Our cheer squad, Caitlin and Lauren, actually had to wake up and leave the cabin earlier than the racers because they had to take a shuttle from T2 to meet us at T1 while Mike dropped Justin and I off right at the start.
Swim (0:38:56)
Even though at altitude, it is better to focus on effort rather than time, but I just couldn't help but have swim time goals: 40 minute was a stretch goal and 45 minute was a realistic goal, so I would have been happy with somewhere in between.
This was my first mass rolling start. The gun went off, and the queue didn't move at all. Patience, patience,... and we're off! Swimming at high elevation was harder than I thought. A few strokes in, I was gasping for air. I tried to slow down and get my breathing back in order, but nothing worked. Five minutes in, I thought my race was over. I couldn't breathe! I had to stop! While I tread water, I watched the race that I was ready for slipped away.Eventually, I started moving again and kept my arms moving at a slower pace. Smooth and steady all the way. Once in awhile, I found some feet, but lost them quickly. I was able to hug the buoy line all the way. I told myself that no matter how disappointed I would be with my swim time, it is worth congratulating myself for swimming in a straight line and sighting well. Imagine my surprise when I realized that was one of my fastest half ironman swim. I couldn't believe it!
T1 (0:05:46)
Running up the beach, I waved at my cheer squad, found my T1 bag, and skipped the wetsuit stripper just as I had planned. Once in the changing room, I had two amazing volunteers grabbing at my wetsuit and helping me into my bike gear.
Bike (3:22:25)
Mile 0 - 12: The hardest part of the start of the bike is not to go out too hard. This first section had three short hills -- a short out-and-back on Fairway Dr, a longer gradual climb in the middle, and a sharp punchy climb before the turn onto Hwy 89.
Mile 12 - 25: From Hwy 89 to W River Rd, we either were on a slight downhill or had a nice tail wind. The ride felt smooth and effortless. Each time I checked my speed, I was traveling faster than I had expected.
Mile 25 - 30: It's all about pacing from W River Rd to the base of the Brockway climb. There was an unexpected detour that I was quite sure this wasn't included in the Athlete Guide. We joined the full ironman racers on a narrow bike path. This was a "No Pass Zone" that was super congested and dangerous. As we emerged slowly from this narrow bike path, we had to make a sharp left turn and immediately we were all caught off guard by a crazy steep climb to get back onto the roadway. Some grunted up the hill and some screamed as they fell off their bikes. Such an unfortunate course design! And I don't know how it's possible but I got the QOM on that little stretch!
After that, there were still a few more hills before we reached the real climb of the day.
Mile 34.5 - 38: Brockway descent. For the next 6 minutes, I settled into a fast yet controlled pace. I was astonished at how fast some people were flying down the hill just to make up a few seconds.
Mile 38 - 49: Now we're back on the same first twelve miles of the course. While the course was familiar, I was starting to fade. Even though I added an extra fuel intake than I normally did in a 70.3, my body still signaled that it wasn't enough.Mile 49 - 56: While I felt weak in this last section, I never doubted that I will get a second wind again in the race. As I turned left towards Squaw, I felt my energy coming back slowly just in time for the run!
T2 (0:02:15)
I forgot that with the full ironman distance race happening at the same time, there were catchers for our bikes at the dismount line. I was happy to see that pooh bears didn't get in my T2 bag overnight as it had happened to another runner. Can you just imagine that there's a bear out there just completely high on sugar for the rest of the day?
Run (2:21:36)
Again, the run was all about controlling the effort. I followed my favourite half marathon strategy:
- 5 mi: warm up
- 5 mi: race pace
- 5 km: whatever I've got
The run was never flat. It was up and down, and up and down. After the loop, we head out of the village. A slight downhill for about a mile, a slight uphill for also about a mile, a 100-metre steep climb, then a slight downhill all the way until the turnaround, and finally a slight uphill all the way back to the village. We do this twice and finishing up in the village. In a way it was easier to just focus on the uphill section by section, and tried to stay as relaxed as possible while keeping a steady pace on the downhill sections.
With the elevation, I felt like I was always pushing hard. If it wasn't my heart rate threatening to skyrocket, then it was my muscles threatening to cramp up, so I had to really pay attention to how my body is reacting to each step. That was the hardest half marathon that I've ever ran even though I felt that I was in the best shape that I've ever been. Just as the saying goes, "It never gets easier. You just get better."Overall (6:30:58)
I was happy with the effort that I maintained throughout the race. It wasn't my fastest race, but with the elevation and the course difficulty, I knew I wasn't going to set a PR on this day. On the other hand, I placed 17th in my AG and that is the highest that I've ever placed in an Ironman branded race!
I would say that I would recommend this race to anyone who isn't looking to shy away from a challenge in a beautiful mountainous setting, but sadly the race has been cancelled indefinitely. The cancellation wasn't a shocker given the unfortunate cancellation last year and the low number of registrants this year, but it was definitely one to remember and treasure.
