Ironman Arizona Race Report

Four years ago I signed up for an all women's sprint triathlon after spending eight weeks working up the courage to do so. The plan at the time was to do one race to prove to myself that I could do it. Well, you know how that goes. I ended up doing five races that season and then set my sites on my first Olympic the next year. Again, I obsessed about it, worrying about how hard it would be, could I really do it. So, this has been my pattern. When I completed my first HIM last year my friend  said to me, you will be doing an IM next. My response.. "No way!". Yet, something about watching those late night people on the Internet cross the finish line, the little voice in my head that kept saying... "maybe you can do it" and my friend who is bravely battling a Cancer  while reminding us all to seize the day, and take time to live life guided me to Arizona last November to volunteer at IMAZ 2010 and stand in line first thing the next morning to sign up for 2011. This past year has been a busy one, not only with work and training but a new puppy and a purchase of a home. Nothing like doing things all at once! (well within a year). It has been quite the journey.

Race week: My friend Meg and I flew to Arizona on Wednesday. I wanted to have time to settle in, and not worry about rushing, or getting stuck in a snow storm in Denver or anything else that might cause more stress or anxiety to what I thought would be a anxious time. It was a good plan. Meg and I arrived at Tempe Town Lake early Thursday morning and I was able to check in and hit the merchandise tent before 10:00.

 Being one of the first 100 participants to check in, I received an e-mail later in the day that I was the proud owner of a new pair of TYR goggles. That afternoon we drove the bike course so I could get a sense of what I would be experiencing on race day. I was pretty calm about the race during this time yet I was worried that I didn't feel well. I had a headache that would not quit and I felt exhausted. There were times in the day where I was worried that I wouldn't even be able to complete the swim, I felt that bad. I also had two more friends and my fiancee arriving the next day and certainly didn't want them to have spent the time and money to make the trip to find out that I couldn't even race. Fortunately I started to feel better on Friday and by Saturday I was doing pretty well.  Friday afternoon,  Meg, Tanya, Lisa, Brian and I walked around the IM Village and I pointed out just how far I had to swim before I could turn around and come back.

Tanya, Lisa, Meg, Me and Brian

Friday night, the ladies attended the welcome dinner and before the evening was over I heard rumblings from Tanya..."I want to do an Ironman". :)

The swim practice had me nervous as I don't do well in cold water and was greatly concerned how the water temp would effect me. I wore a neoprene cap and booties, and while cold, I managed to talk myself into believing that the water temp would be manageable.

Check out the guy behind me. Anything look familiar?

 After spending what seemed to be hours trying to figure out what to put in each of my four bags, it was time for bike and gear bag check in.

 Not sure what I was thinking at this point.

 It takes  thee people to figure out just where to put the number on the bike

 This was towards the end of the bag packing.  The floor was completely covered earlier on. Again it took three people to get this job done :)

There is a lot to take in on the days leading up to the race.

Once the bike and bags were in their place my friends went out to dinner while I enjoyed some down time in the hotel. I was pretty calm at this point. That was soon to change however.

  OK, so I was trying to lighten the mood.  It was really early. I was nothing but serious and somber after this

picture.

Race morning I woke up before the alarm and shortly thereafter the nerves kicked in full force. I tried to be calm on the outside but inside, I was starting to really stress out about the swim. I had planned to stay way in the back to avoid contact so that wasn't my worry. It was again the water temp that had me worried. I have had some bad experiences in cold water which didn't help things. Walking to transition you would have thought I was heading to my death :) I knew there was no turning back but boy did I want to.

 I managed to do all the things that I needed to do including turning on the GPS device so that people could track me. Once I had my wetsuit, cap and booties on, (I also had socks on over the booties) I made my way over to the swim start area. As people started towards the dock to jump into the water, I backed away and let them all go in front of me. It was amazing to see how many people were actually doing the race. Mike Riley said there were 3000 and it sure seemed like it! It was close to 7:00am and people were still getting into the water. I made my way to the dock and lowered myself into the water just before the gun went off. The price to pay for waiting till the last minute is that you don't have time to get close to the start line before the gun goes off.

I was still under the bridge as the gun went off but at that time didn't think about the extra time it cost me. I was just happy to avoid battle. Hind sight being 20/20, I wish I had started further up or better yet walk along the ledge to the start and then sit on the ledge like so many others did before the start. When I saw the pics of that I was really surprised.

 Look at all of them walking to the start!

Now they are sitting at the start! Not sure that frustrates me because I didn't know I could do it or that it doesn't seem fair. 

During the first half of the course I felt I was doing pretty well. I was avoiding contact for the most part, passing some slower swimmers and doing a lot of positive self talk. I sang some of the songs to myself that I had listened to over and over on my Swimp3 player during all of those long pool swims. As I started to make the turn to come back I checked my watch and was happy with my time. I am not a fast swimmer but I figured I could finish by 1:30 if not a bit sooner. It was shortly after this that things started to go down hill. My legs started shivering in my wetsuit and the cold was really getting to me. I tried to stay focused on anything other then the cold. I tried to draft off of people, look at the view, just anything to not think about the cold. As much as I tried though, I started to struggle. It is hard to explain but I felt like I was losing energy, that the end seemed SO far away and I was losing focus. It wasn't a fitness issue as I wasn't winded at all and had the altitude advantage coming from CO. I think the cold was just having it's way with me. The rest of the way back was long, slow and scary. At the turn to get to the dock, I remember telling myself "you WILL finish this!" Once I got out of the water, a volunteer asked me if I was OK. I said yes but that I was cold. She immediately got me a Mylar blanket and asked me if I wanted her to walk with me. I said thanks but I was OK. I tried to run to transition but couldn't. My teeth were chattering and I was just focused on moving forward and getting warm.

I went into the changing tent and was never so happy to be surrounded by so many bodies. It was like a steam bath in there! I found a chair and started to change clothes. It was slow going as I was shaking but at that point I really didn't mind. I just wanted to warm up. ( Days later I learned that there was a warming tent. Wish I had known that on race day!) A fantastic volunteer proceeded help me in every way possible. I felt bad for her as she was dripping in sweat while she was doing everything she could for all of us. Once I finally had everything on and was ready to head out the door, I stood at the exit another minute or two before going out to get my bike. I was still cold and I guess didn't feel like I was physically ready to ride a bike. I stopped at a port-a-potty on the way out and even spent a bit of time in there just to stay warm. (For me to spend ANY extra time in a port-a-potty speaks volumes as to how cold I was!) I finally made it to my bike and hit the road. 19+ minutes in T1. Yikes!

Still feeling the effects of the swim at the start of the bike.

Bike

The bike is by far my best event and while I usually focus on speed and am very competitive with myself on the bike, I told myself that on this day, it would be all about pacing and not exerting to much energy.

I set my Garmin to show average speed but removed the field that would show current speed as I knew it would be that much more difficult to ride at a much slower speed then I normally would. It took me a while to feel OK on the bike as I think I was still recovering from the swim. As soon as I got out on the road I noticed that my GPS (Athlete Tracker) was not in its holder. My dad had the link to the tracker on line and I knew he would be worried if he saw that I wasn't moving. For the whole first lap I worried about what he was thinking and stopped at the end of the first lap to tell my friends to call him to let him know I was OK. The second lap was much better and I felt pretty good. I wasn't winded and my legs felt OK.

 I made a port-a-potty stop and a stop at special needs during this lap which took up some time but I didn't feel like I needed to race. Again, looking back on it, I wish I had gone a bit faster but I just didn't know what was going to happen on the run and I was being very cautious. The wind kicked up on the second and third lap but I was feeling fine at the end and was confident that I could walk the marathon and still finish under the 17 hour mark.

I have to add here that my friends made great signs for me that were totally a surprise!  Look how cute there are!!!

RUN

I am not a runner. As much as I try, it is always a struggle and I am extremely slow. Beyond that, I have a history of having terrible GI issues after long runs so I did have some concern about that. I did a run walk for the first lap and time wise was doing pretty well for me.

 I wanted to get some miles behind me to ensure I would make the cut off in case I had to slow down later on. My hamstrings were extremely tight but beyond that I was feeling pretty good. At mile 10, things changed. Out of the blue, I started to feel sick and dizzy. It came on me suddenly but it has happened before and has never ended well. At that moment I had a fear of not finishing. I had been drinking chicken broth at the aid stations but had skipped a couple before this happened. I forced myself to eat a couple of shot blocks thinking that I needed to try and get my electrolytes in balance and was able to walk to the next aid station without incident and get more chicken broth. From then on I told myself that I would just have to walk, keep drinking chicken broth and not risk it by running again. It was a bit frustrating because I felt like my legs could continue a run/walk but I just couldn't risk it. If I had tried to run again and got sick, I knew my day would be over. So that is what I did. I walked 16 miles. My friends were very supportive and encouraged me on.

 Finally I was able to make the turn to the finish line. At the welcome dinner Mike Riley said that we should take the time to enjoy the finish. That he sees so many people sprint to the finish and not really take it in. Since I was walking that wasn't going to be a problem :) I was a bit nervous before I started down the shoot. To get all that attention.. well I wasn't used to it. You would never have known that though. As soon as I saw all the people with their hands out for high fives, I had a big smile on my face, high fived them all back and took in as much as I could.

 I heard Mike Riley say "Kathleen Kellams from Highlands Ranch, CO, you are an Ironman" then he stopped me before the finish, said something to me and then got the whole crowd to say "Kathleen you are an Ironman!" I waved to them all, held my arms up high and enjoyed my moment of fame :)



I walked through the finish line, not looking like death warmed over like I usually do, while trying to stop my watch but instead reached to the sky,and smiled for the photographers.

After finishing I met up with my friends. They were very happy for me and were texting others and posting on Facebook that I was now an Ironman. My friends were with me through the whole race and were stationed at numerous places throughout the day to support and encourage me. I can't thank them enough.

 

 

 

Meg's husband Richard greeted us at the airport with this great sign :)

 

 Julie  was another person who has been extremely supportive and I know she was cheering me from home. Aimee  and I did a few rides together and shared a couple of moments during race day. I was glad she was out there with me.   I want to send a special shout out to Joe who really supported me during the last couple of weeks leading up to the race with posts of encouragement on my Facebook page. It meant more to me then he could have known.

 

Would I do IMAZ again?  Yes... if the water wasn't so cold!  Is there another Ironman in my future.  I am thinking so :)

Thanks to everyone in the blogger world for all your support this past year. I appreciate you all.

 



Just thinking out loud

I am "athlete # 766" . Yep, the numbers are posted for IMAZ.  I want to thank everyone who took the time to answer my Ironman questions. It was very helpful and gave me things to think about.  Sometimes I ask myself where this year went. It seems like yesterday when I was standing in line to sign up for the 2011 race. That fact that it is just a month away really makes me nervous but I am committed to seeing this through no matter what the results are.  I feel like I should be doing more in the way of prepping for the trip to Arizona but I am so focused on getting my training in and still staying awake at work that it is hard to think about much more. I admit it, I am tired. This Ironman stuff takes a lot of work! :) 

For those that have followed my blog (thank you by the way), you might remember that I have lots of GI issues on long runs. While I haven't found the magic answer to the cause of this problem,  I have switched up my nutrition a bit which seems to be helping. Out went the GU gels and GU chomps that have caffeine and now I am using Cliff gels (chocolate) and Cliff shot blocks (strawberry and mountain berry) all of which do not have caffeine. Can I also say that the chocolate Cliff gels taste really good! So much better then the Gu brand.

I have changed out my saddle again. I so wanted the Adamo saddle to work but after the last long ride I did, I knew that I had to do something. I went to the bike fitter (been there numerous times over the past week) and put my road saddle on my tri bike. While it isn't perfect, it will be better then what I had. If anyone is interested in a white adamo saddle at a very good price, let me know.

I did a pool swim in my wetsuit this week. I wasn't thrilled about doing this for numerous reasons but in the water I went, wetsuit and all. I made it 3200 before I had to take it off. I was way to hot. I have to say though that it was the fastest I have ever swam. :) 

Aimee from I Tri to be Me educated me on "uncrustables" last week during our long ride. I had no idea what they were.. well I had an idea but I just thought it was a nickname for a sandwich. I had no idea they were little pre made pp&j sandwiches.  I have them in my freezer and am going to try one out tomorrow on my ride.

Any suggestions on what to think about as I walk a good part of a marathon in a month? :)

Ironman Questions

I have been away so long that I don't even know where to begin. Wait, yes I do! IMAZ is seven weeks away. How is that possible?!?!  I remember waiting in line to sign up like it was yesterday. There are so many different thoughts and questions that go through my head that I thought I would share them with you all. Any thoughts, in site or advice is more then welcome.

• What do I do when it gets dark and I have my prescription sunglasses on?  Do I carry clear lenses and change them out? I have inserts(actual lens that correctmy vision) that attach to my glasses.  I don't want to leave anything in the special needs bag that I might lose.
• Just how long would I have to wait after the gun goes off to really avoid being mauled during the swim?
• At what temps are booties  permitted and do they actually help? What about neoprene swim caps? ( I have the sense that any cap that has a strap would drive me nuts but if the water is really cold.....)
• Fuel belt on no fuel belt?  I haven't found a liquid nutrition that is working for me and carrying extra weight during the run isn't going to help matters. Yet, having water available at all times seems like a good idea and I will have to carry some other items.  Wish I could dump the fuel belt if I wanted to (would it be really bad of me to hand it off to a friend even though I am not supposed to?)
• Talk to me about sandwiches on the bike. Seems like a PP& J might be something that I would like. Do you carry it with you from T1 and if so where are you keeping it?
• Currently, I have two places to hold fluid on the bike. I have an aero bottle and a bottle holder on my frame. I like the idea of not having to carry more fluid then necessary and just grabbing more water from the aid stations. Since I plan on using solid food for most of the bike does that seem reasonable?  Am I missing something?
• Cut off times.  I know the cut off times for all three events but I also know that there are additional cut off times within the bike and run. Anybody care to share what they are?  Also, don't you have to be on the bike by a certain time?
• Morning clothes... how does that work?
• I know they sell all the finisher stuff early the next morning. What if you can't get out of bed (literally)?  Can I still get the items on line? ( If I finish this thing I want something saying I did so!)
• Just how painful is it to walk a full marathon? ( very well could be my reality) ( I know you can't really answer that but it is something I think about)
• Additional socks and  sneakers in my special needs bag?
• How is the bike support on the course?  Will they eventually show up if I get a flat and can't change the darn thing or run out of CO2 cartridges? 
• How many tubes/cartridges do you carry with you?
• Long training rides.  I am finding that I either have to ride alone or do them on a trainer. I prefer not to ride alone for safety reasons but finding people to ride with who are doing what I need to do are few and far between and the outcome so far hasn't been very successful.  I can handle being on the trainer for hours (call me crazy). Thoughts?

I could go on and on and writing this all down is helpful.
Thanks for reading.

Big Training Weekend!

OK, I admit it, I have struggled a bit with my training. While I have done most of my workouts, I have missed more then I should have. With the reality of IMAZ hanging over my head, I have re commited to my training (or maybe committed to it for the first time) and had a big weekend.

Friday consisted of  two hours of training between bike and run. I ventured out on my own for a nice evening ride. 

 Saturday was a huge day for me with four bricks! I wasn't sure how I was going to pull this off as I had no way to secure my bike but finally decided to put my trainer on the porch, hook up the industrial strength fan and go for it. The bricks were 1 mile runs followed by 5 mile bikes. It might not seem a lot to some but for me it was a big deal. First off, I am slow runner and it was hot! Like 90+ degrees hot. Also five miles on a trainer takes a lot longer then five miles on open road.  2:5 hours later I was done.. and tired!  I did feel like I accomplished something so that was a good feeling.

 Casey wondering what the heck I am doing

Sunday started off with an early morning swim at my favorite OWS place. There are buoys out in the lake and they are measured. You can really do any distance you want and know that it is accurate. I completed a 1.5 mile swim and while pretty tired, was happy with the distance covered. Interestingly enough, I got my first case of chafing around my neck from my wetsuit. That has never been a problem before. Not sure if it was due to not having done that distance before or I was lifting my head more then I usually do.

Thanks to Julie for taking this pic

I did an 1.5 hour long run(with a little walking) Sunday evening to round out my three days of hard work.

I know this is only a taste of what is to come but I feel like I accomplished something this weekend and I that feels good. 

I hope everyone had a great July 4th!

Where did June go????

It can't be July 1st already can it??  Where is the time going?  Just yesterday I had six + months to get ready for IMAZ. Now I can count the months on one hand. Yikes!

June has always was a very busy month and one of firsts.  I did two triathlons, completed  my first Century ride which was both fun and enlightening,  had to use the kayak for the first time in  a tri ,  had to walk my bike up part of a hill that got the better of me and ran some 800's that were much faster then I thought I could go.  So it was a mixed bag.

I chalk up the OWS mishap to a combination of extremely cold water (for me) and going out to fast in those conditions. I had tried to acclimate to the water prior to the race and thought I had done so even though my feet were extremely painful as they began to freeze. (It was as if I had my feet in ice, it hurt that much). For such a small race, there was a lot of contact during the swim which didn't help things any. As I turned the first buoy I was having trouble catching my breath. I tried to breaststroke, pulled at my wetsuit collar and even just treaded water but nothing worked. I  remember looking behind me at the rescue boat and thinking that they were to far away and I was going to have to quit the race. I also remember looking at the buoys and the people ahead of me and thinking that there is no way I can make it to the finish. I raised my hand and a very nice man in a kayak came to the rescue. After a little while I was able to regroup and finish the swim but it was scary. 

The second tri I did was in Boulder. The swim was still rough in terms of contact but fortunately I had no other issues. For whatever reason the swims have been pretty brutal so far this season. Maybe I am being prepped for Arizona?  I need to learn to keep my cool in those conditions but it is sometimes hard not to get frustrated. For both swims, I have been hit over the head by some guy  within yards of the swim finish. I know that they knew I was there. That just pisses me off. Can't help it, it just does. And it hurts.

On top of my busy athletic schedule, I am in the process of purchasing a home. It has been a long road which has included a job loss which caused us to lose a previous home we had been under contract on.. After that happened I decided to see if I could qualify on my own even though working for a non profit and house hunting on that salary alone would  really limit my options. Fortunately I found a great house that I like better then the one we lost and it is $58,000.00 less then the other one. I have never owned a home before so this is a huge first for me.  This might sound crazy to non dog people but one of the things I am most excited about it having a yard for Casey.

I don't have many pictures to highlight my June adventures so I leave you with a picture of my soon to be new home (hope that doesn't jinx anything!)