1.2mile Swim, 56mile Bike, 13.1mile Run
Panama City Beach, FL
May 10th, 2008
Race Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/livestronger14 (Click on the WHITE TRASH)
Race Results: http://www.championchiptiming.com/Home/tabid/65/Default.aspx?EventID=272
Cliff Notes Version: 1st overall female!!! Finished 5min ahead of 1st pro woman. Raced amateur so no loot for me, but still wicked cool. Rough swim, flat and fast bike but had some wind, and then a hot run. SUPER excited! Overall Time: 4:38.
All the details:
Ok so I know I said something my last race report about not being nervous at the start of Powerman. Scratch that. I was NERVOUS as hell on Saturday morning! I tried to rationally break it down, and I realized I had a few legitimate reasons to be nervous about every part of the race:
1.) The Swim: Rough water. Choppy. Plus I suck swimming open water. That I’ve determined, but more on that later.
2.) The Bike: I was riding my sweet-ass Zipp Disk wheel, which is made for smokin’ a flat bike course. However, I was nervous that my wheel selection was not ideal if it was to be as windy as the previous two days. I get skittish when I’m being blown around.
3.) The Run: This was the biggie for me. Those of you who are close to me (and those who aren’t, too—I am unabashedly open about things you may not even want to hear about) already know of my “issues” with running lately. I have not had any long runs come to fruition in the last few months due to GI problems that have had me utterly frustrated and seeing different specialists. I’ll spare you the details, but I was coming into this race with “long runs” of which I’ve only completed about 8 miles. So, I was nervous for my ability to run the pace I wanted to hold, and my ability to complete the 13miles without incident.
We were totally pimpin’ it at Matt Goldstein’s house in Rosemary Beach, a good 20min from PCB, and thank god! This house could’ve been featured in MTV’s Cribs, it was so amazing. Thank you Matt for offering it to us!! North ATL Tri People: Matt is on the listserv, so contact him for accommodations for IMFL or any visits down there. It was incredible.
So we did the usual check in and I warmed up on the bike/run on my own early Friday morning in Rosemary Beach. I felt good but my mind was consumed with all the “what ifs” that could happen on race day. Tried to chill out and enjoy our incredible surroundings the rest of the day. That night, my Mom and Alex arrived, and we all made dinner and hung out at the house. Totally peaceful, just the way I wanted it.
Sleep came easily after popping two Advil PMs.
4am: Alarm goes off. I think I say the same thing when the alarm goes off race day morning: “Why the hell am I doing this?! Why did I have to screw up a great weekend at the beach with a half ironman!?” Nice attitude, huh? Does anyone else do this?
4:15am: Sitting up in bed, enjoying my (2) Vanilla Crisp Powerbars. 30min later we were on the road headed to the race site, which was already bustling when we got there. After setting up my little transition area, I found Blair Folkes and we cautiously asked each other if we wanted to do a swim warm-up. I think we were both hoping the other would say no, but we knew we needed to. Of course I felt awkward. I couldn’t even get through the breakers with any semblance of athletic grace. And then I am too paranoid with my phobia of being ripped to shreds by a shark to concentrate on my stroke. Well, at least I got wet . . . and had a chance to pee in my wetsuit. So, warm-up accomplished!
Swim 1.2 miles: At 6:15 I took 2 Immodiums and said a prayer to the GI Gods. That’s right—I’m stepping it up from the Pepto that I usually take. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The pros went off at 6:20, then the 35-49 year old women at 6:25 (yellow swim caps), which included my teammate Kris Kester. My girls (30-34 age group) jumped in at 6:30. It wasn’t as violent of a swim start as I’ve experienced in the past, and I was having great “swim self esteem” as I found myself pulling ahead . . . or what I perceived to be pulling ahead. Soon I saw yellow caps, and I was feeling like Amanda Beard. Tim and Maria are gonna be so proud of me! Matt’s not gonna believe it! No more naysayers about my swim! This is the one! Interestingly, I felt like I had done at least 3 left turns around bouys. However, the swim course only had (2). Hmm, something was off. Oh well I felt strong and was in control. Swim on.
The best part about wearing your Garmin (GPS/Heart Rate watch) during the swim is that you get to see the upload afterwards, including the path you took. Well, mine looked like an intestine. I was all over the place! And, my “3rd left turn” was actually a round trip diamond-loop around one bouy. That was efficient, huh? My upload even said I swam 1.6 miles. Why not swim a little extra and do circles around the bouys?
In all fairness, it was choppy and not easy to site. However, the swim times were slower for everyone, but still . . . I suck at open water. That I’m convinced of. I need practice! My Masters lane mates swam 4minutes faster than me—that is just crazy. I know I can do it because I’m swimming faster at practice. I just need to practice swimming in the open water. PLEASE let me know when you guys go—I would love to join you!
Swim time: 35:08. Sigh…
Transition 1: This was funny. I ran up the beach slightly disoriented, extremely pissed, and looking for the wetsuit strippers. What the hell—where were they?! Guess I didn’t read the info packet (again). We were on our own. I was about 20yards from my bike when I realized I was stupid for running in my wetsuit when I could’ve taken it off sooner and ran faster w/o it. Quick stop in the middle of T1 for a costume change while yelling to Danny “Where are the strippers?” and definitely feeling disgruntled. Then the fun continued when I tried to pull my bike off the rack (hanging from the seat), and my new X-Lab bottle cages were blocking it from going under. Crap crap crap!!! So there I am, aero helmet already strapped on, and I’m trying to duck myself under the rack to back my bike out the other direction. Quite a spectacle. Great for entertaining the spectators, not so great for a quick T-time. I totally looked like a newbie.
Bike 56 miles: I’m starting to think that having consistently crappy swims is good for my bike, because I usually jump on that saddle PISSED. Not a strategy I’d recommend to anyone; I mean, it’s much more logical to work on your swimming, but I’m just trying to find a bright spot here.
Work with me.
At any rate I had strict orders from Coach Matt to stay within specific wattage parameters and a 5-beat heart rate zone. That’s all I focused on. I stared at my power meter and heart rate monitor and tried my hardest not to have any spikes on the bike. This day was all about controlled, consistent pacing. Control what I can control. Of course my mind was wandering off to the uncontrollables (wind, GI, sharks, …oh wait, made it alive out of the water… pick something else to freak out about)… I do love being on the bike, though, and steadily started passing most of the women ahead of me, including two of the pros. I steadily drank Nuun’ed water and consistently took a Powergel every 20min, and as planned, popped two more Immodiums 90min into the bike. I figured if the first two didn’t shut the factory down, these two would certainly seal the deal (no pun intended). I wasn’t risking anything for the run. Matt had me review detail by detail, ounce by ounce, minute by minute what my nutrition and pacing strategy would be. I told him jokingly that he was starting to get on my nerves, but he knows what he’s doing in every way. I tend to “wing” things, and he forces me to plan and prepare, and that’s the best way to execute. I felt confident having my plan and sticking to it. Anyway the bike was great for me. I had the fastest bike split of the women, and rocked it out with that disk (great decision to ride it). I love a flat course, but I was sore from being in the same position; I was definitely ready to run. Bike time: 2:22:04 (23.3mph avg)
Run 13.1miles: As I was running out of transition I heard them announce my name and say I was only 1min behind the first place pro (after subtracting her 10min start lead). I got excited, because I knew that as long as I didn’t break down, I had a chance at winning. Incredible feeling. I felt so light on my feet! The first mile flew by quickly and effortlessly in 6:18. Uh oh. That would have been great, except I had 12 more miles to go. Steady. Steady. Steady! In control. I passed my teammate Kris Kester who was also having a great race, and thank god she yelled to me when I took the first of 3 wrong turns. What is wrong with me?! The volunteers were just standing there but not telling us where to go. I was delirious, dehydrated, and had too much Immodium in my system; help a sister out please!! Ok back on track and felt good. I was holding sub 7min miles for the first 8ish miles, and felt in control. It was lonely, though! There was nobody back there and since it was a 1 loop run course, so no spectators, either. Lonely! There I was, running through the streets of the idyllic, beautiful, peaceful Redneck Riviera, gagging on the stench of pork sausage that was grilling in quite a few of the driveways, getting stared down by some of the locals (smoking cigarettes) who were wondering what the hell was wrong with me running like that (I was starting to wonder myself). It was getting hot and I was in no mood for my gels. Have you ever noticed how sweet everything tastes towards the end of the runs? Ughhh… It wasn’t until mile 8 that I came out of the park and was able to see all the other athletes headed in. Just the surge of energy I needed. Seeing all my teammates and everyone else from Atlanta was such a blast. I high fived my friends . . . and people that I didn’t know, but felt like making friends with. Solidarity in pain, right? So many people were giving me encouraging comments and I was so grateful for them. I love that about racing; we were all helping each other out. I was soaking it all up and trying to pull as much from the energy surrounding me, because I felt like I was running on fumes.
Around mile 7, I was on pace to do a 1:31 half marathon, but I was just doing everything I could to keep it together. My endurance was probably not where it needed to be, and I slowed down between Mile 11-12. Hold on!! You’re close. Miles 10 and 11 seemed like eternities. God where is that finish line already?! The final stretch was about 1/2mile long straight-away, and it was lined with spectators. I was smiling (mostly because I was so damn happy to be done) and picked up to a sprint. Run Time: 1:35:17 (7:17avg pace/mile)
Overall Time: 4:38:34
I crossed the line and stopped completely, deciding it was more comfortable on the ground than on my feet– I couldn’t move. They brought me a wheelchair and took me directly to the med tent where my body sucked down 2 cold ones (IVs). I thought it was ironic that all of these “endurance athletes” can’t walk 30 more feet on our own. Something was wrong with that picture, don’t you think? Once I stop, I stop.
I was told I finished 5min ahead of the first pro, making me the overall female winner. This was freakin’ awesome!!!!!! Gulf Coast was my very first half ironman in 2003 before I took another break and picked up the sport again in 2005. If you had told me back then that five years later I’d win the same race, I’d tell you to put the crack pipe down. It’s just so gratifying to see progress, and it doesn’t have to mean winning a race, but this was certainly a good example of how we can exceed our own expectations. Thank you Matt Russ! Winning a big triathlon was nothing I would’ve ever expected. I am so lucky to be a part of The Sport Factory and having the guidance that I have. If you’re wondering if coaching is “worth it,” talk to me and I’ll give you an earful.
Speaking of Sport Factory . .. we had an incredible showing! I was so proud of all my teammates. Gerry “G-Money” Halphen rocked it out, winning the very tough 40-45 age group, and Kris Kester took 1st Place Masters. Several others were on the podium, including Karen Wallace, Jason McCambridge and Sarah Welton. Poor Blair took a spill on the bike and walked away banged up but otherwise not seriously injured, thank god. She just looks like a battered wife now. (Watch out, Ashley—don’t piss her off.)
The awards ceremony was VERY cool. The best part was meeting THE LEGENDARY Sister Madonna Buder and getting a photo with her. I told her that she has inspired so many people with her multiple Ironman finishes every year. She was radiant as usual. The announcer asked me how I would describe the course, and my typically-verbose self was in rare form when I just gave him a 1-word answer: “PAINFUL!” It was, but as my high school track coaches used to tell us before our big meets, Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.
I hope everyone is feeling less pain today and enjoying the pride of pushing ourselves a little bit harder in tougher conditions, regardless of the result. I’m so proud of everyone and loved racing with so many friends. Incredible weekend!
Thanks for your support and encouragement. I really appreciate it and enjoy sharing with everyone.
Love,
Amy
Local news! http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?id=1951&page=1
And… newspaper photos: http://www.emeraldcoastphotoseast.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=514598
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