Monday, July 02, 2007

Ironman Zurich Race Report

Where do I start? Switzerland was lovely. I had never been there before.

We arrived and got settled into our hotel, explored the bike course and then the next day I FINALLY got to meet TriJack. Here are the bloggers: TriNick, IrongirlNyhus, me, and TriJack. He is just so darn nice you can't help but like him.



After he arrived, we went on another ride to view the Heartbreak Hill portion. This hill was not as long as The fabled Beast, but it was steep. I loved it actually because on race day there were hundreds of fans lining the hill with noisemakers and flags, just spilliing onto the road - this surely must be what Le Tour must feel like. Below are Laura, DV, Nick, Andy, Dave, Greg, and me at the summit.



Below we had dinner and enjoyed some pre-race carbs. Me, Jill, Kris, Laura, DV.



At the Expo, we got our group picture taken. There are a few missing - 17 of our group raced, but there were a lot more including the Cheering Team.



Below is the Swiss version of the Boys Room. Very clever. Keeps the regular portalets open for the girls!


The Race:


I got a little lost on the swim, so my time was slow, but the water was calm and clear and refreshing. Of course the mass start was choppy, but I finished with my goggles still intact and feeling strong. So I headed off onto the bike course, leaving my sandwich on my transition towel. That would come back to haunt me.

The bike course was BEAUTIFUL. All around lake Zurich, then up (and down) The Beast, back around Lake Zurich and up (and down) Heartbreak Hill. I took it nice and easy on the hills (6 or 7 mph), but felt like I was flying on the flats. The downhills were a bit scary for me so my max speed for the day was only 35 mph, and that was only once. Ask TriJack if he took it easy enough on the downhills! ;-)

I flew through transition (fastest T2 in my age group) and started the run. I felt great and started looking for my Run Special Needs bag right away - I had my food, imodium, pepto, salt tabs, etc in there. You've all heard me say, "Ironman is a thinking man's game. it's about pacing and it's about nutrition." I still know that. Well, everything is in German and I never found my bag. But I was nibbling on stuff at the aid stations and still sorta felt great. Until mile 16. I started asking our cheerleaders how much further; where's the Special Needs area; is it really hot out here... stuff like that. By mile 18 I was deep into a bonk which involved ...uh... digestive indignities. There were not enough portalets so I had to go where I had to go, fortunately still having the foresight to pick up some discarded sponges to... you know. It was ugly and embarrassing. My heartrate was below 100 - even on the parts I was still "running" (AKA shuffling). With only a couple miles to go I was laying down on parkbenches, crying, shi**ing, and trying to do the math conversion of kilometers to miles to figure out how many miles I had left. I was toast.

I finished in my personal slowest time of 13:04. I found TriJack, Kris, and a few others at the finish, but I knew I needed to stumble to the medical tent (my first time ever) for some assistance. My blood pressure was 90/50, so I was in pretty bad shape. I didn't recover until much later; not fully for at least a day.


Interestingly, I am more proud of this Ironman than any of the others because I really had to dig deep to get my arse to that finish line. I genuinely thought I was dying out there and the fact that I was able to drag myself in, is something I will forever be changed by.

I want to thank Speedy Pete for encouraging me out there all day... in my happy moments and my bawling moments. (Pete is our friend from MN who is biking across Europe for the summer. He altered his itinerary and rode over to Zurich from Iceland just to watch us race. After covering 2000 kilometers, he seemed tired but in pretty good shape! (BTW, Pete - I have your extra gear that you were sick of lugging - and it didn't make my baggage "overweight", either). I also want to thank Kris and Jill for taking care of me afterward - getting me food, retrieving my bike from transition, getting me to the van to go to the hotel. You guys are just so nice. Thank you.

Anyway, that's the report. My only regret is not seeing all my friends cross the finish line.

This is TriNick with TriJack and Richard, one of out guides, having a post-race beverage in the hotel bar. The next day we went touring to Baden.


This is Barb, Brian, Andy, Sue and TriJack soaking their hands in the thermal spring water in Baden. That was a gorgeous town, but it was drizzling and the springs we were headed to were closed. So we hiked over to the fortress and climbed the 440-ish steps to the top for a view of old Baden. It was worth every step. (Hey, DV - what's on your elbow??)



Baden from the fortress summit.



We said goodbye to TriJack and packed up our bikes and took the train to Grindewald and Interlacken, and First. (that's the name of the town). I have more pictures to load, but here are a few.



Jeff and Laura tossing a snowball as we got up closer to the glacier in Grindewald.




This is me hiking.







...with Nick.



Here the cloud's partially covering the glacier, but it was really scenic up there.

This is the train station in Grindewald. We stayed in a lovely spa hotel - so relaxing!


All in all, it was a great trip. But I must admit, when the US customs agent checked my passport and said , "welcome home"... I got a bit teary.



32 comments:

Bigun said...

Awesome pics - looks like a great IM destination! Didn't know of your race day problems - good to hear that you have recovered! Congrats on another IM finish!

tri-mama said...

Wow Jenny! Tough race, definitely an ironman-I'm proud of you. Can't wait to hear more and see more pics

RunBubbaRun said...

Congrats Jenny, in toughing it out. The hard ones are the ones we remember most..

Looks like a great place to do an IM..

Hope you are all well now and fully recovered..

Woohoo, IronLady, how many is that now?

Spokane Al said...

You are one tough lady. Way to gut it through. Overall it sounds like a trip that you will remember for a long, long time.

Iron Girl Nyhus said...

Great report Jenny. I can't wait to exchange pictures... and yes, I am still waking up at 3am... argh!

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

OMG Jenny! Great job on the Ironman PR. You really earned that one. Your post had me on the edge of my seat.

Welcome home, indeed.

Stay tuned...

Iron Krista, "The Dog Mom" said...

Congrats on making it thru such a tough day. I'm so terrified of having one of those bonks. I think that's why I hold back so much... I'm scared to crawl across that line!

I am so impressed with the fact that your WORST time is 13:05! You are amazing.

21stCenturyMom said...

Whoa! I think I've said this before but you are a MASHEEN! With a worst ever time of 13:05 - whoa!! You are amazing. Congratulations on finishing while your body was letting you down.

Love your leopard print gloves, too! Very sassy and cute.

Julie B said...

Jenny, way to keep tough and hang in there for the whole race. You did it! You earned it! Great job :) The scenery is beautiful, thanks for sharing the pictures.

Julia said...

13 hours your worst time??!! Jeez...I'm glad you made it to the finish line.

marz_racer said...

Jenny you are tough as nails. You show the true Ironman spirit. I have also been awake in bed every day, just around 3. That part really sucks. I hope you are recovering well.

greyhound said...

Wow, you really clawed your way through the valley. Interesting how the pride of accomplishment isn't necessarily measured by the time.

Tri-Dummy said...

Great Report! Way to push through all the troubles.

Awesome pics, too!!!!

Taconite Boy said...

Good race Jen. We missed you! Looking forward to getting together soon.

jbmmommy said...

Wow, what a tough race- as if there's an easy Ironman. Glad you made it through, dealing with the digestive indignities during a race sounds awful, I've never raced long enough for it to hit during, I don't think I'd last.

Thanks for sharing the great report and pictures.

Born To Endure said...

Wow..just WoWWWWWW, love those pics...glad you had so much fun!!

TJ said...

Congrats on making it through to the finish!
I hope I can achieve your WORST time later this year.

T-Storms said...

Nice race report Jenny - nice pic's too! congrats on finishing your race.

William Lobdell said...

holy crap! great report. you are my hero.

momo said...

oh my gosh, jenny, you are amazing. i can't imagine toughing it out like that - you're my hero.

be good to yourself this next couple of weeks - your body needs a rest!

are you doing cda this next year?

Tri Mom said...

WOW!!!! You continue to amaze me. What an experience! See you in Chisago?? I am acutally going to be in the Twin Cities this coming weekend. Congrats again on another amazing IM finish!

Laurie said...

Congrats on a hard fought race! You are tough as nails.

I love the male port-a-potties! Hehe.

brendaj said...

What an encouraging race report. I'm glad you had the time to enjoy Switzerland too.

Fe-lady said...

Congrats...13:05 is your SLOWEST time? Holy cow~!
This was a tough course too, wasn't it?
Great photos-thanks for sharing!

Carrie said...

It's interesting how ironmanlive doesn't show all the pain and struggle to get to the finish. Pain and struggle for a 13hr IM is impressive Ironwoman!

Cliff said...

Nice report Jenny.

Wait to kick your own butt and finish. Now i know i have to dig deepin my race.

Unknown said...

Beautiful photos. and the male portapotties cracked me up.

Way to dig deep and get it done.

Tri Mom said...

Jenny- I will for sure give you guys a call sometime Saturday. It would be great to be able to meet you sometime over the weekend. Looking forward to it. :)

Di said...

What a great report!Even under extremely tough conditions you crushed that race!
Congratulations Iron Woman.

Steve Stenzel said...

I'm sorry, I couldn't concentrate on anything you said after that photo of the male port-a-potties. That's a SUPER idea!! Can't wait for the rest!!

Julie B said...

Me again! Jenny, Ice Age is a great first 50 miler. It was my first. The course isn't all that difficult. There are some hills, but not real steep tough ones. It's easier than the other 50 milers in the region. You could run the 50K at Trail Mix in April for a good long training run before the May Ice Age. Perfect!! Watch out, the 100 mile race may be on the horizon :)

Anonymous said...

Great pics! Thanks for sharing your wonderful vacation.

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