We arrived in Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, allowing me to
get acclimated to the area at least three full days prior to the race. I’m glad
we did that as I was able to get a practice swim in with my Friends Who Tri
club team on Thursday after buying much needed aqua booties for my feet after
athlete check in. The water was shockingly cold but once my face went numb it wasn't so bad after all. (Crazy, I know.) On Friday, I woke up with a headache, stuffed up sinuses and a
dry throat so I didn’t go for a swim that morning instead rested and hydrated
so I could go for a bike and run that afternoon. I had a blast on the practice
ride and run checking out the scenery and it also gave me the confidence that
Sunday was going to be a great day.
Bike Drop off in the rain the day before |
Race morning, I woke up at 4am to eat breakfast and
get dressed. We agreed to leave the house at 4:45am and to our surprise hit no
traffic getting to the swim start at King’s Beach. My family dropped me off as
they went to search for a parking spot and as I walked to drop off my special
needs bag, guess who twisted their ankle on a crack in the road? Me! Luckily, I
didn’t fall but I couldn’t believe that had just happened as earlier in the
week during our practice swim in the lake I turned the same ankle but much
worse as I was practicing running out of the water. I made sure I was okay and
continued to walk into transition where volunteers were body marking all the athletes
with our race numbers. I went to my bike to air up my tires and put all my
nutrition on my bike. I’ve never been so popular in my life as everyone asked
to borrow my pump and then they probably hated me as I said my friends had
priority.
I couldn’t find all my buds doing the race before the
swim start but I did see my long time friend Missy in the bathroom line so
asked her to wait for me so we could at least be together. We couldn’t seem to
get out of the transition to get to the swim start without walking all over the place. We finally decided to stop where we were
and start putting on our wetsuits before the race started without us. I then
saw Anthony walking by so was able to have him help us get it together. The air
temperature that morning was in the 30’s and I couldn’t keep from shivering as
I put on my foot booties and suit. I didn’t really realize it until Anthony
firmly said you need to start moving around and do some jumping jacks because
you are shaking way too much. At that moment, I realized how cold it was and
had a very minor freak out moment that reminded me that I was about to do an
Ironman in these conditions and also get into cold water too.
Again, it was a very minor freak out moment and I
started jumping around to get my core temperature up to let my body know that
these conditions were not going to stop us mentally or physically. It was time
to get ourselves into the appropriate timing corrals and I chose the 1:21 to
1:30 swim time. I figured I would start towards the back of this group and
hopefully find a good rhythm with people around me at my same speed. As soon as
I got in line, I realized I had forgotten to put my ear plugs in! In cold
temperatures like this you definitely want to wear ear plugs to prevent you
from getting vertigo as you exit the water. I kept scanning the crowd of
spectators looking for Anthony and he was nowhere to be found! What was I going
to do???? Thankfully, my ear plug angel arrived in the form of a fellow
training buddy, Myrna, who didn’t think twice and gave me pieces of her ear
plugs to use. Thank goodness! I didn’t want to be the drunken looking girl
coming out of the water that people would talk about for days to come.
As they moved our group forward and we continued to
wait to get in the water, I started jumping around again to stay warm. If you
know me at all, you know I love to dance and I don’t mind making an idiot of
myself in large crowds so for some reason the “running man” seemed like the
most appropriate thing to do to keep me warm. Plus, it gave our group of Sherpas
something to be entertained with. After dancing around a bit I focused on the task at hand and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the thick fog above the lake. Even further beyone the lake were the snowcapped mountains. What an incredible backdrop for the start of an Ironman!
Holy naked body madness! The changing tent was a
disaster. It was so small compared to what I remember at Ironman Canada where I
had 3 volunteers helping me get dressed. This time I couldn’t see a volunteer
nor a chair or any space for me to get changed. I made my way through women
flinging around body parts and saw about a 12x20 inch space for me to set my
bag down and open it. Oh wait, my hands were frozen and I couldn’t get the bag
open! Who double knotted my bag? I know it wasn’t like that when I dropped it
off as I had put an extra plastic bag inside to protect my clothes from the
rain the day before but I guess they tied it thinking it would help stay closed.
I then saw a volunteer and shouted to her asking if she could open my bag. It
took her at least 3 minutes to open my bag which had my towel to dry off with
so I just stood there patiently trying to squeeze out excess water from my
hair. When it looked like she was about to get it, I pulled my wetsuit off and
she helped me get my clothes on. I then realized I was standing right across
from a tent opening where a male volunteer was standing. Now I know why that
space was available and sorry you had to see me change. Or maybe I should say
“you’re welcome”!
I glanced around to see how many layers people were
putting on as I knew it was cold but didn’t want to overdress and be hot. The
more I thought about it though, I knew I would rather be warm since I trained
in the Texas heat anyway and didn’t want to risk being cold and miserable. So
four layers later, I was out of the tent and jogging carefully to my bike where
I heard my family cheering for me which again, made me smile.
As I mounted my bike, I heard more of our Iron
Sherpas cheering loudly for me and continued to smile. How can you not smile or
embrace the day when you have so much love and support on the sidelines and
back home. I was ready to take on 112 miles! The first stretch from King’s
Beach to Squaw Valley (Squaw Valley was where transition 2 and the finish line was located) would be completed three times so
I knew the first time I just wanted to get warmed up and see how my body would
handle it. My feet and face were cold but my upper body and ears were warm
making the wind bearable during this fast portion of the bike. The first time I tried to use my brakes, I noticed I needed to squeeze very tightly for the front brake to work. I tried to take a peak around my aerobottle and noticed that the brake lever was open! Eek! I slowed down and quickly closed it while carefully riding trying to see if the brakes were rubbing my wheel at all. It wasn't on one side but I couldn't see the other thanks to my bottle so I just played with the brakes a bit trying to feel that they were good to go. It was all good and I continued along making a turn heading into the town of
Truckee, I was focused on making my passing moves on a few people in front of
me when a car on the side of the road began screaming my name. It was my
family! They got to a part of the course I didn’t expect to see them at which
again, made me smile. Some people don’t understand why there are spectators
at endurance events when you see the person for a split second as they zoom by.
But that split second means the world to the person participating and I’m so thankful
we had so many familiar faces on the course.
When I got to mile 25 I knew I had to take a
bathroom break and there seemed to be a great aid station equipped to do so.
Volunteers hung my bike on a rack and I used the bathroom and grabbed some
water to refill a bottle. When I got to Martis Camp on my bike, I sat back and
put my hands on my elbow pads as I knew I’d be climbing for a while. This
neighborhood was challenging but since I had driven it the day before, I had
mentally prepared for it to be very much like the monthly Mt. Scott rides we
had been doing in Oklahoma during training. Just when you thought the climb was
over, it wasn’t and all you could do was keep on pedaling. (I can’t thank Steve
Holstein enough for finding this gem of a training location!) The down hills of
this section were very technical and there were bright orange markings around
manholes that you had to steer around while descending. I was able to pick up
speed in this area but constantly had to be aware and brake often. Instead of
getting annoyed that I couldn’t go faster, I made it more of a game and would
choose to miss these manholes by going around them on a different side each
time I saw them.
After completing the Martis Camp neighborhood, we
then started our climb up Brockway in which the Summit is at 7179 feet. It was a long steady climb and I stayed in my
easiest gear the entire way up. I’m so thankful I listened to friends
recommendations and got a compact crank with 11-28 gearing. Training with less
gears made the 11-28 feel like heaven. I kept my cadence as high as possible
and controlled my heart rate. By the time I knew it, I was flying down the
other side of Brockway hitting 40 mph. I like going downhill but it was a bit
scary when a gust of wind would catch my Zipp wheels so would lightly tap my
brakes to stay in control. When I got to the bottom, I was so excited to see many of our FWTri Sherpa’s at the corner screaming loud and proud. This was the
end of the first loop and I now knew what the course was like for the next
loop.
I decided to discard my jacket on the second loop as
it had gotten warm during the Martis Camp and Brockway climbs but I kept the
other three layers on knowing the descents were still cold. When I got to Truckee
the second time, I saw Anthony, my parents and aunt/uncle at the base of a bike
path which was a no pass zone. They took pictures and asked how I was doing and
when I made the turn to head up the hill I saw Anthony and my stepdad again.
They ran up the side of the hill to get more pictures of me and at this point I
was out of my saddle climbing when Anthony said “You look so good!” Those words
out of my husband’s mouth simply make me “tri” that much harder. My spirits
were already up but that just gave me an additional boost to keep pedaling.
I stopped at the same aid station to fill up water
and use the restroom and got going again. This time, I was ready for Martis
Camp and Brockway but I knew I wasn’t moving as fast as the first time. It was
pretty uneventful as I made it through Martis Camp again playing my manhole
swerving game but as I made it to the top of Brockway, I was ecstatic to see
more of our supporters from Fort Worth. Kristina Large took a video of me
climbing making me smile again and although it was my day, I truly wanted to know how
everyone was doing. She let me know of a few friends who were having a tough
day and it just gave me more fuel to continue for me and them whether they knew
it or not. I got to the top of the summit and knew I was done with the toughest
parts of the bike course and enjoyed my descent again maxing out at 42 mph. Did
I mention I like down hills? J This time our support crew was no
longer at the hot corner of King’s Beach so it motivated me to keep moving
along as I knew I’d get to see them when I got off the bike at the second
transition.
I still had about 20 miles to go before finishing the
bike portion which included Dollar Hill for the third time. When I got there I
got back into my climbing position as I had done before and all of a sudden my
right inner thigh started to cramp up. Uh oh! I had issues with my adductors
and sartorius muscle all summer due to all the climbing we had been doing but
the weeks leading up to the race, I really focused on massage, foam rolling and
stretching and was hoping I wouldn’t have any issues come race day. Once I felt
that twinge, I freaked for a moment but then quickly had to make a decision of
staying on the bike or getting off to stretch. I decided to stay on the bike
pedaling primarily with my right leg as I shook out the left while still
clipped in. I massaged it a bit, shook it out and manually stretched it as much
as I could. Still climbing, it subsided. Thank heaven it didn’t completely
cramp up and I made it up Dollar Hill one last time. At this point I knew I was
in the home stretch and all I needed to do was cruise in to Squaw Valley where
I knew I’d get to start the run and use some different muscles. What I didn’t
expect was for the wind to pick up some more on that stretch making it a little
more challenging on my legs that were getting tired of cycling. I was patient
though and stayed conservative as I didn’t want my thigh to cramp up.
After making the turn into Squaw Valley, it
was time to get psyched up for the run. This is the part of the event I had
been waiting for and was most excited about as I felt my run had improved
significantly over the last year and I had many successful training runs post
tough rides allowing me to have the confidence to run a full marathon after
cycling for 112 miles. When I dismounted from my bike, I jogged into the change
tent where a volunteer helped me get my transition bag. I sat down with another
volunteer and she helped me decide what to wear. I asked her if it was still
cold outside…really??? I had just been outside cycling but for some reason
quickly forgot what the temperature was. I knew I had a running pullover in my
special needs bag on the course but I had to make a decision to change into a
tri top and stick with my arm warmers and tri shorts from the ride or change
into running shorts with a t-shirt. As she explained what it felt like, I heard
nothing that came out of her mouth because my thigh started to cramp and I had
to jump out of my seat to walk around. I stretched and sat and jumped up again
to stretch it out some more. At that point I didn’t care what I looked as I
needed to get out there and start running before my inner thigh called it
quits. I decided on the long sleeve undershirt along with my TriBike Transport
running shirt. I was comfortable but a little warm as I headed out with the sun
still out. I started to think the long sleeve shirt was a bad idea but within
the next few miles I was happy I had it on. It started to get chilly quick and
I was thankful to have a good running pullover awaiting me on the course along
with my favorite whole grain goldfish I had put into my special needs bag.
As I made my way back to complete the first loop, I
got to mile 15 which had a steep hill and saw my awesome family again. I also
saw our friend Kristina who cracked me up as I passed a male runner with her
yelling, “You pass that man!” I
apologized to him but did pass him and cracked up at her. Anthony ran with me
up the rest of the hill, asked how I was doing and said “Listen to Kristina and
keep passing men”! I love you guys for that. Coming back in to where the run
started in Squaw Valley, I knew it would be cruel to see the finish line
knowing I had to go back out for more mileage but I also knew I’d probably see
some more of our support crew which made it easier to get there. As I was
heading in to make the loop, I saw my friend Liesel and quickly asked how she
was doing. When she said she couldn’t breathe due to her asthma I didn’t know
what to do. That’s an awful feeling to not be able to help someone and you’re
running in the opposite direction. She’s a tough cookie though and kept moving
right along. I rounded the corner and there were our friends hootin’ and
hollering just as loud as can be. Happy smiling girl here all over again!
After passing the finish line to start my next loop
I got to run by them again and was surprised to see my family and Anthony again
yelling how great I looked and how awesome I was. These inspirational words and
cheers are what kept refueling my tank and back on the course I went where I
got to see my favorite little Mexican, Christa. She was so positive and
encouraging as I passed her and I knew I was getting closer to the finish but I
had to do the awful uphills we had done on the first loop that I walked the
first time. This time it was dark and I was alone as I power walked the
hills and jogged the down hills. It was pitch black in some areas and my
headlamp wasn’t as bright as I remember so I picked up an extra headlamp that
the volunteers were handing out and used it as a flashlight to watch my step. I
didn’t need to have another ankle rolling incident so close to the end of the
race. I continued to jog most of the way and only walk the aid stations and
hills but it seemed like the turnaround for our second loop was taking forever
to get to. After making it up one of the longest hills on the run course, I
tried to remember how far the turnaround was from that point but couldn’t
figure it out and caught a quick glimpse of Liesel as she was starting the
descent of the same hill. She looked way better than the first time and knowing
she had already turned around I figured she would kick it in to gear and be
done soon. To my surprise the turnaround was right around the corner and I was
so happy to be heading back to the finish. I stopped at the aid station at the
bottom of the hill and had some coke, salty chips and an orange. Maybe it
wasn’t the best time to treat myself to a buffet but I guess I felt like I was
almost done and knew I had a steep hill that I would be walking anyway so
enjoyed the spread.
Going up that hill I told a guy he was going to get
knocked out as he yelled to people that it was a no walk zone and we needed to
start shuffling. You don’t say that to runners when they are walking because
usually they are in the “bite me” zone and anything will come flying out of
their mouths or they might start swinging. I wasn't in that zone but was trying to look out for the guy. At that moment, I looked up at the sky and caught an amazing view of "The Big Dipper"! Now everyone around me was able to ignore the guy anyway and take in the beauty of our night sky. Pretty sure he didn’t care and
continued banging his noisemakers. I made it to the top of the hill and started
jogging again to get away from him. I was on my way back to the village and
about to be a two time Ironman! I saw Christa again who had nothing but awesome
things to say and she ran with me for a while. She encouraged me to kick it
into gear since I was almost done but at that point I had one speed and didn’t
feel like I was moving any faster. I told her that was as fast as I could go
and laughed as I continued to jog it in. She cut the parking lot to head to the
finish line and once I made one of the turns to make it into the finisher cute,
I magically was able to pick up the pace. Funny how that happens when you near
the finish. There was a guy in the middle of the chute and lots of spectators hands
sticking out to receive high fives from him but I needed to get by, so quickly
passed him on his right and skidded by the hands to get to the finish when I
saw our awesome support crew again and slapped their hands as I crossed the
finish line at 13 hours and 51 minutes (chip time). I had just reached my goal of
completing this challenging event in under 14 hours and cut an hour
and 44 minutes off my first Ironman time. I also set a personal record for my
stand alone marathon time and couldn’t have been any happier with my performance
and victory. My volunteer, Heather, walked me to get my finisher gear and
picture taken and told me I didn’t look like I had done an Ironman. Believe me,
Heather…I did an Ironman…and I don’t ever have to do this Ironman course again!
Ironman
Lake Tahoe 2013, mission accomplished!