I never realized how much I raced until now, and I never realized how much I trained until now which has made think there isn’t much to report on. I do have things to report on though. I had a great day on Saturday which included volunteering at the Paris Mtn. Trail Run, and then followed up with a drop in on Regina. She said we were going to have to start our own club b/c we are pitiful, and I have to say on some days I agree. Every athlete has been through an injury at some point and time, it’s just trying to remind yourself it’s not the end of the world and there is life outside of training and triathlons . . .really I promise!
Regina’s update includes a frozen shoulder on top of the plate in her elbow healing so quickly it was locked in place. You can only imagine how great her physical therapy goes on a daily basis. She’s hanging in there like a trooper though and has been given the go ahead to get back on the trainer, which was a milestone in itself. We did reminisce about Austria and laugh about a few things I promised not to repeat. The day was definitely made better by Regina commiserating with me for a while. Forrest even managed to appear for a little while after his 3 hour ride.
One thing is official, and that is that the “swim gods” have not wanted me to swim. The past 3 times I have tried to swim I have been denied for some reason or another, so Ashley Long informed me that if she were me, she would start listening to the swim gods and hit the couch instead. She says that, but I know she would keep trying to defy them anyway.
On another subject, I have set a date for surgery and it is August 29th @11:15, woohoo! Maybe now I can try to focus on recovery and have some kind of end in sight to think about. The surgery is an overnight stay, but I am sure it will go off without a hitch. Regina and I even talked about setting our “joint” goal as Myrtle Beach for our next race to focus on. I hadn’t wanted to do the race before now, but I think the timing will be perfect and a way to gradually get back into shape. I won’t have any pressure to get back too soon and can hopefully be in shape enough to give good old Boston another shot.
One more thing, if you read below you will see I have posted an IM Austria Race Report. I thought it would be nice to have another persons perspective on how IM Austria went on race day. Susan Dupont was nice enough to let me post it so I hope you enjoy!
Susan’s IM Austria Race Report
IM Austria Race Report: The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Thunder
Sunday, July 13, 2008. We must look like those clowns that pack themselves into a teeny tiny car is my first thought as Forrest, Regina, Jeff, Nicole, and myself wedge ourselves into the European rental car that Nicole has so graciously rented for the trip. The utter hilarity of five grown adults each carrying massive transition backpacks at four thirty in the morning fitting into an Volkswagen Beetle sized car can only mean one thing….we’re doing an Ironman!
Fast forward fifteen minutes to the race site.
Riding with Nicole is like going down a winding staircase at 55mph. The IM would be a piece of cake after riding with her. She drives like a stockcar racer, but she got us where we needed to be and without me puking into a barf bag (that’s another story). As our slapstick comedy routine literally tumbles out of the car, I am greeted with my first good omen of the day: a dog! Not just any ole’ dog, but a genuine Australian cattle dog. And she is only about 20 feet away. For those that know me, there are a couple superstitions that I have before race day. The biggest one is the petting of the dog. Any dog will do, but cool dogs that have personality are the best. And I had stumbled upon one of the coolest breeds out there. Luckily for me, the owners of this little girl were more than happy to let me waller all over their dog and throw stick with it until I noticed the glare coming from Forrest that told me my time was up. Moving on.
The transition area was memorable only because of the extreme security measures taken by IM Austria to prevent theft of bicycles or unauthorized entry into the TA. Policemen with attack dogs, complete with Hannibal Lector muzzles guarded the transition area. This was so funny to me that I had to take a picture. These Austrians were serious about crime. Perhaps the one good thing about being in less than 10% of the field was the fact female racers did not have to face the long bathroom lines that the remaining 90% of the males had to endure. Nicole and I loved being able to just walk into the bathroom, a luxury we are never afforded in American races.
The time had come for the race to begin and I felt strangely out of sorts not following Regina to the start. I had never done an IM without her and I had done probably five races in my entire career without her. I did have Nicole, but I could tell that she was having the same thoughts as I was. Regina has always been the one we would cling to and cry to before the gun went off….now we had to race without her. Damn it, Regina !!! A couple interesting sights kept me morbidly amused (or petrified) as I noticed a woman and child being wrenched away from a man in a wetsuit (presumably the father/husband) at the gate to the swim entrance by an Austrian policeman. He shoved the woman and child to the right and the man to the left, yelling at them in German. It looked very Schindler’s List-like as I watched them get swallowed up in the crowd. This was immediately followed by the priest I saw on the shore of the swim start, blessing participants before the start. Do we really need a priest for this race????? Boom! The gun goes off and suddenly Nicole and I find ourselves standing alone on the beach. She bolts and this is the last time I will see her until the run.
The swim was the nicest, cleanest, prettiest, and most enjoyable race swim I have ever done, bar none. Getting to see a real life castle at the turn buoy is reason enough to just stop swimming and gawk. My initial fear before the race was replaced by awe and excitement and I tried to mentally remember everything for my report to Regina . The canal was not as bad as I thought, probably because I have swum in SC lakes that were littered with just as much seaweed. I popped out of the swim with a wave to Regina and headed to T1 pleased with my slow time of 1:30 (even though Forrest had been finished thirty minutes ago with his swim).
The bike course was something out of a movie. Picture Julie Andrews riding a tri bike with aerobars and lederhosen. Or Maria Von Trapp’s hair peeking out of her aerohelmet as she grabs a bottle at the handoff. I now know why they couldn’t stop singing in that movie….it was all I could do to not burst out into song myself. The course was beautiful with quaint towns and pastoral views of farm animals and hillsides. The entire population of some of these towns were outside cheering on the participants. I felt like I was riding in the Tour de France. The hills were the best; nice grunts that were no more difficult than any given hill on which we had trained in SC and the throngs of spectators so thick as they parted that you really felt like you were riding one of the stages in the tour. I did get to see the devil and was so comfortable in the saddle that I didn’t even notice the worst hill of all, the Rupertiberg (11%) until I had finished climbing it. Forrest had trained us well by making us do Green River Cove.
But then somewhere about mile 82, my Sound of Music film turned into a scene from another movie….Titanic. Or maybe that part in the Bible where God decides to send a flood to destroy the world and the only ones who survive are on an ark. I noticed that it had been looking like it was going to come up a cloud, but when you have to take off your sunglasses because it is so dark outside, you realize quickly that the cloud has come up. Add this the fact that every cow I saw was lying down could only mean one thing: Rain. And not just any ole’ rain. Not a sprinkle, or a misting, or even a steady downpour. This was a damn deluge!!!!! Storm and stress! Sturm und Drang! Rain came down so hard that it felt like it was cutting me. Several people reported hailstones. Zig zag lightning bolts dominated the sky. I noticed my teeth were chattering and I didn’t know if it was because I was so cold or scared. I chalked it up to a little bit of both. A girl in front of me crashed going around a sharp curve and this was enough to slow me down to a crawl and have me bargaining with God. I have never been so scared on a bike and each boom of thunder seemed to literally rattle my bike frame.
A draft marshall/official hollered at me on the course but since I don’t speak German, I had no idea what he was saying. The rain prevented me from hearing him all that well and I was so afraid that I had a penalty that I went straight to the penalty box when I got back to transition. The wonderful people there, who spoke flawless English, told me that the storm knocked out their computer system so they have no idea who has a penalty until the marshalls check back in from the course. They explained to me that I could decide to either sit out four minutes as a precaution or proceed with the race and possibly be DQ’d if there was a penalty. Since I was frozen and chilled anyway, I opted for the former and sat out four minutes with the officials before I hit the run. Four minutes was nothing for me to lose and I was simply grateful to be off the bike So I took my time in the transition tent and tried to warm myself up. Oh, another reason why I love the Austrians: in order to get to the women’s changing tent, the woman must first walk through the men’s changing tents. Gotta love it!
By the time I started my run the rain was subsiding and I was given an unexpected treat when one of our new English wanker friends eased up beside me coming out of transition. I had recently discovered by way of my new British friends, that all they knew about America/Americans connected in some way to an episode of Family Guy. This really didn’t bother me because all I knew about the English was based on episodes of Benny Hill or Monty Python so I figured we were even. Needless to say we all became fast friends and I got to be the butt of many of their jokes and a believer of numerous and sundry fibs they told me (Tim was injured by shrapnel, for example. Totally believed.). Of course when I saw him, I assumed that Tim was starting his second loop of the run, but I was shocked to hear that he was starting his first. Turns out Tim sucks at swimming, something of his own admission, but something that I had not believed because you NEVER believe a triathlete when he says a) he is either not good at something or b) hasn’t been able to train (did you hear that Rose???). Turns out Tim was telling the truth about his swimming ability. He was also telling the truth when he said that the run was his strongest leg of the triathlon, so I encouraged him to put it in gear and not wait on me. Tim was off in a flash and turned out a great four hour marathon. Not bad for a first IM.
I managed to catch Forrest on the last mile of my first loop. He was finishing his second loop (of course) and when I looked at my watch I realized that he could break eleven hours again. Excited by this prospect, I upped my pace and let Forrest follow me. This was the hardest part of the run for me because I was determined to get him in under eleven hours. When I dropped Forrest off at the turn for the finish line, I was so tickled that I was screaming for him. Forrest managed to turn out a 10:46, well under the eleven hour mark and his personal best time to date, despite a freak accident at the special needs handoff where he flipped over his handlebars. I was so proud of him and glad that Regina would be able to share in his finish
I cranked out a 13:08 finish time. Not bad considering how slow I went for forty miles on the bike and the fact that I hung out with the officials for four minutes. Along the way I was able to see Nicole, Jeff, and our other wanker friend Tom….who was walking when I saw him but still managed to pull off a low eleven something IM. How can you do that???? Regina was waiting on me at the finish line and I broke down when I saw her. I have no idea if it was out of sadness at her not being able to race, relief at being done, or happiness of my accomplishment. Maybe a little of the three.
All in all, the day was fantastic despite the deluge, with temps near perfect and the course turned out to be the prettiest I’d seen. This race made IM Florida look like Coon Dog Days in Saluda , NC .
Couple notes to mention:
*This was the largest IM Austria has hosted: 2, 453 participants.
*The world record was shattered in the women’s field.
*Tim John, the British wanker completed his first IM, but still won’t shave his legs.
*Tom Clements, the other British wanker, pulled off a sub hour swim. That’s sick fast. Good job to both of you blokes. Now you’re free to watch all the Family Guy you want.
*Austrians have weird taste in music. E.g. “It’s Rainin’ Men” and a disco version of John Denver’s “Country Roads” were popular favorites. They also like Duran Duran and eighties metal (but who doesn’t?)
*Although this has nothing to do with the race, it is a rule worth knowing. Never, under any circumstance give Jeff guacamole. It makes him angry. And you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
Jeff also had a personal best race despite dragging me all over Klagenfurt looking for a train the day before.
*Nicole’s daddy made it to the start of the race preventing a near crisis meltdown and propelling Nicole to a great race and a 1:10 swim time.
*None of this would have been possible without Forrest’s glaring and yelling. I live for that kind of praise. He is simply the best coach ever and I am lucky that he continues to tolerate my silliness and whining and bad eating habits (Coca cola and Hawaiian sweet rolls).
* Regina “Sherpin’ Ain’t Easy” Fowler did not get to race, but she pulled off the toughest IM race of the day watching, cheering, and waiting on the four of us. She is our rock and without her we would all truly be lost. Sniff.
Butt/Tailbone Update
I haven’t been wanting to blog lately b/c I haven’t been in the best of moods b/c of the tailbone issue. The tailbone has been worse since IM and the drugs aren’t even cutting it. So, on top of being in pain I haven’t worked out in 3 weeks so you can only imagine how pleasant I am to be around:) I went for a surgical consult today at Steadman Hawkins with Dr. McHenry, the only dr. in the upstate who does the surgery, and it went fairly well. I guess. Well to make a long story short, I am going to take a week to decide if having my tailbone removed is the right option for me. There are multiple issues with this surgery, one of which is there isn’t any guarantee that removing the tailbone will fix the problem and not cause more. I guess once they remove the tailbone there is a chance that the sacrum being at the bottom could become painful as well. They have tried and exhausted noninvasive methods, so the question becomes am I ready for the invasive. I do also have to think longterm and bring up the subject of having kids. Lots of women break their tailbone or have tailbone issues with normal childbirth, and with me already having a pre-existing issue I would have to say it’s likely it would happen to me. So, what to do . . .take a couple of days and think it over and decide if the pros are worth the cons and if I am willing to take the risk.
On another note, I was more than thrilled to get out to help volunteer at the Run2overcome that they had to help raise money for the jogger that was assaulted a couple of months ago. I have also already filled my next 2 weekends with more volunteering. The Paris Mtn. Trail run is what’s on tap for next weekend, and then the Greenville Tri the weekend after that. If I can’t participate, why not give back. Volunteering is the one thing that can make me feel good, and not so out of touch from my training friends. I hope to have some type of resolution soon, that way I can work on recovering and have some more focus.
IM Austria Race Report
The day before the race was a little hectic. My dad called later in the day to tell me his flight was cancelled and he was in Paris. He was going to drive race morning if necessary. Luckily he got in at 11pm the night before the race. Crisis averted. Our hotel people forgot to mention the big concert with fireworks that was scheduled the night before the race. I had earplugs, not jeff. I think he got 4 hours of sleep the night before the race, but he’s used to no sleep. Hey, atleast he got to view a fantastic fireworks show right from our room.
Race morning I got up at 3:45 am, feeling as good as one can feel the morning of an ironman. I made last minute checks of my special needs bags. I still wasn’t feeling quite like normal, just a little out of my element. I ate my breakfast of banana and peanut butter and bread and loaded the car. Jeff and I then headed out to pick up the rest of the crew (forrest, regina, and susan). I got there and we are all nervously laughing about different things. Then Jeff has to open his mouth about this big bouy he sees out in the water. Need I remind you we are still on our way to the race site and it’s clear we are atleast a mile away. I think Susan and I almost got sick right there. During our normal race preparations I realize I have left my h/r monitor watch back at the room. I start to panic. I frantically call my dad who says he will get there asap to bring it to me. Thank goodness for Jeff’s world phone idea. I promise you we looked for my dad right next to the big red balloon for 25 mins., and couldn’t find him. I really start to panic. Not only am I spazzing b/c of no watch, but now I am freaking out b/c my only support crew hasn’t seen me this morning. I kid you not, 5 mins. before we start (didn’t know this at the time) Jeff finds my dad and all is well. I am crying and all emotional, but then get into a calm before the storm type mood.
Susan and I look around each other wondering what to do now, Regina is normally guiding us at this point. So we decide to chill out at the back of the crowd while everyone else gets ready. Then suddenly people are getting in the water. I ask the referee type guy if we have 15 mins. left b/c the pros normally go off first, and he informs us it’s time to go now. Susan and I take off instantly into race mode without a word said b/w us. Okay, maybe a curse word of sorts was involved. I guess they just send the pros off 30 meters ahead of the “regular” people and call it even. I am so clueless sometimes. Secretly my goal for this particular IM swim was to post a 1:10 swim. I had talked with forrest and he thought it was possible with the canal and type swim this is. Oh, I almost forgot, forrest also said he would dunk me and not let me come up for air if I didn’t open my eyes under water. That’s some motivation. J/k. After trying it a few times in the practice swims there, I decided I would do it race day as well. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, and it definitely helped with the drafting and sighting. I felt comfortable and strong throughout the entire swim. Once we hit the canal (maybe 15 ft. wide) all 2400 of us cram trying to get to the same spot at the same time, and that makes for some speed as well. I was only hit a couple of times, climbed over 3 or 4 times, and kicked a million. I came out of the swim at 1:10:59. Boy did I cut that close!
I head out of transition and the weather is a little overcast, which is perfect. The day before had been pretty hot, so I was okay with overcast weather. The bike is 2 loops with 2 climbs that are pretty decent for a triathlon. I try to hold back and be consistent, which is hard. The bike course may be a little hilly, but the crowd support is like the tour de france. People line the streets in all the towns you go through and on the big climbs there were dj’s and music all just to support you. All I remember hearing is HOP HOP HOP, SUPER, BRAVO! It was the most amazing thing ever. You look around and the scenery is breathtaking. The first loop Jeff passes me at the end, and I tell him to have at it. I did my first loop avg. 17.5, and welcome special needs. I can tell that I need some food and down my pb&j and some potato sticks. The lady looks at me like I am crazy as I pull out my patch to put on my tailbone. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. My tailbone wasn’t killing me, but climbing definitely makes it ache. I start to get my 2nd wind about the time the torrential downpour with thunder and lightning begins. Amazingly enough, I start to laugh. All I could do was smile. Who cared it was raining, I have done my fair share of riding in the rain. Julie said I would be lucky if it rained, and maybe she was right. I was a little concerned b/c both the climbs still needed to be conquered which included some very technical downhills. I passed a good many people on the downhills. I prayed people would get out of my way and hung on for dear life. I avoided the pot holes and paint, and was upset at myself for not learning “on your left!” in German. I didn’t make up as much time as I would have liked, but I came out of it without crashing. My avg. had went down to 17 mph with a bike time of 6:24. I have never done a hilly distance this far with a marathon afterwards, so i was a little concerned about how my legs will be. I didn’t need to be.
I get out on the run and have to slow myself down. I am glad to have my garmin b/c the h/r monitor stopped working after the swim, so I didn’t have a watch or know my total time. I do know that my bike compared to florida was slower so i wasn’t going to PR. Even telling myself to slow down, I think I passed the halfway point at around 1:50. Again, a smile planted on my face. The crowd was so uplifting every step you took. I even had people cheer for me b/c of the red white and blue uniform, they were cheering for an american! I saw my dad around mile 15 and tell him I am doing ok, but the tailbone is starting to ache a little. The wonderful patch was destroyed in the downpour on the bike so I was out of luck for help with the ache. He told me all that mattered was that I finished. I did good until 15k left, or 9 miles. The tailbone was too much for me to take. It hurt to walk at this point. I tried speed walking but the movement of the arms was even worse. So I told myself to walk and just finish. I didn’t cry, I didn’t even get too mad at myself. It was kind of weird. I was so thankful to be where I was, participating in an IM, that I didn’t even let it bother me. I knew that I was doing all that I could do. I wasn’t quitting even when it sucked. I still smiled, and was still happy. 6 miles later, still hurting and walking, I decide that I can bite my lip for 3 miles. I managed to run through downtown Klagenfurt through the crowds, and make it all the way to the finish. My dad had my tiara waiting on me. What an amazing race, I even heard forrest and regina yell at me. I think my run was 4:24, I have tried to avoid looking at it:) My complete time was 12:21, which was amazing to me b/c I was convinced with all my walking I was at 13 hours. I still finished in the middle of my age group, there were 64 women in my age group. I finished in the 1600’s out of 2453 (i think 180 people either dnf’d or were dq’d) and was dumbfounded at the competition. I have never been passed by so many people on the bike, these people know what they are doing.
Forrest had a personal best, Jeff had a personal best, and Susan and I were just grateful to survive. Regina was the best sherpa ever, and was such a trooper. Can you imagine being tapered for an IM, and only being able to watch? She was so supportive, and I am grateful she still made the trip!
Thanks to everyone for the support, hopefully I will be back to working order soon!
IM Austria
Oh, where to start . . . I am very glad that I got to Austria when I did. Jeff and I arrived in Austria the morning of July 6th. We planned to stay in Munich one day to hang out with a coworker (Stefan) who used to live in the states. Stefan and his family were wonderful. They cooked for us (i love food) and gave us a tour around Ausburg. Ausburg was a cute old town, and the buildings were beautiful. The only problem was I felt like I was on a vacation, and not tapering for an IM.
The next day we headed to Klagenfurt via rental car. The drive was amazing, Greg Spindler was right, well worth not flying into Klagenfurt. I took pictures out the window while driving, and we even stopped a few times just to enjoy the scenery. I also have to say I fully enjoyed the Autoban and pushed the rental up to 145 mph. HOW COOL! if only I had the mini pooper over there. By the time we got there I was worn out, but it was just in time for dinner. The restaurant we had that night was authentic Austrian cuisine and it was magnificent. I have to say, they aren’t big on veggies though. I don’t think one meal I ordered over there came with veggies, and I am all about getting my veggies in for the day.
On the 8th we purely did sight seeing around the lake and checking things out. The bikes were put together without too much drama. We even did a bike ride to the race sight and took some pictures. What an awesome sight, I can see why Katie Malone spent summers here. I found a local bakery that made a good latte machiatto and I was set. The little town that we stayed in was about 6 miles from the race site and it was called Portschach. We had restaurants on every corner and cute little boutiques, it was a great decision.
Wednesday the 9th the only thing on my schedule was to pick up Forrest, Regina (crip), and Susan from the airport. I managed to get lost on the way b/c the spelling of cities over there is different than here and I got confused. Luckily I had Jeff’s world phone and managed to call our bed and breakfast. Wien, that is how the spell Vienna so I thought I had missed a turn or was going the wrong direction when I didn’t see it spelled the way I spell it. Oh well, there plane was late anyway. The arrived safely with Susan barfing as they got off the plane. It was really funny, I know that sounds cruel but you would just have to be around everyone to understand. Regina faired pretty well with the airplane ride considering the monstrosity on her arm. In case you haven’t been in the loop she had a tragedy on Goodwin Bridge Road 3 weeks before IM and had to have a plate put in her elbow. I got everyone back to their place in one piece and then we got some grub. The day was spent just trying to get everyone acclimated and it ended with Forrest trying his best to stay awake and finally giving in to the sleep that was required.
The next couple days were busy and uneventful, Friday we drove the 56 mile loop of the bike course. I thought I was going to die when I saw Rupertsberg (sp?). It wasn’t just a hill it was a 2 part hill that never seemed to end. This bike course was hilly for me, atleast for IM standards. Remember, the only IM’s I had done were Florida . . .pancake flat. I mentioned I might stay in bed and not come out, they informed me that wasn’t an option. TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Race Info and How To Track Us
Would you like to track us? I am forewarning that with the time change our race actually starts at 1am on Sunday, July 13th. So when most of you get up in the morning we will hopefully be on the run portion of the race or on the last leg of the bike. If you want to see updates go to www.ironman.com and make sure you look for Ironman Austria b/c Ironman Switzerland is taking place the same day. Here are our participant numbers in case you want to check on everyone!
Nicole Ramsbey-816
Susan Dupont-847
Forrest Fowler-2622
Jeff Walthew-2314
Enjoy, and send great mojo our way!!!
