I expected to be very emotionally upset when I turned the corner and saw the
finish line. I expected to burst into tears and raise my hands to the sky and
thank Pop and Mom for guiding me and being with me! In fact, when I turned the
corner and saw the finish line, I was elated, happy and shocked! Really
shocked! SOO HAPPY! It was over! I had 6 blocks to cover and the pain would
end! YAHHHOOO! I spoke with Mom and Pop throughout the ride and run. I always
say that Mom is in my sunshine and Pop is in my clouds and I had them both with
me race day! I would simply tell them I was hurting and I reflected on
conversations I had with them both in the past. When I told Walt that I
registered for an Ironman and explained the distances he said, “what the hell
do you want to do that for? Ya damn idiot!” Oh the love! Feel the love! And
truth be told I do feel the love in that! He always meant well and wanted to me
stop inflicting pain on myself. He wanted me to play some golf, drink more beer
and watch more TV. He knew it would never happen. Shortly after our Colorado
Trail run in 2001 and my marriage had fallen apart Elvira suggested that “maybe
if you slowed down and stopped running your life wouldn’t be so hard?” Oh feel
the love! I really didn’t know where I got my “chip” for pain and suffering
from until my mom was so sick. Then I saw how patient, durable and enduring
both my parents were. I could never explain it to them but I will always know
that they gave me everything I need to accomplish anything..even an Ironman!
The time leading up to race day was awesome! We had a house with 10 of us
plus! We managed food, bathrooms and sleeping really well! Thanks to all my
roomies for being so cool! John, Tyler, Keith, Jon, Anthony and Bill were the
athletes and then Michele, Nancy, Heather, Anne, Nicole and Margaret were our
powerhouse fans! We were so blessed with such a great pre-race situation! Tyler
and I swam the first day we arrived and I have to admit I was super intimidated
and COLD! The water was beautiful but very cold. I wore a neoprene cap and
booties and although it was cold I learned the first day I could endure the
water. The 2nd day I swam again and didn’t use ear plugs. I hated
the way they made the water sound and my head feel. Day 2 swim was better but
not great. The beach was sunny and warm but the water was still very cold and
my swim stroke felt weak. Shoulders were tired and tight. We had started the
swim with Michele and Sonja and other super swimmers and rather than get completely
demoralized by trying to keep up or anything I headed back to the cement stairs
and wallowed around to try to get used to the cold. Day 2 was the worst swim
for me. There was something about my foggy goggles and the cold and I knew what
I needed. Even though Tyler made fun of me I went and bought myself a big fat
Aquashere Mask! Phew! The bomb! I can see! It was clear, gave me great
peripheral vision and on my Day 3 swim it elevated my confidence exponentially!
John decided to do the race so we went back down to the beach Day 3, the day
before the race, and I tested no booties and my mask. The mask ruled and the
booties were going back on unless the “Bootie Call” was a No Go!
The 3 days leading up to the race were filled with nervous energy swims,
runs and rides. We cruised part of the run course on our bikes and drove the
ride course. I thought the ride course looked much easier than it turned out to
be! Must be riding in the back seat gave me a skewed perspective! Thanks so
much to Randi for driving the course and for hanging with me and Tyler! A great
start to our 1st IM experience!Other pre-race highlights included our first of many trips to the merchandise tent! Phew! I was fairly well behaved! Better than I was in Boston. John and I both felt like we needed to finish before we did too much shopping! It was fun to see all the crap people will buy! Whoa!
Athlete check-in was pretty powerful! I was shaking a bit and really soaking
in the experience! I have never been surrounded by more thoughtful, supportive
volunteers in my life! Really amazing volunteers! More on the later! Like all
smart companies, Ironman Check-in dumps you directly into the Merchandise tent
again in case you haven’t had enough! We got AWESOME new tribags that I will
make good use of! We wandered through all the vendors and tried to soak it all
in! Amazing peacocking going on the entire time. Yes, “peacocking” is a verb
now. Tyler and I decided to make a game of watching people who were wearing WAY
TOO much tri-gear and especially matching kits and IM finishers gear! We saw
one dude who had an entire kit with compression socks, matching shorts, shirt,
jacket and cap…at the rental car place. Clearly there was no bike in site. I
have to confess that now that I am FINISHER, I too will be peacocking for a few
days or months or years! Ha! Check out
the picture of my new Finishers Jacket that John bought me!
The Athlete Dinner was so inspiring! They introduced Volunteers, Athletes
and locals who had amazing stories to share. Mike Reilly really is a great
announcer and he kept everyone connected and amazed! There are so many people
who do an Ironman to change their lives! In search of something greater…a
physical, emotional and spiritual shift! I was in awe of the people who raced
to raise money for a cause close to them, or raced for fitness to save their life
or to race because someone told them they never could. Every single person
under that tent had a story to tell!
I think I handled the pre-race stress pretty well until the last afternoon
and then most everything and everyone irritated me. I was just over the waiting
and ready to let the pain begin! I had the most confidence I had felt about the
swim, my legs and body were completely lethargic and stiff from tapering and I
was tired of being tired….so I knew I was ready! I did scare myself 2 days
before the race. At the expo I had a Kale/blueberry smoothie. It tasted really
good. What a lousy experience. I had a 24 hour cleanse that really made me
worried! I found myself sprinting from the room in order to make it to the
bathroom! Phew! I was hot and sweaty and getting more and more worried. And
then Michele suggested a tums and it cleared up the next day. Just before John
arrived I was feeling much better! Phew! Note to self….nothing you are not used
to before race day! Duh! The afternoon before the race I went out back and laid
in the shade and relaxed. Everything was in the holding tank ready to be
released! There was nothing else I could do and I had my goals clearly set in
my mind:
1. Finish the swim
2. Run the entire marathon
3. Finish with a smile on my face
We had a great evening meal with the gang, we all nervously ate volumes of food.
Packages of cookies, chips, fruit and peanut butter just disappeared. I ate
really well the day prior to the race. No crap and not too much. I know my
tummy well enough to know that overloading would backfire on me race day! After
dinner we each went to our rooms quietly contemplating the coming days events. John and I fell asleep together keeping our
own anxieties to ourselves…
No comments:
Post a Comment