Before i start my report, let me just say that Cozumel is one of the coolest places i have ever been. And the whole island came out to cheer us on. It is a really special Ironman. I could go on about the place, but this is a race report, not a travel guide and I suspect the report itself will be long enough!
I have a lot to say about this race, about doing 2 Ironman races 7 days apart, what i did in between and what i learned about myself and my sport. I thought i would start with the race itself.
I arrived in Cozumel on Friday afternoon, a bit late in the week compared to my norm, but in time to register and get settled. The legendary Ben Cotter (a fellow pro from Victoria) had hooked us up with amazing accomodations right by the finish line. We each had a rooftop bedroom overlooking the water. The rooms were simple and "mexico" all-over, but they were 1/3 the price of the regular hotel rooms below.
Saturday I got myself aquainted with the swim course, walked through the transition areas, did a quick interview with TSN and generally felt ready to go. I was feeling recovered and very relaxed. My legs weren't as fresh as they had been the previous Saturday, but they weren't too bad either.
Race morning came and I was so relaxed i almost fell asleep in the taxi on the way to the start. But by the time i set up my bike and waited in line for the porta-potties, i had built up plenty of nerves. As I stood with the other pros in the starting area I realized that this was the first time in long time that i really didn't know if i was going to be able to complete the task I had set for myself. And to be clear, the task was as follows;
To compete at 2 Ironman races in 8 days. Note the word compete. I was not there to complete the race, but to compete in it. I was not looking for a 12h finish, i wanted to race. And i have to say, it felt really good to step into the unknown. It felt good to be in that grey area where i knew i was going to be tested physically and mentally. This was the challenge i was looking for and I knew i would get it.
We got in the water for a quick warm and then we were off. Almost immediately, I got dropped by the first pack. I was swimming ok, but just didnt have the sharpness required for the sprint off the line. This didnt really phase me, i just got into my groove and trusted my own swim ability. It quickly became apparent that i was one of the better swimmers in the group I was with, so i made my way to the front and started to chase a small group that was about 100m infront of us.
The swim in Cozumel is non-wetsuit and the water is as clear as you can imagine. You can see every ripple of sand of the ocean floor. Its beautiful. Even though i led the pack most of the way, I came out of the water feeling good.
On the first lap of the bike I felt great. My legs felt strong and fresh. I overtook a couple girls without much effort and started to get excited about how well the day was going. On Thursday before the race, I had a last-minute tune-up with Bob from Sportexcel via Skype. Bob told me that when we feel fatigue or pain, our vision starts to narrow and darken. So everytime i felt myself going into "the cave", I would consciously expand my vision by focusing on the periphery and "brightening" my field of vision. This really worked!! It kept me in the moment and time was just flying by.
At some point during the second lap, I started to feel really uncomfortable on by bike. My shoulders were hurting, my butt was sore, and worst of all, lots of age groupers were blowing by me. I started to get the impression that i was losing ground. The course in Cozumel is 3 loops, bone flat and windy as heck. By the third lap i knew i was really slowing down and had become incredibly uncomfortable. I kept trying to pull myself out of the cave, but it was a battle now. It was also very hot by this point in the day. A number of women passed me on the 3rd lap.
In 19 Ironman races, I can honestly say that i have never been so happy to see T2. The time on the clock said 6.38 which was exactly 30mins slower than i had entered T2 the week before. Feeling lightheaded, discouraged, hot and grumpy, I entered T2 and really had no choice but to take my time. Some cute, 12-year-old Mexican girls lathered me with suncream as I gathered myself and tried to face the marathon. The thing that actually got me out of my funk was a fellow pro woman who was in T2 at the same time as i was. She was cramping up and being carried away on a stretcher. It was a good reminder that things could be a whole lot worse. Her pain became my gain (Ben called this side of me "cold Sara"... I secretly like her).
So out i went onto the run course. At this point, I was reassessing my goals. I came into the race looking for a top 5 finish, but at this point i thought I would be happy just to finish under 10 hours. So, with this new mindset, I set out. At first, all i could do was jog.
I jogged out the first lap and the heat and wind continued. I don't think i mentioned, but Cozumel has a similar climate to Hawaii, but with more humidity. Oh, and windier. I usually hold off on drinking Coke until halfway through the marathon, but the way things were going i thought, screw that, I need it now. So, at about mile 9 I took my first sip of coke and it might as well have been cocaine. It was ice cold, still fizzy and absolutely awesome. Sometime, not long after this, the clouds rolled in offering some much-needed respite from the heat. I continued to take Coke at almost every aid station and life got a whole lot better. Then the skies opened and torrential rain poured about as much as rain can pour during hurricane season on a small island off the coast of Mexico. And not long after it started, a section of the run course flooded and we were all wading through knee-deep water. Other parts just turned into big puddles. It was actually kind of funny.
I spent most of the run thinking I was out of the money placings and was just trucking along trying to get my sub-10h finish. The route was 3 out-and-back loops and I hadnt bothered to count the number of women infront of me. As i started the third loop, I was really starting to come around. Marino Vanhoenacker was standing by the side of the road, looked at me and said, You are in 8th and you look good. 8th? Really? I was pleasantly surprised to learn that i was that far up the field. And so i ran faster. The last loop of the run was definitely the best part of my day. I was feeling human again and really running. I overtook 2 more women and ended up just one spot shy of my goal of Top 5. I got a little choked up in the finishing chute as i allowed myself to remember that i had done 2 Ironman races 2 weekends in a row and was about to finish the 2nd one. 9 hours and 56 minutes.
It was an interesting experiment and I look forward to expounding on what i learned. I will save that for another day.
I wont repeat my list of thank yous since you can find them below in last week's race report, but i will say this: Thank you to everyone who supported me the last few weeks in big ways and small ways. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me on email, Facebook and Twitter. I appreciate you all.
Sara
