Living in a Fairy Tale--Almost

I have been putting off writing my IMChoo race recap because honestly I feel like I'm in the middle of a dream. There's been a slight fear that sitting down to write this will be what wakes me up. 

So far so good...

Let me start this by going all the way back to IMChoo 2015. I trained "hard" for that race (although now that I'm reading my recap, apparently not quite enough for the swim!). I had a time goal (sub 13) and I executed well enough to beat my goal by 9 minutes. 

And then the wheels FELL OFF....I started having weird symptoms and then in March of the next year I got the Autoimmune Encephalopathy diagnosis. I treated with VERY high dose IV steroids for just over a year. I gained about 30-35 pounds and lost pretty much all my fitness. I went from being able to swim a "comfortable" 1:55/100 to not being able to swim...from being able to do my speed work in the low 8:00 paces to not being able to walk a 20 minute mile...from lifting heavy weights to not being able to hold up a dress on a hanger! (Not to mention the neurological issues.)

Fast forward 5 years...last year I did the Memphis 70.3 on October 1st. I had been swimming, but pretty much ALL with fins and just drills. That was a wetsuit swim and it was HORRIBLE. I kept telling myself I never had to swim again just to get through it. I really TRIED to swim more but I didn't swim AT ALL from February to July, and had only 10 swims (with fins and a snorkel) until race day. (More about this in a minute.) 

The one thing I did do fairly consistently was my long ride. I started in April with a short, easy, 50 minute ride and went up to 112 miles on Labor Day, plus teaching A LOT of spin bike classes. I also did my "long" runs on a hilly route...but my longest run was 13.1 (a half marathon 2 weeks prior to the race).

Another thing I did even more consistently was STRENGTH TRAIN!! My good friend, owner/operator of Iron Tribe Fitness, Ironman himself, and co-host to Fit Fat Dad Podcast, offered to program a twice-per-week plan for me specifically designed to improve my running/biking and swimming. Uh, yes please!! I started in January and went strong until IM training wore me out to the point my strength workouts were suffering (basically the end of July). I saw significant gains that translated into not only a much stronger performance, less injury and less overall fatigue! I can't recommend Iron Tribe (Prime*) Fitness highly enough! (*Prime is a specific "flavor" of Iron Tribe. It's not the "regular" ITF workouts, which are great...it's a personalized plan built for an individual's specific goals.

My MAIN goal for Choo 23 was to get to the start line feeling at least somewhat trained and healthy.

CHECK and CHECK.

I was only VERY slightly concerned about the swim. Back in January I found out that, apparently, chlorine can displace iodine in the thyroid! Well my thyroid numbers have been bad since before I had the brain disease. So my doctor suggested I take a break from swimming. At the same time I also switched thyroid hormone brands. My numbers improved at my next blood draw! Was it from not swimming or from the change in meds?? Well, I decided it was better to not swim than to find out! I ended up only having 10 swims total from July until race day. I just kept thinking "it's a down river swim...it's going to be fine" (spoiler alert-I was right!)

One other big change this time around is that I have been teaching Aqua Fitness classes (from the pool deck) for a little over a year now. I LOVE IT!! I get a decent workout teaching on deck and I LOVE the people (mostly ladies and a few men) who take the classes I teach three days a week. I truly believe teaching these classes has helped my overall fitness level improve.

RACE WEEKEND

When I originally signed up to do the race I thought we were going to have a whole house full of friends there but it ended up only being one friend who stayed with us. Honestly I was fine with that...it wasn't my first and I wasn't going out for a PR...and I truly wasn't 100% sure I would finish. We rented the CUTEST AirBnB and drove up on Friday for packet pick-up.

Ironman Village was like a ghost town!!! It was the strangest thing. There were VERY few vendors and very few athletes (only about 1500 registered compared to pre-covid days of 2500-3000. It felt like I was picking up a packet for a local 5k except you don't get a big backpack full of race bags or a wristband at a local 5k!

I picked up all my stuff, checked in at the AirBnB and we headed just out of town to see other friends of ours (AKA Thunder and Lightning!). I LOVE these friends! They are both HILARIOUS and their house is like a museum with a botanical garden yard! They fixed us these YUMMY drinks with flavored balsamic vinegar, sugar-free syrup and fresh basil! It might sound gross...but read that again...YUMMY!! So yummy that we had to go buy WAY too many sugar-free syrups and flavored vinegars to bring home!!! After that we went to dinner at a DELICIOUS vegan restaurant, Cashew. Now, I'm not a full on vegan like my amazing daughter, but I don't like to eat very heavily before a race, I try not to eat dairy, and I LOVE good vegan food. This place was ALL that and more! It was so good I got a full meal to put in the fridge to eat Sunday after my race was over.

Early to bed Friday night and up Saturday for an easy shake out run. The adorable house was JUST off the course on the North Shore so my friend who came up with us and I walked down Barton to get to Coolidge Park to explore a little there.

I'm not going to lie--I had forgotten what Barton looked like and when I saw it again I was a little intimidated (I'll come back to this when I talk about the run). My run was slow and chopped up but I felt shockingly good. We showered and headed out to check in my bike and my transition bags. I went to the athlete briefing which is where I think I heard they had SIXTY roll down slot for women!! SIXTY...and there were only like 250 women registered!!! We shopped at the little local market before going to do a little more shopping at the balsamic vinegar place! I got back to the house to prep for race day and got to bed early.

I never sleep well before a race so I was up WELL before my 3:30 alarm. I took my meds, ate my breakfast, took my shower (pre-race ritual), got dressed and we headed out MUCH earlier than usual. 

I had written out a VERY solid plan for the day so there was no thinking...just doing. Bottles of concentrated Infinite (I had a custom blend) on my wing and one serving in my bullet. Computer on the bullet. Tires pumped (I had NOT planned to slice my finger open on that stupid pump!). Race belt with gels in the run bag. And within a few short minutes, we were on the bus that would take me to the start. Again that feeling that it was the sleepiest, quietest IM start ever. I've been to the two I've done plus Dwayne's, and 2 others with friends...this one was SO QUIET and calm. Even down at the start area. We talked about how close to the actual start I was compared to 2015 and compared to Dwayne's start in 2016. 

SWIM

Before long people started gathering in pace areas. I lined up with 1:30-2:00 (that seemed like a VERY big time frame but I didn't make the signs...). I chatted with everyone around me and started getting VERY excited to start the race. I had decided several days prior that if it was wetsuit legal (and it was, barely) I would wear my lava pants (AKA floaty pants) because I feel MUCH better in them than I do in either my full wetsuit or my sleeveless. The air temp was about 50 which was a little cooler than I had expected but the water temp was right at 76 so I knew it would feel good getting in. Right at 7:30 they sang the National Anthem (I LOVE how the crowd gets SILENT in a wave as people realize what is happening!)...and the first ones were off...we SLOWLY made our way to the dock. Right about the time Dwayne moved out of the way to head down the river walk and I got to the path that leads to the dock we heard the announcement that the first swimmer was ALREADY out of the water!!! I knew without a doubt it would be a fast swim! Before long it was my turn...they had us getting in 2 at a time with about 5 seconds between each pair--another BIG indicator the river current was SUPER FAST.... and then it was the moment of truth...BEEP time to jump in.

Usually when I jump in I take a couple of seconds to just RELAX but that day as soon as I jumped in I felt better than I have felt jumping in to swim in a LONG time. And like magic, or like a real swimmer, I started to swim SO EASILY it actually shocked me. It felt completely natural! I took my first site for the buoy...200 meters away...okay, here we go...when took my second look I could NOT believe how CLOSE that buoy was. I second guessed the placement. They said they were 200 meters apart but maybe number 1 was closer? And it seemed like it was my third look I was swimming beside it!! ((I'm sure it was more than just the third, but that's how fast it felt...and I had on my "timer goggles"...I got to that buoy in 1:31!!!!!!!! WHAT? I thought I might be swimming kayak to kayak but I was about 600 or so in before I even thought about anything other than "holy crap this is FAST"....I really started regretting not swimming more because I knew I wouldn't be as fast as I was the first year, but the current was MUCH faster.

I did "stop" a few times to take everything in and just catch my breath bit...and then 1/2 way (the buoys change color from yellow to orange) I had a complete brain fart and hit the "lap" button on my watch so I would have a "split time" to compare front to back half.....DOH...the lap button told my triathlon watch I was in T1!! So I quickly hit STOP....and then I realized after a few more yards that the watch would autosave before long so I just hit resume and knew my data would be completely wrong for the swim and T1... JEEZE. But all that helped to take my mind off the swimming! Before I realized it I was at Ross's Landing. I knew there were 11 big upright things but I was moving fast enough I didn't even care to count!

My goggles have a timer function...but because I had taken "rest" breaks it didn't keep a solid time. That combined with my brain fart watch issue I had NO IDEA what my time was. All I knew when I got out of the water was that I felt FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! I got out whooping! and started running. I was surprised Dwayne wasn't there but I saw him as I was running up the little hill--whooping the whole time. I asked someone "what time of day is it?" because I knew I got in at 8:05....they said "9" about the time Dwayne yelled "YOU WERE UNDER AN HOUR!!" That made me WHOOP even louder!!!! (I heard him say "can you imagine being married to THAT?!")

Swim time was 56:15 (it was 1:10:07 in 2015!).

T1

I ran through the bags calling out my number so a volunteer could grab my bag for me...and ran into transition. I put on my helmet and stuffed my glasses in my top. I ran barefoot to my bike, and realized I was VERY far behind most everyone! SO MANY BIKES were already gone!! That's okay...I knew my swim would be "slow"...and it was still under an hour! I threw my shoes on, grabbed the bike off the rack and ran out... I knew I "should" have put on sunscreen but I didn't want to take time to dry off and it wouldn't stick to wet skin. Last time they had people putting it on us, they weren't there this time.

T1 time 6:34 (it was 7:05 last time...I didn't know I already had about a 15 minute head start from my "perfect day in 2015!!)

BIKE

As I started riding I realized my nutrition plan was probably NOT the best. I had ordered a custom blend from Infinite based on all the data I had gathered about myself (this is already too long so I won't go into this here)...but on my last long ride I realized I had a little too much protein in it. I meant to change it but they shipped the next bag before I did so I just went with it anyway. Well...it was also MUCH cooler race day than it had been which would mean I had too many electrolytes as well. I SHOULD HAVE "called an audible" and just went with the Gatorade Endurance on the course. I had several long rides with that before I switched to Infinite. But it didn't have the calories I really wanted so I decided to stick with my plan. The whole first loop it seemed like a SOLID plan....drink 1 serving of Infinite every 15 miles which should have been every hour and should have coincided with aid stations.

That first loop was glorious. I knew I wasn't going as fast as I did last time but I was much faster than I had been in training.

This is mainly because, not to brag...but...I KNOW how to use my gears to take advantage of rolling hills. I passed SO MANY PEOPLE who would coast down the hill and then wait until they started going up before they started peddling again...and then they would grind away in a hard gear up the next hill. What you want to do is PEDAL down the hill gaining "free" speed (less effort for watts and momentum)...pedal through the bottom of the hill and shift into an easier gear to go up the next hill with lower effort...pedal over the top and get in a harder gear to do it all over again. 

I can't express how much I LOVE that course. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I got to see Dwayne and the friend who came with us at the "usual" spot....I "easily" got up the worst hill on the course before it turns to head back up...and then the GLORIOUSLY FAST ROLLERS....BEAUTIFUL countryside...I saw Dwayne and my friend again...and then my local friends were in their hometown of Chickamauga SCREAMING for me as I whizzed by!! I felt like a million bucks! I did forget how slow it is coming out of Chickamauga...but I almost didn't even care I was so happy. And then it's like a switch flipped. My stomach turned inside out. I NEEDED to throw up but couldn't. I wanted to but couldn't. I tried to go to the bathroom three times...every time I would get passed by all those people I had passed earlier. 

I have never wanted to quit a race that bad in my life! I saw Dwayne and my friend and they cheered and I whooped but really I wanted to pull over and tell them I was done.

But I kept thinking about the roll down. I had no idea how many old ladies were out there with me. How many of them were struggling? How many slots out of that 60 would be for my age group? I am not a quitter....even if I'm slow. So I kept going. I got back up the one "bad" hill, but not even the fastest part of the course could cheer me up. Oh, I forgot to mention, the leaders passed me at mile 60! Then I got to the "regular spot" where I should have seen my people but they weren't there. I started telling myself I would quit at Chickamauga if my other friends were there. 

But what about the roll down??? And I'm not a quitter even if I'm slow.

When I got back to Chickamauga I knew it would be dead quiet. Special needs is on the first loop...and I was so far behind everyone there were only a few spectators....and then I saw my people!! They were cheering and screaming... I couldn't quit. They were working HARD to cheer me on!! And by that point I only had 16 miles...just bit over an hour. 4 X 15 minutes.... 6 x 10 minutes... 12 X 5 minutes...15 X 4 minutes....give or take so I kept peddling and tried to go to the bathroom one more time...and heard what sounded like a hundred people pass me.

As I was riding back into town I was asking myself WHY...why didn't I just quit and go to dinner. I didn't WANT to run a marathon. No one would care if I quit. 

Except me, I knew I'd regret it...and JUST MAYBE I could get a roll down slot. There were VERY FEW women at the race. When I got off the time I felt completely defeated and DONE. But I kept moving forward. Dwayne videoed the WHOLE THING. I'm so glad he did. I think I'll remember that feeling the rest of my life....and I will also remember everything that was about to happen...

Bike time was 7:50:38 (last time it was 6:30:03...so much for that head start...).

T2

I got my bag and plodded into T2. And a WONDERFUL angel from Heaven flittered over to help me. She emptied my bag and started asking me what I needed....and I just stared at her. She said "do you want me to tell you what you need?" which made me laugh. I think her name was Rae. I loved her! Before the race I got 2 Starbucks gift card to put in my T1 and T2 bags. I didn't have any help in T1 but I was so glad to have that card to give her for her help! She REALLY changed the rest of my day!! I got my socks and shoes on, grabbed of my Oliver Farms hat (my friend's parents own this farm...her dad passed earlier this year and her mom is kicking cancer's butt right now...and she is currently in KONA about to race the World Championship there! She's a 13 time Ironman, about to be 14, I hoped that hat would give me extra juju!) and my headlamp and headed out....

T2 time 7:15 (last time was 4:59...all things considered I'm happy with that)

RUN

As I headed out I saw Dwayne and I handed him my head lamp. I knew I was going to be out at night. I didn't use one last time but I felt like I would be much slower so I wanted it. We had a conversation earlier that I would keep it in my bag and carry it because I did NOT want him to hand me anything because that would DQ me for getting outside assistance...and "what if I were to actually get a roll down slot!?"  But in the moment I handed it to him I didn't care. I didn't want to carry it and I felt like my chances at that point were close to zero so he might as well hold it and give it to me later....I told him Ironman is DUMB (which he also go on video)...and I started running. 

I had the most solid nutrition plan I've had for the run on any long distance tri...water and Gatorde Endurance at every aid station, except every 3rd mile I would take a Gu or Maurten gel with water...until mile 20 and then it would be Red Bull every mile. I decided I would stick with this plan even though my stomach was NOT happy.

I had forgotten just how long you have to run along the highway. It feels like 84,943.7 miles and it's SOUL SUCKING. I tried to shuffle my feet but I really didn't feel good. But I "KNEW" I had "plenty" of time to finish. I kept working out the math but I kept coming up with the understanding that I had about 7 hours to finish the marathon. I KNEW I could do that. But what about that roll down...every time I thought about it I would run. My running paces were 9:15-10:00 but I was walking a fair amount until I made the turn to get on the riverwalk. About mile 5 I stopped at a port-o-potty which helped a bit. When I came out my watch went dead.

At that moment I knew I'd have to DO MY VERY BEST (this my favorite line from Facing the Giants) because I wasn't going to know how I was doing time-wise. I had to make hay while the sun was shining. So I picked it up.

All of a sudden Dwayne came up in a panic "ARE YOU OKAY?!" He was so frantic it scared me. I had forgotten that my watch has LTE on it so he was live tracking me even though I didn't have my phone! When my watch died it showed that I stopped it...and then I had not crossed the next mat when the algorithm expected me to be there since I stopped in the potty. He had actually scared a race official into coming to search for me!! I told him about my stomach but that I was feeling MUCH better now that I was off that dumb bike! (Also on video.) But I said this as I ran away from him. As I ran about 79.8% of the time I was dreaming about getting a roll down slot.

The World Championship race used to be in Kona. Both men and women would race all on the same day together. Pre-Covid they were trying to get more women at the race so there were more slots for women but you basically had to get 1st or 2nd in your age group to get one. Last year they had so many participants at Kona (trying to play catch up from the Covid canceled years) that they split the 2 races-men's and women's....and the Island just couldn't handle that volume. So they decided to make Nice, France an additional WC race...with the men racing there this year and the women next year. (Women in Kona this year, men next year.) So they are filling the race in Nice with women only. There are FAR fewer total women racing so they have A LOT more slots per race to give. What if I somehow managed to get one of those slots??

I running more...allowing myself to walk "trash can to trash can" (something Coach Martha taught me for IMLT)...run every mile but walk the aid stations. I also walked "uphills". But when I got out to the North Shore -which is very hilly I knew I couldn't walk EVERY hill so I just did a run/walk by feel. 

I really forgot A LOT of that run course from when I did it in 2015. Most of it seemed brand new to me. No doubt I was already in cognitive decline during that race. Although I had not trained as hard as I did in 2015, I had done pretty much every long run on a very hilly course to prepare so I kept doing MY VERY BEST. And I stuck to my nutrition plan. When I got back across the pedestrian bridge I expected to see Dwayne. It was getting dark. I needed my head lamp. The highway was fine, but the River Walk was going to be VERY dark. I told myself I had to just run close to people who had headlamps but 90% of the people were walking so I was passing most people with very few passing me. I was right, it was pretty dark, but I realized it wasn't TOO dark.

I didn't see him until I came off the River Walk, just before what I call the "stinger hill"-it's short and fairly steep. And when I asked him for my lamp he said he didn't realize I would want it because I had told him not to give it to me!! DOH! Oh well...at that point I only had about 6 miles to go! 

Not only was he there with the friend who came with us, but my "local" friends came out and brought one of their dogs!! That was SUCH a treat!! But I had to potty again...and the potties were RIPE by then. One friend said "that will be your motivation to get out fast!" She was right...I got out and started running again.... and they headed for the finish line as I headed back over the bridge to the North Shore. I basically put my blinders on and ran every step I felt like I could....when I got to the top of the pedestrian bridge coming back I told myself NO MORE WALKING....and tried to run as hard as I felt like I could....

When I got to the finish chute I could hear my friends SCREAMING for me but I was so very focused on trying to eek out the last little bit of effort I had left to get to that finish line that I didn't stop to high five or anything. There was a person who had their hand out right before I crossed the line so I high fived him (her? I don't even know!)...and I crossed the line feeling AMAZING!!! I had NO idea what my time was but I knew I felt incredible and I felt like it had to be about 15 hours which was better than my first one. Another friend from Huntsville who was volunteering gave me my medal, finisher hat and shirt. I got a picture and then started looking for my people.

As we were heading to the car Dwayne said something about my finish time being so good...and said it was 14:3?....I basically accused him of making it up...so he pulled out his phone to show me my time

Run time was 5:35:45 (2015 was 4:59:46)

Total time was 14:36:24, 28/46 in my age group. Ironically I came in 28th last time too (but out of 144 last time!)

I woke up the next morning early and told Dwayne I wanted a finisher jacket and shirt so we went down to get it. The breakfast was going to be at like 9 with roll down after awards. I told him and my friend "it will be like winning the lottery because it's like .00001% chance I'll get a slot, but it's NOT ZERO so I want to be there JUST IN CASE."

The way roll-down works is that they have so many slots (60), and they are divided up based on the nnumber of participants inn each age group. I knew my group had 46 women but no idea how many slots we'd have.

They did awards and all 1-5 in my group were there to get their award....and I guessed they'd take their slots. She started calling slots for women...65-69 age group 2 slots.... 60-64 3 slots (not everyone took one so that slot rolled to the 40-44 group) 55-59 5 slots...and then my turn 50-54...ELEVEN slots. I started counting down as Dwayne read names down the list....but I lost track....3 names to go...someone took one...2 names to go...no answer...1 name before mine-she took it...I thought that was the last one-I was holding my breath and she called "Dana...." She had wanted you to say "Oui Oui" if you wanted your slot but I jumped out of my chair screaming....as if I had won the lottery! NO ONE could mistake that I was absolutely taking my WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL DOWN SLOT!!! Thankfully I had prepared Dwayne for the cost and that it had to be paid right then!!!

I'm going to the IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN NICE FRANCE next year 9/22!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY CRAP!! I'm still in shock!!

Thanks for sticking around to hear the whole thing...I bet you feel like you did an Ironman now don't you!!??

I'm hoping to document all my training as I go...it's already started with a swim today....and I'm getting a new bike this week!!!! (Thanks to my husband who is just as excited for me as I am!!!)

New Year, Same Me...but not for long

 I signed up for IM Choo 23 and decided I would TRAIN for it... and then all my excuses started popping up...I'm SO BUSY. I'm SCARED of a brain disease relapse (this doesn't feel like an excuse, this feels VERY real), I'm SORE, I need to focus on teaching and coaching and race directing...the list goes on...

I basically stopped training the week before Thanksgiving....Okay, if I'm being really honest, I wasn't really training before then either. I was doing good to get 2 swims in a week, no running and the only biking has been when I teach Spin. But I did start going to Hotworx...and I LOVE it. REALLY LOVE IT!

But Hotworx doesn't really get me to the start line of IMChoo ready and prepared.

Then after the marathon was over (the one Dwayne and I direct) I got sick for a week. And then there was Christmas and New Years....

I kept telling myself I have plenty of time to get started. The race is in September. But I KNOW I NEED to at least be swimming. But swimming is SO FREAKING HARD. 

Then Blair told me about an Iron Tribe Prime program for triathletes he wanted to test out with me as one of his guinea pigs. The idea terrified me but I agreed, with the plan to start the first week in January.

In case you missed it...that was this week. (Insert picture of me at Iron Tribe on Tuesday)

Yes, I did start the program. Yes, it is "hard"...but somehow also (ridiculously) simple sounding on paper.

I "know" in my coach brain that swimming is the perfect adjunct to strength training, but my athlete brain said "NO WAY" this week.

And then I got a message from Coach Tom. I knew it was coming I just didn't know when. It's like when you are watching a scary movie and you KNOW the monster is going to jump out any second...but it doesn't so you exhale and relax...and then BAM there it is!

He called me out. 

He did it gently. And he was right to do it...but I won't lie...I called him some names in the last 24 hours. (Insert the pictures of me telling Dwayne that thanks to stupid Tom I'm going to swim today)

But I also got my butt to the pool this morning for an unplanned swim that I needed. (Insert photo of me telling Tom I hate him)

It SUCKED.

We are going out of town next week....so I got on GoogleMaps and MIRACULOUSLY found a YMCA with like the most amazing pool of any YMCA EVER just FIVE MINUTES from our hotel. 

FIVE MINUTES.

That sucks. It means there's no excuse for me to not swim this week.

UGH.

This morning was funny...I did NOT want to get in the water. I did NOT want to swim. But when I started my music, song number one was "I'm Ready". I had to laugh. Then about the time I started thinking "I'm going to die right here in the pool"..."I Will Survive" came on. Then about the time I started thinking "This whole thing is dumb. I'm old and I've already done two full IMs...why do I care about doing another one?" the song that will forever be my IMLT13 song, "Anything Can Happen" came on. That song was playing the first moment I stepped into Lake Tahoe's Ironman village. I found myself in awe of how far I had come to get there. There's a part of the song that says "I'll give you everything you need but I don't think I need you"...that part always makes me think of my excuses and inner critic. I give them fuel. I give them life. I give them space in my head....but I do NOT NEED THEM. They are like cement blocks on my feet pulling me into the depths of agony and doubt. The end of the song has this part that says "I know it's going to be" several times then "OVER...but I don't think I need you". When I hear this song during a training session I always imagine the finish line. The training and the race will be over...it will come to an end one way or another.... and I think to myself "I don't need that critical voice, or the excuses I make, to get there". 

But they just keep coming. 

My why: I am strong. I "believe" there's a strong athlete inside of me. I believe she has always been there. But she was never given space when I was a kid. She was squashed under doubt and fear, and some circumstances out of my control that I won't go into here. I hit young adulthood believing I was simply incapable. But God kept telling me I am strong because He made me strong. Strong-minded, strong-willed AND strong in body. But to live out that strength really does take work. It takes commitment. It takes consistency and effort.

I'm telling you--whoever may read this--I am committing to training this year. I'm committing to putting in the honest work. I'm committed to listening to my body with a very honest ear.

I can't promise that fears won't win the battle every now and then. I can't promise that the critical voice will be squashed (it sure as heck wasn't today after my swim today....Dwayne had to hear the self-hatred spewing out of my mouth like old faithful, and he did his very best to cap the geyser). But I can promise that I will face these challenges head-on and I will keep moving forward.

That is Ironman mentality. 

But, there is a BIG difference between "finishing" and "competing" an Ironman. 

I intend to compete. Against myself. Against my excuses. Against my self-critic (the hag in my head that lives like a non-rent-paying squatting bed of roaches!). I will run the race so as to win the prize.

Because God made gives me strength. Every. Single. Day.

I hope anyone who reads this will be willing to keep me accountable. Feel free to ask me how training is going. Feel free to ask me if I'm honestly listening to my body or if I'm listening to the excuses or the self-critic.

It's going to be an interesting year.

Why Did I Even Sign Up?

Back when I did IMLT in 2013 I had a shoulder injury. I knew after that race I would have to have something done to fix it but I didn't know what that might be. I had spent the year of training trying to figure out what was wrong. I had been to SO MANY doctors, physical therapists, massage therapists, a chiropractor and wound up at the pain clinic getting injections to fight the pain. After the second visit there I decided that was NOT the place I wanted to be...

After the race was over I went down to Andrew's Sports Medicine in Birmingham and started at square one with them...initial consultation, PT, return visit, more PT...and then when I went for a guided injection they FINALLY found that I had a completely shredded biceps tendon. A very short time later they removed it completely! (There are 2 biceps tendons-a long and a short head...I'm 99% sure it was the long head they removed.) Rehab took about 6 months to really get back to mostly normal, and another 6 months to get all the way back. During that year I focused more on running and completed the Huntsville Grand Slam (Dizzy 50k, Rocket City Marathon, Recover from the Holidays 50k and Mountain Mist (I can't seem to find race recaps of Recover or RCM....I think that's because I ran with a pregnant friend who had not told anyone she was pregnant so I kept very quiet about the races since how I ran them was VERY guided by running with her!)

After those races were over I set my sights on IMChoo (2015). I was coaching a lot of adults and that summer I had a full team of kids. Looking back I think the symptoms of brain disease were already creeping in but I didn't see them.

My plan was to do an Ironman every other year. I wanted to do Louisville or Arizona in 2017 and the other in 2019. But my plans got totally derailed....

In 2017 my husband, brother-in-law and I did a relay at IM70.3 Augusta. We all signed up for the Chatty 70.3 that was going to take place in May of 2018. I don't remember why by BIL didn't race, but not only did Dwayne and I start directing the Rocket City Marathon, we were also both injured just before the race.  

I think truth be told, my fitness just wasn't coming back like I had hoped it would. Every time I started working even the slightest bit hard I had a bit of a flare of symptoms (the biggest of which was crippling fatigue). 

In July 2019 we pulled the trigger to race in 2020...but we all know what happened in March of 2020. I knew that race wasn't going to happen so I really stopped training. 

Then I had a very personal (and private) tragedy hit in May of 2020 that shook me to the very depths of despair. In the midst of the Covid shutdown I felt like life as I knew it was going to be over.

Slowly but surely I began to heal. 

We were all deferred from Chatty 70.3 to Augusta 70.3 in August but, again, I knew that race wasn't going to happen so I didn't train. When that one was cancelled we were deferred to Chatty 2021. In December Covid numbers spiked. Once again I knew that race wouldn't happen so I didn't train.

But then in like early May it became obvious it WAS going to happen after all...by then it was too late to train! One month earlier I started eating "functional food". (The Functional Food Center defines this as: “Natural or processed foods that contain biologically-active compounds; which, in defined, effective, non-toxic amounts, provide a clinically proven and documented health benefit utilizing specific biomarkers, to promote optimal health and reduce the risk of chronic/viral diseases and manage their symptoms." (The food I was consuming was whole food in a capsule.)

I fairly immediately started feeling better. My iron (which had been low enough that I had gotten 3 infusions in the previous couple of years) actually went UP for the first time. I was sleeping well and feeling great. So I decided I would just start the race and see what happened...

On NO training, I finished. It wasn't pretty but it was within the cutoff time! That experience emboldened me. But following that race, I was (once again) up and down with fitness...then we went to Colorado Springs for 6 weeks. Just before we left I needed another iron infusion. While we were there I tried to build up my running miles because we were signed up for the Boston Marathon (I was doing the virtual on the course, Dwayne was doing the real race)...it was held in October last year due to a postponement from Covid.

Shockingly, with my longest run being about 13 miles I finished in my best marathon time since before the brain disease!!

With that success in my back pocket, I signed up for the Little Rock Marathon the following spring. But, thanks to VERY bad information at the pre-race early start meeting, I ended up DNFing.

Fueled by a DNF fire, I started swimming again consistently in April of 2022 thinking I would sign up for another 70.3 but I wasn't sure which one. Then I started running more consistently. 

And my fitness FINALLY seemed like it was going to catch on! 

Several friends were headed to Memphis for the 70.3 so in May I decided to pull the trigger and sign up...and actually TRAIN.

See, I don't like to let adversity stop me. I don't like to let circumstances stop me. I believe completely God created me for endurance sport. I LOVE it. I love everything about it. I don't always love training because sometimes that is hard. And I have been very scared of flaring up the brain disease...I NEVER want to go back to that again and I NEVER want to have to be back on steroids again. Until the day God impresses upon me to stop I will keep running the race set before me with endurance so as to win the prize.

I keep pressing, even if I end up falling a bit behind with each step...hoping eventually my efforts will result in forward progress!

This is why I have already signed up for IMChoo 144.6 in September 2023. Ten years after my first full IM I will (God willing) complete my third.

Memphis 70.3 race recap coming up....

Sub 13

WARNING: This post is freakishly long. I mainly wrote all this out for myself. I wanted to document the whole experience lest I forget. Don't read it unless you are trying to get to sleep...in that case, knock yourself out.  :D


I can't really say why it is that I haven't written all summer long. I was incredibly busy, but I'm always busy. I did have a lot to write about but I just didn't make time for it. So, here I am with so much to say but rather than trying to get you caught up with all that happened over the summer, I'll pick up with two weeks ago last Sunday. Ironman Chattanooga!!!

I signed up last year after volunteering for the race and set the goal in my mind of having a sub 13 hour finish. I knew the swim would be fast because it's down stream, the bike course doesn't have any major climbs (it's rolling) ...but the run course is pretty hilly. At the time, I figured if I could do the swim in about an hour, ride at about 17mph and hold about an 11:00 pace on the run, and keep transitions fast I could do it.

I made the big decision to not hire a coach. The coach who got me through Tahoe had moved out of coaching and I really just didn't want to "break in" a new coach, especially when I do KNOW what I need to do. For the record, I do not think it's the best idea to "self coach", especially if you are looking for a PR. So I did some other things instead. I asked an almost-CAT2 cyclist, who really knows training with power, to help me on that on that end. I started (sort of) training with a couple of serious swimmers, and I actually worked very loosely off a plan from Endurance Works. I didn't want to spend much time thinking through my own training. It was a nice balance.

If you remember, my IMLT time was right at 16:30, so I was looking to take over 3.5 hours off that time. I actually had someone ask me in May "do you really think you can meet that sub-13 goal??" I didn't know, but I was fairly certain it wasn't going to be 28* at the start, it wasn't going to be at altitude, I was going to be able to take in nutrition, I wasn't going to be climbing such a ridiculous amount on the bike and I wasn't going to have a torn bicep tendon. So I said I could do it.

Not long after that conversation I began to have doubts. It only got worse as training went on.

My shoulder really started acting up again so my swim workouts changed from actual swimming to PT exercises. Every time I would try to put quality time in at the pool I would end up pretty much back at square one. I missed some key bike workouts because I could barely turn my neck, and then my stupid stinking watch decided I didn't need any data for my longest two rides (meaning I couldn't put together an accurate power profile for the race). I did almost every long run with my sweet husband. That was GLORIOUS to say the least, but I did have my doubts I would be able to run as strong without having him by my side. Needless to say I went into race day not being sure what I was going to be capable of.

CHECK IN

We got to Chattanooga about the time one of the athlete briefings started. It was raining and the whole village was a soggy mess. Thankfully they had put some tents up so we didn't just have stand in the rain. This wasn't my first race and I had read the whole Athlete Guide, but knowledge is power so I listed to (almost) every word. I knew as soon as the talk was over the check in tent would be overrun so I ducked out early to get my waiver signed, my lovely blue bracelet affixed, and pick up my backpack full of race bags. We took a little bit of time wandering around the Village, buying some magic pain relieving lotion and some race tats. (These tattoos are really unnecessary since you get marked with Sharpie before the start but I think they look really clean and they don't come off during the day.)

I then forced my husband to try the NormaTech space recovery boots. He didn't want to, but as soon as those boots started their massage he was in heaven. He loves his recovery tights so much, and would probably be willing to cut off his left arm if he could get a massage every day. So, as soon as the guy said they had ONE more demo he could sell I swallowed the hook and bought it up. Now I'm certain they had more than just one, but I didn't care, the price was really good and I had wanted these boots since IMLT.

After that we went to the apartment I found on AirBnB.com, and then to the store for groceries. ...Now, I know you are thinking "why groceries" when you were in a city with like a million amazing eateries?!" Well, I still have all the same food issues I've always had and I wasn't about to let the temptation of good food wreck my race day.

My daughter and my daughter-by-other-parents came in later that night. They went out to enjoy Nooga night life while Dwayne and I retired early.

Saturday Dwayne and I ran out about 3/4 of a mile on the last part of the course and then ran the "finish". I can't even begin to express how beautiful it was (unfortunately we didn't get any pictures). After meeting friends for breakfast (they ate yummy food and I had yummy bacon), we went back to the apartment so I could pack all my race bags.

THERE'S A BAG FOR EVERYTHING

If you are familiar with IM racing you can skip this part. If you aren't familiar, you may or may not find this interesting.

In a "normal" triathlon you put all your gear at your bike in the transition area. When you get done with the swim you go to your bike and put your helmet and bike shoes one, grab your bike off the rack and go. When you get done with the bike part of the race you come back to that spot, leave your helmet and bike shoes there with your racked bike, put on your running shoes and finish the race.

In an Ironman you put everything in bags. All of your bike gear goes in one bag and running gear in another bag. There is a bag for "special" things you might "need" halfway through the bike part of the race and another one for "special needs" halfway through the run. You don't have to pack anything in the "Special Needs" bags, but they are available to you if you need/want them.  You do not get the Special Needs bags back after the race so you wouldn't put anything valuable in there, but some things you might want would be extra nutrition, something special to help get you to the finish line, a warm shirt if the temps will get cold on the run...things like that.) The other bag you get is called "Morning Clothes". That is a bag you can use to put anything you take with you to the start line but aren't going to take with you in the water. Anyone who has family at the start will usually con ask that "sherpa" to schlep the stuff around rather than use the Morning Clothes bag. Often times racers don't have family at the start so they will stow car keys, shoes, warm clothes or shoes they wore to the start in that bag (which is returned to you after the race).

I had already planned out exactly what would go in each bag so it was easy to get them all packed up. There was a chance of rain so I put everything in a garbage bag then put the package in the race bag. I then marked the outside of the bag with a green duct tape D to make it a little more noticeable to me the next day.

BIKE AND BAG CHECK IN

In a normal triathlon you show up on race morning with all your stuff, but at IM you check your bike and your bike and run bags in the night before. My plan was to check them in and then drive the bike course. That didn't end up happening because my best friend from Arkansas drove like nine hours to come watch me race. I didn't want to put her in a car for another couple of hours just so I could drive a course I was going to be spending about 6 hours on the next day! Instead we sat around and talked. I ate rice and turkey deli meat for dinner, spent about 30 or 45 minutes in my new space boots, and went to bed early.

RACE MORNING

I woke up bright and early race morning and took a shower. This is a race ritual I dearly love. It wakes me up and gets me feeling ready to take on the task at hand. I had my daughter-by-other-parents French braid my hair while I ate some oatmeal and a banana. I put on my Race Tats and got dressed.

I had already read on Face Book the water was 77* (wetsuit optional--more on this in a minute) so I went with wordrobe plan A. I wore my TriZoo "butterfly" one piece kit with a black sport bra and carried my ROKA swim skin with me. It was overcast and looked like the sun wasn't going to come out at until later in the afternoon so I used my clear goggles (AquaSphere).

I really didn't have any fear of not making cutoffs in time so I chose to sleep in just a little later and took my time getting to the start. All I had to do was pump my tires, put my bottles on my bike and say hi to, and get a big ole good-luck hug from, a dear friend from Huntsville who was body marking that morning.

That hug was one of the many little blessings of the day. She asked me "what are you going to do today?" (meaning what would my timeline be). I told her if it was a "perfect day" I would break 13 hours. She said, "what needs to happen". I told her I did the IMLT swim in 1:30 so I figured with current I would maybe do 1:15. She said, "you'll beat that" (*SPOILER ALERT!* she was right). I said I didn't have data from my two longest rides so I wasn't actually sure what I could do the bike in, but I was hoping to maintain about a 17mph average (6:49 bike split). Then the kicker--the run. I would need to hold about a 10:50 pace for a 4:45 marathon time. With fast transitions that would bring me home in just under 13 hours. She said without blinking, "you've got this." I took a deep breath, squeezed the breath out of her then Dwayne and I caught the shuttle to the start line as the volunteers were yelling transition was about to close.

SWIM START

As we got to the start I knew I better try to use the port of potties one more time before getting in the water. So I got in that LONG line and Dwayne went to hold a spot in the WAY LONGER start line for me. I talked to a few first timers and one guy who was there for his second. I finally had my turn in the facilities and made it a worthwhile visit for all the time it had killed. I then started the trek to the back of the start line to find Dwayne. It felt like I walked for an hour. I walked past a guy who was yelling we'd all be in the water in 20 minutes. Ha...I don't think he had any idea how long that line really was! As I was on my way to the outer banks looking for my husband, AKA spot-in-line-holder they had already started asking the athletes to separate into wetsuit users and non-wetsuit users.

((Side bar about the wetsuit issue. In IM there are rules for when you can and can't use a wetsuit. If the water is 76.1* or colder wetsuits are allowed for age groupers to use. Over 83.8 no one is allow to wear a wetsuit. Between 76.2 and 83.7 wetsuits are optional for anyone who is "non-competitive". Even though I knew I wasn't going to be in the running for a Kona slot, and I know wetsuits make you faster, I didn't want to wear one in "warmer" water since I knew I would get pretty hot. That was a good call.))

When I finally found Dwayne I asked him to help me get my swim skin on. As I shimmied into it, he told me the zipper was broken. There is a whole other long story about why I thought this was just him being funny, but this post is long enough already and I haven't even gotten into the water! Long story short, it really was broken but blessing two of many was that he was able to get it fixed just in time for me to hit the start! No time to even think about what was happening. I almost forgot to turn on my watch and had to step to the side of the dock to get in turned on, in the right mode, and started. I jumped in and started the 2.4 mile splish splash warm up.

SWIM

Leading up to the race I had been having so much trouble with my shoulder I really didn't get much swimming in. In fact, now that it's over, I can look at my log. I only put in a total of about 22K yards from the middle of June until race day. In 15 weeks that's less than 1500 yards a WEEK...in other words, woefully inadequate. But, thanks to blessing number 3, a massage from Tony Alexander the Thursday before race day, (and a nice current in the TN river) when I started swimming it felt easy. Everything worked just like it was supposed to. Goggles held out water, the skin zipper stayed closed, and my arms pulled me along.

Facts: The river course makes a bit of a backwards S shape. We were told to keep the buoys on the our left. The current is strongest in the middle of the river. There were kayakers on the right side creating a "barrier" for our safety. Now, if you look at the Garmin GPS map of my swim you can see that I certainly didn't swim a straight line (cutting the course short), but I did have to be told three times to move to the left because I was "way too far over to the right". One time the kayaker couldn't get my attention so he ran his vessel into my head! That was a little disconcerting but I appreciate he was trying to keep me safe.

Thoughts during the swim: Wow, this doesn't hurt! Where are the darn power lines?? (I thought that was half way). THERE they are!! Halfway already! I'm FLYING! Oh, look the buoys changed from yellow to orange...they said something about that in the athlete briefing...what was that? Did they say that marked half way? If that's the case then I'm really not flying and I still have 1.2 miles to go. I'm not hurting but boy not swimming wasn't the best idea...maybe they said that change would mark like 1/2 mile to go? That can't really be right because the first bridge is so far away. This water smells fishy. Look, feet, I hope this guy knows where he's going. He seems to be siting, I'll just hang out here for a while. Nope, he's slowing down. There's the first of three bridges. Someone told me you could see spectators. I don't see how that's possible unless I stop swimming...THAT is not going to happen! How about that?! I'm still swimming. ...Hey there Mr Grumpy Gills, you know what you do when life gets you down?... (reference to Finding Nemo in case you missed that). HEY, there's the second bridge. What did they say would mark when we were close and needed to start moving left to the exit? I'm not there yet. Reach, pull, finish that stroke.

As I got closer to the swim finish it got a little more congested as all the swimmers moved over to the exit. Then I saw it--the RED buoy!! THAT was the "finish line". They said something about there not being a bottom step and to move up to the floating dock but I didn't get what that meant until I got there. I was so appreciative there were volunteers who gave up their morning to pull me (and 2400ish of my friends) from the river. I hit the "lap" button and saw 1:09 on my watch. I started running for the bike bags...up a ramp that I thought would be harder to go up than it was.

Swim time 1:10:07 (1:48/100 pace; Division rank 58, gender rank 398, overall rank 1442)

About 1/2 way up I saw my cheering section and got a kick in the pants (metaphorically speaking) with their smiles and whoops and hollers! They had gotten together before the race and had shirts made with "Dana's Train" on them (my business is called "Dana Trains"...get it?!). I LOVED it!!

T1

I had worked out before hand exactly where my bag was and the flow pattern I needed to take to have the best transition so I was able to run straight to my bag. A volunteer had grabbed up my bag before I got there so I didn't even have to reach down for it. As I ran into the tent I asked for help from another volunteer who was standing there (THANK YOU). I asked her to please get my chamois butter, shoes, sunglasses and helmet out as I stripped off my swim skin. She asked where my socks were ("I don't wear them"). I was still soaked so I didn't even try to put on the spray sunscreen I had in the bag. I shamelessly smeared the chamois butter all over my parts, put on my helmet, shoved my glasses in my top, and ran out with my shoes in hand. I stopped at the sunscreen station to have volunteers coat me in Bull Frog. ((They did a fantastic job...they didn't spend too much time rubbing it in and yet got it under the lines of my kit knowing that would move around on the ride.))  I ran straight to my bike (having found the path to it the day before during check in). Yet another volunteer was there with my bike off the rack waiting for me. When I got there I had a little trouble getting my shoes on my wet feet (they weren't open the way they are in a "normal transition" because I was running with them in my hand). The sweet lady who helped me said, "don't worry honey, you have plenty of time and a long ride ahead of you......honey, where are your socks???".  Clearly she wasn't privy to my goal and didn't realize the minute she was implying I take to ensure "comfort" might be the making or breaking of said goal! I told her I don't wear socks. ("Oh honey, you have a long ride ahead of you to not have socks on!"). I ran out of transition wondering why everyone was so concerned about my feet! I ran past the mount line, hopped on and exhaled to settle in for the 116 miles before me.  ((For the record, I ride sockless all the time, and run sockless for anything less than about an hour. (I'm too chicken to run longer like that.)))  T1 time: 7:05  (longer than I wanted but overall okay.)

BIKE

When I got on the bike it struck me that I didn't see Dwayne or my daughter. I almost started to worry but stopped myself because there was nothing I could do if something was wrong. I settled in for the long ride.

I can't express how much I love this course. I had been able to ride one loop of it in a training camp I went to so I knew what to expect. Since my stinking watch didn't capture data for my two longest rides I wasn't exactly sure what kind of power I needed to or could hold the whole time so I picked a number that I was confident of. The fact that I didn't have any trouble holding that number the whole time might mean I undershot. I can not negate the power of the confidence I had in that number but I did expect it to be more of a challenge than it was.

My fueling plan: I had a very concentrated, marked, bottle of Tailwind behind me, a ready to drink bottle between my arms and an empty space to put water. The plan was to drink one bottle about every hour (250 calories). I would grab a bottle of water at the first aid station (without stopping) to put in the empty space. The ready-to-drink bottle would last an hour, so by the 2nd aid station I would have squirted a "serving" of the concentrate in my empty bullet with the bottle of water from the 1st aid station and be ready to exchange the empty bottle for a new bottle of water. I only had two miscalculations all day...I drank the first bottle in 30 minutes so I needed to get 2 bottles from the first aid station (one to empty in my bullet and one to put in my holder). The second was that there wasn't an aide station at Special Needs. I thought there would be water there. If it was there it wasn't being held up by volunteers, it was just there for anyone who stopped.

My plan was to not stop on the bike at all.  I had decided before hand to pee on the bike (yes, people really do that). However, deciding to do it and making it happen are two very different things. I can say I never felt the urge to pee the whole time (probably because I was thinking about it all day and actually TRYING to make urine happen!) After just one missed bottle (at the first aid station) I got very proficient at grabbing the bottles from volunteers as I zoomed by having to slow only just a little bit (mainly for other riders who were stopping).

I don't know how far into the ride I was when I saw Dwayne, Ashley and Jaws (nickname for my daughter by other parents) on the side of the road. I had good speed when I saw them, but had even better speed after I heard them cheering! Not long after I saw them I came upon Special Needs. The excitement and energy in the town of Chickamauga was very different from Truckee (IMLT '13). First of all, Speical Needs was apart from the "spectator party" in that race so there was no "competition" between the cheering of friends/family and the racers getting their bags. I was feeling exceptional at this point in the race and had decided already to pass my bag by. I would lose a bike tube and CO2 cartridge and a bottle of 1000 calories of Tailwind, but that was all. That section of the course was fast so I didn't want to brake. About the time I was day dreaming a little bit, thinking this must be what the TdF riders feel like most of the time (people encroaching the route cheering their heads off) when I saw the Dana's Train shirts lined up on the side of the road. I whooped at them and they whooped at me as I whizzed by.

Seeing them almost made me cry happy tears. Being a spectator is HARD work. They are out in the sun, standing, trying to track my location and calculate when I might come by them, all to only see me for a few very brief seconds. For them it's a lot of waiting around and moving from place to place. For me however it was like a giant boost of giddy up slapping me in the booty!! I felt like a ROCK STAR as I went by!!

As I said before, earlier in the summer, at IM camp, I had been able to ride one loop. I knew the whole course was rolling hills. It's a big odd shaped lollypop (think rock candy not sucker). You go out on the "stick" and start the loop. The first part of the "candy" basically goes up culminating in a more significant "climb", the second part does down, again culminating in a "climb". Then you do loop again, and ride back on the stick. Leaving the town of Chickamauga is the longest/slowest part of the course, being a bit of a false flat. When you hit the town (and all the people) you have been going "down hill" for a while. You leave all this energy of the town and start going up to start your second loop.

In Tahoe, it was the start of the second loop that really spanked me. I didn't want to do it. I contemplated quitting. It was a brief contemplation, but there nonetheless. When I did the IMChoo loop at camp I LOVED the course. I kept telling myself that it was only half of the course and the second time around might not be as fun as the first time. But when I hit that section after Special Needs I was EXCITED to start that second loop. I enjoyed this course WAY more than I probably should have given the fact I had a time goal in mind to beat, but I knew I was ahead of my target and feeling good (even knowing the worst was yet to come with the hilly marathon).

As I got close to the turn around point I decided my efforts to relieve myself on the bike was not to be so I stopped to use the portopotty. There was no line since most people had stopped at Special Needs, and there was a very nice volunteer there to hold my bike so I didn't have to rack it. That stop was VERY BENEFICIAL as I couldn't have done what I needed to do on the bike if you know what I'm saying!! I made very good use of my stop time indeed and I hopped back on the bike ready to tackle loop two.

All day I had been seeing many of the same riders around me. There was one guy in all black and white who had his bib on (not required for the bike portion of the race) named Noel (names are on the bibs), a guy with a black/white and blue kit with stuff in all of his pockets, another guy in white and black, and NUMEROUS women with purple kits (at first I thought I was going crazy because I passed one of them and then thought I was passing her again a few minutes later without ever having seen her pass me). As I hit the turn around point I saw pocket guy and said "I've been seeing you all day long!" as I rode by. The guy in black and white pulled off to the side of the road (no need for the guys to wait for a portopotty). As I rode by I said, "see you agin in a minute!" I passed the main hill ending the "uphill"/out section, smiling the whole time knowing I was headed back now!

Pretty soon I heard a familiar voice behind me saying "THERE'S DANA!!".  It was my friends, HERevolution team members, Sara and Amy. As they passed me and we talked a bit I realized I was entirely too chatty for someone with a goal so I kicked it up a notch and started working harder. I passed some guys in a nice downhill section and I heard one of them say I was smoking fast! (Only on the down hills unfortunately...) I saw Dwayne, Ashley and Jaws again, this time crying actual tears of joy as I passed. Having them out there meant more than I even realized it would.

I played leap frog with my friends and my new "friends" and before I knew it I was back in Chickamauga. I hadn't seen the "Train" in a while and figured they were probably having a nice lunch. At some point I heard "It sure took me longer than a minute to catch you!" I didn't know who it was but I shouted "good" about the time I saw the guy who stopped to pee a while back shot by me. Uh oh...that must mean I was slowing down. I did my best to catch him and keep him and the girls in sight but they all were eventually gone. About the time I was feeling sorry for myself I heard screams from the side of the road--the TRAIN was there to ChooChoo my booty back in the game!!

As I was rolling back into town a guy came beside me and said "I just hit 112 miles back there and now I'm just pissed!" I'm sure he knew this course was 116 miles, but thinking he didn't, I had to laugh. I told him it just makes us "ultra Ironmen"!! As I was getting off the bike at the dismount line I grabbed out my tube of Base salt and little thing of Body Glide from the Bento box and I smiled knowing "all" I had left was a little run and I was ahead of my goal! I really only had to keep about an 11 minute pace and  I would be well under my "perfect day" time!!

Bike time: 6:30:03 (17.84mph average; Division rank 37, Gender rank 270, Overall rank 1198)

T2

I ran into T2 feeling better than I thought I should but telling myself I had hills to go so it was fine if there was more in the tank than there needed to be. A volunteer had my bag in hand as I came running by. When I ran into the tent there was a line of volunteers waiting by the door asking "do you want help" to which I gratefully said yes! I asked her to take my shoes, socks and race bib out. I asked her what the weather was doing. (Looking back this was funny as I had just gotten off the bike...didn't I know what it was like out there?!) She told me it was overcast a bit so I told her I didn't want my hat. She questioned this a little saying "it's awfully bright out there". In a moment of what I thought was weakness I told her to give me the hat and the bib and went out the door. As I was running out of the tent I put on the bib and the hat, immediately grateful for that angel from Heaven because it was blazing hot! I wanted to get the tube of salt and little Body Glide into my little back pocket so I stopped and asked a volunteer. I'm glad I did because I got to see my daughter cheering for me! :D

T2 time 4:32  (Total Transition time: 11:37)

RUN

I knew the course was two loops. Eight miles of the loop was fairly flat, 5 was going to be very hilly. It went 4 out on a highway, 4 back on the riverfront path and then a 5 mile hill fest on the North Shore. I had broken down the hilly part in my mind saying only 1/2 of that was uphill and the other half was glorious down hill so I started telling myself there was only about 5 miles of total hills to climb...nothing compared to what I had been running in training.

I have been doing triathlon long enough to know my pace is always too fast coming out of T2 so when I saw 8:30 I knew I needed to back off a bit and settle in. About the time I got to the second aid station I saw a good friend of mine (who is much faster than me). I worried for a second because I knew I would not be able to keep up with her and I knew I would want to try. I was surprised when I passed her after we hugged hello. She was running with someone so I figured she would pass me soon enough but I didn't see her again. Not long after that I saw the HER girls again. I think they were shocked to see me in front of them because they had passed me on the bike. I knew I had caught them in transition because they changed to running clothes and I had not changed at all. I also knew them to be MUCH stronger runners than me so I knew I wouldn't see them again.

Even though I had a solid fueling plan for the bike, I didn't think it through well enough for the run. I knew I would use Rocktaine and Gatorade Endurance (since I knew that would be on the course and having trained with both a good bit of the time), but I hadn't worked out how much I would take and when. I intentionally left it fuzzy because I didn't know how I would be feeling. I just told myself I knew I needed to take in calories. Without a plan, I had taken a Rocktaine at mile 1 and another at mile 2 and ANOTHER at mile 3!! I realized after Gu number three I needed to slow down on the feed bag or I'd be sick!

When I hit the 4 mile point (the River Walk) I had to smile. Just a few (long) hours earlier I was on that walk with my husband trying to repair my swim skin zipper!! Again I was playing leap frog with several people. Namely a man and woman I dubbed "Iron Couple". It was obvious he was there for her, carrying her water and broth and Gu...they were talking and sharing this race like a leisurely dinner. I became instantly jealous. I thought back to all the runs I had with Dwayne and I thought how wonderful it would be to be sharing this experience with him beside me.  :::SIGH:::

At about mile five I went to move my watch on my arm and accidentally hit the "stop" button! It said "Triathlon Complete"...WAIT! NO! That's not right. Thankfully it popped up with a familiar screen: "RESUME" or "SAVE" or "DELETE". Whew. I hit "resume". But then it popped up with the "BATTERY LOW" warning!! NO!! I started to panic a little bit. I knew I was ahead of target with an average so far of about 10:35. But how would I ever know if I was on track without a watch!??!!

It was about that time that I also realized my blood sugar was dropping. I know because I get this thing with my vision where I can't see what's directly in front of me. It's like there's a hole in my line of sight. After a little while that is replaced with stars. After a little while that is replaced by a headache. It's either blood sugar or just a simple migraine...but since I had 3 Gus in 3 miles and this was just a short time later, my money was on blood sugar. I took another Gu at mile 5 or 6 and it went away!

It was at this point, once again, I was reminded I really wasn't alone. God had gotten me this far. He had given me the desire to do this thing. He had give me the ability to train. He  had given me the strength to get to this point. He wasn't going to abandon me and He didn't need a watch. There is a scene in "Facing the Giants" where the coach blindfolds a football player (Brock) and tells him to do the death crawl with another player on his back. Brock thinks he can make it to the 30 yard line but the coach tells him to give his VERY best, and Brock says he will. As Brock is fighting down the field, the coach is right there with him yelling "YOUR VERY BEST BROCK, YOUR VERY BEST". I knew that when my watch went dead, as it surely would, I would be forced to just give my very best without having the comfort of knowing what that was looking like.

Shockingly right about the time my watch went dead (mile 7) I caught up to the girls again. They were stopped at an aid station for the bathroom or for fuel. I very briefly considered trying to stay with them, but I knew that wasn't going to happen so I just reminded myself "YOUR VERY BEST BROCK" and kept running my race.

The run is all a bit of blur after my watch went dead. I remember hitting the North Shore and thinking "okay, here we go...2.5 up and 2.5 down. That first uphill (Barton) was a booger. But when Dwayne and I drove it the day before he told me that was NOTHING compared to what I had done many times in training and it was super short. He was right. I was at the top before I knew it...and then going DOWN! Up, down, up, down....the bright side was that the party was HAPPENING on the North Shore! Someone was shooting fireworks off and people were out in their yards. There is a section that goes through a golf course community (HUGE HOUSES). There was a back yard full of bounce house type stuff with a viewing party going on. Before I knew it I was coming back over the pedestrian bridge.

About the halfway point I got to see one of the teenagers I coach. That was cool because I was feeling strong and felt like I was running strong when I saw her. I had only allowed myself to walk some aid stations, but NO hill walking at all. I was feeling exceptionally good. Four out, four back, 2.5 up and 2.5 down and DONE!!

I really lost track of how much I was eating and when. I should have gone to drinking Coke (instant sugar rush of energy) but I knew once I started I couldn't stop and I was feeling good so I put it off. When I got to the end of the highway there was a person in the parking lot with their radio blaring. It was a song Dwayne introduced me to when we were dating and a song he would play when we'd run hills together (on his phone, on his arm)....Fix You by Cold Play. When I heard it I just wanted to cry. Dwayne doesn't fix me, but God does. Then on the way back I kept seeing these signs "touch for power" and "THIS IS YOUR DAY...GET WHAT YOU CAME FOR!" (something I say a lot). The river was beautiful and the run felt easy.

Then I realized I was doing it again...it felt easy. I had slowed down. "GIVE ME YOUR BEST BROCK" ("It  HURTS!") "THEN YOU HAVE TO NEGOTIATE WITH YOUR BODY TO GIVE YOU MORE! IT'S ALL HEART FROM HERE!" PUSH. DIG. GET THIS DONE. Hills are coming, you have to give what you have NOW. I had no idea where I was time wise so I started asking people what time it was and trying to do some math.

If the race started at 7:30 and it took me about 15 minutes to get in the water, then I started at 7:45. The problem was I was starting to lose the ability to do simple math. With a clear head I know that means glycogen stores were gone and I needed sugar, but at the time I just kept trying to count. But I wasn't sure what time I stared so it was a little arbitrary. (DO YOUR BEST BROCK)

About mile 19 or 20 I saw my Train. They were at the bottom of a little hill waiting for me. When I got there Bilbo said "You are going to CRUSH your time!" But then I heard Daisy say "YOU HAVE TO KEEP RUNNING...Hit it like a metronome." They all ran up the hill with me and I heard one of them say "good Lord I can't believe she is still running!" (something to that effect) They told me Dwayne was on the other said waiting for me. I knew the next time I saw them would be the finish line!! I wanted to stop and tell them just how much they all meant to me and how much it meant to me that they were there and how much I loved them. But I knew I needed to keep running.

I turned the corner, hit the bridge and saw my daughter. I almost started crying. She started running alongside of me and telling me how proud of me she was and how much she loved me. I think out of everything that happened all day that was probably my best memory. There were a lot of really amazing things, but I really think that one topped them all. I knew she had to be hurting from standing and walking all day and she was carrying a bag of stuff and she isn't a runner. For her to run along side of me was just amazing to me. She told me Dwayne and Jaws were waiting for me at the bottom of the next hill.

When I got there however, he wasn't there. As I started up I saw them! Jaws started telling me "this is just like Monte Sano" (Dwayne had to tell her that because she couldn't have known that was one of our training runs.) He said, "you have to keep running. You can't stop. You'll make it if you keep running." I asked him "2 up and 2 down, right?" He said yes, but then he said I was past 21. I thought for a few seconds and said, "that's five...so 2 up and 3 down??" (Hey...I COULD do math!) He told me yes and to KEEP GOING.  He left me at the aid station where I stopped and got some water and Gatorade. (Looking back, I should have taken Coke.) In that last 5 miles I walked twice other than aid stations for a few seconds. Both times when I started walking I could hear Dwayne's voice on all our runs "YOU WILL NOT WALK!" and I heard Daisy's voice "Hit it like a metronome" and I heard Ashley's voice "I'm so proud of you!" and I heard God's voice (not literally) "Be strong, be courageous." I knew I was tired, but I didn't hurt anywhere. I started saying out loud "NOTHING BUT YOUR BEST BROCK...NEGOTIATE WITH YOUR BODY TO GIVE YOU MORE"

When I got to the pedestrian bridge I knew it was about a mile to the finish. I saw a couple of friends who cheered which gave me the final little push I needed to get to the crest of that bridge, then it was going to be all down hill from there. I knew I had walked and I had no idea where I was time-wise. When I got to the top of the bridge I started telling myself to dig in and give all I had. I focused in on my form and on my leg turn over. I picked up the pace until I got to the fencing of the finish line. I mentally checked in to make sure I was pouring out every ounce of energy I had left. Check. I heard people screaming and knew my Train was out there cheering me in. As I got close to the finish I thanked God for getting me there and promised I would be happy even if I didn't make my goal. I crossed the line, WHOOPED! Got my medal from a volunteer and then saw my husband there waiting for me yelling "YAAAY"!! I hugged him and sort of fell into him, and then he said "you made it!' It took me a second to realize he didn't mean "you made it to the finish line"...he meant "you made your goal!" And that's when the dry tears came.

God gave me the desire, gave me the strength, and I pushed to get to the line!

I got my finisher's shirt and hat. I took my finisher's picture, and then took another with Dwayne. Then I went out to see my "Train" and give STINKY hugs to everyone. I'm sad I didn't get pictures with every one but we were standing in front of the row of port o potties which smelled almost as bad as I did at that point!! Two of the seven had to hit the road for the long haul home so they took off. The rest of us went back to the apartment for me to shower and change then went to get food. I would have really liked to go back to the finish line at midnight, but I was acutely aware that everyone had been up all day and I was certain Dwayne had probably paid a small fortune for parking already so I decided midnight finishers would be just fine without me.

Run Time 4:59:45 (11:26 pace)
Total race time 12:51:33, 28th in my age group out of 109 official finishers and 144 total registered (several DNFs and DNSs), 226 gender rank out of 710, and 936th out of 2254 (including wetsuit swimmers).

I know this post has been a novella but I simply must add in my thank you's.

First and foremost, thanks to God. I know all good things come from Him. This was certainly a good thing. Thanks to all the coaches I've had in the years leading up to this race. Each of them gave me bits and pieces I needed to make this goal happen. (Next Steps coaches-too many to list but especially Jennifer who was the first person to teach me how to run up hills; Caneilia Patterson who coached my very first triathlon group, Coach Brooke who helped me learn to swim, Coach Eric who gave me a "love" of hills and so much more, Coach Martha who got me to Tahoe and instilled in me the need for FOOD, Dave P who really helped me with the bike portion of this race, Swim Smooth, Jeff and Jennifer who helped me with the swim and Coach David Glover who wrote the plan I based my training loosely around). Thanks to my Train for being there with me all day long and to all the people who followed me on Facebook and the tracker all day. Every time I was temped to walk I was reminded that people were certainly watching....and you were! Thanks to mall the Drs I saw trying to get my shoulder back to normal. Special thanks to Andrew Walker at Physio Works who figured out it's really a matter of weak rotator cuff muscles. Thanks to Iron Tribe Fitness for helping make me strong!! Huge thanks to Tony Akexsnder for working me in at the last minute for a very crucial massage!! Thanks to Bicycke Cove for keeping my bike in top shape and to Fleet Feet Sports for filling all my running needs. Thanks to ROKA for making a superior product and having the best customer service people I've deskt with in s very long time! Thanks to Daisy who has been with me through every step of this process. She had to hear about IM training ad nauseam, and she ran with me and biked with me and helped me see that I really did have a chance at my goal.  Thank you to my daughter for running with me and for being proud of me! Thank you especially to Dwayne who was with me every step this time around. He did all my long runs with me and took me on insanely hilly runs, telling me I could keep going when I didn't feel like it, when I didn't want to. He believed in me and told me over and over I was going to make it. He also documented the whole experience and was there at the finish to tell me I had made it. (My daughter and husband also had to live through taper madness which seemed especially bad this time!)

The bad thing about thank you's is that someone is always left out. I know I'm forgetting someone incredibly important. If that someone is you, I'm terribly sorry...please do not take it personally, I'm just a cad and forget everything!!


Facts:
Tri kit--Tri Zoo (trizoo.org). I got compliments all day long and it was exceptionally comfortable all day.
Swim Skin-ROKA pro elite. LOVED IT even though the zipper broke. (They are replacing it.)
Goggles-AquaSphere Kaimon
Bike-Trek Speed Concept 7.5
Wheels- Zipp 404 with a power tap power meter
Watch-Garmin 920XT Tri bundle (it went dead because I had some things turned on that should have been off---GLONAS and activity tracking)
Shoes-Brooks Transend
Socks-Swiftwick
Fuel-Tailwind, Rotane, Gatorade Endurance
Electrolytes-Base salts
Anti-chaffing-Chamois Butt'r Her and Body Glide
Sun screen-Bull Frog
Sun Glasses-Tifosi
Bike Shoes-Bontreger HiLo
Helmet--one that keeps my head safe....I have no idea what brand it is! :D


If you are still reading, I'm so very sorry you have insomnia. Try melatonin instead.

:D

Up next....what's next and a video of the videos and pictures!!  :D