Post by djolliff on Sept 8, 2009 20:03:32 GMT -5
I finally made a user name of the forum
OK here it goes......
Training for this race began with the statement "I will never do an Ironman, thats impossible, its a race for crazy people" Phil agreed. Somewhere during the course of last year, Phil and I can't remember when, we both decided to do an Ironman. Funny how that works, so our training saga began, I don't think either of us really understood what we were about to get into (maybe better that way : ) )
Last season I trained with an injury I never fully resolved from the marathon in the spring, so I spent most of the fall weight lifting. By January I was healed and the spring went well, until the end of March I fell off my bike and ended up having knee surgery in April, exactly 4 months before IMKY. Healing went as quickly as I could hope and I was biking and running again within 4 weeks, although I had lost quite a bit from the down time and had no intensity to my current training. Swimming actually took about 9 weeks to come back, so my swimming goals for IM were tossed out ( no more beating Reddy for me ; ) ). All in all I spent 20 weeks unable to run in the year leading up to this race, not ideal training but I didn't care I was racing.
The summer flew by until I was standing in line Sunday morning waiting to start my first IM. The taper went well, fitness felt good the knee for the most part behaved. Having so many CTC peeps down there helped to keep things light, the dinner Friday night was great. Got some last minute encouragement and advice on Saturday from parents and Chris Phillips and I was off to bed. Slept OK, mixture of fear and excitement. In the morning we jumped in line with Eric and John (thanks guys) and were soon followed by Aussie and Brandon, felt good to be surrounded by friendly faces as the nerves were increasing. Emergency trip to the port-a-pot after the line started to move calmed me down. My sunscreen had gotten into my goggles somehow so I licked it out, gross but I couldn't think of a better option. Jumped into the water about 10 minutes after the canon and was in the swim. Now I felt calm and in control even though the water was murky and stinky, I wanted to swim conservatively but not give up too much time ( I knew Phil was behind me and I wanted to pull far away : ) ). The swim was uneventful, I got hit and kicked a couple good times (missed the log others hit) and kept a good line down the river. some of the girls I came out of the water with got a little squirrelly on the steps calling them gross which I found amusing. Came out in 1:15 feeling great, I was shooting for closer to 1:10 but I didn't care.
Into transition everything went smoothly and off on the bike I went. The rented 404 and 808 felt great and I focused on trying to race smart, reminding myself it was a long d**m day so hold back. Smooth sailing on the out and back and through LaGrange then a flat front wheel at mile 40ish, this was my worst case scenario come true. I had never flatted in a race and only once in a training ride (good thing I had set up a tire changing clinic for myself every night that week to practice). Changed it with minimal problems and back riding in under 10 minutes....thought I was in the clear. I started to pick up the pace and tried to take in more calories only to have my stomach reject this idea, so I slowed for some calorie intake and felt ok again. My stomach generally hated the idea of nutrition throughout the bike, I choked down as much as I could and lots of water. The at mile 63 I flatted again rear wheel this time going down a rather large hill...now I'm panicked, that goodness for the SAG guy right behind my. After making sure I had everything I needed to do the change myself he gladly changed it for me. So that took care of my 2 tubes I was carrying, the SAG guy gave me another and a few miles later I picked up my special needs bag which had another tube. Then right after 87 the impossible, another flat for my front wheel...at this point there was no amount of swearing that seemed appropriate, self-fulling prophecy or something I was pissed. My bike had gone to s*** and I was sure Phil was going to come flying by me changing this flat, I knew he had to be close. Changed the tire and high-tailed it back into town my legs still felt good under me when I got to T2, very happy to be off my bike and that I kept my head in the race. The 3 flats cost me about 30 minutes, I was bummed but HTFU and run the 26.2 miles left in the day.
Took a little longer in T2 with very jello legs, but by mile 1 I was feeling better than I anticipated. I saw Phil starting the bridge as I finished it, d**n I did not want to see him this early in the run. I knew by seeing me he would tear up the first few miles just to pass me early. I kept running thinking for sure the catch would come at any time, I wasn't going to give it to him, he was going to have to earn the right to pass me : ) First loop I kept running, making sure to take in something at every aid station (with all the shenanigans on the bike I lost track of my nutrition schedule and left about 800 calories on the bike so I new that would come back at me) Found some people to run with at a good pace and by the turn Phil hadn't gained too much. Miles 13-15 headed back into town felt good, ran by my family smiling and was ready to tackle lap 2. Saw Phil passing mile 13 as I was headed to 15 and I couldn't believe I had held him off this long I was pumped, maybe the terrible luck on the ride would turn around on the run. At this point walking hurt more than running so I was running....until about mile 17, then things started to unwind. At mile 17 I still felt ok but I needed a potty break which I figured was a good thing, I ended up going 4 times in 1 hour while vomiting 3 times. By mile 19 I was stuck, I couldn't figure out what my body needed everything started to get fuzzy and my body started to tremor everywhere. I wasn't in pain, nothing hurt, but nothing would function either. I was expecting pain at mile 18-26, I was fully prepared to run through pain that was one of the reasons I ran 13 days after knee surgery, train in suffering to handle race suffering. I knew I could run through some pretty intense hurt, but this was something else..... my body refused to let me run, every time I would run I would vomit and the world would spin. The was the "wall" the "bonk" and I had nothing to throw back at it. The lady at the aid station asked me if I needed a medic and I shook my head no, no way I was giving up now. I kept looking at my watch and doing the math to see if I had enough time to walk it to the finish (its funny how bad math skills get after 12 hours of an Ironman). I resolved to walking. Thats when Phil caught me, I told him I couldn't run anymore but he could go ahead, he stayed with me. I walked double fisting water and chicken broth or water and coke. Phil talked me through it the whole way, encouraging me to keep walking. By mile 23 the world stopped being so fuzzy and the tremors had gone away, I could walk a bit faster and Phil and I decided to try running, immediately we discovered we had been walking too long and our legs had cramped up. We decided the time didn't matter as much as the finish so we walked it in. Past mile 25 I swore to him this was the dumbest thing ever and never ever in a million years would I do it again, I half joked that I would get pregnant just to avoid the temptation to sign up. Phil just laughed. We saw 4th Street Live as we turned the corner and ran it into the finish crossing the line together. The lights and sounds were amazing, the crowd was awesome, and the feeling was indescribable. There was a huge sense of relief and accomplishment when we crossed that line. When training for this race we thought it would be so cool to finish together, we both figured we would have to have the prefect day for that to happen. Turns out it took having a pretty bad day to finish together, but any day that ends with a finish is priceless. Finishing the race with my best friend and training partner made all those hours of training well worth it, it was the perfect end to the day. Our family was at the finish line along with our CTC Spin and BAFF racers, it was a fantastic atmosphere. We didn't need medical, by that time my issues were left on the course, showered and headed back to watch the last finishers and grab a bite with our support crew. While attempting to eat that night I had to hold my stomach slightly bent over and keep walking around TGI Friday's shoving cheese sticks down my throat, I'm not so sure I can see another one of those for a long time it was awful. I walked to the hotel in proud agony, my abs hurt so much from the vomiting I couldn't even touch them, putting my hands on my hips sent tears to my eyes, but I finished what I thought was impossible just 1 year before so every tear was a well earned happy tear as well as a painful tear. I slept on and off waking every 2 hours because every muscle I had screamed at me. And as all good stories end..... the first thing I thought when I woke up the next morning was, I know I can do that faster and I can't wait to try again! HAHA so much for the conversation on the run.
Thanks to all the IronFans who cheered me on, you guys really were great. Thanks to the parents for all their support and understanding of missed family functions while we trained. Most of all thanks to Phil who stuck with me and supported me to make sure I finished the race. His support during training and race day itself was phenomenal, I am so proud of all he accomplished this year and to say we did our first Ironman together. Training for the same Ironman when your married is interesting to say the least, he is my training partner, support crew, tech crew, my biggest competition, and my biggest fan. I am so happy to be one (and be married to one) of "those crazy people" and able to complete the "impossible" it was an experience that has no words, and I loved/hated every minute of it. I can't wait to do it again.
OK here it goes......
Training for this race began with the statement "I will never do an Ironman, thats impossible, its a race for crazy people" Phil agreed. Somewhere during the course of last year, Phil and I can't remember when, we both decided to do an Ironman. Funny how that works, so our training saga began, I don't think either of us really understood what we were about to get into (maybe better that way : ) )
Last season I trained with an injury I never fully resolved from the marathon in the spring, so I spent most of the fall weight lifting. By January I was healed and the spring went well, until the end of March I fell off my bike and ended up having knee surgery in April, exactly 4 months before IMKY. Healing went as quickly as I could hope and I was biking and running again within 4 weeks, although I had lost quite a bit from the down time and had no intensity to my current training. Swimming actually took about 9 weeks to come back, so my swimming goals for IM were tossed out ( no more beating Reddy for me ; ) ). All in all I spent 20 weeks unable to run in the year leading up to this race, not ideal training but I didn't care I was racing.
The summer flew by until I was standing in line Sunday morning waiting to start my first IM. The taper went well, fitness felt good the knee for the most part behaved. Having so many CTC peeps down there helped to keep things light, the dinner Friday night was great. Got some last minute encouragement and advice on Saturday from parents and Chris Phillips and I was off to bed. Slept OK, mixture of fear and excitement. In the morning we jumped in line with Eric and John (thanks guys) and were soon followed by Aussie and Brandon, felt good to be surrounded by friendly faces as the nerves were increasing. Emergency trip to the port-a-pot after the line started to move calmed me down. My sunscreen had gotten into my goggles somehow so I licked it out, gross but I couldn't think of a better option. Jumped into the water about 10 minutes after the canon and was in the swim. Now I felt calm and in control even though the water was murky and stinky, I wanted to swim conservatively but not give up too much time ( I knew Phil was behind me and I wanted to pull far away : ) ). The swim was uneventful, I got hit and kicked a couple good times (missed the log others hit) and kept a good line down the river. some of the girls I came out of the water with got a little squirrelly on the steps calling them gross which I found amusing. Came out in 1:15 feeling great, I was shooting for closer to 1:10 but I didn't care.
Into transition everything went smoothly and off on the bike I went. The rented 404 and 808 felt great and I focused on trying to race smart, reminding myself it was a long d**m day so hold back. Smooth sailing on the out and back and through LaGrange then a flat front wheel at mile 40ish, this was my worst case scenario come true. I had never flatted in a race and only once in a training ride (good thing I had set up a tire changing clinic for myself every night that week to practice). Changed it with minimal problems and back riding in under 10 minutes....thought I was in the clear. I started to pick up the pace and tried to take in more calories only to have my stomach reject this idea, so I slowed for some calorie intake and felt ok again. My stomach generally hated the idea of nutrition throughout the bike, I choked down as much as I could and lots of water. The at mile 63 I flatted again rear wheel this time going down a rather large hill...now I'm panicked, that goodness for the SAG guy right behind my. After making sure I had everything I needed to do the change myself he gladly changed it for me. So that took care of my 2 tubes I was carrying, the SAG guy gave me another and a few miles later I picked up my special needs bag which had another tube. Then right after 87 the impossible, another flat for my front wheel...at this point there was no amount of swearing that seemed appropriate, self-fulling prophecy or something I was pissed. My bike had gone to s*** and I was sure Phil was going to come flying by me changing this flat, I knew he had to be close. Changed the tire and high-tailed it back into town my legs still felt good under me when I got to T2, very happy to be off my bike and that I kept my head in the race. The 3 flats cost me about 30 minutes, I was bummed but HTFU and run the 26.2 miles left in the day.
Took a little longer in T2 with very jello legs, but by mile 1 I was feeling better than I anticipated. I saw Phil starting the bridge as I finished it, d**n I did not want to see him this early in the run. I knew by seeing me he would tear up the first few miles just to pass me early. I kept running thinking for sure the catch would come at any time, I wasn't going to give it to him, he was going to have to earn the right to pass me : ) First loop I kept running, making sure to take in something at every aid station (with all the shenanigans on the bike I lost track of my nutrition schedule and left about 800 calories on the bike so I new that would come back at me) Found some people to run with at a good pace and by the turn Phil hadn't gained too much. Miles 13-15 headed back into town felt good, ran by my family smiling and was ready to tackle lap 2. Saw Phil passing mile 13 as I was headed to 15 and I couldn't believe I had held him off this long I was pumped, maybe the terrible luck on the ride would turn around on the run. At this point walking hurt more than running so I was running....until about mile 17, then things started to unwind. At mile 17 I still felt ok but I needed a potty break which I figured was a good thing, I ended up going 4 times in 1 hour while vomiting 3 times. By mile 19 I was stuck, I couldn't figure out what my body needed everything started to get fuzzy and my body started to tremor everywhere. I wasn't in pain, nothing hurt, but nothing would function either. I was expecting pain at mile 18-26, I was fully prepared to run through pain that was one of the reasons I ran 13 days after knee surgery, train in suffering to handle race suffering. I knew I could run through some pretty intense hurt, but this was something else..... my body refused to let me run, every time I would run I would vomit and the world would spin. The was the "wall" the "bonk" and I had nothing to throw back at it. The lady at the aid station asked me if I needed a medic and I shook my head no, no way I was giving up now. I kept looking at my watch and doing the math to see if I had enough time to walk it to the finish (its funny how bad math skills get after 12 hours of an Ironman). I resolved to walking. Thats when Phil caught me, I told him I couldn't run anymore but he could go ahead, he stayed with me. I walked double fisting water and chicken broth or water and coke. Phil talked me through it the whole way, encouraging me to keep walking. By mile 23 the world stopped being so fuzzy and the tremors had gone away, I could walk a bit faster and Phil and I decided to try running, immediately we discovered we had been walking too long and our legs had cramped up. We decided the time didn't matter as much as the finish so we walked it in. Past mile 25 I swore to him this was the dumbest thing ever and never ever in a million years would I do it again, I half joked that I would get pregnant just to avoid the temptation to sign up. Phil just laughed. We saw 4th Street Live as we turned the corner and ran it into the finish crossing the line together. The lights and sounds were amazing, the crowd was awesome, and the feeling was indescribable. There was a huge sense of relief and accomplishment when we crossed that line. When training for this race we thought it would be so cool to finish together, we both figured we would have to have the prefect day for that to happen. Turns out it took having a pretty bad day to finish together, but any day that ends with a finish is priceless. Finishing the race with my best friend and training partner made all those hours of training well worth it, it was the perfect end to the day. Our family was at the finish line along with our CTC Spin and BAFF racers, it was a fantastic atmosphere. We didn't need medical, by that time my issues were left on the course, showered and headed back to watch the last finishers and grab a bite with our support crew. While attempting to eat that night I had to hold my stomach slightly bent over and keep walking around TGI Friday's shoving cheese sticks down my throat, I'm not so sure I can see another one of those for a long time it was awful. I walked to the hotel in proud agony, my abs hurt so much from the vomiting I couldn't even touch them, putting my hands on my hips sent tears to my eyes, but I finished what I thought was impossible just 1 year before so every tear was a well earned happy tear as well as a painful tear. I slept on and off waking every 2 hours because every muscle I had screamed at me. And as all good stories end..... the first thing I thought when I woke up the next morning was, I know I can do that faster and I can't wait to try again! HAHA so much for the conversation on the run.
Thanks to all the IronFans who cheered me on, you guys really were great. Thanks to the parents for all their support and understanding of missed family functions while we trained. Most of all thanks to Phil who stuck with me and supported me to make sure I finished the race. His support during training and race day itself was phenomenal, I am so proud of all he accomplished this year and to say we did our first Ironman together. Training for the same Ironman when your married is interesting to say the least, he is my training partner, support crew, tech crew, my biggest competition, and my biggest fan. I am so happy to be one (and be married to one) of "those crazy people" and able to complete the "impossible" it was an experience that has no words, and I loved/hated every minute of it. I can't wait to do it again.
