Ironman Canada 2012: Race Day

I got up at 3:29AM, one minute before my alarm went off. I slept well. I ate dinner at 6:30PM and went to bed an hour later. Ellen was in the living room trying to figure out ways to drive to the bike course to avoid road closure. I was surprised she was up that early. She had to move the car from the hotel parking lot to the street behind us because Lake Shore Drive was closed starting 4AM until midnight. The run course passed our hotel. I did my usual stuff, ate oatmeal and banana, stretched, hydrate and took a shower. I couldn't stand not taking a shower in the morning. I know I would sweat but at least, it was clean sweat (I made that up. Clean sweat?). Around 4:45AM, I ate my second breakfast, Apple Pie bonk breaker. It was small and packed in calories. I tried to eat at least 400 calories that morning.

The plan was to go leave the hotel at 5AM. The transition opened at 5AM and closed at 6AM. At 5:10AM, Eric and Sarah weren't ready yet, so Susan and I took off. We got there 10 minutes later and were body marked and dropped off our special need bags. I brought a pump with me. The last thing I wanted to be doing was to wait in line for a bike pump. I found bird's poop on my rear tire. It was tiny and I considered that a good luck (It's an Indonesian thing, when something like that happened, it was considered good fortune.. weird). After I was done, I gave it to Susan. I went through the transition area again. I wasn't nervous but just ready to start. It was funny to watch people around me. Some people laid on the grass and closed their eyes. Some were pretty chatty. Some were stretching. It was a little cold that morning, probably around 60's F. I put my wetsuit on up to my waist and walked to the porter potty lines where I found Susan, Eric and Sarah. We, then, walked back to the bike area. Sarah was standing by her bike when a volunteer asked her repeatedly if Sarah's bike was hers. He told her that her rear tube blew off when she wasn't around. He took it to the mechanic and they put a new tube. What a relief! Thank God it happened before the race and somebody cared to look for the bike and changed the tube.

At 6:45AM, the pros started. I could hear the cheering from the transition area but I wasn't interested in watching them start. We walked to the beach. When I passed the timing mat, a lady volunteer tapped me on the shoulder to wish me good luck, I smiled and thanked her. She only said that to me, I felt special. The swim course was clock-wise. I wanted to be at least 50 meters from the buoys. I was fine swimming farther as long as I didn't get kicked a lot. I was concerned I would lose my goggles if somebody accidentally pulled them from the side. I was legally blind without contracts.... seriously. The swim start was so wide. It almost took over the whole beach.

You can't even see the buoys. It's where the arrow is pointing. The red star was approximately where I was among 2,600 athletes

After scouting the area, I decided to be in the middle, width wise, and about a third from the front. I called Susan and Sarah to say good bye since they kept going and wanted to stand in the back. We all hugged. Eric walked towards us and gave me a bear hug. I wished them good luck, be safe and have fun. I choked up. I had my goggles on, they didn't see me tearing up. I don't know why I felt really emotional.  I trained with them every Saturday for the past 7-8 months. We went through good rides, bad rides, fun rides, crappy rides, flats (well, that's just Eric), everything... It was as if we went to the war and went our separate ways. I was on my own.

While I was waiting for the gun to go off, I asked a few guys around me what their goal time was. They said 1:20. I felt good. You wanted to swim around people with the same pace. If I swam closer to the buoys, I would love to do 1:15, but 1:20 was good enough. I had my watch on but I wasn't planning to look at the time when I finished swimming since I didn't want to get disappointed. After all, 5 minutes didn't mean anything compared to 14-15 hour finish time. All athletes had to stand behind the flags. Once the gun went off, the flags were lifted up. Off we went. I felt pretty calm. My heart wasn't racing. There were other races I felt a lot more nervous before the swim, not this time. The water was clear. I could see my hands as they entered the water. I could see people swimming around me. I was sighting at the mountain. I felt I was swimming closer to the buoys which made me nervous because I didn't want to get trapped around the first turn buoy. After a while, I saw a couple of white boats. I was getting closer to the first turn. I swallowed water a bit when I turned to breath. People were swimming closer to me compared to the beginning of the swim. Since I could see the pack in front of me, I decided to sight less and followed people. I felt I was turning right but not too sure. Pretty sure, I saw a white buoy, which was a turn buoy. I popped my head out and did some breast strokes. I could see the hotels. That meant I was on the way home to the finish. A guy breast stroke next to me said "isn't this fun?". Sure it was.

I started to swim smart, found human speedboats (swimmers with strong kicks) and followed them, not at their feet, but swam at their hips. That way I had less chance getting kicked in the head but still drafted off them. I found good swimmers to draft. I could see their relaxed faces in the water, high elbows, good hip rotations and their legs kicking from the hips. It was fun watching people. I, then, heard a guy talking loud. I thought it was a volunteer on a kayak directing the athletes. Duh! That was the voice of the announcer. I was getting really close to the end of the swim. People started swimming aggressive. They kicked harder. Their arms moved faster. I could see the bottom of the lake as I approached the beach. I swam until my hands touched the bottom. I stood up. I felt I had a great swim. I looked at my watch, 8:15AM. I ran to the timing mat.

Swim Time- 1 hour and 14 minutes

I found the wetsuit strippers. I sat on the ground. They pulled my wetsuit down. The girl said you were an easy one. I would hate that job, it was like doing squats 500 times. I thanked them as I ran to grab my bag. The changing tent was half full. I sat on a chair. A volunteer just got done helping another athlete. I asked her for help. She opened my bag. I put on my socks, shoes, helmet and glasses. She put my wetsuit and goggles in the bag. I took off.

My heart rate was 154, which was not bad. A little high but normal since I just swam. The first 35 miles of the ride were relatively flat with the exception of one steep hill around mile 14. At mile 5, my stomach started acting up. I didn't think much of it but it kept getting worse. Acid indigestion was the problem. I've had this problem during some training and race days but this time was different. The medication that I took before the swim didn't work. I took one more dose. I tried to keep calm. I couldn't stay aero because it felt a lot worse. It was hard not to stay aero on flat. A lot of people passed me, which I didn't care. I played my own game. Save plenty for the run.

Two hours later I started getting frustrated with the pain. It wouldn't go away. I tried to throw up but I couldn't. My friend, Bill, told me if you think you go slow, go slower, it's a long day. I certainly did that. I prayed that God would take away the pain. The first bible verse came to mind was My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. In normal circumstances, I would get more annoyed and definitely not happy with the answer. But I was at a different place. It gave me peace and confidence that I would be okay.

Somebody says don't let what you can't do prevent you from doing something that you can do. I made sure I ate 220 calories per hour. If I had a huge calorie deficit, I would bonk and that would be the end of the race. A race official on a motorcycle passed me and called out my number. She said I needed to watch the draft zone. The rule was 7 meters between me and the athlete in front of me. I knew that but when people passed me three at a time, it was harder to keep that distance. What was I supposed to do? pedal backward? I just apologized and thanked them for the warning. At least I didn't get a penalty.

At mile 40, we rode behind Husky gas station. After that turn, we started climbing 7.4 miles on Richter Pass. In the middle of the climb, two ambulances with siren blaring passed us as we crawled going up hill. It wasn't a good feeling. There was an accident or something on the descent. A day before the race, my sister asked me to be careful. From the way she said it, I knew she was pretty concerned. My parents didn't know I was doing this. I promised her that I would be safe.

I heard somebody said "Monika from Sandy Springs?" My race number on my back had my first name, so no surprise if he knew my name, but Sandy Springs, how did he know? Did I have UPS logo on my jersey? It was Cecil. He was the guy that I met at Cadence Bikes when I dropped off the bike to be shipped last week. He was 62 years young and this race was his 13th IM. We talked about time goals and we had similar goals for each leg. I asked him how swim was. He said it wasn't good. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had a good swim. There were a lot of spectators on the side of the street. A teenybopper with a giant Justin Bieber poster. A guy offered a bottle of tequila. Posters and cowbells were everywhere. As I was descending, I saw dried blood on the ground. It had to be from the accident.

At mile 50, I couldn't take the pain anymore. The acid indigestion turned to gas indigestion. People went to the emergency room thinking they had a heart attack which turned out to be gas indigestion. Extremenly painful. I stopped at a water station with potter potties. Without going too much details, after the stop, I got back on the bike and felt like a new person. I felt 200% better. There were many rolling hills between Richter Pass and the out and back stretch. Well, it was supposed to be out and back but they changed the course. I was a little confused why we made a couple of U turns. Did I miss a turn? How did I get back to the main road? I saw Eric and Sarah but not Susan. Since she's a Type 1 diabetes, she took a long time in Transition because she had to test her blood sugar and make sure it wasn't too high or too low. I grabbed my special need bag at mile 75. A few miles later, we were back on the main road.

On the "out and back" stretch

Before the Yellow Lake climb, I saw another ambulance in the middle of the road. The EMT was treating an athlete that was lying on the ground. I couldn't look. I didn't want to know. It would freak me out.

Yellow Lake climb, as expected, was long. A couple of short breaks in between three climbs. As I descended, my chain got stuck. I got off the bike to fix it. Sarah passed me. Back to town, a guy, as he was passing me, said "only a marathon left" with excitement. Only? On Main Street, the crowd was getting bigger. Penticton was a city of 30,000 people. They embraced IM Canada every year. Everybody came out to cheer (and watched us suffer). I finished the bike in 7.5 hours. I would like to finish in 7 hours but I wasn't disappointed. My legs felt fresh as I jogged to the changing tent. The volunteer that helped me was great. She strapped my Garmin on my wrist and running belt on my waist as I put my running socks and shoes on. Team work! I applied sunscreen on my face. There was no mirror. I was afraid I looked like a ghost. I looked to the left, a girl was applying pink lip gloss. Funny.

A little too much sunscreen

As I was running out of the transition, I saw Sarah. She told me to go for it. That's what I like about her, she was always encouraging. Running was my time to shine. No more stomach pain. Everything felt great. I settled in 11 minute pace. I drank water every water stop and took a squirt of EFS. My running mantra was "one two Kalamazoo... three four Jersey Shore..." I repeated the words over and over again. They matched my strides. Mile one and two were on an out and back stretch. I saw Eric who was ahead of me. I passed him a couple of miles later. He looked great. As I was running on Main Street, I saw Susan at the end of her ride. She had a smile on her face. We were all doing great.

This was a marathon but I couldn't think of running for 26.2 miles. I made mini goals. The first goal was 10K. After I passed the 10K mark, the next goal was the turn around at mile 13.1. I stopped for a porter potty a couple of times. A few people stopped and started throwing up. Not pretty. I passed a woman who had her 2012 check list printed on the back of her shirt. 1. Get married, checked. 2. Have a baby, checked. 3. Ironman, unchecked. Interesting... and these were 2012 goals? I asked how old her baby was. She said 3 months. Holy cow! How did she train for this?

Around mile 10, my quads felt tighter. I tried to think about something else. I knew Mary was ahead of me. Her PT Solution blue and gold top stood out. I recognized her right away. She was about 5 miles ahead of me. I said something encouraging but I could tell she wasn't feeling to be on top of the world.

Mile 11 was a long uphill. I shortened the strides. It was hard but I didn't walk. As I was running downhill, I noticed everybody on the other side walked the uphill. It hurt running downhill, so it hurt more running uphill on the way back. I was wondering how Cecil was doing. Since I met him only once, I wasn't sure if I could recognize him right away. Literally 15 seconds later, a guy who looked like him ran on the other side. I tried to read the name on his bib. It was Cecil!  I said something like, good job, keep it up. He looked he was hurting a bit.

The turn around at Mile 13 was where we picked up our special need bag. I had a PB&J sandwich, socks and a head lamp, just in case it got too dark later. I was too focused getting stuff out of the bag. I didn't run through the timing mat. A volunteer chased the guy besides me and asked him if he passed the timing mat. He did, but I didn't, so I ran back. The turn around area was like a block party. Loud music, lots of volunteers and spectators, people were dressing up to entertain us. A race volunteer said "you're on your way home, folks!" Somehow those words sounded so sweet. 13 miles to go.

Mile 15 hill was next. I ran at the beginning and started walking the rest of it. I lengthened my strides. At the crest, I picked up running again. I looked to my left, and realized that the hill that I ran on Mile 11 was really long. I couldn't believe that I didn't walk. It gave me a shot of adrenaline. With 10 miles to go, I started doing the count down, the remaining miles were going down to a single digit. I felt really good and started checking my pace, I ran faster than the first 13 miles. I knew good feeling in a race didn't last long but I wanted to enjoy it for as long as I could. Miles were ticking off and I still felt great. I was dreading "the wall" and miraculously it never came.  The stomach pain turned to be a blessing. I saved plenty for the run. I kept passing people left and right. With 5 miles to go, I decided to aim for 14 hours finish time. I did all the math in my head and it looked very obtainable. Back on Main Street, there were a lot more people on the street cheering for us. I saw Susan's cheering squad. I high fived Ellen, Jessie and Belinda. I picked up my pace. It was hard to believe that I ran a negative split marathon.

The longest mile was the last 1.2 miles. I ran passed the hotel we stayed. It felt like I was running for a long time on Lake Shore Drive. I could hear the announcer and see the finish arch. I said a prayer. I was extremely grateful I could toe off at the start line healthy and finish this race in one piece. When I watched people finishing an Ironman, I always wondering what it felt like, what kind of emotion they were feeling, what they were thinking moments before crossing the finish. For me, it was pure excitement. It wasn't so much about running through the finishing chutes, but the journey to get there.

I raised my hands and jumped in the air before I hit the tape. Too bad the race photo didn't capture that.

Pre Ironman Canada: Day 4 Saturday

After I went over the bags over and over again, I was ready to turn in the swim to bike and bike to run bags.

The left side is my run stuff, the right is my bike stuff.

I think I was pretty low maintenance. Sarah, Eric and I went around to go through each other's bags. Just in case, we missed something. We went to the transition area to drop off the bike and these two bags. The transition area was big as I expected. There were 2,600 plus bikes. I found my spot. It was the end of rack.

I covered my aero bottle with a plastic bag. Just in case, it rained overnight.

I deflated the tires a bit to avoid flats in the morning. I then dropped off the swim to bike bag. I put pink duck tape on the bag, so it was easier to spot.

Don't they look like a grave yard?

Bike to Run bags

I memorized my spots. I used trees, memorial stone and brick path to remember where I put them. The changing tents looked pretty small. Hopefully it wasn't too full when I got there tomorrow.

The buoys that marked the swim course were in the transition area. By tomorrow morning, they were out in the water marking the 2.4 mile swim. 

Swim buoys. The white ones were the turning buoys.

After I went through the transition area twice, we walked back to the hotel passed the finishing chutes and took some pictures.

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.