REDEMPTION RACE - IRONMAN BOULDER 2016

I'm almost the only one who looks happy to get this started.

The first goal I set for Ironman Boulder was to get to the starting line healthy and ready to race. The last couple of days before the race, I couldn’t help thinking about what happened before Ironman Lake Tahoe last year and cross my fingers that I wouldn’t be sidelined by some other bizarre incident. When I look at the pictures from the swim start, it is obvious that I was just happy to be starting the race.

Let's get this party started :-) 

Swim

The race had a rolling start and people seeded themselves according to what time they thought they would take to complete the 2.4-mile swim. It was overcast and the water was a calm 72 degrees. The swim course was an open rectangle that could be broken down into three legs and I was able to execute my simple plan. Take the first leg controlled but not easy, go faster on the second leg with high arm turnover and stay focused on powerful pulls with more glide with a strong kick on the third leg. I had a fairly easy time sighting the buoys and felt that I minimized zig-zagging. Exiting the water, I saw the race clock said 1:13. I wasn’t sure what time I started based on the rolling start but something less than 1:13 was a great swim for me. It was a good move to wear the new ROKA Maverick X wet-suit which I had purchased a few days before the race. My swim time was a new record for me at one hour and eleven minutes (1:11:45.)

The buoys mark the final leg of the swim course.

Out of water and quickly into transition.

I went through the long transition area pretty quickly (5:51.) I used the wet-suit strippers, put on my socks, shoes, a head band, helmet and sunglasses in the changing tent with the help of a dedicated volunteer. I stuffed my food into my pockets while I was running to the bike. I saw my friend and training partner, Leishia (who came to Boulder to support me) as I was running my bike up the hill to the mount line and she told me I was in 2^nd place out of the water. Very encouraging!

Eager wet-suit stripper volunteers!

Bike

One gauge of how I was doing after the swim is
how many bikes are still in their racks.

The 112-mile bike course was basically one mini-loop followed by a larger loop which we did twice. The first little loop started out fairly flat with two stair stepped climbs. It was overcast and cool through the first little loop and the first larger loop. The larger loop had some long gradual ups and downs, not rollers. The steepest climb was at mile 37 on the first big loop, where I got passed by one of the top nationally ranked women in my age group. She said some encouraging words as she whizzed past me. I knew at that point that I had dropped into third place. (She eventually dropped out of the race during the run.)

At 56 miles I had been riding less than 3 hours and thought wow, I might get this done under 6 hours, but then thought I should not get ahead of myself as anything can happen. Just stay in the moment. It’s not just about the bike so don’t over-do it just to have a fast bike split and then not be able to run a marathon. As I got nearer the bike finish I was pretty excited to see I would indeed have a sub-six-hour bike ride. My final time was 5:50:09, my fastest time for 112 miles.

Out on the larger loop of the bike course.

I consumed approximately 1300 calories, all in solid food, on the bike and drank 4 bottles of water with electrolytes (Nuun and Osmo) and over three bottles of plain water. It did get hot and sunny on the second larger bike loop and was 93 degrees when I got off the bike.

The bike dismount line was very far from where they took the bike from me. I got out of my shoes before the dismount and jogged the bike in, leaving my shoes clipped into my pedals. It wasn’t a very fast run but probably faster than I could have done in my cleats on concrete. I ran through transition picking up my bag and ran into the changing tent. I grabbed some Vaseline from the table in the tent, put it under my timing chip strap. While a volunteer put sunscreen on my shoulders, I took a full water bottle (with Nuun in it) from my transition bag, put on my shoes, grabbed my number belt (with gels in its pouch) and visor and put them on as I was running out of transition. I had a fast transition time of 5:53, especially given how far we had to run pushing our bikes.

Run

I started out thinking OK, I could run faster but will keep it contained and comfortable. The first two miles felt great, then I started to get hot and uncomfortable even with pouring ice water on my head and putting ice in my bra and down my back. The run consisted of two-loops in a Y shape. The up-side of this is that Dennis and Leishia positioned themselves where the three legs of the Y came together, so I saw them several times and got encouragement. My overall feeling about the run is that it was pretty brutal; hot and entirely on concrete. I just kept running slowly one foot in front of the other. When I saw them on the first loop, I was in fourth place. By the second loop I was just struggling to keep running and not walk. 

 I didn’t have any stomach issues or cramping. I ate a gel every 30 mins (110 cals) and two salt tabs every hour. With 8 miles to go, Leishia told me I was in fifth place and thought I had a chance to catch 4^th place. She said everyone was slowing down and “now it’s all you! You have been working all year for this” so keep running and get it done. She knew exactly what to say to motivate me. I really wanted to catch 4^th and I absolutely did not want to get passed and let a podium spot slip away. She was wise not to tell me that I had something like a 40-minute lead on 6^th place and was being pretty optimistic that I could catch the 4^th place woman, but anything can happen near the end of 140.6 miles at 5,200 feet of elevation in the heat and sun. 

At the last turnaround, they were handing out glow-stick necklaces to people who were on their first loop. I was elated to know that I only had a mile and a half to go, mostly downhill and I would be finishing before it got dark. My sixth Ironman and my first finish in the daylight! I took a little time running down the finish chute to high-five spectators, enjoying the adrenaline rush of the finish and hearing the Voice of Ironman (Mike Riley) announce my name and call me an Ironman. 

Final time, and Ironman personal best: 13:14:08. Age group 5^th place.

There is nothing like it, every finisher is treated like they won the entire race! Then, to my pleasant surprise, there was Leishia behind the finish line to put the medal around my neck.  

Post Race:

With the rush of adrenaline, I wasn’t sure how I was physically at the finish. None of the finish line food appealed to me and I was afraid of cramping if I laid down for a massage so Leishia agreed to come to our hotel and “celebrate.” Dennis and I walked a short distance to where he had parked and I had to lift my legs with my hands to get them in the car. It seemed that my hamstrings were not responding to my brain. I also started shivering uncontrollably. The hotel was less than 15 minutes away. As we were walking into the hotel lobby, I realized we had forgotten to pick up my bike and bags. That is a first! Pretty out-of-it! Usually I’m preoccupied with the thought I need to get my bike. I texted Leishia and she was able to swing back by the transition area and pick up my bike and bags, as Dennis didn’t want to leave me alone. After a hot shower, some food and drink (they had beer, I had ginger ale) and wrapped in a warm blanket, the shivering stopped and we sat around, satisfied, recounting the day’s events. 

Fifth place female 55-59.

Photo credits: Dennis Bettencourt and Leishia Woolwine