While I was gearing up for Louisville, Brian was gearing up for a 24hr time trial, a whole other world of crazy endurance. I really missed him in Louisville, but I was so proud of him and excited to see him crush some serious miles on his bike. It did help that I would be staying with the Adams family again. Brian and I stayed with them last year and have decided that we would like them to adopt us :P I love hanging out with the kiddos and chatting with the adults, it's a very fun and relaxing setting. Little Olivia left me the sweetest little sign on my door on my way to the race and they didn't even seem to mind when I set off the security alarm at 4:30am... The whole family came down to watch me finish and I was able to get high fives from the boys coming down the chute.
hanging with my homestay pup friend Roxy
my sign from Olivia
Race morning dawned, I was a little nervous about the reports of really hot weather but was confident in my hydration strategy. Brian called me early in the morning while still on his bike. I could tell he was exhausted but had already passed his 400 mile goal and was still going. I jumped in the water with the other pros, splashed around a little and made my way to the line. At the gun I pushed hard and although the first few women got away, I was able to stay with a solid second group the rest of the swim. I was very happy with how I handled the swim both tactically and energetically. I exited the water feeling like I had pushed hard but was not dizzy and disoriented. My Zoot speed suit was comfortable and fast, and very easy to get out of. Running into T1 I was happy to see that I was getting on the bike with some strong ladies. I was even more pleasantly surprised that these ladies didn't completely ride away from me immediately. Molly and Heather did eventually get the jump on me but I am slowly learning how to pace off others and stay with others. I also learned that even small lapses in focus can leave you with a larger gap than you can close, so next race focus, focus, focus! I rode solo the rest of the way, but was reassured that I was not as far back as I thought from some on course splits. I felt as though I gauged my effort well and my legs were not feeling burnt at the end of the bike. I am very happy to report that I mastered peeing on the bike! Three times! Woot Woot! What I was not paying as much attention to, was how hot it was getting. I was hydrating, sucking down my nutrition and getting my salt in, but I wasn't very cognizant about cooling myself. I was also having some issues with stuff coming back up, which should have alerted me that I may be a little too hot.
Coming into T2 I was thinking, ok my legs actually feel pretty good, time to get my running shoes on and do what I know how to do. I love to run, and I love to run hard. However, I felt off from the very start of the run. I started doing a self check to see what the problem was. Dizzy? yes. Stuff still coming up? yes. Head clear? no. Legs ok? yes. Heart rate high? yes. Periodic chills? yes. I decided I was overheating and needed to really cool myself down or risk some serious heat effects. I decided I would walk every other aid station until I felt better. I slowed my pace a bit and started walking the aid stations, dumping water on myself, ice in the shorts, plenty of salt, coke and sipping as much water as I could. I also took every walking break to take in a little of my Infinit Napalm to stay on top of calories. Walking every other aid station quickly turned into every aid station as the bad feelings weren't going away. Tim Snow was coaching his own athletes on course but was nice enough to encourage me to stick with it and to back off and make sure I was doing everything I could to hydrate and stay cool. A little before the halfway point I started to come around. Thank goodness, because at the halfway mark you run right by the finish line and it is very difficult to then run right by it and head back out for another 13 miles. I kept walking the aid stations, but I was at least starting to run better in between. This is about when the blisters hit me. I've always had problems with blisters, but this race really hammered it home that I need to find a solution. I think my feet get so wet during tris that it becomes easy for the blisters to form. My good friend and ultra marathon heat queen Brenda has given me some really good suggestions to try. She even let me send her gross pictures of my feet to see what the problem was. I could feel the blisters forming along my pinky toes, middle toes, side of my big toe, forefoot and midfoot. I ignored them as best I could...and then they started popping... Every time one would pop, I would whimper along for a few steps and then suck it up and keep running. I got quite a lot of weird looks.
getting patched up afterwards
Once this race really became all about finishing, I saw a much different side of the race. I've never walked during an Ironman, much less walked every aid station. I was actually able to look around a little and see how many others were gritting their teeth just to finish, and I was able to become inspired and pushed by our mutual struggles. I had so many reasons to drop out: I wasn't in the money, I had just done an Ironman 4 weeks ago, I wasn't feeling well, everyone would understand, my feet were chewed up. I thought about how much I love that finish chute, and how I was sure that many other athletes out there were facing the same or worse struggles. Another athlete, an older male, turned to me at an aid station and asked if I was ok, I nodded that I was hanging in there. He then looked at my very intently and said "you must finish," and I repeated "I must finish." We both started running again after that and I didn't see him again. I hope he finished as well. I read more of the signs and appreciated them. A few college students had a sign that said "wave and we'll drink." I laughed a little as I ran by and heard them say "we're counting that one" as they took drinks. Coming into the finish I slapped high fives, I grinned at the people cheering, I soaked in the finish chute and walked across the finish line happy with my little victory of making it there. Beyond the finish line, volunteers and medical workers had lined both sides and were cheering as if I had just won the thing. It was very surreal and awesome.
soaking in a hard fought finish
After the race, I found a nice young guy that at 20 yrs old had just finished his first Ironman in 10:06. I asked if he wanted company to hobble down to collect our bikes. We chatted about the race and he remarked "for a race that wasn't what you expected, you have a sense of humor about it." I think its important to be able to laugh at yourself, or the situation. I ended up leading us completely the wrong direction and was fairly lost. He laughed that even pro athletes mess stuff up. We asked a nice police officer to point us in the right direction and he ended up giving us a ride to transition in his squad car. I love meeting other athletes and hearing about their stories and experiences of the race. Even before the race, I had asked a few guys if I could borrow their bike pump. They ended up inviting me to breakfast. I figured, sure why not, I love meeting new people, and who doesn't like a big plate of pancakes?
While I had been hoping for a different outcome to this race, I recognize that this is my third Ironman in 4 months, with the other two actually going fairly well. This is also the first year I've had such a big season. I like the challenge of this season and feel as though it has really helped me to grow as an athlete. Sometimes you have to break yourself completely down to realize how strong you are and that you can handle more than you expected. I also love that my coach Tara listens to me and really wants to work with me to make sure I'm enjoying this process. I'm now taking a much needed break before tackling, or even thinking about, the rest of the season. And that brings me to Brian and I's bet...
As many of you know Brian and I had a very long standing bet. This bet was inspired by our friends Meghan and Clint, who wanted to see who could go the longest running at least 2 miles every day. Meghan went over 7 years, up until the due date of her first child, Lexie. Brian and I modified the bet for triathlon. We either had to do an 800yd swim, 10 mi (or 30 min) bike, or 2 mile run. We mostly worked out every day anyway, so this doesn't seem like too big a deal. It became most difficult if we were sick or the few days after a big race. We ended up going 3 years, 5 months and 4 days (the bet started March 20, 2011). I called Brian on the way back from Louisville and asked "so are we going to go swim when I get home at 6:30?" (I drove 10+ hrs home the day after Louisville). Brian responded "I dunno, probably not." Me: "so are you going to go for a ride?!" Brian "heck no! I'm not getting back on my bike today." Me: "soooooo you're not going to do a workout?" Brian: "no I was just going to let you win the bet." Me: "I was actually really hoping you wouldn't want to do a workout...let's just call it a tie." After such a long time, it doesn't seem too bad to just go get a 15 min swim in to keep it going right? I think after so long, we were starting to resent that pressure to do something every day. I spoke with Meghan about it on the way home and she admitted she was feeling similarly. Once she removed that pressure, she seemed to appreciate her runs more. I haven't done a workout in two days, and shockingly, nothing crazy has happened! I didn't gain ten pounds, I didn't lose my love of the sport. I'm not sure if I'll even workout this whole week, I may just take that little bit of extra time to take my pups to the park, or enjoy a long relaxing dinner with my husband. I think this was needed for me to refresh my appreciation of the sport.
As always, thank you to my sponsors for supporting me in this sometimes crazy, but always fun journey. Thank you to our family and friends, I really feel as though if I finished 9 hrs or 17 hrs, you would all be behind me. Thank you to my husband for supporting me and keeping me honest.
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