dL Florida Half-Ironman
There were challenges preceding this race that made it difficult to have the best of days. Approximately 1 month before the race, I started to have issues with my left knee. After having to stop mid run a few times I decided that maybe I needed some PT to see if they could help me solve the issues. I tried to see the great PT I had in the past, but he was all booked up. So, I just looked through the phone book and found one about a half mile from where I worked. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem very knowledgeable and after going there a few times, it seemed like they were really not doing anything to help me. So, I decided that I would just take it easy for run, stretch a fair amount and work on my balance, which was one of the issues that caused me problems in the past.
Another challenge was getting my new TT bike. I had planned on having it a month before the event so I could tweak and make any adjustments necessary. Then there were a series of issues; bike shipped later than expected, parts went missing in shipment at the UPS facilities, needed new parts shipped, delivered to bike shop, and then the zipp rear wheel had a shimano freehub body which needed to be replaced by a campy one that they had to order. So I didn’t pick my bike up until the day before we departed and I just prayed everything would work properly once I arrived in Florida.
The final challenge was work, I was working on a 100 page workbook that was taking long hours to complete. For nearly 2 weeks before the event, I was working 10-12 hour days and I had to work one entire weekend day before the event. Training was dramatically affected, but the training before this challenge had been good, so I was hoping that would be enough to propel me to have a good time.
Regardless of the event I always have my goals that I want to shoot for. For this event I was hoping to be around 2:15 for the bike, and 4:45 for the race. Perhaps they were a little too lofty of a goal, but I thought I might be possible.
We departed to Florida on Friday at the ass-crack of dawn. 6:30am flights are not fun. Arrived and put the bikes together to go out and see how the new ride feels. I must say I didn’t like the way it felt to begin with. The shifting wasn’t working well and my neck was already hurting after about 15 minutes, how was it going to feel after 2+ hours? I made a few tweaks, moved the seat a little more forward and rotated the bars a bit in the hopes it would feel a little more comfortable.
Pre race: Triathlons start way, way too early. After getting up at 4am, 2 days before, we had to wake up a 4am again, ouch… So, with everything leading up to the race, I was just going to give my best effort and see what happens.
Swim: Other than almost losing my timing chip as soon as I started swimming things went okay. I felt I was going pretty well. My sighting wasn’t as great as it could be. As I departed the water I saw I was at 44 minutes. It was what it was. Later on spoke with a few others and saw the time, and they all seemed slower than normal so maybe the course was a bit longer.
Bike: Now it was time to get down to business. Let’s see how fast this bike is going to be. The plan was to keep the HR at around 155 and I did that for the most part the entire ride. There were a few rollers where it would rise to over 160, but then I would settle it back down to my zone. So, in that zone, I was cruising 25-26 mph so I thought I could sustain that and have a good ride. Since I initially started in the 13th wave for the swim, there were plenty of people to pass. I always like passing people and I passed hundreds and hundreds of people. Of course, I liked that. Anyway, bike time ended up being 2:17. Pretty pleased with that.
Run: The course was 3 laps with a few miles on a grass and sandy path. As I first started the run, it was feeling extremely hot. Perhaps this was due to having plenty of breeze on the bike. I was thinking survival mode, just try to get into a rhythm and the finish will arrive. The first few miles were really tough. I wasn’t really keeping track of my pace, but it felt slooooooooooooow. There were lots of people passing me. Eventually after a few of the aid stations and getting enough ice on my head I started to feel I was going a bit better and started to pass people. Then the first lap was over. Yeah. Only 2 more to go. The following laps went okay, should have been faster, but with the heat, the slowness of the sandy/grassy, and the time at the aid stations to refill and cool down, the time ended up being a little less than 2 hours. Not great, but with the heat and the fact that I hadn’t been able to run much at all preceding the event, I was okay with it.
Overall: My time was 5:08, a few minutes slower than when I did Mooseman last year, but perhaps next time will be better. I was happy that my knee was feeling good. Hopefully, it will stay healthy and strong. So, for now, looking forward to Roth, a little apprehensive about doing the marathon, but I hope to get a few long runs in so I will have confidence in my run.
pam's fla 70.3 report
70.3 Ironman Florida - May 20, 2007
Leading up to Roth, for my half-iron "race sim" training race, this year I picked the Florida Half-Ironman.
Mooseman is what I've done the past 2 years since it's local to Boston, but I don't do too well in the cold - and this year it's too close to Roth anyways. Daniel is heat-averse and I'm cold averse...I had done my time in the cold, so it was Daniel's turn to suck it up in the heat ;)
Expectations:
From what I'd seen from peoples' times the previous years. I knew the run was challenging for some reason and times weren't too fast. The swim would be without a wetsuit, so I expected it to be slower than the races I've done with a wetsuit.
The bike, on the other hand, was looking favorable. That is my favorite of the 3 disciplines, but I haven't been able to do as well as I've wanted in Half-Irons since I always pick the cold water/hilly ones. I've done well in olympics, but I've really wanted to clock a decent bike time in a longer distance race.
This year it took me a little longer to motivate as far as my training goes than in past years when I started my training enthusiastically in December/January. This year it took me until March to really get into it. In addition, my coach (Patrick McCrann) tried something a little different in my training plan this year. Instead of having me do long base miles earlier in the season, he had me working on my power on the bike and on my tempo work in the run and swim in February and March and started the distance in April. I was wondering how that would work. Turns out it worked very well! I had the speed on shorter distances and when I tried my longer workouts, I did them significantly faster than last year.
Pre-race:
I felt very excited - not nervous or anxious at all. I guess that happens once you do an Iron-distance race. At one point, a half-iron seemed eternal, but now I saw it as a training race for the Ironman. I felt stronger this year and finally felt like I had control over racing a 70.3 instead of it being about survival. Friday we got to the Orlando area. Daniel put together the bikes and we went for an easy spin to make sure everything was working. Saturday morning we swam at the training center in Clermont, and then we went to pick up our packets and drop off our bikes at the athlete's village in Disney World.
Swim:
It was my first open water swim of the year and my first race without a wetsuit. I seeded myself in the middle and I seemed to stay in the middle. I passed a lot of people in my AG at the beginning and then near the end some fast people from the next wave passed me. I figured I was in the middle of the pack like I expected. When I got out of the water my watch said 43 minutes. WHAT? I had done that distance the previous week in the pool and it took me 35! I thought about my friend Andrea's last race report and vowed to not be too hard on myself! Then I got back to the transition area and saw a ton of bikes still racked. Hmm - maybe it was long or tough for everyone. At the end I looked at the results, and I was smack in the middle of the pack for my division like I thought. I spoke to a guy who said he took several minutes longer than what he usually did, which was pretty much my case - so maybe it was a bit long or just choppy - oh well.
Bike:
I had the "magic wheels" on (zipp 404's courtesy of Landry's). No power meter this time, so I got an inexpensive bike computer and decided to go by heartrate (start in zone 2 do most in zone 3). My bike was feeling fast with the wheels, and I made it a point to eat and drink a lot on the bike since I knew that the run would feel pretty hot. My goal on the bike was to break 2:50 and I did! Ended up with 2:48 so I was happy with my bike time. I think I was 16th out of 96 on the bike.
Run:
Took me a few miles to find my running legs. I seemed to be doing 8-something min miles. They changed the run course from a few years ago. Two years ago it went through an ugly parking lot with trucks in it - it was 2 loops. This year it was 3 more scenic loops and approximately 2 miles of each loop was on grass-covered sand. It was comfortable on the knees, but definitely not conducive to a fast time! I also had to go into the porta-potty several times on the run so I prob. lost a few minutes there. Ended up with 1:54 which for me is a very slow time - hmm, I seemed to be passing a lot of people - so I looked at my rank in my division and it was actually higher than the bike! 13th out of 96...so I guess it was slowish for everyone.
Overall:
I ended up with 5:36 which is a PR for me by 9 minutes. I kinda wanted to break 5:30, but I'll take the PR. I do want to do another half-iron this year - maybe in August - so I can try again! Overall, feel pretty good and ready for Roth, though. Post race, I saw my friend Audrey and her boyfriend Ryan who came up from West Palm Beach - they were around the finish line cheering. I went into the lake to cool off, found Daniel and then we all went to eat. Figured I burned around 4000 calories so I could have that pizza, mac&cheese...and dessert too!
back from hiatus
wow - i've been dormant here huh? and roth's 2 months away! what have i been doing?
after a slow(er than usual) start this season, i finally feel like i've gotten with the program, so i'm feeling a bit more motivated to write :)
it took me awhile to get started this year..why? a few reasons:
- back in november, i was supposed to do the philly marathon. 2 weeks before, i got really bad patellar tendinitis. so, i was off running entirely for december. january i did short sets on the treadmill only 45 mins was my "long run"
- the weather has not been great in boston - especially for outdoor riding. january was nice - i was outside riding my bike as a matter of fact, then february had a ridiculous number of sub-freezing icy snowy icky days...so did march - april too. and yes, i'm a bit sick of the trainer!
- in addition, the weather wasn't too conducive in helping me motivate!
how did i "get with the program?"
basically, i had a reality check that my racing season was not too far away...that motivated me pretty quickly. i would speak to jorge and he told me about his 100-mile rides (yeah, plural) - while my longest ride outside in 2007 had been 3 hours or so a month ago
in addition, i went to dc to visit my friends mariana and andrea - they were really strong from training. i went running with them and did my training run at what was previously my race pace. so, i made a "note to self" that i needed to push myself racing. back in boston, i ran a 10k, PR'ed and broke the elusive (for me) 45 minute mark. (44:48 or something)...ok so i felt pretty good about my running so that helped.
so, for the past few weeks, my training's been going pretty well. patrick (my coach) bumped up my hours, which put my mind more at ease as far as preparation. i've also been looking forward more to my workouts.
so, my hopes for this season: stay healthy so i can start my races healthy. for both of my a-races, i will try my best and will be happy to finish - will be even happier if i improve upon last year. there are always factors that one can't control (weather, some mechanicals etc etc) so whatever happens happens, i'll just hope everything goes well and and try for the best and enjoy it :)
-pam
back again
it's been a while since we last posted but we are still alive and training. we are signed up to do the ironman distance quelle challenge race in germany again. training has been going well. my swimming is feeling much better. the running varies, a couple months ago i was feeling pretty good, but now, i've been feeling kind of slow. the bike is probably the same. i guess after riding 20+ years, you're not going to get much faster, but i do have a new bike coming this weekend that should help me go faster. anyway, that's it for now. we will start posting on a regular basis until the race.
dL
from ironmaiden to ironman
here's the lowdown my first iron distance race a few weeks ago in roth. first of all, I'd recommend this race to anyone from iron vet to newby, as the whole expereience was top-notch from race organization to fan support. so if you're looking for something besides a kona slot, look no further. this is it.
combining a race with some family time and some sightseeing gives you a dual pupose too. so if everything doesn't go as planned with your race, it's not like a failed mission. there is life beyond ironman.
i was fortunate enough to have shred this experience with my ever supportive wife yolanda, my sister pam and her boyfriend daniel (who both raced their first too), and my sister-in-law beatriz. what a better way to celebrate a great race than to be surrounded by family in a beautiful place you've never been before.
race morning, july 2, 2006 Roth, Germany
hold back, hold back, hold back...
these were the only words ringing thru my head and the only thing that i needed to remember all day. as a virgin at this distance, i'd have to live by these words for the following 10 hours that would follow, not knowing how the body would react and trusting that things will get tough at mile 20 of the marathon no matter how easy you went all day.
so that's what it really came down to for me, geting to the final six miles of the run as fresh as possible by holding back all day. this strategy would (almost) guarantee me a finish. my only true goal as a first timer at the distance.
i approached the 3800m swim as a warm up for what was to come, just focusing on each stroke at a time, slow steady strokes and just staying relaxed. 1:13 later i was ready to saddle up.
once in the saddle, i knew my geatest limiter would be to hold back on the bike for the marathon, never having raced beyond th half marathon distance ever.
holding back again here was the name of the game. on training rides this spring i'd regularly do the 112 mile bike leg in the low 4:50's. today however, the motion of each pedal stroke would serve a greater, less immediate purpose. increased energy for the run, not a faster bike spit.
so as most sprinted up rollers, hammered hills and raced each other, i just swallowed my pride and just held back in zone 1 for most of the day, all in anticipation for the last six miles of the run. i just tried to stay focused on my nutrition and even enjoyed some of the sights. it was actually pretty comfortable, feeling the best after mile 100.
5:18 or :19 later it was time to run (can't remember).
i tried not to think about running a full marathon, instead focusing on each step as it presented itself. hold back, hold back.. sure enough mile 20 of the run came around, this is when i started gritting my teeth till the end.
overall i guess it was like a really, really long warm up to a slow and painful 10k run.
I was happy to finish in 10:40 or so but next time i'd like to actually race the distance a bit more and see what happens.
til next time
jrod
Quelle(quel-la) Challenge Roth(ruott)
Pre-race thoughts: Before I start, I want to say I only started running and swimming in September of last year, so doing an iron distance race only 7-8 months after that is a pretty big jump. Hopefully the 20+ years of bike racing was going to make up for my lack of swimming or running skills.
As for this particular race, I was just going into the race trying to stay as calm as possible. With all my racing experience, getting too nervous / excited, thinking about all the different possibilities and scenarios before a race does no good. The plan was just try and eat as much as I could on the bike and get something at every aid station on the run and hopefully things would work out okay, but this being my first iron distance race, one never knows how the body will react after 10+ hours of racing. Regardless of this being my first iron distance race I had goals in my head that I wanted to accomplish. Obviously, finishing was one, but I did believe I should be able to fall under the 11 hour mark if things went as planned. 1:10-1:15 in the swim, 5:00-5:15 bike and around 4 for the run. I was mostly worried about the run since racing mooseman I had picked up some tendonitis in my ankles and they were feeling really sore after any training runs and would need lots of ice and recovery before the next effort. My coach informed me that once you are in the run, you are hurting in so many other areas the ankles would be the least of my worries.
Race: Have I said before that tris start way too early?? Wake up at 3:45 so we can arrive by 4:50 as the race instructed. I’m a morning person and to me, it’s totally redonculous. On the autobahn doing 200 kph to the race and we make it in no time.
Swim: It was one lap up and back of a 40 meter wide canal I had swam in a couple days before the race. Being that the location is really further north than Boston, I was expecting the water to be just as frigid, maybe even more so, but I guess because the canal is never over 30 feet deep the water had warmed much warmer than I had expected and was pleasantly surprised and happy that it felt comfy. Anyway, I was in the 4th wave which started 45 minutes after Pam and another 5 minutes behind her brother, Jorge. Plan was just to get in a groove and get to the finish of the swim. Thankful the left shoulder was not bothering me as I had experienced in mooseman and some training open water swims. I felt like I was going okay, but I must say ¾ of the way through, I was ready for it to be over. As I got out of the water and I saw 82 minutes, I was a little surprised because I thought I was going pretty well. At mooseman, I felt like I couldn’t get out of my way and I finished that in 37 minutes some how. (1:22:14)
T1: This is a long race, sprinting to the changing tent is not really going to matter and I didn’t want to irritate my ankle before I even started running. Volunteer helped empty my bag and got me going onto the bike. (6:47)
Bike: As I got going I was trying to settle the heart rate down, but keep the speed at a decent pace. The first half lap I was passing boatloads of people, Obviously still feeling good. Loved the descent with 4 switchbacks. The euros are much better bike handlers than most US triathletes. If this descent was in the US, there would be people going 5 mph around the corners totally getting in the way. Nearing the 80 k point we have the climb out of Hilpoltstein with thousands of fans lining the roads. It was really cool and it just pushed you up the climb. In the next day’s newspaper, it said there was a total of around 130,000 people watching the race. WOW. Near this point, the riders around me were near the same level and things were staying status quo. With the amount of athletes, it was impossible not to be using other people’s drafts. Still feeling pretty good as I was heading out on the second lap. Average was 21 (.) something at this point. Passed Pam around the 140k point and we encouraged each other that we were doing great. The second time up the 2k long climb out of Greding, I saw our host Ingrid waving as I went by. Near the overall 5 hour point I started feeling a little fatigue in the quads so I started to be a little more cautious. All throughout the bike I had been really good about eating and gels approximately every 15 minutes and drinking plenty. Getting in the last 20 k of the bike ride I noticed some on the verge cramping when I stood up. I was thinking, this could be a problem for the following run. I had also been taking a pair of salt tabs every 1.5 hours. Then about 10 k from the bike finish I had one of my quads lock up for about a minute. Thankfully, it was on a down hill so I could just keep rolling. So, until T2 I just tried to spin the legs really easily and hope for the best in the run. (5:20:06)
T2: The volunteers at the race were absolutely great. She unloaded my bag, asked what I wanted from it and even applied some suntan lotion to my white farmer’s tan shoulders to prevent the scorching that would occur without that. (4:26)
Run: The thought was to jog the legs and hope for no more cramping. Out of T2 took some more salt tabs plus some Ibroprofen to hopefully assist me to the finish. The first k was not good. I had a calf cramp and had to walk already. WTF? After that initial cramp I got going pretty well. A couple days before I heard from my coach that ¾ of the run was along the canal with hard pack which my ankles were extremely grateful for. For about 15 k, I ran constantly while walking through the aid stations to refuel. Saw Jorge after about 8k, I think he was at 10 or 11k at that point. Then I barely saw Pam around 12 k for me. At the pace I was going I thought 10:45 might be possible. Unfortunately, the wheels really started to come off after here. I would get a serve cramp in the calf, quad, or hamstring and all I could do was walk. Between 15-30k, the frequency just increased as the distance continued. On the final out and back loop I saw Jorge & Pam and knew Pam was getting closer. Since, I was where I was, I knew she would catch me in time and hopefully my mind & body would work together and maybe we could finish together. That would have been really cool. Before she finally caught me, I had to take a pit stop in the woods. Then finally she caught me at 33-34k and she gave me some more salt tabs since I was out and then I tried to follow. That lasted about .5 k, a serve cramped followed in the calf and I told her she should just go on. I didn’t want me hindering her from having the best time possible. Pretty much from here out, I was mostly walking. With all the people cheering for me, I felt bad I wasn’t running. So, every couple minutes I would attempt to run again, but after 30 seconds or so, something would seize up and I had to walk. From 36 on I was in dire need of a porta-let but there were none to be had. Thankfully at one of the aid stations there was a workshop and I asked if there was any toilet I could use. Thankfully there was. After reliving myself I felt pretty dizzy so I sat on a bench a couple minutes before continuing. While sitting there, I thought I might not make it to the finish, but I got up and started again. Even though the crowds really started getting bigger, I just had no more run in me for the last couple of k’s. I was afraid I was going to have to walk through the very big crowds in the stands at the finish. But, I was able to barely run the last couple hundred meters to the finish line. (5:11:21)
Total Time: 12:04:57
Post race: I was in a world of hurt. I felt dizzy, nauseous, just out of it, and I meandered around for a while getting a little something to eat but mostly sitting down / laying down just waiting to feel better. Eventually found all the peeps and we gathered all our crap-o-la and we eventually made back to Greding after trips to pick up the car and bikes from the different transition areas. I think we arrived home near 11pm. Man, what a long f^&*ing day.
Post race thoughts: I think my body runs a little warmer than most and for me to have a successful race I would really have to amp up the salt & liquid intake. In bike racing, 6 hours is about the max time you spend on the bike and at that time of my race, I was still okay. The heat as well made it tougher on me. When I lived in Florida I would weigh myself before and after a ride and I would regular loose 10lbs in which I was drinking as much as I could. It would have been interesting to see what the difference in weight before I started and after I finished. So, after my ankles get a good recovery I’ll think about doing and ironman next year. My feet were already a little tweaked before I began run training all together and I will just have to wait and see how they feel in the future.
Finally I want to thank everyone for their support, my coach Olaf Sabatschus for his workouts, which I tried to follow as religiously as possible and his guidance, coach Patrick for master swimming, teaching me how to run correctly and so much more, and Pam for realizing if you work hard, good things happen.
Until next time,
dL
da 411 from pam
On Sunday July 2nd, I completed my first iron distance race. Thinking about it, 10 years ago, this is the LAST thing I thought I would be doing with my life.
Anyways, this is my fourth season training for and racing triathlons. It all started when my brother suckered me into doing the Wildflower Olympic since I had recently discovered exercising/going to the gym. I raced, finished, loved it, and stuck with the sport. The first year I raced was great because I took that summer off from work, so I had all the time in the world to train - I primarily did olympics and sprints - I loved the "speed" and "all-out-effort" aspects of the races, but being a novice, I still wanted to try the other distances to see what I would like best.
The next two years were a bit more challenging. I got into racing longer races, including a marathon and a few half-irons. Endurance was very challenging for me - as was balancing longer hours of training since I had since started working. I felt that my race results were mediocre - stress from work would sap my energy on a regular basis, I couldn't quite nail some the workouts prescribed in my training plan, and I struggled with anxiety and having problems eating before races, which did not help my performance. When I would do olympic distance events, I would do well, but I still didn't feel I had the control I wanted over the longer events.
Well, 2006 it seems like things have taken a turn for the better. Last fall, I committed to an iron-distance race: the Quelle Challenge in Roth (Bavaria), Germany. I vowed to "not let 2005 happen to me again" and to do everything in my power to be as prepared as I could for racing. Sure, there are some factors in a race that I would not have control over (weather, flat tires etc etc) but as far as the factors I had control over, such as training properly and assigning priorities to things in my life to make that happen, I committed to make the best of them. I was also looking forward to Jorge and Daniel racing alongside me in all of our first iron-distance event.
I changed some things in my life, like setting up a work schedule that was more conducive to training, starting practicing bikram yoga to help me with focus and relaxation. I signed up for two races before the big event - hyannis half marathon and mooseman half iron. I pr'ed on the first by 8 minutes and on the 2nd I finished 26 minutes faster than 2005. Things were looking good. I was able to follow the training schedule that my coach (Patrick McCrann of PTS) set up for me. I had done the work and I felt prepared. I enjoyed a week and a half of vacation time in Germany before the race. I was relaxed and in a great mood. No anxiety, 'cause I felt I had prepared well - so as long as I focused on what I knew/had control over as well as on smiling and having fun, the rest would fall into place.
The days leading up to the race, it was very hot. I remembered the marathon I did in the hot weather and how things went quite smoothly due do following nutrition closely...and I also remembered the races where I didn't do well due to poor nutrition. So, I knew nutrition would be important - I increased my salt intake the days before the race. We ate dinner with Daniel's coach Olaf, who said there was a lot of climbing on the bike course and that it was by no means fast - you were either going up or down and there were two "big" hills. I guess the 2800 we had estimated was meters and not feet, so it would be closer to 8000+ feet of climbing. I rode the challenging hill on the course. For some reason before going there, I didn't think it would be so hilly so it was good I did. I swam in the canal and checked out the transition areas.
I reviewed my race plan over and over so on race day, when I would potentially feel delirious at mile 18 of the marathon, I would have no questions as to what my plan/task at hand was. I had to "close the deal" after all this preparation.
The day before, I checked in/ covered my bike and handed my run bag to the appropriate peeps to be taken to T2. There were 2 different transition areas in the race and the finish was in a third location. But, this being the best-run and organized race I have ever seen and/or been to, everything went smoothly and seamlessly.
Race Morning, I was to relax and eat. That went smoothly - downed a cup of coffee and a bowl of muesli with Jorge and Daniel at 3:30am. I headed to the race start - we had to be there by 4:50 AM. I was going to be in the first wave at 6:20. In European long distance triathlons, I had been told that a - the ratio of men to women was much higher and b - the competition was tougher (and tough-looking) - probably due to the status of the race (oldest iron-distance event in Europe) and the 15 hour cutoff time. All the women, since there were 230 of us out of a field of almost 3500 athletes, got to start with the Pros and Senior men. I handed my remaining bags to the appropriate people, did some light stretching with J and D, listened to some tunes, laughed (we were betting they would play "The FInal Countown" and they did) and checked out Faris as he did some funky stretching routine.
My plan on the swim was to take it easy and do as little work as possible, I had really worked on my swimming for the past year, so I felt good about it. I wasn't going to go fast - this was just to get the blood flowing for the rest of the hours to come. I was able to execute it pretty well. I warmed up for a few minutes swimming to the swim start. When we were off, I seeded myself in the middle of the pack and found some feet to draft off of - the person might have gone a bit slower than I would have liked, but better safe than sorry - I'd take the "a bit slower" over the "pushing too hard". Time was 1:21
T1 - Got my bag, went to the changing tent, the volunteers were awesome and extremely efficient, sat down in the middle of a sea of nekkid men (yes, the euro tents are co-ed and yes, nudity is allowed) changed into my bike clothes, got my bike, and jogged out of T2 singing along to what they were playing (Crazy by Gnarls Barkley)
On the bike, I was to really stay focused. I was using my friend Mo's power-tap device and Patrick had loaned me his power-tap-equipped bling bling race wheels. In addition, he had crunched some numbers and come up with wattage for my race. This was schweeeeet. The first hour and a half, I was to take it very easy. Patrick, Ironman-guru-extraordinaire, had also advised me to NOT lose my patience as people zoomed past me during this time - and instead to trust him that I would see many of those people at the end of the bike and on the run. As I started the ride, I was very impressed with the fan support. I later read in the newspaper that 130,000 fans had watched the race!!!! I seriously felt like I was a Tour de France racer instead of an age-grouper. Every town along the course had come out to watch and cheer. Anyways, lo and behold, a bunch of people - lots of guys with scary-looking legs with names like Thor and Wolfgang - zoomed past me autobahn-style. Patience, patience, I thought. After an hour and a half, I went up to speed. There was some wind, but it seemed bearable. I finished the first loop in around 3:05. On one of the climbs, it was like the tour - fans were on either side of you about a foot away cheering - it seriously didn't feel like a hard climb this way! There were also 4 hairpin turns down hill - so I did as daniel taught me to work the brakes and apex the corners, so I got some good speed and didn't fly off the mountain. Anyways, the second loop was much slower since it seemed like there was very strong headwind the whole time - but I stuck to my wattage and did not force the issue to try to hold the same speed. Patrick was right - I ended up passing several of those people who had zoomed past me at the beginning. I was also meticulous about my nutrition - including taking extra salt tabs - in order to minimize the House of Pain I would potentially experience on the deathmarch...I mean, marathon. Bike Time was 6:26 - figured that was decent for 8000 feet of climbing and I didn't want to go too hard because I knew the fun would begin running the marathon in 90 degree heat.
T2 - Again, very efficiently run by the volunteers. I sat down for a few minutes to massage my feet since they swelled up on the bike and were hurting a bit. Pain subsided, and I was off once again.
On the run, I wanted to keep my cadence high and my vertical movement to a minimum. Baby steps. My goal was to try to hold around 9-10 minute miles. I really concentrated on my form and on my nutrition. I noticed a lot of people hurting bad and walking (including some of the ones who had zoomed past me on the bike) The first 28 kilometers were ok - i had reached the half marathon point at 2:05. After mile 10, coke tasted very good. I noticed that relay teams here were serious business - yup, saw a few Kenyan relay runners zoom past to finish under 2:20. Anyways, saw Jorge and Daniel twice along the run course which helped me get some energy. As is usually the case, the last 8 miles were very tough - even though I was jogging most of the time, I did stop to walk all the aid stations. My heartrate was very low b/c I was hurting so bad that my legs wouldn't go any faster. Finished in 4:26 - only 11 mins slower than my only stand-alone marathon.
Finished in 12:27 - I was pretty happy since it was my first iron-distance race and my goal was primarily to finish. I did have a thought in the back of my head that if I finished between 12 and 13 hours I would be even more psyched, which I did, so I was :) I think I was able to have a good race because I stayed focused on the factors I could control - preparation, nutrition, being mentally relaxed, focusing on the task at hand during every moment of the race, and having a good time.
After the race, I hit the massage tent for a nice 30 minute massage, found my family, and headed home. Called Patrick and Maura to report the good news back to Boston - and eventually, when I came off my sugar high, I went to sleep. (yes, even though I had been awake since 3:30am and it was 11pm, since I had been eating primarily sugar the whole day, I was more wired than tired!)
The following morning, I was a bit sore, but that all got taken care of when I went to Baden Baden where I met with friend and fellow-Iron-woman Heather Shand who had raced the same day in Ironman Switzerland and PR'ed (yay!!!)
I highly recommend Quelle Challenge Roth if you are thinking of an Iron-distance race. Unless you are trying to qualify for Hawaii (it isn't Ironman Corporation, so it does not offer Hawaii spots), this is a great race to do. It is the best-run and organized race I've been to and seen, the course is beautiful, the roads are smooth, the volunteers are great. The fan support is absolutely amazing. I also recommend recovering in the Baden Baden spas the following day - I swear the water there has some magical powers. I was able to do a lot of walking when I went to see the Tour de France the following day relatively pain-free. I also recommend working with Patrick McCrann or the other coaches at PTS if you're thinking of working with a coach. They're experts at racing smart. Not only did Patrick set up a great training plan for me that worked with my schedule, he also advised me on nutrition, race strategy and execution - all of which helped immensely.
Finally, I'm so proud of Daniel and Jorge who did an awesome job in Roth in their first iron-distance race - and helped inspire and motivate me to do the same :) (Y gracias a Yolanda y Bea por apoyarnos durante la carrera y haber tomado fotos!)
numbahs
looks like i get to start with the pros - that makes it easy to know where to seed myself hehe - sure as hell not in the front of the pack!
i guess for the race they have the fastest people starting with all the women (not too many of us) and the oldest men at the a** crack of dawn - 6:20 am - then the general starting time is at 6:55 and every 5 minutes after that - jorge goes on the third wave at 7:05 and daniel goes on the 4th wave at 7:10 - i guess it will be pretty cool since i'll see them on the bike course...passing me, that is!
our numbers:
1490 daniel
964 jorge
191 pam
for the race website
click herehopefully i'll be able to get online once more before the race - otherwise, see you on the other side!
