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What do you do when you come to a spoon in the Road?

Ann Sloan's Ironman Canada Race Report

IRONMAN CANADA – Ann S.
(2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run)
August 31, 2009

Must have coffee or wine or something. It is my epic novel again. No short versions here!!

Yes, it almost took me as long to write as the race it's self. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks.....
Just like an awards ceremony...there are a few thanks before reading.....
Thanks to the most awesome supportive husband ever - Steve. I admit it, I am spoiled. He cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped and did laundry by himself for the last 8 months...and NEVER complained. He was with me every step of the way.

Thanks to coach Cheryl for a wonderful plan that got me to the start line and finish line. It was perfect. I believed in my training, trusted in Cheryl and did everything asked. I think I missed maybe one workout.....of course it was approved by Cheryl.

Thanks to Barbara Rose for being a great bike training buddy. It was wonderful having a buddy to ride with each weekend - rain, snow and sun, hills and more hills. Congrats on her FIRST Ironman Finish.

Michele for the many Sunday runs by 'my rules'. She kept me sane in several of my long runs. Many great memories of the wonderful stories.

Lisa for the most proud, supportive friend I could possibly have - one of my biggest and loudest cheerleaders. For the last month she has had MY name on her blog title instead of hers! While she couldn't be at the race in person she was in my thoughts all day!

Thanks to ME for having stuck with my training, not missing a workout, having a fantastic day. Not everyone is as lucky as I was on this day or in their training. I had no flat tires, no cramping, no FREAKOUTs (before, during or after the race), I had FUN and actually enjoyed the day. I did not cry, but did tear up a few times....the pre-race meeting where the bagpipes played and walked through the room, the start of the race again the bagpipes get me again, and then writing my race report reliving my day.......

Thanks to all that supported me, cheered me, believed in me.....I thank you ALL...and now to the report.

I finished. I am an IRONMAN.


Total Time….
So here were my race plans.....
Realistic / Stretch / Just finish
Swim - 1:45 / 1:35 / 1:52
Trans 1 10 / 10 / 15
Bike 7:22 / 7:00 / 8:00
Trans 2 10 / 10 / 15
Run 5:15 / 5:00 / 6:06
Overall 14:42 / 13:56 / 16:30

ACTUAL TIMES:
Swim: 1:38
T1: 6:55
Bike: 7:08
T2: 8:25
Run: 6:15

Total Time: 15 hours 17 minutes

PRE RACE:

Got up at 4AM on Sunday morning, also dubbed 'Christmas' morning. All my bags, including cooler bags were laid out on the fireplace hearth. Ate my 2 uncrustables, fortify drink and got my stuff ready in all the bags. I had put post it's on the outside of the bags to make sure I didn't forget to put anything in.....that worked mostly.

I had 2 special needs bags - these are the bags that 'get you through' it. They are there for you at mile 75 of the bike and mile 13 of the run. I had my dry clothes bag, which I put my wet suit, goggles, cap. I did the necessary bathroom break. Then it was time to go.

Debbie, Steve and I headed to the car for the drive into town. It was dark, but the bright lights of the start line guided us. Debbie parked and Steve helped me carry my bags as far as he could then I was on my own. I walked down the street and was greeted by the volunteers telling us the yellow bags (bike needs) went on one side and the red bag (run needs) went on the other. There were boxes with numbers on the front....I promptly found the box with 2501 and dropped my bags into the box........

Then headed to body marking....at 5:10 AM it's busy but no line for marking. They marked my arms and front of my legs withh 2501. Then the back of my calf was my age.....

Headed into transtion where I went to my bike. I pumped up the tires, I had let most of the air out the prior day due to the heat. Tires like to blow up on race day! Luckily mine were fine and pumped up no problem. I loaded up my 'bento' box with my food - Simbree (cashew / coconut), Payday bar (cut up) and fig newtons. I also loaded up my Aero Bottle with Gatorade laced with Carbo Pro and salt. I put my NUUN (electrolyes) in my water. Then I realized I left my Gu Flash in the fridge....whoops, guess forgot to actually read the post it on the bag! Oh well, I hadn't trained with it, so wasn't overly concerned. After all there are aid stations every 10 miles. Calm....that was my mantra, I wasn't going to stress.

Kathleen found me.....told me she had tire issues....then Barbara Rose found me, she too had tire issue. Both were fixed ..and fine. The thought did cross my mind, that they had their issue pre-race, hopefully I wouldn't have one during the race!

The 3 of us hung out sitting on the ground waiting to be told to go to the beach. It was a quiet time. I drank a 'baby' bottle of Gatorade and had a GU. I was ready!

It was time......we went out to the beach. BR and Kathleen found Steve and Debbie before I did, we ran over got some pictures. Then Alecia from work found me. We hugged and went for more pictures. then it was good bye for the time being.

THE SWIM:
oh my gosh....what a beautiful morning. Imagine standing on the beach, after 8 months of training and the day is here! Blue sky, hundreds of people cheering, last minute hugs from family. Wishing your fellow racers luck for the day. The PROS are off and then it's 15 minutes until you are off.

It was weird. Again for another race I was so eerily calm. I wasn't nervous at all, which was kind of scary. I was READY. Thanks to the morning WAVY Friday Madison park swims, Wednesday morning swim practice, the TWO 2.4 mile swim's with Raise the Bar Tri team, my weekly swims with Kainoa Pauole-Roth - I KNEW I could do this - proper training makes all the difference in the world. The bagpipes started, oh that sound. Then it was the Canadian national anthem, which due to all the hockey I watch, I know almost better than the US anthem. Then it was the anthem of the race start - U2's BEAUTIFUL DAY. Arms in the air and signing, I was wading into the start.

I was off and swimming. The first buoy came into sight. Seemed to take a bit of time, but finally passed it. I thought of Lisa's comment on Saturday about her 9 minute swim for the LK Sammamish Triathlon....ha...I think mine is going to be a bit longer....

Kept on moving. My feet got touched a few times and that always surprises me as that usually means someone is drafting off of ME! Slow and steady I continued. Was really lucky, no one kicked me, punched me or anything. It was busy out there, but I just motored along. Thinking about the song - It's a Great Day to be alive....the sun still shining when I close my eyes.....wow, so lucky to be out here crusing along.

At the turn, there was supposed to be a LINE of house boats, but alas I think due to the SHALLOW water there were only two sail boats marking the turn. It was kind of scary as I was afraid that wasn't the turn, which is pretty dumb as that was the way all the swimmers were going. As i turned, below me on the lake floor was a DIVER. Yep, a diver was just hanging out down there making sure we were ok. I waved....

It was surreal.....there were kayaks, folks hanging on to both kayaks and the sail boat. I just kept moving and made the next turn to head back into shore. No angst or stress, it was just getting it done - focus on floating on air / water who knows. It was a 'different' kind of swim, can't really put words to it. Just went buoy to buoy knowing I was headed in and knowing I could do it well within the 2 hour 20 minute deadline. Since both my practice swims had been 1 hour 33 minutes! On the way back in my head I am thinking about transition - no dawdling. No talking to fellow racers....see my transitions tend to be long as I am known to be a little too social in my transitions. :)

As I come into the shore, about 500 yards out I hear it....the crowds cheering and Steve King the awesome announcer calling out racer names!

I am home...swim as far in as you can...and then stand up and walk up to the shore....and then wait for it....and here's Ann Sloan from North Bend! Whoo hoo....one down - feeling GREAT! Nailed it. It's ok to be at the back of the pack....nicer water and no fighting in the water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-5lDh4iTTw&NR=1 - swim start.

TIME: ROCKING 1 hour 38 minutes!

Transition 1:
As I leave the beach I head up to the grass, pulling of my swim cap and goggles. Pull of the top of my wetsuit and head to the wet suit strippers - yes, there are tons of volunteers at the ready to pull your wetsuit off of you! I wander around and hear - "Ann! Ann - over here!!" It's Patti K...from Raise the Bar! I was so excited to see someone I knew I gave her a big WET hug and you all thought I wasn't a hugger!!! Then I dropped down and off came the wet suit! Then I went to grab my Transition Bag.
I had the BEST number - right at the start or a row! SWEET.

Grabbed my bag and went into the Women's tent, where I was greeted by the MOST wonderful VOLUNTEER - JEANNE! She was AWESOME.

So get this...usually you have to do everything by yourself in a triathlon. No chair, no help, nothing...well, folks this is an IRONMAN. Jeanne grabbed my bag, let me pick a chair and I sat down. Then SHE preceded to pull all my 'junk' out of my Transition bag. I grabbed my jersey since I figured that would be the hardest to get on my wet body. As I worked on putting the jersey on over my wet body making sure all my food stuff didn't fly out of the pockets...she got to work. She took my hand towel and wiped the grass off of my feet, put a sock on one foot, then put on my shoe....then went to work on the other foot. Oh my gosh! Then she gave me my gloves to put on, then helmet and glasses. Then she said..go, go...I'll get all this stuff cleaned up! Holy cow....I just patted her on the shoulder and said thank you so much....yep! That would be why my transition was less than 7 minutes...all because of Jeanne and she was all business - there to get me in and out! Wonder if she and Cheryl had a chat before the race....

THE BIKE:
Yep, the usual...it's much easier to find your bike on the bike racks when you are in 2085 out of 2500 out of the water.....that means there are only 500 bikes left so you can find your bike so much easier. Granted I had a general idea of the location since the racks are marked, but it was dark and two hours ago since I last thought of where that bike was!!

There my 'black betty' was.....ready to go for the ride of her life! Quickly turned on my garmin computer which talked to me every 20 minutes to remind me to eat / drink so that we could make the long, hilly 112 mile ride. Unracked her and then walked out of transition....again, you are greeted by the many crowds on the street out of town. Since you have your number/name bib on - you hear lots of GO ANN's! SWEET. Head up on main street, lined with crowds...it really does feel like your own little tour de france!

The next turn would bring me to the Ann cheer squad - Steve, Debbie, Cheryl, Ruth and Ann J. The house we rented was right on the course...I crested the little hill and started waving so they knew I was coming! YAHOO!!! Steve squeaked the little Dino bike horn and Debbie took pictures......and the screams sent me on my way. Down the street I saw a BRIGHT NEON PINK sign...that said....Go 2501....I saw it then thought...hey that's my number! Yeah, processing a bit slow...it was JULIE, she'd made a sign. I yelled to her and she waved it at me then I saw Go Ann Go - #2501! How cool.......then I was headed out of town.
My timer goes off and I grab my water with NUUN....this is like Alka Seltzer - you know plop plop fizz fizz. Well, usually you want to leave your water bottle open so the fizz fizz can escape out of the bottle - NOT in your mouth. I forgot to open the bottle, so it exploded into my mouth and I had a nice little choking fit.....and it was just as we were heading up a little hill. I was passing someone so said coughing on your left ....that got a laugh out of a fellow racer. After 2 miles later I recovered from my coughing...needless to say the bottle top was now open!

We headed up the first major hill about 10 miles out of town. It didn't feel nearly as bad as July thankfully! Again, I have ridden this one twice and definitely ridden hard ones in training, before I knew it I was up and over it. Then it was into the valley, paranoid about getting a drafting penalty I ended up passing folks and going a little faster than I wanted. But was feeling good and my heart rate was reasonable. I was on track.....

After the nice downhill we made a turn and got on highway 97 headed for Osoyoos...I hit a bump on a bridge and there went my Gatorade bottle with some of my nutrition! Of course I was more worried about the rider to my side crashing due to my bottle flying out...luckily she made it by it without crashing! Whew! Thankfully there would be an aid station in the next few miles and I could pick up another bottle of Gatorade....just missing a few calories and salt. :( I successfully grabbed a Gatorade as I passed a volunteer. This made me nervous, I thought humm, we don't train for this. I have never RIDDEN through and aid station and grabbed a bottle before and I have heard lots of horror stories about crashing. I did it and got a good girl from the volunteer! Whew...ok now I had done it. I kept my head up for other riders and called out names - It's all about communication! Weird to call out fellow racer names like I have always ridden with them - but remember names are on the race numbers!

Made it to the 'famous' Husky station in Osoyoos, which marks the end of the 'easy' part of the Canada Ironman course. Here's where the training pays off or the course KICKS your ASS! I stopped at the aid station right before the start of the climb. A wonderful volunteer held my bike while I popped into the port o potty. Then I dumped Gatorade into my areo bottle on my handle bars. I also topped off my food storage in my 'bento box'. (this is a food holder on the top tube of my bike that holds lots of food). Grabbed another water and put NUUN in...left the top OPEN. Then headed up Richter....and to the camera man! Yes, those race guys are real nice...they side mid way up Richter and take your picture. I got a great one! Yes, I AM here for the pictures, apparently someone else was too - there was a guy who at one point said...great photo op and took out a little camera and took pictures of the view! Now that's my kind of racer.... :)

We kept going up, up, up. The road again was lined with cheering folks. I was feeling good....a gal next to me asked if we were to the top yet...I said...see that sign - that means you are THERE...of course we still have the 7 'Bitches' - What she said? I said - you know...those lovely rollers...there's 7 of them! Let's go get them!! There were some ladies holding a sign that said I love legs!! They had cool hats and were cheering - they called out my name and cheered me on. I dubbed them the leg's ladies!

We crested the hill and then it was DOWNHILL! YAHOO no headwind or cross wind to speak of...so I let go of the breaks and FLEW!

Here is where I think I was just in a zone, thinking of the out and back section and yellow lake, cause I really have NO RECOLLECTION of the rollers. I ate, drank and just kept going. I am pretty sure I took a couple of power gels from a couple of the aid stations I passed, just to supplement my food and keep my energy up. I did pass Sister Madonna somewhere in here as I remember seeing her and then heard someone call her name - she is the oldest racer and is just beautiful. Again, I have done this section of the ride 4 times so I know it well. I see the 'legs' ladies again and yell to them. They leap frog us pretty much the whole section. I can hear / see them coming (I and probably one other guy have a rear view mirror on our helmets) and raise my arm cheering. They yell out - 'we are loving you Ann'!!! I was loving them and the distraction.

Before I knew it I was at the turn off to the out and back section. This is where you see LOADS of fellow racers. This is also where you see lots of struggling faces. I just kept pedaling. There are two 'dog ears' on this section - meaning you do two out and backs then get on the main road again. This section is full of little 'false' flats and hills. Finally we get to the turn around and they call my number....I head to my special needs bag and I am SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS.

Special needs is an interesting place. Normally it should be about 1/2 way into the bike ride, Canada it is at mile 75....well past the 1/2 way point and folks are tired. A girl in front of me was straddling her bike, savoring Pringles. Another gal fell off her bike trying to get to her bag. I am not going for a 'win', so I do take advantage of special needs.....Waiting for me.....I have a silver cooler bag packed with 4 blue ice things. Much to my surprise my frozen Gatorade bottle is STILL mostly frozen. I get some ice cold Gatorade and think...this will taste really nice on Yellow Lake climb as it should be thawed right about then and STILL be ice cold. SWEET.

Then I take my WET, COLD wash cloth from the Ziploc bag and wash off my face and arms.....ahhhhhh what an AWESOME treat. This is absolutely the best feeling ever!

Then...I take my 'frosted' cookie from a Ziploc container.
Yes, it too has survived the travel from the start of the race. I savored 1/2 of the cookie, didn't want to chance making myself totally sick.

Then I was off to go get the last hill - Yellow Lake! I was like a new person out of special needs, it was like I was starting again. WOW talk about a second wind....I was fine on time so could afford to enjoy special needs and not be stressed about cutoff times. I was on schedule.
Yellow lake is coming......traffic is backed up on the road...again, the shoulder of the road is LINED with people yelling for you to go and you are almost there.....and I am almost there! It was not nearly as bad as July! Really, having all those people cheering for you and just looking around keeps you going. Finally that GREAT sign again and we were headed down around yellow lake to the most glorious downhill ever. Yes, if you were sitting in traffic that was me....screaming ALLLLLLL the way down the hill at 31 mph! YEHAW!!!! It was fun passing all those poor cars stuck in traffic! Near the turn off to town I passed a guy and said....Weeee that was fun, I wanna do it again. He wasn't impressed....so I pedaled on - yes, it was my time and I love the bike. It is like I read....you make that turn back on the highway 97 going into Penticton and you have wings. You are almost done with the bike....you have done it well within the time frame. I looked at the clock and started pushing a bit harder hoping I could make my 7 hours but fighting with myself as I knew I still had to run 26.2 miles!

I get into town and I hear - hey I think that's Ann - Cindy (a Penticton local) who I stayed with this summer for two races saw me and was cheering her head off along with her husband Seann! That was cool.
I pull into the 'dismount' area and hear the song - Walk 500 miles by the Proclaimers - Honest, I am not lying! I did laugh at that. Here's me after 112 miles....Sean (fellow North Bend person) captured me getting off the bike and No, I actually didn't pose for the picture. That is a true smile. It was a GREAT ride and my training totally paid dividends. I wouldn't have changed a thing. It really is ALL ABOUT THE BIKE!

Transition 2:

I am back...and rack my bike. Again, I LOVE my number. I easily find my bike to run bag and head into the changing tent. Another volunteer takes my bag and we find a chair.

Here's where all modestly is lost. I and many other women opt to change shorts....so yep, you basically strip down and change your clothes. I put on my 'crazy' fancy pants...change my socks and shoes. This volunteer isn't Jeanne, but she helps me be organized. I hear numerous gals say they are so glad to be off the bike ~ me....well, I LIKE the bike so me, I'd rather do another leg of the bike instead of a 26.2 mile run.....

Again, I had my silver cooler bag packed with 4 blue ice things - my gatorade bottles are still mostly frozen, my wash cloth was also still cold. Again that wash cloth was heavenly! I wash my arms and face off. My bandanna was still cold also. I started carrying a bandanna a few runs ago to wipe off sweat from my face and have something I could get wet...later in the day this would be what keeps me going! Turn on my garmin computer. Put on my fuel belt and head out for the last long leg.

THE RUN:
Yep, just like I read the first couple of miles you are feeling OK! How could you not?!?! You just finished 2 legs of the race.....you are on the last part of your IRONMAN day. I have my awesome pants. If you don't want to be cheered on, DON'T wear anything to get attention...me, I wanted to drink it in and give the spectators something to remember...along with me! YEP, FANCY PANTS were my clothing of choice....Really, you can't miss them.

I heard, love the pants ~ go Ann so many times! It kept a huge smile on my face. Mile 1 or somewhere I saw Ruth, Ann J, Jeff K and Kaitlin. That was a nice lift. They said Barbara Rose was just ahead of me. I was feeling good. I heard the finish line and heard names of people finishing! I think the first woman was coming through....yep and I was just starting my run.

The nice pants kept coming...I started calling back that they'd be back in 6 hours in case anyone didn't get enough of them the first time!

Again, I passed saw Ruth, Ann J, Jeff K and Katlin on the way out of down town. Ruth asked me how I was....at that point - GREAT! Still flying high from the ride......I continued down Main Street. Had a posed photo for the photographer....yes, again I am all about the pictures! Now you see the pants?!?

I saw the 'legs' ladies again, we remembered each other....again got more cheers.

Here is where it got hard, yes, I did struggle. It was HOT and I started to feel nauseous. Food did not taste good...and I knew I needed to eat. Thankfully my GU flask did not taste bad to me....but my Gatorade did and my 'chews' did. I loaded up my bandanna with ice....patted my face. That was nice. I also got off my 8 min run / 1 min walk schedule. I was walking....just trying to settle my stomach. Heard someone else mumble the same thing. A team FAST (local Seattle Tri Group) gal was leaning over and a volunteer called a medic....she popped up and said she was fine - just stretching out her back. We all laughed as the poor volunteer had just run up with the first aid kit. Just testing....I walked with that gal a bit.

Again, I knew I'd be seeing Steve and Debbie at the house.....I think I ran a little. Then started down the little hill to the house...this was about mile 4.5. They brightened my day....I got to kiss Steve...I am sure I mumbled that I wasn't doing great. Debbie was like a crazy woman snapping pictures! Great encouragement. Cindy and Seann were there too. Steve had warned them, they would see me coming! That they did...can't miss those pants. Further down the road was Julie with the big pink sign again....I again I mumbled that I wasn't doing great, she yelled at me to look across the street at Duncan...I saw him and waved.....
That was the last of town, but there were still folks along the road. Many athletes walking at this point. Somewhere out here, I got my legs and tummy back and actually started running - aid station to aid station. Yes, my 8 / 1 went totally out the window....I just ran...and as soon as I saw the first porta pottie marking the onset of an aid station I would start walking. I started drinking pepsi and chicken broth ~ yep, double fisted drinker that I am. Best stuff ~ pretty much continued this at EACH aid station. There is a reason that there are aid stations every mile during an Ironman...now I know why. I also filled my bandanna with ice...MAN, I am sooooo very glad I had my bandanna. I patted my face and it kept me as cool as I could. This is also better than pouring water all over you and getting your shoes wet, as that would equal BLISTERS...and I was happy to keep those a bay for as long as possible. To keep my core cool I also filled my bra up with ice at each aid station.

Spoke with several athletes...many liked my pants. Just kept ticking the aid stations off. Kathleen caught me some where out on the road....we ran just a bit together and then she headed on. Saw Barbara Rose too. Did pose for a picture again!

Finally made it to special needs at 3 hours...again, had yet another silver cooler bag packed with 4 blue ice things. I had not used much of my fuel belt bottles, so didn't trade them out...in fact dumped one. I got my long sleeve shirt in case I got cold. Then again - the BEST thing ever - my cold wet wash cloth! Washed my face and let a big ahhhh out. A young gal who had commented on my pants was beside me - she let out a big sign to my ahhh. I said to her....I am tossing this wash cloth...so if you want it you are welcome to it. Might be gross to wash your face after me, but you are welcome to it. She said are you kidding, I don't care, I would love it! She said, she'd offer me her 'treat' but it was a toothbrush....and yeah that would be GROSS! We bundled up our bags and then headed back ....we were 1/2 done with the run and we were going to FINISH!

I ran just a bit...and then calculated in my head my time, dangerous I know no one should do ANY math after 12+ hours of exercise, but pretty much came to the conclusion that I had plenty of time. My goal for the run was shot, but I thought to myself....this is MY first Ironman....who am I doing this for?!? ME...so I feel good walking, I don't feel great running....so I am going to walk and enjoy the view, yes I'd like to be in under a 'certain' time, but again why...it's my first and I don't really want to feel like SHIT. The lake was beautiful. The moon was coming out....beautiful, unfortunately yellow due to forest fires, but an awesome sight. Athletes would pass me...ask how I was doing...Great I'd say. Saving my energy for the finish line....and then wish them well as they headed on. Some of them would keep running others would stop and walk. It was an effort for everyone. There was a volunteer giving out 'glow necklaces' so we could be seen. I happily took one and kept moving. At mile 19, it occurred to me that for the last 4+ hours I had been drinking Pepsi which equals caffeine! Yes, this is what I think about at mile 19, holy shit how will I be able to sleep tonight with all this caffeine. So from mile 19, it was Gatorade and chicken broth...ok, so really did you expect me to be thinking clearly?!?

I was almost to mile 22.5 which meant....seeing Steve and so much closer to the finish line. I was going to make it! I was walking, but making progress. I made it to Steve...dumped my fuel belt, extra shirt and my sunglasses. Ahhhhhh light as a feather. Debbie said I looked great...by this time I actually was feeling good. I kept motoring on after saying see you at the finish line.

I was then headed into downtown.....it was fun. Several athletes were more chatty here. We were going to finish...so the mood was lighter. I hit Main Street and I hear a few folks say...hey I remember those pants...I said...see I told you they'd be back in about 6 hours. Of course a big old smile on my face.

Down the street I see the clan - Cheryl, Ruth, Ann J, Barbara Rose - already an IRONMAN, Carla. I slow down and hug BR and congratulate her. Carla takes a quick picture...and of course Cheryl is yelling...GO...GO....., yeah I know...too social.

There are some great groups on the street and again, the PANTS take all the credit. They were awesome! I turned a corner and Debbie was there again, snapping photos telling me I look great. She runs along asking me about my day...I think she is more excited then me. Then she realizes that she must get to the finish line.....before me so she heads off and I head out to go PAST the finish line before I get to go down the chute......I am still walking but feeling the energy. It's 10 pm and the streets are still packed with yelling people. Amazing....the outdoor seating for restaruants are filled with finishers and familes....still cheering for us later folks. I turn the final cone to head back to that wonderful place called the finish line. I don't know where it comes from, but Cheryl had told me....you will go fast at the finish line and I had said no way, I want to savor it I'll go slow.....well, as usual Cheryl was RIGHT. Something takes over you.....(at least me) I just start running and smiling. I am going to make it...I am going to be an Ironman....here I come.
As I am heading towards the lights, yes, in this case you do want to go towards the LIGHT!

I hear.........Guns and Roses - Paradise City.

I want to go
I want to know
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to see
Oh, look at me
Oh, won't you please take me home

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Take me home (Oh, won't you please take me home)

I want to see
Oh, look at me
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to see
Boy, I'm gonna be mean
Oh, oh take me home

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to go
I want to know
Oh, won't you please take me hooooooome
Baby

Brian Guillen's Ironman Canada Race Report

Salt: It’s What’s for Dinner

“Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand? - Mr. Miyagi to Daniel-san in The Karate Kid

Going into my third Ironman-distance event and having had picture-perfect training, I was set to make my strongest showing yet. No injuries, very little deviation from my sixth-month training plan and the confidence of getting in several key 80 -90 degree training days all seemed to point to a certain succes of achieving my goals for the day’s race. However, I a made one mistake for which I would pay dearly. I misjudged a vital element for endurance sport success in heat: electrolyte balance.

The horn sounded on the beach signaling the start of a very long day for some 2650 competitors. Over five thousand adrenaline-filled arms instantaneously churned the waters white. Why the typical cannon’s fire to start IMC had been replaced by the same starting device used for the local triathlons was a question that I found unanswerable as I swam in between, around and, sometimes, over bodies in the turbulent waters around me. Chasing the floating feet ahead of me, I made my way around the bouys for 2.4 miles (if I was so lucky as to swim straight!). I exited the water in 1:06.

Onto the bike and through the streets of Penticton I fought the urge to let the adrenaline dictate my pace and allowed time start taking in fluids. Water was the drink of choice. Heading south on I-97 to Osoyoos, I came upon a massive peleton, roughly 25 riders strong. Ironman is supposed to by an individual sport so drafting on the bike is grounds for a penalty. However the size of this group was apparently too much for the officials to enforce, so I rode this “gravy train” down to Osoyoos and continued to drink lots of water. Richter Pass broke up the peleton and I happily ascended alone to the screaming crowds lining both sides of the street at the top of the pass

At mile fifty, I experienced the first signs of trouble: leg cramping. I suddenly realized that, aside from food items, I had consumed primarily water with no supplementation with salt tablets.Unknowingly, I had been diluting my system of vtal electrolytes for the past three and a half hours. The cramps got worse and, at times, I had to stop pedaling to try to rub out the involuntary contractions from the quad and groin muscles. At mile 75 or so was special needs. Oh, was I craving the Red Bull that I had packed so lovingly in my bag earlier in the morning! I got my bag and happily ripped into it grabbing one of two Little Debbie strawberry and cream rolls. But as I pulled out the cream roll, my Red Bull and other cream roll spilled out of the bag rolling across the asphalt behind me! Oh, the humanity! Oh, the horror! More than anything, this was a huge psychological blow. If I had been properly hydrated with electrolyte, I would have mustered a single tear as I watched my Red Bull roll into the ditch behind me.

In the remaining miles of the bike I fought cramps and I watched person after person come past me and I watched my primary goals of the race slip away. I completed my bike split in 5:29.

Onto the run I settled into an easy, comfortable pace. Using slightly different muscles I didn’t have any cramping issues. However, the damage that the cramps had done to my quads was nothing they would let me forget. Feeling relatively fine down to mile 10, I started to have the urge to urinate. At mile 12, I hopped into a sweltering port-o-potty and tried to relieve, but to no avail. Again at mile 13, I tried again. Nothing. The sensation soon became overwhelming. It was akin to the following:

Monday morning, 8:00am: You arrive at work with your delectable venti non-fat latte and head straight to a two-hour meeting.

8:55am: You suck down the last drop of your delectable venti non-fat latte.

9:15am: All 20 ounces of your delectable venti non-fat latte have passed through your stomach, intestine and kidneys and have now filled your bladder beyond its normal capacity. And in only 45 short minutes, the meeting will be over and you can go use the restroom.

As I continued jogging over the next several miles, the pain and the concern that I could not urinate continued to haunted me. At long last, the stress and the pain became too much: my will snapped like an old, tired elastic band stretched beyond its limits. I succumbed to walking. As I walked, that uncomfortable sensation seemed to subside. Still, I was worried about my kidneys. In my casual stroll around mile 17, I came upon medics picking up some unfortunate soul who gazed upon me with dark and bloodshot eyes that were focused lazily on something thousands of miles behind me. The medics were not too concerned about my condition so, as they loaded the man teetering on the brink of consciousness into the ambulance, I continued walking on, drinking chicken broth and cheering on those passing me and those heading the opposite way on the course.

At mile 21, as I was reaching my ultimate psychological low, something happened that dropped me deeper into the next circle of hell. A man in a full tiger suit came running past me. “r-r-r-ROAR,” he growled. He accompanied his fearsome growl by a rather feminine I-scratch-at-you-with-my-razor-sharp-tiger-claws gesture. In my mind, I roared back with a gesture which, under more positive times, I would not have even considered. At mile 23, I realized that I would have to run to break 12 hours. Soon thereafter, I found myself galloping along at a 7:30 pace passing all who passed me in the last few miles. At mile 25, my day was made: I flew by Tiger Boy as he impressed the crowed with his feline antics. I gave the man a high five and, at a sub-seven minute pace, finished the last mile of a very long day. Official finish time: 11:54:12.

Finals Thoughts:

• Electrolyte Balance: the primary mistake I made was not taking in e
• ectrolytes early on the bike. When I realized this mistake, it was already too late. Because of the heat and effort, I could not recover enough electrolytes to keep cramps at bay.
• I’m still not sure what happened on the run with the kidneys. Again, taking it a little easier on the bike (not getting wrapped up with the group early on) and getting proper hydration with salt tabs would likely have allowed for better fluid absorption throughout the day.
• Lastly, thoughts of quitting were pervasive once the going got tough. However, I remembered the last phone call with my wife, Tracy, before the race: “Brian, I’ll still love you if you come in dead last.” It was a very subtle point: I could come in last, but quitting was not an option. That’s exactly what I used to keep me going through the hard times of the race.

Ed Clarke's Ironman Canada Report

Greetings,

Here is my report of the race. We had been squirming over the weather predictions the past two weeks. It was looking like mid-90s on Sunday. But the weather eased up Saturday and we were blessed with mid to upper-80s on race day.

This would be the biggest mass-start swim I had so far - 2650+ lined up. I had unfinished business at IM Canada as my last attempt in 1998 ended in DNF at mile 7 of the run. I wanted to get a good swim in but not so good that there was no one to "ride with" down to Rickter pass. I lined up left of center in the front. A speedy 200 meter start earned me a seat in the "A buss" down to the first turn. About 6 of us swam in line through the 2nd marker at which time I sensed my swim partners were becomming passengers... off the front I swam, attempting to connect with the A+ group. Swam it alone, never caught 'em, off the beach in 54 flat. This was my 2nd best IM swim, next to that 52:05 that ended in DNF at IMCA 98. On the road around 57:00 I relaxed, jammed down 2 PowerGels with a bottle of fluid and warmed up the legs. Little by little, good quality riders came from behind and within 10 miles I was aboard the "10 hour train" for a super easy trip to Rickter. At the climb, I was quickly dropped by all of them. I stayed calm, didn't chase, and found myself comfortably integrated with the next pack of 6-7 riders in 2 minutes. We road through the rollers and on to the out-and-back near bike special needs. At this time I was suffering, back sore, legs threatening to cramp here and there, head-wind starting to grind, heat starting to pick up. Pushing out from special needs was sooo tough... by now I was rolling on my own as most groups were passing me by. I survived Yellow pass and wondered why there seemed to be more climbs than I recalled. Thank God this was returned in the form of a new down-hill ride into town for the last 12 miles. Different than I remember but much appreciated. Rolled into T2 with a 5:32 bike split. Still no Friggin... I was looking for him by mile 80. I thought perhaps he was feeling the toughness of this course too.

Nice clean T2 under 3 minutes and off on the run. I felt much better after 1 mile on the run, settling into my 9:30miles. On the initial out-and-back run (they ran us down lake-shore drive almost to the Riverside, around a cone and back towards main) there was FRIGG! It appeared he was roughly 6 minutes back. Now I started to put a little more into that screamin run pace. Yep - clicked off a few 9min units. By mile 10 the suffering was back in play and my quads were starting to winse. I was working the aid stations for sponges, ice, and salt while carrying lots of gatoraid in my waste-belt bott.e. This Great-Spencero-beat-the-heat system was perfect. I suspect it saved me at least 1 hour of potential walking. At the run turn I just grabbed my special needs bottle and there was FRIG! He was within 2 mins at the turn. Holy schnikers, I really needed to dig deep. Frig yelled to me "keep pushing". I followed those instructions, never looked back. Every mile on the return I saw my pace moving above 10mins so the watch was backing up on the gains I made 1st half. Still no Frig though... by mile 20 I thought what the heck, do I have a chance to complete a MASSIVE UPSET? I refused to look back. I kept my aid stations to < 1 minute of walking, continuing to work the ice, sponges, salt, chicken broth, and fill gatoraid bottle. I did not pee the entire race, not since before the swim start. yet I was feeling reasonably hydrated. I think the bod was processing everything perfectly, leaving nothing to spare.

Finally the gradual decent into town was in progress, coming down Main street. I could hear Steve King's voice. All the memories came back to me. I loved that sound. So close. But wait, still so far... that same out-and-back on Lakeshore drive! That 1 mile section seemed like 5. Finally the turn around cone in front of the Golden Sands and I was on the final stretch, had the finish arch in sight, no sign of the Frigglator, looking at my watch to see I would finish around 11:15.

Yay! This was an awesome outing for me. not my best time but each one of these Ironmans features a unique set of battles and one can either dig deep or go easy. I left it all out on the course this year.

48th in my age group, out of 314. Why is this age group remaining so tough? I think the slowest qualifying time had to be < 10:10.

I did not register for next year. I'm taking 2010 off from Ironman and will try to get back in touch with some run speed. Meanwhile, my new buddy Nick Johnson, who bested me by :25 at Ft Lewis series was there, volunteered in the face, and has signed up for 2010! Maybe this will work in my favor for a defense next year? :-)

Cheers,
Ed

Chris Lynch's Ironman Canada Report

"It's like armageddon out there."

Tyler was right. "You'll see people weaving on their bikes in a daze, puking on the side of the road, being hauled away in ambulance," he went on to explain. We all laughed as we sat in the comfort of the poolside of our hotel in Penticton, Canada. But there was a serious side to what he described I would be facing and what I did on the 30th of August, the day after my birthday.

Ironman Canada (IMC) is the longest running Ironman event outside of the hometown original in Hawaii. Running for its 27th year, it's easily one of the most popular and well known events in the sport of triathlon. It brings nearly 2600 athletes from all over the world to compete in a course that spans 140.6 miles miles over lake and land. Climbing over 6,500 feet in 90+ degree heat across a mountain pass and rolling hills, it's not an easy course.

The days leading up to my first Ironman were worrisome. Just days before I started feeling congested and slightly under the weather. After a year of training hard and beyond anything I'd ever done before and thousands of dollars in expenses, that wasn't what I had hoped for. I tried to stay positive and remembered why I was there and hoped I would get over the cold that I had been battling.

What makes it hard though is that I had done what you call tapering in the weeks up to Ironman. Tapering is essentially the lessening of your total workouts so that by the time you actually do such a damaging event like an Ironman your body is both sharp and rested. That's easier than it sounds - rest too much and you'll feel dull and lethargic, but work out too hard and you might not finish on race day. On top of my cold my body felt a sense of urgency to get out and push hard in workouts to prove to myself I could do it... fighting those urges is a mental wargame that dogs you day and night.

We had come to Penticton on the 27th to give enough time to rest, feel the course, and prep for the race. It sounds like having a few extra days would be plenty of downtime but every day was filled with activity, be it buying groceries for race day, stopping by the Bike Barn for last minute racing needs, or registering for the race and getting my packet and the bracelet that I would wear every day I was in Canada to identify I was an athlete in the race.

Truth be told, an Ironman isn't even about the day of the race or crossing he finish line. No, for me (and many others), an Ironman is a journey that started long before the 30th of August. I trained for a year for an event that would come and go in 15 hours on a single day. No, an Ironman is a long place off in the sunset and it'd be unfair to simply talk about the race.

Most of you know my story by now. By the time I had signed up for Ironman the furthest I'd ever run was 12 miles in one stretch. I'd never swam a 25 yard lap in my life, and had struggled my way through one 100 mile bike ride (a century) earlier in the year, not long after getting my first bike since I was a kid. Sitting by the poolside in Penticton I'd done exactly one sprint triathlon before (half mile swim, 12 mile bike, and 5K run). Maybe I was a bit crazy, but I like pushing myself :) I hadn't even intended to sign up for Ironman when I went to go watch it in 2008 with my buddy Robin who had done it twice before. I had become so inspired by the amazing stories and achievements that brought tears to my eyes watching the event unfold that I knew I had to do it. And so it was that this whole crazy thing started.

Throughout last winter I took swim lessons and ramped up my running. I started pushing my biking harder than I ever had before, envisioning a race that was a year off at the time. My training started at a very simple 8 hours a week which included running in the snow, ice, and rain. Days that I didn't feel like going and doing anything I forced myself. I injured my foot early in the year and had to back off running for a bit... it was hard to back off, but I remember saying, "well the race is still almost 9 months off."

It wasn't long until I was swimming a mile in the pool, but still hadn't touched a lake and didn't quite grasp that it was different. I still didn't even have a wetsuit. I was doing long runs well (but maybe not easily) and my cycling was starting to come into swing. Pretty soon my training weeks went from 8 hours to about 15 hours in a steady crescendo known as periodization training. Essentially every month was broken into 3 weeks of incrementally more difficult and longer training intervals with more frequent workouts followed by a week of light workout and recovery. Each week of the hard training sets gave me one rest day. Lather, rinse, repeat. The recovery weeks were like a drip of water in a dry desert - both physically and mentally.

My first swim in the open water was worrisome. I got horribly seasick and that was troubling, but I stayed positive and kept trying. Soon I could swim longer than before without getting sick, provided the water wasn't too rough. Later in the summer I signed up for a 3.2 mile swim called the Fat Salmon here in Seattle's Lake Washington, but ended up only getting to 2.5 miles before the choppy waters got me too sick to continue. I ended up throwing up my wonderful oatmeal breakfast in the lake before being pulled. That day I hoped the waters on my race day in Canada would be smoother.

By early August I was training over 20 hours a week in addition to work and life. I was worn down and tired in every way you can imagine. At that point I was riding mountain passes around the perimeter of Seattle nearly every week and doing multiple century rides throughout the week. On Sunday mornings I would get up early and run up to 20 miles no matter what the weather had in store for me.

You do the race you train for is what they say. The hope is that you train so hard that by the time your hit race day your event is, well, relatively easy so to speak. By the time I started tapering I was destroyed. The damage in my muscles was deep and my mind needed some time to recover.

On top of that the family was ready. Training for an Ironman isn't just about you... the family and friends that make it possible have to give 100% to make it happen. Bev was a saint and struggled alongside of me through tough times where family had to play second string to my training. That's not easy for anyone and my wife deserved so much from me that at times I just wasn't able to give. The light bulb in our master bedroom closet must have stayed burned out and unchanged for 3 months because I was simply too tired or other things were simply too pressing at the moment. I stopped blogging in April because something had to give. A lot of things "gave". A lot of things went on pause and I can't tell you how awesome my wife and son were in supporting me. It was never easy and it wasn't always fun, but we all did it together. The spouses of Ironman should all get a medal on race day.

What I didn't do? I didn't buy a tri bike. I wish I had, but I tried to do this with a focus more on the "engine" more than anything else. It's safe to say that my big heavy aluminum commuter bike, which I did at least outfit with an aero cockpit didn't do me any favors on race day, but it'll make me appreciate a nice TT bike come my next Ironman :)

And it wasn't long until I was sitting at the poolside talking with Tyler, who is a friend of my buddy Robin. Robin had done Ironman twice before and had dragged me up to watch the event with him last year when I signed up. Tyler had done it five times before if you can imagine that.

Pretty soon it wasn't months until Ironman. It wasn't weeks. It was days. Days until I would be standing in the water before the horn would go off to start racing. I wondered where the time went. It all seemed like a blur.

Bev, Cole and I were lucky enough to have my Mom and sister come in for the event, flying in from Ohio. After training so hard and so long for something it was so special to have my family there with me. It was unfortunate but my Dad couldn't make it in, but he made sure to call every hour to check in :)

My friends Patti and Lorinda also made the trek up and had signed up to volunteer on race day as strippers (ahaha, wet suit stripping you guys, sheesh) and body markers. It was great to have friends there to cheer me on too.

Ah, and that cold I had. That sucked. The next morning I went swimming with Robin down at Lake Okenagan to get a feel for the water. We went late in the morning and a mighty wind had come through, chopping up the water quite a bit. I swam a half mile and probably couldn't do anymore without losing it. Once again I worried about the water on race day. I hoped it would be calm.

Later in the day Robin, Cole and I all rode our bikes on the marathon course on an easy ride. Of course I say easy, but there were a few times that Robin saw some rabbits (ie. other cyclists) and decided he wanted to show off an blow them away, which we did :) We blew by them like we had rockets loaded up on our bikes. Thanks Robin. BTW, it's a beautiful course. Absolutely gorgeous.

You have a few bags that you pack up for Ironman. Transition bags (swim to bike and bike to run) and special needs bags that you can stash things in that you get around halfway between the ride and run. The day before the race I had to drop off my bike and transition bags, so things like helmets and shoes all had to get set up the day before, but food and drinks could wait until race morning.

When I took my bike in for drop off it hit me: I'm going to do an Ironman. I teared up with emotion looking around. Thousands of bikes, volunteers all around, and athletes of all shapes and sizes abound. It was remarkable and inspiring. I was here with them.

I tried to get the layout of the transition area done: where I would come in from the swim, the bike, and leave for the run. There's a lot that sits on your mind that you wonder about. When would I put my helmet on? What about my cycling shoes? How would I feel? Would I need to eat something my bag? Would it be hot? It's overwhelming to be honest.

Afterwards Bev and the gang and I all went on a long drive on the bike course. In total it took us 3 hours to drive the 112 mile course and create a strategy for Bev, Cole, Theresa, and my Mom on race day to see me. Spectating Ironman isn't easy at all and with road closures, delays, and thousands of athletes out on the course, you have to plan ahead or else you won't see your loved ones. Don't underestimate this step if you decide to do Canada!

I waited until the last half of the day before the race to pack food and special needs bags, which in retrospect was the wrong thing to do for my first Ironman. I just agonized over each and every detail and got all worked up getting everything ready. Not having done an Ironman before I stuffed my special needs bags with tons of food and crap. I had everything in them. Drinks, Oreos, pretzels, potato chips, bars, gels, sunscreen, lotions, microwave ovens, air conditioning units, and cute and fuzzy animals to play with in case I was bored. Okay so the last three I left behind...

Bev and Cole were so helpful that night. They helped prep food, get bags ready, get lotions into plastic baggies, get everything labeled. Again, I can't thank Bev and Cole enough for how much they helped. Doing this ordeal for the first time, I was all worked up and they both did everything they could to get everything down to plan for me. Cole ran everything out to the cars that night and it was time for bed.

It wasn't until 9:30 at night that I finished up packing my bags and feeling like I had everything ready. Later than I wanted to stay up, and of course I was all sweaty. Heh. It took me a few hours to fall asleep that night as I sat in bed with visions of racing day running through my head.

The next thing I knew it was 4AM and my alarm was going off. 3 hours until start time and I had breakfast to eat! I put down 4 packets of instant oatmeal with walnuts, honey, blueberries, and peanut butter along with some fresh fruit I'd bought at the market the day before. I didn't feel like eating but I made myself consume the calories despite the churning in my tummy.

I donned my tri-suit. I single piece skin tight suit that would be on me all day, underneath my wetsuit, underneath my bike shorts, and then finally being with me on the run. I had bought some of those fancy $80 compression socks while up there that are supposed to help lessen fatigue in your legs. Fashion be damned I was going to do an Ironman!

We'd loaded up the cars the night before so we wouldn't have much to worry about on race day. That was a good call. In the dark hours of a Penticton summer morning we drove our way down to the waterfront. Athletes and their families wandered down the street like hordes of zombies towards the start and body marking area, bags thrown over the shoulders and wetsuits in hand.

You know what? I was going to do an Ironman. Holy crap.

Getting around the athlete only areas is difficult with family. Streets are blocked off, whole sections can't be moved through like barricades that seem to only make it more difficult to actually get going with the event at hand. I took 100lbs of my special needs bags stuffed to the brim with food into the athlete chute where I dropped everything off and did my body markings. Bib number 464 written above both knees and my age on the back of knee. I'd been tagged like cattle and the race start was fast approaching.

I took my bike pump back to where my trusty steed sat and topped off my tires and dropped off food. Then I realized I had made a horrible, horrible mistake. Hole. Eeee. @$%^@. I'd forgotten my @$%@ goggles!

I stared in disbelief at my bag with my wetsuit in a mildly approaching panic. 40 minutes until race start and I had no goggles. Houston? We have a problem.

I got everything set in teh race area then quickly made my way out to Bev and delivered the news. She reassured me "okay, I'll go get the goggles". My poor wife, she looked so strong and confident as she played out the scenario in her head and knew it was a strong possibility she simply wouldn't make it in time for the race. The car was about 10 minutes away and the time would be tight and both she and I knew it. I was moments away from walking from one athlete to another asking if they had extra goggles. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten them.

In a last minute effort I called Robin and asked if he had a second set of goggles with him. he didn't Damnit. It was then I remembered my friends were staying on the strip and would have some goggles with them. The stars must have been aligned because Robin was standing right next to Patti! He handed over the phone and the next thing you knew, she was running sub-8 minute miles to her hotel room to grab me goggles! It wasn't long until she showed up with not one but two pair for me to try on! Thanks Bev and Patti :) You guys saved my Ironman from myself.

I put on the wetsuit over my rather dashing red tri-suit and walked towards the music by the lake. The thumping of the speakers and the roar of the crowds and people was overwhelming as I walked out onto the beach. A year before I'd stood on the shores as a spectator and now I was racing an Ironman. I cried. I couldn't help it. I took a deep breath and walked along the shore looking for my family. I saw them cheering me on holding up a sign they'd secretly made for me. Just looking into their eyes I broke down and cried again. the emotions... ahhh... I can't describe them. Overwhelming. Happy. Just so much.

Soon the crowd died down as O' Canada was sung to start the race. I walked into the water, side by side with some of the world's best athletes and some of the biggest dreamers. People like me. People I admire. People who overcame something. People who conquered. I don't know all their stories, but I'm sure each and every one of them could bring a tear to your eyes. Sister Madonna, the 79 year old Catholic nun was racing that day alongside of me. She's one of the reasons I signed up in the first place, having watched her a year before and being so inspired by her accomplishments. The stories and dreams sit thick in the air and you can feel the energy running through your veins. There's nothing like it. They mean more than any single event. The tears swelled in my goggles. I was going to race this thing and to top it off... the water was calm.

The next thing I knew the race started and I heard Coldplay playing in the background along with the road of the crowd. Ironman Canada is a huge event. Tens of thousands spectate. Over 6000 volunteers. It's a massive thing to watch unfold and I was part of it.

And like that I walked out along the sand bar until finally I could start swimming. Triathlons like the Ironman are a mass start, meaning you and 2600 of your closest friends literally start kicking and flopping around in the water at the same time. It's a great opportunity to lose a tooth, get kicked in the head or gut, or swim right over another person. I tried my best to avoid injury and still make good time and followed the bobbing heads and flailing arms around the 2.4 mile course. Helicopters above, canoes and lifeboats everywhere, you are surrounded by anxious energy.

Robin swam for the UW and is an incredible athlete and he started at the front of the swim pack. Me? Not so much. I stayed back, which seemed a good strategy for my first Ironman. The only downside to where I started is that I was far from the weakest swimmer and got slowed down passing others, but my swim time was among the best I'd ever done: 1 hour and 27 minutes.

When I popped out of the water onto the beach, the swell of the crowds thundering applause was overwhelming. I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as I literally sprinted through the water onto the sandy beach as other swimmers slowly walked. I was too excited to walk. I'm doing an Ironman!

I saw Cole as I made my way in and the next thing I knew Patti and Lorinda bolted over to me to rip my wetsuit off! I put my fancy aero cosmonaut helmet on, bike shorts and shoes and ran to my bike. The next thing I knew I was hopping onto the bike and waving to my family (with another sign they'd secretly made for me!) as I road my way onto Main Street for the start of a long 112 mile journey.

Sadly I would later find out that an athlete died that morning on the swim portion of the race. Wally Wiwchar, a 66 year old man, passed away, becoming the first fatality in the 27 year history of Ironman Canada. My thoughts go out to Wally's family :( How terrible and sad the news was.

I took it easy on the bike and stayed with a very low heart rate for quite some time. I felt strong but more than anything I wanted to finish this Ironman so I didn't want to go too hard and then fizzle out. Add onto that some severe heat that went over 90 degrees and I played it safe but felt really good. It wasn't long before I was passing hordes of people and knew my training on the bike had paid off in spades. Even with keeping it easy I still was averaging 17 to 20 mph and that was good enough for me! Next Ironman I can push it :)



There are three main areas that people discuss ad nauseam are the following:

1. Richter Pass
2. The rollers
3. Yellow Lake

Richter Pass is the first major climb of IMC and it's probably the most famous. It's a long haul up through a mountain pass and is very exposed. The sun beats down on you like a chimp and it's just a slog. Thankfully my training on mountain passes and steep climbs here stateside really came through as I found it to be far easier than the rumor mill would lead you to believe. Of course the heat was a constant worry for me so I drank and drank and drank. Probably too much, but more on that later.

What drives you so much is the amazing support from spectators and volunteers. You simply cannot fathom how awesome everyone is. There is hardly a quarter mile that passed that someone didn't cheer me on and give me encouragement. It meant so much to me and I made sure I gave them a huge smile in return, which nearly everyone noticed "best smile I've seen in miles!" is something I heard many times throughout the day.



The rollers come after Richter. It's a set of hills with steep climbs and then steep, fast drops that come and go over the course of many miles. In some ways these are harder than Richter or Yellow Lake simply because you never can break into a rhythm. The course profile doesn't do them justice, but they're annoying... trust me. The best part is blowing down the backside of some of these things!

Unfortunately here's where the ambulances started really coming through. Accidents happen and people started to become beaten down. One guy had wrecked coming down a roller going 40mph on his bike and was being lifted away in an ambulance. Others pulled over to the side of the road, exhausted or dehydrated. Some finished and carried on while others succumbed. It's sad to see, but you knew it would be there and you hoped you wouldn't join them. Tyler's armageddon comment was coming true.

Before Yellow Lake there's odd little out and back ride that you do that exists only to make sure you get the full 112 mile experience. It's here I wasted plenty of time that I could have easily cut out as it was where my special needs bag was. I seriously wasted so much time going through my bag, eating and enjoying myself. I had fun, but in retrospect, I could have cut up to 20 - 30 minutes here that I simply didn't need. I wasn't hurting at this point, felt strong, and could have carried on, but... lessons learned, right?! :)

One awesome thing is that one of the volunteers put new sunscreen on me and then took my arm warmers and later delivered them back to my hotel for me. Man, how awesome is that?! Michelle - you are a godsend and I really appreciate it. It was above and beyond what was called for and it just shows you how awesome the volunteers are on the course! Okay, so after wasting plenty of time here I got back on the bike smiling and made my way onto the next climb.

Finally Yellow Lake is a steep but short climb and is easily the most painful. By this time it's full on sun blasting and because it's slow going up the side of this monster you feel every degree of the 90+ degree heat melting your skin. Here I saw many other people simply get off the bike and never restart the race, hands buried against their face in tears. Again, sad moments, but I smiled the biggest smile I had for everyone who cheered me on with such gusto you'd think it was The Tour!

The best part is that after Yellow Lake you fly down back into Penticton. I haven't analyzed all my GPS data yet, but it's safe to say there were long stretches at 40+ MPH on that tiny little aluminum bike of mine. It was awesome!

You're not allowed to draft behind other riders in a time trial, but I saw plenty of other people cheat and do this when race officials weren't around. This was disappointing. I had trained extensively over the past year to not take advantage of drafting and was happy to say I did it all legit. I also noticed quite a few people litter outside of areas where there was trash collection. That was upsetting only because it was extremely dangerous to have half full water bottles roll in front of your bike as you tore down a hill. I hope nobody got into a serious accident because of someone else's laziness.

And finally, 7 hours after I started, I finished the bike. Exactly in the time I had planned for so I was extremely happy! Looking back I could have done 6 hours with relative little risk simply by pushing a little higher heart rate and cutting out my special needs time, but I was so focused on finishing and enjoying every minute that I wasn't willing to risk that. I'm so happy to have smiled through everything on that bike ride but I can see where I'll be working to improve for my next one!

And then... the run. After doing my transition (again, thanks volunteers!!!), I felt awesome. I blew out of the tent and onto the course running sub 9 minute miles. I felt fantastic!...

For 3 miles.

Suddenly, and inexplicably, at mile 3 on the run everything stopped going to plan. My plan had been a 4:30 to 5 hour marathon time and nothing in my training would suggest this would be out of reach... except for the absence of the conditions that day and the heat. At mile 3 I suddenly was ready to vomit every single calorie in my stomach all over the course. Sorry for the gory detail :)

I stopped running and caught my breath. I felt bile sitting right at the bottom of my throat and my stomach started churning. I stopped at an aid station and drank some Gatoraid. My stomach was having none of that. Even walking became hard with that Gatoraid going down so I stopped and thought of my options.

I had 23.2 miles in front of me and knew that if I ran I would throw up, possibly go into a tailspin, and possibly not finish. I thought of my buddy Robin telling me that on his last Ironman he cramped and was unable to run at all - he ended up walking the entire marathon course (ugh), but still ended up finishing with a respectable time just under 14 hours. I knew that my plan might not come together and simply recalculated a new plan right then and there and stayed positive.

I figured that at some point, somehow I'd be able to run again. I'd walk until I came to that point and I would try different foods at all the aid stations (a mile apart) until I found what it would take to level out my stomach. I tried running a few more times but it wasn't going to work.

And so I walked.

And I tried everything. Pretzels, more Gatoraid, Pepsi, bananas, oranges, chicken broth, gels, water, etc. What I found was that I could only stomach chicken broth. Now, this was both good and bad. Good because I could get some calories, but it's mostly sodium and wasn't helping much on the energy side of things. I figured I would eventually get to expand my horizons and sucked it up. I kept telling myself that only a bad attitude would stop me from finishing this and becoming an Ironman. I kept the smile going because it's really how I felt - sure, my plan was off, but deep inside my dream for a year was coming true. Becoming an Ironman was within reach!

I saw my family along the way at mile 5 or 6. I was still walking and explained that I couldn't run. I was smiling and my wife said I looked surprisingly great, but I ventured on! Finally around mile 6 or 7 I could start drinking Pepsi, which got some bubbles into my stomach and some calories. It wasn't long before I could start running again, although a short bit at a time.

And that pretty much was my night. I ran and walked and ran and walked. I took sponged from the aide stations put one in my hat and one in my tri-suit to that the cold water would keep my body temperature under control. With the stress of running and walking continually for so long my IT band on my left leg was a mess and it became painful to run.

Because I had been walking for so long, my half marathon time was 3 hours. Ouch! My feet were heavy and my left knee hurt like hell every time I tried to run, but I still did it. I knew I was going to suffer and it couldn't all be easy. This was that moment. You can give up and feel sorry for yourself, or you can suck it up, smile, and remind yourself why you're there. I was there to be an Ironman and the pain would eventually fade.

I ran.

I walked.

I ran in pain.

I walked in pain.

But I never stopped. Ever.

Eventually I could start taking gels, but I literally had to pee at every single rest stop every mile. Clearly I was hydrated, but I wonder if the heat and over hydration may not have been at play with my stomach issues. Analysis will come over the next few weeks, but suffice to say that the next time I do this I don't want to feel like I'm going to vomit when I run :)

Soon the sunset came, along with a haze of smoke from forest fires in other areas of Canada. My 4.5 - 5 hour marathon time was going to be 6 hours it looked like. I talked with another woman who was struggling along with me. We walked and ran together for somewhere along the lines of 8 miles or so. Sometimes I'd run by her and sometimes she'd run by me. As we got closer into town we just paced with each other and chatted.

When the city came into view something deep inside told me to run no matter what. Adrienne must have felt it too as we both started running, despite our feet, knees, and body telling us to stop. With two miles to go I ran the most painful and hardest two miles I've ever traveled in my life that didn't involve mountaineering.

Aid stations offered food and drink. I didn't stop. Nothing would stop me. I wasn't running on fumes. I was running on inspiration.

Bev and Cole ran beside me for a minute cheering me on. I teared up and could hear the music thumping down the street as we made the final turn that would take us to the finisher's chute. It's like a haze, but somewhere in that final stretch I must have been running 7 minute miles. My knee was screaming in agony and wanted to give out, but I knew I'd deal with that later.

I sprinted with a smile and my hands raised through the finisher's chute.

And then it was in that moment that I was no longer doing an Ironman.

I was an Ironman.

I had done it.

The roar of the crowd behind me. A year's journey taking me to this one place. It was amazing. Long rides. Family. Friends. Sacrifices. Pain. Frustration. Happiness. And drive. And there it was. All of a sudden somebody put a medal around my neck that told everyone I was an Ironman.

In some ways it was happy and sad. Something I had wanted for so long had happened. I hadn't failed. At 15 hours and 7 minutes I was within the high end of my estimate for what my time would be. No, I succeeded in every way and it felt wonderful.

I saw my family and cried on Bev's shoulder. The emotions were fast and furious at that point. They had pizza and drinks there for me but I simply couldn't eat the pizza no matter how hard I tried. And the last thing I wanted was Gatoraid after 15 hours of drinking it. Heh.

We all talked for a bit as I sat with a blanket wrapped around me before we headed back to the hotel where I ate some oatmeal (well, forced myself to eat it) before passing out. I was exhausted, but funny enough I woke up the next morning at 6AM sharp and was ready to head out to the gear store to buy Finisher's Gear! Well $600 later there I have plenty of crap that contributed to the Ironman Canada economy :)

I learned a lot. I learned a lot of thing I won't do again.

• I won't worry so much about bringing too much food because there's more than enough food and water on the course.
• I won't bother with special needs unless it truly is a disaster recovery situation. All told between the two special needs stations I probably could have cut 45 minutes at least on my time, even with the walk. That was just wasteful.
• Stay in your zones but if you feel like you can do more, don't be afraid to push a little. I probably could have done an extra 1 - 2 mph average on my bike in many places, which would have done a lot for my time over 112 miles :)
• Don't wait until late the night before to pack special needs if you do need things.

I learned a lot of things that I will do again:

• Stay positive. Remember why you're there.
• Smile. It makes you feel better. It makes volunteers feel good about why they're there. And the spectators notice it and feed off your energy.
• Put together a plan, but don't be afraid to put together a new plan if things don't come together for whatever reason.
• Remember that there are things you control, and things you don't control!
• Stay aero
• I loved the single piece tri suit and would do it again
• Taper and relax. Even if you feel you're relaxing too much, err on the side of relaxing :) I felt awesome on race day. Simply awesome.
• Ride your course and learn where your family will see you. It's something helpful for them and is something you look forward to.

And there it is. Long winded. Most won't make it here and that's fine. But for those who are thinking about doing an Ironman I went through a lot and it meant the world for me to put these thoughts down!

Finally, thanks to all of you who sent me kind words and messages throughout the days leading up to Ironman and the race itself. How inspiring you all were to me! I truly never felt alone. You guys were all simply stunning and brought tears to my eyes. Bev did an awesome job of keeping everyone up to date, and my Dad was constantly calling and providing them updates. That meant the world to me. Bev was amazing and I can't thank her enough. Thanks for Patti and Lorinda for being there to help me and supporting me! And thanks for those goggles :) Oh, and thanks to Michelle in Penticton, the volunteer who took my arm warmers and literally hand delivered them to my hotel for me. How awesome are you? Thanks to all the other volunteers and spectators.

Also, I can't tell you how much it meant to see Bev and my family along the way of the course. They energized and inspired me and made that smile even stronger.

Whew.

Sounds like an Oscar speech.

Oh, but guess what?

I'm an Ironman.