This journey has not been an easy one for me...I must say that the training was very therapeutic and helped me in more ways than just physical; however, this did not become apparent to me until I had time to reflect during the race. I feel like this experience has made me an all together better person.
Becoming an Ironman became a reality for me in March when I found out that I would be completing my first Ironman because of the generosity of Team Refuel. I owe them many thanks for helping me make my dream come true!
The beginning parts of my training did not go well. I struggled to find the right balance between my new training schedule, work, personal relationships and my sister had just begun her fight to become sober. Drug abuse and alcoholism is nothing new to me as this has affected many members of my family; however, it had never hit so close to home as it did when I found out my sister was struggling with a drug addiction. Me and my brother and sister hold a very special bond. My Mom left us when we were very young and my Dad raised the three of us as a single parent. I believe that our bond as siblings is even stronger because of this. Because of this bond (and maybe because I'm the older sister), I struggled with control issues as my sister was going through rehab. My personal relationships deteriorated and my training suffered. I finally came to realization that my sister had to want to fight this battle and nothing I did was going to affect this. She was either going to do it or she wasn't. She needed to do this without me for once. I've always been the first person to step in when she had trouble financially and this needed to stop. It took me a while to work all of this out, but I truly believe that training for Ironman helped me accomplish this. One day as I was looking over my training schedule, I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to complete the Ironman if I didn't get my act together. I am not a quitter and I typically accomplish the things that I commit myself too. From that moment on, I knew that my dream was going to become a reality!
I'm happy to report that my sister just celebrated 7 months of sobriety and I am so happy for her! Her strength and hopefull determination has inspired me to become a better person. She will never know how much she has affected my training and my will to finish the Ironman strong. I'm looking forward to continuing to watch her journey. One of my fondest memories during the Ironman happened as I was leaving the transition area after the bike, I turned the corner to start my run and there were my friends standing there cheering me on, but the only person I really saw was my sister with this huge smile on her face. In that moment, I knew that we would both be ok. (Here's a pic that was taken at that time during the race.)
I was not going to write about any of these intensely personal aspects about my life but I realized how important it was to my Ironman story so I felt compelled to share.
In the days leading up to Ironman, I became very nervous and had a stomach ache for several days. I actually woke up in the middle of the night of one occasion and pretty much let it all out. I had a lot of anxiety about the event bottled in and I just let it all go. After that, I seemed to be good to go! Nothing a good cry won't fix (it's just too bad it had to happen at 2am)!
Aaron's Mom flew in on Thursday and Caryn, one of my best friend's, flew in on Friday. On Friday, I went to the Athlete Check In and attended the Athlete Briefing with Aaron and his Mom. Things became very real!!
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to take a practice swim in Tempe Town Lake. I am so glad that I did this as the swim has always been a cause for anxiety for me. It was good to feel the water temperature and to get a few hundred meters under my belt. After the practice swim, I turned in my bike and gear bags. Saturday evening, Aaron's Mom treated us to a great dinner at Amano Bistro (really cute and yummy restaurant in South Phoenix). I was able to get to bed at a reasonable time and got some really good sleep! I never sleep good the night before a race, but when my alarm clock went off at 4:30am, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go!
Once I arrived at the transition area, I got body marked and got my tires pumped with air. I had plenty of time before the 7am start of the race to eat and chill out. Things got a little crazy right before the start as I still needed to get my wetsuit on, but I found Aaron, Caryn and Melissa and they helped me finish getting ready. I gave some final hugs and made my way to the start!
Typically, I have a lot of anxiety (tears and all) right before the start of the swim. Not Today! I kept myself relaxed and told myself that everything would be fine! I saw my coach, Diane, right before I jumped into the water. Since I'm a slower swimmer, I waited until the last possible moment to jump in, which also meant that I was pretty far from the starting line when the cannons went off. I knew that I would have a little bit of ground to make up but thought this was worth it not to be kicked, hit or swam over. I did not realize until after I got out of the water how close I was to the cutoff! Whoops! LOL Oh well, I made it and only got punched once! (A couple of days after, I checked my Garmin and noticed that I swam 2.8 miles during the swim... I got way off course during the swim!)
It was great to see my friends and family after I came out of the water and then again as I started on the bike. At this point, I was feeling pretty good. I knew that I would have to get into a rhythm for my nutrition so I ate/drank something every 15 minutes on the bike. I had planned to take salt pills once an hour; however, after my second serving, while I was putting the bottle away, all of the pills fell out. That worried me a little but I decided to take in more electrolytes to compensate for this. I also took ibuprofen once an hour on the bike. I was pretty much pain free!
A few really funny things happened while I was on the bike: 1. There was a guy several bike lengths in front of me and a heard him blow a snot rocket; then, I felt the spray on my arms. The really funny part was, I didn't really get grossed out by it...I just laughed it off! 2. As I was finishing my second loop, a heard a bike coming up on me, then I heard this weird wolf whistle, then this guy came riding up beside and knocked shoulders with me. It caught me completely off guard and I almost crashed into him! 3. I was introduced to the You Tube video "What Does the Fox Say" a couple of days before Ironman. I watched it several times and thought it was hilarious. I could not get that song out of my head during the bike. During the third loop, I became really lonely (I didn't realize how lonely it would be out there) and started talking out loud to myself and started singing that song out loud. I even started changing the words. Any one riding around me probably thought I was going crazy! Maybe I was! LOL The bike was a success! No flats!
I then transitioned to the run which was awesome because my coach was waiting for me in the transition tent. She helped me get ready for the run and sent me on my way with a hug. I started off strong for the run and ran the first 8 miles, but then I started feeling really nauseous and couldn't eat or drink anything at the aid stations. I decided to start walking and hoped that the nausea would go away. I ended up walking the next 12 miles. For me this was tough since I'm used to running marathons. I reminded myself that this was the Ironman not just a marathon and walking was ok. I kept a smile on my face the entire way and my supporters were amazing. I was able to see them every couple of miles and this really helped keep me going. During those 12 miles, I started drinking chicken broth for the salt and calories. Surprisingly at mile 20, the nausea went away and I did a 2 minute run, 30 second walk the rest of the way! During those last 6 miles, I remembered when Katie finished the Ironman last year she had some french fries at the finish line that looked so good. All I could think about was those fries! LOL
The finish was unreal and hard to put my emotion into words. I felt amazing and finished strong. My friend Kristin was at the finish line waiting for me (she was volunteering). I took my finisher picture and then went to the food area. My fries were waiting for me and they were so yummy!
Swim: 2:06:01
T1: 7:03
Bike: 7:25:45
T2: 3:34
Run: 6:01:32
Total: 15:43:55
The outpouring of support that I received during and after the Ironman means so much to me. I had no idea that so many people would be watching me finish live online! Kim's Krew was out in full force and I am so appreciative for them. Spectating an Ironman is tough work and they were out there all day! Thank you so much to all of my friends and family who helped me make this day so special. A special thank you to Aaron! Thank you for your unwavering support throughout my training. You helped me through multiple meltdowns, gave me pep talks at just the right time, kicked me out of bed when I didn't feel like training, and had unconditional love for me at my greatest and worst times. I love you!
I have no idea what the next year has in store for me but I'm sure that new adventures will be had! Stay tuned!!
It was great to see my friends and family after I came out of the water and then again as I started on the bike. At this point, I was feeling pretty good. I knew that I would have to get into a rhythm for my nutrition so I ate/drank something every 15 minutes on the bike. I had planned to take salt pills once an hour; however, after my second serving, while I was putting the bottle away, all of the pills fell out. That worried me a little but I decided to take in more electrolytes to compensate for this. I also took ibuprofen once an hour on the bike. I was pretty much pain free!
A few really funny things happened while I was on the bike: 1. There was a guy several bike lengths in front of me and a heard him blow a snot rocket; then, I felt the spray on my arms. The really funny part was, I didn't really get grossed out by it...I just laughed it off! 2. As I was finishing my second loop, a heard a bike coming up on me, then I heard this weird wolf whistle, then this guy came riding up beside and knocked shoulders with me. It caught me completely off guard and I almost crashed into him! 3. I was introduced to the You Tube video "What Does the Fox Say" a couple of days before Ironman. I watched it several times and thought it was hilarious. I could not get that song out of my head during the bike. During the third loop, I became really lonely (I didn't realize how lonely it would be out there) and started talking out loud to myself and started singing that song out loud. I even started changing the words. Any one riding around me probably thought I was going crazy! Maybe I was! LOL The bike was a success! No flats!
I then transitioned to the run which was awesome because my coach was waiting for me in the transition tent. She helped me get ready for the run and sent me on my way with a hug. I started off strong for the run and ran the first 8 miles, but then I started feeling really nauseous and couldn't eat or drink anything at the aid stations. I decided to start walking and hoped that the nausea would go away. I ended up walking the next 12 miles. For me this was tough since I'm used to running marathons. I reminded myself that this was the Ironman not just a marathon and walking was ok. I kept a smile on my face the entire way and my supporters were amazing. I was able to see them every couple of miles and this really helped keep me going. During those 12 miles, I started drinking chicken broth for the salt and calories. Surprisingly at mile 20, the nausea went away and I did a 2 minute run, 30 second walk the rest of the way! During those last 6 miles, I remembered when Katie finished the Ironman last year she had some french fries at the finish line that looked so good. All I could think about was those fries! LOL
The finish was unreal and hard to put my emotion into words. I felt amazing and finished strong. My friend Kristin was at the finish line waiting for me (she was volunteering). I took my finisher picture and then went to the food area. My fries were waiting for me and they were so yummy!
Swim: 2:06:01
T1: 7:03
Bike: 7:25:45
T2: 3:34
Run: 6:01:32
Total: 15:43:55
The outpouring of support that I received during and after the Ironman means so much to me. I had no idea that so many people would be watching me finish live online! Kim's Krew was out in full force and I am so appreciative for them. Spectating an Ironman is tough work and they were out there all day! Thank you so much to all of my friends and family who helped me make this day so special. A special thank you to Aaron! Thank you for your unwavering support throughout my training. You helped me through multiple meltdowns, gave me pep talks at just the right time, kicked me out of bed when I didn't feel like training, and had unconditional love for me at my greatest and worst times. I love you!
I have no idea what the next year has in store for me but I'm sure that new adventures will be had! Stay tuned!!
