Back to regular posting! April was busy with a trip to Boston to watch my athletes, friends and husband run the marathon. Then, off to St. George, Utah for the inaugural Ironman St. George. Here is a taste of what that new race is all about.
The venue is gorgeous. I've never seen a more beautiful area. The red rocks, 11,000+ ft. Pine Mountain, the lava fields, Sand Hollow Reservoir, Snow Canyon State Park, ancient cinder cones - amazing views everywhere.
The area people truly came out to support the race. Spectators were enthusiastic and the volunteers seemed like veterans. The race was run flawlessly as far as I could tell. Even the shuttle buses seemed plentiful on race morning - when you don't need backups.
On a difficulty scale of 1-10, this Ironman ranks pretty highly. First of all, the logistics are more complex with two transition areas and the need to use shuttle buses on race morning.
Then, there was the water temperature. Mike Reilly announced 58 degrees on race morning, but many cold water veterans speculated that the temperatures were in the mid-50s. The cold water made my hands, wrists, feet and face numb. Many athletes were hypothermic after the swim and needed to spend some time in warming tents before they could go on. T1 times were very slow for the rest of us - who had to change out of wet clothes and put on arm warmers, vests, gloves and hats with numb hands before getting on our bikes. The air temperatures were in the high 40s at that time, but the sun was out and we started to warm up quickly. However, my feet were numb until about 40 miles into the bike.
Our cold, gloved hands made accessing gels and drinks more difficult for those first few biking miles and I think many people were pretty depleted on their nutrition early on in their bike rides.
And the bike ride! The first 22 miles of the "stick" were beautifully paved and fairly fast. There were 3-4 significant climbs during this section, but we needed to warm up so they were welcome.
Then, we started the first loop into a headwind on much bumpier pavement. Those who had speedometers saw lots of single digit numbers glaring up at them. Over 30 miles, we gradually climbed up to Veyo at slow speeds with some very steep climbs: the first up to Gunlock Lake, the second (steepest) after the town of Gunlock, and then "The Wall" an intimidating switchback climb of one mile up the side of a cinder cone. These climbs were very steep - requiring granny gears and standing to get up them. Where I was, no-one walked them, but I'm sure that everyone thought about it!
After Veyo, another long climb. Here I passed a friendly racer who said, "I think we've climbed all the way up to heaven!" Then, finally, the long downhill run back to St. George. Here, the downhills were relentless and some were steep. I bet those speedometers were showing 40s and maybe higher. (I'm so glad I don't race with a speedometer!). Gusty winds made the downhills a little precarious and I was hanging on to my bars tightly. By the time I turned onto Snow Canyon Parkway, I was really ready to relax on some flats again.
Luckily, there are actually about 5 or so miles of gently rolling flats - and here is where you get to go through the lava fields and the enthusiastic town of Ivans -with hundreds of spectators. Then, back onto the bumpier climb into the head wind at slow speeds.
This was one of the many tough psychological moments of this race - knowing that all those climbs loomed ahead and a very difficult marathon awaited when I finally got off of the bike. Times were slow - at this point, I think we all knew that we were in for a bike segment that was about an hour slower than the typical tough Ironman bike course - like Wisconsin. It was important to be patient and non-judgemental here - otherwise it would have been very easy just to call it a day. I kept the faith that everyone was feeling exactly the same as I was - all we had to do was to keep making steady forward progress and it would be a successful race - though not even close to a PR.
So, right-left-right-left I kept pedaling. If anything, I felt stronger and more confident on the climbs and less nervous on the decents during that second loop. One last "insult" of a climb - on Snow Canyon Parkway and I was flying down into St. George to T2. Finally!
So, my sacro-illiac (S-I) joint - has been very painful since I dared to shovel heavy snow in January. It had severely limited my bike training all spring and it made it very difficult to bike on race day. Lots of pain. Now, at T2, I could not stand up. My legs felt disconnected. I hobbled into the changing tent. I had a great volunteer who helped me and put BioFreeze all over my back. I was able to straighten up and with strides of about 2 inches per leg, I started to run.
The IMSG run goes straight uphill immediately to Diagonal St. Then Diagnonal St. is a steady climb. Turn right on Bluff and the climb steepens again. Then, the short out-and-back up to the Elks Lodge - even steeper. All in all, the run gets gradually steeper as you climb for the first 3.5 miles of the course. I ran until the last, steepest grade and then power walked - as it was almost as fast and allowed a lower heartrate. When my HR got high, I felt a little queezy at this point and therefore, Gatorade and gels were not working anymore. So, I kept my HR low enough with this walking to settle everything down. I also went for the life-giving chicken broth - always magical at bringing me back from a fog in Ironman races. Cola helped too. Before I knew it, I was running down a 2 mile downhill and feeling pretty good again. My stride was lengthening out and things were looking up! In and out of the Pioneer Park path - with many short, steep hills and down to the turn around. Everytime I crossed a timing mat, I looked up at the sky and said, "Hi!" to all of my friends and family who were watching Ironmanlive back at home. It was so nice to know that they cared!
Back up the 2 mile uphill with the Pioneer Park hills and down the 3.5 miles to the halfway point. All was well - I was enjoying the beauty, had found my rhythm and knew I had this race in the bag at this point. I could do that loop again. Not easy, but I could do it!
So, I did. And as in all six of my IM's, time seemed to bend into a different speed. The miles clicked away - faster than they do on my easy run days back home. The sunset was extraordinary.
So, after my slowest IM since my first 96 degree IMWI, I crossed that finish line. Mike Reilly was there. A super nice volunteer got me to the food tent. There, Meghan, Brian and Sue were waiting there for me - a nice surprise!
My immediate thoughts were that IMSG was the hardest race of my lifetime of races. It was tough - partially because I was apprehensive about everything from how my back would feel to the cold water - to "The Wall." At first, I didn't think I would ever be back to do it again. Of course, that only lasted until about 3 days later. I will go back and improve on my time. I can't wait to see those hills and mountains again.
But, for a novice, it might not be the best choice. There is a very real chance of DNF at this race. Many that I knew - did not finish. Either the cold swim or the tough bike forced them to abandon this race. And, if the winds had been any stronger on race day, we would all have been in some serious trouble out there on the desert.
If you choose to take on the extra challenge that this race will give you - go with the right attitude. Ready for challenges and slow times, but also ready to soak up the beauty of the area and enjoy the finish line even a little more than usual!
