Live and Learn

Sami gets tired of hearing me say ‘Things Happen For a Reason’, but I truly believe it to be true. By that I don’t mean to make excuses for things I don’t have an answer for, instead I believe things might not always go the way you like but as long as you get something out of each experience you are moving forward.

Last weekend was a big one for me, but I would not be Carmen if I had not been taking mental notes throughout the day from athletes, volunteers and cheerleaders to use for next year’s race (YES my mind is always working J). Since I know I will come back to these earlier posts as my big day approaches I wanted to make sure I wrote some of those down, some of these are things I learned, others are pure observations that I thought I could benefit from if I found a ‘better way’, so hopefully  will have an answer for all of those that require one before Nov 3^rd 2012…

SWIM

-         To Swim or to Run: Some athletes got in the water right after completing their first loop, making their way to the start of loop 2 swimming. Others chose to run back to the swim start and then headed out for loop 2. For those watching from shore it was very obvious which was the fastest way… run the stretch instead of swimming it, 1^st you are always faster when running and 2^nd you can get a bit of a breather in between loops.

-          They have wetsuit strippers… use them, UNLESS you are in the middle of a big pack then it might be worth just heading to T1 and have volunteers peel it off there.

-          Long vs Short Sleeve Wetsuit; this one is a tough one for me. I can’t swim with long sleeve wetsuits, if you’ve seen me swim you know that I am like a windmill, which means I have a very HIGH turn over. My shoulders get very tight with long sleeve suits and feel very constricted. I own a sleeveless and love using it. Unfortunately Panama City has a lot of ‘visitors’ as I like to call them (AKA jellyfish). I can’t even remember the amount of people I saw at T1 who got stung by jellyfish and the people who got stung the worse were those with sleeveless wetsuits. I also know that purchasing one just for that one race is not smart as I will not be using it again. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

TRANSITION 1

-          Compression Socks: I am debating on using these or not. I use them for recovery all the time but I have never run on them, I was thinking it might be something good to try in training but there MUST be an easier way to put those on, specially on race day when you are wet. I think I have seen a video on the past (maybe in Twitter?) that shows you how to put those most efficiently. If you know which video I am talking about please forward it my way. I guess I will need to practice that before race day.

-          Arm Warmers: I saw some people who had baby powder on those and it definitely made a difference. But again, some people took forever to put them on, like the socks, there must be a more efficient way. I saw some guys putting them halfway up I am assuming they pull them all the way up while on the bike, this would be of course the best case escenario if it weren't that my bike handeling skills are non existent.

-          Biking Shoes: so far I have not been able to master getting on the bike with the shoes attached to it, hopefully I will be able to do so before IMFL, but if not the best solution would be carrying them with me and putting them on by the bike since is a bit of a stretch you have to run til you get to your bike.

BIKE

-          Everybody I’ve talked to emphasizes on how important it is to change position on the bike every now and then, as the course is flat and you keep using the same muscles over and over again.

-          Changing tires: right now if I were to have a flat in the middle of a race I would have to call it a day. They came up with this spray thingy for tubulars but I yet have to learn how to use it. My friend went through 2 CO2 cartridges on race day and had to wait for mechanical support, 45 min. later she wished she had used the cartridges on training rides.

-          PACING is the big game here. I am an expert on blowing out the bike leg of a half IM and then not having anything left for the run. I better start thinking on something to keep my mind entertained for 112 miles so that I don’t find myself going too hard.

-          Set small goals so that you can break the course into small segments, thinking 112 miles ahead of you seems like very very long day ahead of you.

TRANSITION 2

-          Not much to do here, in and out.

RUN

-          Form, form and more form. The best way to be effective with your running is to have a good form. Mine is not pretty but is either that or it gets really, really, reaaaaaaaaaaally UGLY. So, concentrate on high knees, relaxed shoulders and face and keep checking yourself through out the marathon.

-          I have opted for not running a marathon before IMFL, which means my first marathon ever will have a swim and bike warm up. Being an out and back course, thinking I have ahead of me 4 times one stretch seems a lot more doable than 26.2 miles.

-          Pacing is also big here, stay on track with your pace for the first three ‘stretches’ and if you have anything left bring it home on the last one.

-          I loved seeing everybody out there on the run course, but let me tell you that big part of that is that everybody had a HUGE smile on their face. One person in particular didn’t (I am not saying names) but my bet is that this person made it a lot more miserable than necessary. I am not a smiler, I am one of those people that LOVE having support out there, but you will probably not get a hug from me in the middle of the race, or a very enthusiastic wave for that matter. Please know I appreciate your support and I NEED it, I just tend to stay focus on my ‘goal’ and I promise I am going to try and smile. I have even been smiling on my training runs this week just thinking on what is ahead of me.

Smilling on the Bike is so much easier than on the Run

-          If you have to go, you have to GO! GI issues is one thing, having to go potty is another and you can take care of that in no time.
-          Coke: everybody swears by it, I have used it on a couple of races but I think I did so when it was too late, I am thinking incorporating it as part of my nutrition plan might be a good idea.

-          Advil?? This was new news to me, I heard from more than one person that took Advil on their second loop of the run. If you have done this before or if you know of it, does it really work?

-          Lastly, enjoy the finish chute. Sometimes we forget to savor every little thing and when we realize we haven’t done it we regret it. I have been ‘known’ for pushing so hard that I can’t remember the last minutes of a race, I don’t know how many more IM races there are in my future so I need to make sure I enjoy this one and I can hear out and loud the ‘Carmen Brahim you are an Ironman’, isn’t that why we all do it?? Brian B mentioned to me how one of the only ‘bad’ memories he has of his first IM is that he can’t remember coming down the chute. His family was there and he didn’t even see them, I am sure he will make sure to enjoy every second of it next year and I am planning on doing the same.

 And this is what makes it ALL worth it

I think I have covered everything I can remember right now, if you have anything to add that think I might find beneficial please send it my way!!