Well…it’s 3:30am the morning after the race and I’m wide awake so thought I would get my race report written, especially for those of you who supported my efforts to battle ovarian cancer in honor of my friend, Sue Robinson, who passed away on Sept 6, 2006. We raised an amazing $6115.00 for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center!
The days leading up to the race were fantastic. I felt like my taper was perfect and I was enjoying the entire Kona experience each day.
Race morning finally arrived (after a great night’s sleep…unlike tonight) and I headed off to transition at 5am with my roommates Crissy, Dennis and Joe. We were greeted by the friendliest of volunteers at arrival who efficiently body marked us and wished us luck over and over again. I can’t get over the volunteer staff yesterday. They were phenomenal the entire day…even more so than usual (as this was my 7th IM Hawaii)!
The pre-start time in the water was chaotic. This year I decided to line up on the left side for the very first time, thinking that it would be less sardine-like than along the buoy line, and my only concern for the entire day was getting through the swim safely and without blood loss. While treading water for 10-12 minutes, waiting for the gun to go off, the start line toward the front got incredibly packed…so much so that everyone’s legs and arms were hitting each other and you were literally getting pushed under water by the movements from trying to keep your head above water. A few people were really panicking and had this look in their eyes like they were incredibly scared that they would drown before the race started. It was a bit crazy. Life was actually better once we got started. Amazingly, I got through the entire swim unscathed…lots of body contact, but no direct hits or getting pushed under water. I really enjoyed the swim. It felt effortless the whole time. I just love swimming with all of that extra oxygen that is lacking in the air at home in Fort Collins! As I did the swim without a watch, I didn’t find out my swim time until post-race…a respectable 1:06:06…16th fastest of the 69 athletes in my age group.
As many of you know, my favorite leg is the bike as my other hobby is bike racing with Team Rio Grande! I tried hard to follow my HR parameters set up by MarkAllenOnline, hoping to keep my HR capped at 145, but drifted above that several times in the early part of the bike leg. It was great watching my HR, as it helped me not overdo it early on. I was very surprised to see my teammate, Cassie McWilliam on the bike within the first mile, as she normally outswims me by a few minutes in a half Ironman, so I figured I had a fantastic swim…which I did! We said a few words of encouragement and I pushed on. I was all smiles at this point…and most of the day, come to think of it!
I moved along the Queen K, picking off hundreds of cyclists, and moving myself into the lead position in my age group (which I didn’t know at the time). The bike leg was moderately windy as we approached Hawi and remained so until the finish of the bike leg, with a steady, but not too strong headwind the last 20+ miles, making for some slower-than-usual bike splits. I felt incredibly strong in this last segment as a result of some of the long training rides I did with the MAO program. The only unpleasant thing on the bike was watching this 28-year-old Belgian chick cheat like crazy, sitting directly on the wheel of whatever guy was in front of her and looking back over her shoulder for officials every 30-45 seconds to make sure she didn’t get caught. Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate drafting cheaters. I remember her number well…1729. I just looked her up and unfortunately she won her age group due to her extremely fresh legs coming off the bike (at least I beat her to the finish line by 30 seconds : ). Despite that minor annoyance, I got off the bike with a smile and ready to give it a go on the marathon. Bike split: 5:25, fastest in my AG and 1st off the bike! AHR 142.
It was hot and sunny through the bike leg and the sun continued to stay out for the Alii Drive section (first 9 miles) of the run. Fortunately the clouds and vog moved in after that and we were blessed with some cooler weather for the remaining 17 miles.
The run started out with me feeling better than usual and effortlessly (well, sort of) clicking off 8 minute miles, keeping my HR below the cap I set at 150 (4 beats above my MAHR). I soaked in the crowds and volunteer enthusiasm and discovered at the Alii turnaround that I was indeed leading my AG at that time. I also saw the uber runners in my AG making their way towards me, but I seemed to have a nice cushion at mile 5. I did my classic walk/run alternating tactic up Palani hill, and felt a lot stronger than usual at that point. I think all of the strength training I did this year really showed at that point. Once on the Queen K, I felt quite good, although my pace was beginning to slow down a bit. I was battling cramps in my calves early on, and successfully stopped them by popping a salt tab in my mouth whenever I felt a muscle twinge coming on. Unfortunately, I only brought 5 tabs with me on the run, as in the past, I didn’t typically need to use salt. That ended up hurting me quite a bit in the later stages of the run, as I no longer could control the cramping in both calves (boy, my calves are sore today!). I had to stop several times from miles 21-24 to stretch my calves, and of course it was mile 22.5 that I was passed very decisively by the eventual winner of my AG, Peggy Yetman. She ran by me like she was in a race car and I was walking backwards…dang that girl can run! She put 8 minutes into me in the last 3.5 miles and ran a 3:13 (probably the fastest ever run for a 40-44 yr old age-grouper in Kona). I knew the others were probably not far behind, so I had to push hard all the way to the line and successfully managed to hold on to 2nd place in my AG! Run split: 3:49:29, 13th fastest in my AG and fast enough to qualify for the Boston marathon! AHR 142.
All in all, it was a near perfect day in the lava fields. If I had more salt tabs, it would have been PERFECT! I know Sue was there watching over me and helping me have one of my best Ironman experiences ever!
The days leading up to the race were fantastic. I felt like my taper was perfect and I was enjoying the entire Kona experience each day.
Race morning finally arrived (after a great night’s sleep…unlike tonight) and I headed off to transition at 5am with my roommates Crissy, Dennis and Joe. We were greeted by the friendliest of volunteers at arrival who efficiently body marked us and wished us luck over and over again. I can’t get over the volunteer staff yesterday. They were phenomenal the entire day…even more so than usual (as this was my 7th IM Hawaii)!
The pre-start time in the water was chaotic. This year I decided to line up on the left side for the very first time, thinking that it would be less sardine-like than along the buoy line, and my only concern for the entire day was getting through the swim safely and without blood loss. While treading water for 10-12 minutes, waiting for the gun to go off, the start line toward the front got incredibly packed…so much so that everyone’s legs and arms were hitting each other and you were literally getting pushed under water by the movements from trying to keep your head above water. A few people were really panicking and had this look in their eyes like they were incredibly scared that they would drown before the race started. It was a bit crazy. Life was actually better once we got started. Amazingly, I got through the entire swim unscathed…lots of body contact, but no direct hits or getting pushed under water. I really enjoyed the swim. It felt effortless the whole time. I just love swimming with all of that extra oxygen that is lacking in the air at home in Fort Collins! As I did the swim without a watch, I didn’t find out my swim time until post-race…a respectable 1:06:06…16th fastest of the 69 athletes in my age group.
As many of you know, my favorite leg is the bike as my other hobby is bike racing with Team Rio Grande! I tried hard to follow my HR parameters set up by MarkAllenOnline, hoping to keep my HR capped at 145, but drifted above that several times in the early part of the bike leg. It was great watching my HR, as it helped me not overdo it early on. I was very surprised to see my teammate, Cassie McWilliam on the bike within the first mile, as she normally outswims me by a few minutes in a half Ironman, so I figured I had a fantastic swim…which I did! We said a few words of encouragement and I pushed on. I was all smiles at this point…and most of the day, come to think of it!
I moved along the Queen K, picking off hundreds of cyclists, and moving myself into the lead position in my age group (which I didn’t know at the time). The bike leg was moderately windy as we approached Hawi and remained so until the finish of the bike leg, with a steady, but not too strong headwind the last 20+ miles, making for some slower-than-usual bike splits. I felt incredibly strong in this last segment as a result of some of the long training rides I did with the MAO program. The only unpleasant thing on the bike was watching this 28-year-old Belgian chick cheat like crazy, sitting directly on the wheel of whatever guy was in front of her and looking back over her shoulder for officials every 30-45 seconds to make sure she didn’t get caught. Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate drafting cheaters. I remember her number well…1729. I just looked her up and unfortunately she won her age group due to her extremely fresh legs coming off the bike (at least I beat her to the finish line by 30 seconds : ). Despite that minor annoyance, I got off the bike with a smile and ready to give it a go on the marathon. Bike split: 5:25, fastest in my AG and 1st off the bike! AHR 142.
It was hot and sunny through the bike leg and the sun continued to stay out for the Alii Drive section (first 9 miles) of the run. Fortunately the clouds and vog moved in after that and we were blessed with some cooler weather for the remaining 17 miles.
The run started out with me feeling better than usual and effortlessly (well, sort of) clicking off 8 minute miles, keeping my HR below the cap I set at 150 (4 beats above my MAHR). I soaked in the crowds and volunteer enthusiasm and discovered at the Alii turnaround that I was indeed leading my AG at that time. I also saw the uber runners in my AG making their way towards me, but I seemed to have a nice cushion at mile 5. I did my classic walk/run alternating tactic up Palani hill, and felt a lot stronger than usual at that point. I think all of the strength training I did this year really showed at that point. Once on the Queen K, I felt quite good, although my pace was beginning to slow down a bit. I was battling cramps in my calves early on, and successfully stopped them by popping a salt tab in my mouth whenever I felt a muscle twinge coming on. Unfortunately, I only brought 5 tabs with me on the run, as in the past, I didn’t typically need to use salt. That ended up hurting me quite a bit in the later stages of the run, as I no longer could control the cramping in both calves (boy, my calves are sore today!). I had to stop several times from miles 21-24 to stretch my calves, and of course it was mile 22.5 that I was passed very decisively by the eventual winner of my AG, Peggy Yetman. She ran by me like she was in a race car and I was walking backwards…dang that girl can run! She put 8 minutes into me in the last 3.5 miles and ran a 3:13 (probably the fastest ever run for a 40-44 yr old age-grouper in Kona). I knew the others were probably not far behind, so I had to push hard all the way to the line and successfully managed to hold on to 2nd place in my AG! Run split: 3:49:29, 13th fastest in my AG and fast enough to qualify for the Boston marathon! AHR 142.
All in all, it was a near perfect day in the lava fields. If I had more salt tabs, it would have been PERFECT! I know Sue was there watching over me and helping me have one of my best Ironman experiences ever!
