Ironman Coeur d'Alene

It is fair to say that I started this race with some doubts. Coming off of Ironman Texas just six weeks earlier with a DNF and an injury to get to the bottom of, I didn't know if I would even be able to start CdA until 2 weeks out. And even then, it was a leap of faith. I hadn't been able to get the volume in that I really wanted due to my low back/hamstring problems, and I was forced to take 10 days completely off of running through the process (which I told no one but Romney and BJ). But with an army of smart, talented and all around amazing people on my team (Greg Freebairn, Dr. Drew Cooper, Tyler Hanson - PT, Jeff Sherrod and BJ Christenson), we made it to the start line.

I arrived in beautiful Coeur d'Alene Thursday before the race, after a delightful 10 hour drive from Salt Lake City - by myself. Yep, traveling solo again meant I had a lot of "me time", which is really just time to get my head in check before the big day. I had the pleasure of staying in Post Falls with the most wonderful host couple, Tom and Marie Flanagan. Not only was their beautiful home on the Spokane River with views that were to die for, it was such a pleasure visiting with and getting to know them. They were a delight in every way!

Boat ride up the Spokane to Lake CdA with Tom and Marie

Pre-race relaxing - feet up!

Race morning was the usual routine. I arrived in T1 feeling great. Pre-race nerves per the usual. I wasn't super stoked about the conditions the day was throwing our way, but no one was. The wind was brutal and the water was chop chop! It was going to be an Ironman kind of day, one that wouldn't come easy and we would have to earn. But we all had to deal with it, can't waste too much energy there. All square in T1 and I head down to the water to warm up. I jumped into that choppy water and got a good warm up in. As much as I know that these conditions will affect me more than the strong swimmers, I was ok and in a good place.

Ready to rock! Photo by Myrleen Wright

I love this swim course! It's a beach start, which is just plain fun, and it's a two-loop out and back that makes it harder for me to find myself off course. And on this day, it was a great swim for me. I know, I know, the conditions were crappy, and it wasn't my fastest. But the time doesn't tell the whole story. So I will....

The girls and I line up along the beach start line and the canon fires. We're off! So for those of you that have followed me and my races, you know that I have struggled to stay with a group in the water. I typically lose feet and end up swimming alone by the half way point. But I have been practicing drafting in the open water (thanks Kathryn for being my draft buddy leading into this race!), and I think I'm seeing an improvement.

There we go! Another great pic by Myrleen

The first couple hundred yards are a good effort, and some body contact with the other girls. But by a quarter of the way out to the first turn, the lead pack with Heather, Kelly and Jess has pulled away. I knew they would. The good news is that I'm still in a group with 3 other girls, and we have settled in to a nice pace. I'm super pumped, and absolutely determined to stay with them. It feels like a washing machine out there, but I'm hanging on. The only thing I remember focusing on at this point is feet. Don't let those feet go! We make the first turn, and then the second turn back into the beach comes quickly. After rounding both corners, I'm still with them. The way back in was still bumpy, but a little faster. I make the turn into the second lap with the girls, and back out we go for round two.

Thanks Myrleen for the pic!

The second lap was a little crazy, simply because shortly after we made the turn to start lap two, the Age Groupers were let into the water. By about half way to the turn, we were swallowed up by the super speedy male AG swimmers. I was pretty sure that would happen, and I also knew that meant flailing and flogging with those guys. It is what it is and I carry on. As I made the last turn into the finish, I found myself taking in more water than normal due to the conditions and the mosh pit of people I was in. My fingers were crossed that it wouldn't cause me stomach problems later on in the bike. Wish was granted and stomach was good all day!

All in all I'm happy with my swim. I was able to find feet and stay on them the majority of the swim. Near the end our group of 4 broke up, due to the AG swimmers. It's ok. I learned a lot and will continue to build on it. Like I said, it wasn't my fastest swim, but as I look at the numbers, I was faster than I was at Texas. There were a couple girls that were also at Texas, and they weren't faster. To me that is progress, and I'll take it!

Quick run through transition and I'm out on the bike. There's a little chill in the air, but I knew I'd warm up because this course makes you work! Like the swim, it's a challenging two-loop bike course that offers plenty of scenery. The first section of the course is right along the lake, and within the first 15 miles I passed both Jennie and Cathleen. Jennie was having technical issues with her bike. I felt bad for her, bummer! I passed back through town, and then we head out onto the 95, which is where it gets really tough. It's a solid 20 miles of climbing, straight into a fierce head wind. It's a "put your head down and go to work" kind of bike ride.

My main focus is to stay on the nutrition and stay within my limits. I rode all day alone, but was able to see where the other girls are at at each turn. After battling the hills and wind out to the turn back into town, I could see I was making up time on the girls behind me. I knew it would be a screamin' fast ride back into town, and boy was it fun! A quick pass through town again, and I got my special needs bag which had my second bottle of GU Energy Roctane drink, and more gels. Gas in the tank, baby!

Second lap was more of the same. Hills and wind. And more wind. This was hard. And it was taking a long time. It didn't take a genius to know that we'd all be out on the course a little longer than normal, but I was still picking up time on the girls behind me, so I let the clock go. Just stay on the nutrition. The climb out to the final turn back in to town couldn't come soon enough. And when it did, my oh my was it wonderful. The final fast stretch back into town, and just a marathon to go!

As I came into transition, I saw Tom and Marie and heard then screaming my name. They really are awesome! It made my day to see them. And Chrystel, the super spectator of all spectators! Thrilled to be off the bike, I ditch it to a friendly volunteer, thank them and run through T2.

Still aero....

Out on the run, back is a little tight, but I'd expect that after a bike like that. It'll loosen. Legs a little heavy, but they'll come around. I start at a comfortable pace, just trying to get the legs underneath me. The crowds through town are amazing! Super energizing and just when I needed them - that first half mile up hill out of transition. A couple miles tick by and body is feeling better. The first 5 miles were just where I wanted them - 7:30-35's. Super consistent, and I didn't want to see anything faster than a 7:30. Right on the money! Up that terribly cambered hill, ugh! At the turn around I see the other girls. I can't tell if I'm putting any time in to the girls up ahead, but I have quite a gap on the girls behind me. I like it! But I also know that Jennie can run close to a 3 hour marathon, so I have to keep the pace up.

Photo by super-spectator Chrystel

On my way back into town everything feels great, except for the normal pain that comes at this point in an Ironman. But around mile 10, I start to feel some discomfort in my feet. What?!? I'm wearing the same shoe I've had such success with at this distance. Never even a hint of this at all. After all the injuries I've battled to get back to where I am, not one of those things are giving me any problem.  It's often the things you least expect on race day that throw you a curve ball. That's Ironman. And you have to deal with it as best you can and move on. And so I did. For several miles I was able to tolerate the pain without it affecting my pace THAT much. I had slowed a bit, but not substantially.

In the hurt box!

As I made the turn back in town to start my second lap, I could see my competition. I could see Jennie was running strong and closing the gap. I still had time on Cathleen. I also saw BJ and he looked focused, but good. The second lap turned into a game of me trying to figure out what I could do to ease the pain in both feet. Wondering if I just walked through one water station while stretching my ankles and wiggling my toes - would that be enough? I tried everything I could think of, but really the only answer was to just suck it up and get to the finish. Jennie flew past me around the 18 mile mark as I shuffled along. Eventually my only goal was to hold my position and not get passed again, which I did.

I was pretty happy to see the finish, and to get off my feet. I did what I could on the day, and I'm happy. No excuses. I was fortunate enough to hold on to finish 6th pro woman and in the money. Yay! I'm thrilled to have put my first Ironman finish behind me since injury. A special shout out to all my Utah friends who were out there with a smile on a tough day, ripping it up. Your cheers and courage were awesome! And to my great friend and amazing girl Jess Smith, congrats on finishing top 3! You inspire me! Next up? Ironman Wisconsin, and looking forward to it!

Proud to be with these ladies!

Thanks to all of my supporters, and especially my sponsors who make all of this possible and so much better! GU Energy, Rudy Project, Gnarly Nutrition, Canyon Bicycles, Greg Freebairn and BodyWise Fitness. Romney and the kids, you make me want to be better every day. BJ for getting me back to a good place. And once again to the Flanagans - thank you for opening your home to me and providing me with a wonderful Coeur d'Alene experience. I hope to be back!

Taking home the hardware!

 

The Texas Double

You know the old saying... "Don't mess with Texas". Well I messed - twice! Texas fought back, and gave me everything it possibly could... Fun. Beauty. Excitement. Anxiety. Fear. Joy. Knowledge. Pain. Confidence. Gratitude. Wind. Rain. Heat. Kindness. Victory. Disappointment. Friendship. Great Food. Love. And in the end, I'm thrilled to be able to be on this journey. Even when it doesn't end the way you had envisioned it.

Let's go!

Round one was in April for Galveston 70.3. This was my first race back since injury last May. It was a "no pressure" race for me, just a good test to see where my fitness was at. But still... I was excited! I was nervous! I hoped I'd done enough!

I arrived in town Friday before the race, traveling solo for this one. I completely lucked out with the most awesome home stay. Thank you to the Amsalem Family! I didn't have to think about a thing, other than racing. Perfect!

It had been stormy for days, and the forecast predicted more of the same. Wind and rain. At the pro meeting the day before, there was talk of the possibility of the swim being cancelled. We were all praying for a swim (even me), and we got one.

I arrived at the race venue with my normal pre-race jitters. Into transition to rack my bike and get everything squared away. One last glance over everything, and I leave transition to make my way to the swim start. As I prepared to get in, I looked out into the water. Never have I jumped into such a dark and foggy Ocean before. It was intimidating, but also a little exciting. The canon fires and this party has started! The swim was rather uneventful, other than a bunch of chop and fog, and my normal "hang on for dear life and stay on feet as long as possible" plea. By the first of three turns I was alone (I know, a huge surprise!), but as I rounded the buoy, a saw a group of girls behind me. Awesome! Certainly wasn't my best swim time - 34:51 - but with these conditions and knowing there were girls behind me, I stayed positive.

Go, go, go!

Into transition with some of the girls, and bikes are still racked. I'm happy! I headed out onto the bike with a few of the girls. I never saw them again until the turn, when I was able to see where everyone was. They were not that far back, and coming. And there were plenty to chase as well. The wind was howling, and it was a cross tail wind all the way out of town. A crazy fast 28 miles to the turn, but we all knew what we had coming on the way home. Work.

First race where I could see better without glasses 

This bike ride was FUN! Despite the rain and wind, I was having a ball! These conditions don't typically bother me, as long as I'm not frozen. I wasn't cold, so life was good.  I just did what I could to settle in to my race and hopefully make up some time on some girls. After making the turn, my goal was to hold it at a steady effort all the way back home. I felt good and stayed very consistent. It took me 48 miles to catch the next girl in front of me (tells you how fast and tough these ladies are!), but I was never passed by a single person on the bike, even those speedy male age groupers. Bike split was 2:22:36, and I felt good about that. Now let's see if these legs can still run!

This run course was a spectators dream! It was 3 loops of roughly 4.4 miles each loop. And each loop had four fingers taking you out and back, you can only imagine how many times we turned around. But none the less the run was on and I felt good. Legs were there... for now.

This sign became oh so familiar!

As I ticked off the first few miles, my pace was a bit quick, and I knew it. Try as I may to back it off a bit, each mile ticked by and my pace was only but a second or two slower. I think I was just so thrilled to be back out there, I had a hard time slowing it down. And sometimes when you feel good, you just have to go with it. But as we all know, that can come back to get you later on. Ah, the lessons we learn on race day. By the half way point I had passed a few girls and was still feeling pretty good.

By about mile eight I felt my poor pacing catch up with me. Legs were starting to feel it, and my pace was slowing. I start remembering this familiar race pain, in which I was still grateful to be experiencing. By mile 11 it was simply hang on and get to that finish! The wheels came off, and it's ok. I take what I can learn and move on. Run split 1:35:02.

Photo credit: Wesley at Pro Bike Express

At the end of the day, I'm happy with my 4:35:58 and had a blast out there! The body felt good all day and no signs of any knee pain. I left plenty of room for improvement, but a good return to racing and start to my season!

I had a good solid 4 week build leading into Ironman Texas, which was next up. It included some fun spring break travel to Scottsdale, AZ with Romney and the kids and a trip or two to St. George for warmer weather training.

Just my favorites!

My recovery from Galveston and build into IM Texas went really well. I was excited. I felt fit. And after all, this is the distance I've been best at, and thus it's where my heart is. I love the challenge. I love the journey and the process. I love the battles you have with yourself, the ups and downs. I love that through the process we learn we can do things we thought we couldn't. I love the chance you get to visit the devil himself, look him in the eye, and choose to turn and walk away knowing well it's the harder path, but the only way to victory. And I love the inspiration I get from others. I was ready to return to the full Ironman distance and give it all I had.

Just before getting in the water

I was so grateful to have Romney here with me this time. I needed him! He kept my head in check and lightened everything up. He took care of everything and was there every step of the way. Being race spouse and sherpa is not an easy job, and he does it so well. Thank you my Love!

I'm out there somewhere

The Swim - oh my, what can I say?! This course was NOT best case scenario for me, but what do you do? Well, you just keep swimming. And so I did. It was a point-to-point swim broken down into three sections. A banana shaped out and back, then a hard right turn, like almost a u-turn, into a narrow canal where there were spectators on both sides. And when you end up swimming alone 1/3 into the race, you are left to navigate alone, and let's just say my open water navigation skills could clearly use some good practice. The best part of the whole swim was after making that hard right turn into the canal, I spotted Romney, and with each breath, there he was - smiling, shouting, encouraging - and taking pictures. Now this made me happy!

Just me!

Needless to say I was happy to exit the swim, and it certainly was not my best. 1:08. I entered transition with a few of the speedy male age group swimmers that had caught me, which I knew was a possibility. Time to re-group and get on the bike. Yes!

It always takes me a couple miles to get settled in and get my legs underneath me. By mile 10 I passed the next girl up. I felt good. Legs were good. Head was good.

We were pretty fortunate weather wise, temps were mild and humidity was low, unlike last year. We did have some wind to contend with on this beautiful, single loop course with rolling hills through the Texas farmlands. Like wind all day. In every direction. It certainly kept things exciting! I really only remember a short section - like 5 miles is all - around the 60 mile mark where I felt like there was a tail wind helping me.

I rode all day alone, with the exception of some packs of fast male age groupers that would pass me, then just stick themselves right in front of me and sit there. Often my only choice was to use a bullet and pass the whole bunch of them, or sit up and stop pedaling. So several times I'd make the move pass a group of 6-8, just to see them speed back up and pass me back within ten minutes. So frustrating! I was astounded at some of their disregard for rules and fair racing. I saw blatant drafting. I saw them pass each other and there was no effort to drop back to the legal distance once overtaken. I saw litter just thrown into the streets, nowhere near a feed zone. I do realize that this is not every male age grouper, but there was enough of it going on that it left a bad taste in my mouth. My goal is to race an honest and fair race, and the rules are very clear to me. There are no grey areas. I saw several red cards given, but not enough. The referees can't keep up. Enough said.

On my way out of town

Somewhere around mile 30, everything was going well when I start to feel a sharp pain going down my left leg. I don't think much of it initially, just stay on the nutrition and push forward. I have had some sciatic nerve issues in the past, after I was hit by a car back in 2011. This feels similar, and I dismiss it somewhat knowing that race day can bring out some unforeseen issues, but can usually be dealt with and you move on. So I start to look for little rollers just to come out of the saddle to change things up. I stretch when I see an opportunity. I do what I can to stay positive, and above all things, keep eating and drinking! This race is not over. I am troubleshooting in my head. I am reminding myself of other races when I haven't felt up to par on the bike, and then felt great on the run. And then somewhere around mile 70 I notice the pain has moved deep into my calf and my left buttocks is tingly and numb.

Doing everything I can to stay positive and manage the pain as best I know how, I power forward. Just at the right time, when I needed a little pick me up, I was surprised to hear Romney's voice cheering me on at mile 87. Wow! I didn't think I'd see him once I left town, but this man never ceases to amaze me. I was so excited to see him, what a great boost to help carry me through the last 25 miles of the bike. 

As I pass the hundred mile mark, my head moves on to anticipate what's coming next, the marathon. And I'm hopeful, I want to bury this little issue and move on. I top off the 1500 calories I'd already taken in with another GU Roctane, making sure I start the run topped off. My energy level and stomach were both great, thanks to my tried and true nutrition plan powered by GU Energy Labs. Could't do it without these guys! As I make the final few turns into transition, I see a few girls up ahead. Yes! I roll in just behind them and leap off my bike and toss it off to one of the awesome volunteers. These people make our races possible, and I try hard to thank as many of them as I can. Finished the bike in 5:17.

As I began my long run through transition, I realized that I not only had sharp shooting pain down my left leg, but that my low back was completely locked up. Never have I felt like this before, and I couldn't stop thinking about how silly I must have looked trying to run through T2 with my back locked up and hobbling from the shooting pains down my leg. None the less, I grab my bag and put my running shoes on. I wanted so badly to move on from the issues that had plagued me on the bike and have a solid run.

At this point, I figured my best shot of accomplishing that would be to run the first few miles relaxed and in control. Find the legs and let things loosen up. After just a few miles, I started to come to the realization that that may not happen today. This was different. I felt a severe and sharp pain, like a rope that had no give or flexibility going all the way down my leg and into my foot. I felt as if my heel was going to tear right off of my foot. At this point, I start to weigh the risk of continuing. After sitting out the entire season last year due to injury, I'm not willing to do it again. I'm heartbroken. I've never had a DNF before, and I surely didn't come to Texas for my first one. Lots of self talk going on at this point. I wrestled with myself. A lot. I cried. Yes, just past the aid station at mile 3 had tears coming down my cheeks.

As an athlete, you have to be mentally tough. We all know that it won't be easy, and we WILL push through some serious discomfort and hard times throughout the day. But this was different. This was sheer pain that I believed could have a serious consequence. Pulling the plug was without a doubt one of the hardest things I have ever done in a race. It took every ounce of mental toughness I had to accept my situation and make an educated decision.

There was a first aid tent near mile five, which is where I stopped and notified officials I couldn't continue. I called Romney on the phone, filled him in on my situation through my tears, and made a plan to meet him back at the main medical tent in transition. Once there, I turned in my chip, iced my body, and found Romney. I was so happy to see him, and for whatever reason, I needed his comfort and approval. He was so supportive, understanding and wonderful. We finished up business there and he took me out to a big, wonderful lunch.

This guy. Simply the best!

As two weeks have now passed, and I've had a lot of time to look back and reflect on the day, not once have I regretted the decision I made to pull the plug. There's no denying that I wish I wasn't in that situation. But I was. And under the circumstances, I am confident that I did the right thing. There will be more races. I am eager and excited to continue training and racing. I have been working hard to get to the bottom of this issue and continue my season.

Thanks to BJ for your ever positive attitude and constant belief in me! And my amazing sponsors, in which I could't imagine doing this without. Dr. Greg Freebairn who bends over backwards to keep me healthy, and is an absolute genious! Gu Energy that fuels me every day of my life. Canyon Bicycles keeps my bike running flawlessly with amazing service and people! Gnarly Nutrition helps me recover daily with the cleanest and best tasting whey protein on the market. I never go a day without it in something I eat or drink. Rudy Project has the best helmets and glasses in the sport! BodyWise Fitness provides the brightest, most friendly and up to date facility to do any kind of training you can imagine. I love that place! Roka for the most comfortable and fastest wetsuit out there. And ISM Saddles for making the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden. And trust me, that's important!

Must express my thanks to my four kids who are my everything and give me reason to be better every day. And to Romney, I think you all get the picture. He's an amazing dude to have as my hubs and partner in life. I'm a lucky girl, love you! There are so many others on this journey with me, and you all know who you are. My A Team. The inner circle. The ones that keep this all fun. Early morning swims, long bike rides and lots of running. Ya'll know who you are, MWAH!