I have been reflecting on and reliving our trip to Las Vegas, NV for the past couple of weeks, wondering how I should summarize the experience of Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Many words come to mind ranging from overwhelming, to fear stricken, frustrating, inspiring, happy, and of course, hot! Because these words vary so much in their range of meaning and emotion, I decided to make this summary be broken down into a couple of chapters, describing the race from my eyes, thoughts and emotions.
Overwhelming:
We arrived in Vegas Friday morning. It was easy to pick out people who came to town for the race rather than gambling and show seekers. For one, many toted large bike boxes and aero helmets dangling from the carry-on bag. Aside from their super-fit physique, the guys had smooth, shaved legs and very defined calves. We hopped on the bus to take us to our rental car. Another athlete sat down across from us. We learned that she was here from Brazil, doing the 1/2 World Championships for the 1st time, but raced the Full Ironman Worlds in Kona last year. She was incredibly nice and of course, fit and beautiful.
Dave and I located our rental car and laughed - a black mustang 2-door convertible with black leather seats. The agent informed us we could trade it for any car on the same aisle, so we waivered between this car and a Subaru I spotted a few spots down. We settled on the mustang, thinking it might be fun to cruise through Zion National Park the days following the race with the top down (Zion was the second phase of our adventure -after the race, we added on a couple of days so we could truly experience a vacation together without the kids - we had not been away from Hayden, age 4 1/2, for more than a night since she was born. Plus, it was our 10 year anniversary that week!)
We exited the airport and drove out to the Ravella at Lake Las Vegas, the host hotel (as well as starting point and T1 for the race) to check in before making our way to the pre-race expo at .T2 - confusing, yes, but we soon learned that everything in Vegas, although separated by miles, is not really too far away from everything else - and advantage of building a city in the desert where trees don't get in the way of construction! As we neared the resort, we became increasingly aware of cyclists flying by us in both directions. I did not see one bike that didn't have Zipp type disk wheels, nor one athlete without an aero helmet on. Many of the bikes looked like they came straight out of the ads in Triathlete magazine (which means, they cost big $$!). Just as we were pulling into the resort, a girl flew by us running, honestly probably going a 5 minute mile pace. She wore a sponsored sports bra and tiny little tri shorts - a guy followed her on a bike, chatting with her as she ran - my guess was that he was a coach, spouse, or friend. 2 days before a big race, I could never run that fast... actually, let me rephrase... even during a race, I could never run that fast!
After quickly getting checked in, we hopped back in the car and drove the 10 or so miles to T2, the pre-race expo and athlete check-in headquarters. If I wasn't overwhelmed before, my wide eyes gawked at the specimens I saw running around the expo. Thank goodness as soon as we found a parking spot and entered the expo grounds, Laura Sophia, and amazing triathlete whom I had met and raced with back in Georgia spotted us. Laura has raced, and won her age group in Kona as well as 70.3 Worlds, well over 20 times over the past 2 decades. She pointed us to where I would find my bike at Tri Bike Transport (I had it shipped out there) as well as check in. Attempting to sleep on the plane using Dave's shoulder for a pillow as well as sitting for hours - the low riding mustang didn't help - was playing havic with my forward rotated shoulder and achy hip. Fortunate for me, a team of chiropractors were on site, offerring a little ART (Active Release Technique) so I clmbed on a table and let the DC do her stuff. She was friendly, helpful and really good. She dug in just enough to release my pec minor and quickly determined that while my psoas was flaring its nasty head, my abdominals on the right side were screaming as well. A couple of deep breaths, some pin and stretch, then a bit of pinning with active movement made the hip not only tolerable, but encouraged me enough to think I might actually make it through this race without pain. I also stopped by the KT Tape tent and let the guys tape up my Achilles/calf (in hot pink tape! - can you say Stylin?). I had never tried taping before, but between wearing a compression sleeve a couple of times over the summer while bike/running bricks which seemed to decrease calf straining during the activity, and seeing almost every other athlete in the Olympics the month before sporting one color of tape or another, I thought I would give it a try - if it bothered me during tomorrow's warm up swim/bike/run, I could just peel it off.
Oh, side note - remember the flashy black mustang convertible? There was absolutely no way my little bike would fit in the trunk or back seat, so we took a quick trip back to the airport and traded it out for a White Ford Escape. Color, as I learned quickly in the desert, makes a Huge difference in terms of temperature in a car!
We left the expo and headed back to our hotel, again passing super-human athletes blazing up and down the road on bikes. I kept trying to calm my nerves - usually nerves don't start to get the better of me until the night before the race, but this time, the tight feeling in my chest and throat started wayyyy earlier. We were supposed to attend an athlete dinner and manditory meeting Friday night, but my nerves just couldn't calm down enough to want to be surrounded by other athletes. Plus, I didn't really want to pay $30 for Dave to eat whatever they were serving. We drove to a P.F. Changs - yum! One of my favorite restaurants that unfortunately, the southside of Atlanta does not have. I had a sinking feeling I was supposed to be at the "mandatory" meeting, so both Dave and I texted our friends, AJ Petrillo and Dan Arnett - Dan is the founder and head coach for Endurance Concepts so we had met quite a few times back in Atlanta. I should have guessed immediately that these guys would play games with my crazy emotions - boy did they have a good laugh imagining my reaction when they replied that the meeting was indeed mandatory and they were taking roll! Yes, I pretty much almost broke down in tears until Dan's final comment lead me to realize he was having fun pulling my leg. Thanks Dan - I owe you one!
I met Dan and a couple of Endurance Concepts racers at 7am Saturday morning to test out the waters of Lake Las Vegas. The lake was more of a giant mud pit than a lake, but getting in the water and loosening up greatly calmed my nerves. After the swim, I hopped on my bike and took her on a 45 min ride, testing all the gears up and down hills and getting a lay of the land for the first couple of miles of the bike course. No issues to report of, so a little jog back to our room and we were set to play for a couple of hours before having to drop a bag off at T2 (my running shoes and extra food for the run) and leave my bike for the night in T1.
Dave and I took the scenic drive out into Lake Mead National Park, stopping for pictures at the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (the bike course followed a road that lead away from the Dam but was in the same general area-okay, we missed a turn and accidently ended up over by the Hoover Dam, but it sounds better if we pretend it was planned, after all this is vacation time!). After only a couple of miles, I dubbed the park "The Furnace" - we started placing bets as to how high the temperature outside with get...it kept climbing up to 110! This was the bike course for tomorrow - gulp! The pictures just didn't do justice to the long hills and sun beating down. This was definitely going to be an adventure of strength and mental toughness!
After dropping my T2 bag off, my bike at T1, it was time again to eat. The nerves were starting to kick back in so we opted for dinner at an Olive Garden further away from race headquarters (and all the superhuman athletes) - and I was craving their salad and breadsticks! Yum! Even there, at a restaurant filled to capacity with locals, we stopped a couple of guys with shaved legs! Wonder what "normal" people think of us?
Okay, enought of the pre-race prep. Off to bed... the morning is going to come early (not that I was going to sleep - for the 3rd night in a row!). Time to make memories.
Overwhelming:
We arrived in Vegas Friday morning. It was easy to pick out people who came to town for the race rather than gambling and show seekers. For one, many toted large bike boxes and aero helmets dangling from the carry-on bag. Aside from their super-fit physique, the guys had smooth, shaved legs and very defined calves. We hopped on the bus to take us to our rental car. Another athlete sat down across from us. We learned that she was here from Brazil, doing the 1/2 World Championships for the 1st time, but raced the Full Ironman Worlds in Kona last year. She was incredibly nice and of course, fit and beautiful.
Dave and I located our rental car and laughed - a black mustang 2-door convertible with black leather seats. The agent informed us we could trade it for any car on the same aisle, so we waivered between this car and a Subaru I spotted a few spots down. We settled on the mustang, thinking it might be fun to cruise through Zion National Park the days following the race with the top down (Zion was the second phase of our adventure -after the race, we added on a couple of days so we could truly experience a vacation together without the kids - we had not been away from Hayden, age 4 1/2, for more than a night since she was born. Plus, it was our 10 year anniversary that week!)
We exited the airport and drove out to the Ravella at Lake Las Vegas, the host hotel (as well as starting point and T1 for the race) to check in before making our way to the pre-race expo at .T2 - confusing, yes, but we soon learned that everything in Vegas, although separated by miles, is not really too far away from everything else - and advantage of building a city in the desert where trees don't get in the way of construction! As we neared the resort, we became increasingly aware of cyclists flying by us in both directions. I did not see one bike that didn't have Zipp type disk wheels, nor one athlete without an aero helmet on. Many of the bikes looked like they came straight out of the ads in Triathlete magazine (which means, they cost big $$!). Just as we were pulling into the resort, a girl flew by us running, honestly probably going a 5 minute mile pace. She wore a sponsored sports bra and tiny little tri shorts - a guy followed her on a bike, chatting with her as she ran - my guess was that he was a coach, spouse, or friend. 2 days before a big race, I could never run that fast... actually, let me rephrase... even during a race, I could never run that fast!
After quickly getting checked in, we hopped back in the car and drove the 10 or so miles to T2, the pre-race expo and athlete check-in headquarters. If I wasn't overwhelmed before, my wide eyes gawked at the specimens I saw running around the expo. Thank goodness as soon as we found a parking spot and entered the expo grounds, Laura Sophia, and amazing triathlete whom I had met and raced with back in Georgia spotted us. Laura has raced, and won her age group in Kona as well as 70.3 Worlds, well over 20 times over the past 2 decades. She pointed us to where I would find my bike at Tri Bike Transport (I had it shipped out there) as well as check in. Attempting to sleep on the plane using Dave's shoulder for a pillow as well as sitting for hours - the low riding mustang didn't help - was playing havic with my forward rotated shoulder and achy hip. Fortunate for me, a team of chiropractors were on site, offerring a little ART (Active Release Technique) so I clmbed on a table and let the DC do her stuff. She was friendly, helpful and really good. She dug in just enough to release my pec minor and quickly determined that while my psoas was flaring its nasty head, my abdominals on the right side were screaming as well. A couple of deep breaths, some pin and stretch, then a bit of pinning with active movement made the hip not only tolerable, but encouraged me enough to think I might actually make it through this race without pain. I also stopped by the KT Tape tent and let the guys tape up my Achilles/calf (in hot pink tape! - can you say Stylin?). I had never tried taping before, but between wearing a compression sleeve a couple of times over the summer while bike/running bricks which seemed to decrease calf straining during the activity, and seeing almost every other athlete in the Olympics the month before sporting one color of tape or another, I thought I would give it a try - if it bothered me during tomorrow's warm up swim/bike/run, I could just peel it off.
Oh, side note - remember the flashy black mustang convertible? There was absolutely no way my little bike would fit in the trunk or back seat, so we took a quick trip back to the airport and traded it out for a White Ford Escape. Color, as I learned quickly in the desert, makes a Huge difference in terms of temperature in a car!
We left the expo and headed back to our hotel, again passing super-human athletes blazing up and down the road on bikes. I kept trying to calm my nerves - usually nerves don't start to get the better of me until the night before the race, but this time, the tight feeling in my chest and throat started wayyyy earlier. We were supposed to attend an athlete dinner and manditory meeting Friday night, but my nerves just couldn't calm down enough to want to be surrounded by other athletes. Plus, I didn't really want to pay $30 for Dave to eat whatever they were serving. We drove to a P.F. Changs - yum! One of my favorite restaurants that unfortunately, the southside of Atlanta does not have. I had a sinking feeling I was supposed to be at the "mandatory" meeting, so both Dave and I texted our friends, AJ Petrillo and Dan Arnett - Dan is the founder and head coach for Endurance Concepts so we had met quite a few times back in Atlanta. I should have guessed immediately that these guys would play games with my crazy emotions - boy did they have a good laugh imagining my reaction when they replied that the meeting was indeed mandatory and they were taking roll! Yes, I pretty much almost broke down in tears until Dan's final comment lead me to realize he was having fun pulling my leg. Thanks Dan - I owe you one!
I met Dan and a couple of Endurance Concepts racers at 7am Saturday morning to test out the waters of Lake Las Vegas. The lake was more of a giant mud pit than a lake, but getting in the water and loosening up greatly calmed my nerves. After the swim, I hopped on my bike and took her on a 45 min ride, testing all the gears up and down hills and getting a lay of the land for the first couple of miles of the bike course. No issues to report of, so a little jog back to our room and we were set to play for a couple of hours before having to drop a bag off at T2 (my running shoes and extra food for the run) and leave my bike for the night in T1.
Dave and I took the scenic drive out into Lake Mead National Park, stopping for pictures at the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (the bike course followed a road that lead away from the Dam but was in the same general area-okay, we missed a turn and accidently ended up over by the Hoover Dam, but it sounds better if we pretend it was planned, after all this is vacation time!). After only a couple of miles, I dubbed the park "The Furnace" - we started placing bets as to how high the temperature outside with get...it kept climbing up to 110! This was the bike course for tomorrow - gulp! The pictures just didn't do justice to the long hills and sun beating down. This was definitely going to be an adventure of strength and mental toughness!
After dropping my T2 bag off, my bike at T1, it was time again to eat. The nerves were starting to kick back in so we opted for dinner at an Olive Garden further away from race headquarters (and all the superhuman athletes) - and I was craving their salad and breadsticks! Yum! Even there, at a restaurant filled to capacity with locals, we stopped a couple of guys with shaved legs! Wonder what "normal" people think of us?
Okay, enought of the pre-race prep. Off to bed... the morning is going to come early (not that I was going to sleep - for the 3rd night in a row!). Time to make memories.
I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of your adventure.
ReplyDelete