Ironman Austria '18 Race Report - 2.4 mile swim

2.4 mile swim

With two previous great swim performance at Ironman Austria (my first 1-hour swim and first sub 1-hour swim of 57 minutes), a little part of me was looking forward to a fast swim but a big part of me was wondering - will my body know what to do for 2.4 miles? I tried to clear those thoughts and just focus on the present moment and to not jump ahead with any thoughts on the outcome. This is the reason why I don’t wear a watch when I swim in races as I don’t want a time to get into my head or dictate how my day will go or is going.

When I got to the first buoy, I settled into a good rhythm. Because of the rolling start, there were not clumps of athletes but I always found myself next to other swimmers. Thankfully it wasn’t sunny out (very overcast) so this helped with sighting. Plus, I always wear a fresh new pair of goggles for an Ironman which makes for fog-free swimming. The water felt a bit choppy at times but I found a good rhythm and really focused on my stroke and grabbing the water and moving myself forward. I was able to swim side by side by a few fast swimmers but I also found myself passing a lot of athletes. Even thought Karel and I started somewhat together in the water, I didn't focus on his race or try to swim with him.

Many times when I swim, I find myself by another swimmer who is veering of course and swimming into me but I don’t let these things suck the energy out of me. Most of the time I just laugh and think “dude – where are you going?” Whenever I found myself thinking how far I still had to swim, I just rerouted my thoughts to focusing on getting from one buoy to the next, imaging myself in the pool covering distance like I was swimming continuous 100 yards.

Once I made the first left hand turn (keeping buoys on my left), I found myself drifting away from the course. I felt like I was having to counteract this push by swimming at a diagonal just to get myself back on course. Finally I made my way back on the course by the buoys. I don’t like to swim too close to the buoys as it is usually more cluttered and harder to keep my swimming rhythm so I am ok to swim a little out from the buoys but this time I felt way too far. It only took a few minutes of swimming before I found myself back on course. Once I made the next/last turn, it was time to swim straight to the canal. The water was getting a lot more choppy but I felt myself getting stronger with each stroke as if my body was finally waking up. There were plenty of buoys on the course which made it easy to sight. I warmed up nicely in the water but oddly, I got a little cold on the way to the canal – it lasted only a few buoys and then I warmed up again.

I typically like to build my effort as the swim distance progresses in a half or full distance Ironman so once I entered the canal for the last 1000 meters, I really picked up the effort. I love swimming in this canal as it makes me feel like I am in a pool as I can see myself moving forward with lots of spectators cheering on both sides and on the bridges that we swim underneath. The canal is rather shallow but deep enough to take a full swim stroke (at least for me and my 5-foot frame). It’s quite the swimming experience!

I had plenty of room in the canal as it wasn’t too packed when I got there so I could really focus on my own rhythm. Once I saw the two big orange buoys to signal that we were at the end of the course, I started to make my way to the right to make a hard right turn to the swim exit. My immediate thought when I was pulled out of the water by the volunteers to get on the ramp to exit the swim was that my swim didn’t feel super fast- I was guessing I swam around 1:01-1:02 as it just felt like a slow swim because of the chop, me getting slightly off course and my body taking some time to wake-up in the water. Of course, I was just guessing as I had no way of knowing my swim time without a watch (and no clock at the swim exit) but that’s what it felt like. But once I started running to make my way to the transition area (it’s a loooong way to run), I felt the energy from the crowd and it felt good to be out of the water and on my way to my bike.

T1
At Ironman Austria, all athletes share the same "changing" tent so there is no men and women’s changing area (unless you do need to change/get naked and then you can go behind a curtain wall). Because of this, the tent is much busier than I am use to in the states - which it is nice to have so many athletes around as it reminds me that we are all in this journey together. I also saw several ladies around which reminded me how competitive the field is here in Austria. There were lots of volunteers and I had a nice lady helping me out as I transitioned from swim to bike. She put on my bib belt for me around my waist (required to be worn on the bike on your back) as I put on my compression socks and helmet. I opted to wear compression socks instead of socks + calf sleeves as I often get blisters from wearing the socks + sleeves combo while racing. This required me to take off my chip to put on my compression socks (I didn't want to put the socks over my chip as I was worried it would be too tight) but I put the chip in my mouth just to make sure I wouldn’t forget to put it back on (versus lying it on the bench).

Instead of putting on my cycling shoes in the tent, I carried them with me to my bike which was in the very last row before the bike exit. The transition area is really long! But first, before running to my bike, I made a quick trip to the bathroom. I’ve learned from many Ironmans that it’s much better to use the transition area to empty yourself versus needing to go when on the bike or run. Let’s just call it being proactive versus reactive. Once I got to my bike, I turned on my bike computer and put on my cycling shoes by my bike and ran my bike out to the mount line and started my ride. I was really looking forward to the bike as I wanted to showcase my improved cycling fitness and skills. I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed that Karel’s bag and bike (on the same rack as mine) was gone before I arrived which meant he once again beat me out of the swim. I'm ok with this so long as it's only by seconds and not minutes. 😁 

Ironman Austria '18 Race Report: Pre-race

Picture taken during our Thurs practice swim.

Pre-race
Surprisingly, I fell asleep rather quickly on Saturday evening around 8pm. Even though we arrived to Europe on Monday morning, flying from the West to East coast is always tough on us and we still weren’t 100% on the new time zone come race morning. Although I tossed and turned throughout the night, I felt mostly rested when the alarm went off at 3:15am. After all that had occurred during the week, I was so relieved that it was finally race day and the day that we had been training for was finally here. Just to briefly rewind our stressful week:
-Lost bikes for 24 hours after we arrived.
-Delay in our travel on Tues due to our lost bikes (10+ hours driving)
-Cool/rainy conditions on Tues-Friday
-Karel got a really bad calf cramp while swimming on Thurs morning and it lingered until Saturday morning which affected his ability to get in his normal pre-race workouts.
-Karel’s tubular tire got sliced (flat tire) in the first 2 minutes of our ride on Friday morning. He had to buy a new tire at a local bike shop (same place where we bought new Di2 in 2016 when mine suddenly stopped working after we arrive). He then needed to get his tire ready before he headed out again in the afternoon to finish his ride. Instead of going with Karel, I rode my bike back up the mountain to our rental home to finish my “easy” ride.
-On Saturday morning during our bike warm-up, Karel heard a rattle on his bike and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. After our run off the bike, he noticed that his aero bar had a big crack in it. He didn't want to risk it breaking during the race so he went on a mission to try to find a new set of aerobars (and tools to install them so he didn't have to drive the 20 minutes back to our rental home). I went back to the rental house with Justine and Natalie after checking in my gear bags and bike and Karel spent the next few hours finding a new set of aero bars in the expo and then installing the bars (with Di2) on his bike (thanks to his friend Roman who was staying in the motorhome park by the lake) before finally checking in his bags and bike. Let's just say that Fri and Sat was very stressful for Karel.

Come Sunday morning, it was a huge relief that it was finally race day. Could anything else go wrong? I sure hope not! Although the week was exhausting, we really tried hard not to let it get to us. These things can really suck the energy out of you and we both tried to stay calm even though we could not help but think "now this!" Karel is typically very calm in these pressure-cooker situations and despite all that happened to him before the race, he didn’t let it get to him, make excuses or complain – which really helped me stay calm as well. With both of us being competitive athletes, it can be tough when the other person is dealing with a setback or obstacle and we are still learning how to read and manage each others emotions before a race.

On race morning,  Karel had his normal oatmeal and coffee as his pre-race meal.I found it rather easy to eat my pre-race meal of a scrambled egg, 2 large gold boiled potatoes and a banana. Along with 1 scoop OSMO pre-load and 5 MAP - Map Amino Acids (I choose this route for aminos instead of Klean BCAAs as I was drinking enough fluids with coffee and the pre load and I didn't want to keep peeing all morning from overdrinking. Plus I had my bottle made of my pre-race drink of Osmo hydration  that I would sip on in the 60 min before the race. Thus, I didn’t want to overdo it with more water to mix my powdered BCAAs). Since I was expecting menstrual cycle in the next 48 hours, the BCAAs are helpful for my elevated hormones before a hard training session or race.

We left the house around 4:45am to arrive to the Minimundus parking lot around 5:20am. The parking lot was not too busy so it was easy to find parking. With this being our 3rd time doing this race, it was nice to know the area really well. We made our walk to the transition area to put our bottles and Garmin computer on our bikes, pump up the tires (Karel brought a pump and pumped up my tires) and then put nutrition in the gear bags. On my bike I had 3 bottles INFINIT (my custom formula) – flavors grape, fruit punch and pink lemonade (pink lemonade with 50mg caffeine and 1 gram BCAAs. I saved this caffeine bottle for my 3^rd bottle). I also had a broken-up Clif MOJO bar (peanut butter pretzel) to nibble on the bike in my bento box. I opened the package and broke it up ahead of time so it was easy to access. I always carry TUMS with me on the bike and run in a tiny baggy for those “just in case” situations (although I didn't need them this race).

This time around, the gear bags were on the other side of the transition area so I tried to reorient myself from what I was use to the last two times we did this race. I put my two hydration flasks in my run bag (1 flask with 3 scoops OSMO and 1 flask with 1 scoop Carborocket hydration), along with my Garmin watch (which I only use for the run). I then double checked my bike bag to make sure everything was in there that I needed. I handed off my special needs bag in the respective bike/run bag trucks and walked to the swim start with Karel. For my bike special needs I had 3 bottles – 2 each with 2 scoops of my custom INFINIT formula (fruit punch and watermelon - different flavors for each bottle/hour to prevent taste bud fatigue) and the other bottle with 2 scoops Carborocket black cherry (a little formula for the last portion of the bike). In my run special needs bag I had two flasks (10 ounce each) with 3 scoops OSMO hydration (each flask was a different flavor). All my special needs bottles were mixed with water and I didn’t freeze them. Although there is only one transition area, there is still a lot of walking to be done to get to/from the swim start, transition area and parking lot so we made sure to allow plenty of time on race morning.

Karel set up his bike with 3 bottles each with 2 scoops INFINIT (custom formula) in his hydration set-up on his Ventum and also had a bar (Base) in his bento box. He really likes the Enervitine (on course nutrition) so he decided to use that drink instead of using special needs for this race (usually he uses special needs). Karel also had a flask of HOT Shot for the bike but it ended up falling out of his kit pocket somewhere in the first few miles of the bike.

Karel and I walked to the motorhome park across from the swim start to visit with his friend Roman who was camping there for the weekend. This was also where Karel’s mom would hang out during the race so she didn’t get too tired walking/standing around. It was special to have her there as this was the first time she saw Karel participate in a triathlon. Karel and I did a little jog warm-up before putting on our wetsuit. The weather was on the cooler side (in the upper 50’s) but once I got the blood flowing from our jog and put on the wetsuit, I was rather comfortable. We dropped off our “streetwear” morning clothes bags in the bins across from the Irondome and then walked to the water. I made sure to pack clothes for after the race as well as shower stuff for the anticipated warm shower after the race (what a treat to have indoor showers for after the race!).

Karel and I went to the water at 6:10am and did a warm-up to adjust the wetsuit and get the heart rate up. I swam for only a few minutes as I was starting to get a little cold  (I don’t know the exact water temp but it was wetsuit legal for the pros as well as for the age groupers – I’m thinking the water was around 70 degrees but it was a little cool standing around in my wet wetsuit). Karel spent a bit longer in the water as he likes to give himself plenty of time to feel loose in the water.

Around 6:20am, I had my last few sips of my throw-away drink and slurped down a pre-race Enervitine pre sport and felt rather calm – not nervous or stressed. Karel had similar fuel for his pre-race nutrition (sport drink and gel were both Enervitine) along with a Muesli bar while walking to the motorhome park around 5:40am. 

It was a really weird feeling that I felt inside of me. I kept telling Karel that I am not sure how I feel about the race – it was almost like I was worried about how my body would act on race day…would it even know what to do? Certainly, these pre-race worries are not uncommon before an Ironman. Karel was rather calm which made me feel calm. I wished Natalie good luck and around 6:30am Justine, Karel and I stood in the in the sub-1 hour corral for the swim. The energy was building and I was ready to get the day started. After the pro men and women went off, it was nearing time for the age groupers. Since I don’t wear a watch for the swim and bike, I had no idea what time it was until the gun went off and the line started moving forward for us to get into the water. I really like rolling self-seeded swim starts as I swim my fastest times with this type of start and it makes for a smoother entry to the water. For this start, they had us line up in rows of 8 and each set of 8 athletes went off around every 5-6 seconds (by a whistle). Karel was just ahead of me in line so he entered the water first and then Justine and I were next. 

Once I entered the water, I felt relieved that my Ironman day was finally on its way. 

2018 Ironman Austria Finishers - quick recap

As of yesterday, Karel and I have now completed a combined 23 Ironman races. With every race, we learn something about the art of Ironman racing. While physical readiness is important, the race requires such great mental toughness. With every Ironman, we get a one-day opportunity to test both our mental and physical skills. While we always hope for that perfect day of racing, we know very well that that day rarely comes but just a few times in an athlete's career. Therefore, the other 98% of races require a lot of focus, determination and strong will to not give up in order to reach the finish line. And let's not forget about all those mental demons trying to convince you that the pain is not worth the finishing medal and that quitting is the best option. 

After crossing our 3rd Ironman Austria finish line (my 13th Ironman and Karel's 10th finish/11th start), Karel and I can honestly say that this was one of the hardest 140.6 mile adventures that we have ever had to take our body on and to be honest - it wasn't a day full of smiles, enjoyment and fun. We both struggled all day, at various times, throughout the entire race. While there were some highs, there were many, many lows. It was one of those days where the body and mind were not working well together. I'm not sure how it worked but something in the mind kept us going when we wanted to quit a thousand times on the marathon run. Typically, the pain that is felt in the later miles of an Ironman marathon is anticipated but this time, the pain was just so deep and uncomfortable that it was a constant struggle to run 26.2 miles in that type of hurt. Thankfully no nutrition issues or other issues - just not enough energy to speed up my pace. There was A LOT of walking through the aid stations to reset my mind and body from mile 6-24.

The highlight of the day was Karel swimming his first 1-hour swim in a speedy low 58 minutes. Of course, he had to one-up me and beat me in the water by 28 seconds. I am just happy that my 57 min swim from 2016 Ironman Austria was not a fluke and I have another legit 1-hour wetsuit swim in my Ironman resume. Karel felt so-so for the bike, especially since he rode most of the bike solo as the rolling start swim (8 athletes every 5-6 seconds) really separated the field. My legs didn't come around on the bike until the 2nd loop when I finally started to feel a little more like myself. But the first loop was a struggle and I almost debated stopping at half way on the bike.

If it wasn't for Roman (Karel's friend from Czech) telling me that I was leading my age group around half way of the run, I was ready to give up. But hearing that I was still having a competitive race despite not feeling very competitive, it somehow kept me going. Karel couldn't believe that he finished 5th (out of over 400!) in his very competitive age group. The weather was nearly perfect for the swim and bike and although it did feel a little warm when the sun came out on the run and it was very windy on the bike (and choppy in the water at times), the conditions were tolerable for racing. We have raced in far worse conditions but something was just off all day. But that's ok - that's all part of racing. You can't feel great all the time and you can't get much accomplished if you only start (and finish) races on the days you feel good.

With every Ironman finisher medal, there's a story behind what it took to earn that medal. This medal's are not given away but you have to work for them.....really, really hard. While the day did not go as Karel and I hoped for it to go, we are not disappointed in our performance for that's part of racing. You savor the few races when everything seems to fall into place and you test your mental strength and learn things when your body falls apart. This race took every ounce of willpower to not quit and despite the all-day struggles, I'm so glad that we didn't give up.

Thank you for the cheers and support - we could feel your energy all day!

Also a huge congrats to our athletes Justine and Natalie for finishing their first experience of racing Ironman Austria! It was so awesome to share this race with them! Proud coach moment to witness our athletes grit it out to the finish line!

And it was so special to have Karel's mom out cheering for us as it was the first time she has watched Karel race in a triathlon!

RESULTS

Marni 
2.4 mile swim: 58.48
T1: 6:08
112 mile bike: 5:20.58
T2: 4:03
26.2 mile run: 3:53.15
Total: 10:23.10, 2nd AG 35-39 (out of 64), 22nd female (out of 336), 344th overall (out of 2315)

Karel
2.4 mile swim: 58.20
T1: 4:31
112 mile bike: 5:03.29
T2: 3:01
26.2 mile run: 3:10.43
Total: 9:20.02, 5th AG 40-44 (out of 411), 36th male (out of 1977), 41st overall (out of 2315)

3-week countdown - final Ironman prep

On Saturday, after my big day of Ironman-specific training, I reflected on my season journey and couldn't help but think how far I have come over the past 12 years. I never thought I'd be so fit, healthy, strong and resilient at the age of 36. It's kinda funny because at the young age of 24 (when I started endurance triathlon racing), I thought I was in such great shape. Ha! While some years have left me feeling frustrated with my body, over the past five years, I continue to feeling stronger, healthier and fitter. In 2017, I dedicated the year to half IM distance racing and never really felt "it." Something was missing and it was the focus on Ironman training and racing. While an extreme distance that requires a lot of time, energy and focus, it's a distance that suits me physically and mentally. Thankfully, I have a great support system and my friends and family "get me". Luckily (or unluckily), my fainting incident on race day morning at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship led me to register for Ironman Chattanooga two weeks later, despite not training specifically for the Ironman. But come race day, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be - racing a 140.6 mile event, sharing the course with my athletes and Karel. And here I am, just three weeks out from the race that I registered for a year ago, counting down the days until I get to race another Ironman.

I still remember the days when I was afraid to clip in to my pedals, nervous about riding in my aerobars (and around other athletes) and unaware of how to properly change my gears. I didn't truly understand how to train for an Ironman or what it takes to "race" an Ironman but ever since my first Ironman, my joy for the sport has remained the same. Because the sport of triathlon is almost my method of staying healthy (physically and mentally), I recognize how extreme (and crazy) my lifestyle is compared to others. However, Ironman or no Ironman, I have a responsibility to my body to keep it in good health.

Around this time in each of my Ironman journey's, I find myself feeling incredibly grateful to my body for what it allows me to do. Over this past weekend, I challenged my body through fatigue and discomfort - both mentally and physically. I have trained consistently well over the past eight months and the time finally came to put myself into race-mode. I practiced my nutrition/fueling similar to race day, I wore similar clothing and every decision I made was similar to what I expect to feel/experience on race day. It was neat to finally be in that zone where all my weekend focus was on Ironman training. This is one of the reason why we limit big Ironman training weekends to just once, maybe twice, in the 6-8 weeks before an Ironman - it takes a lot of physically and mentally energy to put together quality training sessions and the more you give to training, the less energy you have to give on race day. 

It was an incredible experience to feel so in control over my body and how my mind was able to work with my body, despite feeling fatigued near the end of each workout. My nutrition was on point, my body was working well and I was able to work through the negative thoughts and excuses, similar to what I will experience on race day. Late last summer, I made a huge goal to break 10 hours at Ironman Austria this year and to hopefully run the run that I feel I am capable of running off the bike.  I didn't forget that goal during the many times I wanted to stop, lay down in the grass under a tree and call it a day.

I've learned a lot of lessons over the years, made a lot of mistakes and had to overcome a lot of obstacles. I started the sport as a stubborn and inexperienced athlete who was obsessed with triathlon and transformed into a wiser, smarter and more appreciative athlete who uses triathlon to help live life to the fullest. I've learned that hard work works, day in and day out and success doesn't happen overnight. I've learned to enjoy the journey and to see race day as a celebration of the work that was put forth in training. Rather than looking for quick fixes, extreme methods or wanting to rush the process, I've once again learned that every small gain eventually turns into something big. And even when I didn't feel like I was gaining anything (like two weeks ago when I found myself in a training rut), something inside was happening and because I didn't give up, I now feel incredibly prepared for race day. The training isn't over but with this final Ironman prep weekend behind us, I can't help but thank my body for letting me stay in great health (mind and body) over the past 8 months. I will continue to fuel you, nourish you, rest you and respect you for you are giving me the best gift of being able to do amazing things with you on a daily basis.

Weekend "final Ironman prep" recap:
Friday 
AM Swim (4200 yards)
Main set:
1200 build by 400 w/ paddles
3 x 400's at 90%
10 x 50's strong
(Thanks to my speedy swimmer friend Kristen for doing this with me since Karel was taking it easy today)

PM Bike (1:22)
Easy solo outside spin on the road bike

Saturday
AM Brick
4:20 bike (77.8 miles, 4580 feet of elevation gain)
Main set:
20 min IM effort
8 min EZ
6 x 10 min strong w/ 8 min EZ
30 min IM effort

60 min brick run (7.48 miles, 8:02 min/mile average) as:
20 min smooth (8:16 min/mile), 20 min steady/strong (7:58), 20 min strong (7:37) w/ 30 sec walk between

PM Run (45 min, 4.76 miles, 9:26 min/mile average)
EZ form focused run w/ walk breaks every mile

Sunday
AM run (1:56, 13.5 miles, 8:35 min/mile average) as:
~30 min warm-up
MS:
30 min Ironman effort (8:07 min/mile average), 2 min rest
20 min half IM effort (7:36), 2 min rest
10 min Oly effort (7:15), 2 min rest
12 min EZ, 2 min rest
10 min IM effort (7:47)

PM Swim (3000 yards, 52 minutes)
WU: 800 EZ
Pre-set: 400 kick w/ fins
MS (with fins):
2 x 150's swim w/ paddles
2 x 75 kick
3 x 100's swim w/ paddles
3 x 50 kick
4 x 50's swim w/ paddles
4 x 25 kick
Post set:
12 x 25s in sets of 4 as:
-10 strokes fast, then EZ to the wall
-10 strokes EZ, then fast to the wall
-EZ
-Fast
Then 300 pull w/ snorkel and buoy

Karel ran a little longer than me for the Saturday PM run (7.57 miles) and of course, covered more miles than me for our 1 hour run off the bike (8.96). For Karel's build effort run off the bike on Saturday, he ran the following splits:
7:55, 7:38, 7:03, 6:48, 6:08, 6:08, 6:26 (hill), 6:39 (another hill), 6:37

For Karel's Sunday long run, his set was:
30 min very EZ (~7:57 min/mile)
MS: 3 x 25 min as 20 min IM effort, 5 min just above IM effort
30 sec rest between each interval
30 min steady (7:14 min/mile average)
Total: 2:15, 18.8 miles, 7:11 min/mile average
Round 1: 20 min at 6:58 min/mile, 5 min at 6:35 min/mile
Round 2: 20 min at 6:53 min/mile, 5 min at 6:39 min/mile
Round 3: 20 min at 6:46 min/mile, 5 min at 6:22 min/mile

Karel also swam a 3000 but made up his own set as he went along (we didn't swim together).

IM Austria race report - post race

You can't have a race report without the post race details......

With quads that were no longer working, I slowly hobbled my way to the big white tent with Karel (only athletes allowed inside) to grab my street wear bag.

Karel told me that there were showers outside the white tent for showering. I could not wait to clean myself up after racing for 10+ hours.

I walked over to the showers, thinking that there was only one set of showers but thankfully, there was a men's and a women's shower.

The line to the male showers was long and not only was it filled with men but naked men. Oh my - what a sight (when in Europe)!

When I opened the door and walked into the women's shower "cubicle", there was at least 8 individual showers (and curtains) and no wait!

With warm water, I cleaned myself up and it felt amazing. What a treat to have indoor showers right at the race venue after an Ironman.

After I got dressed, I met Karel and my mom joined us as we walked to the transition area to get our bikes (5:30pm or later check out).

I picked up my very dirty bike (see pic below) and then grabbed my bike and run gear bags. We went through several stations to verify that our stuff was actually our stuff and then we turned in our chips at the end. 

We slowly walked to the parking lot to get our van and then we made our short drive home back to our apartment.

Seeing that it was 90 minutes or so after I finished when we arrived home (and over 2 hours for Karel), my body was starting to slowly shut down.

So, I did what every Ironman athlete loves to do at the finish of an Ironman.....lie down!

I crashed on the bed with Karel and still without much of an appetite (the food options post race were not your typical post race pretzels, pizza and banana options - they had all types of meats, goulash, bread and some fruit....and beer of course), I couldn't believe what had happened. I hadn't checked the Ironman website yet so it was finally time to actually see what I did to confirm that what happened during the race, really happened.

Aside from laying down, I also look forward to exchanging stories with Karel post race. While my first 7 Ironman events were with Karel on the sidelines, the past 5 Ironman events have been special as I don't only tell Karel my race recap but I get to hear his recap.

He still couldn't believe the race that he had and he was so happy with his result. Actually, he was shocked. He said he really celebrated at the finish line and soaked it all in. 

We took some time to reply to our many texts and messages (thank you everyone for the support) but nearing 8pm, our brains were just as exhausted as our bodies. 

Karel decided that he wanted ice cream whereas I was in no mood for anything with sugar in it but I thought it would be nice to walk downtown Klagenfurt and cheer on the athletes who were still racing and to let Karel satisfy one of his sweet teeth. 

It was really neat to walk on the race course and to reflect on our day. Karel and I both shared our stories about how we felt "here" or what happened "there". 

Not sure what Karel is more happy about - his Ironman performance or his ice cream??

I knew that it would be hard to fall asleep with the typical post race insomnia but I managed to fall asleep around 11pm but then I woke up around 3am - hungry!

I had snacked throughout the evening, after the race (mostly pretzels and milk) but at 3pm, I needed some substance in my belly!

I made myself a hardboiled egg, avocado and cheese baguette sandwich with farmers cheese spread. Yes, fat and salt please!! 

After I ate, I went back to sleep for a few more hours but it was a restless night of sleep. Karel said that he didn't sleep at all but just tossed and turned in bed.....with every muscle in his body hurting. I could feel the pain! 

Karel and I made the mistake of not getting any yummy post race food for our apartment so around 8am, we went to the grocery to get some food.

Karel picked up some chicken and made himself a schnitzel and had some potato salad (without mayo).....and a beer of course.

Breakfast of a champion....or of a 9:13 Ironman finish with a 3:06 marathon!

After we ate, we went to the expo to check out the finisher gear and purchased a few items and then went over to the roll down for Kona. 

Although IM Austria was not Karel's key race to Kona qualify, he couldn't believe his time and overall place and thought that there may be a slight chance that he would get a roll down. With only 40 slots for Kona at IM Austria and only 5 slots in Karel's 40-44 AG (with 500+ athletes), we knew it would have to be a miracle...but we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

Deep inside, Karel hoped for the Kona slot here just so he didn't have to repeat the torture and pain of racing hard in 8 weeks at IMMT but he was also fine with whatever outcome was meant to be for him. He said that even if he didn't get a Kona slot, he was so proud of his race and he could not have asked for anything more. 

Well, maybe 2 minutes more as that would have given Karel a Kona slot (it rolled down to 6th plave and Karel was 9th) but oh well.

I have no doubt that Karel will do what he does best and go into his upcoming training with tenacity and will race smart, once again, at Ironman Mont Tremblant to see if he can earn his Kona slot.

If you were wondering, there was only 1 slot in my age group (30-34) and the first place girl took the slot. But that's ok as my only goal was to podium at IM Austria and not to Kona qualify. I am thrilled that the one slot went to the athlete who is going to Kona.

After the roll down, we started to get hungry so we went to a restaurant in downtown Klagenfurt for a late but light lunch. 

Appetizer

Karel's dish

My dish - dressing on the bottom, cooked potatoes and salad.

My mom's dish - beef soup.

After lunch, we went back to our apartment to change and to get ready for the athlete post-race banquet.

I was getting a bit nervous in my belly to stand on the podium but equally excited to celebrate with the other athletes. 

The tent was packed and it was fun to see so many professionals and age group athletes in one room....all walking kinda slow :) 

They served us salad and bread to start and then two different types of pastas (a vegetarian dish and one with chicken). Mine was so good. They serve each table family style and you pass around the big dish and serve yourself. It's really cool to sit with other athletes, from other places in the world. 

When they started the award ceremony, the called up the professionals and the male and female winners gave a speech. Then it was time for the age group awards.

I was surprised when they called my name as the fastest overall female swim as I wasn't expecting anything at the banquet.

The fastest male swimmer wasn't present so I walked up to the stage and received an award from Arena Swimwear.

Not too long later, they called up the 30-34 age group podium for men and women. They only award top 3 so this race was a really huge deal for me to be on the podium. This was my highest age group finish since my very first IM back in 2006 (when I was 23 and won the 18-24 AG) and my highest ever overall amateur placement in an Ironman.

What an honor to stand up there with so many athletes from all over the world. I was also super pumped to be the fastest American female amateur at Ironman Austria.

What a dream come true!

After the awards (which got more and more inspiring as they went into the older age groups, even a 70-74 year old male category!!), it was time for desserts and then the conclusion of Ironman Austria with a live band entertaining everyone until the after after party (which we didn't attend - those Europeans know how to party!)

Well Ironman Austria - thank you again for the great memories.

I really don't know how Karel and I can top this race experience.

We have raced Ironman Austria twice and both times, we left the race with a PR but also with the same feelings that we absolutely LOVE racing in Europe.

While traveling here is extremely stressful, time consuming and expensive and it seems as if we always have some type of bad luck before race day...... race day does not disappoint us and things just somehow work out.

Like many athletes, we have each had our struggles as endurance athletes (and I'm positive there will be more) and it can be very tough to live this lifestyle together (as a married couple) for it's tough when one of us isn't in a good place, physically or mentally.  

But not only is that life but that's life as an athlete.

It's tough!

Be respectful to your body during the tough time and be grateful to your body during the great times.

With so many setbacks in my past, I can only encourage you to not give up during your low moments because the race of your life will happen - you just have to put in the work, believe in yourself, dream big and stay patient.

Thank you to our 2016 Trimarni sponsors for the ongoing support!

IM Austria race report - 26.2 mile run

Not feeling so great within the first 1/2 mile of the run, my first thought was that this is going to be one tough marathon for my body to get through.

To be honest, after 10 Ironman starts and finishes, this wasn't the first time that I have thought this or experienced this feeling, so I just reminded myself that the only way I would get to the finish was to keep moving forward.

While I felt physically fit and prepared for IM Austria, I did a lot of mental training to help me prepare for the uncontrollable moments and the uncomfortable moments of racing a 140.6 mile event.  I was prepared mentally for anything that came my way on race day.
And oh boy, was I given a lot to struggle with during the marathon!

Going into Ironman Austria, I reminded myself that I was in great health and that any suffering that I felt on race day was normal and expected. I welcomed the opportunity to suffer for 10+ hours and I wanted to embrace the good hurt that I would feel when racing to the best of my athletic ability.

I've learned that having a goal pace or goal time in the Ironman run can cause a great amount of stress and pressure for me so my only goal for the run was to find and establish and then hold good run form with rhythm and fluency. This is something that I have learned from Karel as he always tells me that he runs with a metronome-style of running and no matter how fast or slow his time shows on his watch, he doesn't care about the time but instead, finding that rhythm and then holding it until he becomes numb with this feeling and he can then just go with it by digging deep and staying mentally tough.

While Karel and I don't do the typical "long run" training (in Jan/Feb we do some longer slow runs around 2 hours but in my peak training, my longest run was 13.1 miles - at Rev3 Knoxville and Karel's longest run was 15 miles, with most of his runs around 13-14 miles), we race with our resilient bodies that are strong, healthy and durable. It takes a lot of courage to trust that you are "ready" to run an Ironman without the fear-based long-run training to see if you are "ready" for the marathon but we both felt ready for the marathon.

But of course, feeling ready and then dealing with the obstacles that you face on or before race day is just part of endurance racing.

For the first 3 miles, my stomach was not feeling good. But somehow, I was able to find a semi-good rhythm despite feeling uncomfortable in my gut. The crowds were cheering loud as I ran through Europapark which is always an instant energy booster.
Thankfully, the rain had stopped and the sky stayed dark so the weather was absolutely perfect for running.

There is one section in the run that we pass through 5 times, with the 5th time being the last time as we veer to the left to the long chute to the finish line.  

While I was really looking forward to this "hot spot" as a mental check-off point that I was making forward progress in the run, the Ironman Austria run course is my absolute favorite Ironman run courses as it has everything I love in a marathon run:
Cobblestones, sand, paved trail, loops, grass, a downtown, a neighborhood, water and mountain views and lots of crowd support.
While there are no significant hills, it's relatively flat with a few bumps to wake-up the quads...not to mention the curbs you have to run on and off of as you are entering and exiting downtown Klagenfurt.

I need a lot of mental stimulation when I run and not to mention the kilometer signs (instead of mile markers) to make me think (I love doing math when I run - it helps me tune-out the pain in my legs), I was really excited for this run course.

But first, I needed to figure out my stomach situation.
While my legs felt heavy at first, they started to feel better once the terrain changed from pavement to sand.
As I was running near the town/neighborhood of Krumpendorf, I spotted Karel running toward me as he was a few miles ahead of me since he finished a little over 20 minutes ahead of me on the bike.
I wasn't sure what condition Karel would be in off the bike based on his back pain going into the race and anything he had to overcome on the bike but even when he was in intense pain before the race on the bike, he felt ok on the run. I know he was just thinking that if he could get through the bike, he would be ok for the run and would just take it mile by mile, willing to drop out of the race if he had to (but we knew this would be hard as he really didn't want to DNF this race).

When I saw him, I gave him a big smile and a wave and he yelled back "Go Marni". This was certainly a surprise as Karel rarely talks when he is in race mode so I really appreciated this gesture. I wasn't sure what to think of his running form but I was just happy to see that he was running.

I felt like I really needed to use the bathroom so I planned to stop when I approached the first potty on the course. Well, my digestive tract was impatient so found the nearest bushes. It was a bit of a struggle to get off my one-piece short sleeve tri suit. No need to feel sorry for me or feel grossed out by this as I respect the human body and all that it has to handle on race day and well, sometimes things just don't work out like we would like.
I embraced this obstacle and my primary goal was to get through this stomach situation so I could get running again.

I was feeling a bit frustrated after this stop because I still didn't feel good for the next few miles.
I really wanted to stay up on my sport nutrition from my hydration belt but ever time I took a sip, I felt the urge to go to the bathroom again.
With the aid stations occuring about every 2.5K (or about every 1.5 miles), I skipped two aid stations and withheld from taking in any calories for over 15 minutes.
I was anxious to get back to taking in calories and fluids as I needed the energy but by mile 4 of still not feeling good, I needed this situation to go away as soon as possible.

A few more miles ticked by and I was able to still run with semi good form but my mind was not in the right place as I wasn't thinking about the metronome style of running that I wanted to achieve but instead, my mind was thinking about my tummy and how to best get through this situation.

As I made my way through the park again and on to the path toward downtown Klagenfurt, I was so relieved to make it this far. I knew I'd be seeing my mom in a few miles which made me happy to see a familiar face. 

Although I was going through a lot in the first 7 miles of the run, I still hadn't seen another female amateur close by me - but there was a good chance that with 3 potty stops so far on the run (plus one in T2), I may have been passed by girls and not even know it.

Before I approached downtown Klagenfurt, a girl passed me. We ran close to each other for a while which gave me a glimmer of hope that even though I had all these struggles, I was still making progress - I couldn't have asked for any more at this point in the race!

I laughed because at my 4th potty stop, the girl I was running with also stopped. We entered at the same time and left at the same time and we went back to running close to each other.

As I was getting close to downtown Klagenfurt, the crowds were getting thick and I was so excited to get some energy from the crowds. I could smell all the good food from the outdoor seating at the restaurants which made me smile - at least others were yumming while we were suffering.

I was hoping to see Karel again but I suppose we missed each other.

The downtown section was exciting and I finally came to terms with my tummy that I would sit in the potty until I was ready to exit and no more short stops.
What felt like forever, I finally felt better. 
I also decided that I needed to ditch my hydration belt at an aid station (by a fence) as I was still dealing with some distention and my hydration belt was extremely uncomfortable. While I love my hydration belt and tried to keep it on for 12 miles, it was time to use the nutrition from the course.
On to coke and water for the next 14 miles.

This is Karel running through downtown Klagenfurt - my mom snapped the pic. 

 
This is me entering downtown Klagenfurt - my mom snapped the pic.

As I was leaving downtown, I spotted my mom and told her that my stomach was not feeling good. She told me to hang in there and that I was doing great. 

She yelled something at me and I thought she said "you have a 11-minute lead" but after thinking about it, I thought she said you are in 11th.

Regardless of what she said and what I heard, I needed to hear this.

Something inside of me switched from suffering with my belly to needing and wanting to suffer with my body to get on the podium. Regardless if it was true or not, I convinced myself that I was going to get on that podium and I needed to believe that to get me through the rest of the marathon.

Suddenly, my legs started working and my stomach felt better. I was making a lot of forward progress and I actually felt strong. I embraced the hurt I was feeling and I was also happy to have passed the longest distance I had run in training.

When I went through the "hot spot" once again, I received another wrist band (think hair band) for my 2nd loop of the run. To get this band, a volunteer opens up the band and you stick your hand through. I received a yellow one when I started my first loop and a green one when I started the 2nd loop.
I didn't pick up my special needs flasks since I no longer had my hydration belt.

Now that I got through all those tummy issues, it was time to start playing the mind games. First, I thought how great it would be to finish now since I was running by the finishing chute but that was just wishful thinking. Still 11+ more miles to go! I told myself that all I needed to do was to get through the Krumpendorf section and then through Europapark (around 5-6 miles or so) and then it would be smooth sailing for the rest of the run. Sure, I knew this wouldn't be the case but I have learned that not only do you have to cut deals with yourself but you have to make yourself to think about anything you can to make a given situation better.

I had incorporated several walks into my running now that I was able to run more steady, whereas before, I wasn't walking the aid stations as I was doing enough stopping at each potty stop.

I felt like I was running really "fast" (relatively speaking) through Krumpendorf but when I got back on the trail to head back to the "hot spot", I felt a low. I just told myself to keep on moving forward, which I did.

I was surprised that my legs were running as well as they were considering all that had happened in the first 2 hours of the marathon run but nonetheless, my legs were fatigued. Every foot strike was painful but I tried to keep my mind in a good place that this was exactly what I had trained for.

As I was leaving the hot spot, I spotted Karel. My first thought was "I am SO jealous that he is finishing now!!!" but then I cheered for him. Later he told me that it took him a few minutes to process that he heard me as he was in a world of hurt from racing hard (not from an injury, thank goodness) and was just laser focused on the finish line.

I figured I had a good 45+ minutes until I reached the finish line so I was on a mission to get there as soon as I could so that I could reunite with Karel and my mom.

Every time I crossed a timing mat I felt like I was connecting with all my friends and Trimarni followers so it kept me focused that I knew people were tracking us online.

While I told myself that the rest of the race would be "easy" as I was running near Krumpendorf, I started to feel a painful cramping in my belly. Seriously?
Ok, I can get through this. I knew that the best thing in this situation was to stop as I couldn't risk to run with bad form this late in the race so I stopped at the next aid station, stretched out my core, took in some water and coke and walked until I felt better. While it didn't feel better right away, it slowly loosened up and what a relief, in less than a mile I was back to running again.

As I went through downtown once more, I noticed that there were some girls close behind me.
I gave myself permission to walk at one more aid station with 2.5-3 miles to go and then I was going to suffer like I have never suffered before.

I passed the girl who had passed me on the run earlier in the race and I also ended up passing the girl who passed me on the run.

I still had no idea what place I was in but I told myself that I had to be near the top of the age grouper females and I just had to stay focused to the finish line.

Every foot strike was scary as it hurt in my quads but I reminded myself that the pain I was feeling was nothing new as I had felt this pain 10 times before.
Plus, with no more tummy issues, I welcomed the hurt from pushing hard.

I had yet to look at my overall time, my running pace or any other metric on the run so like I normally do in an Ironman, with less than 2 miles to go, I look at the time of the day on my watch to see what my overall time may be.

Throughout the marathon, I was doing a little math - not knowing my swim time but guessing it was 59 minutes and then knowing that my bike time was something over 5:16 (as that was the last time I looked at my Garmin on the bike, before the transition area), I was thinking that I was going to finish around 10:20-10:25 based on all that I had to go through on the run. I was thinking that I was not even going to run a sub 4 hour marathon and that maybe I would be top 5 in my age group.

It wasn't until I was nearing mile 25 that I looked at my watch for the time of the day and it was getting close to 4:50pm.

Are you freaking kidding me?

While I am sure it didn't look like it, I felt like I was sprinting to the finish line.
It seemed to take forever through the park but I finally reached the hot spot once more, turned to the left, rotated my bib number to the front, zipped up my jersey and started to smile.

What a relief.
I finally made it to the finish line.

I was overwhelmed with emotion that I high-fived the announcer and with my hands raised up as high as they would go (oh boy, that took some energy), I crossed the 2016 Ironman Austria finish line. I looked up at the clock and saw 10:06 and couldn't believe it.


Thank you Joey for the pictures from the computer!

I didn't have much time to process it as I hobbled my way to the side of the finish line and nearly collapsed on the rail. 

Me far right, looking at the clock in disbelief. 

As I hobbled away from the finish line, I could hear Karel yelling at me from the other side of the fence. Of course, he was all dressed with a plate of food in his hands and I walked over to him.

We chatted between the fence and I told him I went 10:06. He was so happy for me.
It took me a minute to remember that he raced too so I asked him how his race went.

He was nearly speechless when he said "9:13".

I responded, are you serious?
He also told me that he ran a 3:06 marathon.

I was thrilled for him and I couldn't believe our day.
While the outcome may have been perfect, we both had our obstacles to overcome before and during the race.



After sitting down (with a group of guys) for a few minutes, I was finally ready to walk to see Karel and my mom.

My mom was so happy for me and she told me that I had the fastest overall swim of the day.
Say whaaat?
She told me that I swam 57.0 and I couldn't believe it. I thought there was no way that I swam that fast - I believe my dad, from above, was helping me out on race day.
Karel said the same thing about his marathon - my dad was helping him dig deeper than ever before.



It took a bit for me to find out how I finished overall in my age group but thanks to a bunch of text messages and posts on Facebook, I finally got confirmation that I was 2nd in my age group and Karel was 9th in his age group (out of 500+!).

I've always loved the Ironman distance as it doesn't always award the fastest or fittest athlete.

I respect this distance and I am incredibly grateful to my body for letting me start and finish 11 Ironman distance events.

Thank you for your support and for sharing our special day with us.

OVERALL RESULTS

Karel: 

9th AG (40-44), 68th overall

Swim - 1:03.05

Bike - 4:56.51

Run - 3:06.05

Total - 9:13.10

Marni: 

2nd AG (30-34), 10th female overall

Swim - :57.04

Bike - 5:18.00

Run - 3:42.57

Total - 10:06:54

(I apologize for any grammar errors or typos!)

IM Austria race report - 112 mile bike

(this picture was not from race day but the same view we got to enjoy for much of 112 miles!)

As I was settling into my rhythm on the bike for the short out and back section, I kept the effort very easy - light on the pedals.
Karel told me that my "race effort" would start after I left Maria Worth as I was nearing the round about by the town of Velden. I needed to give myself time before settling into my Ironman bike "race effort" as I was ready to give a very sustainably hard (relatively speaking for an Ironman) effort on the bike for Ironman Austria.

This year I have made/seen some big and exciting improvements on the bike - but as we all know, this didn't happen overnight. Seeing that I married a cat 1 cyclist turned triathlete, I really had no choice that I was going to become a good cyclist whether I liked it or not - thankfully, I learned to love cycling!
The truth is that my cycling has been an ongoing developmental process starting with an evolving bike fit (by Karel) to help my glutes work harder on the bike and to not tire out my quads. Specifically this season I did a lot of work on the trainer to help with my pedaling mechanics, with better chain tension with variable cadence (to help me climb better sitting and standing).  And of course, since moving to Greenville 2 years ago, I am more confident riding my bike in all types of terrain and know how to change my gears properly when anticipating different terrain.
So as much as I wish I could tell you a;; the magic key workouts that have helped my cycling, the truth is that I have not doing anything extreme with my cycling training - I simply dedicated myself to improving my skills, learned how to ride my bike and improved my confidence when riding on two wheels.
(Thank you Karel!)

My longest bike was 5 hours (about 85 miles) although I had one intentional overload cycling week (4 weeks out) where I did 3 long rides (4.5 hours, 5 hours and 4 hours within 7 days - all with a run off the bike. This same week I did a lot of run frequency as well. It was my biggest week of training in my IM training block (which lasted about 5 weeks) but the rest of my "long" bikes were around 3.5-4 hours with only a few 4.5 hour rides. 

I felt like I was flying through Maria Worth as the first section is fast. There are a few "bumps" in the road but overall, it's a great start to an Ironman after swimming for 2.4 miles.

I noticed in front of me that there was a girl with a motorcycle escort ahead of me. I was a bit confused by this because I was getting closer to her and I wasn't too sure of why an age grouper would have an escort. The first thought was maybe she was the top age grouper and they had a lead vehicle with her but as I  got closer and spotted her bib number around her waist on her back and it was a very low number (we were required to wear our bib numbers on our back - on our race belt - on the bike since we had no body markings. We also had 3 numbers on our helmet - front and both sides). I was able to see the back of the sign on the motorcycle and it read "3rd Austrian woman" or something like that.

While I have exited the water close to female professionals in the past at an Ironman, it was only a matter of time until I looked like I was riding backwards as they were riding quickly away from me.

This was certainly a first as I was staying very close to the professional female ahead of me. However, eventually she did ride away.

Seeing that I had no assigned watts, heart rate or speed to hold but instead, to just stay up with my nutrition (1 bottle per hour of 300 calories + additional water as needed from aid stations) and to go all by feel and occasionally check in with my metrics, when I approached the round about by Veldon I was ready to focus for the next 4+ hours.



As I approached the first climb, I felt good but didn't want to do anything crazy.
With two loops, 180K and 4-5 climbs (3 being significant climbs), it was really important that even though I was willing and ready to give an effort like I have never given before on the bike, I didn't want to ruin my race in the first 20K.

Compared to 2014 Ironman Austria, I felt much more confident on the bike course  And seeing that we were predicted to have rain later in the day (just like we had in 2014), I felt like I would be able to ride more comfortably in the rain on this terrain (in 2014 I rode a bit too scared).

I kept waiting for Karel to pass me but after finishing the Faaker See climb and then finishing the first loop of our course (see the map above to understand the loops within the loop course), I was nearing 50K and no sign of Karel.
I knew that there was a good chance that he wouldn't feel good on the bike based on how he had been feeling on race week but I hoped that a miracle would happen and he would be able to ride pain free. I knew how much he was looking forward to IM Austria, especially the bike course.

I can't say enough about this bike course - cute villages, the screaming spectators, the awesome volunteers at the aid stations (seriously - they were so awesome), the unbelievable breathtaking mountain views, the smooth silky terrain between the villages, the long fun and fast descends (nothing too technical) and the challenging climbs to break up the course.

I felt a little tired (sleep tired) in the first 90 minutes of the bike and I knew it wasn't from being low on calories but probably just from poor sleep habits on race week due to a bad case of jet lag. I stayed up on my nutrition with my liquid calories (4-5 sips every 10-15 minutes and as needed) plus water at aid stations and although my body felt good and I felt sharp, my eyes were sleepy.

It was around the time when I was having a little low that you know who rolls up behind me and I can spot a flash of orange right next to me.

The first thing he said was "Wow babe, you are doing great."

Karel passed me a little after 60K as we were nearing the last big climb (which is a long and tough one - it just keeps going and going and going)  of our first loop and later did he tell me that he couldn't believe that it took him that long to catch me on the bike. Usually he passes me within 30-40 min of the bike.

I told Karel that I thought I was near the top of the amateurs as he rode away....with a small group of other guys trying to stay with him (they didn't last long).

I could see Karel in the distance starting the climb and as he was switching from getting out of the saddle and then sitting and climbing, I could tell that he had his normal riding style - which was relieving (later did he tell me that his hips felt fine but he did feel a bit of tightness in his back but better than the days prior).

This was a great pick-me up and after the long climb, I was back to business again.

The last 30K of the first loop is very fast with a few slightly technical areas through villages (but nothing crazy hard or scary). The roads are wide open and you can almost always see where you are going with nothing significant to make you squeeze on your breaks for a turn or switch back. Despite the challenging climbs, if you can climb efficiently, this can be a very fast course (which it is known to be one of the fastest IM bike courses despite 5300+ feet of climbing).

As I was finishing the loop, in the last 30K, a girl rode up next to me (actually, this happened near the last big long climb) and I noticed on her bib number that she was in the 18-24 age group. While this didn't concern me that she wasn't in my age group, I wasn't sure how many female amateurs were close behind me on the bike so I used her as my rabbit and tried my best to stay with her. She was very strong on the bike and was able to stay with others a bit better than me (legally drafting) as I was still trying to manage my efforts and I didn't want to waste everything I had on the first loop.

With the rolling start, the drafting was much less of an issue this year compared to when we raced in 2014. For many times during the bike, I rode by myself for miles and miles with no one in sight. There were a few times when I was passed by guys or a few small groups of 4-8 guys near each other but never 20+ athletes riding in a pack together.

Oh, I forgot to mention that throughout the bike, I had a motorcycle next time me with a photographer taking pictures of me. He would stay with me for several minutes. At this point, I finally realized that I was somewhere near the top of the amateur race which just blew my mind. Seriously, me??...at Ironman Austria with very strong and fast females amateurs?

After a fun and fast 10K wheeeeeew, let's fly, aero-action ride, I was nearing town and the girl who I was riding with was out of my sight so now she was out of mind. Time to refocus and get ready for lap #2.

As I was nearing the "hot corner" near transition to start loop #2, the announcer yelled "Here is Marni Sumbal, our 2nd female age group athlete". 

Well, now that it was official, I was willing to take some risks and give it what I had to have the ride of my life. I paced myself as well as I could on the first loop (which is hard when you are about to burst with energy after taper) and fueled as well as I could on the first loop so now, I just had to sustain my effort. I knew that I would slow down due to fatigue (hills seem to grow on loop two of an IM course - always!) and with the sky turning dark, I continued to hit lap on my Garmin to focus only on 30 minutes at a time - that is all I could control.
I would often find myself thinking about the run and how my legs would feel after this bike but I forced myself to stay present.

I did stop at special needs for 3 more filled sport nutrition bottles and although it was quick (I asked the volunteer to put my bottles in my cages for me so that I could stretch), I really enjoyed this stop at 92K to just put my feet on the ground and relax for a few seconds. Then I was off again for a solo ride all the way to Velden (with maybe a small handful of guys passing me).

For some reason, I grabbed a coke near Velden thinking that it would wake me up but looking back, I don't think that was a good idea as I have done this in the past and have ended up with GI issues on the run (despite being able to tolerate coke on the run just fine). Perhaps with my GI system not becoming regular due to jet lag, the combination of coke + sport nutrition + effort was a bit too much in my tummy.

I didn't want to back off on my calories too much but I needed my gut to empty some of the contents so I gave myself about 20 minutes or so of no nutrition to see if I could get things to empty. While I wasn't too worried about it as it wasn't that uncomfortable while cycling, I was just a little worried about the run. 

I also didn't let it get to me too much as I know the IM is a long day and a long event and things out of your control (even if well practiced) may happen. If I have learned one thing after 10 Ironmans (Austria being #11) - things WILL happen on race day and you have to do a good job trying to deal with them when they happen. I've never had a "perfect" race day where everything went perfect for 140.6 miles - a great race is when you can overcome what comes your way.

I had a few more low moments in the second loop but knowing the course was really helpful as there were certain sections that I was really looking forward to and I knew that I would be able to pick up some speed and get into a good place again.

As I was finishing the first loop (within our loop) again, the sky started to drizzle.
Around 60K, the sky started to pour.

For the next 30K, I rode in a pretty heavy rain shower (with a few thunders) that only let up in the last 10K (although still wet roads). I was a little worried about what the run would be like but I knew that I needed to focus on the bike as the roads were wet and I still had one big long climb to do with a lot of fast descending (and a few villages with a few tighter turns) to do in the rain.

Thankfully, I remained confident in the rain which meant I was riding safe. At times, I was even descending in the rain on my aerobars as I knew that breaking in the rain, descending, was not safe. I did not ride stupid but smart and I was really proud of myself - this was a long time in the making!

Somewhere in the last 150K, I caught back up with the 18-24 girl that had passed and dropped me around 80K. I figured she was the first amateur female so I once again tried to stay with her.

But as I got to the last tight turn through a village, I knew that riding safe was my priority. She was riding close to a small group of guys so my chances of catching her were gone.

I continued my descend back into town alone and one by one, I was being passed....by guys.

Still not another female in sight, I eased up a bit as I got my mind and body ready for the marathon (or as ready as they could get after 180K of cycling).

I switched over my Garmin (for the first time) screen from my interval screen to total time and it read 5:16 as I was nearing the transition area....holy moly! In 2014 at Ironman Austria, I rode 5:29 and I was thrilled to have finally broke 5:30.

Sub 5:20 was my scary goal (which helped me put in the work for training) going into this race and I couldn't believe it.

As I dismounted my bike, I spotted Karel's bike and smiled with relief that he had finished his bike. I was so excited to see him again on the run and hopefully see him running. If anything, I just wanted him to finish and I know "just finishing" was his goal so long as he wasn't in pain. 

I racked my bike and then ran straight to the potty to see if I could help ease my stomach a little before the run. I struggled a bit with my short sleeve tri suit to get it off which was costing me some time but finally I was in and out (what felt like forever!). I also took the time in there to remove my HR monitor since I was wearing my new Garmin 235 (with HR built into the watch on the wrist).

I grabbed my run bag and then ran into the women's changing tent.
I guess they weren't expecting me because I didn't have a volunteer helping me - I was all alone.
Finally, after I put  on my visor, watch, shoes and hydration belt, a volunteer came in as I was finishing up and she took all my gear and put it into my bag. I thanked her, popped a TUMS in my mouth and off I went.

Like usual, those first few steps off the bike, with running shoes, are scary as you have no idea how your legs will feel - fresh or heavy?

Thankfully, I felt fresh!

But sadly, it didn't last long.
Five minutes later, my legs felt heavy and I was not feeling good on the run.

Ok body - 11th Ironman, let's figure this out!

We have a marathon to run, Karel to see, my mom to say hi to and a podium to get on to!

IM Austria race report - 2.4 mile swim

Although my alarm was set for 3:45am, my body woke me up at 3:20am. I stayed in bed anxiously awaiting my alarm to get me up so that I could finally start my Ironman race day.

I couldn't believe today was the day that I could FINALLY put all that training to good use and release some bottled-up energy that has been hard to hold on to for the past week.

Karel woke up stiff in his back and I could tell that he was concerned about what his body would let him do on race day. I had taped Karel's back and hip on Friday which made him feel better but I knew he was not feeling even close to 100%. The good thing was that he felt no pain or issues when swimming so for the first time, he was actually looking forward to swimming and not looking forward to the bike (as the bike was causing him some issues in his back since we arrived in Austria).

I woke up with a very nervous belly and the thought of eating was not on my mind. I forced down 2 Clif Bars, a glass of OJ and a banana for a total of around 780-800 calories. I also had around 8 ounce of water.

After I ate, I filled my sport nutrition powdered-filled bottles (bike and run) with cold water and double checked that I had everything I needed for a day full of swim, bike, run.

We all (my mom included) left our place around 4:50am to drive to Minimundus (about 10 minutes away).

We made our walk to the transition area (about a 10 min walk) and it was nice to be around all the other athletes. I think of IM Austria as a European IM World Championship with the level of athletes BUT with a much less tense atmosphere. You would be surprised how many Europeans were drinking beer at the pre-race athlete banquet on Friday!

Karel was not planning to use special needs for this race so he waited for me as I dropped off my bike and run special needs bags just outside the transition area.

Karel walked with me to my bike and pumped up my tires and did one last check to give me the confidence that all was good on my bike for 112 miles of cycling.

After he pumped up my tires, I gave him a kiss and a hug as we both did our own thing to get ready for the race.  

After I put my Garmin 810 and my three bottles (each filled with 300 calories) on my bike, I walked over to my bike bag to double check that it was in the right place and then to my run bag to put my flasks (each with 100 calories of Clif Hydration) in my Nathan Mercury 2 hydration belt.

The volunteers were absolutely amazing in the transition area - they were already cheering for us and with lots of high fives. Ironman Austria does a great job of making the athletes feel extremely special and to remind us that it is our special day.

After I left transition area, I walked over to the big white tent (where we had our banquet and athlete briefing) to put on my Xterra Vengeance women's wetsuit (half way up). I grabbed my new TYR pink Special Ops 2.0 Femme Polarized goggles. I only wore them once in open water to see if I liked them and absolutely loved them. While I normally use Speedo Vanquishers, I really searched for a better goggle for me for open water. I was worried that the non adjustable nose piece would be an issue for my small face but it is the perfect fit with just enough suction around the eyes and a wide lens for sighting. While I purposely only wore them once, I had a perfect 1 hour fog-free swim in open water for my practice swim in Greenville and then twice more when we swam on race week in Lake Worthersee.

I had a throw away plastic bottle of water (about 12 ounces) to sip on and I took a small swig of a Clif Double Espresso gel.

I then dropped off my "Street Wear" bag in my designated bin (with my before/after race clothes, cell phone in a baggy, sandals and extra pair of goggles just in case I needed them).

I ran into my mom and she wished me good luck and I gave her a big hug and thanked her for being there for us today. She's such a big supporter of Karel and me and loves supporting our very active lifestyle, especially on race day.

Because I no longer wear a watch in the swim portion of a triathlon (or turn one on if I do wear one for the entire race - for IM Austria, I did not wear a watch for the swim or bike, only the run), I had no idea of the time. I wanted to make sure that I got in a warm-up between the warm-up times of 6:10-6:30am.

I looked at the watch of another athlete and it said 6:15am. Oh my!

I quickly pulled up my wetsuit and put on my cap and goggles.

I hurried my way through the packed crowds to enter the Strandband building and finally made it to the area where we could warm-up.

I spotted Karel warming up but I had no time to chat as I needed to adjust my wetsuit (with water inside) and do my go-to swim warm-up with 10,20,30 fast strokes with equal strokes recovery. I do this a few times after smooth swimming for a few minutes to get the blood flowing.

I finally had a chance to talk to Karel in the water around 6:28am and I told him that I felt very nervous. I didn't want to talk about my nerves to him as I knew he was dealing with a lot but he told me I would do great.

We gave each other one last kiss for good luck and then both walked over to the corrals for the swim line up for the rolling start.

As I was walking over to the corrals, I had all the typical thoughts of "what if my body won't perform, what if I feel flat, what if I have a bad day" and I needed to stop thinking about the what ifs. I told myself that my body would know what to do and I was very anxious to just get started.

Karel ended up ahead of me in the corrals as we both lined up in front of the sub 1-hour group. For 10 years (since I started Ironman racing) I have been determined to break 1 hour for the 2.4 mile swim. I have came close many times with the last time in Austria with 1 hour and 13 seconds (errrr).

As I stood in line, more and more people were jumping over the fence and it was getting tighter and tighter. After the Austria anthem, the pro's started (6:40am and 6:42am) and then at 6:50am, it was time for the age group rolling start. I found myself around a lot of guys and some girls that I knew would be fast in the water (or else they would not have lined up where they did).

The music was pumping and the energy was building and as the line started moving forward, it was officially go time.

I absolutely LOVE the rolling start and I find it safe, much less stressful and scary and more relaxed than a mass start. Plus, with my experience, I have always swam faster with a rolling start compared to a mass start as you can line up with athletes of similar swim abilities.

I walked my way over the start line and then ran into the water. After a few dolphin dives, my 2016 Ironman Austria had officially started!

I absolutely love swimming in Lake Worthersee. Immediately, my stroke felt good in the water. It was a little chaotic in the beginning but in no time, I found myself swimming with a few girls (white caps and a few gold for AWA athletes) but mostly guys.

Karel said he saw me swimming (thanks to my black and purple wetsuit) but after a few strokes, he said I was gone and he couldn't hang with me. 

There were several orange/red buoys on the course and with the advice of Karel, I mentally broke down the first ~1200 meters to the turn buoy into 12 x 100 meters. While I had no way to know exactly where I was, this is all I thought about to help me keep a steady pace.

I didn't really have a race strategy for the swim except for to swim strong in the water.

As I was swimming, I actually felt fast in the water. I was staying with a group of guys and a few girls which was new for me as I typically have trouble drafting in the swim. I was staying on course really well (I was sighting and not relying on the group I was with) but sometimes I would find myself a little to the right where I wanted to be closer to the other athletes. I don't feel this affected me much as I was able to find clean water for efficient strokes for the first long stretch to the turn buoy.

When I saw athletes turning, I thought "wow - already?" as it didn't feel that long.

I made the turn and saw that I had dropped a few girls. I was swimming with another girl and still hanging with a lot of guys.

The next 470 meters went by fast. I still felt really strong and fast in the water and at times, I almost felt like I could pick up the pace. I was staying very present while swimming (and not thinking about the bike) and I was really enjoying this swim. While the water temperature was "warm" enough for the pros to not wear wetsuit, it was wetsuit legal for the age groupers. I found myself a little warm at times but nothing that was concerning. It was the perfect air and water temperature.

I felt like I was holding myself back a bit for the first 1600 meters, until we made our last turn around the turn buoy to head back straight to the canal (1100 meters) so I gave myself permission to pick up the pace a bit.

With the sun in our eyes, I was able to sight on two tall trees in the distance that Karel and I strategically picked out during our practice swim to make it easier to stay on course. While we were instructed to keep all buoys to our left, the race director set up another set of buoys to our right to help us stay on course as the sun can get pretty bright when swimming toward the canal.

I was still staying on course and I found myself passing a lot more swimmers. At times, I was swimming alone, which was fine to avoid being hit but I didn't want to waste any energy in the swim so I picked up the pace just a tad to try to catch a group ahead of me. While this didn't wear me out, it made me feel like I had more to give in the swim and with the canal approaching, I was feeling like now was the time to really give it a strong effort.

When I spotted the "white house" to my right, I new the canal was coming soon.

For the next 1000 meters, I was packed in with a group of guys in our tight 20-meter wide canal. At certain parts, the canal was shallow but I strategically wanted to get to the outside so that I could continue taking full strokes. I was able to move to the far left and found myself swimming really fast. I could see the crowds on my right and left and you could hear the loud cheers from the spectators.

The energy was building and after I went under the bridge walkway in the canal, I really picked up the pace. At this point, I had dropped the guys that I was swimming with and I was in clean water, all by myself.

Nearing the swim exit before the right hand turn, I was anxious to see the time on the clock to see my swim time. Part of me was nervous to see the time as I knew I would be disappointed to see anything over an hour but then again, like I tell my athletes, whatever happens in the swim, you have to forget about it and move on because there is nothing you can do about it.

As I made the right hand turn, I spotted to look at the clock and couldn't find it. I looked again and no clock.

I chuckled to myself and thought that maybe this was meant to be - I wouldn't know my swim time until after the race.

I swam to the swim exit and the volunteers helped me out of the water. I ran up the steep platform to get out of the water and then took off my cap and goggles. I pulled down my wetsuit to my waist and while taking off my right arm of my wetsuit, I left my goggles and cap inside so that I wouldn't drop them (and wouldn't have to carry them). 

I didn't hear my mom but she was there cheering for me and snapped this pic (no your eyes aren't messed up, it is blurry :) My mom apologizes about the picture- she said I was moving too fast!

Thanks mom for the cheers that I didn't hear!

I made the loooong run to transition and wasted no time. I grabbed my bike bag from the rack (while noticing that no other bags on my rack were missing) and into the female changing tent.

There I was alone in the female changing tent with my own volunteer helping me out.

I had her wipe of my feet with my towel to dry them off as I put on my helmet and sunglasses. I then put on my socks (I was wearing CEP calf sleeves under my wetsuit - I normally wear compression socks in an IM but I didn't want to waste anytime at this race in transition - it's free speed!) and my cycling shoes. I asked the volunteer to put some extra nutrition into my pockets (gels, bar, blocks) and she nicely told me she would pack up my bag (otherwise, I would have had to do it as instructed by the race directors and then place the bag in a bin).

Deep inside, I just needed some type of confirmation that I did or didn't break an hour and I asked her the time of the day (since we started at 6:50am) and she said 7:52am. I figured the transition took me at least 3 minutes so I thought to myself that there was a good chance that I broke an hour.

While I didn't have any way to confirm this, I was thrilled with the time of the day regardless of my swim time (1:02 after the race started and I was about to run to my bike).

As I was about to leave the changing tent, I asked her if she knew how many girls were ahead of me.

She responded "I think 6".

I figured age groupers so I thought that I was still in a good position in the race as I was feeling really confident (and excited) to be on my bike.

I ran out of the changing tent and made my way on the red carpet to my bike. I powered on my Garmin and then ran my bike all the way to the bike out. I looked for Karel's bike (just to see if he beat me out of the water) but wasn't able to locate his bike among all the other bikes. I guess I would see him on the bike, eventually, if all was ok with his back.

When I mounted my bike, the crowds were intense. For less than 1/2 mile, we have a quick out and back (with a turn around a cone) which is super spectator friendly. I spotted my mom on the other side of the barricades.

When I made the turn around to head her direction, the announcer said "and here is our first amateur female out of the water."

Although I heard him correctly, I was positive he was confused as the volunteer told me I was around 6th out of the water (based on her guessing).

Regardless, I gave him a thumbs up and then waved to my mom.

I settled into my comfortable aero position it was finally time to see if all my hard work on the bike was going to pay off as I was determined to see how close I could get to the other female age groupers who were ahead of me (or so I thought).

Off I went for 180 kilometers and 5500 feet (1680 meters) of challenging and fast fun on two wheels! 

--------------------

As for Karel's swim, he said he felt really comfortable in the water.. He really prefers the rolling start as it helps him stay calm when he enters the water which sets the tone for the rest of the race. Whereas in 2014, at Ironman Austria Karel swam 1:07, he was super excited about a PR swim of 1:03 this year. Karel wore his ROKA swim goggles and Xterra wetsuit.
Karel has continued to make huge improvements in the swim as he puts in the work in the pool by swimming at least 4 times per week, with specific workouts to keep him focused and excited to swim.
We have also done more open water swimming (Lake Hartwell at Clemson) this season, more than ever before.
In addition to his swim toys (snorkel, ankle strap, buoy, FINIS agility paddles), he has been wearing SIM shorts (by ROKA) in the pool for most of his pool workouts since the winter (sometimes he swims without them and sometimes he takes them off for the main set) and they have really helped him as he keeps his energy (and good form) in the water for each workout longer (whereas without the shorts, he would get tired and lose form faster) which has really helped him gain a lot of swim fitness this season.
 Yes, I said it - he actually enjoys swimming.
While he doesn't have the same joy as I do for swimming (especially early in the morning - he prefers evening swims), he has really worked hard for his swimming improvements. While it's not always easy in the pool or open water, Karel continues to put in the work and it's really paying off! 

IM Austria race report - Pre-Race

Karel and I packed all our gear bags on Friday and I also prepared my bike and run bottles with sport nutrition powder (and special needs bottles) which made Saturday much less stressful.

But nevertheless, the butterflies were not yet in formation in my belly as I was full of nervous excitement. 

I was feeling a bit more nervous than normal as I normally don't get too nervous for an Ironman but I am constantly reminded by Gloria that nerves are a good thing - it means you care and you are ready.

On Saturday morning, I woke up around 5:30am as the sun was peaking through the window. After a few nights without AC, we purchased a fan which helped to cool off our bedroom as it was getting warm out (in the 80's during the day and 60's at night).

It's amazing how bright it gets so early and how long it takes in the evening for the sun to set. The days seem long and my jet-lagged body was not liking the already short nights.

While I felt I slept OK on Friday night (my first "real" sleep in 6 days), I knew I was still struggling to get my body into it's normal routine (sleep, GI system, mind and body), even after being in Europe since Monday of race week.

Around 8am, my mom and I made our way down to the race venue by bike so that she could start day #3 of her volunteer duties at registration. Renting a bike (for only 30 euros for the week!) was the best thing for us as we only lived about 2.5 miles from the race venue (in downtown Klagenfurt) so it was easy for my mom to get to and from the race venue on two wheels. And thankfully, we are in a super bike friendly area where everyone bikes around and there are many trails just for bikes.  The cars really respect bikers and walkers which is nice (gas is expensive here!).

My mom is an expert Ironman volunteer as she has done it many times in the past and she loves helping out the athletes before the race. This race was unique as it was in Europe so aside from Kona for the IM World Championship, she had to help athletes who spoke many different languages.

After my mom dropped off her bike in the bike parking lot (yep - a section in the parking lot just for bikes), I continued riding for another 15 minutes before heading back to the race venue for the 9am, English speaking mandatory athlete briefing.

Karel started his ride after me and because of his back and hip pain, he wanted me to do my own pre-race warm-up so that I could focus on myself as he knows that I use a lot of my energy on him because I care about him so much and he wanted me to stay in my zone to get myself ready and to not worry about him.

Karel and I eventually met up at the athlete briefing at 9am which was very well done with a big screen and announcer to explain every little detail about the race.

Because of the predicted weather, the race directors were a bit nervous as we were suppose to have 100% thunderstorms all day on race day but thankfully, the weather changed to only storms/rain in the afternoon.

We were also suppose to have big storms on Saturday but it only rained a little over night.

After the 1 hour athlete briefing, I continued on with my pre-race warm-up and rode for about an hour on the race course through Maria Worth and included a few leg openers to wake-up my body. I was really excited about my deeper rear dish wheel from Alto Cycling (first time using it in a race but I rode several long rides with it to get use to it) and my newly fixed electronic shifting on my right base bar.

In case you didn't hear about my little freak out (while Karel remained completely calm):

Sadly, in route to Europe, my basebar Di2 shifting stopped working with the cause unknown. Karel thought maybe a cable snapped but all was good inside the bike.

While pre-riding the race course (60 miles) on Wednesday, we rolled by Triasport which looked to be a higher-end bike shop.

Thankfully, the owner spoke English so Karel was able to discuss what had happened. After the owner spent a long time on the phone trying to see what he could do, they were able to order me a new right side brake lever from Germany, for it to be overnighted to arrive on Thursday. They also gave us a great euro discount which was much appreciated as this was an unexpected purchase!!

Although I could have still raced with only my right side aerobar electronic shifting (the brake worked just fine, it was just the shifting on the base bar that wasn't working to change my small cassette), Karel knew that I was very uncomfortable with this situation. I absolutely love my electronic shifting and it has helped me become a more confident rider as I feel much safer and more efficient when I can shift from both my base bars and aero bars.

When we picked up the part on Friday, Karel was ready to get to work in the afternoon before the athlete pre-race banquet. Thankfully, I married the best bike mechanic in the world (seriously, he's that good) and with the tools that he brought with him from home (always thinking!) and from his dad's workshop in Czech, I played bike stand for over an hour while Karel rerouted the cables and installed the new brake lever.

And it worked!

Thank you Karel for once again, coming to my rescue and for taking great care of me and my bike needs!

I told Karel that I would ride extra fast for him on race day and use my gears a lot :)

After my bike warm-up, I returned back to our rental flat and transitioned quickly to the run. I debated between my new New Balance Zante which I have been wearing for the past few weeks (Karel got a pair back in April and absolutely loves them so I decided to try them out) and my Brooks Launch (which I wear on my easy run days). I left my Pure Flows at home (Karel and I each have 3 pairs of shoes that we rotate around for different workouts).

The Zante have a 6mm drop and Launch have a 10mm drop.

For some reason, I didn't feel the best running on Thursday with the Zante and thought it was just from the travel and my first time running since Sunday. But something in me thought that the Zante were not the best shoes for me for this race with the sand and the cobblestones. But then again, normally I wear Brooke Pure Flow (4mm drop).

I decided to transition into my Launch shoes for my pre-race warm-up and instantly I felt so light on my feet. It just felt good and if there is one thing you need in an Ironman, it's having happy feet in your shoes for 26.2 miles.

Yes - these will be my Ironman shoes!

After a 15 min warm-up on the run course with a few pick ups, I went back to the flat to try on the New Balance once more just to confirm my decision. I did a few more minutes of jogging outside and felt confident in my decision to wear the Launch, last minute, for the race.

 Please be mindful that I don't suggest this strategy on the day before an Ironman - wear what you have practiced in training.  

After a recovery drink (Clif recovery and milk and a glass of OJ) and a meal (eggs, bread w/ farmers cheese spread and fruit), I repacked my transition bags as I was officially ready to check in all my gear.

After Karel returned home from his bike/run warm-up (he said he felt OK but not great - his back was still bothering him on the bike), we both rested for a little bit before a light lunch and then we left for the race venue around 2:30pm (bike check in from 1-7pm)

We parked at the Minimundus parking lot and then walked over to the transition area. If you don't know much about this race venue, the transition area is huge to accommodate 3000 athletes and there is a very long run from the swim exit to the transition area. 

Here we are in our euro "van" - perfect for all our stuff but not so perfect for navigating through the tiny streets and parking spaces in Klagenfurt.

And did I mention that this van is a stick shift?

Although Karel has had fun driving this around (even parallel parking it several times), he was ready to return it on Tues when we arrived back in Czech. 

At the bike check in, we were required to wear our race belts (to be worn on us, while we are on the bike) and helmet. There are several checks to get through the transition area with the last check being the chip check to receive your chip. 

It was nice to see my name on a name tag but sadly, my bike did not rest comfortable through the night as it was squeezed between two bikes on a very tight rack packed with female bikes. 

Perhaps one day my wheels will touch the ground. 

Maybe I should start dreaming big to grow a few more inches.

As for Karel, his AWA status got him a prime spot near the bike in and out area.

Score!

After racking my bike, I hung up my run bag in it's designated spot (with my run shoes in a plastic zip lock due to the predicted rain shower over night).

And then I dropped off my bike bag. Same for my cycling shoes and socks, I had them in a ziplock bag instead my transition bag.

You are not allowed to use ribbons or alter your bag in any way here at Ironman Austria. 

I mentally walked myself through the big transition area one more time before exiting the transition area (with my chip) to see my mom who was waiting for us. 

The volunteers were amazing in transition area. The girl who helped me told me that her school class drove to Klagenfurt from another area in Austria to volunteer for the race. She was really excited to help out and she had never seen an Ironman before. She was very helpful.

It's really incredible how the volunteers and spectators treat the athletes here in Austria - I constantly felt special and welcomed in Klagenfurt as an Ironman athlete.

And to top it off, all of the female triathletes at Ironman Austria received a beautiful rose.

Out of ~3000 athletes there were only 273 female finishers.

Girl power to the female athletes who raced in this male dominated race! 

After bike check in, we made a quick stop at the Spar grocery store for some last minute dinner items  (eggs and rice for me - keeping it simple like usual) and then it was time to rest, eat and sleep.

I received a great pep talk from Karel to remind me of my race strategy. While the strategy did not include any paces, watts or times, it did include words like suffer, stay mentally strong, you can do it, believe in yourself, you trained harder than you have ever trained before, you are in great shape and you will do great.

He also told me that no matter what happened to him during the race, to not worry about him. He wanted me to only focus on myself. Karel wasn't sure how long his body would last as he didn't want to race through pain and risk further issues going into IM Mont Tremblant. He was also prepared to withdrawal from the race if needed.

It was the perfect pre-race talk as I know I have a tendency to let my body get comfortable in the Ironman when it comes to racing. I tend to race with one speed and just hold it. This time, I needed to accept that although I may feel comfortable at times, I will not always feel comfortable and I needed my mind to be prepared for what I trained my body to do on Sunday.

I needed to mentally prepare for the hurt that comes with racing an Ironman at this level and to not let my mind be my limiter. I continued to remind myself that I am very healthy, strong and injury free. I could not ask for a better way to go into an Ironman.

While I consider myself a mentally strong athlete on race day, I knew that if I wanted to do something that I have never done before with my body, Karel was right - I needed to get my mind ready for 140.6 miles of being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Before I went to bed, I received an email from Gloria and the quote she sent me was just perfect - I told her that I would carry it with me in my mind through my entire race.

"You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible."
 -Deepak Chopra

2016 Ironman Austria finishers

Dreaming big is easy.
It's free, it it's not physically exhausting and anyone can do it, at any age or fitness ability.

Dreaming big is a necessary part of goal setting.

If you can't visualize yourself achieving your goals it's going to be very hard to believe your goal is worth achieving.

And if you can't believe in yourself, you will likely not work hard enough to make your dream turn into a reality.

Eight months ago I started my 2016 season (foundation phase) with one big scary goal.

To be on the podium at the 2016 Ironman Austria for my age group (30-34). 
For 8 months, I stayed present for almost every workout.
Sometimes I lost motivation, felt too tired or found myself "too busy" to train but I never lost sight of my goal.

I followed my training plan and took great care of my body to stay consistent with training.

I didn't question the workouts that Karel gave me because we had a game plan for this season.
 (and with the help of Matt Dixon with Purplepatch Fitness, who is Karel's coach) 

With 10 Ironman races behind me, including 4 Ironman World Championship, Karel knew that I didn't need any more endurance in my body.
Karel knows I can go long all day and will be happy in my comfort zone.

So this season - Karel took me waaaaayyyy outside my comfort zone. 

And I loved it. 

I trained like I have never trained before and that kept me excited to put in the work day after day, week after week and month after month. I loved seeing my progress week after week but certainly, I had those stale moments when I questioned if the plan was still working.

I swam more frequently than I have ever swam before as a triathlete (4-5 days per week).
I biked more on the trainer than ever before (weekly rides) and rode mostly my long rides outside. My longest peak IM training ride was 5 hours (about 85 miles) and most of my "long" rides were around 3.5-4.5 hours.
I did a lot of brick runs.
I did a lot of strength training, mobility work and hip/glute work.
I ran a lot - not long but frequently. And most of my running was on the treadmill. My longest peak IM training run was 13 miles (at Rev3 Knoxville).

I worked extremely hard when I was told to go hard and I went easy when I was told to go easy. My mind got in my way a lot and I had to learn how to use my mind wisely.
I never became gadget obsessed and didn't focus on metrics. I never trained with the intention of swimming, biking or running x-pace on race day. I simply trained as smart as I could to stay consistent with training. The more consistently I trained, the more anxiously, nervously excited I became that I was going to be able to do something amazing with my body on race day.
I never had to miss a workout because of a sickness or injury.

While I felt like I was doing a lot of "new" things this season, I constantly reminded myself that I've made a lot of mistakes and have overcome a lot of obstacles in the past 10 years as an endurance triathlete.
Thank goodness for those mistakes and setbacks!
Those were simply lessons in my athletic development to get me to where I am today.

Knowing that training consistently (and enjoying my training) would help me move closer to my Ironman Austria goal, Karel knew where I could gain the most with my fitness (swim and bike) and where I could possible lose the most with my fitness (running), depending on how we set up my training plan, workout volume, intensity and frequency and periodization.

This season I needed to get myself into great physical shape (while keeping myself very healthy) but I needed to mentally prepare to suffer like I've never suffered before - in training and on race day. 

Karel and I raced Ironman Austria in 2014 and we fell in love with the race venue, the crowd and volunteer support, the course, the atmosphere, the finish line experience and most of all, the high level of competition that brought out a level of racing that we never thought was possible in either of us.

In order to achieve something amazing with my body on race day, I needed to be in great health. 

I needed support from a team who believed in me when I questioned the craziness of this goal - especially when Karel told me he thought I was capable of breaking 10 hours (thank you Karel and Gloria for your ongoing support)
Thank you to my mom and close friends who "get me".

To reach a big scary goal, I needed consistency in training and a lot of ambition.
I am thankful for great triathlon guidance from Tower 26 podcast and Purplepatch Fitness, and our PT friends Chris, Drew and Kent and the amazing Dr. Cassas who always seems to have time for us despite a busy work schedule.

This season, I remained presently focused but not obsessed, with my training as life and happiness can not revolve around one goal.

I had a deep inner fuel to work very hard.
I needed this scary goal to help me stay motivated.
I needed great teamwork and teammates to keep me enjoying this Ironman journey (thank you to my Trimarni coaching athletes and my fun, girl power bike partner Meredith and the awesome Greenville triathlon crew).

You can't expect that everything will come easily when you are training for an Ironman but above all, you have to believe in yourself that you can do whatever it is you want to do if you are smart and patient.

Athletic dreams do not come easily, especially if you set a goal that seems impossibly possible to achieve.

On June 26th 2016 I not only conquered my big dream goal of placing on the podium at the 2016 Ironman Austria but I achieved more than I thought was possible from my body.

It's very hard to describe this Ironman Austria experience.

I've always loved racing a high level of competition but to combine it with this 140.6 mile course, I suppose the best was brought out of my body and mind on race day.

Amazingly, this course brought out the best in Karel too.
When I grow up, I want to be able to suffer like Karel.

Karel's body has been giving him some issues over the past year and every time he feels he is in the "best" shape, something comes up with his body which makes it difficult for him to train like he wants to train. This has been mentally and physically exhausting for both of us. It's been extremely sad at times and also frustrating knowing that he is trying to do all the right things but his body doesn't always cooperate.

Surprisingly, Karel shocked himself with his race performance at Ironman Austria. We say this honestly as Karel was in a tremendous amount of pain in his hip/groin in the 3 weeks leading up to this race after a MRI showed an impingement in his right hip so his training had to be significantly adjusted. Not to mention, he was in some agonizing back pain in the 72 hours leading up to this race but thankfully. Karel and I are against steroid shots and aggressive, quick-fix treatments so thankfully we have a great team of docs and PTs helping us out with good advice.

Most of the time, time just heals those injuries/niggles/issues.

But for Karel, time was running out before Ironman Austria so he came to terms with his body and just stayed optimistic that maybe all will be OK on race day and if not, he came to terms that if he had to pull out of the race, I would have to take one for team Sumbal and race my heart out for both of us.  

Although I still feel like this is all a dream, I know it's real.

To be able to share my on-paper, near perfect race day performance with Karel is an absolute dream come true.
(behind the scenes, this race was not so perfect for me so stay tuned for more details coming soon)

I am still so in love with Karel after 10 years of us living a highly active lifestyle together and for those who know me well, I love sharing this crazy, roller coaster of emotions, triathlon lifestyle with Karel.

Karel finished 9th AG (out of 500+ in his 40-44 AG) with a 9-min PR and his fastest Ironman swim (1:03) and fastest ever marathon run (3:06.0 - 5 minute PR).
Sadly, with only 5 Kona slots in his age group, he missed a slot by less than 2 minutes.
But that is ok as he is thrilled with his race and how his body miraculously performed here in Austria and it was never his intention to Kona qualify here as he has IMMT in 8 weeks where he hopes to Kona qualify.

While the real race day performance is best told by the athlete talking about his/her execution and what she/he had to overcome to get to the finish line, and not by race times and places, I am incredibly thankful to my body for what it allowed me to do on race day.

I just finished my 11th Ironman event.
I had a 11-min PR with an overall time of 10:06.
I had the fastest overall female swim (57.04) and finally broke an hour in the Ironman swim (it only took 10 years!)
I had an 11-min PR on the bike with a time of 5:18.00 (with the last 60+ minutes in the pouring rain).
And despite some major GI issues to start the run (which lasted for about 10 miles), after five potty stops (1 in T2 and then 4 on the run course), I overcome what I thought was not possible on the run (to keep running) and somehow I still managed to run a respectable marathon time for myself of 3:42:57.

I finished 10th overall female, 4th amateur female, fastest American amateur female and achieved my season goal/dream of placing on the podium at an international Ironman event (2nd AG).

As for going to Kona for the 2016 Ironman World Championship, I was not chasing the one Kona slot in my age group.
I went into this race to be the best athlete that I could be without any goals for what needed to happen to get me somewhere after this race.
All my focus was on this one day.

I went into this race knowing that I gave everything I could to prepare mentally and physically for this race and took risks like I have never taken before during an Ironman race. I did all of this because I will now take a temporary break from Ironman racing so I can focus on shorter distance triathlon races until I am ready to race another 140.6 mile event. As for how long of a break, my body and mind will let me know when it wants to return to this extreme triathlon event.

My body has allowed me to do a lot over the past 10 years and I don't take my good health, my love for pushing my body and my competitiveness for granted.

I often feel I am taking a lot of risks when I train for an Ironman so for my triathlon longevity and health, I'm giving my body a break from training to race for 10+ hours and I can now get my Ironman endorphins from Karel who is chasing his Ironman dreams. 

Thank you for your support and thank you Ironman Austria for making my dream come true in such a spectacular race venue.

      

RESULTS

Karel: 

9th AG (40-44), 68th overall

Swim - 1:03.05

Bike - 4:56.51

Run - 3:06.05

Total - 9:13.10

Marni: 

2nd AG (30-34), 10th female overall

Swim - :57.04

Bike - 5:18.00

Run - 3:42.57

Total - 10:06:54

30-34 men and women AG podium 


A beautiful AG award and a keg.
Euro style. 

Ironman Austria - one more sleep

It's hard to believe that it was almost 10 years ago when I was packing my transition bags for my very first Ironman.
Now 10 years and 10 Ironman triathlon events later, I have the privilege of racing for 140.6 miles with my body for the 11th time in Klagenfurt, Austria.

I've always felt that the Ironman distance was a good distance for me. Over the years, I have enjoyed the mental and physical challenge of training for and racing long distance triathlon events.

There have been a lot of high moments, PR's, Kona qualifications (4 of them) and great memories but I've also had my share of low moments with setbacks, struggles and injuries.
When I overcome those low moments, I always gain more of an appreciation for what I can do with my body as a triathlete.

Although I feel honored that I have the fitness to be competitive and to "race" (not just participate) for 140.6 miles, I never take the distance for granted. I respect the long day that I have in front of me and I can not thank my body enough for letting me push hard for 10+ hours.

Thank you for the continued support, safe wishes and good mechanical luck.

For tracking:
Ironman Austria
Marni - Bib number 672
Karel - Bib number 342

Swim gear

Bike gear

Run gear


Special needs

Escorting my mom to her volunteer duties at Registration. 

We'd like to send a big thank you to Triasport for special ordering me a new right side brake lever from Germany on Wednesday, overnighting it for it to arrive on Thursday AND for giving us a great euro discount.

Sadly, my basebar Di2 shifting stopped working in route to Europe (cause unknown). But all is good now!

Also, I realize I could have still raced just fine with my right side aero bar electronic shifting but to make me feel more comfortable, I'm incredible grateful and thankful to the best bike mechanic in the world (seriously, he's that good) who also happens to be my husband for going out of his way to find the part, order the part and then install the part. I'm also grateful that Karel is a perfectionist and very patient.

I played bike stand as Karel installed a new brake lever and rerouted all the cables. This was not an easy job so I'm thinking I'll need to make Karel extra proud on Sunday by riding extra fast and using my gears a lot....and getting him a few Czech beers nd get him a few Czech be 

Walking in Europapark to the pre-race athlete welcome banquet. 

Athlete pre-race banquet

Ironman Austria swim and run course preview (in pics)

The Ironman Austria swim course is an easy-to-navigate course thanks to the simplicity of the layout of the course and to the clear blue waters of Lake Worthersee. The only downside is that the sun will be in our face after the 2nd turn buoy. Karel and I have swam in the lake twice, with once being at a similar time as what we will experience on race day. We specifically wanted to see if we could find a landmark(yellow house and trees) instead of looking for buoys to help us navigate our way into the canal in the direct sun. Although, we have a 90-100% chance of rain and thunderstorms on race day so who knows what the sun will look like on race morning.

In 2014, we had a mass swim start at Ironman Austria - if you look at the swim picture, you can see three red docks - I started after the furthest dock away from the swim course and happened to swim my fastest swim time to date - 1 hour and 10 seconds. This year, we will be starting with a rolling start, which I absolutely love because you are able to swim with athletes of a similar swim ability. We I am not sure where on the course (between which docks) we will line-up based on predicted swim times but every 5 seconds, 10 athletes will enter the water. This should take about 20 minutes for the entire field to cross the swim start line. I plan to start with the 55-59 swimmers in hopes of finally breaking that 1 hour swim time that I have been chasing for the past 10 Ironmans. 

The water is clean, fresh and cool. I can't think of a better place for open water swimming as Lake Worthersee is like a big pool with great mountain views. 

Loving my fast Xterra Vengeance full wetsuit!

As for the distances on the swim course, we swim 1230 meters to the first turn buoy (buoys on our left), make a left turn, then swim 470 meters to the next turn buoy and make another left. Then we swim 1100 meters to enter the canal and then 1000 meters in the canal, which spans about 20 meters wide. 

Although the lake is clear and fresh, the canal is an entirely different open water swimming experience. Perhaps it's nothing out of the norm for a "normal" lake but there's nothing normal about swimming in Lake Worthersee.

Above is a pic of the canal on a normal day.
Here's a pic of the canal on Ironman race day.  



Although the canal continues on toward downtown Klagenfurt, we exit the water behind the Hotel Seepark. We have a very long run to the transition area and based on years past, you are not allowed to remove your wetsuit until you enter the changing tents in the transition area.



As for the run course, I just love this course. Two loops, lots of changes in terrain (sand, trail, cobblestones) and a few "bumps" on this flat course to wake-up my climbing legs. 

The run starts through Europa Park which is lined with spectators. We then make our way toward the lake and head on a sandy trail (which then turns into a paved bike/run trail/path) to take us to the town of Krumpendorf. The run course includes a lot of turns which makes things exciting as there are only two stretches of road which require us to run for more than a mile without a turn. On race day, there will be fans everyone and many of them enjoying a cold beer while cheering us on. The aid stations are located every 2-2.5 K which is about every 1.2-1.5 miles. 

This course is super spectator friendly as we pass through the same place (near Europapark) 4 times. Well, 5 if you include the last pass through as we make our way to the finish line. 

The 2nd long straight section that I mentioned is along the canal as we head to the town center of downtown Klagenfurt. We have a good 2 miles on this road with only 2-3 "bumps". Overall, it is mostly all flat. 

We go through a tunnel which is nice if the sun is shinning. Based on the predicted weather, this tunnel should keep the rain off our backs for a few seconds. 

We then enter the beautiful town center which will be packed with fans - who will likely be dining outside and cheering us on. I remember in 2014, there were crowds of people but all I could think about was the yummy smells of food!

While I can see how this downtown section may throw people off due to the constant change in terrain (cobblestones) and a lot of running up and down curbs, through building, etc. I absolutely love this section and can't wait to run here on race day - twice!

We run around the 16th century dragon fountain around mile 10 and then around mile 22. 

After exiting the town center for the 2nd time, we have one last run back to the lake before making our way to the finish line (left turn by the water). It's a long straight away to the finishing chute and finally, we can make one last left hand turn to enjoy the party at the finish line.


(2013 Ironman Austria finish line)

Can't wait to cross this line on Sunday!
Although this will be my 11th Ironman, every Ironman start is worth celebrating.
The finish is just the reward for a body that stayed healthy enough to train and race for 140.6 miles.

IM Austria bike preview (in pics)

It's hard to describe this course in words so I thought I'd use pictures to show you what you get to see in 112 miles on the Ironman Austria bike course.

When leaving Klagenfurt, there is a quick out and back section when leaving the transition area and then we head to Maria Worth, which is in route to Velden.
As you can see in the bike course map picture, the first part of the course is filled with water views. And not just any water views - the fresh and clean, aqua blue waters of Lake Wörthersee (also our swim course). 
There are a few rolling sections but the course starts out fast. There is also a nice view of the Pyramidenkogel (highly recommend to visit if you are in the area) which is on a 2,703 foot high foot mountain in Carinthia, Austria. 

After passing through Velden, we approach a round about and then head straight for several miles, with longer rollers (climbs and descends) and our first real views of the alps.
The course remains fast until we approach our first climb near Faaker See, just after 30K in the bike course. 

It's really neat to pass through so many small towns, which will be filled with fans on race day. 

There are two climbs in our first loop with the first climb is not so significant and the next climb is steady, and the first time where your overall pace really slows down. But, this course is filled with long descends so if you can pace the climbs (3 major climbs) appropriately, you can gain a lot on the downhills. 

Although the next 15K can be a little frustrating as the wind can be at your face as you ride on a wide open road with the alps on your right, followed by a section on a small road packed between houses and farms (hello cows!), the views are breathtaking. This is actually one of my favorite parts of the course.
Overall, the road conditions are great with just a few sections of bumpy roads (mostly patched).

Around 50K into the bike, we finish our loop section and then head back to Rosegg to make a right at the round about, up a short steep hill and then to start our next big loop, before repeating the course one more time.
I just love all the bike and walking paths along the course and I can't wait until race day as the course will be filled with fans, especially on the big climbs. Not every IM race course has a DJ on the course (Riebnig climb). 

While there are few technical sections in terms of descending (they are mostly long descends where you wind gradually either right or left and do not have to break), it's the passing through the towns which is fun but you also have to be alert as the roads are tight. 

The course is just beautiful (did I say that already?) and I love how the alps are always in sight. 

Above is a picture of the big climb nearing 70K which is long. Of course, on race day there will be a DJ and about 4-5 deep of fans so it will be a lot of fun. Plus, guess who loves climbing - ME!

This is one of those climbs where you can't see the top and it keeps on going. There is a false flat section in the middle and then it keeps going up. But what goes up, must come down...and boy, is it a fun downhill! There is one left hand turn on the bottom of a descend but other than that, the next 10K is fun. 

Karel and I had no trouble staying on course (minus one turn that is not marked) as the course is permanently marked with Ironman M-dots and signs.  

The last section is fast - although there is one technical area through a town but for a good 10K, you are gradually going back down into town. You can either gain time (free speed) or lose time depending on bike handling skills so I hope mine have improved enough for me to ride confidently on the back half of each loop.
Before the descend, there are a few areas that are filled with tall trees, almost like a Lake Placid type feel. This course has a little of everything for the nature lovers.

In total, we have about 5500 feet of climbing but IM Austria still remains one of the fastest IM bike courses.

Well, there you have it - the IM Austria bike course in pictures. 

Here are some of the pictures that Karel took of me as he patiently waited for me as we were previewing 1-loop of the bike course yesterday morning. 

Ironman-ready and grateful

With one last weekend of long workouts behind me, I have nothing but thanks to my body for allowing me to successfully train for my 11th Ironman.
It's a really neat feeling to know that my body is fit but also that it has a level of fitness that it has never had before. I'm excited to do something amazing with it on race day at Ironman Austria. 

 

In the past 10 years, I've started every Ironman that I have registered for and on June 26th, I plan to cross my 11th 140.6 mile finish line - at my favorite race venue, in Klagenfurt, Austria.
Talk about a true race-cation!

Looking back at my very first Ironman (IMFL in 2006), I was excited for the new adventure that awaited my body and mind.

Me and my "boyfriend" Karel - we had been dating for 6 months. Cat 1 cyclist who thought this Ironman thing was crazy!
It was a day of all firsts and I was nervously excited to do something that I had never done before - my first longest open water swim, my first longest bike, my first marathon after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 112 miles and my first time racing for anything longer than 5.5 hours.
I was very respectful of the distance and my body and I just loved every minute of race day as I was 24 years old and doing something insane with my body.

However, after that race, I found myself getting a little greedy with my body.
Rather than staying grateful for the opportunity to train and race for this extreme multisport event, I found myself taking my good health for granted. I always felt like I could do more and I constantly tried to do more.

Like many athletes, I became greedy with my fitness and I became overly focused on getting faster and going longer.

While there is nothing wrong with wanting to be faster or going longer, it's the narrow lens that many athletes (including myself at one time) tend to look through which only focuses on metrics, miles achieved and the race day final outcome (finishing time).

From 2006 until May 2012, I raced 5 Ironman triathlons (including 2 Ironman World Championships) But from September 2007-early May 2012, I found myself chronically injured and always feeling like I was rehabbing myself to simply get to the Ironman start line instead of just enjoying the journey of training for the Ironman.

Although I was able to race ok throughout those years, now looking back, I know that I wasn't taking a smart approach with my training - I was too greedy with my fitness.

Since May 2012, I have remained injury free. 

Although I've changed a lot with my training approach, bike fit, running gait, strength training, racing schedule and nutrition (daily and sport), I've become much less greedy with my fitness. 

Sure, I still want to get faster and perform amazingly well on race day because I believe that my body is built to "race" the Ironman distance, I never want to compromise my good health just for a one day athletic performance.

Ironically, with this smarter approach, I have finished 5 Ironman triathlons, have made huge improvements in my overall times and paces and have qualified for the Ironman World Championships twice.

My ability to get stronger, faster and more resilient happened not because I trained more or trained harder (actually, it was the opposite!) but because I stopped being so greedy with my body. 

--------------------------------------

Sure, every athlete wants to be fast, strong and fit on race day as this looks like the perfect equation of a potentially great, race day performance.

But guess what - if you stay healthy, there’s a good chance that you will excel on race day. Why? Because you will be able to do something amazing with the body that you were able to consistently train throughout your training plan.

Be mindful that if you get greedy with your body image and fitness or try to push through an injury, extreme fatigue or pain in training just to check off a workout for validation that you are "ready", you are constantly living on the borderline of what your body can physically handle.

Be respectful of your body at all times when you train for an endurance event (or any event for that matter).

At Trimarni, we don’t believe that a high level of performance should be at the cost of destroying your health and negatively affecting your quality of life.

Remember that you are participating in your sport because it makes you happy and because it makes you a better human being.
Ultimately, your sport improves your well-being and quality of life.

Sadly, we live in a society that obsesses over leanness and speed, at any and all costs and rewards athletes who are tougher than tough and leaner than lean.

If you are always trying to push harder than you should, ignoring signs that you could be injured or eating as little as possible, just enough to get through your workouts, you are putting more stress on your body that it can tolerate.

Take it from me - stop being so greedy with your body.

When's the last time you thanked your body for what it allows you to do in training and in life?

Ironman Austria - Post Race recap

Karel waited almost an hour for me to cross the Ironman Austria finish line. But not to worry because the Ironman Austria post race buffet was filled with many European eats and treats. 

Karel didn't rush right to the food but when he was ready, he enjoy goulash with bread, meats, beer, croissants, watermelon and pizza. 

He said the goulash was good but the pizza and beer was not. This was Karel's first beer since we arrived to Europe so it was a total disappointment for him. 

I managed to find some strength in my legs to chat with my friend Kelly Fillnow who had a fantastic race in the professional women division. It's always fun to see familiar faces during a race and the chat after the race (when the suffering has stopped).

I was quite surprised that I had absolutely no GI issues post race. Typically, once the heart rate drops and the blood returns to the gut from the muscles, I am typically spending a little time in the restroom letting my system get back to normal (which is not abnormal for many athletes, especially athletes who race at high intensity). 

But this was the first Ironman that I can remember that I had no GI issues and I contribute it to the comfortable temperatures that we experienced on race day, coupled with a flatter run course after a hilly bike. Digestion of sport nutrition went extremely well for me and Karel but like usual, I was in no rush to eat solid food. It typically takes me a good hour to have any type of appetite post race (or for any solid food to digest) but I have to be careful of dropping blood sugar so alongside sipping on Hammer Fizz for electrolytes post race, I typically enjoy fruit, pretzels/crackers and bread (of some sorts) as the first options that enter my digestive system. And lots of water. 

I received my finisher tshirt and found a clean restroom to change clothes. I forgot my Wet Ones singles to clean off after the race, as well as a towel, in my "Street Clothes" bag but I couldn't wait to put on dry, clean clothes so I just wiped myself off with paper towels. 

I was moving extremely slowly and my right foot had a tender area on the bottom of it (which started to pop up around 2 miles to go) so I was not enjoying walking that much in my sandals (that I brought) so thankfully I had a clean pair of Brooks Pure Flow run shoes that I wore pre race (same style of shoes that I race in) so I put those on. I didn't have the strength to put on compression yet so I just put on normal socks. 

Karel and I slowly made our way to the transition area to get our bags and bikes. I'm always so amazed how my body can move so fast for so long until I cross the finish line and then all of a sudden I am moving at snails pace. 

As I walked to the transition area, I could not stop thinking about our day. It was absolutely perfect from start to finish. If my mind was in another place during this race, I do not think I would have been able to execute like I did. I was a bit surprised that I was in better shape than I thought I was in but I the most important thing was making sure my mind was in the best place possible to tolerate the 140.6 mile stress that I needed to survive to finish strong. I could not be more proud of Karel as well and sharing these experiences together is incredibly special for me. Because racing comes with a mix of emotions before a race, my favorite part of racing with Karel is post race when the racing hype is over and we can relax and share stories of how the race went down (hubby and wifey insider details).

We grabbed our bikes from our respective racks and then our T1 and T2 bags. The security was extremely tight in the transition area and after we turned in our chip (which was scanned on a computer to make sure it matched our bike and wrist band) we then went to another line to make sure our bags matched our bikes and our wrist band. 

Karel and I walked our bikes and bags the 1/2 mile or so to the car, unloaded our gear into the gear and then drove home. 

At this point, I was getting super tired and could not wait to get inside our flat to lay down. 

We finally arrived to our flat, shuffled our way up the stairs and I crashed on the bed as I called my mom to give her the run down of the race. 

I was also welcomed home with many emails and facebook messages and I was so excited to see that so many of you tracked us during our day in Austria. Thank you for your support!! We felt it on race day!!

After a well needed shower (which was rather uncomfortable when I discovered a bit of chaffing under my air pit where I forgot to put on body glide where my jersey rubbed my skin) I put together some leftovers as I typically do post race.

Pretzels, pizza, milk (which I always have post race after an IM after my tummy calms down), banana, chocolate, bread. There is absolutely no creativity or balance to this post race meal for it's all about what looks, tastes and feels the best in my body. Sometimes I think something will taste great and then I take a bit and don't want any more. I have learned over the years what sits the best post race but I still have to be careful not to overindulge post race. Typically, I crave more salty/fatty foods in the 24-48 hours after a race vs. sweets or salty carbs which are more cravable in the first 24 hours. 

It was nearing 9pm and Karel and I were getting a little rest in our legs by laying down in bed in our compression gear when we heard a loud thunder outside. Oh no! 

The final hour is what I love the most about Ironman racing and I have only missed one finisher line from 11pm-12am. Sadly, it was pouring rain and thundering on and off in the last few hours before the finish and we decided to stay put in our flat for we knew the finishers needed us to cheer them on but our broken down bodies were in no shape to cheer in the rain and thunder. IMWI - we will be there in the last hour for sure!

Another surprise post race was sleep! I always suffer from post Ironman insomnia, often for 2-3 days which leaves me incredibly run down and exhausted. However, I managed 5 hours of sleep (11-3) which was incredible for my body. Karel woke up around 2 and was super hungry so he was eating sandwiches in the middle of the night. I woke up around 3 and had a bowl of granola with milk and then played around on my iPad and then around 5, I feel asleep again for about 2 hours (on an off). 

By 7am, Karel and I were both up and ready for some real food. Real European food!

We went to the Euro Spar around 7:45am and had fun shopping with our post Ironman, glycogen depleted bodies making the choices. 

Karel had a lot of choices to make.....

Lots and lots of choices. 

Our grocery shopping experience was delicious. We did not eat everything right away but boy oh boy, do eggs and salty potato chips, watermelon and danishes taste great after an Ironman!

A few hours later, Karel and I were ready for some exploring. There were a few things that we wanted to do in Austria before we headed back to Czech and we were told to visit Pyramidenkogel. 

What a sight!! The drive to the top of the mountain was filled with twists and turns and despite two bodies that were extremely tired and sore, we both kept saying how fun it would be to bike up this mountain to the top...that is with a fully recovered body. 

After we bought our tickets to visit the top, Karel came up with the brilliant idea of walking up the 441 flights of stairs (in the middle is a slide you can slide down if you meet the height requirements and for an extra charge). Here I am, hobbling to walk to the top of the hill where the bottom of the tower stands and Karel suggests a walk up flights and flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator. 

I didn't want to be left out of all this fun and pain so I joined Karel on our walk to the top. As for walking down, we both agreed our quads would not handle that walk down (unless we walked down backwards to take the pressure off our quads) so we took the easy way out - thank goodness for elevators after an Ironman!

The view from the top was incredible! We were worried about the view because it had been raining all morning but we managed to time it just right. Talk about lucky - the day before our Ironman it was blazing hot and the day after it was pouring rain and cold. 

Panoramic views!

This is part of the lake that we swim in for the Ironman. 

My partner in crime who loves to suffer with me. Although I think he can suffer much more than me.....did I mention that Karel ran a 3:11 marathon after biking sub 5 hours on the IM Austria bike course?? Crazy! 

After our workout (anything after an Ironman feels like a workout) we enjoyed cappuccinos and poppyseed cake. Yum!

We were not alone in our yumming for the restaurant downstairs in the tower was packed with triathletes enjoying fat, sweets and alcohol. Nothing atypical about that post race, even in Austria!

We packed up our flat for we were leaving Austria on Tuesday morning to head back to Czech. 

However, on Monday evening we attended the athlete post race awards party which was followed by an after party, then followed by an after, after party and fireworks (which were supposed to be at the finish line on Sunday but due to rain, it was cancelled). 

Those Europeans known how to throw a post race party!!

Not only did we get to see two incredible professional athletes receive their awards for their record breaking day, but the award ceremony for the top 3 age groupers was incredible. It was the best award ceremony I have attended (next to Kona) and the night got better and better as the awards flowed down to the 65-69 and even the 70+ age group! Talk about inspiration!!

It was so great to meet Lindsey Corbin! She is super sweet and she even asked about how my race went which was so thoughtful. She's a rockstar!

The food was great (Every section of the long table was served large platters of food so no waiting in line). There was lasagna, veggies, rice and of course, lots and lots of drinks (water and beer). 

The buffet of desserts was incredible and Karel and I tried a little of everything (we like to share). 

Thanks for the memories Klagenfurt! You were great to us!

On Tuesday morning we made our 4.5 hour drive to Czech and although we had so much fun in Austria, we could not wait to get back home to Karel's mom's flat. Of course, we had lots and lots of food waiting for us!

Homemade veggie and potato soup with homemade pasta noodles. 

Potato salad and fried zucchini (Karel had Schnitzel).

Although I do not understand anything, it is so special to see Karel and his mom chat. It's so sad that we can not visit more often for Karel has only been back to Czech twice (last May and this year) since he came to America in 2000 to pursue his American Dream. 

And of course, no meal is complete with dessert. Homemade apricot bars with apricots from Karel's mom's garden. 

Karel's mom gave me chocolate covered hazelnuts because she was so proud of me for my Ironman finish. 

Karel's dad traveled by bus, to a small town and walked 1K to get me these well-known Cannolis. What great in-laws I have!! (even though they do not speak English, I can feel the love.)

And to cap off our evening for our first night back in Czech post Ironman....

The long awaited "real" beer for Karel. 

Heaven in a glass for Karel. 

Karel made sure to make up for his 8 days in Czech without a beer at the pub that sits behind Karel's dad's flat (very convenient :) 

Thanks Ironman Austria for helping us make our trip to Europe extra special!! We are now super excited for the next journey....Ironman Wisconsin on September 7th!!

Is it just me or is Karel now picking his Ironman races based on the beer selections? :)  

IM Austria race report - 26.2 mile run

Do you ever find yourself with a theme when it comes to training or racing?
My past 7 Ironman races could easily be compared to a horse race. Many times, the bets are placed on the horse who looks “fast” or embodies readiness from his past few races in the season. Sure, we know that some horses have more experience than others but our society many times associates those who look the part as those who are most successful. 

More often than not, I have found myself going into races underprepared and thus bets were not placed on me nor was I a favorite to be on the podium (or qualify for Kona).

Although I have gone into many races feeling as if my training was unfavorable to a great race day performance, never have I had a pity party before a race and felt as if, woe is me, I wish I could have, would have  or should have. I accept the demands of training for a 140.6 mile event, especially as a competitive age group triathlete who is balancing life (and it’s many stressor and uncontrollable) with training myself to be physiologically and physically prepared by race day.

Many athletes place heavy expectations on themselves not because they only expect a lot out of themselves but they feel pressure to perform to impress or to meet expectations of others (whether they are there or not).

I find that athletes experience a flood of emotions before and during races and many times, immediately after. Not always are these emotions positive or constructive to race day.

The Ironman requires a lot of training and for many athletes, there are great expectation for race day simply because an athlete feels 100% ready by reflecting on putting in the work through complete sacrifice and dedication over the past 6+ months. Endurance athletes must understand that the race day scenario can go a number of ways depending on proper fueling and pacing on race day specifically dependent on the state of mind and health of the mind prior to the race.

Many times, an overly confident and extremely prepared athlete can, unfortunately, experience a subpar performance that does not reflect training because he/she simply trained too much or not in a way that allowed him/her to know how to handle the demands of putting all the pieces together on race day (ex. pacing, nutrition, mental focus). The emotional let-down that is experienced after the race can be devastating and most times, is not advantageous for the athlete to quickly try to bounce back and try again to finish unfinished businness. Healing the mind and body takes time.

This scenario may not be any easier to handle than the feelings of worry, nervousness and fears of being unprepared for the challenge ahead. The unknowns coupled with conviction that the body is undertrained (for whatever reason), can be extremely uneasy to an athlete who is about to embark on a 140.6 mile journey that may last 8-17 hours.

With (now) 8 Ironman finishes behind me and the achievement of starting and finishing every Ironman I have registered for, I have found myself taking many paths that have led me to the same starting destination. Oddly, each time with a different result.

Making smart decisions with my body over the past few years has allowed me to achieve, what I would consider successful performances when the odds were against me. This year was all about creating a balanced and effective training plan to boost the odds that by race day (in all of my planned races) that I would arrive healthy and injury free.

This season I have been extremely careful to listen to the feedback of my own body and to train hard in a very smart way and recover even harder to ensure that workouts could be repeatable. This is something that is extremely difficult for any competitive endurance triathlete who finds great enjoyment out of pushing the body and for the obvious reasons, loves to swim, bike and run. 

My ultimate goal this season was to be very attentive as to how my body reacts to every single training session and to not let my focus turn to what other athletes are doing but instead, direct all energy on myself, my own goals and my own ability to stay consistent with hard work. Thus, my weekly training load was not based on a rigid training schedule based on total miles or hours but instead creating a strong foundation through consistent training and then letting my mind be my only limiter on race day.

I arrived to Ironman Austria with a body that had only completed 14 miles as my longest run since October 2013 at the Ironman World Championship when my long day was completed by running a marathon. This wasn’t because I was lazy, or that I do not like running or due to an injury but instead, one hour and 50 minutes of running was the most consistent amount of stress I was able to put on my body without setbacks and to encourage proper recovery for upcoming days/weeks of training. When we wrote my IM training plan (which was planned with our two half IM races to get faster before going longer), I originally planned two long runs of 2 hours (or 16 miles - whichever came first) with one of them off a moderately hard bike. However, due to unexpected events, recovering from races, traveling, my dad's passing, moving, etc. just accomplishing the run wasn't the issue for I could easily squeeze it in and make it happen. I was simply unable to train smart during those times and get my run training in alongside focus on good fueling, sleep, stress management, stretching, etc. I fully believe that there are way too many endurance athletes who just focus on getting in the workouts instead of thinking about how they are taking too many chances by not focusing on the other necessary ways to train smart besides just getting in the miles. A sick, sleep deprived, stressed or injured body can not adapt to progressive training stress.
I simply ran out of available time to run any longer of a distance and the 14 miles that I ran was effective, strong and a workout that I could easily recover from. Simply put, the body gets fitter with repeatable stress and not just one or two key workouts which may only be performed to build confidence and may actually do more harm than good. 

Any more weekly or solo running, and I may not have been able to go into Ironman Austria with legs that were strong and healthy to run. How far and how fast could I go on race day? Well, from my experience, if the mind is strong and the body is healthy, you may surprise yourself that even you can beat the odds when you take a chance and trust yourself on race day.

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As I exited transition area (which was .2 miles total from bike in to run out per my Garmin), I was unaware of what was to come for the next 26.2 miles. The common question of “when will my quads begin to scream” was tossed around in my brain but since Karel and I were not familiar with this two loop course, I was excited to see where the next 26.2 miles was going to take my body so I forgot about the pain that I would eventually have to battle.

With my two NAPALM gel flasks in my hand, I started my first small loop (essentially and out and back with only repeating a small section of the same run course) which was the first to-do for my day. With no expectations as to how I would or wanted to run this course, I just took a chance and just went by feel. Oddly enough, Karel did the same thing for perfect race day conditions provided an avenue to taking small risks through perceiving effort, with good possibilities of positive outcomes.Certainly, with taking risks comes knowing how to overcome obstacles. 

The sun was hidden behind the clouds and the weather was comfortable. Body temp was going to rise regardless of the weather for the marathon requires a full body effort. My pace felt good to start the run but perhaps with a fenced off path of screaming spectators all around me, alongside running in my dad’s favorite hat, was making me feel as if I had wings (despite not drinking any of the Red Bull on the course). 

The aid stations were not placed at every mile but instead every 2.5K. 

This was something to be mentally and physically/nutritionally prepared for on race day. Just like in training, my walk breaks are strategic to help postpone fatigue and to keep me mentally sharp for as long as possible and to ensure that I was able to get in ample fluids. I never have a time as to how long or short I need to walk but instead, I am walking in a proactive and reactive manner based on my energy and the course. 

My Garmin was set to autolap every mile which was fine because I am not bothered by my changing lap average pace (which slows each mile) when I walk for I find that my average pace (for the entire run) is rarely affected by walking unless my walking becomes longer and longer or I have an unplanned stop. 

I really didn’t focus too much on my watch and I avoided switching the page to see my total run time. There’s something mentally exhausting about seeing a time on your watch and still having SO much more time to go. I love gadgets but you have to known how to use them right and in an advantageous day. I really wanted this run to be all about me and what my body could do, not what my Garmin thought it could do. 

Just like in training, I broke this race down into intervals with an effective run/walk strategy to keep me smiling as long as possible (that was my first goal of this run was to try to smile the entire time because really, I was so grateful for my health on this race day).

After hitting the first aid station, I found myself just jogging through for it really wasn’t a walk. It’s so hard to stop the momentum at the beginning of a race especially with fans all around but I knew that being proactive would help me from having to be overly reactive later in the race. I made sure that I took advantage of the 2.5K "interval" stops and to not rush through them. 

Nearing the second aid station, I spoted a neon yellow and black kit and I instantly knew it was Karel. My smile became rather big at that time. Karel was nearly 40 minutes or so ahead of me from my calculations and he looked great. I think he was surprised to see me on the run course and he gave me a smile that I could tell was a message for “you look great babe.” I yelled "great job Karel!"
Karel had his Nathan fuel belt (which he uses in all his runs and runs off the bike) with four flasks, each filled with OSMO hydration for sugar/electrolytes. He also relies on aid station fuel - he took in water/ice, ISO (sport drink on course) and coke (and he had 1/2 banana).
Karel also walked almost every aid station as well. 

I really enjoyed this run course for it had all types of terrain for my legs and a mixture of sights (and smells) as well. After running on the path in Europa Park, we hit a side street and headed to a small town through a series of turns (most of which were left hand turns and many of which were sharp). We made one turn on to grass and then gravel which was very welcomed to me. My pace was relatively steady despite the uneven surfaces once and I really enjoying a lighter pounding on my body that had been moving for almost 7 hours. The town of Krumendorf had a lot of beautiful sights. 

The aid stations were stocked and the volunteers were great. Because the aid stations were spread out a bit further than what I am use to at races (although at most races they are rarely exactly 1 mile apart), I chose to sip on my Napalm in between the aid stations (just a swig of liquid calories) and to use cold water for hydrating at every one the aid stations for sipping and cooling my head/body. Walking each aid station for 10 seconds or so (just enough that I could stop, sip, stretch if needed and mentally sharpen up) allowed me to stay focused even when the going got tough.

The crowds were great and I loved the cheers of “hopp, hopp, hopp” and “Supa!” from the Austrian spectators. I found myself passing many males and although I was not chasing anyways, I was feeling very mentally strong with my ability to pass so many guys in the first part of the run course.

I spotted a few female athletes (Kelly Fillnow and Kat) that I knew which was nice to see a few familiar racers. I did miss hearing people say my name, even though it was on my bib. I really enjoy having people on courses who say your name (or know you) so I am really looking forward to IMWI!

My pace was averaging around 8 min/miles which felt comfortable and doable. I made a few bargains with myself for I took a chance to not hold back on my effort and instead just let my body run a pace that felt organic. Although I lacked endurance training that may have given me more distance under my legs prior to race day, the pace that I was holding was absolutely doable based on my training and that gave me a lot of confidence that I was actually able to execute on the run.

As I was nearing the Europa park, I was really looking forward to this next loop (out and back) of the run for it was taking me into down town Klagenfurt which I new the crowds would be extra cheerful (and perhaps due to several rounds of beer, which always makes for even louder cheers).

Still feeling strong, I continued to walk the aid stations and maintain an average pace for the run of around 7:55-8:10 min/mile. I was super impressed with my ability to feel so fresh and to run so “fast” off the bike that I literally, just ran with it. 

I kept my mind off my legs (which started to give me some hello’s in the quads around mile 8 as I was nearing downtown)  by doing math calculations which is something I often do when I race triathlons (specifically endurance). This race was even more fun because I had an extra calculation with the run distance signs being in kilometers. I was calculating all types of things such as to what pace during the marathon would give me what total run time. I was figuring out what an 8 min/mile, 8:15 min/mile, 8:30 min/mile, etc would give me for a total marathon time and then, without switching screens to my total run time OR total Ironman racing time, I was trying to think about every possible finishing scenario for I knew that this would be a PR type of day….I just didn’t know how much for a total time and if my run would give me my third PR of the day (since I had already had a personal best IM time in the 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike).

I wasn’t sure if I would see Karel before I started my next loop and still becoming acquainted with this run course for the very first time, every kilometer was new and exciting. The run course took us on another side street into town and a few shaded areas as we ran under overhead side-street, connecting bridges. The fans were everywhere and this was just a precursor of what was coming in downtown.

My leg received a bit of a shock when I encountered my first and second downhill of this flat run course. Although extremely short and steep of a downhill, this was a bit discomforting to my quads but I welcomed a quick burst in pace.

Once I entered the downtown area, I could hear the fans. Running on cobblestones was just a highlight of this European course for the run course was roped off with fans eating outside at restaurants all along the course. Oh boy did that food smell amazing!! We made a loop in the downtown and this was a total highlight of the run and I couldn’t wait to get back (of course, that would also mean I was on the home stretch of the marathon).

(picture from Ironman Europe)

Still smiling, walking the aid stations and nursing my NAPALM flasks, I had sipped on a few cokes from the aid stations (extremely diluted in the cups from the volunteers which was fine) just to prevent taste bud fatigue. With so much reliance on sport drinks (which necessary electrolytes, fluids and of course, easy-to-digest sugar from maltodextrin and glucose for energy), it would have been extremely easy for me to just ditch my flasks and just use what was on the course based on what I was feeling at each aid station but although I am flexible with my fueling regime during endurance races, I also have to do my best to maintain a consistent intake of electrolytes, fluids and carbs (sugars) in the proper solution to minimize GI distress and to prevent bonking (which are often the two biggest limiters of endurance athletes regardless of how hard/much they trained prior to race day). 

As I entered and exited downtown, I made sure to ring a bell (string attached) that was overhead on an inflatable arch. It was a bit of a jump for me but both Karel and I made sure to ring the bell (along with many other athletes) for each ring was a donation to Pulmonary Hypertension (a main charity for this event).

Nearing Europa park, my pace was slowing just a bit which I expected but I was still rather surprised with how good I felt. Reaching 13 miles was a big confidence booster for this was the first time since my first Ironman that I felt as if I had a really good start to the marathon, especially after biking 112 miles on a challenging course.

(Picture from Google)

I exchanged my empty Napalm bottles (with my last drops consumed right before the special needs section) when a volunteer quickly handed me my bag. I am not sure exactly where SN was placed but I think it was between miles 12-14 (not sure for kilometers on this course but it was as we were exiting Europa Park and I passed it three times, once on the first loop, grabbed it on the second loop and then passed it on the way to the finish).
I stopped as I removed the two NAPALM bottles from a zip lock bag and then continued on running. There was an aid station fairly close to SN so I just used the SN stop as a bonus stop. I was making deals with myself during this entire run and I told myself that if I started to feel tired and with bad run form at mile 8 (or after an hour) that I would take a full 30-60 sec walk break to try to recover. However, I didn’t take (or need) that stop so I used SN as an opportunity to an extra refresher.

Soon after the next aid station, I spotted Karel. He gave me a sign that he was hurting but I continued to smile at him and give him a thumbs up as I yelled “great job babe!”

I started doing some math for Karel and even though he showed me that he was hurting (although he looked great with his form) there was no way that he was hurting as bad as he thought he was hurting. However, Karel did run without any paces for he accidently hit lap on his Garmin somewhere on the bike which started the T2 and then when he hit the lap to start the run, it stopped his watch so he had no pace to follow on the run and simply went by RPE and just was aware of his total time from his time clock on his Garmin (showing the time of the day).

After completing the section on the gravel and grass, the loop around this small town was much more difficult than the first loop. I could tell that my body was getting tired but I made a deal with myself that if I could get to mile 18 and continuing only walking the aid stations (albeit, my walks were getting a bit longer but that helped me run a steady pace still around 8-8:20), then I had free reign to do whatever I wanted for the last 8 miles (of course, that was just a deal I cut myself but I knew I would need to make myself another deal at mile 18 for this race was going way too well to just thrown in the towel because of some expected quad pain. But mentally, I was really looking forward to a bit more of a walk break when I got to mile 18 for I really needed it physically as well.

As I was nearing the last 3K or so into Europa Park, my quads were getting really tired. And on top of that, I need to use the restroom (#2 – but not loose stools or diarrhea, I just needed to go). I was able to hold it until I found an open port-o-potty but I was keeping myself very mentally focused on every hidden bush or tree in case I needed to make an emergency stop.

I felt so relieved when I went to the bathroom (#1 and #2) and I didn’t see this as a bad thing for this was simply a sign that my body was in good health and metabolically, still working normally despite this grandiose stress that I was placing on it since 7am. As I was enjoying this unplanned, yet necessary, pit stop, I was laughing to myself that it felt really good to just sit down but I would have much rather have enjoyed it on a park bench overlooking the water that I ran by on the grassy section.

I accepted that my average pace for the run would drop during my stop (which was probably no more than 2 minutes) and I went into the bathroom with 8:10 min/mile average pace to around 8:18 min/mile. Oh well, it is what it is. 

I saw Karel as I was leaving Europa Park and he was finishing his run. I was so happy for him and totally jealous that he was so fast that he could finish as I was about to start my last loop. But I was a bit concerned because I never saw a finish line chute or arrow so this concerned me as to where on the loop I would make my anticipated turn to the finish line. Oh well, I had a good 7 miles or so to figure it out.

My quads were now on my mind and remained on my mind for the last loop of the run. I still stayed up with my fueling, continuing to sip my NAPALM (although I was partly enjoying it and ready to be done with it so I still knew it was working) in between aid stations, water for cooling/sipping at aid stations and the occasional coke as needed to keep my taste buds happy.

When I got to the first of two short downhills on the run course into downtown Klagenfurt, I could tell that my legs had had quite a beating over the past 18 miles of or so for it was painfully hard to run downhill (of course, this instantly had me concerned about taking the 30 or so small shuffles to get back up the two short, steep downhills on the route back to the finish).

When I arrived to mile 20, I gave myself permission to switch my screen on my watch to see my total time. It was around 9:20 or so whenever I looked at my watch and this was just the motivation I needed to dig really deep (I mean super duper deep for my legs had not ran more than 14 miles in 9 months).

The only thing that I had to do for the last 6 miles was not give up. Done. 

My body was tired and my quads were aching  and it was getting  extremely hard to convince my legs to keep moving one foot in front of the other with good form (as quick as possible to keep from shuffling)  but I am all too familiar with what it feels like in the last 6 miles of an Ironman and I gladly welcomed this pain for it was much easier for my mind to stay strong over some normal marathon pain as oppose to having to deal with running with a recovering injury or a depleted body. Thankfully, with no planned running races this season as part of my season plan, I haven’t had to feel this ache since my last Ironman…long enough to forget this pain that I choose to put on my body to earn my Ironman finisher medal

Amazingly, despite feeling as if my legs were no longer attached to my hips and instead, freely moving as they wished (which is always a scary thing as with every step I just hope that my legs remember how to propel me forward) , I was still passing people, and guys nonetheless.

Oh and those two steep uphills were not so pretty but I managed to shuffle my way up.

As I approached 40 kilometers, I was relieved. I had just 2K to go and all I could think about was where is this finish line? 

I was running alongside another guy and I asked him if he spoke English and he said yes. Then I asked “do you know where the finish line is at?”

He laughed and said “you can’t miss it!”

Um…apparently I have missed it because I saw no finish line sign during my two loop run. 

I tried to follow the man as long as I could (and noticed as I was chatting with him I was passed by a girl which I think was in my age group with only 1 mile to go) but then he picked up his pace and I was not in the mood to sprint for a few seconds to my finish time. Around 25 miles, I had scrolled my watch to total time and I was in complete disbelief for my finish time. From my calculations during the last few miles of the run, I had anticipated a 10:25 finish time because I thought that I ran close to a 3:50ish marathon. Still not knowing what my marathon time was, I was ready for this journey to come to a completion.

Amazingly, as I started what would have been my third loop of the run passed Europa Park, I spotted a big sign that said Second Loop and FINISH. The last 1K was extremely long from the last kilometer sign on the course and that finish line could not have come sooner! It was clearly obvious that the FINISH was to the left but this was the first time that I spotted this sign. Horray…let’s do this body!!!

I took advantage of the aid station right before I ran to the finish line chute along the water and grabbed one last cup of water to rinse myself off and I zipped up my jersey. Out of all the aid stations on the course, this was one that I was not stopping at for my hard work was over and it was time to finish!

Oh euphoria!! Thank you body!!!

The fist pumps were happening well before I could even see the finishing arch. I found myself around a group of guys at the finish line chute but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this experience to the fullest. The fans were screaming and I heard someone say “Great job Marn!!” It was Karel yelling from the sidelines!

I high fived the race announcer and when I crossed the finish line, I finally gave my body permission to rest.

After 10 hours and 17 minutes of racing 140.6 miles and finishing with a HUGE PR run of 3:39 (thank you body SO much!) and a 21 minute Ironman distance PR, I could officially celebrate my 8^th Ironman finish and my first international Ironman finish.

I received my medal and although with very shaky legs, I found myself with enough strength to walk to the finish line photographer for my post race photo. I sipped on some water and passed on the hose-rinsing station and just looked out for my Ironman partner in crime.

All dressed and clean, Karel was so proud of my time. Karel was on the sidelines for my very first Ironman when I was 24 at 2006 IMFL when I finished in 11:00:07 and qualified for Kona by winning the 18-24 age group. For me, my personal growth as an endurance athlete has been extremely gratifying and this race was purely the culmination of experience and gratitude for a healthy and injury free body.

I could feel my dad’s presence on race day and although it was extremely sad for me to know that only my mom was tracking me online, I knew that my dad would be so proud of my finish, mostly because I tried to fight just as hard as he did during his 10-month fight with an incurable case of cancer.

Karel said that with my dad’s hat on his head, he was talking to my dad during the entire run. Karel managed to fight extremely hard and he asked my dad many times to help him out during the race. Although my dad didn’t let Karel get away with an easy-feeling race, I know that Karel really pushed his body to the max for not only did he have a huge PR of 9:22 for his second IM (41 minute PR from IM Lake Placid in 7/13) but he pushed harder than he has ever pushed to run an amazingly fast 3:11 marathon! WOW – incredible!

After I could finally hug Karel, I hobbled my way to the Irondome to finally sit down and rest my body (which was slowly reacting to the last 10 hours of stress).

This was absolutely an amazing race venue. We were given a perfect race day to push our bodies, take some risks and really take advantage of our good health by racing smart for 140.6 miles and earning our Ironman finisher medals.

Marni:

Swim 2.4 mile - 1:00:13 (PR)

T1: 5:18

Bike 112 miles - 5:29:07 (PR)

T2: 3:48

Run: 3:39:09 (PR)

Total: 10:17:35

7th AG/57 starters, 31st female, 18th amateur female

21 minute PR (8th Ironman)

Karel:

1:07:10 - 2.4 mile swim (PR)

T1: 4:10

4:56:23 - 112 mile bike (PR)

T2: 3:51

3:11:17 - 26.2 mile run (PR, 9th fastest AG run)

Total: 9:22:51

22nd AG/439 starters, 124th overall

41 minute PR (2nd Ironman)

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right. 

Ironman Austria run and finish fun facts:

Marni:
7th age grouper after the run (I got passed by only one female AG in the last 1K who beat me by about 15 seconds).
I passed 226 athletes on the run
I passed 3 females on the run (31st female after the run)
I passed 223 males on the run :)
I was passed by 170 athletes after I finished the swim.
I was passed by 7 females after the swim.
I was passed by 4 age group females after the swim. 

Splits (per my Garmin, including walking, SN and potty stop)
Mile 1: 7:44
Mile 2: 7:54
Mile 3: 7:57
Mile 4: 8:02
Mile 5: 7:54
Mile 6: 8:00
Mile 7: 8:10
Mile 8: 8:12
Mile 9: 8:13

Mile 10: 8:11
Mile 11: 8:34

Mile 12: 8:12
Mile 13: 8:00
Mile 14: 8:29
Mile 15: 8:29
Mile 16: 8:31
Mile 17: 8:33
Mile 18: 9:30 (potty stop)
Mile 19: 8:48
Mile 20: 9:01
Mile 21: 8:58
Mile 22: 9:20
Mile 23: 9:37
Mile 24: 9:20
Mile 25: 9:01

Total 42.2km (26.2 miles): 3:39.09 (5:11/km, 8:21 min/mile pace)

Karel:

 No Garmin 910XT data available
Total: 42.2km (26.2 miles): 3:11:17 (4:31/km, 7:16 min/mile pace)
He passed 16 age groupers (35-39) on the run. 

He had the 9th fastest AG run.
He passed 78 athletes on the run.
He passed 77 males on the run.
He passed 727 athletes after he exited the water, including passing 673 males.

IM Austria race report - 112 mile bike

I think we can all agree that it takes a great amount of fitness to ride a bike for 112 miles. It doesn’t matter if you are riding 15mph or 25 mph because it takes a great effort to power your body for 4+ hours in order to turn two wheels, continuously, to move your body and machine in a forward motion. Throw in wind, heat, rain, rolling hills, descends, bumpy roads, potholes, etc. and it takes more than good fitness to ride smart (with a fit body) for 112 miles.

But the Ironman is more than being fit enough to ride your bike 112 miles.

The Ironman is not a bike race (if you don’t believe me, ask Karel). In bike racing, your primary focus is on the other riders and staying with them. There is nothing "individual" with a bike race for if you are not with the leaders or the pelton, well you are not in the bike race and unlike triathlons, there are no finisher medals in bike racing. A triathlon, unlike bike racing, is all about an individual effort. If you forget to focus on yourself, you will find yourself racing outside your abilities or perhaps, not working toward your pure potential. 

The Ironman is more than being a good cyclist for it is a day of swimming, biking and running. Therefore, the human body must be trained in three sports in order to swim, bike and run. In other words, once you exit the 1.2 mile swim portion of an Ironman, the bike is not about proving how fast you can be while riding 112 miles but instead, how strong and efficient you can cycle in order to run a marathon off the bike.

Our training for Ironman Austria over the past 1.5 months was a wee bit different than my last 7 Ironmans. Ok, more than 4000+ feet different.

Since moving to Greenville, SC from Jacksonville, FL, we never ride without an elevation change. Almost every ride that we do, from 90 minutes to 5 hours, includes at least 3000 feet of climbing, with the majority of our longer rides around 5000-6500 feet of climbing.

Because of this great stress on the body, we were able to perform many intervals throughout our "local" rides (especially longer rides) based on our riding terrain. I never saw an average speed for a ride more than 17.5 mph and most of my rides were around 16.5-17mph. Thus, our ability to incorporate our “train smart” philosophy into our IM Austria prep after moving to Greenville was quite simple for we were never big fans of riding for distance or chasing an average speed during a ride. Our power files were larger than while riding on the flat roads despite many opportunities to “rest” our legs while descending from a climb.

Over the past few years, I have found myself recognizing how much easier it is for my body to race on hilly courses. Now don’t get me wrong…..hills are very taxing on the body but they present ample time to pace an effort and perform “intervals” with "rest" while riding. 

I believe that athletes must be strong to ride on hills in a triathlete but not necessarily fast. And for those who enjoy hill riding but want to be faster, the goal is to not ride more but instead, to become more powerful while on the bike and above all, improve your skills on the hills/descends. The Ironman is not about speed but instead, who fatigues the least by the finish. Therefore, the Ironman race requires more than great fitness on the bike (or swim or run) but instead, knowing how to pace your day with your current level of fitness, all while staying mentally strong and consuming adequate sport nutrition to support metabolic needs during the bike and to fuel for the upcoming run and to minimize/avoid GI distress. Let’s also not forget that a course that has changing terrain requires the athlete to troubleshoot every situation for it is likely that there will be obstacles during the day on a “challenging” course, from changing temperatures and weather conditions to residual fatigue.

Ironman Austria bike course (1 loop shown above)

Karel and I rode around 42 miles of our 56 mile bike course (1 loop) on the Thursday preceding the race. This gave us a great opportunity to not only enjoy the beautiful sights of Austria (pics here), but also to get to know our terrain and how we would pace our own race on race day. Simply put, Ironman Austria (like most of my other challenging Ironman races) had a bike course that was challenging with the climbs but also presented plenty of opportunities to be fast with appropriately timed downhills. 

I never thought I’d say this but the 5300 total feet of climbing at Ironman Austria (yep – our “fast” course was filled with elevation gains) was not as challenging as I had imagined it would be for we ride much more difficult courses in our new hometown of Greenville. The main difference between our Greenville bike routes and the IM Austria bike course (aside from a closed course on race day) was that IM Austria had a great flow of climbing and descending so that with every climb, there was a great opportunity to recover. Although the IM Austria course was challenging, Karel and I were given the opportunity to race smart on race day.

On race day, we used our cycling skills for climbing/descending (obviously, Karel has much more experience in this area but I have been forced to become a more skillful rider in Greenville), we made sure to race safe and abide by race rules (no drafting) while riding with others on the same course, we love having electronic shifting which makes shifting gears efficient and easy (in aero bars and base bars as well as while standing), we enjoy training with power but we also know how to perceive our effort,  having a proper RETUL bike fit for an efficient and powerful position on the bike, we trust our well-practiced sport nutrition and we love climbing and on top of all the ways that we love to race smart, we trained smart for race day without risking injury or fatigue and thus we were both able to take a few risks on a perfect day of racing and race to our full potential.
Despite not planning 1 training ride over 100 miles in the past 7 months (my longest ride was 5:40, 93 miles), I felt extremely prepared for this race. 

After exiting transition area, I made a sweeping left turn to the turnaround which was flooded with spectators behind the barricades. This turn came soon after exiting transition area and then it was only a few miles until I made another turn around. Although this time, it was a right turn around as we had moved from the right to the left side of the closed road. I found myself with mostly male triathletes in front and behind me but there was plenty of room on the road to get my legs into a good rhythm. For this race, because of all the climbing on race day and my last 1.5 months of training only on hilly terrain, I felt as if having a power goal range was not going to work to my advantage. The effort had to feel right and with my experience in Ironman racing, I knew where I could take risks and where I would need to hold back and most of all, I needed to be sure I checked in with myself frequently as I also stayed consistent with my fueling.

I had my Garmin Edge 500 set on my normal interval screen so I could focus on my 3sec power, normalized lap power (my main gauge of how I am pacing myself), average speed, lap speed, current cadence and lap time. I did not wear a HR monitor in this race as it is not beneficial to how I pace my race. Every 30 min or so, I would hit LAP so that I would only focus on 30 minutes at a time over my 5+ hour race. This allowed me to go primarily by feel but every time I looked down at my screen or hit my lap button, I could check-in with myself to see how I was pacing myself. Certainly, if I was pushing watts 50+ higher (per normalized lap) than what I am use to, then I would need to back off. But if I was happy with how I was feeling and my watts were showing me favorably numbers to reflect my current level of fitness, I went with it and carried on.
My watts are always higher while climbing (especially since I prefer to climb out of my saddle with more body weight on the top of my pedal stroke) so the key for my ability to control my normalized power while riding hilly courses all comes down to pacing myself on all areas of the course. 

As for nutrition, I grabbed water at every aid station and once I finished my first INFINIT sport bottle, I tossed it at the aid station in the tossing zone and kept water on my bike. I made sure to finish my sport bottles every 75 minutes while consuming additional 16-24 ounces of water (or so) between the aid stations (and using for cooling to help reduce core temp). 

The day started off with cloudy skies and I knew there was a chance for rain and wind. This doesn’t bother me for it just presents another opportunity for me to use my trained body to race smart. I have seen many fit and fast athletes waste a great race day performance on just chasing a goal time or expecting more out of their body or when comparing fitness to others, instead of using current fitness to race smart with what the day presents. 

On our race day, the average temperature of the entire bike was around 67 degrees and we had a mix of sun, clouds and rain along with wind. There was a lot to battle on race day but I stayed focus on my 30 minute intervals so that I could simply break down the race into practical sections to race.

The first part of the course is fast. You are simply flying on twisty roads with a few bumpy climbs on smooth roads. I felt great on this section and this gave me a lot of confidence for the middle section of the loop which includes the longer/steeper climbs.

The course was lined with spectators at the popular sections of the course (climbs) as well as in towns and villages. There was a lot of crowd support which was great. I made sure to smile at all the doggies on the course and to moo and nay at all the wildlife (I hope they understood my English). 

There was not a lot of chatting between athletes on the course so I could tell that the athletes were taking this race very seriously. When speaking to another German athlete that we became friends with, he mentioned that because there are not of European Ironman races compared to North America, all the fast athletes flock to the races. So whereas there may be 10-15 top athletes at every North America Ironman, it's like putting all of those athletes from those races at one race and making them all race against each other. The competition was fierce at Ironman Austria!

Additionally, this course was not technical but with so much terrain changes and a few rough patches of road and the amazing jaw-dropping views, you had to stay sharp the entire time. I was happy we rode the course ahead of time and took time to enjoy the scenery for on race day I was focused on my race.

I wasn’t passed by many women which made me feel as if I was riding strong. I felt good and when I got to the first climb, I heard a voice behind me “Great job Babe!”

YIPPE!!!! Karel!!!!

What a great place for Karel to catch me from the swim for as we were climbing we were able to chat for a brief minute which made me super happy. Karel told me about his swim and that he was super happy with how it went but equally happy that it was over and he survived the mass start. He asked me about my swim and I told him I almost broke an hour and he said that was great. Then he was off on the climb and all I could see was the back of his Trimarni kit riding away in the distance.

Karel took a lot of risks on this bike course and he really pushed hard on all sections - climbing and powering down the hills (and his sub 5 hour time showed it!)

Karel said that by the start of the 2^nd loop, he started to feel a bit low in energy but thankfully he was able to get over it. As for me, I felt good on the first loop but even better on the 2^nd loop!

Although I was pushing and listening to my body, I really tried to hold back on the first 56 miles because I knew that there would be a chance of getting tired from miles 80-100 (after 4 hours of riding + 1 hour of swimming) and also, I knew it would get windy on the second loop as we were riding through many open valleys.

The course is two loops but is broken into two loops, a small loop and then a larger loop which connect in a small town/village away from the transition area. Every part of the course has something different and although nothing too technical, this course really requires good skills and power. Because Karel and I missed a turn on our pre-ride of the course, we didn’t experience the 1.5 mile climb that occurred around mile 40 or so of the bike (not positive on this distance of where the climb occurred) so we both were wondering what the body would feel like while riding this climb (for every climb is different). There was a steep but moderately short climb that first woke up the legs and then came the climb.  I was climbing, and climbing and climbing and surely, out of gears by the start of the climb. This was one loooong climb and my speed for the climb was well under 7 mph. Thankfully the crowd support alongside an on-site DJ made me smile during the climb. There was one short section when I could sit down and pick up my cadence a bit (and shift down one gear) but then it was right back up again for the last two steep sections of this long climb.

But what comes up, must come down. Weeeeeeee. After a super fun descend (with a few small “ups”) and then a few miles through valleys and villages, it was time to make the left hand turn into town to start the second loop.

Because I felt as if I held back on the first loop by my perceived exertion and had been doing really well with keeping up with my nutrition (the cooler temps made for a happy gut/digestion), I was wondering what my body would do in the 2^nd loop. Gloria always tells me not to jump ahead with my thoughts on race day and I always listen but this time, instead of questioning how I would feel on the 2nd loop, I actually look forward to the 2^nd loop for I was ready to start racing!

After I made the turn around outside of transition area and welcomed lots of screams by the fans and volunteers, I was out for the last loop and I was ready for 56 miles to push and to take a few more risks. 

Whereas Karel pushed from the start of the bike to the finish (he never wanted to ease up), I tried to be a bit more conservative on the first loop. By the 2^nd loop, I found myself passing guys (although still being passed by plenty) and keeping a few strong girls in my view. With the last 56 miles a thing of the past, I kept my mind focused on the last part of my 112 mile ride, feeling as if this was the start of my 112 mile ride. 

I was having SO much fun on the bike. Even with the rain coming down (it wasn’t a downpour) on and off for around 30 miles or so of my 2^nd loop (and on the big climb and several descend), I still was loving this bike ride. 

I had to pee 3 times on the bike and saved it for the downhills for it was the only time I could stop pedaling. I lost some of the girls that I had in my view when I was relieving myself while riding but I couldn’t keep holding it in for it was so hard to pedal strong with a full bladder. Karel also peed several times on the bike. We were both well hydrated J

I finished all 4 of my bottles on the bike as well as 2 gels and 2 additional bottles of water from the aid stations. I felt so good on the bike and for the first time in a long time, was really feeling confident for my run……despite not a lot of high volume run training (my longest run since Kona in October 2012 was 14 miles). 

Karel had his 3 bottles of custom INFINIT mix + 1 gel + 2 bananas + 1 bottle of water + a few bottles of ISO (sport drink from Power bar)  - taking sips of the sport drink as needed.

Karel is a lot more flexible with his fueling regime compared to me but he does rely on his INFINIT (liquid calories) as his primary nutrition for training/racing. 

As I was riding into town, I mentally checked in with myself to address anything and everything that may impact my pacing on the run. My body and mind felt good and this was a great thing. The day was simply perfect for fast racing but it takes more than a fast and fit body to race well in an Ironman. 

As I was nearing the transition area, I stretched my hips a bit (although I had done that plenty with all the climbing on the course and getting out of the saddle), took my last few sips of my customized INFINIT sport drink, poured a little water on my head for cooling and spun my legs to the dismount line. 

After I dismounted my bike, I took off my cycling shoes and carried them with my bike to my bike rack. As I ran by Karel’s bike (his shoes still on the pedals) I was so excited to see him on the run…. I just didn’t know when. 

As I racked my bike, I saw 4 other bikes in my rack. Not knowing how many girls in my AG started in the first wave, I was really excited about the chance to place top 10 in my first international Ironman. There were no body markings in this race so the only way I knew my competition was from the bib numbers. I checked the range of numbers for my AG in the athlete guide and also the bib numbers had age groups.

As I was nearing the changing tent, I made a quick stop in the port-a-potty to fully relieve my bladder. Because the potties on the run course in an IM are always hit or miss if they will be full or empty, I took advantage of plenty of potties in transition area. Karel also had a stop at the potty in T2. Neither one of us had any GI issues on race day, just simply full bladders from being hydrated. 

As I ran to my run bag in T2, I turned around my bib number and then entered the women’s changing tent. There was only 2 other women in the tent so plenty of room. I then took off my cycling helmet and cycling shoes and put on my run shoes (with quick release clasp). I put on my dad’s corvette hat and instantly felt ready to run from his presence on my head. I grabbed my baggy with my two gel flasks with NAPALM powder in each flask and water (a bit more than 100 calories in each flask) and I was off. 

I did not sprint out of transition but instead, I walked to drop off my T2 bag with cycling contents inside) and then proceeded with a jog and then with very fresh-feeling legs, once I stepped behind the T2 line, I was officially starting my run. I hit lap on my Garmin 910 for the multi sport function to change to run and I switched my screen to my run interval screen and I was off running to start the end of my Ironman Austria day…..only  26.2 miles until the finish! Now to find Karel!

I checked the total time on my watch as I was leaving transition area and the time was around 6:35-6:40 or so (from what I can remember). Ok time to do some math....if I can run a 4 hour marathon that will put me around 10:40, just 2 minutes off my time at Kona in October (which was a PR). But if I run a 3:45 (my best IM run time is 3:48 and I have always wanted to run under 3:45), that's 10:25 and a HUGE PR for me. Could I actually do this with my body and mind?

 

OK, no doubting myself....it's time to take some risks and run for a PR!

Karel stats: 

112 mile bike (180km) – 4:56:23 total time 

Average speed – 22.59mph (36.44km/h)

Division rank: 38^th after bike

Overall rank: 202 after bike

Gender rank: 193 after bike

Splits:

25.2km – 40.43km/hr (25.06mph)

35.5km – 34.46km/hr (21.37mph)

55.4km – 39.65km/hr (24.58mph)

64.5km – 32.18km/hr (19.95mph)

92km – 37.16km/hr (23.04mph)

112.4km – 35.62km/hr (22.08mph)

122.7km – 32.36km/hr (20.06mph)

142.6km – 37.25km/hr (23.09mph)

151.7km – 30.36km/hr (18.82mph)

180km – 36.13km/hr (22.4mph)

Fun facts: 

Karel passed 143 males in his age group on the bike. He passed 649 athletes on the bike and he passed 596 males on the bike. Way to go Karel in your 2^nd Ironman triathlon!!

Marni stats: 

112 mile bike (180km) – 5:29:07 total time 

Average speed – 20.3mph (32.82km/h)

Division rank: 6^th after bike

Overall rank: 699 after bike

Gender rank: 34th after bike

Splits:

25.2km – 36.61km/hr (22.69mph)

35.5km – 31.11km/hr (19.28mph)

55.4km – 35.38km/hr (21.93mph)

64.5km – 27.72km/hr (17.18mph)

92km – 32.41km/hr (20.41mph)

112.4km – 33.02km/hr (20.47mph)

122.7km – 31.19km/hr (19.33mph)

142.6km – 34.33km/hr (21.28mph)

151.7km – 26.25km/hr (16.28mph)

180km – 32.82km/hr (20.234mph)

Fun facts: 

I was passed by 3 girls in my age group on the bike. I was passed by 396 triathletes on the bike and I was passed by 8 women on the bike. 

Time to see how many people I can run down!

Ironman Austria RR - Pre-race + 2.4 mile swim

PRE RACE

After we checked in our bikes and racked our transition bags, we headed back to our flat in downtown Klagenfurt, prepared our nutrition for race day (powder in bottles to fill with cold water in the am), put on our compression and comfy clothes and prepared dinner around 4:30pm.

Karel had chicken, rice and veggies which is a typical pre race meal for him along with minestrone soup. I had the soup as well, along with a veggie and basmati rice mix that we made the other night. I felt very fueled for race day thanks to enjoying my typical low fiber/fat diet in the 2 day leading up to the race, with plenty of easy to digest carbs that leave my tummy happy.

After we ate around 5pm, we got together our things for the morning, set the alarm (more like multiple alarms for me) and laid in bed around 7:30pm and fell asleep between 8:30-9pm.

Alarm #1 woke us up at 3:45am and it was finally Ironman Austria race day!!

Although I was not super nervous, I could tell that I had some butterflies flying around in my belly for the unknown of the day was quickly approaching. I had been experiencing waves of excitement and nerves over the past 24 hours and I kept reminding myself that all would settle itself out once I got into the water. Karel, on the other hand, was quite calm for his second Ironman. 

The day before the race we both talked about our “perfect” day and what times we thought we were capable of. We also shared these times with my mom and brother since they would be tracking us throughout the day and would want to try to see us finish online.

Karel’s “dream” time was 9:40 and my time was 10:35 (although secretly I wanted to break 10:30 because it just sounds super duper fast to be under 10:30 since there was a time that I never thought I’d go under 10:50!).

We both remained ourselves as we prepared our pre race meal in the morning. Karel had a bowl of muesli with milk and I had my normal WASA crackers w/ Smuckers Natural PB (which I brought a small Tupperware container of from the US), raisins/granola and banana. I noticed that I wasn’t feeling the solid food so I opted for only 2 dressed-up WASA crackers instead of my normal 4 before an IM and because I knew that wasn’t adequate calories for me to replace liver glycogen, I decided to prepare 1 bottle of 150 calories of ISIS hydration from INFINIT as well as 1 packet of OSMO hydration. I could then sip between the two liquid calorie options in the 2.5 hours before the race. We both had coffee with our pre race meal and Karel also had 2 gels in the 1 hour before the race (spaced out).

Oddly, I felt very fueled without any feelings of bloating or heaviness so I was starting to recognize some signs that I was race ready (or at least I was trying to convince myself with positive thoughts that I was ready for this race despite having a modified training plan over the past 5 weeks to prepare for this race)

At 4:45am we packed up our swim gear and street wear bag (post race clothes) and  bike pump and we drove the 6K or so to the parking lot at Minimudus. We arrived around 5:05am and there was plenty of parking at that time with no traffic (although it was getting busy with 3000 athletes planned to race).

We walked the less than ½ mile or so to transition with our nutrition for the race, bike computers and bike pump. 

For nutrition: 

Marni prepared nutrition:

BIKE: 

4 bottles – each with 2 heaping scoops of my custom formula from INFINIT (which I created and have tweaked twice over the past 2 half IM races and I have used with every long training session)

2 Enervit gels (we received a box of gels/bars from a friend here in Znojmo so I had one for back-up. I have never tried these gel before and typically do not use gels but I had this just in case I lost a bottle on the course. I prefer to bring nutrition with me even though I am OK to rely on the aid stations if needed)

1 pill purse of about 7 TUMS (for the bike/run – I was not planning to use them all but always better to have more than you need of any pills)

Run: 

2 gel flasks (in T2 bag) and 2 gel flasks in special needs bag (for run)

Each gel flask with 2 ounces of NAPALM caffeine (grape flavor) topped with water (100 calories each flask). I have used this product in every run and run off the bike so my tummy is very tolerable of this product. I have tried using more calories in one flask (concentrated flask) and then water in another flask (or set-up aid stations during training) but my tummy does much better with less nutrition in a flask and then using multiple flasks. I can get by with 2 flasks in a half IM (150 calories) but I opted for 4 flasks for the IM and using special needs for the very first time.

Karel prepared nutrition:

Bike – 3 bottles each with 2 scoops of his custom INFINIT formula which I created for him

1 Enervit cheerpack

1 Enervit bar

2 packs of 3 aminos (Hammer nutrition) 

1 pack of 3 aminos (hammer) + 2 race cap supreme (hammer)

(these packs were wrapped in saran wrap and placed in his Trek bento-style box.

We noticed that our bags were rearranged on the racks (originally they were not in order but instead just on a rack on the respected bib number ranges) so we found our bags and mentally focused on where they were on the racks (we were not allowed to put ribbons on our bag to easily identify them). I put my bags on the rack with all four strings so it was a little higher than the other bags so it was easy to spot.

After we put our nutrition in our bags, Karel and I took a quick bathroom stop before the lines got long and then we each went to our bikes (which were fairly close in the big transition area).

Since everyone has to run in the same direction exiting the transition area to get on their bikes, there were barricades set-up  in front of Karel’s rack since his rack was right by the bike-out arch.

We were not allowed to put on our shoes by our bike (carry our shoes) or by the mount line so Karel and I put our cycling shoes in our T1 bag with our helmet (helmets were required in the bag) since neither one of us prefer to leave our cycling shoes on our bikes.

After I removed the rain cover from my bike, I placed my four bottles of nutrition on my bike (2 frame cages and 2 in the rear – all of which are easy to reach, the cages are tight to prevent bottles from slipping on most bumpy roads and well-practiced in training), I put my bike computer on my bike and made sure that my Stages power meter was recognized by my Garmin Edge 500 (Karel always has an extra battery on race day just in case). Also Karel charged our bikes to 100% the night before the race for our electronic (Di2) shifting. I had my cassette in a comfortable gear to exit transition area (in small chain ring, middle gear) and made sure my breaks were not rubbing. 

Karel came over and pumped up my tires (which were deflated a bit for overnight in the warmer temps) and double checked my bike.

Since transition area closed at 6:20am, we were very efficient with our time and I dropped off my run special needs bag outside the transition area at 6am and made our way about a ½ mile or so to the swim start.

First we headed to the Irondome across from the swim venue and put on our wetsuits with spray body glide as well as caps and goggles. We put our clothing in our street wear and we both held on to 1 throw away sport bottle with liquid calories to sip on for the next 40 min or so before our wave start (since we were not in the first wave at 6:45am).

We then made our way to the swim start and pushed our way through the crowds to get some room to warm-up the body with some active stretching. We made one more stop at the potties before the first wave went off and with beautiful conditions (in the low 60’s outside to start our morning), we both wished each other the best of luck and for a safe race day, gave a kiss and a hug and parted ways.

Around 6:50am I found myself to the right of a pier and stood about 3 rows back. Although only a few girls around me (not to mention only less than 400 women in the entire race), I found myself comfortable with the male swimmers around me. Like it or not, we were all about to get to know each other really well for the beach, mass start.

After the Austrian anthem, the 3 minute countdown began.

Then it went to 2.

With my goggles readjusted one last time (with anti-fog liquid just applied in the Irondome), I whispered to my dad above me to enjoy his front-row seat for the next 140.6 miles and then the 60 second countdown began.

3, 2, 1….BOOM!! We were off!!

2.4 mile swim

(Following Pictures from Google and Finisherpix)

I started my Garmin 910XT on Multisport zone and slowly “ran” my way into the water. The water felt amazingly, refreshingly cool and comfortable with my full-sleeve wetsuit.

I made sure to not start out too hard and with about 1.5K or so until the first left –hand turn buoy, I made sure to focus on good, efficient strokes in the water. I wasn’t sure how my swim would turn out for the day in term of time so I just stayed confident as I was feeling very good in the water as I was enjoying pushing just enough to stay with a pack of speedy men.

I wasn’t spotting that much because I trusted that the mass of swimmers that I was swimming with was staying on course but as I was bilaterally breathing, I noticed that there was a pack of swimmers to my left in the far distance.

Am I off course so soon in the race? Well it quickly dawned on me that I must have started on the outside of the far pier instead of the pier closest to the buoys! I guess with the massive amount of spectators, I had to push my way through the crowd to enter the timing mat for the beach that I didn’t even realize that I was on the outside. Oh well. I didn’t really have any plans as to where I would stand, I just didn’t want to get clobbered in the swim. Little did I know, Karel ended up starting by the closest pier, near the buoys (and he mentioned it was pure chaos over there!).

I noticed that our group was heading on a smooth path to the first turn buoy and with my Garmin 910 auto lapping every 500 yards on the swim (the water was so clear that I could see my watch in the water) I was quick to realize that I was swimming a great pace for the start of this race.

As I made my way around the first of two turn buoys, I found myself getting a little off course as I was no longer with my group of speedy men. I guess the water was pushing me a bit away from the buoys on my left so I had to give a little bit of a stronger effort to swim closer to the buoys and to find a pack of swimmers.

I managed to link up with a small group but had to continue spotting for I was out on the outside and kept getting pushed away from my group. This part of the course to the last turn buoy felt long as I wasn’t sure how long it was until that buoy. I stayed focused on my stroke and making sure that I was catching the water and efficiently pulling through with a strong exit from the water. This lake made for comfortable pool-like swimming.

Once I made the turn for the home stretch, the sun was straight into my eyes and even with my tinted Speedo Vanquisher goggles, I could see nothing ahead of me. I was warned about this from the race announcer at the athlete meeting but it was incredible that I could see absolutely nothing ahead of me for the 1K or so until the cannel.

Because I was so worried to get off course, I found myself stopping (and breastroke kicking) three times as I removed my goggles from my eyes just so I could get a good glimpse of where I was going. Once I knew where I was going, I was fine but then a few yards later I was worried and stopped again. 

I managed to spot to the cannel and finally I was officially on the home stretch.

Again, I wasn’t sure how long the canal was so as I glanced at my watch, I nearly smiled ear to ear that this could be the day when I break 1-hour (which I have dreamed about since I started Ironman racing). 

The cannel was craziness. It was so tight with swimmers jammed in that it was hard to find any open space for multiple full strokes. 

It was so cool to see all the spectators on the sides of the canal for the past 45 minutes or so, we were all alone in the crystal blue lake.

I spotted the bridge that I had remembered we passed when biking out of the parking lot (for our bike warm-ups) so I knew we were close to the swim exit. Since I wasn’t able to see my watch in the merky waters, I picked up the pace and just hoped, wished and prayed that I could get this dream over with on this day. Of course, this was the start of a very long day but I figured that if I was going to break 1 hour, today would be a great day to do it.

As I made a slight right hand turn to spot the exit arch, I was pushed down by another swimmer and kicked at the same time. Ugh. It took a few seconds to gather myself as I took a few more strokes and quickly stood up with jello-like legs as the volunteer lifted me out of the water. I looked at my watch and oh jeez….

 1:00:13.

Although this was a PR for me, I was laughing at the 14 seconds that kept me from seeing 59 minutes for my 2.4 mile swim. Oh well,  it was time to check the swim off my to-do list for the day for it was over and done with and a thing of the past. Nothing I can do or change so on to the bike.

Karel had a great swim for him and he swam 1:07:10 which is a great PR for him!

Karel battled with his normal hyperventilation-feeling when he entered the water (he’s still working on his experience in open water with a land start and this was the first time for an IM start with a mass start – Lake Placid had a seeded time trial start where we walked in, sorted out by anticipated finishing times). Karel said that he felt good in the water but when he got to the cannal, he hated every stroke for he said for him, it had nothing to do with swimming for it felt like a boxing match. He just wanted the swim to be over with. He was very happy with his time but even more happy that the swim was over with and he could get on his bike.

Because there were no strippers and we were required to run with our wetsuits on (they could be pulled down to our waists), I made the .4 mile run to my T1 bag as I removed the top part of my wetsuit (unzipping in the back with the string ) and pulled down to my waist. I had removed my 910 from my wrist and stuck in my mouth as I took off the sleeves and as I ran, I put my watch back on so that I didn’t have to tug on my wetsuit and risk stopping my watch on accident.

I grabbed my T1 bag with my bike gear and made my way into the female changing tent.

Well, I guess it was a co-ed tent because with so many guys and so few women, there were guys in our changing tent (which was also very open to the T1 bags. Oh well.

I sat on the ground and a volunteer stripped my wetsuit off of me (I don’t think she spoke English but she knew what I was asking her to do) and I put on my helmet and sunglasses and wiped off my feet as I put on my 110% compression sock (Karel wore his compression calf sleeves under his wetsuit which was allowed).  I put on my cycling shoes and bib number with race belt (bib number required to be on our back for the bike) I had my nutrition in a zip lock baggy so I grabbed the bag as I exited transition area. I handed my T1 bag (with swim gear inside) to a volunteer at the drop off bag area outside the tent (which was new for me since typically the volunteers put your stuff in the bag as you leave the changing tent) . I emptied the contents of my nutrition into my back pockets of my tri suit (which I wore my Trimarni tri short bottoms and Trimarni tri top under my wetsuit w/ Brooks running sport bra) as I was running to my bike. 

I had positioned my bike facing the way I was supposed to run out of transition whereas the other bikes in my rack had the rear wheel facing the direction we were running. This made it very easy for me to power on my Garmin Edge on my bike, lift it out of the rack (not hanging racks which was great!) and then run in the same direction as my bike was facing. 

Marni T1 transition time: 5:18

Karel T1 transition time: 4:10

I ran by Karel’s bike as I exited transition area and wasn’t sure when I would see him but I looked forward to the moment that I could chat with Karel on the bike. Seeing Karel on the course is my biggest highlight of my day when we race together.

When I got on my bike, there was a short section by the screaming fans before we made a turn around to head out to a short out and back section before the start of two laps of our 112 mile bike course. My body was feeling good and all nerves were a thing of the past and I was super pumped to see how all my hill training in Greenville (over the past 5 weeks) with a body that hasn’t had a physiological (injury) setback in almost a year, had paid off.

Time to bike 112 miles on the beautiful, fast, yet challenging, Ironman Austria bike course!! 

Training smart for Ironman #8

Over the past 8 years I have found myself standing at 6 different starting lines (IMFL, IMKY, IMWI, IM Placid, IM Austria and IM Kona). For all 8 of my Ironman races, I have felt the same flood of emotions as I wait anxiously for the start of my 140.6 mile racing day.

Despite feeling the same mix of emotions from a nervous belly to fully body excitement, I have discovered that every IM journey to reach the starting line is unlike the last journey. Sure, every Ironman journey shares similarities such as an investment in time and a greater investment in money alongside commitment, hard work and discipline but there are also many differences, specific to what is happening in life while training for an IM.

Over the past 8 Ironman finishes, I have learned that the pressure to arrive at the starting line healthy and hungry to race is always the ultimate goal because racing with a healthy body and mind is simply the result of my body positively adapting to the right amount of training stress alongside the right amount of recovery to foster performance gains.

A healthy, motivated and injury-free body will always outperform an unhealthy, unmotivated and injured body. Plus, it is a lot more fun to reap the rewards of your hard work effort when the body can train consistently well with proper recovery to reduce risk for fatigue, burnout and injury.

Because life doesn’t stop just because I am registered for an Ironman, I am constantly aware of the many outside stressors that can affect my training journey. Therefore, over the past few years Karel and I have developed a strategy for training for the Ironman to ensure that we minimize setbacks in our Ironman journey. Thus we train smart by training hard and recovering harder. And above all, we love to race smart with our current level of fitness as we find ourselves raising our limits by being challenged by our faster competitors.

Because hard work is only one component to arriving to race day with a healthy body and mind, I do not see training for an Ironman as a journey that involves only long miles and hours of swimming, biking and running. Certainly, I am well aware of the positive impact of hard work as well as a balanced and healthy, wholesome diet. More so, the timing of nutrition with training as well as the critical need for sport nutrition during training is a specialty of mine. Alongside my specialty of understanding how to fuel a body in motion, strength training, recovery tools and sleep have also contributed to my body tolerating the demands of Ironman training.

No matter what Ironman race I choose to participate in or what the conditions are on race day, my desire to improve within every Ironman journey provides me with the ongoing motivation to see what I am capable of as an age group triathlete.

Over the past few years, I have changed the way that I approach Ironman training and thus I have been able to help many triathletes enjoy their Ironman journey without focusing on weekly hours or miles but instead, finding enjoyment in the simple art of training the human body to improve. Through quality training sessions, the body adapts well to training and thus, habits are formed that are productive to race day goals.

In the last three Ironman races that I have done, I have overcame obstacles while training for the Ironman but have found myself with personal best times. Although different courses and race day conditions, I have gone from a 10:58 Ironman finisher, to 10:43, to 10:37 and now, a 10:17 Ironman finisher. Although this time drop has occurred over 4 years, my motivation to train and race in Ironman competitions has continued, with gains in fitness, despite the constraints of my life.

My message for any Ironman athlete (newbie or veteran) is to stop counting weekly hours or obsessing on arbitrary paces that “should” be performed by race day and instead, build a training plan that allows for maximizing your performance over a period of time, without compromising other areas in your life that can bring you performance gains AND happiness and balance in life. 

Because every age group triathlete has the ability to improve if dedication and hard work are grounded in your mindset, stop emulating  what everyone else is doing within their constraints  and freedoms of their lifestyle and do not compare your readiness to succeed by another athlete’s training hours, paces or miles.

On June 29^th, 2014, Karel and I each executed a perfect race which resulted in personal best times for every sport alongside a total personal best time that will likely not be broken for quite some time. This isn’t to say that we will not get stronger, fitter and smarter as athletes but on June 29^th, we found ourselves embarking on a day of racing 140.6 miles which was the culmination of training smart with the least amount of training stress to foster the largest performance gains to be used on race day. Because it is very hard to consistently improve in a race that lasts over 9 hours for most age groupers, I am incredibly thankful to my body for not only giving me 8 Ironman journey’s to enjoy but for also allowing me to push it to higher and higher limits as I try to discover my ultimate potential as an endurance triathlete.

Race report to come shortly.

Ironman Austria FINISHERS!

 

Preparation

The activity or process of making something ready or of becoming ready for something.

Things that are done to make something ready or to become ready for something.

A state of being prepared. 

We all have our own definitions for being/feeling prepared. For the athlete, it may be following an arbitrary training plan and for others, it may be putting all your trust into a coach to design the perfect plan for you to peak and taper properly and execute on race day. 

I'm sure we can all think of a time when we felt prepared and things didn't go as planned.
And of course, the times when we didn't feel prepared and it showed. 

 But then there are those times when we didn't feel prepared and we surprised ourselves. 

Some say that preparation is key to success. Failing to prepare is like preparing for fail. 

When it comes to carrying the human body for 140.6 miles, preparation is certainly key. There's always that person who can wing it but without preparation comes fears, uncertainties, doubts and negative "what if" thoughts. 

However, how much can one actually prepare for an event that involve 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running without risking injury, burnout or extreme fatigue as well as balancing life with good nutrition, proper sport nutrition, stretching, quality sleep and everything else that goes into "preparing" for an Ironman

Despite this being my 8th Ironman here in Austria, I went into this Ironman with a mix of emotions, including excitement and nerves. 

I have completed 7 Ironmans so far (three on the big island) and I still woke up on race day morning thinking to myself "can I do this...again?"

I've learned so much about Ironman racing over the past 8 Ironmans, including 3 Ironman World Championship races. 

And one thing that I have learned is that 140.6 miles is a long way to go and even those who feel they are best prepared, still must have the right mindset to start and finish the 8-17 hour journey that lies ahead. There is so much training that goes into a one day event so on top of doing the "work" that you may feel is needed to prepare the human body to perform the demands of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles, that training is no good without the right mental toughness on race day, combined with pure enjoyment for the sport and appreciation for the human body.And of course, the ability to overcome whatever comes in your way while racing for 140.6 miles (no race is ever "perfect", it's just how you overcome situations that will determine if you perfectly executed your day.)

I am proud to say that Ironman Austria was a great success for Karel and me. As for feeling prepared going into this race, we certainly did not follow our "ideal" training plan with everything that has been affecting us in our life over the past few months so I guess you could say that we didn't feel 100% prepared. I am not one for excuses and I find that with Ironman training, it's very rare for a person to give 100% for 6+ months to prepare for an Ironman. Ironman training requires a lot of time, money and dedication and for us age group triathletes, it is a fine line of training for an Ironman and still feeling balanced in life (and being able to still function well in life).

In our case, we had two half Ironmans (HITS Ocala in March and St. Croix 70.3 in May) which included some good "short distance" stress on our body before we started our IM build. 

However, our move in May coupled with the passing of my dad left us with our minds on other important things in our life. Nevertheless, we both have thoroughly enjoyed our new home in beautiful Greenville SC so we applied the most training stress on our body with ample recovery to prepare the best we could for Ironman Austria in just 5 weeks. Of course, we do have years of endurance training under our legs but this should never be a good reason to purposely over or under train. 

This means that we carefully overloaded our body with higher intensity workouts that were of moderate volume (even though we do no believe in large weekly volumes of training or "long" training days on the weekend). We each carefully stuck to our own taper regime (we both have our own 2 week taper routine) and then appreciated our time in Europe and considered this Ironman as a chance to take a few risks and to race among a very high caliber of athletes. Since we both were not racing for Kona slots (we are saving our Kona-qualifying race for IMWI in 9 weeks), we wanted to see what we were capable of with our current level of fitness on this fast, beautiful yet challenging course. 

On June 29th, 2014, we both raced the best that we could considering all circumstances that had affected us over the past few months. 

Every athlete will toss around the thought of feeling as if they could have done more prep work before race day, especially in the taper period and race week that precedes the important race day. 

Because every athlete is going to feel and not feel prepared at certain times in a racing season, it is always important that you follow a few of the following suggestions to ensure a positive racing experience: 

-Race only with your current level of fitness - minimize the risks that you take on race day so that you can finish the race with minimal setbacks.

-Consider your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to executing your race day plan.

-Be sure you have a race day plan that is flexible. 

-Trust the training that you have done and if applicable, your past fitness/racing experience.
-Don't confuse your concerns/worries about not feeling prepared with hating the racing experience. I promise that even if you don't feel prepared, you are going to figure out a way to get to the finish and enjoy crossing that finish line. 

-Never stop loving what you choose to do with your body and with your free time. Your ability to train and race is a gift. 

-Enjoy the race day experience. Maybe you aren't having a good day but someone else is and you can help them out. Don't worry, that favor will be returned when you are rocking your course and others who aren't having a great day, are rooting for you to finish strong. 

-Never stop believing in yourself. 10% undertrained is far better than 1% overtrained. 

The day was not easy for us and after eight Ironman races, I can assure you that I have never felt as if the Ironman day was easy. This is one very important thing that I carry with me as I am racing for 10+ hours...it is NOT suppose to be easy!
The Ironman does not just hand out that medal to anyone, you have to earn it!

Karel and I gave our best effort and left it all out on the course. We love to train smart but we also love to race smart. This means that we are OK to take some risks at times but we also have experience in how to overcome situations when the risks do not work in our favor. We are also ok with our ego's in that if the day does not turn out as we planned, we are still going to fight to get to that finish line. Run, jog, walk, crawl...unless it is medically related, neither one of us our quitters. 

We both respect the Ironman distance. Feeling prepared is great but there are many uncertainties on race day and that is why I feel virgin Ironman athletes should not go into an Ironman with overly ambitious goals. Of course, this statement is coming from someone who wanted to qualify for Kona after her first IM and then I ended up winning the 18-24 age group by almost an hour....but still, I dealt with a lot of "new" things on race day that I somehow was able to overcome. 

The Ironman requires experience, good mental strength (you will realize this when you get to the marathon if you are currently training for your first IM) and the ability to overcome obstacles all day long.

But above all, the Ironman day is to be shared with many people and not just yourself. It requires a lot of people, friends and support to help you start and finish the race. 

I'm incredibly greatly to 110% Play Harder and Oakley Women for helping me race in style but also with quality gear to support my active lifestyle. 

My mom, brother and close family and friends, thank you for supporting this crazy lifestyle that Karel and I enjoy with our free time and disposable income. 

To all the Trimarni fans - thank you so much for your ongoing support. I am so proud to live my life so that I can help others reach personal goals and dreams.
Thank you Gloria for always having the right thing to say at the right time. It's the thoughtful, yet appropriate emails that I get before a race that really make a positive difference in how I approach my race day experience. 

And thank you to the Trimarni coaching and nutrition athletes who inspire me and Karel with your ongoing commitment and dedication to your sport as you balance work, family and life. 

The race reports will be coming soon once I gather the right words to talk about our perfectly executed day with two bodies that didn't feel 100% prepared BUT were super excited to race. 

The Ironman Austria140.6 mile course was filled with lots of cheering spectators, great weather conditions (even with the rain on the bike) and endless spectacular views. 

Ironman Austria, thank you for a perfect day of racing! 

Thanks everyone for your support, we channeled all the positive energy from our amazing friends, family and Trimarni fans!

We would also like to thank my dad, who is not with us, but loved the Ironman day when I raced and we both proudly wore his favorite hats and felt his presence all day (especially when we both needed his strength on the run!).

Final stats:
Karel: (2nd Ironman)
1:07:10 - 2.4 mile swim (PR)
T1: 4:10
4:56:23 - 112 mile bike (PR)
T2: 3:51
3:11:17 - 26.2 mile run (PR,wowzer- 9th fastest AG!!!)
Total: 9:22:51
22nd AG/439 starters, 124th overall
41 minute PR!! So proud of you Karel !!! I just LOVE sharing the excitement and pains of racing an Ironman with you! So sorry that you are way too fast and have to wait for me for almost an hour 

Marni (8th Ironman- thank you body!)
Swim 2.4 mile - 1:00:13 (PR....err, still so close to breaking that hour mark!)
T1: 5:18
Bike 112 miles - 5:29:07 (PR)
T2: 3:48
Run: 3:39:09 (BIG PR... Yay!)
Total: 10:17:35
7th AG/57 starters, 31st female, 18th amateur female
21 minute PR!!

And lastly, thanks to the best furry child ever! 

We love that you approach life with unconditional love and excitement every day!

Every day is a winning day for Campy!

Also a big thank you to INFINIT nutrition for keeping my tummy happy and my body fueled during my training To Trek Bicycles for making safe, speed machines for me to drive with my body. To 110% Play Harder for helping me play hard and recover harder. To Brooks Running for keeping my feet and hips happy and to Oakley Women for knowing how to help a woman in motion look stylish and sporty with quality gear!!!! And to Gloria for helping me stay mentally strong in life and in sport.