Ironman Canada

Like all races, whether you are racing or spectating, you wake before sunrise! Jessi and I peek outside to see if we could see any Ironman activity. The street outside of our Suite had been blocked off because it was one of the main pathways to the race start, and already it was buzzing with athletes and supporters. Our adrenaline started to flow! Our race had started, and from that moment on, it was all about Roger and Sam, the two IRONMAN participants that we would be cheering for. We had one HUGE goal and that was of being the BEST support and cheering squad ever!

The swim started with the traditional Ironman Cannon blast, the pro’s at 6:45am and the age groupers promptly at 7am. That’s Roger front and center, he is the one in the light blue swim cap, and there is Sam 2 rows back towards the left, he is the one, well, in the light blue cap. 2,250+ athletes started the swim. It was one loop swim of 2.4 miles. Roger came out of the water in 56 minutes and was 55th overall, Sam came out of the water at 1 hour 10 minutes with a new PR and was 769th overall! WOW!

Everyone that Jessi and I talked to in the days leading up to Race Day told us not to even bother trying to see the guys on the bike course, they said it was too hard to get anywhere, too much work for a 3 second view as they flew by, too hot, not fun for the kids, etc. Are you kidding me?? That drove Kevin, Jessi and I to prove them all wrong. With Kevin as our driver, in Rogers new Ironman Subaru we followed the “entire” bike course! This was the most responsive we have ever seen Roger in an Ironman race, he was smiling, waving and responding to us at every cheer station, this was so rewarding to us that we were motivated to catch him as many times as possible. Roger was easy to spot because he had on his light blue Ironman Tri Costume, and he was passing everyone, he passed all the female pros except one, remember that the pros had a 15 minute head start! We were able to cheer for Roger 10+ times! Roger finished the bike in 5 hours and 13 minutes, which was a new PR for him, AMAZING!!

Ironman Canada (cont'd)

We were able to see Sam 8+ times, and he was easy to spot because, well mostly because he looked so “HOT”, all decked out in his favorite Red, Black and White! Every time we saw Sam he looked like he was charging forward and kicking butt which earned him the nickname “Italian Stallion”! When we cheered for him the Smile on his face went all the way around his head. He looked like he was having the ride of his life! And he was, finishing the bike in 5 hours 18 minutes and a new PR, AMAZING!!

O.K. no matter how you slice it, at this point these guys have been full throttle for nearly 6 hours! Try to do anything with this kind of intensity for 6+ hours. Now they have to run a Marathon, and oh, by the way it was 93 degrees! So as Jessi and I saw it, here is where the real “over the top” cheering had to come in! These guys needed some fresh inspiration, and a boost of energy that would carry them to the finish line.

Keeping in line with our original goal to be the BEST cheer and support team ever, we pulled out the stops! So here we are cheering on our guys Roger #490 & Sam #562 at the ½ way turn around of the Marathon. It was no surprise to us when they both finished with new PR’s! Helloooooooo, BEST cheer and support team ever!!!!!!!!

Ironman Finish

Most hilarious moment of the day? When to Jessi and my surprise Kevin and Emma spontaneously joined in on the “over the top” cheering, they literally got a laugh out loud and comment (NIIIIIIIIIIIICE) from Roger! The finish line is always GLORIOUS! Congratulations Roger Thompson #490 “You are a Canadian IRONMAN” With a finish time of 9:48:13, a new PR, placing 33rd overall in a field of 2250+ participants including the pros, placed 5th in your age group (30-34) and qualified for Kona again! We look forward to cheering for you in Hawaii in October!

Again the finish line is always GLORIOUS!! Congratulations Sam Picicci #562 “You are a Candaian IRONMAN” With a finish time of 10:44:55, which was a new PR, placing 173rd overall in a field of over 2250+ participants including pros, passing 571 people on the bike leg and cutting 1:10 off your total time. Wow Sam what an awesome race, we hope to be cheering for you in Hawaii as well!

How sweet it is!

Victory is Sweet! These guys are true Champions! They had a huge goal, one that most people would never even attempt. To accomplish it they had to carve out countless hours of training. Again training not only in 1 sport but in “3”! They had to spend many hours of research, involving personal trial and error, to come up with a plan that they believed in and that they would execute on perspective race! This plan had to be tried and rehearsed and tweaked time and time again. With focus and determination they took on the challenges of the course and the day and conquered them. They had to challenge their minds and bodies in ways that few of us ever dare to. This is hard core! This is tough stuff! In the end, with all the accolades and successes, these two guys are humble and down to earth, they are “Nice Guys”, they are husbands, fathers and friends. I feel honored to have cheered for them and grateful to be able to call them my friends!

Underpants Runs

The week before Ironman there is a full schedule of events from participant meetings, clinics, tradeshows, equipment check in, participant spaghetti feed, street dance, concerts, more meetings and of course the “Underpants Run”. This is an Ironman fundraiser for Junior Development

















Roger kept egging Jessi and me on about doing the “Underpants Run”, telling us of the time he observed this race in Kona and what a riot it was. Jessi and I were tempted to do the race but knew that we had a 1hour 40minute run scheduled for the day, but after some creative processing, we rationalized that if we did the “Underpants Fun Run” that we could deduct that time from our long run time for the day, that was all the motivation we needed, great idea we thought! O.K. we are psyched and ready to go for the “Underpants Run” , until we realized that neither one of us would be willing to do the run with the underwear we had in our suitcases! Oh No! it is 9pm, would there possibly be anywhere open this time of night that would have underwear that we would be comfortable wearing? YES! We scored at a local Drug store, Game on!















The race started at 8:30am at Starbucks! Jessi and I arrived in our sweats. As we surveyed the crowd of over 200 people we slowly got up the courage to take off the sweats and expose our race uniform! Yes we were giggling, it was a hilarious sight, the race gun went off and the mass of underpants runners ran through downtown, through the Lake Side Resort, down the beach and back through the city streets to Starbucks. We laughed the whole way, from nerves, from the idea that we were in our underwear, from looking at all the different underwear, all the different bodies. At the finish we were a bit freaked out and we couldn’t decide if it was because we actually participated or that in the end we were actually beginning to feel comfortable in our underwear!!!
















P.S. You can click on the picture to enlarge it. :-)

Whitecap Swim

While in Penticton for Ironman Canada, we stayed at Golden Sands Resort, which was located right on the beach of Lake Okanogan. We had a 3 bedroom Suite with living room, dining room and full kitchen, it was awesome. We walked outside across the crosswalk and were on the beach of Lake Okanogan where the Ironman swim would start on Sunday. Jessi was determined to have me swim the course so we decided to do an early morning swim Thursday and were surprised that at 6:30am there were already white caps on the lake. We moved ahead with our swim, is was extremely frustrating and energy intensive but definitely good practice.

Triathlon Toe Club

I wanted to join the rest of the gang and show you my gnarly Triathlon Toes! I captured this picture while in Penticton Canada last week, so they had actually had a chance to heal a bit before I took the shot. Hope this isn’t too graphic for you.

Starbucks Swim 8-20-06

Today we met The Thompson’s at 5-mile Starbucks for coffee and a little carbo-load breakfast. Then we all proceeded to Medical Lake to do an Open Water swim! It was a beautiful morning and we had the lake all to ourselves, which was amazing. We actually made the 1st footprints on the beach! Paisley and Emma played on the beach while we swam from the sandy beach all the way to the other end of the lake and back, which is about 1.5 miles. Definitely the furthest I have ever swam in Open Water! Kevin joined us on the swim, his 2nd of the season and said he was going to swim for about 30 minutes. To his surprise and ours he swam the whole 1.5 miles, which meant he actually swam for about 1 hour! Nice work Kevin, you looked great in your wetsuit by the way.

Highs of the day for me……… was actually seeing Kevin swim 1.5 miles by choice and seeing Margo Fitzgerald at Starbucks

Low of the day for me………..seeing all the Brad Stark (the enemy) political signs along the road… Re-elect Ralph Baker for Assessor!!


Funniest moment…………..Having Jessi clobber my head with full stroke force as we collided in the middle of the lake, we both came up laughing hysterically!!!!!! And I thought I had already completed Jessi’s swim boot camp!!!!!!!! Guess she decided I needed the advanced course! HA… OUCH!… HA… HA

Hey GG how do you like my new swim cap????????????

If you want to add some SPICE to your Triathlon training – or go through Jessi’s Swim Boot Camp…….. join us for our next Starbucks Swim on Sunday September 3rd, see you at Starbucks at Five Mile at 8:30am!!!!!!

Motivation

Motivation

Only 6 weeks into my journey towards my 1st Ironman and I am finding that some days are harder than others to get my self motivated and out the door to get my training sessions in. Once I begin the training session, whether it is the swim, bike or the run, I can usually get into it and enjoy the process. There are just times for me that it is hard to get out the door and get started. There is this tug of war inside my head that pulls back and forth between all the reasons (excuses) why “I am not” going to do it and all the reasons (decisions) of why “I am” going to do it!















On days when I struggle I seem to have developed this staging process of gearing up!

-I lay out my workout clothes, avoid them for a time, but eventually put them on
-drink some fluids, ponder nutrition, turn on the TV, go to the bathroom
-then get my HR monitor, watch & MP3 player out, lay them on the table
-drink fluids, ponder nutrition, check e-mail, check the time
-vacillate between which shoes to put my orthotics in
-drink fluids, load the dishwasher, eat some yogurt, go to the bathroom
-decide to put on HR & watch, start a load of laundry, look at the clock
-ponder which sun glasses to wear, look at the newspaper
-drink more fluids, clean my sunglasses, check the time again
-talk to family members about their activities or needs for the day, looking for some
excuse outside myself that would have priority over my training
-put on my shoes, pace around the house, do I have the right clothes for the weather
-put on my MP3 player, go to the bathroom
-30 to 45 minutes have gone by, pressure is building within me, I have got to get started
-on my hardest days, I actually turn my music on inside the house and that usually gives
me the motivation to open the door and get my butt outside
-once my music is on, there is no getting out of it! I am off and training no matter what!

For me, the lack of motivation seems to come into play for getting myself out the door and getting started, once I have made the decision to get out the door and start, then I am motivated to challenge myself in the training session.

Triathlon is becoming a very important part of my life. I think it is a very inspiring sport to be involved in. The races are exciting, the cheering of the spectators is inspiring, and the health benefits for your physical body are numerous. However I don’t think most people realize that to complete any longer distance triathlon or to achieve any level of success in the sport or at a race, there are MANY lonely hours of training where an athlete is driven by self motivation alone!

I desire for self motivation to become a powerful force inside me, I know that it will allow me to succeed in the sport of Triathlon and will carry over to all aspects of my life as well.

There are 2 things that I have learned for sure in Triathlon:

1. I have never completed a training session and then regretted that I started it!
2. Crossing the finish line of any race is GLORIOUS!

Troika 8/6/2006 - Spokane, WA

My 2nd ½ Ironman – Troika 8-6-06

I had the choice to do a Sprint Triathlon on Saturday or the ½ Ironman on Sunday and I can’t believe it but I picked the ½ Ironman! Wow that is personal growth in Triathlon. The second time wasn’t near as scary. I had conquered a lot of fears with my race in Lake Stevens. I found myself actually excited for the Troika. I was excited to push myself a bit harder. My coach Roger suggested that I had probably been too conservative on the Bike at Lake Stevens, might have had something to do with the “crashes”!

The swim was 2 waves, men went 1st and five minutes later the women started. Again I felt myself honored and considerably comforted to be able to start the swim with Jessi, I think she is becoming my security blanket at the start of the swim! This swim was brutal for me, I never did get a space all to myself, there was always someone hitting or bumping me which was frustrating for me, because this time I wanted to focus on speed since I had conquered the distance fear at Lake Stevens. Even with the congestion I shaved 2 minutes off my swim, so I was happy with that.

The bike was a point-to-point ride, from the farmlands of Medical Lake to Downtown Spokane. It was a very lonely course. Only 1 or 2 places for spectators in the first ½ hour and the rest was alone, just me, my bike, and the wheat fields. The course wasn’t as challenging as Lake Stevens, but there were lots of rolling hills. My ride went pretty smoothly, I tried to maintain a higher heart rate (HR) throughout the race and I did manage to stay on my bike, no crashes and no flats. My bike time was 20 minutes faster.

The Transition from the Bike to the Run (T2) was right in front of the new water fountain in Riverfront Park and then the Run went out the Centennial Trail past Gonzaga University and along the river. I felt GREAT for the 1st 3 miles of the run, I was just cruising! Then I started to struggle around mile 5-6! What a blessing it was for me when Kevin, Scott and Cheryl Jones drove by me, honking and cheering for me. That lifted my spirits and gave me some inspiration to keep up the pace. The second half of the run was tough for me, however I kept slamming down the water and taking all the iced sponges I could carry at the aid stations. What a treat that was it was 91 degrees!

Comparative Data:

Race.............Lake Stevens.....Avg HR.....Troika............Avg HR

Swim (1.2mi)...40:47min.............150..........38:13min.........155

Bike (56mi)....3hr 24min.............142...........3hr 4min..........145

Run (13.1mi)..2hr 22min.............145..........2hr 13min........155

Overall Time........6hr 38min........................5hr 57min

My Coach Roger says that it is difficult to evaluate improvement by time because of the variables of each course, both terrain and accuracy of measurements. So what he looks for is HR and effort. My HR averages for Troika were definitely higher, which was rewarding for me to see, since my goal was to focus on more intense effort on each leg. I definitely felt like I was putting in a harder effort. My experience so far is that ½ Ironman is an extremely challenging distance, it is very difficult physically and mentally to maintain a high level of intensity for 6+ hours, however I still maintain that I like the longer distances better.

The finish line was Glorious, partly because I was soooooooooo glad to be done, but mostly because of my amazing cheering squad who sacrificed their whole day cheering me on!! Special thanks to Kevin, Emma, Scott & Cheryl Jones, Tim (Jessi’s dad), Kris and Anna Seppa, Linda Salisbury (Jessi’s mom) who were there from the start to the finish! Roger, Eileen Thompson (Roger’s mom and dad) & Madison! Thank you to Sam Picicci for your pre race encouragement and cheers on the course! Thanks also to Jennifer Shepherd for cheering me on at T2 and along the run and for Kim Ellis for surprising me at the finish line, even when she had company from out-of-town!!

Special thanks to Kim Ellis for your labor of love in posting this Blog, thank you very much Tri-sista!

Special thanks to all of you who check up on my blog and send me your encouraging words, they mean a lot to me. Thank you for being interested and supportive of my Ironman journey…………..Love Kathi

My first Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens

Due to the size of the post, it is actually broken into 5 different sections. Keep scrolling down to follow the story of my first half ironman!

We arose at 3:50am (3 ½ hours sleep), walking around in a dark house all doing our separate pre-race food and hydration rituals.

4:45am we all piled in the car, including Emma and drove away. During the 50 minute drive my mind was overwhelmed with details of getting through the race (getting hydrated, how many ounces of fluids I should drink, what type of fluids and when, how many gels and when, how many supplements and when, how much food and what and when, my head was buzzing with data) and those who know me well know how my Frontal Right Brain handles too much data, Yikes! On top of the fact that my brain was about to explode with information, my stomach was twisted upside down and inside out with nerves! I felt myself going into mode, and getting very serious, trying to focus and not freak!

We arrived at the race site around 5:35am, as we got busy with all the pre-race details of, timing chips, body markings, checking in bikes, & trips to the porta potty, lots of trips! As I began setting up my transition area, my anxiety began to settle down a bit. Once I got into my wetsuit I started to get excited about the race. The fact that Jessi and I were in the same swim wave was very comforting to me.

Ironman 70.3 cont'd

It was a deep water start, and Jessi and I were in the 4th wave, we lined up to the left closest to the buoys and in front. As we were treading water waiting for the gun I was feeling excited and ready to face the challenge, my HR was 119, which proved that I really wasn’t freaking (if you remember from the Valley Girl Tri where it was 133 at the beginning of the swim). The first 200 yards of the swim was pretty crazy (hitting, kicking, pushing, everyone trying to jostle for elbow room), I was very grateful that Jessi had put me through her “swim boot camp” the day before! I had some person hitting my back every stroke for at least 200 yards (I kept thinking, can you not feel that you are hitting me?). Once we had all found our rhythm and claimed our little piece of the water, my swim went very well. On the way out, my head was overwhelmed with how far out we had to swim to the turn around, however my body seemed to be doing just fine. I just kept swimming and I finished the swim in 40 minutes and 47 seconds, 278th overall and 8th in my age group.

The bike course was 2 laps of a 28 mile loop, it was very hilly, seemed like there was less than 2 miles of flat on the entire course. We were either going up hill or down hill which required a lot of shifting! My first loop felt pretty good, I felt strong and was having fun with the race at this point. I had a little crash coming down too fast on a steep hill that had a sharp right hand turn at the bottom, skidded my back tire sideways 3 times, recovered it twice and on the 3rd time ended up coming to a stop into a guard rail! Got my heart rate up, bumped my left leg a bit, but I was back on the course quickly. My second loop I decided to experience another crash, this time I slid on gravel and got road rash on my left hip and shoulder, this one earned me my race nickname “Crash” by my fellow competitors! I messed up my derailer on this one so I had only about ½ as many gears to finish the 2nd lap, which made for some pretty frustrating, shifting! Oh I also had my chain fall off going up a steep hill and was successful at replacing that by myself, Yeah for me!! I managed to follow my nutrition and hydration plan fairly well and I finished the bike leg in 3 hours, 30 minutes and 22 seconds. I finished the bike 329th overall and 10th in my age group, so I got passed by a few people on the bike.

Ironman 70.3 cont'd (#3)

When I started the run, my legs felt like they were not going straight! For about the first 3 miles of the run, I was struggling. Just couldn’t seem to get into any kind of rhythm that felt good. I was talking to myself, trying to come up with a plan that my mind could handle and that my body could follow, about the time I decided I was going to try to run for 15 minutes and walk for 5 minutes, I started to feel better. By the 6 mile point I was feeling pretty good, seemed to be passing a lot of people and knew I was going to finish this race running which thrilled me! It was 97 degrees while I was on the run. I completed the run in 2 hours and 22 minutes, which my fastest stand alone ½ marathon was 2 hours and 2 minutes. I finished the run 297th overall and 5th in my age group, so I passed some people on the run!

My overall finish time was 6 hours and 38 minutes and I finished 7th in my age group of 45-49 year olds and finished 297th overall out of about 800 participants! So my inaugural ½ Ironman was a great experience for me and I really had a great time, feeling that my strength in Triathlon lies in the longer distances. I definitely want to do another one!!

Ironman 70.3 cont'd (#4)

Many thanks to my support team and cheer squad:




Thank you to Kevin for being my biggest supporter and encourager! For believing in me even when I have not believed in myself. Thank you again for my race wheels that I know made me go faster. And thank you for all the amazing pictures that you take that provides lasting memories of my races. I love you, your support means the world to me!

Thank you Emma for being the greatest Cheerer! I loved hearing your cheers, “Goooooo Kakie” they made me smile and made me go faster.

Thank you Mom for sacrificing 3 of your precious retirement days, to come all the way from Oregon to cheer me on. It was your cheers that I heard the loudest and they encouraged me to continue on.

Thank you Don being willing to fit this into the crazy schedule that mom keeps you on. I understand your introversion and therefore I know it was a sacrifice of love for you. Knowing that you yourself were a Triathlete (back in the day) and that without any words you understand what it takes to do a Triathlon. Your support of me in this sport gives me inspiration and strength!

Thank you to my 2 stepbrothers Jim and Shawn, it was such a surprise to me when mom told me you were coming and what a thrill it was for me to have you cheering me on. It was so great to see you both, thanks for your support and interest in my Triathlon endeavors!

Jessi (GG), what can I say, you are my Triathlon mentor. Your “can do” attitude, work ethic and dedication to training inspire me and make me want to stretch myself and do better. You continue to have amazing patience with me as I work through different fears that would interfere with my participation in the sport of Triathlon. You have come up with so many creative ways to help me overcome some of my fears for which I am very grateful! Love Ya!

Ironman 70.3 last "cont'd"

Roger, my amazing coach! It is you who started this all!! The first time I saw you race 4 years ago, I knew deep down inside that I wanted to do this. Cheering for you was so exciting for me and it got me so excited about Triathlon! Your love and passion for the sport is contagious! I am so thankful for the ability to have you as a coach. I have learned so much and look forward to learning more. Your belief in me gives me courage even in the midst of my fears. Having you cheer for me makes me want to push myself to make you proud of me. Thank you so much, your willingness to invest in me boosts my self-esteem in this sport and inspires me to want to do better.

Adam, Noah & Paisley, thank you so much for your sacrificial support of my training and races. I appreciate all of the help around the house that allows me to get in my training. Your willingness to pitch in without complaining is a gift to me. I love you so much for your willingness to get up early and come to a race to cheer me on. I have cheered for all of you for so many years that it feels strange to be the one being cheered for. Just know that your cheers and support fill up my mommy heart with love beyond words. I love you with all my heart!!!

P.S. A big thank you to Kim, my “Tri Sista” for sacrificing an evening with her husband to get this very long blog posted!

Hugs and gratitude to all of you who sent words of cheer, positive thoughts and prayers my way….Love Kathi