I don’t feel like I can call this a race report since there
wasn’t a RACE for me to report on. Maybe it’s a ½ race report :). No worries it will
probably be longer than my actual race reports. Scott said that this race
report should start the week before the race, but it may even need to start
before that. When we decided I should do IMMalaysia I looked at tickets to the
Philippines as well. It ended up being cheaper to fly
Cincinnati->Malaysia->Philippines->Cincinnati than Cincinnati->Malaysia
round trip. So it was decided to go to the Philippines. We have made these
races a vacation as well many times with much success.
Three weeks before the race our ticket to Boracacy, Philippines was
canceled because of the APEC summit (Obama attending) happening in the
Philippines. No problem, we just booked a different flight on the same day and
asked for a refund. Then this one was canceled on us as just 4-5 days before
the race with no other options to get to Boracay. VERY long story short we
argued with them for countless hours and listened to their hold music, which
consisted of ONE horrendous theme song of AirAsia, which repeated “AirAsia is
wonderful.” I think they were trying to brain wash us into giving up. We ended
up changing our flight from Langkawi to KL and also KL to Manila to be able to
get into Manila a day earlier so we could catch an ealier flight to Boracay so
we could actually use the nonrefundable BnB that we had booked. Even though all
of this change was because of them canceling the flight TWICE on us, we still
got the pleasure of paying change fees that were more than the cost of our
original tickets, by double. (I guess I needed that little vent there)
Rewind to a little earlier. I was supposed to leave on Saturday before
the race. I tried to check in on Friday night and couldn’t. I spent time on the
phone with both American Express travel and American Airlines. We ended up
coming to the conclusion that I would most likely not be able to get on the
flight Saturday morning because my passport was to expire in less than 6 months
from the date of return. We went Saturday morning anyway and I couldn’t get on
the flight. So I got to spend 3 hours on the phone with American Express to
change my flight to Tuesday morning from Detroit, MI so I could get my passport
renewed on Monday in Detroit at the passport agency. Too much time and WAY too
much money later, we got it sorted out.
EMI wanted to brush my hair to get ready for the passport picture.
I got a couple more days family time, but knew that it would
be vital to adjust to the time zone ASAP when I got to Malaysia. We took a mini
family “vacation” to Detroit On Monday morning we got my passport renewed
without ANY issues! Things were looking up! Monday night I had looked up 2
different places to eat out that were gluten-free/Celiac friendly. The first
one we got to was closed Mondays so I double checked the other one and we drove
the additional 15 minutes to get there.
It was closed as well! We ended up at a chain restaurant that messed up
my order.
Emi's bed at the hotel. She actually loved it and it will make for a great story when she's older.
We got my Passport!!!!
Tuesday morning went well though! I was headed to the race! I even
didn’t have anyone in the middle seat on my 17.5 hour flight! So many answers
to prayers! The only problem was that the airline some how did not get my
request for a gluten-free selection for the meals, no meals for me. Not a
problem though because I had prepared for that and brought 3 homemade meals
just incase. I never had great sleep on flights and despite taking melatonin
this trip was no different. I got into Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night and
stayed in a hotel there (5 hours of sleep). Made my final trek to Langkawi on
Thursday morning. Checked in and found a “grocery” store. I did bring a lot of
food with me. I’m used to having to pack a lot of food because of having to eat
gluten-free and dairy-free due to health conditions. Something to note for
anyone else traveling is that they really don’t have a customs. I had produce
in my bag and they didn’t ask about it or care what I had. As long as it’s not
illicit drugs… that’s punishable by death by hanging apparently.
Dallas, TX- connection, I just love that Texas flag :)
"EMI go with daddy?"
This was the first time I didn’t go to the welcome dinner. I
wanted to get as much sleep as I could and I also wanted to get ready for the
race: unpack my bike, layout my gear bags and special needs bags, and go over
my race plan more. I was determined to make things work. I had been blessed to
be able to make it to the race and I was going to make it count!
Waiting for the Taxi in Kuala Lumpur.
They had a whole shopping mall at the airport which included a grocery store.
Check in done!
Friday Scott came in and so we reunited and then went to Balazs’ hotel
to get a swim in. I biked to the swim start to drop off my bike and make sure
all was in working order. After a little power meter trouble shoot with
Meredith, I got it working and all was well! Went to the pro meeting where
Scott was able to attend for the first time! Nothing exciting really out of
that meeting other than that “one person” who asks A LOT of questions that were
answered in the meeting itself was Natasha Badman. She was very polite and
super nice, but it was interesting to hear her questions: where is the dismount
line for the bike? How far back do you have to be from the other bike? How many
seconds do you have to pass? How long do you have to drop back? Where is
special needs? Scott later made the point that she has probably raced so many
races in so many different countries she realizes that rules are very different
from country to country and race to race even though they all may be the same
brand and they are supposed to have the same rules. I also learned by stalking her online that she has a daughter a couple years OLDER than me! Amazing!
One of my many motivating water bottles. (Goals-Kona, Family and Team, Smart and strong, Feed the speed, Pain into power, you have fought, sweated and busted your BUM for this moment)
Scott's one replacement shirt for his lost bag.
We finished dropping my bags off and headed home for lunch and a little
rest. Scott’s bag didn’t come in and the airlines gave him $34 to buy some new
ones! So we went to the expo to find someone to ask about getting some clothes.
After 4 volunteers telling us to buy in the merchandise area we found someone
who told us the closest shop was 30 minutes away! I didn’t want to sit in the
car for an hour so we got a shirt at the Brooks booth at the expo and headed
home again.
My interesting concoction, it really wasn't too bad.
I then realized that my prerace meal was in Scott’s bag in Canada.
Fortunately I had some rice and eggs and made an interesting but edible
concoction out of that. I was so tired that I went to bed around 7:30pm!
Unfortunately I woke up at 9:00 and tired to go back to sleep and then started
having bathroom issues. I finally got Scott up and asked him to just come
scratch my back while I laid in bed to try to just get me back to sleep and not
on the toilet. I eventually got back to sleep just in time to squeeze in an
hour before we had to wake up to get to the race start! Not going to let it
faze me! The sleep the night before the race isn’t going to make or break the
race.
Day before the race. I rode to T1 and everything was in working order.
I tried to eat my race day breakfast but couldn’t stomach
it. My insides weren’t yet happy with me still. Every time I took one bike it
took all I had to keep it from coming back up. I ate some jellybeans since I
could stomach those down ok. All I really wanted was a smoothie! We got to the
swim start before transition even opened! Allison would be so proud! On Friday
when I dropped my bike bag I double checked everything in it and noticed that
my salt had opened up and my salt was all over the bottom of my bag. I was
grateful to see that then instead of finding out later. So I brought more to
put on my bike.
Small race compared to US standards, just under 1,000 vs just over 2,500.
Just thought it was funny. The only place you will see more men's restrooms than women's!
I started checking everything on my bike. I pumped my tires
and checked to make sure my brakes weren’t rubbing. I have had too many races
where that has happened! This is the first race I had a power meter so spun my
crank to wake it up so I could calibrate it then did one mistake, I clamped my
back brakes down to stop my back wheel from spinning. Dropped my other bags off
and sat down to relax for a bit before I went to warm up. I love these foreign
races since there are fewer people, port-a-potty lines are only 5 minutes long!
Bag drop the day before the race. Little did I know I would not be crossing under this "run out" sign.
Just a side note, this race used those backpack stile track backpack bags. DO NOT tighten the bag or it's really hard to open when you are trying to go fast. Also, make sure that the volunteers do not later tighten it.
My awesome new
Kiwami trisuit!
Right before I started my warmup.
Went down to the water to warm up. Coach David told me to warm up for 10
minutes and do some pick-ups. I ended up only warming up for 7.5 minutes before
they called us out to chat. Coach and I had chatted about who to line up with,
one being Diana Reiser who has a blue speed suit so very easy to spot. I lined
up right next to her so I could just draft off her the whole time. One of my
biggest worries about this race was the type of swim start and “Aussie swim.”
Looking back now it was silly! We lined up on a rope in the sand that was held
down by people standing on either end of it. They had a count down and at about
4 the right half of the line started running to the water. I ended up catching
up with them by the time we hit the water though. I swam next to Diana for a
while until we went past the first turn and I tucked in behind her. After the
first couple strokes I got punched in the eye by Diana, luckily it didn’t let
in too much water into my goggles (especially since it was salt water). I was
prepared for a fast pace for the first little while but it wasn’t letting up
that much. I kept telling myself “just stay behind Diana, if you can get out
with her then you can legal draft with her on the bike.” I fought for my spot
on her feet several times, which I hate doing and feel like it uses, excess
energy, but I didn’t want to loose her. I got tired of fighting the other girl
for Diana’s feet so I tucked in behind her. We made our final turn for the
first lap and we were still holding a ridiculous pace. As we were swimming down
the final lap I kept thinking just stay on her feet, stay on her feet, you’ve
worked so hard for this, calm and controlled, work with the water, think of
your family, think of all the others cheering. I thought of all the people in
the states that were tracking me. I especially thought of all the hard work I
had put into this race and I knew I could have my fastest swim yet. Something
that my coach had told me before the race is “it is the suffering that will
fulfill you and enable success.” I ended up loosing her feet and got into my
own rhythm of swimming. After 100-200m we were still the same distance apart so
I put in a little surge and caught back up with feet. It was Diana, someone,
and then me. Scott said he saw us come by as a huge pack with me at the back,
just like IMTX. Our first lap was 28 minutes.
The calm before the madness.
The second lap slowed way down after the first turn. There were points
were I thought it might be better to go around, but I figured I was getting
more savings sitting behind her than I would gain in benefit if I went around
her and got 30sec-1min lead with much more work. So the second lap was pretty
uneventful other than swimming through a whole bunch of age groupers, some
nicer to pass than others, but unfortunately as a woman in IM races, I am used
to having to swim through people (IM world championship age group start is 10
minutes back from the men, which means there are some pretty aggressive men you
have to swim through, and all of my other races I have caught up to the back of
the pack male pros.). Kicked my feet harder as I started seeing the exit. Diana
turned right (the wrong way) and the other girl went into the finish. We both
exited the water pointing to Diana and a kayaker sped away toward her. I saw
Scott and he yelled that I was 8th out of the water. Not bad! Right
were I wanted to be with Diana right behind me (good my transitions usually
stink). I am very happy with my swim. I stayed focused each stroke.
Off to transition! There was a 500m run along the beach into transition
area. Grabbed my bag and ran into the change tent. There were only 5 volunteer
girls and two of them stood at the entrance and three of them helped the other
girl. This was the first transition I did without a volunteer’s help! I was so
thirsty (started that way half way through the first lap I STOPPED at the aid
station after the change tent and downed 5 cups of water and ran with two more
while drinking them. Grabbed my bike and was on my way. My sister even
commented that my T1 was pretty good! :)
You can barley see my head right next to the blue suit on the right side.
Got on my bike and thought it was a lot harder to pedal than I thought
it should be. I made sure I wasn’t in the hardest gear when I racked the bike I
thought! Changed some gears and started going. Wow, this hill must be a lot
bigger than it looks! (Sometimes when you are riding a bike there can be “false
flats” or hills that look deceptively smaller than they are). Then I was passed
by two girls one almost on top of the other (BLANTENTLY drafting!). The person
in front asked me what my place was… REALLY?!?! You think I’m going to tell you
that! I just stared at her. One of my goals was to not get passed on the bike
by any women. My heart rate was super high and so I decided not to go with
them. I felt like I was a little girl on a tricycle getting passed by them. I
thought, maybe they are just pushing the pace a little too much these first
couple km, they will come back to me. My power meter was not working right. It
kept saying random numbers like 50, 95, then 0. I knew I was not just pushing
50 watts going up a hill! So I started ignoring that and looking at HR instead.
There goes Diana Riesier! Stink! I just got passed like I was standing still!
Then the “fun” really started to happen. If being dehydrated
wasn’t enough… My chain dropped. Bryan Krabbe has shown me that you can get you
chain back on without having to stop, so I tried that for a second. Well, I’ve
had it work before but this time not so much. I had to stop and pull over. No
problem, it will be a quick fix. I pulled at the chain, nothing. I yanked
harder, nothing. I turned my bike upside down and kept pulling and doing
everything I could think of to fix the chain. It had been more than 7 minutes and
I thought “This is really how this race is going to end! Par for this trip!” A
scooter with two guys pulled up. They were EFS racing team people and didn’t
have the official “bicycle tech” jersey on, but at this point I couldn’t get my
bike working on my own so it was either accept the help of these people or keep
trying myself. In the pro meeting they also said that they wouldn’t do any bike
work or carry any extra tubes or CO2. They got my chain out and then noticed
that my derailleur (shifting mechanism for the back gears) was off. They emptied
a massive bag of tools and went to work on that. I don’t know what made him
decide to try to spin my back wheel, but he did and it didn’t move. I’ve had my
brakes rub before, this was not rubbing, this was brakes clamped down. He had
to use a ton of pressure to move the wheel. OH! That is why I was getting
passed like a girl on her tricycle! It took them a little while to do all this.
More than 7 more minutes had passed since they started helping me with my bike.
I had to start up hill so one of the guys pushed my saddle as I started
pedaling. It was SO much easier to ride now! I should know my bike and my
abilities better than that, but hopefully that will come with time. I didn’t
pay attention to anyone passing me while I was stopped since I was so focused
on my bike. I saw people already coming back down from this out and back
section, but didn’t know where I was standing now. There were so many age group
men out there since the age-groupers started just 5 minutes after the pro women
and then I was stuck on the side of the road for so long.
I saw Scott and he asked me what happened. I was only able
to shout out chain and brakes. I wasn’t feeling great and then the stop and
being so far behind already was mentally crushing. I had to stop and adjust my
brakes every time I used my back brakes. Near the end of the second loop I
actually stopped when I saw Scott since I had to check/adjust my brakes. Even
though I wasn’t in a good place, this is one of the first times I felt I could acknowledge
the bad feelings I was having and deal with them. I contribute that to Coach
David’s scorecard that I filled out before the race and went over several times
before the race. I had addressed things that could go wrong and how to deal
with them. The last part of the loop is really hilly and every time I used my
back brakes they would start rubbing on my tire again. I got a flat around the
same place I had my first mechanical. Now there were several mechanics
roaming/sitting under the shade so I actually had a little help changing it,
which was nice. By this point I was 30 minutes behind the leader.
The view from behind the house in Malaysia. It was really pretty there, but I don't think we were able to fully acknowledge the beauty.
I kept trying to be positive but I started having blurry
vision. I couldn’t see very well and I still hadn’t peed this whole race. I
usually have to go the first hour into the bike, halfway through, and again at
the end. I felt like I was going to pass out and decided to stop at the med
tent. I stopped there and almost fell off my bike. The med staff had me lay
down and did some measurements and told me they wanted to take me to the
hospital. After working in a hospital, I never want to go to one, nevertheless
a foreign hospital. At this point I knew my race was over and just wanted to
get to Scott and be done. I thought he might be at the same place he was the
first loop so after 20 minutes in the med tent I got back on my bike and
continued down the road. Scott wasn’t at the spot he was last time (heart
crushed) so I just kept going slowly. I figured I would just have to get to the
end of the bike and be done.
I got to dismount and saw him. I stood on the side and
talked to him for 8 minutes and then went into the med tent, gave them my chip
and they checked me a bit and again wanted to take me to the hospital. I told
them my husband was right outside transition and he could take me later if I
needed to go.
Yes, this is a two-way "road" they had all over Langkawi.
I’ve never DNF’d a race. It was hard and sad, but I feel like I made the
right call. Even though I know I made the right call, I am still heartbroken
over how the race went. I am frustrated and heartbroken about everything
leading up to the race and during the race. Even though my coach told me not to
over analyze I keep thinking about the race and analyzing everything and
thinking about getting sick and my mechanic issues. I need to stop because I
just get myself into a black spiral thinking about the race and being sad about
the outcome. I need to refocus on the process for my next race and so I can
hopefully have a good outcome there.
Philippines
I feel I have yet to perform to my same potential and
ability level that I preformed at Kona 2014. I’ve thought long and hard about
this and mind set ect. I feel as thought my mind set for races in 2014 and 2013
was more of a racing mindset. There was a little half ironman in 2013 that I
was more than 11 minutes back from the lead woman getting off the bike. I put
my head down and went to work. I ended up winning by more than 5 minutes. I’m
accustom to races where I can literally see my competition and then chase them
down.
I want to use, and know that I can use my x-country and
track and field background to my advantage. Right now I see it as a
disadvantage since I wish I could race more frequently so I would have that
same familiarity with racing. I also wish I could see my competition and know
exactly where they are. Instead of seeing everything to my advantage these last
couple races, I’ve seen things that are beyond my control. I use to say that it
is so fun to be a good runner because I get to chase people down. Now after
Michelle Jones said it wasn’t better because it’s easier to run “scared” I
questioned it. Instead of seeing “X minutes down starting the run” as a challenge
and fun to try to make up, I see it as insurmountable time because these are
PRO triathletes.
All that being said, I am finding my place within this
community and becoming more confident. I knew that I could ride with those
women in Malaysia and I’m so sad it didn’t work out that way. I kept saying "That's why they have tournaments, so you can see who is better. They don't award medals based on what you won before."- Ronda Rousey. I was overcoming
these insecurities and then with this one race they all came crashing down
again.
BUT no worries, I’ve had
three weeks to ponder all of this and figure out a plan for next year and a
plan to help overcome these mind games. I have written out a plan how to accomplish the outcome goals that I have for 2016 and beyond. As Ronda Rousey (who ended up loosing
her first fight the same day as IMMalaysia) said, “Everything in the world is information. The
information you choose to acknowledge and the information you choose to ignore
is up to you. You can let outside factors beyond your control throw off your
focus. You can let aching muscles hold you back. You can let silence make you
feel uncomfortable. By choosing to focus only on the information that is
necessary, you can tune out every distraction, and achieve far more.”
Someone has to be the best in the World. Why not you?- Ronda Rousey
Thank you to all my sponsors: Blueseventy, RaceDayWheels, BuckeyeRunning Company, Beyond Exercise, LLC, AudioFlood WaterproofiPod, Bonk Breaker,
TriggerPoint,
Impact HealthCenters, Reser BicycleOutfitters, and Gamble-NippertYMCA. These goals and dreams I have for now and the future would not be possible without you!
I also wouldn't be where I am today without my coach, mentor, and now friend David Tilbury-Davis. Thank you for your mastermind plans and chats!
