SUNDAY AUGUST 25TH~
I had a pretty decent night of sleep and woke up at 3:50am ready to get my race on.....
I made my breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, honey & a banana. I made my coffee, got dressed & taped my foot. I finished packing the bottles I made last night into the appropriate bags then Todd & I went down to meet the rest of the team at 4:35am. As we walked about a mile to transition I ate my oats & drank my coffee & became very aware of the pain in my right foot. It seemed to get worse with every step & I just had to deal with it & hope that once it was all warmed up & I got to the run it would be ok.
In transition I went to my bike first, filled my aero bottle with my roctane & EFS mixture put an extra bottle of the stuff on my mini wing along with a bottle of water. I left the cage on my frame free for water at aid stations. Next I dropped of bike & run special needs bags. I did not expect to need my bike special needs bag so I didn't have much in there just an extra bottle of nutrition & some Imodium ....hey you never know! I planned on using my run special needs bag so there was plenty in there (more on that later). I had a few item to add to my bike & run bags then hit up a port o potty & realized I did not leave my tri top in my bike bag so I had to go back & do that. Then it was another long walk to the swim start & body marking....#442. The swim is a time trial start so it's first come first serve. The line was long already & it was just before 6am, we still had to wait for the cannon at 7am. I found my teammates Lisa & Lee & hopped in line with them. I hit the potty again & that line took 26 minutes....ugh! I went back to my friends & was able to relax for just a few minutes before the line started moving. I was very relaxed, I kept worry out of my mind & tried not to waste energy on nonsense. I slipped on the swim skin (thanks Mary) & of course had to go to the bathroom AGAIN....seriously, it always happens. Spectators were allowed to be with competitors in line, even though I didn't talk to Todd much it was great to have him right there with me, silent comfort. I handed him my morning clothes bag and gave him a big hug & kiss & we exchanged I love you's then I headed down the walk to the piers that we jump off into the river. I really like how it happened so fast you barely have time to think about what you are about to do, you just jump right in.
SWIM~ I jumped right off the pier into the Ohio river almost on top of my friend Lee then almost instantly my right eye goggle was filling with water. I adjusted it a few times & decided to just let it be & swim, after all I could still see, so I swam on. I like to go out kind of hard but 2.4 miles is a long way so I tried to scale it back a little. With it being a time trial start the swimmers are more spread out but it is inevitable to have contact with some. I touched a few legs & a few butts & had mine touched as well, nothing too aggressive but enough that it made me swim faster for a moment. I kept counting the buoys as I went on and after what seemed to be a long time finally reached the turn around. Once I made the turn where it is always a bit more congested this BIG man was on my left & his BIG hand hit my back and pushed me down so suddenly that I took a big drink of the Ohio river, I kept thinking I hope I don't get sick from this water. Then my right eye filled up more with water & I had to adjust it again. I was still counting buoys & was approaching the first of three bridges that we swim under & began to really pick up the pace. I was getting excited that I was almost to the swim out and there was hardly any other swimmers around me so I decided to stop sighting for a while and go for it. When I finally did look up again I was so far right near the middle of the river I began to really swim fast to get back to the left where most of the people were & the buoys. By this time I felt like this swim was taking forever & I worked way too hard to get back to the masses. Finally I could see the spectators on land & hear the cheers, I started to do the breast stroke to get more blood flow to my legs & swam to a volunteer to help me up the stairs towards transition. I was hoping for 1:20 on the swim but when I looked at my watch I thought, "well that's not right". You see my GPS doesn't work on the swim and I didn't know my official time till MJ told me on the run.....1:08:03 HELL YEAH!
T-1~ Running out of the water you call out your number to a volunteer & they radio another volunteer that grabs your bike bag & hands it to you as you run into the women's tent, very fast & very efficient. Once in the women's tent with the help of yet another volunteer i wiggled out of the swim skin (thanks again Mary) & she began to empty the contents of the bag & calls out items. First I put on my tri top, then she basically dressed me....she gathered my calf sleeves, my arm coolers, dried my feet & put on my cycling shoes. I stuffed my pockets full of nutrition put on my sunglasses & aero helmet (thank you Katie) & ran out of the tent. The sunscreen appliers were waiting for me, I stopped for a quick rub then ran to grab my bike & ran to the mount line & hopped on....T1 time 8:18 way too long!
BIKE~ I mount the bike at the mount line & unfortunately did not hear Todd screaming my name as I guess I was focused on the task at hand. The plan is to keep it easy through the first loop, about 60 miles then pick it up. This course is hilly but the first & last 10 miles are mostly flat so when I started on the bike it really was no surprise that I felt really good I kept it under control & easy, I have ridden this course many times so I knew what was coming, the finger has the hardest hills of the course & they start about 15 miles or so into the ride. Once I got to the finger I caught up to Lisa, & Amber....they are fast swimmers & Amber & I tackled that first mother together. It was so great to see my teammates & know we are all out there together. The finger, as hard as it it has always been the best part of the course. It is simply beautiful, with exposed rock & water trickling down the sounds of nature & bikes.....wicked fast downhill speeds & painfully slow climbs that had me smiling the entire time. After the U-turn it was back the way we came. On one crazy fast downhill cyclist were alerting us to an accident ahead, & holy shit what an accident it was. I only saw it for a few seconds but I saw enough, he was in a neck brace with blood on his face, shoulders, hands, & knees. Later I heard he broke is collar bone and spent a few days in the hospital but will be just fine....God was with him & I prayed for God to be with us all.
As I was leaving the finger I saw more teammates, Tim, Jim. & Ryan, all whom looked great. I was still feeling great & ready for the hottest part of the course, I made sure not to push too hard & as I came up to LaGrange I saw our team tent & EVERYONE, Todd, MJ, Vanessa, Ezeh, Mia,.....it was amazing!!!! I got a surge & really wanted to push but had to pull in the reigns & keep my head, I still had over 70 miles to go. I went up those hills & down & felt really good but still maintained my effort. Once I hit the second loop I couldn't wait to pass the gathering in LaGrange again so I pushed it a little faster & the legs responded very well. I kept a back and forth with a few girls & made sure my nutrition was on point. I was taking a fresh water bottle at every aid station & eating often. I knew if I had to pee I was going to do it on the bike so....I did. I it's a. Little hard to pee while riding, actually I really had to concentrate & do it on a downhill & then o lord I had a slight burning feeling on my skin so I knew there was going to be some tenderness after this race. I managed to pee twice on the bike....perfect! About mile 80 Tim past me then I saw him on the side of the road, he said a dropped chain then about mile 90 he caught up with me again & I shouted go get em! The last 10 miles were pretty lonely, not many riders & flat. I tried to make it fast but I still didn't want to over do it so I held a comfortably uncomfortable pace. On the last 5 miles I thought I had run over a bottle top but then realized that my right shifter had fallen off but it was too late & I was too far to go back & get it. Great, now I'm thinking how much that will cost me. Anyway, as I approach the transition area I hear the crowd & head toward the noise. I dismount the bike & hand it off to a volunteer, did I mention how wonderful they are???? Bike time 6:41:45.... Not bad!
T-2~ I run a few steps with my bike shoes on & see people stopping to take their shoes off so I did the same, ahhh, much better! I call out my number again & a volunteer hands me my run bag as I head to the women's tent again. I take off my tri shorts & the volunteer takes off my calf sleeves & helps dry me off so we can get my CWX ventilator compression pants on. I immediately felt wonderful in them. The volunteer started putting my bottles in my fuel belt, they were chilly cuz I put them in a small cooler with ice packs, totally my idea! ;-) while she was helping with that I had to tape my foot because after all the problems I knew I would not last 26.2 miles without it. I put mystics on, then shoes, then my hat & fuel belt & took off to make another visit to the sunscreen folks. Arms, shoulders, back ,& face were covered & I started on the marathon. T2 time 11:34....you would have thought I took a nap!
RUN~ instantly my feet hurt, they already felt swollen & ached with every step. Not exactly how I wanted to start this marathon. My feet felt like they traveled 26 miles not like they just started. I was hoping as the run went on they would feel a little better. As I approached mile 2 I saw my friends again & gave some high 5's & thumbs up. A little further up the road I saw our team tent & MJ ran with me for a little bit checking in &encouraging me as I went on, this was also the time that she told me about my swim & I was seriously like OMG! This is f#@!ing AWESOME! I did not see Todd anywhere & MJ said he went for food, i was a bit disappointed he wasnt there & hoped he didnt drink too much out in the sun. My plan was to keep the first 6 miles easy then try & maintain 5 miles per hour. I also had a list i made of 26 names and songs that go with them & i was going to sing those songs each mile. Well, that lasted about 10 miles. After that I wasn't singing anything & my pace was quickly declining. I was taking ice at every aid station & drinking my bottles & really keeping up with my hydration because I was starting to see a lot of competitors that were not having a good run portion of the race so it really reminded me to stay focused on drinking & I would eventually get to the finish. As I approached the second loop I saw Todd & I was so happy to see him, finally. He ran with me asking how I was feeling & I said I was happy to be coming up to the run special needs & change my socks & shoes because my feet were killing me. I saw more tri smart peeps cheering & got my bag & I was directed to a chair & two volunteers were ready to help. As soon as I sat down I instantly felt pain in the legs & was like ooh, maybe I shouldn't sit. The volunteer said "you have 1 minute, then you have to move" he was absolutely right, the longer I sat, the harder it would be to move., so they took my shoes & socks off & changed my inserts & I changed my hat to a visor & took my whole bag. As I walked with my bag I ate a peanut butter & honey uncrustable& really wished the change of shoes would have helped my feet feel better but it didn't. I handed my bag to Todd because I was not about to leave a $120 pair of shoes behind. At this point I was also over the fuel belt so I ripped it off & gave it to Todd as well & decided I would just get my fuel from the aid stations. As I chewed my last bite if sandwich I didn't even want to swallow anymore so I just spit it out . The next few miles were tough,not only did my feet hurt but my abs hurt, & now I think I needed to go to the bathroom. I really didn't want to stop because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get going again. At about mile 17 I hit the potty, & made it quick....so glad I went. I was able to continue a run/walk and although my pace was slow I was making progress. I was taking bananas, & oranges, & chicken broth on top of water & ice this time around. This point of the run was very scary, there were people dropping like flies& there were bodies laying on both sides of the road with police waiting with them until medics could come. There was a man screaming at the top of his lungs in pain from a calf cramp that looked like his muscle was going to tear through his skin. There was a woman that must have passed out & busted many teeth out of her mouth sitting on the side covered in blood. There was a man throwing up & dry heaving so badly I could hear him from almost a block away.there was a man I saw about mile 24 sitting on the side of the road & he didn't look so good so I asked him if he was ok & as he looked up at me he fell over & I ran to him & gave him the only thing I had to give which was a bottle of electrolytes & I watched him drink it then like it was magic he managed to get his feet & take a few steps before falling on his face. I screamed & called for the police to help him. They stayed with him & I prayed once more for that man & for all of us. I knew I would be making it to the finish line even after witnessing others succumb to the toll the ironman takes on you physically & mentally. It was not all carnage on the second half f bbthe run, there were some laughable times too, a man & I were walking along & he said he wasn't doing so well. His tummy was hurting & he thought he may vomit, turns out he let out the biggest two farts ever & said " ah, that felt so much better" ....lmao. Only during an ironman is it acceptable to break wind in strangers company. Gotta love this sport. A short while later another man ran by all the while farting with each & every step, it didn't faze anyone around. I ' finally saw mile 25 & decided I could run the last 1.2 miles in, my feet hurt, my breath was hard but I had made it, I was going to be an ironman. All the training, the last 8 months came down to this 300 yard finisher chute. I turned the corner onto fourth street & saw bright lights I gave as many high 5's as I could I wanted to remember all the hands reaching for me as if they were pulling me to my destiny.....and then I saw Todd. I went to him & we hugged & kisses for maybe just a few seconds but as he was telling me how much he loved me & how proud he was the tears came. I told him I have to cross that line then it's official & he let me go to do something that had only been a dream, something that I have been drawn to , he let me go to become an ironman. Finishing time 14:06 :10.... UNFORGETTABLE!!!
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