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!)
