Ironman Canada - the rest of the story

The Ironman Canada bike course is no joke. There's a lot of climbing, and most of it takes place at the end. In return for all the uphills, you are rewarded with a lot of fun descents (this coming from someone who doesn't even really like descending), and some gorgeous views. It's totally worth it.

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After my swim in Alta Lake (that you can read about here), I spent what felt like forever in transition. It was 4 minutes (which is a long time when you compare it to other people who spent closer to half that time). So that's an area for improvement, I suppose. One memorable thing from transition was that the volunteers at Ironman Canada were incredibly generous with the sunscreen. It was everywhere (see photos). I spent the first mile or two of the bike trying to rub in sunscreen while also staying upright. I was pretty successful at both of those things.

The volunteers at Ironman Canada were incredibly generous with the sunscreen. :-)

After taking care of the excess sunscreen, it was time to get down to business. My general plan for the bike was to be conservative. Pretty much everyone I talked to (and every race report I read) talked about how the climbing in the last 20ish miles of the bike can be miserable if you don't plan for it. So, I set out to ride comfortably hard and enjoy the scenery (as much as you can do that while racing an Ironman).

On my way to take in a beautiful British Columbia bike course!

The rolling swim start, combined with my fast-ish swim time meant I had pretty clear roads for the beginning of the bike. It was really nice. When we got towards the top of the Callaghan climb, I started looking for Steph (another girl in my age group). I was almost positive she was in front of me somewhere, and I was curious how far. When I saw her at the turnaround, my calculations (which are never precise when you're in the middle of racing an Ironman) told me that she was 5 minutes ahead. I didn't really do anything with that information besides file it away in my brain... because now it was time to focus on some descending.

In general, I am not a fan of going downhill really fast on my bike. But the descents at Whistler weren't too technical and were all on fairly open roads... and I actually enjoyed them!

The middle section of the bike was kind of a blur. I remember being excited that I was able to pee a couple times (I didn't pee at all at Wisconsin last year, and that was a bad sign of things to come in that race). But, mostly, I just focused on making forward progress and eating and drinking when I was supposed to.

I actually enjoyed the descents!

After descending 2000 feet, I was in Pemberton. At that point, the course is a flat out-and-back in the valley. Apparently that was the cue for every person around me to start hammering. A bunch of people passed me on that flat section, and I don't blame them. I felt good, but I knew I needed to be patient because we still had a lot of climbing left. So I focused on my race and let them all go.

There was a tailwind on the way back to Pemberton. At one point, I saw a cyclist ahead of me waving his arms and pointing. I was confused (a lot of things can be confusing in an Ironman when you're not all mentally there), but then I saw that there was a deer standing on the side of the road just ahead of me. I was going fairly fast at this point, so I just started yelling at the deer in hopes he would run away from the road and not right in front of me. It worked, and everyone who saw me but not the deer probably thought I was crazy. But they were out there doing an Ironman too, which means they're just as crazy.

Like all good things, the flat fun section came to an end and it was time to start the climb back to town. It was warm. There was a headwind. I was tired. It was hard. But I passed a bunch of the people who had gone flying by me on the flat section. It made me smile because I knew I was executing my race plan well, and that's always a good feeling.

I knew I was executing my race plan well. That's always a good feeling.

Finally we made the turn back into Whistler village, and I couldn't wait to be off my bike. But whoever designed the bike course decided to put about eight thousand turns in the last mile. After 112 miles, I just want to make it to the end without thinking. So, while all those turns probably weren't that bad, to my tired Ironman brain they were THE WORST. I started to get frustrated and every time we had to make another turn, I was talking out loud, saying things like, "are you kidding?" "really?" "gah!!!" I probably should have just looked at the course ahead of time so I would know what was coming. Oh well.

As I dismounted and handed my bike to a volunteer, I was pretty sure I was in second place in my age group. (I had gone back and forth with a few other women on the bike, but I didn't think any of them were in my age group.) But the funny thing is that I didn't focus on what place I was in. I knew I had a job to do, and it wasn't going to happen if I focused on the race other people were running. So I threw on my running stuff, got some more gobs of sunblock from the volunteers (the official race photos have some hilarious shots of me with sunblock all over my face), and I was on my way!

Somewhat awkward running photo...  

Sometimes people ask what I think about when I'm doing long workouts or races. And the answer is: not much. You can sum up my thoughts as follows: drink, get water and ice at aid stations, maintain good running form, listen to your body, smile when you see people cheering, and cheer for people you know.

What do I think about? Not much.

Like the bike, the run course at Whistler is also gorgeous. Some of it is even on dirt trails, which is a real treat. I was lucky to have a lot of people cheering for me on the run. My in-laws, my coach and her husband, my friend Kelly (who had raced the 70.3 that day), and last but not least my husband.

I might be a little biased, but I think my husband is one of the best Ironman spectators out there. He always manages to find some isolated spot on the run course to cheer from. He keeps track of where everyone else is during the race (he actually has a special notebook for this... no joke), he takes photos, and he cheers for me all at the same time. At Whistler, he even called my friend Amy on Facetime so she could cheer for me as I ran by. I am one lucky girl.

On the "path through the forest," as one of the volunteers called it

Last year, I raced Ironman Wisconsin with the goal of qualifying for Kona. This year, I was racing Ironman Canada with the goal of having the best race I could... and letting the results take care of themselves. At Wisconsin, I spent the entire run focused on other people how they were racing. At Whistler, I focused on MY race. I stayed positive and kept looking ahead towards the finish line (instead of constantly glancing back, waiting for the next girl to pass me). And that made a huge difference.

The Whistler run course is somewhat isolated, but also beautiful

Even though at points it felt like the marathon would never end, eventually the finish line was close enough to think about. I remember running through a group of spectators about a mile from the finish. Kelly yelled at me and told me I was doing great and that I had to keep going because I could hear the announcer's voice. Greg got a bunch of spectators to flap their arms and make bird noises. Lots of people were yelling my name and cheering for me.

And then, suddenly, I was all alone on a bike path. It was really weird. For a second, I thought I had taken a wrong turn. I saw another guy running up ahead of me and hoped he knew where he was going. I kept following the path for what seemed like forever, and I second guessed my sense of direction the entire way. Finally, I came to a volunteer who was pointing out the next turn. Thank goodness I wasn't lost!

Apparently, at Whistler, the same person responsible for the last mile of the bike as also in charge of the run course... because the run also made a whole bunch of turns in the last mile. This time, it wasn't so bad because I knew I was really close to being done. But it was still kind of weird having to run all around the village before they let you finish.

Finally I made the last turn into the finish chute and I smiled as I "sprinted" towards the finish. I felt like I was going SO fast (but after the race I watched a video and realized I actually wasn't... ha!) As I ran towards the arch, I tried to pick out people in the finish line crowd, but couldn't see anyone I knew (even though I was sure they were there somewhere).

"Sprinting" to the finish with a smile on my face!

I crossed the finish line and there was a wave of emotions. I had no idea what place I was in my age group (thanks to the rolling swim start and the Ironman website tracking being all screwed up), but I did know that I had finally executed an Ironman race well. And that was something to celebrate!

No better sight than the finish arch

I learned later in the day that I had placed second in my age group, which was good enough to qualify for the Ironman World Championships. I was definitely excited about the opportunity to go race in Kona this year. But, at the same time, it was hard to wrap my mind around it. Ever since Wisconsin last year, I had been focusing on the process and trying not to think about Kona Qualification. But when I actually qualified at Whistler, I wasn't quite sure what to do. (I'm writing this blog about a month before Kona, and I still don't think it's totally sunk in... and maybe it won't until the cannon fires on race day...)

Womens 30-34 podium
(huge congrats to Steph, far right, for taking the overall win!)

Like I said, my goal at Ironman Wisconsin last year was to qualify for Kona. I knew it was in my reach, so I was really bummed when I barely missed qualifying in Madison. But I'm glad it happened that way. I learned a ton of lessons from my race in Wisconsin. Had I qualified for Kona last year, I definitely wouldn't have signed up to race Ironman Canada. Whistler was a really fun race in a gorgeous location, and it would have been sad to miss out on that experience. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm glad it does!

Kona-bound!

A huge thanks to all my supporters, including: my husband Greg, my coach Alisa, Mom and Dad, Ed and Ann, Amy, Coeur Sports, Fluid Sports Nutrition, Art's Cyclery, Roka, Taco Works Tortilla Chips, and Freeplay Magazine. I couldn't have done it without you!

With my coach, Alisa Benson

I have the best husband/sherpa/photographer/cheerleader in the world!