Another one down....

Well I just completed another Ironman. That's #4 for me. The race began with highlights and ended with frustration. At this point, it is easy to finish the race; the tough part is doing it faster.

It was great having Allan look after me and seeing him and Baby (our dog) at multiple areas of the course. I saw her at one point on the run, and she went nuts - jumping and yelping and barking at me! Allan had to use a harness on her so she wouldn't choke herself trying to run after me. After the race, I was (and still am) very sore and Allan does a lot of things for me. Its funny how you just do a marathon, yet you can't fathom walking 2 blocks to pick up your gear. He picked all of my stuff up for me, which was great. I wonder how long I can use the "I just did an Ironman, and I'm sore" excuse?

The swim was the first time I didn't get punched in the face or kicked which was great! I tried a different area and swam inside of the buoys rather than in the middle of the 2000+ field of athletes. The result was getting some open water and being able to swim comfortably and relaxed. Last year I was getting pushed and punched and kicked so much that I was fighting a panic attack. This year I had open water and even got to stop a couple of times to take a look around, all while having a faster split.

I absolutely love the bike portion in Ironman Canada. The climbs (Richter's pass and Yellow Lake) are lined with crazy people who have been enjoying beer all day, yelling and cheering. I felt the strongest I ever have on the bike and was blowing by people on the climbs like they were standing still. After I passed about 50 people on Richter's pass, I looked back and they were gone! I also felt strong at the end of the ride, and after doing 180km I felt like I could have easily done more. All the strength work this year paid off on the bike!

I came into transition for the run in better contention than ever. I had some aggressive goals of being one of the top non-professional athletes in the race. With the run being my strength, I knew that I could seriousy catch and drop the girls ahead of me. There was a problem, however. I took in the same nutrition as I always do, but at the end of the bike I was getting really hungry. It was a bit worrisome because Allan was hungry at his Ironman and it really affected his run which ended up being a walk/run. I ate a gel (100 calories of sugary calories) at the end of the bike but was hungry again right away. Not a good sign! Usually I have to force down the calories on the run, but was taking in fuel before planning on doing so, and was still hungry afterwards. At the same time, I was scared to take in too much fuel, because your body doesn't absorb it as well while running - which could mean getting sick! I didn't feel great and there was a massive headwind, but I kept going because even though I was not running very fast I was still making up a lot of ground and got myself into ~30th non-professional overall. However, by the halfway point on the run I was completely out of fuel. I was weak, hungy, and felt light-headed. The way home turned into a speed-walk/run while consuming in coke and orange slices as every aid station. I couldn't wait to finish the damn thing because I was so hungry. I was bored and my tummy was growling. At the finish, I quickly consumed 2 pieces of pizza and a bag of chips. Then we went out for fries and a burger and milkshake. Then after about 4 hours of sleep, I woke up with a growling stomach and was again very hungry! I have never eaten so much food afterwards!

In the end I ran 30min slower than what I am easily capable of and ended up 60th female overall (out of about 1000) when I was in position to be in the top 20. That was disappointing. This race is so hard to nail (especially the nutrition and hydration part) when it takes about 11 hours to complete. The funny thing was that I gave Allan such a hard time for not eating enough calories, but looks like I did the same! I will have to practice that for next time...

Tammy