Epic = The single word that word best summarizes my first Ironman race. It was truly a remarkable adventure every stroke, pedal and step of the way.
I spent the last hour or two on early Friday evening working on this blog recaping the 18 week training plan and last pre-race day activities. I went to sleep around 9:30pm and was lucky enough to sleep really well. I woke 15 minutes before my scheduled 4am alarm and I knew it was time to rock and roll.
John dropped me off at the downtown T2 area where the athlete shuttles would be transporting us to Sand Hollow Reservoir. I shared the bus seat with a man from Saratoga who was doing his first Ironman. He also have gotten a bicycle traffic ticket in the same Portola valley area that I did last week. He informed me that the ticket would be $250 bucks! Crazy.
The shuttle ride went fast and soon we were at the Reservoir. I retrieved some contents from my T1 bag and headed to my bike to set it up. The instructions had told us that bike pumps were not alowed to be placed into the T1 bags and that there would be pumps available in the morning. Well, there were but there was also a very long line in the center of transition to wait for these pumps. So people who had chosen to bring their pumps were able to help others out or in some cases, actually refuse to let others use their pump because they were afraid the pump would wander off in the darkness. In any case, I was able to find two pumps to use (second one needed because the first one didn't completed fit around the value extenders on the Zipp rims). I decided to tape 6 GU gels to my bike frame and carry two Bonk Bars in my race pouch. I actually had no extra time in transition and before I knew it, I had suited up in the wetsuit and headed out to the swim start.
I had not fully decided where I wanted to place myself on the swim start line. Once I got in, I decided to go for the good spot and see how it went. So I made my way towards the left side start buoy with only a handful of people in front of me. I knew it would be an aggressive start position but I couldn't justify any other position. We had a 2 minute countdown and then the cannon went off. Turns out the start was totally not as bad as I had imagined. No one crawled over me nor knocked me around too much. I just made sure that I used my arms defensively in addition to actually swimming in order to protect my head and face. When we hit each of the red turn buoys, there tended to me a group of swimmers so you needed to be aggressive on the turn and ensure that you didn't get run over. The second half of the swim was even better because at this point, I knew everyone around was swimming and maintaining a similar pace. So I would pick bubbles and draft off of them for as long as I could before deciding to go faster or if they dropped me, usually it was the former. :-). The swim didn't seem long at all despite it being the first time I had ever raced 2.4 mile swim.
Coming out of the swim and into transition, I didn't need to use the changing tent since I planned to remain in my same tri-suit. So I grabbed by helmet, sunglasses and bike and headed out. It was refreshing to me on the bike and sailing out of the park. I took a couple minutes to settle in and then had a feeling of peace knowing that the bike was functioning and I was situating. But then, I looked around at the riders passing me and saw their race bid numbers pinned to their jerseys or on their race belts. I realized I had forgetten my race belt in my T1 bag! I was not used to wearing it during the bike segment because no other races usually require that. But it was stated that you must wear this number on your bike leg. So I knew that I had to take action and I turned around and headed back to the transition area. I had already passed off my T1 bag to the volunteers so I thought I would have to go back to them and have them dig through all of the bags. But I had also put the extra race number in my warm-up bag, which I had passed over to John. As I ran back to transition, John and my parents were still in the same spot as before and I yelled that I needed the bag. John threw it over and I dug out the race number. I also had extra pins in there so I pinned it to my back. Then I ran back out and set off again on the bike. I checked my computer and I lost about 8 minutes total.. I had gone about a 1 mile before realizing my mistake. Luckily, my quick reflexes and backup planning saved me. 8 minutes would be a huge loss in any other distance race but in Ironman, it's not the end of the world.
As I departed for real this time on the bike segment, it did feel like a time trial as we headed into town. People were going really fast and it seemed crazy considering the distance we had to cover. I attempted to hold back and didn't really go aggressive. My race plan was to conserve energy on the first loop and then up the intensity on the second loop. What I had not planned on though was the intense heat. By mile 10, I developed a mild cramp, which I contributed to dehydration. I should have drank more water prior to the swim. I knew I would have to spend time now on the bike getting re-hydrated. Unfornately, I only had the cytomax on my bike at the moment so I had to wait until the Aid station to get the water.
The heat continued to beat down on us as we arrived into town and headed out on the loop. I kept drinking as much water as I could and balancing it with Cytomax and some salt pills. For my nutrition, I had 6 GU gels taped to the bike, alternating by favors and with and without caffine. I also know that I am now more sensitve to caffine and too much caffine could also cause cramps. I had two Bonk bars in my bag as well. I made a mental note of the clock time when I consume each gel or bar. Then I planned to check back within 45 minutes-1 hour and determine when to eat next. This system worked well. At every Aid station, I grabbed waters and used them to drink and also spray all over myself to attempt to cooldown. One item which really saved me was CEP Arm Coolers. I had bought these at the Expo and this was my first time wearing them. They were great for several reasons, first being that you could dump water on them and they would retain it and assist in keeping you cool. Second being that you could wipe the sweat and stuff over of your face easily. Third is that they prevented nasty sunburn on my arms, which I ended up getting on other parts of my back.
The first time on the Wall was decent. I was able to keep my heart beat from going to high. Continuing past the town of Veyo and back into town, there was some significant headwind which made the long, gradual ascent a little slower. The remaining downhill was great and I felt energized for the second loop and hoped I would be able to up the pace. But as I started back out on the second loop, the sun was even more brutal. The temperature was around 95 degrees and it was just an energy sucker. I even had this negative thought of "if I got a flat tire or bike malfunction, at least I would have a legitimate reason to take a break." I quickly erased this thought. I needed to do everything possible to survive and stay hydrated and functional. So I didn't increase my intensity nor pace. I still had the mild cramp which finally ended up going away near mile 80. For the first time ever during the bike portion of a triathlon race, I was actually sick of the bike and excited to get off and start running!
At the close of the second loop, we headed into town to the T2 area. The clock time was now around 3pm and the temperature was soaring! I put on my run shoes, visors and belt with my GU gels and headed out on the run. I saw John, Madison and my parents cheering for me from the sidelines as well as coaches Lizz and Wes. I was happy to have safely completed the bike and be starting the third and final segment of the race.
The first mile of this marathon truly felt like the longest mile of my life. I realized quickly that my goal to hold around something like a 10:00 min/mi pace was no where near possible. This was truly an exercise in survive. I absolutely needed to stay hydrated and functional in order to finish. I couldn't risk trying to push the pace and then collapsing. Failure was not an option so all I could focus on was one mile at a time. On the early AM bus, I could overhead one guy mentioned that he used a run/walk technique in his first Ironman marathon where he would walk the Aid stations and run everywhere else. I immediately decided this would work for me because I needed the water and supplies at each Aid station, which were located on every mile.
I became laser focused on completely each mile one at a time. I broke down the course into approximately four 10K races. After passing each mile marker, I would recite the number of the next mile over and over. Before my race, I thought that my mind would need to think of various different motivation things in order to exercise for such a long period of time. But I found that the opposite was true. For me, the race plan evolved into intense concentration on the task at hand. I couldn't process any other thoughts. Other racers were talking to each other and the volunteers. I said thanks to some volunteers but didn't want to engage in conversation because I felt it would expand too much energy. I also overhead some negative conversations about how ridiculous hard this race was and how no one could train for this...while this is somewhat true - I didn't want to hear such things so talking to others was not on my list.
I even felt that smiling took too much energy, although I did manage to do it when passing some supportive volunteers and the music bands and of course when I saw John, Madison and my parents as I returned back in after completing the first 13 mile loop. From the turnaround, I could see the finish line and the official race clock was around 11 something. So my inital idea that I could complete the race around the 12-13 hour mark was clearly not going to happen. But that was ok. Again, my mind was fixated on finishing. Since I survived the first 13 miles, I decided to keep up the same technique, running and walking through Aid stations. At some points on the uphills, there were men that could walk faster than I was running. But I still didn't want to walk because I knew my walk pace was not equivalent to even this very slow run which I was holding. And yes it was slow but I was able to stay highly focused and determined to complete this race.
Around mile 18, the sun was beginning to set. I was wondering when the strobe lights would be turning on. I hadn't planned on racing and finishing when it would be dark. But there was a certain calm that seems to settle over the remaining racers as the sun set. The lights appeared on my final loop into Pioneer Park. I had told myself that I would allow myself to get excited when I hit mile 20. So 20 came but I still felt so far away from the finish line and I didn't want to break my concentration. I continue on and the darkness set it. The racers on the other side of the street (still heading down miles 13-18) were now carrying the glow sticks. I wondered which station would have the glow sticks for us. When I hit the 5K left mark, it was mostly downhill so I chanted out loud multiple times, "5K and all downhill." A volunteer gave me a pink glow stick, the perfect color as Madison would love it. The last little hill was up to the Lion's club to the 24 mile marker. On the way down from there, my GT team member Curry flew by with a great run pace. She said we are going to make it and I knew this was true!
The last two miles did seem fairly long but the sound of the crowd was gaining. It was really dark so I couldn't really see where Main St. started. Finally, I approached the turn and saw the downhill to the finish line. Now, it was time to smile. As every Ironman athlete has said, the adrenaline rush was insane! I flew down the hill and into the finish chute with the biggest smile ever. Here was the moment I had dreamed about. Here was the moment which made all of the training worth it. Here was my finish and the announcer said "Marlene Summers, you are an Ironman."
After arriving through the finish gate, a friendly volunteer escorted me to the Family Meetup area and retrieved my family and some food. Pizza and real soda never tasted so good. John collected my bike and transition bags and we dropped off a now sleeping Madison with my parents back at their hotel. John and I returned to watch the finale of the race and see the final finishers. It was such a great party. Despite my difficulty walking and standing, I couldn't resist dancing in the bleachers and cheering on those finishers. I was super excited to see Team GT member Moka finishing with less than 15 minutes remaining on the clock. It was such a privelge to be racing along side my GT Team and seeing friendly faces throughout the entire race. There is such a feeling of shared community between all of the racers on this day. With just one look, it is like we can read each other's thoughts. We will always be bonded together by this race and this day.
I wouldn't change anything about my race day experience. I learned so much about myself and my mental, emotional and physical abilities. I will always remember how I challenged myself and accomplished sometime that was truly not even on my radar screen until one weekend day in August 2010 when I decided I was up for the Ironman challenge.
Overall Time: 14:42:04
SWIM (2.4 miles): 1:04:32 (5th in Age Group)
T1: 11:35
BIKE (112 miles): 6:58:38 2011 IRONMAN ST. GEORGE BIKE LEG
T2: 4:13
RUN (26.2 miles): 6:23:06 2011 IRONMAN ST. GEORGE MARATHON LEG
Team GT at the Athlete's Dinner
Marlene & Fatime at swim start
Marlene heading out on the run
Marlene & my parents at the finish!
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