Okay, I'm going to be honest here. I sat and stared at numbers from last year's race and stewed over them. I knew also knew I wanted to get ~11 hours. Except a few weeks ago Lisa asked me if I could qualify for Kona. I blew her off except she kept asking what kind of time I would need to get. She planted a seed that kept growing so I really had 10:51 in my brain. I also thought if I could run an 8:30/mile on the run I could get pretty close. I didn't know if I could do it (the run), but Kona would be pretty damn sweet. Also very scary so I didn't say anything. It was just in the back of my mind.
Okay, some race highs and lows without too long of a race report.
On Saturday I went out on a little ride and run. On the run I listened to this song on the album by Foster the People that has Pumped up Kicks on it. The main line of the song was "Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop" with a fun little beat to it.
Anxiety was super huge on Saturday and Saturday night. I was so nervous. Nervous for everything. The swim and then the length of the swim, then the length of the bike, and then the length of the whole day. Uggh. I kept thinking in 24hours this will all be over.
Sunday morning. Jamie and I went down to the start together. It was great. We chatted and I think just turned each other off from the nervous energy. We got our wetsuits on and as soon as they said we could head to the beach we did.
I wanted to get over to the other side before too many people got out there and I couldn't get through the crowd. I sat on the concrete step with this guy who gave me the rundown on how to start the swim. We were way over on the edge. Once the gun went off we waded out a little ways further to the edge. He also did Mont- Tremblant the week before and was a super chill guy. Great! Swim start was great. No people around me at all. I don't think it was the straighest I have ever swam. I think I kept veering towards the buoys then I would run into people so I would veer back to the edge. The water also got pretty choppy and it was hard to even see the bouys. The water was awesome though. Not cold and so clean and clear. I actually really enjoyed the swim. The last 500 or so was pretty strange though. I think you were right, I was right in the middle of the pack because that is where is go sooo packed with people. I kept swimming from one open space to another. IF I put my head up it was more scary than keeping it in the water because there were so many people. I was comfortable by then though and just decided to go with the flow and get the swim done.
T1- Scooted through there as fast as possible. Transition makes me edgy. Saved a few minutes compared to last year.
Bike- Followed the plan. Got my butt up Richter Pass nice and quick. That pass was awesome. Like being the the Tour de France. The fans at that race were absolutely amazing. The big downhills I took a little conservatively. I didn't want to crash or hurt somebody else. Scooted my butt over the rollers. Then crap I ran out of water and went into a hole for a little while. I think that is where I felt the worst the whole day. Finally got out of that right before the next pass. Scooted my butt over that pass. Had a little less umph than going over Richter and the final 200 meters was just about getting the pedals to go around. Uggh. That hurt.
The next worst part was going into town. We had a headwind and a slight uphill. It was a lot of work for very littel gain. Also, not part of the plan.
T2- Scooted through that pretty quick too. Again, transition makes me edgy.
Run- I have to say I was pretty tired from the bike and coming into the run I was not really looking forward to it. I still had a long way to go. Running through transition really helped get my legs worked out though and by the time I started the run I was feeling better. I knew my time from the bike but I didn't look at my watch at all on the run. I wanted to just go as hard as I could and see where it took me. I thought settle into that pace that you can go forever at for the first 4 miles and then see what happens. Well, before 4 miles I was already out of that pace. I was age group girls and sped up to pass them. Kept the speed for a little while and then slowed again. At the aid stations I had that song in my head "Don't stop". I only walked a few steps in one aid station because I was dying for a few large drinks of water. I took it easy with short steps down the hills to keep from cramping and I just kept running up the hills. At about 6 miles to go I heard at an aid station someone say it is just 4pm. After that I couldn't resist, I had to check my time. At that point I knew I could make 11 hours it I just kept going. The last 6 miles seemed longer than the first 20. Every mile hurt worse and worse. I remember thinking come on fans I need some help here. They seemed to have moved on by that point. A girl, my age, passed me at mile 20 too. I had already passed her, but she must have run the 2nd half faster than the first. I tried so hard to stick to her, thinking that if I could just hold on a little longer than her she would crack. It didn't work. I faded. Bummer. I think she is the only girls that passed me. My Dad was right at the 1k out and back and so proud, it made me cry. I finished in 10:52:50. Not good enough to podium. 10th place in my age group. I am a little disappointed to not have been higher, those girls are fast.
I felt okay after the race. No medical tent needs. Very tired that night though. I had wanted to go back down to cheer people on at midnight, but couldn't. It made me realize that for me, this year had been about my race and how fast I could go, not about the Ironman experience. Our hotel was right on the run course, so we did see the final runners go by though. How amazing for them. Those people worked for so many hours.
Really, really sore on Monday and Tuesday. Almost sick to my stomach sore. Tired too.
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