Patience = Performance

Elliot and I built our entire season around Ironman Canada in Penticton on August 28th. Sadly, due to wildfires, the event was cancelled a week before taking place. We scrambled to sort out the best option around last minute travel, accommodations, and tapering/peaking for a new event. Ironman Wisconsin in Madison September 10th made the most sense as my parents live about 90 minutes from the venue, and the course was most similar to Ironman Canada (lake swim with a hilly bike and run). We charted the 2,000 mile drive (30 hours each way) to the DeVries family farm (aka the Homestead) and rolled our entry over.

While it felt like we were peaking for an Ironman for about a month, I appreciated the extra training time as I’ve only competed in one full distance Ironman. Elliot has done 19, and seemingly a little more affected initially by the change in date/location – and I don’t blame him. He really loves Ironman Canada, and has raced well there in the past. Driving from Seattle to my home in Stillman Valley was daunting, too. 10 hours of driving for 3 days straight while managing taper workouts and work was no easy task, but we learned a lot about how to take care of our bodies on the road and work together to stay focused and positive. We also lost an hour in time change each day, but we felt it was worth it to drive. We loved exploring states we’ve never been to, and knew the way home would be exciting in terms of sightseeing!

Once we made it to my folk’s home, we were treated like royalty. My mom cooked for us, and staying on the farm was perfect leading into the race. My mom runs an AirBnB out of a shed my dad built out, so we got to stay out there! It’s a really neat place, check it out if you’re ever in that area!

It’s hard to be stressed when you can walk out to feed the goats, sheep and chickens with sprawling views of the Valley. Riding through corn fields, swimming at our old rec center, and running my old run routes was so special that I can’t put it into words. My hometown seemed unchanged – almost exactly how I remembered it growing up. We were overdue for some good quality time with my parents, so it was great spending time with them before and after the Ironman. We waited to see my extended family (many of my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents live in my hometown of Stillman Valley) until after the race so that we could focus on avoid catching any illnesses, and we felt pretty beat down from the road trip. I struggled with nausea, and even threw up once early in the trip in the middle of the night. Some people just aren’t cut out for life on the road! 😉 Enjoy some photos of the Homestead/Stillman Valley below. Check out my Instagram account for a highlight reel of training there, too!

Race weekend approached, and we made the short drive up to Madison a few days prior to the event. Madison is a neat college town, and a great race venue with a lot of accommodations. We checked out the swim and bike courses, and did our usual pre-race rituals feeling both laidback and confident. While this wasn’t what we prepared for, it was all playing out perfectly.

Race day brought perfect conditions. Lake Monona’s water temp was 72.5, and the air temps peaked in the low 80’s. Unfortunately, the 1.2 mile swim was a 2 loop course, so I knew the second lap would be very physical since we would be lapping slower athletes that just started. I didn’t have a great start, and swam solo the entire first loop. I knew I was swimming about a 1:03 given that I was solo the first loop, and very crowded on the second loop. I’m capable of an hour swim, but getting with a group is a must, especially on a looped course. I was thankful one other guy came around me going into the second lap, and I was able to navigate with him through traffic a bit. The second lap was so physical, I lost my cap and nearly my goggles! I’m most disappointed in my swim, but given the circumstances I can accept it as a good solo effort. I took 6 minutes and 56 seconds off my last Ironman swim from 2018, which was nearly identical in course/conditions.

Ironman Wisconsin has the most unique transitions: T1 and T2 are in a convention center indoors! Athletes run up the helix of a parking garage, grab their bags indoors, and then run out to bikes racked in a parking garage. Volunteers were awesome in transition, which helped athletes get through the long transitions. My dad and mom cheered us on out of the water, and my dad yelled I was 4 minutes 46 seconds down from the leader. No problem, I remember thinking, as I had a gut feeling this race would not be won or lost in the swim.

The 112 mile bike course – where to begin! The course boasts 6,000 feet of elevation gain/loss, so Canada on paper has more climbing, but the punchy, technical aspects of Wisconsin’s two loop bike course are not for the faint of heart. Sadly, an athlete passed away from injuries sustained on one of the steep descents into a sharp corner about halfway through the bike. Former pro Linsey Corbin gave us amazing pre-race advice, which I followed to a T given she’s won this course. I stayed well within myself, ate and drank like a champ, and rode the hills/technical sections well. I was aware early on that I was in 3rd place, about 8 minutes off of first thanks to a spectator around mile 20, so I assumed I was racing a swim-biker. I had lost a little time on her in the first loop but I was not worried. I told all the spectators giving me position updates thank you, and that I was ahead of schedule 🙂 I made another pass on a steep climb around mile 30 or so, and when my dad told me steady in second place going into the second loop I gave him a nod and went to work.

With great focus and patience, I steadily gained on first place throughout the second loop, greeted by enthusiastic fans on every climb! The gaps kept coming down: 2 minutes to first, 90 seconds to first, and eventually back in town I got an update that I was 30 seconds to the front. I smiled. I knew I was virtually in the lead, as a good swimmer would have started a few minutes in front of me. I was even more thrilled I would get eyes on my competition in transition and likely take the physical lead starting the marathon, which I was really looking forward to. I finished the bike in 5:34:45, the second best female bike of the day (best bike of the day was 52 seconds faster).

After some amazing volunteers helped me swiftly though T2, where the second place female still lingered, I took to the rolling 26.2 mile marathon course in first place overall, accompanied by a 1st Place female bike supporter named Steve. I told him thank you for volunteering and I hope he was with me the entire marathon! Lead bikers are a reason I love age-group only races, as the crowd recognizes the top athletes on the second loop of crowded courses and it can help with congestion later on the course, as lapped athletes move over when they hear and see the lead bikers come through.

I felt in control, relaxed, and confident on most of the run. I know I’m one of the best runners in an age group field, and leaned heavily on my experience spectating Elliot in Iron distance racing. Elliot and I decided 5 years ago when I started triathlon that I would focus on half-Ironman (known as a 70.3) racing until the time was right to try another full Ironman, and it paid off. I used my 70.3-sharpened speed in the first loop of the run to get a double-digit lead on the field, and then allowed myself to really run a comfortable pace and use the restroom as much as I needed. I kept myself comfortable and it paid off. I know Ironman isn’t about going fast, its about not slowing down. When I heard I was up by 14 minutes at mile 20, just after the steep hilly section, I stopped caring about what I was running and focused solely on continuing to run. I would have loved a brag-worthy run split, but I checked my ego and avoided anything stupid that could have cost me the win later on. I rarely looked at my watch-my pace really didn’t matter at that point. It was my race to lose now. No one likes taking in fuel at a certain point, and I hit that point at mile 16, but I forced myself to continue taking nutrition and continued thinking positively when deep fatigue settled in. It really helped seeing my Mom and Dad so often on the spectator-friendly course. I finished the run in 3:21:25, best run of any female and 12th best of the men. This technically is a Boston Qualifying time for my age category by 8+ minutes, which I am proud of.

I saw Elliot twice on the run, and I knew he was crushing it based on where I saw him. Eventually, my dad started giving me updates on him since he was racing a tight overall and age group race. Each time I saw him I yelled loudly for him, I know his facial expressions and saw he was hurting to get the finish he desperately wanted. “Stay strong in the hills.” I told him, as I knew the steep hill at mile 18 of the run would make or break the field. Sure enough, he later told me he attempted to break the guy he was running with there, proceeded to throw up, got re-passed, and then went on to re-pass him just shy of the finish. He won his age group by less than a minute, and placed 3rd overall – his best finish ever! Thank goodness – now he can retire from full-distance racing. Lucky #20!

The last mile of my race was euphoric, albeit extremely painful and gradually uphill. The crowd support throughout the run was amazing – I especially appreciated the group of college boys my mom recruited who cheered for me in the darkest moments of the run. It was a super tough run course after a really punchy bike course, but I had the composure to thank each person who encouraged me, smiled often, thanked my bike supporter before the finish line, and pulled my kit back on + zipped up before turning down the famous Ironman red carpet. I had envisioned the finish line with the capital in the backdrop, and when that vision came to reality it was simply indescribable. I was filled with gratitude – something my friend Carolyn impressed on me leading into the race – and after acknowledging my parents I reached for the finish line banner and proudly lifted it over my head.

Ironman Champ. 5 years in the making. A dream ending to an undefeated 2023 triathlon season. With a finish time of 10 hours 6minutes, I took a total of 90 minutes off my previous Ironman time (Canada 2018). Not that times mean much in triathlon, as each course is so different, conditions vary so much year to year, and the race dynamics play a massive role in execution. Admittedly, I wanted faster times…but who doesn’t? It’s human to conquer something and still be dissatisfied. Elliot beat me by 38 minutes (insert sob emoji), but given he’s my sole training partner it’s impossible not to compare myself to him. He continues to remind me what matters: that I won the female race by 23 minutes, and won my age group by 40 minutes. I got the job done (insert shrug emoji) and I placed 16th in the mens field, my highest overall placement to date.

Winning an Ironman felt much different from my half-Ironman wins. Ironman felt like the culmination of several months of training and sacrifice vs “how hard can I go today”; a solo time trial vs a head to head race. Ironman changes you…teaches you about patience and perspective. Ironman is humbling. My feet are firmly planted on the ground in terms of where I stand in the sport. I acknowledge this was a regional Ironman during the heart of international Championship racing.

Post-race, Mom and Dad helped carry me and Elliot (who needed an IV and medical care for over an hour after his head to head battle) along with all our gear bags and disgusting bikes back to our hotel. Dad took off work so they could attend awards the next morning, where Elliot and I got a special call up on stage for being “the fastest couple in triathlon” at the moment (obviously excluding pro couples!). We both stayed to intentionally turn our World Championship slots down. There’s no way we could afford to travel to Nice, France for women’s World Champs, and Kona 5 weeks later for men’s World Champs. If Ironman hadn’t split the 2024 World Champs race days to fit more athletes in and make more money, we absolutely both would have gone to Kona to race together. In fact, when we sat down years ago to make our long term goals, doing Kona together was a big goal for our future. But, things change, and triathlon is changing. Elliot is very happy to cap his Ironman career at 20 full distances completed, 4 of which were World Championships in Kona, with a sparkling finish in Wisconsin and I’m increasingly less interested in Ironman races, particularly with rolling age group starts (you never know where you’re at in the race!!!). After 70.3 Worlds last year, where I tied with 2 girls by hundredths of a second but finished completely alone due to rolling swim starts, I’m no longer interested in racing amateur world championships. I need a challenge, and there’s certainly plenty of fast, talented, hard-working women out there. I want to race head to head, no more rolling start bull shit. Rolling starts are just not real races, however I understand why Ironman has to do them (safety). I’m not making any decisions about 2024 hastily, and will continue to weigh my options. Loving the sport while continuing to grow as a human being and athlete remain my top goals.

On an ending note, Elliot and I survived the long car trip back! We stopped along the way to see my sister in Iowa, and several other amazing places (Mt. Rushmore, Battle of Little Bighorn, Lewis and Clarke Trail, and Glacier National Park) It was an AMAZING trip filled with many heart warming moments. I can say with absolute certainty Elliot is my soul mate after all those hours in the car! Big thank you to my immediate and extended family for making the time to support and see me while we were in town. Mom and Dad – you made our race!! There’s just no place like home.

Thank you for your support and time spent reading this reflection. More photos of our road trip below, and some more footage on our respective social media accounts, too!

Warmly,

Becca