(not) Leaving Las Vegas

It is Interbike week, and I again find myself in Vegas, wanting to escape. I went for my first run since IMWI this morning, and it was a beautiful experience and one that makes me actually look forward to visiting Vegas. Interesting because I always find the best part of Vegas is LEAVING Las Vegas. No, I am not a big fan of the strip, Vegas shows, gambling (losing) money I don’t have, all you can eat buffets, or escort services (for the record, I’ve never experienced said services, though I’m frightened enough by what I see on the postcards littering the sidewalks). But I am a HUGE fan of Red Rock Canyon. Not exactly Vegas, but I’ll give Vegas partial credit none-the-less. As a generally positive person, I like to see the glass half full, and my Vegas glass is filled almost entirely by RRC, though I’ll give a percentage or two to the weather for good measure. 2 days down, 5 to go…

IMWI Recap

Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right. (Henry Ford)

I’m going to try and keep this short because I still haven’t managed to get my head around my race this past weekend. It was a bittersweet experience: the highs were getting a 2011 Kona spot, pushing myself through a very rough final 10 miles of the run, and watching teammates and friends have great races. The low was coming into the race in better shape and on a perfect day I was still 6 minutes slower than last year. I had expected a 9:30-9:40 but fell well short with a 9:55. But so it goes…

Swim

Very uneventful, and aside from a few calf cramps during the 2nd loop, I was happy enough to get out in 1:05. It was a few minutes slower than planned, but I have NO internal speed gauge, and the goal was to keep it easy. Perhaps I kept it a bit too easy, but I wasn’t going to stress out over a few minutes.

Bike

I struggled with massive stomach cramps for the first hour but I kept reminding myself it was a long day and things could only get better. I quickly threw my pacing plans out the window and decided to go easy for the first lap and stay on top of nutrition: essentially, the opposite of my IMCDA experience. I kept the watts low and steady and didn’t look at any averages until half way through, and was a bit surprised to see 2:39. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and fast forward through a 2:34 2nd lap and I was back at T2, feeling better than I ever have coming off the bike. No cramps, no doubts, no negative thoughts…ready for a great run.

Run

The spectators on the IMWI run course are amazing, and the support from Mary and the WI Multisport crew were the best! The plan was to go easy through 13 then pick it up. I came through 13.1 in 1:35 and was still feeling great, and thought my elusive sub-3:15 would finally be in reach. But mile 16 came and things took a downward turn...quickly. Suddenly I was facing 10 miles of what was sure to become a pretty ugly situation, and I spent the next 8 miles just focusing solely on moving.

Surprisingly, only Craig (from my AG, at least) passed as I plodded along from 16-24, and then came the pass I feared, and it happened quickly. I figured he was either flying or trying to mentally break me, and I had no idea who the guy was or where I was on the road. My stubbornness and determination immediately kicked in, and I told myself there was no way I was going to let someone pass and possibly get the final Kona spot this close to the finish. I kicked and stayed on his heels for about a half mile, then kicked again hard and kept it up until the finish. It might possibly have been the most painful 1.5 miles I’ve ever run in an Ironman. Only afterwards did I realize I didn’t need to push it as hard as I did, but it was still worth it: a mental victory I will be able to take with me to my next race. I rarely have moments in an Ironman where I really feel like I'm racing someone else, and I always really enjoy it. This is good, because I have the privilege of doing it again in 3 weeks in Hawaii. Until then…