IMCA is done! It’s hard to write this, but need to finish before I forget. My memory is not enough recently

(downstream):51:46:5:52:29:4:28:55 total:11:31:5485 out of 244 in my age group (I think I am improving)

Appreciation

Always need to thanks my family first. They flew to SAC to cheer on me at the finish line in the rain. I was glad I was able to finish before the kids went to sleep. Also, thank them to let me go for big rides on Sat morning. Many big rides ended up with kid’s activities so I appreciate Red Bull to help me go thru that. I was lucky enough to do this race with Club Fearless group. I got to see lots of old faces Judene, Joan, Diane, Roger , Tony and know more athletes and even support from the team. It is fun doing the race with a supportive group with no doubt, hope I will see you at other races in the future.Thanks Mark and Lisa swim with me in the Lake so I don’t feel bad for lifeguard because I might be the only swimmer there.Here is my preparation and race report.

Course

It is definitely a fun PR course. With downstream river, I got an incredible fast swim time which I never had. With a flat bike course, I don’t need to worry about the climbing, just need to make sure I don’t burn out and still be able to run. This is tricky because you might feel very good and spend all your energy out. So pacing is the key. For run, there are some climbing, but they are not bad and long. The big challenge is the weather since it looks like every year has really different conditions.

Training

This is my second Ironman and I really want to have a better result. I trained harder and spent at least 10-15 hours/ week for the past couple months until I got my big week of 20 hours training. I also did 3 long ride with at least 100 miles for each one. Although I missed two big plans because of bike fell and bee stings, I think overall I still complete my training plan as expect.

Hotel

I picked Hyatt Regency Sacramento with few reasons although it’s 1 mile away

1.with my credit card points for 4 nights for free. Thanks Mark for the tips

2. I can do self parking. The other one only has valet ArrivalUsually I will arrive on the last day for checkin, but since the race looks little bit complicated for me with shuttle to swim, so I decided to arrive on the first day and figure all out.

Pre workout

I arrived on Thursday and enjoy the rest of day after I checked in. On Friday, I did an outdoor run and indoor bike and also joined a OWS practice. The indoor trainer I got from Kaytee few years ago is very useful.

——- if you are not interested in racing, feel free to skip this part——-

Swim (51:46)

To prevent cramp, my strategy was to take a salt tab and drink one bottle of electrolytes. It was perfect when I did all the OWS practice, but unfortunately in the last 500 yards during the race, I got really bad cramp and even stopped. I carried this pain all the way until finish. The water temp on race day was 62 as I remember which was cold to me, but when I jumped in to the water, I didn’t feel that bad and was able to keep swimming. Although it’s downstream river, we were told to pick normal swim time to get in. I think I picked a little bit faster time, but the river was wide enough, so I didn’t bump to other people. I was hoping I can finish between 60-70 mins, but it turns out a really good result within an hour.It’s my first time using stripper to take off my wetsuit which was really fun.

T1(10:36)

Just peed and got my bike gear ready, didn’t really waste other time

Bike(5:52:29)

I felt pain from the camp during the swim, but it was manageable. I remember it was raining before the swim, and it looked better on bike, so I didn’t even bother to wear long sleeve. The first loop was ok, my plan was to keep 18mile/ hr, but most time I was able to do more than that. It started raining when I did the second loop, I was hoping it won’t be worst, but it did and saw some crushes and I was afraid that happen to me again, so I decided to slow down at every turn and make sure I can finish safely. I was expecting finish time between 6 to 6:30 and it turned out less than 6 hours. The rain was kinda heav , but it stopped when I left T2.

T2(8:10)

Racked bike and got my rice ball from container and drank water , but I forgot all my other nutritions so basically I at three rice balls that day with only one payday and some candies.

Run(4:18:55)

When I started running, I felt my legs might cramp soon. I was worried so I kept slow on the first mile and I got bananas at the first aid station. I also kept eating my rice ball. The first 10 miles, I was able to maintain my pace, but I started feeling tired after that. And the rain started pouring during my second loop. I felt the last 2 miles are the longest mile ever before I crossed finish line.

Nutrition

Before Swim – rice ball, electrolyte , salt tabBike – payday, gummy bear and skittles, salt tabs , rice ballRun – payday , rice ball, bananas, orange, Red Bull, coke.