Wow what a weekend! This was the the day I've been training for since January 1st 2011, and there was less than 4 days until I'd get to do my first ever Ironman race, crazy stuff!
The weekend was perfect, we got there with Gabe and John on Thursday (race was Sunday) and did everything stress free. Chilled out Thursday, swam and biked and checked in Friday, swam/bike/run and checked gear run and bike Saturday, and then Sunday race day! The only thing to do Sunday was check in special needs bags, which was very nice and stress free. We even had a sharpie so we body marked ourselves and were done with that in 10 seconds, thanks to Jeremy's advice.
Everything seemed very surreal to me. I felt unusually calm the whole weekend until Saturday night at dinner and the morning of the race. My nervousness came out by being super quite and to myself. I guess everyone get through nervousness and anxiety in different ways...John and I were together the whole time which was nice because he'd done the race 3 times and it helped to have him by my side. We made our way towards the water at about 645am. I didn't feel too panicked at all once we got in which was good, then BAM! Swim started out pretty good, it was about after the first buoy that I started getting hit from all over...I remember thinking wow is this ever going to end or is the whole swim this way...It wasn't until the first turn that it started to slightly thin out, but it wasn't easy to swim still...Once it started to thin out a bit I felt a bit better about the swim and then tried to just focus on my form and not getting my head out of the water every 2 or 3 strokes. Finally the swim was done and I didn't feel too bad coming out. I got peeled and was off running on the helix towards the my bike gear bag to get onto the bike.
The gear bag transition was good, all of the volunteers were very nice and helpful. No problems with the bike at all when it comes to getting my stuff on. Then came the bike, I knew the course but the first part I had never done so that was unfamiliar. I tried to go super easy, small ring on the front and three down on the back. The bike was pretty cool because on any of the huge hills people were lined up right next to us and cheering like we were on the tour de france. That helped a ton. I also really enjoyed Verona where my family was two times on the bike. I felt pretty good on the first loop, then after mile 60 and then to about mile 80 I fell off a bit. Not sure if it was the nutrition or the mental aspect of being tired but in either case my average speed dropped. I kept taking in liquids and food and manged to pee two times on the bike, gross! I wasn't a huge fan of the gels so I ended up taking in only 3, and the rest was liquid, two power bars and a banana or two that was given out. Not sure but I might have been a bit low on the calories on the bike, but close to what I wanted to be. I also remember passing the 100 mile mark and thinking hey this is the first time I've done 100 miles!!! =)
The bike course was of course hilly but the roads were very smooth. Right before going up the helix and back from the bike, my chain fell off. I had to hop off and get it back on which wasn't a huge deal. Otherwise no issue on the bike, thank goodness!
Lastly, I actually felt like my stomach had cramped badly almost the whole ride, not sure if that was nerves but it seemed to let up around the 50 or 60mile mark.
In the T2 went smoothly. I ran out and grabbed a power bar because I was sick of gels and wasn't sure what I'd be taking in on the run. The run started out ok, but then it became brutal. Those frist 2 to 3 miles I wasn't sure how I'd run a marathon. But after about the forth mile things became a bit easier, not much though. Then I'd say around mile 7 or 8 my feet started to cramp up soooo bad. I took in A LOT of water and walked all of the water stops, I also ate chips, pretzels, some bananas, chicken broth, one cup of cola...The cramps in my feet did not go away and by the second loop of the run I was in a lot of pain. I just tried to get through mile by mile and started to walk some of the hills also. Finally the finish line was close and I sprinted in! I was so happy to be caught by Gabe and Kim! I was super excited right away and then about 2min later was in the medical tent sick...After sitting down and drinking some broth and water I seemed to be ok. I was weighed and had dropped only about 3lbs, which was most likely why I got so sick.
Highlights of the race:
Guy and girl on the bike starting naked with a sign over their private parts saying focus.
The fans running up the hills with us on the bike course.
State street on the run.
Other things:
Didn't use any of my special needs bags at all
Run course is very hilly, observation hill awesome.
Times: 2.4 swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run
1:17 Swim 2min pace
5:57 Bike 18.5 pace
4:21 Run 9:59 pace
TOTAL 11:48.09 15th in Division 25-29.
SO WHAT'S NEXT?!
