I rented a house with my friend Su and I arrived Tuesday afternoon. Gorgeous weather and water conditions were present. Weather temps continue to fluctuate every couple of hours for our 5 day weather report. Moved bike and runs to hottest parts of days.
Saturday winds caused white caps. I swam, but I have to admit I was terrified.
Race Day:
Alarm didn’t go off, but roomy woke me up at 4AM. I packed the belly with toast and jelly, bagel with peanut butter, decaf coffee, and 20 oz of water. I walk to the race start around 5AM and see the V02 gang, Gerry, Kyla, Kristen, Sue, Mary, Chris and Lee Ann.
I head to the swim start to get my spot and positioned myself right inside the buoy lines. Race begins and I let everyone go ahead of me. I had the best first lap with no one bumping, pushing or swimming over me. My second loop proved to be much more of a challenge. I had the same experience except on the red turn buoys where I couldn’t get into any rhythm. I am a right side breather and every time I came for air, I was hit with waves and drank and choked on water. I panicked a bit as I didn’t want anyone touching me. It seemed like eternity to get around these buoys and I had to remind myself the swim would be over soon. I finally managed to get around the buoys and head to the beach.
If there was any event I could PR in, it would have been the swim, as I had been working on gaining more confidence in the water. After some timed swims with the same distance, I thought I could gain 5 minutes. Due to the windy conditions, I was slower by 7 minutes. Oh well….I survived, and was greeted by Ben and Cindy.
Swim Time: 1:56:51
I received support from an awesome volunteer who basically dressed me. She helped me get my shirt, socks and shoes on. She also gave me water to sip on. I stopped at the sunscreen area to get sun tan lotion from Dana and Marne, greeted by more VO2!! Thanks you guys. Off to the bike, fun times.
T1: 7:30
Bike:
I trained only with heart rate, so I yanked the Power Meter off to lose the extra weight. The speed sensor on my Polar wasn’t catching even after multiple attempts, and I was afraid that I might get my fingers in the spokes, so I quit trying. So, I told myself to just ride as I still had heart rate numbers. The heat was unbearable and my stomach wasn’t feeling well. I imagine all that lake water that filled my tummy wasn’t meshing with my nutrition. While climbing English Point Hill, I made a comment on how terrible the weather was. WHAT the Hell??!!!??? I had to remind myself that it was a gorgeous day and then I thanked God for my healthy body. I also thanked every supporter from here on out. My stomach was getting worse, but I kept with my plan and kept within my heart rate zones.
I missed the bathroom on Hudlow, which sucked, because nothing is worse than feeling ill and having to go potty. Linsey passed me and then I panicked thinking I might be in the potty when Bree came whizzing by, as I badly wanted to see her. Well there are no other stops at future aid stations, unless you count the ones on the opposite side which are tricky to get too. So no Bree, no potty, and no ‘ANDY’, I missed him by 30 minutes.
I pedaled fast and decided to hit the potty on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive. My first loop was 3:35 minutes.
My stomach felt like sour stomach, and hurt to the touch. I continued drinking water but stopped drinking any nutrition at this point. There was no point, my system was not absorbing it. I had one and only one Rolaid with me, and I took it. I took the others the few days before since my Gatorade was killing my stomach.
I stopped at the first porta potty on CDA Lake drive. As I got back on my bike, my quad cramped. I noted it and kept moving. In trying to hold the vomit down, I vomited in my mouth along Kathleen Street, which I quickly spit out and then rinsed my mouth with tons of water and continued biking. As I come up Lakeview, I had another cramp in my hamstring hit. I had written in my plan that if cramping occurred to take 2 salt tablets every 30 minutes instead of every hour. I would have to get out of my seat for all hills to avoid any further cramping. I also began taking my nutrition at this point. I was taking one bottle of water at every other aid station, so I know I am dehydrated. Total nutrition taken was 4.5 hours = 1125 calories. All in all, my stomach has settled and I begin to feel better. Two additional rest stops with my final stop at Hudlow, so I don’t get stuck in T2 at the potty line. I keep the hr down on the hills but picked up speed everywhere else to finish strong. Two years ago, I finished at 7:10 with no rest stops.
Bike Time: 7:22:06
1 (34 miles – 2:09:46 15.72 mph)
2 (56 miles – 3:44:57 14.94 mph)
3 (22 miles – 1:27:23 15.29 mph)
T2: 3:53Grab GU, shoes and head out. Get more sun tan lotion, say hi to Daniel and out I go on my run.
Run:
Oiy, the run is hot. I feel like I am going to pass out so I remind myself how crucial it is to take nutrition. Also to keep my feelings of passing out to myself so I am not hauled off the run as I remind myself that I have just completed the bike and swim. I decide to do 2 salt tables and 1 GU on the hour. Race plan says Gatorade and water, alternating each aid station. I decide to change to Coke since Gatorade hasn’t been settling well. Ice chips are mandatory at every aid station. The heat is killing me and I feel like I have motion sickness. I decide to put ice chips in the front of my shirt. Now I sound like a piggy bank for 3 flipping miles. I decide to wedge ice chips in my headsweat hat, however this is giving me brain freeze. So I decide to chew and suck on ice chips at each station for the remainder of the run. Race strategy is to run to each station and walk the length of the aid station. The run is proving difficult and I am negotiating with myself to stick to my plan. I am thankful for the V02 folks, but I really need my family. I decide that Koralee my eldest is handing me coke and Kylie is handing me water. I imagine they are at each aid station. This is what keeps me going for 26.2 miles. My feet are also killing me, and they feel like they are a half size to small. My feet size fluctuates with weight, so all that salt can’t be good, especially since I am not a sweater. More internal bargaining about walking but I don’t give in. I pray for darkness for some wind to come…
I am excited to see Kyla on the run and tell her to finish strong as I think this is her last lap. I see Leann, Chris, Mary and Sue. I don’t see my roomy, but figure I must have missed her on the first lap. I pass the VO2 folks, yeah!!! I am still feeling light headed, but I push through it for my second loop. My watch has stopped working and the time is going backwards. I try to calculate in my head what I am running, but I can’t add 2+2, so I decide to run. I see Leann again and yell, ‘looking good’. A little later I see Kyla and tell her she looks good. I know something has happened as Kyla is a strong, strong, strong runner. I see Mary, and Sue and I continue running. A half mile before the finish line, the friend of the girl behind me tells her that we are precisely .5 miles from the finish. She says the time is 10:00pm. At this point, I realize that this is the same time I came in 2 years ago and proceed to run faster. I see the V02 gang and give them a thumbs up. I keep running and catch up to the two folks ahead of me and I tell myself to wait for it…wait for it…”so and so, and Jennifer Steinbuch…you are an ironman”. Just what I wanted to hear. I high five everyone on the left hand bleachers and give my finest and biggest smile for my photo. I am elated and excited and glad it’s over, it’s been a long, long day. I am taken by the catchers for another finisher photo and give them a picture to remember. I PR my run by 11 minutes.
Run: 5:38:39.9 mile = 11.24
6.57 miles = 12:53
6.53 miles = 13.22
7.75 miles = 11.25
4.45 miles = 15.14
Total Time: 15:08:57
Overall Finish: 1759/2096
Division Place: 93/127
I want to thank my family, my mom and my two kids for always being there for me and allowing me to use Saturdays for bike rides. I love you so much and am so glad you will be with me next year!!! I want to thank my friends for always believing in me that I could do this a second time with only 6 months of training under my belt. I want to thank Cindy and Ben for their support as I recall I saw them multiple times in the day and they always were cheering me on. I thank the VO2 gang, Dana, Marne, Kirk, Gerry, Daniel for cheering me on..when I so badly needed the support. I thank Cindy (Su’s friend) for taking all my gear home so I don’t have to worry about it after the race and Su, I thank you for getting me to sign up both this year and next year. Most of all, I thank the CDA supporters who kept cheering me on, until the very end.
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