The adventures of a marathon/triathlon athlete who is not built like a marathon/triathlon athlete. I may not be as fast and good looking as other runners, but I still finish. Like a bulldozer in an F1 race.
This race was a deferral from Washington 70.3 2021, which was a deferral from Coeur d'Alene 70.3 2020. And after my poor performance at Victoria 70.3 I was treating this as my 'vindication' race.
Jen and Thomas were going to come with me, but decided to stay home to visit with family. As much as I would love for them to be there, this did solve alot of logistical issues that come with travelling to a race with a toddler.
I drove down Friday night and went straight to the Ironman Village for athlete check-in. I was going to get everything done as soon as possible so I could rest and not have to rush all day like in Victoria.
After check-in, I went to the hotel. I was starting not to feel well. I had been battling a cold all week, and now I could feel a migraine coming on. I checked into the hotel, unpacked, ate, the went straight to bed.
Saturday morning I was feeling better, but still had a lingering headache. The only plans I had for the day were bike drop off and the athlete briefing, then I could rest all day.
With the first athlete briefing not until 11am, I decided to drive the bike course. I don't normally do this but I did for 2 reasons; I wanted to know where the 'big hill' was and I wanted to scope out the downhills, to see what wheelset to use.
The bike course was beautiful. The first section comprised of slight rollers that lead into flat farmland. Then the big hill on 218 Ave. It was not steep, just very long. I had done a similar climb during the Tour de Cure about a month ago. The second half was hilly and curvy. I determined that the descents never put me in danger of cross winds at speed and decided to keep my 40mm wheels on my bike.
Once back at Ironman Village, I checked my bike in and headed to athlete briefing. Afterwards I went and bought by race sticker and a hoodie. I don't usually buy merch on the day, but this was a very nice color and it has my name on it.
On the drive back to the hotel I stopped at a grocery store and got food for lunch and dinner. Back the hotel it was rest up, eat, and try and get rid of the returning migraine. Surprisingly, I was able to take a 2 hour nap that afternoon.
Around 7pm, my head was feeling fine and I organized all my gear. I set my alarm for 3:30 am and went to bed,
But I never slept.
For some reason I could not sleep. At all. I tried every trick in the book and no luck. The time was now 2:30am and my alarm would be going off in an hour.
I made the decision right then and there... I am not doing this.
I am going to get up, pack, drive to the race, turn in my chip, grab my bike, and drive home. No way, I am not racing with no sleep and the off chance my migraine would return mid race.
Resolved to not race, I managed to get about 45 minutes of sleep. My alarm went off at 3:30am and I got up, packed, drove to the race, turned in my chip, grabbed my bike, and drove home.
Well, thank for taking the time to read this race report, stay tuned for......
My alarm went off at 3:30am and I sat in bed thinking, 'What a waste of a trip if I go home now. I already have my race shirt, a sticker, and a finishers hoodie. Would I be able to wear those? Would I feel right wearing them?'
I sat and thought, OK what is keeping me from doing this?
No sleep. Well I don't feel tired so that is not really an issue right now.
You could get a migraine again. Well I don't have a migraine or even a headache right now.
I decided to take a hot shower and see how I felt. Then I decided to gear up, then see how I felt. I then resolved to at least start the race and see how it went. If I had to pull out for whatever reason, at least I can say I started.
I loaded up the car and drove the dark and rainy highway to the race start. Luckily the rain stopped in time for it to not factor into the race at all.
I parked and walked to transition. As usual I took my time setting up transition and took the time to chat with my neighbours. I earned some race karma by letting them use my tire pump.
After staring at my transition area, I realized there was nothing more I could I do, so I did my transition walk through and then started toward the water.
I did do one more thing before leaving transition, Those who ready my Victoria 70.3 report may remember that I wanted to get a new tri suit that made it easier to go to the bathroom. I stopped off at a porta potty to test the suit (both 1 and 2). It worked great.
I had originally heard there would be no swim warm up, so I only put on the bottom half of my wetsuit. As I walked to the swim start my feet where starting to get very cold. I found a spot near the washroom that was paved hoping it was warmer. When I rounded the corner, I saw a few athletes in the water doing a warm up swim. I put on the rest of my suit (getting a needed assist from a fellow athlete to get zipped up), and started to make my way to the water.
Once my feet were in the water, I realized that the water temperature was warmer than the air temperature. I was not going to do a warm up swim. If I did, once out of the water the near 45 minute wait would be freezing.
I made my way to the swim start line up and seeded myself in the 43-46 minute swim time. I chatted with several athletes. Some were doing their very first 70.3, others were seasoned veterans like myself. I even met 2 athletes who will be in Arizona doing their first Ironman along with me!
The start gun went off but we still had some time before it was our turn. We cheered as the first swimmer came out of the water and through transition and before we knew it, it was our turn.
The Swim
As the sea of athletes narrowed, the music was loud and the volunteers energetic. The rolling start was releasing 2 athletes every 5 seconds. I walked up the volunteer who gave me a fist bump before signalling me to start my race.
I walked into the water (past the swimmer ahead of me fiddling with their watch), dove in and I was off.
The water was nice and warm and had a bit of weeds in it, but it soon dropped off to 'clear' water. The start of any race is always crowded. I stayed calm as I swam by a few people and headed to the first buoy.
The buoys heading out were yellow and very easy to see, but the turn buoys were dark red. Against the dark green in the early morning light, it was sometimes hard to see the red turn buoys.
As we passed the first turn buoy, the pack began to spread out. I was able to keep my sighting pattern and my line (both of which I am now famous for amongst my Coach Stewart peers).
Halfway to turn 2, it began to get crowded again. I suspect those who started off too fast were slowing and those better paced were catching up. I was cut of several times by zig-zagging swimmer, something I am all to familiar with by now. I stayed calm and moved out of their way.
I took turn 2 very tight and began to swim to turn 3 (or the 'toe'). Around the toe (turn 3 and 4) it got very crowded. This was the halfway point and people were starting to fade.
Turn 5 was interesting. In order to keep us in the 'boot' shape of the course, we had to swim to the right of turn 5. There was a long, orange, hot dog shaped buoy leading to the red turn buoy. If the orange hot dog did not clue you in, there were lots of volunteers on SUPs yelling directions.
On my first sighting pattern after turn 5, I could see all the orange buoys leading to the swim out were lined up perfectly with the Lake Wilderness Lodge. It was a large white building on a hill, an easy sighting target.
The second half of the swim seemed to go by faster than the first half, but more crowded. Turn 6 was another left turn with a hot dog buoy. Once past that, it was one orange buoy then the swim exit.
As I approached the last buoy, I could see the bottom of the lake. I was sure I would see people start to walk as soon as it was shallow enough. To my surprise there were only a few people who stood up too soon. I did my usual and swam all the way up onto the shore, popped up and the swim was done.
The way to transition was lined with cheering spectators. While walking at a good speed I began to take off the top half of my wetsuit. I stayed to the right to let those who chose to run though transition by.
While I (more than most) know not to judge athletes by their appearance, I could not help but look at a few of those running past me and think, 'I beat him out of the water?' A small confidence boost for sure.
As I entered transition I walked around the bike stands and to my bike. I had scoped out my landmarks the day before and new I was in Row D, on the left just after the first set of supports.
I did my 'under control' transition, not too slow but not so fast to forget or rush anything. I have a rear, saddle mounted bottle that usually gets in the way when unracking my bike from transition. If no bikes are next to me I can usually tilt my whole and get it through, but this race I tried something new. I have since changed the pads on my aero bars to be the much longer Tririg Scoops, so I left my bottle on one of the pads and put it in the rear cage after I unracked my bike. It worked pretty well.
I made my way to the bike out across roots and then eventually pavement. I walked through the mount line and immediately moved up and to the right (to be out of the way of other athletes) as I mounted my bike.
Then I was off!
The Bike
The way out onto the bike course was once again lined with spectators cheering. Once out of the Lake Wilderness Park area the course was very crowded. I had to slow a few times to avoid drafting/blocking penalties.
There were a few rolling hills at the beginning, but it was a good warm up. The course soon flattened out. Based on my recon the day before, I knew the first loop would be flat. But I also knew a big hill was coming and that the second loop was hilly. I was sure to pace myself accordingly.
Once at SE Auburn Black Diamond road we had a great view of Mt. Rainier. We took a right on the roundabout and started the first loop with a good net downhill that lasted almost 12k. On one of those descents I hit 60 kph and did not even know until I looked at the data while writing this!
At 23k the course took a sharp left onto SE Green Valley Road. As I turned a could see several athletes on the side of the road fixing flat tires.
From here to 36k was flat farmland. The bike course was a mix of Victoria 70.3 and Muncie 70.3. I stuck with my plan if not pushing too hard on the flats to save for the hilly second half.
At one point during this section I looked up and could see I was in a string of athletes all going the same pace (but keeping with legal draft distance) and it looked exactly like those pro photos you see from Kona.
Then at 36k, we made a left turn and onto 218 Ave. I shifted to my easiest gear and took the hill nice and easy. I saw a few people get off their bikes and walk. I made a note of their kit and hoped to see them finish.
As with most uphills, I was passed by alot of people. But all of them were very encouraging as they passed. At one point I jokingly called out, "Don't you all know we still have a run to do?!'
About 2 kilometers later we were at the top. I chanted my 'top of the hill matra' from my coach, 'No reward at the top. Just recovery."
The course continued to climb, but at a much more gradual rate. Soon we turned right back onto SE Auburn Black Diamond Road and were back at the roundabout from earlier. The flat(ish) first loop was done. Only 50 kilometers to go.
At 41k there was a short but very steep hill. There were jokes about would we rather a long gradual hill or a short steep one? Well.. This course had both.
At 50k we ride over the Green River Gorge and I posed for what could arguably be my new favorite race photo.
There was a small out-and-back up Enumclaw Franklin Road. I knew from the drive the day before that this road was rough, but was not prepared for what we saw. As we climbed up, we could see a minefield of not just rough road but lost water bottles strewn along the descent. As we climbed, I called out warnings to those coming down the hill, "Watch for bottles! Lots of bottles! Watch for bottles!' The athlete in front of me said I was earning my race karma points. I just didn't want to see anyone hurt.
We made it to the turn around and it was now our turn to run the gauntlet. I descended very carefully and offered up encouragement to those on the climb.
It was a shame that downhill was so treacherous, we could have use that speed to get up the punchy hill as we turned onto Green River Gorge Road.
It is hard to get into specifics on the next section of the course as it was a series of rolling hills and fun curvery bits. It was definitely not a boring course and kept us well engaged.
On the hilly sections I was sure to build good speed and use that to get up the next hill. According to my data I hit 63 kph at one point.
At around 81k, the course flattened out a bit and I had some fun riding in aero for that long stretch. We crossed Highway 169 and took an immediate left onto Witte Road. This was the section I missed when driving the course the day before so it was an unknown. But I knew we were close to the end.
This section of the course was closed to traffic so I could just focus on power/pacing. There was a punchy climb at 86k and I could hear athletes around me groan exclaiming, "I thought we were done with hills!" I responded, "I always assume there is one more hill. That way I am never surprised/disappointed." We had a good laugh and made it to the top of (what was indeed) the last hill.
We rode past the parking lot where we all parked, went through the roundabout, and then back to transition.
I was feeling the same knee pain I did in Victoria and was worried about the run, but by the time I made it to the dismount line, the pain was gone. I was feeling good and was very curious to see how my legs would feel on the run.
I walked along the pavement very gingerly, The bike shoes can make pavement feel like ice, especially if your legs are not quite working.
Every. Single. Spectator cheered for me. Every single one. It was a great feeling.
I made my way to my transition area, racked the bike, and got ready for my run.
I needed to use the washroom and knew where the porta potty was from earlier, but chose to use the ones on my way out of transition. Time to test the new suit in race conditions. It worked great and soon I was exiting transition.
The Run
I started my run nice and slow (aka walking). I wanted to ease into it. I took a gel and some hydration and made my way around the concessions/bathroom building. After about 5 minutes I started to get into my run. As usual, I stuck with my 10 and 1 run/walk strategy as it continues to work best for me.
About 3/4 of a kilometer in, we hit a small uphill that took us onto the Green to Cedar Rivers Trail. I made a joke to the volunteer saying, "I was to understand there would be no more hills." She shrugged and said, "I've heard that joke alot today."
The trail was very nice and very similar to the Richmond Dyke which I run in training. At 1.3k we went through a tunnel that took us under Witte Road. The overpass was full of spectators cheering us on.
We ran through 2 more tunnels before coming to a small downhill at 3k. We then turned right to start the first of 2 out-and-back sections.
I love out-and-back races. The encouragement and comradery shared between those going out and those coming back keeps the athletes engaged and adds to the overall atmosphere of the race.
I was surprised how good my legs felt at the start of the run and saw that my pace was pretty quick. I decided to keep with what felt good and not worry about speed (fast or slow). Obviously for Ironman Arizona I will pay close attention to pacing, but for the 'short' 21k I was doing today, I knew I would be fine.
The course had aid stations every mile and I was sure to use them to grab extra water, some for drinking and some to pour over my head to keep cool. And as always I thanked all the volunteers. I had my huma gels I took every 20 minutes and water bottle with Nuun which I refilled every hour.
As I was running out, I noticed the back of one of the signs had a big 9 on it. I thought to myself, 'Oh this must the shorter out-and-back if we end on 9k." Then a few seconds later it dawned on me. We are in Washington State, that sign was 9 miles. This was good. I get the longer section done first then I know the next section is the final stretch.
This part of the course included some very pretty views from a few bridges as we crossed the Cedar River a few times each way.
I kept with my fueling/hydration plan, my pacing, and the encouragement as I saw other athletes.
I was soon at the 10k timing mat, or as I like to call it the 'Oh good he's not dead' mat. I thought of my coach, my teammates, and my wife at home getting a notification on the tracker app. I thought about how my day started off with me fully resolved to not even start and here I am, halfway through the run.
On my way back I was sure to give those behind me the same encouragement I was given. I saw a few people I knew from the bike but there were a few I never saw. I hoped they were part of a relay team and did not end their day after the bike.
Shortly stopping at 16k to use the bathroom, I passed the small hill and continued to the last out-and-back. Once finished with that, it was just over 3k to go.
I walked up the hill to get back onto the Green to Cedar Rivers Trail. I knew I had to go through 3 tunnels and then it was the home stretch.
I was beginning to feel the length of the day get to me and found it hard to run for the full 10 minutes of my interval. I resolved to do what I could and kept repeating to myself, "Each step you take is one step closer to your ultimate goal of completing an Ironman."
I have a playlist with songs that help me stay motivated. Today I had this song stuck in my head the whole run, and I kept it going (especially for this final push).
Three tunnels later and I knew I was almost there.
Just before turning right off of the trail, I was passed by an athlete whose kit had their team mantra on it. As I read it, it really hit home for me. It read:
"The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
Given how my day started and where I was now, this really hit me hard.
As I ran down the small hill and into the trail leading back to Lake Wilderness, I was joined by another athlete named Mike. We ran together past the lodge and into the parking lot. Once we entered into the last stretch along transition, I let Mike go.
As I ran down the gradual downhill along transition, athletes on their way back to their cars all stopped to cheer for me. I made a left turn between Ironman Village and Transition, then a right turn and there it was.
I ran down the finisher chute, heard my name called, pumped my fist, and crossed the finish line.
It was pretty emotional. Nothing about this race was special. It was not my first 70.3, it was not a PR, but given the mental strength I showed to show up (let alone finish) was alot to take in.
I got my medal and took a moment for a photo.
Then grabbed some food and found a place to sit. Shortly after I sat, Mike came and joined me. He thanked me for running with him at the end and said if I would not have done that, he would have had a terrible finish. We sat and chatted about the race as we stuffed our faces with pizza.
After eating, I went to transition to pack up my gear. I called my family and told them about my day. My wife expressed how proud she was that I stuck it out.
I sat for a bit looking at the lake and reflecting on my day. It was indeed vindication for my poor performance at Victoria. And a huge confidence boost heading into my last 2 months of training for Ironman Arizona
While Arizona will be twice the distance of this race, the bike course will have no hills. Pacing/power will be easier to control and maintain. I was surprised by how fresh my legs felt off the bike and onto the run. All those brick workouts are paying off. At Arizona I will be sure to pay closer attention to my run pacing so not to fade too soon. And when I fade (at whatever point in the race that will inevitably be), I know I possess the will power and sheer force of will, to push to the end.
