Yakima River Canyon Marathon Race Report

The day before

I don't consider 100 mile drive a destination race (thanks to all the bike races 2 hours away), so I just drove over the morning of the race and worked all day the previous day. Drank lots of Hammer+Noon mixture all day at work to stay well hydrated. Had some veggie pizza and salad as well as one beer as my pre-race meal. Then packed all my stuff for the next morning. I was surprised how easy and fast it was to get things ready compared to preparing for a triathlon - just running shoes and a running outfit - no need to go through a 50 item checklist. Went to bed at 10pm and fell asleep pretty easily.

Morning of the race

Woke up at 4am on race morning, took a quick hot shower, braided my hair, ate breakfast and was out the door at 4:45. Breakfast: toasted frozen waffles with cream cheese and peach jam, banana, OJ and tea. Drank 2 more bottles of my Hammer+Noon mixture on the drive over (about 1.5 hours). Showed up right in time for packet pick up opening and just before the shuttle bus with a bunch of Marathon Maniacs arrived, so managed to go to the bathroom before the lines got crazy. It was still 1.5 hours before the start, so I had plenty of time to pin my number, go to the bathroom a couple more times, and debate what I should wear for the race. It was below freezing at the start, but I knew that as soon as the sun comes up, it would warm up the temps. Ended up going with shorts and a long sleeve T-shirt. It worked out just right, though the start was freezing! I wish I had a hat and gloves to throw away.

The course



Net downhill of 300ft. The course winds along the Yakima river in the canyon. Most of the course is slight downhill slope, but there are some hills at miles 5 and 6, then again 14, 15 and 17, and finally a brutal uphill at miles 21 through 23, then one more slight uphill at mile 25. Gorgeous course, but this kind of profile was absolutely brutal on my body. The quads and hips were not happy during the race and even more so now, the day after.
We were lucky with the weather. Even though the start was freezing, it warmed up to around 50s pretty fast - perfect marathon running temperature. We also didn't get much wind which I hear can be a major factor in this race some years.

The race

My strategy was to start right on pace for my goal of 3:10 finish - around 7:15 and hold myself back from going faster down the hill until the first uphill at mile 5 in order to save my quads from locking up later. I planned to let my legs cruise on the downhills after that point and get some fast miles in. I also knew that due to my recent right calf injury, I had to take the uphills really easy if I wanted to run the whole way since calves are usually stressed on the uphills and if I blew my calf out I would have not been able to finish anywhere near my goal. I was also hoping to find a solid 3:10 looking runner to follow so I didn't have to run on my own the whole way.
I didn't quite follow that plan. In the first mile, I found myself following closely behind the 2nd woman and 2 guys who although did not 'look' like 3:10 runners, were holding a steady pace that I felt comfortable with. (I don't mean to sound condescending when I say they didn't look like fast runners. What I mean is they were not tech'd out and geeked out like your usual marathon runners are at that pace. They were wearing cotton shirts and khaki shorts and did not have a perfect long distance runner stride, they also didn't take any gels and didn't always stop at water stations for a drink even though the water stations were 3 miles apart. But what the heck, they were hauling it pretty consistent at sub 7 so more power to them.)
I knew that starting at sub 7 was risky and that it was against my plan, but it felt doable (thanks to the slight downhill grade) and I liked the idea of sticking with some runners to make the pacing easier so that I wouldn't end up all by myself later on. And no lie, I also started having visions of 3:06 or something like that, so figured I should just give it a go.
One part of my plan that I was going to stick with no matter what was my uphill tactic. I took shorter more frequent steps on the first hill at mile 5, so I had to let my pacers get ahead. I still could see them right ahead and as soon as we reached the top of the hill, I resumed my normal stride so I kept pacing off them even though at a distance.
I crossed half way point at 1:32 and my legs still felt good. I knew that the hills in the second half were harder, so I would run a slower second split, but I still thought that 3:10 was very doable and possibly even a 3:07-3:08.
The second hill came right at miles 14-15 and I did my short step/high turn over steps again. I got passed by a guy who's been running a few meters behind me the whole time near the top of that hill. As we started down the hill, I let my legs go and was able to pace off him for the next few miles. It was at this downhill that I realized that my quads were quite shot by now after all the 'slight downhill' running. I was still able to cruise down the hill at a sub 7 pace, but the legs felt stiff.
Mile 17 hill was gentle, so it didn't slow me down too much. It started to get hard at this point so I had to start employing a lot of mental powers to keep the pace. My hips and quads hurt even on the very slight downhills. And I was just plain getting tired after running at this intensity for so long. I started counting down miles to the big hill. I knew that was going to be a suffer fest so it was important that I stay strong and don't lose any time before it if I wanted to stay on pace for 3:10. So I kept telling myself "mile 17, only 3 miles left till the big hill... mile 18, only 2 miles left till the big hill... " as if the big hill was the finish of the race...
When the big hill came I just squeezed my teeth and went up it keeping my steps short and my leg turnover as fast as I could. The worst part about it was that it had a fake summit. You see what you think is the top of the hill, but in fact after you make the turn at that point, you realize you only ran up half of it and the remaining part is even steeper. Oh well - I kept putting one foot in front of the other one step at a time. I got passed by a couple more guys on that hill, but there was no way I could have gone up it any faster.
As the downhill finally came, the quads and hips were hurting even worse, but I knew I only had 3 miles left at this point, and I had to run them fast if I wanted to finish in 3:10, so I just had to tune out the pain and let the gravity do its job. Slight uphill on mile 25 almost did my calf in. I felt it wanting to cramp up, so I had to take a deep breath, shorten my step and literally tell it to wait 1.5 miles before cramping. I managed to avoid the cramp, but I no longer had the full range of motion even on the downhill after that, I kind of had to 'fixate' my foot at the 90 degrees angle to my leg and not really push off with it any more, just keep placing one stiff leg in front of the other and let the gravity take me down the last hill. That last sub 7 mile on the last downhill took a lot of mental focus, I even managed to pass one of the guys who passed me earlier. I really wanted to cross the line while the clock still said 3:10, but was a few seconds late. Oh well - that will be a task for next time. I'll have to work just a little bit harder for it.

Time: 3:11:22
Pace: 7:18 per mile
Overall place: 3rd female
AG place: 1st in 25-29 age group

Mile Splits

mile # - time - AHR
mile 1 - 6:55 - 172
mile 2 - 6:51 - 182
mile 3 - 6:53 - 183
mile 4 - 6:48 - 184
mile 5 - 7:12 - 185
mile 6 - 7:08 - 184
mile 7 - 7:01 - 182
mile 8 - 6:55 - 182
mile 9 - 6:57 - 182
mile 10 - 7:09 - 182
mile 11 - 6:59 - 179
mile 12 - 6:46 - 180
mile 13 - 7:17 - 179
mile 14 - 7:34 - 179
mile 15 - 7:57 - 180
mile 16 - 6:53 - 175
mile 17 - 7:30 - 178
mile 18 - 7:06 - 177
mile 19 - 7:04 - 178
mile 20 - 7:32 - 177
mile 21 - 7:39 - 173
mile 22 - 8:10 - 172
mile 23 - 9:16 - 174
mile 24 - 7:19 - 170
mile 25 - 7:32 - 174
mile 26 - 6:58 - 172
last .2 - 1:51 - 178

Nutrition

I took one Cliff Shot Gel 15 minutes before the race, and 3 more at 30m, 1h 15m, and 2h into the race. I also carried my own bottle with Hammer+Nuun mix for the first half of the race because I knew that the water stations were sparse and like to be able to drink whenever I want to during the first half of the race. After that point I took a sip of each, PowerAid and Water at each water station (they were about 2.5-3 miles apart).

Post race

After I crossed the line, my legs locked up so bad, I could barely walk around, I couldn't manage to stretch out my quads - they were in so much pain. I made my way to the massage table and the 15 minute massage didn't really make them feel a whole lot better. I chatted with a few runners who I saw on the course including the female winner Annie - she is such a nice lady who runs 10 marathons a year all around 3 hour pace.
On the bus back to the start I chatted with one of the guys who didn't really look like a runner. Turned out it was his first marathon and he ended up with a 3:09 - BQ! He told me when he trains he doesn't even drink water at all on his 20 milers just because he doesn't like the idea of carrying a bottle. Crazy! Sounds like if he joins a runners group and does some proper training and speed work he can probably get really crazy fast... Made me jealous - I have to work so hard to get to this level and do everything "just right" to get even close to his result.. Oh well, we all have different level of abilities and ultimately just race against ourselves. That's why I love running!

Overall

I wonder if I would have been able to run this race faster if I held back a bit at the beginning. To be honest I don't think so. The sub 7s felt good then and if I didn't bank up that time at the beginning, I don't think I could have made it up later in the race. And with that terrain, my quads and hips would have gotten sore at any pace, so the amount of suffering would have been the same. The 2nd woman only came in 2 minutes before me and I could see her the whole time, so she slowed down similarly in the second half, her only advantage over me was that she could run the uphills normally, that's why she was a couple minutes ahead.
I think given the terrain and my injury I executed just about the best I could there yesterday. I think if my calves were healthy I would have hit my goal.
Great local scenic race. But probably wouldn't do it again just because of all the damage to my body is too much.

Ironman World Championships Hawaii 2009

Pre-race

I flew into Kona five days before the race on Monday October 5. I’d never been to Hawaii before and landing in Kona I experienced that sweet feeling of excitement and anticipation. I remember feeling the same way when I landed in the United States (JFK) for the first time as a foreign exchange student more than 9 years ago.

After a short cab ride, I checked into the 2BR condo that I was renting for nearly 2 weeks a couple miles away from downtown. Once settled in, I jogged down to the swim start and did a short 30 minute swim. The bay was pretty choppy on that first evening, but other athletes around me assured me that it is usually much smoother in the morning. I finished the evening with an obligatory visit to Lava Java for a smoothie and an awesome sunset.



On Tue morning I took a longer swim (around 1 hour). When I was just about ready to turn around, I found myself, along with 3 or 4 other swimmers, surrounded by hundreds of dolphins. They were swimming, playing, jumping and doing flips all around us. There were literally on the order of a hundred. They would swim as close as within one meter from me. It was one of the most incredible moments in my life. I swam back to the shore very happy. After the swim, I picked up my race packet and put together my bike.



That night was the Ironman Parade of Nations. I didn’t know what to expect, but I figured I’d come down and check it out. I saw different countries gathering in the parking lot behind the host hotel. I found Slovenia, Ukraine and Poland, but didn’t see Russia anywhere. Turns out, I was the only representative of Russia at the event. When there’re less than three representatives for a country, they don’t even have a flag and a sign prepared for you, so I had to put together a homemade sign. I got a lot of cheers during the Parade as the only Russian :)



Wednesday and Thursday flew by – I kept waking up on Seattle time at 4am local time, working remotely for a few hours, then sneaking out for a short swim, ride or run, eating lunch and working some more in the afternoon. My boyfriend arrived on Wednesday and my Mom and her husband Boris arrived on Thursday. They were all really accommodating of my last minute pre-race needs as well my dietary requests and schedule. My family made T-shirts with “Go Lilia!” and an awesome star logo, but unfortunately their luggage got stuck in London. It didn’t arrive till Monday. So they didn’t get a chance to wear them for the race. Nice work, British Airways! :(



Thursday night we went to the pre-race banquet. It was very inspiring to see Rudy Garcia-Tolson speak. He is the first double amputee to race at the Ironman World Championships pedaling a regular bike with prosthetic legs (as opposed to a handcycle). The story of Kyle Garlett was another amazing story of overcoming a lot of odds to compete in Kona. Kyle has won a battle with cancer more than once, however, all the chemo therapy made his heart really weak and he had to have a heart transplant exactly three years ago on October 10. Finally Matt Hoover, the winner of the Biggest Loser was also to compete on Saturday. The oldest competitors were 80 and 79 years old respectively for Male and Female. The youngest Female and Male competitors were both 20 years old.

On Friday morning, I packed my race bags. This process went much faster this time than in Coeur D’Alene. I had a TYR speed suit for the swim portion, thanks to my friend Rhae (who kicked major butt in Kona and came in as the 3rd overall AG woman). I decided to use my regular road helmet after finding my aero helmet way too hot for the conditions. The T1 bag had my bike shoes, socks, race belt, tri top and sun glasses in it. T2 bag had running shoes, a pair of dry socks (that came in handy), a hat, a running shirt and some awesome pink shades. I put some shot blocks and a spare tube + CO2 in the bike special needs bag, and I didn’t use the run special needs bag. I went for the last 3 short workouts – 20 minute swim, 25 minute ride and a 15 min run, before checking in my bike and gear bags. On the way into the transition there were representatives of all bike, components, seat posts, aero bars and helmet manufacturers. Each was counting their respective bikes and other gear represented at the race as the athletes went by.

My current goggles started leaking in the last few weeks (again!) and I made a stupid decision to try some new goggles on that last swim, AquaSphere Vista – they are top of the line goggles made from silicone unlike the cheaper goggles that I’d been swimming in. They fit very well, so I went ahead and bought them. On Saturday I learned the original Ironman commandment the hard way. Don’t ever try anything new on race day!

I drank lots of Gatorade throughout the day and enjoyed a pre-race meal consisting of pasta with veggies and Yves veggie protein and went to bed around 9pm.

Race morning

I woke up at 3:45am. I had some coffee, mango juice, banana and a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. My pre-race routine consisted of taking a quick shower (kind of silly to take a shower before an Ironman, huh? Well, it helps me wake up), putting on sunscreen (yes, it probably all comes off in the swim, but I still do it before every race), body glide, putting on my race clothes, braiding my hair. After doing the final sanity check to make sure I had everything I needed in my pre-swim and my bike special needs bags, I was ready to head down to the race. Boris drove me down to the start at 4:30.



I got body-marked and dropped off my special needs bags. Then, I headed into transition, where two volunteers helped me pump my tires. It was a father and his young son (probably around 8) who traveled from San Diego to watch the race and volunteer. I thought that was pretty cool. More Gatorade was consumed and more porter-potty line chats were had. I ran into Rhae, we wished each other luck and took a pre-race photo.



My family came down to the race around 6:30. We watched the Navy seals drop from the sky together. Then, I gave my Mom my iPhone so that she could tweet in Russian while I was racing :) Finally, it was time to head towards the beach. I heard the pro gun go off and watched them speed through the water.



The entrance to the beach is pretty narrow, so it took a while for 1,700 age groupers to get into the water. Once in the water, we were supposed to swim out about 20-30 yards towards the official starting line marked by a Gatorade bottle on each end. I realized that my ankle strap with the timing chip was not tight enough and had to come back out of the water to adjust it (this is not usually a problem as all my other races have been in wetsuits). I positioned myself in the back of the pack given that I am not a strong swimmer and this was a World Championship after all. There was a volunteer catamaran nearby, so I followed the example of other back-of-the-pack swimmers around me and hung on to it until the gun instead of wasting precious energy treading water.

Swim – 1h 32m 48s



The gun went off without much warning, I started my watch and off I went. I actually had to swim around a few swimmers, so maybe I started a bit too conservative, but at least I avoided the brutality in the front of the race. It was fun to see the divers underneath. I think there were some in Coeur D’Alene too, but the water here was very clear, so you could see everything unlike CDA. On the way out I actually caught some feet and drafted for a bit which was nice. Despite the fact that my goggles fit nicely when I tried them on I had to stop and adjust them a few times throughout the swim on race day, which made me lose my draft. I didn’t let it get to me and continued on at my own pace. The turning buoy came up before I knew it, we turned right and then turn right again after we cut over about a 100 yards. I checked my watch at that point and was surprised to see that I’d been at it for almost 50 minutes. Wow! I expected to be closer to 40. But again, I just continued at my own pace and kept looking around for any dolphins or sea turtles. I didn’t get to see any – probably way too many people for them. At some point on the way back it became harder to see, particularly out of my right eye. I adjusted the goggles a couple more times and continued on. When I finally came out of the water and took my goggles off, I realized that my right eye was very swollen – that’s why I’ve been having trouble seeing.

T1 – 7m 20s

I was sconcerned about my eye, so after thoroughly rinsing off in the showers and grabbing my bike gear bag, I headed straight to the medical volunteers. They said that both of my eyes were actually swollen, but the right one was in worse shape. It apparently looked like an allergic reaction and it would go down soon. They put a few different eye drops in both of my eyes and said to come by again in T2 to take a quick look. I still don’t know what caused it for sure. I had swum for over an hour in that bay before, so I doubt it was because of the salt water. I don’t remember anyone kicking me in the face during the swim or any jelly fish stinging me. So I am guessing it was a reaction to the new material of the goggles. Dang! I guess no silicone implants in my future :P

Oh well, some temporary swelling of my eyes wasn’t going to stop me from continuing the race. A volunteer helped me put on my bike stuff – socks, shoes, tri top, race belt, sun glasses. Another volunteer spread some sunscreen all over me. I drank some water, ran to my bike, put on my helmet and I was on the bike. I got to see my Mom, Kevin and Boris as I was leaving the transition so I waved at them and they cheered me on.

Bike – 6h 54m 51s



Bike was definitely the most brutal part of the race for me. It turned out to be hillier, windier and hotter than I expected. I followed the advice of Kona veterans Mark and Rhae, and held back on the first half of the bike to make sure I don’t fall apart on the second half. I made sure my heart rate stayed between 150 and 155 (whereas in Coeur D’Alene it was definitely at least 10bpm higher on average).

My right eye was so swollen that for the first few miles I couldn’t actually see out of it. That was interesting. It got better later on though.

My stomach felt fine, so I started sipping my Carbo Pro + Nuun mix right away. I had 2 bottles of that with 400 Cal and 2 tablets of Nuun in each. I finished both of them about a third of the way through the ride. After that I switched to Gatorade. I lost count of how many bottles of Gatorade I consumed. I tried to refresh it at every aid station even if I wasn’t finished with the bottle to get the cold stuff. I also had 2 packages of Clif Shot Blocks (200 Cal each) and I grabbed one of those whenever I felt like it. I went through both packs by the end of the ride. At each aid station I would grab a cold water bottle and pour a bunch of water on my head, legs, arms and body to keep my core temperature down. It felt really nice.

Somewhere between my mile 30 and 40 I saw that first Male pro, Chris Lieto, fly by. I didn’t see much of him, but did notice that it wasn’t Craig Alexander. Then, the rest of the male pros followed along with Chrissie Wellington holding a pretty good overall position. It was awesome to see those guys! I kept looking for Rhae, but I missed her somehow. I also saw Rudy Garcia at some point and cheered “Go Rudy!” as I passed him.

The wind was strong and mostly switched between vicious headwinds and gusty side winds that almost took me out a couple times (ok, not really, but if I was using my own race wheels, 60/90 Heads, I would probably have a harder time than with the 404s that my friend Cathleen kindly landed to me). The last few miles before the turnaround were really hard with the uphill and a headwind – it was heartbreaking to look at the sub 10 numbers on the speedometer.

Instead, I cheered on the other racers that passed me or that I passed. I thanked the volunteers and the policemen whenever I had a chance and waived at the spectators. A few aid stations had some music, so I performed some fine fist pump and raising the roof action.



The turnaround (when it finally came) was very lively with lots of volunteers and spectators. I blew some air kisses at every one and happily made that U-turn. I was looking forward to the tailwind! I did get some nice tailwind for a few miles and even hit some 30+ speeds. It didn’t last too long though. As we turned back onto Queen K, came more uphill, side winds and headwinds.

I definitely consumed more liquid on this ride than I did in CDA so at some point on the way back I really needed to go to the bathroom. However, I really didn’t want to stop. My time was already going to be super slow, so I was hoping to at least keep it in check by not stopping. (Feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you don’t care for the details). I figured it’s time to try the whole pee off the bike thing. If Lance can do it, why can’t I? One thing I learned is that it’s not possible to do that while pedaling, so you have to wait for a nice downhill. Once I hit the downhill, it was easy! I felt like I joined some secret club :)

It was again really tough in the last 30 miles into town. It felt like it was mostly uphill and the headwinds were back. I just kept my positive attitude and kept cheering other people which helped me stay strong. At this point I also started to take a sip of Coke at each aid station. It felt so refreshing in that heat. We did get a break from the wind during the last few miles into town, plus seeing all the marathoners was nice. I did get to see Mirinda Carfrae running to her new Female Kona marathon record.

I feel that I executed well given the conditions. Reducing the Carbo Pro bottles from 600 in CDA to 400 was a good call. I never felt overly full and at the same time never hungry. In CDA, I consumed way too many calories in the first half, then couldn’t eat anything for about an hour which lead to being hungry at the end of the ride. Maybe, I could have pushed a bit harder, but who knows that might have killed my run.

T2 – 7m 44s

A volunteer grabbed my bike and I headed to the changing tent via a porter potty. I was happy that I packed a dry pair of socks. It was nice to put on a dry running t-shirt as well. I changed into my running shoes, put on my hat and my awesome pink shades. I asked the medics how my eyes looked. They said still swollen a bit, but much better than in T1. Off I went on the run.

Run – 3h 49m 15s



Coming out of the transition I saw my family and stopped for a second to give some hugs and kisses. Then I heard a helicopter overhead and Mike Reilly announcing that Chrissie Wellington has just finished. That was good timing! :)

I started running really strong. For the first 10 miles most of my mile splits were sub 8 minutes except for the uphill ones. I got lots of cheers from the spectators, some even yelled “Do it for Mother Russia!” – must have remembered me from the parade. I even had visions of keeping this pace and finishing a sub 3:30 marathon.

I did slow down as I went up Palani and turned onto Queen K to around 8:30 minute miles. At the aid stations, I grabbed some combination of water, Gatorade, Coke, bananas and oranges. No gels or other solids though. I also grabbed some ice and put it in my hat at the first few stations. As the sun lowered, it wasn’t quite as hot anymore and I wasn’t in danger of overheating like I was on the bike.

I watched the most beautiful sunset at the Energy Lab. After the sunset there was a fire show on the course - that was nice of them. I just kept chugging away at the miles in the dark. 20, 21, 22… I did slow down some more in the last few miles. 2 people passed me around 22 or 23. But I feel like I still held it together pretty well.

The last half a mile down Ali’i drive was magic! People are cheering like crazy. The finish line is in sights. There’s something different about the Ironman Finish Line when it’s dark outside. It makes it that much more desirable to cross it – it’s like the light at the end of the tunnel. I saw my Mom, Kevin and Boris near the finish. I stopped briefly for more hugs and kisses before I ran down the finish chute. I sped up as I finished and passed 2 people in the finish chute. I felt sort of bad, but they were moving pretty slow. Looking at the results now, they are both almost 1 minute behind me. I high-fived as many people as I could along the finish chute. I opted against the cartwheel because for some reason they build a ramp up to the finish line in Kona. I still jumped as high as I could as I came up the ramp.

Post-race



I finished in 12:31:56 and felt pretty good after finishing – must have not worked hard enough :) My support crew appeared to be more tired after 12 hours in the sun. I got my finisher t-shirt, hat and medal (sadly, Chrissie Wellington wasn’t there yet giving them out). Then, I dragged my family into Fish Hopper - a restaurant with the view of the finish line. We celebrated with beers, delicious food and watched the other athletes finish.

I learned that Kyle (who had the heart transplant) didn't make the swim cutoff by a few seconds, Rudy Garcia (the double amputee) didn't make the bike cutoff by 8 minutes or so, and Matt Hoover (the Biggest Looser) didn't finish until 12:03 which means he is not an official finisher. That was really sad :( None of the big stories finished the way we were all hoping. I am sure they all will be back again...