Desi’s Ironman Blog

Hello Everyone!

Rich and I arrived back in San Diego safe and sound after a phenomenal weekend in Arizona together. We visited with his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin the day before the race which put me in the mindset for a perfect day. Relaxing and catching up with family is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Race morning was calm conditions on the water with no winds in sight. I knew that it was going to be a heater later in the day, because I was wearing flip-flops, bike shorts and a sports bra and was not the slightest bit cold at 5:00 a.m. I finally got a huge case of the pre-race jitters and had to remind myself that even though I had a lung virus the last month, was unable to train at all for the last three weeks and was feeling a sinus thing coming on…the race was going to unfold however it was supposed to.

The swim:

I met up with Luanne at the waters edge, by chance and we jumped in together. We chatted it up with a few folks around us and then wished each other well. POW, the cannon went off and I left Luanne to pull myself through the middle of the crowd to complete one loop of 2.4 miles. Coeur d’Alene was not as crowded, but I knew at the turn around that I was going to have a stellar swim time, even though I barely trained in the water at this distance. I beat my last time by 7 minutes! I could see that it was going to be my day.

The Bike:

While in the transition area, I realized that I was having some type of allergic reaction to something in the air. No worries, 112 miles with a runny nose, I have done that before. I was sneezing and my nose started to run…it ran all day until the sun went down 10 hours later. As I was riding on the course, people were complaining of the same thing. Sneezing, dry coughing, HEAVY lungs and sinus issues. The winds were blowing at 20-30 MPH all day and were the worst around 2:00-3:00 p.m. At that time they were coming from one direction and then from the other. It was hard to get a good comfortable position on the bike.

The carnage on the course was intense, people were falling off of their bikes from being too hot and dizzy. Many were laying on the side of the road waiting for help to arrive. I made sure that I put sunscreen on before the swim and then after, just in case it came off. I have an overkill drink set up on my bike which allowed me to carry up to two bottles of water on top of my other two fuel bottles. I kept dousing myself with water and sipped my fuels slowly…no gulping. I did not want my system to shut down.

I went slow and steady all day long and made sure that I stayed on pace. I had no fears of missing the cut off time today as in Coeur d’Alene. I wasn’t sore anywhere, my legs felt strong and it was my day!

The Run:

After realizing that I had 7 hours to complete a marathon of 26.2 miles, I transitioned into my running shoes and sat in the changing tent for two extra minutes to just celebrate that fact…damn it was hot! I set out on the course and Rich and I chatted about how I had time to stroll on the marathon if needed. I felt like hell as I had been coughing and wiping my nose…ALL DAY. Whatever this was, I was not going to let it get me down. I walked for the first mile or so as I was feeling a little queasy, due to the heat and coughing.

After I came around for the first loop I let Rich know that I was having a hard time breathing and that I wasn’t quite ready to quit yet…I slowed down my pace, but ran the entire loop. During that time the sun had gone down and it became bearable to breath and run. I met up with a girl from Texas who was completing her first Ironman. She was dragging her feet and I told her to pick them up to reduce the resistance. We chatted for 10 miles while running and then decided to walk a few and eat. We strolled and refueled and she was doubting her ability to finish. I let her know that I was on pace to finish at 11:30 and that she just had to stick by me. Finally, at mile 23 she and I had grouped up with a 77-year old man named Lew (who is going to Kona!). I left the two of them and ran the last three miles to finish at 11:31. It was my day!!! Both Lew and Veronica finished at 11:42…she became an Ironman.

I am not as beat up as I was in Coeur d’Alene. I feel great! That was my only goal this time was to FEEL BETTER. To ENJOY the race and soak it all in. It truly was my day and I will return to Arizona in November to compete on the same course this year! This April race will be the last one as the race is now being moved to November…this is why there are two races in one year in Arizona.

My goal now is to tackle the speed and efficiency of cycling and running long distances together. That is what I will focus on this summer. To shave another 20 minutes off of my time would be wonderful…to shave 30 minutes would be even better. Hey, I was only 70 girls in my age group away from going to Kona myself!

I was patient and calm all day…I learned alot about myself and my ability to focus on the goal. As I said all month before the race…”I will go until they tell me to stop.” On this day, I was able to stop at the finish line while 345 others, 18% of the people did not. Mike Reilly stated that this was the third toughest race in recorded Ironman history, due to the conditions.

Thank you for your support and encouragement…knowing that you were online checking in on me, REALLY made a difference…It was my day!!!

Wait until November, it is going to be even better!

Okay, here goes, per the instructions given to me…

If your friends and family cannot make it out to Tempe, they can still cheer you on via (copy link)

http://www.ironman.com/events/ironman/arizona

From there, click on Ironmanlive tab on top bar, click Live Athlete Tracking or Track an Athlete.

My bib number is 114.

On my way out the door…call Rich at 619-729-2133 on race day…he will be happy to help you out with the live details…more from Arizona!

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Here is a link to the weather for the weekend in Tempe, AZ…

I am a pretty tough chick when it comes to sweating profusely, cycling in freezing temperatures or tolerating warm and stale nutrition, but temperatures of 93 degrees for 12+ hours will be a new experience.

I trained in the desert at least 5 weekends with varied temperatures and wind speeds, I ran in East County to mimic the dry conditions, but you cannot mimic high temperatures in the winter months for long periods…so this should be interesting!

Still sick…but trying to keep it positive.

I went to Coastal Sports and Wellness center today to ride my bike on a Computrainer. Basically it is a resistance riding program that feels all the same fatigue and stresses that you would climbing a real hill. The course I rode was Ironman Arizona, the first loop. Phew, what a kicker. In between coughing, I really had a nice experience. Now I know that there is a 10 mile 2% grade that climbs up Beeline Highway and I know what to expect when I get out on the “real” course. It almost seemed like a long false flat that just drags you down…can’t wait to see the real course in a few days. Well, back to resting…I leave for Arizona on Wednesday morning.

I am home ill again today, but at least I can do a little homework and post a message here. THE RACE BIB NUMBERS HAVE BEEN RELEASED!!!

Ford Ironman Arizona April 2008 Participants

BIB # LAST, FIRST AGE SEX DIVISION CITY ST COUNTRY
114 KLAAR DESI 42 F AGE W40-44 LAKESIDE CA USA

So there it is…I have a number near the pros! I better have my “A” game in play on race day.

I am sticking to Doctor’s orders and doing nothing until Saturday. I have been a good girl and rested the last few days. I have heard from people that mostly have all given me the same advice ~ sleep, relax, drink fluids and no workouts.

I will give the Ironmanlive website in a few days with some instructions for race day viewing. Thanks for checking in!

I am sick today!!! Two weeks before my race in Arizona!!!

I volunteered at the transition area yesterday for the California Half Ironman in Oceanside and felt great! I went to Coronado, swam two miles and still felt great. After I showered and came home, my throat was a little sore. A few hours later I knew that I was going to take a dive. I had a virus a month ago, took a week off and rested up, but now it is back in full swing. I don’t care if I have to take DayQuil with me on the bike in Arizona, I am not backing out of this Ironman on April 13th. I will swim, bike and run until they tell me to stop.

After all of the training that I have put in, I am not giving up. I will take the next few days off and see how I feel. I called my doctor’s office this morning and the nurse said that if it is a virus, rest is all that I can do.

Then rest I will…

Well, not sure who is reading this anymore, but I have decided to write a post once a month while training for the Chicago Marathon and an 18 mile extreme trail run that I am planning on doing in November in the mountains.

This last month I have been running distance on Saturdays on the road and running on the fire roads through Mission trails on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Extreme heat and hills. Sundays have been a toss up of beach or road running. I have been averaging anywhere from 25-40 miles a week the last month.

Today I was running on Black’s Beach and saw a naked man strolling along casually. You have gotta love San Diego in the summer time…

I will check in again when I pick up the mileage again or see anything exciting. I am running in the AFC Half Marathon next week and will receive the Triple Crown for running in three half marathons in the same area in one calendar year. I am hoping to finish in 2 hours. Not 2:10 like Carlsbad Half and not 2:17 like the La Jolla Half.

More later…

(click on the photo to make it larger for viewing)

Last weekend I had the opportunity to give back to the newbies that were weary about surf entry starts at the Carlsbad Triathlon. Sherry, Jean and I all volunteered as swim buddies with the Triathlon Club of San Diego. I had the opportunity to assist one girl through the surf and then she was fine. I just dolphined next to her until she waved me on. I then assisted a girl who said that she did not finish her last race because she could not get through the surf. So there I was. I gave her the pointers that she needed about dolphin entry and tucking the head down so that her goggles stayed on.

This weekend Rich and I are driving up to Guernville/Santa Rosa to assist those who cheered me on. Vineman Half is this weekend and I must know 20 people doing the race. I have contacted everyone so far today and will join up with everyone when we arrive. Rich and I rented a cottage and are staying near the river to watch the race start. I intend on running in a few of the girls that I see on the course. I hope to find a nice spot between miles 8-12 to run a few miles with these ladies. I truly hope that I see Jen. I need to return the favor as she was my angel a few weeks ago.

On to training for the Chicago marathon more seriously when I return. Lately I have been running 5-7 miles of moderate hills twice a week.

More when I get back!

It has been two weeks since my adventure at the Ironman race in Idaho. It has taken me that long to decompress from the two week vacation, the travel and the 259 emails that I had to take three days to answer. Sleeping in without an agenda and waking without the daily preparation or awareness that a huge race was coming has been awesome. Getting to know my family for hours on end, relaxing in my yard again and just talking with training buddies about anything else but Ironman has been great the last few weeks.

Rich, Perry, Cory (Perry’s friend) and I jam packed a rental van and drove straight through to Coeur d’Alene. Not bad on the way up…though Montana offers nothing but rolling hills for 500 miles. We saw a few deer, millions of cattle and miles and miles of streams. Arni and Jayden flew up and Jena (Arni’s friend, who lives in Coeur d’Alene) and Josh (Jena’s boyfriend) picked them up at the Spokane airport. We had quite the crowd on a daily basis. I would have had it no other way. What an excellent support crew they turned out to be…more on that in a few paragraphs. Coincidentally, Josh’s mom who also lives in Coeur d’Alene was going to do the Ironman too. We were well on our way to having a family reunion at this pace. We were constantly calling family members and chatting it up while visiting together.

Some of the license plates that we saw during the entire trip were numerous. More diverse than a week in Yosemite: California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Idaho (duh), Montana, Wyoming, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Quebec, British Columbia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Alberta, Tennessee and New Mexico. I had written them down on a napkin as the week went on. Even stranger, as we were driving the number 112 kept appearing on license plates, mileage signs and exit signs. 112 is the amount of miles that I have to ride in an Ironman race…strange, huh?

Not to bore you with every play by play moment of my slow and steady race, but I must say that I felt strong and healthy the first 127 miles of the 140 mile race. The last 13 miles of the marathon were an interesting experiment in “digging deep”. I have never dug that deep before.

The swim started off with cold, windy and choppy conditions. I was 5 minutes off my projected time…not bad for a 2.4 mile swim! 57 people did not attempt the swim and chose to do a duathlon instead (bike and run only). I felt fresh as a daisy when I got out of the water…that is what I had been training for…the sensation of not being tired when I got out of the water. I did see others struggling out there and just said a little private word of encouragement to myself for them.

The bike ride was spectacular. Thinking back about the beauty of the lake’s shoreline, the forested hillsides and the chatter out on the course, just alleviated the windy conditions. The crowd support was intense! There was a house that had a person dressed in a full sized Elmo costume outside waving all day long. Reading signs on the roadways and on the roadsides was an excellent deterrent as well. One child created a sign for his/her daddy that simply said “Go Daddy, your time will be 4:37”. All I could do was chuckle…was this for the bike portion? The run? The entire race? Too cute. I stuck with the plan and watched my cadence the entire ride. I didn’t hammer when I wanted to and I changed gears when my cadence dropped too low. I got off the bike and felt ready to run. No sore areas and standing upright after 112 miles felt normal. At this point in the race I had 10 minutes until the bike cut off. I didn’t care, I was witnessing Scott Rigsby a few riders behind me slip into the gate to also make the cut off. Scott is a double leg amputee who was attempting to be the first to finish an Ironman. What a miracle to witness…

I will write in depth about the marathon as it was the most spiritual experience of any race that I have ever done.

The marathon ahead was going to be the best part of the race…there is a finish line at the end! I slipped on my running shoes and couldn’t wait to get out on the course and run…running is my favorite of the three sports. After one mile I realized that everything that I had eaten was sitting in my stomach…hard as a rock. I walked for a half mile and felt much lighter after a few minutes of liquid intake. The gut was working again. During this short walk I started adding up where I was on the course and the time I needed to run each mile to finish the marathon before midnight. Oh my, I realized…I have to RUN a sub-15 minute mile to make the cut off!!! Others finished the bike early enough to walk some of the marathon…I have to RUN the entire thing! The first 13 miles were just like a normal training day, but at mile 14 I saw Rich and let him know my plight…he ran a few blocks with me and gave me the encouragement that would carry me for awhile. As I came around a corner I couldn’t believe that the guy in the Elmo costume and family had moved their picnic to the run course! At mile 16 the sidewalks were taunting me with wiggly lines and waves…not a good sign. Just then Jen from CAF pulled up on a bike and said “Hi, Des, how are you doing?” My reply was (being tough and proud) “I’m okay.” She started asking questions like “Have you drank anything?” …and then it hit me, I need to stop and have dinner at the next aid station. If I have to RUN 10 more miles with this crazy lady cycling on the street in the dark, against traffic, next to me, then I need to eat so that I can stay coherent and witness this.

Jen rode next to me and made sure that I did not bonk and pass out on the last 10 miles. I have lived my life with an angel on my shoulder in times of duress…this night was no different. Jen, you are an angel! She rode ahead and asked others how they were doing, she had a guy Randy jogging again as we were nearing the finish line. John Holman a much older gentleman from San Diego was moving quicker due to Jen. He actually qualified for Kona! Jen wouldn’t let anyone quit. She gave a play by play account as to how far we were from the finish, that we were on target to get there and that we were going to hear the words “You are an Ironman” very soon.

I would occasionally look behind me and see the people that were struggling behind me. There was a long line of people with green glow in the dark rings around their necks, staggering, walking and some giving up. Jen told me to not look behind me anymore. The last time that I did, the race officials were assessing people and letting them get into cars. They came by Jen and I and said “You have a good pace, you are going to finish, keep it up!”

About this time the wind kicked back up and it began to sprinkle. There were people in cars stopping to tell me that I was their hero and that they cannot believe that I am still running at this point in the race; to keep going and that the finish line was right around the corner. I could hear Mike Reilly announcing others into the finish line and then I realized that I had time to run it in and finish. Jen asked as we were nearing the final mile “Will you do this again?” I said “NO, this is harder than natural child birth!!!”

Then all of a sudden we rounded a corner and there were Arni and Jena waiting for me! They ran beside me for a half mile down the course to the finish line with the baby sleeping in the stroller as we ran in. Jen on my right and these girls and the baby on my left giving me the last boost that I needed to finalize this adventure. People were giving me hand slaps as I neared the finish line and then I saw Mike Reilly and broke into a bawling session before the finish line… “Desi Klaar from Lakeside, California, You Are An Ironman!”

23 hours of driving1400 miles in a van one way with teenagers…doable.

Six months of training, juggling life on life’s terms…doable.

Bawling my eyes out at the finish line photo of Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2007 in front of millions of viewers with ten and a half minutes to spare…priceless.

I have trained with excellent people, had phenomenal coaching and a supportive family…who are also Ironmen and women who sat on the sidelines during the race and the months prior assisting me with this adventure. I have raised money to support a cause that assists challenged athletes with the equipment that they need to compete in events. I have realized my strengths and a few of my weaknesses and will continue to strive to be a better person because of YOUR support! Thank you doesn’t begin to touch the gratitude that I feel towards my friends and family.

On to Ironman Arizona in April 2008! Even though it will still be harder than natural childbirth!

The below link is of photos that Tomie took on the course. Just copy and paste the link in your browser. Photos 12-18 (?) are of my buddy Sherry Blume! I need to lose 10 pounds in the gut so that I look better in a wetsuit next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are also photos of Jody and Mike, other CAF folks that were there. The swim start looks phenomenal!!!!!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcsWrNs1csmLCXg

Just got home and want to write a great story about the entire race day but need to get homework done first…

Ironman Arizona 2008…???