Many people have asked how did it go? How did you feel? Did it hurt? How do you feel today? So, I figured I would do a Redman 70.3 race recap. This is going to be a long one. To start the venue was great. Everything was organized and very well setup. The volunteers, race directory, support crews, spectators and medical team were incredible. Now for the actual race. This was my first true long distance race. With that being said I dont have anything to compare it to. But, I talked to a number of my buddies that have done other full and half Ironman events and they all said that this was one of the hardest. The reason for that is the weather. But, when you see all the athletes in wet suites, transition setup, the bagpipes start playing all the adrenaline starts pumping and you know its go time. Everything else doesnt matter. I was prepared, focused and so ready to start and find a way to finish. 1.2 mile Swim: I dont know the official mph but, the wind was blowing hard. The waves in the lake were not white capping but close to it. As you can imagine that makes for a hard swim especially when you are swimming with 800 athletes. I got hit, kicked and drink some lake water. Overall I had a great swim and felt very strong coming out of the water. The swim is my strongest discipline.. 56 mile Bike: I jumped on the bike feeling great. I did forget to put on my race belt that had the GPS chip on it so that everyone could track me on the app. Sorry about that. Haha. I had a lot going through my head. The bike course was a tough one. The wind was behind us for the first half of the course. Some of the roads were pretty rough but for the most part not too bad. We had aid stations every 10 miles to refuel fluids, food, gues and whatever else you might need. Then on the way back into Oklahoma city it got really really hard. The last 20 miles of the ride had a lot of climbs and was directly in to the wind. It was rough. I had to constantly remind myself to slow down, relax and save my legs for the run. I finally made it back to transition and felt pretty good. I was hot, sunburned but, ready for the run and last leg of the race. 13.1 mile Run: I came off the bike feeling pretty good. Any time you are going from the bike to the run it takes a few miles to get your legs back under you. After the first 3 miles a felt pretty good but really started to feel the heat. I was told that it got up to mid 90s and humid. The run course had no shade so about mile 5 I really started to suffer. My legs, glutes and pretty much my entire body started to scream. I so wanted to just stop. I would run to each aid station, drink pickle juice for cramps and water and gatoraide for hydrating. I was taking salt pills and dumping ice down my shirt and over my head. The only way to describe miles 6 - 13 it was the worst pain Ive ever felt in my life. Ive never had to fight so hard.. My body and mind wanted to stop. My head started playing tricks on me. But, my heart was still fighting to finish this goal that I set for myself over 7months ago. With the encouragement and support of my family, friends in the race with me and everybody else that sent me texts, FB messages and prayed I could feel it and kept moving forward. Im so incredibly proud to say that I finished. Today I am very soar in so many different places. I hurt in places I didnt even know could hurt. Im sunburned and tires. But, Im a finisher. I am a champion. I did it. Nobody can every take this away from me. I give God all the Glory. It was incredibly hard but its amazing to know that I can truly do all things through Christ who gives me strength. SWIM: 47min 41sec BIKE: 3hrs 20min RUN: 2hrs 58sec Total Time with transitions: 7hrs 15 min
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:42:33 +0000
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