Post by katie on Sept 22, 2010 21:45:21 GMT -5
The goal was to cross the finish line, to end the day as an Ironman for the first time. One additional goal was to finish feeling good about the race and not hating most of it. I am happy to say I was able to accomplish both of those goals :)
The day started very early with the 4:30am alarm, but rolling out of bed wasn’t difficult. I had been waiting to start this race for three days. I put on my BAFF kit and had my first peanut and pretzel MOJO bar. Josh and I walked down the beach in the dark to transition discussing how we could barely see the buoys we had to swim out to in the water. I hung my transition bags, dropped off my special needs bags then it was time to prep my bike. I removed the drop cloth rain cover, loaded the water bottles and checked the tires – she looked good and was ready to go. Seeing so many familiar faces that morning helped calm my nerves and kept me smiling. Josh and I took another stroll on the beach back to our room. We chilled in our room listening to motivating music, ate my second peanut and pretzel MOJO bar and took some pictures with a few of our cheering crew.
Josh and I headed out to the beach for a warm up swim. The water was surprisingly cold and shallow. We swam trying to get our breathing calm and our HRs down. We got out of the water and were told we had to wait for the 10 minute delay start. I took my GU Roctane and was ready to line up. Finally it was our turn to stand in the starting line. Kissing and saying good luck, as we do before every race, I knew I wasn’t going to see my husband for several long hours. The horn sounded and I ran into the water followed by several dolphin dives. As I dove, my left goggle filled with water. I tried to fix it briefly, but didn’t want to stop and get swam over by the hundreds of people behind me. I focused on controlling my breathing as I was getting hit from every angle swimming with one eye. I finally got into a groove and started feeling really good, but then the water got choppy and I got a cramp. Not in my entire 9 months of training did I get a cramp during a swim, so this was an unpleasant surprise. I focused on breathing
it out and it thankfully got rid of it. I really didn't want to swim 2 miles with one! Trying not to swallow a ton of water I kept going and finally made the turn to head back to shore to complete my first lap. I swam up to shore as far as I could then stood up immediately fixing my goggles. I waved at a few friends then dolphin dove back into the water beginning the second lap. My goggles were perfect for the second lap and decided that I didn’t want to waste time in transition going to the bathroom. I spent the first half the second lap trying to empty my bladder. Finally holding my breath allowed me to empty my bladder. I got out of the water feeling great, probably the best I’ve ever felt coming out of the swim in a race. I waved at my friends and family saying “one down two to go.”
I ran into transition, grabbed my T1 bag and headed into the changing tent. I was very conscious about not trying anything new on race day; I've always heard doing so doesn't go well. While getting on my bike gear I asked the volunteer how cold it was, since I was so warm from that big swim and she told me it was really cold. So I had her help me get my arm warmers on. I've never tried putting them on while wet or after spraying on sunscreen and it was very difficult. It's a good thing my volunteer was strong and able to yank them up for me! I was glad I wore them because it was chilly on the bike to start.
As I rode I said “good morning” to everyone outside watching this amazing event unfold. I thanked every volunteer and police officer on the course, as without them this event would not have been a success. About 18 miles into the bike my chip was so loose on my ankle that it was sliding up and down. I slowed down to pull it up far enough on my calf to prevent it from moving and in doing so I noticed that my front brake was rubbing. Yikes, I wasn’t trying to make the 112 mile ride more difficult! I was able to adjust the break without getting off my bike and continued on my merry way.
To my surprise there was a guy with a cell phone the course and using it while riding. He would slow down pull his phone out, text, put it back in his pocket and then speed up. I saw him do this at least 3 times because each time he sped up he passed me only to slow down soon after. I passed him and was glad not to see him again, I hate seeing people in the Metro parks talking on a cell phone while on the bike, let alone in a race! As I approached mile 22 I knew the steep hill was coming. I shifted down and made it up the hill without issue only to find out that I couldn’t get back up into my big ring. I thought for sure I would have to get off my bike to manually move it, but it finally made its way all the way up – phew! My hands felt as if I had very bad arthritis in them. I couldn’t straighten my fingers all the way and squeezing a water bottle was painful. Never had this happen before, but I kept checking to make sure they weren’t swelling a lot and kept riding. My left Achilles started to bother me at mile 30 and never stopped. I started to worry how bad it would feel running for 26.2 miles with that pain as I had Achilles pain on some training runs. I tried to stretch it while riding, but nothing worked. I finally ended up completely alone, no more competitors around and no more spectators, so I started singing whatever came to mind just to think about something else. While doing so I decided that I really needed to learn all of the words to a song I really liked.
As I was coasting down the hill around mile 45, #167 yelled something as he passed me. While I didn't hear a word he said it didn't sound friendly. I then saw him say a few words to an elderly couple who were out on a leisurely Sunday bike ride and can only assume he wasn't very pleasant with them either. I proceeded to pass him a couple of miles later and never saw him again. At mile 55 I finally gave into the fact that I had to use the bathroom, but really didn't want to get off of the bike. Don’t worry I didn’t pee while on my bike - I don't think I actually could, but every bump reminded me that I had to go.
Miles 75-85 were rough! I was beginning to not enjoy being on my bike, feeling completely alone on the course and knowing that my pace was very subpar and was fighting a lot of head wind. I thought about getting off of the bike and walking, only to realize the walk back to transition would be a lot worse than riding it, so I stayed on the bike and pedaled on.
About mile 93 Doug and Sean drove by and I smiled and waved, as I was feeling decent again - I knew I was on the home stretch. They came back around so Sean could ask how I was feeling. "I'm never doing this again!" was my response. They told me I was looking strong, but I promptly replied "You should have seen me 20 miles ago. I was ready to get off my bike and walk back, but I realized how long that walk would be, so I stayed on the bike." They chuckled, told me to finish strong and to have fun and drove off.
I was so relieved to turn onto Cedar Point Chausee, knowing it wasn't far to that dismount line. I saw the 4 mile to Cedar Point sign and thought "4 miles great, that's a piece of cake!" How quickly I forgot how not smooth that road was and I was going to be fighting a head wind the whole way. I really think those were the longest 4 miles on the course! Finally I dismounted happily and tried to jog to the back of transition to get to the bathroom, but my legs just wouldn't let that happen. So I walked to the bathroom then got my T2 bag. Thankfully by the time I made it into my running shoes my legs were ready to move faster than a walk.
Before doing this race I asked for tips from experienced Ironmen and Jody said I wouldn't believe him, but it would happen. After the bike he said my brain would say "only 26 miles left, that's it." The last 30 miles of the bike I didn't want to be biking 26 miles and thought running 26 was going to be even worse. I was replaying our conversation in my head and saying "Jody you were wrong, that is not what my brain is saying." As soon as I started the run my brain said 26 miles is all the further you have left, most of the race was done. Jody was right on!
As I headed out of the park one of my friends was giving me my & Josh’s stats. They were hard to mentally process, since I just wanted to finish and I was more interested in how Josh was looking. She said he looked great and that he said to tell me he loved me - what a wonderful husband. I set off down the Cedar Point Causeway, noticing my 8:30 pace knowing it was too fast. I was the girl that said I wasn’t going to run the whole marathon. I didn’t want to because during all of my training I hated every bit of the running. I didn’t want to end up walking really early on so I forced myself to slow down and finally got into a rhythm at a slower 10:00 minute pace.
I took water and ice from every water stop and ended up racing with a cup in my hand almost the entire time, as I chewed on ice between water stops. My knees began to hurt, but everything else in my body seemed to be happy to be running – odd since every ounce of me hated to run while training this summer. I was happily running along at my 10 minute pace and realized that I was already more than half way done with the first half of my marathon. The great volunteers at mile 9 got me the GU Roctane I was looking for and lots of encouraging words. As I headed back towards the park I was still feeling good and felt even better when I saw Josh. He looked good and that made me feel even better.
I entered the parking lot and saw my family and friends and was still smiling! I grabbed Tylenol out of my special needs bag without stopping and headed back out to the parking lot. Sean jogged a bit with me to ask me how I felt. My response “I’m still running! ” Someone echoed that as I showed him the Tylenol saying “I’m going to take these because my knees hurt, and try to keep a 10 minute pace.” He said “You look great, you’ll have no trouble keeping that pace, now go have fun.” I caught up to my friend who had updated stats – “You’re 5th in your age group.” Well for as good as I felt then, only 13 miles to go, I began to wonder if I could actually place in my first Ironman? She knows that I’m competitive, which is why she was telling me stats – again my goal was to just cross the finish line – she changed that mind set.
I didn’t set off to have the fastest second 13 miles, but I didn’t forget what I could possibly accomplish today. I continued with my ice and water from the water stops, GU Roctane every 45 minutes and salt tabs every hour and they worked successfully. I kept with my 10 minute miles as I was waiting for that wall everyone tells you about in a marathon and didn’t want to have to walk too early. I chatted with a few other athletes, some on their first lap and others just trying to keep moving. Everyone on the course was very encouraging, which kept me smiling. As I came up behind female runners I was actually paying attention to the age written on their leg. I know I caught and passed one girl in my age group, but not two.
I made it back to my friends at water stop 22 still running and smiling. A BAFF teammate provided some positive words and told me that when I turned at the next traffic light I would be able to see the light at the Causeway – I was almost done. At this point I still hadn’t hit the wall and didn’t want to with 4 miles left, so I kept with the 10 minute pace. I turned at that next traffic light and sure enough he was right, I could see the Causeway traffic light! With only a little more than 2 miles left to go and still no wall. I began to pick up the pace. Each mile got faster and when I hit the parking lot I noticed no one I knew was there, so they were all at the finish line waiting for me. I picked up the pace even more to get to that finish line. I came across the line with a huge smile on my face and was quickly greeted by a kiss and a hug from Josh. It was amazing! I didn’t walk for even one second during that marathon, much to my surprise.
I stayed around the finish line chatting with all of the great teammates and friends that stuck around to watch me finish. Having so many people around to support me was fantastic; it really made a difference during the race. I finally decided even though I was freezing I should sit in the ice bath, as my legs would be thankful the next day. From there I gathered my bike and gear to head back to the room to finally get a shower. Although everything was sore, the shower was amazing!
I went to bed that night knowing that I took 4th in my age group, which is fantastic for a first Ironman distance race, but I knew in my mind I probably could have run faster had I not been afraid of that wall that thankfully never showed up.
The next morning Josh and I attended the awards ceremony just to check it out. I was shocked when they called my name for third place in my age group! I accomplished much more than I set out to do, it was a great feeling.
The day started very early with the 4:30am alarm, but rolling out of bed wasn’t difficult. I had been waiting to start this race for three days. I put on my BAFF kit and had my first peanut and pretzel MOJO bar. Josh and I walked down the beach in the dark to transition discussing how we could barely see the buoys we had to swim out to in the water. I hung my transition bags, dropped off my special needs bags then it was time to prep my bike. I removed the drop cloth rain cover, loaded the water bottles and checked the tires – she looked good and was ready to go. Seeing so many familiar faces that morning helped calm my nerves and kept me smiling. Josh and I took another stroll on the beach back to our room. We chilled in our room listening to motivating music, ate my second peanut and pretzel MOJO bar and took some pictures with a few of our cheering crew.
Josh and I headed out to the beach for a warm up swim. The water was surprisingly cold and shallow. We swam trying to get our breathing calm and our HRs down. We got out of the water and were told we had to wait for the 10 minute delay start. I took my GU Roctane and was ready to line up. Finally it was our turn to stand in the starting line. Kissing and saying good luck, as we do before every race, I knew I wasn’t going to see my husband for several long hours. The horn sounded and I ran into the water followed by several dolphin dives. As I dove, my left goggle filled with water. I tried to fix it briefly, but didn’t want to stop and get swam over by the hundreds of people behind me. I focused on controlling my breathing as I was getting hit from every angle swimming with one eye. I finally got into a groove and started feeling really good, but then the water got choppy and I got a cramp. Not in my entire 9 months of training did I get a cramp during a swim, so this was an unpleasant surprise. I focused on breathing
it out and it thankfully got rid of it. I really didn't want to swim 2 miles with one! Trying not to swallow a ton of water I kept going and finally made the turn to head back to shore to complete my first lap. I swam up to shore as far as I could then stood up immediately fixing my goggles. I waved at a few friends then dolphin dove back into the water beginning the second lap. My goggles were perfect for the second lap and decided that I didn’t want to waste time in transition going to the bathroom. I spent the first half the second lap trying to empty my bladder. Finally holding my breath allowed me to empty my bladder. I got out of the water feeling great, probably the best I’ve ever felt coming out of the swim in a race. I waved at my friends and family saying “one down two to go.”
I ran into transition, grabbed my T1 bag and headed into the changing tent. I was very conscious about not trying anything new on race day; I've always heard doing so doesn't go well. While getting on my bike gear I asked the volunteer how cold it was, since I was so warm from that big swim and she told me it was really cold. So I had her help me get my arm warmers on. I've never tried putting them on while wet or after spraying on sunscreen and it was very difficult. It's a good thing my volunteer was strong and able to yank them up for me! I was glad I wore them because it was chilly on the bike to start.
As I rode I said “good morning” to everyone outside watching this amazing event unfold. I thanked every volunteer and police officer on the course, as without them this event would not have been a success. About 18 miles into the bike my chip was so loose on my ankle that it was sliding up and down. I slowed down to pull it up far enough on my calf to prevent it from moving and in doing so I noticed that my front brake was rubbing. Yikes, I wasn’t trying to make the 112 mile ride more difficult! I was able to adjust the break without getting off my bike and continued on my merry way.
To my surprise there was a guy with a cell phone the course and using it while riding. He would slow down pull his phone out, text, put it back in his pocket and then speed up. I saw him do this at least 3 times because each time he sped up he passed me only to slow down soon after. I passed him and was glad not to see him again, I hate seeing people in the Metro parks talking on a cell phone while on the bike, let alone in a race! As I approached mile 22 I knew the steep hill was coming. I shifted down and made it up the hill without issue only to find out that I couldn’t get back up into my big ring. I thought for sure I would have to get off my bike to manually move it, but it finally made its way all the way up – phew! My hands felt as if I had very bad arthritis in them. I couldn’t straighten my fingers all the way and squeezing a water bottle was painful. Never had this happen before, but I kept checking to make sure they weren’t swelling a lot and kept riding. My left Achilles started to bother me at mile 30 and never stopped. I started to worry how bad it would feel running for 26.2 miles with that pain as I had Achilles pain on some training runs. I tried to stretch it while riding, but nothing worked. I finally ended up completely alone, no more competitors around and no more spectators, so I started singing whatever came to mind just to think about something else. While doing so I decided that I really needed to learn all of the words to a song I really liked.
As I was coasting down the hill around mile 45, #167 yelled something as he passed me. While I didn't hear a word he said it didn't sound friendly. I then saw him say a few words to an elderly couple who were out on a leisurely Sunday bike ride and can only assume he wasn't very pleasant with them either. I proceeded to pass him a couple of miles later and never saw him again. At mile 55 I finally gave into the fact that I had to use the bathroom, but really didn't want to get off of the bike. Don’t worry I didn’t pee while on my bike - I don't think I actually could, but every bump reminded me that I had to go.
Miles 75-85 were rough! I was beginning to not enjoy being on my bike, feeling completely alone on the course and knowing that my pace was very subpar and was fighting a lot of head wind. I thought about getting off of the bike and walking, only to realize the walk back to transition would be a lot worse than riding it, so I stayed on the bike and pedaled on.
About mile 93 Doug and Sean drove by and I smiled and waved, as I was feeling decent again - I knew I was on the home stretch. They came back around so Sean could ask how I was feeling. "I'm never doing this again!" was my response. They told me I was looking strong, but I promptly replied "You should have seen me 20 miles ago. I was ready to get off my bike and walk back, but I realized how long that walk would be, so I stayed on the bike." They chuckled, told me to finish strong and to have fun and drove off.
I was so relieved to turn onto Cedar Point Chausee, knowing it wasn't far to that dismount line. I saw the 4 mile to Cedar Point sign and thought "4 miles great, that's a piece of cake!" How quickly I forgot how not smooth that road was and I was going to be fighting a head wind the whole way. I really think those were the longest 4 miles on the course! Finally I dismounted happily and tried to jog to the back of transition to get to the bathroom, but my legs just wouldn't let that happen. So I walked to the bathroom then got my T2 bag. Thankfully by the time I made it into my running shoes my legs were ready to move faster than a walk.
Before doing this race I asked for tips from experienced Ironmen and Jody said I wouldn't believe him, but it would happen. After the bike he said my brain would say "only 26 miles left, that's it." The last 30 miles of the bike I didn't want to be biking 26 miles and thought running 26 was going to be even worse. I was replaying our conversation in my head and saying "Jody you were wrong, that is not what my brain is saying." As soon as I started the run my brain said 26 miles is all the further you have left, most of the race was done. Jody was right on!
As I headed out of the park one of my friends was giving me my & Josh’s stats. They were hard to mentally process, since I just wanted to finish and I was more interested in how Josh was looking. She said he looked great and that he said to tell me he loved me - what a wonderful husband. I set off down the Cedar Point Causeway, noticing my 8:30 pace knowing it was too fast. I was the girl that said I wasn’t going to run the whole marathon. I didn’t want to because during all of my training I hated every bit of the running. I didn’t want to end up walking really early on so I forced myself to slow down and finally got into a rhythm at a slower 10:00 minute pace.
I took water and ice from every water stop and ended up racing with a cup in my hand almost the entire time, as I chewed on ice between water stops. My knees began to hurt, but everything else in my body seemed to be happy to be running – odd since every ounce of me hated to run while training this summer. I was happily running along at my 10 minute pace and realized that I was already more than half way done with the first half of my marathon. The great volunteers at mile 9 got me the GU Roctane I was looking for and lots of encouraging words. As I headed back towards the park I was still feeling good and felt even better when I saw Josh. He looked good and that made me feel even better.
I entered the parking lot and saw my family and friends and was still smiling! I grabbed Tylenol out of my special needs bag without stopping and headed back out to the parking lot. Sean jogged a bit with me to ask me how I felt. My response “I’m still running! ” Someone echoed that as I showed him the Tylenol saying “I’m going to take these because my knees hurt, and try to keep a 10 minute pace.” He said “You look great, you’ll have no trouble keeping that pace, now go have fun.” I caught up to my friend who had updated stats – “You’re 5th in your age group.” Well for as good as I felt then, only 13 miles to go, I began to wonder if I could actually place in my first Ironman? She knows that I’m competitive, which is why she was telling me stats – again my goal was to just cross the finish line – she changed that mind set.
I didn’t set off to have the fastest second 13 miles, but I didn’t forget what I could possibly accomplish today. I continued with my ice and water from the water stops, GU Roctane every 45 minutes and salt tabs every hour and they worked successfully. I kept with my 10 minute miles as I was waiting for that wall everyone tells you about in a marathon and didn’t want to have to walk too early. I chatted with a few other athletes, some on their first lap and others just trying to keep moving. Everyone on the course was very encouraging, which kept me smiling. As I came up behind female runners I was actually paying attention to the age written on their leg. I know I caught and passed one girl in my age group, but not two.
I made it back to my friends at water stop 22 still running and smiling. A BAFF teammate provided some positive words and told me that when I turned at the next traffic light I would be able to see the light at the Causeway – I was almost done. At this point I still hadn’t hit the wall and didn’t want to with 4 miles left, so I kept with the 10 minute pace. I turned at that next traffic light and sure enough he was right, I could see the Causeway traffic light! With only a little more than 2 miles left to go and still no wall. I began to pick up the pace. Each mile got faster and when I hit the parking lot I noticed no one I knew was there, so they were all at the finish line waiting for me. I picked up the pace even more to get to that finish line. I came across the line with a huge smile on my face and was quickly greeted by a kiss and a hug from Josh. It was amazing! I didn’t walk for even one second during that marathon, much to my surprise.
I stayed around the finish line chatting with all of the great teammates and friends that stuck around to watch me finish. Having so many people around to support me was fantastic; it really made a difference during the race. I finally decided even though I was freezing I should sit in the ice bath, as my legs would be thankful the next day. From there I gathered my bike and gear to head back to the room to finally get a shower. Although everything was sore, the shower was amazing!
I went to bed that night knowing that I took 4th in my age group, which is fantastic for a first Ironman distance race, but I knew in my mind I probably could have run faster had I not been afraid of that wall that thankfully never showed up.
The next morning Josh and I attended the awards ceremony just to check it out. I was shocked when they called my name for third place in my age group! I accomplished much more than I set out to do, it was a great feeling.