Yesterday was my best 1/2 marathon day ever. I knew that I had the tools to run a sub 2 but it was up to my mental state and body to cooperate and both went beyond my expectations. Yesterday was such a momentous day because I can't believe how focused and calm I was going into this race especially knowing that my recent ex-boyfriend would be there. My goal was not to let him ruin what is one of favorite days throughout the year and of course to kick his ass..... Everything fell into place and I truly understand how your mind can have an affect on your race.

I was so damn calm and focused, I did not have any normal anxiety issues which usually lead me to be in the bathroom when this race starts. I saw my ex while talking to Terri, looked the other way. Had a few words with Rod, he was the 2:15 pace bunny... we were actually having a little fun with me actually running a sub 2 and then off I went.

Right at the start I was ahead of the 2hour pace bunny and keep this in mind I thought I started RIGHT at the beginning with everyone else so there wouldn't be much of a time difference when I crossed the finish line. So I start the race and remember I run without a watch, I was passing people thinking "hmmmm, this is a good sign" had no idea what pace I was doing but I felt good and strong... up until about the 10th mile where I was bonking. I wanted to give up... but just as I did throughout the other strong miles i kept saying to myself you can do it keep running... if anything keep running. Just at that point a friend runs up to me and I can barely speak I was so disoriented, but I did manage to spit out "holy crap louise, you are making good time" thinking that she started later than me and she caught up. Then she did a big "no no" she proceeded to tell me "yeah, my time right now is 1:47" (Most people know I NEVER like to know the time). at that point my hopes of running a sub 2 were just deflated. I'm like just run it in.. you've ran a strong race, so you don't get your sub 2, but I must be running a personal best and I probably should have done some long runs since the Cops. !!

But at this point, I am concerned, I still can't figure out what happened to the 2 hour pace bunny. I am thinking something must have happened she must have had to stop, she hasn't passed me and i was relying on her for my sub 2!!! I kept it together with some inner self motivation and then decided i needed to chat with someone, so I did, he pulled me through right to the stadium. When I ran through the Finish Line, I could see the time 2hour 6 min 50 seconds, i had to gun to beat my personal best(2h 7m 16s). I have never felt like that running through the Finish Line, I usually feel happy, I felt like crap, I was okay, but I felt like I ran a hard race and I was feeling it. Nothing like a freezie to fix that!! I was fine after and was so happy that my day went so well, I was having my own celebration with my tunes on the way home in the car.

Later in the afternoon I was at Canadian Tire when Sheri called to talk about her race, and we talked about me and how I was really disturbed by the 2hour pace bunny... and I would find out from Rod if something happened or maybe her watch broke. We hung up and two minutes later Sheri called me back with the news.... 1:55:54. I just broke down in tears in Canadian Tire. I still can't grasp how much time I took off my previous personal best.. who's the accountant in this group. Looking back it all makes sense to me now, I didn't start when I thought and I was ahead of the pace bunny that's why she didn't pass me. I am very emotional about this I could barely sleep last night. My goal for this year was a sub 2 and I did it and then some. It has proven to the role the mental focus can have on your race and I shouldn't forget the training... I have trained very hard but not so much for long runs as of late.

I couldn't have done with this without Triple Threat, that was the reason I joined, was to focus on my running and run a sub 2. So many members contributed to my success yesterday, encouragement and motivation alone are very empowering. There are some key people in this group that have truly made a significant impact in my training and there are some of you that have been my mentors but you probably wouldn't know it. I learned ALOT from Dean at training camp, I didn't drink much water in the morning, he told us athletes we need sugar, I had a mini Butterfinger on my way to the race, and hydrated alot more during the race than i would have otherwise. I just want to say that I am very grateful to be a part of such a great team, I feel so very lucky!

I won't blast the entire club with the details of my participation in the 2010 Chicago Tri, Sprint distance. I'll let Ruth take the credit for her first IM. I would like to share the event with your two, though. First of all, the event is a blast. It is a 8700 person triathlon party! The day is extremely, I mean extremely, well organized. I will even say that it is run with military precision.

The event starts with the expo and packet pick-up on Friday and/or Saturday. I went on the Saturday, picked up my stuff, and got marked. It is a bit of a point of pride to wander Chicago, dine in your favourite pasta restaurant, do some shopping, all with your race number inked all over you. The expo itself is a veritable candy store of tri goodies. I got out for about 200$ US (tri jersey, shorts, transition bag and bike accessories for my Garmin). I could have spent more, waaaaaaay more, and almost bought a bike. There was a "mandatory" course talk every hour. The race director did it himself and was both entertaining and informative. I use the term mandatory because it was evident on the course that many participants missed a few key points (especially ride left, pass right...backwards from standard rules).

Race day starts early. Transition is open only from 4:15 until 5:45. Fortunately the start was a 10 minute bike ride from my hotel. Transition is HUGE. Picture 8700 bikes and bags, all racked handlebar to handlebar. The race starts with waves of 150, sprinters before Olympic, with waves assembled by combinations of groups that add up to 150. For me, 45-49 men started with 40-44 women. First wave at 6:00 then every 4 minutes. It was a treading water start, so at 60 seconds to go the group got in the water, and every wave started exactly on time. Even after I finished and went to watch a few starts, they were still on time at 8:30. (As an aside, next time I enter Clydesdales - men over 200 lbs - they were rocking the start).

My swim went well, 15: and a bit on my watch (straight line swim in my wetsuit). The tough part is that it is 450 yards from swim finish to the entrance to transition, all run in a wetsuit and bare feet and counting to the swim time. Even then, my swim time was 18:31, faster than my first race at St Malo. It was then another 200 yards to my bike, into my gear and out onto the course.

The bike course is along the Chicago waterfront and is very lovely. Four lanes are closed off, two in each direction, with the "inside" (left) lane for riding and the "outside" (right) lane for passing. It is very "hilly" (though not like Kenora) as you ride up and down over- and under-passes. The sprint is 22k and the Olympic 42k, as it is a 1k ride to the measured course. So my time was a bit slower than TriMB races, but my pace was much better (27 kph or so).

Back to transition. My rack location was only about 50 yards from the bike in/out, but about 200 yards from swim in/run out. That makes for almost 3 minute transition times. Out on the run. Another beautiful course along the water and around what Chicago refers to as the Museum Campus. Water or Gatorade at least every km. It's a very flat course through parkland, almost all paved, and very enjoyable.

Into the finish chute, where I found myself in a foot race with some 20-something as we sprinted full out for the last 500m. But it felt great and we shook hands afterwards. A volunteer hung a very nice (and heavy) finishers medal on us, then another volunteer pulled a towel out of a giant tub of ice water and handed it out. It was possibly the best thing that I have ever felt. The race village was packed with more vendors, enough bottled water and G-ade to float a battleship, and food for an army (including veggie burgers for those so inclined). There was a rock band playing on a big stage and constant announcements about the on-going waves.

At 10:00 they opened the sprint transition, so I rescued my bike (with security matching bike stickers to body marking - one guy had already washed off his numbers and they wouldn't let him leave with his bike - hilarious). I was out of the hotel and on the way home by noon.

Overall - DO THIS RACE!! at any distance. It is an incredible atmosphere, very festive, with everyone fun and friendly. The fee was a little steep (155 US plus 10 for a USAT day permit). For that I had a very well-run race, including chipped timing, a high-quality tech shirt, the race medal and towel at the end, plus unlimited food and drink. The race is very spectator friendly, and there were lots of families in matching t-shirts, cheering on dad/mom/sister/brother/whoever, with signs and the like. Chicago is a great vacation city, although my plan to taper that week was defeated by a diet of beer, bourbon, and barbecue (plus deep dish pizza and Chicago dogs). That said, it is very workout friendly and there is even an open water swim training area near downtown.

The climate in the Okanogan at this time of year is usually hot and dry, temperatures averaging around the mid 30s. I made sure I trained in the hottest part of the day this summer to "heat acclimatize" for this race. Well, the days leading up to the race have been record lows, high winds, and even some rain.

The morning of the race the water was relatively calm. I was relieved because I was dreading the 2700+ athlete mass start. Since I'm not a strong swimmer, my strategy was to allow the other athletes to go and fight for position while I follow. That ended up being a great strategy because I felt relatively calm and relaxed regardless of all the thrashing and kicking going on in front of me. I came out of the water 1hr28min after the start of the race which is only a few minutes slower than I did in training.

I made up some time in T1. To see it, it would look like chaos but the volunteers made it so easy. They had "wet suit strippers" who would strip that thing off you so fast you barely knew what hit you. Then you proceed to pick up your bike gear and then run into the change tent. I couldn't believe how many people would take their sweet time to towel off and change into a whole new outfit for the bike. There was naked bodies everywhere. I simply put on padded bike shorts over top of my tri shorts and away I went.

At first the bike was quite enjoyable. The view was incredible. I was averaging around 35kph and felt confident because I was passing a lot of people... which isn't normal for me Just as things were coming along quite nicely it was like one bad thing happened after another.

Some of you know I've been battling with some injuries. The issues with my back reappeared just after the first major climb (Richter's Pass). I was unable to lean forward and use my aerobars for the rest of the bike course. I will have you know Ritchers pass wasn't as difficult as many were making it out to be. The part I found difficult I was the sudden drop in temperature, the wind, rain and hail that were to come next. That is when my average speed changed to 20kph. I had to labour and push through the downhills as well as the uphills. My hands were so cold I could barely move them to change gears.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse another athlete riding in front of me decided she needed to relieve herself. I guess she figured that stopping at the porta-potties provided at every aid station would slow her down, so she decided to go while she cycled causing urine to spray back at me. I had to close my mouth and put my head down so it would hit my helmet instead of my face. I hurried to past her to give her a few choice words. As to what i said, I can let you use your imagination.

I was coming up to the point of the bike course where I needed to pick up my "special needs bag." I was so looking forward to taking a little rest stop, eat a sandwich, and stretch out my tired and sore muscles. At this point I'd been riding for 120k, and the time it took me to get there was much longer than expected, so I was good and hungry. The race directors thought it would be a good idea to put the special needs pickup in an interesting spot: half-way up a hill that you first come down to do a turn-around. So while you are barreling down the hill at full speed, you're expected to brake, gear down, pedal, pull a hair pin turn, and climb...all simultaneously! Well I was too busy scanning for my my special needs bag, when I ran into a pile up at the turnaround. My first crash. At that point I wasn't just sore, tired and hungry, I was really, really grumpy. I ate my sandwich, drank my energy drink and proceeded slowly through the rest of the bike course against those strong winds.

There was one more major climb to go (yellow Lake). I was looking forward to hitting high speeds on that major descend afterwards. I wanted to hit 70kph for the first time, but the winds were so strong it was blew the pylons onto the course. I decided to be safe and feather my breaks, which means my maximum speed only hit 65kph. As I entered Penticton again I never thought I would be look forward to start the marathon.

As I made it back to Penticton I looked at the lake I swam in earlier that morning and saw huge white-capped waves crashing onto the shore. I was just glad I wasn't swimming in those conditions. My T2 was significantly slower than T1. I took my time putting on my running shoes because one of the volunteers offered to rub my back. What I'm wondering is; where can we get these volunteers for my other races?

As I started on the run the first of the pro's were coming in to finish their marathon. There was a great battle between the 1st & 2nd place finishers, they finished within 13 seconds of each other. As they came in, the crowd went wild...I just pretended they were cheering for me. The wind calmed down a few miles into the run, I must admit I was a bit disappointed: with the direction I was headed, the wind would have pushed me. The temperature stayed cool, however, which was perfect for running.

Unfortunately, the further I went in the run the further the back pain progressed downwards. First to the hips, then to the hamstrings, knees, quads, and so on, until I was just feeling pain from the waist down. My running pace slowed down so much speed walkers could keep up with me. I wasn't even moving fast enough to challenge my cardiovascular system. My heart rate stayed relatively low and I had no trouble breathing at all. I wanted to speed up but I was convinced that my legs were no longer listening to what my brain was telling them. I knew this pain would come, as many Ironman finishers have warned me about mile 16. Unfortunately I was feeling that pain at mile 5. I tried to avoid pit stops on the run because I knew that chaffing would make peeing burn. I had to face the inevitable at mile 11. I chaffed in places that body glide could not reach.

The sun went down and it was getting dark. Race officials were handing out glow sticks to the participants who were still on the course. The glow sticks didn't help us see anything, I think it was just a sign that says; "you're a slow poke."

I reentered the town of Penticton the possibility of finishing the race became a reality. With 4 miles to go, a blister at the bottom of my foot ruptured and my shuffle turned into a limping shuffle. As I got closer to the finish line I could start to hear the announcer and the roar of the crowd. The bleachers were filled with fans on either side of the run course 50m from the finish line. Every one of them were on their feet, and this time they were actually cheering for me. I reached out to slap their hands just before going through the timing chute that read 15:50:06. And that ended the longest day of my life...

...though walking to the car, climbing in and out of the car, and showering that evening was no easy task either. But for some reason, wearing that stupid finishers medal around my neck made it all worth it. so there you have it, I can finally say that I AM AN IRONMAN. Many have asked if I would go through that again... and my answer is, yes. Next time I hope to do a sub 14 hour Ironman. For now I'm going to recover.