Hawaii Half Ironman

We arrived in Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon, so we had a few days to prepare for the race on Saturday.  Our first day there, we drove the bike course and were both surprised at the hills.  We wondered, "are there no flat roads here or what?"  It was kind of intimidating.  Keep in mind, a year ago I was a brutal hill rider.  It had a lot to do with the fact that I really didn't know how to change gears smoothly and even ended up falling off my bike a couple times going uphill, in my training for Ironman Cozumel.  We chose to do Cozumel, in part because it was flat.  So my choice to race Hawaii was a choice to do something hard and far out of my comfort zone.

Thankfully the training I've done on hills recently has helped a lot because when we actually got out and rode the race course, it wasn't so bad.  But we both figured we were going to be slower than we had planned.  Slow but steady.

We couldn't check out the run course because it's located on the Fairmont golf course.  We swam at Hapuna Beach where the swim was located.  Everything I experience is related to Cozumel because that's my most recent race.  So the water in Hawaii was a little colder but there was more to see on the ocean floor (beautiful fish and coral) and best of all, NO JELLYFISH!!

After the swim, we'll be running up a nice little hill in our bare feet to get to our bikes:

I love the events before the race because it's so great to rub shoulders with like minded people.  People who love the same sport as us and are passionate about health and fitness.  The athlete meeting began with the Fairmont manager quieting the crowds by blowing into this shellfish horn of sorts.  Then he spoke a welcome to us in the local dialect.  Throughout the meeting we were reminded of the culture of Hawaii where respect and love of the land is vital.  The race director explained that Ironman champion Mark Allen learned that when you give to Hawaii, it gives back to you.  Mark went out of his way to give to the land and people of Hawaii and only then did he start having success racing there.
He said, you are going to suffer tomorrow like you may not have ever suffered before but don't blame your suffering on the volunteers.  He also let us know that the conditions on race day were going to be the worst they had ever had for a race there.  There would be 50 km/hr winds and it was going to be hot!  Also, just to make sure we were prepared for the next day, he let us know that the run course was the hardest in the Ironman 70.3 circuit.  I kept thinking, "wow it sounds like this is going to be a tough course but I just did a full ironman last fall, so it really can't be THAT hard."

I may have bought a few things at the expo.

Setting up our swim to bike transition:

My tradition for a couple of years has been to eat ice cream the day before a race.  I've found I have insane amounts of energy the day after I eat ice cream :)

We prepared all our bottles of electrolyte drink the day before.  I froze mine overnight and they were still warm by the time I started drinking them on the bike.

Race morning I woke up naturally at 3am.  Easy to do since we were staying on Calgary time and had gone to bed at 7pm the night before.  I ate (really drank) my liquid diet breakfast of milk with a chocolate powder I had brought from home.  Going liquid on race day was part of my plan to avoid the GI issues I had at Cozumel.

We drove to athlete parking, caught the shuttle over and arrived at transition at 5:30am.  I loved being there early with plenty of time to set up our bikes, visit the port o potties, get body marked and watch the pro swim start.  The sun wasn't up yet and it was peaceful and quiet at transition, as not many athletes had arrived yet.  Adam filled our bike tires and then being a nice guy, filled the tires for three other ladies who were having some trouble with theirs.

The Swim (2.1 km)

After the horn for the pro start we waded out into the water to find a position among the 1,600 athletes.  There was a thick group up front and then the majority of people were spread out into a large area along the beach.  At first we stood near the middle but then Adam decided we should move up to just behind the thick group of starters.  We had planned that he would 'clear the way' for me again so we wanted to start together.  Before I really felt 'ready' the cannon sounded and Adam said, "ready??" and I said, "yep" and off we went.  We were next to each other and I didn't even get in behind him before getting swarmed by everyone.  It was a crowded mass rush to that first buoy.  Lots of contact this time, mostly because we started so close to the front.  In fact, the whole swim I had people close to me on both sides and felt like I was constantly in a crowd.

Rounding the first buoy was crowded, as people slowed to round the buoy as tight as possible.  Similar with the second buoy.  Then my goggles fogged up and I couldn't see a thing.  (Apparently I rinsed out the ani-fog solution a little too much.)  I stopped swimming and took off my goggles to sight the buoy but by this point the current had picked up so much that I couldn't see a buoy because of the crashing water.  A lady next to me was doing the same thing and I asked, "can you see the buoy?".  She responded, "no!"  So I put my goggles back on and tried to swim the direction of the crowd.  It was so unnerving to swim without being able to sight the buoys at all. I just prayed that I would stay on course and wouldn't get pulled out of the race for missing a buoy.  I stopped a couple more times on that long stretch to take off my goggles and try to sight, without any success.  Finally I could see a big red buoy and knew I was still on course.

I love the feeling of touching the ground again after a long swim.  Running across the sand I could see a big timer that said 52 minutes.  I was disappointed but I didn't know at the time that it was the pro time and my time was 49 minutes, which is at least a little better but still slower than what I'd hoped for.  Although, perhaps my time was great for how far I went (I'm sure I went quite a bit further than 2km, since I couldn't sight at all.)

A quick rinse off in the shower and then I ran up the hill to my bike. I noticed the lady next to me spraying herself with sunscreen.  I thought, "oh crap I totally forgot to put sunscreen on at the aid station at the bottom of the hill!"  So I asked if I could use some and she said, "definitely, you have fair skin like me!"  Such a tender mercy that she was there because the little spot on my hand I missed spraying was badly burnt and that would have been my whole body if that lady hadn't been there.

The Bike (90 km)

An awkward part about this course is the bike start is on a steep uphill.  Tricky because it's hard to clip into pedals and get going on an uphill.  There were volunteers giving people 'push starts' so I took mine and off I went.  I decided not to wear a heart rate monitor this race and to go by perceived exertion.  So my plan was to keep it at about a 6 on a scale of 1-10, so that I could save my legs for the run.  This course is the difficult half of the Ironman World Championship Course.  It was constant hills and extremely windy.  I even saw a girl who had just gotten blown off her bike by the wind gusts.  When I looked ahead it seemed like everyone was riding at a 45 degree angle.  I plugged away at the hills, tried to stay in the right heart rate zone and I actually really enjoyed myself.  There were some highlights.

One was that as I was cycling along all of a sudden I saw someone coming the opposite direction (it's an out and back course.)  I looked closely and saw "Livestrong" on his gear and realized it was Lance!  So cool to be racing in the same race as him.  Then awhile later I heard the words, "hey Kimmy!", as Adam passed going the opposite direction.  I love racing with Adam, even though we don't technically race together, we are still a team of sorts.  One of my favorite racing moments was just after the turnaround at Hawi, there was a big, long downhill stretch coming back.  I didn't need any more water at that point so I passed by a bunch of people breaking at the aid station there and sprinted to pick up speed for the hill.  It was so fun flying down that hill for a few kms.

The winds kept picking up speed and were random and gusty, so I spent the second half of the race in what I'll call "half aero".  One hand resting in aero to stay low and the other on my handlebar to maintain control of the bike and be prepared for the gusts.  It worked well!  My nutrition was great.  I've learned from Cozumel.  I made sure I drank all of electrolyte drink this time (600 calories) and took two gels (200 calories).  I didn't need to worry about taking in as many calories/hr this race because I've been training my body to be metabolically efficient and use more fat for fuel.  Heading into the Fairmont resort there were lots of crowds cheering and I felt strong and ready to kill it on the run.

The Run (21 km)

Running is my strongest of the three sports, so I was excited to see what I could do.  I started at an easy pace because I knew if I went anaerobic too quickly then I would put myself at risk for GI distress.  So I kept it between a 5:00/km - 5:30/km pace for the first half an hour.  I had absolutely no issues and did not have to spend any time in the port o potty.  Hooray!!  Unfortunately I realized about a km into the race that I totally forgot my salt pills in my transition bag.  Dang it!  I hoped I would be ok without them, especially since I had kept my electrolytes so topped up on the bike and it was half the distance of the full in Cozumel.

The course was unique and beautiful as it weaved all around the golf course.  After a little while I started passing people quite a bit so I decided that to pass the time and to get my mind off the numbers on my watch I would count how many people I passed and try to get to 50.  I made it to 50 and thought, "hmmm....I wonder if I could make it to 100."  This little mental game continued through the race and helped me stay positive and keep a relaxed but fast pace until I passed almost 200 people.

I must say it felt amazing to be picking up my pace and passing so many on the hot, hilly little course.  I learned from Cozumel how much ice helps with keeping cool so at every aid station I grabbed 2-3 cups of ice.  One down the shorts and one down the sports bra and then I'd hold some in my hands and let some melt in my mouth.  I also made sure I got a few calories by drinking a cup of perform at each aid station and then I had a couple gels near the end of the race to give me a boost.

The last 6 kms or so of the course is infamous because it's an out and back on the black lava fields.  The out is downhill and the way back is uphill.  Me and Adam planned that this is where we would lay it all out there because everyone else would be struggling and slowing up.  So I picked up my pace and gave it everything I had.  I had been trying the whole race to work with the elements (the water, the wind, the ground).  With the wind at my back on this final uphill stretch I really allowed it to push me up that hill and felt like I was flying.  With the field being mostly men, I loved seeing a woman out there and I encouraged each female I passed to "finish strong, you're almost there."  To which a few responded, "holy crap, you're flying".  It felt amazing.

After cresting the hill, it was just one more mile through the golf course to the finish line.  I didn't have much in my tank at this point and this it where I had to dig into the mental reserves to keep my pace strong and finish this thing off.  It was tough on the little rollers and I kept looking at my watch and thinking, "aren't I there yet?"  Then I decided to stop looking at my watch and to just pass ten more people and by then I would be there.  So I passed ten but I wasn't there so I said to myself, "just pass ten more and I'm sure you'll be there."  So I started counting it down, "one, two, three...." then finally the finish line was in sight and I tried to muster up some sort of a sprint but from the finish line pictures it looks more to me like an awkward, gimpy, knock kneed kind of a run.

I pumped my fist in the air and a thrill went through me, as I knew that I had left it all out there on the course and was so proud of what I'd just done.  Adam was there for a big hug and he was like, "wow you did great?"   My time was 6:15 and he had finished in 5:25.  He thought I'd be coming in a bit later so he had just barely showed up at the finish line.  A little different experience from Cozumel where he waited for hours for me at the finish.  He said, "come here, I've got a spot in the shade for you."  I was teary as we walked over and felt so grateful for the race.  I've come to humbly realize that no race is guaranteed.  Even when you do all you can to prepare, there are always things out of your control.  This time there were difficult conditions with the choppy water, the wind, the hills and the heat but somehow it all worked for me this time.  I am grateful for that and do not take it for granted.

We went and sat in the shade next to two older men.  I rambled on and on about the details on the race to Adam and he shared details of his race.  The two men seemed like they were in a different zone, as they were both tired out and grieving a difficult bike and run.  I know how that feels too.

We both got a massage, ate a chicken burger and some chips, drank lots of water, showered off and then got front row seats for the awards ceremony where Lance Armstrong received his first place award.  He's a hero of mine and obviously of many others.  He got rushed by the crowd for pictures and autographs. It's constantly amazing to me to learn what the human body is capable of.  Lance Armstrong can go from excelling in cycling to excelling in triathlon within a matter of a couple of years.  I can go from having a hard time running 10 kms last year to now running a half marathon in 1 hour 55 minutes.  It's truly amazing.  
If you're reading this, then I hope you can imagine what you are capable of doing in the next few years and I encourage you to try it!!

Here's our numbers:

CONGRATULATIONS, KIM, ON YOUR FINISH!

Swim DetailsDivision Rank: 59

Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Div. Rank	Overall Rank	Gender Rank
Total	1.2 mi	49:56	49:56	2:35/100m	59	1171	360

Bike DetailsDivision Rank: 36

Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Div. Rank	Overall Rank	Gender Rank
4.8 mi	4.8 mi	15:26	1:11:26	18.66 mi/h
12.8 mi	8 mi	32:31	1:43:57	14.76 mi/h
30 mi	17.2 mi	1:11:31	2:55:28	14.43 mi/h
48 mi	18 mi	47:37	3:43:05	22.68 mi/h
56 mi	8 mi	33:46	4:16:51	14.22 mi/h
Total	56 mi	3:20:51	4:16:51	16.73 mi/h	36	977	249

Run DetailsDivision Rank: 27

Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Div. Rank	Overall Rank	Gender Rank
3.3 mi	3.3 mi	29:02	4:48:20	8:47/mi
7.2 mi	3.9 mi	38:55	5:27:15	9:58/mi
10 mi	2.8 mi	23:11	5:50:26	8:16/mi
13.1 mi	3.1 mi	24:09	6:14:35	7:47/mi
Total	13.1 mi	1:55:17	6:14:35	8:48/mi	27	683	165

Transition

T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE	6:04
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN	2:27

CONGRATULATIONS, ADAM, ON YOUR FINISH!

Swim DetailsDivision Rank: 68

Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Div. Rank	Overall Rank	Gender Rank
Total	1.2 mi	41:48	41:48	2:09/100m	68	751	529

Bike DetailsDivision Rank: 56

Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Div. Rank	Overall Rank	Gender Rank
4.8 mi	4.8 mi	16:08	1:04:00	17.85 mi/h
12.8 mi	8 mi	28:08	1:32:08	17.06 mi/h
30 mi	17.2 mi	57:52	2:30:00	17.83 mi/h
48 mi	18 mi	41:58	3:11:58	25.73 mi/h
56 mi	8 mi	28:39	3:40:37	16.75 mi/h
Total	56 mi	2:52:45	3:40:37	19.45 mi/h	56	461	372

Run DetailsDivision Rank: 34

Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Div. Rank	Overall Rank	Gender Rank
3.3 mi	3.3 mi	23:58	4:07:29	7:15/mi
7.2 mi	3.9 mi	33:08	4:40:37	8:29/mi
10 mi	2.8 mi	21:14	5:01:51	7:35/mi
13.1 mi	3.1 mi	22:35	5:24:26	7:17/mi
Total	13.1 mi	1:40:55	5:24:26	7:42/mi	34	269	218

Transition

T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE	6:04
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN	2:54