Ok, so it has been almost two weeks since the race and I have finally decided to write a race report.
I was not looking forward to embarking on this half Ironman, traveling, racing and trying to recover alone. But, I was fortunate enough to have a co-worker from the Muncie area. I started this job just 6 months ago and just decided to ask her if she thought her parents would let me stay with them, more to save money on hotels, but it ended up being so much more. She checked and her mom was happy to have me stay. Ok, so now I am staying in a strangers house, but that's ok I love that type of stuff and meeting new people. If I wasn't staying with them I was honestly going to look into couch surfing, going to all these races and competing just really adds up.
Oh wait, my co-worker, Sarah, decided to come down with me, YIPPEE!!!! I cannot believe how perfectly this is working out, I am so blessed. I now have company on the ride, including her old little pug Winston, oh the joy, I wish Tico could come!!!! As you can tell by my previous post I was quite nervous going into this race, just the drive from home to meet her in Mt. Pleasant was dreadful, good thing that was only about 40 minutes. Once I got in the car with Sarah and Winston things started looking up, although Winston's old pug breathe was less than desirable! A million bathroom breaks along the way, I was hydrated, many stories about her childhood and the area we were about to visit, all resulted in the warmest welcome to a strangers house I think I have ever received. These people were amazing, warm, kind, and the best part, HILARIOUS!
After picking up my packet, I was number 555 how cool is that, and running into an old friend from Madison, it nice to see a familiar face who happens to be the timing guy for the event, I did a short little brick (bike/run) and racked my bike in the overwhelmingly large transition area. The drive back to Sarah's house was interesting, Indiana country roads are very narrow and apparently they don't see a need for stop ahead signs or stop signs that are taller than their corn, I guess they just really want to show case their tall corn! Now it was time to sit down for dinner with people who already made me feel like a part of the family. I ate my large bowl of pasta and olive oil as they stared at me very oddly wondering why I was eating that way. They offered me food and I tried to refrain, but those shish kabobs looked so good, I just had one, mostly chicken and pineapple. After some enjoyable conversations and laughs about Sarah's childhood I decided to head for bed nice and early.
I set my alarm for 4:45am, aiming to leave the house by 5:15, knowing that would have me out the door by 5:30. For those of you that don't know I used to live in Costa Rica and they work on what they call Tico Time, always an hour behind. I have adapted to Tico time and am struggling to remove it from my life, so I have just accepted it. I made my oatmeal and realized I left my brand new super nice french press with my Costa Rican Moka brand fresh peaberry coffee that I ground specifically for the french press, in my car. I went out to grab it and BAM I dropped it on the concrete and it shattered, glass everywhere. My instant reaction was to tear up, but nope I somehow managed to hold it together, probably because it was so early and I was still half asleep. Ok I searched through their cupboards but nope, I couldn't locate the coffee, such is life no coffee for me this morning. I considered eating some of my coffee grounds just so I could have the metabolic/bathroom assistance of the coffee, but decided the risk of eating glass was too high and dangerous. I packed up all my stuff and went out the door, this time noticing my name on the door. In all my stress and confusion it took a second but then I realized the kindness I was witnessing. That night they all drew lovely pictures and good luck signs and posted them on the door for me. I feel so special and loved, that little gesture meant so much to me and I saved all those pictures!
As I drove down the dark tiny Indiana streets a large yellow arch appeared in front of me...McDonalds. Ok so this is the ONLY time in my life I have been excited to see a McDonalds. A quick run through the drive through and the coffee gods have blessed me. I continued driving down the road trying to get my coffee to cool enough to drink, what happens, I set my gps wrong and was going in the wrong direction to a completely different park that had the same name. Breathe Megan, it's fine, figure out the situation. I got it figured out while laughing at myself and all these mishaps already so early in the morning, typical to the stress of racing I do believe. Finally I arrived, got my stuff ready and stood in line for the bathroom only to not really utilize it, such is life, no ability to go this morning, I guess I should've at the coffee grounds. This detail had to be included as it plays a large role in my race.
Swim
My wetsuit and purple cap are on and I join all the other purple people eaters and sang that song to myself on the beach, though there was perfectly good ramping up and dancing music on the loud speakers. I was ready to be a flying purple people eater in the water. Our wave starts and holy crap was it rough. I had people swimming on top of me, grabbing my feet and not letting go, hitting me in the head and again swimming up my back. As I started to get annoyed I reminded myself, Megan, IRONMAN is going to be a lot more people all starting at once, deal with this, stay calm, stay focussed and live Darwin's rule, survival of the fittest. I went on the defense and started swimming and defending myself making way for me to move through the water as a flying purple people eater. It was rough all the way to the first turn buoy and then started to open up a bit. Oh wait, not too much open water, as we merge with the back end of the heat in front of us and I start to swim up on people not wanting to be "that" person. It's so hard to avoid being "that" person, good thing nobody recongizes one another in the water or we might have WWIII. Then as I made turn 2 (only 2 turns in this swim) to head back to shore, I am BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. No more flying purple people eater song running through my head, now we are doing a swimming ode to Bruce Springsteen. As I swam and sang and tried to survive I had to accept I simply did not know where I was swimming and just followed the group in front of me. Apparently the lead person of that group didn't know where he/she was going either. As we did a nice WIDE, not so straight, line to the shore. BAM, I get knocked in the head, directly on the temple as I take a breathe to my right. Holy crap that hurt, my head is spinning and beyond not be able to see due to the sun I felt very disoriented. I was happy when I started to see people starting to stand around me. Yippee I made it and I honestly feel like I could keep swimming, a good sign considering my lack of swim training and the twice as long swim for IRONMAN.
T1
As I came out of the water I started to feel a cramp in my right calf, ignore it keep moving. It was a long run up a small hill to get to the transition and the person in front of my was moving too slow, I have to pass. Oh wait, cramp, ok so pass and then no need to sprint, but keep moving and work this cramp out. Then I noticed my watch, WHAT, that was one slow swim, I am NOT happy with myself, but what's done is done keep moving forward. Considering my lack of ability to have quality transitions I was trying to stay focused. The wetsuit came off easy, yeah, the helmet in hand and glasses on the face, here we go. Oh wait I have a long run with the bike to the mounting area. Once in the mounting area it was a mess, too many people stopped immediately in the same spot, oh well that's life get moving.
Bike
Ok we are spinning and spinning and spinning now. Stay focussed Doerr, push Doerr, Go Doerr Go. I just kept repeating this to myself, knowing I tend to get lost on the bike letting my mind wander to la la land and before I know it I am going so slow I might tip over. I was getting passed left and right too, I just kept reminding myself to stay focussed, check your cadence, keep it high and when it gets too high, shift and get it high again, then shift again and maintain a high cadence (for me high is 85, that is hard for me to maintain). Then as a cyclist passes me he shouts "Nice Kit", yeah for the IRONMAN Foundation Newton Running Ambassador Triathlon Team kit, KOKUA baby, we are clad in our bright green and styling for sure. Oh wait, that's just me, I am the only one at this particular race, that means I'm famous right! Then as I continue down the road, proud to be wearing this gear, I hear another guy shout "mountain climber you chose the wrong race didn't you". The guy said it very nicely and jokingly, but yes I sport a red polka dot helmet, which is the design to represent mountain climbers and this course is FLAT. I love the helmet because it looks sweet and I LOVE to climb, it keeps me focussed and alert, but that does not mean I am a great climber. I just laughed and kept pedaling thinking of how that helmet will be put to use at IRONMAN Canada in Whistler, up and up I will go. At one point we turned on some really bumpy road, it was all seal chipped and had tons of cracks making me very uncomfortable in aero. Though others were in aero I simply did not feel comfortable and didn't want to risk getting too shaken and end up crashing, especially since I don't know how to change a flat tire (mental note, learn how to change a flat tire or give up the cycling). I finally started to get into a rhythm and it was the turn around. I looked at my watch, oh crap Megan pick it up you gotta go. I decided to race myself back to T2, but I actually raced others, for the second time in my life I actually raced on the bike instead of zoning out. I just kept trying to pick people off one by one. I powered up the small climbs and shifted to gain as much speed as possible on the declines. I focussed on staying in aero, maintaining a high cadence and feeling the wind in my helmet. As I worked to increase my speed I saw my goal time slip away, even though I knew I increased speed by about 1.5 mph average on the way back. I should've pushed earlier. As I rolled into T2 I missed my goal time, but I had to smile because I still beat my last and only half ironman time by a lot. I know I'm not the strongest cyclist so I have to accept the improvements I get. Plus, I could've kept biking. During the only other half Ironman I did all I wanted to do was get rid of my bike, this time I thought to myself, WOW I could keep going. I was pleased knowing it was a good sign for IRONMAN. Had I wanted to throw my bike like before, that would not bode well for another 56 mile ride.
T2
Here we go, dismount and move it, running through the massive transition area. Out of my way people this is not time to talk to family, lets keep moving, I want to get these cleats off and put on my best friend and running shoes. Running shoes on, race belt on, adios transition area.
Run
I'm so happy to be running, it's time to do what I love the most, one foot in front of the other. I was cheering people on as I told myself, keep it smooth, keep the breathing under control and remember you can keep picking it up the whole way, the first mile might not be what you want. As I hit mile 1, feeling a bit slow, I looked at my watch and was in disbelief, 7:13, WHAT. I asked people around me if they thought the mile marker was right and they did. WHOA Megan back off a bit, relax, keep rolling but no need to push anymore right now. My runner friends may be wondering why I would've wanted to relax with that mile split. Triathlons and running are different beasts and though many people can do those times in a triathlon I personally have not been training for any speed and I did not want the legs to start cramping. I kept moving forward cheering people on as they came toward me heading into the finish, and those I passed. I was having such a great time. I will be honest, the run is a big boost of mental strength and confidence for me during a triathlon, I always get to pass people and that feels good no matter who you are. I kept clipping away mile by mile taking in a gel at mile 4. I was at the turn around and looked at my watch and became very confused, 4:40 ish I remember it saying, that makes no sense, how could my half marathon time be so slow. It took me minutes to figure out that it was my race time. WOW sometimes you start to lose your mind out there and it's a bit creepy. But then I realized CRAP Dad would've already finished back in 1988 and I still have about 6 miles to go, so not fair but way to go Dad! I started to notice that my stomach was feeling very hard but I kept moving. Then a girl hooked up with me and it was great, we worked together and picked up the pace. I love leading people on the run to help maintain pace, it made me feel good and I enjoyed helping her while she was helping me. I kept feeling this hardness in my abdomen, then I started to notice it was a little crampy, this is not a good sign. But I tried to focus on something else, one foot in front of the other, maintain pace. As I continued down the road, with her on my shoulder, the hardness was a complete stomach cramp and I knew in my head this was that lack of number 2 bathroom usage for the last day and a half. A day and a half of food just hanging out in my body was not boding well for all this jarring and running. It's fine I have dealt with worse, just keep moving. I told the girl I might cramp and said keep the pace, keep moving, you got this. She told me she was just trying to keep up with me. I LOVE teamwork from strangers! At about 4 miles to go I waved her by and tried to stay on her heels, but to my dismay I lost her. I went through that water station wondering if I should use the porta potta, but told myself it would take too much time and I was only about 4 miles away. As I approached 3 miles to go my stomach was really cramping and leading to a bent over posture. I took in water and kept moving to notice at the next mile marker that my pace rapidly dropped. The number I saw on my watch was eating away at me, my morale had sunk and the guy behind me, who I had cheered on earlier, was telling me to stand up and keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was very helpful but I wanted to tell him that I had the training and ability to keep moving at my old pace, I just didn't have the effective amount of bathroom usage in the last day and a half. I was so frustrated with my body as I kept moving forward. I told myself that nutrition and stomach issues play a huge role in IRONMAN, but that just made me more upset knowing that I pretty much always have some sort of stomach issue. 1 mile to go and all I wanted to do was cut out my insides and keep running, my legs had it, my cardio was there, I could do this. As I approached the finish line I REALLY had to go to the bathroom and then I saw the clock and almost broke down in tears. How could I have slowed THAT much, how was this possible. Then I quickly realized, OH that's the start time not my time, due to waves, thank goodness. I smiled again and crossed the line and kept running. I stopped so they could get my chip, hand me water, a medal and a hat and as I started jogging forward yelled, where's the bathroom? The lady looked concerned and didn't know, but I just ran off. I found the bathroom yippee for me, my day can now be over!
Post Race
After the race I met up with a racer wearing a CMU tri kit. As I introduced myself I came to find out my Dad and her Dad used to compete against each other in triathlons when we were little. I sat with her and her mother for a few hours and had some lovely conversation. Needless to say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in either case. Both triathletes, her Dad was an amazing swimmer and she kicked my butt in the swim. My Dad is an incredible cyclist, oh wait that darn apple flew to another continent on that one, but I did improve today. She was a good cyclist, I need to train with her, too bad she doesn't live in the area anymore. Then running, her mom described her dad as loafing through runs and my Dad said he used to always focus on running him down. Well, my run though not my best, definitely allowed me to run her down. We both had good solid races and it was fun to talk about the here and the now and the past. She did IRONMAN Louisville last year and gave me some amazing advice. She was so kind and helpful. Though I had feared being alone at the end of the race, I was able to hang out for hours enjoying good conversation and company!
Life is good it really is. I didn't reach my goal time, I was 33 minutes off my ultimate, yet honestly very unlikely goal (especially considering I trained through the race), I was 18 minutes from my secondary goal which I KNOW I had the ability to get and then 3 minutes from my final goal (all 3 minutes in the last 3 miles that were bathroom related). But, I have to remind myself it was still a 10 minute PR.
I was not looking forward to embarking on this half Ironman, traveling, racing and trying to recover alone. But, I was fortunate enough to have a co-worker from the Muncie area. I started this job just 6 months ago and just decided to ask her if she thought her parents would let me stay with them, more to save money on hotels, but it ended up being so much more. She checked and her mom was happy to have me stay. Ok, so now I am staying in a strangers house, but that's ok I love that type of stuff and meeting new people. If I wasn't staying with them I was honestly going to look into couch surfing, going to all these races and competing just really adds up.
Oh wait, my co-worker, Sarah, decided to come down with me, YIPPEE!!!! I cannot believe how perfectly this is working out, I am so blessed. I now have company on the ride, including her old little pug Winston, oh the joy, I wish Tico could come!!!! As you can tell by my previous post I was quite nervous going into this race, just the drive from home to meet her in Mt. Pleasant was dreadful, good thing that was only about 40 minutes. Once I got in the car with Sarah and Winston things started looking up, although Winston's old pug breathe was less than desirable! A million bathroom breaks along the way, I was hydrated, many stories about her childhood and the area we were about to visit, all resulted in the warmest welcome to a strangers house I think I have ever received. These people were amazing, warm, kind, and the best part, HILARIOUS!
After picking up my packet, I was number 555 how cool is that, and running into an old friend from Madison, it nice to see a familiar face who happens to be the timing guy for the event, I did a short little brick (bike/run) and racked my bike in the overwhelmingly large transition area. The drive back to Sarah's house was interesting, Indiana country roads are very narrow and apparently they don't see a need for stop ahead signs or stop signs that are taller than their corn, I guess they just really want to show case their tall corn! Now it was time to sit down for dinner with people who already made me feel like a part of the family. I ate my large bowl of pasta and olive oil as they stared at me very oddly wondering why I was eating that way. They offered me food and I tried to refrain, but those shish kabobs looked so good, I just had one, mostly chicken and pineapple. After some enjoyable conversations and laughs about Sarah's childhood I decided to head for bed nice and early.
I set my alarm for 4:45am, aiming to leave the house by 5:15, knowing that would have me out the door by 5:30. For those of you that don't know I used to live in Costa Rica and they work on what they call Tico Time, always an hour behind. I have adapted to Tico time and am struggling to remove it from my life, so I have just accepted it. I made my oatmeal and realized I left my brand new super nice french press with my Costa Rican Moka brand fresh peaberry coffee that I ground specifically for the french press, in my car. I went out to grab it and BAM I dropped it on the concrete and it shattered, glass everywhere. My instant reaction was to tear up, but nope I somehow managed to hold it together, probably because it was so early and I was still half asleep. Ok I searched through their cupboards but nope, I couldn't locate the coffee, such is life no coffee for me this morning. I considered eating some of my coffee grounds just so I could have the metabolic/bathroom assistance of the coffee, but decided the risk of eating glass was too high and dangerous. I packed up all my stuff and went out the door, this time noticing my name on the door. In all my stress and confusion it took a second but then I realized the kindness I was witnessing. That night they all drew lovely pictures and good luck signs and posted them on the door for me. I feel so special and loved, that little gesture meant so much to me and I saved all those pictures!
 |
| Best Swim Bike Run depiction EVER! |
As I drove down the dark tiny Indiana streets a large yellow arch appeared in front of me...McDonalds. Ok so this is the ONLY time in my life I have been excited to see a McDonalds. A quick run through the drive through and the coffee gods have blessed me. I continued driving down the road trying to get my coffee to cool enough to drink, what happens, I set my gps wrong and was going in the wrong direction to a completely different park that had the same name. Breathe Megan, it's fine, figure out the situation. I got it figured out while laughing at myself and all these mishaps already so early in the morning, typical to the stress of racing I do believe. Finally I arrived, got my stuff ready and stood in line for the bathroom only to not really utilize it, such is life, no ability to go this morning, I guess I should've at the coffee grounds. This detail had to be included as it plays a large role in my race.
Swim
My wetsuit and purple cap are on and I join all the other purple people eaters and sang that song to myself on the beach, though there was perfectly good ramping up and dancing music on the loud speakers. I was ready to be a flying purple people eater in the water. Our wave starts and holy crap was it rough. I had people swimming on top of me, grabbing my feet and not letting go, hitting me in the head and again swimming up my back. As I started to get annoyed I reminded myself, Megan, IRONMAN is going to be a lot more people all starting at once, deal with this, stay calm, stay focussed and live Darwin's rule, survival of the fittest. I went on the defense and started swimming and defending myself making way for me to move through the water as a flying purple people eater. It was rough all the way to the first turn buoy and then started to open up a bit. Oh wait, not too much open water, as we merge with the back end of the heat in front of us and I start to swim up on people not wanting to be "that" person. It's so hard to avoid being "that" person, good thing nobody recongizes one another in the water or we might have WWIII. Then as I made turn 2 (only 2 turns in this swim) to head back to shore, I am BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. No more flying purple people eater song running through my head, now we are doing a swimming ode to Bruce Springsteen. As I swam and sang and tried to survive I had to accept I simply did not know where I was swimming and just followed the group in front of me. Apparently the lead person of that group didn't know where he/she was going either. As we did a nice WIDE, not so straight, line to the shore. BAM, I get knocked in the head, directly on the temple as I take a breathe to my right. Holy crap that hurt, my head is spinning and beyond not be able to see due to the sun I felt very disoriented. I was happy when I started to see people starting to stand around me. Yippee I made it and I honestly feel like I could keep swimming, a good sign considering my lack of swim training and the twice as long swim for IRONMAN.
 |
| Swim Exit, Blinded By the Light - Seriously the Sun was blinding on the way back in. |
As I came out of the water I started to feel a cramp in my right calf, ignore it keep moving. It was a long run up a small hill to get to the transition and the person in front of my was moving too slow, I have to pass. Oh wait, cramp, ok so pass and then no need to sprint, but keep moving and work this cramp out. Then I noticed my watch, WHAT, that was one slow swim, I am NOT happy with myself, but what's done is done keep moving forward. Considering my lack of ability to have quality transitions I was trying to stay focused. The wetsuit came off easy, yeah, the helmet in hand and glasses on the face, here we go. Oh wait I have a long run with the bike to the mounting area. Once in the mounting area it was a mess, too many people stopped immediately in the same spot, oh well that's life get moving.
 |
| T1 |
Ok we are spinning and spinning and spinning now. Stay focussed Doerr, push Doerr, Go Doerr Go. I just kept repeating this to myself, knowing I tend to get lost on the bike letting my mind wander to la la land and before I know it I am going so slow I might tip over. I was getting passed left and right too, I just kept reminding myself to stay focussed, check your cadence, keep it high and when it gets too high, shift and get it high again, then shift again and maintain a high cadence (for me high is 85, that is hard for me to maintain). Then as a cyclist passes me he shouts "Nice Kit", yeah for the IRONMAN Foundation Newton Running Ambassador Triathlon Team kit, KOKUA baby, we are clad in our bright green and styling for sure. Oh wait, that's just me, I am the only one at this particular race, that means I'm famous right! Then as I continue down the road, proud to be wearing this gear, I hear another guy shout "mountain climber you chose the wrong race didn't you". The guy said it very nicely and jokingly, but yes I sport a red polka dot helmet, which is the design to represent mountain climbers and this course is FLAT. I love the helmet because it looks sweet and I LOVE to climb, it keeps me focussed and alert, but that does not mean I am a great climber. I just laughed and kept pedaling thinking of how that helmet will be put to use at IRONMAN Canada in Whistler, up and up I will go. At one point we turned on some really bumpy road, it was all seal chipped and had tons of cracks making me very uncomfortable in aero. Though others were in aero I simply did not feel comfortable and didn't want to risk getting too shaken and end up crashing, especially since I don't know how to change a flat tire (mental note, learn how to change a flat tire or give up the cycling). I finally started to get into a rhythm and it was the turn around. I looked at my watch, oh crap Megan pick it up you gotta go. I decided to race myself back to T2, but I actually raced others, for the second time in my life I actually raced on the bike instead of zoning out. I just kept trying to pick people off one by one. I powered up the small climbs and shifted to gain as much speed as possible on the declines. I focussed on staying in aero, maintaining a high cadence and feeling the wind in my helmet. As I worked to increase my speed I saw my goal time slip away, even though I knew I increased speed by about 1.5 mph average on the way back. I should've pushed earlier. As I rolled into T2 I missed my goal time, but I had to smile because I still beat my last and only half ironman time by a lot. I know I'm not the strongest cyclist so I have to accept the improvements I get. Plus, I could've kept biking. During the only other half Ironman I did all I wanted to do was get rid of my bike, this time I thought to myself, WOW I could keep going. I was pleased knowing it was a good sign for IRONMAN. Had I wanted to throw my bike like before, that would not bode well for another 56 mile ride.
 |
| Apparently I ride with a little Elvis lip curl.... |
 |
| or a very disgusted look on my face hahahah |
Here we go, dismount and move it, running through the massive transition area. Out of my way people this is not time to talk to family, lets keep moving, I want to get these cleats off and put on my best friend and running shoes. Running shoes on, race belt on, adios transition area.
Run
I'm so happy to be running, it's time to do what I love the most, one foot in front of the other. I was cheering people on as I told myself, keep it smooth, keep the breathing under control and remember you can keep picking it up the whole way, the first mile might not be what you want. As I hit mile 1, feeling a bit slow, I looked at my watch and was in disbelief, 7:13, WHAT. I asked people around me if they thought the mile marker was right and they did. WHOA Megan back off a bit, relax, keep rolling but no need to push anymore right now. My runner friends may be wondering why I would've wanted to relax with that mile split. Triathlons and running are different beasts and though many people can do those times in a triathlon I personally have not been training for any speed and I did not want the legs to start cramping. I kept moving forward cheering people on as they came toward me heading into the finish, and those I passed. I was having such a great time. I will be honest, the run is a big boost of mental strength and confidence for me during a triathlon, I always get to pass people and that feels good no matter who you are. I kept clipping away mile by mile taking in a gel at mile 4. I was at the turn around and looked at my watch and became very confused, 4:40 ish I remember it saying, that makes no sense, how could my half marathon time be so slow. It took me minutes to figure out that it was my race time. WOW sometimes you start to lose your mind out there and it's a bit creepy. But then I realized CRAP Dad would've already finished back in 1988 and I still have about 6 miles to go, so not fair but way to go Dad! I started to notice that my stomach was feeling very hard but I kept moving. Then a girl hooked up with me and it was great, we worked together and picked up the pace. I love leading people on the run to help maintain pace, it made me feel good and I enjoyed helping her while she was helping me. I kept feeling this hardness in my abdomen, then I started to notice it was a little crampy, this is not a good sign. But I tried to focus on something else, one foot in front of the other, maintain pace. As I continued down the road, with her on my shoulder, the hardness was a complete stomach cramp and I knew in my head this was that lack of number 2 bathroom usage for the last day and a half. A day and a half of food just hanging out in my body was not boding well for all this jarring and running. It's fine I have dealt with worse, just keep moving. I told the girl I might cramp and said keep the pace, keep moving, you got this. She told me she was just trying to keep up with me. I LOVE teamwork from strangers! At about 4 miles to go I waved her by and tried to stay on her heels, but to my dismay I lost her. I went through that water station wondering if I should use the porta potta, but told myself it would take too much time and I was only about 4 miles away. As I approached 3 miles to go my stomach was really cramping and leading to a bent over posture. I took in water and kept moving to notice at the next mile marker that my pace rapidly dropped. The number I saw on my watch was eating away at me, my morale had sunk and the guy behind me, who I had cheered on earlier, was telling me to stand up and keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was very helpful but I wanted to tell him that I had the training and ability to keep moving at my old pace, I just didn't have the effective amount of bathroom usage in the last day and a half. I was so frustrated with my body as I kept moving forward. I told myself that nutrition and stomach issues play a huge role in IRONMAN, but that just made me more upset knowing that I pretty much always have some sort of stomach issue. 1 mile to go and all I wanted to do was cut out my insides and keep running, my legs had it, my cardio was there, I could do this. As I approached the finish line I REALLY had to go to the bathroom and then I saw the clock and almost broke down in tears. How could I have slowed THAT much, how was this possible. Then I quickly realized, OH that's the start time not my time, due to waves, thank goodness. I smiled again and crossed the line and kept running. I stopped so they could get my chip, hand me water, a medal and a hat and as I started jogging forward yelled, where's the bathroom? The lady looked concerned and didn't know, but I just ran off. I found the bathroom yippee for me, my day can now be over!
 |
| I almost cried when I saw the clock right here...then I realized I started in a later wave, fuh! |
 |
| Heading into the finish....bathroom ahoy |
After the race I met up with a racer wearing a CMU tri kit. As I introduced myself I came to find out my Dad and her Dad used to compete against each other in triathlons when we were little. I sat with her and her mother for a few hours and had some lovely conversation. Needless to say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in either case. Both triathletes, her Dad was an amazing swimmer and she kicked my butt in the swim. My Dad is an incredible cyclist, oh wait that darn apple flew to another continent on that one, but I did improve today. She was a good cyclist, I need to train with her, too bad she doesn't live in the area anymore. Then running, her mom described her dad as loafing through runs and my Dad said he used to always focus on running him down. Well, my run though not my best, definitely allowed me to run her down. We both had good solid races and it was fun to talk about the here and the now and the past. She did IRONMAN Louisville last year and gave me some amazing advice. She was so kind and helpful. Though I had feared being alone at the end of the race, I was able to hang out for hours enjoying good conversation and company!
Life is good it really is. I didn't reach my goal time, I was 33 minutes off my ultimate, yet honestly very unlikely goal (especially considering I trained through the race), I was 18 minutes from my secondary goal which I KNOW I had the ability to get and then 3 minutes from my final goal (all 3 minutes in the last 3 miles that were bathroom related). But, I have to remind myself it was still a 10 minute PR.
