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.
