Ironman Arizona Race Report - I want to start this report by apologizing. This is a bit of a negative post only because it shows the battle I had in my head. In the end, it was an amazing day. I only have my hubby Keith, kids, coach Jeff and friends to thank for finishing. You all stood by my side through good and bad. THAT is exactly what I needed to find my own inner strength race day to suck it up and get it done. The morning started pretty uneventful. I got my bike ready, stood in the bathroom line with 382748 other people then get my swim gear on. I love the moments before the swim start. I get nervous before the race as a whole but Im never really nervous on the swim. I feel oddly confident in the water. It helps having the wetsuit on to keep you from being pulled under or block the impact of all the beatings you take. Id probably be terrified in a non wetsuit swim Ironman. I enjoy looking around at all the people prerace. The stoned look on their face. You can see them battling the fear in their heads. Enjoy it people. You are defeating your fears right here and right now! Swim 2.4 miles (1 loop)- So the swim starts and its just a washing machine of arms and legs. All 4 of the previous IM swims started off like this but spread out. This one never did. The entire time was chaos. No problem. I can hold me own. I sited the buoys well. At least I thought I did. I have my watch set to alarm every 1000 yards. Every time I had to lift my head to get around people, I would look down at my watch and I was definitely on pace for a swim PR. Closer to the end I look down and it says I was at 2.4 already but I still had a bit to go. Hmm The winds picked up and the water got a little choppy. Not a big deal. I guess Im an overachiever. I swam 2.9 miles. Not a swim PR after all. Time - 1:27:34 Bike 112 miles (3 loops) - Oh the bike. I felt really good going into the bike. No fatigue. Strong. Confident. Then almost immediately the winds were in our face. No problem. It wont be like this the whole time. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!? This is supposed to be a relatively fast and easy bike. It felt like I was climbing a steep hill the whole way. 6 miles in, my power meter dies. I ride based on watts. Without it, Im just riding with heart rate and feel. Not ideal but adapt and move on. 18 miles in we get to the turn around. Wowzers! Heaven! I was taking the downhill with the wind on my back at a max speed of 32 miles per hour. Weeeeee As fun as it was, all I kept thinking was that I had to take that headwind 2 more times. As the race went on I was feeling defeated. My legs were fried and I felt humiliated. I hate excuses in races. Im stronger than this. How could I have trained this hard and was only going 10-14 mph? I was embarrassed for myself. I just fought it. I had a few Come to Jesus moments with myself. Snap out of it. Ironman is about overcoming the impossible. Your power meter isnt around to keep you on pace. Throw your times out the window and be proud of yourself. I finally settled my thoughts down and just fought to get through. After the race, I looked up the weather to find the wind speeds. 24mph with 30mph gusts. Mike Reilly said this morning that last year winner (Jordan Rapp) did 19 going out and 38 coming back. I wasnt the only one that suffered. I guy on the run had done the race 7 times and said this was was definitely the worst wind year hes experience. Confidence booster. Ok then. Letting it go. It wasnt just me. Moving on. Done! I have never been happier to get off that bike. Time - 6:45:49 Run 26.2 Miles (2 loops) - This was just about getting through. My legs were trashed from the bike. I wobbled my way through transition. I got my run gear on and headed out. The first couple miles were tough. Every time I would get running my breathing failed. The wind and dust and messed with my sinuses and asthma. Used the inhaler and it helped some. Im not a good runner but setting into a comfortable pace. At mile 8 a guy fell over with severe quad muscle spasms. You could see the muscles going crazy. I stopped and helped massage them out and made sure he took in some Base salt. He told me not to stop. It was my race and not to worry about his. My response. My race is also about helping others finish theirs. He was so thankful. He got well and paced me on the run at incredible speed. It was a long and boring run. I think about Ironman Texas and all the crowd support. The parties and fun that are out there to help you. Hardly any of that on this race. Disappointing but its no biggie. This race was about finding my own inner stength and not relying on the strength of others to help get me through. Mission accomplished. Around mile 13 my legs were really hurting. I can handle the pain but every time I picked up the pace my breathing would get labored. Not sure it was the cold or just my body under stress causing this. I remember my friend Jon telling me that a slow jog is better than walking. I did lot of shuffling just to keep moving. I saw my sweet friend Elizabeth on the run twice. She had signs and took pics to send home. I saw my friend Matt a couple times. He kept asking to take pics and made sure if I needed some more Base salt. Their spirits were helpful. Time - 5:47:23 The finish - Well, by the time I got to the line I had barely anything left to put on any kind of a good dance. I saw the video and was like OMG. Embarrassing. Hahaha! Still made me smile. I had done it. I didnt give up. I fought till the end. Colleen was my catcher and I love her for it!! She left dinner with Heather Jackson to come here and take care of me. Incredibly kind soul!Between her and Beth, they made me smile, laugh and feel so loved. Best Sherpa replacements ever! Colleen begged medical to get my an IV but they wouldnt. I was walking so they said that doesnt warrant one. Next time Ill fall over and act more lethargic. :-) I didnt dare look at my watch. I thought it was close to 16 hours. I had no idea. My husband told me the time on the phone and I was floored. A 3 min PR? How did that happen? Are you sure? Wowzers. Ok Ill take it!! Time: 14:16:54 Proud. Blessed. Overwhelmed with all the love pre, during and post race. All of you inspire me and keeping me going. Thank you!!!
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 20:26:54 +0000
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