by feel walk one minute. I was able to get one three-hour practice run in and averaged 10:45’s. This would have given me my goal to be under five hours. I sprained my ankle 8 weeks ago and never really let it heal. I also have been in PT for a hypermobile SI joint. Maybe a bit too optimistic, but I had to try.

The first two miles I went out too fast and I know why, I just wanted to be warm. I also took a flask with 300 calories to restore what I burned trying to stay warm. I sipped on it for an hour. I settled down and did my 10/1 for 11 miles and then boom, my gait was shortening because my ankle wasn’t tightening. I thought of CWO Ryan Connolly. My pain was insignificant to the pain his family has felt. It was all about gait management and moving to stay warm. I saw Rich Stanbaugh going one way and then passing me on his last loop. That lifted me. I had multiple cheers from random people that recognized the EN kit. Tom was all over the run helping me to keep the grit. I kept assessing if my ankle wasn’t hurting could I get back on pace? I wish I could answer that.

Run Time 5:35 (2015 - 5:08)

Total: 12:24 (no swim) - 4th place

The good stuff. AWA Challenge. As Al Truscott has said ‘luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. At the roll down it was confirmed I was the only AWA in my AG! So yes, I am going to KONA in 2020. 🌺 I’m excited to go back for a second celebration. 🌴

It is not clear if any races will do another AWA Challenge. It was a nice perk since in all honesty the AWA doesn’t give us much.

Going forward:

Lots of strength training.

Explore how to be a runner again given my limitations.

Enjoy aging up in three months to 65-69. Wow, truth serum.