Kona Race Report

IM Kona 2007 Race Report

Before this year the last time I competed an Ironman was IM Kona 2003. I took 04, 05, and 06 to focus on sprints and Olympic distances winning Age Group Worlds in Honolulu 2005. I qualified for Kona in 2006 but turned down the slot.

For 2007 I decided to race IMAZ, more for the experience, to see if I like training for that distance again. I had a great time in IMAZ, especially the marathon.

When people would ask what my goal time was for Kona I told them to run a 3:30 marathon. Kona can have extreme wind conditions so I did not want to predict an overall time based on the bike course.

October 13^th, 7am Canon Goes off

Kona Pier Swim

My Training: Two days a week 2500-3500 meters

My Goal: To be fastest female amateur.

My Strategy: GO as FAST as I can

My Mindset during the event: “Catch the orange caps”… “pass them”… “draft off the guys” “stay with them” …. “how cool would it be to swim fastest amateur”

Result/Outcome: I took the swim out FAST, turn around at 26:54, the last 1000 I could barely pull my arms though the water, I was kicking A LOT. I had the fastest swim in my age group, I think second fastest amateur, my swim time tied with Chrissie Wellington, the overall female winner.

T1

“I need sunscreen!, Decent swim time, 58:09”

Bike along the Queen K Highway

My training: Since I was racing the Boulder series this year and I was super busy with FCC aquatics and Team Trifecta this summer, I did not focus on IM training till August. I was able to manage 2X25 mile rides each week, plus a longer ride on weekend, averaged 100-150 miles per week, far from my 2000-2003 IM bike training of 200-250 miles per week I tended to bike on the easy side, and just road the miles, not as much intensity.

My Goal: On a calm day at sea level I thought I could manage a 5:30-5:40 IM bike split, on a windy day I was hoping for 6 hours, just lacked the bike training I needed to feel confident

My Strategy: Stay within my power tap zone, be conservative the first 70 miles, stay with your GSSI nutrition plan.

My Mindset during the event: Mental strategy/toughness makes you a successful IM athlete. My mind is very active, I coach my way though the entire day and the things that went though my mind were not all positive on the bike. At mile 40 when everyone was passing me “I hate racing IM” …. “you made it to Hawaii, this is supposed to be fun”…. “I suck on the bike”… “ Why struggle if you are not having fun”…then after 60 mile turnaround at Hawi I told myself “forget about the competition”… “enjoy the blue ocean scene” “ease up and don’t try so hard”… “just finish in 6 hours and be happy with that” …”I should have biked more miles”

Result/Outcome: I think I was pretty successful staying in my power zones but really fell short the last 30 miles, my heart rate dropped and I was just riding to finish. I never suffered from the heat and wind but struggled on the rolling hill course. The Kona course is my ideal rolling hill strength but it was just not my bike day. The 7 mile climb to Hawi killed my bike average, the cross winds headed towards Hawi, I just sat up and spun, the crosswind climb wiped me out.

T2

“I really need sunscreen!” “OMG, that bike was rough, 6:01, YUCK” “Finally the run!”

Run along Queen K Highway

My training: Weekly mileage 55-65 per week

My goal: Run 3:30 off the bike

My strategy: Run the first mile bout 8:15, then take down to 8:00, finish at 7:50 if I have anything left the last 10k, don’t forget to eat.

My Mindset: Transitioning into the run “OMG, I am so slow I feel like I am running 9:00/miles”, after the first mile “Keep up this 8:00 pace”.

Result/Outcome: The first 5 miles felt easy, I was under 8:00 pace, bout 7:50 per mile. I continued on with 8:00 per mile until mile 15 when I lost a minute in the porta pot. I was still running 8:00/mile until mile 18, than I hit the wall, my quads/legs felt like lead, “maybe I started a bit too fast”. I continued running 8:00/mile between each aid station then I would stop and walk for bout 1 minute though the aid stations. I passed Joanna Zeiger at bout mile 22, she was walking. I wanted to walk the last 3 miles but only walked the aid stations. Wish I had known Desiree was a fraction, just seconds ahead of me. With ¾ mile to go, turning down Alii Drive, I thought my legs were going to give out.

Finish along Alii Drive

Goal: Arms up, smiling

Result/Outcome: I tried to hold my arms up but could barely run upright, let alone run with my arms above my head, my core collapsed. I did not know where the camera was so I looked up at the ironmanlive screen to see what I looked like, I smiled when I saw my 3:35 marathon splitJ and finished the race.

I forgot how torturous the rollers were on the Kona bike course, and yes, a few long rollers on the run course.

So that is my race perspective.

Thanks for watching. Now for some time off, stay turned for Ironman on TV December 1^st. looking forward to training more on the bike to see what happens next year.