Well, I finished the IM in some seriously hot weather conditions. It was a dig deep kind of day that took lots of prayer, and I was so thankful to cross the finish line. There's really nothing like the sight of the finish line after a seemingly never ending race day! I knew I would be slower then my first IM but I ended up an hour and 45 minutes slower. Try that for your ego!!!! But truly it was the best I could do, it was a completely different race course and city, and the biggest difference was the weather. I will gradually go through the swim-bike-run that took me 15:00:54 in future posts. But first a preview...
HIGH POINTS:
The Finish Line!!!!!!!!!!!!
Colin-my husband there cheering me on, not to mention he went and picked up all my gear and bike post-race, and listened to me about everything all through the weekend...
Aunt Lisa and Cousins Rose and Julia-drove 2 hours to meet for dinner the night before and cheered me all through the entire long race day! They rocked! Took lots of pics too!
Ohio River proved to be easy water to swim in, brown and murky, but not stinky.
Fun rolling hills on the bike course!
Met a few people to chat with briefly along the run course!
Pulled myself through the run by cheering on the other runners in the later darker miles of the course and then got called "Skirt Girl" and asked "How I could be so perky?" by those same runners. :)
LOW POINTS:
That this thing was in AUGUST!!!! In Kentucky!!!!!
That it was 94 degrees and the bike course was in FULL SUN!!!!
An aid station on the bike course ran out of water (just didn't get replenished quickly enough...) so I went without for 12 miles or so, not fun. (I had half a bottle of warm gatorade on my bike, better then nothing.)
Had a headache for the first hour or two of the bike, it was hot out there. Kept drinking gatorade and pushing to get better hydrated.
Cried at mile 5.86 of the run because I felt so bad, dehydration bad feeling in my head, not really muscles. Another runner coming back on the other side of the road said, "It's okay, we ALL feel like that, keep going!!!" So I sucked it up, quit my crying, and kept going!
Run course was a double out and back straight shot with no turns, very boring, and we had to do it TWICE! AND at mile 14 we had to run right up to the finish line but instead of going down the chute to the end, we turned left and went back out for the second boring out and back loop. You could see and hear the screaming crowd and the people finishing. good times.
HYDRATION and NUTRITION:
Bike-Drank 4 aero bottles of water, 2 sports drink bottles, 5 hours worth of Hammer Perpetuem (900 calories), 4 mini Clif bars (100 calories each), 2 Clif Shot Blocks packages (200 calories each), half a banana from an aid station.
Run-Drank Nuun (3 tablets worth spaced out, needed more), straight water, sports drink (not sure how much, drank it at the aid stations as needed.), 4 GU gel packs (100 calories each).
[Aid stations had lots of food and choices but I just can't eat on the run which is why I try to really take it all in on the bike.]
WEIGHT CHANGES:
Friday: weighed in at athlete check-in 4 lbs heavier than my normal which was a result of minimal workouts for the two previous taper weeks, not a big deal. Body water was at 50 percent which was good. (anything from 45 to 60 is good.)
Sunday Race Day: CALORIE BURN was 13,020, craziness!!!!!
Tuesday: a full day after the race I weighed 9 pounds LESS than I did at the athlete weigh-in!
Wednesday: back to my normal weight, not the extra 4 lbs. I had at the athlete weigh-in but at what I've been weighing all summer.
RECOVERY:
Feel better than after a marathon, not sure why??? Quads were a little sore Mon-Tues but not Wednesday, left hamstring is a still a little tight. Overall, I feel pretty good. I did NOT feel so great at the finish line, tired and hard to stand up then!
Monday-drove the 9.5 hours home.
Tuesday-3 mile walk plus a 1 mile jog. (hadn't planned to run but was in a hurry to get back and it didn't hurt.)
Wednesday-very easy 1.5 hour slow paced bike ride.
Thursday-went out to bike 30 miles with my friend but felt so great that I biked 5o miles instead! Would not have done it if I didn't feel good, no soreness during or after and pace was decent. (15.8, not bad for a few days after IM)
the rest of the week? lake swim on Friday and a short run on Saturday.
Why am I recovering so well??? I think because it was sooooooo incredibly hot at the IM that I couldn't go all out like I had trained up for and now I've still got some in the tank. Too bad I can't go try again for faster in an upcoming IM but they fill up a year in advance and my husband would flat out leave me! ha! Not really, but he definitely would not be in favor! I mean, I'm definitely doing MORE of these things, I'm hooked and want to get faster, but I won't being doing one in the fall! :)
COMING SOON: Maybe some short posts and more pictures, one about the swim, one about the bike, and a final one about the run. Trying to keep it shorter. But of course this one is completely long. Sorry.
8 comments:
Congrats on your IM finish! I can't imagine how hot you must have been! My 5th marathon was slower than my first, but each race is different, even when they're on the same course. "Yay!" for the person who told you to keep going and "Yay!" for you - what an accomplishment!
I appreciate your recognition that it was a different race, day, course etc. than IMFL '09. That truly matters as far as your time is concerned!
I was looking every day for an update... yay! I am so proud of you. Your are a TOTAL ROCKSTAR!
BTW: I am running some of the MCM course tomorrow. Just the middle part. Got 20 miles on tap.
I love how your "digging deep" found something already put there by your training and by your attitude that you can do all things through Christ. How you remember all the details about fueling and hydrating over a 15 hour period is beyond me. You inspire me to keep on running.And I love how cheering someone else was actually self-energizing. Good words of wisdom for any situation.
way to go Kirsten - what an amazing accomplishment x2!
Way to go girl, it was a tough day out there!
You are amazing! Way to go!!
WOWOWOWOW!!! Amazing! I am so inspired! I can't believe you were in the sun for the ENTIRE bike ride. And that the aid station ran out of water! AHHHHHH! not good. And 13,000+ calories burned! Those were some amazing numbers to read. I bet that heat just zapped you but so glad you hear you are recovering so well. Just running here in the heat and on a few days when it's been slightly cooler, I've noticed a big difference.
CONGRATULATIONS for an major accomplishment and finishing the IronMan race!
You are so inspiring! :)
Can't wait to read more and see more pictures!
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