I did it! I finished my first IRONMAN distance race. What an accomplishment and now more than ever I am driven to go the 140.6 distance. I can do it....I know I can.
But the 70.3 was no easy feat. It took an amount of physical and mental will that I have never given at an endurance event. It was big.
I flew into CO last Wednesday evening and settled into the Nichols place for a few days of prep before the big day. Colorado has been bombarded with rain lately and it rained every day that I was there. Goodness it was wet.
There has been so much run off and on Thursday morning the Boulder Reservoir was actually shut down due to heightened bacteria levels in the water. I could not believe the possibility that the swimming portion of my 70.3 might actually have to be cancelled and I went to bed Thursday night nauseous, anxious and nervous. Friday was cold wet and rainy. My spirits plummeted considering I still was a nervous wreck hoping that they would open the reservoir and cold from the deluging rain. At 10AM I got the word that the reservoir was open! Hallelujah! Now my nerves changed into something real......this big thing was happening!
We got to Boulder Friday evening and I checked in. Wow is there a lot of logistics to completing an IRONMAN distance race. There are stickers and armbands, swim caps and bibs. Everything has to be labeled and clear. Dropping my bike off was such a fun experience! There is just something so cool about checking in and being amongst every type of competitor. The world was represented amongst the masses and it was fun to see how many countries I could pick out!
My Mom and Dad, good friend Steve and all of the Nichols were my fans and I was so encouraged when I saw all of their smiling faces right before I started! I went into the water at 7:57 and the gun went off at 7:59. It was so wonderful to be off. I just love open water swimming. I really do and the 1.2 miles seemed so easy. I flew out of the water 43 minutes after I started and was raring to get on the bike!
The bike started off awesome, but at about mile 15 I started having some stomach cramps. I drank and continued in my routine, but it had me nervous. Stomach cramps could really derail my run. The cycling course was beautiful and I had so much fun out in the farmlands of Boulder. I had absolutely no problems and came in at a smooth 3:18. I was the most worried about the bike and it was my favorite. Such a fun ride!
Unfortunately those stomach cramps turned into full fledged debilitating pain in my gut and I was completely unable to run for the first 3.5 miles of the run. When I got off the bike I knew something wasn't right and within 50 steps had the sinking feeling that my run was going to suffer in a big way.
I truly found the power within because I dealt with cramps followed with 4 miles of visiting every porta potty. I wasn't able to consistently run until I hit mile 11. I was discouraged that I had done something in my nutrition to mess up my run, but was ABSOLUTELY determined to finish and I did!
I came across that finish line right at 7 hours from when I started. It was so much fun to run down the chute to the end and an even better feeling to realize that I had done it, stomach cramps and all!
I did it! And now have my sights truly set on IRONMAN. The best party of this race was the lessons that I learned. They are invaluable, like:
- You will be nervous......and those nerves will impact everything about your nutrition and stomach
- Fueling pre race should really be done the days leading up to the event. One should not attempt to consume 700 calories on a nervous stomach 3 hours before the big event.
- Finishing an IRONMAN distance is truly about the journey.......not the destination.
- And lastly, even though you put 50 SPF on in the morning, you should really take the extra 2 minutes in transition to reapply.
I did it and now I am one step closer to my dream of being an IRONMAN!
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