Fiona Whitby’s Race Report
Ironman Hawaii World Championships
The Year of the ‘Shake’
October 21, 2006
Pre Race
I traveled to Hawaii on Oct 7, 2006 for preIM training, warm weather and some R&R. The travel was an uneventful trip arriving in Kona at 6pm Sat night, oh did I say uneventful? Well we did arrive without luggage but we were assured it would arrive on the next flight at 8:30pm. In the meantime my mother and I checked into our condo in Waikoloa and then ventured back to the airport with our fingers crossed to pick up our luggage. Surprisingly they were there; our 2 bags and my bike box! We were off to a good start. Our first week in Kona was perfect, regular training with Darlene (NRG PT athlete), some relaxation and book reading by the pool. We ventured into Kona a few times to scope out the area, buy groceries and get the gift shopping started.
Kailua Bay, Kona
The atmosphere in Kona was relaxing and calm, tension was low; other ‘triathletes’ were very friendly, waving and smiling when passing by during workouts. Fast forward to the following weekend; many more cyclists and runners on the road, the infiltration had started, race day would soon be here our peace and quiet was nearing an end. Insert Earthquake here!!! Sunday October 15th at 7:07am the 6.7 rated earthquake shook the condo. It was a very surreal experience. I had been online reading and sending emails then lay down in my bed to read, next thing I knew the walls and my bed were shaking. At first I thought it was our neighbours upstairs being awfully ‘loud’ so early in the morning. Then I realized it was not them and ran out of my room into my mom’s room to see if she was okay. She was just waking up and didn’t know what was going on. That was when I had a few ‘seconds’ to see the trees, the pond, the grass…okay everything moving and not from the wind; they were actually moving back and forth, bizarre and scary and then the power went out. But we really didn’t know what was going on. Then a few minutes later it happened again; later rated as a 5.7 shake! Now we figured it must have been an earthquake. Should we be concerned about a Tsunami? Rumour around the condo complex was no.
Our phone line was working (momentarily) and we were able to get a call through to Darlene’s condo which was not too far from ours. We had planned a run workout in town at 9am; so off we went, well we quickly decided that going into town was not a good idea. Instead we went to find gas and food; just in case we were out of power for who knows how long. We drove 6 miles to Waikoloa Village and found a convenience store open and picked up a few things (at price gouging prices!). Five hours later our power returned, life was back to normal, or so we thought. The TV had lots of pictures and stories about the event, CNN is so dramatic, it was confirmed that the earthquake had occurred off the west coast of the Big Island just north of Waikoloa the resort area we were staying at and since it had only been a 6.7 quake it was not big enough to generate a tsunami, thankfully 🙂 The island continued to survey the damage, fortunately our condo held up well. We heard of a few broken lamps and flooding by broken water heaters but the damage around us seemed minimal. There were a few athletes (NRG PT and other TO athletes) out training when it happened; fortunately they survived the quake unharmed; a few boulders fell around them on the bike course but no one was injured.
Evidently, race week started with a pretty big ‘shake’!! Brandon arrived the next day as regularly scheduled although he did have an extra stop because the plane was low in fuel due to extra cargo going to Hawaii; he also arrived without luggage fortunately it showed up on the next flight!
Race week in Hawaii is literally a week, registration starts on Monday and there is ‘something’ race related happening each day. Tensions are rising among the competitors, you can feel the prerace anxiety the moment you enter the Kona area. My thoughts were “the hard work is already done; relax and enjoy the moment” I had a couple of massages from a TO massage therapist which made the relaxation and preparation much smoother. The NRG PT athletes got together on Wed for their swim, bike and run workouts and then onto the prerace meeting. The officials mentioned ‘what if’ situations; another earthquake, a tsunami and any other natural disasters, they were trying to prepare us; not scare us. Ha! Ha!
The day before the race we dropped off our bike and transition bags at the Pier (transition area). At the World Championships you are escorted to your bike spot and given a ‘tour’ of the transition area layout, then handed off to another volunteer to drop off your ‘bike to run’ bag and handed off again to drop off your ‘swim to bike’ bag, then you are politely asked to leave to minimize the traffic in the transition area; quite the production!!
Transition bag racks and bikes in transition area
Race Day – Sat. Oct. 21, 2006
Pre Race Morning
I woke at 3am after 6hours of fabulous REM sleep. Had my race breakfast, relaxed, had a few bathroom trips and drove into Kona at 4:15am. We arrived at ‘body marking’ around 5am and proceeded to start the day. Despite the anxiousness of this past week, the morning was very relaxed and calm; tensions were not high at all. I went to my bike pumped my tires, put my food in my transition bags and reviewed the layout of the transition area (which is on the Kona Pier, normally the drop off spot for cruise ships).
The Swim
I had time to relax and do nothing before the start so I found a quiet spot against a tree to collect my thoughts, review my race plan and even get a little ART treatment to loosen things up. Then I ran into Jody and Brandon; time to get race ready, put on my swim speed suit, body glide and get over to the swim start. Jody’s inside knowledge on entering the water helped to get us there far enough in advance not be rushed. Along the way we picked up Darlene, Linnea, Walt and Augy. We waited until the pros started at 6:45am before we swam out for our warm up and start which is in the Kailua Bay on the eastside of the Pier. Quite a wide start line so you actually feel that you have room to move. I started on left side of the line, hoping for ‘clearer’ water and fewer bodies. The cannon was shot and off we went, arms and legs everywhere, the water was so churned up it was hard to ‘see’. I had to remember to look for the buoys on the top of the swells and find some feet to swim on. I must say this swim was the ‘politest’ swim I have ever been in. There were hands on your feet but no grabbing; everyone was just looking for feet to swim on. I got knocked around a bit but nothing too bad. Around the sailboat at the end and pier bound we go which felt like ‘miles’ away, the chop, the swells and the current made it feel like we were swimming uphill or like riding on a false flat, you were working hard but going nowhere. I guess my 1:11 swim would substantiate the ‘slowness’. We figured out later that Darlene, Augy and I all swam the second half beside and on each others feet, ‘small world’!!
The swim start!!
T1 and the Bike
Out of the ocean and under the shower hoses to rinse the salt water off then into the change tent. The volunteers were amazing, one was putting sunscreen on me, another was getting me a cup of water and yet another was getting my stuff out of my transition bag. Everything was happening so fast a moment later I was running out of the tent to fetch my Cervelo P3C. Brandon was there to tell me not to worry about my swim time as it was a ‘slow’ day, judging from the other times. The first 15km is in town, looping around Kona, great for spectators and us as we get to see everyone a few times before heading out on the Queen K Hwy (Hwy 19). Now we are heading towards Waikoloa, Kawaihae and Hawi; time to settle into a rhythm and relax.
The ride out of Kona was exciting, I was racing in the Ironman World Championships, and this is really when this fact had a chance to settle in. Pretty cool. I had the course broken down into sections to make it easier to get through. Next up was the airport then Nulalani then Waikoloa which was about a quarter of the way through the ride then Kawaihae, where I should see Brandon and my mom again. Then Hawi where the turn around occurred. I was feeling good on the bike, maintaining my heart rate and my watts not pushing too hard keeping it steady, but I was having trouble taking in my nutrition, my stomach tightened up and rejected it. Onto Plan B as Plan A just wasn’t working I knew I couldn’t get through the bike with too few carbs. Plan B and C were okay, my stomach was very temperamental and I had to be careful with my intake.
The climb to Hawi was tough; there was a headwind so it was a bit of a grind. Mentally you knew that once you made it to Hawi you were turning around and heading home, that made the climb a little easier. This was a good chance to people watch; see the pro’s, other NRG PT athletes and friends go by. The descend from Hawi was spectacular, I was flying, I did everything I could to go as fast as possible in this section because this was a ‘give me’ section, where you would get ‘free speed’ without costing too much energy. As I knew I had to save it for the last section home, which inevitably would have a headwind. Back to Kawaihae where I saw Brandon, my mom, Stacey and Matt and lots of others cheering, what a great spot the energy was endless, until you were 1km past and then you were on your own again. About 50km from Kona the wheels fell off, not literally, it started to rain, the headwind was strong and my change in nutrition was catching up with me, my heart rate and power began to drop. Mentally I was fighting; ‘keep it together, it’s not far now’. But I struggled. I reevaluated my nutrition, bumped it up a little, relaxed my body and worked at getting back on track. I had to run a marathon when I got back so my body needed to be ready for it, I didn’t worry about my bike time I just got myself physically and mentally ready to run. Despite the low period I finished my ride strong, pulling myself together and preparing for the next task.
Bike course at Mauna Lani
T2 and the Run
A bitter sweet moment when you give your bike to a volunteer in T2, but now it was time to run. Down to the end of the pier and into the change tent where I slipped on my Nike Zoom Air Percept shoes and quickly made a bathroom stop; now I’m off and running. Out of transition up Palani and right onto Kuakini Hwy where I found a small water main cover and rolled my ankle over it, a little jolt to the body but nothing major as I kept running. As I got onto Alii Drive I felt pain in my right foot; forgetting that I had rolled it a mile back I stopped to ‘adjust’ it and again kept running. It was still a little painful but slowly it regained its movement and I forgot about it thanks to the cushioning and comfort of my Nike’s. At this point there were other things to think about…like keeping as cool as possible while running a marathon in 86 degree weather with the sun beating down and humidity all around! The weather definitely makes the race EVEN more challenging. Hydration management is a HUGE factor; I couldn’t get enough water on or in me all day. The run through town is energizing, seeing everyone in the race and having so many spectators cheering.
Up the killer hill on Palani and out of town on the Queen K; this is where mental toughness really comes into play. It is quite lonely out on the highway heading to the Energy Lab; you really have to work your mind to keep you motivated. The volunteers at the aid stations were amazing, always a smile and a cheer. I had a bit of a low period around the half way mark, my stomach wasn’t happy again and my body was fading, my nutrition hadn’t been ‘ON’ like it should have been and I was starting to suffer. Mentally I kept telling myself to “keep it together”, I slowed down to take in my nutrition, cool my body, and make a pit stop and ‘get it together’.
Down into the Energy Lab (NELD), the turn around is at 18miles, only 8 more to go. As I was running out of the energy lab I had a couple of motivators 1) there were 4 girls in my age group not too far behind, they weren’t going to beat me! and 2) there was a guy moving at a good pace (faster than me) who passed me as we were climbing out of the NELD so I hooked on him and let him pull me out of the lab by this point we were almost at 20miles, only 10km to go, what’s 10km I thought. This is the time to get it going and don’t look back. I had to finish this race strong and now was the time to do it. I dropped the guy who helped me out of the NELD (sorry) and off I went. Okay so it wasn’t quite as easy as that; it hurt but I was going to end this race fighting. I knew at this point I wasn’t going to make the finish time that I would have liked but it wasn’t the day for that time; I could only do what I had in me that day and at this point my “math” had calculated that I might finish just under 11 hours. So I ran hard, I was making it in before 11 hours (6pm) even if it was the hardest thing I did.
As I raced along Kuakini Hwy I ran past a few guys who said “go get’m”, I told them that I was going for the girl ahead who was in my age group. Great motivation! I passed her just before Alii Drive and didn’t look back, in fact she yelled out to me “don’t worry I’m not with you”!!! Running along Alii Drive to the finish was AMAZING, I was finishing the Ironman World Championship race and the truth is I really can’t do math as my time was 10:44, more than “just under” 11 hours in fact by 16 minutes with a marathon time of 3:46!! How exhilarating!!! I finished with a smile (I think), was very happy to be done and proud of my accomplishment!
Fiona on Alii Drive
Race Splits:
Swim = 1:11
T1 = 3:35
Bike = 5:38
T2 = 5:04
Run = 3:46
Total = 10:44:45
Age Group Placing= 10/70
Overall Placing = 713/1600+
The End
What an unbelievable day; the energy, the emotions, the pain, the mental anguish and the happiness. Now I feel my ankle! The pain was back; what happened? I had forgotten that I sprained it at the beginning of the marathon; it’s pretty amazing what your body can endure when the adrenalin is pumping! Off to find Brandon and my mom, have a dip in the ocean, get a massage, and eat some food and rest! Congrats to all the NRG PT athletes and my other tri friends well done on your achievements in Kona. Now for some R&R with my husband in Hawaii!!
Thank You’s
Many thanks to my husband, Brandon, for all of your support through this year as you raced your best trying to join me on the start line in Kona. Also for being ‘everywhere’ on the race course with an encouraging word, smiling face and a camera in hand. You’re the best! To my mom, thanks for coming to Hawaii and supporting my goals. To Nigel (NRG Performance Training) for your outstanding coaching, knowledge, guidance and support. To Bill (Nike) for the light and cushioned Nike Zoom Air Percept’s – they’re the bomb, thanks. To Chantal for your love and continued support, next time you’ll be there too!!! To Darlene and Brent, it was great having a training partner and a photographer, thanks to both of you for the awesome times!! To Joe and Sarah, you guys are the greatest, thanks for the chats and the meals and of course the race day support! To my Kona friends, athletes and supporters, thanks for the workouts and the cheering and the encouragement in the race! To my athletes and friends, thank you for your words of encouragement, the many emails of motivation, support and congratulations you all are a part of my success.
Holiday Time
‘Real’ rest and holiday time for Brandon and I on the Big Island; and then we got sick, well ‘par for the course’ after race day and all of its ‘festivities’. As we worked on recovering from the race and being sick we toured the Big Island; visiting Volcano National Park, Black Sand Beach, the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawi, Hapuna Beach and a few other beautiful areas of Hawaii. We enjoyed a few more dinners with our Kona friends and then traveled back home! What a trip 🙂
The summit of Mauna Kea at sunset – Brent, Darlene, Fiona & Brandon