I don’t really even know where to start on this race report. My memories of last weekend are so distorted from what I normal recall with my Ironman events. When they say “Ironman Wisconsin 2006 is one for the books” they weren’t kidding. I had seen the possible weather predictions for Sunday, but it never looked that bad. Yeh, cool and maybe a 30% chance of rain but that was about it. When I woke up race morning and saw the radar at 4:15 a.m. I knew it was going to one heck of a day.

I arrived at transition around 5:15 a.m. and it was only lightly misting. I had so many layers of clothing on that it took me a minute or more just to get them off for body marking. Coming from Austin, Texas I had been training in 95-100+ degree weather. When it’s 50 degrees out I’m literally freezing to death, so the 4 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants, shorts, tri top, jog bra, gloves and beanie were only somewhat stopping me from shivering. I got my trusty Lemond bike ready for its adventure and then I headed indoors before the swim start.

Luckily Jamie, my husband, was with me as I went down to the swim start. I was able to put on a jacket, hat and socks over my Helix wetsuit and then just pass them off to him at the last minute. The pro wave would be starting at 6:50 a.m. so I needed to be ready before the rest of the crowds. I warmed up, treaded water and hoped for the best before the horn sounded. I knew how fit I was starting this race, so I just wanted the chance to show that out on the race course.

The horn sounded and I was off. After a few strokes I looked around and realized that I was completely alone. UGH! I hate that and I didn’t want to be the one leading the race. After about half of the first loop I saw Hillary Biscay on my back side. Cool, someone to swim with. Eventually I let her go around and she led for the remainder of the swim. I felt sorry for her because she was the one having to navigate through the masses of age group swimmers on loop two. It was so bad because of the waves and the wind. We kept swimming into and over age group athletes. At one point I yelled out to her to take the inside line and she actually heard me, which makes me giggle knowing that now. We came out of the water in 53 minutes and headed into T1. I knew I would be freezing on the bike so I took the time to put on socks, arm warmers and a vest before heading out to my bike. Hillary took off out of transition a few seconds before me as I piled on more clothes.

Once I was out on to the bike I kept myself in check and tried to get my legs to relax. It was raining and I now realized that this day wasn’t going to be an enjoyable experience. I knew that if I got cold I would need to increase my calorie intake a bit to compensate for my shivering so I kept that in mind as I moved through my nutrition plan. At about thirty miles into the bike I was really freaking cold. My fingers were starting to go numb and my legs were shutting down a bit. As the bike progressed I couldn’t make my thumb meet my index finger to pick up my food or salt tablets so eating became a task in itself. Plus, because of the cold my bike handling skills were very pathetic, especially on the wet turns. Katja eventually came by me on one of the technical downhill sections and I was amazed at how fluid she was on the corners and the turns. My mind and body weren’t responding well enough to move through things anymore, but I made the decision to try and stay with her. I knew where my bike fitness was heading into this race and I felt that I needed to force myself to keep with her. I stayed with Katja for the remainder of loop one and focused on meeting my nutritional needs, especially in the weather conditions we were experiencing at that point (sub 50 degree wind chill and rain).

By loop two I was really starting to go downhill mentally and physically. Never before in a race had I tried to come up with reasons for why I could just quit. I started to secretly hope my tire would blow out, or I would drive myself off the side of the road on one of the wet turns and that would give me a reason to stop. My spirit was leaving me and my body was rebelling from the cold. Katja was gone and out of site by this point and I was all alone. At mile 80 I made a promise to myself to finish the bike out and see what happened on the run. It’s Ironman and you never know.

As I started the climb up the Monona Terrace helix into T2 I began going through my reasons for not starting the run. My back was jacked up, my hands were shivering, I had thrown up a few times, my legs were shut down, my mental state was at an all time low, etc… The reasons started flooding my way without any problem. I handed my bike off to a volunteer as I completed the slowest bike split I’ve ever posted in a race and I headed into T2. The next thing I knew I had a group of volunteers handing me my run equipment, changing my socks for me, putting my hip bag on my waist and telling me to go get’ em! They kept saying how great I looked, how awesome I was doing and how excited they were for me. Did they really think I was going to run a marathon after the last six hours and forty minutes I had been suffering? Well, I guess so because they shoved me out the door and on to the run course.

I was running in third place at this point. Ok, so now that I am out here I might as well see what I can pull out of myself. In reality I wasn’t doing too bad and by mile five I had made the commitment to stick this marathon out. I knew I wasn’t going to run near what I had planned (3.20 – 3.24 marathon split was my goal for this race) so I started making deals with myself. I tried to focus on my nutrition plan and see if I could dig myself out of the mental black hole I had previously buried my Ironman race in. Lauren Jenson passed me at about mile ten and I let her go. I didn’t want to push my luck with what I was currently holding since it was the first time my legs were doing anything remotely decent. In reality she never did get that far in front of me after that point but I didn’t have it in me to dig deep anymore. I was too cold and too far gone to respond to anything and now I was purely in survival mode. I kept with it, was passed one more time two miles out from the finish line by Paolina and held on for fifth place.

When I look back at my race I’m definitely sad with my times and placing because it’s no where near my current fitness level. However I’m really proud that I gutted it out and finished the race. Because of the day’s conditions I had served up every DNF reason I could think of on a silver platter and I never touched them. That’s something I’m definitely proud of and will take with me as I move onward in my racing.

I also have a whole new respect for Ironman spectators and volunteers. The Madison crew stuck it out in the rain, wind and cold and kept on supporting the athletes out on the course all day long. Without the help from the volunteers and the cheers from the crowds there would have been a whole lot more DNF’s in the race. I know that everyone racing that day were extremely grateful for everything these people did to keep them going. YOU GUYS ROCK and I can’t say thank you enough!

I also want to say congratulations to Katja and Hillary for a great race. These two ladies stayed strong during a horrendous day and I absolutely respect what they were able to do. Kudos for their first and second place finishes and I look forward to toeing the line with them again.

As I head back home I’ve already made the commitment to race Ironman Florida and give myself another chance to beat the Ironman demons that wanted to end my 2006 season on a sour note. I’m looking forward to the race and I’m even more anxious to ride my bike in some warm weather again. Thanks to everyone who cheered my way on race day and I’ll see ya’ll in Panama City, Florida come November.

Cheers,
Fish

Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon

August 5, 2006

St. Joseph, Michigan

July was a very busy month for me in terms of travel.  I had spent half the month on the road and I wanted to have some time to myself back home.  Thus I took a pass on racing at the Vineman 70.3 one week earlier (if I had raced that would have put me at over four and half weeks away from Austin, living out of a suitcase) and opted to participate in the Steelhead 70.3 in August.  My good friend, Tom Ziebart, is the race director for this event and had tried to have me race for the past few seasons.  I was able to finally take him up on the offer and thus I found myself spending a wonderful weekend on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan.

How beautiful is this?  And it's a LAKE!

The venue was very unique in that I could hardly believe I was at a lake and not on some beautiful Floridian beach.  After a few cheers from the crowd and fellow athletes I dove into Lake Michigan at 7:00 a.m.  The start was so different then anything I had ever done before in a half Ironman.  Each wave lined up on a large concrete jetty, with a lighthouse, and jumped (or dove) into the waters below when their respective wave horn sounded.  I felt pretty good on the swim which somewhat surprised me.  My left shoulder had been giving me a lot of issues during the last couple months and had forced me to reduce the volume of swimming I normally do.  If you know my training schedule at all you’ll realize that I don’t do much swimming to begin with for a pro, and that’s mainly from my past injury and surgical issues.  To reduce from what I typically swim per week is basically saying that I haven’t done much at all.  Anyhow, I still managed to do well exiting in first place and secretly said a little thank you to my left shoulder for allowing me to swim well.

I started the run to transition that took us up the beach, on to the boardwalk, along the sidewalk, on to the beach access road, into the parking lot, around the edge of transition and finally into T1!  Wow, I think I just started a duathlon that had a swim at the start.  I got out of my Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit, threw on my bad ass Rudy Project pink helmet and glasses and then hopped on to my pink Lemond Rennes bike.  My transition time was about six minutes, BUT I SWEAR I was moving the entire time!  (I have to justify that transition time to my training partners at Texas Iron or otherwise I’m going to get total grief from them for dilly dallying.)  

As I head into my stellar, fast six minute transition...

Once I got out on to the bike I stayed comfortable and relaxed.  My breathing felt good, my position felt good but my legs were killing me.  My quads were so cramped and tight that I briefly thought I might not be able to do this today.  I got in a bunch of sodium, along with some liquids, and tried to figure out how I could schedule a massage and ART appointment as soon as I got back home.  When they finally did loosen up, after ONLY AN HOUR AND A HALF, I was so thankful.  I was then able to fully enjoy the scenery on the bike course.  I gently rolled through farm land and rural neighborhoods as I rode the fifty six mile route.  The course was not technical at all, but I did have to watch my cornering on the turns because of some minor road debris and holes.  I fully enjoyed the bike course and as I drew closer to T2 I felt really good about current cycling fitness.  All I could do was pray that my legs weren’t going to cramp up on the run.

Did someone see my legs back there?  I think I lost them...

I entered T2 with the lead and posted a much quicker transition time then my previous visit to this area.  I headed out on to the run and within two minutes I was giddy!  My legs felt GREAT!  Thank goodness because now I would be able to see where my run fitness was at.  I went through mile one in 6.47 and decided that I needed to drop it back a bit more due to the heat.  The sun was out in full force by this point and I didn’t want to push myself into any problems.  Mile two clocked in at 7.03, including the big climb on the dirt road, and that felt a bit better.  I grabbed Gatorade and water at every aid station while I stuck to my nutrition plan of Clif Shots and salt tablets.  Mile three was now in the full sun, giving all of us a chance to realize how hot it was getting.  I kept the steady but very comfortable pace going until around mile four when my gut started to rebel.  I suddenly got that nasty sick feeling in my gut and needed a porty potty NOW!  I found one, spent more time in there then I wanted to, but quickly got myself back on to the run course.  Whatever was making me gut sick was not a fun thing to be experiencing at this moment.  However I still managed to pull back into my 6.50-7 minute mile pace and brought it home strong for first place.  I had hoped to go under 4 hr 30 min on this course, but with my potty stop I ended up clocking 4 hours and 31 minutes.

YEH!  I'm done...now time for some pizza!

When I look back on my race I am very happy with the day.  My intentions for the triathlon were to treat it like a strong transition workout.  It would give me a chance to see where my fitness was at in all three disciplines, allow me to evaluate what still needs to be addressed, and offer me the chance to go through a race prior to Ironman Wisconsin.  I wanted to walk away from the day with the information I needed for the last few weeks of my Ironman build, and not have to spend days trying to recover.  I actually feel great today (one day post race) and I’m not that sore.  I’d have to say that my confidence level is great and I feel ready to rock’n’roll at Madison next month.

On another note I wanted to congratulate fellow Austinite Patrick Evoe on taking the men’s title at Steelhead.  He’s such an awesome guy and a fantastic athlete.  Even though he had some low points during the run he stayed tough and managed to take the lead during the later part of the half marathon. A win like that for Patrick is just huge, and you’re only going to hear more about this talented guy in the years to come.  Kudos Pat!

 Patrick Evoe takes the men's title at the 2006 Steelhead 70.3

Thank you to Tom Ziebart, the Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon, and Blue Seventy Wetsuits for allowing me the opportunity and support to participate in this year’s event.  The race was so much fun and extremely well produced that I can’t help but recommend it.  I also want to thank all my sponsors and training buddies for their continued support and friendship. 

I’ll spend the next month back in Austin as I get ready for Ironman Wisconsin.  My next race is the Rio de Vino sprint triathlon in Kerrville on September 2nd.  I always love to do a sprint race one or two weeks out from a major long course triathlon, so this will be a treat for sure!

Cheers,

Fish

Results

Andrea Fisher - Austin TX  4.31.10

Andrea Meyers - Wellston, OH  4.39.09

Debbie Perry - Ogden, UT  4.45.14

Paula Bennet - Pittsburgh, PA  4.46.46

Nichole Derrick - Southfield, MI  4.48.03

Wendy Ingram - CA  4.48.23

Buffalo Springs 70.3

June 25, 2006

So here I was ready for a really hot and nasty day.  What did I get instead?  A really windy and chilly morning.  Not something you normally have in Lubbock, Texas during the month of June.  I have raced at Buffalo Springs so many times, and so many times the race has come down to a pure survival of the heat.  I expected the temperature to closer to 100, not 80.  I expected the race to be decided by who was the most heat acclimated, not on the pure speed in someone's legs.  Oh well, I guess I expected too much.

Race morning was odd.  The wind was blowing, the sky was evil looking and there was lightning off to the East.  I hadn't ever seen this on race morning here, so I was already wondering what the day held in store for us.  I got my transition area organized, went for a little jog and porta potty stop, then it was time to get ready for the swim.

The pro field at BLST this year was awesome.  I would be racing against the likes of Natasha Badman, Heather Fuhr, Desiree Ficker and Amanda Lovato to name a few.  I knew I had to be strong today if I wanted to place at all.  The horn sounded and we were off into the lake.  I got beat up a bit at the start but I've been getting better at holding my place and line while not letting the men drown me.  I got hit, punched, kicked and swum over in the first 100 meters.  After that it settled down and I was on some good feet.  Eventually our swim pack came down to Michael Lovato, my hubby Jamie Cleveland and myself.  I somehow ended up at the front pulling the boys and realized I didn't want to be there.  I started to look over my shoulder in hopes that someone would come around and start pulling.  I think Jamie, the sweety that he is (why else would I have married him?), realized I didn't want to be there and came around in front of me to pull.  Thank goodness, now I could just stay with him for the remainder of the swim.  ALTHOUGH he did fess up to me later on that day!  He said he didn't want to hear how his wife beat him out of the water AGAIN so he jumped in front of me for the last part of the swim.  Hum....can you say "competitive household?"  At least that the worst of our marital issues.

Out of the water and on to the bike I didn't feel that bad.  Cool!  All I need to do is ride this course like I'm capable and I'll be set.  About 10 miles into the bike my right leg started to cramp, and when I say cramp I mean CRAMP!  I actually tried to do some ART by my own hands while riding the bike.  I was hoping that my hamstring would release and let me ride like I normally do.  It never did, but at least I was still moving ok.  Natasha came by like a freight train.  That wasn't a suprise to me.  I knew that would happen.  All I wanted to do was ride well and hopefully come off not too far back from her.  I was still secretly hoping that the sun would come out and it would become 110 degrees on the run.  The others would suffer and I could stay strong.  Yet at this point, with the overcast, breeze and very comfy temperature (about 70's) I could pretty much rule any hopes of a melt down.  Damn.

I held my second place position into T2 and started the run.  OMG!  Where were my legs?  I swear I didn't have anything under me at this point.  I was shuffling.  I was literally shuffling, not running, but shuffling.  Not good.  Not good at all.  I had been running so well off the bike in my last few races and training sessions.  Where the heck was this coming from?  Ok, just keep moving.  One foot, the next, keep it going  My splits (7 min - 7.30 min/mile) weren't too encouraging at this point and my prayers for that 100+ degree heat wasn't being answered.  It was up to me to do the best I could and finish this out.  Desiree caught me, then Heather got me just before the half way point.  I saw Amanda coming and she was moving well.  Eventually she got me at mile 8, but my legs were actually coming around a bit by now.  I stayed with her and was putting time back into her up the last big hill.  As we entered the park I tried to close the gap again but my legs were telling me they were at maximum speed.  That was it, that's all I had.  So I held on and finished approximately 1 minute back.  Oh well.  At least I rallied after I thought it would be a death march.

So my day ended with a 5th place, a very sore set of legs and a very bruised ego.  No worries, I've got plenty of time with the remainder of the season and I learned a lot from my race day.  The other girls I raced against were awesome and made me work hard out there.  That's always appreciated in my books and I love the opportunity to push myself. 

I'm using the next couple months to get ready for Ironman Wisconsin.  I'll be racing at the Steelhead Whirlpool 70.3 in August as a tune up for the event.  I'm also traveling with a group of Ironman athletes, per Premium Plus Sports Travel, to Ironman Austria.  Right after that Ironman I fly to Lake Placid, New York, to watch and support my husband at Ironman USA. 

Thanks to my sponsors, family and friends.  You guys rock.

Cheers,

Fish

Get Busy ...
Florida Half Ironman and Half MaxI apologize for my tardiness in reporting back on my last two major races. Between travel, work, training and life it seems like the last couple weeks have been non-stop.

Florida Half Ironman: May 22nd
I raced at the Florida Half Ironman, in Disney World, on May 22nd and had a respectable day on course. My swim was solid as I exited the swim on Dede Griesbauer's feet. Dede, formally Dede Trimble, was one of the foremost American distance swimmers in her day, so I was not surprised to have her out in the lead. Plus I hate to be the one pulling at the front if I don't have to…it's much easier to hang in the draft!

I headed out on the bike course and kept things dialed at my intensity plan. My legs felt terrible. Not just a little bit bad but outright TERRIBLE. I saw a couple of my friends out on the course who were spotting for Ironmanlive and I kept whining to them about how bad I felt. They just nodded their head and yelled "Go!" Gosh, nice sympathy I was getting from them. Guess my husband must have told them, "Just ignore her if she starts whining. Shake your head and tell her to go. Otherwise she may start throwing things like sponges or cups of water at you." (Ok, once I did throw some wet sponges at him after he kept yelling for me to tuck in behind some men during the run….but I'm a female and we're allowed to loose it every once in awhile right?)

I was in second for the first half of the bike, and then Natascha Badman came by like a freight train. I can't even explain what it's like to be passed by this woman, as you are going into a headwind, cranking as much as you can, and then she comes by like she's just out for a Sunday spin. Natascha told me great job and passed by like I was standing still. She's amazing! I even looked down at my bike computer to see what pace I was holding at the moment. It read 22.5 mph as I headed into the wind. Good grief! She had to be holding 24-25 mph minimum at that moment! WOW!

I eventually passed Dede and held on to second place as I entered into T2. Natascha was now seven minutes on to the run course. I grabbed my stuff and headed out the exit of transition when I once again pulled a lovely dumb ass move. My foot hit the carpet and timing mat and I went flying forward into the sand like a spaz. I hit the sand and face planted myself on to the ground. The only way to describe it was if one takes a wet fish filet and then drudges it in bread crumbs before its cooked. Yes, my sweaty, nasty wet self was completely encased top to bottom in sand. The whole place is now silent because no one knows if I'm actually going to get up again or just lay there as I wait to be pan fried in the hot Florida sun. I eventually hop up, put my sad little ego aside and carry on covered in breadcrumbs….oops…I mean sand.

On to the run my legs never came around. The heat was stifling me and it was all I could do to hang on through the entire half marathon. Back home in Texas we still hadn't had any major heat yet, so I still wasn't acclimated for the day's temperatures. I have to train at least 2-3 weeks in heat before I can handle anything over 90 degrees and my last two races have caused issues for me with the high temperatures. I tried my best to keep things moving and stay in there for a decent finish, which I managed to do with a 6th place pro finish. I'm not terribly happy with it, but I'm not that upset either. It was a solid training day and an opportunity to go through the motions as the season progresses. Plus I had the chance to go play at Disney World for two days afterwards!

Half Max Half Ironman, Missouri: June 5
I can't say enough good things about this race! I raced at the Half Max last year and fell in love with the race production team, the atmosphere, and in a sick sort of way the course. Any race that has a beer truck and bar-b-que at the finish line is a race I'm coming back to!

.My husband and I managed to bring up about 20 Texas Iron athletes with us to race at the 2005 Half Max. Most of us stayed at the condos located right next to the race site, which made things so easy for all of us. The lake and resort are gorgeous and we all loved the opportunity to kick back and enjoy the view.

At about 4 a.m. race morning we were awakened by some nasty thunderstorms and hail. I was wondering if the race would actually happen with this kind of weather going on, but within a couple hours things had cleared out and the sun was peaking through. We embarked on the swim and I planted myself on the lead men's feet. Again, I hate leading and will always jump on the chance to swim in the draft zone, so I was already a happy girl. I exited the swim as third overall and headed out on the bike.

The bike course was a little different then last year's course. We still had to deal with the first five miles of relentless hills, but after that it was smooth sailing over the new course. After re-entering the resort I was greeted by a ton of cheering spectators. How awesome! Then I headed back out on loop two of the bike. Back on the hills within the resort and finally out on to the fast, smooth highways. I really enjoyed the new bike course and felt it was a big improvement from last year's route. I felt like I could really get moving once you got past the hilly sections and enjoyed the change in terrain.

I finished the bike feeling fresh and ready for the run. Since I knew how bad this run felt last year I was mentally prepared for it. I had upped my salt intake on the bike so there would be no issues with quad cramping this time and my tummy was doing really well. I kept it quick and light on the feet as I ran uphill for mile one. Things were going pretty well in terms of no cramping and I was staying relatively cool. The temperatures would eventually range from 90-95 degrees during the half marathon, but my body was finally heat acclimated and I didn't have any issues this time. YEH!

The rest of the run was relentless in terms of hills and terrain. This is by far the hardest run course for a half Ironman that I have ever come across. It doesn't have any flat parts and it's constant up and down, but there is plenty of shade and the scenery through the woods is awesome. I know a lot of other athletes were becoming very discouraged because of how tough the run was, but it's important to take things in context of the day. Everyone was running slower then they normally would, and since the run course was longer then last year the times were definitely going to be slower. The Half Max run course is one to chalk up to survival and mental toughness. It's a true test how mentally strong one can remain when things get hard. I like to think of it as the type of race one can tuck away in the memory banks and call upon when things get tough at future races. For example, "It's really getting hard for me right now, and I want to quit…but remember when I was able to stick it out on the Half Max run course….when I was struggling and having a hard day? If I can handle that run course I can definitely handle today!"

I tried to cheer on as many people as I could during the second loop of my run, but I was also making sure I attended to my own needs at the aid stations. The volunteers were terrific and I got everything I needed every time I passed through a station. I finally hit the last mile, which thankfully is downhill, and let my legs carry me in to the finish line. I came across in first place again and I was stoked. Compared to last year's race it had been a very long, hard and hot day on the course. I love this race, but I know that I'll never find it easy. That's ok, because I headed straight to the beer truck and made sure I was properly hydrating after my race. It's amazing what a good beer and bar-b-que sandwich can do for the body after a hard day at the office!

Thanks to my sponsors and my friends! And special thanks to everyone from Texas Iron who raced at the Half Max Half Ironman. It was great to see ya'll out on the course and congrats to each and every one of you who conquered the weekend!

Cheers,
Fish