So, as the current title of my blog says "Half -iron, Full Pain" Sunday, I felt it. I have blogged about training in the heat, the wind, and the hills and I encountered them all on the race.
The morning started out at 4:30 am waking up and trying to swallow down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with the sports legs and the salt tabs. We dropped our son off and headed out to the race venue. The expo directed us to the parking area and then dropped off our bags at T2 and took the shuttle to T1. Yes, this was a swim to bike transition and then a different point for the bike to run. We arrived at the T1 area just before the swim start. It was dark, cool and the stars were out. After the usual nerves of going to the bathroom, getting body marked and setting up our bikes. We sat on the grass and watched the sunrise. Before the sun came up, I looked up and saw a burst streak through the night. It looked like fireworks but it was a meteorite. Yes, I saw a meteorite and I knew that I would finish this race. It was so beautiful and I never saw a meteorite before. The sun came up and the pros were off... I was in wave 6 and getting nervous, but my nerves settled downed when I looked up before entering the water and my husband said he was "proud of me". I knew I could complete the swim. It was our turn. The announcer said go.. so we took off! The water was great! It was wetsuit legal and I just got into a groove. 1, 2, 3 breathe, 1,2,3 breathe and site. I kept going and next thing I know I am at the first turn. I knew then I would finish the swim. I finished the swim in 49 mins. Thank you Mike and Lesley for working with me on my swim for the last few weeks. Every drill you both put me through helped me complete this swim in less than hour!
Out of the lake, I ran up a sandy hill to T1 and there was help from volunteers to take off the wetsuit! Yeah me! I get the suit off immediately! But my transition time was slow, according to my son. :) I was running through dirt and grass and I wanted to clean my feet before I put on my bike shoes. I hear the cheers from my son and Billy.. Wow, just hearing your name in the crowd is motivating.. So away I go...The bike started out with a hill... boy am I glad I trained on Memphis-Arlington Road, Donnell Road and the Herb Parsons Loop. Then after mile 20, the winds started and the roads started getting rough, but I kept on going. During the ride, my husband came up, and patted my back wished me good luck. It is a great feeling racing with your best friend! At mile 40, I met up with someone from Santa Cruz and the two of us pushed each other to the end of the bike. Thank you "Santa Cruz" for keeping me going at > 16 mph. It was nice to have someone to chat with during the hard part of the bike knowing that I had a half marathon ahead. I entered into T2 and hooked my bike up, sprayed sunscreen, and put the ballcap and running shoes on. I wobbled out of T2. I was telling myself.. omg.. how am I going to do this and then I heard the crowd and started moving. I started to get "hot feet" and stopped and took off my socks.. The weather was soo hot.. It was like over 90 degrees with no shade. The run was a 4 mile loop that we ran 3 times, so I was able to see all of my training partners and even shared a water break with my husband. I learned a lot about myself during the run. I guess you can say this was the hardest part of the race. I was at a low point where I almost gave up and then I would hear encouragement from Billy and I knew I could keep on going. So, I plugged on. Every water station, I drank water and had an orange slice. I, also, poured ice water on my shoes, to cool my "hot feet" and poured ice in my shorts and sports bra. This felt soooo GOOD.. There were points in the run where there was no aid station, so I took some of the ice out of the jog bra and cooled down. On my final lap, Billy was there on his bike, giving me encouragement to keep moving. That was what I needed at the moment. As I was climbing my last hill, I saw my husband, Kelly, my son, and my colleague from work with huge smiles cheering me on. I had to keep running, I didn't want to disappoint anyone or give up. So away I went... running into the stadium and finishing the half ironman in 8 hours 13 minutes and 6 secs.
The feeling of crossing the finish line was amazing! I still can't believe I did it, but I did! Thank you to everyone who have supported me over these last few months. I will continue to blog, but the title will be changing.. as this half ironman is complete and now I am on my way to making triathlons part of my life. Finally, a big thank you to my Family for supporting me!
Eling
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| Before the race |
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| The group: Tripp, Billy, Kelly, Don, me, and Kathy |
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