As my last post explained, this summer has been a complete blur, and I'm sure I am missing important parts of my summer (visitors, the Fringe, trips, etc.), but I really wanted to write about my Half-Ironman in Vichy before the memories slipped away. Already, I can feel them fading, and it was less than a week ago.
So back in March I knew it was a good idea to try to get back to my pre-trip weight, and one of the best ways to do that (for me) is to sign up for a challenging race. I know myself, and I know that I won't exercise unless I have to. Don't get me wrong, I love running and cycling, but I won't do it with the appropriate intensity or distance needed to drop the weight. So I called my trusty distance athlete (Matt!) and convinced him to complete a Half-Ironman with me. For those of you who don't know, a Half-Ironman (or Half Distance race) is 1.9km swim, 90km cycle, 21.1 km run. We chose one that had a good date, good location, and not too difficult cycle path. Then the training started. I wrote out the entire schedule in my planner, and it went from 6 workouts a week to 9 workouts a week - that meant I spent about 1.5-3 hours working out each day. It took up a lot of time and effort, and I was grateful for my flexible job. The summer just flew by and I kept trying to stick with my training. Sometimes I missed a run, swim, or cycle, but I tried not to beat myself up about it. I was doing 95% of the program, I would be able to finish, right?
A few days before we set off for Geneva, I read through all the rules and regulations, just in case. I saw that the cut off times to complete the swim+ride were much shorter than they had been in my previous race. You had to complete the swim, transition, and cycle in 4 hours and 45 minutes. The problem with this is that my swim time for 2km was 50 minutes and my fastest ever 90km cycle was 3:52 minutes. For those of you good at math, those times together are 4 hours 42 minutes - and that didn't include the transition!! I started getting very nervous that I would be picked up by the slow bus and prevented from completing the race. I don't mind if I'm the slowest as long as I finish!
At that point it was too late to pick up my speed training, I was already tapering and had done my last cycle. So I just had to hope the adrenaline of the day would keep me going and help me go that little bit faster.
Paul and I flew to Geneva to meet our friends who were wonderful enough to drive us to France with our bikes strapped on the back. It was about a 4 hour drive to Vichy, where we checked in, dropped our bikes and bags, and then drove to our hotel for the night. The nervous feelings had already crept into my stomach, and I spent all my free time visualizing my transitions and finishing the race.
The next morning arrived far too early for my liking (at 4:45am!), when I got up and ate my quick but filling breakfast of a peanut butter sandwich and a banana. We drove back to Vichy and said goodbye to our spouses as we went in to finish setting up our transitions.
Before the race, we're all ready and getting in our wetsuits!
Before I knew it, the men (including Matt), were being herded into the river to start the race! And then ten minutes went by and I was in the water waiting for my start! The gun went off and I let the other women explode in front of me. It was a long distance, and there was no need to get caught up with the others. Parts of the swim went quite peacefully and I had a good rhythm, but it was difficult to sight, and I had to put a lot of effort into finding the buoys. At one point, I accidentally had turned nearly perpendicular to the swim course and crossed to the other side of the buoys (oops!). Luckily a safety kayaker saw me and whistled/yelled at me until I noticed him and turned back. The water tasted disgusting and you couldn't see more than an inch in front of your face. To make things worse my goggles had developed some kind of film on the outside and I could barely see through them. I think I ended up swimming 2.2km instead of 1.9km with all the zig-zagging I did! Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I had turned around and was on my way back. I hit the 1000 meter sign, then the 1500, then I was in the home stretch. Volunteers helped pull us from the river and I started running for the transition zone, attempting to pull off my wetsuit as I ran. As you can see from these pictures, I wasn't having much luck. In my haste I hadn't unzipped it all the way and so I couldn't get my arms out! Luckily, I realized this and was able to get the rest of the wet-suit off quite quickly.
I ran past Heather and Paul, our cheering squad. Thanks for being such awesome and enthusiastic cheerers! You kept me motivated!
"Get the bag! Get the bag!" they screamed as I ran toward my transition bag. I found my number quickly and heard them yell, "You got the bag! You got the bag!" as I headed to the changing tent. I yanked the wetsuit down to the ground and rapidly stepped out. With my towel, I roughly cleaned the bottom of my feet before pulling on my socks and shoes and dumping everything back into the bag and running to my bike. Helmet on, number on, gloves on, food in my pocket, bike off the rack, and I was off! Then a referee stopped me with a yellow card for "littering" - it turned out my spare number had fallen out of my pocket! I ran back and grabbed it before getting my bike and sprinting for the exit. Running in cycle shoes is no fun! I crossed the line for mounting my bike and hopped on. I took a deep breath - the swim was done and now just had to focus on the cycle. 1km in one of my water bottles bounced out of the cage and onto the gravel. I stopped my bike, picked it up and kept riding. At 3km the same water bottle bounced out, but with the speed I was traveling down the hill I just left it. Ah well, I thought, I hope they have water bottles at the food stations!
The first 20 kilometers passed in a blur. I focused on my form, even pedaling, my pace, and tried to stay in the moment of each kilometer while enjoying my surroundings and the race. I normally cycle with music, so I did a bit of singing to myself. I couldn't believe my speed - an average of 30-35km/h, when my usual speed is about 22km/hr. This course was fast and flat and I was killing it!
I got extra water at the first stop, and the kilometers just ticked on. I was passed by many people (mostly men, but some women) and I passed a few people too, encouraging them as I went past. I knew that at around 70km we'd be facing the only real hill of the course and I was mentally preparing myself for it. At 60km, I had been riding just over 2 hours and I let myself breathe easy - I was going to finish the cycle and not get picked up by the slow bus! I was really going to do it! The hill at 70km wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, and after that I can't remember much. There was lots of breathing, focusing on the moment, fueling correctly, drinking lots of liquids (it was a hot day!), and visualizing the transition. The last few kilometers I was absolutely overjoyed - I had ridden my fastest 90km ever and was way ahead of schedule. You can see my happiness on the pictures they captured:
The cheering squad was there for the next part of my race as I racked my bike and ran in to grab my running shoes ("Get the bag! Get the bag! You got the bag! Get on your shoes!!!") as I screamed back my time on the bike (3:21!! I didn't have to get on the slow bus!!!). Then I ran into the changing tent again and I attempted to spray on some sunscreen, which alerted me to the raw skin on the back of my neck from my wetsuit rubbing it (ouch!). Then I strapped on my water backpack and I was off! The last part of my race and arguably my strongest part.
For the first 3 or 4 kilometers, even though my legs felt strong, I could feel myself struggling with motivation. I was hot, having difficulty breathing, and felt absolutely knackered. And I still had 2 hours of running ahead of me! I took a few minutes to walk while I took my inhaler, ate some sugar, drank a bit of water and summed up all the effort I had. Then, about kilometer 5, I made a friend. Those of you who know me, may not be the least bit surprised that I made a friend while running (there are friends waiting to be discovered everywhere!). We started chatting about how hot it was, and how much we wanted to be in the shade. I practiced my French as we talked a bit more about the different parts of the run, how we felt the cycle went, and a whole handful of other topics.
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| Me and my friend Muriel |
I gave her the out to run ahead and she did the same for me. It turns out, however, that we had the same time goals in mind and that both of us felt better running with someone. We stayed together the entire remainder of the race, cheering each other on and encouraging each other to keep going when we couldn't feel our legs or when we felt quite sick. For the half-way mark we had to run next to the finish (how cruel!) before turning out and doing the whole loop again.
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| Dancing through next to the finish line! |
We chatted more and encouraged more and before we knew it, we were at kilometer 18. Only 3 kilometers left! We agreed that we don't even bother to go out for a 3km run because that's a warm up, not a run! Then it was just 2 more kilometers, then 1 kilometer... then 400 meters and we could feel the success of the finish. I told her I always sprinted the finish but that I'd wait for her on the other end. I sped up, feeling like I was floating and flying at the same time, zooming to the end. The crowd was cheering as I leapt for the finish. If you look at the pictures, you'd think I did fly right through as my feet are never on the ground!
And all at once it was over! I finished in an incredible 6:33:51 - I was praying for any time under 7 hours!! I waited for my friend Muriel to finish a few seconds after me and we hugged and cried and limped inside the finisher tent to get our medals and shirts (and free beer!). I found my cheerers and Matt for a post-race picture.
Unlike my previous Half-Ironman, I absolutely loved this race. I felt strong and confident throughout the race and was so proud to finish with my goal time in mind. Now I'm looking ahead to the next year - what race can I sign up for?
