Ironman Santa Rosa Race Report
Days Leading Up
Wednesday
I flew into San Francisco on Wed. evening with my parents
and we made the no traffic drive up to Windsor as it was late enough in the
evening. Settled into my place and sat up chatting with some friends and
getting the plan for the next day.
Thursday
Woke up at a decent hour on Thurs. (around 7am) and we got
ready to head down to the swim for some course recon. We swam around 1000m and
it was awesome. The temp was super warm and the lake was quite calm. It’s a
pretty stunning swim location, despite the T1 requirement, more to come on that
later. Next I headed into the town of Santa Rosa to get my race package ect.
And headed back to our place in Windsor to get my bike together. In the
afternoon we dropped into town to run the far end of the run course. I didn’t
want to risk any injuries as I’m so prone to it so I ran 3.5km and it felt
pretty good. Last bit of the day I headed out with Kyle, who had also just
arrived and got his bike together, for a quick 20min ride. This was my first
time outside on my bike in 9 months, perks of living in the land of winter, but
it felt great and the bike was in good working order. Relaxed the rest of the
evening.
Friday
Our whole crew did the same 20min lap (perhaps some of the
best roads in the county) and took our bikes up for check in. They went for a
run later, but I just stayed in and relaxed, there was nothing to gain from one
last run. I felt ready even though my quads had been feeling tired all week.
Spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting gear bags organized.
Bike Gear Bag: Cycling Shoes + Helmet
Bike Special Needs Bag: 2x Sudafed, a mars bar, 1x Infinit Bottle
Run Gear Bag: Hat, socks, shoes, 4 gels, run bib
Run Special Needs Bag: Advil, mars bar
Race Day
*Disclaimer* I did not feel like I was fully prepared for
this race. My training was scattered and inconsistent. I often only got
training in on weekends and maybe 1 bike and no runs during the week. I started
the training cycle at my heaviest ever 200lbs and I only got down to 190lbs by
race day. By contrast, I was 178lbs at IMC in 2015. I hadn’t ridden outside
once all year and never got in more than a 4 hr bike on the trainer. The
furthest I swam was about 2200m and my longest run was about 18km. I knew
roughly what my nutrition would be, but I hadn’t practiced it or really decided
what I would commit to per hour, just what the contents would be. I had to work
through knee issues from the beginning and I wasn’t sure how it would play out
and if it would have a big impact on my race. Needless to say, I felt
incredibly unprepared for this race, BUT, I was showing up in pretty good
health and that’s half the battle.
Race Morning
On this day, morning struck at 3:30am and I was up and
about. I normally feel quite reluctant when I wake up, a mix of uncertainty and
nerves. Today, I felt ready and willing. Four years since I last toed the line
at an Ironman and I was definitely eager to really dig in. I had a bagel and
banana for breakfast, just what happened to be lying down. Once everyone
arrived we piled into the cars and made our way to the swim start. It seems no
matter how early I arrive, I’m always rushing down to the start line. I got my
bike prepared and shared my pump with a few people. Spent way too much time in
a line for a porta-potty which started to cut my time pretty short. I suited up
and made my way down to the swim start, nerves no where to be found, just a
small smirk, knowing this was going to be a good day.
Swim
|
Distance
|
Split Time
|
Race Time
|
Pace
|
Division Rank
|
Gender Rank
|
Overall Rank
|
||
Total
|
2.4 mi
|
01:17:22
|
01:17:22
|
02:00/100m
|
67
|
487
|
593
|
Ironman continues to utilize the rolling start swim so I seeded myself somewhere around the 1:12 mark as best as I could figure. We lined up in rows of five and to my surprise Krista (a friend racing her first Ironman) showed up beside me. It’s always fun to be able to start a race with a friend and as we approached the water, I was extra thankful to have a strong swimmer to try and follow. As I dove into the water to start lap 1/2, I hit the button on my watch, and went on my way. The water was an excellent temp. and there was plenty of room to swim. My goggles fogged up immediately and it ended up being an overcast swim so I did struggle to sight, but managed fine with enough people around me to swim with. I always stick to the inside of the buoys as most cautious swimmers stick further to the outside. I swam the first 1000m with a lady by my side. It was nice to have someone to pace off and keep my focused. As we rounded the corner and made our way back to the boat ramp to start lap two, I started having issues with one of my silicone ear plugs and the water was getting to my ear and making me really uncomfortable. I ended up stopping a few times to sort it out and lost my swim partner. For the next lap and a half I went into cruise mode. I probably could have swam faster if I focused on it, but I was happy to just cruise and have it feel pretty easy. I came in to the swim finish feeling fresh and ready to walk up the absurd hill to T1.
T1: 7:53
There is a fairly steep and long hill to get up to
T1, or at least so it seemed when just finishing a swim. My plan was to walk
it, but after 100m I managed to get a slow trot in, got my suit stripped off
and made my way up to the change tent. I grabbed my bag off the hanging rack
(first time using these) and hopped in the tent to get changed. Helmet on,
shoes on, and away I went. The bike course starts with a long descent followed
by rolling throughout the rest of the course with one small, short hill each
lap. I managed through the first 20km quite well and was riding well and felt
really good. I decided I would maintain a strong pace and just see where the
day took me.
Bike
The bike began by riding over the lake we had just exited. That was followed by a quick 2 mile descent which led into the east rolling roads of the winery, headed South towards Santa Rosa. The roads down the east side are laid out to be pretty quick, but, they are in pretty rough condition, which causes you to sit up a bit and slow more than one would like. It alternated between decent road and pretty rough road for the first while and I found it difficult to get into a good grove, but it was quick so I threw caution to the wind and rode hard. I was feeling good and rode strong for the first two hours, but in that first 40km the bumps took their toll (more on my bike than me). One of my two rear hydration cages came loose, I managed to rotate it so it sat against my bum and continued on my ride, only to have it fly off with a full bottle of nutrition 20min later (guess I’m using the on course Gatorade). Around KM 70 I felt like I was starting to lean to the left while in my aerobars, then I noticed the screws had come loose on my left aerobar and it had rotated so the pad was all the way down to the handlebar, I was definitely leaning. I found some on course staff before turning off the West side road to start my second loop. I fixed the bar and continued on, though I didn’t check where I moved it to and it was now too high, scrunching me together and pushing me to the right, I rode another 20min to the Bike Special Needs stop and fixed it for good, threw down a few Advil and a Mars Bar. The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. I plugged along on my second loop, riding primarily alone and not near anyone. My legs felt strong all the way through to the end, but around KM 150 both my knees started to ache just above the kneecap. It wasn’t debilitating, but it made me not want to push down during any pedal strokes (sort of important). So for the last hour I rode with mild/decent discomfort, but no real issues/injury. I do think I would have come under 6hrs if they weren’t sore, but so the game goes. I rolled into T2 feeling good about the race so far and just hoping I wouldn’t run into any major issues during the run.
T2: 8:51
Off the bike and there is a 200m run to the change
tents, not a bad way to find out where the legs are at. I came off the bike and
my glutes felt so tight I was waddling towards T2, but I jogged it down and was
excited to get out on the run. I had to make a pit stop in the washroom, so
another long transition. Gear on and out to the course I went, coming out right
behind Mike Ergo with his giant American flag. (Look it up if you don’t know
who he is).
Total 26.2 mi 04:53:51 12:30:30 11:12/mi 63 472 560
The run is a 3 loop course along a creek with a mix
of pavement and trail. I went out running somewhere between 5:40-6 min/km and
it was feeling surprisingly good. The legs loosened up and slowly transformed
from bike legs to run legs and I started ticking off KM’s feeling confident
about how my knees felt and how my legs felt. I made sure to walk aid stations
to get nutrition in and get a small mental break. The first lap went by without
much to report, I kept running around 6min/km with the odd walk break bring
that number up a bit, but I was feeling good and able to run. On the second
lap, around Mile 8-10 I ran into two friends from Calgary. One on his second
lap and one on his third lap, we were all starting to feel it and ran together
for the next several miles. I could feel things start to become an issue around
Mile 14 and I knew I was going to be in for quite the grind. Ian, who was on
his third lap left Kyle and I and took off as he only had about 3 miles left.
Kyle and I ran more or less together for the rest of the race. At times we
would run together, then he would get ahead, then I would get ahead. I was
really starting to feel it in my quads and hamstrings as we moved through the
third lap. I did my best to limit walk breaks that weren’t at the aid stations,
but they were becoming more frequent. When I was running I was still running in
the low to mid 6min/km. As I neared the last 10KM the wheels were really
starting to fall off, but, I WASN’T injured!! For the first time in an Ironman I
wasn’t being held by back injuries. I wanted so badly to just walk, but the
mantra I had been repeating for more than 20 miles kept creeping into my mind
as soon as I started walking. “All you’ve wanted is to not be hurt, and to have
the opportunity to dig deep and push.” This thought crossed my mind so many times
and I was so grateful my body was allowing this race to be less physical than
mental. I wanted to have to be mentally tough and keep running. I wanted the
only thing to hold me back be my mind, not my body. I got my wish and powered
forward. With 5KM to go, I started looking at time and calculating where I
would be coming in. I was very confident Sub 13hrs was locked up and I started
thinking about my marathon time. I really wanted to come in under 5hrs and I
knew if I walked much I wouldn’t get there. I pushed forward and really worked
for the last 5KM and my hamstrings really started to let me know about it. I
kept it steady and made it back on the main street, meaning I was less than 1KM
from the finish. As I made my way toward the finish shoot, my mind started to
consider the day, how grateful I was to be able to do this, have my friends and
parents there to support me, and how proud I was on my effort for the day. I
made it on to the red carpet and did my best to slow down and get some high
fives from the fans and supporters (I did not do this in IMC and had regretted
sprinting the red carpet). I crossed the line coming in at 12:30:30 and just
under 5 hrs for the marathon. It is a PB of 92min of which I’m very proud. But
it also shows me how much room I have to improve. I will be targeting 11:45 at
IMC in Penticton 2020. The course will certainly be a bit tougher, but I think
with solid and consistent training I will get there.
