*Deep breath.*
i have so many mixed emotions about this past weekend. i signed up for IM wisconsin with the intention of returning to the place where i did my first IM. i was going to relive that magical day where i had fun and i discovered my love of long course racing four years ago. that race changed my life. thats not even a dramatic statement - it really and truly did. if i had never done that race, i would not have met mark and started that whole series of events that led to me moving to the east coast and starting over. that day will always be the day i started my new life.
the last few years haven't been easy. i was burnt out last year and considered taking a break but instead decided to go back to my roots and have a go at IMMOO again.
the good:
there were so many things changed this year. i have a new coach that i trust and that formulated a plan around my crazy work schedule and work stress and who stresses quality workouts over quantity. i met a man that changed my world and who has become not only an awesome partner but also a workout buddy, motivator, and supporter. i moved into my own little apartment that i LOVE. ive become closer with my girlfriends in DC and love the community and support system that we have.
the bad:
work has been hard. its been difficult the last couple of years and my stress level has been through the roof which carried over into all areas of life. i don't like to be angry or upset on a daily basis and i know this hasn't helped my personal life in the slightest. i hate feeling so frustrated and helpless where the only things i want to do are scream or break things. so instead, i cry. and that sucks. it sucks to have a workplace that is run by people that don't care about you and that tell you no one likes you and that acts like you are 100% replaceable. screw that.
the build to last weekend over the past 9 months has been typical. there are highs, there are lows... there are amazing breakthrough workouts and there are the workouts that you gut through, knowing each stroke or step is just another stalk of hay in the barn. there were days i slept in. there were days i got up at 3:00 in the morning just to get that long ride in before the craziness of the day started. we all do it to accomplish our goals. do i want to go to kona? hell yes i do. but that wasn't my focus this year. this year - and this race - i wanted to be happy and satisfied with my training and see if that translated into successful races. and overall, i think it did.
i was feeling pretty confident and relaxed leading into wisconsin. my run was coming around well and i was feeling so strong in the swim and very steady and consistent in the bike. the last 1-2 weeks leading into the race, i started noticing my legs were feeling tired, despite tapering and easier efforts in workouts. they felt like id been running a daily marathon. they were tight, i could barely touch my toes, and overall just sore. ive never felt like that except after a weekend of heavy training and by day 2 or 3 the feeling always goes away. regardless of what i did, my legs wouldn't cooperate and they continued to hurt. i stretched, i foam rolled, i took baths, i took vitamins/supplements, and tried to eat well and drink water consistently. i cut back on wine. i was doing nearly everything right. this is total TMI, but multiple days leading into the race, i noticed blood in my urine. should i have done something than benignly neglect this? maybe. in the few days before the race, i didn't see anything like that so i figured all was okay and my body was just working through something like a UTI though i wasn't showing any symptoms.
Brian and i set out from home early wednesday morning. we had a pretty good drive - listened to some murder podcasts and read a book. we arrived at my parents house and i went for a quick shake-out run while B worked on my bike. my legs were tight but my pace and HR were on point so i was happy with it. we met for dinner with all my family friends and had an amazing night catching up.
thursday morning, we met laurie at Lifetime and she was so generous to take us in as her guests. we did a quick 1600m swim followed by a few min in the hot tub. i was feeling really solid and strong swimming and was getting super excited to see how that would translate into an IM swim.
we headed straight up to madison and went to the expo to check-in. check-in on thursdays are GLORIOUS. there are no lines, check-in is a breeze and takes less than 10 minutes and then you are done and ready for the weekend. we hung out with matt and lauralee for a bit then headed out for a 50 min shake-out run. again, i felt so tight and my stride felt shortened, but pace and HR were so solid. nothing hurt per say, but it wasn't comfortable running - each step felt like work. it was going to be a mental run if this kept up, but i knew i could do it. hell, if i could muscle through the horror that was Placid last year, i could handle this minor (in comparison) discomfort.
we met up with beckie, ellen, matt, and LL for a pizza dinner and B and i headed home to settle in and have a chill night.
friday morning, ellen and i met up to find beckie in the arboretum - it was a fun, though short, stretch of tree lined asphalt through a nature preserve that i had no idea existed before that day. it was a nice change of pace from the open country roads that we would be riding that weekend.
following the ride, i headed back toward the terrace. i had scheduled myself a massage thinking that it might help ease the tight muscles and allow a more comfortable run 48 hours later. i ran into Bri walking around the capitol and i headed in for my massage. it was fine, nothing spectacular, and my massage therapist just wanted to talk about herself and her practice so i didn't quite get the relaxing experience i wanted and, unfortunately, it seemed to do nothing for my leg muscles.
brian and i set out to drive the bike course and it was mostly as i remembered it and i started to feel the little butterflies of excitement fluttering in my stomach. we finished just in the nick of time to pick up mollie from the airport. it was SO GOOD to see her! we had some lunch and hung out the rest of the day.
my parents arrived saturday morning. i did a quick bike and run and i was ready to roll. i wasn't thinking about how messed up my legs were - i only wanted to think about fun i would be having the following day. we dropped off bags and bike at transition. bless the human with the orange duct tape - it was SO windy and bikes were blowing all over the place so i used the tape to secure my saddle to the rack so that it *hopefully* wouldn't crash into Jacqui Giuliano and Marni Sumbal's bikes. yes, i heather prochnow, was racked in between two of the top elite amateur triathletes in the country.
WTF.
the five of us joined the BASE team for dinner at a nice restaurant and we headed home to get some much needed rest (for all of us). i gulped down a bottle of osmo preload. i love what it does, but i hate how it tastes!
RACE MORNING!
woke up at 3:45 am and felt ready to roll. it was a typical race morning and i had my sherpa crew ready to help with anything i needed. i had oatmeal with - in a shocking twist - crushed up peanut butter filled pretzels and maple syrup because i had no peanut butter. it was actually pretty good! another bottle of osmo preload in the tank and i was ready to get to the terrace. i crushed a can of redbull too - never try something new on race day they say. have i ever drank redbull the morning of a race? thats a no from me.
i dropped my bottles and nutrition off at my bike and unwrapped the bright orange tape from the saddle. we then met up with beckie, put on our wetsuits and walked down to transition. beckie and i bid farewell and i tried to get near the front of the line but i could only get as far as the 1:10 group... sigh. i stood with a girl and made small talk and with less than three minutes to go until the start, i put my goggles on my head and the goggle strap snapped.
the girl next to me gasped and her eyes got wide. i calmly tied the strap in a knot and put them back on my head, good as new! "you handled that really well!" she said. "if thats the worst thing that happens all day, then we are in for a great race," i said with a laugh. no big deal.
we inched toward the water and it was go time!
SWIM: 1:04:04
the first time i did this race, it was still a mass start. with the rolling start, unfortunately, it still felt a bit like a washing machine. it was windy and wavy, but i settled into a decent, potentially too comfortable, pace. i started counting buoys and almost laughed when i realized this was a fruitless cause because i had zero clue how many buoys were actually out there.
at the first turn, i lifted my head and let out a diminuitive "moo". i heard no other "moos" however, so i quickly put my head back down and settled into the task at hand.
the way back always takes forever. this time, it most definitely took longer than expected since i forgot how to swim in any semblance of a straight line. the field had considerably thinned out and i was having trouble seeing buoys. it felt like i was swimming directly into waves and started to feel a little seasick. "suck it up prochnow!", i told myself. the buoy color changed and i thought, "hell yea, we're almost done!" and then i realized that meant we were only halfway.
well... hell.
the second half seemed to go by faster. i started creatively drafting off a cluster of people in front of me and actually felt myself move faster. i jumped amongst a few people to draft off of and i suddenly saw the girl that i was standing next to when my goggles broke at the start of the swim. as i continued my drafting games, i saw her drift back and realized that drafting actually works!
i saw the arch and powered in, kicking and waking up the legs for the little jaunt up the helix to transition.
T1: 7:57
aka the strangest transition ive ever encountered in ironman. the wetsuit stripper took off my wetsuit and i jogged through the turnstile through the crowd of people, blindly looking for my family or any familiar faces. i heard my name a couple of times from Lawrence friends which was awesome! up the helix i went - its a very Tour de France meets Challenge Roth feel with the spectators crowded up on you cheering for their loved ones (and me!) I headed into the terrace and the ballroom to grab my bike bag. i sat down and looked at my watch - UGHHHHH slow swim!
there were a handful of girls around me which was the last thing i wanted to see - its not usually like this when i actually have a fast swim. my friend stephanie passed me - i know shes a really solid swimmer and knew i needed to get on my way and out to the bike. i put my helmet and sunglasses on, bike shoes in hand, and headed to my bike. the awesome volunteers had her waiting and i grabbed her, put my shoes on, and headed toward the helix.
UGHHHHHH slow transition!
BIKE: 5:56:57
i gripped my brakes as i creeped down the helix, not at all confident in those bike handling skills. once at the bottom, i got on the paved trail and was excited to get out and really get the day started. i could see stephanie up ahead - i love all her pink things! - and i cruised up next to her. we exchanged some "heys!" and "have a great days" and i passed her. power was still pretty low and HR was high so i worked on getting in some fluids and a bit of food for the next minute. all of a sudden, a bottle flew out of the rear cage (which NEVER happens). i was using the usual deer park disposable bottles, same as always, so i know that they work and *usually* stay put. it was still so early and i needed my infinite bottles, so i pulled over and retrieved it. stephanie re-passed me and i laughed like the weirdo i am.
with bottles back in cages and all my things on my person, i hopped back on and set out. i caught stephanie a minute or two later and settled into trying to drink and eat again. i then heard the now familiar sound of a bottle hitting the ground and couldn't believe the bottle had jumped out again. for the second time, i pulled over and ran back to grab the bottle and stephanie yelled, "quit causing trouble!" as she passed me again. "im sorry!" i laughed as i awkwardly jogged back to my bike. "third times the charm", i thought, and i returned to the bike - for real this time!
one last pass by steph (i really hoped it would be the last time) and we made our way to the "stick" of the lollipop course. at every little crack or bump in the road (and trust me, there are many on this course), i'd hold my breath and wait to see if the bottle was going to leave me again. it never did and eventually i relaxed and focused on riding, HR, and power. 30-45 minutes later, jacqui passed me and i picked up the pace ever so slightly to keep her in my sights. this proved to be an achieveable goal and i sat about 10-15 bike lengths behind her for miles.
it was then that the bottle from the other rear caged decided it had had enough and also wanted an adventure. it leapt out of the cage and my time riding behind jacqui ended as i stopped for a third time to retrieve the bottle and continue this comedy of errors which included having to run down a short hill as the bottle gained momentum and rolled away from me.
she was long gone by the time i was rolling again so i reset myself and focused on the metrics for awhile. i made sure i was taking in 1 bottle an hour (nicely shaken from the trips out of the cages) along with honey stinger chews in various flavors that i had stuffed into my bento box. i was long into the loop by this point and it was so interesting to ride the course. it had been years but ive ridden it many times so it was surprising, yet familiar. the ride up to mt horeb passed before i knew it. its amazing how your perspective changes when you train on hills - i remember it being so long and arduous. i could still picture certain points in the course and i was excited when i got to those areas that i recognized. the first trip up the three bitches was about as i remembered it and it was very cool to have the crowd support chasing us up each hill, complete with costumes, noise makers, music, and cheers.
it wasn't long before i was headed back to verona and special needs. i ate a few E.L.Fudge cookies, took a few swigs of coke (i have OFFICIALLY replaced mountain dew!) and switched out bottles, fingers crossed that this set of bottles would stay put!
the second loop was much like the first except after the three bitches, on a steep downhill descent ending in a sharp 90 degree left turn, i watched as a man flew by me in an aggressive aero position and for a brief moment, i thought to myself, "that position is so dangerous, there is no way he can make that turn at that speed". moments later, my unfortunate thought came to fruition. he attempted to turn but carried way too much momentum into the steep left turn and I watched in horror as his back wheel skidded out and he + bike went flying - head over wheel - into a yard. I braked and pulled over, afraid of what I would find. surprisingly, he was in one piece and bike seemed okay. he did a once over on himself and then bike and he said he was all right so I left him to get back on his bike and (hopefully) continue on.
the rest of the bike was unremarkable and I was eager to finish and start the run. cruised into T2, handed off my bike, and headed into the changing room to switch gears. i knew it was a slower than expected bike, id lost 5-10 minutes in all the stops, but oh well.
T2: 2:46
RUN: 4:01:32
this is where things took an slightly unexpected turn. I started to run and I realized I no longer had legs, but 2 cement pylons that had no business moving, let alone running. what the actual EFF. I was so excited coming into this race to have a solid run off the bike and instead, my body rebelled against me. each step was work, and each step was uncomfortable. I could run, yes. not fast though. and not pain free. my left butt cheek was cramped up but really, both legs were sucking. I started out at an optimistic 8:30-ish pace thinking that if I could maintain that, I could mentally keep going despite how bad my legs felt. aerobically, I was doing great - I was no where near zone 1 and barely breathing hard. the pace soon slowed and my spirit was crushed. I knew I couldn't let myself get too down or it would be a LONG 26.2 miles back to the finish line.
I looked for my family and Brian and Mollie. when I first saw Brian, I lamented how crappy I felt and he tried to encourage me. I tried to run faster and see how zone 1 felt, but I. JUST. COULDN'T. its like I had no control over the pace I was running - just your standard ironman shuffle with no get-up-and-go to my stride.
at mile 8 or so, I saw BASE for the first time - I whined to Lauralee about my butt and had volunteers to punch my butt which made me smile temporarily. it was uplifting to see my friends so often on course and I am thankful for the generally awesome crowd support that this race continues to have.
Lindsey corbin passed me on the trail just before I returned back to the BASE tent and she looked incredible. it was awesome to be racing with one of my idols and for her to be so close I could touch her (I held back from doing so because that would be weird) was surreal.
the run in general was a blur and at this point, I've blocked most of it from memory. it wasn't enjoyable, it was super uncomfortable and I was disappointed because fitness-wise, I had a good run in me. I wasn't going to be running 3:30, but i think I at least I had a sub 3:50 in there. almost breaking 4 hours with the way I felt was shocking. my average heartrate was well below zn1 - I wish I had been able to run like I KNOW I can.
as I approached the capital building and knew I had less than a mile to go, I took in the crowd. I looked at the spectators and smiled. I saw the red carpet stretched out and felt relief as I ran toward the finish arch.
Finish time: 11:13:16
I saw my family and Brian pretty quickly. I sat down and could hardly move my legs. ive never finished a race and felt so stiff. I could barely move! I was admittedly in a terrible mood when I finished. it was a long run, a disappointing run, and I wanted out of my kit and into some sweatpants as the sun was starting to go down. Brian and I went into the terrace to retrieve my stuff when I saw HER. Lindsey Corbin was talking to another girl right inside the doorway of where the transition bags were sitting. I said a polite "excuse me" as a I stepped around them to grab my stuff. Seconds later, transition bags in hand, Lindsey was still in the doorway and was about to walk out as I walked out.
Then - I threw caution to the wind and I SPOKE TO HER.
"... um, hey... Lindsey? You had a great race, congratulations on your day today!"
Starstruck.
THEN SHE SPOKE BACK TO ME.
"you look like you had a great day too! did you have fun out there?"
OMG.
we exchanged a few more sentences and there some something about post race beers and then i watched her walk away. she walked past brian who was looking down at his phone and i hissed at him, "did you see me talking to lindsey corbin?"
he had not, in fact, seen me talking to lindsey corbin. sigh.
we picked up my bike and walked/shuffled back to the airbnb. i showered and enjoyed the post-race shower feels (its so poetically beautiful to shower after an ironman - the feel of water on your tired, dehydrated skin is magnificent as your skin just soaks up the moisture like a sad flower in parched dirt) and attempted a beer and some snacks with the family.
we all parted ways the next morning and brian and i stopped at the liqour/beer store to pick up a case of spotted cow and some goodies for me to drink on the way home.
the end of the season always seems anti-climactic to me. i always question if i should throw another race on the schedule and usually end up deciding to just enjoy the off-season. which is what i did.
and what an off season it was!
looking back on the day though - i was consistent at least. i didn't really hit the numbers i wanted to reach on the bike, and i definitely didn't have the run i was hoping for - but i was consistent and kept my head up when things started to get dark. i mentally got through that run at a pace that is respectable to me and it was my second fastest IM marathon to date (my first being my very first IM 4 years prior and 4 minutes faster). its getting there though. i have the puzzle pieces and with each race, im starting to figure out where the pieces fit together.
until next time, my -3 followers. i resolve to be better in 2019. well... maybe better in the second half of 2019 ...
