well here we are again- IMC 2

[Pika]

Hi all-
here I am - less than a week out from IMCanada..
I haven't been posting much but whenever I get a chance I read through some of the posts and always learn something from all you gals- it is great!

This year I have few expectations- I trained so little compared to last year- just life stuff that I know most of us deal with- I have decided to just make a huge effort to enjoy the day- ( it's going to be a long one- lol)

MY race # is 3007 which I find very strange because I signed up last year and others in my age group are not numbered that way..my husband had a similar # last year but he was withdrawn and then re-entered ( he was actually racked next to Sister Madonna!) maybe for some reason I'll be racked that way too- that would be fun:)

My husband has a few goals for his race- #1 beat my time from last year( if you remember he had a heart attack in April of last year but still managed to finish- though slowly and #2 No glow stick...I am hoping not to get a glow stick too but I'll just have to see how the day unfolds.
The weather is meant to be sunny and 30C -different from last years cold storm that blew through..

Anyway- just wanted to say a quick hello and a belated thanks to all those that I learn from..being mainly I lurker you gals that regularly post should know you likely help way more people than you realize:)

I'll let you know how it all turns out..."No glow stick ,no glow stick..."
Tam

[salsabike]

Would like to follow you both! What's your husband's #?

[Pika]

Oh of course I left that bit of info out without thinking...his number is 1978

[GLC1968]

How exciting! Good luck to you both!

[Tri Girl]

Yippee!!!! Good luck to both of you!! Will be checking in on you and rooting for you.:D

I'm doing an iron distance tri in 4 weeks. My training has not been what it was last time, so I'll be chasing the 17 hour cutoff the whole day- but I plan on having a great time. And I know you will, too!!! Enjoy the day and have a GREAT experience! It's your celebration day for all those long hours of training. Enjoy your parade! :)

[sgf726]

Good Luck!

[salsabike]

Bon courage and have fun! I'll be checking in on you guys and thinking about you.

[Pika]

everyone..Mike and I drove to Penticton today and have checked in to our motel- we splurged and got a motel right on the strip in front of the finishing mile..it will be nice because we can walk to the start and finish..though having to pass the motel 4 times before the finish may prove to be too tempting:)

It looks to be perfect weather and you can definitely feel the excitement in the air already..all sorts of hard bodies wandering around- everyone looking super fit..( I feel like a bit of a fraud..)...

Oh well,.. keeping the mantra- fun and fitness... and besides it is beautiful and sunny in the Okanagan- what can be better than that:)

We are off to "panic shop" for new tubes and some groceries..they have a BBQ here so we can cook our own meals which is great.

[Veronica]

Have a great day and enjoy the day.

Veronica

[Pika]

Thanks V - I am trying hard to enjoy everything but some days it is sooo hard.

We woke up to another beautiful sunny day and decided to take our bikes for a quick spin along skaha lake- it is the first 10 miles or so of the bike course.

Along the lake the road is narrow, windy with no shoulder- lake on one side and steep hills on the other...beautiful but a bit sketchy with loads of cyclists and cars. So I am riding along and I see ahead a fawn comes up out of the lake - I am thinking wow-how cool is that..I slowed right down but didn't stop- I look ahead and there is a car coming the other way...well everything happened so fast all I know is the fawn was hit right in front of me. We stopped the fawn did manage to run off the road after being hit but a guy behind us thought its legs were broken- another car stopped and called the conservation officers- (the people that hit the fawn were fine and no damage there)We kept riding for a short time but I was still pretty shaken so we cut it short- on the way back the conservation officer was there and told us he was waiting to get his rifle( long story there) and was going to put it down :(
I was hoping that because it managed to get off the road it might be ok...I know we have a million deer around here but I was still sad that it had to be killed but am happy that the conservation officer was able to stop it from having an even worse prolonged death.

On an entirely different note in our panic shopping yesterday in the bike shop I decided to buy some different "butt buttr" this stuff was called Hooha ride glide- made for women by women...The funniest thing was how my husband refused to walk around the bike shop with that in his hand(my hands were full with other stuff so we had to trade..water bottles for "hooha cream" ..anyway I will be going back to the usual stuff I think..I mean really- who puts eucalyptus and peppermint in something that is going to be next to a mucosal layer of skin??? Do I really want my "girlie bits" as they say to be numb before I even start my ride??how ridiculous...

Going off to register ..and shake off the morning..
Tam

[Tri Girl]

Oh no!! :eek: That would have totally devastated me to see that little fawn hit. Poor baby...:( that would have shaken me up, too!!

Yeah, I bought the HohHa ride glide- I hate it! It makes everything so tingly and it doesn't provide very good friction control (it's not as "slippery" as others I've tried). That was a waste of $21.:rolleyes: I didn't go numb down there, but seriously- if they would make a chamois cream that WOULD make me go numb that would be awesome- I would pay good money for that.:p Make it be numb for about 7 hours at a time- would make my long rides so much more pleasant.

[Pika]

was today... 3km trot thru town..last year we didn't participate- this year we are trying to experience everything since who knows when we will be back.

They sell the underpants and undershirts as a fundraiser for Kids and bikes. Here's mike:)- I was there too but had an undershirt on (along with the underwear of course:)

[salsabike]

Pika, you're a formidable swimmer! And I heard there was quite a headwind on the second part of the bike, AND that it was hot as hell and then some on the run. Please let us know that you guys are okay, when you can...

[kacie tri-ing]

Congrats! That is a fantastic swim time! I hope you are enjoying that post IM glow!

[Pika]

Well as expected it was a long hot day.
Mike and I walked to the start ( about 15min from our motel) and headed to our bikes- we had no real plan to meet up which was a mistake because by the time I got my bike double checked I had lost Mike in the crowd- I decided to start getting my wetsuit on and eventually had a kind strong stranger zip it up for me. I was still looking for Mike but with 3000 stressed athletes wandering around in wetsuits it became clear I wasn't going to find him
I headed down to the water on the far right of the start- that is where I started last year and I was hoping that Mike would find me there so we could have a quick hug and kiss before the start.
As Steve King began counting down the time I was strangely calm- though disappointed I wasn't with Mike at the start.- I kept looking around hoping I would spot him but really everyone looks the same with googles and swimcaps and wetsuits on....
The gun went off and I started to swim- it was such a different experience compared to last year..I was not hit at all, barely any contact, it was smooth the whole way. I did pop my tempo trainer under my cap before the start- I don't know if that is cheating or not but it made my swim so calm- I loved it- tick tick tick- I just concentrated on that- I had set at a very comfortable pace for me - the only down side was that I did not feel like I was "racing". Just very steady the whole way- I didn't speed up to pass anyone or hover behind anyone..I came out of the water not sure of what the time would be because the effort seemed so low --as it turned out I was only 3 min slower than last year.
Myt ransition was slow compared to last year but this year I did not swim in my top and had to struggle to get it on over my wet sports bra- I stopped to use the bathroom and then it seemed to take me 2 min to get my bike unracked.....arrgh- the seat post is too high to roll it under the rack and to roll it out backward it had to be tipped sidways but the other bikes were all there and racked so tight..finally some volunteers came to help but it seemed to take forever.
My bike ride was pretty much what I expected- I was under trained compared to last year- I found the heat difficult especially since for us slow pokes they ran out of water at some of the aid stations!!! I carry all my own nutrition- concentrated- so with little water my nutrition plan was kinda screwed up... I happen to ride past Mike (at around 130km)who was sitting on the grass in the shade- I called to him- asked if he was having a tea party but didn't stop..I knew he would catch me soon enough Turned out he was also having nutrition problems and we ended up riding along bunny hopping each other to the finish- he shared some of his water which was great...Mike was really struggling but as we rolled into T2 I told him I would meet him outside the change tent and make a plan.
Fortunately I had a bottle of eload in my transition so I gulped that down and felt much better- I met Mike outside and he really just wanted to call it a day but I convinced him if we just ran/walked we could get thru the marathon- he agreed and we started on a 2 min walk 2 min run. he managed this for about 3-4 miles but then even that became difficult- as we were talking about what he had eaten etc it became clear that he had only ingested about 700 of the 2500cal he had on his bike- so the next 10 miles became a buffet for him trying to get in as many calories as he could tolerate and still getting enough water. By the turn around he was starting to feel better and we could do a 1 min walk 1 min run, until about 4 miles out he bonked again:( we walked the rest of the way in pretty much.
Although I felt I could have run more I was happy to hang out with Mike- I know for some that will seem crazy but really I had no goal time- I went into this feeling under trained and really I enjoyed the company- I could have run ahead but to what end- Iwould have come in sooner but would have spent all that time alone suffering:) at least this way I spent time with Mike (who I love) and really it was pretty flukey that after not seeing him at the start we were able to meet up and finish together- even though we were slow- I had way more fun and could really share the day with my husband and that was good enough for me:)
Unfortunately I did end up getting another iv (like last year) my mistake was getting tempted by solid food at the finish line...obviously my stomach can't tolerate it - well in hindsight it is obvious:):)

Will I do it again.???...NOT NEXT YEAR... too many other things on the go.... I know I have the capability to come in under 14 hrs and next time I will have a specific goal in mind and go for it:)

As usual the volunteers were awesome- and the people along the route with sprinklers and hoses etc- and there were some amazing groups of people cheering along the route- one specific group in a boat moored along the lake playing great music - so energizing-- the one guy was yelling "don't worry we will still be here on your way back" and in my head I'm thinking not a chance...but there they were- as enthusiastic as ever...
One sign still makes me laugh I think about it... a woman was holding it and it said " I don't do triathlons ...I do triathletes"...:D


Thanks for reading

[Grog]

Congrats Pika and Mike on your race! Well done. I have a lot of admiration for people who can train and race in hot weather like that, I wouldn't be able to go very far.

Rest well!

[spindizzy]

What Grog said.

You guys are absolutely amazing. Hot and windy saps my strength even when I'm fueled. Congratulations to the both of you!!

[salsabike]

Pika, that's a great report--thanks. And congratulations again to both of you. It sounded pretty brutal out there.

[Susan Otcenas]

Congratulations! I'm hoping to do IMC next year, and hope that I can have as positive an attitude during the event as you did. It's inspirational!

[Tri Girl]

Congrats to you two!! Sounds like it was a rough day out there- but you changed your attitude and saw the difficulties as an opportunity to hang out with your husband and enjoy the day. LOVE that!!!:D
Congrats on another IM finish! Very impressive indeed!

[colby]

Pika, congrats! I thought about you on race day, though I wasn't able to check in here. I REALLY REALLY wanted to volunteer but had a competing commitment.

It was a WARM day and is a challenging course. Running out of water :( :( :( would devastate me, I depend on the water to cool me off and keep sipping at every aid station. It was awesome of you to pull him through and finish together, sometimes we all need an Iron Angel and how convenient that you were his ;)

Love the pictures, and congrats again on the finish to both of you.