Sorry in advance, folks -- although I had intended to keep this update relatively short, there were so many wonderful things I saw and experienced this past weekend so I will recall as much as I can. But be forewarned... delirium has set in and I may not make much sense!
I think I shot myself in the foot by nixing out caffeine from my diet immediately after watching an 18-hour race while on foot! In the last 3 nights, I've gotten about 16 hours of sleep (as opposed to a 'normal' 24) so I'm dragging today.
Friday - Headed up to Santa Rosa after work and enjoyed a nice meal at Captain Les' house and discussed with those not-racing our tentative plans for our day up in Guerneville to watch our Vineman Athletes compete [while getting in some training where we could].
Saturday - Up before the sun at 4:00 a.m. Phil, Belinda, Wendy, Merla, Liz, Simon and I were all on our feet and greeted our swimmers as they suited up and put the finishing touches on their transition areas.
We spectated for about 6 hours, before Simon, Phil, Liz and I took a brief intermission to get our 3-hour run in. We decided to drive back from Johnson's Beach & Resort in Guerneville, to Les' house in Santa Rosa (which we used conveniently as our water stop/refueling station). The day grew much warmer, which I took as great heat training. Did a good warmup with Liz & Coach Simon for the first 5+ miles or so then went on ahead to really practice and stay consistent with my pacing since it was our last long run of the season. I ran clear from Les' house to the Santa Rosa Airport. I felt like Forrest Gump again heading into uncharted (well at least not by me) territory and turning around only when I reached a dead end.
I actually ran alongside the bike course for a good portion of it, and got to see BK powering through. I also saw Barb's Race (the Half-Iron distance event) competitors and teammates Kristie & Jen Jay; as well as Aquabike teammate, Patty. Cheers all around for those I knew, and "great jobs"; "you're looking strongs" and "way to go's" to everyone else I saw :) I was hoping they didn't mistake me for a Vineman racer already on my run on the opposite side of the street! I was wearing a tri top after all!
I felt really strong about my run. Although it wasn't my day to shine or race, I was proud of my performance and the amount of focus I was able to keep for a sustained amount of time, especially as it got hotter on the blacktop. I was out there solo -- no running companion or distractions; and yet my willingness to keep moving forward and ability to break up my run into "holding my best pace for 4-minute intervals" was excellent mental training for me and time very well spent. I can say that for 3 hours, I didn't let up. Which I feel great about. I negative split my way on the back half and actually tried to pull a sprint at the end of the run -- a tad too early. First time I had felt this sensation, but my heart was pounding, my nutrition was jostling around in my tummy and I started to feel sick. "It's ok," I thought. "You are not going to throw up; you just need to take it back a little". It was a good lesson in listening to my body. Although my mind wanted me to push harder and harder, my body was a little thrown off and wanted to slow down a bit. [Run Stats 1 & 2 - watch reset after ~6-mi 'warm up']
I caught up to Liz in the final minutes and yards to Les' house and we both ended on a strong note. Again, covered in sweat and salt, we felt accomplished and proud for getting out there and getting the job done. Some soothing stretches alongside my recovery drink, foam rolling and a cool shower, and we were soon on our way and out the door again in search of lunch and to resume spectating to try and catch our friends on the run course.
Liz, Phil and I inhaled a 5-dollar Hot 'n Ready Pizza from Little Caesar's, before grabbing packs of ice for Liz's knee and heading to the mega IronTeam waterstop at Reiman & Starr (the start of the Loop on the run course, where racers run it 3 times).
Leis, megaphones, music, faux muscles and public disturbance... we made lots of noise just for our runners and I can only imagine what it did for their morale as they saw familiar faces cheering their names.
We later moved our cheering squad due to a few issues, but we came back in full force outside Windsor High School, right outside of T2 and the Finish Line.
Strength, focus, resilience, smiles. And the desire to keep moving forward. I think those are some of the most accurate ways to describe what I saw in each of my teammates on Saturday. We all knew they had a challenging, and during a handful of times, TOUGH-ASS day in front of them. But each time we saw them, they looked like forces to be reckoned with. They had a confidence about them that I knew had come from days like the East Bay Century. Clearlake 3/4 to Iron Weekend. Wildflower 1/2 way to Iron Weekend. Our winter Boot Camps in the rain. And the countless milestones they had encountered during their training season. It was the adversity they faced in their training that made them that much more prepared and confident to take on the Ironman Distance and obstacles that came their way on Saturday. IronTeam and Team in Training gave them the tools, and each of my teammates added their individuality to make their race days what they were.
I was perpetually misty-eyed the whole weekend and truly inspired by everything I saw. Our first finisher, Carolyn, despite having a couple flat tires on the course, passed through and finished with flying colors, making her the 5th place finisher in her age group and 15th overall. AMAZING. Our all-stars Haakon, BK, Jim, Rocky and Chris powered through and finished with sprints to the end. Sara also had a number of tough moments but all I saw was her smile throughout the day. And even Aquabikers Carol, Patty, Dana and Susie got me choked up with their journeys. Kathryn, Marina, Melissa, Les & Jen... all of them trudged through with nothing but force and a willingness to keep at their forward momentum and it made me proud to be their teammate.
The group of us ordered another pizza (thanks, Margaret) and shared laughs, tears and stories as we cheered endlessly for our IronFamily loop after loop.
We stayed on the course past closing time at 11 p.m. through to 1:17 a.m. when the last finishers on the course, Mary and Tiffany, made their way to the finish line to complete the distance.
We closed the weekend with a Victory Brunch the next morning, which I had the privilege to attend as a guest. I was moved by the stories of other competitors. Those who finished, those who fell a little shy of their initial goals, those who did have rougher days than they had anticipated -- but most of all, by those who endured and took lessons from the day. Lessons about their expectations, what can be controlled and what can't, things they learned about what to do better in the future. But above all, lessons about themselves.
Coach Simon coined it so well when he said that "the true byproduct of endurance racing is the unveiling of your own character. We do these things because they eventually wear us down to our raw selves, and we get to add a layer of strength to that latent person inside of us. Some of us find that our raw self is admirable and some of us find that he/she needs to clean up his/her language, but I found that all of you, deep down inside, have the same determined spirit that it takes to battle blood cancers." And I couldn't agree more.
I spent the rest of the 2+ hour drive back home (unfortunately stuck in traffic with likely all the Vineman Athletes and their bikes too!), but again teary-eyed and reflective about this journey. Honestly, if I'm this emotional about my teammates' race, God only knows what kind of sappy mess I'll be in Louisville.
I truly am so proud, touched and honored to be on a Team comprised of the individuals I've met and trained with these last 9 months. It's not about the outcome, but the process. And I hope that everyone sees their accomplishment on Saturday, July 31, 2010 as nothing short of spectacular -- regardless of the results or outcome. What you did out there was amazing and it was a privilege to be out there with you all.
***
Week #38 Workout Summary:
Swim: 1 hour and 0 minutes
Bike: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Run: 4 hours and 0 minutes
Core/Strength: 0 hours and 15 minutes
Total Workout: 6 hours and 45 minutes
No comments:
Post a Comment