Ironman Coeur d'Alene - The Report (LONG)

[GLC1968]

Colby - thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful report. I'm sitting here fighting back tears at my desk! Really, really amazing.

You are truly an inspiration. Congratulations on a job VERY well done!

[colby]

Sorry for the tearjerker there, ladies, I didn't mean to do that but as you recount the day it really is a part of the journey. I wanted so badly to finish in the daylight, but honestly I have found sunburns and hot weather hurt me in sprint distance triathlons let alone the Ironman. What I learned about myself and my training was invaluable.

In my day job, I work with a group of software engineers as their product manager, looking at the high level issues like "what do customers need (and how do we build it)" and answering day to day questions on behalf of the customer (like "should I put a big ugly button in front of their face?" "no" "is it acceptable that they have to jump through 8 hoops to get this working?" "no"). I have to stay big picture and focus on the moment at the same time. Some people seem to be wired for this, some aren't - I think a lot of us in our respective day jobs are this way (maybe not as directly). When we train or race, as when we build software, we go out with a plan. Then you adapt your plan, because inevitably you did not account for everything - and when we race we actually cannot account for everything. You can't predict the wind or the weather (accurately anyway). You can't predict flat tires. You can't predict what other people do. It is in our ability to adapt and accept the changing conditions that we dig deep and find ourselves athletes (even "athletes" as some of us have a hard time describing ourselves without air quotes), not just in the literal things like "getting faster". Every single triathlete has that ability - Ironman and super-sprint alike - to find inside themselves.

Prepare for changing conditions, expect them, even welcome them. You will see plenty of people who can't - they quit, hurt themselves (there is a guy in the hospital that stopped breathing a few times yesterday), or suffer a miserable recovery. Maybe I'm just rationalising not being fast, but honestly, I feel so much more of a victory this year NOT being fast because of all of the factors I had to consider. Yeah, I'll run the numbers, and I'll wallow a bit, it's natural.

Next year: I will try to fit more swim workouts in and adjust my schedule around earlier mornings. I will try to bike more hills/the course a couple of times before the race again. I will continue to run distance in my Five Fingers so my feet continue to adapt, and try to continue my running improvement through the marathon (4:00? 4:15?). I will try to train in varying conditions, but I can't really control that.

Thank you all for your kind words and support during training and even now that I raced. As I have more pictures from other people that took them I will be sure to share!!

[colby]

For some technical details:

Glad I packed what I did. I pack light, but smart - I don't want to make a lot of decisions, but I want to be able to deal with conditions. I packed arm warmers, though I did not use them - it was a toss up, but I was already warm (though maybe arm COOLERS would have been smart ).

Change of socks in each transition, every year I do change of socks, I love change of socks. It feels so good.

Sunglasses on the run, this is the first time I ran with sunglasses, it made a big difference to my comfort level but they are all splotchy after a while from the squeezing of sponges over my head.

On the bike I shot water into my helmet, boy did that feel good. I wore my coolmax helmet liner, which I always wear, and it does help move sweat off my head so I feel hot but not suppressed.

My heart monitor gave up on measuring heart rate so I actually had to stop it between the swim and the bike (actually after the bike already started). I used my bike computer to measure time and watch when to eat. Learn when to eat. I eat every 15 minutes starting at 30 minutes - gel, Accelerade, gel, Accelerade, repeat. Water at EVERY aid station and pee when you have to, not 3 aid stations down the road like I do, it always makes you feel more comfortable.

I don't use special needs, I still don't know what I'd put in there. I stick with a plan and execute. I could see not carrying all your nutrition and putting it there, but it seems like for the 5 minutes or so I waste in special needs picking it up, I could just suck it up and carry it. Some people use it for stuff that helps them if they are bonking on the bike or hurting on the run, but I didn't expect those problems.

My first blister-free Ironman/marathon!!!! Blisters really ruin your day. Learn to avoid them. Love your feet. HUGE difference here.

I'll put up more thoughts if I have them...

[Susan Otcenas]

My first blister-free Ironman/marathon!!!! Blisters really ruin your day. Learn to avoid them. Love your feet. HUGE difference here.

Curious to know how you avoided them. < It's extremely rare for me to get blisters when running. But I think my feet swelled a little on the bike, and I ended up with four doozies by the end of the half marathon. > Did your feet swell at all on the bike or run? Or did you feel like your shoes fit you the same way they always do? Did you do anything different to your feet (baby powder or anything like that) as a preventative? Especially since you like me had almost no opportunity to train in heat this year, how did you deal with your feet being so much warmer than on your training runs?

[Red Rock]

Congratulations Colby. You were awsome. I loved your write up. Since Ironman St. George, your pictures and descriptions gave an insight as to what and how you as a participant actually deal with your bags and equipment. I could not figure out how this was all done by watching as a spectator IM came through town. I did not know that you had completed three of these. That is a major accomplishment in and of itself. You go girl!

[rocknrollgirl]

I am inspired! You are awesome.

[colby]

Curious to know how you avoided them. < It's extremely rare for me to get blisters when running. But I think my feet swelled a little on the bike, and I ended up with four doozies by the end of the half marathon. > Did your feet swell at all on the bike or run? Or did you feel like your shoes fit you the same way they always do? Did you do anything different to your feet (baby powder or anything like that) as a preventative? Especially since you like me had almost no opportunity to train in heat this year, how did you deal with your feet being so much warmer than on your training runs?

Last year I think I escaped with only a few blisters when I was wearing regular shoes, though the weather was admittedly cooler. The first year I swear I could barely walk. For me, the injinji socks do make a big difference, as I tend to get blisters between my big toe and second toe on the pad of my foot, and underneath my big toe in the same spot. Putting fabric there rather than letting my feet rub did help. Also, I have in the past put bodyglide on my feet where my feet tend to rub - I have also had blisters in the arch of my foot and on the outside of my feet where they rub my shoes, and that has helped.

I was actually surprised to NOT have blisters wearing my Five Fingers. For as much as I love them, not all of my training runs have been blister or hot-spot free (alas, they are not miracles ). One of the things I have been doing after reading "Fixing Your Feet" as OakLeaf recommended was to soften the callouses that have developed on my feet by putting a nice foot lotion on them before bed and before putting on socks as often as I remember (and especially as callouses start to develop). The worst blisters I have gotten were always near callouses and tough skin, or were blisters THEN became callouses and tough skin. The week before Ironman, I did not wear any sandals or bare feet, always socks, which kept my feet from drying out.

My Five Fingers are black, and the pavement was hot. I had hoped to wear the other pair I bought which were white and I might be able to go bare foot in, but I couldn't risk breaking them in so close to Ironman. My feet did definitely swell more than they had in training, and I noticed they had already done so on the bike. I felt them increase a bit on the run at first, too. Last year it was cooler, but I felt the same thing - my feet swelled more than they usually do on the bike, and then by the time I got to the run I had to be careful about tying my shoes. I do NOT use yankz or xtenex laces on my shoes during Ironman, they are not forgiving enough for the amount my feet change - I've even had trouble during hot Olympic distance races feeling constrained.

So, I think part of it is learning to soften callouses, toe socks got me a long way, the nature of the separated toes, and some carefully placed bodyglide in T2. Also, I have had to be very careful to replace shoes when it's time in advance of Ironman, because I start to blister when shoes are over-worn (dunno how that will work with Five Fingers, we'll find out).

ETA: I do not like the hot feet feeling, which I had on at least one long run training day, too, when we had a rare hot day (basically the only other hot day until this last weekend). Running in the gravel/dirt alongside the trails during Ironman (when available) did also help me not feel so hot, but that's not always an option. Cooling off the rest of my body also helped. I think maybe a hat and being able to put a sponge inside of it might have felt good, but I don't like to wear hats when running.

There was a guy in the paper today that described that his feet were so full of blisters he could barely walk. Yikes!! I would bet his feet swelled more than he expected, too.

[Veronica]

What kind of lotion are you putting on your feet?

I always get blisters doing a HIM. I also always lose my second to biggest toenail on my right foot- even going up a 1/2 a shoe size. Right now that toe is nail less. Fortunately it doesn't hurt - except when I do yoga. (Child's pose)

Veronica

[colby]

What kind of lotion are you putting on your feet?

I always get blisters doing a HIM. I also always lose my second to biggest toenail on my right foot- even going up a 1/2 a shoe size. Right now that toe is nail less. Fortunately it doesn't hurt - except when I do yoga. (Child's pose)

Veronica

Foot lotion - just something my mother in law bought me for Christmas in a happy feet kit (after I trashed my toenails in a marathon Thanksgiving weekend ) that I happened to have around... though I think I have some nice stuff that I bought earlier that I need to dig up. The stuff she got me is something called Earth Therapeutics Tea Tree Oil Foot Balm, with Aloe Vera and Chamomile. It does take a few days to work in, but if I am consistent with it (and occasionally having to dig out the file to file the callouses), it softens them nicely and they stay happy.

I have lost the second toenail a couple times - both mine have grown back so thick and weirdly shaped now that they will be hard to lose, but even in the right sized shoes I had trouble. Even now sometimes in the Five Fingers I clearly rub on the top of my second toe on my left foot and have blisters or tough skin there.

[kelownagirl]

Wow, you did an IM in Vibrams!!!

GREAT race report - I enjoyed reading and I saw you cross the finish line too! (I was watching online at the time and Rachel pointed out you were wearing the jersey she designed.)

Thanks for sharing - love the pics.

[Desert Tortoise]

Colby, that was fantastic! Thank you for sharing it and bringing some insight into what an ironman is about. You had me glued to the story, thinking this is so cool. And then the picture of you holding the poster with the 3 ironmans in podium. I have to admit, I teared up. I thought, here is this young woman who had to work her training around her job. Unlike pros whose job is to train, you made it work with the time you had. And 3 of them to boot, you rock!