A Lesson of Humility in the Humidity: Kona Race Report

On August 28, 2011, I had the chance to partake in my first Ironman distance in Penticton: Ironman Canada. I executed my plan and managed to score a Kona slot. After a few days of logistics scrambling and a little help from my friends, my Kona trip was planned and organized.

On a late, but warm September 30th (Friday) evening, we landed on the Big Island. We walked the tarmac, hopped on the shuttle and picked up our ride: a pimping Dodge Charger.

We were lucky to stay at Marthe and George’s place, just up Ali’i Drive, about 3 miles south of the triathlon hub. After a restful night and a breakfast at Lava Java, we dropped off my ride at Bike Works, where we would return multiple times during race week. At Bike Works, one of the staff recommended Kona Boys to get a surf board. Eric got his board and after a few half donuts, we figured out our day: He would surf at Pine Trees and I would run the Energy Lab. At 1 pm, I set foot and ran, burnt and survived the Energy Lab. I got my first sun burn… legendary! Fully roasted, I met Eric at the beach where he had walked on his first, but not his last, sea urchin.

During race week, after a wicked swim on the course, we drove the bike course, I rode

Hawi along the best sag wagon ever, ran Ali’i drive, swam with turtles, snorkeled, picked up some swag (a lot of swag according to some people), registered for the race, flatted on the Queen K, bought new race tires, attended the race meeting (I did not get wet despite the tropical rainstorm) and rested!

Fast forward to race day, Saturday October 8. 

I got up at 3:45 and had my usual Breakfast. I was nervous. I had not slept well, but that was to be expected. At 4:20, we headed to transition where I would get weighed and body marked. I prepped my bike for the race and sat in transition, waiting to warm up…as I spied, a little, on the pros.

SWIM: 1:01:15, 3^rd in AG 

I warmed up and headed to the front where I hung on a board for awhile. I could feel the atmosphere and it was intense. All of a sudden, BANG! Off we went seawards as a massive pack fighting for our respective 0.5 squared meter of survival space. The swim felt like Lollapalooza 1996: Rancid was on the stage, I was in the middle of a rough, aggressive and bloody moshpit. But I survived 1996, so I would survive this swim and I would punch back - I am French Canadian after all. I battled my way for 2 km, got to swim at a decent pace for 1 km and got chopped and sandwiched again until I finally reached the pier. I did not enjoy being a punching bag (or sandwich meat for that matter), but I guess that’s part of what people mean when they say “paying your dues in Kona”. Next time, I plan to be front row and leave the moshpit behind. After running up the stairs, I quickly showered (sprinkled would be more accurate) and headed to T1

T1: 3:00 16^th in AG

I was a little disorientated. I ran pass my bike. Yes, really…I was probably the only one without race wheels.  Anyways, I now understand why people race with fluorescent pink aero helmets-gotta do what you gotta do. Sunglasses, helmet and shoes, off I went, not as a flying squirrel; but as a wingless-getting-there-soon-to-be flying squirrel.

Bike 5:44:02 40^th in AG

As soon as I hit the Palani Drive, I heard Leigh and Danny cheering me on; awesome would be an understatement. Once the southern little loop in town was done, onto the Queen K I went. A never ending train of people passed on the way to Hawi: it felt like I was on my trainer, pedaling still, as those fast (er?) riders were passing. Nevertheless, I kept within myself and stuck to my power. The aid stations were somewhat of a hit and miss: it was hard to grab bottles, let alone not dropping them once caught. I guess I should be thankful to generate an average speed much slower than the pros-I can only imagine the bottles flying.

Once I turned onto the road leading to Hawi, I could feel that the winds were present, but far from overwhelming. I knew I had 12 miles of head winds before the turn around so I pushed the pedals, reached the turn around, collected items from my special needs bag and headed back down, and up, south towards Kona. The return route on the bike turned out to be quite eventful: I dropped all my salt pills pedaling away (thankfully, I had picked up spare ones in Hawi) and my power meter went to sleep. I expected some surprises so I thought: “oh well, I guess I’ll have to go by feel and cadence.” Yes, I might have pushed a tad too hard in the last 30 miles, but we will never know as there were no power readings and well, we are stronger than we think.

T2 3:00 12^th in AG

As I ran towards my run bag, I took off my arm cooler sleeves and saw what appeared to be a reverse farmer tan: dark-red shoulders, white arms. I then realized: I was getting an Ironman tattoo after all. Transition was smooth despite the heaviness in my quads. I did lose time waiting for sunscreen: another rookie mistake checked off the list!

Run: 3:43:35 28^th in AG

As I set foot on Ali’i Drive, I saw Leigh, Danny and Eric. I was so glad to see them as my mind wasn’t 100%. My legs were heavy: I had never felt that sluggish in a race before. As I ran by the “Mile 1” sign I thought: “Oh god, 25.2 more to go.” Fortunately, I was able to re-focus and decided to embrace the suck…one mile at the time. So one mile at the time, I made my way on Ali’i Drive, out of town, and then back. It was hot, people were walking but the atmosphere was surreal and Eric was jumping up and down-I wish I had the camera. 

As I hit Palani (the mountain almost half way in the run), I saw Chrissie rocketing down the street on her way to win her 4^th world title. I got very energized and went up Palani filled with emotions and excitement. Little did I know, I was not the Energyzer Bunny that day. I finally reached the Energy Lab after seeing Miranda Carfrae flying like the wind and quite a few pros struggling on the Queen K. I picked up my Special Needs bag and went back into roast land and on my way to town. 

Once I reached mile 22, my legs decided to break the minimum speed limit; however, I did manage to keep it more or less steady. I stopped gelling and drank Coke, water, Coke and more water. When I finally turned right onto Ali’i Drive the crowd was off the hook. There was only a narrow path to run through. Eric was ecstatic, so were Danny and Leigh, who I got to high five. I crossed the finish line at 10:34:51 looking like a plane crashing through the shoot. Despite all my efforts, I yet have to get a decent Ironman finish picture.

On that note

Some Lessons learnt:

1-    One can never have enough salt pills in Kona

2-    BYO sunscreen for the race and put it in T1 and T2 bags

3-    Swim fast to avoid the moshpit

4-    Expect the unexpected

5-    Twitter is your best friend

6-    Embrace the moment…and the suck if it turns up!

And some thank yous:

Racing Kona was phenomenal. It was a dream come true that could not have happened without the support of many people: Eric, Leigh and Danny, my family, Lara, Klaus and Lawrence, the Right Shoe crew, the staff at Speed Theory , Shaun and Dave from PRM, Chris Manore, the Vancouver triathlon community and the Quebec triathlon community. George and Marthe were wonderful hosts; I really hope to get to visit them again next year.

Mahalo!

Ironman Canada...a long overdue recap

Ironman Canada, a long and overdue recap

Yes, it was 2 months ago, but life has been busy and now that the off season has kicked in, it’s time to finally ink a report that reflects my experience completing my first ironman distance triathlon.

On August 28, 2011, along with 3200 athletes or so, I toed the line in the Okanagan for my first iron journey. I was lucky enough to get in town (Penticton) a week before the race to get used to the heat and take some time off from busy Vancouver. More over, I was surrounded by a big crew: my parents flew in from Quebec, my in-laws came to join us and my husband was there since day 1.

Leading up to the race, I had some excitement-or not. My bike frame cracked due to seat post issues. Thankfully, the crew at Speed Theory were quick to rebuild my bike and I could leave town as planned, a week before race day.

Morning of the race, I had my usual breakfast, sunscreened most exposed skin and off we went to transition. I was nervous... Big times. I was in the lake early and got to hug Klaus before the race. I warmed up and then settled in the front and waited for 7am.

Swim:58:23 9^th AG/67 OA female It was slow-ish, and I made a rookie mistake: after the turn around, I was stuck in a group that went off course until I decided that it was abnormal to NOT see the buoys. The pack stopped and on course we went. I lost some time there, but it definitely gave me the “eye of the tiger” for the bike leg.

Lessons learnt:

1)      do not trust anyone while swimming

2)      do not come in too far left to exit, it’s shallow and pebbles kingdom

T1: 1:58 2^nd AG/3^rd OA Females

It was swift, thanks to the wonderful volunteers in the change tent.

Bike: 5:42:03 10^th AG/391 OA female What a beautiful course. I had ridden the course multiple times before the race; however, it was so AWESOME, for a lack of better words, to race it. The course was busy and tons of people were flatting. I was lucky that I did not have any mechanical issues nor physiological ones. I smiled the whole course. I kept within myself and stuck to my power. A lot (TONS) of people motored up Richter. I was glad to see them later when we were ascending Yellow Lake. To my surprise, Eric et al. were at the top of Yellow Lake cheering me on. It made me soooo happy, especially seeing them so excited about the race. I saw some familiar faces along the course and it was great to get so much support from everyone. Going down Yellow Lake, I surprised myself passing riders on the downhill: so long Breaky McGee. Once I got into town and turned left to head towards T2, I knew I was about 5^th in the AG, but battling the head wind, I stayed within myself.

T2: 2:33 15^th AG/67 OA females Far from swift. Ended up walking a little too much before beelining to the change tent. Not a great T2, it should be under 1:45 as it’s only socks, shoes…belt and hat on the run.

Run: 3:36:36 5^th AG/67 OA females

The run was great. I really really enjoyed it-yes, some might think I am crazy. It was hot, sunny and people were walking. A lot. I had a plan involving gels, water and salt pills. It worked. I stuck to it, ran with ice in my bra and in my hands and watered my head. At the turn around, my parents were jumping up and down. I felt strong but knew that the hills were coming. I took one hill at the time and kept making my way towards Penticton. At mile 16, I passed my training buddy LG. I knew he was having a hard time and found it hard to take him over (I should be happy though, it was most likely the last time I take him over). With only 8 km to go, I passed 4^th place in my AG. I was still feeling strong and it gave me some push. However, the long and never ending false flat was to come. I could see 3^rd place but could not gain a lot. At some point, I even thought, "well 4^th is good enough"-well no, it would not have been. I thought of my year and I waited. I have made moves before to get “shifted” before the finish line, I did not want history to repeat itself. The mile 24 aid station was a saving grace. There was an opening, I took it and never looked back. I would be able to see where I stood at the Sicamous. After reading “I’m here to win” from Macca, aside from all the racing strategies, I learnt quite a few tips…such as ditching all the sponges and zip up my top to cross the finish line. Even though I had the time on my Garmin, I had not equated it to my final time. I crossed the line at 10:21:31. I had just completed my first ironman. What a day. Having my parents, Eric, Jim and Carole (in-laws), coach Lara and the whole community, in person or virtually, was just surreal.

I finished 3^rd in my age group and got the last Kona slot available. It was a dream come through.

Finishing time: 10:21:31 3^rd AG/9^th OA females

I want to thank Eric, Klaus, Lawrence, Lara, Rand and the Right Shoe crew for the support and making it happen. The Speed Theory staff for great service and fixing my bike 10 days before the race as if it was all good! Chris, for providing wise advice and supporting all my triathlon related business. Shaun and the PRM crew for great camps and awesome support on the course. My family, for being present, supportive and understanding. Finally, thank you to the Vancouver triathlon community, the support was well appreciated.

Aloha!