Just to preface - this is a LONG READ! I hope you enjoy it. Race Report - Ironman Chattanooga 9-28-2014 The Decision: This was a REALLY HARD decision. I have done a few half ironman races in the past so I knew the time commitment that was going to go along with this decision. I talked to Collins and we decided together we would make it work. It was pretty much a guarantee I would get in because they opened it up to Tri Clubs first before opening up to the public. When I emailed to put my name on the list, I was so nervous hitting send. I did it and got the notification that I could register early and panic set in. When I filled out the on line application for the event, I had butterflies in my stomach. I bet I sat there waiting to hit finish for 30 minutes. Then I did it!!! Oh my God - what did I just do?????? The Training: I bought a plan through Training Peaks this time. I have never bought a plan and trained with it before. I have always worked with a Coach. As a matter of fact, I had Billy coach me for my first marathon, first triathlon and my first half ironman along with everything in between. I was nice to have a coach teach me the ropes, what to expect and how to handle situation but this time was different. I knew I had to stick to the plan. Not because someone else was telling me to but because I was scared to death not to. I ran in the St Jude marathon 2 years ago unprepared and it was AWFUL!!! I cried for nearly 8 miles that year so I was determined to never repeat that experience. So the plan was a 24 week plan. Basically the first 16 weeks were what I normally did anyway and started to pick up after that. I had to change things around some due to schedules but I know I got in 95% of the activities so I felt good about that. The part that I was nervous about was the heat. On one of my long rides, it was 105 heat index and at mile 91 I had to call it quits. I was very close to heat exhaustion. I had a hard time for 2-3 days after that to get my body temperature to regulate. Other than that, I felt good. One difference from other training I have done is that there were little to no interval, speed work, etc in the plan. It was primarily time based and thats about it. This allowed me to train in my comfort zone which is good and bad. It was good since I didnt care about my times, just wanted to finish but bad because I am sure if I did some of that, I would have finished much faster. It was really nice during training to be able to match up with the Crew. I trained with Susan, Shelley, Steve. Jacob, and Sean primarily but we were joined by others from time to time. We met almost every Tues/Thurs at 5am at the corner of CD Smith & Hacks Cross. We rode to Collierville and back or out to Shady Grove and back most of the time. On long rides, Susan was my staple for most of the training. She stuck with me up until the last few weeks. Then Steve & Jacob stepped in and made the long rides with me. I had a couple rides with Rachel and other Thunder teammates that were good too. Always starting early to make sure I could make all the kids games/practices. The swims were easy to me. I didnt like them but I did it because I knew I needed to. It would have been easy to skip them. I just dont enjoy the swimming. I dont even really know why. It isnt hard for me, just dont really look forward to it. I got to where I would sit in the hot tub at Lifetime before each swim for 5 minutes. During this time I would have to do some self motivation. It seemed to work. It was 2 weeks before the race before I tried on my wetsuit and was going to practice with it. OMG it is too little!!! I had lost over 30lbs in this training, how is it too small???? Who knows but when I put it on, I couldnt really breathe. So I got on Amazon and found one. I got it in 2 days later and tried it out. I swam 2000 meters in it and my time was 8 min faster that without. YAHOOO!!! This swim is gonna be a piece of cake :-) As for the running, it wasnt too bad. I was nervous because we dont have many hills near my house so I tried to hit all of them I could find. I would run to Kimbrough for that hill, then through Oak Leigh for some hills but other than that, no hill training. I have to say this scared me pretty bad. I didnt want to kill myself on the hills at the race so I just hoped that was gonna be enough. The long runs were killer for me. I never got to 20 miles. I did 18 twice so I figured that was enough. On one of my long ones, I started at 5:30 when it was sooooo hot outside. I was sweating buckets! I stopped at 12 miles, changed clothes, at a bit then went back out. It was by far the most challenging run Ive ever done. But I did it and I was proud for not quitting. Getting to Chattanooga: We had a bit of a challenge in scheduling this since it is smack in the middle of football season. I left on Thursday after work to make the mandatory check in on Friday. It was nice to have some time alone to think about what I was getting ready to do and to do some reflecting on why and how far I had come and to think about all the people that made it possible. I wasnt sure who all was coming to support me. My friends Kathryn and Kim were both supposed to come and couldnt at the last minute so I was bummed about that. I then talked to my parents who told me my sister and brother may not make it either and by the way they were leaving Sunday and wouldnt be there for the finish. I started crying on the phone to my mom. I NEVER do that!!! I was scared and disappointed but was never upset at anyone. I understood. I was so happy when my sister decided to come down Friday and spend the night with me!!! I really needed her support. Then my brother decided to come and bring his 2 daughters and my parents decided to stay through Monday. Yay - everyone was gonna be there and I was so happy for that. I knew Collins would be there Saturday after the games so he could help me Sunday morning and after the race. When I got close, I put the address in my phone GPS but it wouldnt pull up. WHAT? I knew it was close to the Aquarium so I just tried following signs for that. It probably took me an extra 30 minutes once I got there to find where I was supposed to be. Turns out the iPhone version I was on had some bugs. Aida informed me of this on Friday so I updated my phone to the latest iOS and then it was all good :-). When I got to the hotel, I was pretty excited because it was my first check in as a GOLD HHonors level. I know that sounds so stupid but I travel ALL the time and it was a milestone that took me 9 months to reach. I was so disappointed when he said, we would like to thank you for being a Silver HHonors member WHAT??? I deserve to get my 2 free waters!!! LOL - its the little things :-). Ironman Village/Set Up Transitions: On Friday morning I went to check in. I forgot they didnt open until 9 so I showed up at 8:30. Oh well, there was already a line forming so I just got in line and chatted with a few others while I waited. There was a guy in front of me that was supposed to do IM Tahoe which was cancelled due to the smoke from the fires they had. It was a health risk to breathe in all that smoke over the course of that day. I would be so upset but then again I think they made the right call. I got my wrist band, signed my forms, picked up my timing chip, my really cool backpack and went shopping :-). Of course I wanted EVERYTHING, I just got a sweatshirt and visor for me and a tshirt for Collins. I went back to the hotel, ate some breakfast then headed off to a event hosted by Endurance Nation. They spoke about a lot of things related to long distance racing but what I got out of it was that the entire race is preparation of getting to the line. The line is the point where you hit the wall. The goal is for that to be mile 18 or later. This is something I knew but it was good to have it reinforced specifically for this race. They broke down the course and told us when to make sure we kept it under control. This was a good session. After that I drove part of the course and waited for my family to arrive. I went to the athletes briefing then we went to Mellow Mushroom to eat. Food was good, we had pizza of course then walked back to the hotel. My mom and dad went back home while Kim stayed with me. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for a drink (or 2) and had a good time. We dont get time to catch up and so this was some quality time with my sister. Loved it!!! Went back to the hotel and went to bed. Saturday morning the plan was to go swim at the Dam so I could have what I like to call my come to Jesus with the water. I tend to panic in the water so I need some time with it to let it know I am going to win and it is going to lose so no need for any panic. I did that in my new wetsuit and it was great!!! I only swam a few minutes but it was all I needed. I then got on my bike to make sure everything was working properly. I headed out in the paring lot and quickly noticed my gears werent really working right. I guess there was some shifting during transport. I had a hard time getting it to go from the small ring into the big ring. Not as bad as if it were the other way around but still needed addressing. On the way back, we decided to drive the BIG hill on Barton Ave so I could mentally prepare for it. From the drivers seat of the car, it didnt look so bad so I was ok with the hills for now. As soon as we got back, I took my bike straight to Bike Tech. I had to leave it there so Kim and I went out to get lunch at WOB (world of beer) - I think that is the name). They were not too concerned about us because we werent wearing UT orange and werent drinking. We ordered pickle chips - my favorite!!! I love some pickle chips! Then I had a grilled chicken sandwich and ate about half of it before we left. There was a swim practice that I had considered doing but missed it due to a long lunch and needing to get my bike into transition. I went to pick up my bike. He said the derailer had shifted in travel and that it was good to go. Whew!!! Glad that is over. Took my bike to transition and dropped off my run gear bag and bike gear bag. Ok all that is left is to chill out an relax until tomorrow. When my parents got back in town, we went to see a movie so I could get my mind off the race. After the movie, my brother was there so we went to dinner with him and his 2 girls. It was good and then it was getting late and I was starting to freak out a bit. Collins had arrived and was at the hotel and I wanted to get to bed. We walked back to the hotel and I was in bed by 9. I wanted to be in bed earlier but I just couldnt settle down. Anyway, I did fall asleep and only woke up 1 time at 3:00 and then fell back asleep. Morning of the Race: I woke up finally at 4:00 & took a shower. Not sure why except that I needed to warm up a bit. Our room was freezing!!! So I got a shower, got dressed and packed up my stuff for the day. I decided to check out the IM Chattanooga Facebook page. The first thing I see is official water temp is 77. OH NO!!!! I was starting to panic. I had convinced myself it was going to be wetsuit legal, no question about it! This was a shock. I sat in the floor and had to regroup. This took a good 5-10 min. Once I got ok with it I could move on. No wetsuit - ok no big deal - be a big girl and just swim. After walking down to drop off my special needs bags, I went to put my nutrition on my bike. Oh wait, I forgot to get them out of the fridge! Walked back to the hotel and got it and went back. I went again to put my nutrition on my bike. All went well, bike is still there and no flat tires or anything crazy. I started walking back to Collins so we could head to the swim start and that is when I realized I forgot to put my extra bottles of gatorade/carbopro mix in my bike special needs bag. I went back up there and had to find my bag, put my drinks in and all was good. Not as smooth as I would have liked but I learned and will be more prepared next time. Collins and I headed to the bus and to the swim start. The bus lines went really fast and we got to the swim start. I decided to take one last pit stop at the porta potties before getting in line. The line for the swim start was FOREVER long. We walked and walked and walked until we finally arrived at the end of the line. Hearing everyone talk about the day made me so nervous. I guess Collins could tell because he started showing me videos of Chandlers game the day before. I tried to watch and be into it but I was truly afraid I wasnt going t o be alive at the end of the day. I was scared to death! I drank a huge bottle of Gatorade while in line for the swim start to make sure I was hydrated before getting in the water but I had forgotten to bring any food. I was a little hungry while in line so of course that made me nervous too. Swim : The line was long and when it started to move, it moved quickly. I went back and forth in my mind wetsuit/no wetsuit at least 100 times. I kept seeing people in their wetsuit and it was hard for me not to put mine on. At the point when I was considering it, the line moved so fast. Ok time to put on my swim cap and goggles, take off my sweatshirt and Thunder jacket. Game On!!! As we walked up, they made wetsuit wearers move to the right and us non wetsuit wearers move towards the water. It was almost like a sprint to the water from there. OMG it is happening! Here we go! The race has begun! They were yelling, no diving, jump in feet first. come on racers quickly in the water. I was in before I knew it. I had to breast stroke for a bit to get my mind right. Put your head in Kelly - swim a stroke or 2, nope, not ready. Breast stroke again to calm down and take 2! No, not ready yet. Breast stroke again. This time a girl in a canoe came over to see if I was ok. Yeah, I am fine. Just being a WUSS!!! Ok finally I got my head in started swimming and got into a groove. I stayed on the outside of the pack to avoid the crowds and it was fine. The water was a bit choppy and a couple times I felt some rolling waves come by. I guess this was the rescue boats going to the scene of the dead body found in the water. Yes, you heard that correct, there was a dead body found in the water on race day!!! Glad I didnt know about it then! I really needed to pee while I was swimming and tried a few times to go but just couldnt do it. I guess I could have stopped and went while treading water but I was in the zone now and wasnt about to stop. I was counting the bouys as I swam by. .1, .2, .3 etc. I expected to get to 2.4 but at the 2nd .8 the next one was T1. What??? It is over? Well, that wasnt bad at all!!!! I started toward the swim exit and it was CROWDED! I kept trying to get up to the steps and get a hand or a bar to hold on to but it seemed like it took forever!!! Finally OUT OF THE WATER!!! Yay, ok now the race can begin. I kind of feel like the swim is just something I have to do to get to the race. As I am running toward T1, I am looking for my family. I didnt see anyone. No big deal, they will yell when they see me. I then look up as I run under the bridge and see and hear David and Molly Schay yelling for me. I have to say that I was so happy to see them. It was so cool to have someone you know there cheering you on. I cant thank them enough. It was definitely a boost at that point. T1: As I entered T1, my thought was on finding my bag. I knew the landmarks and the volunteers also helped. I found it with no problem and headed into the tent. I almost went into the mens tent because I was just following the guys in front of me until one of the volunteers grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the womens tent. Haha, that would have been a sight!!! I got to the tent, sat on a chair and started putting on my stuff. I sat my cap & goggles beside me in another chair, pulled out my jersey and put it on, pulled out my helmet and put it on then my shoes. I also had arm coolers that a volunteer helped me get on around my wrists (the left one was hard because of my watch. I need to rethink that for the next one. I put my stuff back in my bag, handed it to the volunteer and ran out while putting on my gloves. I headed to my bike which was overwhelming - there were so many bikes. I yelled out my number to a volunteer and they pulled it off the rack for me and handed it to me. That was awesome! I kept jogging with my bike to the mount line. Of course I am not one of those smooth mounters so I stopped, leaned my bike towards me and lifted my leg over. I pulled my pedals around to the right spot and took off. Bike: As I started off on the bike, I kept thinking take it slow, you have a long way to go to mile 18 on the run. I felt like I was crawling but I would look down and I was doing 19-20mph. I was shocked! I kept trying to slow down but every time I looked down it was the same. Oh well, carry on I thought. My Garmin wasnt working properly so a few miles into the bike, I stopped it from Multi sport mode and put it on Bike so I could see my speed. I was a little bummed I wouldnt have accurate data but I wasnt going to let it bother me now. It was fairly packed with bikes and I kept hoping it would thin out. I had driven the course so I knew what to expect for the most part but what I didnt realize while driving was that for every up hill there was a down hill just before it. Matter of fact, when I got to Hog Jowl Rd, I was prepared to work hard up some hills but it was actually fun. It felt more like a roller coaster :-). Big down hill then coast most of the way up. I didnt think this was a very challenging course at all. At least not what I had expected. I think coming into this race I had the idea it was going to be way harder than what I trained on but as I am riding it I realize it is maybe not even as hard as what I had ridden at home. There were aid stations at just about every 12-15 miles. Each station I took a water and filled up my aero bottle. I made sure to deplete it each time too. I had planned to drink my 3 bottles of Gatorade/Carbopro mix before the special needs stop so I was drinking all the time!!! I even stopped at the first aid station to pee. I was holding it ever since the swim. I stopped again at the aid station just before the special needs area. The main reason for this stop was to reapply my ChamisButter Cream. Boy was it needed :-)!!! When I got into the town of Chicamagua, there were tons of fans/spectators. I stopped at the special needs area and yelled out my number. As they were getting my bag, I heard David and Molly again. They were yelling for me and saying how strong I looked. I talked to them while I waited for my bag. It was so good to have them cheering for me!!! Then a nice young male volunteer brought me the bag and held it open while I got out my stuff. I got my 3 prepared bottles and put them on the bike while i discarded any items I had in my pockets and empty bottles. I had a Mt Dew in there too in case I needed caffeine but decided not to drink it. I also had a luna bar in there and opened it up and ate it as I took off. I waved by to Molly and David and went on. The rest of this loop seemed to fly by. It felt like right after the special needs was a long decent that was so steep I applied the brakes a bit. I drank my prepared bottles, ate my food as I had planned and even stopped 1 more time to pee. This time I had pulled up my arm coolers and was taking water at each aid station. This time I took one to fill my aero bottle and then a 2nd to squirt on my arms. It wasnt what I would call hot but I didnt want to get hot so it was more preventative than anything. All was good and as I came around the second time past the special needs area, I realized there were quite a few up hills before that long decent. It was a bit harder the 2nd time but still not harder than rides I had done at home. After the loop was complete the 2nd time, we started back towards T2 and this part seemed to drag on too. Maybe it was me thinking about how much I still had left or that I was feeling a little tired and I just had to conserve for mile 18. Who knows but I kept thinking to myself, I am going to do this. I cant believe I am going to finish an Ironman distance race and feel ok. I was very confident at this point that I would finish. I was telling myself to keep the run slow and steady and DONT WALK!!! I know how I am and if I start to walk, it becomes easy to walk more often. I was going through my strategy in my head over and over. Before I knew it, I was at T2. I approached the dismount line and wasnt sure how my legs would feel. T2: Knowing the run was going to be long a painful I decided to take my time. I handed off my bike to a volunteer and walked to my bag. I didnt run for a few reasons. 1. I am about to run 26.2 miles so why run now and 2. I was a little afraid of slipping in my shoes. I got my bag and headed for the womens tent. I had 2 or 3 volunteers try to help me but I just told them I was taking my time and would be ok. I did have one get me a pepsi because my head was starting to hurt and I am sure it was a lack of caffeine. I decided to change completely for the run. I took off my bike shorts, put on my running shorts and did the same for my top. I put on socks and my running shoes. I strapped on my number belt, put on my hat and arm warmers and started to get ready to go. I put my helmet, shoes, and wet clothes in the bag and handed it off to a volunteer. I stopped at the porta potty one last time before heading out. I didnt bother with my Garmin for Transitions but as I got out on the run I did switch it from Bike to Run. Run: As I headed out, I finally saw my family. I saw Collins and was so happy! I needed to see him and I made me smile. I saw my mom, dad and sister with him. I was glad they could be there to see this and to share it with me. I wasnt expecting to see anyone else until I was running by the water and saw Marlie and Alan! I was so excited. I ran over to give them both hugs! What an amazing surprise!!!! That was a major boost. I kept thinking GO SLOW, GO SLOW - make it to mile 18 then you can make it. I stayed with the plan. Nutrition wise I was planning to eat a GU or something every 4 miles and stop at every aid station to walk and drink water. Aid station 1 came so fast! Really has it been a mile???? It was just shy of a mile and I felt great! I kept thinking OMG I am actually doing this. I am going to make it. At mile 3-4 I heard a group from some restaurant yelling GO THUNDER!!! I loved it. No clue who it was but Thank You!!! I got to mile 7ish and saw Molly and David again. David said, you are doing great! You have 8 hours to finish the marathon. I had to process that for a bit. Wow, I am going to do this. Hell, I can walk it in less that 8 hours!!! WAHOOO I am going to be an IRONMAN!!! Then I saw Collins and my family at mile 8. I felt great but knew I was heading into the hills. Take it slow and keep running. I ran every hill on the first lap. I was so proud of myself. I saw Tripp Milligan as he was finishing his 2nd lap. He was walking up the hills and looked strong. I was so happy for him. He was going to have a great time and finish strong! I also saw David Clark who said to me if it makes you feel any better I am hurting just as bad as you right now and that made me laugh! I saw lots of Thunder folks but the ones that made my day were Aida, Elaine, and Don! They were all doing so good and I felt so proud of them. I have always looked up to the in the sport and to see them kicking butt was awesome!!! As I finished the first round of hills, I thought ok, just get through the 8 miles of flat roads. I carried on at a slower pace but still running. I kept my plan of just walking aid stations and drinking water but I also had lots of coke and chips too. I had purchased BASE salt and was using that too. I felt pretty good but I knew it wasnt going to last. I stopped 2 times to pee on the run. I saw Collins and my parents several times and they were always inspiring me and cheering me on. As I got to mile 16, I was doing some serious self talking. I had to make it to 18. I was getting tired and my legs were really feeling it. Just one step at a time!!! I made it to 18 and told myself, just get to 21. That is where the hills are and at that point, I planned to just do whatever it took to finish. I was mentally fading at this point. I had actually started to cry a little bit before I got to mile 21. That is when I saw Collins. It was his support telling me you can do this, you are awesome, I am proud of you, etc that gave me what I needed to finish. I didnt run the last 5 miles like I wanted to but I didnt walk it all either. It was a combination of walking and running that got me to mile 25. Those hills were brutal. At the start of them the 2nd time, I was actually trying to run but a guy beside me was walking faster than I was running. That is when I decided screw it and walked. Just about everyone was walking at this point. I was really disappointed in myself because I felt like I quit. I wanted to run but my head and my body were saying no. I battled this for a good bit. I got emotional about it many times. It wasnt until the last mile that I could run the rest of the way and I decided to not give up. There were so many spectators yelling for me and the other racers that I got teared up pretty much the whole last mile. The Finish Line: Coming into the finishers chute is amazing! I somehow got a boost of energy and was high fiving everyone!!! When I saw Collins I hit his hand so hard! I was so happy to have finished and so happy to see him!!! I did it! I was so excited that I didnt even hear Mike Reilly say I was an Ironman until I watched the video later. The volunteer catcher that met me at the finish was AMAZING!!! She stayed with me and brought Collins to me. I was hardly able to stand with my wobbly legs and she held me up walking me to the photo area. I got my pics made, then took a pic with Collins. I picked up some pizza and chocolate milk on my way out. She advised me to see the medical tent and the massage tent but I didnt do either. All I could think was that I DID IT!!! I AM AN IRONMAN!!! Post Race: I followed Collins up the hill to a place to sit. A nice spectator gave me a chair to sit in. I wasnt sure if I sat on the ground that I could get back up so this was very nice! I tried to eat pizza but the first bite almost made me gag so I put it down. I looked up at Collins and started to tear up as I said that was so f*ing hard! I just remember at that moment I was so nauseous. I felt like I couldnt eat or drink anything. I managed to get down some milk and water but that was it. Collins had take out in the room - Buffalo wings, Fries, etc and the thought of that was nasty. He had gone to get my parents as I waited. They came over and chatted for a minute then we walked to the hotel. All I wanted to do was take an ice bath, change clothes and come back to watch the midnight finishers. When we got into the room the smell of wings was gagging me!!! I laid down on the bed (in sweaty clothes and all) as my parents and Collins and I chatted about the day. It was amazing! My parents left so I could get undressed and get in the bath. Collins had the ice bath all ready for me. I put my foot in and thought I was gonna die. It hurt so bad!!! I made him wrap my feet in a towel and got in the bath for what felt like an hour but actually was more like 5 minutes. I had to get out. I couldnt take it any more. He turned on the shower and I got cleaned up. I put on some comfy clothes and got under the covers in the bed. I just wanted to lay down for a few minutes then go back to the finish line. Next think I know I am waking up at 3am to go to the bathroom. So much for eating and seeing the midnight finishers :-). I got up again at 5 to pee then decided at 6:30 I needed to eat. The Next Day: As I got up and went to go eat, Collins was still asleep and wasnt ready to get up. No problem, Ill grab a bite and come back up. I called my parents to see if they wanted to eat. My mom was in the shower and dad had already eaten. I walked out of the room towards the elevator and started feeling funny. I sat down in the hall way for a second to get myself together but I heard someone coming and felt stupid so I got up, pressed the button and got on the elevator. In the elevator I started to get dizzy and sweat. As the doors opened, my vision went dark. I walked very slowly to the food area. I got a plate of eggs, bacon, yogurt and fruit and a glass of water and sat down. I got really sweaty and vision was getting dark so I asked the waitress to get me some Orange Juice. I drank that and ate a couple bites before I stared feeling better. Just then my dad showed up. Im sure that freaked him out. Then Collins came down and I was feeling ok then. I guess it was because I didnt eat the night before and my blood sugar wasnt able to regulate. Who knows but after I got some food, I was fine. After breakfast I went upstairs to pack up to head home. I got the car all packed up and ready to head out but stopped at the IM store to check out the finisher gear. I really liked the finisher jacket. It was super cute but it was $149.00 so I passed. I got on the road home and still cant believe I did it. I finished and I feel good. I was starving about 2 hours into the drive so I stopped at an Arbys of all places. I got the biggest roast beef sandwich they had!!! And I ate every bite! I couldnt wait to get home and see the boys. Canon was at Haley & BJs house so I went there first to pick him up. I was so happy to see him! Collins went to Oak to pick up Chandler and we all met at home. The first thing they wanted to see was my medal. I was really sore so moving around was slow but nothing too bad. I just has to be careful when Canon wanted to sit in my lap. Then life just went back to normal. Canon had practice at 6 so I took him there like normal. Of course I was so exhausted that I forgot to put his cleats on so he practiced in his tennis shoes - lol!!! Post Ironman: Since Ironman, I have not really done much in the way of cardio exercise but my appetite is still LARGE! I plan to take off 2 weeks then get back to eating good. Collins and I took the boys to Orlando to see their Uncle Wes and Aunt Lulu. We had a blast at Gatorland, Blue Man Group Show, Universal and Animal Kingdom. Upon coming home, I realize it is time to start training for St. Jude Marathon and got right back into the swing of things. Taking it easy of course...
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:44:29 +0000
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