Coach Fiona Whitby's IM Hawaii Race Summary
Ironman Hawaii report October 8, 2016
10 Years 10 Seconds – Fiona Whitby
As most Triathletes do, I had trained and hoped for a fast day. I knew I could put together a great day once I got over my “swim hump”. Kona is Kona in many ways and thus far after my two other Kona race days, the swim still haunted me. I wanted to have a positive and successful swim from the Pier (on race day). If my time was faster that was a bonus, what mattered was having a good experience. Since qualifying in May I worked my negative “swim” mindset into a positive “you can enjoy it” one by October. We arrived more than a week ahead and got the chance to swim the full course in training, definitely on the road to a positive swim mindset. I swam open water almost every day and ultimately conquered my Kona swim fear. I had a ‘pleasant’ and enjoyable swim on race day. I barely got touched, I swam on feet and finished 3min faster than any previous Kona swim I had done. Super pumped about this. It’s amazing what your mind can do for you, not to mention training.
Now onto the bike. All in all, I felt good for 75% of the ride, the other 25% was more questionable! I lost some gusto on the way back to town, the head wind for the last 45+km was relentless and got the better of my performance and mindset. I just couldn’t quite stay on top of my effort and numbers, mentally fought as best I could but my performance was slipping. Got it done, then onto the run.
Off the bike and onto my feet, ouch! They hurt, my right foot in particular, was stuck and very painful. I couldn’t walk when I got off, let alone run. Problem! I had a slow T2 as I needed to take the time to fix my feet, so I used my therapy skills and mobilized my feet. It was better but not perfect but at least I could walk with less pain and even gave it a jog. Ok I could do this! Next up the run.
Once I got my feet unstuck, into my shoes and out on the course, I felt surprisingly good considering the end of my ride. Phew! Like my bike, I felt good on the run for about 75% of it. From 20-30km I struggled, I tried to keep my pace up but my time at the aid stations seemed to get longer and longer. Although I do like hot weather, I did struggle with trying to keep “cool”, which is all relative in Hawaii! Back to my positive mindset for the last 10k I truly dug deep and pushed myself with what I could do on that day. My final km’s were fast, they hurt but I had enough in me to keep fighting. Nigel yelling in my ear the last couple of km’s helped too! He was on me to push, push, push and run past anyone in front! I put my “head down” and dug deep, ignoring the negative thoughts and pain. It was all about pushing, going hard and hanging on till that finish line! My efforts allowed me to pass a couple of girls in my AG, nice. Kudos to the women in 40-44, they had speed and lots of it. I finished 12th out of 108 women. In the end, I was only 10sec slower than 10 years ago, in 2006 when I raced my first Kona, a 1sec loss per year, I truly can’t be disappointed with that.
Stats 2016: 10:44:55 (Swim = 1:08, Bike = 5:39, Run = 3:45)
Stats 2006: 10:44:45 (Swim = 1:11, Bike = 5:38, Run = 3:46)
Kudos must go to my husband, Brandon unknowingly sustained a concussion in T1 in the change tent. Unintentionally, he was hit just above the eye with a powerful elbow! He fell over, got up and literally wondered what hit him but continued regardless! Within an hour, he was vomiting and lacked power and energy for the rest of the race. He just couldn’t figure out why he had nothing! The next day when he showed me his ‘welted’ eyebrow and how it came about, we figured out what happened and why his race was less than stellar. Fortunately, he was ‘ok’, he didn’t get hit again in the race and didn’t fall off his bike and he still finished the race. Impressive (or crazy?!). Needless to say, he has some unfinished ‘Kona business’!
Many thanks must go to our family for their support of our endurance adventures. The Grandparents have been wonderful at looking after Myles so that we can spend time swim, bike and running in prep for our goals. Another thanks to our NRG clients and friends who inspire us with their dedication and pursuit of their own challenges and goals.
Cool Fact: Brandon and I were 2 of 20 'Family Members' racing together in Kona 2016 (stat provided by Ironman Corp.)
Mahalo! Fiona
