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What a fun week! I have to say a big thank you to Kim for coaching me for this race and for taking such great care of me the days leading up to race day. Thank you Kevin and Cindy (Nancy !) for welcoming us into your beautiful home. We truly enjoyed our stay and getting to know you both!

I had a suitable welcome to race week when upon arrival at the Spokane airport, I opened the car door and knocked myself in the eye, giving me a beautiful  black eye. I had blood streaming down my face and said to Kim , “Oh, That’s gonna leave a mark!.” It hurt a lot but we laughed it off. She said , “Let the beatings begin.”

We got there early in the week and this gave us plenty of time to goof off, practice open water swimming, and check out the bike course. I felt very confident at the beginning of the week but got nervous as the week progressed. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. First I find out that the weather on race day would be in the low 50’s with wind, thunderstorms, and a chance of hail. “Great” , I thought. I can run in anything, but the choppy ocean like lake, and wet roads on the bike is something that makes me very nervous. The bike course was technical with steep downhills and sharp turns on the descents. My handling skills are less than ideal for this kind of course. I just prayed for no rain on the bike. Bring it on for the run. I can handle any weather condition on the run. Then to top it off, they inform us at the pro meeting that it will be a land start. Oh how I love these, start in the sand in your friggin rubber suit, sprint in the water, and begin hammering the swim. Nothing like starting an Ironman with a heart rate of 200, getting kicked and punched while hyperventilating. What a great way to start the day with a full blown panic attack!  I remember standing on the starting line of the Miami Marathon with some friends who were all trying to get their olympic trial qualifying time and one friend said to me, “This is the worst feeling in the world. It’s so nerve racking!”  I looked at her and replied, “Oh honey , you have NO idea!!! The start of an ironman swim is by far the wost! No one is going to run up to you and grab your legs or punch you in the face, while you are gasping for air” ok you get my point.

The swim was very challenging. We were given a 35 minute head start on the age groupers. Well it was a 2 loop course, so the slower swimmers were screwed. Just as I turned to head towards the second loop, I missed a buoy and a lady in a kayak was yelling at me to go around it, so I turned around to go around it just as I heard the U2 It’s a beautiful Day song, (now every time I hear this song I’ll feel sick to my stomach) and I knew in 10 second I was screwed. The 2500 age groupers had started and I was about to get the living shit beat out of me. I was on the left and tried to get to the right of the buoy because I knew that once we hit that red left turn buoy, I would be stuck in a traffic jam around the buoy. There were so many swimmers that I couldn’t get left. I felt like Chevy Chase , “Big Ben kids, Just can’t get to the left!” I was so scared I actually had an evacuation plan and said to myself that if by chance I got pushed under the buoy, not to panic and just swim under it to the other side. There was a dead stop traffic jam at the turn buoy, we were actually just treading water trying to get around. I actually aqua jogged a bit around the buoy and actually passed some swimmers! A few minutes later and many kicks in the face, I lost my goggles, and had to stop to put they back on. It was brutal and I came out of the water in 67 minutes, 5 minutes off my goal time.

I got on my bike and felt ready to get some girls. Kim said to hold back the first loop and pace myself. I felt like I was riding strong but my pace was a little slower than planned. Because all the girls swam so much faster than me, I was ALL alone out there on the bike. There was no one. It was very lonely. I had a hard time getting in a rythem on the bike. I heard a jarring in my gearing and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Seemed like we were either going up, down, or around a turn. I tend to do better on courses like Lake Placid, long climbs versus smaller hills one after another. My lack of technical bike skills definitely showed in my time. I found myself wondering how hard to push. I was worried about the run. I knew that the marathon would be a struggle off 2 days a week of running.

I got off the bike and didn’t pass a single girl, but I felt ready to run. I loved the run course. 2 loops and an out and back, so there were people everywhere. I felt like I was in a race unlike the lonely bike ride. I paced great in the run and am very proud of myself for pushing to the end. I had a bad patch from 13-18 but finished strong (maybe it was all the coke I was desperately reaching for) and ran the last 3 miles at about 7 min pace with the last one under 7. I thought I was in 9th place and 8th place was 1:50 up with 4 miles to go. I had to dig very deep to push on and go after her. I caught her with 2 miles to go. I was so happy because I wanted top 8 so bad. Well I crossed the finish line and found out that was 9th place! Damn it!! Oh well it pushed me to the limits. I ended up passing 4 pro’s on the run. It was a very challenging race for me. The swim and bike was such a mental struggle for me, and the run as usual was very painful. All in all I am happy and raced to a PR by 4 minutes. What a great sport and such a challenge.

We went down to the finish line later that night to drink some beers and watch the final finishers. Fun fun.

I have to thank my sponsors New Balance and Trakkers for their support. Thank you!!!! I just loved my new flats, 769, great Ironman racer.

And most of all thanks sissy for taking such good care of me all week long! I had a blast and maybe , just maybe , I’ll do another! Love ya sis!

Here are some fun pics of our weekend.

Looking back, it would be funny to see a picture of me getting swallowed up by the 2500 age groupers but Kim couldn’t watch it. She said it was too painful, and had to look away as it happened. She felt too bad for me.