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| Day 1 swim test |
Over the next six months, I stuck to the plan as close as possible and only missed a few workouts. I also made an effort to work on my weight and nutrition (Hello neglected mitochondria!), something that I never really focused on for previous races. Honestly, I think this helped just as much as the physical training. By race day, I was 15-20 pounds lighter than when I did IRONMAN California in 2022. I had stopped drinking any alcohol for 6-7 weeks prior to the race. I also worked on my sleep hygiene so my body had a chance to recover from the workouts. I was feeling the best I had in years!
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GEAR CHECK
I didn't buy a lot of new gear for this race but I did get a few things:
- New tires (Continental Grand Prix 5000) and tubes for my bike (better safe than sorry)
- Profile Design Heat Shrink Bar Tape (I was tired of dealing with wrapped tape coming loose)
- Zoot Elite Aero Calf Sleeves
- Fresh pair of Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 (Why not? LOL)
- Silicone ear plugs for the swim (can't stand cold water in my ears)
- The Feed running hat
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| Running gear |
PRE-RACE
TLDNR: Picked up race packet at noon on Thursday (the earliest time), spent some $$$ in the IRONMAN store, dropped bike off on Saturday around 2pm, woke up a bit earlier than planned, ate what I could, did my bible study, headed to the race.
I was awakened at 4:00am to my phone ringing. I instinctively grabbed it and flipped it around to silence the alarm. Instead of seeing the alarm, which I had not set to go off until 4:45am, I saw a message from Ring. My mind was foggy from sleep (or lack of) and I struggled to understand why I was getting this message. I listened to the voice mail and realized it was my daughter's alarm. I sent a quick text asking if she was ok. She was fine and apologized for waking me up. I told her it was OK, and actually it turned out to be a blessing. If I would have waited, I would have been pressed for time.
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FACT CHECK: It was actually 3:57am :-) |
That wake-up call was the start of my new approach to IRONMAN racing. It was going to be a long day and I was not going to fret about things I could not control. If there was an obstacle or mishap, I was just going to roll with it.
I got up, ate most of my oatmeal, sipped on a cup of coffee, and did my bible study. I thanked God for all the blessings this training season. I was feeling fit, healthy, survived the training injury free. I checked the weather and thanked Him again for the day ahead. It looked to be nearly perfect for this time of year. I wrote "Philippians 4:6" on my left hand as a reminder.
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
(IRONMAN is a long day, and letting anxiety get the best of you can zap your energy)
I had originally planned on leaving the house at 5:30am but since I was up, fed, and dressed early (wore my wetsuit pulled up to my waist), we left about 5:15am which ended up being for the best because traffic was S-L-O-W getting off of 50/I-5 and into the parking lot. I could tell that HS was getting frustrated by cars squeezing in a the last minute. I did some deep breathing and told myself that the worst case scenario would be that I had to hop out of the car and walk to transition, but I knew we had plenty of time still. I told HS "It's OK"...and it was.
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| Picture of the ball field from our stationary spot on the freeway. |
To me, everything IRONMAN California is relative to 2021, the inaugural year, the year of the Bomb Cyclone. Compared to parking that fateful morning, today's slowdown was just a minor issue. Once we were in the actual parking lot, there were plenty of volunteers guiding the way. We parked, I grabbed my "Personal Needs" bags and headed towards transition.
First stop...bike personal needs bag. It contained an extra tube and a CO2 cartridge (I had two tubes and 3 cartridges on my bike) but I figured better safe than sorry. I then dropped my run personal needs, I had an extra pair of socks, band-aids, and some Aleve. I really didn't want to put a good pair of running socks in the bag because I knew I wouldn't see them again. However, it didn't make sense, after all the time and money expended, to get cheap and worry about a pair of socks.
My final stop was my bike. I filled up the hydration bladder with Mauten Drink Mix 320 and gave my tires a squeeze. Everything was good. I double checked my run gear bag, shoes, socks, hat, running belt/bib. All good. Just to easy my mind, I walked to find my bike gear bag. Everything was still inside. I took a deep breath and went to find HS.
We walked in silence to the shuttle pick-up area. This year it seemed that there were plenty of buses. HS gave me a kiss and wished me luck. There was no point in him staying so we parted ways. I was alone in a crowd. When the next empty bus showed up, the volunteer asked that we all have our wrist bands showing and instructed us to go to the back of the bus and fill it from front to back. I watched in amusement as the first few gentlemen boarding plopped down in the first rows. So much for following instructions. LOL
SWIM
TLDNR: Crowded swim start made it impossible to get to the pace group I wanted. Asphalt walkway leading to the swim start was soaked in pee (kept my shoes on as long as possible), a little bit of nerves walking down to the water, cold fingers and toes but not for long. Remembered to go wide at the confluence. Great swim.
As soon as I stepped off the bus, I made my way to the area where the volunteers were collecting the day wear bags. I took out my cap, goggles and ear plugs and stuffed in the fleece sweater I was wearing. I put my wetsuit on the rest of the way and walked to the swim start staging area. As I approached, the staging groups moved into the corral and I could not get to the group I wanted to start with. I shrugged it off and just moved with the people around me. Eventually we stopped moving right next to the volunteer handing out timing chips.
I was surprised and mildly amused by the number of people coming up to get a timing chip. I assumed some had lost their chips since yesterday, but others simply had not picked one up (as instructed) when they dropped off their bike. Thankfully, IRONMAN does a very good job of trying to protect people from themselves and had plenty of chips available.
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| Saving the "race" day! Found this photo of the timing chip lady on the IRONMAN California Facebook group. Photo credit: Janet Kramshuster |
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| Screen grab from the swim start video on YouTube (Click HERE to watch) The race seemed to start a bit later than expected and I didn't start my Garmin until 7:42am. Since I didn't get up to my desired swim group, I did have to make my way around slower swimmers through the first two thirds of the race. The river temp seemed very similar to 2022. My feet, hands and face were chilly for a minute, but I soon was focused on nothing more than swimming. I relaxed and just enjoyed the effort and the beautiful morning. |
As I completed the American River portion of the swim, I kept my eye out for the large red buoy at the confluence (where the two rivers meet). Last time I did this race, I stupidly swam towards the buoy and then found myself a bit downstream from it and struggling to get around it. This time, I kept wide to the right.
Each time I looked up to sight the buoy, however, I was shocked to see it appear to move towards me. I had to remind myself that the buoy wasn't moving, I was. Thankfully, I had plenty of time to move around the buoy (keeping it on my left) and into the faster, chillier Sacramento River. Besides the temperature change, I also noticed a change in taste (yes, taste...couldn't seem to keep the river water out of my mouth) and smell. It seemed to be a bit like oil or gasoline. Yuck.
The sun continued to rise in the east and I was glad I chose my mirrored goggles. Before I knew it, we were being funneled to the exit ramps. The swim, my least favorite leg of the race, was over.
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| Struggling to put my Garmin back on (I wear the Garmin on the outside of my wetsuit and have to remove it to get my sleeve off) |
T1
The run to transition was much shorter than in 2022. The wet suit strippers were friendly and efficient. The volunteer struggled to remove my bike gear bag from the clip on the fence and I could feel my anxiety rise. Once I had my bag in hand, I relaxed and made my way into the changing tent. I sat down in a chair, stuffed a Maurten bar into my mouth and went about the quick task of putting on socks, bike shoes, riding glasses and helmet. I stuffed my swim gear into the bag and trotted off to my bike.
BIKE
The weather was absolutely wonderful! There was a slight breeze, but after the wind storm of 2022, it was nothing to complain about. I smiled and thanked God for the day in front of me.
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| Plenty to smile about on this ride. |
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| Besides not being allowed in an IRONMAN race, drafting could result in getting a little wet ;-) |
TLDNR: I ran. When I got tired, I walked.
For some reason, I really like the first mile where you run out and back past Drake's "The Barn". I checked my watch frequently and worked to slow down closer to a 10 minute per mile pace. The last thing I wanted to do was crash and burn.
The course went "off road" a bit as it took racers under the Tower Bridge and out along the River Walk Trail to the turn around point. After mile four, I hit a bit of a mental and physical slow down. All of a sudden, the realization that I had 22 miles to go seemed to be too much. I told myself not to worry about it and to just keep moving forward. I had no idea what my cumulative time was and I didn't care.
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| Crossing the Tower Bridge (This is a great viewing spot for friends and family) |
The course back tracked and took us over the Tower Bridge to the American River Trail. I noted that the sun was still out as I crossed the Jiboom Bridge and was happy to think that this year, the photographer would still be there when I headed out.
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| Sun is still out and I'm still running (sort of) |
The course also took us through Old Sacramento. There were plenty of spectators cheering for everyone. I loved hearing "Go 6-1-9" but it made me long for the days when our names were on our bibs. There is something about hearing someone cheering for you by name that really lifts your spirits.
The Internet had me a bit worried about the run course. I had read about people getting lost in 2023 on the run. Honestly, the "H" shaped course didn't seem that bad. The split between Lap 2 and Finish was pretty clear and I was happy to cross the half way point. The second loop went along like the first. I walked every aid station and hill. The aid stations were well stocked. My go to became chips, grapes and coke. I also had a couple of Maurten Gels (one with caffeine and one without), and a half a banana. I switched on my light (clipped on my race belt) as I headed out of Discovery Park the second time. I had less than 5 miles to go.
The last miles were a struggle. Even when I got to the point where I could see the Capitol and hear the announcer, I still walked more than I ran. I finally got to the finish line chute and ran. I tucked my glasses behind me and made sure my light was off (I didn't want to ruin the finish line pics LOL)
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| This feeling never gets old!! |
POST RACE
I waited a few strides before stopping my Garmin. At the press of the button, the watch face lit up and I saw my unofficial time...11:49:26. I did a double take and wondered if I had messed something up. My "B" goal was to try and beat my previous IRONMAN California time of 13:53:57. Based on my bike pace, I knew I was going to be able to do that. My "A" goal was to beat my PR of 12:26:39 from IRONMAN Vineman (2016). I was prepared to beat it by a couple of minutes if everything went according to plan. I never expected to beat it by half an hour.
I gathered my finisher gear and walked to find HS. He had been tracking me and let me know that I got 6th place in my age group. He was excited and so was I, even though I knew it meant I missed out getting an age group award by one spot. It's funny how the elation of a great race and achieving a time I never even dreamed of can change just by knowing that I missed an award by a minute and forty eight seconds. My mind was flooded with "what ifs". What if I ran a bit more to T1? What if I pushed a little harder on the bike? What if I hustled more in T2? What if I ran the hills instead of walk?
I reminded myself that my ultimate goal was to enjoy the day and I did. The weather was nearly perfect, the course was great, I challenged myself and I was successful. I ended the day feeling incredibly blessed not only to be able to do the race, but to make it through the months of training healthy and injury free.
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| I love our post-race photos :-) |
NOTES TO FUTURE SELF
I'm not committing to doing this again, but I'm not saying I won't. I achieved things at this race that I never thought possible. With that in mind, here are somethings I want to remind myself of "next time" so I won't waste any energy worrying about them.
- Don't start to freak out when the days leading up to the race start to get chilly.
- 4:00am is the perfect time to get up on race day. Eat breakfast, enjoy a cup of coffee and don't skip your daily bible study. It will feel cool in the house at this time, don't freak out, you will not freeze at the race.
- Don't leave the house any later than 5:00am. It's ok to be a bit early. Remember that traffic backs up at the exit.
- Don't make HS park the car. Getting dropped off is OK, there is really nothing for him to do other than fight his way out of the parking lot.
- Figure out how to protect your neck from the wetsuit...the anti-chafing stuff doesn't seem to be working! (Gross pic below)
- Check your bike and gear bags and get your butt on a shuttle.
- Wear a pair of worn out running shoes destined for the garbage can to the swim start. It will keep your feet out of the pee.
- Before you head down the trail to the swim start, dump water in your wetsuit to help pre-heat.
- You will not freeze on the bike if the temp is 65 degrees. Relax. It's a sunny course and with all the adrenaline pumping you won't feel a thing.
- Enjoy the ride, watch out for potholes and wheel eating cracks in the road.
- Try to run (even if it's slow) in between all the aid stations. You will be happier when you look back at your effort.
- Don't get bunched up at the finish so the photographer can get a good pic!
- Smile and take it all in!
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| The only thing that really hurt the day after the race. |
