Your Physical Therapist's Race Recap: Ironman California, Round 3.
Clinch Performance and Recovery is a Reno physical therapy clinic that puts a lot of value on doing challenging and fulfilling things, because we believe it's a great way to learn about ourselves. We can also learn a lot of strategies that we can take with us throughout the remainder of our lives.
One of those things is triathlon. I started racing Ironmans back in April of 2023. Ironman Texas was my first Ironman, and first triathlon. I decided I wanted to take on a big challenge and see what would happen.
Fast forward to three years later and I have finished 2023 Ironman Texas; 2023, 2024, and 2026 Ironman California; and 2025 and 2026 Ironman Lake Placid. Needless to say, it's been an adventure.
My most recent race (literally less than 48 hours from the time I am writing this blog) was 2026 Ironman California. Going into this race was a challenge due to a lot of additional life stress that was going on, so my training was sub par. With that being said, here is a little race recap of my 2026 Ironman California event.
The Swim:
Ironman California is about a 2.4 mile downriver swim. Yes. . . downriver. Thank God. My swim training has been the subbest of the sub par since Lake Placid in July. The main difficulty with this swim is the cold water. It was rated at about 63 degrees which is far from the coldest I've swam in, but it has been about 10 months since I had done a cold water swim. It's funny how your body forgets how to handle these things.
After about 100 yards in, I started to feel a build of anxiety and pressure in my chest. Oh crap. I was panicking! I had NEVER panicked during my other 6 Ironman races. Why now?
I stopped and treaded water. My breathing became short and choppy. Thoughts started spiraling in my head:
"You can't do this."
"You might DNF (did not finish)."
"You didn't swim enough."
"You've been under too much stress."
The only thing I had under my control at that time was taking deep breaths. I had to calm myself, down.
After a couple of moments I felt comfortable enough to swim. I got a few strokes in until the chest pressure, returned. The anxious feeling started creeping back in.
Stop, tread water, breathe.
After a few seconds I felt comfortable enough to start swimming. As I got into my rhythm, it became business as usual. I felt fine. The panic had its moment, but didn't come back.
As always, a wave of relief came over me when I got to the swim exit and one of the volunteers held out his hand to help me out of the water. I can only imagine, that's what entering Heaven feels like.
That was a tough moment for me, but an example of what we can do when we start to spiral and panic. Life stress happens and sometimes the best thing we can do before we REACT to a situation is to stop, take a breath, and give ourselves the chance to make a better decision.
The Bike
Going into this race, I had high expectation for the bike. The goal was a 5 hour, 30 minute bike leg. IF the stars aligned and there was no wind, I felt like it was possible.
The bike course for this race is flat. 112 miles with only a few hundred feet of elevation gain, or so. With that being said, it can also be windy. I felt strong for the first loop, but the second loop was met with a headwind. What was 18 mph or so for the first loop going south, dropped to 15 mph. Unfortunately, this meant that my 5:30 goal would not be attainable.
Perhaps I could finish top 10 out of my age group for the bike? I would not know until the end of the race. All I could do was put my head down and pedal, hoping for the best.
If you were to ask me about the scenery, I could not give you an answer. My focus was on the road and riders ahead of me, and my legs.
I ended up finishing the bike in 5 hours and 49 minutes. Not bad, considering my previous, fastest time took me about 6 hours and 20 minutes.
The Run
The run is approximately 26.2 miles and takes you through parts of downtown Sacramento. It is mainly flat, with some cobblestone areas as you go through downtown.
My legs felt pretty good for the majority of the race. There were some areas that were poorly lit, making me grateful for the mini headlamp attached the the brim of my hat.
It was at about mile 22 of the marathon where the wheels fell off. If you're unsure, that means your legs are SHOT. They turn into concrete and your pace increases due to the fatigue. You try to make your legs move more quickly and they don't because your body and brain are holding you back. It is a weird feeling when it happens so suddenly.
Needless to say, those last 4 miles were tough. There was some questioning of life choices and what was a sub 5 hour marathon goal became a "let's just get this done as soon as possible" goal.
I ended up finishing the run in 5 hours and 11 minutes. A PR (personal record) for an Ironman marathon, which I could be proud of, even though I didn't hit my initial goal.
In Summary. . .
The swim: due to the current, I was able to finish the swim in 58 minutes. Getting over the panic was definitely a tough and valuable lesson.
Transition 1: 12 minutes. Not too shabby. Some would say that's an eternity but I'm okay with it.
The bike: 5 hours and 49 minutes. I missed both my 5:30 and top 10 in my age group goal (I ended up at 12th). Needless to say, it was a solid 19.2 mph pace, but there is a little disappointment when you can't achieve what you set out to do. With that being said, we take these moments as a learning experience and keep on moving forward.
Transition 2: 8 minutes.
The run: 5 hours and 11 minutes. A PR Ironman marathon performance, but a missed goal. Sometimes you get a little, and sometimes you can't have it all.
Endurance sports are an opportunity to give yourself a chance to try something hard and see what you can do. Along the way, there are many lessons that can be learned. This is why we love working with endurance athletes here at Clinch Performance and Recovery.
We are a Reno Physical Therapy clinic that helps people become better humans by getting their bodies capable of doing amazing things. Who knows what is next on the list?
Thanks for reading!
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