Ironman CdA Race Recap

I am not going to lie: I hated Ironman training. Seriously. I felt like every day I was making the decision all over again to do it. FYI: I don't recommend approaching training for something like this with that kind of badditude. For reals.

But, I had the BEST DAY on race day. Honestly. Everything came together just like Teresa predicted. I feel so lucky and excited - not only am I AM AN IRONMAN (!!!), I actually had fun!

I mean, I had fun moments during training. I had some great runs (towards the end) got to go on some really fun rides, which I would totally do again (Wenatchee Apple Bike Century Ride), and met some awesome people. Here's the thing though: I like running. I don't MIND swimming. But I don't like biking. I thought that Ironman training would change that, but I was wrong... Sort of. I found out I wasn't exactly wrong on race day, but more on that later.

Coach Teresa ROCKS - I went into training with achilles tendonitis, which had plagued me for the previous 6 months, but Teresa wrote me a plan whereby I could train and my achilles healed at the same time. It was great. I am really happy and so grateful that I came through this injury free. (I held off on "bonus runs" - or runs which weren't in my plan - since that's what got me into trouble in the first place ;)).

As the race approached, I got more and more panicked. It's not that I didn't trust the training, it's that I didn't trust the distance. I mean, I am a timid biker under the best circumstances, and I had some consistency issues with swimming (in case you are wondering, it's pretty tough to talk myself into getting out of bed to swim with all these hours of biking and running wearing me out). Gauging my running fitness was tough for me. Always before I had judged it by speed, and that wasn't a focus - but I did feel like running was going well, I just wasn't sure how it would feel to run a marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112. Spoiler alert: laughably terrible.

Okay, onto race day.

Up at 345, dressed, coffee in the lobby + bagel and a half with peanut butter and jam. I had been eating bagels for 3 days now, and was pretty sick of them, but it was the plan (and a race day tradition for me) so I forced them down.

Vicki picked me up at 5am - I tried to forget my special needs bags, but remembered just as I got downstairs. Sorry Vicki!

They say 3 things go wrong on race day. If so, I had three minimal things: first, I forgot to charge the GPS tracker I was planning to use on the bike so my family would know where I was. Dave told me on Saturday night the battery was almost dead. I wanted to celebrate, because I was so sure that was the first thing that had gone wrong! When I was setting my bike up for transition, I couldn't get air into one of the tires, and a tech had to help me - which made me feel stupid, but oh, well.

Anyways. Once my bike was set up (I taped 10 Powerbar Gels to the frame, and put three unwrapped and halved luna bars + two packages of the little cola flavored Powerbar gummy bites into my bento box), and swung by the porta potties one last time, it was already 6:15. With the rolling start, I had to be in position and ready to swim at 640 - since that's when the start actually was. I found Vicki again - I had left my wetsuit with her, and got suited up. Once in the start area in my wetsuit and goggles (and socks that I wore to the start on TN's suggestion to keep my feet warm), I decided not to warm up, since I only had a few minutes. This was not the best idea.

When the gun went off, we started to file forward. I had lined up with the 1:15-1:30 group towards the outside front, since I was pretty sure I was going to swim close to a 1:20. It took no time at all (but in reality like 5 minutes) to get into the water. Once in the water, splashed the water on my face and took off. Uh-oh. Couldn't breathe. Not because it was super windy and choppy and crowded (although it was) but because I was so overexcited. I panicked. Took a minute, tread water, and then started again  - it took me about 10 reps of doing this before I was able to settle in. In retrospect, I should have warmed up. I know about myself that the first 2-400 meters are tough for me, so not warming up was a mistake (I'm counting this as the third thing that went wrong!). I finally settled in, counting my strokes to calm down. The crowd bunched up at the first buoy, and some crazy girl yelled and kicked at me to get off her feet. Um, I didn't want to be on her feet! The rest of the swim was largely uneventful. Getting out and back into the water was annoying, but I expected that ;)

I came out of the water after the second loop, and saw on my watch that I swam under 1:25 - yippee!

Planned swim time: 1:20-1:30. Actual: 1:23:50

T1: I am not a speedy transition-er, but the volunteers were amazing. Pulled the top half of my wetsuit off, and then off laid down for wetsuit stripping. The wetsuit strippers were awesome! Grabbed my bag and into the change tent. I toweled off (which I was later told was silly), pulled on my socks and shoes and my long sleeve sun protection shirt, then sprayed down with sunscreen, threw on my helmet and sunglasses and was out the door! My family and friends were waiting near my bike, which was awesome. I was close to the end, and was so excited to see them. Waved, yelled hello and was out on the bike!

T1 planned: who cares? Actual: 6:53

My plan on the bike was to refuel every 90 minutes (stop and fill up my speedwill with water and add some gatorade concentrate), and eat every 30 minutes. By 10 minutes in, I had my first gel and at 40, I had my second, and so on. The first hour was AWESOME. I was way ahead of the pace I was hoping to maintain, and my HR was low, I felt great! The first part of the loop is this really pretty out and and back, and coming back through town was amazing. I saw my friends Jacob and Tara on the corner where we turned to go through DT CdA, and then my whole family was standing with the TN group at the tent. I got choked up as I passed, their support was so wonderful! (And they were such troopers! Out there ALL day! Seriously, it's SO EXHAUSTING to spectate, I am in awe of all of them!)

The first loop passed relatively quickly. I was expecting an aid station every 10 miles, which wasn't exactly accurate, so the first time I refueled was at mile 25/28ish. I stopped and talked to the volunteers while I refilled my bottle. She was telling me about all the accidents she'd seen at the water station. Yikes! The first loop flew by, and I didn't stop to refuel until 3:18 or so, right before the halfway point. I got to see and talk to my aunt and uncle, as they were standing there - then back out to go along the second loop! I skipped special needs, which in retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have. I was planning on doing water and the gatorade solution, and had a second bottle of solution (along with a tube, two cartridges and some meds, just in case). But, I decided I didn't need it (also, I can only handle so much gatorade. Water tasted wayyy better at this point.). I was still so happy I was cruising right along, that I decided to just wait. I stopped again around mile 70 to refuel and use the bathroom (I still can't pee on my bike!) and was so happy with the volunteers. They grabbed my bike, and loaded up the water while I was in the bathroom! Awesome.

Then back out on 95.... and it was slow going. The out was net-uphill and it was SO WINDY. The headwind was brutal. I was going like 6-8 miles an hour for awhile. My legs also felt pretty heavy.  The slog out to the turnaround at mile 91 just felt like it was going on FOREVER. I was going to slow it was tough to fuel - and I switched back to gels (I had done a few hours of half of a luna bar every half hour in the middle there), to prep for the run. (Which seemed laughable at the time. My legs were already tired!) But, I made it! There is a long steep-ish downhill back into CdA, and it's a no passing zone. During the first loop, I didn't break at all, but during the second loop, I was tired, and feeling really cautious. I was really trying not to hold anyone up, but I did get passed.... Anyways. Made it into town, and to the bike in. Dropped off my bike (you jump off at the dismount area, and a volunteer grabs your bike), and into T-2. I told the volunteer he could keep my bike. He thought I was kidding ;)

Bike - goal: 8 hours. Actual: 7:45:37

T2: In T2, it took a bit for my legs to get back under me. I hobbled in to transition, grabbed my bag, and into the changing tent. My plan was to change my entire outfit, due to chafing issues. This went relatively fast with the assistance of a volunteer (who also helped me sunscreen up again!) and by the time I was changed, suncreened, had taken 2 more immodium and a salt tab and gad gone to the bathroom, I felt like running was more of a reality. Still hard, but more likely to stick. :)

T2 - goal: 5 min Reality: 7:41

Run: Running up out of transition was a gentle uphill, but I knew I had family and friends who I was going to hug attack at about mile 1. It was great to see everyone and their signs (my amazing sister had hosted a sign making party - all the signs were awesome!), and say hello and thanks :) Then out. I don't have too much to say about the first 9-ish miles, except that it felt good, and I was happy to be running. At 45 min, I took a gel, planning on taking the second one at 1:30 - but I started to feel super nauseated at about 9.5 and took a gel then. (The spectactular Vicki was out riding her bike on the course, encouraging us, so she let me know it was time for another gel when I started feeling barfy, in spite of my earlier ridiculous thinking that I should treat it like every other marathon.) This is also the point where I started needing to take little walk breaks. I expected needing to do this, but it was sad nonetheless. I started walking through the aid stations only until about mile 14. At special needs (mile 13ish), I stopped and grabbed some more gels and meds (more salt tabs, just in case). Then there was the out and back where I saw my family and friends again. I was so happy to see them, just like before, but as soon as I saw Coach T, I crumpled. I knew, at that point, that I was going to finish, but I also knew it was going to take awhile. I really wanted to be done.

Teresa jogged with me for a few minutes - and asked me what was hurt. I think I said 'everything! nothing! I'm just tired!' She calmed me down with encouragement, and we went over a new nutrition plan for the second half of the race (I had been struggling with gels): coke and water. Every aid station. This was a relief and gave me something to look forward too. After I ran off with her encouragement, I was able to turn it around and stay positive. The nice thing is about this point in the race is that if you are walking quickly or jogging, you are passing people. That was super helpful. I made it about 3 more miles walking 1/10th of a mile twice every mile, and then downgraded to a half mile walk/half mile run. (At mile 17, I figured our I had about 2 hours to run 9 miles to make a 5 hour marathon, which was my goal. Then, I realized I only needed to run a 15 min mile to do it. So....backing into the math, I realized I could get away with going a bit slower. This probably wasn't the best attitude to have, but I was hurting (or not hurting) and decided I didn't care ;)

I caught up with Lyset at the turnaround, around mile 20, where Mark had mentioned we should be sure to soak in the moment. We walked together for awhile, and then I hit my half mile and jogged off. She caught up with me about 2.5 miles later, trying to come blazing by me. We ran oddly fast for awhile (she said 'let's finish together!' and that sounded awesome, so I decided to try and keep up), before resuming taking a walk break here and there. We commiserated over how much our feet hurt, how much we wanted to be done, and how excited we were to cross the finish line. It was the highlight of my day to be together at this point.

As we turned the corner to head down (operative word is down) Sherman ave (which was a half mile to the finish) we started running again, for the last time. We ran faster than we'd been running all day, and cruised past family, friends and coaches - slapping high fives and smiling ear to ear. We were doing it!

We finally hit the finish line, and heard Mike Reilly announce us - we were each 'an Ironman!'. I couldn't believe it. Something I had never thought I would do - and not only did I accomplish it, I had fun, too!

Run goal: 5 hours Actual: 5:00:09

Overall Goal: 14:30 (well, 17 hours). Actual: 14:24

The finish area was nuts - the catchers ushered you through to get your hat and shirt, bottle of water, medal, have your chip taken off, and to get your photo taken. I was so ecstatic, I cried, and grabbed Lyset while she was getting her chip taken off. We made the photographers take our photo together, and went out onto the grass to wait for our families/friends. (She had to detour to medical, but was ultimately okay). I had discussed getting dinner with my family, but all I wanted was to shower and be back at the hotel. Rachel bought me some french fries, and Jacob and Tara brought me some chips, beans and rice. I managed to eat a little, but all I really wanted was to be not moving! We celebrated together for awhile, and after everyone left, and I responded to all my wonderful friends' messages, I took some Tylenol PM so I could sleep. ( I woke up at 4am starving and ate a bar - ewwwww!!!)

The next day I was moving slowly, but felt better than I thought I would. Today, a week later, I understand how people get addicted! I feel pretty good, and look forward to training again, definitely not for another Ironman, but for more summer fun, sometime soon!

USAT Level 1 Coaching Clinic

Last weekend I had the awesome experience of attending the USAT Level 1 Coaching Clinic with Mrs.Vicki Boivin, to obtain my USAT Coaching Certification.

It. Was. AWESOME!


I still have to take the test, but I have high hopes. Even doing the multiple choice portion, which I did last night was fun.


I had the great fortune to have 3 amazing speakers and a (mostly) cool class. (We had one guy in our class who decided to ignore the directive of 'not talking about yourself' and 'ensuring if you were asking a question, it ended in a question mark'. There is always one, right?) It was fun that the Tour was happening this weekend too, so we all had something to watch in the bar together and discuss (well, Vicki could discuss it - I could pretend like I understood what was happening!) or run together and discuss, or sit on the plane and discuss...... 


Jesse Kropelnicki spoke on exercise physiology, nutrition and strength training, and had a ton of really awesome ideas. I really enjoyed his approach to questions, his knowledge and all of his presentations. His nutrition plan was something that I have recently been trying, with Vicki's assistance - so I felt GREAT. ;)


Coach Ian Murray spoke on periodization, swim and bike skills and workouts. He is married to Alexandra Paul, who was on Baywatch for 5 years but now, according to him 'does mostly lifetime movies' (like thats a BAD thing). This, of course, came out at the airport, where the poor guy was routed through Seattle from Boise before flying home to LA. He had an AMAZING amount of patience, and I really appreciated his honesty and his frank discussions regarding money, Ironman, and the nature of creating training plans. 


And, we got to see the great Bobby McGee, who actually name drops Olympians without meaning to. He's just that good of a running coach. He was a great speaker - and his discussions on running workouts, and form, and drills was mind blowing. He is not just a great coach due to the athletes he's coached, but his dedication to the sport. He also had some amazing ideas on walk/running and positive self-talk - which will be really interesting to play with :) 


Everyone who spoke really loves what they do - and loves triathlon, and the sports individually. THIS really hit home. I talk about triathlon like I would love it, if I didn't have to bike, but the truth is, I enjoy biking. If I stopped putting myself down about it, and actually focused on what I have accomplished and the gains I have made... I would be even happier! It would seem like play, which, after all, is what it really is. :) 

Another list - things I'm excited about...

I know, enough with the lists!

But here's another one. :)
I am excited about:

• Alyssa's baby shower - and baby! 
• The Rock N Roll half, and seeing how my trainees and training buddies do!
• CDA - and how my teammates do!
• Amy's bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs (SO MUCH!) 
• Amy's wedding
• My tasks related to the above, and getting my dress! 
• Having HBO
• The USAT Level I Clinic - I am excited to learn more about triathlon, and hopefully help people! Plus, then I will have both my RRCA Certification AND USAT Certification :) 
• Getting more serious about eating/acting/training like an athlete. I've loved some of the changes I've made to my diet, and I can't wait to see if they have performance benefits as well! 
• Going to cheer at Lake Stevens
• Going to cheer at Canada - and hopefully cheer on Ms Vicki!
• Ragnar - and all the fun we'll have in our awesome van (although I am bummed I can't be in BOTH vans!) I love our team!

That didn't go quite as planned - or my Oliver 70.3 race report

Last weekend I competed in the Oliver half Ironman. Going into it, I had the best support crew a girl could ask for, Ms. Vicki Boivin - who should have been racing, but was sidelined due to injury. That girl smiled, organized, cooked, cleaned, hugged, cheered and forced the rest of us to focus and relax. Can you say 'best sherpa ever?!'

my hero :) 

Saturday, after tracking our speedy teammates online, we did a little swim/bike/run to prep. Everything went smoothly, except the insane check in line! Back at the condo, we relaxed, ate, and ate more. Vicki made an amazing dinner, and Derek and Joe, who was also racing joined us. 

joe and I enjoying Vicki's cooking!

Dave arrived around 7 (I was right - everyone else thought it would be another hour!) and headed out for a run, and then settled in to drink our beer and rest up his cheering muscles.;) 

Sunday morning we were up up up at 4am! We left the condo around 5 to head over to body marking. If the check in fiasco was any indication, we didn't want to be too late to race! 

Me at body marking - brrrrrrr!

After that, it was over to the swim start. I was FREEZING, but got in to warm up. As long as I was moving, I was fine. The swim was a 3 wave start - and I was in the second wave. This initially made me nervous, because I was concerned about crowding. Luckily, there was plenty of room - and it was easy to get out there and find an opening! I felt good - I had a good clip, and was chasing some speedy ladies. Turns out the course was a bit long... The timing mats were also after the wesuit stripping and another 100 yard run, so my time was slower than the actual swim. Oh, well, it was all part of the race, right?! (Oh, and the wetsuit strippers and I were equally novice, so it took an inordinately long time.)

Swim time: 40:03

T1: Another half mile jog barefoot to the transition area - shoes on, glasses and helmet on, and out! Someone tried to ask me a question, but I think I had my race face on!

T1 time: 4:32

Bike: The bike. What can I say? I had trouble settling in at the beginning but after a while felt good, and was cruising along in what, for me, was a decent pace! Went through the first loop feeling good - positive, happy, and pushing a little... And then... two flats. I won't go into a ton of detail here, except that I got a flat front tire, then a flat back tire. It wasn't my favorite moment or bike ride.  The good news is that in Canada, the bike barn peeps will change it for you. They came upon me during my first catastrophe, tears and all, and then I found them the second time. Time to reset expectations. It wasn't going to be my best day, but I was going to get through it, and goddamn it, I was going to be smiling! What other choice did I have? My friend and my husband had come all this way (and I had done all these crappy transition runs) to finish this, and it was time to just do it.

I will say this: fueling went great. I took a Gu every 30 minutes on the bike, and drank Perform. A lot of sweetness, but it got me through. (At the end of the race, I had all kinds of Gu running stuck to my leg from storing my empties in my pants hem, but oh, well!)

Bike time: 3:32:37

T2: I had to pee. Like seriously. And I was OVER IT. But, I love running, and even though I wasn't feeling super confident in my run, I was ready to be off my mofo bike. So, time to giddyup. 

T2 time: 2:52

Run: I was happy to be running and out there. The first loop went GREAT. I was passing people, encouraging them (why not?!) and having a good time. Around mile 10, I was ready to be done. Right before I saw Ann Sloan, close to mile 12.5ish, I talked to Dave - he had taken a spectator to the hospital after she ran face first into a pole running out to cheer on her friend! Crazy! She needed 7 stitches! So glad he was there to help! He ran with me for a few steps, and then ran to the finish to cheer me on. Ann was having a great race, but declined my invitation to run the rest of the way with me - after her soul crushing announcement that the run course was a half mile long. Yeeeech! Oh well. Nothing to do but press on, and stick to my personal resolution that I would NOT WALK unless I was at an aid station drinking water. I took 2.5 gus on the run. 45 min, an hour 15 and mile 10 I decided to sip on one a bit.

Run time: 2:03:17

Final time: 6:23: 19

All in all not my best day. I have a few thoughts - the bike issues were devastating mentally. I was proud of myself for recalibrating my expectations and managing to stay fairly positive - but it was tough, and I think my run suffered. Also, if I am going to be brutally honest - I feel like I haven't been as consistent as I needed to be in my workouts - particularly in my running. I think this was a mental issue from the beginning. I really like doing more running, which hasn't been possible with my recent focus on the bike. However, I learned a lot from this race, and it was probably the toughest one of my life. Nothing went according to plan, and I still finished. Not quite what I had hoped, but I did it - and I am proud of myself. I was so excited for all my teammates in Oliver (Mac, Paul and Derek) and Honu (countless) for awesome, awe-inspiring performances to aspire to. I know I'll do better next time, and in the meantime, I am still happy and thankful I made it through this race, and that is something to smile about!

Rest in peace, sweet cousin

Last Friday night, the 20th, my sweet older cousin passed away. She was 33.

That's why this past Friday night found me on a plane to Spokane with Dave to be there for her service yesterday. My wonderful husband decided we should fly, in spite of the outrageous expense. I am so happy we did, and that I was there. I knew it was going to be a hard day, but it was beyond what I expected. It was so sad, and so hard to remember how difficult Theresa's life was. It was great to have the opportunity to be with the family, and say goodbye to our first lost family member together.

Theresa had pretty severe mental and physical disabilities. She was mentally retarded and had some emotional problems as well. She always had some mobility problems, but in the past year and a half, she had to live without a hip. They botched her hip surgery three times - well, I'm not sure the hospital should be blamed, but the end result was that sweet girl had to live without a hip.

At the funeral yesterday, Theresa's family shared some special things about her, including how positive she was about life. When I think about her life, I think it was brutally hard - and how unfair it was that she had so many bad breaks. I think she knew how much everyone loved her though, and she was so full of love for everyone. In spite of all the bad things that had happened to her, she was so certain that everyone was good, and rejoiced in the little things. While she may not have been able to live life to same fullness that many of us get to, she was able to enjoy her world.

I hope her heaven is full of hugs, angels, and all things beautiful and delicious. She deserves it.

Mt Si Relay

Last Sunday, I participated in the Mt Si Relay on team Dae Han. Here are some things I learned:

• Watch Best of the Best, just do it.
• Running while on antibiotics BLOWS, and I would still consider myself sick that day
• There are more than 13 versions of the song "Wuthering Heights" and the Houck brothers consider that pump up music. It's not. 
• It is possible to listen to the same song, in 13 different versions ALL DAY and mostly stay sane
• The Houck's consider vomiting at the handoff the only indication that you have worked hard enough
• Being in first place when you take the handoff and subsequently losing that placement really sucky
• Everything with the Houcks is a contest, including chugging Guinness
• I am a better beer drinker than Brian

We came in second place overall, but first place in the mixed team division!

Happy, tired and sore!

It was a super fun day, and I hope I am invited back on the team next year! The event isn't just a relay - there are people who do a 50K or a 50 miler. They are insane!

The order was:

Total	min/mile
Scott	06:32.0
Brady	06:47.4
Elizabeth	07:17.9
Brian	06:23.8
Heidi	07:41.0

(I was super pleased I was a lot faster the girl who I replaced. She ran an 8:05 pace last year. You always want to be an upgrade ;))

I think I could run a lot faster if I wasn't still sick and on antibiotics. I averaged 7:17 pace over my two legs - 5.7 and 4.1. The first leg was almost pancake flat, and we were in first when at the handoff. That changed about a mile into my leg - when we moved to 2nd. At about mile 5, we moved to third. Both those other teams were all male, so not in our division, but still. The one Husky Runner kid was mad fast. I threw up at mile 2, and at the end. In spite of my regimen of pre-race immodium, my stomach was completely ick. (When I texted Dave to tell him how we were doing, and the vomiting, he responded that he was making breakfast. He loves me.)

The Houck's brought us back into first, and then Heidi unfortunately got passed by one of the Husky runners as well. (I was so excited to meet Heidi - she's super fun, nice and a great runner!)

We were in first by 4 minutes when I started my second leg, which was 2 miles up the Iron horse trail and 2 miles back down. Ouch. I am not the world's best hill runner, and my hip and hammy were acting up after my first leg. I was passed by that fast mo-fo at mile 2.25, and he put 2.5 minutes on me by the time I handed off. (That other team that had passed us during my first leg had imploded, and were no longer a concern.) Brian managed to pass the husky team's next runner, but not by much, and we ended up in second place overall by only 86 seconds. We were the first place mixed team, though, so we got award mugs!

Winner mugs and beers to go in them!

Thats when the beer drinking started. The Houcks were chugging Guinnesses, so of course I joined them! how could I not? That results in some ride home shenanigans which may or may not have included public urination. I mean, don't these guys look like trouble?

In spite of his expression, Scott is not a serial killer.

Best of the Best - and Brownies on a Saturday Morning

After a week of being sick - a solid week at this point - I am OVER IT. I haven't gotten to run all week, this cough is making me crazy, and as much as I complained last week about never being home, I am now sick of being home. (Careful what you wish for!) It would be different if I had the energy to do stuff like redecorate or whatever, but I don't. And I have races looming - it's freaking me out! I was really hoping to PR at the Cinco de Mayo, but my fitness isn't where I want it to be, and a lost week of training isn't helping my confidence. Also, I NEED to get out on my bike before Oliver, and the weather's been totally beautiful.

Also, why do I have to feel so gross about myself while being sick? TOTALLY UNFAIR.

Whats looming even bigger though, is the Mt. Si Relay. I was recruited by Brian and Brady Houck, who are nuts. They seem to think I'll be some big asset to the team, but with my aforementioned lack of running fitness, I am concerned. It's next weekend, and I am still hacking up a lung. That's not why they are nuts. They just are. And also, they are obsessed with this 'Best of the Best' movie, which was produced in 1989, and is actually horrible. (It's some kind of world championship MMA movie, but the only two countries competing are USA and Korea. Where are the rest of the teams? Were they eliminated in some other competition? And if so, why isn't the US using the same fighters they previously used, rather than this rag tag bunch of misfits?) It's a beautiful Saturday morning, and I am watching the movie for the second time. Tagline: 'A Team is not a Team if they don't give a damn about each other'. It is AMAZINGLY bad. I foresee many bad quotes in the van next weekend at the relay, and since Dave's seen it now, in our Ragnar van.

Since I haven't had an appetite all week, it's time to make brownies, because why not? :) Maybe I'll feel up to running later?! I hope so!