Ironman 2009 - I made it

Since it seems I can't narrow my list of pictures to post I'm going to try to keep my explanations short as to not make this rival the length of War and Peace...

Race morning started like every other, except for the fact that I had no gear to bring other than swim. Bike was setup, clothes for changing, helmet, shoes, etc were already in place from the day before.

I got bodymarked by my buddy Jim who was volunteering and headed down to prepare myself for the swim. Which means squeezing into the wetsuit.

(wow, seriously do I pose for every photo?)

The swim start was beautiful in terms of weather. Water was slightly warm but calm. That is until the cannon went off and it was more of a washing machine in overdrive. It was such a rush to hear the crowd as we were starting in the water.The swim went very well for me. I was hoping for a sub 1:20:00 but since I was being over-cautious to not take an elbow to the face, I ended up with a 1:29:00. I tried to stay to the outside of the crowds so it added a little length to my swim. Honestly once you rounded the two far buoys the first time, swimmers got pretty spaced out and you could get into a pretty good rhythm.

Here is a picture of my #1 fan who wore our favorite jersey so I could spot him on the course. (seriously, we should get commissions for all the advertising we do!) The other picture is looking back at the helix at all the spectators. It was a really cool sight from the water seeing and hearing everyone.

The bike portion went fairly well for me. I was excited that after the first loop I had maintained over a 15mph average and felt confident going into the second loop. No major saddle issues at this point but my lower back was starting to get very sore. My legs turned completely to jello somewhere about 10 miles into the second loop and the three big climbs were taking the last of the energy out of my legs. I was climbing the first of the 3 hills the second time around and Kris S jumped out onto the course to ask me how I was doing. I was later glad that he did because at that point he supplied me with the advice to stop eating any of the sugary stuff I had with me because I was getting an awful stomach bubble that I was sure was going to kill me on the run if it didn't go away. And unfortunately with about 20 miles left, my back was on fire, my shoulders were on fire and the balls of my feet were in pain. I had no power left due to all of this and unfortunately had to snail my way back to the Terrace. I'm fairly confident that if I wouldn't have had those problems, I would have finished with a 14.5mph average or better. But considering all the hell I went through with bike training and the decision to switch to a completely different bike with a completely different body position 3 weeks before the race - I think I did pretty well. I knew switching bikes might have it's reprecussions and unfortunately it did.

(I'm smiling here but trust me, only happy to see Mark and Andy....that's IT, the rest of me is very unhappy)

I was nearly in tears coming up the helix into T2 knowing that I made it through the bike. I made the time cut off. The one thing I spent the past month panicking about. I made it!

(and here you can see a bit of pain in my face but I was more just unsure how my body was going to want to work after nearly an 8 hour bike ride)

But I got out on the run and felt fantastic! I mean, my knees were tired and my lower back was still very tight but as long as I wasn't doing squats or bending over to touch my toes, I was feeling good! My strategy was to keep running except for up hills and water stops and keep my heartrate above 140 but below 165. The first loop went great, I got to see Mark in multiple places along the course and that always gave me a burst of energy. State St was also fantastic - all the crowds of people cheering for you and calling your name and they don't even know you. It was so re-energizing for me.
Below are pictures from loop one and loop two. Yes I was smiling the whole way....

I do admit you get carried through the 13.1 mile turn around by the energy of the crowd and I also managed to spot an old co-worker friend of mine from the Madtown area that came out to surprise me so I was in and out onto my second loop in no time. That's when it became a mental challenge. Knowing I had to do that all again and it was getting dark. (hence the glow rings on my arm). I looked at my watch at this point and realized I was clearly going to make a sub-15 Ironman. I was ecstatic! But of course my competitor in me started thinking "well how sub 15 can you go now? You've got 13.1 miles left to leave it all on the course" So I continued my run/walk strategy and had a discussion with my legs. I promised them if they gave me everything they had left they could rest tomorrow and the next day, and the next day, and even the next.

I was taking a small bit of gatorade and water at each water stop and every once and awhile I was grabbing a banana or some grapes. That seemed to keep me well fueled. Running in the dark was great because the weather was cool and for me a perfect temperature for running but it was also very hard because parts of the course were pitch black. One area was completely dark, followed by "inspiration mile" which was the half way point of the loop and had all of the signs people made for their athletes lining the course. I wish I had a picture of it, there were hundreds of signs. I entertained myself by reading them all and looking for the sign Mark made for me. When I found it, it gave me an extra burst of energy to see the rest of the race as "just a 10k left" It got more lonely since runners got pretty spread out. I was also starting to noticed how many people I was passing. So many people were doing a LOT of walking. Don't get me wrong I did my share of walking but I was making up a lot of places. When I was about 2 blocks out from State St I took my last walk break. Because the last thing I wanted to do was turn the corner and walk any part of where the big crowds were. I hit State St and my cheeks started to hurt I was smiling so big. Everyone was cheering and clapping and saying my name. It was unbelievable. I rounded the corner through the last water stop where I saw my friends Steve and Sarah. (Who might I add were volunteering EVERYWHERE on the course. Thanks a million to them both for being such awesome cheerleaders and volunteers!!!) They gave me another burst of encouragement and as I blew through the last water stop, telling the volunteers I wasn't stopping for any aid. When they realized I was pushing through they all erupted into cheering "you go girl!" I was on a serious high and my feet, hands and arms started to tingle.

It was a wonderful feeling but at the same time I had an internal discussion again with my body saying "ok whatever this tingling is it better be good because if you shut down now I am seriously going to be upset". I noticed about two blocks out that I couldn't hear my own thoughts the crowd was so loud. I looked around and noticed there was just one lady in front of me. I considered trying to get around her before the finish line but decided to take in the moment and put some space between us so she could have her moment on the carpet and damn it I was getting mine!

When I hit the carpet I didn't hear the music or even Mike Reilly saying my name. I just heard the crowd cheering and threw my hands in the air for what I hoped would be a great finisher's photo.

It was a feeling like no other. OMG, I was DONE!!! 14 hours 38 minutes and 16 seconds in one day and Ironman was over. I am an IRONMAN!

After I got my finishers medal and picture, I was handed off by the volunteers to Mark. I couldn't have been more happy getting a hug from him right then and there. Sharing that moment (and the whole day for that matter with him) was unbelievable. Thinking back to how unsure and unstable my life was a year ago when I signed up for this race, I would have never imagined that I would find my perfect match and have him there with me every step of the way. Training with me, racing with me, supporting me, cheering for me....I feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world. Whoever or whatever out there thought I deserved this guy......THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

So I wrapped myself up in mylar, grabbed Mark and went straight for the pizza. (yummy, yummy, fatty, salty pizza). I felt good but was very tired so it was off to bed so we could get up early for the finisher's merchandise. The next morning we were up in time to get coffee and head town to see if I could buy my finisher's jacket. Due to my extremely limited budget, I had to narrow down what I could buy and the only two things I wanted was the jacket and visor. Luckily I got both. :)

We headed home and I was quite stiff most of the way. So since we had plenty of time to get home, we made a bunch of stops to cache along the way and also grab snacks. Here is us at a virtual. I thought this statue was too funny. And hey...I was hungry!

(Thankfully Mark shares in my insane sense of humor)

So back home and back to reality. Few days completely off of training (especially since I landed a head cold on the way home) but then I need to start moving again to get ready for the TC 10mile that we are running together.