IM CdA Race Report Part 1

Alright, it’s been exactly one month plus a lot (I started this post on July 24^th but it took a lot longer to finish than I expected) since Ironman CdA and I got choked up this morning when I saw people running the Deseret Marathon, so it seems to be the perfect time to (finally) write my race report. It’s really long, so I’m going to break it up into sections that I’ll post on sequential days.

Pre-race:

Post-road trip bike ride

Wednesday’s 12-hour drive to Idaho was fairly uneventful. I passed a couple other vehicles that were clearly heading to the same place I was (tri bikes on the roof, writing on the windows, etc) which gave me a nice little adrenaline boost.  Signs warning of impending traffic delays were already up in CdA, which was also exciting.  I met Nate at the race expo the next morning to check in and pick up our sweet free backpacks full of useful samples and mostly useless pieces of paper.  We did a practice ride on the short (~15 mile) out and back along the north side of the lake and I almost hit a bunch of non-Ironman tourists who were jaywalking on the way back through downtown.  Idiots: I clearly wasn’t out for a beach-side cruise.  After the ride we went for a practice swim.  I think the water was in the mid-50’s at that point and even with a wetsuit and neoprene cap on my face still froze and made me feel panicked for the first 5 minutes or so.  That made me a little worried for race day but after I got used to it (or went numb, not sure which) I felt much less freaked out.  

Bernie, always wanting attention.

Friday’s schedule included the pro panel, which was surprisingly entertaining (Chris Lieto has gone 75 mph on his bike before!) and the Q&A session with the race directors, which didn’t include much information that wasn’t already in the Athlete’s Guide.  Nate wasn’t feeling well, so I hung out around the expo by myself for most of the morning.  Turns out being surrounded by a ton of super-fit triathletes is pretty intimidating; I hadn’t been nervous at all on Thursday but I got really overwhelmed (especially because I had lots of time to kill and nothing to do but look at everyone) and had to go sit in a coffee shop and eat a giant cookie to calm myself down.  Friday night also had the Welcome Dinner, which

Its "Setter's" Road, not "Settler's", this really annoyed me...

was long but pretty enjoyable.  They served breadsticks (sprinkled with parmesan), salad (iceberg lettuce + shredded carrots), steamed vegetables, pasta with chicken and cheese baked in and cannoli for dessert.  I was surprised the meat and cheese were so integrated into the main dish.  Vegans, vegetarians and lactose-intolerant people aren’t that rare; even before I stopped eating animal products I avoided cheese and dairy for at least a week before races.  Anyway, good thing Nate and I both love breadsticks.

Me and Mom checking out the lake!

Pro men's panel: Tim O'Donnell, Chris Lieto and Viktor Zymetsev

On Saturday we put together our transition bags and dropped them off at City Park along with our bikes.  In smaller triathlons you set your biking and running gear on the ground under your bike and come back to the same spot in both transitions.  In Ironmen, you put all the gear you’ll need for the next part in a bag, set in in a line with 2400 other bags and then grab it as you run through the transition area to change.  Your bike is in a separate area with 2400 other bikes.  Fortunately everything is organized by race number and there are multiple lines of bags and bikes, so you just have to pick out some landmarks and practice running through it a few times.  Let

Women's panel: Christie Sym, Heather Wurtele and Meredith Kessler

me tell you, you’re not thinking very clearly or running very straight after swimming for 1:38 in 57 °C water or biking for almost 8 hours (or less, if you weren’t me, but still…) and that practice really comes in handy.  After convincing ourselves we knew where we’d be going it was back to the hotel to rest for a few hours (thanks Rene and Annie for letting me stay with you all!).  We went to Olive Garden for dinner (and had the same dish as before RAGE half-ironman) with friends and family who were in town and then it was time for bed.

Race Day!

We got up around 4, had our traditional Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal’s prepared with hot water from the hotel room coffee maker and roamed the hallways for a bit.  I haven’t seen that many people up at 4 in a hotel since the WCC tournament in Vegas.  I watched some of the Ironman-related YouTube videos that I’d probably seen a hundred times during rides on my trainer and then we headed to the park.  Surprisingly, I wasn’t too nervous before the race.  I had played through race day and my preparations so much that I wasn’t too worried about forgetting anything or running out of time.  I knew that the day would be hard and that there would be mental and physical discomfort, but I felt prepared for everything within my control. 

Before the race we had to drop off our special needs bags; you can put anything in them you think you might want and pick them up half-way through the bike and run legs.  I didn’t use my run special needs bag but put a PB&J and a frozen Snickers bar in my bike bag.  After double-checking our transition bags and going to the bathroom a final time it was time to put on our wetsuits.  This felt like the point of no return before the race, once I was zipped into that claustrophobia-inducing piece of neoprene there was nothing else to do but head towards the water and (try not to) contemplate the rest of the day.  The beach wasn’t as crowded as I had expected, we easily made it to the water and got the initial shock of the cold water over with.  I dunked my face in as many times as I could before they made us move back into ankle-deep water.  Nate and I gave each other a hug and a "good luck, see you later" before heading to separate parts of the beach and waiting for the canon...