On August 28, 2011, I had the chance to partake in my first Ironman distance in Penticton: Ironman Canada. I executed my plan and managed to score a Kona slot. After a few days of logistics scrambling and a little help from my friends, my Kona trip was planned and organized.
On a late, but warm September 30th (Friday) evening, we landed on the Big Island. We walked the tarmac, hopped on the shuttle and picked up our ride: a pimping Dodge Charger.
We were lucky to stay at Marthe and George’s place, just up Ali’i Drive, about 3 miles south of the triathlon hub. After a restful night and a breakfast at Lava Java, we dropped off my ride at Bike Works, where we would return multiple times during race week. At Bike Works, one of the staff recommended Kona Boys to get a surf board. Eric got his board and after a few half donuts, we figured out our day: He would surf at Pine Trees and I would run the Energy Lab. At 1 pm, I set foot and ran, burnt and survived the Energy Lab. I got my first sun burn… legendary! Fully roasted, I met Eric at the beach where he had walked on his first, but not his last, sea urchin.
During race week, after a wicked swim on the course, we drove the bike course, I rode
Hawi along the best sag wagon ever, ran Ali’i drive, swam with turtles, snorkeled, picked up some swag (a lot of swag according to some people), registered for the race, flatted on the Queen K, bought new race tires, attended the race meeting (I did not get wet despite the tropical rainstorm) and rested!
Fast forward to race day, Saturday October 8.
I got up at 3:45 and had my usual Breakfast. I was nervous. I had not slept well, but that was to be expected. At 4:20, we headed to transition where I would get weighed and body marked. I prepped my bike for the race and sat in transition, waiting to warm up…as I spied, a little, on the pros.
SWIM: 1:01:15, 3rd in AG
I warmed up and headed to the front where I hung on a board for awhile. I could feel the atmosphere and it was intense. All of a sudden, BANG! Off we went seawards as a massive pack fighting for our respective 0.5 squared meter of survival space. The swim felt like Lollapalooza 1996: Rancid was on the stage, I was in the middle of a rough, aggressive and bloody moshpit. But I survived 1996, so I would survive this swim and I would punch back - I am French Canadian after all. I battled my way for 2 km, got to swim at a decent pace for 1 km and got chopped and sandwiched again until I finally reached the pier. I did not enjoy being a punching bag (or sandwich meat for that matter), but I guess that’s part of what people mean when they say “paying your dues in Kona”. Next time, I plan to be front row and leave the moshpit behind. After running up the stairs, I quickly showered (sprinkled would be more accurate) and headed to T1
T1: 3:00 16th in AG
I was a little disorientated. I ran pass my bike. Yes, really…I was probably the only one without race wheels. Anyways, I now understand why people race with fluorescent pink aero helmets-gotta do what you gotta do. Sunglasses, helmet and shoes, off I went, not as a flying squirrel; but as a wingless-getting-there-soon-to-be flying squirrel.
Bike 5:44:02 40th in AG
As soon as I hit the Palani Drive, I heard Leigh and Danny cheering me on; awesome would be an understatement. Once the southern little loop in town was done, onto the Queen K I went. A never ending train of people passed on the way to Hawi: it felt like I was on my trainer, pedaling still, as those fast (er?) riders were passing. Nevertheless, I kept within myself and stuck to my power. The aid stations were somewhat of a hit and miss: it was hard to grab bottles, let alone not dropping them once caught. I guess I should be thankful to generate an average speed much slower than the pros-I can only imagine the bottles flying.
Once I turned onto the road leading to Hawi, I could feel that the winds were present, but far from overwhelming. I knew I had 12 miles of head winds before the turn around so I pushed the pedals, reached the turn around, collected items from my special needs bag and headed back down, and up, south towards Kona. The return route on the bike turned out to be quite eventful: I dropped all my salt pills pedaling away (thankfully, I had picked up spare ones in Hawi) and my power meter went to sleep. I expected some surprises so I thought: “oh well, I guess I’ll have to go by feel and cadence.” Yes, I might have pushed a tad too hard in the last 30 miles, but we will never know as there were no power readings and well, we are stronger than we think.
T2 3:00 12th in AG
As I ran towards my run bag, I took off my arm cooler sleeves and saw what appeared to be a reverse farmer tan: dark-red shoulders, white arms. I then realized: I was getting an Ironman tattoo after all. Transition was smooth despite the heaviness in my quads. I did lose time waiting for sunscreen: another rookie mistake checked off the list!
Run: 3:43:35 28th in AG
As I set foot on Ali’i Drive, I saw Leigh, Danny and Eric. I was so glad to see them as my mind wasn’t 100%. My legs were heavy: I had never felt that sluggish in a race before. As I ran by the “Mile 1” sign I thought: “Oh god, 25.2 more to go.” Fortunately, I was able to re-focus and decided to embrace the suck…one mile at the time. So one mile at the time, I made my way on Ali’i Drive, out of town, and then back. It was hot, people were walking but the atmosphere was surreal and Eric was jumping up and down-I wish I had the camera.
As I hit Palani (the mountain almost half way in the run), I saw Chrissie rocketing down the street on her way to win her 4th world title. I got very energized and went up Palani filled with emotions and excitement. Little did I know, I was not the Energyzer Bunny that day. I finally reached the Energy Lab after seeing Miranda Carfrae flying like the wind and quite a few pros struggling on the Queen K. I picked up my Special Needs bag and went back into roast land and on my way to town.
Once I reached mile 22, my legs decided to break the minimum speed limit; however, I did manage to keep it more or less steady. I stopped gelling and drank Coke, water, Coke and more water. When I finally turned right onto Ali’i Drive the crowd was off the hook. There was only a narrow path to run through. Eric was ecstatic, so were Danny and Leigh, who I got to high five. I crossed the finish line at 10:34:51 looking like a plane crashing through the shoot. Despite all my efforts, I yet have to get a decent Ironman finish picture.
On that note
Some Lessons learnt:
1- One can never have enough salt pills in Kona
2- BYO sunscreen for the race and put it in T1 and T2 bags
3- Swim fast to avoid the moshpit
4- Expect the unexpected
5- Twitter is your best friend
6- Embrace the moment…and the suck if it turns up!
And some thank yous:
Racing Kona was phenomenal. It was a dream come true that could not have happened without the support of many people: Eric, Leigh and Danny, my family, Lara, Klaus and Lawrence, the Right Shoe crew, the staff at Speed Theory , Shaun and Dave from PRM, Chris Manore, the Vancouver triathlon community and the Quebec triathlon community. George and Marthe were wonderful hosts; I really hope to get to visit them again next year.
Mahalo!
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