Ironman Florida Race Report

November 5, 2011

Karen Wood - 11:01:27

The first thing I want to do is say thank you to my best buddy Trudy who came to IM FLA along with her husband Scottie to see me race.  That was such a huge boost to me and I was so excited that she was there.  Also, to all my buddies back in IL who supported and encouraged me while I trained solo down here in Charlotte, thanks a million.  It was a pretty lonely season and there were lot’s of times (unfortunately more than I’d like to admit) when I questioned why I was doing this, and even if I really wanted to do it.  I also had/have a great coach (Thanks Jay!) and his training plan kept me focused and on track.

Chris and I got to Panama City Beach on Wednesday afternoon and once I’d registered and we’d settled into the condo it was time to dial into race mode.  Tell the truth I’d been in complete denial about the pending race up until the week before; I literally had myself convinced that it was still weeks away. 

Anyway, Thursday morning comes and myself, Jay Druml and Jeff Rodgers head to the beach for my first ocean swim.  It was chilly and a little choppy and I was shaking in my shoes.  I’m not a big fan of what lies beneath the waters surface and had conjured up all kind of nightmares (literally) of sharks, sting rays, jelly fish, eels, this list goes on and on...  I was a bit freaked by the swim.

The first thing I noticed was that the water was really, really clear which, for a time, had me feeling better about it all until Jeff pointed out a sting ray right below us and shortly thereafter a jelly fist in front of us.  Crap!!!  We continued swimming and I caught my fare share of waves and came out with an upset stomach from all the salt water I’d swallowed.  But, I didn’t get stung or bitten by anything so in my mind it was a good swim.  More of the same during Friday’s swim but with much higher waves which translated to a bit more anxiety on my part.

All season I’ve been training with a power meter, however a few weeks prior to the race the thing just died on me.  As I was cleaning my bike before leaving for the race I noticed that the cable which housed the wires was cut and wondering if that might be the problem I packed my wheel and my computer to see if one of the bike shops in FL might be able to fix the problem.  To make a long story short I ended up ordering a new wired harness which turned out to be the fix I was looking for and my power meter was up and running again.  Halleluia! 

I had some pretty high expectations of myself for this race and I wasn’t sure if it was all possible.  My overall goal was to break 11 hours and inside of that I’d wanted to swim roughly 1:10, ride 6 hours or less and run a 3:40 - 3:50 marathon.  I was pretty confident that as long as I didn’t get eaten by something I’d make my swim goal but the bike and run in my mind were going to be tough.  A few nights back I’d talked to my good friend Laurie Teper and had told her that I’d been praying for a race that left no doubt in my mind as to God’s greatness.  It’s so easy to get caught up in pridefulness and my desire is to always maintain a humble and thankful heart.  Laurie gave me a great Bible verse, Philippieans 4:13 which reads “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”    I started reading Phil 4 from the beginning and found vs. 6 - 7 which reads “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and  your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Those verses assured me and carried me through the week and into the race. 

Temps were dropping as race day approached and we knew that although it would be cold in the morning we’d have a perfect afternoon to run.  Unfortunately along with the cooler weather come high winds but, much to my delight the water on Saturday morning was as still as glass.

I woke up with the typical race day jitters but the fear that I’d been carrying about swimming in the ocean was gone; completely gone.  My friends and family were praying for me and I felt peaceful and ready.  No matter what the day brought I’d placed the race in God’s hands and was eager to see what His plan for me was going to be.

The swim was rough, and I remember thinking this must be what a street fight is like.  My goggles were knocked off 4 different times and I seldom had my own space in the water.  Twice we swam through pretty big schools of jelly fish and I had a moment of panic but replaced it by focusing on how beautiful they were.  That definately was the hand of God on me because I should have been scrambling to get the heck out of there rather than just swimming over top of them thinking “how pretty and graceful they are...”. 

Out of the water for the second time and am running towards T1.  I thought I was in and out pretty quickly however as Jay told me a few days ago even though I didn’t order a pizza in there I left several minutes on the table.  I think I had a 6 minute transition.  Always things to improve upon, right?

Out on my bike and man is it cold!  The wind is in our faces pretty much the first 20+ miles but I’m watching my power meter, thankful that it’s working, and am keeping myself in check.  Headwinds and crosswinds are the cards we’re dealt for the bike segment and I just keep reminding myself that everyone else is dealing with the same thing.  I’m also hoping that they are pushing hard to keep their goal bike split which will then slow them down on the run!

I honestly felt good on the bike the whole way through.  It’s a pretty boring bike leg with no fans and not much to look at so I occupy myself with prayers for the other athletes out there and by singing “Our Lips Are Sealed” by the Go Go’s.  Don’t ask, I have no idea... 

Between miles 50 - 60 I hit a rough patch.  I was realizing that I wasn’t going to meet my time goal on the bike, the road was rough, headwind was high and I really had to pee!  Quick aside here... I was riding on a borrowed saddle (Thanks Bob Oleson from Wheel Werks!) and hadn’t thought through the whole peeing on the bike thing until it was time to go.  I couldn’t pee on Bob’s saddle, that just didn’t seem right so no joke I got off the bike 4 times just to pee.  That’s probably my 6 hour bike split right there!  Note to self, don’t ride a borrowed saddle unless you’ve got clearance to pee on it during the race!

Okay, so the bike is going and I’ve pretty quickly adjusted my goals, now my primary focus is to set myself up for the fastest run I can have.  My first two IM’s I’ve had trouble with my stomach during the marathon and hadn’t been able to run the way I believed I could.  That’s a tough pill to swallow for a runner.  Somewhere after the 80 mile mark my power meter computer is giving me crazy numbers and I know that it’s not working again.  Okay, I tell myself I’m going to ride by feel for the remainder.  I was prepared to ride the entire thing without it so I’m pretty happy that I’d had it at all.

The final 5 miles into transition are extremely windy and seem endless but finally it’s over and I hand off my bike and run to T2 where, as Jay kindly pointed out I left some more time on the table for my fellow racers to enjoy.  (Another 6 min transition).

I’m off and running and actually feeling great.  Not just good but great.  Huge smile which I kept the entire run.  My mile 2 split is a 7:50 and I have to really work to dial it back.  The next few miles are 8:00’s - 8:05’s and I decide that although it’s faster than I’m supposed to be running I’m just going to go with it.  I feel that good.  My stomach is good, my legs are good and my heart rate is low.  My ‘perfect day hope I might be able to do it pace’ was 8:20’s so at this point I’m more than surprised and a little nervous at my decision to go with the faster pace. 

The run course doesn’t offer much in the way of scenery except for a 2‘ish mile stretch around a park which I was really looking forward to.  I thought that the lack of interest on the course and the lack of crowds would bother me, making the run feel long but it didn’t.  I actually really enjoyed the peace and it allowed me to kind of cocoon myself and stay very focused on the present.  The way back from the park was a little tough mentally.  The course is a double out and back and I think it was seeing all the big bile markers (21, 22, etc...) and knowing that I wasn’t close to that point that got to me.  I found myself praying that God’s will and His glory be my focus. 

I made the turn to head back out and it seemed like the first 13.1 miles had just flown by.  My nutrition plan for the first half was gels every 45 minutes (I’d put them in a flask with just a bit of water to make them easier to go down - tip from Jay), and alternating water and sports drink at every aide station.  For the second half I was going to add Coke into the mix if I missed my special needs bag where I had another gel flask.  Wouldn’t you know it, I missed my bag. 

I’d been training with coke on my long runs so knew that it would work for me and I was getting tired of ‘gel taste’ so this actually gave me something to look forward to.  I still felt strong and steady, light on my feet actually.  Still smiling which I really believe had a big impact on my attitude. 

Jay had told me that the race was nothing more than a long swim, a long bike and a long 15 - 20 mile run followed by the best 5 - 10 miles you had.  I had this in my head and had decided that I’d start to push myself around mile 20.  Mile 18 was my slowest I believe at an 8:30 and once through I was in the park again and my pace dropped back to the 8:20’s which was my goal pace.  It was becoming a challenge.  For the last 10 miles I’d been telling myself that I didn’t know what was happening ahead of me and for that reason I had to maintain my pace.  I was now at the point where slowing down sounded pretty darn good and I just lost myself in prayer.  About this time Laurie Teper began praying for me again and those final miles were amazing.  I absolutely knew I wasn’t going to slow, I felt carried the whole way.  My splits stayed steady until mile 25 when I ran another 8:05 followed by a 7:42.  It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. 

I crossed the finish with a 3:32:00 marathon and an overall time of 11:01:27.  It’s funny how you cross the finish line and then the exhaustion of it all hits you like a ton of bricks.  My poor finish line volunteer kept wanting to take me to the medical tent but I wouldn’t let him.  I think he was having a hard time keeping me walking in a straight line and the few times he took his hands off me I wobbled considerably.  I just wanted to see my husband, Trudy, Scott andan empty chair. 

I missed my goal by a few minutes but I was okay with that, I was ridicuouslly happy about my run and thrilled that I’d executed my nutrition plan as well as I had.  Looking back I know that I put in the time and I did the training but I also know that left on my own my race would have looked a lot different.  God blessed me with strength, joy and answered prayers and I’m thankful to Him and humbled by the entire experience.