Short Summary -
Swim: 1:06 - PR by 3 minutes
Bike: 6:06 - PR by 9 minutes (but on a WAY tougher course than AZ!)
Run: 4:28 - PR by 3 min
IM MT Swim: short version- got a swim PR. long version - as I walked to the swim start, I cried (I don’t think I’ve cried in 2019). I felt so thankful to get to the start line, to be a part of this incredible group of people, and so proud of all the work I put in the bank to get here. As soon as I lined up to hit my rolling start, a calm overcame me and I repeated “stay present, each mile as it comes”. I ran in, dove to start and instantly my goggles filled with water. FUCK. I stopped to drain them and tried to keep swimming - repeated that 4 more times till I just treaded water to try to see what was wrong. Could I do this swim with no goggles or with them full? I swam so many OWS with these goggles, what on earth was happening?! Eventually I got the left goggle cleared and staying water free, and just dealt with a half full right goggle. I settled in about 500 yards in and tried to find some feet. Despite starting before the 1:05 group, people around me seemed too slow. I only found feet from 1500-2000 yards until I decided he was slowing me down, but had lots of people on MY feet as I maneuvered through the packs of people. I turned it on from 2k-3k, then got tired and coasted till the end with someone continually touching my feet. I had budgeted for a 1:10 swim and saw my Garmin said something around 1:06 - I was thrilled! I know the swim is such a short part of the day, but it really sets my emotional tone for the day. I felt great coming out of the water and hit the super long transition to the bike! Thrilled to start part 2 of my race!
IM MT Bike: 6:06! BIKE PR on the toughest bike course I’ve done! (Yes, that seemed harder than whistler 2015!) my top 2 goals on the bike were to fuel/hydrate/salt nonstop and not push the bike too hard - stick to the plan! I went out pushing watts too high but was feeling so strong - until I hit those hills the last 20k of the first loop! What a cruel little out and back! The second loop I slowed down knowing those short but steep climbs were coming again - and then my bike computer died around mile 85! I went by feel as my watch didn’t show power and just tried to finish strong. I saw I might get close to a 6 hour bike split but didn’t actually check my time as I came into transition! Thankfully, the bike was not too eventful - and besides feeling kind of over my 7+ hours of exercise at that point and my back being pretty tight from so much aero position - was ready to get after that marathon!
IM MT Run: PR, but not by much - 4:28. There are no right words to describe the pain of a marathon in an Ironman. My coach gave me a plan but in my head I wanted to be faster than it. I was going to take the first 5k at a 9:30 pace to settle in, get my feet under me, and take it chunk by chunk after that. I wanted a 4 hour marathon. After my first 5k I felt strong. My legs felt good, I was having some GI issues but they weren’t affecting my run besides a few stops. I ran through the mean and cruel hills out to the much flatter trail, and saw @isaac_trilife around mile 4 for me and 9 for him. He shouted at me that he was in serious pain and he was already walking aid stations. Idk why but this really affected me. If Isaac was already walking aid stations, I probably should too. I slowed it down, walked aid stations, and started to mentally unravel. I kept absorbing the pain on other people’s faces, seeing other people walking, and I was so tired. At 10 miles I started cramping. I was practically funneling salt tabs into my body, which helped but not 100%. I started hiking hills and running the rest, then running until I saw aid stations and the cramping just crept in more and more. I felt re-energized after I ran through the village at the halfway point and saw my family - and knew I would get this done but I wouldn’t negative split my second half - my 4 hour dream was gone for this race and I just needed to aim for my sub 12 hour goal. I saw isaac again and I had definitely eaten some time into our spread. He shouted “you’re going to catch me!” which actually got me to run more when I wanted to walk. Miles 16 and on are a blur. I can’t remember when I ran and when I had to stretch out my cramps but I trudged along. It was terrible from miles 20-24. But watching my marathon time I saw I could still PR - and that kept me going. I’m disappointed in my marathon. I’ve run SO STRONG this year. It was by far my most improved in training and it’s disappointing I didn’t come through in this race with a stronger marathon. But - with a solid marathon continuing to elude me - I guess I’ll have to do another full distance Ironman.
When you see that finish line... the whole day was worth it. PR: 11:52:21 on the hardest course I’ve ever done. I came in sub 12 hours which was my goal. I pushed through some dark shit on that marathon - negative self talk, doubt, pain. But for the first time I finished in daylight! (My prior PR was in AZ in November and the sun sets early that time of year!) I cried for the second and third time of the day at the finish - first right after isaac stopped that video, then as I sat in the tent. I cried from exhaustion, appreciation to get to finish, disappointment in my marathon, but pride in my day as a whole. I still PR’d every sport. I ENJOYED THE BIKE. I overcame each thing that went wrong throughout the day and problem solved and pushed on. That whole run I told myself that I wasn’t cut out for the Ironman distance, I’m too mentally weak to push through that pain. But, I somehow managed. 😆
HUGE thank you to my coach Brad Seng. I had a rough schedule this year to work around and you helped me navigate, work through some emotional breakdowns, and pushed me WAY harder than I ever have been and I’m still amazed at all I’ve accomplished this year with your help. Thanks to Kiersten Lindelef who helped me all year as I worked through my lingering hamstring injury - without her I don’t think my body would have made it through training and to the start line injury free! Could not have done it without you two!!
And now, what to race in 2020? I think I know, but I’ll wait to register at least until next week....
Swim: 1:06 - PR by 3 minutes
Bike: 6:06 - PR by 9 minutes (but on a WAY tougher course than AZ!)
Run: 4:28 - PR by 3 min
Overall: 11:52:21
IM MT Swim: short version- got a swim PR. long version - as I walked to the swim start, I cried (I don’t think I’ve cried in 2019). I felt so thankful to get to the start line, to be a part of this incredible group of people, and so proud of all the work I put in the bank to get here. As soon as I lined up to hit my rolling start, a calm overcame me and I repeated “stay present, each mile as it comes”. I ran in, dove to start and instantly my goggles filled with water. FUCK. I stopped to drain them and tried to keep swimming - repeated that 4 more times till I just treaded water to try to see what was wrong. Could I do this swim with no goggles or with them full? I swam so many OWS with these goggles, what on earth was happening?! Eventually I got the left goggle cleared and staying water free, and just dealt with a half full right goggle. I settled in about 500 yards in and tried to find some feet. Despite starting before the 1:05 group, people around me seemed too slow. I only found feet from 1500-2000 yards until I decided he was slowing me down, but had lots of people on MY feet as I maneuvered through the packs of people. I turned it on from 2k-3k, then got tired and coasted till the end with someone continually touching my feet. I had budgeted for a 1:10 swim and saw my Garmin said something around 1:06 - I was thrilled! I know the swim is such a short part of the day, but it really sets my emotional tone for the day. I felt great coming out of the water and hit the super long transition to the bike! Thrilled to start part 2 of my race!IM MT Bike: 6:06! BIKE PR on the toughest bike course I’ve done! (Yes, that seemed harder than whistler 2015!) my top 2 goals on the bike were to fuel/hydrate/salt nonstop and not push the bike too hard - stick to the plan! I went out pushing watts too high but was feeling so strong - until I hit those hills the last 20k of the first loop! What a cruel little out and back! The second loop I slowed down knowing those short but steep climbs were coming again - and then my bike computer died around mile 85! I went by feel as my watch didn’t show power and just tried to finish strong. I saw I might get close to a 6 hour bike split but didn’t actually check my time as I came into transition! Thankfully, the bike was not too eventful - and besides feeling kind of over my 7+ hours of exercise at that point and my back being pretty tight from so much aero position - was ready to get after that marathon!
When you see that finish line... the whole day was worth it. PR: 11:52:21 on the hardest course I’ve ever done. I came in sub 12 hours which was my goal. I pushed through some dark shit on that marathon - negative self talk, doubt, pain. But for the first time I finished in daylight! (My prior PR was in AZ in November and the sun sets early that time of year!) I cried for the second and third time of the day at the finish - first right after isaac stopped that video, then as I sat in the tent. I cried from exhaustion, appreciation to get to finish, disappointment in my marathon, but pride in my day as a whole. I still PR’d every sport. I ENJOYED THE BIKE. I overcame each thing that went wrong throughout the day and problem solved and pushed on. That whole run I told myself that I wasn’t cut out for the Ironman distance, I’m too mentally weak to push through that pain. But, I somehow managed. 😆
HUGE thank you to my coach Brad Seng. I had a rough schedule this year to work around and you helped me navigate, work through some emotional breakdowns, and pushed me WAY harder than I ever have been and I’m still amazed at all I’ve accomplished this year with your help. Thanks to Kiersten Lindelef who helped me all year as I worked through my lingering hamstring injury - without her I don’t think my body would have made it through training and to the start line injury free! Could not have done it without you two!!
And now, what to race in 2020? I think I know, but I’ll wait to register at least until next week....
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