Today it's one month already that I got up at 4am to welcome the big day I was preparing for so long. The weather forecast was nice, not too cold, not too hot, no wind, perfect.
It was a freezy morning, when we prepared our bikes in the transition zone. Once everything was set up, I followed my this year’s new habit and took 5min or 10 in a quiet corner to visualize the race, every stage of it, with my very special IM song that found me about a week before the race.
At 6am I met with Hannes in the changing tent, both of us quiet, but confident and ready to rumble.
I picked a position quite in the front to start the swim, a bit on the right side of the left pack.
The speaker sent us into the water one minute before the gun came off, and when that happened, the water became to boil. It is the most amazing moment when I watch a triathlon and the most terrific when you are in there. Too many elbows and feet around you… I just concentrated on a little phrase Jaime had written in my t plan for race day: don’t get tense. It costs me a bit not to get tense, but thinking in these 3 words helped, until I got out of the washing machine about 5 or 600m after the start. The first turn at 1400m was quite clean, another 500m after the second turn, I had found some nice feet at that stage, but they went a bit too much to the left, so I changed 2XU for Blue Seventy and kept drafting for a while. I definitely enjoyed the moment when we entered the canal; I heard the crowds cheering and felt the current produced by the swimmers in this clear, nice water. I didn’t know how far the canal swim was, it took longer to get to the swim exit than I thought, but when my feet hit the ground again, Garmin said: 1:03 something which made me smile and run quickly into T1.
The transition went fast and without any problems, I hopped on the bike and started the 2 loops course, the first 25km along the lake, flat and fast, controlling the watts, “don’t over pace”. My concentration was on the W and the nutrition, number 7 became a magical one in that race; when I started the bike lag the watch showed 1h7min, from that moment on every 7 had a significance, as it was the time I had to eat, or better to have finished one of the 6 parts marked on the bottle with the holy concentrate ;)
After the first 30k I knew that I was riding fast, the second hour was a bit slower due to the climbs. On both of them someone had written on the road: go tiger go, and: I love my tiger. And so do I ;) Hannes passed me on k 60 approximately, see you later alligator. The third 30k were fast again, they could have been even faster without a group of 8 or 9 in front of me riding down to Klagenfurth blocking the road. And when I came to the turning point to start the second loop the watch said: 4h 47min, I was in the perfect timing.
When I passed the personal aid station located on the right side of the road I went to the left to avoid getting involved in some plastic bag or similar trouble, when someone passed me on my right side that obviously was willing to cuddle with me. Paul passed me too close, so we went shoulder on shoulder (literally!) during a couple of seconds and I just tried not to hit the pedestrian way. I jailed at him (in Spanish, as it’s the first thing coming out of that German mouth when it comes to swear), he didn’t even apologize! With a good injection of adrenalin I kept going, calming down myself after that scary moment, I was really lucky that I had ridden so many km this year and to dominate my bike. I’m sure I’d have crashed if not.
The second loop went quite the same way as the first riding for a while with Fernanda Keller around, I had heard a lot about her, and yes: she is beautiful and in an amazing form, I wished I’d look like that with 48!
On that second loop it began to dawn on me that this IM could maybe be a way better new personal best than I had imagined. The last 30k I paced that last long downhill just not to lose seconds or minutes, my plan was let the bike with 6h27min, it turned into 6h30min and I thought: If you are able to run 3h30min, you get the 10h. I parked my dear bike in its place, the first IM race without any back issues and with no negative thoughts on the bike. Every year on km 150 I was thinking: damn, can I please get vertical and run? Not this year.
I put on my superstition socks and the fast red shoes, grabbed two gels, on in each hand, salt tablets in the back pocked of my jersey and headed out for the run. 2 loops, 6k to the left and back and 4 and something towards Klagenfurth. I was running a bit faster than the set pace by the coach, but it felt good and I said to myself: let’s see how long I can hold that pace, when I crack, I crack, but it doesn’t matter.
I stack perfectly to my nutrition plan, gels, water and salt; nothing else. When I had eaten the two gels I kept grabbing one from the aid stations to keep it in my left hand, in the right hand folded water cup. I had done my training sessions carrying the Ipod, water bottle or phone and it just felt weird not to have anything to hold on to. On K 15 and a bit I spotted a black pants white top and a familiar running style in front of me. I passed Hannes on k16. He just said: great Kirsten, go, you get the sub 10, get the tiger out! And I ran. At every timing mat I heard my friends in Spain cheering, hoping me not to crack, and maintaining the pace. And I did. At Km 38 I knew that I had the sub 10, no matter what. I passed a guy with a lot of pearcings in his ears, thinking that it has to be uncomfortable and he said: you go girl, and I: I do, he: god bless the ignorant, I: that’s not ignorance, that’s training ;) I would meet him again after the finish line, Karl with a K ;)
2km left, keeping up the pace, increasing it. 4’25’’. I couldn’t believe that that was happening. It felt great, unbelievable, amazing. When I turned left where many people still had to do another loop and the crowds were cheering I was just laughing loud.
The last turn to the left showed the race clock: 9h 55min. Nothing can describe that moment, maybe this photo:
I did not pass out as I did 2 years ago, I did not cry like every year before. I had never enjoyed a race and less an IM like I did. And I am flattered about what I’m able to do. Of course it helped that I had dedicated a lot of time to train. That I was not working since February, living a professionals’ life. But even though I’d never thought that I could be sub 10.
A huge thank you to my coach! We did a good job this year. The second one working together, but we definitely improved. Last year I struggled so much and this year I didn’t.
Another big thank you to my kind of sponsor: Tamalpais for letting me the powertap! I’ll get one as soon as I can.
And thanks to all the others who teached me, supported me, helped me out. I have no idea if I’ll ever be able to repeat that time or improve it. Of course I want to but circumstances change. It was the perfect day.
At the moment I don’t want to repeat IM Austria. It was perfect. Only the Hawaii slot would have topped it, I missed it by 1 position. Next time ;) or the one after the next, or maybe never, but I’ll keep trying :D
