This past weekend was Ironman Muskoka 70.3 at Deerhurst Resort. The weather was just incredible and as usually Mitch and Janet Fraser along with the Race committee and volunteers did a fabulous job.I also want to congratulate all of the competitors on their successes especially those first timers who conquered an extremely challenging course. Sara and Rob you guys rock! It amazes me that you are able to do so well while raising your family. Congrats!
Evan, I want you to know you are awesome. Dispite an injury you proved yourself once again. There is no such thing as quitting! It may not have been the "A" Race you were hoping for, but nonetheless you pushed through. I Love you
Steve, you made me so proud. Imagine how far you have come. Completing your first half ironman after only a few short months (and with 3 flats)! Your hard work and dedication has paid off! CONGRATULATONS!!!!!
As for me, I may not have felt the best throughout the race but I am quite pleased. Here is my race report!
The Swim:
I entered the water fully relaxed and ready to go. I started on the inside along with a group of male swimmers. For the first time ever, I wasn't anxious entering the water. It was just another swim in my mind. I excited the water in 35 minutes which is good, though I am confident that if I worked a little harder I could easily knock some signifanct time off.
The Bike:
I entered this race with the desire to do 1 thing. Conquer the bike. I wanted to average 30km/h for the 94km and nothing more. At the 90km mark, I was able to give myself a smile of satisfation as my time was 2:57:00! I knew I had it. Very excited, I continued to climb the last series of hills still pushing my ability, but at the same time preparing for the run that was about to come. My final average: 30.6km/h! SWEET!
The Run:
Okay, so this is where things change. I started the run worried whether my left hamstring was going to hold up or not. I have been getting quite a bit of acupuncture over the past month, along with a couple of physio, massage and chiropractic appoinments weekly. I left transition area knowing that if I was able to average 6min km I would still beat my time from last year, so all I had to do was keep moving. About 2min into the run, I began to get my first stitch. As per usual, I stopped and the porta potty for a quick pee and then was off again. The stitch went. I continued to run averaging about 5min/km (Thanks to Steve I had a Garmin and was able to see my time after each km - A great new experience for me) The first half of the course was mostly up hill which was not the easiest for me since I haven't ran hills since last year. About 8km into the run I knew I was in trouble. My hamstring was killing me, along with my achilles. Wow...the pain was constant and sharp. I started to walk up a hill. I glanced down at the garming and saw 11m/km. CRAZY, I thought! I couldn't walk....I'd never beat last year. I took a deep breath and began to run again.
Luckily I found some great people to run and chat with along the way. It helped not to focus on the pain. With about 5km left in the run, I was forced to walk again. My hamstring was still aching. But now my hip flexor was killing me - I guess from the overcompensation for the Hamstring. I walked through the next aid station trying to regain my focus. I took 4 magnesium phosphoricium balls along with some pepsi and a couple of pretzels hoping that the tightness would subside just long enough for me to finish. I took my chances and pushed to finish. I knew that once I hit the last 2km the spectators would become my motivation and push me to finish the last hills. That's exactly what happened. I kept running, marking the kms off 1 by 1 until finally it was over. I managed a PB half marathon!
OVERVIEW
I knocked 21 minutes off of my time from last years race so I definitely have no regrets from the race whatsoever. The pain I experienced in my hamstring/hip flexor/achilles frustrates me only because I know that it was somewhat preventable. By this I mean, as an athlete it is my responsibilty to stretch and recover and unfortunately I am very weak in these aspects. It's ok though to be frustrated, I think, as long as we take the frustration and learn from it. I have. I have now taken on a personal trainer to work on my stretching and flexibility twice
a week. I will be ready for Florida!RESULTS
5:40:26
8/46 in the 25-29 age group
362/1335 total athletes (male and female)
That's all for now!
Cheers,
Dee
