So much boils down to numbers in a race. How many competitors crossed the finish line before you? What was your wattage on the bike? Your heart rate and pace per mile on the run? Your time in transition? These are the figures we pore over as triathletes. Yet at Coeur D’Alene, the most critical numbers I had to contend with were in the medical tent: five bags of saline solution, and blood pressure of 70 over 50.
Those are the stats that I will learn from in this race. As for the other data, I finished the Ironman in eighth place, with a time of 10 hours and 30ish minutes. This is well longer than I was hoping for but I am permanently suspending all judgments of my race and time and using the wise perspective and comments of my coach to help me move on to the next race.
Every time I write about a race, I always talk about “my” race. In truth, the race itself pales in comparison to the people and the process involved in getting to a start line. In this report, I want to talk about all the support I receive, both before and after a race.
The two days leading up to the race, I spent with Kevin Purcell, my coach, as well as Geoffrey Glotman, my friend and sponsor. Both were racing the Ironman, Kevin for his twentieth time and Geoffrey for his first. We tested out the lake together since it was reportedly 55 degrees Fahrenheit. We were equipped with new Aqua Socks, neoprene caps, and a whole lot of courage. After the initial shock to the face, our bodies adapted and we were pleasantly surprised after a 20-minute splash. It was really my Nineteen Frequency wetsuit that did the trick. It not only felt like a soft silk shell on my body but also kept me toasty warm after the first 5 minutes.
I was most excited for Geoffrey’s first attempt at an Ironman. It had been many months that he was “on the fence” about actually racing the distance. He purchased a new Time Trial bike and jammed in some added training hours to his already hectic schedule. He was out riding on the wet and cool days, swam with no additional motivation from a masters group, and ran the necessary miles to pull off the Ironman distance. He was practicing his nutrition plan, preparing his gear and wrapping his mind around this first-time challenge, all while running a hugely successful engineering firm, renovating his office, attending social functions, playing a pivotal leadership role in the community, managing the Glotman Simpson Cycling Team and being a superstar husband to Myriam and dad to three teenagers. Despite Geoff’s self-deprecating sense of humor, we all knew this feat was going to change his life and solidify his “superhuman” status forever. Geoffrey had his parents, wife Myriam, his nephew Benjamin, as well as his son Harrison and daughter Isabelle (missing was daughter Beckie), to cheer and greet him at the finish line. Nothing could be better than a crowd like that to welcome him through in just over 13 hours.
Kevin’s experience was not the bang-on day he was hoping for, since after two flat tires and long waits for mechanical assistance he decided to call it a day. Kevin is a veteran in the world of Ironman racing; he knew the questions to ask himself in order to make the best decision for the day. It takes courage to end something midway when you have only considered 100% completion as the option. It takes a definitive mind, determination, and self-kindness to know that whatever decision is made, it was the best one and no looking back because there will be more races ahead. His race exit was a bonus for me because I saw him out on the course as well as at the finish.
With Kevin’s guidance, I can honestly say my preparation and taper felt spot on. My stomach was filled with excited butterflies all week as I readied myself to expend some valuable energy. I could tell I was primed to race my best. My head must have been overflowing with thoughts while still in Vancouver—when I packed two bikes, bins of gear, helmets, nutrition products, groceries and gifts into my little car on the Wednesday before the race, I forgot to include my suitcase. It sat patiently at my back gate waiting to be stacked amongst the others while I drove away, completely oblivious. My only saving grace was that my upstairs neighbour Monica found it when storing away my garbage bin later that day. Three and a half hours into my drive, my cell phone rings with her questioning voice, “Did you forget your suitcase?” Oh My Gawd! Sheer panic filled my entire body. My stars were lined up since Geoffrey was flying in the next day and agreed to check an extra piece. This good deed surely contributed to his impressive race!
After the unnerving phone call from Monica, I peered back into the depths of my car to make sure I did in fact pack my TT Specialized Helmet. Yes, it was there. My Specialized TT Shoes were in, as was my Specialized Transition. Good to go!
Should anyone take note of what most triathletes lug to races it would be cause for a sanity check-up. My bins were packed with training aids, nutritional supplements, tools and wrenches, and most importantly my trusty Trigger Point massage kit. I take at least one piece of this 4-part kit with me everywhere when I travel and every room in my house has a collection of Trigger Point options on the floor. Be it my piriformis, quads, calves or hamstrings, this kit has been my saving grace. Adam Janke, my running and cycling custom orthotics sponsor, supplies the Canadian market with the TP Massage product. He was at Coeur D’Alene assisting Cassidy Philips (founder) at the TP Massage Tent during the pre-race Expo hours. I cannot say enough positive comments about how my running gait, alignment and reduced susceptibility to injury has improved since working with Adam. I am a firm believer in his practice and the importance of addressing one’s alignment from the feet up. Adam was there on race day, cheering loudly and enthusiastically. I would have loved to race that day with all the poise his support has given me.
Six days prior to race day, I had my one-hour joint mobility session with Carmen Bott. She is the ultimate expert at preparing athletes for a big event and even more so, for a season of performance. I have been working with Carmen since November 2007. Her pliability to my program has been the only reason we are a successful team. Her knowledge and expertise in athlete performance and strength conditioning is world class and world renowned. She backs herself up with an impressive team of Human Motion coaches from a diverse background of specialties that, together, make her company a diamond in the rough. Carmen spent the hour with me loosening up my body and oiling my joints, something I try to do on a daily basis now but it is always much better with her guidance.
The two people who played a pivotal role in keeping my frame injury-free while addressing some chronic symptoms as well as a few acute flare-ups were Tyler Hunsberger and Harry Toor. Tyler is a topnotch chiropractor specializing in Active Release Therapy at Broadway & Burrard Chiropractic and Harry is a physiotherapist specializing in sports therapy and a partner of Envision Physiotherapy. Every week, these two magicians would listen to me as I claimed to have “figured out” what the issue was once and for all! I would have a new hypothesis on why my glutes were tight or why my hamstrings were in knots. I even went so far as to buy my own muscular skeletal map so I could speak directly to the muscles, joints, and ligaments at play. As diplomatic and understanding professionals, they would nod their heads, validate my theory, and get the treatment underway. Needless to say, my theories were rarely definitive and thankfully I arrived at race day in perfect form.
While my family was not able to come to Coeur D’Alene, I knew they were with me in spirit. It has been a busy year for our Montreal-based sporting goods company, Fletcher Leisure Group, as we have recently launched a new golf brand, AUR, signed on Sunice as a licensee of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, and formed a new relationship with our US partners Ashworth to have the distribution rights to sell Sunice in the US. My brother is at the helm of Fletcher as President (and jack of all trades) while my father has taken on the CEO role of Ashworth Inc., based in Carlsbad, California. Despite their crazy schedules of traveling back and forth across the country and preparing for major sales meeting, they both called before my race, to make sure I knew where to send the cheque should I place in the “money.”
Being in the golf business for 40 odd years, my father’s perspective of triathlon is a fairly accurate and pragmatic one. He believes this is a “poor man’s sport” since the top professionals don’t even come close to what a golf professional makes for just showing up, never mind actually playing a round. He sees how hard triathletes train, the investment in equipment, the sacrifices made to be rested, recovered and primed for training sessions and yet, as he noted post-Oceanside 70.3, triathletes are so grossly undervalued in the eyes of sponsors and corporations. Golf, on the other hand, gets tremendous media exposure and corporate support, which feeds into ridiculously generous pay cheques as well as sport development programs and a rich legacy and heritage. There is, however, a bright future for the relatively young sport of triathlon, with some of the six-digit paychecks given out at the Lifetime Fitness Series races. We are also seeing an exponential increase in amateur participation and significant momentum from new programs such as Irongirl and Kids of Steel. Thankfully we triathletes are motivated by rewards other than money!
So far, I have touched on my support network before a race. Yet, especially at this past Ironman, I realized how lucky I am to have friends rally around me after the race, when my tank is empty. I’m so grateful for the patience, care and support that Kathryn Gardiner, Monica Marchenski and Marc Perrot (my Ironman Crew) dished out selflessly and in generous quantities as I made my way from the IV bag in transition to the comforts of my home-stay bed some 10 miles away. They did so much more than just collect my gear bags, bike, wetsuit and helmet. It even went beyond holding a plastic bag for me as I upchucked my insides whilst perched on the edge of Monica’s BMW front seat (meanwhile Monica is trying to buy me a piece of pizza and pop!). They were all one step ahead of what I might need to feel better: a warm face towel, clean clothes, fresh air, flip-flops, or peace and quiet. In my humble state of discomfort and queasiness, all I could think was “thanks guys …I’ll be better tomorrow to thank you appropriately.”
When we arrived back to my home stay after the race, we were greeted with such authenticity and interest from our home-stay hosts, Marie and Tim. I was of course embarrassed (without reason) to expose such an ailing side of myself to these gracious people who opened their home to us and made everything so comfortable in the lead-up to race. Monica took the helm and managed the social graces on my behalf. The following day offered a chance for me to visit, as they were both very curious about my experience.
I have stayed at many home stays in the past, be it for cycling races or triathlons. I am always amazed at the willingness of people to open their doors, offer a bed and share their private space with not only complete strangers but athletes complete with greasy bikes, surplus equipment, strange nutritional products and inhuman wake-up times on race morning. Isn’t this a disruption to their life? Or perhaps they enjoy the interaction of meeting new and interesting people from all over the world. Well, Marie and Tim take home-stay generosity to a new level. As I drove up to their peaceful lake-view home in Post Falls, Idaho, I could tell immediately they lived for the moment and made every effort to make their home a sanctuary, a place of comfort and beauty. Monica, Marc and I shared the lower floor with a panoramic view of the lake. We could escape down to their dock, snuggle on the couch, and watch their massive flat-screen TV or relax in the hot tub not two feet away from my bedroom. Had the race not been scheduled, we may have cracked open a bottle of wine or two from their wine rack.
I suspect in a matter of days, Marie and Tim will have framed our picture and added it to their Wall of Fame next to other framed photographs of athletes they have hosted as well as endless pictures of friends and family. We are honored to now hang where many other great memories rest in their home.
It took three full days after Ironman Coeur D’Alene for the swelling in my ankles to flush out and any severe stiffness to subside. I reflected on my race, on my own time and with friends and family. Sometimes I cannot find the words to describe the experience as I would like my gracious listeners to understand it. It is truly a march of personal determination and search for excellence. I look for something in the lives of my listeners to relate my drive and passion to and, like magic, we have a connection and a newfound bond.
As Eddie Fadel (President of Ashworth and my father’s roommate in San Diego) would say, when he was 21 years old he knew everything, when he was 31 years old he knew almost everything, when he was 41 years old he knew only a little bit and now that he is 51 years old he realizes he knows nothing but he continues to learn in hopes of never repeating the same mistake twice.
Since June 22nd, I too have learned and hope to not make the same mistakes twice. I am humbled yet wiser, and much more motivated to seek excellence through learning from the past, training hard every day, taking care of recovery and believing in the possibility of true excellence.
Christine
cfletcher@fletcherlg.com
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