Ironwoman Back in Kansas

Jeff and I finally arrived at home in Topeka, KS after an amazing week away. Luckily the house is still intact and the internet connection is working. I wanted to blog right away after finishing my first Ironman as I was soaking in the tub filled with 3 bags of ice while sipping a large fat free vanilla cappuccino that Jeff fetched from QT, but the hotel internet connection decided to crap out just like my heart rate monitor did at the start of the bike. The drive home never presented a time to get online since we were either eating, sleeping or driving. I did make Jeff park outside a hotel in Flagstaff, AZ so I could cabbage off their internet and reserve a hotel room in Gallup, NM that night, but he wouldn't wait any longer for me to blog too.

I did spend some time while on the road typing on my Eee PC, so I will post those ramblings here and then fill in the missing details later.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Somewhere in Texas....

Well, we are on the road home from Arizona. This adventure is almost completely a “Been There, Done That”. Weird!

I am an Ironman...or rather Ironwoman!!!!!

Going into this I was not sure what to expect. The unknowns is what makes it fun and terrifying all in one tidy package.

Not that I want to downplay the effort, but it didn't seem like such a big deal. It was a long day of swimming and biking and running but each lap just kept going by and I actually enjoyed the whole day. There was the heat to contend with which slowed me waaaay down on the run for a while but in a way I welcomed the discomfort since this was supposed to hurt and test me. It was frustrating to watch others run by me so fast and not be able to pick it up at all. I never walked (walking was NOT an option) and only stopped each lap at the Jiffy Lube aid station to hit the porta potty. I knew it was a good sign I had to pee. I'm sad that I don't get another chance at this race at the same time next year. I was devising a plan to train in a dry sauna to get acclimated to the heat. We could construct a cedar hot box in the basement big enough to wheel in the treadmill or computrainer and build up some sweat equity to cash in on the next 94 degree Ironman!

Up to race time, the swim is what had me the most scared. The run conjured up the the most respect. The bike between the 2 only concerned me for possible mechanical reasons, I knew I would be able to keep the pedals going around.

The swim was absolutely nuts! What's with all the Nincompoops that want to make a Leslie sandwich or suddenly decide to swim a diagonal across traffic. The worst are the kickers that kick harder when you get too close...HELLOOOOO, I would not be here if I had a choice, cut me some slack, let's be reasonable here! I will admit I did throw an elbow once, but only when some guy held me under with a hand on my back. I think he used me to get leverage for a better view. On the way back I finally had some clean water for a while until the sandwich makers returned. I used the space to play with my technique and gage how I was doing compared to those around me. When I would focus on creating the armpit dent (thanks to Jennifer Harrison for that tip) and get my hips and shoulders to rotate together I would pull ahead a bit. I've got a lot of work to do to keep that elbow up for longer durations...no more excuses, I need to use the dryland elastic bands and work on my shoulder flexibility!

The wetsuit strippers were awesome! My T1 wetsuit is a chore to get out of so it was wonderful to have 2 enthusiastic volunteers help de-rubberize me.

Finally time to ride!

I remembered to hit the lap button on my Polar HR monitor so I could keep track of my lap times and regulate my effort. I had all my HR zones listed on my VemmaStrong wristband so I would keep it honest and smart out there. Once I was out on the road, I started the countdown timer on the watch I had taped to my bike to remind me to eat/drink every 15 minutes. Hmmmm, the numbers on my Polar kept getting dimmer and dimmer. Sure enough, about the time my watch beeped the first 15 minutes, my Polar had decided it had had enough. I guess all the long training sessions took it to the edge and the event itself took it over. That made me laugh. I have had a watch die at the start of a race once before. It was at the Dannon Duathlon in Naperville, IL several years ago. I survived then, so I would again. Karen Buxton, my awesome coach, had me train using watts while paying attention to my effort. I knew what my effort was supposed to feel like, so it was probably a good thing to just go and not get caught up in numbers. Maybe I kept it a little too conservative, but there was no way I was going to jeopardize the run by going a little hot on the longest ride I have ever ridden.

To be continued....we are now in Elk City, Oklahoma for the night. We lost an hour when we hit New Mexico and another at the Texas border. It's midnight in this timezone so time to sleep so we can hit the road at a decent time in the morning!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

We just now crossed the border from Oklahoma into Kansas. The wind is finally pushing us home. It is now 3 days since IMAZ, and it already seems like a distant memory. Well, that is until each time I go to get out of the car. I am definitely a bit stiff and slow moving.

As I reflect, there is nothing I would do differently throughout my IM day. I swam and biked and ran within myself and abilities. I was conservative in my pacing in order to ensure I got to the finish line. Going into Sunday, my main goal was to finish before the sun went down. I picked up my reflective tape in the run special needs bag, but I did not want to have to stick it on. When I was able to begin to pick up the pace over the last 4 miles when the temperature dropped, I knew I could make it. I took my sunglasses off a little less than 2 miles out and was relieved to see there was still plenty of sunlight. I didn't know how fast the sun would sink behind the Arizona landscape so I ran with a bit of urgency. I was a little disappointed when I got my finish photo and it appears much darker than it was. Luckily Jeff's finish photo's capture a much brighter sky.

On the drive out to Tempe, I did finally make myself figure some different pacing options for the swim, bike and run. I tend not to be a numbers person and would rather just let things play out, but I wanted to at least have a realistic time frame to target.

Here is what I picked as my projected splits for an optimal performance:

Swim: 1:15:00

(actual 1:11:22)

T1: 0:05:00

(actual 0:07:03)

Bike: 6:00:00

(actual 5:55:51)

T2: 0:05:00

(actual 0:03:39)

Run: 4:00:00

(actual 4:48:48)

Total: 11:25

(actual 12:06:43)

If the heat didn't shut me down on the run, I believe I would have been pretty darn close.

I do wish I would have been able to break the 12 hour mark, but since the watch I started with died, I had no way to know where I was. In the end I am glad I was not racing for a time, I might have pushed myself too hard in the heat and done more damage than I could overcome. I ran how my body told me I could. I trust what my body tells me and I respect it. Every race I do, especially when I have doubts about my abilities, my body surprises me when the gun goes off by putting forth an effort beyond that moments belief. I suppose that is why I love to race. If you never get to the start line you will never know what your body can do that you thought you couldn't.

I had picked up Triathlete Magazine's 2008 Official Ironman & 70.3 Qualifier's Guide at the race expo and pulled it out on the way home. I was wondering what I should put next on the radar. I had to laugh when I read the Publisher's note:

“How proud are the athletes who finish an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 race? Well, just look at all the athletes who still wear their wristband long after the event has finished.”

I looked at my own wrist and there is the wristband. I have yet to have an urge to reach for the scissors and remove the last physical evidence of my 140.6 mile day.

Hmmmmm, for some reason the Louisville IM jumped out at me from the Ironman Guide pages. I hate to have to wait over a year to give IM another go.

I know I can do the distance now, so next time I want to race it!

Thank you to everyone that followed me along during the day. I greatly appreciated your energy. I want you to know I waved hello every time I crossed a timing mat. I wish I could have sent a message to let you know that yes indeed I was still running and not walking even though the run splits showed a different story! HTFU does not translate to walking!

:-)