OK.. all the hype is over! The dust has settled, and I must give an account of the greatest race ever. Well it was the most amazing race, for so many reasons..and I want to remember it all.. so here it is!!!
I flew out to Denver a little early, Wednesday morning, to spend some time with my sis in law Lana, and her family. Seeing as there is about a 5000+ altitude difference, and not in my favor, I was thinking of what I could do to help acclimate myself to such a difference. (in case you were wondering it takes about 3 weeks for your body to adjust..so there really wasn't much that would really matter) She picked me up and took me up to Georgetown, to an awesome little town tucked into the mountains at about 8700 feet, a bit higher than race day..(5700) it was beautiful. To be August and have crisp cold fresh mountain air was amazing. I got out and ran about 3 miles.. I'm not going to lie..my lungs felt it, but the fresh air made up for the lack of breathing/high heart rate which in turn..slowed my pace down. I knew this would happen and that my usual running pace would not be something I maintain that this altitude..and after the bike..but that's OK..I knew what was going to happen, so I was not surprised!!
We left the mountains on Thursday and took the boys to swim lessons..it was great spending time hanging out with my nephews.. the hardest part, oh one of the hard parts...there were many, was the fact that I needed to be tapering. Prior to racing you need to rest up for the race. The problem with that was I was a bundle of nervous energy and a nice run would of done the trick. However, rest was most important, and I fought the urge to over do it and just enjoyed the company of family! My other sis in law Laura came out with her 2 kiddos too..which was awesome..I got lots of time hanging with the little ones.. even when Fin didn't want me loving on him..I did my best to convince him he like it!! My sis in laws were great to chat with as they both are preparing for a half marathon coming up, so its always fun to talk training, but I would be lying if I wasn't crazy nervous. They were a fabulous distraction!!!
Friday I spent the morning with the family and then joined up with my team and headed out to Boulder. It was nice to have the calming factor of my wonderful team mates. Jennifer..who convinced me to join in this craziness, has been there for me, every step of the way and introduced me to Fit2Train, the team I train with.. that lead me to some great friends..Becky and Nicole..and Robert..we call ourselves the Wolfpack (wolf pack for life WPFL)..these crazy kids did the full Ironman in Cozumel that I got to cheer.. Nicole..being 20 weeks pregnant was there for support..and boy did I need it! I was nice to have a voice of calmness..we can get rather loud! She was the voice of reason and rational decisions for me. I was really having a hard time wrapping my brain around how I was feeling. We had dinner with friends and tried to get a good nights sleep on Friday night..I knew I would toss and turn the night before the race..so early to bed!!
Saturday was check in day..we drove out to the race site and got to see the Iornkids competition.. so stinking cute! Someday Ill convince my kids to try it.. someday! Anyway..picked up our bikes (they were shipped from Dallas) and got all our race numbers and swag.. and then purchased about as much 70.3 garb I could..yes Ive been a bit obnoxious..but I'm not going to lie..I'm proud I did it! Anyway, we got a chance to look out on the reservoir we'd be swimming on..it looked far..and we had this whole debate about if the water would be too warm and no wet suits. Ive never raced in a wet suit, but I tried it once and it was so buoyant. I was counting on that extra floatation to make the swim feel more comfortable..so when they were saying no wet suits..it was really throwing my type A planning self in a tizzy..This is when Becky stepped in..she put her arm around me..(she not touchy feely type) and gave me some calming worlds of wisdom. The fact that she put her around me..to calm me..made me laugh because I could realized how panicked I was for her to do that.. those kinds of things meant the world to me..each and every one of them, the wolf pack, had a huge calming influence, and helped me realize I had trained and was ready. We got out on our bikes to ride the downhill portion of the course..it was a short fast part, but we wanted to get a feel for where it turned etc..so we could maximize speed the next day and not have to break or slowdown because we didn't know what was next..Let me tell you..that was the best 30 min ride of my life..I needed the stress release, and the downhill part is the best!!! It put my mind a little bit more at ease!! Woo hoo!! We packed up and headed back to relax.
I think about this time, I put my finger on my emotions.. It reminded me of giving birth.. I knew I had done what I needed to at this point..I had trained the best that I could, and my race day plan ready..I knew the next day was going to be long and hard and would be so great when it was over, but I didn't know how the day would go. I didn't know how it was going to feel and how I would react. Like labor...it was exciting, and exhausting and I was ready to get it going!!
Saturday night we had a great dinner with our team..11+ fit2train members and a few others joined in. Clay flew in on Sat to be there..I was so glad he came. I am a physical person..I have 3 kids 2 dogs and 1 spouse..very rarely does a moment go by when someone is not all over me..and I realized I am ok, more than ok, with that.. when Clay came I just needed him to wrap his arms around me..I just needed that touch..it was perfect. Dinner was great he headed to his hotel..and we(racers) were off to bed..early bed..3 am wake up time comes quick..got everything laid out..
swim - cap, goggles, earplugs, trishorts, bra, tri top, wetsuit, flip flops, sunblock..
bike - helmet, glasses, racebelt with number, socks, shoes, sunblock, gu flask (food) drinks & bike
run - hat, shoes, gu
ready..
Race day.
The day the earth stood still.. ok..maybe not that dramatic..but I sure built it up like that in my mind.. I just wanted to do this..get this thing going!! We woke up nice and early.. had a nice oatmeal breakfast..took lots of deep breaths..and then loaded up to head to Boulder. It was nice and cool in the am..crisp and it felt great..the water was cold enough for wet suits..ya team! It was a wave start..so we were going in at different times.. the race started at 7:00, my wave started at 7:50..got everything set up in transition and wet suit on..and photo time/get ready! I got in the water and did a little bit of a swim to get a feel for the water/ visibility..and it helps calm me..I get the panic breathtaking feeling out of the way!
We sent off a few team mates the waves before..then it was hug kisses good lucks..and it was our turn..go..into the water..it was cold and crisp and felt fantastic. The sun was not to bright and we had all the buoys to the right..so my right side breathing was perfect. I kept my goggles on the outside of my cap and someone swiped the back strap right off.. she popped up and said oh sorry..that was cute..I fixed those no biggie and just kept going. I kept nice and steady..not to hard, at all..I don't like to swim hard..but kept going and felt pretty great! I was super excited that this was it..and it felt great..turned the corner and started heading it.. wow..done with the swim part.(42 min) .only 2 more parts to go!!
I got out and everyone was there to cheer me on..it was great and really encouraging! I got to my bike and striped the wet suit and donned all the bike gear..took time to sunblock and took a lot longer than necessary to get out of transition!! I'm slow like that! The bike course was amazing..it was still nice and cold and it felt great..it was a nice slow grind up hill.. which was hard..but I kept looking around taking it all in. There were 2 different planes that dropped sky divers and some sort of kite like plane. There was a group of 10 hot rod cars that passed us too..those were fun to see. Lots of encouraging people out there.. cheering you on..the down hill rocked!!! 40.5 mph going down hill.. woo hoo.. that was fun..too bad it was not that long..could of used that!! :) I focused on my nutrition and hydration and felt really good.. didn't push hard..but stayed steady and strong..I still had to run a half marathon after all.. didn't want to blow up my legs on the bike and have nothing left for the run!!
Got finished with the bike.. 3 hours 2 min 18.7mph avg I was pleased..now the run..I ran into a teammate in transition and we sun blocked again..and took some time in transition.. but headed out on the run..she is a runner..I'm a jogger..about 2 miles in I knew I couldn't keep up with her pace.. so I slowed up a bit..then met up with a girl from Boulder running her first as well. It was awesome to have someone to talk to..she was having a hard time, so I was trying to keep her going. Then about mile 4 my stomach started turning on me.. good thing the course has potties..I had 3 pit stops..but I survived! About mile 7 my new friend couldn't keep up and I knew that I needed to keep going instead of slow down for her..this was my race after all.. so I kept plugging along..I actually picked up my speed a little bit the second half..which considering my pit stops.. I did alright. This is where the 5000 feet altitude and the direct sunlight really played in..oh it was hot, sunny, and hard to breath..but I knew that I didn't have much more to go! I chatted with a few here and there and kept a smile on my face.. I walked through the water stations but ran the rest of the time..well (avg. 10:56 pace isn't a run..) but all in all finished under 6 hours 30 min.. 6 hours 28 min of non stop racing!
Clay was there to cheer me on the last .1 mile..and I crossed that finish line as happy as can be..Clays sisters, Lana and Laura came out with the kiddos..had great posters and were there along the bike course and run course..it was so great to see them and get that boost throughout the race..I also knew I needed to be working hard and happy when I would see them..kept my spirits soaring!! I thought I would loose it.. cry..when I finished..but I was so elated to be done..that and I had to sprint to the potty..dang stomach..but really all and all felt great! I'm not saying I could of done more..but I wasn't going to die either! It was a great race..I really liked that distance of a race..it was a challenge and I had to train, a lot..some times it felt like more than I could handle.. but the stress of the unknown was the worst! Once it was over I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.. the best feeling ever!!
So there you have it.. I set this goal in January.. pretty much overly obsessed about it.. trained or thought about training every waking min..and now its done. I got a hand full of race stuff (like I said earlier).. some stuff came with our race packet..t-shirt..got a hat when I finished, I bought a bike jersey, water bottle 70.3 logo, a boulder IM shirt..with all the participants names on the back..that's cool, I got a IM 70.3 logo for my car from my WPFL peeps..and a 70.3 hat from my sister..I am a little geeked out by it. I know it makes Clay crazy to see any 70.3 gear on me..I'm proud..but he knows the blood sweat and tears..
Here I am ..done..with my finishers medal..:)
So now what..
