In the several days leading up to the race, I wish I could tell you that I was excited and happy to be in Kona and preparing for race day.  In reality, however, I have to admit that I was scared out of my mind.  I was grumpy, I didn’t feel well, the heat and humidity were a big concern, and in some ways, I was dreading race day.  However, I continually reminded myself that it was an honor and a privilege to be racing in the Ironman World Championships, that I had gladly accepted this challenge, that I was physically prepared for the race, and I was going to figure out a way to get out of my funk and be ready for race day.  I had no doubt that I was going to cross the finish line, and likely even have a great result, I just knew that it was going to be a tough and painful journey.  Bannink always ‘shows up‘ for race day, I reminded myself.

Race day came with sun and warm in the forecast and I was ready to go.  While getting body marked in the dark, a childhood friend who I had not seen in 15 years called out my name and that short reunion seemed to ease the morning tension and bump up the excitement of the day.  I got everything settled in transition and had plenty of time to find a quiet place to relax before the race.  30 minutes to go and we started to prep for the swim, waved to our cheering section (Heidi, Emma and Chad), found Timex teammates (Tim, Jackie and Mike) and headed into the water.  Based on the layout of the buoys, I decided to start toward the left side of the start line and near the front.  The cannon sounded and the mass started kicking and splashing.  I got bumped around quite a bit at the start, but not the worst start I have experienced, and I was even able to find some clear water to swim my own race.  Even though the buoys seemed to stretch on for miles, it was just a crossing of Devil’s Lake, I reminded myself, and swam steady to the turn around.  Half way, feeling good, and the water opened up on the return trip so I was able to get in a groove.  The coolest part of the swim was seeing the navy ship out in the harbor and noticing that the cadets were surrounding the deck and standing at attention in their stark white uniforms.  I finished up the swim with the entire Aquasphere crew going nuts (thanks guys!), glad that part was over, and knowing that would be the easiest part of the day for me.

T1 went just fine, but I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get out of there, making sure I was slathered in sunscreen and had retrieved everything I needed from my bag.  Then it was off to ride ‘The Dutchess’, the absolute fastest, lightest, most comfortable bike I have ever ridden (my new Trek TTX).  We had a long day ahead of us and I was looking forward to the ride.  I keep my effort easy in the beginning miles and just tried to keep my power output and perceived effort easy and comfortable.  Going through ‘hot corner’ I heard my name from several groups and felt lucky to have so many people out here cheering for me.  Then, it was a long ride out of town.  I got passed by A LOT of people on the bike and I was totally OK with that, I wasn’t racing anyone else but myself.  It was a little frustrating when a pack of about 50 guys swallowed me up and spit me out, I couldn’t get out of that mess fast enough.  The weather started to heat up through the lava fields (I heard mention of 100deg) and I doused myself with water at every aid station along the way.  These water stops were a little piece of heaven every 7 miles and a big part of my heat management strategy.  The climb up to Hawi, the turnaround, was much longer than I expected and I enjoyed the challenge, reminding myself how much I like to climb and how much fun it would be to descend on the return.  I made the turn through town, and a couples mile out on the descent I saw JB making the climb.  Yes, he made it through the swim!  This gave me a boost until the most challenging part of the ride, miles 70-100ish and a nice stiff headwind.  This is definitely where the heat of the day, the body fatigue and my waning emotional energy made it tough to press ahead.  I was nearing the end of this ride, so I continued with the self talk “this is a privilege, come on Bannink- you can do this, remember that this is an opportunity!”  And then a gift, as we turned towards town for the last 10 miles, the wind became a cross/tail wind and I cruised in the remaining miles.  Several of the pros were already headed out past the half-marathon on the run and I was looking forward to progressing towards that part of my day.  I jumped off my bike and part ran, part walked, and part hobbled into transition, sat down and decided that this was a pretty good spot to take a little rest.

The cool towel on my shoulders, the shade, the stillness, it all felt amazing… so this is my excuse for my snail pace T2.  I stopped in the potty (my only stop of the day) and I was back out on the road again, taking it easy as I knew this could turn into a very long day if I didn’t pace this well.  I felt surprisingly OK starting out the run and knew my nutrition had been solid on the bike (1600 cals, 1000mg Na+/hour, and as much water as I could drink).  I was put-zing along with plenty of company, taking in water, dumping water on my head, and stuffing sponges in my top at every aid station.  I grabbed a powergel when I felt like I need it, probably 2 per hour and continued to pop the salt every few miles.  This seemed to work well for the entire marathon, in addition to dumping ice down the front of my bra… now that was a good idea.  I hit the first run turn around at 5 miles and saw JB just a little later heading the other direction.  I was concerned about him as I thought he would have passed me by now, but he was positive and much too cheery at 8 hours into this gig.  I got just past 10 miles and took the right turn up Palani drive (steep!), my first ‘permission to walk’ and I did.  I saw Heidi and Emma cheering me on and that definitely helped.  At the top, on the turn back onto the Queen K, my mental/physical fatigue took over and I had a hard time motivating for the run.  This section, from 11-16 miles would prove to be the most mentally challenging part of the day.  The turn to the energy lab could have been over the next hill, or the next hill, or the next hill, and this was getting to me.  I walked some sections of the uphills, battling in my mind, trying to convince myself to keep running and dissolve any excuse I could come up with that would allow me to walk.  A positive along this section was that I got to see all of my teammates (Tim, Mike, Jackie, Sergio) and many friends (Mike, Jim, Mike) as they were in their final miles heading toward the finish.  Some of them looked great, and others not so great, and we all knew that we were out here together, sending some encouragement across the course with just a little nod or a thumbs up.  Then finally, I saw the solar panels at the top of the energy lab and I knew I only had 10 miles to go.  Down into the lab and hit mile 18, only 8 to go, then on the way up and out, the final stretch of the Queen K.  I hit 20 miles, only a 10K to go, and said to the guy next to me, ‘lets get this bleeeep over with!”  I continued to walk the aid stations as I had done since mile 10, but was able to keep running in-between.  My quads and my brain were fried, and I was able to keep pushing, knowing that this would all be over very soon.  I desperately wanted to walk up the last hill, but by the grace of God, I found another nudge of motivation to crest that hill, pounded my quads down Palani, cruised around the block, then down onto famous Ali’i Drive.  I was going to do this thing… the crowd’s cheers were deafening and I was smiling.  I crossed the line in 11:11:37.  What a journey, what a day!

After thoughts:

-My goal was to race 11 hours, figuring on a 1 hour swim, 6 hour bike, and 4 hour run.  I met those predictions within minutes and feel very proud of that.
-I think I ended up 27th in my age group, and to be honest, I don’t even care.  This day wasn’t about placement, it was about achieving a goal, doing something that most people can’t even dream of achieving, enjoying the opportunity to race on the world stage and capping off my short course race season with an IM finish.
-And saving the best for last… Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who supported me on this adventure.  Your encouragement leading up to the race, your excitement for my opportunity, and your desire to share in my day truly kept me motivated and encouraged throughout the day.  Thank you for your inspiration and support.
Thanks to my sponsors: Timex, Trek, Bontrager, Aquasphere, Powerbar, my local Madison Trek Store and the Wisconsin Fertility Institute, I could not have done this (or afforded it!) without your support.
And a special thanks to Heidi for making the trip to be my biggest fan and carry me around (literally!) in the days following the race.

Yesterday, October 21, the “Day of Singularity” (as named by The Secret Language of Birthdays), I turned 40.

No need to tell me, “Oh, you don’t look 40!” because 40 looks like a number.

A few thoughts (in a list, because I’m an ENTJ, I like LISTS):

1. Never considered…
When I was young (like 10), I never contemplated 40. I thought of 30, since I’d turn 30 just prior to the millenium; I pondered 100, since that’s so cool. Never considered 40.

2. What was I doing when…
When I turned 10, I had a sleepover party and I did a huge muppet puzzle. I also broke my ankle when I was 10 while sledding down a tree- and bush-laden hill in Minnesota.

Autumn threw me a sleepover party last night. We sang math facts, watched Harry Potter, ate sushi, and read for a long time. Michael and Autumn gave me a Kindle (which Autumn has pretty much taken over already) and a 1,500-piece puzzle. I had my ankle reconstructed when I was almost 40. FABulous.
When I turned 20, I was probably playing soccer, breaking the law, and doing other things I’d now deny.
When I turned 30, I was pregnant and ate deep dish Lou Malnati’s spinich pizza (The last time I could eat cheese).
Therefore, using Birthday Logic (hey, we went for the Laffer curve in the ’80s), I’m closer to 10 than the other multiples…

3. My 40 mantra…
“Just when you think you know exactly how it’s going it gets even better.”
:) With Gratitude to my friends and family.
PS, The photo is Autumn on the Pacific off the coast of Northern California.

“You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need!” 

Nobody wants to be injured, especially athletes, but sometimes, just sometimes, it could be that an athlete ‘needs’ to be injured.  What?  Are you crazy, Janelle?  Have you completely lost it this time?  Maybe….but maybe not.  Hear me out…

I’ll start from the beginning.  I have been working through yet my second strain injury in my foot this season.  My first was in the early spring and now this one.  It is frustrating, yet doctors, physiotherapists, and orthotists all agree that we have found the reason for this and it is something that can be corrected, so this is very comforting news.  But in the mean time, this means that I will not be quite ready for Longhorn 70.3 this weekend in order to ensure a full recovery so that I can race my second Ironman in November.  Arizona is the plan, but we’re also considering Cozumel to buy another week of healing/training time as Cozumel is only one week later, so we’ll see, but the focus is to get full recovery first, as that’s the only way. Anyways, that will all be decided within a week’s time as recovery is assessed, so for now, back to the ‘needing to be injured thing’….

Getting an injury JUST when I started going at this full-time was really frustrating.  There is already so much change to regular life and then the one major focus and goal that you’re working towards is not even something you can go at 100%.  Sure, you can work the swim, bike, and although water running is an incredible thing (and one that I believe allows athletes/runners to get even faster for the long term)  it is still not ‘running’ and you can’t ‘water run’ in a race.  Too bad…cuz I’m getting good at it!!! Ha! 

I have, therefore, spent a bit of ‘down in the mouth’ time over this. Basically feeling sorry for myself and then trying to find ways to control the issue.  Constantly thinking about the injury, wondering, worrying, stressing.  Pointless things really.  But eventually, a person can only be in that kind of a bummer mindset before they get tired of it, and that’s when the glimmer of light comes on.  “All righteeee…I’m not getting what I want, that’s clear, so what do I need to learn from this?”  Time to reflect.

For each individually injured athlete, what they need to learn is going to be different.  A fundamental aspect of any person who is looking to excel at anything, albeit in sport, their career family life, or other, is that they must all be willing to continually improve themselves.  Without this innate desire, or even understanding, you won’t get there, and you’ll eventually be halted along the way, so the will to improve…. this is key. 

Athletes often tend to see improvement as something they need to ‘train harder’ to do.  But this is not always so – it is not always physical.  All the strength, power, and endurance in the world might get you to a very high level, but it probably won’t be enough to take you to the top if you don’t have solid mental/emotional aspects of self to match.  For me, right now, I know that I am being taught patience and flexibility.  I need to learn these two things and understand how they are important for me as an athlete on this journey before I can continue onwards.  In order to be taught this lesson, I needed to be injured, to be forced to stop and reflect. Setbacks are a part of life, and certainly not easy, but they provide you a unique opportunity to hone your coping skills for future life events, which, most certainly, happen….to all of us.  It’s how we deal with these things that matters in the end, and which separate those who can from those who don’t.

 If you are injured right now, I am sure it’s not what you want.  So ask yourself, “What do I need?”

Congratulations to everyone who raced in Kona this year, especially fellow Timex teammates Tim, Jackie, Cindi, Sergio, and Tamara. Tim and Jackie had awesome days out there, representing Timex on the podium. Now back to me….

I’ve dreamed of standing on the podium at the Ironman World Championships since I started racing triathlon 5 years ago, and this past sunday evening, I finally got to do so…..so hooray for me! I came into this race in fantastic shape, but without a time goal. The weather conditions on this course are what make it oh so difficult, and this being my first time to the big island, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Apollo 57 landed…..excuse me, United flight 57 landed in Kona on tuesday evening, and upon deplaning, I immediately learned what the legendary Kona heat was all about. I broke a sweat waiting for my luggage, and I don’t think I stopped sweating until I got back to Wisconsin. Leading up to the race, I was very calm and relaxed. No point in worrying about the race when I knew I was ready. I spent the days before the race eating, relaxing, doing some short workouts, and shooting a porno with Roger.

Race morning was a different story. All the nervous energy I had suppressed was suddenly released. The mental effort it took for me to commit to swallowing my breakfast felt like trying to swallow a lethal dose of poison, or jump off a ledge to my death. I wore my slightly too big camo board shorts, that Jackie has kindly described as “offensive,” and made it through the standard pre race activities undetected, and then headed down to the water where I met up with Jackie and Cindi.

Treading water before the start, it all hit me. This was what it was all about. Nervousness turned to excitement, and it was ass kicking time. To clarify, I was planning on dishing out the ass kicking, but instead it seemed the other way around for the first 500m of the swim. Roughest swim start ever! In hindsight, I started way too close to the pier. Things cleared out eventually, and I felt really good, and was passing people the entire time. I was a bit surprised to see how slow my time was, as I ran up the steps in 1:02, but looking back at the results, I out swam a few guys that normally beat me out of the water by 2-3 minutes. For those keeping track (which I am pretty sure is only me), Jackie beat me out of the water, despite my year long claims of total aquatic dominance in Kona.

As I hit the T1 tent, I couldn’t get my Aquasphere skinsuit off. I’ve never had this happen before, so I asked a volunteer for help, but they just jammed the zipper and made it worse. I eventually turned bright green and incredible hulked (yeah it’s a verb now) my suit off. All other men in the tent at that time immediately DNFed after my incredible display of pure man power.

                              That speed’s all real baby!

Now it was time to see what the Speed Concept was made of, hopefully real speed, and not the conceptual kind. I had strict instructions not to hammer the first drag strip through town, and to the disbelief of some, I took it pretty easy, although my +25 mph average would suggest otherwise. I blame the bike. Coming down Palani Rd, about 2 miles into the bike ride, I heard the comforting jingle of both my CO2 catridges falling off my bike and bouncing off the asphalt. I was now rolling commando on the bike course, and unlike wearing no underwear, it wasn’t a particularly liberating feeling. Something unexpected always happens in an Ironman, so I quickly put this behind me and the rest of the bike ride was pretty uneventful. My strategy was to ride easy to Kawaihae, put in a solid effort on the climb to Hawi, recover on the descent, and then ride strong for the last third of the course. I executed my plan well, staying aero and passing about 1000000 people on the climb to Hawi, but ran into a bit of trouble on the descent. I hit a huge bump, lost both my water bottles, and managed to only get one bottle at the next aid station, which meant I rode ~15 miles on 1 bottle of water. This would not be a disaster under normal conditions, but here I was going through almost 4 bottles every hour, so this put me in a hole for a few miles. I did manage to get some fluids in me at the next aid station, recover about mile 90, and ride strong on the way back into town. Overall I rode pretty conservatively and posted a 5:00:45 bike split, which I am happy with considering it was head winds both ways (really, it was, I swear).

The second transition, thankfully, did not require any super human feats of strength on my part. I asked for some sunscreen, but after seeing how burnt I got, I am suspicious that I actually just received a creepy back rub.

                              Mile 1: Thinking about my back rub

The first two miles of the run redefined my definition of “Hot.” If it was that hot the whole run, I wouldn’t have made it. It seemed to cool off a little as I ran out of town, and I actually was making pretty good progress, running just over 7 min pace even though I was walking all the aid stations, grabbing water, gatorade, cola, and throwing ice down my shorts (which is great for keeping you cool). I did manage to accidentally throw a cup of cola down my shorts as well. It didn’t work any miracles, so I decided to take the rest of my fluids orally (in case you were wondering). As we came back through the “hot corner” in town, I really started to melt. I walked most of Palani (which is waaaay steeper than it looks on the race video, FYI), but then seemed to be running OK until the energy lab, at which point I was less runner and more of a slowly moving blob of biomass. I was actually still running very fast at this point…..it was just all the damn walking I was doing that was slowing me down.

Mike Lavery, You are and IRONMA–

ooooh, uuuuum, cleanup on aisle 3, cleanup on aisle 3

I eventually finished, with a time of 9:36 (my 2nd fastest IM), 5th M18-24, and a 3:26 marathon (personal worst!!), although I don’t remember the finish. Some dudes scraped me off the line and brought me to the medical tent, where I became more than intimate with someone else who almost left “it” out on the course. Unfortunately, “it” wasn’t left out on the course, but was trapped in said persons’ tri shorts, and “it” passed within a few inches of my face as I sat with nausea in the medical tent. I’ll spare the details of “it” so someone (me) doesn’t throw up on their computer.

Overall, I left it all out there (no, not the “it” from the paragraph prior), but the more I think about it, I’m not satisfied with how my race unfolded. My bike power numbers and run speeds in training suggest I have a lot more in me, and I know I can go faster. I was just not ready for the heat. I don’t think I made any gross errors in hydration, nutrition, or pacing, but the very cool summer we had in Wisconsin did not give me much time to acclimate. I do feel like I went as fast as I could on the day, and I learned a few lessons that will help me next time I race on the big island.

Still, 5th in the world ain’t too bad! I can’t complain. I’m already excited to get back at it next season to build up to Ironman Wisconsin, hopefully run a bit faster, and make it back to Kona in 2011. 

Mahalo

Mike.