Training for Ironman with a Boyfriend (Not G Rated!)

When I trained for my first Ironman, 90% of the time I was single.  I purposely avoided a relationship due to the fact that my time was being demanded by work and training enough as it was.  The thought of adding someone at home or someone to give time to seemed impossible, especially if I wanted to be a selfless/caring/giving partner.  

My boyfriend and I started dating just a little over a month from my Ironman BUT we were long distance, so it was manageable.  Two months after my Ironman, he moved in.  I wasn't back to training for a few months.  

When training started, I fair warned my boyfriend.  I warned him that I would be tired, grumpy, hungry, exhausted, and hungry.  He understood and was very understanding.  He still is.  But man, its not easy being a good girl friend, a good employee, and a good athlete.  Just about every morning, I wake up with my boyfriend when his alarm goes off for work (normally 5:50 am).  As he starts getting ready, I go to the kitchen and start making his breakfast and packing his lunch.  He never asks me to do this, I do it because I love doing it-I honestly do.  Once his breakfast/lunch is made, I start prepping whatever I might need for my workouts (get water bottles ready/pack bag/get changed if not already in workout clothes/etc).  Then off to work he goes and I carry on with my plan for the day.

I normally get home last.  As soon as I get home (which is normally around 7:30 pm) I start making dinner.  My boyfriend does offer to help with anything, but when it comes to cooking I really don't need help, and I kinda don't want it.  So, I make him do the dishes.  By the time dinner is done, its about 8:00 pm.  We normally watch a movie/documentary as we eat dinner.  I eat pretty quickly, so within 10-15 minutes I'm done eating.  Now, because we've seen each other maybe 1 hour total for the entire day, even if I'm exhausted I will still try to attempt to stay up and watch the movie with him.  9 times out of 10 though, I pass out within 10 minutes of trying to just watch the movie while laying my head on his lap (this way he doesn't know exactly when I fell asleep, shhhh dont tell!)  Once the movie is over, he always asks "Are you ready for bed, babe?" which wakes me up and I quickly reply "Yep".  I still really don't know if he knows if I'm asleep or not.  We then both brush our teeth and get ready for bed.  When I finally crawl into bed, I'm ready to pass out, but sometimes that's not on the mans agenda.  And truthfully, I like his agenda better.  But man, after training and working all day its a true test of endurance.  Physically/Mentally/Emotionally.  It does make for an interesting time though.  Pending on my workout, there's just certain things my legs and hips don't want to do, so certain positions are out of the quesiton.  I hear yoga is good for endurance athletes because it stretches the muscles and relaxes you- with my boyfriend, I've got something better than yoga.  This might be a little too much, but I warned you in the title and that probably enticed you to ready this even more, its ok.  Deep down, we are all perverts.  Not gonna lie, would it be easier to just say "Babe, I'm too tired/sore", yes it would, and I've tried it but my guy is pretty good at convincing me to change my mind.  I am reluctant at first, cause I know I need my rest but once all is said...or yelled....and satisfyingly done, its totally worth it.

So, is having a boyfriend more stressful? Absolutely.  But at the same time its wonderful.  I have someone who will rub my shoulders/neck randomly, without being asked.  I have someone who will surprise me with dinner being made.  I have someone who will hold me whenever I ask.  I have someone who will wake up at 2 am to get me to a race and will be at every possible point to see me during my race.  And I go through a lot less AAA batteries.  It's tough handling it all, and I can only imagine kids in the picture (but that's what military school is for...just kidding! Actually, not really!)  As I'm 23 days out from my 2nd Ironman, I am slightly stressed, in fact I had a total break down a few weeks ago but thankfully Justin held me through it, I am nervous.  But, I've got someone who helps calm me and loves me.  Loves my body even with all the awkward tan lines.  And I love him.  So its totally worth it.

IM 70.3 Florida

 

 

When it came to choosing a 70.3 to race before my Ironman I was torn between Florida or New Orleans.  Florida was near my home town and I would have friends and family there to cheer me on,
however it was 6 hours away.  New Orleans was only 3 hours away, I knew more people racing it as well, but no family would be able to attend.  While still debating on which race to choose, my boyfriend informs me that his best friend is getting married on April 11th in Tampa, FL.  Well, asking for two weekends off in a row at my job is like asking to win the lottery while riding a unicorn, aka, it won't ever happen!  So, since we would be down that way I decided to go ahead and sign up for Florida, which would take place on April 12th.

The two days leading up to the race were interesting ones to say the least.  First of all, the weather predicted for race day was expected to be nothing but lightening storms all day.  And Hot.  I asked everyone to do the anti rain dance.  After checking in on Friday, Justin (my boyfriend) and I were on I-4 headed towards Tampa from Haines City, to where we would be staying.  Half way there, the transmission kabooms.  We pulled over to the side of the interstate and had to wait about an hour for the tow truck. It was a little hot out, and not desirable but wasn't too terrible.  Justin later told me I received a gold star for my reaction to the whole situation.  I never lost my cool or freaked out, no real reason to, because there are just some things you can't control.  So now we were out of a vehicle.  The tow truck got us into Clearwater and Justin's Dad got us to the place we were staying.  At 10:30 that night (wayyy past my bed time) we received a phone call from Justin's friend that was getting married, and Justin was asked and accepted to be a groomsmen for the wedding!  This was pretty exciting and awesome.  The next morning, morning/day before the race, after some hassle we finally got a rental car and that left me with less than 30 minutes to get ready for the wedding.  Fuhhh.  I got mostly ready and then we had to be to the church an hour early so Justin could get the attire for being a groomsmen.  There, I also finished getting ready.  The wedding was beautiful and filled with Busch Gardens employees (the couple met at Busch Gardens, so did Justin and I!).  There was a casual reception to follow, and thank goodness for casual cause 15 minutes in heels was 14 minutes and 59 seconds too long!  I behaved at the reception which was hard!  Talk about a test of self discipline!  Even with all the wine, 10 kegs, sweet tea, I only drank water!  When it came to the food, the BBQ buffett (BBQ is my weakness!!), I managed to only eat a spoonful of pulled pork, 2 bites of macaroni and cheese, and a plate full of grapes/strawberries/watermelon.  For desert, I only had ONE bite of a cupcake.  So, I super duper behaved, like deserved a medal just for not eating all the BBQ pork and baked beans, haha.  Overall, we had a great time but had to leave early so that I could get back to where we were staying to get my bike and my bag ready for the race! 

For dinner the night before, I had my (new) normal oven roasted chicken strips from perdue and a white rice.  No seasonings/spices/hot sauce.  After getting my bike and bags ready, I finally got to bed around 9:30.  A little later then I was wanting but it is what it is...

At 2:30 in the morning my alarm went off.  My normal routine began.  First things first, shower.  I get all smooth and feeling fresh.  Next, apply lotion/sunscreen/body glide/chamois butter/deodorant.  Get dressed, get my chip on my ankle, garmin on my wrist, put the bags in the car and then......NAP TIME!  Thankfully, Justin drove us from Tampa to Haines City and let me nap.

We got there right as transition opened up because I had to get my bike checked in. Once I got body marked, bike checked in, I went to my transition spot and began setting up.  Laid my transition matt down, bike shoes, running shoes, race belt/bib under running shoes, each sock in each shoe, sunglasses in one shoe, my two gus in my other shoe, visor around one shoe, tube of endurolytes in my helmet.  Once my transition spot was all set up, I realized I had a lot of extra time left until I had to be down near the water.  So Justin and I went back to the car and took a nap.  After about 45 minutes, we woke back up and headed towards the water. 

The Swim:

The swim was in Lake Eva.  Everyone I told that, got wide eyed and mentioned the gators.  But, when you're swimming with a thousand people, odds are the gators are the least of your worries.  The water temp that morning was 81 degrees.  No wetsuit legality for that swim.  I had brought both my wetsuit and my speed suit so that I was prepared for either situation.  Stepping in to the water, felt a lot cooler than 81 degrees.  The swim was an in water start.  Walking into the water to the swim start area was gross.  The sea grass was everywhere and went up to my shins.  The stuff got loose and was floating all around too.  For me, 5.5 foot tall, if I stood on my tip toes I was able to keep my chin above water. 

The water course was in the shape of an "M".  It looked confusing in person from where we were starting.  We took off, and I started out slow, just as my Coach and I discussed.  Take it easy at first, pace myself, and then past a particular point to kick it up. I thought I was doing well with pacing myself, but lets face it, during a race you don't stop during your swim to check out your swim pace on your watch.  Once I realized, a the halfway mark that I was going too slow I tried to make up for it and speed up.  I finished the swim in 42:23 (2:10/100m pace) which was disappointingly slow considering two weeks before that I did .9 miles in under 30 minutes at a 1:48/100m pace. 

T1:

This was my favorite transition area set up of all my races so far.  It wasn't far from the swim exit, it was well spaced and organized, and was easy to maneuver through.  AND my boyfriend and best friend were on the other side of the fence cheering me on and making me smile.  Justin literally kept saying "Oh, don't smile, don't you dare smile, you have to be serious" which of course made me crack up. 

Bike:

 

I was feeling good at the start of the bike.  I knew I had some ground to cover too due to my swim being slower then expected.  This bike course was super turny (not sure if that's an actual word, but it is in my book now).  First few miles of the bike course I felt like were nothing but turns.  The weather was still pretty over cast, and around mile 10ish the weather looked like it was going to get really nasty.  But it never did. 

 

For nutrition, I was taking 1 endurolyte each hour.  I drank Orange Execute, 16 oz in my aero bottle and another 16 oz bottle of it.  Other than that, for fluids I guzzled down water.  I ate 1 waffle at around hour 1 and a little after my 2nd hour.  I was feeling full for the remainder of the bike so I didn't eat anything else. 

 

I was feeling good with my heart rate/pace on the bike.  I noticed one girl in my age group and I kept going back and forth.  I waited until mile 40, like my Coach instructed to, to finally get ahead of her and get a good lead from her.  The guys on the course were rather friendly too, not complete jerks like some guys can be.  Most of them would call "On your left".  Two guys complimented my helmet (which, honestly, who doesn't love my awesome helmet!), I got one compliment on my tri kit, and two guys complimented my hill climbing skills (aka I passed people going uphill). 

 

I will say, I've never seen so many butt cracks during a triathlon.  Seriously people, before racing/training in tri kits/shorts please have someone check that they're not see through!  Another funny thing during the course, for the race briefing the director spoke about the course and the beauty and the scenery through the orange groves, etc.  Well, when I heard ride through orange groves I was like "That will smell amazing--oranges!".  Umm, yeah, no!  During the ride, I smelled what I swore was a pigs pen, literally oink oink pigs pen.  Then I looked around and realized I was riding through the orange groves, it must have been fertilizer time, go figure. 

 

My average pace for the overall bike was 18.04 mph.  For the first 32 miles, I averaged 18.09 mph.  The remainder of the bike course was the hilliest, I averaged 17.97 mph.  So, not much variation.  I was pretty consistent with my pace.  My ride time was 3:06:15.

 

T2:

 

Transition 2 was fun, again.  Once, I got my bike racked, I heard/saw my brother taking a selfie so I stroke a quick pose (Mind you, my transitions are pretty fast so I wasn't concerned about two seconds for a photo).  After that, I sat down, got my injinji toe socks on, followed by my running shoes.  Grabbed my number belt and visor, slid everything on as I ran towards the exit.  I knew I needed sunscreen but didn't want to stop to have it applied.  So, I high-fived a volunteer who had it on their hands which worked great.  I had A LOT of sunscreen on my hands and got to apply a good, thick layer on my arms/shoulders. 

 

Run:

 

First coming off the bike, I wanted to take my first mile nice and easy.  I was feeling good and have a bad tendency to go too fast off the bike so I made sure to calm myself down.  The first half mile is very crowd supported.  It was nice seeing all those people, including my own friends and family. 

 

As for the course it self, oh boy.  I was warned about a pretty good hill towards the beginning of not one loop, not two loops, but 3 freakin loops. So, as I was jogging through the first mile which at first was great because of the crowd support, we finally hit the actual road and made a right turn which was a short, but steep up hill.  That wasn't too terrible.  Then you made another right turn after the hill, to go straight/slightly downhill for a bit, left hand turn that slowly started going up hill.  Then, you make a right hand turn to hell.  It was (what felt like 20 miles) a little over a mile of uphill, dirt/beaten up road.  It was horrible.  Like seriously, who keeps that on a freakin run course for a half ironman???  Anyways...

When you finally get to the top, you make a right hand turn through a neighborhood.  That's when you hit your second aid station.  They offered your usual water/Gatorade/coke and even red bull.  As well as your gu/chomps/oranges/bananas.  The volunteers, as always, were awesome.  Very encouraging and helpful.  They would pour water on you if you wanted which was feeling amazing with the heat climbing as the day went on.  The course continued through neighborhoods for the majority of the just under 5 mile loop.  This one house/family had someone racing that day too, because they were having a big ole party in their yard with signs all throughout the road near their house, had several tents where you could smell the goodies, bounce house for all the kids, adults sitting in lawn chairs cheering everyone on, and two people with water hoses spraying the athletes.  They were pretty awesome.  A couple turns were left of the loop.  Right around mile 4 you hit an aid station, just shortly after it you make a right turn and you can see the transition area. I took my first gu right at the aid station so I could chase it with water. Right before I hit the transition area, blahhhhhhh.  Yep, I threw up my gu. Fuhhhh. Not part of my plan. You turn right into that and then you're back to the start of the run shoot.  You pass right by the split that says (Left-Finish Line, Right-1st, 2nd, 3rd lap) <---ughhh.  One lap down. Two to go.  I saw my family and friends in the shoot, even though I wasn't feeling that hot I still smiled because it was so nice to see them. 

The second lap was far more interesting than the first.  As I was going through the crowd supported area, I heard commotion of some celebrity racing, as some guy just took some photos of him and was talking to someone saying "Yeah that's .......he's in the movie...."  I honestly didn't hear the names, just thought well that's cool.  Kept trucking along and then I started walking along this guy.  We started talking and he was saying how this was really just a training race for his main race which is coming up.  I asked which race that was, and what do you know, he said Ironman Texas.  I told him that was my A race as well so we talked about that a bit.  Then, I started trotting off.  When I started walking again, I was next to a girl.  Turns out this was her first half ironman.  I encouraged her, cause she wasn't feeling too excited about it.  There were a few guys behind us joking around.  I heard one of the guys saying "What? Is there something wrong with my beard?" I turned around and just smiled as I saw that the guy had sunblock all over his face and in his beard.  I said to him "Nah, you're good". (Later came to find out, that was the celebrity, actor Chris Pratt!!!) I started running again.  At this point, with my gu having come right back up, I took Gatorade, and endurolyte, and water at each stop.  All I kept telling myself was "Look, there are people here for you, don't keep them waiting too long", "You panzy move your ass already", "Coach is going to kill me", "Just a training day for ironman", and "You've done this before, you've got this, just keep moving".  My legs hurt so bad.  I was hurting just as bad as I was during my marathon for my Ironman.

Finally, I had hit lap 3.  Again, I saw Justin, his Dad, my best friend, her boyfriend, my brother, and my Mom.  Lap 3 I ran into another triathlete from Pensacola.  He was having a rough day too but we were both on the stretch home.  Later in the loop, I was next to the girl who was doing her first half ironman.  She said she was cramping bad but had no electrosalts.  I offered her some but she had no water to take them, so I just gave her my tube of endurolytes so she could have some, especially considering she had a whole other lap to go.  Just two more turns, and I was in the shoot for the finish line.  I was miserable at this point. I  didn't even smile for the cameras/finish line, I was just so ready to be done.  I hurt so bad, was so hot, and just felt awful.  I was also really disappointed in myself for not having the race I had trained so hard for.  I met my family right at the exit and I just wanted to collapse right then and there but my brother and boyfriend took me off to the side to sit down.  I didn't even care for a chair or anything, I just wanted to get off my legs.  I started crying as soon as I hit the ground.  I was so upset that I didn't have a good race and honestly I felt like crap.  They got me some ice to put on my legs, and a cold bottle of water to put on my neck.  I finally came to after a few minutes and sucked it up.  I finished.  I felt like crap but still finished, still under 7 hours too.  And I PR'ed my bike time.  I finished 10th place in my age group.

We got some photos of all of us together and then we needed to start hitting the road.  Thankfully, my awesome friend Lee, had a shower in his van, so I was able to get cleaned up before lunch and hitting the road.  My best friend, her boyfriend, Justin and I went to Chili's for lunch where I had a lot of food.  Then it was a 7 hour ride home. 

It was a good learning experience for sure.  Now, back to training at its peak for Ironman Texas.  Less than one month away now! 

Thank you to Running Wild, Gulf Coast Cycle & Tri, Quintana Roo, Newton Running, Pearl Izumi, Injinji, TYR, Xterra, Headsweats, Lazer, Profile Design, Shimano, Tifosi, Body  Glide, Gu, Energy Labs, Hammer, and Garmin for your excellent tri gear/products/services.

Thank you to my Mom, Brother, Morgan, John, and Cole for being there to support me.  And most of all, thank you to my wonderful boyfriend Justin, who again exceeded the duties of Ironman Sherpa.  Love you all!

 

 

 

What makes one motivated to...

When I got done with a swim a couple weeks ago, I got into the Jacuzzi to relax.  There was a gentleman sitting across from me.  As I got in, he saw my IM tattoo.  He asked me about my tattoo and how was it.  Then, he asked me a very specific question that I hadn't been asked before.  He asked "What motivated you?" , not "Why did you do that" but what motivated me.  He then asked what would I say to motivate someone to do something.  I told him that everyone is different.  People get motivated differently.  For some it takes tragedy, a decline in health, a motivational movie, a song, a quote, or a friend making a comment. 

 

 

For myself, it took tragedy.  My biological Father passed away when I was 15, after that my Step Father took the role as my Dad and did a great job at it.  He attended all my games I cheered at, came to my soccer games, picked me up from school a lot, and was very supportive.  Any chance I could on the weekends or during school breaks I'd be in the truck with him on the way to the barn to work.  He'd always have me drive him around once I got my permit, saying he's done it for me enough, which he had.  I loved driving his truck around town with him running errands, getting breakfast, etc.  My Dad wasn't a saint, but so long as you didn't make him too upset he was a laid back guy. 

 

 

In August, he had a pacemaker put in but never really recovered from surgery.  He had to go back in surgery in October, which he got MRSA from.  He was re-admitted to the hospital for the MRSA treatment in November, I got to visit him on Thanksgiving, which was the 21st.  I left back to Pensacola.  A week later, my Mom called me that he got pneumonia and told me hospice was called and that I needed to get back soon.  I had planned on leaving right after work on December 1st.  That morning, at work, my Mom tried calling me, my phone was in my pocket and I saw it was her.  I didn't answer it the first time but when she called me a second time within seconds, I knew what I was about to find out.  I went to the back to answer and my Mom was sobbing in the phone.  My Dad had died.  They told the funeral home to pick him up later in the evening so that I could get there to say goodbye.  I left work immediately, stopped by my house to get my dog and a few things and rushed to the road. 

 

A few weeks prior, I had an exam done, was just suppose to be a routine yearly exam.  But results weren't good.  So, I had a minor procedure/exam done to further check to see what was going on.  As I was driving to Ocala, to see my dead Father, I got a phone call from my Doctor.  They found cancerous cells in my uterus and to make sure this wouldn't progress they'd have to remove parts of my uterus.  Just the news I needed, right?

 

When I arrived to my home in Ocala, my older brother, older sister, younger brother, and Mom were there.  My Dad was laying in a hospital bed in the middle of the living room, lifeless.  I normally don't touch the dead, I know some people during a viewing will touch the hand of the deceased but it had always scared me to do.  But, with my Dad I sat by his side, touched his chest, he was cold, and I was stupidly hoping that at any moment he would just take a breath.  Come back to me.  But he didn't.  That was by far the hardest and worst moment of my life. 

 

Following my Dad's death I went into a terrible slump.  All I did was work and then go home and lay on the couch.  And cry randomly.  I was so upset.  I officially had no Dad.  At 21 I'd lost two Fathers.  I wanted to do nothing but cry, try to sleep, and lay on the couch.  Finally, as the new year was approaching I realized this wasn't right. I shouldn't be wasting my life, My Dad's had lost theirs, but I didn't lose mine.  They wouldn't want me crying everyday and just laying on the couch.  I'd obviously gained some weight and was at my heaviest and lowest mentally.  So, I made it my new years resolution to just run.  Run my frustrations, emotions, pain, and run in a race at least once each month of 2013.  In June, I signed up for sprint triathlon and that's when I fell in love with triathlon.  In 2013, I completed my first real 5k, 10k, half marathon, AND marathon!  Around September, that's when I decided I was going to do an Ironman.  At first, it was suppose to be with some friends, but they bailed but I stuck to it. 

 

In 2014, I completed my first Olympic distance tri, Half Ironman and full Ironman.  Now, I'm in the best shape I've ever been and I'm also the happiest I've ever been.  I have a supportive and awesome job, a very supportive and sweet boyfriend, a great coach, and an amazing group of friends. 

 

That is what motivated me.  But everyone is different.  Everyday, now I'm motivated by the new goals and dreams that I have for myself, which I'm not ready to fully share yet. 

 

Whether its you find out you have high blood pressure, you lost your loved one, you realize you can do more/be better, find your motivation and go after your goals.  Be patient though, Rome wasn't built in a day. 

 



Why Ironman Texas?

After finishing my first Ironman last year, I knew I was only getting started.  That I wouldn't be a one and done kind of Ironman.  The feeling I had crossing that finish line, is like no other.  I want that feeling again. 

 

After finishing IM Lou, I thought about which Ironman I wanted to do next.  Seeing as how Panama City is only a couple hours away, I was hoping to do IM FL.  I had my volunteer spot secured, seeing as how that's almost the only way to be able to race IM FL.  I was so excited to volunteer and was going to do it with several friends.  I was really excited.

 

My oldest Brother had been battling stage 4 cancer and on October 2nd, he lost his battle.  I was able to see him the day before he passed away but that broke my heart more because of how much he looked like my Dad when he died.  For those of you who don't know my brother, he was a big ole biker guy.  He worked for Harley Davidson, built Harley's, customized them, and knew everything about a motorcycle like it was the back of his hand.  My brother, not being so traditional, wished for a Celebration of Life as apposed to a funeral.  The Celebration of Life was scheduled the same day as was IM FL, so this meant no longer being able to volunteer.

 

Ironman FL was officially out of the picture.  Shoot. What race am I going to do now???  I looked at the IM website to see all the races in the United States and decided on IM Texas.  IM Texas was the next closest race, relatively flat, and I've had a few friends in the area who have done it already and told me mostly good things about it.  Only negatives heard was that it was hot, well so was Louisville, so bring that on.  And that the mass start swim is a little crazy, especially since its through a narrow canal. 

 

I'm excited for IM Texas.  I finished IM Lou in 15 hours and 6 minutes.  My goal for Texas is to 1- Finish and 2-Finish in 14 hours.  That might sound steep to knock off an hour and six minutes within 9 months but why reach for small things if we have the ability to jump? 

Santa Rosa Island Triathlon

Santa Rosa Island Triathlon 10/04/14

Location: Pensacola Beach, FL

Class: F20-24

Results: AG 3/13 , Females 30/292, Overall 190/717

Local Knowledge and Conditions: Strong wind coming from the north which calmed the waves down but there was still a strong current.  The wind also made the bike brutal.  Course was flat.

Pre-Race Strategy and Warm U p:

It was a super windy and chilly morning on Pensacola Beach.  I got there fairly early for my normal routine of setting up as soon as I could so that I would be able to help other girls on my team and all the people who were racing their first tri.  Gear was flying everywhere, bikes were moving, the wind was a beast.  There were a lot of people here, this was my biggest local race this season.

My older Brother, Tony, had just passed away two days before this race due to cancer.  People probably thought I was crazy for still being there but I was there to honor him and make him proud.  He wouldn't want me to miss my race just so I could sit at home by myself and cry.  So I was racing in honor of him.

Race Break Down:

Swim: 

The swim took place in the Gulf of Mexico at Pensacola Beach.  There were several waves for the swim.  I was in the 7th(?) wave, I think.  Either way it was so cold waiting for us to start that once we finally did get in the water, I was much warmer.  The current was strong but the wind had the water mostly flat.  The water was also so beautifully clear which in the ocean is a relief because we all have that slight fear of marine life.  For me, I fear jelly fish more than I fear a shark.  I can punch a shark, if I punch a jelly its tentacles will get on me and sting me.  

The current was really against us but I was still feeling pretty good because I didn't see too many people in my heat in front of me.  I struggled the most with trying to get back to shore.  Once I finally got to shore, I booked it.  Running from the water towards transition, they had a sprinkler/hose arch that you ran through and as I ran through it I opened my mouth to rinse out salt water out of my mouth and in return a friend got a pretty good photo of me.

T-1:

For this transition, we had to run from the beach to the end of the Casino Beach parking lot.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I was cold though.  The wind was still hitting pretty hard.  I knew it was going to be a interesting bike ride.  I had a nice, quick transition though.

Bike:

This bike course should have been cake.  You couldn't ask for a flatter bike course.  But the winds and wind gusts were redonkulous.  I was hardly in the aero position because of how often I thought I was about to be blown right off my bike.  I knew who my competition was and I was hammering my legs to get me past people and get through the wind.  Bike is where I feel strongest.  And I truly felt as I kept passing people. This was an 18 mile course, I averaged about 17.9 going out to the turn around.

There was a bit of cluster in the turn around area, for some reason people felt the need to slow down, but I was warmed up and ready to move.  I really hammered on the way back, still fighting the wind but managed to average 18.8 on the way back.  I knew I was ahead of the girls in my age group, but not sure how much.

T-2:

Transition was a bit more busy this time going in but I still managed to dismount smoothly, drop of the bike, slip on the shoes and go.  I was only in transition for 1:16.

Run:

Ahh, the run.  My not so strongest point of the race.  I was focused though, I wasn't concentrating on the fact that I know I'm not the fastest runner.  I was focused on three things, I knew my competition was right on my heels and that I needed to make my Brother proud and give it everything.

I felt really good, and just let myself go and just run.  I didn't want to look at my watch and have it affect me mentality.  I was just going for it.  I'd never felt so strong on a run until that race.  It was starting to warm up which I love.  Shortly after the first mile, a girl from my age group passed me.  I kept pushing though.  When I made the final turn towards the finish line, I dropped the hammer.  I crossed the finish line absolutely exhausted! 


I ended up placing third in my age group.  The crazy thing is, I beat the girls that came in 1st/2nd in both the swim and the bike, but they caught me during the run.  The difference between me and first place was less than two minutes.  Two second difference between 1st and 2nd, so needless to say it was a close race. 

Phat Girlz!

Tri Team

Ironman Louisville 08/24/2014

How do I begin to describe the most challenging, most beautiful, nerve wrecking, amazing, and thrilling day of my life.  No words will be enough to describe all the emotions I went through.  I will try though.

Leading up to the big race I was nervous but trying to stay as calm as possible.  Then I woke up one morning and could barely walk on my right leg.  I started freaking out.  Turned out my soleus was extremely tight and filled with scar tissue/lactic acid.  I had been rolling out with trigger point therapy but I wasn't focusing on that area enough ( I was focusing more on my calves and quads).  For a couple days I was unable to put a lot or much weight at that on my right leg.  I was so scared that I was going to be jacked up for my Ironman.  My race I've been training nearly non stop, for 7 months.  After some muscle manipulation, a massage, lots of icing, trigger point therapy and rest it finally recovered.  Now, granted I was already tapering this made me feel even more like a 500 lb cow.  I seriously felt like I could barely run a mile.  It was what my Coach warned me about and man it was true.  I didn't feel like an athlete, I was bloated, felt lazy, tired, and like a slug.

On Thursday morning, before the race, before I started my drive to Louisville I scheduled my last massage with Lora, from Tensegrity Massage, who is amazing!  I was all relaxed and my muscles were all good to go.  My plan was to drive to Huntsville, which is roughly half way to Louisville, and stay with my boyfriend, Justin.  That night his father took us to a wonderful dinner, where I was taunted by their yummy desserts, and I promise, I only took one bite!  We had agreed we'd try to be on the road by 6 am the next day to head towards Louisville.  Around 2 am Justin's phone was going off, turns out his sister was in labor!  We went back to sleep for a few more hours and then decided we'd stop to see her, which she was conveniently in Nashville which was about a half way point to Louisville.  We stopped at Waffle House along the way for breakfast. We got to the hospital and with 20 minutes of arriving, Justin's nephew was born!  It was quite an awesome experience and a neat way to first meet his sister.

Swag Bag

Shortly after, we were back on the road.  I decided to take a nap, during which Justin of course made sure to snap a picture of my passed out self.  He's lucky he's cute.  After a quick nap, I woke up and realized that I forgot to pack my charger for my Garmin 910, which I knew wasn't fully charged.  Talk about a damn near panic attack.  Thankfully I was able to get in touch with a fellow triathlete racing Ironman Louisville who was going to lend me their charger.   We finished our trek and went straight to the Galt House, where the expo/checkin/basically everything was taking place.  I was like a kid in a giant candy/toy's r us/disney.  We parked and I was looking at all the cars with all the Ironman stickers, the 70.3's, the marathon stickers, the bikes!  We finally got into the expo, I was grinning from ear to ear.  First you check in with your id to be given your ticket with your bib number on it, then you sign all the waivers, then you go to the table with your packet filled with swim cap, bib, and stickers.  Next table is where you get your swag bag!  This swag bag was awesome!  It was a really nice Ironman Louisville bag, with a bike multi tool, red bull, the athlete program, and a bunch of different brochures/pamphlets/etc.  After you grabbed your bag you then got your timing chip and strap.  Once that is complete it drops you into the Ironman store, I refused to buy anything yet because I didn't want to jinx myself.  

One thing I noticed, was all the amazing people I was surrounded by.  It was a breath of fresh air, to be all around people who are extremely active, disciplined, and respectful.  Not saying that the community I come from isn't like that, but just in general.

Justin and I then headed to the Marriott Downtown, which was only a few blocks away from the Galt House.  Warning, you will pay for parking everywhere, even at your own hotel.  The Marriott Downtown, was very nice.  Probably one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed.  It had two restaurants, a bar, and a starbucks.  We were on the 14th floor, which I came to find out was truly the 13th floor, they just don't call it the 13th floor.  I was slightly confused.  We got into the hotel room and without even asking, Justin went back to the car to finish grabbing everything to the hotel room.  I had only brought my bike in at first, which you could tell this was my first go round, because my paranoid self, carried my bike through the hotel to the room. I didn't want my tires hitting anything.  Justin made fun of me of course.  While Justin grabbed everything from the car, I was getting everything laid out for the next couple days.  We had a room with two beds, so one bed became triathlon central.  Like my transition bag/stuff threw up all over it.

Shortly after getting all settled in we headed out for the athlete dinner.  As I opened the door to our hotel room I noticed something was on the door.  Justin made me the most awesome door sign/poster!!! I was shocked and so happy.  I mistakenly thought the athlete dinner was in the Galt House, but turns out it was in the Convention Center which was right in between my hotel and the Galt House.  At that moment, I told Justin my brain was too frazzled to attempt to direct us and he was in charge.  We met up with fellow Tri Gulf Coast athlete, Kevin.  I had told Justin, look for a guy with a lot of Ironman Tattoo's on his calves and Justin replied "Like him?" and points right to Kevin.  We got in line for the Athlete Dinner which again was awesome to be surrounded by amazing people.   The food served was buffet style, with a salad, vegetarian pasta, chicken pasta, veggies, rolls, and some yummy looking deserts (whats with all the temptation!?)

It was simply dining for the first 20 minutes or so, then they started making speeches, sharing some of the very inspiring stories of the different athletes racing on Sunday.  In the beginning, during the prayer, I got teary eyed as they asked for the althletes to be blessed and watched over.  It was becoming even more real that I was actually here and about to race my first Ironman.  They had different groups of people stand up for recognition, such as those who did not finish from last year, the people who had raced Louisville before, those who were on Ironman #10 and more, and then the soon to be new Ironman.  On the stage they had the finish line arch with the countdown to our race.  It read 36 hours.  I was screaming in my head "Chill the Efff out Alyssa!"

I was mentally exhausted after the dinner so Justin and I headed back to the hotel room to get ready for bed.  I however, swore I knew where I was going to get back to the hotel room and turned out I didn't and had us going the complete opposite direction, I then told Justin he was in charge of navigation for real this time.  I still had to pack my bags for special needs/transition but I had everything listed for each  bag already so I didn't stress it the night before.  My Coach and I talked on the phone for about 15 minutes to go over my race plan.  Her reaction when she found out it wasn't a wetsuit legal swim was priceless!!!  Let's just say a few naughty words were said.  After getting off the phone with her I was spent, and ready for bed!

The next morning, I woke up and went down stairs to the restaurant to get some fresh fruit to go with my yogurt for breakfast.  When I got to the restaurant the seating hostess was kind enough to go to the buffet and fill a to go container of fruit for me!   I then walked across the lobby and got Justin some breakfast.  When I returned to the room, I woke Justin up and we had breakfast in bed.  

First thing I did after breakfast was clean my bike.  I turned on my "get pumped/motivated/ready to kick booty" playlist.  For those wondering, that consist's of the following songs:

The Fighter - Gym Class Heroes
Hall of Fame - The Script
Roar - Katy Perry
Remember the Name - Fort Minor
Girl is On Fire - Alicia Keys
Part of Me - Katy Perry
Best Day of My Life -American Authors
Dust - Eli Young Band
All the Above - Maino

As I cleaned every inch of my bike I reflected on the past seven months of my life.  I shut a lot of people out of my life, I stayed focused.  I didn't go out, I didn't drink, party, didn't travel anywhere but for races, I literally ate, slept, trained, and worked.  In those near 8 months, I had trained for 299 hours and 30 minutes.  I swam 185,625 yards.  I biked 3,040.8 miles.  I ran 517.64 miles.  Ironman training was my life.  It was all I cared about for those months.  I ate, breath, slept, Ironman.  It was all I talked about.  When I was at home eating, I would watch YouTube videos of previous Ironman races.  It was my everything.

And there I was.  Cleaning my bike, attaching my race number sticker onto my bike frame.  For my water bottle holder, I had trouble while training with it slipping so I triple zip tied it...on both sides, to ensure that it wouldn't move a centimeter during my race.  Once my bike was good to go, I pulled out my check lists and began to pack my bags.  Even with a checklist, this is such a nerve wrecking process.  You are still worried that you're going to forget something vital that you'll need race day, no matter how many times you quadruple check your check list with whats in your bag.  Now, my Coach gave me great advice with my bags.  Get an obnoxious patterned/colored duck tape to put along your bag to make it stick out.  Justin went and got me this awesome bright green duck tape that had flowers and flamingos on it!

Bike Gear Bag

For my Bike Gear needs bag the follow was in it: Lazer Helmet, Pearl Izumi bike shoes, 4 packages of Mountain Berry Clif Shot Bloks, my tube of Chamois Butter, Tri Top, Tifosi Sunglasses, chapstick, 2 tampons, and Endurolytes.  No I did not wear socks for the bike portion.  I wanted to have fresh, dry socks for my run and I always trained with no socks when wearing my bike shoes.  And unfortunately, it was that time of the month for me so I had tampons stuffed in each transition/special needs bags.  

For my Bike Special Needs I had 4 more Mountain Berry Clif Shot Bloks, two small packages of chamois butter, extra Endurolytes, 1 tampon, an extra tube/CO2 cartridges and I last added a Peanut Butter/Nutella sandwich.  My Coach said to add something that if I'm having a bad day would make me happy, so I added Nutella to my sandwich because Nutella is just amazing.  

Run Gear Bag

My Run bag contained my Newton Distance S's, RW visor, my favorite socks (Injinji Toe Socks), Race bib on my belt, 7 Chocolate Peanut Butter Gu's, Tampons, Body Glide, Chamois Butter, and more Endurolytes that I put in an empty Nuun container.  

Run Special Needs

Run Special Needs contained an extra pair of my second favorite kind of socks (Wright Sock), Sour Gummy Worms, 2 tampons, chapstick, 7 Chocolate Peanut Butter Gu's, and two containers of chamois butter.

Dropping Off my bike and bags!

Finally my bags were all packed and I was ready to take them (with the exception of bike special needs, which I dropped off race morning because of the sandwich) and my bike down to the transition area!  Now, I was super paranoid about pushing my bike through downtown because of something getting in my tire and causing a problem later on.  So, I literally carried my bike from my hotel to transition.  Very paranoid.  Once I entered transition to drop everything off, a friendly volunteer took my bags from me and carried them for me as we took my bike to its spot.  I kept looking all around at the bikes that were a lot nicer then mine, granted there were some that weren't as nice, but none the less still some very nice bikes out there.  Once I racked my bike, the volunteer was kind enough to take a picture for me.  He then escorted me to drop off my bags, informing me of where the changing tents were for women, where I'd be getting my bags, where sun screen was applied, just everything and anything you need to know about the transition area.  Got all my stuff dropped off and then went back to the hotel room.  

Bike is racked!

Back at the hotel I had to do a little spin bike workout, which I then followed by sitting in the hot tub for a bit to relax.  Then Justin and I goofed off in the pool with his GoPro camera and took some neat footage of me swimming.  The pool at the hotel was all stainless steel, which looked awesome but man it was deceiving, I ran my hand and head into it a few times.  

It started getting late (5 pm) so we went back to the room to get cleaned up.  Then headed to the store to get my plain grilled chicken and plain white rice.  We got back to the hotel, watched some tv as we ate.  Justin had amazing smelling chili from Wendy's!!! Such a tease!  Before going to bed, I had the my transition bag to take in the morning packed and ready laying on the opposite bed, with my clothes, and post race bag.  The last thing I remember saying to Justin before I passed out was, "I'm doing an Ironman tomorrow."

At 3:30 am my alarm went off.  It didn't even need to go off for more then 1.3 seconds before I was up and turning it off.  I then took my shower, got all shaved up and smooth.  First thing out of the shower I put my hair into my awesome bun that can withstand anything and everything.  My hair doesn't even take me more than ten minutes anymore with how much I've done that bun for JROTC/ROTC/Triathlons.  I was trying to stay calm.  Stay focused.  I then applied chamois butter/body glide probably all over my entire body.  Deodorant. Lotion.  Then I put my tri shorts and sports bra on.  I then had my traditional pre race waffle with Chocolate Gu on it.  Brushed my teeth.  Put my sweat shirt on.  Put my Garmin on.  Flip flops on.  Fill up my water bottles for the bike.  Grab transition bag, tire pump, and go.  So many thoughts and emotions were fluttering through my head.  Am I really about to do this? Did I train enough? What if I fail? What if I crash? What if I die? Maybe I'll have a great first race? The damn weather better not ruin this.  I feel like a fatty.  Do I have everything I need?

Waiting for swim start

Justin tried keeping me as calm as he possibly could. I sipped on Execute throughout the morning. I finally arrived to transition to attach all my water bottles to my bike.  It had poured down rain the night before so everything was wet, including the transition bags.  I filled up my tires, zip tied my aero water bottle in, twice, and realized it was as ready as it could be.  Got my bike special needs bag dropped off, checked on my soaked transition bags, and then once I felt more relieved that I was set and everything was good to go.  Justin and I then walked to the swim start.  For a line that supposedly only started at 5 am, that line was already super long.  I felt like I had to walk miles to finally make it to the current end of the line so I could get in line.  They did have port-o-pottys throughout the line for athletes.  I ate half a snickers marathon bar about 1 hour before swim start. I sat down on the athlete side of the sidewalk, non athletes had to stand/sit on the opposite side of the side walk.  We still had about 30 minutes until the pros began so we began chatting with one another and the people beside us.  The guy to my right was from Alabama, same age as me, and this was his first as well.  I then took in a Gu about 15 minutes before swim start.

Finally we heard the cannon go off for the Pro Males.  I swear I felt that canyon go off in my chest as well.  Soon after we all heard the additional cannon for the Pro Females.  Then before I knew it, the cannon for the remainder of us went off.  I was so nervous at this point.  I took off my sweat shirt, handed Justin the rest of my stuff, kissed him, and we all started our walk.  I got my goggles on first, then put my swim cap on.  That way, if I did get kicked in the face, I shouldn't lose my goggles.  Once we got closer to the dock they had music going which got me relaxed and pumped so I started dancing in the line and giving everyone hi fives.  Before I know, I was jumping into the Ohio River.

Gear Bags

The swim.  Coach told me to start out at a 5, and then once I hit the turn go to a 7.  Which I was totally fine with because this being my first Ironman I wanted to pace myself, I had a long day ahead of me.  The water didn't seem to be as terrible as everyone told me.  It certainly wasn't cold, just felt good.  I felt my hand graze a few things in the water, what they were I'm not sure but it slightly grossed me out. The distance in between the island and the turn buoy there were a few chilly spots in the water.  Refreshing but almost borderline too cold. Once I finally hit the buoy for the turn I felt like I was there for two minutes, the current was strong where it was and a few people had trouble making the turn around it.  But once I did that, I kicked it up to that 7 and started moving.  I was feeling awesome.  My body was feeling good, I was singing in my head, enjoying the micro seconds of scenery when my head wasn't in water.  At one point as I went to breath and my mouth was wide open someone was going by me right at that time and I swallowed a good gulf of water.  It was yucky.  I kept swimming and was under the first bridge when all of a sudden I felt a hand grab my back side and then slide down my leg, I didn't stop or make a deal out of it but someone for sure got a good feel of my butt and legs, good thing I shaved!  Once I passed the second bridge I didn't have much further to go of the swim so I kicked it up just a little bit.  Before I knew it, I was grabbing a volunteers hand to help me out of the water.  This was actually the first swim of all my triathlons where I wasn't completely disoriented coming out of the water.  When I looked down at my Garmin and saw 1:15 I was thrilled!  My goal for my swim was 1:20, I was cheesing!  I ran into transition, down the lane that had my bike gear bag which for some reason I didn't have a volunteer hand me but its all good because that duck tape helped me find my bag real quick. I grabbed my bag then ran into the women's changing tent.

In the women's changing tent, it was crazy.  T&A everywhere! Volunteers everywhere!  Bags everywhere!  I found a chair to set my bag on and began taking what I needed out.  I first grabbed my tube of chamois butter, pulled my tri shorts down to my knees and made my butt and upper legs white with all the chamois butter I put on.  Pulled my tri shorts back on, put the two tampons in my back pocket, put my trip top on and zipped up, stuffed my clif shot blocks and bottle of endurolytes down my shirt, sunglasses on, and helmet on.  I carried my shoes just to be safe that I didn't break the clip part of my bike shoes while running across transition.  My swim stuff and whatever I didn't use or need got thrown back into the bag where a volunteer took it.  Immediately exiting the tent, I had a volunteer apply sunscreen to my shoulders and arms.  I then hit a port-o-potty for the lady thing.  Then, I ran to my bike, still with shoes in hand, grabbed my bike and went.  Right as I was about to get back onto concrete I finally put my bike shoes on.  Got on my bike and went.

The first five miles I took super, super easy.  Got all my nutrition situated, made sure bike was good, and that I was good.  It was cloudy and somewhat cool at this point.  I went ahead and had one whole package of the Clif Shot Bloks and 2 endurolytes along with drinking Execute.  The first 20 miles weren't too hilly, then came a really fun, shaded hilly section of the bike course.  There were a few small climbs but there was a good chunk down hill, like down hill for .7 miles where I just coasted and enjoyed the wind and the ride, hitting up to 40 mph!  Then there was a sharp turn around and a few climbs backs out the main road.  The ride was smooth so far.  I was enjoying myself, talking with other athletes as I passed them or they passed me.  I got a lot of compliments on my Tri Kit! They had us go over a set of railroad tracks and as I was going over them there was an athlete on the ground who had just crashed, he was laying on his stomach and the back of his shirt was all cut up and you could see the road rash on his back.  Aid stations were very organized, the volunteers did a great job at letting everyone know what they had.  For the first aid station, and most really, I would take 2 bottles of perform, if I had time I'd take a third to top off my aero bottle and then trash it while I still had time.  

The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  Horse pastures everywhere, which to anyone who knows me - thats right up my alley, and just beautiful farms.  I found myself wondering which great race horses had been in these pastures I was riding by.  As I was hitting around mile 30, I felt my stomach get "weird" and before I knew it I was in need of a port-o-potty.  I was pissed.  This hadn't happened to me during any of my training rides, during my Half Ironman, just ever.  Now here comes my Ironman and I'm only on mile 30 of the bike and I'm about to crap myself.  And to be honest, had I had an extra pair of shorts in my next bag I might have done it, but unfortunately I didn't so I knew I'd have to stop. Once I felt that, I stopped taking the Shot Bloks and stuck to liquids. The moment I saw a set of port-o-pottys I stopped and tried to get back on track. Close to the half way point there was great crowd support, and big area that had taken family/friends/spectators from the transition area of the race to this area so they could see their athletes twice.  It was a downhill slope and I was trying to looking for Justin, then right towards the end of the area he was on my left cheering for me.  I would be seeing him in about another 30 miles.  This upcoming loop of the bike course was by far the most challenging.  It had some of the steepest climbs, sharp turns with an uphill around the corner.  It was also starting to get hot out.  I literally saw one guy attempting to climb a hill and just fell because he couldn't peddle enough.  Several people walked their bike up the hills.  I stayed on my bike the entire time.  I was still having issues though, feeling like I needed to use the bathroom yet again, so when I hit mile 40ish I stopped again.  As we came back around towards the beginning of our last loop, before the crowd area, around mile 60, I had to go again! So I hit my brakes to turn towards the pottys and as I did that my bike was going over a diver in the road and bam! The back of my bike made a weird noise and I felt myself start falling down to the right, thankfully I unconsciously unclipped my right foot and caught myself.  What the Efff just happened??? I unclipped my other foot, and realized my wheel was dangling from my bike.  I picked up my bike, took it the side of the road where a volunteer helped me out, which thank goodness because all I was thinking about was "My Bike is broken, I'm not going to be able to finish".  Thankfully it just came loose and came off and we were able to get it screwed back on.  The volunteer though tried to hand me my bike to get back on the road and  I was like "Umm, I need to use the bathroom".  Got back on and we finally came to Bike Special Needs Bag area, I called out my number to inform them that I did want my bag.  When I finally got to the line of volunteers the volunteer held my bag up so I could see where it and she was.  I stood there, the volunteer opened the bag for me as I dug in.  I took the sandwich but nothing else.  I was excited for something different and was hungry since I hadn't been eating my clif boks.

After stuffing my face with my sandwich, we passed the crowd again.  Justin was on my right this time.  Finally I was on the last section of the bike.  Less then 60 miles to go.  I was staying focused and not allowing for my bathroom issues to bother me.  When I hit mile 80 I had to go again, but this time I felt like complete crap.  As I went to open the door to the potty, I threw up.  I felt awful cause I literally threw up right in front of it.  Went in and also realized I was out of tampons at this point.  So great, not only was I on the edge of crapping myself for the rest of this course, I was now going to have blood everywhere (I warned y'all this would be detailed).   But honestly at that point, I didn't care, I just wanted to finish this bike ride.  I took a minute just standing next to my bike, pouring cold water onto my head and neck, which was burning for some reason.  The volunteer kept asking if I was ok, I knew I looked as awful as I was feeling.  But I got back on kept on keeping on.  Around mile 90 there was an older gentlemen who came near me, complimented my tri kit and saw that I had two spare bottles of Perform in my water bottle cages and asked if he could have one cause he couldn't get one at the last station.  I told him sure, I still had my aero bottle filled and there was less then 26 miles left.  So we peddled along side of each other while he grabbed it real quick.  The roads on the last stretch of the bike were rough, lots of holes/cracks/bumps.  Finally I saw the sign that said "mile 100" and I knew I was almost done.  

Dismount

I had a smooth dismount off the bike, and the volunteer took my bike and I was en route to getting my run gear bag.  Once my bike was handed off, I took my bike shoes off and carried them so I could run through transition faster.  I grabbed my gear bag and went to the women's changing tent.  This time it wasn't as crowded, so I had a volunteer stick with me.  She took everything out of my bag for me and laid it on a chair.  She asked what I did or didn't need, took my helmet and bike shoes for me and put them in my bag, and even went and got me water.  She was awesome.  All the volunteers were awesome.  Once I grabbed everything, I headed out for the sunscreen station again, when they sprayed the back of my neck I yelled, and thats when I realized that my bun in the swim cap chaffed the back of my neck. Grr!  I hit the potty, and then was good to go because that last potty stop I had nothing else in me to get out, I was relieved that I was emptied out because I was over that mess.  

Starting my marathon!

Justin was right there as I came out of transition, he then started running to catch more video of me leaving the transition area and I yelled to him "You better get there before me, I just rode 112 miles" which made myself and a few spectators laugh.  He did.  I was feeling good to be running, my legs didn't feel tired at all, so I was really excited that I'd have a decent run.  Justin met me around another point where he put the GoPro on the ground to get footage of me running past, but I picked it up and started running with it forcing him to chase me down.  He hollered at me to stay focused and I replied "I'm about to run for 5 hours by myself, I need some entertainment".  Once I hit mile 1, I decided to go ahead and take a Gu.  As soon as I swallowed all of it down, it came right back up.  What in the freakin hell??? Great, so after nearly crapping myself for 7 hours, I'm throwing up.  

I was able to sip some water, but anytime I tried to do the chicken broth/fruit/pretzels/gu, I just kept throwing it up.  This was getting frustrated.  Mostly I was worried that my endurolytes weren't staying down and would lead me to becoming severely dehydrated.  Once I realized what was going on, I officially knew I wouldn't have the Ironman race time I wanted but I was more than determined to finish whether it was going to lead me into a hospital bed or not.  I tried to do a walk/run combo.  At one point though my heart rate monitor was reading 190 while I was just jogging, I started walking immediately scared that I was about to give myself a heart attack.  I calmed myself down, talked to myself, and kept moving.  Each aid station after I didn't even try to eat anything because throwing up was only wasting more energy.  So I would take few sips of water to get my endurolytes down and that was it.  

When you hit the half way point of this course, you have to literally run towards the finish line and then turn right as the shoot begins.  Its a freakin tease.  But as soon as you turn you get your special needs bag.  I changed my socks out because I was keeping water poured on my for the first half to try and keep my body cool, and I brought the gummy worms just incase I might be able to keep something down.  I got back up and started jogging.  I was thankful for fresh socks.  I opened the bag of gummy worms and ate two, man did they taste amazing! But coming back up not so much.  I threw the bag away and finally gave up on the thought of eating anything for the next couple hours.  Just stuck to a couple sips of water each aide station.  Around mile 14, I was walking with  a lady and I said "I thought we were suppose to go by Churchill Downs on our course?" and she replied "We Did...it was around mile 10 where the had us do that small turn and come back" and I realized at that point I was losing my mind.  I was feeling tired, dehydrated, sick, and felt my body just start shutting down, but I still had 12 miles to go.  The thought of quitting never crossed my mind, just hoping that I would get to the finish line in time.  To not play more mental games, I even switched my Garmin to time of day instead of seeing my HR/Pace/Distance.  All I cared about was crossing the finish line before midnight. 

It started getting dark and not as crowded.  The lights on the cops cars were making me dizzy so I would have to close my eyes every time I passed a cop car.   The volunteers were amazing, they would walk towards you to bring you whatever you needed.  I kept taking ice to put on my head, down my sports bra, and the back of my tri kit to try and keep my body cool.  I could feel my inner thighs were chaffed from my shorts, I could feel the blister on my heel and toe, I could feel where my heart rate monitor was cutting into my skin, I could feel everything but I refused to let it take over, I just embraced it.  I embraced the suck.  Finally the end was near.  Around mile 23, I looked to my right and saw "University of Louisville", it was a huge beautiful campus and even though I passed it 3 other times I was just now seeing it.  Holy shit, I'm really losing it.  I can't really give you more details about my marathon because I really barely remember any of it.  Maybe its like childbirth, its so bad during that you can't remember what it was like, you just remember the end result.  I would try to jog but could feel my body just crashing even more and I needed to make sure I would be able to at least walk through the finish line.  When I finally turned the last corner, I could hear the finish line crowd, the announcer, the volunteers yelling "You've got this! It's right there!", something kicked in and I was able to jog around the corner and all the way to the finish line.  

Going through that shoot was such an amazing feeling, everyone is cheering for you, calling your name (its on the bib), and all you can see is that beautiful finish line.  It is by far the best feeling in the world, and I do mean best, to cross the finish line as the announcer says your name and says that "You are an IRONMAN!".  I was nothing but smiles and so happy, I was in a bubble of accomplishment and happiness for a minute, they got my medal put on me, and then we (volunteer and I) started walking and thats when all the pain finally set in.  I was miserable.  At first I really wanted to go to medical because I knew I truly needed an IV, but when I look at the medical tent it looked full (found out later that the true medical area was in the convention center with ish loads of IV's) so I refused and thought I'm sure theres someone else who needs it more then I.  The volunteer got me my finishers shirt/hat and then took me to the photographer.  After the photo I walked to the exit shoot and there was Justin.  I practically collapsed in his arms and started balling my eyes out.  I had so many emotions going through me; accomplishment, pride, pain, misery, happiness, and more.  We took a few photos then I had to sit down and get my shoes off, my feet were burning.  We forgot to put post race shoes in my bag so Justin was kind enough to put on my nasty, stinky, sweaty shoes and give me his to wear.  I originally wanted to stay for the finisher party but was just spent.  So, I put my arm around Justin and I hobbled back to the hotel.  Now, our hotel was really nice, so to have me all nasty hobbling in, as theres people dressed all nice and fancy at the nice bar in the hotel was kinda funny.  

Cheesing!

Justin and I after I finished!

When we finally got into the hotel room, I just sat on the bathroom floor.  Justin made me an awesome ice bath but as I tried to get in it I was screaming, it made everything hurt worse.  So we melted the ice out so I could just take a hot shower.  He helped me get undressed and I felt more areas that were chaffed, I felt the sunburn, and just every muscle aching.  Justin left to go and get a menu for the restaurant in the hotel as I literally crawled/climbed into the bathtub and just sat in the tub as the hot shower water rained down on me.  It hurt so much because of all the areas I was chaffed.  From the open lash on my chest from my heart rate monitor, to the raw skin and blisters on my inner thighs, shoulders were chaffed, sides were chaffed, my lower back and butt was chaffed, the top of my feet where chaffed, the back of my neck, just freakin everywhere.  It hurt, I nearly cried for the first few minutes of the water running down me.  I think at one point I even passed out in the tub because one minute I was just laying there and the next I know Justin is next to me with a menu.  I didn't know if my stomach would even be able to eat anything but we figured we'd try since I hadn't had really anything in over 12 hours.  He got the food ordered as I washed my hair, still sitting in the tub under the water.  When I got done, I got dried off and realized all the clothing I had brought was all tighter stuff, and I truthfully didn't want anything touching me with how bad I was chaffed.  I put chamois butter on all the spots and asked Justin for a pair of his gym shorts and a t shirt.  I got into the bed and just laid there until our food got there.  I ate some french fries, some of my cheeseburger, and few chicken tenders.  My stomach was fighting me.  I felt at any moment I was going to hurl it all up.  I was so freakin hungry though.  Justin also got me a Mountain Dew which was my first Mountain Dew in probably a year, it tasted amazing.  I think the carbonation helped my stomach too. We finally got to bed at 1:30 am, and realized we'd have to be up at 6:30 am to get everything packed, attend the athlete celebration breakfast, go to the ironman store to get some swag, and then get on the road. 

That alarm went off too soon.  But we got up, got packed, I put only some sweat pants and my RW singlet, Justin got the car all packed up, and we walked to the Galt House.  Thankfully it was only two blocks away, but I was still moving like a turtle through peanut butter.  I was sore but the main reason for walking so slow was because of how chaffed my entire body was and every time I moved it just irritated my skin more.  We got to the store and I truly wanted everything that said Ironman, but I'm not rich.  So I got myself a t shirt and tank top, and Justin got me the finishers jacket.  It's so sleek and awesome.  We sat down waiting for the breakfast which was breakfast burritos, muffins, and egg and cheese biscuits with juices and coffee.  I didn't eat much, still didn't know how my stomach was going to feel.  After we ate, we headed back to the car and got on the road.  I passed out almost immediately.  

I raced the last "HOT" Ironman Louisville.  After this race IM Louisville will be moved to October for more "ideal race conditions".  I thought it was awesome to say I raced the last hot IM Louisville.

With the days following I started feeling better all around.  And more proud of myself the more I convinced myself that it wasn't about the time I finished but the simple fact I finished.  This was only my first Ironman.  I completely plan on racing more.  I want to race each Ironman Race in America, including Kona but when I do race Kona it will because I earned my spot there.  Looking back, I know had I not had the stomach issues that I could have finish in 13 hours or under.  Which pumped me up even more to do another one.  I know it will take me a while to get faster, this is a sport where when you look at the overalls and the pro's, they're not in their early 20's.  I've got time to grow, to get faster and stronger.  And each race I will come back more determined then the last.  This is where my passion is.  

"We were put on this planet, not to be ok with limits, but to exceed them. " 

-Alyssa King

I would like to thank Running Wild, Gulf Coast Cycle and Tri, and Tensegrity Massage for their sponsorship.

I would like to thank the following companies/brands that helped me get to the finish line: Pearl Izumi, Newton Running, Lazer, Tifosi, Moving Comfort, Injinji, Wright Sock, Profile Design, GU, Energy Labs, Hammer, Body Glide, TYR, Garmin, and 110 Play Harder.