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| Sleeting, not raining, day before race |
T1 11:10
Bike 7:07:35 (3:32/3:35)
T2 6:44
Run 5:34:32
Total 13:53:32
Top 3 things about Ironman Tahoe 2013
#3 No need for cold sponges on the run;
#2 Seeing Coach Hillary running out of breath as she ran next to me at the top of Brockway Summit--I made her run a long way with me; and,
#1 The Trophy Wife Johnna putting in at least 10 miles on crutches during the day
How did we get to IM Tahoe?
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| As Joey said, "Could I be wearing any more clothes?" |
Pre Race
My pre race week before an Ironman has never gone better. Despite the sudden turn in weather conditions (I'll get to that later), my taper went awesome, as I felt stronger and more ready each day in the last 7 days leading up to Race Day. In addition, I was sleeping great each night, our travel went easy up to Tahoe (drove to Sacramento on Thursday afternoon, spent the night and then got up to Tahoe friday morning to register and relax). I was getting a bit nervous before the race, probably more so than any other IM, and it was definitely caused by my Nemesis -- The COLD (Do you know what Nemesis means?--Bricktop). When I was an age group swimmer, I had the worst experiences racing 1500s at 10pm on friday nights of swim meet weekends. COLD means SLOW for Barry. But hey, I prepared for this and I felt I had the proper fueling plan and clothing plan as guided by Coach Hillary. Had a nice dinner at the hotel the night before the race at 545p, was in bed by 9, and actually slept--something I had not done well in my past couple of races. I woke up at 3:15am, ate about 900 calories of stuff that sits really well for me, and then we headed to Kings Beach around 445am. I got my bottles situated, put a couple of extra pieces of clothing in my bike transition bag, and thought I had made sure my bike wasn't totally frozen. It snowed and rained in the night, and temperatures on the beach that morning were in the high 20s.
The Weather
COLD means an average of 46 degrees (per my Garmin) during my bike ride with the first hour in the low 30s and the first 3 hours no warmer than 40. The sand on the beach was crunching underfoot with ice, and there was a nice morning steam coming off the lake. The lake water was about 63 degrees, give or take, and at least it wasn't windy. During the run, while it was light, it might have been in the low 50s and actually felt a bit warmer as my long run went on and on. If it had been windy and raining, I think the drop out rate would have gone from 20% to 30% or more.
The Race
My nerves were pretty calm prior to the start, and Trophy Wife and I sat in the event center where it was warm until the last minute.
On the swim, I lined up in the front to start at 6:40 am. The plan was to go hard and stay in or lead the lead group. Plan worked, but after 400 meters, my legs were out of oxygen due to the elevation (or from being sick this summer), so I backed off a bit for the first lap and stayed at the back of the lead pack of 8 or so swimmers. The water wasn't bad, way warmer than IMCDA where the lake there takes your breath away and gives you a hell of a shock. I started feeling normal again at the end of the 1st lap, teamed up with one other guy and we picked up the pace for the 2nd lap. The water is so clear you can see at least 10 feet around you so it's easy to avoid slower swimmers and very easy to stay on my newfound buddy's feet. The second lap went by so much faster than the first and before I knew it, I was swimming in 12 inches of water and had to stand up to run the last 25 meters up and out of the water. Swim time 53:32 (which I didn't know at the time cause I forgot to start my watch--Hillary would later tell me my swim split up on Brockway.
T1 was 11 minutes and I dried off, completely changed, and then put on new shorts, a singlet, a bike jersey, a vest, arm warmers, a windbreaker, a beanie, wool socks, leg warmers and gloves. Pulling up zippers on the vest and jacket proved challenging given it was dark in the tent and I couldn't feel my fingers. That's a lot of clothes and I needed them all. Luckily my legs were never cold but my feet didn't thaw out till almost mile 50.
On the bike, the plan was to hydrate and consume extra calories to ward off the cold. On the bike, I took in at least 1600 calories of Infinit, 1200 calories of EFS gel, and a couple water bottles and an Ironman Perform, over 7 bottles of liquid total and close to 3000 calories. Most ever I drank or consumed in an ironman. I never felt hungry or craved anything more which was a nice feeling for once. I peed 4 times which probably added 10-12 minutes to my bike; sorry but there was no way in that cold I was going to pee on myself and get frostbite on my bits. I used the porta johns at the aid stations, and there was always a volunteer to hold your bike--totally worth stopping for! Yes, I know, it's a friggin race.
Bike split was 7:07 including stops, which was within 15 minutes of where I thought I'd be in nicer conditions. I was glad to get off the bike, but I felt good. My legs felt like they worked hard but weren't destroyed. Over 7200 ft of climbing with 4 major climbs and 3 minor climbs. Two loop course from the swim plus another 15 miles to T2 in Squaw Valley.
In T2, I had a lot to strip off to get ready for the run. My chest was feeling tight, and I thought it might be my singlet so I took that off and put on a running tshirt to keep my shoulders warm plus arm warmers and a hat. In t2 there were two guys sitting there just staring into the void--they looked like they had been there for an hour and they weren't going anywhere--now I know what a zombie looks like.
The run didn't go as planned. The altitude and lingering effects of pneumonia from July just kept me too oxygen deprived. My legs felt f'g great and strong, I could run but not fast or very far without having to walk, cough and catch my breath. I was bumming out a bit, but I was honestly really enjoying the race and the experience, because fitness-wise, I had never felt better. I had no GI issues the entire race for the first time, I wasn't ever feeling bonky or hungry, I peed once on the run, I drank a at every aid station and was religious about taking a gel every 30 minutes or sooner. At mile 18, I saw the Trophy Wife and she gave me a hit off the inhaler I had gotten just in case--I actually felt a bit better those last 8 miles and it was a bit strange as the air felt warmer--I probably should have done that earlier, but I've never used one before, and thus didn't want to try new things on race day. I finished in 13:53 which was 90 minutes off where I thought I could come in. I was happy I beat my virgin triathlon/ironman/marathon first race in 2006 in CDA when I went a whopping 14:00 on a far easier course with far better weather.
The next day it was 70 degrees and warm. It figures.
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| Johnna and Steph Parker Russell at post race party |
Post race had a lot of fun spending another day and getting together with old friends.
