I need back-of-pack Ironwoman support, bad!!!!!

[irongrrlhopeful]

Hello fine triathlon women,

I'm a longtime lurker who is in serious need of support for Ironman UK, coming up Aug. 20. I've done 2 marathons, 2 half marathons, and 1 sprint triathlon happily, but slowly. I'm resigned to the fact that I seem to be slow but steady by nature, and speed drills are only going to do so much for me in the next 7 weeks.

So, two weeks ago I entered a half iron tri, and I made the swim cutoff. I made the bike cutoff - in a downpour, on the hilliest course I'm ever done. Woohoo! I ran 3 or so miles, and slowly realized I was truly the last person to make the cutoff, and I would have to pound out my fastest half ever. The organizers were asking me, "are you the last one?" I was running out of mojo and I was getting more and more discouraged at the thought of finishing after the time cutoff, to an empty, rained-out finish area. No medal, no crowd. I stopped at the pass through the transition area at 10 miles.

Turned out, there was a guy after me who was injured. He was limping along, determined to finish come hell or high water. And, he did, 20 minutes after the time cutoff - I saw him come in alone. I really admired his drive, and I want that on the Ironman.

So - I am training as hard as I can, which I know for experienced triathletes is slow. I'm worried that I'm going to go over time on the run at IMUK. If I go over on the bike - well, they can tell me not to go on. But I know finishing the marathon will require digging DEEP, and I so don't want to quit if I make it that far. I need some awesome, experienced back of packers to help me with the motivation and drive to make it through these last 7 weeks of training to the finish line! I train alone for the most part, and it's been discouraging since the last race to realize how truly slow I am. I'm working on speed work in all workouts. I need the mental moxie. Help, TE!

[Tri Girl]

Hey irongrrl (I like the grrrrrrrr part of your name). Congrats on signing up for your first iron distance!!! :)

I'm doing my first iron distance in late Sept., and I know (like you) that I will be at the back of the pack. I've also done 2 marathons, and 3 halfs (and many smaller tris). I have all the endurance one needs, but just not the speed to match. I know that the marathon is by far going to be the most difficult part of the day (yes, physically, but mostly mentally). I train alone, and don't wear headphones of any kind (since I'll supposedly get DQ'd if I wear them, and I'm not willing to risk it-even if they don't catch me or say anything). Ironman is not only about physical strength, but mental strength as well. I know I need to rely on my own thoughts to make it through to the end. I am designing a wristband with "topics" to keep my mind busy- things to keep my mind going when I know I'll need to dig deep and keep moving. They'll be reasons why I'm doing this, thoughts of how I'll feel when finished, stories to tell my friends of the experience, memories of things that make me smile, song titles to sing to myself, etc... I know if I can keep my mind busy then I'll be ok.
Don't let the half iron discourage you in any way. Come race day, it will be a different story, and as you know, each race day is different. You'll do fine once iron day comes. If you focus on your time goals (which for me will be chasing cut-offs), then you'll have something to aim for and keep track of.

You have been training hard, but remember that you can't "cram" any training in to make you faster/better/whatever. Keep doing what you're doing, and stay the course. If anything, throw some speed work into your normal workout (short intervals or bursts of speed for a bit of time). If you can make the bike cut-off, then when you get to the marathon, you can focus on completing it. If you can do 15 min/miles then you can complete the marathon in 6:30. I've already resigned myself that I'm probably going to walk at least half of the marathon (I'm planning to do run/walk intervals). Walking a marathon isn't my idea of fun, but after being out there for 8-10 hours, I'm going to be a little tired.

You can do it!:D Believe in yourself, believe in your training, and keep your eyes on the goal! You can do it!!!!!

Keep us updated!

[Lise]

Welcome! Did you read Running Mommy's IM saga? She finished with 8 min to go. My goal is the 1/2 IM distance, so I'll say right off that I admire your committment to the IM distance. What's your bike course like for the IM? If it's less hilly than what you did for the 1/2, can you anticipate making up some time on the bike?

[KSH]

I will post more later... but this video inspires me whenever I am working out and I feel like giving up... you might want to think about it when you are competing and the marathon starts to beat you down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgS2y3Rkx2I&search=ironman%20

[Nanci]

How much extra did you have with the swim cutoff and the bike cutoff?

Is there anything you can do to bank some time, like speed up transitions?

Do you have aerobars on your bike?

For the run, are you running the whole time, but slowly, or run/walking, or running and then spending time recovering? Can you work on speeding up your walk, so even when you are not running, you are making nice forward progress?

Can you reduce the amount of time, on the run, you spend going through the aid stations and the special needs stations?

Will this be your first marathon-distance run?

[Nanci]

Something else I've read a lot about is the "central governor theory" which basically means that you start out an event with your brain programmed for that distance, and it allots energy/speed out to your muscles so there will be just enough to make it to the distance you originally planned. Where you run into problems is when you come upon an unexpected difficulty, like a big hill you didn't know about, and your brain says "Oh, no, I didn't allot for this- I'd better make her feel extra tired, so she doesn't use up the energy I'd planned." But- if you pre-ride/drive the course, and are familiar with the features, especially difficult parts like hills, your brain (subconsciously) takes this into consideration at the beginning and you won't get that tiredness before you even _get to_ the obstacle, because your brain will be expecting it. (This was tested with some sort of experiment- and I posted about it several months ago, so if you search, you could probably find it.)

[Running Mommy]

Did you read my race report? It's buried deep in the race report section, but it's there. I got to the run and basically couldn't! I was reduced to a walk, so I had to do some quick thinking. If you read my race report- actually I have two on the same thread so scroll down, you will see what I did. It involved serious focus, and turning into yourself to get it done. You have to develop a rythmn and follow it. Mine was run to the light post, walk to the next, then run to the next, then walk to the next, repeat until finished.
Also keep the mantra, "if I must walk, I will walk with purpose".
Heck, if I can do it, ANYONE can!! And certainly you can! Keep the positive mental energy going and just keep moving!
Good luck and keep us posted!
Denise

[irongrrlhopeful]

Thanks so much for all your responses so far - it's so great just to "hear" your virtual voices of support. I realize more and more that I trained for my first marathon in a group, and that made such a difference for me to have others around. Training all alone really makes me realize how much I appreciate others. Even if the others are on the net!

The idea that our brain prepares us for what we think is ahead is very interesting to me. In fact, one of the factors that turned me off from completing the 1/2 IM was the knowledge that there would be a HUGE hill on the loop around for 1.5 miles, and I hadn't anticipated that pre-race, not living in the race area. Unfortunately, I live across the "pond" from the IM UK course, so I won't be able to even look at the general area until 2 days before. It's 1.5 hours or so west of London. But perhaps there will be some way to drive the course. Would it be a crazy idea to bike the run course 2 days before? Probably.

Luckily, I've completed 2 marathons before, so I have an idea of that distance mentally.

I don't have aero bars. My thought being, I don't really picture myself doing this again, so why shell out the extra money when I'm slow anyway. Maybe a self-defeating thought process. Do you all think it would make a big difference?

I have used a run-walk system before with success on the 2 marathons. In fact, it feels like I'm the same speed on 10 miles or more whether or not I walk 1, run 4 or just run. Go fig. It sounds smart to plan to use that system on the IM.

I wore a tri suit under my wetsuit for the 1/2 IM and kept it for the whole race. Running Mommy, do you think it would make more sense to change clothes for the IM transitions (I'm thinking nice padded bike shorts), or just keep the tri suit on to save time?

I was 1/2 hour from the time cutoff for the swim, and 9 minutes from the time cutoff for the bike in the 1/2 IM, for what that's worth.

I'm sure there were questions I've forgotten to address, and I'll get back to those in another post. Thanks again for your responses! They already help so much!

IGH

[Nanci]

Oh my God!!! Aerobars are a gift from heaven! It's like riding your bike, laying down! You instantly gain two or more mph with less effort! Plus your hands/wrists totally get a break!! Plus, for leisurely riding later, you can rest one elbow on the pad, and your chin on your hand, and relax!! Plus, over 100+ miles, you get a different area of pressure on your undercarriage!! Who cares if you never do another tri, who cares if you're "slow"- aerobars are _so_ fun/comfortable/relaxing/perfect for a strong headwind/etc. I use them on EVERY ride, recreationally. I would HATE to not have them.

Sounds like you were doing well coming out of the swim, but then something happened at T1 or the bike. At IM, they will have wetsuit strippers- that will help. No hanging around T1- do all your eating/drinking on the bike.

No, it would not be crazy to bike the run course two or even one day before. People do it all the time. Any IM you go to- people can't stay relaxed in their rooms- they're out biking, running!! practice swimming.

[Running Mommy]

I second the aerobar notion!! Heck, i think I have an old pair of century aero bars I'd be GLAD to send you for free if you want them!!
They are profile design centurys. Google them if your not sure what they look like.
Denise

[Grog]

Unfortunately, I live across the "pond" from the IM UK course, so I won't be able to even look at the general area until 2 days before. It's 1.5 hours or so west of London. But perhaps there will be some way to drive the course. Would it be a crazy idea to bike the run course 2 days before? Probably.


You could always try checking out the course with Google Earth. It gives you elevations and a good idea of what the course looks like (in satellite mode), as long as the area you are interested in is included in the database of course... (I think it will be.)

[Nanci]

http://tinyurl.com/g3vvj

This is the article I was telling you about!!

[irongrrlhopeful]

Thanks for your ideas! So, I decided to take your fantastic advice (Nancy and Running Mommy) and get the aerobars. I couldn't believe it - on sale, with my Performance Bike discount, they were $18!! A break in the expensive world of triathlon outfitting. :)

On my 64 mile bike yesterday, they sure did make a difference. I need to make some adjustments, but boy, what a help. I felt like crap that night, and this morning, but I'm recovered now. Long run for the week to go now!

A few questions:

1) Is it better to wear a tri suit all the way through, or change in T1/T2? Balancing the wetness/grossness/chafing with transition timing, that is.

2) In the training regimen I'm using, the program for "just finishers" (like me, as opposed to competitive people) has shorter times for the long run and long bike than the competitive regimens. It recommends training for, say, 4hours, rather than for a particular number of miles. However... we slugs will be out on the course longer! I want to do a 100 mile bike and a 20 mile run 4 weeks before the race (in 2 weeks) though that will put me way over the hours recommended in the regimen. What do you think? Smart or not?

Thanks again... I find the articles and advice very helpful!

IGH

[Nanci]

What's you longest bike so far? If I were you, I would do the run the week before the bike, because the bike will be easier/less wear and tear. I wouldn't do either of those any closer than four weeks to the event. RM, what do you think? I would be especially careful of the run- you don't want to get injured. You already know you can do the marathon distance. I don't think the 100 miles on the bike will be a problem. I guess it just all depends on how your training is going, and if you are even close to an injury or not.

Nanci

[Tri Girl]

I'm with you on the training schedule thingy... I'm not going to complete the distance in 12-14 hours, so I just add time to each of the daily workout sessions they have me doing. The plan I'm doing (on trifuel.com) is more for an intermediate iron distance triathlete. Therefore, I always add time to each workout (if it says run for 2 hours, I run for 15-30 min longer- if bike for 3 hours, I bike for 3/12). I'm not as fast as the training plan thinks I am.

Personally, I'm certainly not going to do a 20 miler before the race. Here's my thinking on that: I've already done 2 marathons, so I know I can go the distance. Also, running that long increases injury potential and I'm not about to risk the last 8 months of training on a training run. I will do a couple 100 mile rides before the race. My race is 11 weeks out, and I'm doing a half iron distance training day this Thursday (1.2 swim, 56 bike, 13.1 run). That will give me a gauge of time over the distance. My longest run will be 3 1/2 hours (that's only about 15 miles, but close enough for me). I figure adrenaline/determination/sheer willpower will get me through the marathon.

What do I know, tho? I've not done this yet, so I'm just a back of the pack experiment at this point. :D

Denise, what say you?