IM Canada: Post race

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well on the night of the Ironman. We stayed up until around 11pm as we first watched the last stage of the Tour de France and then watched some of the IM Lake Placid coverage. I have found through experience that the more I push the run, the more damage I feel in my legs - which affects how I sleep and recover post Ironman. Because of so much walking throughout 26.2 miles, I luckily didn't experience the typical extreme tissue/muscle damage that occurs during 26.2 miles in an Ironman. I was still very sore and had some familiar aches in my left leg but overall, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Karel, on the other hand, was having a rough night and apparently I slept through it all. He was sore all over - head to toe.

We kept Monday as a chill day and reserved it for 1) Awards 2) Eating.

The award ceremony was outside in the Olympic Village area (just behind our condo) and we were joined by several of our athletes who were still in town. It was great to catch up with everyone and hear the stories from the race. It was awesome to share the podium with my athlete Ericka, who not only qualified for her first Kona but won overall female amateur. What an exciting day for her. Every time I saw her on the course, she gave me so much positive energy. I somehow managed to place 5th in the 35-39 age group so that was a huge surprise for me. Karel won his age group and received a nice customized jacket (so did all of the AG winners). Gin also placed on the podium for the 70.3 event. We waited for the roll down for a few of our athletes to see if they could get a slot for 70.3 worlds but the slots were quickly taken by other athletes.

After the award ceremony, we went back to our condo to get a little work done throughout the day but overall, it was a chill day. Later in the day we went to Hunter and Gather restaurant for a well-deserved real meal. Of course, Karel got some ice cream afterward.

As for the next few days, we enjoyed our time in Canada by doing a little sight-seeing. Even with a tired body, we were still able to see a lot. Since we didn't do any eating out prior to the race, we looked forward to trying some of the local eats. Before my ART apt on Tuesday in Squamish, we ate lunch at Saha Eatery (Mediterrean food).

We also hit up a local chocolate shop before lunch. We rode the Gondola in the afternoon and took a short hike to a scenic overlook point. It was a packed day but a great one.

On Wednesday we made the hour drive to Joffre Lakes. Although the parking lot was packed, luckily the trails were not overly crowded. The almost 10K (~4 hour) hike was pretty intense and technical but it was well worth it. The views were incredible.

We brought some food to keep us fueled along the way during the hike but had a quick stop in Pemberton at Blackbird bakery. Karel got a cappuccino and quiche and I (finally) got a cinnamon roll - oh how I love cinnamon rolls!

Thursday was our travel day and with a red eye and a lot of driving to do, we kept this day pretty low key. My friend Jennifer Ward suggested a local cafe for us to get some work done. We then ate lunch at Naked Sprout before hitting the road around 2:30pm. It was a cooler/cloudy day and we really lucked out with weather on race week/day.

The drive to Vancouver was absolutely beautiful. Because we drove in the dark when we arrived, we never got to experience the beautiful sights of mountains and water. However, once we got to Vancouver, the traffic was ugh. It took us over an hour to go 12 miles. Luckily we allowed plenty of time before our 10:30pm flight. After returning our rental car, we waited in the airport until we could check in, had some dinner at Freshii and then went to our gate.

We were able to kill some time by getting some work done and by the time we boarded the plane, we were ready to go to sleep. Of course it's a bit hard to sleep on the airplane but we managed to get some on and off sleep for the next 5 hours.

When we arrived to Atlanta at 6:40am, Karel had his first ever experience going through customs as a US Citizen. We were shocked how smooth and easy it was compared to all our struggles and troubles in the past with him as a green card holder. After getting our bikes (which were free again on Delta!) and our luggage, we took the two shuttles to our car and then hit the road. It took us a good 3ish hours to get back (plus a stop at Panera for breakfast) and after picking up our excited pooch from my mom's, we all crashed in bed for a solid 2 hour nap.

As for the rest of the week post race, I didn't do much exercise - just a 1800 yard swim on Friday evening. I wanted to fully heal my body to make sure my body and mind were ready for the next 10 weeks of training in route to IM Kona. Karel and I both felt like we were mostly recovered from the IM (physically) by Saturday - but of course, there was still some deep damage inside (especially for Karel). We were mostly just tired (Sleepy) from the travel.

While I was excited to easy back into training this week, I was hit with a curveball as Campy accidentally stuck his nail in my right eye on Monday evening as we were snuggling in bed.....so I am not able to do anything until it heals. I am in a lot of pain as it feels like I have glass in my eye but it should heal soon. I'm thankful for Voss Vision for seeing me under this emergency situation. I can't help but laugh a little as my dad was an Optometrist and I know he would have loved to have "treated" me with this type of situation. My dad saw everything with eye injuries so this would have been something minor from his point of view (although it feels super traumatic for me! haha)

My coach Cait told me that it's just a sign from the Universe that my body still needs time to heal from the Ironman.

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!