'Tis the Season: Ironman Coeur d'Alene

[colby]

Yay!! I'm doing Canada, and would love to see a friendly face. I'm coming up alone (Jeff has some mountain climbing thing that weekend ) and so I have no one there to cheer for me. Wanna be my cheering squad?

I looked at your photos. You look amazing in every one. You *are* amazing! I have to say though, that simply looking at the photo of all those thousands of people lined up on the beach makes me a little sick to my stomach. The mass start scares the hell out of me, still. I know I can swim 4000 meters. But doing it in the midst of all those people makes me feel panicky just sitting here at my desk! What's you mental strategy for dealing with the melee??

I will totally be your cheering squad. I'm hoping I get finish line so I can cheer all day and right to the end!!

For the mass start, two big things:
1. On the one hand, it's like any other race. If you're a slower swimmer (not going to finish under 1:10 or even 1:20), move to the outside or hang back. If you don't want to get swam over, do not swim directly in the buoy line, where most people are going to be. Usual triathlon stuff, at a larger scale.

2. On the other hand, it's 2,700 people!! Some thrashing, swimming very closely, and running into people, even if you hang back or to the outside, is nearly inevitable. Remember, DO NOT PANIC. The more confident you are in the swim and in your open water swimming, the more tolerant you will be of the other factors. (If you aren't worried about making the distance or the cutoff times, you are less likely to be in a straw that broke the camel's nerves position.)

Things that can happen:
1. You cannot breathe for multiple normal breaths because you are surrounded. Be prepared to stay calm, try breathing on the other side, switch to breaststroke/backstroke. It is scary, but breaths will come. Panic will make it worse.

2. You cannot take a stroke on one side for multiple strokes because someone is on top of your arm. Keep kicking, take strokes with the other arm, navigate away. Stay calm.

3. You are surrounded by people that are going randomly different speeds and directions - getting passed and passing people simultaneously. Try to stay calm. If you feel yourself starting to panic, swim out of the crowd. Stopping is a worse idea, more people will swim over you. Often you can swim out of the crowd, regain composure, and swim back in.

4. You have no clue where the buoys are because you can't see anything but swim caps for what feels like miles. You probably do not want to stop because people will swim over you, but people will be stopping around you. Keep swimming, keep sighting. Not all that different from any other race, but the # of people is sometimes staggering. If your head is aiming toward heads, you are probably going the right way

5. It will be crowded at the turn buoys. Sometimes there are so many people you can't even move. Keep swimming, consider going a little wide, it's faster than stopping.

6. I am not sure how the sun is in IMCA, but in CdA, you make your turn right into the sun, and swim into the rising sun until the next turn. If it's sunny, be prepared to not be able to see the buoys as often as you think. It helps to see the swim course ahead of time to mentally think through what the conditions are going to be like. Use your usual "I can't see the buoys, swim a few more strokes and I will be able to" technique.

7. Again, not sure about the swim in IMCA, but in CdA you have changing conditions to factor in. The second loop often has way more wind, current, and chop, which leads to a slower second loop and feeling like you're going nowhere on a swim treadmill. Nothing like being at mile 1.8 and thinking you're never going to get there (totally like mile 18 of the marathon). Stay positive, whether it's on the out, the back, or the turn.

8. People will probably thin out, which is good and bad. Good, now you have room to swim. Bad, you're not quite there yet, so you need to stay focused and get it done. Once you get to the point where you can hear the beach again, you're home free!

If you are sensing a theme, you're right. Stay calm, don't panic. Trust in your training and adapt to the conditions. Get out of the crowd if you start to feel panicked and can't calm down. I have read that the Coeur d'Alene mass start/swim is one of the roughest because the beach is so short. That could mean you also need to contend with being TOO FAR down the beach and having to swim extra distance, so the trick is figuring out where to plant your feet and still have a great swim. I find that if I'm in the crowd, I swim faster, but I also am more likely to feel those things that make me panic, so I need to be confident in my training.

It's going to be awesome!!! I will dream up some good sign ideas.

[Susan Otcenas]

I will totally be your cheering squad. I'm hoping I get finish line so I can cheer all day and right to the end!!

Woot!

These are great tips, Colby. THANKS!!! I'm doing a 70.3 this weekend and will try to put them to good use.

How's your recovery going??

[sgf726]

+1 Great Tips on the swim.

I am a slower swimmer (hope to be about 1:50 for IMLP) and am really nervous about the mass start. The good news is by halfway throught the second lap is shouldn't be too crowded :-)

Sharon

[colby]

+1 Great Tips on the swim.

I am a slower swimmer (hope to be about 1:50 for IMLP) and am really nervous about the mass start. The good news is by halfway throught the second lap is shouldn't be too crowded :-)

Sharon

All of my finish times are between 1:40 and 1:55, so I know where you're coming from. The first lap will be fairly crowded but not too bad, the second lap will be pretty thin. Sometimes I struggle with feeling like I'm the ONLY person out there on the second half of the second lap when it's really thinned out. My advice in that position is to just keep swimming, sighting, and moving forward, and try not to get frustrated.

If you know you're going to be slower, hang back and choose a less aggressive angle. When I know I'm going to be slow or haven't focused on my swimming, I just ease up and would rather have a really consistent, even, quality, low stress swim than fight it out.

[Susan Otcenas]

I just ease up and would rather have a really consistent, even, quality, low stress swim than fight it out.

Precisely!

[colby]

Woot!

These are great tips, Colby. THANKS!!! I'm doing a 70.3 this weekend and will try to put them to good use.

How's your recovery going??

Not bad! The first week, just tired, exhausted. The second week, I feel better, but when I ride or run I can feel every muscle that's still tired, often really deep, deep down there. I raced a sprint triathlon over the weekend and felt pretty solid, but I know I wasn't at 100%, part of it is just the sheer amount of mental recovery. Ironman is a huge commitment, so sometimes it's really hard to convince myself that I NEED to commit to anything after doing that for so long

[Wahine]

Ironman is a huge commitment, so sometimes it's really hard to convince myself that I NEED to commit to anything after doing that for so long

You don't need to commit to anything else and in fact the rule of thumb is to not keep any kind of a schedule after a big event like that for at least 1 month, 2 is best. Just go out and play when you want to. It should all be fun and no stress. Your brain/spirit truly need to rest. If you don't give yourself that mental recovery time you are flirting with burnout. Trust me.

[Tri Girl]

If you don't give yourself that mental recovery time you are flirting with burnout. Trust me.

Agreed!! I've suffered from major burnout after my last two IM. I don't want to even race for a year or so afterward- just want to paint and read and walk and ride my bike for fun.
I call my post IM seasons my "artsy periods"

[colby]

You don't need to commit to anything else and in fact the rule of thumb is to not keep any kind of a schedule after a big event like that for at least 1 month, 2 is best. Just go out and play when you want to. It should all be fun and no stress. Your brain/spirit truly need to rest. If you don't give yourself that mental recovery time you are flirting with burnout. Trust me.

Agreed!! I've suffered from major burnout after my last two IM. I don't want to even race for a year or so afterward- just want to paint and read and walk and ride my bike for fun.
I call my post IM seasons my "artsy periods"

Thank you ladies for the reminder, I am sure my brain appreciates it. I'm avoiding digging up any training plans or anything other than looking forward to a few sprint races (and volunteering in Canada). I am racing a 70.3 at the END of October, which gives me enough breathing room that I don't need to stress about training.

It feels a little aimless and strange, but I think you're right, and I need it.

[kacie tri-ing]

Colby! I am so very proud of your finish! I wish I could have seen you at the end!

Follow your heart on the sign up for the next one. If it feels like something you HAVE to do, don't. If you know you love this part of your life, and you are not ready to give it a rest, keep going!

Check out George's race report: http://mostpleasantexhaustion.blogsp...ce-report.html

He qualified for Kona, and he is STILL talking about that swim. He was telling me that he tried to stay positive, but man, it was tough. He certainly appreciated any positivity you sent his way!

I can't wait to hear how your decompression period goes. Maybe you will decide something else is fun! Maybe half iron, maybe just running, maybe cooking and painting, maybe writing, maybe riding a lot!

Keep us informed as you move ahead! We are all on your side!

[colby]

Colby! I am so very proud of your finish! I wish I could have seen you at the end!

Follow your heart on the sign up for the next one. If it feels like something you HAVE to do, don't. If you know you love this part of your life, and you are not ready to give it a rest, keep going!

Check out George's race report: http://mostpleasantexhaustion.blogsp...ce-report.html

He qualified for Kona, and he is STILL talking about that swim. He was telling me that he tried to stay positive, but man, it was tough. He certainly appreciated any positivity you sent his way!

I can't wait to hear how your decompression period goes. Maybe you will decide something else is fun! Maybe half iron, maybe just running, maybe cooking and painting, maybe writing, maybe riding a lot!

Keep us informed as you move ahead! We are all on your side!

Thanks, Kacie! If I were in my right mind, I'd have suggested breakfast (one of them) or something the day after Ironman so we could actually connect.

George's race report is great. He totally came to run, and he owned that run. What a machine! He was SO ready.

I signed up for CdA next year, I really do love the day, the experience, and it's close to home. I can still change my mind - it's just money, my sanity is worth more, and I really may find something else I want to focus on or love in the next 9-12 months (and volunteering in Canada might teach me that I don't in fact have to race to love it). At this point, I'd like to learn to love running like I love to ride my bike, and lose some body fat. Lofty goals, but I'm not in the mood for much more

[colby]

I'm digging a little into my own thread, but since we left this off at figuring out what the next thing is, I thought I'd add to my post-Ironman recovery.

I have pretty much done spotty "workouts" (once or twice a week running and once or twice a week non-commute riding) and daily commutes (12 miles/day) for the last month. I did a 40-50 mile bike ride a few weeks ago on a whim, occasional longer runs (no more than 6-8 miles). After about 5 weeks, I started to feel full again when consuming normal human amounts of food, which is when I knew my body was finally relatively recovered.

Anyway, I raced a sprint this weekend (with my MIL ) and had a pretty good time. I know I need to brush up on my swimming and running because I am not gaining any ground there (identical times to previous years). I managed 34/1544 overall on the bike split and finished 27/135 AG - 117/1544 OA (holding on to my top 10% finish from last year). If I actually did spend more time swimming and running, I could crack top 15-20 AG but not sure about top 10. I guess I can get a few minutes back on the swim and a few minutes back on the run, but neither of those add up to the 10-15 minutes that I'd need without significant effort (possibly past the "fun" zone).

All of that boring stuff aside, after I finished the race I backtracked to find my mother-in-law and walk to the finish with her (plantar fasciitis acting up meant a hobble/walk). I figured she'd be somewhere between mile 1 and 2, so I chose to go backward rather than repeat the run - turns out she was basically at exactly halfway when I would have caught her so it didn't matter. When I got to a section where I wouldn't be running upstream, I started running with people still racing, and I had an O M G moment where running felt good and I WANTED to do it. I was ENJOYING running. It FELT good (and this was after running 5k at a reasonably hard-but-sustainable pace). This seems really trivial, but this is the first time I have felt that way since Ironman.

At the end of the race, I really felt like I WANTED to do it again, like I had recaptured what I enjoyed. The swim felt low stress, the bike felt fast, the run felt doable. What a difference 6 weeks makes!

I am going to begin a short training cycle for Ironman 70.3 Austin (last weekend of October) to rebuild some of my endurance fitness and finish the triathlon year. After that, I think I actually do want to spend some time with running through about February, when I'll pick back up for next year on all 3 disciplines. I still bike commute 12 miles daily, so it's not like I'll be giving much up (sorry, swimming, you are my first love but we understand each other so well, and unfortunately I cannot swim to work).

I love you again, swimming, biking, and running. I missed you, but I am so glad we took a break from being all business all the time to have some fun and get some rest.