My goal was to finish my first IM without hurting myself and I got that done. I got high value on my race registration investment coming in at over 16 hours, and I have to say that the accomplishment feels terrific. This was not really a race for me, but rather a test of endurance—and I passed.I had done the practice swim the day before so knew that the water was 61 degrees and would require every one of my cold-water survival techniques (see previous post) to ensure that I could both breathe and swim for 2.4 miles. A positive mental attitude was also essential to get through this cold-water swim that could have been my undoing. I didn’t jump off the break wall into the water until about 3 minutes before the 7am race start. The entry point was about 150 yards before the official start. The gun had gone off about 2 minutes before I got to the start line in the water. By design, this allowed me to have open water for most of the race. I kept an even, steady pace and my breathing was good. At the half-way point I saw that my time was 54 minutes and I felt confident that at this easy pace I was going to finish the swim before the 2:20 cut-off time. My swim time was 1:58. When I got out of the water, I was so happy to have made the cut-off—just laughing and smiling ear to ear. They had warming tents and volunteers checking for hypothermia, but I didn’t need any warming tent and ran off to get ready for the ride.
They had angels volunteering in the changing tents, or so it seemed. These divinely inspired people dried my feet and put my socks on for me. Really. When I had the brilliant idea to put my aero helmet on right away, they helped me realized that it would likely be better to put my bike jersey on first. They were amazing. Other volunteers brought my bike to me in transition and I was feeling like a princess. It felt really good to be on my bike and my first of three laps of the course was good—the elevation is low, the pavement is smooth, and the terrain is flat. They say that the three loops of this 112 mile course is very spectator friendly, which is it, but the best part of this configuration for me was getting lapped by the pros—typically twice. I saw and cheered on Chrissie Wellington, Linsey Corbin, Heather Wurtele, Leanda Cave, Jordan Rapp, Chris Lieto, and Andy Potts, amongst others. I can now say that I rode bikes with all these people. Very cool. You could always tell when the front of the pack was going to lap you as all the motorcycles would buzz around. Unfortunately, the wind picked up on the second lap and it started to rain. There were two episodes of really gusty winds and hard rain, but I have been caught in conditions like this in training and really worked the positive mental attitude thing. The conditions were too much of a challenge for some and there were many that DNF’ed on the ride. Actually, about 20% of the field DNF’ed. I heard that about a dozen people literally got blown over on the ride; I saw two, one of which was taken away in an ambulance. I was hoping for a little more speed on the bike, but the wind didn’t allow—my time was 7:01.
It felt really good to get off the bike as I don’t think I have ever held an aero position for quite that long. Again, the angels in the changing tent helped me get on my way for the run. I felt pretty good on the first of three laps of the run course, as it had stopped raining, but then it got quite cold with nightfall. By the second lap I was feeling the effort of the day and the cold air, and I started walking more. I got one of those shiny thermal blankets on the second lap and started taking hot chicken broth at the aid stations. My run splits really show how I was loosing energy on the run, but I knew that even with walking I was going to finish 26.2 miles before the 17-hour cutoff (at midnight). I finished just after 11pm with a run time of 6:52. Just before the finish line, a spectator told me to start running (if I could) before the next turn as the finish line cameras would be able to pick me up. It was easier to do than I had anticipated since the crowd at the finish started screaming when they saw me enter the chute. I ran down the chute all smiles and giving high 5’s to every hand I saw. That finish line was incredible—I was in a state of extreme bliss at this point. To add to the intensity of the moment, the first person that congratulated me after the finish was Chrissie Wellington and next to her was Linsey Corbin. When I realized who they were, I screamed like a teenager meeting a rock star. It was so amazing that Chrissie and Linsey would be out there that late to congratulate age-group finishers like me. I then got my long-awaited finisher’s medal, got my picture taken, and thankfully, avoided the med tent.
My sister, Michele, was there at the finish for me as my support and she got my exhausted self, my bike, and all my gear from the finish to the car and back to the hotel. Thanks Michele. I also have to thank my coach, Jessica Kisiel for her guidance in my training, and my family for their tolerance of my training. Thanks also to Phil Coe and the “swimmin’ women” of PAC masters for their support; thanks to Scott Beguin, my excellent bike wrench who ensured that my bike was in great condition; and thanks to my friends and family for their support and for sending me energy and inspiration telepathically—I could feel it all day. It is very gratifying to set a goal as audacious as finishing an Ironman, then planning, training, sacrificing, and working towards it, then actually accomplishing it. My little neice, Amelia, gave me a card before the race that said. “I hope you cross the finish line, oh great and crazy Aunt of mine”. I did it. Thanks Amelia.
