On August 28, 2011, I joined the ranks of those who proudly call themselves
IRONMAN. What a ride!
(NB: I'll post more pics later, including my Finish Line photo, these are some candids).
The day dawned early - the ice machine outside my hotel room was active at 4am. (Sheesh people, it's just going to melt anyways!) I chewed thru my quinoa and cranberry cereal (modified recipe from Quinoa 365), lathered up the sunscreen, even in areas that wouldn't see the sun, suited up in my TTL gear, filled my water bottles with ice (that would promptly melt), and headed into the dawn. Athletes were drawn to the centre of the beach by an unseen magnet, quiet with anticipation. Ah, the atmosphere of an Ironman morning is unmatched for its energy, the air tastes acrid and sweet at the same time. Maybe it's the adrenaline, maybe it's the atheletes knowing that their time, their day, it has arrived.
Getting everything into T1 was easy - uncrowded, unhurried, time seemed to expand. There wasn't even a line at the portapotties! And then time started to contract: people exponentially multiplied, I started to see familiar faces, lots of hugs, back to the portapotty (there's a line now), then off to find my wetsuit fitter; Tara B is far and away the BEST amateur wetsuit fitter I've even known (she should go pro). She wrestled me into that thing, no gaps or pulling away from my neck, a perfect fit. Time shrunk again and I needed to get onto the beach. Angie A snagged me at the line for a good luck hug and some sage advice that likely saved my race (thanks Angie!) - but I'll get to that in a few moments.
The Swim: 3.8km
I found my spot on the beach, then waded into the water. I didn't want to be too far back, as I am a strong enough swimmer that I can handle a few bumps, and I wanted to find some feet to follow. Easier said than done! From the moment my face hit the water, there was constant contact from the other competitors, all of us wanted to share the same space, swim the same line. Egads, it was chaos! In spite of the chaos, I didn't panic - I kept moving forward, one stroke after the other, I found a rhythm in the chaos and pushing and bumping and kicking and punching and shoving. Then came the heel to my left eye. Sheesh, that one hurt. I honestly thought that when I surfaced on the beach I'd have a black eye. And the suction on my goggles got extra tight, like it was sucking my eyeball out!! With all the jostling around, I didn't want to stop to adjust my goggles, so I kept on swimming. The second corner was worse than the first! I popped my head up to sight on the next buoy and ran into a wall of people! I muttered, "Where are we going?" and heard several people chuckle and say "good question!" The swim back to the beach didn't improve much, lots of contact. I tried all kinds of strategies, speed up, slow down, move to either side, but I guess I was just in the mix of it all. And honestly, if I can survive a swim like that, I can survive any kind of swim in the future.
All of that bumping around cost me: based on training swims and previous race results, I had hoped for a faster swim. My swim time is still admirable, I'm just a bit disappointed, because I felt strong, I didn't have to stop and adjust, I swam as smoothly as possible.
Swim: 1:25:36
Swim rank: 110 out of 127 Women 35-39
Swim rank: 2028 out of 2811 overall
T1
Tara B saw me coming and dashed for my bag - thanks Tara! - and I hurried off to claim a seat in the tent. Wow, it was crowded in there, time to get moving and get out of here! The sunscreen station was thorough, thanks, I didn't even get a sliver of a burn all day long (which was one of my biggest concerns). I waved at Madi S and headed for the road.
The Bike: 180km
I love my bike. She's shiny and light and takes me to fun places. Today, she worked hard: the temperature was rapidly rising (it would top out around 35+ degrees) and it was windy and I spilled nutrition and food all over her. What a trooper.
The ride out of town was uneventful, but I was thirsty. Very, very thirsty. So on the way up MacLean Creek road I decided to grab some water at the aid station. Much better. Shannon O and I played leapfrog a few times, as we would all day long, and then I buckled in for the long ride: keep it simple, keep it steady. Drafting was a big problem. I know the marshals did their best, but it was a crowded road and I saw packs of people moving forward. Knowing that the only thing to do was to ride MY ride, I put my head down and kept spinning. The ride up Richter wasn't so bad - everyone complains about it - but I saw Jen S and decided to keep her butt in view the whole way up (as she reminded me, "Let's see if Richelle's spin class pays off!"). At the top I put my foot down for a quick minute to adjust some nutrition bottles and saw Rona S and Leslie Ann M spin past. I gave a quick wave to my support crew Ryan and Emma, then got ready for the fun part: descending Richter's. Wow, I love speed, to the tune of 63km/hour! And gravity is free!
Next up, The Rollers. Now that the sun was viciously beating down on us, the wind also decided to pick up, so the downhill portions were actually hard work. Eventually I made it to the out and back, tore open my Special Needs Bag and devoured some salt tabs, used some chamois butters, and grabbed more water. I know the aid stations ran out later in the day, but rest assured I drank every last drop in the bottles that I picked up. I took the extra salt tabs with me and continued to consume them every hour; I hadn't trained with them, but I bet they saved my body a lot of grief this day. In fact, I was starting to feel a bit nauseous, which I have come to learn means that I'm dangerously close to the limits of exertion. The salt tabs almost instantly took away my nausea. At this point the temperature was ridiculously hot, the sun was beating so hard on my black shorts that they felt like they had spontaneously burst into flame, and I was sweating hard. It was H.O.T.
The climb up Yellow Lake was hard. I kept spinning, I passed people who were walking, I kept spinning, I passed people who were sitting in the shade, I kept spinning. At the top there is no respite, just a short flat stretch before one final climb. I kept spinning, knowing that the downhill into town was within reach. I put a big smile on my face and let my bike carry me home. But wait - the wind was back, right in my face, forcing me to pedal. I kept it light, kept spinning, back to town.
The bike portion was fun: I didn't over-exert myself, I didn't run out of gas, but I did run out of "zip." The heat just sucked it right out of me. My legs weren't heavy, but they weren't full of energy either; I was having an okay day. Did I have expectations for the ride? Sure, I'd love to have been faster, but given the heat, I'm super pleased with my bike results.
Bike Time: 7:19:15
Bike Rank: 121 out of 127 women 35-39
Bike Rank: 2260 out of 2811 overall
This pic was taken by pro Triathlete Jordan Bryden, and I love that I have a smile on my face, sunscreen everywhere, and I'm ready to get it in gear!
T2
In retrospect I should have paid closer attention to the people who took my bike. I crossed the dismount line into T2 and someone grabbed my bike and pointed me in the other direction. That's a lot of trust in a total stranger! Thank-you to the wonderful volunteers who looked after the athletes and our gear.
Into the tent, strip, get dressed, get more sunscreen, get moving.
OUCH!!!!! WHY DO MY FEET HURT!!!!!!
The Run: 42.6km
I have spent countless hours with Sarah PG (thanks Sarah!) at physio sorting out the issues under my toes, and issues with my hips/IT band. Can you believe that neither of these things reared their ugly heads at Ironman? Nope, instead, a whole new problem surfaced: the metatarsals in my feet were THROBBING!!! The big, long foot bones in both feet were screaming at me. Every step was painful. Now what????
I gulped down some Tylenol and set out at a brisk walk, hoping that the pain would go away.
I saw our neighbours Kris and Renata cheering for me, I saw my kids, my family, my sister who came from Ontario to watch me do this crazy thing. Wow, what a rush, the support was overwhelming.
And did I mention it was HOT? I was in danger of overheating, I could tell that my focus was less than perfect, and all I wanted was some air conditioning. I don't do well with heat; I prefer the high-teens to low-twenties for temperature, no humidity, nice and temperate. I melt in the heat, I get instant heat rash, I feel simply wretched in the heat. And now I was faced with running a marathon in the 35+ degree heat. Here is where Angie's sage advice came into play: she suggested that at each aid station I grab a baggie of ice (or a cup of ice) and carry it with me. I could either suck on the ice water, use it to cool myself, or just hold it in my mouth. She was right. I took ice at each aid station and put three cubes down the front and back of my top (I later felt my top and discovered it was deliciously cool, those ice cubes kept my core temp low, to good effect). I avoided the sprinklers as they would simply weigh down my shoes with water and potentially cause blisters. I grabbed a slice of orange and a cup of Coke at the aid stations until my tummy said "eeewww" and I drank water and took salt tabs every hour.
On the way out, I saw Angie and the TTL tent - what a great cheering section! I was disappointed that I wasn't running, but I kept my pace strong. Angie trotted beside me and commented on my fast pace (it's the long legs, Angie) and reminded me that I got to choose how to deal with this dilemma. She was right, I just kept moving forward, no free walking, and then when the downhills approached, I decided to suck it up and run down them (gravity is free!). The running portions got longer and longer, and eventually I passed Shannon (we leapfrogged again - she did wonders for my morale all day, thanks to Shannon for her wisdom and perseverence!) and then she would pass me again. I walked uphill, ran downhill and kept moving forward. I saw my sister at the turn-around in OK Falls, she was pushing Amy, nice to see my family, they all watched me like an exhibit at the zoo as I applied Second Skin to my budding blisters, then I was off again, headed for home. The run back along the lake had cooled down a bit, I actually enjoyed this part of the run, and yes, I was running again, not fast, but faster than walking. I was eating pretzels and soup, sucking on water and ice. By the time I reached town it was dark, kinda eerie. Lots of encouragement from pedestrians along the way, back to town, back to Lakeshore. There was TTL at the turn-around, cheers and high-fives, there was my family, time to get it in gear again. I ran the last kilometer into the finish line, the crowd was fantastic, I had the finisher's chute all to myself, hit the blue carpet and
BLISS. I crossed the line! Cindy Spence, you are an Ironman!
I know that my training made it possible to run this marathon. I believe I had the legs for it, that I had the focus for it, that I was ready for it. Once I found my feet (or maybe once they were numbed from the 6 Tylenol I gobbled down), the running seemed easier than walking. I even negative split my marathon, I mean, how crazy is that? I have no ambition to ever run in Boston, and sure, I'd like to improve my 10k PB or feel better running uphill; but, for now, I am pleased with this marathon. I fought back after some serious heat issues, didn't have a single GI issue all day, fueled the marathon portion entirely with on-course nutrition, and finished with a smile.
Marathon time: 6:12:56
Run rank: 1323 out of 167 women 35-39
Run rank: 2195 out of 2811 overall
I love that I'm running with such focus in this photo, I look stronger than I have ever felt, and I'm racing Ironman! (photo courtesy of Jordan Bryden)
Yes, I had to do some walking, but you can see the heat and how much I was sweating in this pic. At least there's a BIG smile on my face!
On Hitting the Blue Carpet: T3
I need to offer up a huge, extra-special thanks to my catchers, Scott and Mike, both from TTL. I was really dazed when I crossed the line, I don't even remember gathering my Finisher shirt or having my photo taken, I think I started to be aware of my surroundings sometime after my first slice of pizza, just as Scott and Mike were saying good-bye. They helped me find a seat, get some food, and stay upright. Thanks guys, you were great.
Over-all Ironman time: 15:14:47
Ironman rank:127/167 women 35-39
Ironman rank: 2197 out of 2811 overall
And now for the thank-you's:
Thank-you to
Richelle L, who deserves Coach of the Year for her unending enthusiasm and belief in my abilities, even when I doubted and cursed and raged and laughed.
Thank-you to my sister,
Robin M, who flew with my 10-month old niece to be at this momentous event in my life.
Thank-you to the
friends who think I've disappeared off the face of the earth (Ironman training is all-consuming, sorry for deserting you) - you know who you are.
Thank-you to the girls who sent me music for my marathon - I thought of you along the journey and call upon your strength.
Thank-you to my
daughters, for loving me even when I am a crazy Ironman-in-training.
Thank-you to
Ryan, for loving me just because.
I promise to post more pics soon, the official video and pics are coming, they look great, but the download is slow. Stay tuned!
.... what's next?
Well isn't that the question hanging in the air. Yes, I still want to race triathlon. Yes, I miss my mountain bike. Let's wait a few weeks to decide, shall we?
.... and yes, I'm getting the tattoo, I'll post pics of that, too! :)
