Last summer, I signed up for IMC with some trepidation. I had spent the last 4 years since IMWA (Nov '05) rearranging my entire life essentially, and a big part of me still wasn't sure I was done rearranging. Separation->Divorce->new incredible happiness->new house->new job->another new house... all the while resolving my underlying health issues (hypothyroidism, which knocked me out of the game/s for close to 3 years). It had been a long period with a lot of changes. Last summer, as my health improved and I began racing short course again, I started thinking "why not?" I had always wanted to do IMC, that feeling had never changed, and now that I had a partner in crime who was actually willing to do it with me, I figured "why not?" or as SimpleS used to always say "how bad could it be?"
I don't think I seriously started training until January, and I know I trained a lot less than I had for IMWA. My goals were modest: 1) have fun; 2) beat my IMWA time of 13:46 by 1 second; 3) try to not get too badly whooped by Phil; 4) continue to have a life while training. Overall, trainig went well, and my racing through the season went well, even managing to podium a few times. The times were improving, I was recovering well, and feeling stronger and stronger. I lost 25lbs over 5ish months, and (of course) my run times started dropping again. My confidence was high, and my ability to focus was better than it had been in years.
We drove up on Friday, registered, and stayed with Phil's folks in Westbank, er West Kelowna now. On Saturday, we hauled their huge tailer down to Penticton and got camp set-up. We had both kids (K - 5yo and L - 4yo) in tow, but with Phil's parents' help, they were sufficiently distracted. Thank god, because they would need the distraction on Sunday! They spent Saturday night making t-shirts with our numbers on them, so we'd be able to spot them. We all hit the hay early and tried to sleep.
Sunday. Up at 4:30. Dark sky, starts out, lake like a mirror. Coffee. Yogurt. Sunscreen. Dress. Drive to racesite. Double check the bags, pump the tires. I ran into NorthShoreGirl at the bags, chatted with her and her hubby NorthShore a bit; ran into QRGirl and MDragerNYC at the bikes, chatted with them a bit. I decided to skip the HRM and just wear a watch. Heck, last week I even uninstalled my ergomo pro on my bike. I was going to have nothing but my perception and the time on my wrist today. Kickin it Alexia-style - using the force and not much else...
I was all set, ready to go. Suited up, headed off to find Phil and down to the lake. Ran into Calvin, who was debating starting (due to vertigo - poor guy looked green). We hit the water to warm up/loosen up, perfect temperature. Sister Madonna Buder told Phil to "have a good race, son". We sang "O Canada" and waited to start. We had lined up pretty close to the front of the group, and pretty much dead centre. I'm glad I did start so far forward. Hit the water and swam strong for oh first 5min or so, and managed to find a small amount of open water right behind a great draft mule. I must have rode that guy's feet almost all the way to the first turn at the sailboat. I was trying to swim steady, with long complete strokes and bilateral breathing, and I was feeling pretty damn good. Hit the second turn, and looked up to see the Resort towers, so I knew it was all "downhill" from there. Unfortunately I took in a pretty big drink of lake at that time, and it came right back up - sorry to whomever was behind me - I have never vomited while swimming and it was a pretty odd feeling to say the least! cleared my mouth a few times, then continued on. Having spectated the swim finish a number of times, I was wondering "when is the big draft doing to start?" (if you've stood at the swim finish at IMC, you'll know exactly what I mean - the lake surges and there's a huge current that starts to wash up in advance of the bulk of the swimmer). Sure enough about 500m out, I could feel it... it felt like swimming with an ocean current at your feet. Those last 500m were probably my fastest ever.
(what a crummy pic eh? oh well)
Exited the lake and saw a 1:14 on my watch! Wow! IMWA: 1:30 in horrible conditions (huge chop and major currents). So I was already 1 second up (just had to stay there haha). Got stripped, grabbed my bag, hit the tent and got geared up. The volunteers were great, and incredibly helpful. Transition was 3:40, far faster than the 8min or so at IMWA. Got out, on the bike and slowly spun up Main St. I knew this was going to be a long day, so I took the ride very conservatively. I spun up every hill, in low gears, and drank lots/ate lots. Felt pretty good, and even though I was being passed by a lot of people and I knew I *could* ride faster, I just stayed the course. Boys who are reading this RR should skip down to the next paragraph now. About 20km in to the ride, I got a huge lower ab cramp. Oh no. Not today. Please not today. Yep, today, 1 day early. My least favourite visitor arrived. I had to get to special needs (130k) to get "supplies", so I knew the ride was going to feel even longer than I originally thought... I was very cramped for a long time. Riding aero was pretty painful, but I tried to do it for any flats and downhills.
(climbing up Richter Pass)
I got to special needs and grabbed my bag, looking for my TURKEY WRAP. Man oh man that tasted like HEAVEN. Glad I packed it, good 500cal of meat and salt and tortilla. Scarfed that down, and carried on. My cramping was starting to go away, so things were turning around. Started the slow climb to Yellow Lake, and was pleasantly surprised at how many people I passed along that section. In fact on the last climb past Twin Lakes, I must have passed 20 or so people on that one hill. Legs felt really good. Crested the last real hill, and flew down to the lake. Turned towards North, and noticed a nice headwind. I hadn't even noticed it had been windy all day. Heck I hadn't even noticed the heat. I had noticed the smoke and haze, but they weren't really bothering me. That last stretch along Main is actually deceptively uphill... ;-) I saw Phil heading out on the run as I was in the last stretch. He was about 30min ahead of me. Wow! I thought he would have been waaaaay haead of me.
Flew into T2 with feet out of the shoes and with a bike split 6:44, slower than I would have liked, but considering how crummy I felt for most of the ride, I was happy enough. My watch said 8hrs when I arrived at T2, so I was still about 30min ahead of my IMWA time. Cool! Tried to move through T2 quickly, ended up with 4:16 for T2 (almost 4min ahead of my T2 time in INWA).
(nice team jersey eh?)
Headed out on the run, with legs feeling good, great even. Started steady, clocking 10min miles evenly through to the run turnaround. Every aid station and uphill I walked - that was always my plan. Every aid station was the same: dump water on coolwings and head, drink the cola, start running. Got to the turnaround, had a quick portapottie visit, and headed back out. Kept ticking along at the same pace, passing a lot of people, until about mile 17. Then my stomach said "woah". I suspect some of the cola wasn't totally flat, so I was really burpy and really needed to puke. I couldn't muster any saliva. I walked to the next aid station, took a drink of water, and immediately chucked. Thank god. I felt so much better. Stuck to pretzels and water for the rest of the run. I will had to walk a lot for the next two miles, but eventially told myself "hey a slow shuffle is still faster than walking" and started shuffling. The shuffle turned into a run, and before long I was back onmy 10min mile pace and feeling fine. Got to the Skaha marina area, saw Phil's parent's and the kids! lots of huge and kisses and "I love you"s! Totally awesome. Then I saw Khai, what a let down - just kidding. He walked with me a bit (it was an aid station area) and told me I had 7k of pain left. So I sucked it up and started running. Kept ticking along, and got just to the turn onto Lakeshore where I just had to stop and walk - I could see the crowd ahead and hear the noise and I kind of wanted to enjoy a last moment of relative silence and peace, reflect on what a day this had been, and what the finish ahead would feel like.
Turned onto Lakeshore and WOW huge crowds, huge noise. Ran and ran and ran. Ran right through the finish line and immediately saw Phil. 13:05. 45min faster than IMWA. BIG hug from Phil. He led me over to the family. Huge hugs and kisses rom K - "Mommy, you're my champion! and I'm you'e little champion!" immediately followed by "Can I wear your medal?" ;-) Phil finished in 12:30, what a great result for a first Ironman - I knew he'd do great - and he did. I'm so proud of him. I only imagine what he could do with a few more years of dedicated training...
(done! yay!)
Pizza. Massage. Changed out of wet clothes. Got gear and headed back. A nice bottle of bubbly at the campsite with Phil's parents, then we watched the finish line on tv until the end.
Great day.
Thanks to everyone I saw out there. D, Julian, Khai, Kylie, Paulo, Francois, Linda, a co-worker (Walter), a former co-worker (Stefan).
I think I'll volunteer next year.
AP
------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
I don't think I seriously started training until January, and I know I trained a lot less than I had for IMWA. My goals were modest: 1) have fun; 2) beat my IMWA time of 13:46 by 1 second; 3) try to not get too badly whooped by Phil; 4) continue to have a life while training. Overall, trainig went well, and my racing through the season went well, even managing to podium a few times. The times were improving, I was recovering well, and feeling stronger and stronger. I lost 25lbs over 5ish months, and (of course) my run times started dropping again. My confidence was high, and my ability to focus was better than it had been in years.
We drove up on Friday, registered, and stayed with Phil's folks in Westbank, er West Kelowna now. On Saturday, we hauled their huge tailer down to Penticton and got camp set-up. We had both kids (K - 5yo and L - 4yo) in tow, but with Phil's parents' help, they were sufficiently distracted. Thank god, because they would need the distraction on Sunday! They spent Saturday night making t-shirts with our numbers on them, so we'd be able to spot them. We all hit the hay early and tried to sleep.
Sunday. Up at 4:30. Dark sky, starts out, lake like a mirror. Coffee. Yogurt. Sunscreen. Dress. Drive to racesite. Double check the bags, pump the tires. I ran into NorthShoreGirl at the bags, chatted with her and her hubby NorthShore a bit; ran into QRGirl and MDragerNYC at the bikes, chatted with them a bit. I decided to skip the HRM and just wear a watch. Heck, last week I even uninstalled my ergomo pro on my bike. I was going to have nothing but my perception and the time on my wrist today. Kickin it Alexia-style - using the force and not much else...
I was all set, ready to go. Suited up, headed off to find Phil and down to the lake. Ran into Calvin, who was debating starting (due to vertigo - poor guy looked green). We hit the water to warm up/loosen up, perfect temperature. Sister Madonna Buder told Phil to "have a good race, son". We sang "O Canada" and waited to start. We had lined up pretty close to the front of the group, and pretty much dead centre. I'm glad I did start so far forward. Hit the water and swam strong for oh first 5min or so, and managed to find a small amount of open water right behind a great draft mule. I must have rode that guy's feet almost all the way to the first turn at the sailboat. I was trying to swim steady, with long complete strokes and bilateral breathing, and I was feeling pretty damn good. Hit the second turn, and looked up to see the Resort towers, so I knew it was all "downhill" from there. Unfortunately I took in a pretty big drink of lake at that time, and it came right back up - sorry to whomever was behind me - I have never vomited while swimming and it was a pretty odd feeling to say the least! cleared my mouth a few times, then continued on. Having spectated the swim finish a number of times, I was wondering "when is the big draft doing to start?" (if you've stood at the swim finish at IMC, you'll know exactly what I mean - the lake surges and there's a huge current that starts to wash up in advance of the bulk of the swimmer). Sure enough about 500m out, I could feel it... it felt like swimming with an ocean current at your feet. Those last 500m were probably my fastest ever.
(what a crummy pic eh? oh well)
Exited the lake and saw a 1:14 on my watch! Wow! IMWA: 1:30 in horrible conditions (huge chop and major currents). So I was already 1 second up (just had to stay there haha). Got stripped, grabbed my bag, hit the tent and got geared up. The volunteers were great, and incredibly helpful. Transition was 3:40, far faster than the 8min or so at IMWA. Got out, on the bike and slowly spun up Main St. I knew this was going to be a long day, so I took the ride very conservatively. I spun up every hill, in low gears, and drank lots/ate lots. Felt pretty good, and even though I was being passed by a lot of people and I knew I *could* ride faster, I just stayed the course. Boys who are reading this RR should skip down to the next paragraph now. About 20km in to the ride, I got a huge lower ab cramp. Oh no. Not today. Please not today. Yep, today, 1 day early. My least favourite visitor arrived. I had to get to special needs (130k) to get "supplies", so I knew the ride was going to feel even longer than I originally thought... I was very cramped for a long time. Riding aero was pretty painful, but I tried to do it for any flats and downhills.
(climbing up Richter Pass)
I got to special needs and grabbed my bag, looking for my TURKEY WRAP. Man oh man that tasted like HEAVEN. Glad I packed it, good 500cal of meat and salt and tortilla. Scarfed that down, and carried on. My cramping was starting to go away, so things were turning around. Started the slow climb to Yellow Lake, and was pleasantly surprised at how many people I passed along that section. In fact on the last climb past Twin Lakes, I must have passed 20 or so people on that one hill. Legs felt really good. Crested the last real hill, and flew down to the lake. Turned towards North, and noticed a nice headwind. I hadn't even noticed it had been windy all day. Heck I hadn't even noticed the heat. I had noticed the smoke and haze, but they weren't really bothering me. That last stretch along Main is actually deceptively uphill... ;-) I saw Phil heading out on the run as I was in the last stretch. He was about 30min ahead of me. Wow! I thought he would have been waaaaay haead of me.
Flew into T2 with feet out of the shoes and with a bike split 6:44, slower than I would have liked, but considering how crummy I felt for most of the ride, I was happy enough. My watch said 8hrs when I arrived at T2, so I was still about 30min ahead of my IMWA time. Cool! Tried to move through T2 quickly, ended up with 4:16 for T2 (almost 4min ahead of my T2 time in INWA).
(nice team jersey eh?)
Headed out on the run, with legs feeling good, great even. Started steady, clocking 10min miles evenly through to the run turnaround. Every aid station and uphill I walked - that was always my plan. Every aid station was the same: dump water on coolwings and head, drink the cola, start running. Got to the turnaround, had a quick portapottie visit, and headed back out. Kept ticking along at the same pace, passing a lot of people, until about mile 17. Then my stomach said "woah". I suspect some of the cola wasn't totally flat, so I was really burpy and really needed to puke. I couldn't muster any saliva. I walked to the next aid station, took a drink of water, and immediately chucked. Thank god. I felt so much better. Stuck to pretzels and water for the rest of the run. I will had to walk a lot for the next two miles, but eventially told myself "hey a slow shuffle is still faster than walking" and started shuffling. The shuffle turned into a run, and before long I was back onmy 10min mile pace and feeling fine. Got to the Skaha marina area, saw Phil's parent's and the kids! lots of huge and kisses and "I love you"s! Totally awesome. Then I saw Khai, what a let down - just kidding. He walked with me a bit (it was an aid station area) and told me I had 7k of pain left. So I sucked it up and started running. Kept ticking along, and got just to the turn onto Lakeshore where I just had to stop and walk - I could see the crowd ahead and hear the noise and I kind of wanted to enjoy a last moment of relative silence and peace, reflect on what a day this had been, and what the finish ahead would feel like.
Turned onto Lakeshore and WOW huge crowds, huge noise. Ran and ran and ran. Ran right through the finish line and immediately saw Phil. 13:05. 45min faster than IMWA. BIG hug from Phil. He led me over to the family. Huge hugs and kisses rom K - "Mommy, you're my champion! and I'm you'e little champion!" immediately followed by "Can I wear your medal?" ;-) Phil finished in 12:30, what a great result for a first Ironman - I knew he'd do great - and he did. I'm so proud of him. I only imagine what he could do with a few more years of dedicated training...
(done! yay!)
Pizza. Massage. Changed out of wet clothes. Got gear and headed back. A nice bottle of bubbly at the campsite with Phil's parents, then we watched the finish line on tv until the end.
Great day.
Thanks to everyone I saw out there. D, Julian, Khai, Kylie, Paulo, Francois, Linda, a co-worker (Walter), a former co-worker (Stefan).
I think I'll volunteer next year.
AP
------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS