On the road you chose
To find out why the winds die
And where the stories go.
All days come from one day
That much you must know,
You cannot change what's over
But only where you go.
Will you find the answer in all you say and do
Will you find the answer in you
Pilgrim in your journey you may travel long, but
Pilgrim it's a long way to find out who you are...
*WHAT* a day. It WAS epic. It WAS hard. It was one of the most rewarding days of my life.
Alarm went off at 4am, though I did not need one to get up. Slept well the night before the night before, but not surprisingly, Saturday night was tougher. Hopped in the shower, braided the hair, downed the liquid breakfast, got on the race kit, and kept waiting for the most important job of any racer on race morning to occur...not to be. :) It wasn't the first time this week my body betrayed me. But no time to keep waiting for it so we went. 
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| before the cannon, and this is only some of us |
Before I knew it, the cannon went off, and we all surged forward. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. The first 50 metres was actually okay, but then holy God...there was literally nowhere to put your arms, your feet, your head. Everywhere you looked or touched, there was another body, and hands and arms all over you. I got dunked, several times, and then swallowed a huge mouthful of water instead of air, and the panic just started to well up. Oh God, was all I could think, I'm gonna be done before I start. And then I actually truly thought there was a possibility I could drown here. I couldn't even put my head up and tread water, and forget flipping on your back - you can't even imagine - to say we were sardines does not even come close. And the adrenaline of the panic was getting stronger. I tried to settle down, but there was no relief to the chaos. Every time I got moving, someone was in my way or crawling over top of me. I thought, okay, I might actually have to find a boat to hang on to, for the first time ever in a race. I looked around, and I realized, "there is no way I can get to a boat, I can’t even SEE the boats, and there is no way they can see me...so get your shit together girl or you may actually drown here."
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| and we're off, this pic really doesn't do it justice |
And so I did. I pushed it down, swallowed it, and moved forward. And it was a good 500 metres before I could really take a full stroke. I distinctly remember seeing buoy 9 before I could take 3 full strokes in a row without hitting someone.
(see video here from this year's race http://youtu.be/tD-QdcWBMEk and this is 1650m in when we've already spread out quite a bit)
It did get better, and I got into somewhat of a groove. I still got dunked, groped, kicked, elbowed, and otherwise manhandled, but I made it to the first turn. And it wasn't that bad actually. The top end of the triangle was short - only 450m - and the beating continued, though I was able to get into some sort of a rhythm again. A few times I actually thought I could be walking out of this with a bloody lip or a black eye. The second turn was pretty funny really - the swimming stopped, the heads went up, and everyone just treaded water and the conveyer belt of IMC pulled you around the turn. I waved to the divers that were hanging out below the buoy (where were they at the start?!), and then I was off. The final leg, about 1800m, was a lot better. While the first half had been about sheer survival, now I could focus on form, and hear Tracy's voice in my head. I actually was swimming on the inside of the buoys, with a sighting point of the condos on the beach. We were pretty much swimming into the sun so seeing the actual buoys was pretty tough. I realized that I was feeling really very good. This was a huge relief since one of my worries leading into the race was that I had not gone that distance in open water before, and I wasn't sure how I would handle it. Here I was about 3/4 done, and I was not even tired! I managed to look at the garmin, and saw 1:05:00. So I thought, okay, my goal time is still possible, and I'm feeling really good, so let's turn it up. And I did. I got out of the water and was feeling pretty happy. Goal time in the swim was 1:15, and I got out in 1:18. Given the start of that swim, I was happy with that. Would love to know what my time would've been if I could have actually swam in the first 500 metres!! The best part really was that I was feeling fresh and ready to get on the bike. Hell, I was still alive!!
I slipped and fell on the way through the swim exit, it was very muddy, but got right back up and found two strippers. Wetsuit was off before I knew it, and I ran for my bag. Unfortunately I started to run for my Run Bag, DOH!, but realized it before I was all the way there ;) and turned around to grab the right bag. Quickly into the changing tent, and found a spot on the grass. Before I even knew it there was a volunteer beside me dumping the rest of my bag out for me. As I was putting on my socks, she was reaching around me to snap on my race belt, and getting my sunglasses ready. Helmet on, and I was off to grab my bike. Out of transition in 1:21:xx! So, a little slower on the swim than I wanted, but transition was quicker than I'd allowed for, so overall I was ahead of the plan. Great way to start a 112 mile bike ride!
Heading out through town there were a lot of spectators. Turns out that Kayla, Mum and Aunt Pat were out there but I never saw them. I was pretty focused. Kayla got a great picture of Chris and me on the way back though! At this point there are so many racers, that people are riding 4 and 5 abreast. I was passing most of them so I hung out on the left side. About 4 miles in, I was caught in between riders on both sides of me, and I had to ride over two bumps - couldn't avoid them. BOTH nutrition bottles jettisoned. Thank GOD I looked back and realized the noises were my bottles. That would have been a disaster. I thought about it for a split second, and realized I had to turn around to get them. If it had been later in the race, or if I had lost only one, I probably would have kept going. As it was, I pulled over, turned around, and of course they'd each gone to opposite sides of the road. Took a good 60 seconds or more to find a big enough gap to get across the oncoming cyclists, and so all in all I probably lost 2 minutes there. But I got back on and got going. First real climb of any kind was McLean Creek Road. Nothing really compared to what we've been riding, so I just got'er done. Lots of flats out there, as was to be the story of the day, and we found out later talking to our favourite server Julie at Camp Creek Station in Naramata that someone out there had poured a box of tacks on the road – yes, seriously – tacks!! – many of the pros got flats going through that section. Fortunately they'd cleaned up most of it before we got there. Some people just don't have a clue. I just kept thinking to myself...okay, Matt sent me his best mojo and it is here in the form of a magical bubble around my tires...no flats for me today.
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| Chris on the way back into town |
With that out of the way we were into the fastest part of the ride. A general downward slope out to Osoyoos. Man it was awesome! First of all, the scenery is just spectacular. And I averaged almost 23 mph through this section. I had hoped to be at the bottom of Richter in about 2 hours, and I made it in 1:53. Ish. Since I had messed up my garmin - damn that multisport mode - I'd had to finagle things a bit. At the start of the bike, I ended up in T2 on the watch, and I couldn't get any actual data, so I had stopped it at 2:00 total time and restarted it, knowing I could just add 2 hours to the overall time to know where I was at. Hence the 'ish'.So I started up Richter. This was the first place I really noticed the wind. It was pretty strong, so knew it was gonna be a bit of a bitch going back into town. But as I said in an earlier post, all the training rides that Chris had me doing absolutely, unequivocally, prepared me for this. None of this course scared me, since we had done much harder in tougher conditions, all summer. I thought of Kevin and Klafter, and said okay Richter, today you are MY bitch, and off I went.
Halfway up Richter Pass was the first timing mat, and I had averaged 19.1 mph, including most of the climb. Then a quick downhill, and up again to the top of Richter Pass in about 30 minutes. The crowds there were great. Support throughout the course was fantastic. Then it was the downhill - which was not as fast as the practice run on Thursday thanks to the headwind. I topped out around 39 mph, with an average of only 25, which is kinda surprising for me – one of the Flying Foreigners ;) …goes to show how strong the headwind was. And the crosswinds were pretty strong too, grabbing the race wheels, and really preventing me from staying in the aerobars; I was on the hoods for most of the descent. Up again on Richter Mountain, and the final Richter downhill into the Bitches. It was exhilarating, and I think at this moment I yelled out "Damn! I'm doing an Ironman!! F'Ya!!". But it was only 3 hours into the day, and I still had a long way to go, so on with it girl.
I moved into the Seven Little Bitches (properly known as the Seven Sisters) and before I knew it they were done. Richard passed me right at this point, interestingly at exactly the same spot that we had stopped our training ride! We did a quick high five, and then got back to racing. The next stretch was another relatively flat section with a slight uphill bent to it, and I was able to keep aero the whole way and really fly through here. My nutrition was going well and according to plan. The Infinit was working, and I was getting as much extra water as I could. Through every aid station I grabbed water to dilute my Infinit (which I mix at triple strength so I can carry everything I need in two bottles), and more water to dump on me to stay cool. It was a hot day, and getting hotter. I think it got up to 96 degrees. In retrospect, I am sure cooling myself was part of my success. The volunteers were great; I just shouted for water, pointed at the volunteer I was aiming for, and they got it into my hands every time but once. And if I wanted one to dump, I just shouted for no lid, and I got it. They were fantastic. The out and back section was the least fun of the bike course, didn't hate it but sure didn't love it. A lot of up and down, rougher road, and a couple of very narrow hairpins, both of which I had to unclip to get through. It was very hot in through there, not a lot of air movement. I didn't do a bike special needs bag, so I didn't have to stop there, and surprisingly there were no timing mats throughout. Side note to IMC - really need to put out more timing mats throughout the bike and the run for all the people who are following online.
Finally through the out and back, I headed towards Yellow Lake. I was actually really shocked when I got to the 90 mile mark...the time seemed to have gone so quickly! Sounds crazy, but it really did - all I can remember thinking is Damn! 90 miles already??! I think it was at this point that I started thinking I might make my 6 hour goal on the bike after all. It was completely doable, and only Yellow Lake stood in my way. The climb is a long one, though most is not that steep. I made it up, and the crowds up there are fantastic. Truly remarkable. The cheers and support were great, and with your name on your race bib, it was nice to get called by name through that climb. Though honestly, after climbs like Brasstown, Wolfpen, Cherahola...this was not THAT hard. Over Yellow Lake, and now the sweet reward, but sadly the wind was really very strong, and I did not get the 45+mph out of it that I should have been able to. Garmin shows a peak speed of 53.7 mph, but that was only for a second, and I only averaged about 21 mph here! Crazy slow for me coming down a mountain like that, and I was even working hard at it, too. Heard this from many people the day after the race as well – the wind just made you stand still. Bummer too, because it cost me my 6 hr bike. I was alone for that descent, and able to stay aero for most of it, since there wasn't too much by way of crosswind, mostly just head on. The hardest part of the bike was the last 5 miles, straight into the north headwind barrelling right at us down Main. Damn! All I could think was so much for the recovery after Yellow Lake to get ready for the run, but I slogged through it. Best part was actually getting to see Z as I pulled into town, around the 3.5 mile run mark for him. I was only figuring on being able to see him once, on the middle part of the run where we would pass at some point, so this was an added bonus. I did my best to drink more fluids in that last hour, since I still hadn't peed, but my stomach was getting full and I was mindful of not wanting the sloshing at the start of the run. I'd taken in all the planned calories, and a ton of water, so I was in the best place I could have been for nutrition I think. I reached transition with a 6:08 bike, not bad considering the bottle fiasco, the headwind, and the fact that I am still not in top condition from the iron thing.
My pattern was to run through the aid station about halfway to the water, then grab, walk, drink water, couple squirts of gel, drink water, pour water over head, dump ice into sports bra and hat, pour water over head, and get running again well before the end of the aid station. I did this for 9 miles. And with the exception of one pretty solid hill (which I ran 70% of), I ran the whole time. It was hot hot hot. Hottest part of the day out on the first half of the run, with no cloud cover, Lake Skaha bouncing the rays right up onto you, and the hills on the other side keeping the heat in. I could feel the sun burning my skin, but there was nothing to be done. My job was to keep my body cooled so my hr didn't rise, to keep running, and to stay as hydrated as I could. Thank God for being a girl needing a sports bra - I was able to keep ice with me for at least a half mile after each aid station. I would chew it, and hold it in my hands to keep them cooling. There was one or two with no ice, but I managed through those ones without it. It started to feel a little harder moving into mile 10. I was unbelievably surprised that I'd had such a great first 9 miles. Based on some of the training runs, I was worried I would be hurting by mile 4 or 5, or possibly worse. And even at mile 10 it was nothing I couldn't get through, just felt a little harder. My pace did slow a little, but I was still running every mile, and following my plan otherwise. Looking at the garmin data, I slowed to a 9:54 from 9 thru 13. At this point I had also started to expect Chris to pass me. I figured he'd gained another few miles since I'd seen him on the bike, though he'd have had to come up through the big hills, so he should be about 6 miles in front of me. That meant I should have passed him somewhere between mile 9 and 10. I didn't see him. Another mile went by. Still didn't see him. I started thinking I might be able to pee, but no way was I gonna be in the loo and miss him. So I kept running. Finally saw him at around mile 11.5, was very relieved. He said he was having a bad run, but to keep going. We high-fived, or whatever you might call what we were actually able to do at that point in an Ironman, I continued, and at that point was not gonna stop till I hit the turnaround. I got there in 2:04, a little slower than I really wanted, but honestly at this point, I knew there was no doubt I would finish, and that my 12 hour goal was mine to lose.
The hills back out of OK Falls are tough. Really tough. I had grabbed my special needs bag though I did not stop running. Strange they did not have an aid station there, which meant no water with which to swallow my ibuprofen or salt tabs. But I needed them, so I managed without the H2O. And I started the climb, back out of the OK pit. It sucked, big time. I think I ran at least half of the tough hills, and ran all of the more gradual hills - the Shiloh running sure did help with that. Back up at the top and by this time it was getting tougher and I was just constantly focused on THIS MILE. Chris’s voice was just there the whole time, all his advice and wisdom kicking in. He has said these things to me so many times, and that’s okay, because that’s what you need when you get to this point. Ok, you're running mile 15, all we care about is this mile, just get to 16. I stopped to pee somewhere around here I think and I was WAY dehydrated. 20 seconds and back to it. OK, you're running mile 16, just get to 17. My walks through the aid stations started getting a little longer, but I would not allow myself to walk past the garbage can at the end of the station. C'mon Katie Girl, I told myself. You've got this, your 12 hours is yours if you want it. So I kept on.
Mile 19 was my toughest mile. Garmin tells me I was down to an 11:00 pace, very slow for me. That's when I started to really really hurt. My little grunts (Colleen you know what I'm talking about) started, the ones where I am hurtin’ bad and putting everything into keeping it going, even though my body is crying out to just stop. I was telling my brain to shut up, and I wasn't sure who was going to win the fight. At this point, some guy fell in beside me, and we ran together. Same pace, same footfall, almost like we were the same person. I never looked at him, we didn't talk to each other, we just ran. I figure he was in the same place I was. My grunting stopped. I could feel myself find some kind of peace in the fellowship of shared pain. I didn't have the spare energy to even turn my head to look at him, nor did I want to ruin the rhythm he'd helped establish. All I know is he had yellow and lime green on, I could see it in my peripheral vision, and he got me through that mile and a bit to the next aid station. I didn't even get to say thank you, but THANK YOU, whoever you are, because that was just what I needed. It could have been a very different race for me without that mile with you. I lost him at the aid station, where I did not even stop. I couldn't. It hurt too much to get going again. For the next quarter mile, I kept hoping he'd find me again, every set of footsteps behind me I hoped for the yellow and green, but alas, no. Next few miles I had Vogel on the brain, trying to make mine a goldfish brain just like she said. I didn't stop through the next aid station either, just kept running.
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| Chris coming into the finish with the belt move .. lol |
Mile 20 was an amazing 9:30 pace, and it included a fair hill. Stopped to pee again though it turned out to be a waste of 20 seconds with only a mere drop showing for my effort of sitting down (ouch). I don't think I stopped again from there on out. I passed the neighbour from our house rental, who I'd also seen on the way out, and they cheered loudly for me. All I could say was "what time is it??!!" and when he told me, I knew 12 hours was achievable, and at that point my calculations told me I might even do under 11:50. That last hour I was really not able to take in any more nutrition or fluids. At each aid station I took a sip of coke, 3 pretzels, and another sip to wash it down, but that was it. Start of Mile 23, and I'm still pushing, I think here is where I heard that Sister Madonna had missed the bike cutoff by 2 minutes. I teared up at that. Some crazy girls out there singing a song that made me laugh. Passed a family and a little girl was playing up on the lawn, I called out "hey honey give me a high five" and she ran over to slap my hand. Another runner came past me and said "She's gonna talk about that for a long time". And I kept going. Then finally, back on Main. Almost there. I was hurting bad, but I was still running. No DAMN WAY was I stopping now. No way was I walking. Just kept running. Kept turning the feet over. I was pretty much on auto-pilot, which is I guess what I trained for, right? Teach the body to just do it. Even when it doesn't want to. It was all the way in or bust. I'm sure my face was a picture of pain. But the supporters were still there, cheering for me, calling my name. Got a little teary a few times, but never broke down. (did enough of that in training). Some people say they don't like them calling out your name at that point, but I did...it really helped. Mile 24.5 or something close, Chris was there on the corner - you're doing great he said, and he looked at his watch, you are doing REALLY great!! He ran beside me for about 50m, squeezed my neck and said "You're gonna beat all the guys...see you at the finish line", and he ran off. At this point all I could say was "what time is it, what time is it" and keep my legs moving. I managed to pull in a 9:30 pace for the last two miles. I saw Jenann as I started the final out and back stretch of misery that they put you through at IMC. But that stretch of road was chockfull of cheering spectators and it was good. I picked up the pace a little, FINALLY got to the turn around, started running toward the finish. Someone said, "Get ready to smile Katrina, you are going sub 12, and the cameras are waiting". Saw Jenann and Stephen. Both of them ran with me for a few short paces. And then, Oh My God, then I was in the chute. I had done it. I HAD DONE IT!! I came in strong, and I heard my name. I crossed the mat, saw Chris, got through the tape (which I started to grab and wasn't sure I was allowed to...damn wish I'd done just that for the picture), and threw my arms around Chris. Definitely bawling!!! He got to put the medal around my neck which was just AWESOME. Perfect ending to a great race. I'm kinda crying right now re-living it. Really really special to have him there and be able to get my medal from him, my AWESOME COACH, best coach ever.
We walked through, got a photo, they asked if I needed Medical, and I didn't think so. So we pushed through. Couldn't eat anything yet. Found Kayla and Mum and Aunt Pat. All were crying. Leona and Shona had been calling and texting all day. I later read all the texts that Leona had sent to Mum, and man, I gotta say thank you for following me like that! You were a great play-by-play reporter for me, and for Chris and Richard too!! It was a real hoot to read through them the next day.
We walked around to the bleachers to watch Rich come through, and then I started to feel pretty bad. Very very dizzy, had to lay down, and Chris said, nope you need to go back to Medical. So Kayla took me back. I was able to walk there, but once I got there, I went quickly downhill. I could no longer sit up and my hands were all numb and tingly. They took me in and laid me down, put a blanket on me, and then my arms started to shake. Couldn't feel my hands at all. Doc said it was from the altered breathing, and it messes up the pH balance in the blood, or something like that. Arm and leg shakes were getting pretty big. I tried to control it and was able to a little, but it was hard. My core temp was 34-something (around 93-94 F), and my blood pressure was 95/50...yikes. Even for me that is low. So in went the IV, which hurt like a MF'er, and some anti-nausea stuff. I couldn't warm up though. They went for my dry clothes. Dr Peter came back and asked if they'd brought the heating blocks and I said no, so he got me some. That helped, a lot, and the big shakes stopped, but I was still cold. I think I snoozed for a couple minutes (or possibly longer), and then the doc came back and said, okay we need to get you into dry clothes. By that time most of the IV had gone in, and I was feeling a lot better. The clothing change was well orchestrated by them in there, not too easy in that wide open space, though I certainly didn't give a damn who saw me, I just wanted out of my wet cold clothes!! Once I was dry, I was feeling miles better. One of the volunteers came by to see if I could go yet, and said that Chris and Richard were waiting for me. The doc asked for one more temp to be taken, and the nurse is like, I just took her temp - it's 35. And he said, one more, it'd be nice to release her with a temp over 35 (95F, still way low). 35.1 was the reading, so he looked at me and said, OK, I'll let you go, but you have to promise me you are going straight home. I crossed my heart, and got to go. I had missed Rich's finish :( so had been in there for quite a while - I'm guessing about an hour or so? They told me I didn't need my sunglasses anymore, at any rate! Hugs from Chris and Rich as the volunteer passed me off to them. We grabbed a few slices of pizza, which tasted great, got another "official" pic, and we went to get our bikes and transition gear.
And then we headed home. Sat with the neighbours for a bit and talked about the race. Went round to our local pub, Camp Creek Station, where we'd become regulars (lol) and Julie was there. They were closing up, but she of course let us in, gave us all a hug, and poured us a beer. Kitchen was closed, but such a sweetheart, she offered to pull together some nachos. Another patron, not sure if he was one of the cooks, or just a friend, said to her that he'd go into the kitchen and whip up some real nachos, and he did! How amazing. And btw, the burgers here are the best burgers I've had in a long time. We watched the end of the Race - which they broadcast on local TV all day - and then went home.
Sat and read all the amazing messages from everyone on facebook. I can't truly express just how much they mean to me. The support was overwhelming! I really did feel the support and energy from every one of you out on that course, and it's just such an amazing thing to know how many of you were following us and cheering us on. I am very touched by all of the congratulations and well wishes. Thank you so very much.
So final analysis - 11:54:01, splits of 1:18:45/3:25/6:09:13/3:45/4:18:53. 18th in my age group, which is better than top 10%!!! When I started this, I hoped to be top 20%, which I thought was a stretch for a distance I've never done, and so I am ecstatic with the time and the placement. Top 22% overall in the race – male and female all ages. Considering that I was not in top condition going into this race (iron def.), the wind, and the crazy swim start, I am pretty pleased with my performance. It makes me wanna race again! Now! :)
So final analysis - 11:54:01, splits of 1:18:45/3:25/6:09:13/3:45/4:18:53. 18th in my age group, which is better than top 10%!!! When I started this, I hoped to be top 20%, which I thought was a stretch for a distance I've never done, and so I am ecstatic with the time and the placement. Top 22% overall in the race – male and female all ages. Considering that I was not in top condition going into this race (iron def.), the wind, and the crazy swim start, I am pretty pleased with my performance. It makes me wanna race again! Now! :)
As I've always said, to anyone that has asked and many who haven't, Chris may push me hard, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Sometimes I don't know if I can keep going during some of the training sessions, and especially towards the end of the training for an A race I often doubt my ability to even do the race, never mind do it well. But Chris never doubts me. And what I know for sure is that he always gets me there. And this was just one more huge demonstration of his coaching skills. After 3 years, he knows me, he knows how my body will react and how my mind will react, and he knows when enough is enough and when I'm just saying it is but there's more to squeeze out. I never thought in a million years that I would be able to do an Ironman. Chris, thank you for getting me here. Thank you for everything. You are a total kickass bad ass coach, and I luv ya for it. ...and I know you limited me to 5000 words, but I just couldn’t do it. ;)
A good friend sent me an email and made this statement, very much a mirror of what Chris has always said to me: "Set a vision, put up with lots of pain and drudgery and wondering wtf am I doing this for? and then figuring out 'I did it, I really did it...did I really do it?'. Nobody can ever take the accomplishment away, ever. Forever an Ironman. There should be inner peace from here on out that 'yes I can' is real and not just a slogan." Couldn't have said it better, Murph.
It WAS a long way to find out who I am. I learned a lot about myself. Today, I am an Ironman. Forever an Ironman.
Happy Training everyone...and thanks for reading
Kat
