Pre Race
Woke up at 5am, took in avocado toast (two slices of whole grain bread with one full avocado and Trader Joe’s “everything but the bagel seasoning”). I drank my habitual soy latte and prepared a travel coffee mug with chamomile tea, which I found out in my previous triathlon, settles me and hydrates me before the race.
D and I left together and arrived at the course around 5:30am. A lot of people were already there and we parked in the grass. When I saw how far the transition was from the parking, I rode my bike in and arranged to meet D at the transition exit.
I arrived at transition and my wave had a rack assigned. I found a great spot and set up. I learned in my last triathlon to really simplify what I brought to the triathlon and so I had a small backpack with my stuff. I quickly laid it out and realized that i had forgotten to put my Garmin watch on and had left it charging in my room. My heart sank, but I told myself that it would be a great chance to race by feel and not worry so much about the numbers.
I stayed around transition for a while, since we all know what happens when people arrive late, they shove other people’s bikes to set up their stuff. My transition neighbor arrived while I was setting up and racked her bike in the same direction as mine. I told her that if she alternated directions with me, that she would have an easier time getting her bike off and getting her transition set up. She thanked me and told me it was her first triathlon. Funny enough, this took me way back when another woman at another triathlon also educated me when I didn’t know how to hang my bike at transition. I’ve done >17 triathlons and counting, and I both feel like a Tri veteran but I’m still learning so much, that in a way I’m also a Tri-newbie.
In any case, I left transition (which I came to regret later) and found D. We took at look at the start of the swim and realized, after some walking around, that you had to swim TO the start of the swim.
I’ve done running entries in triathlons or even “jumping off the dock” starts but never a swim to the swim start entry. It ended being a wonderful thing because not only did I get to skip the stupid wetsuit (the water was 86 degrees) but I had an opportunity to get into the water, no pressure, no adrenaline and just give myself a moment to enjoy it, to calm my heart.
As I was getting my things ready, I noticed a bunch of people with “Wolf Pack” kits and I wondered if they were part of the team of one of the coaches I had just talked to: Josh Wolf. They were so many that I was both concerned (can he coach that many people at a time?), excited (what a great community to tap into!) and intimidated (can I keep up?). I walked up and spoke to a couple of people and heard great things about their community and specifically about the coach. That made up my mind: I found my Ironman coach! #teamwolfpack #yesabitcorny #dontcare
Right before the swim start, I went back to check on my stuff in transition and guess what happened? Of course, a latecomer had shoved her bike and stuff next to mine and had really crunched my space. I saw red and looked around to see if I could spot her. My mind immediately told me to calm down, that my objective was to keep my cool and not get agitated or get my heart rate up. I took a deep breath, arranged my stuff the best i could and walked back out.
SWIM:
My swim wasn’t supposed to start for another hour so I chatted with one of the members of Josh’s team and then swam over to the start once our turn drew near. My objective for this swim was to keep myself calm, to lower my heart rate and to focus on a good quality swim. I learned from my previous mistake and I vowed to start slowly and, if things felt good, then pass people as needed.
I swam around for a bit before my wave started, did some breast stroke and finally just floated on my back, looking at the glorious sky and thanking God for the privilege of doing triathlons and for my healthy body.
Before I knew it, our wave was lining up. I ended talking to a 65 year old woman (our ages were written on our calves) who told me that on a previous Tri, two 40 something year old women told her that “at least they wouldn’t be last!” Of course, the 65-year old didn’t find this funny and sassed back at them once she passed them on the run “well, I certainly won’t be last either”. LOL, I want to be her.
I positioned myself towards the back and ran into the water once our wave got called. The first 5-10 minutes were, of course, mayhem. A mad whirlpool of arms and kicking feet and churning water. I found myself right behind two women where I stayed for a while. As I swam, I realized that I needed to pass them (since I kept hitting one of them in the feet, which is incredibly unsettling for someone – this has happened to me in several triathlons and usually ends when I start unleashing some deep kicks as a warning and the person wisely changes courses to avoid getting kicked in the face). In this situation, though, I didn’t want to annoy this poor girl and also didn’t want to get kicked in the face. So, I tried to swim between her and another woman, which they didn’t allow. So I had to swim all the way around them to find some clear water. I kept chanting that in my head “find clear water, find clear water”. When I did, I really got into my groove. My heart rate was still working *hard* and I realize there was no way I could calm it (this wasn’t the gym pool after all) but I could keep it in a good place. So, I focused on my stroke, on breathing and on avoiding heart spikes. My only two exceptions were running into a piece of a tree and some algae. Before I knew it, I was circling the buoy and heard my sweet hubby yell “GO LISA!” Which made me smile and feel all warm inside.
I passed some people from the previous wave and finished strong. I was very satisfied with my swim. It wasn’t my fastest time but that was not what I was going for.
My learning during the swim was that I can’t calm my heart like I do in the pool but I can keep it in a certain range. Find clear water, focus on technique and avoid heart spikes. Swimming without a wetsuit was heaven.
Opportunities; Sighting -I ended up zig zagging and pulling to the right.
Learning: always do a practice swim before the race, bring a towel if worried about getting cold
TRANSITION:
I ran to transition and then walked once inside to get my heart rate down. I grabbed my sunglasses (even though it was overcast, I didn’t want to risk it), helmet, put on my socks (had to sit down for this) and shoes. Walked the bike out.
Note: need to bring a small towel to wipe debris off my feet
BIKE:
The 65 year old I spoke with in the swim told me that there was a horrible hill at the start of the bike portion and she wasn’t wrong. I even saw one of those skinny dudes with a nice bike and one of those loooong aero helmets walk up the hill with his bike. The course was very hilly which meant some hellacious uphills and some delicious downhills. At some point, I was going so fast down a hill that I looked at my bike computer (at least I had that!) and it showed 37.5 mph!! I drank my water laced with coconut water to hydrate and focused on not overpushing on the bike. The two loops were complete before I knew and I got to see my husband twice, always recording and yelling “GO LISA!”. It lifted my heart every time.
While the downhills were amazing and I tried to rest my legs during them, the uphills were really hard for me and I was going very slow up them.
NOTES: the coconut water mix was great, I felt energized from it, but maybe I need to go more coconut water next time (it was only 20% coconut water and the rest regular water).
LEARNINGS: Need to practice more hills! My stupid Oakley sunglasses fogged up immediate, do not use these anymore!
On a random side note, I had to shift so much that my chain jumped off. I pulled off the course with a sinking heart since it had been so long since I did mechanical stuff on my bike. Thank heavens a person immediately offered to help me and fixed it. I thanked him profusely and then tried to find him after the race but couldn’t. Wherever you are, God Bless You, Good Samaritan. I was back on the course with less than 2 minutes lost.
NOTE: get back up to speed on bike mechanics
TRANSITION: nothing of note here, ran in, grabbed my hat, race number and changed into running shoes.
RUN:
By the time the bike ended, the day had gotten increasingly more humid. I told myself that I would walk up the crazy hills and run as much of the rest as I could. Easier said that done. My heart rate was so high (L4) and my effort level also sky high. I basically got myself through on will alone because every jog felt like a huge effort. My legs were ok shortly after the bike (those brick workouts are working!) but it was my lungs and heart that would just not collaborate. I took ran five steps and was sure they could hear me wheezing the next state over. Some people said “good job” and “keep it up” which were very nice to hear, but some told me to just “run a little bit more” WTH? People, focus on *your* race! I’m not going slow on purpose, yo!
I was definitely feeling overheated, probably dehydrated and had cramps up and down the back of my left leg. I wonder if I need to drink more electrolytes and salt? Something to try in my next triathlon.
The good: my pace (12:33 min/mile) was good and better than I’ve been doing, so I was happy with my performance. I’m amazed how quickly one loses fitness in later age. That goes to show that you should not wait to dive in. Doesn’t mean you can’t start when you’re older, but you do get slower with time and so the events will be longer. I’ve never been a fast runner, don’t get me wrong, but I was at least 2-3 min/mile faster before. My objective for the run was met, though, have “good” legs going into it (i.e. don’t blow them in the bike). My only note is that even though I drank on the bike I still had cramps. Talking about cramps. What is it about running that makes me want to run into the nearest bathroom? To my credit, I held it until I got home, but running gives me lower GI issues for sure. Something to look into as well. I did end up “wheeze talking” with another person while going through the run, which I have to say is one of my favorite parts of triathlons. When we’re all riding the strugglebus together and get to chat with someone else who is just trying to finish (“wait, did that trail marker say 1.5 miles??! I thought I was almost done! Sweet Jesus, save me”)
As I was running, walking, swimming, biking – I took time to take it all in, to look around, to smile at the beauty of the course, at the blue sky, at the enthusiastic volunteers (there is always at least one that crack me up!). To appreciate my body, my health, my strong heart and my supportive husband. I could focus on my speed, or pace, or the many (many) people that passed me, but I focus on how I feel going up the finish chute, the adrenaline that courses through me like lightning, the sheer JOY of crossing the threshold. That I made it. That I finished. There is no other feeling like it in the world.
I can’t wait to see, smell, hear, and experience the out-of-this-world JOY that I will feel when I hear Mike Reilly yells out my name, MY name -the one that has come a long way, been in so many battles, struggles, challenges, journey….MY name
“Lisa Feria, you are an Ironman”
I’m coming, Mike, just you wait.