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Hey Diva - How was Timberman????
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Give us the scoop - how did it go?

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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It was harder than I thought it would be. Firstly, Timberman is the biggest, coolest, triathlon I have ever done. Everything is first class and Keith Jordan really does think of every little thing. It was cool to see someone of Chrissie Wellington's caliber, as well as Andy Potts. I also got to talk with Mr. Hoyt (the man who does all the Ironmen with his handicapped son in the raft etc.). It was impressive as two parachute guys jumped out of planes holding the American flag while the anthem was sung on the beach. They also performed the Canadian anthem, which I thought was a nice touch. The venue for the race is very beautiful.

Although I was disappointed in my time, 7:02, I consider it a start at this distance and was happy that I dealt with the problems that arose.
The first issue was a full blown panic attack in the water. Although I practiced a lot of open water swimming in Whistler this summer, I was always alone. The bodies all thrashing around me freaked me out. I was treading water and gasping like I was choking. As I looked at how far the distance was, it got worse. I had fleeting but strong thoughts of going to the kayak and quitting. I thought how far I traveled and how much $ I spent on the race, and I decided to swim twenty more strokes and see if I felt better. It worked. The swim took 56 minutes, but for me, to accomplish that swim was huge.

I was happy to get on my bike. As I began riding, problem #2 arose. The bottom chamber of my hydration system, which had the water, had a hair line crack and all the water leaked out. I subsequently consumed 6 packets of Gu with only Gatorade to wash them down. The last 30 minutess of the ride, I started throwing up. Again, I thought about quitting. Applied the 10 minute rule, and started to feel better.

I was super happy to begin the run, which is my favorite. One of the aid stations had a hill of snow and kids were handing out snowballs! It was great. I felt steady and was glad I hadn't quit earlier. On the second loop, my IT Band started hurting very badly. This hasn't bothered me in 3 years. I started remembering that ALL my running over the summer in Whistler had been on soft dirt trails. Here I was pounding it out on asphalt. No wonder it flared up. Although the rest of my body felt relatively good, the pain became so bad I had to walk at intervals. I tried to run 9 minutes and walk 1. It got worse. I made it across the finish line and felt thankful that I finished.

I learned a lot from this race. My coach said that's what these longer ones are all about, dealing with the problems that are inevitable at these longer distances. I can't even fathom doing 70.3 x 2!!! Total respect for those who do it. I will do this distance again and I will do it better. This was a "testing the water" experience and in spite of my problems, I loved the experience.

Have fun at Penticton next weekend. Safe travels.
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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Wow that is HUGE. Way to tough it out. You showed your ability to keep going in the face of adversity. You are one tough lady and P and I are really proud of you, missy!

Enjoy your recovery!

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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Way to go! Congrats on finishing the race!

Alexia


my support:

Pacific Multisport
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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CONGRATS! Way to keep going after each little mishap, that's great!

Hope you are enjoying your recovery time with some drinks, ice cream, whatever makes you happy :)



Proud member of the Guru Cartel, EH!
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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AWESOME - way to push through adversity and keep rolling.

Nicely done indeed. :D


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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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I saw a few pink caps bobbing out there from the beach. I know that swim freak out feeling definitely. The morning was chilly too which I really think contributes to it I looked at that swim and thought the distance seemed huge! Good for you for staying in the water and out of the kayak; I know that took a lot of determination and willpower. I'm glad you didn't quit, you would have felt horrible later.



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, it's amazing how far those swims looks when they are stretched out. I have signed up for Lone Star Half in Galveston in March. Going to give it another whirl. Hurricane Gustav is going to give us some pretty heavy surf. I'm going back out to the ocean with a SUPER swimmer to practice more. I wouldn't attempt it without her. We are going to try adverse conditions in a non stressful situation. Thanks for the kind words. Happy holiday weekend.
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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CONGRATS!!! Doing Timberman as your first half is definitely baptism by fire. It think will definitely get easier after that race (isn't the bike and run really hillly?). You had a very respectable finishing time, not even considering all the issues you had to deal with. Congrats on getting through it all and finishing strong.
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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Are you going to do Timberman next year? I rode the course the day before the race and was really surprised at just how difficult that bike course is. I liked the cooler temps though and I actually like a hilly course (well I like the climbs, the descents not so much!) so I'm thinking about doing this one next year.



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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I'm pretty certain I will do it again. I remember that I had to register months in advance because it does sell out fairly quickly. I'm relieved to hear you say you thought the bike course was difficult. Living in flat as a pancake South Texas, I thought it was hard too. I had spent the previous two months riding very difficult hills in Whistler, Canada. If I hadn't done that, I can't imagine how much slower my bike time would have been. I wish I had a solid six months of hill riding to prepare for that type ride.

If you decide to do it, keep in touch with me. I rented a very nice, and relatively inexpensive condo with three bedrooms for four nights for only $650.00. It was clean and bright and very convenient to the race sight. We only used two bedrooms and could have easily had another person or even couple with us. It was great to have the fully equipped kitchen to prepare out own healthy meals.

I did not think the run course was hard at all. It had one little hill, but not bad. The views were beautiful as you ran around the lake. It was primarily a residential neighborhood and the people were out in their lawn chairs supporting the race. I think it's my favorite tri run course I've ever done.


Stay in touch. Your profile doesn't indicate where you live. You should consider Galveston - Lone Star half as well. It's a KJ race and well done. It's flat, warm and a fun race the last weekend of March.
Highly recommend it.
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Re: Hey Diva - How was Timberman???? [diva] [ In reply to ]
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My husband did the race this year, I sherpa'd. He finished two mountain centuries in under 6 hours; has done IM Hawaii and Louisville and still said this was the most difficult bike course he's encountered on a half or full IM. We live on the very flat Va coast so I can definitely relate to being a flat lander and doing hills! That one climb on the first 10 mile little loop there is a doozy. I was into all the gearing I had and looking for more!

We stayed at Weir's beach. We had a nice little cottage but the motorcyclists were really noisy at night. In fact, the whole place was pretty noisy at night.

I almost signed up last year but since I couldn't even swim yet, was reluctant to fork out the $$. As it turns out swimming is a lot harder than it looks! And we won't even talk about OW swimming! Next year....



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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