Florida Ironman 2012 – Race Recap

I have been anxiously excited (is that a possible combination!?) the last few weeks leading up to this race, my 2nd full Ironman.  I have gone over the entire race in my mind countless times. Each night as I have fallen asleep I have either been perfecting my transition; or riding along the final windy stretch of the bike, envisioning taking it easy on this last grueling part of the 112 miles in order to have a great start to my run; or I was in the middle of the marathon, feeling good at a nice comfortable pace.  I’ve gone through scenarios where everything goes right, and scenarios where things go wrong. Because I did this race last year, my nerves were not getting to me NEARLY as much in the days and weeks leading up to the race. I knew I’d be nervous on race day, but for now, I was just plain excited! Excited to get to Florida, Excited to swim in the gorgeous warm ocean, excited to bike along the long lonely highways that make up the bike course, and most excited to run a marathon at the end of the day. Weird that I would be so excited for those things?! This Ironman bug is in my veins. 

I arrived in Panama City Beach, Florida on Thursday, November 1^st.  The night before was Halloween, my family and I spent the evening trick or treating and enjoying the festivities of the day. I abstained from candy, as I was attempting a last ditch effort at no sugar the week before the race. I am disciplined and regimented in many ways, my sweet tooth is my weakness.

My husband, Bill, and I arrived in the afternoon and headed straight to the Expo to get registered for the race.  The weather was warm, high 70s and sunny. The forecast was for 80s on race day. Last year was much cooler, and made for a different race.

Friday was spent relaxing. Breakfast of fried eggs and toast. Then we went for a short bike ride along the run course to loosen the legs. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant, Bill had fajitas and I had enchiladas with beans and rice. Later we made grilled chicken and wheat pasta with marinara sauce. Water, Pedialite, and Gatorade all day long.  We went to bed about 8:30, at about 10:30 I may have fallen asleep.

RACE DAY – Saturday, November 3^rd

4:30am As usual, Bill got up before the alarm went off. I lay in bed for a few more minutes, thinking and praying. It was finally here. I ate breakfast of oatmeal with honey and a banana.  I drank water and Gatorade throughout the morning. About 5:30 we left the condo and walked the ¼ mile to the race start. I got body marked (#737), and entered transition. I got everything in transition ready, hit the bathroom 2x, and ate a peanut butter and jelly bonk breaker. I got my wetsuit on and headed to the beach with Bill. I drank my pre-race drink and stuffed a gel up my sleeve, to take after the first loop of the swim. I was still not super nervous, just still excited. The nerves I was feeling last year at this time brought me to tears, I am grateful for the calming effect a tiny bit of experience provides.

6:45am – Pro Start

I got into the water after they departed and swam a little bit, got used to the surf (which was pretty big and choppy for the Florida Gulf). As I looked at the current, waves, and swells, I knew there would be some who would be freaking out at this point. Florida is supposed to be a calm ocean swim. Today would not be so. I positioned myself next to Bill and behind the front lines of swimmers. The current would carry us right to left into the buoys, so I moved farther right as I have a tendency to swim left anyway.

7:00am –the cannon BOOMs!

SWIM 2.4 Miles       1:17:26                    Division Place:  35/118;  All Females:  199/789

I start running into the water, it’s quite shallow for a little ways, and the surf caused us to have to dive under and through waves to get past them. Once I was out far enough I dove in and started swimming. There were SO many bodies everywhere! Somehow I underestimated the craziness that this mass swim start is. It is NUTS! The current did not help the situation and most people were not swimming straight -or I wasn’t ;) .  There were bodies swimming over me, cutting me off, getting in the way no matter which way I tried to go. Last year I felt like it mellowed out a little bit after the start, not on this day. It was crazy all the way to the first turn, and that only made the problem worse. The swells were so big that I could not see the buoys unless I waited until I was at the top of each swell. Sighting became a matter of timing. I came out of the first loop and the clock said 50 minutes -minus the 15 from when the pros started – meant I was right at about 35 minutes, longer than I was hoping for, but with the rough nature of the water, I was just glad it wasn’t longer! I got hit in the head during the first loop and thought to myself, “well, there’s the first hit, not so bad.”

I took out my gel, ate it, and drank some water as I ran through the aid station on the beach on my way to the 2^nd loop. The 2^nd loop was much calmer and I remember thinking, “wow, this is actually relaxing.” Then I hit the first turn, not relaxing any longer. The rest of the swim was uneventful, I tried throughout the swim to swim on someone’s feet, to gain the advantage that comes from drafting. As I approached the shore the waves were pushing me in, I even took the opportunity to body surf a few waves in, it was the fun, and lighthearted moment of the very hectic and rough swim.  My swim goal was to be close to or under 1 hour 10 minutes. I am happy with my time of 1:17:26 only because I know I went as fast as I could for this day in this water. I think most swim times were a couple to a few minutes off, if not more. I know of several who truly struggled with the swells, waves, and currents, even to the point of nausea, vomiting and having to rest on the safety surfboards and kayakers. Fortunately on this day, for me, the only effect of the ocean conditions was a slightly slower time than it may have been in perfect conditions.

Transition #1:               5:42  

I ran up the beach as I tore my wetsuit down, plopped on my bum for the wetsuit strippers to do their thing, jumped up, ran along the boardwalk around to the parking lot of the hotel, grabbed my T1 bag, and headed into the hotel ballroom to get ready to ride. One of my prime goals for this year was to take about 5 minutes off my 2 transition times combined. Last year I had a 9:38 T1 - and had no idea why it was that long! We do run around A LOT - my garmin clocked the distance in T1 at .37 miles! This time I was conscious of all I was doing and really tried to speed things up. The weather being warmer this year meant no need for arm warmers, gloves, and a jersey on the bike.  I am sure that all contributed to a faster T1 this year. I was in and out in 5:42, an almost 4 minute improvement, that's equivalent to 10 seconds per mile on the marathon. Every minute counts.

BIKE 112 Miles  5:43:48  19.6 mph avg  Division Place:  19/118;  All Females:  124/789

 The temperature was perfect to start the bike, mid 60s and sunny, with little to no wind. Of course - at 8:30 in the morning for it to already be mid 60s meant it would be HOT later on. Forecast was for a high of 83. I figured that would be right about the time I start the marathon! As I got moving on the bike I was pleasantly surprised to see my speed at just about 20mph.  I felt great, and I was very consciously keeping my heart rate in my high zone 2 (140-153ish). I kept checking my HR to make sure I was taking it easy enough because I felt like I was going fast. Much faster than last year. There was either no wind on the first 50 miles, or even a tailwind at times. Last year there was a headwind those same first 50 miles and I worked too hard to keep the speed I thought I should have. I began eating and drinking right away. Basic run down of bike nutrition went as follows:

Breaking the foods up to eat approx 100-150 calories every 20/25 minutes this is what I took on (with calorie counts), in the order listed:

2 Homemade Blueberry Muffins 180 x 2 (360 total)
1/2 PB & H sandwhich on white bread 350
1 PB & H Bonk Breaker 250
2 Enduralite capsules and 2 First Endurance Pre-Race capsules (about 2 hours in)
1 Apple Pie Bonk Breaker 250 
3 Honey Stinger Waffles - Honey & Vanilla Flavor  120x3 (360)
2 Enduralite capsules and 2 First Endurance Pre-Race capsules (about 4.5 hours in)
5 gu, gu roctane, or powerbar gels 110x5 (550)

Throughout the bike I also took in 32oz of EFS Fluids (300), the 20 oz water bottle that I brought, and then I grabbed a water bottle at every aid station and dumped some on my head, drank some, and kept the bottle between my handlebars full. I don't know how much water I drank in total, but I did pee several times during the 112 miles, and again in T2. I also took 2 puffs on my inhaler about 1/2 way through the bike and again at about mile 100. I didn't feel like I was struggling to breath, I just wanted to make sure every air passageway was as open as possible!

Back to the ride! Miles 50-62ish is an out and back stretch that is rough road. Bumpy and broken up here and there, just not the kind of road you want to ride on. I had a slight headache (I think from the hit during the swim-my forehead was tender in that spot and my helmet hit my head at that tender spot) and this stretch of road did not help. I took one 200mg ibuprofen. For the most part I really enjoyed the bike portion of this race. I kept it feeling easy and after getting off the rough road, the rest of the ride was uneventful. I held a 19/20 mph average speed most of the time, and I got up out of the saddle whenever I could, to change things up a bit. 

Transistion 2: 3:02
Determined to have a faster T2 than last year's (5:24) I had practiced getting out of my shoes while still on the bike, making for a faster exit as well as faster running through the transition area. I handed off my bike and ran into the hotel ballroom, grabbed my T2 bag and headed to the ladies section. I threw my shoes and visor on, took off my helmet and sunglasses, grabbed my gels, inhaler, and enduralites and stuffed them in my back tri jersey pocket and headed out. I ducked into the Port a pottie for about a minute and was off on the run.

RUN 26.2 Miles  4:27:08    10:11 pace   Division Place:  17/118;  All Females:  104/789

My run last year is what I was really disappointed in. I ran a 4:37 and had to make 2 desperate stops in the port a pottie. I wanted to set myself up this year to have a great run. I feel like I can realistically run a 4 hour to 4:10 marathon for an Ironman. At least I feel like I should be able to do that. My open marathon times are right about 3:40. I felt that tacking on one minute per mile would be feasible. I also was hoping to somehow find a way to alleviate the stomach issues I had during the run. No other race have I ever had GI issues except for during the marathon of an Ironman. Open marathons, Half Ironmans, Olympic Tris, they are all fine, no issues.

At the beginning of the run I felt good, I kept telling myself to slow it down to keep my HR in the 150s. If I felt good later I would let my HR get into the 160s for the second half of the marathon. My pace was right on for the first 6 miles at 9:30 or faster. Then, for whatever reason, giving out the same effort, was producing a slower run. I did not want to increase my effort output this early in the race and cause my HR to get too high too soon. So I stayed where I was comfortable, and plodded along. I took a gel every 2 to 3 miles and went through 6 gels in the first 13 miles. I drank water or coke at every aid station and drank some chicken broth at the aid stations in the last few miles.

I was actually a bit worried at the start of the run because I had not yet seen Bill the entire day. Often I will beat him out of the water and so I get to see him on the bike as he catches and passes me. But I did not see him at all on the bike. I thought I would see him very early in my run as he should be about 6 miles in front of me when I started. I finally did see him when I was at about 5.5 miles. I called to him and asked how he was, he gave two thumbs down. Oh no! H e was not having the race he wanted to have. The fact that he was only 2 miles ahead of me at this point was a testament to that as well. I cheered him on and told him I loved him as we passed each other. He was able to pick up more time though and still finished a few minutes faster than his last year PR - He finished in 10:53:20.

The rest of the run is kind of a blur now! I remember it, but it was monotonous and hard, so hard. I kept thinking how good it would feel to walk but knew I could not start walking or I might not run again! I ran the entire marathon, through the aid stations also, which is always a goal of mine. I looked forward to seeing Bill 2 more times on the run as we passed each other. My stomach began acting up around mile 11 and I ducked into the port a pottie 3 times, at mile 12, 16, and again at 24. Each time I was desperate! That is such a miserable feeling when you are running. The last time, at mile 24, I did not want to get up, and I felt like I could fall asleep sitting right there.  The last two miles I tried to enjoy, as much as is possible at that point! I came across the finish line and, hoping my kids were watching the live stream at home, blew a kiss to the camera. I had my finisher's picture taken and then found Bill. 

 

Total Time 11:37:06     140.6 miles

Division Place:  17/118;  All Females:  104/789

(I was the 600th finisher overall out of approx 3000 athletes) 

 

 After thoughts: My run was only 10 minutes faster this year than last year and I had hoped to be 30 minutes faster on the run. But, my bike was faster than I had anticipated so my overall time was not as devastating as the run could have made it. I was hoping to improve by 45-60 minutes minimum. And I was just about 40 minutes faster  (12:16:48 last year) - thanks to a fast bike. Another positive: I did not start slurring my speech or get tingling all over my entire body this time though and I avoided needing to enter the Medical Tent (unlike 2011)! So that is a plus! I went directly to the massage area and this angel of a girl massaged and stretched me for WAY longer than she was supposed to, it was heaven! During the massage I drank 3 cups of chocolate milk, 2 of chicken broth, had 2 cups full of potato chips. I began coughing a lot when I tried to talk or breath deeply and took probably another 4 puffs on my inhaler to get things in check. After the massage I changed into dry clothes and got some pizza, more chocolate milk and chips.

             Bill and I after the race.
 

 Finish Line at Midnight
 I wanted to go back to the finish line at midnight and watch the last of the athletes come across the line, I wanted to do it last year but was too exhausted to walk back. Those athletes coming across in the last few minutes are some of the most inspiring. They are those who, for any number of reasons, had something go awry in their day of racing; or who, giving all they have for as long as they can, finish just under the time limit of 17 hours. In order to be called and Ironman, and have your name listed in the results as finishing, you have to finish before midnight. 7am-midnight. That is a LONG day. A 78 year old man crossed the finish line with about 10 minutes to go. A firefighter in full gear, finished in those last few minutes as well. One of the greatest things about this time of the race is that the pros who won the race will usually come back and place the medals around the necks of these final finishers. There are more fans cheering and yelling for these last few athletes than there are for any other finisher all day long, including the pros I daresay! I was able to finagle a spot right along the finishing chute, right by where the pros were standing to encourage the last of the finishers along.

Mirinda Carfrae is a world champion Ironman, having won the Kona Ironman in 2010. She actually came in 2nd this time around in Florida. Yvonne Van Vlerken won the Florida Ironman this year, going under 9 hours (a pretty astounding feat). And Andrew Starykowicz won the men's race. I had no idea who he was, but I had heard about this story earlier in the year: he was the one who was put in jail in Abu Dhabi for a "hit and run" when he collided with a volunteer at an aid station during the bike portion of the race. Apparently he stopped to see that she was getting medical attention, and then went on, later pulling out of the race himself due to the crash.  Then he gets thrown in jail in a foreign country for a hit and run! What a nightmare for him!

Anyway - Pictures with all of them!

2nd Place Female Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae 

            1st Place Female Yvonne Van Vlerken

 

Pro Male 1st Place Andrew Starykowicz

 

Ironman California - Oceanside 70.3 – Race Recap - March 31, 2012

My Stats:

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
39:52	3:06:49	1:53:11	5:48:49	899/2903	26/110

MORNING OF:The alarm was set to go off at 4:45am – but as usual, my husband was up before the alarm, which caused me to wake up as well. By 4:30 we were both up and getting ready for our day. Both Bill and I have been pretty excited about this race. We’ve trained hard and hoped to see that hard work pay off on this day. I also recently hired a coach and was (and am) hoping to see great improvements in all three disciplines with her added expertise.

I ate breakfast of oatmeal with honey, drank some electrolyte fluids, and began getting ready. I gathered my things, put on layers of clothing – tri-suit, t-shirt and running pants, and then sweats over that. The air temperature was about 50 – which is not too cold, but the water was supposed to be about mid 50s – which is VERY cold! I wanted to be HOT by the time I got into the water! We rode our bikes about a mile from our hotel to the start and began setting up transition 1 (T1), I ate a PB&H sandwich and took my PreRace pills (First Endurance). Bill started the race 37 minutes ahead of me, the pros started 50 minutes ahead of my swim wave (35-39 Females).  Bill got ready to go and we took some pictures with our parents who both were there to watch us race for their first time.

After Bill started I got my wetsuit on, talked with my parents while we watched his wave and the pros before him swim. Then I went for a short run (in my wetsuit – again – I wanted to be HOT before I froze myself in the water). 

After my run I came back to transition and did not see any pink swim capped girls anywhere! It made me a bit nervous so I hurried to the starting area. My group was just about to get in the water from the boat ramp, I made it by a couple of minutes! As we headed into the water someone said GO, so we all started swimming. I had not watched the waves ahead of me start, so I did not know that we were not actually starting the race, we were swimming out to the buoy where we would start! When the paddle boarder stopped us at the first buoy I was a bit disoriented and surprised, I thought we had already started! I had to quickly reset my garmin and get ready for the real start! The good thing about the way I started was that I was totally warmed up, and when I dove into the water to swim that first time at the boat ramp, my first thought was, “Ok, this is cold, but not as bad as I was dreading it to be.”

SWIM  1.2 Miles - 39:52

After about a minute treading water at the actual start, the horn sounded and we were off. For only being 110 women in my wave, the start and the first few hundred meters were pretty rough. Right off I got knocked in the side of my head, right in my goggles. It hurt, a drop or two of water got in my left goggle, but not enough to need readjusting so I kept going. I tried to stay behind someone all the way, but it was a different someone all the time, I was constantly adjusting my speed to be able to draft behind someone, and I was NOT swimming straight at all! I had to redirect a bunch as I kept getting off course to the left. The swim seemed long and at what I thought was about half way I glanced at my watch and saw 26 minutes. I was NOT happy about that and hoped I was actually more than half way done. The waves got bigger and bigger as we got closer to the Ocean/Harbor opening and were pushing us backwards. I felt a cramp trying to form in my right calf and slowed my kicking to avoid it's onset. Once we turned around the last two buoys I could feel the current pushing me, now in the right direction. The last third of the swim seemed to go by pretty quickly and I exited the water in 39:52. I was disappointed to see such a long swim time as I was hoping to be under 35 minutes. I was 27/110 in my division at this point.

T1 6:14

As I expected, my hands and fingers were pretty numb and were not functioning very well. All the way down the chute I was struggling to get my wetsuit undone and down. I saw my parents on the side and they were cheering for me like I was a pro, very cool! I finally got the wetsuit down around my waist and ran to my bike where I finished stripping the wetsuit and began to get ready to ride. I had to use my teeth to pull on my arm warmers because of my hands not working!

 My T1 time was longer than it should have been. I think because of the cold. I stuffed my gloves and my inhaler (I have very mild exercise induced asthma)  in the back pocket of my jersey and got on my way.

  

BIKE 56 Miles 3:06:49 - 18mph avg. speed
The adrenaline kept me warm for the first few miles of the bike as I knew with my hands not working there was no way to get those gloves on. By the time the adrenaline wore off, I had ridden a few miles and was warm enough. The first half of the bike is pretty flat and fast, but as it was drizzling rain that whole first half I did not push too hard. I was averaging about a mid 19 mph speed and was ok with that. I got busy eating my PB&H and drinking water. I ate something every 20 minutes and moved onto the gels when i finished the sandwich. I also drank some EFS fluids near the end, but not much of that.  I had been told to really take it easy on the first half of the bike because the second half will kill you if you don't. I think I may have taken it too easy because the 2nd half didn't really seem that bad to me. There were three good climbs where I was out of the saddle for the duration, but they were short and done before I had too much (if any) muscle burn. I think I could have gone a little bit harder on the first half and still done about the same for the 2nd half. We had also been told there would be bad headwinds on the last 10-15 miles, not so. Some wind, but nothing like what I experience training in spring and fall in Colorado. I guess that's another great reason to train here. I was hoping for an under 3 hour ride, and was just over at 3:06:49. After the bike I was 29/110 in my division - lost a few places there, bummer!

T2 - 2:43

Just as I was heading into T2 I saw Bill on the run, he was looking strong and was on his 2nd lap! It was the only time I saw him while we both were racing. I headed into transition area and ran my bike to my spot. I hurried to get my shoes on, stuffed gels in my back pocket, put my visor on and got my inhaler out. as I headed to the RUN OUT I took a puff on the inhaler.

RUN - 13.1 Miles 1:53:11 - 8:38 minute/mile pace
I felt good and got moving. I ran the first mile at an 8 min pace and told myself to take it easy.


I basically watched my heart rate for the duration of the run. I stayed in my high zone 2/low zone 3 (low to mid 160s) for the first half of the run and was averaging 8:30-44 minute/mile. I felt great and would talk to anyone that I happened to be running next to for any considerable period of time.  The run was pretty flat, but with some up and downs a few steep ups and downs as we went from street level to the beach and back. We ran up onto the pier as part of the loop as well. The course was set up very well for spectating and there was always someone cheering us on. I had two of my best friends come to watch and it was amazing to have them there and cheering me on. Andrea even jumped in and ran with me for a little bit while we talked. It was a two loop course and so I got to see a friend or family member every couple of miles. My sister and her husband and my parents were set up near the pier at one of the turnarounds, and Erin and Andrea were set up a few miles down the loop from them. It gave me something to look forward to every couple of miles. My plan was to take a cup of water at every aid station (situated about every mile) and take a gel on miles 3,6, and 9. I stuck to the plan and felt really pretty good throughout the run. I started to push a little harder once I hit mile 7 and my HR jumped to low 170s, while my pace went to the mid to low 8 min/mile. Once I knew there was only 2 miles left I pushed it harder and my heartrate went to near 180. I don't know my actual pace because my garmin had lost satellite reception, but I would guess I was near an 8 min/mile for at least the last mile. I finished the run in 1:53:11, an 8:38 avg pace and finished 26/110 in my division and 899/2903 overall.

 

All my family and friends were there at the finish and it was great to hear them cheering! And I can't help bragging for my husband - He finished in 5:09 and ran the 13.1 miles at a 7:21 min/mile pace - Insane!


on another note - we happened to be in the OC airport departing for Denver the same time that Andy Potts, Pro Triathlete that won the race, was there, headed to Denver also (he lives here). We talked with him for a few minutes - a very cool and down to earth guy.

Florida Ironman Nov. 5, 2011 - Race Recap

I have sat down several times in the past week to write this post, and have gotten up again without writing it. I knew it would take a good span of time and I wanted to write uninterrupted. As all of you moms out there know, that is a wish that is hard to grant. So I figured I better just sit down and start, and deal with the distractions as they come. Which is actually a really great metaphor for an Ironman race.

You can plan and prepare and plan and prepare, but come race day, you just have to start the race, and roll with the punches as they come, because they will come. . .

It was at 7:16pm on Saturday, November 5th, 2011- that I heard the words that for more than a year I had been longing to hear, "Rachel Lyons, from Lone Tree, Colorado, You are an Ironman!" As I ran down that final chute towards the Ironman arch - I wanted to relish the moment, I wanted to feel emotional, have a wave of wonder fill me up,  I wanted it to be surreal (which later on in the medical tent it actually was), but honestly -when I crossed that line, I was just glad I finally was able to STOP. For the first time in 12 hours and 16 minutes, and after 140.6 miles, I could STOP propelling my body forward. Don't get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed almost every part of the race, but in that final moment - I was simply glad to be finished!


THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE RACE
We arrived on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Panama City Beach, Florida. We left Denver in the middle of a classified blizzard. Fortunately our plane departed on time, however we took off about an hour late due to the need for de-icing the plane. On the way to the airport I discovered that it was going to be a SNOW DAY for my children. Oh what fun for our babysitters!! We left our children in very capable hands and fortunately, our week away was rather uneventful on the home front.

We finally arrived in Panama City Beach, Florida around 2pm.

Yep, Gorgeous beaches!

We (and I always use the term "we", because my husband, Bill, and I do just about all the same races together - not that we actually race together, but we do the same races!)
Anyway, We checked into our condo, got our bikes built and ready, went to the athlete check in, mingled with some of the other athletes, and went for a short easy run.

We travelled with Endurance Sports Travel, a company that goes to almost all of the Ironman events and takes care of all your travel arrangements. They cooked us dinner a couple of nights and cooked breakfast for us everyday. They shuttled us around, have a bike tech on hand just for our group, and gave us great insights into the specifics of the Florida Ironman. The company is owned by a former Pro Triathlete. I would definitely recommend the company to anyone who is new to the sport, or if you are traveling out of the country. They had a welcome dinner for us Wednesday night.

Thursday we went for a short swim in the ocean in the morning, it was actually pretty choppy and made me a bit nervous that race day might be choppy as well. The swim was really the only part of the race that I was anxious about. And really just the mass start. 2500 athletes standing on the beach, racing for the water when the canon booms, climbing over each other to establish some sort of pecking order. Where I was going to fit into the mayhem, I did not know. I was not about to wait at the back until everyone else went in. I'm too competitive to do that. And I knew my swim time would (should) be in the top 30% or so. So I planned to stand in the masses just behind those athletes who know they are supposed to be on the front line of the swim and go there confidently.

We also took a bike tour of the run course later thursday morning - it was as 2 loop course, so once around it was 13 miles. Pretty simple on a bike, but gets the legs moving at least. The run course is really great. Flat, through lots of populated streets and coastal neighborhoods where there would hopefully be lots of spectators.

Thursday night was the athlete meeting and dinner. Just a few people there.

And that's only about half the room, it turned around the corner to the left of the picture too, with just as many athletes as you see here. I felt pretty cool as I walked into the dinner and around the Ironman village with my blue wristband on. The one that indicated I was racing. When I watched Bill race in St. George, I envied those who had those wristbands on, I wanted one too. Now it was my turn.

Each night before bed we watched a movie, or two. Something to distract our minds and let us relax a little bit.

Friday we got all our gear ready and into the various bags they give you for each of the transitions and special needs. There's a LOT of stuff you need to complete 140.6 miles of 3 different sports. We turned in our bikes and all our bags in the morning.

This is just part of the bike transition area! SO MANY BIKES!!!

Later we relaxed and watched some more movies. I read a book, something I have not done in a while! No time for books when you spend 20 hours a week training, the me time is training, and sleeping. I read, The Help. I am sure most of you have already read it, but I had not, and have not seen the movie yet, either.

We went to the dinner that Endurance Sports Travel put on for us on Friday night. It was a subdued atmosphere as all the athletes were in their own places mentally. I enjoyed the distraction of talking with others. We headed back to our condo fairly early, made last minute preparations, and went to bed about 9pm. I actually, surprisingly, slept pretty well.


RACE DAY - Saturday, November 5, 2011

The alarm was set to go off at 4:30am. I felt Bill get out of bed before it went off at about 4:15am. He was done sleeping. At that point I was too, but I laid there until the alarm went off anyway, thinking, praying, and trying to get the last bit of rest I could. I got up and started getting ready. I was planning to wear my tri suit all day. I had debated changing out of wet clothes after the swim to be dry for the bike (because it was fore-casted to be in the mid to low 50's by the time we started out on the bike - which can be pretty cold, especially if you are wet). Ultimately I decided to leave the original plan in place, and not change something on race day. I ate a bowl of oatmeal and had a protein shake for breakfast. We gathered our things and headed over to the race. Our hotel was about 1/3 mile east of the start, right along the coast. I ate a banana and sipped gatorade on the way over to the race start.

When we got to the transition area, we got body marked. I was #2906. Then we went to our bikes and pumped the tires. After that, we waited in the line for the port a potties. The lines are always long. Everyone wants to get rid of as much as possible right before the race, including me.

Morning photo - 5:50 am - temperature was in the high 40s. It felt cold. I was nervous that I had made the wrong decision about clothing, but it was too late now! I really do love that guy I'm standing next to. I love that we do this together. He is amazing in so many ways.

6:30am - transition area closed and we headed to the beach. Now the nerves were starting in on me. I ate a gel about 10 minutes before start, and pushed the other one up the sleeve of my wetsuit, about the same time the pros were starting. I got into the water and swam for a few minutes, tried to go to the bathroom again (I can't remember if I did, but I think so.) Then it was time to get out of the water and get situated for the start. Standing there, I began to get emotional. Nerves, excitement, anticipation, fear - all rolled up in one brief moment. Bill hugged me and told me I was going to do great. I believed him.

At exactly 7am, the cannon boomed - and this happened:

 Yes, I am down there, one of the few pink caps. There was a 4 to 1 ratio of men to women, which is actually pretty typical of the ironman races.

THE SWIM 2.4 Miles in the Gulf of Mexico (1:13:32)
Bill and I were next to each other as the canon boomed. We headed into the water and started swimming. It felt just exactly the way it looks. Crowded.  People on every side of you. Everyone trying to find their place. I just started swimming. Immediately athletes surround you and trying to keep track of someone is impossible, not that I was trying to keep track of my husband, I had to do my thing and so did he. I was purposely trying to be very aware of my surroundings, of those near me, so as to not get kicked in the head or face. I got climbed over, I climbed over some, I hit people with my hands and feet and got hit too. But somehow it was ok. It did not make me nervous. Twice someone smacked me in the eye causing my goggles to dig into my eye socket. That didn't feel very good. But it was ok.

Just when it felt like things were starting to thin out, it was time to turn around the 1st buoy, and it was instant sardines bottleneck.  I'm not timid, and definitely pushed a few people away who were getting a bit too friendly. After the first buoy we headed parallel to the coast to the 2nd buoy and turned back towards shore.  Not even half way through I knew my neck was in bad shape. I had applied Glide to my neck like I always do before a wetsuit swim, but it was either not enough or my clothes had rubbed it off when I was changing into my wetsuit. There were jelly fish and stingray in the water all around us and for a second I wondered if I had been stung by a jelly fish. I was pretty sure I'd have a nice raw neck after this swim! I kept plugging away towards shore to complete my first loop. All of a sudden, right next to me, was Bill! We breath to opposite sides, and we were looking right at each other for a little while, it was so random and so cool! We both recognized it at the same time too!

The swim is two loops and in between the two loops you actually get out of the water, run up onto the beach, over  a timing mat, through an aid station with water, and back into the ocean for the 2nd loop. When I got out of the water I looked at my watch and was STOKED to see 35 min. I had never swam 1.2 that fast and I felt great! I grabbed some water, pulled the gel out of my sleeve and ate it, and headed back out for my second loop. I was hoping I could swim the 2nd loop almost as fast if not as fast as the first loop, that would put me under a 1 hr 15 minute swim, which would be amazing for me.  The second loop was pretty uneventful, and less crowded. I forced myself to relax enough near the end to pee. As I exited the water the clock read 1:13 - I was super excited! Better than I had hoped for! I was 23rd out of the water in my division (out of 84), and 966 out of the water overall (out of 2500 that started the race - 2350 finished the race).

T1   9:38
I know this is an ironman, but do we really need to run an extra half mile just in transition?! We had to run up the beach, get wetsuit stripped, then around through the hotel, around the parking lot to get our T1 bag, then back into the hotel into the ballroom curtained off area (for men or women) - to change and get ready for the bike. I sat down on a chair when I finally got into the room, pulled the towel out of my bag and began to dry off my arms, feet, and hair. I threw on the cycling jersey that I planned to wear (full of goodies in the back pockets), my arm warmers, socks, shoes, helmet, gloves, and sunglasses. Someone the day before in our group (EST) recommended using plastic grocery bags stuffed up inside your jersey to keep warm on the bike. I stuffed 3 bags between my tri suit top and the cycling jersey, and tried to spread them out. Everything else was shoved into the bag and I ran out to get my bike. The sunscreen volunteers got my neck (which stung like crazy because of the chaffing from the wetsuit) and face, and the bike volunteer retrieved my bike and had it ready for me when I ran by. I honestly cannot tell you why my transition was as long as it was, I felt like I was flying through there, maybe all the running around?!

THE BIKE 112 miles (6:10:38)
The bike out was jammed and getting out required slowing to a walk and then walking past the "mount" line a little ways before it was clear enough to get on and start riding.

While none of the people in the above 2 pictures are me, this is exactly what it looked like when I exited the transition area.

I had begun the 2nd, and longest portion, of my first ironman! I was excited. Excited about my swim time, excited to be on the bike. I began eating and drinking. Fueling for an Ironman is actually just as important as the swimming, biking, and running. I knew I would lose upwards of 7-10,000 calories during the day and replacing those calories in order to keep going is vital. Every 20-30 minutes I would eat, first I wend through my PB&J (a quarter of the sandwich every 20 min), then I started in on the gels, granola bar, and red vines licorice after that, and in that order. I ate something every 20-30 minutes and tried to drink at least every 10/15 minutes. I had enough food to last over 6 hours. I went through 4 20oz water bottles of gatorade and then ironman perform (which I did not use in training and I do not like it and will not use it again - it is what they were handing out at the aid stations and I had no choice), I don't know if it may have been the cause of some GI issues later on in the day.

The bike was windy. Headwind/crosswind the whole first half. About 10 miles into the bike Bill came up behind me, (I realized then that I had beat him out of the water), we rode together and talked for a few minutes and then he kept going past me. I was warm and felt great, temperature wise the whole bike (the whole race actually). By half way I took off my gloves, arm warmers and disposed of the grocery bags (which worked amazingly well, and could be thrown away easily at an aid station.  Great tip!!).  At the turnaround, my time was longer than I was hoping for. I was pushing on the bike because I wanted to be close to a 19mph average for the duration. I was  at 17.6 at the turnaround and was hoping the wind would help push me the way back. It didn't. Well, it did a little bit, at first. But of course by this time of day the winds were changing (as they do along the coast) and now I was heading into the wind again (awesome). There were times when it was mild, or  actually was coming from behind. The next 40 miles were faster (19.3 mph). The course was very flat, just a handful of small hills. The hills actually felt really good, I like getting out of the saddle and pedaling upright for short stints here and there, it feels good to my legs and body to change it up like that occasionally. I got up on all the hills and even sometimes on the flats, I'd gear it up and stand. My legs felt pretty good but my hamstrings, sciatic nerve and inner thigh (abductors) always tend to get tired and cranky on long rides and they did a bit towards the end of this ride too, I was ready to get off the bike when it was time, that's for sure! The landscape was the same for 100 miles - flat road lined with trees, nothing spectacular to look at. The streets along the coast near the start and finish were the only change and really the only place spectators were along the bike course. A little over half way through the bike I felt like I might need to go to the bathroom, so I stood and pedaled to allow my body to relax enough to go, but I guess I didn't need to go badly enough. I went the whole bike without peeing.

I am not sure what the scowl is for, funny, I thought I was smiling most of the time!!!

There were a lot of people drafting, and just simply not enough officials to catch them all. Some were blatantly drafting and watching for the motorcycle officials, others were just doing it because there were times when it was impossible not to. Each of the penalty tents I passed did have athletes in it, which I was glad to see. The last 10 miles of the ride were the WORST as far as wind goes. We turned east and headed parallel to the coast towards the finish. The headwind was NASTY. 15mph headwinds and gusts blowing harder through the chutes between the tall hotels that lined the coast. It was the first time in the race that I actually wanted to find some big guy draft behind him! Those last 10 miles were tough. I came into the bike finish and was thrilled to be able to get off that bike! My bike time was 6hrs 10min (18.13mph avg). I was 21st in my division at this point and in 1164th place overall (ahead of more than half the field which was 78% male :) ). 

T2 5:24
I dismounted my bike and handed it off to the volunteer, and ran towards the hotel ballroom where we went into the same changing room as for T1. I grabbed my T2 bag from the volunteer on the way into the ballroom. I quickly stripped off my cycling jersey, helmet, and shoes, and threw on my running shoes and hat. I shoved everything else into the bag and headed to the port a potty. I took a minute or two in there, went #1 and #2, and felt much better. I then headed to the RUN OUT of transition.

THE RUN 26.2 Miles (4:37:36)
I came out running and it felt great to be running, to be off the bike and starting on the last leg of the race. It was just about 2:40pm when I started the run. A wave of relief passed over me as I realized finishing was not an issue at this point! I had 9 1/2 hours to run a marathon in. I could walk the entire thing and still finish in time and claim Ironman status. I was never really worried about finishing, it was always that I wanted to finish well. Of course there are those unforeseen circumstances that do occur, that would be a race ender (pulled muscles, crashing on the bike resulting in sprains or breaks, or broken equipment, dehydration, getting sick, etc etc), fortunately, up to this point, I had not faced anything like that on this day.

I ran the first two miles fairly quickly for me for an Ironman marathon (under a 9 min pace) and kept telling myself to slow it down. My goal was to be under a 10 minute/mile marathon and finish in approx. 4:20. If I felt great on the second half, that is when I would push it. I did purposefully slow down to between a 9 and 10 minute pace, which I held for the first 6 or so miles. Then it all started slowing down. I still felt ok, but the pace kept getting slower. I just decided to run where I felt comfortable and where I knew I could run for a long time. My heart rate was in my zone 2, and theoretically I could hold that for a long time. Somewhere along my second mile the winning pro guy passed me going the other direction, headed for the finish. He was cruising and finished in a new course record and a new record for any Ironman in North America - just under 8 hours! Amazing, and unfathomable.

I kept plodding along, and that really is the best word to describe it! I actually was passing quite a few people which surprised me because of the pace I was going. But passing is passing and it always boosts me up to be able to pass people. Bill and I passed each other 3 times going opposite directions as he was about 6 miles ahead of me at the start of the run. It was fun to look forward to seeing him and he looked great! He kept getting faster over the course of the marathon, amazing. The last time I saw him he was flying and I was just a tinge jealous that he was almost done, and I still had another 7 or 8 miles to go! There were aid stations every mile and I took something at just about every station, either water, or perform, or oranges, or a gel. I ate half a banana at one point in the middle hoping it would help my stomach which was churning.  It was warm, but not hot, but of course when you are running everything is warmer, so I did take the ice cold sponges from time to time and soaked my head. That felt great!

This picture was taken at about mile 5, I was still feeling great!

Some of the volunteers were really having fun at the aid stations and it was a great distraction, we went through a Hawaiian Luau themed station, and a Santa's Village aid station where Santa himself was cheering us on. My son has been loving the "Chuck Norris" jokes of late. You know the ones, where Chuck Norris is just about the most amazing thing to ever happen - "Chuck Norris can unscramble eggs", and "Chuck Norris was going to star in Mission Impossible" but they would have had to change the title to "Mission Accomplished", etc etc. Well there was a sign that some fan of these jokes had put up along the way that said, "Chuck Norris is NOT an Ironman" - it was motivating to me in a funny sort of way and made me think of my awesome 10 year old (now 11) son.

Somewhere around the middle of the run, and then again at about mile 20 I was panicked, looking for the closest port a potty. With a churning stomach and a body that had never been pushed this far, I was desperate. Luckily the port a potties are situated at just about every aid station, and I made it both times without incident, I was about ready to duck into the bushes though. And of course potty time is calculated into the pace, making it even slower! I am hard on myself, I know. I am very competitive, and I want to always do the best I can. It is a blessing and a curse.

After I came out of the port-a-potty at mile 20 I was running next to a guy for a few minutes and he commented as we passed the 20 mile mark, "surely we can run a 10k." My response was, "absolutely!" It was refreshing in that moment to realize I had only 6.2 of the 140.6 miles left to go. An easy morning jog on any other day. I tried to view it as such and began to push my pace, feeling that I could. As the miles went by 5, then 4, then 3 to go I knew I was going to be over 12 hours, but not much over, and I tried to push harder. I actually felt pretty good and began to enjoy the last few miles, smiling and waving to the spectators, thanking the volunteers and police support. By the second half of the marathon the best tasting thing at the aid stations was the warm chicken broth. The sun went down about 6pm and it was quickly getting dark, and cool, in my last 5 miles. The chicken broth was amazing, I loved it. I am sure my body needed it too, which is why all that salt tasted so good! I really just took fluids on in the last 8 miles, it was past the point for solids to do any good.

With a mile to go I upped the pace again. I had not looked at my watch in awhile, I didn't really care at that point, I knew I was going faster then than I had been earlier. A lot faster, I thought. It's funny what your brain can do to motivate you to keep going and finish something that you are determined to finish. I felt good, very tired, but good, and thought I was flying through those last miles. As I came to the finish line, my husband was on the side near the finish,  I turned to him as he called out and I smiled. I was almost done! I ran through the finish line as Mike Reilly called my name and then I stopped. Later my husband told me that my smile to him looked more like a grimace, and when I checked my pace for the last few miles, it was still very slow. I thought I was going fast, but really I was still crawling! My brain was allowing me to feel good and think I was finishing strong, when really, I was simply finishing.
Marathon time was 4:37:36. I finished 26th in my division, 135th female overall (out of about 550), and 1004th overall (out of 2500 - *that means I beat more than 2/3rds of the guys that did the race).

THE AFTERMATH
I found my wonderful husband, who thankfully had an amazing race, finishing over an hour before me, and was ready and willing to take care of a very tired, and wobbly, wife. We walked to get my warm clothes to put on and as we did I started slurring my speech pretty significantly, and felt tingling all over my entire body. It was like when your foot or arm falls asleep, that was how my whole body felt, very odd. I could not speak without really slowing down and concentrating to get the words out, and they came out slurred. After Bill got my warm clothes on me, he had wheelchair brought over and they took me into the medical tent. With help I was lifted onto the cot and covered in blankets. It felt so GOOD to be laying down and covered in warm blankets. I was mostly feeling cold at this point but was still slurring and tingling. The nurse checked all my vitals, had me drink water, and chicken broth. I was starving and they brought me 2 pieces of pizza and a banana that I devoured! I guess all my vitals checked out ok because I did not get an IV. after about 45 min I was actually starting to feel better, and was speaking more coherently. The tingling was going away and I sat up and talked with the volunteers in the medical tent. Most of the volunteers for this race, volunteer so that they get first chance at signing up for the following year. It sells out that fast!

After about an hour or so in the tent, I was discharged and Bill and I gathered my stuff and walked back to the condo. We showered, ate again, and crashed! I put my compression pants on before bed and kept them on until the following afternoon. I truly believe in that recovery method. I was sore the next day, but not horribly sore. We walked quite a bit on Sunday too, as recovery and out of necessity, which for sure helps with the active recovery. Monday I was a little achy, but I could tell I was close to feeling totally normal again, which I did by Tuesday when we travelled home.



What did I learn? 

1. That my nutrition needs work. I've got to figure out what I can take that will keep my stomach and bowels in good condition for the duration of the run. I don't like the Ironman Perform that sponsors the race and I need to figure out how to have more of my own stuff accessible (through the special needs bags we can retrieve at midpoint of the bike and run).

2. Don't push on the bike to maintain a certain speed or time when the wind is strong. back off. Bill only beat my bike time by 30 min. On a ride that long, he should be 45 min to an hour faster than me, and he had an amazing run. Which means I went too fast on the bike for my own strength and the conditions, and my run suffered because of it.

3. All three sports need work. And I intend to do the work. Especially my bike. If I can get stronger on the bike, every aspect of the race will improve.

4. I love this stuff! And I am doing this same race again in 2012. Saturday, November 2nd.

**as a side note, it took 5 days from when I started this post, and sitting down at this computer over 8 different times, to complete this post.