My First Half Ironman Reort

"Wow, it's done!" and a day I will never forget! Here is how it went....

On Saturday June 21 Ivan and I headed down to Victoria to pick up our race packages and drop off our bikes at transition. Ivan was so excited and I was clam but excited. We got there at about 2:30 in the afternoon and took in some of the talks about open water swimming and got our bikes racked in our spots, also did a walk through of how we were going to enter and exist transition on race day, making a mental note of where my bike was. It was three racks down from the first one on the far end. See I still got it he he..

After that we booked into our room across the highway from the race, how nice is that. Then went for dinner.. We looked for a good place that would have rice on the menu. We found one and found out they were all out of rice for about a hour, but boy were we hungry and had potatoes instead and so good.. That's just Murphy's law ha!

Anyways we got all organized for race morning and hit the pillow at 8:30 pm and I went straight to sleep. Ivan was just to excited so it took him a while.

Our alarm went off at 3:50 am and we were up and having coffee and breaky. I was still so clam hmmmmm strange. Ivan well you know getting more reved up he he..

We were out the door at 5am and heading for the race site to get a good parking spot. and we did, right close to the main area. We stayed in the truck until body marking started which was 5:30 am and then we were able to go into transition and set up all our gear.

I couldn't believe how fast time was flying by before the start. Before I knew it I was kissing Ivan and sending him off into the water for his start, which they started all the men at 6:45 and Women and teams at 7 am. The water was choppy and that made me a bit nervous but still pretty calm. I watched the guys head out after getting scared to death by the huge boom that came for the army cannon.

I stood out there with a special friend who came out to see us do this event. Monica I love you!! We also had some good friends in the event as well and that made all this so much better to.. Soon it was my turn and I remembered some advice a girl gave me.. Thank-you Shaunene! and that was to stay in the center but to the back and let the others go and then you go.. That is what I did and it worked perfectly! At the beginning I got one little slap in the face but that was it. I got into a rhythm and stayed on course, may be a little wider then I needed to be on the way back but mostly on course the whole way, with a few mouthfuls of water because of the waves.

I came out of the water in 46 minutes and stayed with the middle of the pack swimmers.. By the time I got to transition my time was 47:36 so happy with that and happy I lived through the swim. My future goals is to still improve on my swimming.. I know I can!

I wasn't to worried about my transition time this time so I kept calm and hey I didn't even fall over because of dizziness either.. Got out on the bike and waited until about 10 minutes into it and started to drink Gatorade.. I felt great. I wanted to do this ride in 3 hours or better. They did extend the ride a bit this year which was great. So I was riding strong and was passing many other riders and I have to say all my hill work on the bike paid off because I was so strong on the hills and did a lot of passing on each one. This was a beautiful course very scenic but boy were there some good hills.

I continued to drink every 10 minutes, water and Gatorade. After about 45 minutes of riding I was eating my bar. I was averaging 28 kms and still feeling great. After my first loop I was at 1:30 for 43-44 kms so I was right on track. I continued to stay strong but I felt the need to pee now, so I was thinking a head about where I could go and every time that spot would come up I would change my mind and wait until the next spot and you guessed it I didn't go until after the bike.. not great he he.. hard to do while riding.. but still felt strong until the last 10 kms and then I started to get cramps in my upper knee and quad area, that scared me.. I took in some salt and more fluilds thinking maybe that would help, but nope they were there to stay so I slowed it down a bit until the dismount line. Three girls passed me at that point but I was ok with that I just wanted to be able to run now. I also finished my bike ride close to my goal time at 3:07:30....

My T2 went smooth again and off I went on the run and the cramps went away but boy did I need to pee! So I knew where the first potty spot was so I headed there quickly, also passing one of the gals that had passed me on the bike. Got to the first bathroom and you guessed it! "locked" someone was in there. So onto the next one.."open" thank goodness.. I think that had to be one of the longest bathroom breaks in a long time he he.. Off I went again feeling even better now.

I got into a steady pace and was looking at my watch thinking I want to finish this in 6 hours or better so I knew I had to keep this pace and hoped my Achilles would let me do it. The first lap was a breeze stopping at every aide station for a drink. I did the first lap in 51 minutes and I figured I could do it again. My tummy started to turn on me a bit so I stuck with water only and backed it off a bit when it would get rough. I also got a stitch in my side so had to run with hand over head and pushed my fingers into the stitch and that helped relive it. Back into a steady pace I went.. Then the Achilles started to talk to me but not loudly but enough to remind me to be cautious. I did slow a bit on the last half but knew I was going to finish this in under 6 hours and I was crying at about the last 2 kms of the run. There was my Monica and other friends cheering me on and I finished strong.

I did it! I finished in 5:52:35 and overall I was in great shape. I was looking for Hubby and found him quickly to give him a huge hug and kiss and tell him how proud I was of him for his amazing race. We both met our goals of 6 hours or better and to finish strong! What more could I ask for!

Another thing I have to mention was someone was looking down on us that day because the sun was up and the temperatures were perfect the whole time. This is a day I will never forget. All our hard training for 20 weeks was worth it and the timing of our peak and having the right amount of tapering was also perfect. All our other friends as well had a great day! So happy and proud of them as well.

Here is my stats:

79/220 females 13/32 in the 35-39 age group

Swim 1.9k 47:36 Bike 87k 3:07:30 Run 20k 1:52:07 Overall finish time 5:52:35

Pictures later..

This is it!

Well it's 9:26 am Saturday morning and I am rushing around getting packed for the race but I had to blog on last time...

First some bad news.. I have been having pain in both my calfs that seems to be going into my achilles and I don't know how I did it other then my steel toe boots I ware at work but it is really bothering me this morning so I am very concerned about my race performance! I am going a head with the race but if the pain becomes too much I guess it will be over for me.. I am thinking positive.

I am not very nervous yet but could be later.. I am very very excited though.. Hubby and I don't ever want to forget this day and are hoping for all to go well.. This is our first so just to finish and finish strong is our main goal. Oh and to live through the dreaded swim he he..

Ok, wish us luck and I will give a full report after our race so hang onto your hats...

Here we go............. :0)

Final stretch.....

"This is it! the last week until our big day!" I can't believe it, it's almost here!!!! Now do I sound excited or what! lol.. Yes maybe a little..

Ivan and I went down to Victoria on Saturday to pre-ride the course and to run the trail. The bike route is very scenic but I find it to be very hilly and curvy. I am thinking though while the race is on it will be ok cause of all the other riders and less traffic. When we were on our ride there was a lot of traffic and it was very intense at times because many of the areas are with out shoulders and some cars did not give us any room.

The run was awesome though because it brings back so many memories of my many ultra marathons I have done there. After the run I went into the water up to my knees and it was so warm. I hope it stays that way till after our race or longer if it can.

We are now in full taper which is great so some of my nagging pains will heal and I will be good and ready.. I am just wanting to take in the whole day, every second of it and to feel great the whole time.. Now that's not asking too much is it? he he.. Oh and one more thing.. just to make it out of the swim portion alive! he he..

6 more sleeps now.. I will post right before the race to let you know how crazy I am going and then it will be race report time!

Going down the final stretch now....

It's been a while since my last post but all is going so well for me right now! Let's see we have been doing some long bike rides lately and I have been surprising myself with how good I feel after almost 4 hour rides and how my butt is finally getting tougher with the seat he he... You know how that can feel! I have gotten my fluids down pat and eating more on the rides as well, so what a difference it has made in energy throughout the whole ride and how I feel after a long ride.

I did a brick workout yesterday of a 2 hour bike ride with loads of hills and then off for a 1 hour long hilly run on our back trails and I felt full of energy and could have gone on forever! I love that feeling.. I believe all our training has paid off and is right on track for a proper peak so all should go really well in 2 weeks time.

My only complaint is our crappy weather right now. It is very cold and being so lean I become very very cold while swimming and after it is very painful! We are supposed to swim the lake today and we will but we are waiting to see if we can get above 12. I just hope that the day of our race June 22 that is isn't 30+ because we have not had the chance to train is warmer temps. Hmmm I hope I didn't jinx myself by typing this right now he he..

My swimming is improving in the lake as well. Ivan and I have been swimming some long distances in the lake and my times are getting faster. I was suffering with bad calf and shin cramps but they seem to be subsiding, thank goodness!

We now are entering our half taper week so we will be feeling even more energized, I look forward to that. I am so excited for this big event! I can't believe it's almost here.. I am also going through the RCMP application process and it has been progressing while all my training has been going on so my life is so full right now. I am now waiting for a phone call to set up the polygraph test so things are moving alone.. How exciting! So I am going to enjoy this race because if all goes well in my application process I will be off to Regina for 6 months and then starting my new career, so my racing days will be over just temporary for a while and then when I get settled in my new life I will come back to my new exciting sport.. I am falling in love with this sport!

Shawnigan sprint report

I was very very nervous about this sprint because it would be my first open water race. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before but I had everything packed and was ready to go.

At 4 am the alarm went off but didn't really need it cause I was up he he.. I had my favorite breaky and Ivan and I got the truck loaded and we were off at 5 am.

We took the shuttle bus to the race site which was kind of neat cause it reminded me off being a school kid. I took a bus for years while in school.

We went straight to our bikes to get our gear all ready for T1, the whole time I kept looking at that water and wondering how all this was going to go. It was nice to see some friends there who came by to cheer us on. Plus our Tri Guy was getting ready for his half ironman, so got to be there for him as well.

The big cannon went off for the half ironman at 7 am and they were off. I was watching intensely, thinking to myself,"hey that doesn't look to bad!"

Well shortly after that we went up to our bikes to get our wet suits on and headed back for the beach. I put my feet in and found out it was pretty cold but I could do this. I went for a short warm up and I felt great! Perfect stroke and everything. Our gun went off at 7:40 and I was near the back and felt like I was ok there. I started swimming and at about 100-200 meters in I was being swam over and boy did that scare me! I took in a lot of water so when I came back up for air all I could do was choke and bob up and down. Then I tried again.. I was kicked in the face and hit in the head with some elbows, so again I was choking. The one volunteer was coming towards me and I too was thinking;"this is it, it's not worth it!" I wanted to quit, but I am very stubborn and I talked myself out of it. I carried on but I could not get my stroke back so I took single side breath's and even with that I did pass many other swimmers. I sure did not want to be the last out of the water. I made it to the beach and was proud of me for sticking it out.

I ran to my T1 knowing I had a lot of time to make up cause that swim was almost 12 minutes and I know I could have done it in 10. Anyways I was getting that wet suit off just how I was taught and it was going well but all of a sudden I got really dizzy and fell over. I had to sit there until the dizziness was gone. I finished with a terrible T1 time but got out of there and knew I could do some damage on my bike!

I started off not to good, I thought I was clipped in but wasn't so had to try to get clipped in again but no big deal. My legs felt great so I picked it up. I was looking down at my speed and I was clipping a long. I got to this one hill and had just passed a gal and my chain dropped so had to pull over to the side and put it back on. I was thinking may be this was not going to be a great race for me. Also the Gal passed me while I was fixing my chain. I got back on and was determined to fly pass her and make up some more time, and I did. I also drank every 10 minutes mostly Gatorade and boy did that work. No sugar lows at all. At one point I looked at my average and I was averaging 31.75kms, my fastest ever for a average! My bike was overall awesome! I had one of my fastest rides ever and passed many people.

My T2 was so much better then T1. I also have to thank Hubby for my quick laces in my running shoes.. time saver, big time! I couldn't believe how good my legs were still feeling. No heavy feeling at all! so I started my run off with some zip. I knew I had to make up more time. I ran pass a few people and when I was just about at the turn around and there was Hubby looking strong and we high fived each other. I picked it up after the turn around and passed about 3 more people and headed home. I flew to the finish looking at the time and was very happy with my time.. 1:24:46. I also still had so much energy.

I was 57/96 overall, 19/42 out of all the females and 8/15 in my age group, so not bad for a beginner. I have alot of work to do in transition and I really need to get over my fear of the swim, cause I am terribly afraid to do it again but I know I will. We now are only 4 weeks out from our first half ironman! I will be ready!!

Better late then never....

It's been a few weeks since my last post, sorry about that! I have been very busy in the application process for the RCMP. I am very excited to have made it this far.. which now I am finishing my paper work and sending it away. I did my fitness test on Friday and couldn't have imagined how hard that was going to be!I was thinking, yea no worries I am fit, so no problem! Nope not like that at all.. Very tough.. I am pretty light right now because of all the training for this half ironman so I had nothing to use to push one of the machine's around, but with Ivan's voice cheering me on and my determination I did it and I passed! "whoo" Two days with a sore back and bruises all over my legs he he.. worth it!

Ok so onto the training.. well it has been a bit rough because Ivan and I both have a nasty cold. For me this is the second time.. no fun :( and with all the RCMP stuff it's been pretty draining but I am continuing on.. We had a great ride with all our tri buddies on Saturday of 76 kms and then after Ivan and I took off for a 7.3 km run and that went great. Which was surprising after riding that far. That just shows me that our fitness level is improving.

We have done one open water swim and boy was that cold! No one told me that your body will respond to cold water in a negative way.. I had what's called "divers response" that means my body was trying to protect my lungs from getting water in them by constricting my chest. So I could not breath. Little short breaths was all I could do.. I called it a day after only 500 meters.. Yup I was pretty scared of not being able to breath, but we are thinking by Friday of this week we will give it another go. Having warmer temps that the weather man has been promising makes it a bit easier, I would think! lol....

Good news is my back/hip is now so much better. I love my physio lady!

We now are entering peak phase so I am going to stick to the plan and give it all I can because we are only 6 weeks out from our big day. I want to have a great race because if I get into the RCMP I may not have another big race for a few years, until I am settled into a routine. One day though I plan to do a full Ironman and can't wait for that day.

I will try to be more faithful on my posting.. I promise :0)

End of week 11 and my first sprint of the season

This week was pretty challenging for me because on Saturday of last weekend I strained my lower back... Yes just before my first race of the season! What do they call that? Oh Yea "Murphy's Law!" lol... My back was just the effect of lot's and lot's of training with full time work of lifting bending etc..... I know it's not too serious but will require some physio and not going full out on training until I am better... I am happy I can still move though.

So let's see, Oh yea I told myself I would have a better week of swimming and I did, it's in the mind for me he he... we did a bit less distance this week just for a bit of a taper for the race which was good for me.. We worked on some speed and I did very well at that. My leg cramps seem to be disappearing and I owe that too the glutamine, I'm sure....

We backed off the gym this week as well both because of the taper and my back.. good thing I feel.. Our running was good at the track we did 10x's 1 minute of speed with active recoveries with equal time. I felt great doing those but after my back said, "I don't think so!" So some good drugs for that day.

My back loves the bike... We had some good hill repeats and some steady rides this week.

Ok onto my race day...

I was very nervous about even doing it because that morning my back was very tight and if someone had said to me, "you better not!" I would have ducked out because I was very concerned.. but I am bull headed and I promised myself that I would not race and if I felt pain I would stop because we have 10 weeks of training still to do and this is not my race!

Ivan was so excited that it helped ease my mind and focus on him... He was like a little kid in a candy store.. At 6am he pumped up the volume on the stereo in the truck and had AC/DC playing loud.. hmmm ya 6am not good! lol.... but I was into his excitement! I think all he needed that morning was a bit more sugar! "not" lol.... Too cute...

Ok so I was in my tri suit and ready for my swim.. I was in heat 2 and I figured it would take me 17 minutes to swim 700 meters and that would be faster then last year so I was hoping. I was in lane 2 with 3 other guys. I was in position 3. I listened to the guys talking about how fast they could do this in and I told them hmmmm I can't swim this that fast so when you need to pass me tap me ok. Well off we went and after 50 meters the guy in front said go ahead your much faster so off I went and I felt so strong and I felt like I could do this for ever.. So I had 2 guys behind me and the front guy was just a head for about 50 meters but he was much faster then the rest of us and got some distance so I had no draft; "darn!" I still felt strong never having to single side breath and never felt like I was drowning.. All my training is paying off! The first guy behind me never did catch me and him and the other guy got all my draft hmmm not fare! lol... I saw my red board in the water and sprinted on the last 50 meters and looked at my watch and looked again and found out I had just gotten a PR of 3 minutes faster then last years time, it said 15:29. Very happy gal! The only gripe I have is as I was lifting myself out of the pool the guy just behind me pushed me onto the pool deck and I scraped my knee pretty good. Karma will get him!

Very Very cold in T1 so made it hard to get my top on and shoes but did it and off I went.. Oh wait have to tell you this one... I was putting my socks on, yes it was that cold! and for some reason my left foot was not going into my sock.. well when I looked down I soon realized it was my glove I was putting on my foot! lol... Yup what a day so far..

On the bike started off ruff because my legs were so cold that they felt drained and no juice but I knew I had to go easy any how because of my back which was ok at that point. My legs got better and got into a grove. I was passed by a guy which drove me to pick it up a bit to stay with him. I passed him on a incline and then going down a hill he passed me.. As I was passing him again on a hill I looked at his number it was #28 and I was #27 so I had to comment on that! he he.. I told him this makes a lot of sense he laughed. We continued this way until I got up the biggest hill on the course and didn't see him for a while. Now I messed up bad and learned a big lesson.. No it's not normally this cold at this time of year but I didn't wear my full fingered gloves which I brought! and just wore my shorties and my figures became so painful that I was groaning and having one hand in my mouth and one on the bars the whole rest of the ride. Killed me.. My #28 caught me near the end and was worried about me because my fingers were hurting so bad.. What an awesome guy!

I made it back just after him and my T2 went very bad because I hurt so bad I could not move my fingers.. couldn't tie my laces and couldn't get my hat on etc..... so I just put my hands under my arm pits and waited until I could move them.... Hey this made my back better cause I couldn't feel it he he.. Well I finally left on the run with loose shoes and still pain in my figures.. I just went out very easy.. I saw my guy again who was on the way back and I was still about a km away from the turn around and he was happy to see me still moving.. I got to the turn around and felt so much better (oh yea, you will be proud of me, I wore my full finger gloves on the run he he) I picked it up and passed a few girls and caught my guy again who was shocked to see me... I passed him and headed for the finish.. I saw my Hubby flying up the hill looking so strong and I was excited for him cause in my heart I knew he was having a great race. We high fived each other and I flew to the finish where I looked at my time and found out I finished with the same time as last year.. Now how does that happen? Too funny....

I am happy my back let me train at the race and love the massage therapist after the race who put my back, back into proper position and treated my tight muscles that really helped and I am making an appointment with physio today.

Ivan made the day complete with his amazing performance and excitement that I could not feel anything but happiness.... Lot's of goose bumps for the rest of the day! I can't believe this guy is my husband! How lucky am I to have a truly talented man as my Husband! Oh for you who don't know he was over 6 minutes faster in the end over last years results! and placed really well over all!

Well time to heal and look forward to more training and our next sprint in May with no back issues and warmer temps. Now I wonder how we will get in some open water swimming before then hmmmm it's snowing outside right now as I type this! "crazy!!!! Please Spring come back!!!!