Ironman Mont-Tremblant - The Run

Pre Race and Swim here.
Bike here.

As I entered transition, I took my feet out of my bike shoes, dismounted my bike, gave it to a lovely volunteer, and feared the worst. Coach had told me those first few steps after getting off the bike were like nothing you've ever felt before. Well, my feet were sore, and I was running a bit knock-kneed, but right away, I realized I felt really fine. Really OK. Almost great. Perhaps it was the adrenaline of getting off the bike and finally making it to the run, but I ran to the changing tent with a smile and was determined to keep the smile on my face for the next 26.2 miles.

T2
2:26

I grabbed my bag from a volunteer, and knew this transition was simple. I emptied my back pocket of my arm warmers and trash from the bike, changed socks and put on my shoes while I asked the volunteer to spray my back with sunscreen (irony: it rained.). I had my gels (just in case they didn't have what I wanted/needed on the course), plus aleve, tums and some Imodium in a small plastic bag that I stuffed in my back pocket, I grabbed my Garmin and a small water bottle and was off

RUN
4:19:02 23/AG
(2:07 first loop, 2:12 second loop)  9:54 pace

Right away, I fixed my ponytail, adjusted my visor and knew I needed to pee (yes, AGAIN). I wasn't haven't any stomach distress, and I didn't feel sloshy, but I just need to pee. The first few sets of porta potties I ran past had lines of people waiting, and my need wasn't urgent (yet!) so I decided to find my legs and stop in a few kms when hopefully there would be no lines. You exit transition, make a left, and right away are confronted with a climb. I focused on keeping my steps small and my knees high, didn't pay attention to pace, and knowing when I crested the hill I would see the Terrier cheering squad and my parents kept me moving forward. It was the best sight all day; I totally forgot about the weird feeling in my legs and I threw high-5s and loved every second of their cheers.

I turned the corner, saw more lines for bathrooms, grabbed a gel and kept focusing on small quick steps. My garmin finally picked up satellite and I was holding just about 9:30 pace. I felt GREAT, totally within myself and thought back to the course and how I had broken it up in my race plan. I finally found a porta-potty that was open, quickly jumped in and out and focused on getting through the first 5k and to the gravel path out and back.

The run is a huge blur in my mind, it seemed to fly by with very few low moments. I remember specific moments and people. I have tried to capture the run below, but these thoughts are not in any particular order - they are just my memory of the day as it progressed.

• I know I ran with a little guy in all black for most of 5k-10k, and we traded off taking the lead and keeping pace. Every time he took the lead he would push the pace from mid 9's down to about 8:30s, which still felt totally comfortable and I REALLY wanted to let it go, but I was scared to push my luck and I would reign myself in.

• I remember crossing the timing mat just before 10k, pressing lap and seeing it under an hour and being SO HAPPY that everyone tracking would know I was OK, that I was DOING IT! I wished they could see the smile on my face [come to find out later the splits weren't coming and people were really worried about me...oops! ha]

• I remember being a little frustrated that there were SO MANY aid stations (ha). My plan was to walk every other aid station, but there were so many and they weren't spread out evenly and not all them had gels and coke, so I tried just to not walk THAT much. I didn't want to be a slave to my watch and the miles/time that had passed, so I decided to just wing it.

• I have no memory of what I ate. I know I thad at least 3-4 honey stinger gels (maybe more?) and at the end I started grabbing orange slices and I had a few Honey Stinger Chomps that were SO GOOD at mile 22. I also grabbed a cup of chicken soup around mile 20 and threw it back like I was water and it splashed all over my face and chest and I just laughed at myself.

•  I remember taking Aleve and a salt tab somewhere around mile 10 and my stomach cramping immediately and feeling really nauseous and thinking "Well, there goes my day" with visions of the horrible cramps I got in Clearwater in my mind. I took a moment to walk and take some deep breaths, and focused on getting to the next aid station to take a gel.

•  One of the best feelings all day was cresting a nasty little climb just before going back through town, seeing my family and especially my mom again, and allowing myself to talk and say hi and give her a hug before she sent me back on my way.

• There was another group of Terriers and some of my best girls cheering just up the hill and I saw Dan and he looked SO HAPPY. I was so happy he was having fun and just wanted to walk and talk to him. He kept on yelling at me to keep going, that I was doing so good. It was just about 1 km through town and back to this section of the course, so I focused on just getting back to them again. 

•  Running through town was INCREDIBLE. I went through halfway just as some of the female pros were finishing, so the crowds were HUGE and CRAZY and when I turned off to start my 2nd loop they cheered for me just as much as those finishing. It was awesome and a huge energy boost.

• I saw 2:07 at halfway. "Oh geez, I still feel OK, and I am DOING THIS!! Oh god, I have 13 more miles?!" I decided I would walk up the hill out of town again and chat with Dan. I had actually told him before "Listen, I am going to walk up this hill when I come back to talk to you, so please don't yell at me to run!" Again, how excited he was made me excited, and he finally said the words I was trying to keep out of my head "Babe, you're gonna go sub 12!!" I told him to stop, not to jinx it, and I just needed to keep moving forward.

•  From 'hot corner' back to the gravel path I did not walk. I put my head down, stared at the blue line, didn't look at my pace and just focused on getting through the hills. 

• Thing started to hurt - not cardio wise, and not mentally, but my feet hurt and my right hip flexor, which started bothering me about a week before the race, was really tight. I found a little group that was running the perfect pace and tucked in behind them. I continued to walk some aid stations, taking in coke and gels.

• The first time I looked at my total distance on my garmin it said 19 miles. I was 2.5 miles past my longest run this year. I was really glad it took me that long to look, because 7 miles left felt really doable at the pace I was running.

• I was so happy when I saw sign for 32k. Only 10k left. I liked the course being marked in kms. It gave me something to do in my head and also seemed to go by a lot faster.

• I started running with a sweet French speaking older man. He asked if I was on my second loop, I said yes. He asked if this was my first Ironman, I said yes. He was the second person of the day to say the words "You're going to break 12." We had 8k left and it was 6pm. 12 minute miles to the finish. I finally let myself believe. He tried to pull me along, but I felt like I was holding him back so I told him to go - I passed him back about 1km down the road and he cheered me on.

• I remember walking an aid station to take some coke somewhere in the early 20s and finding it really really hard to start running again. I decided, that was it, no more walking except for some of the hills towards the end.

• Off the gravel path, I thought "I can do anything for a 5k" And I did. I again focused on the blue line, picking people off and getting to the finish line.

• With about 3k to go, the skies OPENED. It was pouring, there was thunder, and all I could do was smile. 

• I looked at my watch with about 2k to go and started to hyperventalite I was so happy. No. Not yet. You're not done yet.

• I walked the last little climb into town, picked it up through special needs, and was running pretty much alone. I heard a 'Sarah!' and looked up and say my dad waving from the awning in front of the Westin. I waved and then really started to lose it.

About 800m left in the pouring rain. 

• I vaguely remember running through town to the finish line. The atmosphere was so amazing and I knew I was ugly crying but I just didn't care. I was trying to keep it together and pretty much sobbing at the same time. I don't remember hearing my name, or really even seeing the finish line. I walked across the line (why did I do that?), watched the clock turn from 11:51:59 to 11:52:00 and was just in utter shock that I was done.

If I could have sat down right there, I would have.

Proof that RUNNING through the finish line would have in fact, been a good idea.

DONE!

 
Volunteers pretty much attacked me as I crossed, I was shivering pretty badly, sobbing and couldn't really catch my breath, and they said my lips were blue. I wanted to just sit down for a second but they made me keep walking and yelling in my face about being ok, blue lips, cold, rain, it was all a blur. Then I heard my mom and ran over and gave her one of the best, most satisfying hugs of my life. I then saw Dan and I said 'I did it!' and we hugged and then the volunteers continuing to pull on me.

I assured them I was OK as I was finally able to take deep breaths again, and was ushered to the finisher's area/food tent. It was still raining pretty hard, and I saw a teammate and finally SAT DOWN.

2012 Ironman Mont-Tremblant

11:52:01

I was happy to look at my Garmin file and see for most the run (save a bathroom stop at Mile 1.5, a stop for a hug about mile 12 - I also think I was having some satellite issues Miles 18-21ish bc nothing was happening there and I was clearly not running 6minute miles)  I kept my walk breaks fairly consistently spaced without being a slave to my Garmin. Based on the time of my two loops, I really think I was running about the same pace the entire way, but as I got closer to the end I started walking the hills a bit more.

It's back to real life for me as I head off on a work trip tomorrow. I wanted to get all the details about the swim/bike/run down before they started to blur. I have so much more to say about the race, the town, the experience, but I'm going to take a few days, or more, to let it all sink in and really pull my thoughts together.