Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race Report - Part 2
Previously at IM CdA...The Swim was cold with monstrous waves, but I still had an incredible time of 1:33:53. I blew that incredible time with a T1 time of 21:28, putting me well behind most of the field.
Part 2: The bike:
A cold start. Picture by FinisherPix.
I mentally broke the bike course into three parts. A 15 mile out and back along the lake, then back through town with all the cheering spectators, then a 20 mile out along highway 95, and 20 miles back into town. In reality that adds up to 56 miles. And then repeat.
Out and back and out and back and repeat.
Elevation Profile:
Alternate view of the elevation profile:
One of the things I had heard over and over in many forms throughout my training was not to go out too hard on the bike. It was best said by Mark Cathcart (triman) in his ROTT race report: "Memo to self, no one ever says they wish they'd gone harder on the bike after an Ironman."
So as I started out, I made sure to go at my pace. Not to push. It should feel easy. If others are passing, let them. You'll get it back later. Especially on the run. I hoped it would come true. There's always the chance I'll be just as slow later, but miss out on the speed I could have had at the beginning. I also smiled. Smiling makes everything better. It was easy to smile, with the town full of cheering spectators, all cheering just for me!
Left: Picture by FinisherPix. Right: Picture by Ed Sparks
I had driven the first 15 miles once, and ridden most of it twice, so I was very familiar with this part. We had even found a couple of geocaches along the way. I always smile when I know "there's a cache there". The route left town and then curved around Lake Coeur d'Alene. Beautiful views! Wind! And one decent but short hill. And a continuous party all along the way! There was a balloon arch at the top of the big hill. There were bagpipers. There were signs people had placed along the way for their favorite athletes. There were aid stations and music and fun! Smiles everywhere!
Along this stretch I realized my tummy didn't feel very good. It was way too early to be dealing with nutritional issues! What was I going to do? I'd been moving for well over 2 hours and I was sure I needed some calories but didn't want any. I thought it through and decided that I must have swallowed a lot of air or water or both on the swim, and a release of pressure was needed. I pulled into one of the many park bathrooms along the way and took care of that. I left my bike outside the door, and while I was inside I heard someone pull up and then a noise like a falling bike. I hoped it wasn't mine, as my aerobottle would empty! I came out and Tiny was fine and a guy was waiting with an upright bike. Maybe his bike fell over when he stopped? Maybe he was just a noisy stopper.
I rode away and my tummy started feeling better. My plan was to drink Infinit on the :00 and :20 minute intervals, and eat Bonk Breakers on the :40 as I'd done successfully on all those long rides. I had been riding for 30 minutes after the 2 hour swim plus T1 and knew I needed calories soon. I gingerly drank some Infinit and seemed to tolerate it.
Along this stretch I remember seeing Julie and Nancy going back into town as I was headed out. I never ever saw Tom or Mohamed.
After about an hour I returned to town with all the happy spectators and saw our personal sherpas in various locations for a quick energy boost. I tried eating a gel for some more and longer lasting energy. I still wasn't ready for solid bars. Then 20 minutes later more Infinit. And 20 minutes after that (3:40 into the race) I was finally ready to try something solid - a few bites of a PB+chocolate chip Bonk Breaker bar. Delicious! It sat well too, so I began alternating between Infinit and BB Bar to catch up on calories, rather than 2 cycles of Infinit for every bar. I was very pleased with myself for passing this first nutrition test of the day.
So after leaving town, I headed out on the first long stretch of highway. We had driven this part once, but I didn't get a good appreciation for how long the hills were from the car. I was probably paying more attention to where the geocaches were. Pretty early into the segment came the first hill 2 miles at 6% grade with a strong headwind. But I've trained through a lot of wind and hills. I smiled by telling myself that I only had to do that hill once more. It was a comparable hill to the southbound climb to Bee Caves on 360, only a lot longer, with many gentle curves. Surely the top was just past the next curve, I told myself way too many times.
I must say I am good on hills. Must have something to do with my small size and power to weight ratios and physics and things. I often am able to pass people on hills. They pass me right back on the flats and downhills. So on these long hills I had to abandon the "let people pass you" mantra. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. I was going at my pace. A pace which just happened to let me pass others. I smiled and joked with others along the way. I even said out loud "We're doing an Ironman!" in case they didn't realize it.
We're doing an Ironman! Picture by FinisherPix.
I told myself that 20 miles out was short, but it wasn't a short 20 miles. The hills and wind were endless and I thought I might never reach the turn around point. I was still trying to smile though. At about 35 miles I stopped to pee at an aid station. There was a line that I didn't want to wait in, but I wanted to pee more than I didn't want to wait in line. I let the volunteers rack my bike and bring me a banana and refill my water bottle while in line, so it wasn't totally wasted time. Wonderful volunteers!
One more false flat in the 4 miles to the turnaround. I think I saw Nancy in this stretch and when I got to the turnaround I thought I was about 12 minutes behind her. Once I turned around, oh sweet baby, the wind was at my back! And it was a down hill! Joy!!!
4 miles back to the aid station and I had to pee yet again. I was behind a woman in line who after 44 miles on the bike discovered that she was still wearing her ear plugs from the swim! She was also wearing an Ann Taylor Loft cashmere sweater that somebody loaned her. It was still cloudy and cold and I was still appreciating my gloves and arm warmers and wind jacket at this point. The billowing jacket completely negated the effects of the rented race wheels. But I was happy I had them both.
The return to town felt so fast! Long downhills. Only two significant climbs. We didn't get splits on the bike, but it felt like I got back twice as fast as it took me to go out. I don't know why we didn't get splits, as there were timing mats out there. Technical difficulties, I suppose. The sun did begin to come out on the way back and it started to turn into a beautiful day! I took the gloves off with my teeth and unzipped the jacket.
There was a no passing zone on the final stretch of highway before the turn back into town. I caught up to a guy who seemed to be in no hurry at all. I could not wait to get around him! Didn't he realize that times still count in a no pass zone?
My wonderful sherpa crew was there to cheer me on yet again. It gave me a smile boost! Back to the 15 mile out and back along the lake. I took advantage of the park potties one more time before the turnaround. At the turnaround of this loop were the special needs bags where I dumped my red jacket and stretchy gloves but kept the arm warmer/coolers. There are no pictures of me without the jacket because everyone was focused on looking for that jacket. I picked up the english muffin with PB&J and the contents of a small can of Pringles. Pringles are magical, you know! I don't know when I learned that, but I totally believe in the power of Pringles. I was so happy to have Pringles that I left behind the bars and gels I had planned to restock with. Oops. I put the muffin in my jersey pocket and ate the Pringles out of my hand until they were gone. Pringles helped me keep on smiling! I wasn't too worried about what I'd left behind. I still had a couple of bars and a gel on me. And a muffin. I dug my bike gloves out of my jersey pockets and put them on with my teeth while moving.
This part of the course paralleled the run course, and by this time, the elites were running. This was my lowest mental point of the race. The pros were running and I still had 3 hours to go on the bike. It really hit home that it was going to be a very long day. Plus I knew I was at the back of the pack. But when I did the math, I was right where I predicted I'd be. Right on track. So I worked my way out of the funk that was brewing, controlled my attitude, smiled and kept on pedaling. Back through town and another hit of sherpa cheer to send me out on the looooong out and back that remained. 40 miles to go.
I had until 4:00 to get to the far turnaround. Anyone not at that point by then would be pulled from the course. In my addled state I started to worry that I might not make the cutoff. Time for an attitude adjustment. I was still leapfrogging and passing people on hills. I was doing just fine. Perhaps some food would help. I ate what I thought was the other half of an Espresso Chip Bonk Breaker bar I'd already eaten half of, but it was probably more like 2/3 of the bar, so I hadn't eaten as much as I thought. And soon after, I felt a surge. Renewed energy. Hills and wind be damned. I felt good! I started talking to my fellow riders as I passed them. "Come on, let's go!" "We're doing it!" "Now these hills are just pissing me off." Sometimes they laughed. Sometimes I'm sure they gave my passing ass a dirty look. I kept leapfrogging with one woman in my age group. The last time I passed her she told me I was a strong climber. I told her she'd pass me back, but she never did.
Along this stretch I started to see a man wearing a yellow button down shirt and an Ironman visor and riding a yellow motorcycle. Kind of like this one.
He'd be parked by the side of the road as I went by him. Then I'd see him drive on by a little while later. And then I'd see him parked by the side of the road again. Curious.
I was determined not to stop anymore. I hadn't stopped since the out and back along the lake and I didn't want any more stoppage time. I figured I'd be able to pee on the bike on the long down hills on the way back. Cruised through the aid stations and took in their cheers for energy. At the turnaround I was about 30 minutes before the 4pm cutoff. Time to fly home!!
I continued to see the yellow motorcycle dude over and over again. He had turned around and was still leapfrogging me! I was thinking of the clown I had hallucinated at the miserable White Rock Marathon of 2009, and started questioning my sanity here. But I wasn't miserable. In fact, I felt pretty good! I didn't need a hallucination! So finally I flat out asked him - "Am I hallucinating you?" He laughed and assured me he was real. Except...what else would a hallucination say?
Did any of my Trizones buddies see the yellow motorcycle dude? Of course not. He was my own personal yellow motorcycle dude.
When I passed the 100 mile marker I smiled even bigger! Longest distance I had ever ridden! At the MS 150 I rode only 99 miles. My longest ride in training this season was 98.4. Finally I broke the 100 mile barrier! And I was still feeling great!! Only 12 miles to go, but one more signficant hill. But I would never have to climb that hill again!
I reached the no pass zone before the turn back into town, and again I was behind a slowpoke! Really? No hurry at all. Maybe I'm wrong and the no-passing zone is free time? I passed a guy walking his bike in his socks and asked if he was ok. His chain was locked up. He started running. There was only a mile to town, but that's a long mile of walking your bike in socks. Hope he made it.
I pulled into the chute at right about 5:00pm. 30 minutes ahead of the cutoff. A little closer than I would have liked, but I still had 7 hours for the marathon. I could walk a marathon in 7 hours. Hoped I didn't have to though.
I dismounted and a volunteer took my bike. Which was weird. I felt like I should take something with me, but didn't know what, so I walked away. I had done the same thing in T1 without realizing it. Got all dressed and left all my stuff for a volunteer to deal with. It's kind of like having a mom to clean up after you everywhere you go.
Bike time: 7:55:53 (14.12 mph)
To be continued...