Thursday, October 3, 2013
YOU ARE AN IRONMAN (Bike and T2)
Bike
I got on the bike and headed out. People were cheering and ringing cow bells, music was blaring. The air was electric. And cold.
The course went from Kings Beach through Tahoe City to Squaw Valley, downhill a good bit to Truckee, UP and DOWN and UP UP UP Martis Camp to Northstar, then DOWN only to immediately go UP UP UP Brockway Summit, DOWN Brockway which leads back to Kings Beach. The whole thing would be rode again 1.3 more times ending at Squaw Valley. There is one little 1K climb (Dollar Hill) between Kings Beach and Squaw that is rode three times. The first time up Dollar I was feeling great. I knew not to push so early in the ride so I took it nice and easy. I played leap frog with a few people, being careful to keep my distance and back off when passed. The turn into Squaw Valley was already hopping with folks and I was excited to see it the first time (calling this the second to last time in my mind).
At that point the ride got really fun. It's mostly down hill for a good section and it felt fantastic, except that it was FREEZING and I was struggling to drink and with getting my food out of my jersey pocket. (I had not practiced this with gloves on and with the tracker belt on over the jacket/over my jersey.) Every time I tried to drink water I felt like I would lose my breath. I knew I needed calories so I did the best I could trying to get to them as needed (I had an alarm set for every 45 minutes-this was not the best plan for this course) but it wasn't working as well as it had in training.
I think my favorite part of the course was riding through Truckee! The whole town had showed up for an IronMan Viewing Festival! There were outdoor eateries and bars PACKED with people who were cheering and waiving signs. The energy from the crowd was palpable! Then the road took us to a narrow bike path...a no passing zone. This didn't really bother me because there was no one in front or me or behind me at that point!
When the course turned into Martis Camp, I knew the climbing was about to start. We had been able to preview the course the day before, up to a certain point, and I knew it was pretty much rolling hills and some interesting wooden bridges (cedar bridges that smelled AMAZING!! enough so I wasn't even worried about the fact the wood ran parallel-it looked safe enough to me). When I got to the section we were not allowed to go into the day before, I thought it couldn't be too much farther to the top. I started climbing and glanced up to my right and saw a long line of bikes WAY UP ON TOP OF A HILL...what felt like 25 switchbacks later I saw the end of a ski lift. That had to be the top--ski lifts take you to the top of mountains! YAY!! Not exactly...there was one more section to go. What kind of sick soul would do this to people??!!
The entire time of this section I kept telling myself I would be going down soon, but I knew that downhill was "a bit technical" thanks to a bike course preview discussion given my Chris McDonald a couple of nights before. (More on this later.) Leading up to this race I was battling a growing phobia of riding down hill. Honestly, it had gotten to the point where I was starting to almost hyperventilate DRIVING down hill in my car!! (I'm not joking...) I had tried several things to get rid of the fear, but I hadn't nipped it in the bud before this ride. So I continued to pray...I had been praying since before the start of the race, about ever detail of the day. I had been taking my thoughts captive and surrendering my fears and worries to God, asking Him for the strength and courage necessary to finish this race. Starting down the first of two FAST descents, I have to say, He was with me like my own heart beat.
At the very bottom of the hill, the road made a sharp right turn and immediately started up a 2.6 mile climb to the highest point of the ride. I shifted into the easiest gear I had and started praying my way up this hill. I was breathing like a race horse but moving like a snail. I thought of every person I knew who would be watching my athlete tracker. I imagined it was their voices cheering me to the top (instead of all the strangers who were stuck in traffic headed the other direction...and all the strangers who knew this was going to be the place we would need their cheers the most who came out to ring cow bells!). I kept saying, "I can do ALL things through Christ...not just the easy things...ALL THINGS, even climb this hill."
In the back of my mind though I was saying, "I can NOT do this again. This is too hard and is more than me. More than I can handle. I will not do this again. Once is enough." Only to have that thought shouted at, "I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!! Yes, it is bigger than me, but thankfully I have really good 'backup'" Honestly, before I knew it, I was at the top and almost in tears.
I had calculated my times the day before...if I took every minute for the swim and T1, I had to average at least 14mph for the 112 miles on the bike in order to make all the cut off times and to make the final cut off. I was WAY behind. I knew the descent down Brockway was going to be fast and "safe" so after a quick break to eat some food, I hopped back on my bike and went as fast downhill as I could. I would love to tell you exactly how fast that was, but my Garmin has not allowed me to upload data yet so I only know mile splits. (Miles 42-44 going up were 5, 5.2 and 5.3 mph; miles 45-47 were 26.6, 27.7 and 23.7.)
I'm not going to lie, when I got to the bottom of the hill and to the right turn which would start my second loop, I "almost" made a left turn to take me the 1/4 mile to my condo. I could quit now, not have to go back up Martis Camp/Northstart and Brockway a second time...not have to run a marathon afterward. I was still behind at that point. But I knew I couldn't give up! Churchill didn't give up when she was riding on flat tires! God would give me the strength. Period. So I made the right turn.
By the time I got passed Dollar the second time I was feeling better, but I also knew I was very behind on nutrition and hydration. I had refilled my aero bottle once (or was it twice?), but I hadn't really used my back two bottles. A little over one bottle (maybe 2?) in 3 hours was NOT enough. I tried to make a conscious effort to take in fuel/water. I stopped for my special needs bag (ate a Picky Bar, grabbed o out a note from a friend, a picture of Churchill, loaded more food into my pockets...took off my beanie and the sleeves from my jacket. After a shameless application of WhoHa Ride Glide (by cramming my hand down my bike shorts since there wasn't a port o potty open) and I was off again. I knew I had the energy of Squaw, a nice down hill section from there to Truckee, and the town of Truckee to look forward to. It all came and went faster than I wanted it to because before I knew it was I was at the last aid station before those horrible switch backs. I had to use the bathroom and didn't want to pee on the bike because it was still really cold. I knew I was riding less than a 14mph average according to my watch but a gal there said we were about to be at the last cut off and had plenty of time. She said if we had to we could walk up Brockway, but I told her I knew if I got off the bike my day was going to be done-NO WAY I could walk up a hill in bike shoes pushing a bike fast enough to make the final cutoff. So off I went to start the 3rd major climb ....were those switchbacks really that steep the first time?
Down the winding road and ONE MORE BIG CLIMB (and one more Dollar hill) TO GO.... About maybe 1/2 the way up Brockway, I felt like I was pedaling so slow I would fall over any second. I couldn't breath and my legs were on fire. The guy in front of me stopped and got off to push. After and agonizing internal debate, I got off too. My first thought was to stop. But then I told myself, "Never EVER give up...make them pull you off the course--DO NOT STOP!!! RELENTLESS FORWARD MOVEMENT"...my aid station friend was pushing her bike behind me... Several people passed me and I considered trying to get back on but I thought I would waste more time stopping and trying to get started than I would if I just kept pushing (miles 88-90: 7, 3.6 and 3.3)
When I got to the top I knew I had to give all I had to get to Squaw if I had any chance of making it. I did my best to stay off the brakes going down (miles 91-93: 35.5, 32.9 and 30.4). Right turn at Kings Beach and I was on my way to finish the bike...there was just one more climb. When I got to the bottom of Dollar, I had NOTHING left (or so I thought) in my legs so I hopped off again and pushed up the 1k climb....believing with every fiber of my being THIS choice would be the end of my day. But I did my best to give it all I had. When I got to the turn into Squaw I saw runners out on the course already headed back toward the finish. Dangerously close to the ten hour and thirty minute cutoff for the swim/bike part of my day, I knew all the top finishers were already in the shower, having already had a post race meal!! I heard someone yell, "YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES!!!" just as I got to the dismount line! In the back of my mind I believed I had not made it because I knew I had gotten into the water early, so any second someone was going to take my chip.
Bike time: 8:41:58
As I jumped off my bike and started running for the tent (and away from anyone telling me I was done) I heard my husband yelling at me. I didn't want to stop so I ran into the tent where I had a split second melt down. I asked the volunteer how I would know if I made it. She told me I had and asked how she could help me. I was in a daze. I told her I didn't need help and stripped down for the 2nd time in one day! I put on my running skirt, fresh shirt, fuel belt, and shoes. I put my hat on my head, grabbed my race number belt, fuel belt and athlete tracker in my hand and ran out the door putting all my stuff on my body. I heard Dwayne yelling at me again and I turned around to see my sweet husband with his new photographer friend. I managed to smile for the camera and then had another mini break down telling him I had not made it because I started the swim early (before 7am). He kept telling me I had made it but I needed to go so I believed him and headed out for the marathon.
T2 5:30
Stay tuned for the Run and Finish...to be posted tomorrow! :D
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
YOU ARE AN IRONMAN (Swim and T1)
SWIM
IMLT had a rolling start. This is different from the mass start they have had in most IM races in the past. It's all part of WTC's effort to make for a more "user friendly" race start. I'll be honest, I don't like it... At the same time, I'm sure it helped me have a MUCH better swim experience (and time) than I would have had otherwise. Basically volunteers had signs with expected swim finish times (i.e. 1:45-2:00) and everyone put themselves in line where they expected to finish. The idea is that all the faster people get in the water and go so they don't have to swim over all the people doing breast and back stroke. I had NO IDEA what to expect for a swim time. In the pool my times were pretty consistently about 1:50-2:00/100y depending on the workout, but: this would be my longest continuous swim, my shoulder had been bothering me pretty bad leading up to this day (consequently I had not had a long swim in quite a while), and I had never swam in water this cold (it was colder on race day because of the storms the day before--I heard figures from 59* to 62*). Not to mention it was so darn foggy you couldn't see the buoys!! However I was also wearing my wetsuit (which usually makes for a faster swim), and I felt like the cold water was going to help my shoulder feel better than usual. Plus, I generally swim faster in races than in training. At the same time, I knew I wanted to take it nice and easy since it was going to be a long day and I didn't know how the altitude was going to impact my bike.
I lined myself up with the 2 hour swimmers and found a gal I had met the day before who was staying in the condo just above us who was also doing her first IM. We were talking about how EPIC this race was going to be when a guy grabbed my by the shoulders and told me to stop shaking!! I don't know if it was adrenaline or the fact that we were standing on frozen sand in sub freezing weather in bare feet, but I could NOT stop no matter what I did. I started to worry I might already be experiencing the effects of hypothermia. About that time I was about 10' from the start and Mike Riley was getting us pumped up telling us, "YOU are going to be an IRONMAN today!!" With party music blaring, I "ran" into the shallow water and all the nerves of the day melted.
Well...not quite. With the first dip of my head in the water, I started a 16 hour prayer vigil. I'll do another post to answer the question, "what on earth did you think about all day long"...but I can assure you, first and foremost in my mind all day was the request to God to see me through the day!
I couldn't sight buoys for a couple of reasons...the fog was really bad, but another reason was due to toothpaste. See, I had bought new goggles for the race--my favorite brand and style and they were even **rose-colored**!! After swimming in them a few times, and trying the anti-fog spray, they were still fogging up. A couple of guys told me to use a bit of toothpaste to clean them out. Well...apparently vigorously scouring them with baking soda and peroxide was the absolute WRONG thing to do as that scratched the inside so that fog was the least of my worries. I don't think it mattered that bad because if they had been clear, they'd have fogged, and if they hadn't fogged, it was foggy! Sighting became a matter of trying to make sure I was in the middle of all the fish moving in the same direction. I knew I was getting off course when I found myself swimming in clear water (which happened a couple of times, but not much).
I was VERY surprised to see so many people doing breast and back stroke. But, I was even more surprised when I found myself passing a lot of people. I felt like I was going much faster than usual so I took a quick glance at my watch-and realized I had not started it!! I started it then and told myself it really didn't matter much...just keep swimming. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the (much bigger) turn buoy!! I was told it was 900m out. I tried to do the math...900 back, 1800 out, 2700 back, plus the distance between turn 1 and 2, then between 3 and 4...maybe 3100 to go? (I didn't know how the length of the top and bottom of the trapezoid we were swimming, only that the far side was bigger....I also couldn't remember how many yards in 2.4 miles...it didn't matter, I was going to swim it no matter what it was, I just wanted something to think about!)
I concentrated on "catching feet" and then passing when it became obvious I was faster than the feet I was on. Before I knew it, the water started getting really cold, which meant I was getting close to the bottom of the trapezoid!! As I made the turn, I could hear the swim finish music and the cheering for all the ones who were finishing that part of the race. Several guys started running along the beach side of the course but I knew it was a bad idea for me to stand up in the water. Water running would bump up my HR and I really thought I could swim faster than that. --I never passed those guys, but at least I knew I was going straight!
Loop one done and the sun was coming up making for some beautiful views (what I could make out of them anyway!). I tried to stay left as much as I could and anytime someone faster went by me I grabbed onto their feet for a little (or a long) draft. ((By the way, "grabbed onto their feet" isn't literal...it just means I drafted off of them in the water!)) Loop two was fairly uneventful except that I saw some white rubber gloves floating down into the water which made me think a rescuer had to help someone, but I don't know if that's the case. When I felt the water getting colder again I knew I was close! People around me started standing up to run, but I swam as long as I could. When I stood up I was in water just above my knees. As I ran under the swim arch I heard Mike Riley say, "DANA--YOU WILL BE AN IRONMAN TODAY!!!" When I saw the time was 1:3?? I screamed out, "YES I WILL!!!!"
T1
Holy Cow was it COLD!! I considered running into the warming tent, but I knew I needed to get out on the bike. I grabbed my bag (thankfully I marked it with a big duct tape X because I had to find the bag myself....and ran over to the wetsuit strippers. I had already pulled off my goggles and both caps, had unzipped the wetsuit and stripped the top part off...but I had not pulled it down passed my butt. No matter, when I flung myself on the ground like a dead bug, a man and a woman each grabbed a leg and yanked that thing off like it was catching fire! They threw it over my shoulder and I ran into the changing tent.
Now, I don't mean any disrespect for what I'm about to say...I'm not TRYING to be overly dramatic. I just want to try to describe the scene as best I can. It looked like a scene from a holocaust documentary. Naked shivering women everywhere with piles of clothing around their feet. There were certainly no chairs available and really no room to stand. I maneuvered my way over to the exit door and found a 1' square space to start shucking clothes. I think it's important to say, I have NEVER gotten naked in a dressing room before. I've actually tried to do it because other women seem to strip down to their birthday suit with ease and comfort. Not me. Today however I didn't have a choice, so off the wet tri suit came without so much as a blink of an eye. I was able to get my bike clothes on with just a little help with my bra from someone standing nearby. (Bike shorts, leg warmers*, bra, bike jersey with food in the pockets, arm armers, jacket, balaclava, beanie, helmet, sunglasses in my pocket, Athlete Tracker belt on over my jacket, socks in shoes, shoes in one hand, gloves in the other.) I stuffed all the wet things back in the bag and headed out of the tent only to discover I had only one leg warmer on! I dug through the bag, found the other one and put it on.
I knew I wouldn't be able to run well with my shoes on so I elected to run barefooted to my bike. My feet were FREEZING and were getting covered with sand. I had a choice at that point-sand or freezing water. I squirted water on my feet and shoved them into my socks and then into my shoes, struggled to get my gloves on, grabbed my bike and off I went to the mount line.
Total time 19:21
Stay tuned for the rest of the story...to be posted tomorrow. :D
IMLT had a rolling start. This is different from the mass start they have had in most IM races in the past. It's all part of WTC's effort to make for a more "user friendly" race start. I'll be honest, I don't like it... At the same time, I'm sure it helped me have a MUCH better swim experience (and time) than I would have had otherwise. Basically volunteers had signs with expected swim finish times (i.e. 1:45-2:00) and everyone put themselves in line where they expected to finish. The idea is that all the faster people get in the water and go so they don't have to swim over all the people doing breast and back stroke. I had NO IDEA what to expect for a swim time. In the pool my times were pretty consistently about 1:50-2:00/100y depending on the workout, but: this would be my longest continuous swim, my shoulder had been bothering me pretty bad leading up to this day (consequently I had not had a long swim in quite a while), and I had never swam in water this cold (it was colder on race day because of the storms the day before--I heard figures from 59* to 62*). Not to mention it was so darn foggy you couldn't see the buoys!! However I was also wearing my wetsuit (which usually makes for a faster swim), and I felt like the cold water was going to help my shoulder feel better than usual. Plus, I generally swim faster in races than in training. At the same time, I knew I wanted to take it nice and easy since it was going to be a long day and I didn't know how the altitude was going to impact my bike.
I lined myself up with the 2 hour swimmers and found a gal I had met the day before who was staying in the condo just above us who was also doing her first IM. We were talking about how EPIC this race was going to be when a guy grabbed my by the shoulders and told me to stop shaking!! I don't know if it was adrenaline or the fact that we were standing on frozen sand in sub freezing weather in bare feet, but I could NOT stop no matter what I did. I started to worry I might already be experiencing the effects of hypothermia. About that time I was about 10' from the start and Mike Riley was getting us pumped up telling us, "YOU are going to be an IRONMAN today!!" With party music blaring, I "ran" into the shallow water and all the nerves of the day melted.
Well...not quite. With the first dip of my head in the water, I started a 16 hour prayer vigil. I'll do another post to answer the question, "what on earth did you think about all day long"...but I can assure you, first and foremost in my mind all day was the request to God to see me through the day!
I couldn't sight buoys for a couple of reasons...the fog was really bad, but another reason was due to toothpaste. See, I had bought new goggles for the race--my favorite brand and style and they were even **rose-colored**!! After swimming in them a few times, and trying the anti-fog spray, they were still fogging up. A couple of guys told me to use a bit of toothpaste to clean them out. Well...apparently vigorously scouring them with baking soda and peroxide was the absolute WRONG thing to do as that scratched the inside so that fog was the least of my worries. I don't think it mattered that bad because if they had been clear, they'd have fogged, and if they hadn't fogged, it was foggy! Sighting became a matter of trying to make sure I was in the middle of all the fish moving in the same direction. I knew I was getting off course when I found myself swimming in clear water (which happened a couple of times, but not much).
I was VERY surprised to see so many people doing breast and back stroke. But, I was even more surprised when I found myself passing a lot of people. I felt like I was going much faster than usual so I took a quick glance at my watch-and realized I had not started it!! I started it then and told myself it really didn't matter much...just keep swimming. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the (much bigger) turn buoy!! I was told it was 900m out. I tried to do the math...900 back, 1800 out, 2700 back, plus the distance between turn 1 and 2, then between 3 and 4...maybe 3100 to go? (I didn't know how the length of the top and bottom of the trapezoid we were swimming, only that the far side was bigger....I also couldn't remember how many yards in 2.4 miles...it didn't matter, I was going to swim it no matter what it was, I just wanted something to think about!)
I concentrated on "catching feet" and then passing when it became obvious I was faster than the feet I was on. Before I knew it, the water started getting really cold, which meant I was getting close to the bottom of the trapezoid!! As I made the turn, I could hear the swim finish music and the cheering for all the ones who were finishing that part of the race. Several guys started running along the beach side of the course but I knew it was a bad idea for me to stand up in the water. Water running would bump up my HR and I really thought I could swim faster than that. --I never passed those guys, but at least I knew I was going straight!
Loop one done and the sun was coming up making for some beautiful views (what I could make out of them anyway!). I tried to stay left as much as I could and anytime someone faster went by me I grabbed onto their feet for a little (or a long) draft. ((By the way, "grabbed onto their feet" isn't literal...it just means I drafted off of them in the water!)) Loop two was fairly uneventful except that I saw some white rubber gloves floating down into the water which made me think a rescuer had to help someone, but I don't know if that's the case. When I felt the water getting colder again I knew I was close! People around me started standing up to run, but I swam as long as I could. When I stood up I was in water just above my knees. As I ran under the swim arch I heard Mike Riley say, "DANA--YOU WILL BE AN IRONMAN TODAY!!!" When I saw the time was 1:3?? I screamed out, "YES I WILL!!!!"
T1
Holy Cow was it COLD!! I considered running into the warming tent, but I knew I needed to get out on the bike. I grabbed my bag (thankfully I marked it with a big duct tape X because I had to find the bag myself....and ran over to the wetsuit strippers. I had already pulled off my goggles and both caps, had unzipped the wetsuit and stripped the top part off...but I had not pulled it down passed my butt. No matter, when I flung myself on the ground like a dead bug, a man and a woman each grabbed a leg and yanked that thing off like it was catching fire! They threw it over my shoulder and I ran into the changing tent.
Now, I don't mean any disrespect for what I'm about to say...I'm not TRYING to be overly dramatic. I just want to try to describe the scene as best I can. It looked like a scene from a holocaust documentary. Naked shivering women everywhere with piles of clothing around their feet. There were certainly no chairs available and really no room to stand. I maneuvered my way over to the exit door and found a 1' square space to start shucking clothes. I think it's important to say, I have NEVER gotten naked in a dressing room before. I've actually tried to do it because other women seem to strip down to their birthday suit with ease and comfort. Not me. Today however I didn't have a choice, so off the wet tri suit came without so much as a blink of an eye. I was able to get my bike clothes on with just a little help with my bra from someone standing nearby. (Bike shorts, leg warmers*, bra, bike jersey with food in the pockets, arm armers, jacket, balaclava, beanie, helmet, sunglasses in my pocket, Athlete Tracker belt on over my jacket, socks in shoes, shoes in one hand, gloves in the other.) I stuffed all the wet things back in the bag and headed out of the tent only to discover I had only one leg warmer on! I dug through the bag, found the other one and put it on.
I knew I wouldn't be able to run well with my shoes on so I elected to run barefooted to my bike. My feet were FREEZING and were getting covered with sand. I had a choice at that point-sand or freezing water. I squirted water on my feet and shoved them into my socks and then into my shoes, struggled to get my gloves on, grabbed my bike and off I went to the mount line.
Total time 19:21
Stay tuned for the rest of the story...to be posted tomorrow. :D
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!! (Pre Race)
Oh such sweet words to hear after swimming, biking and running right at 16 and a half hours!!
I have so much to say about this race! (Did you expect any less?) I'll write several posts, but if you have specific questions, or want to hear about something in particular, please let me know.
Pre-Race
My husband and I flew out EARLY Thursday morning. When we got to the Reno airport, the Race Quest van was there waiting for us. The took us to the condo at Kings Beach. After we picked our jaws off the floor from the gorgeous views, they drove us over to the IronMan Village a few miles away at Squaw Valley. (The condo was about half a mile away from the start line; the Village was the finish line.) I picked up my bike from the Tri Bike Transport people and then went over to the check in area where I picked up packet with all the race numbers I needed and back pack with all the bags I would use on race day and a few little bits of swag, and I got my official IronMan wrist band which identified me as a race participant.
After a trip to the grocery store, we went back to the condo to get settled in a little bit before the Race Quest Welcome Reception where I got to meet Chris "Big Sexy" McDonald and say hello to the female pro I had met previously, Jessica Jacobs, along with all the other race participants who were there with RQ. At the reception, Chris went through a bike course preview which helped considerably more than I expected it to. He gave some tips on fueling, hydration, and technique that would help me (as much as it could) on race day. After that Jessica took us through a race day visualization exercise, somewhat similar to my race pre-cap. I went to sleep that night feeling one baby step closer to the finish line, not just in time, but in preparedness.
Friday morning I joined about 500 other people in the Lake to check out the swim start. After the initial shock of the cold taking my breath away, I swam in the clear blue water for about 20 minutes...long enough to let me know I wasn't going to freeze to death but not long enough to cause any issues to arise with my shoulder/neck. I wish I had a Go Pro to be able to show you just how AMAZING the water was. It was the best open water swim I've even experienced!
After a shower I headed back to the IM Village for the pro panel and to check out the vendors. (Dwayne stayed in the condo to write all day.) After being inspired by the pro panel, I discovered Recovery Pump and wished I had an extra grand in my bank account. Keeping some long term financial goals in mind I stepped away from the tent after a 20 minute "sampling". The next temptation...a SWEET Rudy Project aero helmet and glasses combination that was selling for about half off!! The helmet I fell in love with was a mat black and sleek as a whales tail. I was really glad at that point I didn't have my credit card with me or I'd have snatched them up!
Later that night I went to the Welcome Dinner and required Athlete Meeting. Mike Riley, the voice of Iron Man, gave some stats about the triathletes registered. This race had 606 first timers and the highest percentage of females. My age group 40-44 had the highest total participants for both men and women. The athlete meeting didn't give any new information for me since I'd been keeping up on Face Book which was better at getting information out than the website!
Saturday morning I woke up to high winds and a forecast of storms. After getting all my bags ready I took my bike down to T1. I "just KNEW" they weren't going to have our bags out in the weather all night...but alas, I was wrong. When I got there and discovered my dry towel and bike clothes would be left out, on the ground in the rain and sub freezing temps, we went across the street and bought trash bags and duct tape. After re-bagging it all (so the "official" bag was on the outside), I took my bike over to be left alone on a rack in 20mph winds!! I felt like I was leaving my baby alone with a drunk sitter! Later on the RQ shuttle took a group over to T2 to drop bags off there. After that, there was nothing left to do but relax! (sure...yeah...right...
Race Morning
I woke up at 3:30 without an alarm, took a hot shower (for no other real reason than to put my hair in a manageable braid!), got all the last minute stuff ready and mentally went over my plan for the day. About 5:15 we walked over to the start. MAN WAS IT COLD!! This was by far the coldest day in Tahoe. Naturally. I was surprised to see so many people putting stuff in their Bike bags. I didn't know we could do that and I questioned if I was forgetting something important. I found my bike (still safely racked). A lot of people were knocking ice off, but I had put bags over my seat and my tri bars so I just ripped those off (I didn't notice any ice). I found a pump and aired my tires then headed back to find Dwayne so I could get my wetsuit on.
As I was lubing my neck up with Body Glide, a photographer came by and asked if I would mind him snapping some shots, which of course I didn't. He asked Dwayne was he intended to do all day. When Dwayne said he was going to go nap and maybe catch a movie the guy said he had an extra media badge if he wanted to hang out and help take pictures!!! I instantly told him to go do it. He was worried he would miss my transitions, but I told him there were so many people he wouldn't even recognize me and it was MORE than fine for him to go have an adventure! With kisses and well-wishes, he was off and I was left to wait about 35ish minutes until the start of the race so I headed for the warming tent. I heard the cannon go off to start the pros, but I knew it would be another 30ish minutes until I started so I just decided to try to stay warm as long as I could. About that time a gal ran in with a bag and started throwing on her wetsuit and trying to get ready. She said the shuttle she was on from the host hotel had broken down and she had just gotten there!! Several people helped her as much as we could and she ran off to get in the water.
Stay tuned for the Swim recap (to be posted tomorrow). :D
I have so much to say about this race! (Did you expect any less?) I'll write several posts, but if you have specific questions, or want to hear about something in particular, please let me know.
Pre-Race
My husband and I flew out EARLY Thursday morning. When we got to the Reno airport, the Race Quest van was there waiting for us. The took us to the condo at Kings Beach. After we picked our jaws off the floor from the gorgeous views, they drove us over to the IronMan Village a few miles away at Squaw Valley. (The condo was about half a mile away from the start line; the Village was the finish line.) I picked up my bike from the Tri Bike Transport people and then went over to the check in area where I picked up packet with all the race numbers I needed and back pack with all the bags I would use on race day and a few little bits of swag, and I got my official IronMan wrist band which identified me as a race participant.
After a trip to the grocery store, we went back to the condo to get settled in a little bit before the Race Quest Welcome Reception where I got to meet Chris "Big Sexy" McDonald and say hello to the female pro I had met previously, Jessica Jacobs, along with all the other race participants who were there with RQ. At the reception, Chris went through a bike course preview which helped considerably more than I expected it to. He gave some tips on fueling, hydration, and technique that would help me (as much as it could) on race day. After that Jessica took us through a race day visualization exercise, somewhat similar to my race pre-cap. I went to sleep that night feeling one baby step closer to the finish line, not just in time, but in preparedness.
Friday morning I joined about 500 other people in the Lake to check out the swim start. After the initial shock of the cold taking my breath away, I swam in the clear blue water for about 20 minutes...long enough to let me know I wasn't going to freeze to death but not long enough to cause any issues to arise with my shoulder/neck. I wish I had a Go Pro to be able to show you just how AMAZING the water was. It was the best open water swim I've even experienced!
After a shower I headed back to the IM Village for the pro panel and to check out the vendors. (Dwayne stayed in the condo to write all day.) After being inspired by the pro panel, I discovered Recovery Pump and wished I had an extra grand in my bank account. Keeping some long term financial goals in mind I stepped away from the tent after a 20 minute "sampling". The next temptation...a SWEET Rudy Project aero helmet and glasses combination that was selling for about half off!! The helmet I fell in love with was a mat black and sleek as a whales tail. I was really glad at that point I didn't have my credit card with me or I'd have snatched them up!
Later that night I went to the Welcome Dinner and required Athlete Meeting. Mike Riley, the voice of Iron Man, gave some stats about the triathletes registered. This race had 606 first timers and the highest percentage of females. My age group 40-44 had the highest total participants for both men and women. The athlete meeting didn't give any new information for me since I'd been keeping up on Face Book which was better at getting information out than the website!
Saturday morning I woke up to high winds and a forecast of storms. After getting all my bags ready I took my bike down to T1. I "just KNEW" they weren't going to have our bags out in the weather all night...but alas, I was wrong. When I got there and discovered my dry towel and bike clothes would be left out, on the ground in the rain and sub freezing temps, we went across the street and bought trash bags and duct tape. After re-bagging it all (so the "official" bag was on the outside), I took my bike over to be left alone on a rack in 20mph winds!! I felt like I was leaving my baby alone with a drunk sitter! Later on the RQ shuttle took a group over to T2 to drop bags off there. After that, there was nothing left to do but relax! (sure...yeah...right...
Race Morning
I woke up at 3:30 without an alarm, took a hot shower (for no other real reason than to put my hair in a manageable braid!), got all the last minute stuff ready and mentally went over my plan for the day. About 5:15 we walked over to the start. MAN WAS IT COLD!! This was by far the coldest day in Tahoe. Naturally. I was surprised to see so many people putting stuff in their Bike bags. I didn't know we could do that and I questioned if I was forgetting something important. I found my bike (still safely racked). A lot of people were knocking ice off, but I had put bags over my seat and my tri bars so I just ripped those off (I didn't notice any ice). I found a pump and aired my tires then headed back to find Dwayne so I could get my wetsuit on.
As I was lubing my neck up with Body Glide, a photographer came by and asked if I would mind him snapping some shots, which of course I didn't. He asked Dwayne was he intended to do all day. When Dwayne said he was going to go nap and maybe catch a movie the guy said he had an extra media badge if he wanted to hang out and help take pictures!!! I instantly told him to go do it. He was worried he would miss my transitions, but I told him there were so many people he wouldn't even recognize me and it was MORE than fine for him to go have an adventure! With kisses and well-wishes, he was off and I was left to wait about 35ish minutes until the start of the race so I headed for the warming tent. I heard the cannon go off to start the pros, but I knew it would be another 30ish minutes until I started so I just decided to try to stay warm as long as I could. About that time a gal ran in with a bag and started throwing on her wetsuit and trying to get ready. She said the shuttle she was on from the host hotel had broken down and she had just gotten there!! Several people helped her as much as we could and she ran off to get in the water.
Stay tuned for the Swim recap (to be posted tomorrow). :D
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