Ironman Canada July.29.2018 Pre- Race & Race Report
Hard to believe that is was already a week ago today I took on the challenge to be 2x Iron. My journey for Ironman really started January 1, 2018. After completing the Chicago Marathon October 9th 2017, 2.5 weeks before I got married, I took some time off for the wedding & honeymoon and to enjoy a less structured training break over the holidays.
January 1 rolled around and I "locked it in". I set some pretty aggressive goals for myself which included a month of workouts and no missed days, 10 lbs to shed some winter weight, and a top 10 age group finish at Ironman Canada.
Saying this winter was rough is an understatement. After living in the south for 6 years, most recently in Tampa, I freaking hated the cold. We had a rude winter and snow storms until mid April this year which made training challenging and INDOOR. When the snow finally melted, it turned to rain season. So many tough training days, but you never know what kind of weather you will get race day.
Ok. So now on to RACE WEEK:
When the 15 day forecast became available, I started checking the weather compulsively. Like an unhealthy amount. The graph below is a joke but pretty spot on. As we got closer and closer to the race, every time I checked the weather, it seemed like the high for the day went up 1 degree. Race day forecast was predicting 95 degrees. I literally made myself sick worrying about an uncontrollable. Every time I thought of racing in that heat, I started crying. I know.. it's ridiculous. All I kept thinking was after all this hard work I'm not going to have a good race or be able to run in the heat. I'm going to be slower than my race in CDA. I had a pre-race meeting with Coach and was feeling slightly better and more confident, that no matter the conditions, I was trained to have a good day and to go out there and have fun with my friends.
All my anxiety quickly turned to excitement as I left for Whistler on Thursday July 26. We had a 6:45am flight from Detroit to Toronto so our day started with a 3:15 wake up. Everything was going smoothly until our flight from Toronto to Vancouver. We were boarded and ready to take off for a 10AM flight. We sat on the plan for about 90 minutes before we were deplaned due to nonfunctioning bathrooms and no water on the plane. We had to get a new plane and we were delayed 4.5 hours. THAT WAS REALLY SHITTY :)
We made it to Vancouver though, with all bags and Zach's bike. Zach's college friend Amelia works in Vancouver and lives in Squamish. She was very gracious and picked us up and let us borrow her (and her husband Sean's) truck for the week. We made it up to our AirB&B with severe motion sickness and ridiculous hiccups.
The next couple of days were filled with race check in, shake out rides, practice swim, and getting our transition and special needs bags ready for race day. It was hot out all week and BC doesn't have much if any air-conditioning in homes or restaurants. Our house had one small fan we used for Jaimie's bedroom without any outdoor windows, and my parents had a standing fan for their room. Luckily the overnight lows were still in the high 50's low 60's and the house cooled off around 10pm-midnight.
RACE DAY EVE:
I surprisingly had a decent night of sleep. I tried going to be before 9PM but it was still light out and the chatty neighbors were having a BBQ. I was scanning facebook right before I went to bed and literally read the most awful news. One of my good friends in High School, her sister-in-law was killed while cycling Friday in the Columbus, OH area. I knew this young woman from helping coach soccer camps when I was in high school. She was 5 years younger than me and training for triathlons and aqua-bikes. It hit me hard and I just couldn't stop thinking about this tragic accident... it could have been me or anyone of my teammates. All week I had been praying for a safe race and giving praise for making it to the start of the race healthy. I read a quote I really liked in a race report on the plane ride. "No start lines or finish lines are guaranteed". I had been crying about the stupid weather and felt shallow. There wasn't any doubt in my mind I would finish, but maybe not finish as fast as I wanted.
RACE DAY
3:15am wake up again. I went downstairs and was able to eat a half breakfast. Because we had turned in all our transition bags, the only thing I had was special needs bags and the food/water for the bike. We filled those race morning so the bears wouldn't get into our food. Not kidding.
My dad woke up and volunteered to drive us to the T2 and the bus shuttle area. Saved our legs! We loaded onto the bus after a short wait. The bus ride seemed to take forever and it was dark. We finally unloaded off the bus and stopped right away to use a "real bathroom" and not a porta potty. The women's line was of course longer, so I told Zach to go on and I will meet him at my bike rack.
Jaimie and I were racked together, race numbers 314 and 315 because I was a Hewitt when I signed up for the race :) last August. We pumped our tires (Thanks to ITL for having 2 ready to go) and loaded our bikes with nutrition, bottles, and bike computers and made our way to the swim start. I was able to see most of the ITL girls in transition area and wish them a good race.
It was time to line up! I never did find Zach to kiss him good luck. Ironman started doing a self-seated walk off 5 years ago I believe, the same way it was for my first Ironman race. This allows swimmers to line up with other athletes of similar swimming skills so you aren’t getting kicked by those overtaking the entire day. My plan was to line up at the back of the 1 hour- 1:10 group. I thought this would be a generous time for myself as I predicted to be around 1:15. I only had 2 open water swims this year, both for races. Jaimie planned to line up around the front of the same group. She has been a rock star swimming the entire season and I figured she’d be 10+ minutes ahead of me. We could see each other where we each lined up and she kept turning around and smiling. The smiles turned into emotional tears quickly welling up. SO. DAMN. PROUD. I was overwhelmed with gratitude to even be toeing the start line, healthy. Praises! An athlete put her arm around me and said she was getting choked up watching me. I was soaking it all in. The swim course was truly incredible with the calm water and the sunrise starting to peak over the mountains in the background. It was time to RACE!
SWIM
I entered the water at 6:05A.M. The water was shallow for the first several
meters getting out. Some people were swimming in about 1.5 feet of water and others
were walking/running out. I got water in my left eye goggle right away. I
treaded water and made the adjustment twice until it sealed around my eye. I
didn’t want to be uncomfortable for the next hour+. The race always starts out
fast with the adrenaline everyone has. I told myself to find a rhythm and keep
it. Killing myself on the swim to gain a couple of extra minutes wouldn’t be
worth it. About 1/3 of the way into the first loop, I found a swimmer’s feet
who was keeping a good pace, and pulling more than kicking. I decided I would
draft off him for as long as I could keep up. Sorry guy.. I hit your feet 4-5
times over the hour. He swam wide and out of traffic, especially around the
turns. I got off of his draft a few
times and really struggled to catch him when this happened. The drafting really
did help. I knew Amelia was volunteering on a SUP board, so I was looking for
her on my breaths and taking in the beauty around me. The water as so clear. Just
like IMCDA, I could see my watch underwater! First loop was around 33 minutes.
FAST! I stayed with the swimmer all except the last 200 meters. It got really
congested on the course toward the end because the 70.3 racers had started and
we were catching and overtaking the slower ones. I got out of the water, got my
wet suit stripped, and was really happy to see my swim time.
T1- I quickly made my way into
the T1 changing tent. I had an awesome volunteer who helped me put on a bike
jersey, which is not an easy task when you are wet. I decided to wear a sleeved
bike jersey to help keep the sun off my back over the next 6-7 hours. I stopped
at the sunscreen station to get lathered up and was on my way.
Bike
Now it was time for the real fun. I got a new Felt Tri Bike in May with DI2 (automatic shifting. Thanks for the awesome build Matt Shaffer) I also got a power meter, which I would be using on the bike course to keep my power in check and not “blow up”. The bike course was changed this year and would be a 3 loop out and back course with 8,000+ feet of climbing. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not particularly built to climb hills. Flat and fast cadence is my game. When I signed up for the race I neglected to notice that the elevation charts were in METERS and not feet. BIG MISTAKE, ha. There was not one section of the course that was flat- all up or down. Blaize, the name I gave my bicycle.. is FAST… and so is her motor who was revving to go. I felt we had done adequate training events to help prepare, but running a Marathon after 8,000 feet of climbing.. Whew! The second biggest concern after the weather was having a mechanical issue with my bike not being able to shift or getting a flat tire I couldn’t change. Luckily I knew my husband would be 20-25 minutes behind me and that he would stop to help or have the wrath of his wife the rest of his earthly life 😊Coming out of the park onto Alta Lake road was sketchy. The roads were the worst we would see all day. Narrow, sharp turns downhill and bumpy. I sat up out of aero position on several downhills the first loop and made sure I knew what was ahead of me. After passing through the village, a lot of the first part of the loop was downhill and fast. Callaghan hill was coming up and this was a sustained ~2.5 mile climb with elevation as steep at 14%. It was tough but manageable. It was arguably the 3rd hardest part of course in my opinion. I saw Jaclyn coming down the hill, shortly followed by Jodi, and then Jaimie. Wow- I wasn’t really that far off them. The turnaround was at the top of Callaghan. I originally expected that I wouldn’t catch Jaimie until the run. When they were in sight, I knew I wanted to catch them. The way back into the village was tougher than I expected. Very gradual climbing but long as hell. The temperatures were cool to start, but climbing quickly. I caught Jodi on the back side of the first loop and she told me she was taking the first loop conservative. Smart plan. She stayed right behind me for the next several miles. On the second loop when we got onto 99, I saw and caught Jaimie. She had stopped to use the porta-potty already which allowed me to make up some ground. I knew the ITL fans and tent were going to be on our righthand side. I told Jaimie I was going to come up on her left side when we passed the ITL group in hopes someone would get a picture. I asked Jodi to come up too, but she smartly declined because she didn’t want to appear to be drafting and get a penalty. Not even 15 minutes later, the motorcycle ref told me that I either need to pass Jaimie or back off. I kept creeping up on her during the descents. The fear of a penalty motivated me and I took off. Jeff Kingsfield was able to capture this awesome moment which was my favorite picture of the entire day. I love my seester so much and this journey together has been amazing. The smiles say it all.
After the first loop, I told myself, you got this. I knew what would be ahead of me the rest of the day. I started seeing everyone on various points of the course which was AWESOME. I felt like my head was down a lot of the day looking at the bikes in front of me, but when I was climbing head was up and looking around for both teammates and bears. It was so great to see smiles of Lindsay and Krystle and all the other ITL athletes. When I saw Zach, I looked at my watch, quickly trying to assess how much of a lead/cushion I had. Ha. SO competitive we are. I really wanted to beat him and end his undefeated streak against me. He was looking strong. I got through the second loop and was still feeling strong but the heat was really starting to pick up. I passed Zach again coming off Alta Lake Road and was surprised that he seemed to be making up time! The 3rd loop was a mentally tough loop. Especially the Callaghan climb and the climb back into town. It.Was.HOT. I was pouring almost as much water on myself as I was drinking. The aero helmets have less venting too. I was ready to be off the bike. I passed my parents several times and the ITL tent, fist pumping and giving high fives. I was having a strong day and knew it. I was about 2 miles from T2. I saw Adam well before the ITL tent, he had separated himself. If I remember his quote correctly it was, “Let’s go Hewitt. Don’t dick around in T2, you’re top 10 and in podium contention. It’s going to be a hot and long run. You got this”. I picked up my cadence and spun my legs out through the village into T2.
Normalized Power 213, Average Power 175, Max Power 724, Max Speed 48.0 mph and 50/50 left/right leg power split.. YES! Max temp registered 104.
T2- I took a seat by Jaclyn in T2. She was getting ready to head out to the run. Go girl! I took coaches comments and hustled by buns in T2. I switched bras and into a tank top, ate a PBJ and some pepto and made my way out. 3:39. Pretty darn fast.
Run
I knew right away it was going to be a long run in the heat and that my goal time of a 4:30 Marathon wasn’t going to be possible that day. My plan was to walk the aid stations and hills and run wherever else I could. I was surprised when Jaclyn passed me about a mile in. I thought she was ahead of me, but stopped to use the potty. The first part of the loop was on a gravel/dirt trail. It was shaded but it was hilly! I wanted to get through 5k without any walking but that didn’t happen. I was walking in the first mile. Holy hotness. How was I going to get through the day. I brought a towel to put around my neck to keep cool and dip in ice water. I also had a hand bottle and hat for holding ice. I saw my parents sitting in a shaded area and let my mom know I was feeling fine and doing good, moving forward. The course flattened out by the water and I was able to start running more. I wasn’t moving too fast though. With the walking I was holding 11 minute miles. I passed Jaclyn- she was feeling a little bit nauseous from the heat but she was trucking a long! I think we switched places 2-3 times on the course. It helped having her close by and to keep moving. I also saw Jaimie and Jodi on the turnarounds. My heart was so happy to see Jaimie running every time because she had a foot injury coming in the race and it was unknown how much she’d be able to run/walk pain free. I passed several ITL fans scattered on the course. It helped so much having them out there and cheering. My pride prevented me from wanting to walk in front of anyone, so the more often I saw ITL people, the more I was running. I finally hit the turnaround point on loop one and had seen the entire run course now and knew what to expect. I knew the second loop would be more tiring, but I also knew I was going to be 2x Iron even if I walked every step of the second loop. I saw all of my teammates at various points on the out and back course. It was a struggle bus kind of day… but we were all grinding through it, one foot in front of the other. Everyone kept telling me how strong I looked and to keep pushing, so that’s what I did.
I was so lucky I didn’t have any GI issues in the heat, and only minor cramping. I was eating lots of bananas and taking in base salt. Athletes were dropping like flies. I saw so many people laying on the side of the path and several medical assistants. Heat Stroke is no joke and was a big concern. Once I reached the turnaround on the second loop, I was mostly smiles on the way back in because I was almost done. At this point, I was struggling to convert the kilometer markings on the course to know how long I had to finish. I passed my parents around mile 25 and the tears started flowing again. For all of us. They were so proud of us and so ready for us to cross the finish line. The end of the run had a different turn off then the first loop to get you to the finisher shoot. I could hear the finish line and knew I was close, however it took us on a back road in the village with very few spectators before taking us to the line. Tricked me. Then I saw Kelly Kingsfield yelling her butt off and cheering. We high fived and then the finish line really was just around the corner.
There are not words to describe the feelings you have going through an Ironman finisher shoot, you have to experience that moment for yourself to understand. I zigzagged my run taking in high fives on both sides of the fence. I fist pumped and heard the words, “Kristi Mauss, you are an Ironman!”. Somehow I decided to do a little split jump/herkie at the line. I DID IT! I CRUSHED IT!
Run Stats: 5:06:23 15th Age Group 104th Female 399th Overall
Final Race Stats: 12:45:20 (PR!) 8th Place Age Group, 57th Female, 265th Overall/1191 finishers and almost 1500 started! I made all my goals!!
My dad found me quickly on the fence of the finisher shoot and let me know Jaimie was about ~20 minutes behind and would be finishing shortly. I quickly joined my mom to cheer Jaimie on. I was excited that I would get to see her run through the finisher shoot on her first Ironman. She rounded the corner and I saw the biggest smile. My heart was so happy. She. Kicked. ASS. She gave me a high five but didn’t see me and crossed the line that less than 1% of people will ever cross. Security let me back into the chute after the line and we got an official ironman picture together. We regrouped and waited for others to finish. Jaclyn was right behind Jaimie and we were able to hug and picture together too. Next, I was able to watch my husband also finish his first Ironman. I was going crazy on the fence cheering trying to get his attention. He was choking back a few tears himself as he was named Ironman. What a DAY! We all won. We finished. Healthy. Happy. Proud.
Post Race
The day was a BEAST. 96 degree temp was recorded and I read in a post the pavement was over 120 degrees, measured by the medical staff. Nearly 20% of athletes did not start or did not finish. I like to think of the stat as 80% of the athletes did finish and battled a TOUGH day! I was so proud of each and every one of the ITL athletes no matter how far they got on the course or how long they were out there. That race took true GRIT. I am so appreciative of every spectator that cheered me on, every volunteer that also stood out in the heat to help us with aid and nutrition, and so thankful to my coach, Adam, who ran and biked around like a freaking mad man with 20+ athletes out on the course. I’m so thankful for all that you do, and believe in me more than anyone ever has. Oh. And ITL won the tri-club award. We had the 3rd largest team and best finishes! I’m not sure how it is scored. But how cool! I can’t stop thinking back on the day and the journey. So many friends and family members tracked and cheered from afar, and I am so thankful for that too. Grateful was my word Whitney, and I certainly am. I’m on my ironman high and already thinking… what’s next? I likely will take an ironman hiatus for a long while in hopes that Zach and I might be able to start a family over the next year, but time will tell. I’m all smiles and so proud and happy for everyone.“You will never find out what you can achieve by saying “one day”. Go after what you dream of. It may be crazy or impossible. But you’ll never know unless you TRI! Believe in yourself!”
