Many thanks for the cards, calls, emails, thoughts and prayers encouraging me on my recent half ironman quest at the Lake Stevens 70.3. I am so grateful for your support, and believe me, I drew on it all morning yesterday! Here’s a bit about the race.
Shortcut detail:
1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
5 hours, 34 minutes, 23 seconds
I’m not sure more perfect conditions exist for a half ironman than those we enjoyed on Sunday. Overcast skies, moderate humidity, not a drop of rain, and I doubt the temperature bumped up over 70 degrees. This meant flat water, safe riding, and comparatively little discomfort on the run for someone like me who is occasionally haunted by hydration issues.
So, with a few of the variables I couldn’t control already sorted out, I went into the race in good spirits.
Because the race start was seeded by age, my wave was among the last to hit the water (does getting older mean we swim slower? NO!!). I tried not to stress on the reality that there would be a lot of flotsam and jetsam out there to navigate around. The swim was a long rectangular 1.2 mile course, marked not only with large course/turn buoys, but also many smaller buoys to make it easy to stay where we belonged. I swam stroke for stroke with the legendary Tracy Orcutt (who I have admired from the distance for about a decade as one of the top athletes in the Seattle area) as we both swam under, over, and around the folks from the earlier waves who were out there doing their best. I finished the swim in just over 31 minutes; slow for me but at the top of my age group.
Into T1, I was very focused. It’s been years since I’ve done a race of this distance and a lot more stuff has to get into your pockets (snacks, ibuprofen, chapstick, bike repair gear) than one has to worry about in my more typical sprint. I also took the time to put on my lucky kiwi green socks. I hate having cold feet and the morning was still quite cool.
I was off and cycling happily in no time. The course has about a five mile “out” and then two rolling/hilly loops that cover the beautifully wooded Lake Stevens/Lake Roesiger area. The game of leapfrog continued. The race officials had warned us emphatically about drafting (you need to remain 3 full bike lengths behind the rear wheel of the guy ahead of you) and related penalties. I’ve been yellow carded in a past race for drafting and wanted to avoid that embarrassment this time around, which meant spending a lot of time in the passing lane on the first loop.
I felt strong on my bike and, other than all of the traffic, it was fun. There’s a huge hill at mile 20 (that repeats at mile 44 or so) which gave me the chance to test my mettle. It was great to see Bruce encouraging us at the top—both times!—reminding me to “finish that hill!” It’s a doozy, even for this little mountain goat.
We rolled back into Lake Stevens and I was on track—my goal had been to break 3 hours on the ride; I finished in 2:58. Despite this, I was out of the hunt for real, having been passed by a handful of women in my division on the bike course.
So, another pair of fresh socks, a quick comfort break (someone needs to figure out how to put flush toilets on the race course, PLEASE) and I was off on the run. I spotted Mike in the run out of T2, which gave me added encouragement and focus. At times like this, a friendly face in the crowd means everything.
The 13.1 mile run consisted of 2 loops of a figure 8 course that mostly rolls but has a few tough hills. I felt very relaxed during the first 6 miles or so, then the pressure of the day landed on me pretty hard. The design of the course allows you to see your friends and fellow competitors several times so you can gauge your progress and position. I am a weak runner (despite fairly targeted training) and had been nervous about the 13.1 mile distance. I did finish right on my goal time of 2 hours, though the last 3 miles were tough – my left knee has been tricky for the last two weeks and did not shut up throughout the last half hour or so of the race.
I finished a few minutes slower than my stretch goal time of 5:30. Even so, I am quite happy with my 5:34.23. I felt so lucky to be out there, to have been blessed with the time to prepare and the talent to participate in something this hard. I enjoyed seeing many friends (some of them new to the half iron distance) racing with such heart and performing so well. Thanks for supporting me through it all.
Ironman Canada 2009? See you there!
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