Pre Ironman Canada: Day 3 Friday

Last night before I went to bed, the wind picked up again, white caps on the lake. Since it happened the night we got here and the wind died down in the morning, I wasn't concerned. But when the wind didn't die down for the whole morning, I was really concerned. It stressed me out. It was a perfect time to open Elishia's pick-me-up card.

My favorite is "the bears are hunting the slow runners"

I was confused at first, why the handwriting was all different. I then realized they were written by coworkers from my old department. That was so sweet. I also got a gift bag with a bunch of goodies from REI and a good-luck card from my department. I wasn't expecting that at all.

To kill time and to keep my mind off the wind, I started packing my bags. Ironman was a complicated race. Each athlete was given 5 bags. Green morning clothes gear bag was for storing the clothes after putting the wetsuit on. I put wetsuit, goggles, gel and water bottle. I would not see the bag until after the race was done. Blue swim to bike bag was for helmet, bike shoes, bike shorts and top and nutrition for the bike. I will get this bag after completing the swim. Orange special need bike bag could be picked up at mile 72 on the bike course. I would put two bottles of nutrition, a PB&J sandwich and a couple of gel packs. Red bike to run bag was for my run top, shorts, shoes, visor and nutrition. I would get this after completing the bike. Yellow special need run was at mile 13 on the run. I put extra socks, body glide, Tylenol and a PB&J sandwich. I put pink duck tape along the sides, so they were easy to spot. We had to turn in the swim to bike and bike to run bags tomorrow, a day before the race. The special need bags were to be dropped off the morning of the race.

That night was the athlete's welcome dinner.

I forgot... We also did the shake down ride in the morning. Cold and windy.

Matching bikes and kit with Susan

Ride on the run course. Skaha Lake in the background.

Pre Ironman Canada: Day 2 Thursday

I got up early around 6AM. I could see some athletes swam, ran and biked along Lake Shore Drive. I ran light for 30 minutes. The weather was perfect. Little wind and clear sky. I did a lot of thinking during the run. I couldn't believe I was finally here in Penticton. This long journey started a year ago when I was nervously registered for the race. I paid $700 for a race that was still 12 months in advance. Hundreds of training hours, 4.30AM early morning start on weekdays and weekends, salt crusted face and sweat, 8PM bed time and pure exhaustion. When I was spectating IM Florida with Mike, a coworker that had done IM several times, he told me that people, on the side watching the athletes, had no clue the sacrifice made by these guys. I was one of them. I had no clue a year ago. Now I understood.

The packet pickup opened at 10AM. Susan and I wanted to go as soon as it opened. It was a short walk from the motel that we stayed to the park. Sarah and Eric went grocery shopping. I already bought some groceries before crossing the border, so that wasn't a priority. We got lucky scoring the three bedroom condo at Shoreline. It came with a big living room & dining room combo, full kitchen and two full baths. The most important was the location. It was less than a mile from the start/ finish/ registration/ bike pick-up/ drop-off and merchandise tents.

Serious competitor. Susan's age groupers should be scared of her!

2413 is my lucky number

Beautiful blue sky on the packet pickup day

The line for the packet pickup was quite long but it moved pretty fast after it opened. We saw Norman from Atlanta. Meg was busy shopping in the merchandise tent. After the pick-up, we had 2 hours to kill before the Tribike Transport bike pick-up opens. We signed up for ART (Active Release Techniques). It was a combination of stretching, muscle adjustments and chiropractic. Since it was a long wait also, we went to the merchandise tent. I looked around and was trying to get an idea of what I liked. I wasn't planning to buy any until Monday because after the race, they sold Finishers merchandise (basically the items have the word "Finisher" on them. I know... IM triathletes are vain :) The bike kit for women was disappointing. It was Pepto Bismol pink. Seriously? Just because we're female, doesn't mean we all like pink. The designer had to be a guy.

That morning the race made a surprise announcement. This would be the last Ironman Canada race. Ironman was a brand organized by WTC (World Triathlon Corporation). Most of the IM races were owned by WTC. IM Canada was not one of them. The City of Penticton had to pay WTC. Apparently the contract negotiation was up and they couldn't agree on the contract. The rumor was WTC was asking too much money from the city. They decided to part ways. Starting next year, the race will be organized by Challenge Family, which was not well known in the US and Canada. Challenge Penticton is the first Challenge race in North America. It's sad because it had been a long partnership, 30 years, made it the oldest IM race after Kona.

The Last Hurrah :(

The new Sheriff is in town

The ART session was awesome. I told the ART specialist that I had a sprained left ankle 4 weeks before the race. He tested my range of movement and found a big difference between my right and left ankles. No surprise. He was working on my left leg, pulling, stretching, tugging, massaging. After 20 minutes or so, I could see some improvement. It was certainly less tighter. Best of all the service was free.

I did a little shopping at the Newton's tent. I saw a similar kit at IM Florida last year. Newton was raising money for prostate cancer research. The top had IM Canada logo on it. There was no mirror, so I asked Ellen took a picture so I could see myself. I'm sold! The green matched my bike. Susan also bought the same kit. The size was European which meant the Small was truly small! No weight gain after the race, otherwise I can't wear the top.

I'm sold!

Bike Pick-up Line. Susan and me in the back.

After picking up the bike and the tri bag, I went grocery shopping. I didn't plan on going out to eat until after the race. It saved money and I could make sure the food was prepared right. Taxes in Canada was outrageous, 12%, and getting a grocery cart costing you 25 cents. The drug store made you pay 10 cents for a plastic bag. It's nuts!

Pre Ironman Canada: Day 1 Wednesday

Today was the traveling day. My flight to Spokane via Salt Lake City was early. I asked Elishia to pick me up at home and drop me off at the Marta station in Sandy Springs at 5.30AM. I weighed my luggage before I left and surprised that it was 51 lbs, one pound over the limit. I had a lot of stuff bring: one carry-on that contained all race gears that I couldn't afford to lose, one luggage and one Tribike Transport gear bag that was dropped off the previous week along with my bike.

I asked Elishia what she was going to do after she dropped me off. For sure, I thought she was going to work out before work. She said she was going to take me to the airport. What a nice surprise! I was worried she was going to be stuck in traffic on the way back but she wasn't. When we got to the airport, she gave me 4 cards that were to be opened later. One was for on the way to Penticton, one was for when I needed a little pick-me up, one was the day before the race and one was for the day after the race. I couldn't thank her enough for her thoughtfulness and support during the past few months of training and especially, today.

When I lined up at Starbucks by the gate, Eric was there. Our group was split. Eric and I took the morning flight. Sarah, Susan and Ellen took the early afternoon flight. The flight to Salt Lake was around 4 hours. We had an hour before boarding again. I saw a guy with IM tattoo on his calf. I asked him if he was going to do IM Canada. Of course, he was. Wednesday and Thursday were traveling days for most athletes. Since this was his third IM, I asked him the lesson he learned from the past races. Save plenty of energy for the run! I couldn't agree more. I wanted to feel good during most of the run. Don't let the heavy legs come too early in the run. I could only do that if I was being conservative on the bike.

We got to Spokane around noon. the drive to the US border was uneventful. Lots of flats, nothing but wheat fields that were just recently harvested.

 

Golden wheat field on the left

After a few hours, we entered the US border.

Still in miles, not kilometers.

Oh Canada!

Welcome to British Columbia!

The view soon changed from flats to mountains to fruit orchards. Penticton is the fruit capital city of Canada. It is a city in the Okanagan Valley situated between Okanagan and Skaha Lakes. Okanagan Lake is north of Penticton, where the swim course is. Skaha Lake is south of Penticton. The roads along the lake are parts of the bike and run courses. Okanagan Lake is very large, 135KM long and 5KM wide. It is said by some to be home to its own sea monster - a giant serpent-like creature named Ogopogo, Loch Ness monster's long lost brother :)

 

Apple Orchards in Okanagan Valley

As soon as we reached Osoyoos, we were on Mile 40-ish on the bike course. This was the first mountain pass (I stopped calling it a hill because a hill is just a hump compared to this climb) called Richter Pass. It's a 1267 feet elevation increase over 7.4 miles. You climbed, got a little break, steep climbed, little break and climbed again.

The beginning of the Richter Pass climb

It was long but not as steep as the Georgia Gaps. After Richter Pass, I saw Spotted Lake. The spots were made mainly of magnesium sulfate, which crystallized in the summer. In the summer, only the minerals in the lake remain, and they hardened to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.

Spotted Lake, Osoyoos.

After Richter Pass, there were 7 rollers. Some people counted 10, I think it just depends on what you consider rolling hills.

One of the rollers

Lots of orchards along the rollers from apple, pear, cherry, blueberry and peach. Vineyards were every where. It's an arid climate. The orchards and vineyards are well irrigated from the lake water. The second mountain pass is Yellow Lake. The climb is shorter than Richter but steeper. It's around mile 85 on the bike course.

Yellow Lake

Skaha Lake, end of the bike course. Across the lake, it's the run course.

The view is so gorgeous. The backdrop of the lakes and orchards are mountains. I took it all in because on race day, I probably wouldn't pay much attention to the views. After Yellow Lake, we drove along Skaha Lake. Lots of downhills from here until we were back in Penticton.

Day 1 was ended with strong wind that worried me. Our suite had lake (Okanagan) view if we had this kind of weather on Sunday, I would be in trouble. White caps on the lake made challenging swim and motion sickness which I was very prone to. I went to bed at 9PM which was 12AM EST. Susan, Sarah and Ellen got to the suite around midnight.

Okanagan Lake- View from the living room. I used the mountain on the left to sight on the first leg of the swim.

Home Sweet Home for the next 7 days

Letter from the coach

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.

The Countdown Begins!

When I go on a trip, I always pack at the last minute. One or two days before gave me plenty of time to pack. This rule didn't apply to the Ironman trip. Even though I won't fly out until Wednesday morning, I had to ship the bike a week prior. I also signed up to transport a bike bag for $30. It's worth it. Sarah made a great suggestion. She said not to put anything that I can't afford to lose in that bag. I need to carry them in the carry on. I started making a list of things that I need to bring with me. It's a lot... the list keeps growing and growing. On Sunday, Elishia volunteered to come over to help.. Oh wait, actually I asked her to come over and help. I bribed her with Thai food take out :) I was a little stressed out... A few problems at the office added to my Ironman stress. I ran a couple of errands at the last minute. Finally I packed the bag that I needed to drop off with my bike.

Tribike Transport Bag

On Wednesday, I went to Cadence Bikes to drop off my bike and the bag. I met Cecil, he's 63 years young. IM Canada is going to be his 14th IM. He did IM Canada 5 years ago. He didn't have anything bad to say about the race. I also met another racer. She walked in with her bike. It was a burnt orange Felt, an older model. I said to her that I almost bought a bike like that from Craig's List. She said, that was where she bought it from two years ago. Funny, it was actually the same exact bike. It was the same size. I remember the bike had upgraded wheels. Everything happened for a reason. My hesitation was that bike had an aluminum frame, and I wanted carbon. I was glad I made that decision. Carbon was a lot more comfortable.

Bye Bye Bike and Bag! Arrive safely and timely in Penticton.

We had brunch on Sunday.

Look at how many plates Eric and Sarah cleaned up!

I've never seen Susan smiled this big.

After brunch, I went home and did more packing. This time is the carry on.

 

Irreplaceable Stuff in the Carry-on Bag

Yes... you see two Garmin's. I borrowed Elishia's Garmin. The battery life is not long enough unless I finish the race in 8 hours.

14 Days to Go

Thursday was the first day I ran again. At first, I wore the ankle support that I got from a drug store but it was too thick on the arch. I couldn't run with it. I felt fine running unsupported for 6 miles. However, I felt I needed more support for Sunday's 10 mile run, so I turned to the expert, Mary, my coach who's also a PT.

Are you sure I can run in this thing?

She used pre-tape, white sport tape and Leukotape that was really sticky. If you saw my foot, it looked like I had a cast on. It was taped up to mid-calf.

The next day we rode 45 miles. The tapes didn't bother me but after 20 miles, I felt the tape kept rubbing the back of heel and it created a hot spot. We stopped at a gas station and I was looking to borrow scissors but they didn't have any, so I bought a pair. I cut off the back side and it felt much better. I carried the scissors in my bento box. It was probably not the greatest idea. If I fall forward, they can seriously hurt me.

We got back to the car, did a 15 minute run and posed for a picture. This is the last ride before we ship the bikes to Penticton, Canada.

Lots of updates

There were so many things happened since the last post. I just didn't have the time to update my blog. After the last recovery week, we had a 100 mile ride and 17 mile run. It was a dilemma for me as far as where to ride that weekend. Cartersville suddenly became a dog heaven ride. It seems like a lot of people were tired of cyclists and started letting their dogs out more. Peachtree City was too far and I wasn't familiar with the routes at all. Silksheets.. hmmm really again? I started getting tired of the routes and hills. At the last minutes, I decided to go to Silksheets. Stephanie was riding 60 miles, she was then in tapering mode. I would ride the rest of the 40 miles by myself.  The first 50 were fine. The next 10 were harder. I didn't feel as fresh as before. The last 40 miles were haaarrddd. I started to get annoyed with my legs. They were heavy even though I used small gears and tried to keep my cadence up. Finally, I got back to the parking lot. I was one of the last 3 cars left. It was around 2PM. Hot and humid. I put my running shoes on and started running. The first 15 minutes were good, and suddenly I bonked. I could tell the difference between bonking and just tired. I didn't have any gels with me, only water. I ran back to the parking lot. It sucked. I was by myself. I drank my recovery drink in the shade. Salty sweat dripped on my face. I was pooped. This was what IM training all about. Mentally I was depleted. At the same time, I was scared. What if this happened on the race day? I drove home, ate, hydrated, stretched, rolled and slept. Tomorrow was a brand new day. I had to run 15 miles. It was okay. actually much better than I expected. The first 100 yards my calves were tight but they loosen up quick.

The following weekend was the last long ride, the mac daddy of the season, the longest miles I covered before the race day. 110 miles plus 30 minutes T-run. This time around I was back with my usual suspects, Eric, Sarah and Susan. Patti also joined us. She was training for IM Louisville. We decided to go to Jackson County Brevet ride. We did the organized century ride in June. The routes were easy to follow. It was very well marked.

J is the marking. Turn to the direction where J is pointing.

If you were wondering, why it was J, it was for Jesus. The organizer was a Christian. He lead the prayer before we started the century ride. Very cool.

Around Mile 30

Ellen sagged this ride. Around mile 30, Sarah, Susan and Patti decided to take a SAG stop. Eric and I continued riding. Before we got to this stop, we were chased by a packed of dogs. They were tiny dogs only one that looked seriously wanted to chase you. We were yelling at them and Sarah squirted Gatorade at him. They didn't come close. Eric and I rode around 20 miles or so after splitting with the group. We were chased by another dog again. I was screaming to scare him away. He stopped chasing. After that, there were a couple other times, I was chased and I didn't even see the dogs. I could hear their bark and nails scratching the pavement. It was a hot and humid day. The high was 95F. With the humidity, it felt like 100+. So, I bet it took the dogs a lot of energy to run, therefore the chase was short lived.

First stop of the day

Around mile 40, Eric and I stopped for bottle exchange. Susan, Sarah and Patti were right behind us. Since we had to add 10 miles, when we got to mile 63, we would turn around and ride back to mile 58 and followed the route again.

Patti and me after the third SAG stop

We had another SAG stop around mile 73. I felt pretty good even though it was getting really hot. We made another quick stop around mile 90. The last 15 miles or so, we were back in town. that meant riding with traffic. I got stopped by traffic light 3 times. I couldn't catch up with Patti who was ahead. It felt great to be done with the ride, now it was time to run. I couldn't skip this since I messed up last week. I sucked another gel and started running. I ran along the tree lines were, so I could run in the shade. It was a 2 and 1/2 minute loop. Boring but shaded. I was so glad that the longest ride was over.

Sadly the following day, my long run didn't go well. I had 14 mile run. Around mile 5.5, I stepped on a small rock and twisted my left ankle. It hurt so bad. I walked a bit and was able to run back to the parking lot. I had to end my run after 10 miles. I had to ice it right away. I cried a bit out of frustration and , I think, mental exhaustion too.  It was going so well and now this happened.

I iced my foot 7 times that day and kept icing it as often as I could. I swam with buoys, so I didn't need to kick. I pushed off with my right foot only. I skipped Tuesday and Thursday bike and run sessions. I tried not to get frustrated. It's not Ironman training without running into a snag. I read about ankle sprains. I bought a balance board to rehab my ankle. Considering this was not the first time, I twisted my ankle this season. I had to take this seriously and fix the problem. I found out that the cause was not weak ankle muscles but it
lacked of proprioception, which was the ability of your body to provide feedback from the ankle to the brain. After an ankle sprain, the proprioception of the joint can be damaged, leading to problems controlling ankle movements. The balance board can help 're-train' the ankle joint. The board was a simple round board with a small half shaped ball in the middle. The idea was when you stepped on it, you had to train your brain to balance your body. The first exercise was two feet, moved back and forth, side to side and circled. the second exercise was to simply balance on one foot. Lastly, do the second exercise with closed eyes. It sounded simple but not really. I could tell my balance improved a lot after 3-4 days doing it.

Balance Board

The following weekend I rode 4 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on the trainer on Sunday while watching the Olympics women's marathon. I was thankful that I could still ride. The swelling was gone. I just didn't feel to run yet. I would wait until Thursday to run.