Race Week
We left for Chattanooga on Thursday September 26th around 11am. Most of the drive was in the rain. We drove through Asheville and Knoxville as it's so scenic and our favorite way to go Chattanooga. It rained most of the drive. Two weeks ago we adopted Sunny - a 1-ish-year old, 16 lb terrier mix from the Charlotte Animal Control and this was our first road trip together. My mental health hasn't been the best this past week because I have been really missing Campy (it's been 10 weeks since he passed away) and I wasn't sure how I would be able to put together a good race in Chattanooga. I gave myself a lot of grace going into Chattanooga as I didn't specifically train for the event with Norseman XTRI as my primary focus. I signed up for Chattanooga because I love the course and I love the community/spectator support. I also love hot and humid races. Seeing that the weather was cool and the bike course was entirely changed a month out from the race, I was having trouble getting myself excited to race. We arrived after 3pm and went right to athlete check-in. I was given bib number 218 and it was a quick process to get in and out of the registration tent. We drove to our Airbnb (next to the Whiskey building) which was located ~0.6 miles from the transition area. After seven years of racing in Chattanooga, this was the first time that we stayed in this location and we loved being within walking distance of the venue. After we unloaded the car with all of our stuff, we drove to Whole Foods to get a few groceries. Karel walked Sunny around the parking lot while I did a quick shop (I brought most of our non-perishable foods). We ate dinner and went to bed around 10pm.
My mom arrived with our athlete Scott around 8pm. Scott was supposed to come on Friday morning but he had a tree fall in his driveway which blocked him in - and he was without power. He was able to get the tree removed and they had a suprisingly smooth drive to Chattanooga through Atlanta. I was happy that my mom was there to help us out with Sunny as he is still new to us and has a few anxieties/fears that we need to work on (he was abandoned in an apartment).
We woke up to wet roads and light rain on Saturday. I didn't want to risk any issues the day before the race so I rode the trainer for ~45 minutes and did a few short efforts to wake up the legs. My legs felt a little tired during the ride but I felt surprisingly good for a 12 minute run off the bike (1.6 miles - I ran until I was ready to stop). As for the rest of the day, I prepared my bottles for my bike and flasks for the run, got all my nutrition ready and collected my gear. It felt strange to not have to think about getting ready for the swim and to not drop off a bike gear bag (due to the time trial start we wore our bike gear to the transition area on race morning). Karel got my bike ready in our Airbnb and for the first time ever, I used a disc wheel on my tri bike in an Ironman. Because of rain in the afternoon, Karel taped over the box that holds the wires for my electronic shifting so that they wouldn't get wet after leaving my bike in the transition area. Around 1pm we walked down to the race venue and I dropped off my run bag and bike.
I eat the same foods the day before every Ironman and half IM, which makes it easy to get in my carbs as I don't have to think about what (and when) to eat. My typical day before race meals are:
- Before workout: 2 piece bread + peanut butter
- During workout: 1 scoop Never Second C30
- After workout: Glass of milk + handful cereal. Then bagel + PB + banana + 2 eggs
- Lunch: Pasta + marinara + veggie burger
- Afternoon snack: Pop tart + Chobani black cherry yogurt
- Dinner: No chicken noodle soup (Amy's Organic) + 1 cup rice + saltine crackers
Race morning
Surprisingly, I slept really well the night before the race. With my alarm set for 6am due to the delayed start (cancelled swim) the race nerves felt nervous. I was curious to see what type of fitness I brought to the race since I didn't specifically train for this race but I didn't feel any pressure or expectations. The race also felt a little anticlimactic without the swim, which also made me feel less nervous. Even though I love to swim and was looking forward to the 2.4 mile river swim, the race just felt different. I was worried that without the swim, I wouldn't place as high in my age group as I usually need the swim and bike to make up for my slower run time, relative to other ladies in my age group. I laid in bed around 7pm and fell asleep between 8:30-9pm. Although I was in bed for close to 10 hours, we woke up to the sound of a car being towed outside our building around 3am. Sunny thought it was time to get up with all of the noise so Karel had to take him outside. It was an eventful 30 minutes but I was able to go back to sleep (and felt very rested at 3am).
For my pre-race meal, I had the usual: Cinnamon Raisin Bagel w/ PB and banana. I ate around 6:30am and had no issues eating. I also had my Nescafe instant coffee and some water. I kept telling myself that this was similar to typical weekend - a long brick (bike-run) workout. Sunny stayed with mom when Karel and I walked to the transition area around 7:20am to drop off my bottles for my bike (and run bag), check my tires (which were fine from the day prior) and drop off my special needs bag for the bike (which had to be dropped off by 7:45am). We walked/jogged back to the Airbnb and Karel set up his gravel bike on the trainer and adjusted it for me so I could do a 10 min EZ spin on the trainer. This really helped to wake up my legs and got my mind in a good place to feel ready for the race. I didn't feel nervous but rather, I just wanted to get the race started.
With the age groupers starting at 8:40am, we walked back down to the transition area around 8:20am. I was able to see some of the professionals start while on the trainer and walking to the transition area. I put on my cycling shoes and helmet outside of the transition, gave Karel my running shoes and went to my bike. I stood in line for a few minutes and before I knew it, I was standing in line, almost ready to start the bike. They had us stand in a row of 4 and two athletes who start every 5 seconds. The line moved very quickly. Although we were supposed to line up by bib number, there was a mix of numbers in the 200's (I was 218).
BIKE
107.4 mile bike (5211 feet)
4:40.06, 23 mph
Normalized power: 162W (IF .84)
Average cadence: 86rpm
I wasn't sure what to expect from the bike course since I had never seen it before. Our athlete Yannick drove the course and told me about it and I did a little research online looking at the terrain. I didn't have any set watts to target and I don't wear a HR monitor when I race but rather I like to race by feel. I know my body really well and I know what I can quickly recover from and what I can sustain. Since we didn't do the swim, Karel told me I could push a little harder on the bike since I would have a little extra energy to start.
4.96 miles - 15:18, 195NP, 19.4 mph
I really pushed the first few miles. I knew I could settle in once I got to the 3 "loops" of the course. This section made my legs burn as I went hard from the very beginning. The warm up on the trainer really helped so my legs didn't feel like total bricks when I started.
16.3 miles (out) - 38:24, 170 NP, 25.5 mph
I started to settle into a good rhythm really quickly on the bike. After a few miles, I found myself near the front of the race with only an athlete or two ahead of me. I could see our athlete Scott in the far distance, leading the age group race. I knew I would be at a slight disadvantage starting near the front because I wouldn't get the natural draft effect of passing people if I had started later on but I wanted to race my own race and see what I could do on my own. Plus, when I race and I have a lot of guys around me, it's hard to settle into my own rhythm as I have to pay more attention to staying draft legal or accelerating to pass versus focusing on my own effort. This section was really fast and had a nice flow to it. The course was rolling but there was plenty of time to stay in the aero bars. The climbs were not steep but had enough of an incline that I could sit up out of my aero bars (which is my preferred riding style since I do so much riding on my road bike). The downhills were fast and fun. With only two turns (one at each end of the course), there was no need to break, which made the course very fast at times. The rain started to come down (not strong rain but enough to get my compression socks wet) and my visor was fogging with the humidity. I actually liked the rain as it felt more "extreme" and I felt more in my element with the past two years dedicated to XTRI events.
16.3 miles (back) - 44:43, 168 NP, 21.9 mph
This section felt like more of a drag. There was a bit more climbing to do on the way back. The aid stations were set up between the exits of the highway and the cars had to exit the hwy and then return on the on ramp. This allowed for two full lanes for athletes at the aid stations. I didn't grab anything at the aid stations so this allowed me to keep up my speed. I could feel the headwind in this direction. The rain continued to fall. I rode this section entirely by myself and it was long and lonely. I had a few guys pass me but they were way too strong in the time trial position for me to even stay draft legal behind them. I was able to somewhat keep up on the climbs but they got away from me on the downhills and flats.
16.3 miles (out) - 38:49, 158 NP, 25.1 mph
I was relieved to make the turn around (which was a little technical over rumble strips and a lot of cones to make it a tight turn on both ends of the loop) as this section was the "easier" section of the two out and backs. At this point there were more people on the course but I was passing those starting their first loop (and being passed by a few more guys). I was also feeling the draft of having some cars in the lane next to us (we had the left lane closest to the medium and cars were coned off to our right) which also helped to keep up the speed. I was worried that the bike course would be lonely on the highway but there ended up being a good handful of people who drove out to the course. This loop felt a little long to me as my mind started to play games with me and tell me that I was biking too hard and that I should just stop after the bike and not run and that I was not having a good race (all normal self-talk that happens when riding for hours in a race). I was able to quiet those voices at times by focusing on my effort and terrain management and keeping up with my nutrition.
Fueling on the bike
My fueling strategy was pretty simple as it's the same thing I do for all my long rides.
I started with 3 x 26 ounce bottles of INFINIT Fructose (Fruit Punch flavor) with each bottle having 80g carbs and ~500mg sodium (not exactly 2 full scoops). Every 10-15 minutes I would take 3-4 big sips. I peed 3 times on the bike (the best I could on downhills). I tossed one of my bottles at an aid station and always kept my primary drinking bottle between my aerobars (two bottles in my rear cage). I don't use the aero bottle on the frame as I find it very difficult to grab and put back on the frame).
I stopped at special needs (mile 62, which was 2:38 into the ride). I had finish 2 full bottles and a little over 1/2 bottle. My special needs stop took about 26 seconds. A volunteer handed me my bag after I stopped, I tossed my two bottles on my bike and put on 3 more bottles (one between the aero bars and 2 in the rear cages).
In my special needs bag I had 3 more 26 ounce bottles of INFINIT Fructose. Same amount but my favorite flavor grape. I was able to finish 2 1/4 bottles over the next 2 hours (44.8 miles).
In total, I consumed:
~127 ounce fluid
~390g carbs
~2400 mg sodium
16.3 miles (back) - 44:23 (includes special needs stop), 162 NP, 22.1 mph
With more people on the course, the ride started to feel more fun as there was more to focus on. I was surprised to see Karel as I was nearing the end of the 2nd loop. He told me I was leading my age group and 2nd overall female as a younger female was riding much faster than me. I was really surprised that I was near the front of the race. This gave me a lot of incentive to keep pushing. I never felt tired or had any low moments so my mission was to try to make my third loop strong. At this point in the race, the rain was on and off. The temperature was perfect as I never felt cold. My athlete Jeremy passed me on the bike before special needs and he was riding really strong. It was great to see him out there. The nice thing with the looped course was being able to see athletes on the other side of the median.
16.3 miles (out) - 39.52, 147 NP, 24.5 mph
Karel gave me one more cheer as I was starting my third loop and then he biked back to the race venue (he biked out on the course since it was closed to cars in and out of town). Although I could feel the natural fatigue of riding strong for the past 3+ hours, I could also feel the draft effect of the cars and other athletes on the course. I never found there to be big groups as there was a constant passing of athletes. I called out "on your left" a lot and everyone was very considerate to move over quickly. I found the course to be very safe. It was smooth pavement and very well controlled with volunteers and police. Although I really enjoyed the old course in the country, I didn't mind this course as it was hilly enough to feel hard at times and it felt safe with all the athletes on the course.
16.3 miles (back) - 44:22, 152 NP, 22.2 mph
I really tried to push this last section. I felt strong and I was really focused with all the other athletes on the course. I had another guy pass me on a downhill and I was able to keep him in my sights for most of the last loop. This really helped me keep the pressure on the pedals. I never knew my mileage or overall time as my screen was set to lap intervals and I was only focusing on my current speed, 10 sec power and normalized lap power. Even though there were mile markers on the course, I only focused on the lap that I was in. This made the bike go by relatively quickly. This was my first time using a disc wheel in an IM and this course was perfect for it as I could keep my speed up (and validate the effects of using the disc).
4.64 miles - 14:11, 154 NP, 19.6 mphSurprisingly, I slept really well the night before the race. With my alarm set for 6am due to the delayed start (cancelled swim) the race nerves felt nervous. I was curious to see what type of fitness I brought to the race since I didn't specifically train for this race but I didn't feel any pressure or expectations. The race also felt a little anticlimactic without the swim, which also made me feel less nervous. Even though I love to swim and was looking forward to the 2.4 mile river swim, the race just felt different. I was worried that without the swim, I wouldn't place as high in my age group as I usually need the swim and bike to make up for my slower run time, relative to other ladies in my age group. I laid in bed around 7pm and fell asleep between 8:30-9pm. Although I was in bed for close to 10 hours, we woke up to the sound of a car being towed outside our building around 3am. Sunny thought it was time to get up with all of the noise so Karel had to take him outside. It was an eventful 30 minutes but I was able to go back to sleep (and felt very rested at 3am).
For my pre-race meal, I had the usual: Cinnamon Raisin Bagel w/ PB and banana. I ate around 6:30am and had no issues eating. I also had my Nescafe instant coffee and some water. I kept telling myself that this was similar to typical weekend - a long brick (bike-run) workout. Sunny stayed with mom when Karel and I walked to the transition area around 7:20am to drop off my bottles for my bike (and run bag), check my tires (which were fine from the day prior) and drop off my special needs bag for the bike (which had to be dropped off by 7:45am). We walked/jogged back to the Airbnb and Karel set up his gravel bike on the trainer and adjusted it for me so I could do a 10 min EZ spin on the trainer. This really helped to wake up my legs and got my mind in a good place to feel ready for the race. I didn't feel nervous but rather, I just wanted to get the race started.
With the age groupers starting at 8:40am, we walked back down to the transition area around 8:20am. I was able to see some of the professionals start while on the trainer and walking to the transition area. I put on my cycling shoes and helmet outside of the transition, gave Karel my running shoes and went to my bike. I stood in line for a few minutes and before I knew it, I was standing in line, almost ready to start the bike. They had us stand in a row of 4 and two athletes who start every 5 seconds. The line moved very quickly. Although we were supposed to line up by bib number, there was a mix of numbers in the 200's (I was 218).
107.4 mile bike (5211 feet)
4:40.06, 23 mph
Normalized power: 162W (IF .84)
Average cadence: 86rpm
I wasn't sure what to expect from the bike course since I had never seen it before. Our athlete Yannick drove the course and told me about it and I did a little research online looking at the terrain. I didn't have any set watts to target and I don't wear a HR monitor when I race but rather I like to race by feel. I know my body really well and I know what I can quickly recover from and what I can sustain. Since we didn't do the swim, Karel told me I could push a little harder on the bike since I would have a little extra energy to start.
4.96 miles - 15:18, 195NP, 19.4 mph
I really pushed the first few miles. I knew I could settle in once I got to the 3 "loops" of the course. This section made my legs burn as I went hard from the very beginning. The warm up on the trainer really helped so my legs didn't feel like total bricks when I started.
16.3 miles (out) - 38:24, 170 NP, 25.5 mph
I started to settle into a good rhythm really quickly on the bike. After a few miles, I found myself near the front of the race with only an athlete or two ahead of me. I could see our athlete Scott in the far distance, leading the age group race. I knew I would be at a slight disadvantage starting near the front because I wouldn't get the natural draft effect of passing people if I had started later on but I wanted to race my own race and see what I could do on my own. Plus, when I race and I have a lot of guys around me, it's hard to settle into my own rhythm as I have to pay more attention to staying draft legal or accelerating to pass versus focusing on my own effort. This section was really fast and had a nice flow to it. The course was rolling but there was plenty of time to stay in the aero bars. The climbs were not steep but had enough of an incline that I could sit up out of my aero bars (which is my preferred riding style since I do so much riding on my road bike). The downhills were fast and fun. With only two turns (one at each end of the course), there was no need to break, which made the course very fast at times. The rain started to come down (not strong rain but enough to get my compression socks wet) and my visor was fogging with the humidity. I actually liked the rain as it felt more "extreme" and I felt more in my element with the past two years dedicated to XTRI events.
This section felt like more of a drag. There was a bit more climbing to do on the way back. The aid stations were set up between the exits of the highway and the cars had to exit the hwy and then return on the on ramp. This allowed for two full lanes for athletes at the aid stations. I didn't grab anything at the aid stations so this allowed me to keep up my speed. I could feel the headwind in this direction. The rain continued to fall. I rode this section entirely by myself and it was long and lonely. I had a few guys pass me but they were way too strong in the time trial position for me to even stay draft legal behind them. I was able to somewhat keep up on the climbs but they got away from me on the downhills and flats.
16.3 miles (out) - 38:49, 158 NP, 25.1 mph
I was relieved to make the turn around (which was a little technical over rumble strips and a lot of cones to make it a tight turn on both ends of the loop) as this section was the "easier" section of the two out and backs. At this point there were more people on the course but I was passing those starting their first loop (and being passed by a few more guys). I was also feeling the draft of having some cars in the lane next to us (we had the left lane closest to the medium and cars were coned off to our right) which also helped to keep up the speed. I was worried that the bike course would be lonely on the highway but there ended up being a good handful of people who drove out to the course. This loop felt a little long to me as my mind started to play games with me and tell me that I was biking too hard and that I should just stop after the bike and not run and that I was not having a good race (all normal self-talk that happens when riding for hours in a race). I was able to quiet those voices at times by focusing on my effort and terrain management and keeping up with my nutrition.
Fueling on the bike
My fueling strategy was pretty simple as it's the same thing I do for all my long rides.
I started with 3 x 26 ounce bottles of INFINIT Fructose (Fruit Punch flavor) with each bottle having 80g carbs and ~500mg sodium (not exactly 2 full scoops). Every 10-15 minutes I would take 3-4 big sips. I peed 3 times on the bike (the best I could on downhills). I tossed one of my bottles at an aid station and always kept my primary drinking bottle between my aerobars (two bottles in my rear cage). I don't use the aero bottle on the frame as I find it very difficult to grab and put back on the frame).
I stopped at special needs (mile 62, which was 2:38 into the ride). I had finish 2 full bottles and a little over 1/2 bottle. My special needs stop took about 26 seconds. A volunteer handed me my bag after I stopped, I tossed my two bottles on my bike and put on 3 more bottles (one between the aero bars and 2 in the rear cages).
In my special needs bag I had 3 more 26 ounce bottles of INFINIT Fructose. Same amount but my favorite flavor grape. I was able to finish 2 1/4 bottles over the next 2 hours (44.8 miles).
In total, I consumed:
~127 ounce fluid
~390g carbs
~2400 mg sodium
16.3 miles (back) - 44:23 (includes special needs stop), 162 NP, 22.1 mph
With more people on the course, the ride started to feel more fun as there was more to focus on. I was surprised to see Karel as I was nearing the end of the 2nd loop. He told me I was leading my age group and 2nd overall female as a younger female was riding much faster than me. I was really surprised that I was near the front of the race. This gave me a lot of incentive to keep pushing. I never felt tired or had any low moments so my mission was to try to make my third loop strong. At this point in the race, the rain was on and off. The temperature was perfect as I never felt cold. My athlete Jeremy passed me on the bike before special needs and he was riding really strong. It was great to see him out there. The nice thing with the looped course was being able to see athletes on the other side of the median.
16.3 miles (out) - 39.52, 147 NP, 24.5 mph
Karel gave me one more cheer as I was starting my third loop and then he biked back to the race venue (he biked out on the course since it was closed to cars in and out of town). Although I could feel the natural fatigue of riding strong for the past 3+ hours, I could also feel the draft effect of the cars and other athletes on the course. I never found there to be big groups as there was a constant passing of athletes. I called out "on your left" a lot and everyone was very considerate to move over quickly. I found the course to be very safe. It was smooth pavement and very well controlled with volunteers and police. Although I really enjoyed the old course in the country, I didn't mind this course as it was hilly enough to feel hard at times and it felt safe with all the athletes on the course.
16.3 miles (back) - 44:22, 152 NP, 22.2 mph
I really tried to push this last section. I felt strong and I was really focused with all the other athletes on the course. I had another guy pass me on a downhill and I was able to keep him in my sights for most of the last loop. This really helped me keep the pressure on the pedals. I never knew my mileage or overall time as my screen was set to lap intervals and I was only focusing on my current speed, 10 sec power and normalized lap power. Even though there were mile markers on the course, I only focused on the lap that I was in. This made the bike go by relatively quickly. This was my first time using a disc wheel in an IM and this course was perfect for it as I could keep my speed up (and validate the effects of using the disc).
It was nice to finally go straight and not make the turn after 3 loops. The last few miles were tough as there was a big climb heading back into town. I didn't remember that climb (or downhill) heading out as my legs were burning. I started to experience my normal worries of "what type of run will I have off the bike" as I always lack confidence in my run. I expected that I would be passed by Elyse and other females somewhere in the early miles of the run so I didn't put any pressure on myself that I had to run fast. My only goal was just to enjoy the run. With less than a mile left, I saw Karel standing with Sunny and he was so cute sitting there (Sunny, not Karel :) I yelled "HI SUNNY!!" Karel told me that I was first overall female and I couldn't believe it. I switched the screen on my bike computer and although I was bummed to see only 107 miles, I was shocked to see my time. I thought I could go under 5:10 on the bike (which would be a big PR for me) so when I saw my time nearing 4:40, I couldn't believe it. I did some quick math as I was riding after seeing my speed for each lap but I had no idea what that would actually come up to at the end.
T2 - 3:33
When I got off the bike, my legs felt pretty good. I felt like I did a great job with my fueling and although I biked strong, I didn't feel like I overdo it. As I ran to my run bag, my mom was there along the fencing giving me cheers and updates that I was leading my age group by over 15 minutes and I was first overall female. I got a few other cheers from friends and I was quickly reminded why I love racing - I love being part of the triathlon community. I ran into the changing tent and I was the only female there. Two other professionals entered shortly after me (I passed them on the bike). I quickly put on my shoes and Naked Running belt and flasks and grabbed my plastic baggy that had my visor, sunglasses, powder in baggies to refill my flasks and Campy's collar. I really needed to pee as I never fully emptied my bladder on the bike so I went into the porto potty and sat down (without undoing my kit) and peed while I put on my stuff in my bag (multitasking).
Photo credit: Angela B.
Mile 1 - 8:05
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:42
Mile 4: 7:48
Mile 5: 7:54
Mile 6: 7:48
Mile 7: 8:02
Mile 8: 8:06
Mile 9: 8:09
Mile 10: 8:20
Mile 11: 7:47
Mile 12: 8:29
Mile 13: 8:25 (half marathon 1:43, 8:01 min/mile average)
Mile 14: 8:33
Mile 15: 8:08
Mile 16: 8:19
Mile 17: 8:18
Mile 18: 8:26
Mile 19: 8:30
Mile 20: 8:38
Mile 21: 9:04
Mile 22: 8:40
Mile 23: 8:53
Mile 24: 9:17
Mile 25: 8:42
Mile 26: 8:00 pace (Last 12.5 miles, 1:47, 8:36 min/mile average)
Fueling on the run
Like the bike, my fueling strategy was very simple on the run. It's the same thing I do for all of my runs (no matter how long, short, hard or easy). I always use Never Second C30 berry on the run.
I started with 2 x 10 ounce Nathan hard flasks, each with ~120 calories (30g carbs, 200mg sodium of Never Second C30 Berry). I tried to finish 1 flask every 30-40 minutes. I took a few sips water at each aid station and followed it with 1-2 big sips of my flask. Sometimes I would sip the flask between aid stations if needed. I carried 4 small baggies (jewlery bags), each with 1 scoop (30g carbs) Never Second to refill my bottles along the way. I ended up using 3 of the 4 baggies.
Total:
150g carbs
1000mg sodium
~70 ounce fluid
I didn't use anything from the aid stations besides water. No sport drinks, gels, or coke.
I carried 1/4 bottle of KetoneAid KE4 Pro Ketone Ester Drink which is something I don't use in training but I have used it in my last two XTRI events (Norseman and ICON) and it helps to keep my energy stable. I hate the taste so I can only take in a small sip at a time. I had my first sip on the bridge around mile 8 and then as needed throughout (anytime I felt like I needed a mental boost).
I didn't have any stomach issues and my energy felt really stable throughout the entire race.
Mile 1-4
As I ran out of the transition and on to the grass, my legs felt good. I do a lot of brick runs (and all my brick runs start uphill because of where I live) so running up the hill toward mile one didn't feel too hard. I didn't worry about my pace but rather I wanted to make it feel easy so that I could start easing into my marathon effort at the top of the hill. The first few miles are on a four lane road. We ran on the left side of the road. The road is rolling to start and then slightly flattens out. This is not my favorite part of the run so my focus was getting to the first turn at the end of this road. I ran with two other guys and the effort felt comfortable. I looked at my watch at the mile marker splits and I was surprised at my pace. I knew I could hold between 8:10-8:30 min/miles so when I saw splits under 8 min, I told myself to try to hold on to that pace for as long as I could. My goal was at least ten miles. The effort didn't feel forced as I was focusing on my rhythm and moving myself forward. I wore New Balance Supercomp Elite V4 shoes (from Run In). I have been wearing New Balance Fuel Cells for years so this change was an easy one (these new shoes only had ~10 miles in them before race day). As I was running, I noticed a few female pros running back on the same road. This had me feeling worried because I didn't mentally prepare to do an out and back on this road (I really looked forward to running on the path by the water, especially over the wooden bridges). Thankfully it was only a short section of around a mile back on the main road between the paths (there was prior flooding on the path).
My energy felt stable, my mind was in a good place and my legs felt good. I was expecting to be passed by the faster age group female runners before the "hilly" section across the river but as the miles went by, I didn't see any other females around me. I saw Karel on the battery place hill before the Veterans Bridge and he told me that Elyse was running a faster pace than me but I was winning my age group by over 15 minutes. I expected Elyse to run past me at any point so I continued to focus on my effort. I never imagined I would be leading the amateur female race (especially at the age of 42!) so I didn't feel any pressure that I had to stay in the lead. My main focus was putting together a marathon run that I knew I was capable of but haven't done in my previous 19 Ironmans. I shuffled my way up the hill and on to the bridge. It felt good to finally have some signficant elevation change as I find it harder to run on flats than hills.
I took a sip of the Ketone bottle that I was holding in my hand throughout the run when I was on the bridge. I was really looking forward to the Barton Avenue hills as I knew this was terrain that suited my strengths. I ran steady uphill and tried to work the downhills. At the bottom of the hill, there was a slight false flat that was a little annoying. I refilled one of my flasks at the aid station at the top of that false flat. I stopped, put the powder from my baggie in my flask the volunteers helped me fill up the flask. I really enjoyed the "loop" at the bottom of Barton Av. as it was rolling hills. I saw Karel before I started the climb back on Barton (which is a bit steeper/longer on the way back) and he told me that I was keeping my lead against Elyse. I asked him how much time I had ahead of her and he told me around 2 minutes. I really enjoyed these miles and I looked forward to them on the second loop. I saw several familiar faces which kept me feeling happy to be running. I will still surprised how good I felt. Karel asked me how I was feeling before I made my way under the Veteran bridge (he was on his bike) and I told him I was feeling good energy wise but my legs were starting to get a little tired (understandably).
I enjoyed the wooden pedestrian bridge back into town as I like running on different surfaces. There weren't many spectators on the bridge (I was looking forward to seeing lots of people) so that was a bummer. However, there were some good cheers from those who were standing there cheering.
I made my way out on the second loop of the run. I was really surprised how fast the first 13 miles went. I never experienced any major lows but there were a few low moments over the next few miles as these miles felt very long. My legs were starting to stiffen up but I was still able to hold the same form that I was holding in the first loop. I told myself that all I need to do is finish these 4 miles and then the "hard part" would be overwith. I refilled another flask around 13 at the aid station. The volunteers were amazing. Each refill stop took me ~30-40 seconds. It was nice to have a quick stop. Other than these three refill stops, I didn't walk or stop throughout the run.
Photo credit: Kayla
Photo credit: Kayla
Mile 16 - 20
I could tell that my propulsion wasn't as strong and my legs were feeling tired. The good thing was my energy still felt great and I was actually enjoying the run. With my last 3 marathons taking 5-6 hours due to the extreme nature of extreme triathlons (each of those runs was over 4000 feet elevation gain), I didn't doubt my endurance and strength. I had taken some risks in this race to see what my capabilities were on the bike and run and I wasn't willing to give up now. I saw Karel on battery hill and he was full of positive comments. He told me how good I was running, that I was keeping my lead to Elyse and even extending it on the hills and that he was so impressed with how good I looked when I ran. While I may not be running "fast" I had confidence in my ability to run well under fatigue. I was actually looking forward to the point when my legs were starting to really hurt from the fatigue as I knew I could push through it.
Mile 20-23
I never focused on what mile I was in or how many miles I had left but rather I used destinations/landmarks to keep me focused. I broke down the race into sections and just focused on a few miles at a time. Once I checked those off, it was on to the next segment. In many of my past Ironmans, the last 6 miles were always so incredibly long and hard and I couldn't wait for the pain to stop at the finish line. But I actually looked forward to the last 6 miles. I saw Karel on Barton and he told me that these hills are were I am the strongest. He told me "no one can run hills like you." He was extremely supportive. Although my legs were hurting on the climbs, I kept things in perspective. These hills were tiny compared to the mountains I climb in extreme triathlons. These were tiny short bumps compared to running up Zombi hill in Norseman, or climbing up a ski slope during Karel's race (in the rain, on snow and ice) or hiking up 3000 feet to the top of a ski slope in Livigno at almost 10,000 feet elevation. Barton hills were NBD (no big deal) :)
I continued to sip my nutrition and use a few sips of water from the aid station. The weather stayed fairly comfortable in the 70s. Although I was tired, I really tried to run as strong as I could up and down the hills. It was uncomfortable but I felt strong and durable. Karel told me to keep pushing until I got to the end of the bridge and then that was where I could feel like the race was "over." This mentally helped me stay focused up the last big climb.
Anytime the run got hard or I had a brief low moment, I would tell myself "If you want something you have never had, you have to do something you've never done." I continued to repeat this in my head over and over as I knew I was on track for a PR marathon run but at any point I could convince myself it was not worth it due to the pain in the legs and I could slow down. I kept on pushing myself. At mile 25, I took Campy's collar out of my hydration belt, gave it a kiss and held it in my hand for the last mile. I thought about pulling it out sooner but it was something that I really looked forward to and that helped me stay motivated until mile 25. There were more people on the wooden bridge which gave me a boost of energy. As I was making my turn toward the finish on the top of the hill, Karel was there and told me "it may be close, you need to keep pushing." I ran as hard as I could to the finish line while still soaking in the atmosphere and quickly reflecting on the day. I switched my watch screen from lap pace/current pace/lap distance to overall time and I was shocked to see my time. Even though the run was short, it was still a PR marathon pace for me (lifetime best!)
I couldn't believe how good I felt all day. I had no idea what I was capable of doing on the day and with so much emotional stress going into this race, I really didn't think I had the mental capacity to suffer. Similar to Louisville 70.3 when I placed overall female, I just felt good all day. It required a lot of mental focus and staying in the present moment but thankfully I had just enough of that left in me for 132.5 miles.
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