IMC 2010
After a year of hard and consistent training with the support of two great coaches (yes, Tara-Lee and Sean), my friends and my family, Ironman Canada is finally here…
On August 29, 2010 I wake up at 4:30am thankful that I actually slept and thinking “Wow, this is the day! This is really happening!” Quick shower, race gear on, try to eat calmly while my friends take pre-race pictures and then off to the start in the dark… While there are large numbers of people everywhere, the darkness makes it a little even more (if that’s possible) surreal. Has this day finally arrived? Am I really about to start Ironman? I stand in line waiting to get ‘body-marked’ and try to use that time to really ‘take it all in’… As the volunteer marks me with my number, she asks me how I’m feeling and how many times I’ve done Ironman. I say: “Well, I’m excited and a little nervous. This is my first Ironman!!” With a beaming smile she says: “You’ll have a great time! Enjoy it! You look really fit, you’ll be fine!” I laugh and thank her for her words of encouragement and for volunteering! In my head, I also think, “Well, if nothing else, at least I look fit”
Ready to enter transition, I hug my friends once last time and go in! I check on my transition bags, add water bottles to my bike, get the tires pumped, and then start getting my wet suit on! I make my way to the water with two friends and find a fairly open spot close to the front and in the middle. I usually position myself on the outside where there is usually way less people but that was not the case. The sides were crazy packed!! Change of plan then, I guess I’m staying in the middle… The anthem is playing and I’m thankful that I’m not crying in my goggles (sporting event anthems usually trigger tears)! The gun goes and then we all go!
What is the swim like?
People keep on asking me, “Wow, there were almost 3,000 people! What was the swim like?” The swim start was definitely the most anxiety filled moment of the whole race for me. I had to fight the strongest claustrophobic feeling I have ever felt. I had to fight the thoughts urging me to get out of the water, to escape this mass of flailing arms and kicking feet and go back to bed! Change your thoughts I tell myself so I start repeating “I’m calm, I’m calm, I’m calm…” and slowly I start feeling calmer. I still feel like I have to escape this group I’m trapped in but in a ‘move forward positive kind of way’. I’m stuck and I’m stuck in the ‘wrong’ group. So, I decide to view the swim as a game of Tetris or Frogger where, while staying calm, I find an opening that I can move forward to. This seems to be working! I’m probably missing out on the benefits of drafting but at least I’m calm, I’m positive and one buoy at a time, I’m starting to enjoy this lake swim and am getting closer and closer to my first transition!
So, what does the swim start feel like? It feels like being in a capacity filled elevator where all the occupants have to move in a synchronized way… Oh yeah, and the elevator is full of water!
Yes, my arm warmers and my bike!
So, I’m out of the water and feeling pretty good. Volunteers get my wet suit off pretty quickly so I grab my swim to bike transition bag and head into the changing tent. I sit and breathe for a moment while another helpful volunteer gets my stuff out of my bag. I put my socks on, my shoes, my new Ironman arm warmers (hey, I need something fun to look forward to in transition), my helmet, my sunglasses and I’m off to get my bike. As I cycle the first few hundred meters I know that this is the closest I’ll ever feel to competing in the Tour de France! There are a ridiculously large number of people on both sides of the road cheering so loudly! I wonder if that’s how Andy Schleck feels when he’s climbing in the Alpes – I can only hope so!
I keep on cycling pretty excited to be out of the water and on my bike when I notice that my Garmin is not working? Seriously?! I cautiously move to the side, avoiding rushing cyclists and notice that my wheel sensor needs to be adjusted – easy enough! Two seconds and I’m back on my bike! I see my friends on the side of the road jumping in excitement and I wave and smile as I jet by thinking: “Wow, I am doing an Ironman! Crazy!!” I am a bit concerned when I notice how ‘heavy’ my legs feel though. Seriously, I just started! My legs can’t be heavy already?! Perhaps, it’s all the excitement and anxiety of the morning… I switch to an ‘easier’ gear and try to spin out my legs for a bit before I settle into my groove. As I’m wondering if my legs will start to feel better anytime soon, two deer jump out from the ditch looking extremely distraught as they notice the sea of cyclists on the road. We all brake, slow down, and hope that the deer will turn around and not cross the road! Luckily for all us around at that time, they jump back into the field and it seems like we all breathe a sigh of relief – phew! As for me, my heart rate is through the roof but my legs finally seem to be awake. I guess I have the deer to thank for that!
So, from then on until Osoyoos, I feel pretty good and am able to keep a speed of over 30km/h which is making me really happy! I know that the climbs are coming and, call me crazy, but I am kind of looking forward to it (what can I say, I enjoy climbing)! As I go up and down I try to enjoy the scenery and keep on hydrating and eating. I’m 100km into the cycle portion and this is where I start to feel tired and somewhat hungry. I am getting really anxious to reach the ‘special needs’ station so I can grab my bag and eat some ‘real’ food. I finally get there, get my bag and stand in line for the washroom (there’s nothing like standing in line during a race). I’m there for about 10 minutes but decide that this ‘break’ will be good for me: I have time to eat my half bagel with peanut butter, drink my Ensure (no, it’s not only for old people) and get a few other treats in. So, as much as the next portion of the bike course was extremely winding, extremely cold and extremely wet, the little ‘break’ and food intake made it more bearable and I was able to keep a positive attitude. I also saw my friends during this portion which was also a great morale booster!!
“It’s the last climb! You can do it! Keep it up!” tons of spectators are saying encouragingly! YAY! Here comes the descent into Penticton. Wow, the bike portion is almost done! Is this for real? I try to enjoy this descent as much as possible and try to spin out my legs to get them ready to run!
Here come the pink socks!
I reach transition, give my bike to a volunteer, grab my bike to run transition bag and enter the changing tent for the second time that day. Another great volunteer empties my bag as I take off my socks and biking shoes. My hands are cold and my feet are wet – not the perfect combination to put on tight compression socks super quickly! As excited as I am to put on my fun pink socks, I’m thinking that this is starting to be harder than the bike leg I just finished. Finally, with my socks on, my running shoes on, running belt and running hat I start running out of transition to another extremely loud crowd of people. I feel so light on my feet, it’s incredible! I settle into my groove and remind myself to keep it smooth and consistent. I hear Tara-Lee in my head saying: “Keep it consistent girl, just keep it consistent.” That’s what I aim to do! At about the 5km mark I see my friends and quickly stop for a hug: I feel so good and so happy, I have to stop and share this moment with them. I wave goodbye as I leave feeling even more energized.
So, my plan for the run was to keep a consistent pace, walk the aid stations so I could hydrate properly and go at it, one 15 minute portion at a time. I had decided to ‘dedicate’ every 15 minute portion of the run to special people in my life (which is what I did and one of the things that probably kept me sane during the run)! At the turnaround point I was still feeling pretty good and was still on track with my plan and still keeping a pace of over 10km/h. While my legs felt pretty good, I did start to ‘feel’ my quads around the 25km mark. I decided to take that as a sign to stay focused and stay ‘smart’. Walking a hill or two might ‘cost’ me a few minutes but just might allow me to keep this euphoric feeling a bit longer. I wanted that feeling to last! So, for the last 15kms or so, I kept a pretty consistent pace, was okay with walking up two hills and tried to enjoy all the encouragement from the crowd. I was feeling so good it was hard for me to believe!
I’m almost there now… I’m approaching the last 2kms and the crowd is so thick, it’s crazy! I go through a corridor of people screaming the most wonderful words of encouragement – I start to ‘tear up’ a bit but I’m also thinking that since I can’t sing or play any instrument this is probably the closest I will ever be to feeling like a rock star – I smile! After that, I’m not thinking about anything but the fact that this crazy wonderful euphoric day is coming to an end and I’m about to be an ‘Ironman’. I tell myself to enjoy it, to remember this moment and cherish it. I come down the finishing chute, give high fives to people I don’t know and then to my friends just before I cross the finish line with my arms up in the air, 12 hours 35 minutes and 35 seconds after the gun went off that morning! I am truly ecstatic!
So, for all of you out there wondering if you can do an Ironman (or any other goal or dream you might have), you can do it! If Ironman has taught me anything it is to believe in the unbelievable…
Karine Henrie, Ironman finisher
(12:35:35 - 1:14:44; 6:35:56; 4:31:02)
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