I was emailing Mary about my race plan. It's good to have a time goal but I will not (I promise) obsess about it. If the weather is great, if my stomach cooperates, if there is no bike issue, if I don't cramp, if .... lots of if's. I do want to finish under 15 hours. Below is what Mary sent me last week.
The time is finally here.
You started this odyssey many months ago. At that time, you were not sure if you were
ready to take on the challenge. Ironman
was this pie in the sky goal that was intimidating. Now, you have done all the training. You had surprisingly few bad days and even
fewer missed workouts. You handled the
long hours and long distances well. Your
perspective on Ironman training has gone from intimidating to “no
problem.” And everyone tells you that
the training is the hard part. The race
is the icing on the big fat cake. They
are right. But you are still going to
take the race seriously. Here are some
of my thoughts for you:
The swim: it will be
crowded. At your pace (1:15-1:30) you
will likely be in a crowd for the entire swim.
Be comfortable with that. As you
enter the water you will be very hyped up by the crowd, the pre-race music, the
excitement of your fellow competitors.
You will probably not be able to avoid going out very fast. That is okay; get rid of the early morning
adrenaline. After a few minutes you will
need to rein yourself in and settle into your race pace. It is going to be a long day, so be
smart. Keep your effort strong, but stay
aerobic.
T1: Transitions can
be a good place to make up some time. No
need to dilly dally. Grab your stuff,
get into the tent, and get what you need.
Don’t rush to the point of missing something you need, but be quick and
methodical.
The bike: (6:30-7:00)
Here is where you are going to shine.
You have put in many, many strong miles on the bike. Your ride can make or break your day. Be smart.
As you start, and as you ride the first 20+ miles you may be passed by
some hammerheads. Let them go. Listen to your body. Check your heart rate. Check your breathing. Are you going too fast? Are you taking it too easy? Make the adjustments that you need. As you approach the first big hill, focus on
maintaining a good cadence. You may be
half way up the hill before you realize it is the big one. You have done bigger and longer in
training. The hardest part of the ride
is the middle; not because of the difficulty of the elevation, but because your
mind may start to wander. If you fine
this happening, go through a check list; see if you have consumed enough
calories, check your heart rate, etc.
T2: Again, don’t even
sit down if you don’t need to. Make sure
you have the essentials and hit the road.
The run: (5:00-6:00) It
all comes down to the run. Don’t worry;
you will not be tempted to go out too fast.
Also don’t worry if your legs feel terrible. They will recover in the first few
miles. Start with short, quick steps and
keep your heart rate low. Soon your legs
will loosen up and you can stretch out your stride some. There will be rolling hills along the
lake. If you need to walk the hills, do
it. If not, don’t push too hard on
them. Once you hit the turnaround and
get your special needs stuff you will know that you are going to make it. It is just a matter of pacing yourself to the
end.
All day:
1. Typically
it is not humid in Penticton, so don’t be surprised if you don’t get
sweaty. Stay on your usual schedule of
hydration. Start early and keep drinking
regularly.
2. There will be many, many people faster than you. Ignore them.
Some of them are truly rock stars and you will never see them again once
they pass you. Some of them are
egotistical hammerheads and you will pass them again at some point in the
day. It doesn’t matter. Run your race, not theirs. Stick to your plan and you will do very
well.
3.
At some point (or many points) in the day you will feel bad. Be ready for this. What are you going to tell yourself when this
happens? You can remind yourself of all
the hours you put into training. You can
think about your honored heroes of past TNT seasons, you can be inspired by
your training buddies and their perseverance.
Be prepared. Ironman is a long
day and there will be some very long stretches where you may not feel the
greatest.
4. Most of all: Have fun! This is the most important thing I can tell
you. Enjoy the moment. Whether this is your one and only Ironman or
the first of many, your first Ironman is your most special one. Soak in the atmosphere, encourage other
athletes, smile all day. And at the end
you will know the exhilaration of hearing the announcer say: “Monika Nelwan, you are and Ironman!”
I was a little sad this morning. I found out my friend, Bill, who was supposed to race IM Canada had to pull out due to work. He's a big wig in AT&T and he had an RFP, for the cruise line business that is apparently a big part of the business, due in a few weeks and they are trying to wrap it up. My plan was going to line up with him at the swim start. It's comforting to stand besides somebody that you know waiting for the horn to go off. I didn't care if I could only swim with him for 25 meters. The hardest part is the wait.
His advice to me was to be far from the buoys at the start. It's okay to swim further but I have more space than getting tangled with other athletes.
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