Just Me, Myself & I

Just Me, Myself & I
Honolulu Marathon, Hawaii
State #24
4:08:40

2011 has been quite the year. Ironman training started early January, with the Miami Marathon end of January. Ironman Training continued, and i completed the Boston Marathon. I decided to cut out a marathon in May, and focus on Ironman Training. I completed the American Triple T, and the Racine Half Ironman. Then, just as Ironman training peaked at 16 hours a week, I moved to San Francisco. I made a new bike friend, completed my first 100 miler which was actually 130 miles with what would soon be known as my new normal elevation profile. I completed the Ironman and enjoyed every moment of it. Still, when people ask about it, I smile big and say "I had so much fun!"

After the Ironman I had a goal to complete one more marathon, but living in San Franciso, I'm still getting my budget underway, I was limited on vacation time, and well, I started focusing on shorter interval training. So up until the end of October, I still hadn't fully committed to another marathon and I definitely wasn't putting in miles. Oklahoma was on the radar, but when looking at tickets, it just didn't seem worth it, to travel so much, and pay so much for Oklahoma. Maybe eventually i will have to, but when I looked at the Honolulu Marathon, it was only $50 more to fly there.

I had to get a marathon in as I raised money based on the miles I was to race in 2011, so I couldn't raise the money and not race those miles- it's not how I work, so Hawaii it was.

I was at a point where I kind of felt like I needed some me time. I find it an art to be able to spend quality time with yourself, in public but alone. People tend to react akwardly to this thing- you see a cute girl walk into a nice restaurant and she says "Table for one' you get looks and people think "poor girl" But then, you get perks- you get to talk to many nice people and meet many people yet, you get to do your thing and go your own way (and sometimes, you get your drinks paid for).

I booked Hawaii with the possibility that I might not go it alone, and the excitement to go it alone is what pushed me to book it without knowing anyone else's availability. Up until now, I had chosen my marathons based on another event or another friend's availabilty to join. So, not only was this state number 24 (my favorite number), probably the most fun vacation spot you can have in the states, it also continued with the theme of my move to California: Focus on Me. It's all about me (maybe that sounds selfish but to a people pleaser, it's a big breakthrough).

I booked early November, with just over a month to prepare. The longest distance I had run since the ironman was 13 miles- so it was time to get to work. I got a 20 miler in the weekend after I booked the trip. Pam has become a fun running partner. She doesn't go the long distance, but she gets out there with me and then i run on my own and meet up with her from time to time- taking breaks, or her running with me. It really passes the time. The weekend after the 20 miler, I ran 12 miles. It was mid november and we had the most beautiful weather, and I took Pam this waterfall I love running by in Golden Gate Park. After the 20 miler i didn't have any run longer than 15 miles.

One thing I haven't mentioned about 2011, is though it has been a super awesome year, I have made the mistake of cutting out Yoga and replacing it with Muscle Conditioning. Muscle Conditioning was definitely not the mistake. That was great. BUT, sacrificing yoga was. I"m not much of a stretcher so yoga keeps me stretched out and in check. After the IRonman, Julie started stretching me out to learn that I had serious issues with knots and being tight- everywhere. I kind of ignored it. And every now and then i'd have a pain here or there. Then I got a bad hamstring issue, which might be hamstring related or IT band related or many other things. But I'm a firm believer it was an issue because I wasn't stretching, then I started to again, and I started doing more interval workouts moving faster on my hamstrings which jus irritated the minor issue. Three weeks before the Marathon, this issue took me out of the game for 3 days straight. I tried after 3 days of rest, and still, the pain was too much to be on, so I pretty much cut down most workouts other than yoga, biking, slow runs and weights - more abs and arms and stretching/rolling out the knots in my legs (Julie calls this Myofacial release or something like that? I nearly cried the first few times, but 2 times a day for a week almost 15 minutes at a time, and it's not as painful anymore).

This was the least prepared Ive ever been for a marathon- but it was another state and it was a fun one so the preparation wasn't such a concern. My concern was whether or not I could really run on my bum leg or not. My taper week was the opposite of most. I started with 2 miles and worked my way up to 5 through the week (with 5 the day before the marathon).

I made it to Hawaii and I was loving every minute of it. I went out the Friday night i got in. Had a few drinks that were delicious and went for a walk to discover a bit. I made my way to bed by 12 am. I woke up at 6 am to go for a run and get to the expo to pick up my race stuff. While waiting for the expo to open I walked all around looking for food. I finally found this awesome whole in the wall place right by the convention center, and they made me some hawaiin breakfast thing that was delicious.

With the humidity already at 6am being a bit much, I figured I should start hydrating. But the vacationer in me just wanted to vacation- I was in Hawaii after all. So, I had 2 drinks around 2pm- with lunch. I had signed up to go on this sailing event which i didn'tknow what to expect other than i was going out on a sail boat. Well, it turned out to be a booze cruise. If you ever go to Honolulu, I suggest you take a ride on the Waikiki Rigger. It's super cheap and the drinks on it area also cheap. They take you out, look out for dolphins (which I saw on my first trip), Sea Turtles (saw on my 2nd trip) and then you just enjoy the atmosphere and chill music. At your choice you can sit at the front of the boat on the net and let the waves splash you as you move real fast across the water. I drank champange while on the cruise, and as I got splashed, I ended up slamming my drinks. So now it's 5pm the night before the marathon, and I was pretty drunk. I called it a night, drinking lots of gatorade and having pizza for dinner (because i just wanted to fall asleep).

I had yet to go through my race stuff, so I set the alarm for 2am. At 2am, I continued to drink fluids and go through all my race stuff. I also had to cancel my rental car for Monday as I signed up for a snorkling event that was taking me out to the west side of the island (which was where i wanted to go with a rental).

At 4am i made my way about 2 miles to the start. They sang the national anthem and set off a load of fireworks, and we were off. I vowed to start off slow and was keeping an eye on my hamstring pain, which was not there. After a few miles at a 9-9:30 I decided I was warmed up and picked it up at a faster comfortable pace. I knew I could crash and burn, I also knew I wasn't prepared to go the distance so i figured I better get in what i could on the front end. Around mile 7 we were making our way around Diamond Mountain (which was called that because some guys thought they foudn diamonds in the mountain- but they were wrong...the mountain kept the name though it actually looks like a dorsal fin of a dolphin). I felt great on the climb, maybe a little just soreness, but nothing bad.

We started running on some rolling hills, when my stomach started to bother me. And already around mile 10, I was struggling. Not because I was fatiguing or because of muscle pain, but because I put myself in a spot of being dehydrated and the bouncing irritated my stomach. My first bathroom stop was before the half way mark.
Putting more fluids in my body felt horrible, but I knew I had to and because of how my stomach felt, I decided I would get through the marathon without any gus/food, there was no way I would stomach that. Around mile 10 we also went from night to day. The sun was up and it actually felt a little cooler at this point. We had some wind which felt good, and there was some rain.

I was focused on making sure I didn't completely flop on my time- but I also thought, no need to rush through this course, it's beautiful out here. Look at the mountainside, the greens, the sky, clouds and the water. So I took it all in (in between cursing at how my stomach felt).

Just before mile 23 the stomach issues were at its worst and I had to walk. There was no way I could stomach the bouncing until after another bathroom stop. At the mile 23 water stop, the single porta potty was hidden and I wasn't given the greatest directions to it. I knew I would feel better if I just made that stop, so I back tracked in my footsteps. I got looks for going the 'wrong way' but- unlike most people out there, I have had my victories- this marathon was not about time and I chose enjoying myself the night before instead on caring about the time. I pushed myself to the limit on not being prepared, which is fine. I think I've said this many times, but I need to keep things interesting, not every marathon can be focused on time. This one was Hawaii! There was no other way to get the state done than with pretty drinks with umbrellas.

At the end, it was really just a battle between me and my stomach, so when it came time to kick it, I had lots left in me and I did just that. Once I finished, I ate a bagel, laid around for a bit, and then slowly walked back to my hotel. On the walk back, my legs were a little sore, but I felt hungover. You know, when you have alot to drink and breathing hurts when you are standing, so you'd rather be laying in bed? When you feel like the best place for you would be horizontal, not vertical. I made my way to this place I wanted to try breakfast. They came to my rescue with Rice and eggs...seriously, exactly what I needed. I then went back to the hotel and laid in bed for a half hour while my stomach screamed. Once I managed to get out of bed, I got pepto bismal right away and after an hour lounging on the beach, the stomach was more under control and I was finally drinking fluids again. I made sure I drank a good 60 oz of water/gatorade before I got back on that booze cruise and enjoyed round two.

I know usually this is a blog for marathons and not my vacations, but I have to write down my Monday experience because it was just awesome :) Monday, I woke up real early for a snorkling tour. I would love to scuba dive but I wasn't there long enough for a crash certification. So, snorkling it was. I swam with a sea turtle, saw 50+ dolphins in the water- sleeping - learning how they operate when they are asleep.
Then, it was time.
Time to see a whale, or actually 4!
We sat around watching them float around coming up for air, sometimes talking to one another and then diving down. As I was switching from my regular camera to my camera phone, they started to get active. You see, it's mating season and the men fight over the girls. There were only 3 at one point, and a 4th was joining which caused trouble. One minute one of the Whales came right up to the boat on the right side, I ran out to see it and as I did, it dove under the boat- tail up- I felt like I could almost reach out and touch it. I ran to the other side of the boat to watch it come up. Then it went to the front of the boat where the whales started to get rowdy! Yelling (or i'm calling it htat) at eachother and moving around- and though they were moving slow earlier and you would think hump back whales are slow in nature, those suckers can move! they moved to the right side of the boat again and started circling. It was just so amazing to see them in action. They were pissed and they were right there, putting on a show for our boat.

An amazing trip, meeting some great people (islanders and candadians were the ones I tended to talk with most). The trip was a success. The me time was amazing, makes me long for more. Usually I complete a marathon and on the side, bet some vacation/visiting of the state in. But this time, I vacationed and on the side, I got another marathon done (and i got part of my tan back- yay :) )

**PS- the song that goes with this title- Kelly Clarkson- 'What doesn't kill you' -great song- look it up!

Fun e-mail Dialogue from my Spectators at the Ironman

Okay so i read these today and thought- it's kind of fun to get the spectator's view- so i'd share:

11:21AM
Jen W.
"Has anyone seen her on the bike?"

3:38PM
Jeff T
"Yes...it's 3:38. She should be running by now"

3:50pm
Tony K
"She just went through camp randall and fighting away! MM3 I think. All systems r good 4 her"

4:03pm
Mike Z
"I saw her on the run too and she looked really solid"

4:20pm
Rachel A
"My update is late, but i saw her at mile 111 on the bike and she was good...to think in total she is traveling the same distance I did to get here by car... ~140 miles!"

4:20 pm
Ultra en
"I saw her about a half a mile into the run and she was positive and smiling! She looks great."

6:42PM
Ultra Jen
"I just saw her heading out to finish her final 13.1 mi loop. She is giving the smile of a pretty tuckered out lady, but she is blowing by all the other runners out there. She is really moving well and running strong."

7:40 pm
Tony K
"Just left Tara on the course. Mile 24.5. She's flirting with the boys and forgot she was even racing! ...Ok, maybe not. She's doing great and soon to finish."

The Final Chapter of the Ironman Journey: The Victory Lap

IRONMAN WISCONSIN 2011
12:54:39
Overall Rank 942
Division Rank 32

Swim: 1:27:50 Rank: 1784/84
T1: 7:53
Bike: 6:34:04 17.01mph Rank: 1330/47
T2: 6:26
Run: 4:38:26 10:37/mi Rank: 942 / 32


The Ironman Journey is a journey you make together, but, alone. Along the way, you pull in support from family and friends and on the day of the race, you are out there, with *2800 other racers doing the same thing, starting at the same time, experiencing similar challenges, but at the end of the day, it’s your race. You get to call the shots and decide what’s best for your race; it’s you against your own mind and body. There are highs and there are lows, and I’m proud to say, most of my lows were all prior to the cannon shooting off, and 7:00am, on Sunday, September 11, 2011. I rode the high for almost the whole 12 hours 54 minutes and 39 seconds.

Backing up: A little bit about me. I’m a planner for the most part, but when it comes to my races, I kind of focus on the training and go with the flow come race weekend. This has created minor hiccups but we always figure it out. For the San Antonio Marathon, Sheila and I didn’t book a hotel in time and they ended up being sold out, but we got an amazing deal on VRBO and ended up just fine. Traveling with Rachel Johnson for marathons works pretty well, because I just have to kick back and let her tell me where to be and go, and for Philly, I’m thinking that Connie took charge for our wonderful group of five. I sometimes forget there is more to prepare for than training for the race. So, it’s not a shocker, that I didn’t read the full ironman manual of race day weekend and procedures until the Tuesday before the race.

I booked my ticket flying into Chicago, and I thought I would have time to visit before taking the train up to Milwaukee to get a car from my parents. When I read the manual, I learned mandatory check in was until 4pm on Friday. So, the story of getting to Madison really did turn into a planes, trains and automobiles sort of story with no reason to be in Chicago (well, I did manage to have breakfast with Laura and see Jess so it was worth it). My parents picked me up from the train station around 11:30am on Friday, and I took one of their cars to Madison.

So, my biggest freak out moment was when I got to my parent’s house. 1) I ordered a race jersey to wear for the race, and it never showed up. I knew I would be fine in the jersey because I’ve worn Alison’s before, and I was excited to wear the Team DetermiNation logo. So I had to come up with a plan B. 2) Alejandro- when I left the Midwest, I left Alejandro behind and took the risk of asking my dad to take it in for a tune up. He had a friend that swore by this shop so my dad took it there. Well, they must have not known how to deal with my bike as they didn’t adjust the derailer right and it was making a grinding noise. Seeing as my bike was fine before I left- I started to freak out. They also made my dad think the bike was super fragile and not to touch the gears at all… umm okay- I’m doing a 112 mile race- you should care for your bikes, but to call them fragile – I think they were doing a CYA so my dad would think he ruined it when I noticed something was wrong. AND the frame wasn’t clean- it was super dirty- to the point I got my hands all greasy on the handle bars- so of course I had a freakout moment and decided my race was ruined- I would somehow not get through the bike. My dad was not responsible for this- I called the shots and he just was helping me out- but he felt bad, so I did my best to contain myself around him, but the moment I got in that car and drove away- I started to cry.

I called Veronica and then Jeff. Jeff LOVES drama- he thinks no race is a race without a little drama, but with that, he’s good at finding solutions. So, as I drove to Madison, he found me a bike shop I could take the bike to (I could have done it on sight at the ironman- but I wanted more one on one attention …and I had to buy my nutrition anyway which wasn’t going to be found right on site. My stress level went from a 10 (highest) to a 4 in that time. And then I talked to Veronica and she helped me maintain at the level 4.

Once I got to Madison, I spent 2 hours in line for athlete check in. In this time I met a few guys in line that were extremely chill. All the rules people tell me to follow race day didn’t seem to apply to them and I just loved hearing that- because there are more than one way to get to the finish line. They had all done it before, and they were all about the experience. Prior to talking to them, the stress got back to an 8 and then it came back down to that level 4 area.

After checking in, I took care of my bike. Endurance zone had workers that were a little young and cocky- but they knew what they were doing so if they wanted to show off and make me feel dumb not knowing technical terms for my bike parts- I didn’t care. I just wanted them to fix my bike.

I was back to Monona Terrace for the Dinner/Mandatory Meeting by 6:30pm. This dinner was such a great experience. It was an Ironman Celebration. They had given us all sorts of fun statistics like 26% of the racers were female, which was a record high for Madison; The oldest racer was 76 and youngest was 18, the largest male age group was 40-44, and females was (mine) 30-34. The Madison Ironman has been going on since 2002 and this was the 10th year. I thought back to the first Madison Ironman- and I remember Sarah Harnden and I running that evening, and feeling like, if these people can do this crazy thing, we can go for a 5 mile run and not complain we made it a point to run by them and cheer. Little did I ever imagine that I would be completing the same thing as the crazy people 10 years later?

After dinner I made my way to Hotel Cory. We watched a funny movie to try to calm me (because I was back up to an 8 where I stayed for while), and I started packing my bags- which just seemed like a cluster. As the ironman isn’t like your typical race- we had 5 bags: 1) Your morning drop off bag 2) Swim to Bike Transition Bag 3) Bike to Run Transition Bag 4) Bike special needs bag 5) Run Special needs bag. In this time I realized I had to buy some stuff to fill them as I did a poor job packing before I left California. I didn’t have much in my special needs bags- as I figure I’d bring most of what I needed with me and then not bother to pick up the special needs bag at the end of the race.

I woke up with a tension headache Saturday morning, and the tension was high. I managed to get about 9 hours of sleep though, and it was time to run errands. With the errands, I decided I would go to Charlie’s Bachelor Party at Bucky’s Traveling Bus- and say hi to all those guys (seeing as I’m missing his wedding- and I mean- he happened to be in town- so I could at least hug and congratulate him!) I got to catch up with him and Dave and of course, see Betz and Alsteen. They were fun drunk as usual and in this time the stress level went down to maybe a 3- until I realized I should get going and had so much more to do for the day.

I made my way back to Monona Terrace (where I’m pretty proud to say I parallel parked my dad’s big truck in a small spot). I met up with Veronica and Daryl and we walked through the transitions (which were inside!). Alison called me in this time- which if you all don’t know- Alison had a trip with her mom to Europe- an opportunity she couldn’t pass up- so she wasn’t there to see me cross the finish line- however she was there in spirit 110%- and she made sure she got some European plan on her phone so she could call and keep tabs on me. If that’s not a great supporter/friend- I don’t know what is!
My stress level got back up to an 8. I managed to go for a swim, and it dropped probably to a 7 and then it was time to check in my bike. On my walk to my car to get my bike, I called Brandon, who successfully got my stress level to a 1 and pretty much was able to maintain thereafter at a 2 or 3. My parents and I met up for dinner and then when I got to Cory’s my stress level was back up, but he made me some chamomile tea and I made it to sleep nice and sound.
My alarm went off, and I started my pre-race plan: When I race marathons, I usually can’t get hungry enough before the race, but I knew I had to do something this time- so I bought Eggos- you know Eggo waffles- because I figured I could toast and pick away at those- so I had 2 odwala vitamin C drinks and 5 eggos. I figure anything was better than nothing.

Veronica and I met up in the Transition and before you knew it, I met up with my dad and we made our way to the swim. On the way I ran into Tony K and he gave me some last minute motivation. *One thing I did that was a little unorthodox – was my bike was equipped with only one water bottle. I decided I didn’t like the cages on the back because it just made me feel too heavy – and with being used to Alexander who is lighter than Alejandro- I figured I wanted to be as light as possible. There were water stations every 15ish miles on the bike course so I would take their drinks and keep my one water bottle for when I needed it otherwise. (This actually worked out well!). Tony said he thought that would be a decent plan- so I was a little more confident in this decision.
Walking to the swim start, I saw Jillian and Aristotle- it was good to see them and remembering- Together but alone. We got in the water, and I lost all – and we had a good 5-10 minutes to float before the start. Once that cannon went off- all *2800 of us were off. I didn’t find the congestion to be too bad- I just stayed relaxed and would stop and wait if I needed to. I broke the swim down in quarters and just made it to each turn. I was told on the first turn – it’s so congested and tight- that everyone stops and lifts their heads up and moos- it’s the moo corner. I only heard this from one person and wondered how true this was- but sure enough- as we turned- we all started to moo (and yes, I joined in- because this is supposed to be fun), and again, I reminded myself- we were all in this together (but alone).

As I swam- I thought about my first triathlon- in California. Mazan and I did it together. I remember being in that swim- .45ish miles long, and thinking “what have I gotten myself into, and I think I can do an Ironman in 3 years!? I can’t even handle this swim!” …but with time, I got better and stronger, and here I was, doing the full 2.4 miles in an ironman. I have done my longest open water swims with Emily- so I then pictured her swimming there with me, I had dialogue in my head- of me and her, stopping at a bouy and counting how many more laps we had. I was out there alone- but at the same time, I wasn’t!

The swim did have its hiccups. It was congested, and on the first turn, I managed to get trampled, I thought my cap was going to come off and my goggles were bumped- I didn’t want to deal with them- because that would mean treading and risking a cramp, so I just pushed them tighter to my face. About a loop later, I couldn’t deal wit that anymore and had to readjust- my contact was kind of suctioning out too, but I managed to make it so it was bearable until I finished. I couldn’t see out of my right eye- but I figured I’d just keep following the people in front of me. When I made it out of the water I had to readjust my contact, and I wasn’t sure if I would lose it or not, but I figured I’d deal with that in transition (as I prepared and had spare contacts with me).

Now when you get out of the swim- you have to run up the helix into the building and to transition. It was a pretty easy run because you had so many crowds- I saw Emily and Sara, and my Dad (I forget who else- sorry). The volunteers were AMAZING- you walked in the room with the bags and someone grabbed your bag for you and took you to the changing room where they sat with you- catering to your needs. With a few minutes, I was off to retrieve my bike. I stopped to be lathered with sunscreen, and I went on my way. Now the bike- you get to ride down the other helix to the bike path which was lots of fun. Coming out of the bike, I saw two people but now I’m forgetting who- please claim your support! Then I saw Mike. On the out and back, there is a no pass zone-- so the goal is to get past anyone moving slower than you before you hit that zone. As we entered that zone- we actually came to a stop for a bike accident to clear. Then we were off, and before you knew it, we were at the loop.

What I didn’t know was my cousin, Mandy and her husband just bought a place pretty much on the course! So as I made my way on the loop, I first saw Jen and Andrea, which was actually after I passed them…and as I turned to see them, I nearly fell off my bike J Then a few minutes later I heard another cheer, and, though I didn’t see her, I have known that voice my whole life and so I waved behind me, knowing I just passed Mandy (and confirming later ;) )

I was feeling great on the first loop- I knew what Jeff told me, that it’s going to hit me in the 2nd, but part of me didn’t care, if it felt good- I just wanted to ride it. The climb to Mt. Horeb didn’t feel like a climb, and the rolling right after, was just so much fun! Up and down, and up and up and up and down. By the time I made it to the 3 bad climbs in the 2nd half of the loop, I started to feel it. But, I thought, I need to keep high cadence and just keep moving. I made the first climb, and then saw my parents just before the 2nd. Jeff was on the third, and he wasn’t just there with the signs he made for us – he had a mega phone!

The whole two loops, I pictured being out there with both Jeff and Maria- I tried to envision it was like the first time I rode the loop- the first with Jeff and the 2nd with Maria, with a negative split- but for some reason I pictured Maria more on the first loop, and Jeff more on the 2nd (and well- I slowed on the 2nd).

The 2nd loop had its emotional downfalls. I started to slow, but I kept reminding myself to push out any goal times others made for me- that this was my race and if my number one goal was to enjoy- then that’s what I would do! There is a turn and then a climb that I actually love to do because I am so good at shifting on it, I usually fly by people- but on my second loop I was an idiot, and didn’t shift right, and my chain fell off- so I had to stop and put it back on. It actually felt good to stop for a moment, but then rough to get back on my bike. I started to get nauseous at the water stops…and climbs. I focused on fixing that issue, and continued on. I moved a lot slower on the 2nd climbs, but luckily Sara and Emily were on the first climb, my parents were in their same place, and Jeff was on the third again- running alongside as I biked up to the top.

Jen and Andrea were kind of everywhere- I felt so lucky to have them- living in Madison – they knew how to get in and out and just kept showing up everywhere- which always gave me an extra burst of energy- they might win the award for maneuvering the course!

I finished the 2nd loop, and it was time to head back (BTW- it was hot!). My legs were cramping and my feet were numb- I kept unclipping my shoes one at a time trying to stretch and get blood moving around better. It was my Morton’s Neruoma (inflation of a nerve on the bottom of your foot when put under high stress..common when you have Morton’s toe- which is when your 2nd toe is bigger than your first- it’s explained in another write up) that was acting up but I just kept pushing through. I wondered how my mom’s chronic pain compared- and figured- my pain would go away soon enough, so I just had to be strong at fighting through the pain, like my mom is on a daily basis.

There were a few people I had seen all through the bike- so we started talking a bit- but of course – not long enough for any violations ;) Soon enough I had made it back to the transition- but not before seeing Jen and Andrea again, and Rachel A.

I managed to put some jelly on my arm chaffing that happened on the swim, and change shorts while in transition. Again- I had the best lady working with me- catering to my needs- getting me water, taking out my Tylenol and practically feeding it to me.

I started out the run at a strong 8:30-9 – but soon slowed- and I didn’t care- I was doing this! Ultra Jen made it to the run, and gave me some positive reinforcement. I missed my parents, but I saw Jen and Andrea again- and Tony. Tony updated me that texts were flying around like crazy and it sounds like people have been able to see me in many places and everyone was communicating with where and when they saw me – to help eachother out on getting to the right places at right times.

It was hot, and I was icing as much as possible. I kept battling with stomach issues- whether it was one way or another- I knew I couldn’t run the whole race without a stop to alleviate the problem. We got to run through Camp Randall, which was nice and quiet. Around Breeze Terrace, I started putting more of a walking plan in motion- mostly walking hills.

I thought- I’ve kind of done it all in Madison, I went to school there, and ran for fun, I’ve done crazy legs, I’ve done the half marathon, and the full marathon- and now I was doing the Ironman! As I ran on different parts of the Ironman course, I remembered how I felt doing all those other races. I remembered how my first endurance event in Madison was the Half Marathon, and I ended up in the medical tent where I had 2 bags of fluids pumped in me in under 30 minutes. The medical director tried to tell me some people aren’t made for endurance events and that might just be me and I definitely shouldn't run a marathon that fall (which I did). I remember how after I finished the full marathon, I wanted to find that guy and tell him it was my 3rd Marathon and how I ran my first just fine the following October, and now, being here and running the Ironman – I wanted to find this guy and ask him if he still stands behind what he said. (oh and if you haven’t read other race write ups- I had walking pneumonia….on that race that I passed out at the finish).

Observatory Hill was walked- by me and by about 99% of everyone else. And then I coasted on the down. I saw Andrea and Jen and then had a mile to run up and down State Street before I turned around. I regained speed in this time, just thriving off the crowds. And then back out by Picnic Point, I was tired again, I wouldn’t just walk through water stops- but shortly after I would have to walk again to keep down what I took in at the water stops. I finally managed to go by a porta potty at a convenient time- which helped a lot.

I saw Tony again and we laughed at the TMI- that is never TMI when you are racing- it’s just normal. He joked that he was going to send a text around to my support, repeating the exact crude details I gave him. I just laughed and said “do it” …they are all unphased by that ;) Every time I had a TMI moment- I would think of my Triple T friend Jami- as- we didn’t know each other long, but we seemed to exchange our best TMI moments- I knew she would be proud with by not caring on this race!

When I made it to the Capitol, I decided it was time to give my spectators sweaty hugs. First I saw Keri, Michelle, Ed, Gabe and Kelly, thenmy parents, and then Rachel A and J. I made my way to the turn around and it was back for lap 2!

The sun was starting to go down, and we had more shade coverage, which helped me a lot. I was in great spirits, and Ed and Michelle walked with me a little and it was just nice to see them! Right before the run around camp Randall, I had another bathroom stop. I then just kept moving forward, chatting with whomever when I could.
Observatory was walked again, and Michelle, Keri and company were at the top. Then I made my way down and Jen and Andrea were at the bottom. State street was a little slower- but Ultra Jen managed to give me a little extra energy and when i saw Andrea and Jen again- I told them I was crashing. And with 6 miles to go, I hit a quiet/focused zone. At this same time, some guy by me- told Jen and Andrea, his watched reads he has burned 10,000 calories. (And what did I eat during the race? 1 gu before the swim, 3 bags of the power bar energy chews, 1 gu flask (so about 3 gus in that), electrolyte pills- maybe a total of 10- all on the bike, then I had a bottle of pedialyte before I got on the run, and 4 gus on the run- probably about 2,000 calories. After the run I had a protein shake, some champagne and a big mac from McDonalds),

I finally made it with 3 miles to go and I looked at my watch and had about 40 minutes to complete it to get under 13 hours. I decided this would be my goal which meant sticking with the current pace but I could also walk. By 2 miles to go, I just needed a 15 minute mile to get under 13 hours. I got a few cramps of course- and had to walk them out. My friends were spread not just at the finish line but throughout the last half mile. I saw them all and – Kathleen would be proud- I kicked it!

Once you cross that finish line, you have more help! Two people come to you to hold you up and then one sticks with you until you leave the finisher area- but I didn’t need help- I felt great- I was so happy- I was short for words, and I think she thought that meant bad things- but then once I located my family- she let me go- and I just went to them and the tears started to flow. I’m an Ironman- and not only that- I’m an Ironman in under 13 hours!

Three years ago, I was inspired by 4 friends, and I decided I would become an Ironman. I just wanted to finish- which you have 17 hours to do. I stuck to my goal, and I not only completed it, I blew it away. It’s almost surreal to think of how far I’ve come. Such a happy moment though came to a sad end when I had to say goodbye to my spectators. I haven’t seen them in a month, and I kind of forgot that we don’t live in the same city anymore, so I can’t just go out for lunch with them this week and rehash the day. When I moved away from Chicago, it wasn’t so much a goodbye, as much as a “I’ll see you at the Ironman” Luckily I have other events to see them soon enough- but they all were so wonderful.

Andrea and Jen- We’ve known each other since college- you tolerated me when I wanted to go running before a Real Estate Club Social event- and you both decided to give the triathlon a try to see what it’s all about. Jen- your training with me (however it may be- Kayak and Moped) up north was priceless! And Andrea- I think you were the first person I biked with when I decided I wanted to do the ironman- and therefore- needed to bike!

Rachel J- PIC- Pace leader! You keep me grounded with my running- always making sure I’m being healthy and doing things right. And PS- You looked radiant at the race, I can’t wait to see you walk down the Aisle. I miss you!

Rachel A- Thanks for the balance- I might not have been to many yoga classes in the past year- but all the classes we have gone to in the past- and just your friendship- helps me breath! The fact that you rented a car to come up and see me was so great. I’m sad because I don’t know when we will see each other again.

Ultra Jen- Man oh man- you can be tough on me! But sometimes I need it. Thanks for believing in me! And you too- for renting a car to get up to Madison! So…When is the next ultra? 100 miler in 2012?

Keri - World’s best cheerleader! Can’t wait for you and Alison to get your butts to San Fran for a visit.

Michelle- It was so great to have one of my original 4 inspirations at the race. To see you throughout, I really hope I made you proud. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you!

Tony K- Cheers to making your own rules! And the stories along the way.

Ed, Kelly and Gabe- So good to see you guys! Kelly- any interest in the ironman? ;)

Mike- Next year is your year!

Jeff- Sorry if my race didn’t have enough drama ;) You were with me on the whole bike- I think biking with you and your friends is what made me love biking – thanks!

Mandy- So happy you could make it out and we got girl time after! Love you Cuz!

Mom and Dad- I sometimes get calmer around you because I see how nervous you are for me and I don’t want you to worry. I really am the luckiest girl alive to have you as my parents- Thanks for all your support and understanding that this I my thing. I think most parents might be apprehensive because of the stress this puts on a body- but you understand it’s my passion and you embrace it just as much as I do.

Tony S. – you weren’t physically at the race- but you kind of have been there from point one- thanks for the training plan, and the words of encouragement- even if I didn’t take it as encouragement J

And Last but not least- Alison- like Michelle- none of this would have happened for me if it weren’t for you. Words aren’t enough to share the love and appreciation there is for you in my life.

So many other great friends that have put up with me on this journey- thanks! I’m so lucky to have all of you in my life.


And that concludes my Ironman Journey Blog Series.

XOXO

The Ironman Journey- Part 8 (I'm WAY behind on the pictures!)

The Ironman Journey Part 8 – Phase V complete: Respect the Taper!

Phase V was the final phase, the Taper also known as the Active Recovery, a whole four weeks! I am always told to remember to respect the taper and I managed to keep that drilled in my brain over the last few weeks, I have to follow my schedule which means, no extra. I might have added in an extra muscle conditioning class in the first few weeks, but I knew to keep it to the plan the last two weeks.

In this phase, I realized something I didn’t realize in the competitive stage. I think I was so busy being in motion, that it wasn’t until the moment I was given a rest that I noticed all the work I had put in. Sleeping in came easy. Actually, waking up became difficult. I was shocked seeing as I moved from the Midwest to the West Coast and so when I would wake up at 8am that was really like Chicago’s 10am so when I would sleep in until 10am- that was like NOON, I don’t know when I slept in until noon without the help of alcohol making me hungover..

I managed to do a good job with the sleep, 7 to 8 hours most nights. I drinking in moderation have come more naturally in San Francisco, but I do admit, until the last week, I was still enjoying wine. Also, since moving to San Francisco, I started drinking coffee regularly. I decided in my last week to cut out the coffee, and most caffeine in hopes that any caffeine consumed at the Ironman would actually do its job.

Then there is the whole hunger thing and as always noted- the weight gain. Since I’m technically homeless, I don’t have access to a scale, and that’s probably a good thing. The Taper has made me feel like a sloth, and worse, I might not have been hungry in the competitive stage because I was too busy to notice, but in the taper stage, the hunger pains came back full force and I probably fell into sweets more than I should have. I figured I would just feed the hunger, and after the ironman comes working from Ground Zero. (Note- at weigh in for ironman it is confirmed, 8 lbs gained since the start of training).

What is Ground Zero? That is that what I am calling life after the Ironman. I have been told how much the Ironman itself will take everything out of me, which means you have to rebuild thereafter. And at my Ground Zero comes the focus of shorter workouts, higher intensity, and interval work. Julie, my dear roomy is all about the shorter workouts, higher intensity and interval work, and she just so happens to be a newly trained personal trainer- eager to kick my butt! So, every time I feel the pants be annoyingly tight, I just tell myself, ground zero is just around the corner.

Back to the last phase…Respect the Taper! As I started to rest, I also started to regain energy, and realize that all the work I put in over the earlier 33 weeks really paid off. Though it is all about endurance training, when you take out the endurance, the shorter workouts become stronger and faster!
I managed to bike out in Half Moon Bay with one of my new bike friends, and went and completed 65 miles on a double paradise loop with another one of my new bike friends. After the 65 mile bike, I had a 6 mile run. This 6 mile run might have been the fastest I’ve run 6 miles at 48 minutes.
My final longer workout weekend was a mile swim on Saturday and a double brick of 10/2 on Sunday. Because of the ability to swim and bike out in Healdsburg by Tommy’s on Sunday, I put the two workouts together (technically it’s not overdoing it- I rested on Saturday). This was a great end to the training. The swim was a lot of fun, didn’t feel like a full mile, and was the first time in open water since I moved to San Francisco (no wetsuit though- so awesome!). After that swim, I got on my bike and managed to complete the 10 miles in 33 minutes, which included a decent amount of climbing. It was sunny and hot on the run, but it was just two miles and at a comfortable pace I completed it in just less than 16 minutes. I told myself, anything I did in the first 10/2 I had to do just as well or better on the 2nd. The Bike I ended up completing 30 seconds slower; however I also modified the bike and included a very large climb so I found that acceptable. Though it took work, I managed to complete the run in 15:30. Any other workouts of the week were just play- and I knew I was ready for the Ironman.

So beyond training, this is the time when people put in their two cents. Everyone means well, but I have learned to pick and choose what I listen to- though I have to admit the stuff I don’t want to listen to gives me high anxiety to hear (which is exactly why I can’t listen to it).

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of Phase 5 Training: What I have learned about my racing is this: My happy zone is training, but you turn training into racing and I tense up. I tend to have morbid/negative thoughts like, what if I get a flat and can’t get it changed, what if someone on the swim hits me and I lose my goggles..what if the most ridiculous thing happens and I don’t finish- I know it’s ridiculous- but this is what happens when I think about racing.
I was given the most real insight to my racing less than a week before the race. I need to be relaxed.
Carlos- Julie’s friend told me professional athletes play their sports relaxed and that’s why they can play so well. So, I continue to work on reducing the tension and anxiety when I think of the ironman. I close my eyes and think about all my favorite training moments. Then I also think of the positive support I’ve been given- it’s just about finishing- pay no attention to the time. Be happy with making it to the start, be happy with the journey! I picture someone who makes me happy, telling me this and I’m a little calmer. .I have to go back to phase III – What makes you happy? And take those moments with me to the Victory Lap! Nutrition is important, pacing is important, technique is important, but none of that matters if I’m tense.

And now- in just a few days I can hear the words. “Tara Kreuser, YOU, are an Ironman” My last few nights are high anxiety, my hunger level remains high, and my stomach is going crazy.

…To Be Continued…with the Victory Lap Report!

Ironman- The Journey- Part 7 (PICTURES TO FOLLOW)

Ironman- The Journey- Part 7 - Phase IIII Complete: If You Are Gonna Jump…then Jump Far!

I’m a little behind schedule with this write-up as recovery week has passed already by a week. But Phase 4 has come and gone. Part of me wonders where did it go, part of me think it’s supposed to be harder and I did something wrong and I’m not prepared for the ironman. But I have stared at my training schedule and rechecked it to see I somehow I missed workouts, and I didn’t. I’m not discounting how much time ironman consumes of your life, I think I had a few reasons for not realizing the intensity. 1) Up until June, I had added a lot more running miles, so the increase in how much time I put into training wasn’t as significant for the ‘normal’ person. I mean yes, 16 hours in one week is a lot more than my 10 hours a week, but the majority of that is on the weekend. 2) I had a big life event go on during the competitive phase, so it provided a sense of balance- it just meant everything was intensified and my adrenaline must have gotten me through it.

Natasha Beddingfield has a song that defines me in Phase 4. The first verse and part of her chorus is this:I got a short attention span, can’t sit around couch potato land, I wanna do all kinds of stuff, talking about it’s not enough. I want to go to the extreme, I wanna stretch my limousine, I wanna take it way off road, go where I’m not supposed to go. (Life is music play it louder) If you are gonna jump then jump far fly like a sky diver.So where to begin? I guess a little more detail of my move.

About a year ago I decided I wanted to leave the Midwest. I Love my friends, I Love my family, but it’s just one of those things I wanted to do. I decided San Francisco was where I wanted to be, and I made it happen. Phase 4 started and I didn’t have a job yet, but I had a timeline. I would move out of my place when my lease was up in June, live with friends who had offered it up in July, and leave Chicago in August. So this means on top of ironman training I had to: Move out of a place, be homeless for a bit, wrap up my current job so I don’t leave others with a mess to pick up, find a job across the country and then move across the country. Got it :)

Oh- to keep with tracking weight gain- this phase was a little special, I was so busy- I was very bad at my nutrition- as in I probably didn’t eat like a normal ironman. I probably should have had more food, but luckily, I haven’t gained weight this phase- I’m pretty content at this point.Phase 4, the competitive phase – the toughest phase, the one I was told would take away all my energy and I’d never be any more exhausted than in this phase- started on June 20th.

Week One: Knowing I was moving soon, I decided to spend a night with my parents. So I completed my 50 mile ride by mapping out a ride from their house, through part of Racine, almost to Lake Geneva and then to Waukesha and back to their house. It was a pleasant ride for the most part, a few climbs and then flat parts. I then made my way back to Chicago so I could get a swim in. Sunday was gay pride parade day. My Madison friends were having a party for it at Nancy’s and well; they are probably the number one neglected groups of my friends. So, I figured I would go to the party that started at noon. So I first had to wake up at 5am to get a triple brick in of 15mile bikes and 30 minutes running. All went well and I managed to be to the party by 1:00ish. Did I imbibe on a few cocktails? Yes. I have yet to sacrifice alcohol for the ironman; I’ve just learned a sense of balance which is difficult for someone who is a Badger. Badgers tend to only know Binge- you know “if you are going to jump, then jump far, if you are going to drink, then drink lots!”

Week Two: The 4th of July Weekend. During the last week, I managed to move out of my place. With a going away barbeque my last night with Nancy, Jim, Alison and Keri – it was a blast even if the next day Alison and I struggled on the bike ride. I then moved in with Jen and Jess. Jen Jess and I planned to go up to their family’s’ lake house for the weekend. I told Jen I had to get my workouts in and she told me how perfect it would be up there. So Saturday Jen kayaked next to me as I swam, and then took the moped and went the whole 45 miles. It was pretty fun doing it that way; she would moped ahead and then guides me through the intersections. The next day, my long run was real hot and horrible- more walking than I would like.

Week Three: Well I guess you can’t do it all sometimes- I got sick. REAL sick. A fever, sweats, dehydrated and missing a day of work and my throat was so swollen I couldn’t talk for awhile. This put a damper on training. I missed quite a bit during the week, which was an intense week. I managed to recover enough by the weekend but the 80 mile bike was cut short to 72 miles when it was weak and I got a flat tire. One I couldn’t change, it broke my lever and the outer tube also had a hole so I called Emily up (as i knew she was on the course) and she drove me to get the flat fixed at a shop (that’s where i lost 8 miles). Once I finished that ride, I had to drive straight to MN as my niece’s baptism was the next day. Sunday I managed to find the energy to go swim and run after the baptism.

Week Four: I spent the week in Minnesota with my brother’s family. This week was modified a bit, not sacrificing big workouts, but cut out the extra stuff so it was a modified taper. Monday I still had a 20 mile run, which i was still dehydrated and cotton mouth all day before running it. It was hot, and it was horrible, but I kept thinking “this is what you have to do, you have to be miserable and not have the best run, but you have to fight the mental game to get to the end, because this is what the ironman is all about” I ended up running an extra mile since I got lost in my brother’s neighborhood (seriously the most confusing place alive...Greendale, Wisconsin’s neighborhood streets come 2nd). When it came to the weekend, it was the Racine Half Ironman. You can read all about that in my previous write up.

Week Five: I’m coming down to the final weeks of living in Chicago. I managed to put longer workouts on the mornings and still have celebrating in the evenings. My boss was out of town so I had to wrap up my portfolio and take care of his which had lots going on with it. Efficiency was key- to get everything needed done at work, workouts, and socially. That weekend was a little easier of a weekend. Emily and I went for a 2.5 mile swim on Saturday, which got cut short due to the city opening the sewage into the lake, and bacteria levels were too high to be swimming in. I have to say this- I think the risk of dying from bacteria in Lake Michigan is higher than the risk of me being eaten by a shark in the Pacific- maybe I’m wrong- I hope I’m not. :) I ended up going out a little too hard on Saturday night, where I had to exchange Sunday and Monday rest days, so the Sunday 4 hour workout got moved to Monday night after work.

Week Six: My last week living in Chicago. Wednesday was my last day of work, and I managed to move my weekend workouts to Thursday and Friday. This was also the peak week of workouts with about 20 hours of working out. It didn’t seem too bad? But I also didn’t have work for 4 days, and 2 were focused on working out and 2 were on moving. My feet were killing after the 27 miles run on old shoes within 2 days (and 60 miles biking and 2 miles swimming). Friday I drove back to my Parent’s place and had a family night with them then Saturday I went for a swim and well...I moved to San Francisco. Sunday was my rest day but i happened to walk a good 6 miles all around San Francisco.

Week Seven: Living in San Francisco. So, I left Alejandro in Wisconsin as I have1 month before the ironman and decided it would be okay not to ride him in that time. Moving to San Fran - you learn how to ride hills. I made it through the week (no ocean swimming yet), bought a new bike, Alexander, and then signed up for the Marin Century Ride (106 miles, 7,000 feet of climbing) that Saturday. Training required a 7 hour ride, I ended up riding for 8.5 hours. Now, I have learned that my speed is not the same in San Fran than what it is in Chicago, but its soooo beautiful and Alexander is so great, it doesn’t bother me too much. I had to bike to the start (my car had not yet arrived), which was a headache as the bike directions were not that clear and it was about 24 miles which took almost 2 hours with getting lost. I made a few new friends on the ride which was my goal as I needed new biking friends. It’s interesting because i think the majority of my new friends have some sort of tie to the Midwest. This ride might just be the best thing for my mental game on the 2nd loop of the Madison Ironman bike portion. Marshall’s Wall might just be comparable to doing the 3 bad climbs at the end of the loop in Madison..2 times around! After a long swim on Sunday- I had reached the end of the competitive stage and kind of wondered when I would start working hard.

Recovery week was bliss as I continue to adjust to San Francisco. In the moment, I don’t think all my hard work was noticed, but since living in San Francisco, I have been getting my 8 hours of sleep, I have been drinking lots of coffee, and I have been struggling when the alarm goes off- this is kind of new to me. My recovery weekend included lots of sleep including sleeping in until 10am on Sunday! I think all this has something to do with competitive stage. J - or at least I hope it did because that means I’m almost near ready for the Victory lap: THE IRONMAN!

My jumping far here doesn’t apply to the Ironman Training in general, it applies to life. To maintain a sense of balance in my life, I added not just the obstacle of life and work with ironman training, but I added the element of moving and starting a new job. When I looked at the long term picture a few months ago, I was scared to how it would work out. But I broke it down, week by week, day by day and I made it through. I’m not all the way there, but man; it feels good to be in the Taper portion of training.

If you don’t know my living situation in San Fran, it’s all temporary until October-ish when Julie and I will sign a longer term lease. After the ironman and after we have found a place to live and I’m settled in my new job- I don’t know what I’m going to do. As much as I love the ironman training, I am taking a year off of ironmen so I can focus on my new life in San Fran (but there will be marathons and stories ;)).

Sultri, Blistri-ing, tripical...just plain hot as hell

Sultri, Blistri-ing, tripical...just plain hot as hell

Racine Half Ironman

5:57:29

Swim 42:54 (1.2 miles)
T1: 4:09

Bike 2:59:14 (56 miles)

T2: 2:33

Run 2:08:39 (13.1 miles)

This was a return visit to the Racine Half Ironman. At one point I was told it would be a good checkpoint to see if I’ve improved since last year as now I’m training for a longer distance. I did want to see improvement but I also knew that I didn’t allow for a taper because this wasn’t THE race of my year; it was only training.

As I was out racing, I realized I would have to just focus on the current race and not try to compare to the year before; it was a lot hotter this year (ending in a heat index of 100+ degrees), and there was a head wind that seemed to affect me in 3 directions as the side wind also pushed against me. It wasn’t incredibly strong, but it was still enough to make me work harder for the 56 mile bike.

I spent the entire week before the half-ironman in Minnesota with my brother’s family. Prior to this weekend, I’ve always just had one water bottle and I switch out at aid stations if needed, but last year, the one water bottle was sufficient. I’ve been given lots of grief over this, training for the Ironman and all, and then I got real sick two weeks ago, and the whole week leading up to the half ironman, I was struggling with hydration. The Saturday before the Half Ironman, Veronica and I went out to do 2 loops of the Madison Ironman course and I was going through water like crazy. Then on Monday, I had a 20 mile run and carried water with me as it was super hot and humid out. Over the course of 20 miles I went through 40 oz of Gatorade and 1 soda and was still not satisfied during the race. When I wasn’t working out, I was total cotton mouth. So, I decided it was about time to get more water bottle cages. I’m not sure I like what I bought as I swear the thing doubles Alejandro’s weight- but I didn’t have many options so I just went with it.

My parents once again were the world’s greatest spectators. When it comes to the Racine Ironman, my dad is involved in every race weekend aspect. My Uncle and Dad dock their boat at the harbor right there, so he’s very familiar with getting there (to this day, I probably couldn’t drive it on my own without gps). So, we went to the expo, once I picked up my race information, we checked in my bike. The process went quick and I said good night to Alejandro.

My Parents, Veronica, Daryl and I did our traditional eve of the half ironman dinner at the Olive Garden. When I got home, I wanted to kind of re-situate my current life in a car situation (Which hasn’t been announced in a blog yet- maybe I need a special one just for it- but I’m moving at the end of the month- to San Francisco). Once I was done with that, I went to bed, but I turned on the TV and got sucked into a Hallmark movie. I think I fell asleep around 11pm. The alarm went off at 4:15 am, and I think I rolled out of bed at 4:30 and we left the house by 5:00.

My dad drove me to the start and waited around while I set up transition. Backtrack to last week. I got a flat and it was an outer tube flat as well as inner tube flat, so I had to get the whole tire changed. They ended up putting the extender back on (which I really didn’t want). Well, this makes it impossible for me to get air in that back tire. So without an easy fix, the back tire wasn’t blown up all the way. I decided since it was a hot day, it was probably not the worst thing.

I saw Anne and her husband, and then my dad and I hung out in the shade for awhile. It was only 6:30am but it was already hot. I was in a new age group this year (as by the end of the year I will be 30…craziness!), so I didn’t start with Veronica. My wave started at 8:05 which was a little later than the previous year.

Veronica, Daryl, Deanna and I hung out in the water waiting for our waves to start. Once it came time, I was off. The water felt great and it was clear. You could see in front of you, which was a change from the Triple T. I felt like I was going slow but did my best not to get discouraged. I tried to remind myself, I passed people as much as people passed me, but whenever I’m in the water, I always feel like I’m the last out. On the final few hundred meters of the swim, I noticed every breath and moment out of the water felt humid. I thought to myself ‘this is going to be one long day!” I got out of the water and it turns out, I actually improved by a minute! I saw Anne when I got out of the water, and I was looking for my dad in his red shirt. Turns out, while he was waiting for me to start, he went and bought himself an “Ironman Support Crew” T-Shirt. If anyone is deserving of that shirt, it’s him. So I waved to him and went on my way.

Because of the Triple T- I think Transitions have gotten easier for me. I wiped off and got on the bike (with my dad watching me from the side lines). I got on the bike, and this year I was ready for mounting on the hill- and was on an easy gear. I quickly got on the bike- waved once again to my dad, and went on my way. I started off at a fast and easy pace, but then we turned and hit wind. It wasn’t a strong gust, but it was enough of a head wind to make me have to work harder. I was thankful for my extra water cages and swapped out water already at the first aid station. My nutrition was a bit off this year because the night before the race, I realized my favorite food on the bike- had melted together and I couldn’t eat it. So I just had lots of gus and my anti-fatigue pills. I popped2 anti-fatigue pills every 40 minutes and gued every hour. I made sure I drank water ever 12 minutes, if not more when needed. The head wind was also a side wind and I was looking forward to the turn around to get pushed. I didn’t make any friends on the bike like I did last year – and was wishing Simon was there. Once you get past the first 20 miles, you get the fun stretch with the rolling hills. As the first 20 miles took me almost 1hr 10 minutes, I tried to pick up speed on the 2nd 20 miles. I managed the 2nd in about 1hr and 03 minutes- but that still wasn’t good enough.

I decided I needed to not look at the time, and make my spectators on the bike my check points. I first saw my dad around mile 18 as planned- I waved and continued on. Then on my way back, I knew my mom would be joining him around mile 40. I went by and didn’t see them, but saw his car in the parking lot- I figured he might be in it waiting for my mom to arrive- so I turned and waved real big to the car- it turns out- my parents were actually right there- so they thought I was waving to them. There is a part of the course where the bikers see the runners. As I was approaching the end of my bike, I saw Daryl on the Run. He was already at mile 5. I was very happy for my dismount and focused on dismounting gracefully, I missed my parents cheering.

In transition, I grabbed my Gatorade which was so hot I swear it should have been boiling. I pocketed a gu, and I went on my way. I was feeling pretty good, but I was hot. I realized I needed to start working on getting my body temperature down. My focus of the run is always – just look at the quarter of the run you have ahead of you. At each water station, I grabbed a coke, a water, a powerade and ice- provided they had all this there. Everytime I grabbed ice, I would put the ice in my sports bra for cooling of the body and I would put 2 cubes in my visor on my temples. This seemed to cool me down enough to keep going. I was hydrating so much, I never touched my gu.
I made a friend, Jeremy, on the run at mile marker 3. However, I was walking through the water stops and he continued to run through them so I lost him at the turn around. Then I made friends with another man, David. He had a rough day of racing, with 2 flat tires. We were talking about how we don’t train with a group, we do our own thing, which has been on my mind a lot lately- almost everyone racing these long distances belong to some sort of group- Vision Quest, Well Fit, Chicago Endurance Sports- you name it, people belong to it. My team might not be a training group- but they provide me my heart and soul: Team DetermiNation. As stated in many blogs before- my friends in that group – inspire me. They are my training family. Veronica and I were in Racine, but Alison and Michelle and Andy were with us in spirit –miles north doing the Door County Half Ironman. (With that said- below is the link to my fundraising site for this year- I have been focused on Ironman Training and my move where I haven’t been focused on my fundraising- if you can donate, click on the link at the end of this.

David and I ran for a few miles together but I lost him around the turn around for loop two. At the same time, I saw my parents. I stopped and hugged them, and actually took a pedialite ice pop from them (which I learned later - that’s actually against the rules- I’m such a rule follower I feel bad I broke this rule- but have justified it with the fact that at least once- they were out of ice at a water stop- so on this hot and humid day- if the race people couldn’t provide for me something to keep me from over-heating- they gave me no choice but to grab from my parents).

As I was approaching my 2nd loop they announced the heat index was 99 degrees and rising. Around the 7.5 mile aid station- I actually saw one of the volunteers on the side of the road vomiting- apparently the heat was even too much for people not in the race. I ran into Jeremy again around mile 9. We ended up sticking together for almost the entire rest of the race. We didn’t always talk, but we knew we were keeping each other going. I would stop at the waters and catch up- and I probably had it in me to go faster, but I enjoyed the company. I already knew I wasn’t PRing and with the heat, I decided there was no need to push it more. My parents were at the finish line as I crossed – just under 6 hours. (and when we got to the car- the temp read 100 degrees!).

While I didn’t PR, I’m happy with my time. I do think I’m improving and I’m on my way to being successful at the ironman. I finished feeling strong, like I could have gone longer and further even in that heat. My run this year ended up slower than last year, but it felt stronger and I ran a lot more (just walking the waters and one big hill). After I cooled off and rested some, I went back outside. The temps had dropped about 15 degrees at that point, but it was unbearably hot and humid. The shower I had just taken wore off and I was sweating within minutes of being outside. At that point, I couldn’t believe I had just completed a half ironman in that heat.

I'm raising money for ACS!!! Check out my site- and donate!!!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11IL?px=4909726&pg=personal&fr_id=35207

Ironman- The Journey- Part 6 - Phase III Complete: What makes you happy?

Ironman- The Journey- Part 6 - Phase III Complete: What makes you happy?

Phase III was the Endurance Phase. Looking ahead, I think the next phase is really about endurance- or endurance on top of endurance and no recovery. BUT let's talk about this phase. Since I always start the updates off with weight gain, I'll continue with that. It still is on the incline but I'm paying close attention. Up until this past week (recovery) I was getting in the swing of really only eating things for the purpose of fuel. It's not about the enjoyment of food right now, it's about what will make me recover the fastest and keep my energy level up and not be extra junk that will lead to bad weight gain. This seems logical to do- but I love food so usually there's always added pleasure food :)

This phase was kind of the kick off of Triathlon season in Chicago. I might have been training since January, but the fun starts when you can get outside. I've also met alot more triathletes via the races.

I really am the happeist and just in my zone- with my people - when I'm racing or riding in groups with others. The past 4 weeks of training would be categorized as my favorite weekend training thus far. The main point of discussions in this write up: The Triple T, Bike The Drive, Udder Century and a trip to Madison.

I thought the triple T would be some sort of peak- but it seems like every weekend, the same endorphins are released and I'm around people who get it- so I just continue to ride on the high! Details of Triple T are in that novel of a write up posted just before this one. Some serious great take-aways for training that the Triple T brought to me was 1) Hill Preparation 2) Working the transitions 3) Working through race start anxiety 4) reducing the junk or better organizing the junk that goes into transition.

The weekend after the Triple T- Veronica and I decided we would have a relaxed weekend of training. A weekend where we didn't have to spend time to travel to bike, a weekend where we would avoid hills, and a weekend where we wouldn't go fast. Bike the Drive was on Sunday, which if you don't know what that is, on a Sunday from 5:30am until 9:30? am Chicago closes down Lakeshore drive and it becomes filled with bikes- Biking the drive. This is an event that brings all sorts of people. Rarely do you have people like V and I, who use it for training, because it's not a place to be serious. You have your families and mountain bikes and just other normal people- but people who do 20 miles of it, and that's a great feat for them. The day was foggy to the point it was almost like a mist. Rain was on its way, and Veronica and I didn't start until about 7am. We had to get in 60 miles that day. With the wetness of the fog, and it being in the 50s, I pretty much froze. This probably wasn't the most enjoyable ride, and we only managed to get in about 50 miles. I decided I was done with the cold, and I went to finish off at the gym (which the 60 miles was followed by a 3 mile run). I thawed out and warmed up on the last 10 miles, and the run was great! I felt so accomplished as I also had a 15 mile run the day before (which wasn't so great). That feeling- of accomplishment- makes me content.

The following weekend, I signed up for the Udder Century with Jeff and his friends. This had a 75 mile option (or really 78?). That fit my training for that week, so that's what we did. The Udder Century is in McHenry County. People can either ride 26, 50, 62?, 75 or 100 miles and it's just one loop. It was a relatively flat course and we averaged somewhere around 20 mph. I met another girl - Torrey- who did the Triple T. And got to see Melody and Steve at the rest stops. Triple T made me happy, and at this point I realized that even the training rides can make me really happy- these are my people- this is my thing! It got to be real hot by the time we were done with the ride so the run was a bit daunting. It, like many runs since the Triple T- was weak.

The last weekend before recovery, Jeff and I made plans to go up to Madison. He actually ended up having another obligation in Chicago on Saturday, but he, being such a great friend, still joined for one loop- the first loop I've ever completed of the Wisconsin Ironman course. We started real early. Maria was going to be there with a group of friends a little later, so I hoped I could get with them on the second loop. It had rained over the night and it was cloudy and the ground was wet when we started. As we made our climb to mount horeb, it started to mist a bit. Jeff was letting me set the pace to enjoy the scenery and well- since I had a 2nd loop to complete, he didn't want to burn me out. We got to Mount Horeb and then he took the lead. He picked up the cadence (which is the way to get through the Madison Ironman), and we picked up the pace. The 2nd half of that loop has 3 hills that are known to be bad. They were not pleasant but luckily they didn't compare to the Triple T courses.
The whole ride was like a great tour, Jeff was pointing out different events that have occured during the Ironman races him and his friends have completed. This included the story of 2004 when a farmer herded his cattle across the street from one side of his land to another- midst the ironman! Jeff had to stop and wait for them to cross. This is something that doesn't suprise me with what I've heard about the Farmers around there. They do NOT like the bikers that come to train and race the ironman. It brings too much traffic, so I'm sure this guy purposely chose the middle of the ironman to move his cattle.
With 5 miles left, I knew we were cutting it close to my ability to hop onto Maria's group. We picked up the pace and flew. When we got back into Verona, we were on a bit of a decline, and we laughed as we were speeding in a 25 mph zone. We got to the cars just as Maria's group was unloading their bikes. So I said goodbye to Jeff and started loop 2 with Maria's group.
Now, if you know Maria- you know she's quite the athlete. Last year she was one of the last out of the swim at the Ironman, but then passed many on the bike and more on the run, and finished something like 23rd in her age division 11 1/2 hrs. This means- she's one hell of a biker (and runner). I was nervous to join her group, and kind of told her not to worry if she lost me. However, I managed (with additional work at some points) to stay with them! We definitely were going faster than Jeff and I started, but it was comfortable- I find that sometimes with higher cadence to make you go faster, it's easier. Every now and then I'd draft off Maria to keep up or give myself a break, but all in all, I did all my own work to keep up. Around the 20 mile point of the loop, Maria's friends all wanted to do an additional 5 miles of horribly hilly. I feared if i did it- that would be the point I would lose them. I only know my way around the loop- not the extra credit- so I decided to continue the path knowing, if i got a flat or something went wrong, they would be just behind me somewhere. I finished the 80 miles in 4:26 with the first loop at 2:19 and the 2nd at 2:07. This is super amazing and wonderful- i didn't expect to ever have my first time on Madison be like this. And just being - once again- with my people - just makes me so happy!
The 3 mile run that followed went well, and then the following day my 15 mile run was the first run where i felt like, since the Triple T- I got my running legs back. I think part of what helped that was the confidence booster and the regained excitement for what's to come at the finish line of training.

If there is one down side to training it would be this: I am a people pleaser. I do have a stubborn side which you can say I get that from my Grandfather- it's a Greek thing- but if you give me the choice, I am an accomodating person (stubborn side of me says if you don't give me a choice- then I'll most likely rebel!). I usually will go wherever and do whatever with my friends, but because of training, I'm having to be a bit selfish. This is difficult for me as I hate disappointing my friends when I can't make something work because i"m too exhausted or too hungry or because I don't want to change my training schedule because I feel I'm benefitng most with how i have my schedule set up. I appreciate those friends who have been understanding of my schedule, that I'm not able to just do what they want to do when they want to do it. I have to listen to the hunger pains and can't wait for dinner at X time, and I can't run with some of my friends I usually run/bike/swim with because I can't make my schedule work to that way.

Even with this downside of coming to terms that I have to accomodate to myself before others, when people ask me "How is training going?" My response is (with a big smile) 'I LOVE IT!"
And when people look at me with a confused look as to why I do this and why I WANT to do it? My response is "Because, it makes me happy!"

TRIple T

TRIple T
4 races, 3 days Breakdown and times to follow below.

The title of this might seem original, but let me tell you, there is nothing ordinary about the Triple T!
Who, What, When, Where and Why? Are questions that need to be answered in this blog because the American Triple T is an Adventure Race that only those who do it, fully understand the last question of Why.

It all started back in December with a facebook post from Daryl mentioning the American Triple T and thinking it would be a great training race for the Ironman. So, I believe I was drinking wine one night, getting ready to go to a Christmas Party when signed up. Daryl mentioned that Portsmouth, Ohio is known for its hills, but I never read the website to fully understand the brutality of this race. Even if I did, I might not have taken them as seriously as they were, because a lot of times races exaggerate on the description.

Prior to doing the Triple T, I knew Veronica, Daryl and JP were also going to be out there. Along the way, I met a bunch of other great people, including Jeff (Columbus OH), Jami (Dallas TX), Dave (Michigan), Sarah (Cincinnati, OH), Jen (Indiana), Ken (Wisconsin) and the 51 year old lady from Geneva, I don't remember her name though, and many from Chicago- Veronica and Daryl's Friends, who train with Vision Quest. Everyone out there were wonderful people. They all were there for the fun of it and ready for anything.

So what is the Triple T? It's a 3 day Adventure Race Series with 4 races: Super Sprint, 2 Olympic and a Half Ironman. Now, this could have been 4 write ups, but I'm doing it all together and will break it down in detail for each race. So warning, this is long! I will also provide course descriptions, and statistics and my Triple T rendition of Rihanna’s S&M song.

The final two summary questions I will answer before jumping into the details. Where: Portsmouth, OH- Shawnee State Park and vicinity (Starting at Turkey Creek Lake) and When? May 20, 21 AND 22nd, 2011.

My original plan was to take a half day on Thursday and drive out there in the late afternoon. It's a 6+ hour drive, BUT with being on vacation a week before, and just other office politics- I had way too much work to get done so I worked a full day on Thursday, and left at 3am on Friday morning. I could have waited till 6am to leave and still make it in time for the first race, but I wanted some wiggle room for getting lost. It was kind of good for that, because my GPS at first wasn't finding Shawnee Park. I put in the hotel and as I got close I tried to use the website directions, but as I was also on a conference call for work and was not fully prepared for the questions on the call, I was concentrating on that rather than my direction, and ended up adding an hour to my trip. BUT- I made it.
I also forgot my helmet, but since JP waited until 6am to leave, he and his wife, Jen, picked up my helmet on their way out (Thanks to Laura for getting out of bed to retrieve it from my place).

I didn't really get a lunch, and I realized that, but I was drinking protein shakes and water and eating trail mix- and I was hoping that would suffice- after all, Friday was just a super sprint.

So here is the mass broken down:


RACE 1: SUPER SPRINT
Friday at 5:00pm
250 meter swim, 5 mile bike, 1 mile run (easy right?)
Description: The American Triple T- Ohio starts everything off with the SUPER SPRINT, a smack-in-the-face for those not quite ready for the brutal hills of Shawnee Forest - literally a wake-up call for all participants in the American Triple T Ohio. This short race will be the first opportunity for participants to see what they are truly in for. The swim starts off in time-trial format with participants going off every 1-3 seconds on a spectator friendly 250 meter triangle swim course off the main beach at Turkey Creek Lake. Participants will then mount their bike for a 5 mile bike course that will feature a half mile plus clump up to the Mohican Resort and back. After completing this challgenging 5 mile course, participants will take on a relatively flat 1 mile run that turns around at the base of Lamp Black run.

There was nothing easy on this race. With the swim being so short, I (and others) decided not to waste my time with a wetsuit. In and out in 5ish minutes! The water temp was something like 56 degrees. I knew what the hyperventilating would be like and to use my yoga breathing. It took me about half of the swim to get my face in the water.
Then the bike… it was so great to mount Alejandro. Really, with our ‘wonderful’ weather, Alejandro and I have only had 1 ride together; everything else has been at the gym. The climb the description mentions was a total slap in the face; I was huffing and puffing and on my easy gears. We kept climbing and climbing and then turned around. JP told me I could get up to 40mph on the down, but I was a little scared for the curves so I braked the down. I was going fast but not that fast.
Then the run: When they say relatively flat- that does not mean it was flat. It just means it was flat compared to what we would face for the rest of the weekend. I was also huffing and puffing on that and was thankful for the turn around and down to coast into the finish. Though I wasn't pushing it at an all our sprint pace anywhere on this sprint (because this was just a warm up for the rest of the weekend), I never seemed to be able to catch my breath. JP had done this last year and he said, it's okay, don't worry about the rest of the weekend, he felt like crap after the super sprint last year too.

Now, the scary part, but maybe it helped me be conscious about my nutrition: The migraine. As we were walking back to the car to head to the hotel my vision started to go- the way it does right before a post race migraine (depletion of electrolyte). Words on signs and people’s shirts became difficult to read and I went into a daze. Sometime after the vision goes, you get the headache part. Maybe I shouldn't have driven to the hotel but I was following Veronica and Daryl’s tail so I had something to concentrate on. I made it to the hotel, and though we had food after the race, provided by the race, I decided to order some pasta and breadsticks from Pizza Hut (you really didn't have a choice of where you ate out there). While I waited for that, I snacked on the stuff I brought with me: Hummus and Carrots, Trail Mix and Celery and Peanut butter and drank a ton of Gatorade, water and Pedialyte. Pizza Hut's delivery service was horrible, it took almost 2 hours to get to me (and they were a half a mile down the road- I didn’t want to drive to pick up because of how I was feeling) I was ready to be sleeping at that moment, so I pretty much inhaled part of what I ordered and put the rest away for later.

I woke up the next morning with part of the migraine still there, which made me fearful for everything ahead.

RACE #2: Olympic AM
Saturday at 7:30am
1500 meter swim, 40k bike, 6.55 mile run
Description: The 1500 meter swim starts off in time-trial format with participants going off every 1-3 seconds on a two lap counter clockwise rectangle swim course along the shoreline of Turkey Creek Lake. Participants will then mount their bike for a challenging 40 k bike course that will challenge all ability levels. Participants will take the Thompson Hill- an 18% grade climb that you soon won't forget. After completing this challenging bike course participants will take on Lamp Black Run- a trial that you will get to know very well by the end of the weekend. Featuring a dirt and packed gravel surface, this trail humbles all.

We get to Shawnee Park, and I'm downing Gatorade and Pediatlyte. My nerves are high because all I can think about is completing the rest of the weekend with the migraine. I made Race #2s priority goal to finish feeling better than I started (migraine wise). I wasn't really telling anyone about the Migraine (Alison and Heather both got mention of it in a text. Heather probably got my actual freak-out of worrying about that. I told Veronica before we started...just in case something happened to me on the race but otherwise, I was trying to make it a non-issue).

As we start on the swim I was a little more confident with having my wetsuit (which btw- the time trial thing- is really cool, I had my starting partner all weekend long, I never got her name, but she was experienced in the Triple T). The temps increased 1 whole degree from the day before, and it still took me until the first buoy to catch my breath. The second lap was stronger, and I was even relaxed enough to pee in my wetsuit (which I laugh that I share this because it might be TMI for some, but in the triathlon world- it's just normal). I actually do gauge how relaxed I am on the swim with my ability to pee while swimming - next time you are swimming in open water- try it ;)

As I eased onto my bike ride, I realized that even when you think you are going flat, you really aren't. I was confused sometimes at my speed, but with more time out on these races, I realized, anytime I was going less than 15mph, it was because I was on some sort of incline. Prior to starting the race, we were warned of a 180 turn down a hill and just in general were warned of the downs (because after slow climbs, you just want to go down fast). Around mile 7 we hit Thompson Hill. I was on my lowest gear and barely moving up. I saw one person have to get off their bike because of chain issues, but the rest of us slowly made it up that horrid climb. After that climb came fun down. Then, the down they warned us about, was so steep before the 180 turn that my hands were hurting from breaking so hard (this would be a recurring theme). There was also some loose gravel just at that 180 turn, but a cop or someone was at the bottom kind of telling you exactly where to steer. I think this is where I lost my guardian angel (a gift from Alison before my first half ironman). I heard something clink to the ground but my bike seemed to be fine, I later noticed i no longer had my guardian angel. Which, unfortunately, was a pin so I’m wondering if I was a horrible person and someone got a flat from my guardian angel? The next few miles were kind of myself reflection time. I enjoyed the rolls and some flat (even though it was bumpy). I kept thinking I’m here because I love this, and I do really love this. I’m a people pleaser, but racing especially this kind of racing, is my selfish time, I do it for me. Not many get the opportunity to experience what I'm experiencing- how lucky am I?
We then made a turn onto the smooth new blacktop, which I recognized as the road to the finish (and would become quite familiar with it). One more climb- which I would get to know very well (I forget the name of it- we will call it the Niles Climb as you enter into Niles partway up). Following that final climb was a good 2+ miles down back to the part entrance. So, no matter how horrible that climb was, you always had 2 miles of some relief (which usually was all but 4 minutes and 15 seconds for the 2 miles).

Now time for the run. Mind you, you need to remember that we have another Olympic in just a few hours and then a half ironman the next day. So, I tried to remember to take the run easy. The first 2 miles felt so long, it was another trick where if you were feeling it, and breathing heavy- it was because you were going up. I walked a few of the climbs, and then around 2.5 we got some relief with a down. I'm kind of experienced on the down and able to take them gracefully, so I passed people along the way. At the turn around, I knew I had some up to tackle, some of it pretty steep, so I ran until I hit the steep, and then walked. As I made it to the top for a good 2 miles down to the finish, is when I made my first friend: Jeff. Jeff is from Columbus Ohio, he knew people out there but traveled alone so I just told him where we were located and hanging out and he could stop by if he wanted. After the 2nd race, he said he had to go back to Columbus (2 hour drive) to get some work done. I thought that sounded miserable as he had to be back by 6am the next day. Throughout the race I would see him again and it was just great to have another friend to communicate with on the course.
After the run it was time for an ice bath- in the creek, where everyone hung out after races. I hung out with the Chicago Vision Quest crew and we all kind of laughed at the obvious points of struggle on the race course- because it's not that a single person out there is weak- it's just the course was just insanely difficult it kicked everyone's butts. 20 minutes of icing, a quick wipe down and change into a sundress for the next 4 hours to lay outside in the shade (I attempted the sun but that didn't work too well). My migraine was gone! I had followed a great nutrition plan as I raced, and it was gone! Mind you, I then had to pee about every 15 minutes between the two races! Luckily we were right by the porta potties and between races, a gross septic tank thing game and cleaned out the porta potties (it's the little things).

We just tried to move as little as possible and take in as much fluids as possible before race #3.

RACE 3: Olympic PM
Saturday 4:00pm
40k bike, 1500 meter swim, 6.55 mi run
Description: This uniquely formatted triathlon starts with the bike first, starting in a time-trial format, this challenging 40k course will take participants on the longest climb of the weekend- Blue Creek Pass. This course is an out and back which provides an opportunity for everyone to see the mutual suffering from your fellow competitors. The return trip on the bike does not offer any relief from the hills as you will take on as many climbs as on the way out. After completing this challenging bike course, participants will take on a 1500 meter swim on a 2-lap counter clockwise rectangle swim course along the shoreline of Turkey Creek Lake. After completing the swim (which will cause many to wonder if they can do the run), participants will return to Lamp Black Run for another 6.55 mile run.

Waiting for the Bike start was a bit long and horrible - getting the adrenaline going once again. They are pretty lax, so we didn't go off in exact order, but my partner and I stuck together. As we took off, we went in the direction that's usually our return (which was still our return, we had to first do it in the opposite direction...and then some). There was a headwind to add to the challenge (which i don't think ever turned into a tail wind). The out and back was a little annoying when the road was still open to cars and the cars just didn't know what to do/how to pass so they kind of added in the mix - slowly moving with bikes. When we went down the longest climb part, I knew it was going to be rough. The climb was nearly 2 miles long, which I was able to look at my watch when it clicked on 1 mile- it took 9 minutes and 30 seconds for 1 mile (on the bike!). I thought we were going to have to do this again on the half ironman course, so I actually almost started to tear up at one point because I didn't think my quads could take it again. My arms also killed because I was doing a lot of pulling for extra power on the rotation of my legs. I ran into a guy who I didn't like up until now. He had a light red beard so was easy to recognize every time he climbed over me in the swim. I just find it rude that he would climb over me every swim- like really dude? You can't go around me and you did on both first two races? He was nice on the bike, so I decided not to hold a grudge anymore (he did climb over me again in the swim).

The swim was interesting, I lubed my legs to get the wet suit on and I got it on very fast...Until I realized it was on backwards, and of course from there I struggled. This is where i got my wonderful neck kiss- as the volunteer who closed me in did not do a good job and I chaffed at the neck the entire swim. In the first lap, I pulled more than kicked but actually started to feel great as we were nearing the 2nd lap. It was like an ice bath after the bike, and a quick cool down before we ran (though the temps in the water got up to 60...I sometimes thought I should have gone without a wetsuit this time). As I got out of the water to run around and start my 2nd lap, I went fast and a cramp hit- then I realized many were falling down as they approached the 2nd lap- screaming in pain of cramps. The race director was standing there instructing everyone to move very slowly- no quick movements as they get back in the water. I looked at him and laughed and said "this is cruel!" ...and I kept laughing as I took on my 2nd loop without my legs. People started to have to get pulled out of the water- or at least stop with lifeguard assistance to let the cramps pass. I just powered through without my legs- only moving them as a way to stretch them.

Then came the run. Somehow my legs semi regained capacity to run (though I walked from the water to transition- I saw too many people falling over!). This time on the run, I met Sarah. We ran together for a bit, but she powered on through - I let her be my carrot and I kept her in site all the way to the finish. She then became another person I would see on the course and communicate with. Once I finished the run, I grabbed a Gatorade and muscle milk and went straight for the ice bath for 20 more minutes. After Veronica finished, her, Daryl and I ended up getting a quick massage. My massage therapist scolded me for not getting enough massages and emphasized how important it is to add it to my ironman training- at least once a month! Alrighty then!

We didn't get back to the hotel until 8:30ish? Where I then unpacked and repacked and tried to get situated to check out, I showered and I scarfed down my leftover pizza hut AND 2 hot pockets AND more pedialyte, water and Gatorade. I think I got a whole 5 hours of sleep that night….maybe.

By now, I could feel and see the lactic acid bubbling through my legs.

RACE #4: Half Ironman
Sunday 7am
1.2 mile swim, 55.5 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
Sunday morning arrives and participants must now summon enough strength to take on what is easily the toughest half ironman course known to man. You will experience what participants refer to as the "Triple T Shuffle", similar to the Ironman shuffle but worse! This will be a day you won't soon forget. It starts off with a 2-lap 1.2 mile swim on a counter clockwise rectangle swim course along the shoreline of Turkey Creek. Next up is a scenic but challenging 2-lap 55.5 mile bike course. The squiggly lines on the map are not from an over caffeinated graphic designer, moreover these are actual 'Alps like’ switch backs, although significantly shorter than the real thing. These switchbacks provide breathtaking views of the 60,000 acre Shawnee Forest like no other. After finishing the bike course, participants will again head out on to Lamp Black Run- this time for two laps.

The Half Ironman. We made our way once again to Shawnee Forest/Park. This morning, we were all a little more nervous. We had little sleep, many miles logged, and not feeling great. Everything including my lungs hurt, but I was ready. It’s just one mile at a time. …or in the water, one buoy at a time, whatever it took to get to that finish. I tried to remind myself about how we all laughed at ourselves at different points of the races, how we were all here to have a good time, that’s what this is about. Some don’t get it, but I was in my world- we get each other.

Prior to starting, the announcer mentioned there are 4 category 1 hills on the bike course. Now I still don’t know exactly what that means but I think it’s specific to the region and climbs are ranked. Googling it either always talks about the tour de France or something about how hard a car had to work – what gear to shift into to get up a mountain. It has something to do with the % grade incline and the length of the climb. Just know, Cat 1 is bad, and we had 2 loops so it was 8 Cat 1s! I know exactly where those suckers were too and I wished I had issues with short term memory so I could forget about them as we made our second loop.
They also gave us a cut off time of 10:30 for the first loop. That means if you swam in an hour from the start you would have to average 10mph on the bike to make that – which almost seems easy if it didn’t consist of 4 cat 1s per loop and you didn’t have to slow so much on the downs for risk of killing yourself (which okay really…let’s face it most didn’t get in until about 15-20 minutes after 7am..Or 7:05 since we started late, according to my Garmin).

So, off we started with the swim. At this point, because it’s the same water, just a different distance, I was pretty relaxed in the swim. I made my first loop, then the 2nd. On the 2nd, I made it my goal to pee. For two reasons: 1) To get to that relax mode I mentioned 2) Because it was going to be a long time before I get to go again. On my 2nd loop, at first I felt a little dizzy, I also had to stop twice as I got water in my goggles, but all in all I was enjoying the swim and my goal was a success.

Once I got out of the water I made my way to the Transition. Not really running, just kind of walking. I made my way out to the Bike and started that long journey. Now, there is one part of the race I haven’t mentioned yet and that was- they let outsiders into the half ironman! About 80 additional racers joined us. I call them the “Freshies” ….these people had fresh legs. And I’m not saying it was an easy thing to just do the half ironman, but after working your butt off two days prior, you have this sense of superiority. Two Freshies actually tried to start drafting off a Vision Quest guy). I got so angry, I almost yelled at them, but luckily the VQ was too fast for the freshies to handle so they latched onto someone slower.

*Side note- the Freshies were told they should encourage us- because we were tired and amazing- I think only one Freshie cheered me on as they passed.

We made our way over a climb, it wasn’t that long but it was kind of steep, and my legs felt it. I was hoping it was a cat 1, but I soon learned it wasn’t. I ran into Sarah as we were on a gradual climb. I asked her if we were climbing because I was hurting and couldn’t go faster, and we decided we must have been (which yes, we were). Then came a Cat 1- The worst of them all. I wish I counted the number of times we switched back or watched how long it took to climb and I could probably check on my watch, but just know this- it was brutal. I wondered how this wasn’t longer than the one we did on the PM Olympic Triple T. I actually passed a few people though which made me feel great, and when it came time for the down, those people had no fear and passed me again. The down was just like the up- switchbacks, so you just had to take those curves easily. My hands once again were hurting from breaking.

We continued on the path and I’m pretty sure we were doing a lot of the First Olympic distance backwards. I can’t be certain though. We then made our way past Thompson Hill. At this time, I waved to the hill and I said “so good to see and not have to do you” That’s about the same time I met Dave. I don’t think he appreciated all my complaints about the category 1s. BUT, he kept me company on the next 2 category 1 climbs which made them a little bearable. He told me he was doing Lake Placid in July and hoped he would be recovered in time.

We then made a turn that brought us back to the smooth blacktop which meant we just had to climb the Niles Climb (the 4th Cat1) and then it was downhill until the turn around. We had done this same downhill 2 other times, and I was comfortable with it. My fastest mile was on the down on the first loop of the half ironman. I clicked in 1 mile at 1minute and 57 seconds. You can do the math there.
I made the turn around somewhere just before 10am, which meant I was cutting it close. I started my 2nd loop, and felt like I regained some energy. I was moving what I thought to be fast but, the problem here was, I knew kind of when and where to expect hell, and the anticipation kind of killed me. The first climb on the loop seemed worse than the first time, and this time I got passed instead of passing others (freshie!), but I was a little braver on the downside.

It started to get sparse and I had no more people to chat with. I would get passed every now and then, but it was usually a freshie (they didn’t have our cool jerseys so you knew who they were). One girl told me I was awesome, the others would just pass without saying a thing. And then, I was taking the down before the turn to go by Thompson Hill. As I took this down, I finally hit the 40mph JP told me I should be able to hit on that first down of the first day. Since it was my 2nd loop, I had less fear. BUT at the same time a bee flew into my jersey- and I got stung. Not once, not twice, but according to the welts, 3 times. At the bottom of the hill there was a cop navigating to tell us to turn. I was kind of screaming and I stopped and was like- “a bee is in my shirt get it out- and I lifted my arms and then my shirt and begged him to inspect to make sure it was gone. He said he saw no bee- but I am not making this up. It happened. It hurt, I slowed down and decided maybe this was good- it would refocus some of the pain to the stings. …at first it did, then we hit another Cat 1 climb, and I was all alone. FYI- best way to take away the pain of a bee sting (or 3) is to inflict other pain on yourself.

…and then I hit another Cat 1. I counted the bike in 5ths…so every 11 miles I could feel accomplished. I had 1/5th left. And I tried to remember Saturday and how I realized I was exactly where I needed to be and this is my thing. BUT I was also looking forward to dismounting my bike. We made the final turn, and one more climb. Another Freshie passed me, and then I hit my knee really hard on my elbow pads on my bike. You see, Alejandro is not made for the climbing he did this weekend- he needs a cousin to help me climb. So- it’s not his fault when I have 2 big bruises on my knee, of which one has left a bump.

I was ready to dismount and was so happy for that. It was time for the run, which I took more nutrition and I walked on out of the transition to start running. I saw Veronica which I’m pretty sure I told her I was so ready to be done, then I saw JP’s wife, Jen. She was cheering me on and I was just not in a pleasant mood- then I noticed how nice her tan was getting (which was what she was doing while JP was racing) – and I turned back around (already passed her) – just to comment on it. It was my attempt to get back to my happy place.

The run was more like a shuffle and there was lots of walking. I was just so over all the climbing. Every person I passed did not have a smile on their face. The mood seemed to shift. People were hot (the temps climbed to the 90s), people were tired, people were ready to break. I kept leap frogging on the path with Geneva. I hoped she wasn’t annoyed, because she was a slow and steady jog, and I was walk the up and run the downs, so I made a little conversation with her. She didn’t talk much when I attempted to talk to her, so I just figured I’d leave her be. Then, around 2.5 miles I met a guy from Madison, Ken. He’s like Tony, happy friendly and talkative. He talked to me to keep me going- which he doesn’t know this, but he played an integral part to getting me to the finish. My talking, smiling and joking all came back. When he left me, I then met Jami. She and I took on the rest of the race together. We took it easy until just before there 4 mile marker then we ran it to the turn around. At this point Daryl was done and cheering with Veronica and JP was still on course and Jen made her way to the shade to continue to cheer- as it got too hot to even spectate.

Jami and I lost each other for a bit. I told her I’d find her on the down but I didn’t feel like running these ups right now. I then revisited with Geneva for a bit. I regained some strength, and on the down to the turn around, I caught back up with Jami. Jami and I then decided we would finish together. With the last .4 miles on the down and back on gravel, Jami picked up her pace. I asked what she was doing though I know what she was doing- she was kicking it! So…I kicked it with her AND…we finished together! It was such a great feeling to be done and to have accomplished the American Triple T.

Now- Results. I don’t look at my times as much as my placement to see how I compared to all these other hard core athletes. Did I pace myself right? Did I improve? The answer would be yes. I started off with race #289 which they assigned you by your last half ironman time (so look at that- a 5:45 half ranks me in the 72nd percentile! I think that’s telling of who completes the Triple T.

My results can be summarized as the following:
Super Sprint
Swim/Bike/Run
291 ; 31:15
06:38 /01:28 /13:50/ 01:13 /08:04
Olympic AM
Swim/Bike/Run
275 ;3:07:05
28:00 /03:04 /1:32:55 /02:13 /1:00:51

Olympic PM
Bike/Swim/Run
259 ; 3:19:30
1:31:50 /04:44 /33:08 /02:56 /1:06:50
Half Iron
Swim/Bike/Run
224; 7:12:24
40:46 /03:06 /3:50:02/02:23 /2:36:05

Lastly as this hasn’t been long enough, my theme song of this weekend- S&M by Rihanna. You have to admit it’s fitting and it didn’t take much changing to fit the triple T. A lot of words are repeated but here are the parts given one time- you can figure it out :)

Nah Nah Nah come on…
Feels so good being Mad
There’s no way I’m turning back, the pain is for pleasure cause nothing can measure.
Start and Stop 4 times, Ice cold baths in between, the affliction of the feeling leaves me wanting more.
Cuz I may be mad but I’m perfectly good at it, sweat in the air I don’t care bc I like the smell of it.
Sticks and Stone may break my bones but the Triple T excites me.

…I like it like it come on!...

S.S.S.& M.M.M. S.S.S.& M.M.M.
Oh I love the feeling you bring to me oh just bring it on, it’s exactly what I’ve been yearning for give it to me strong. My legs, back, arms and my lungs, make my body so ah ah ah- I like it like it!