Ironman was May 16 and today is May 28; I’m
just now looking at the results. There
it is in all caps, DNF. It brings tears
to my eyes; I can’t believe that it happened to me. But let’s take a look back at the race.
Thursday – We drove down to The Woodlands and checked in and
dropped my bike off to get race wheels.
The weather leading up to the race was terrible; it had rained every day
for several days. I was just not feeling
good about this race. I was ready to get
it over with so that I could get back to racing. We ate at Grimaldi’s Pizza for lunch, I sipped
on Perform and we ate at the Welcome Banquet that night.
Friday – I met up with Julie and Suzie and we went out and
did the practice swim. The water was
cold and I had a hard time finding my rhythm so I didn’t swim far. I went back and picked up my bike and went to
check it in. The Zipp 404s looked
good! The transition area was a stinky mud
pit! I didn’t want to walk or roll my
bike through all the mud. I asked if
they were going to put down mats in the muddiest areas and I was rudely told
that I was an Ironman that I needed to deal with it. I can deal with mud but for what I paid to
enter the race I was expecting top-notch facilities. Anyway, Julie and I debated on what we were
going to do. We found out they were
putting out kiddy pools for us to rinse our feet off. So I decided to carry my shoes and bike
through the mud, rinse my feet off, and put on my socks and shoes. John and I ate lunch at Grimaldi’s Pizza
again. We headed back to the hotel where
I rested, snacked on Goldfish, and sipped on Perform. We met with the NET group that evening for
diner at Jason’s Deli.
Saturday – I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to take a quick shower and
warm up my oatmeal. I had everything
packed up and ready and we left the hotel around 5:00 a.m. Julie hitched a ride to the race with
us! We had no trouble parking and we
planned to meet Suzie in transition because she brought an air pump. Transition was so nasty! It was muddy and stinky! I didn’t spend long getting all my gear
situated and we met back up with John outside transition. We began the mile long walk to the swim
start.
Swim - At the swim start we met our NET group and took a
few pictures. This year the swim was a
rolling start not a mass start. I wasn’t
happy about it because there is just something impressive about being in the
water with 2800 people, the cannon going off, and everyone taking off. Based on my 70.3 swim time I estimated I would
swim around a 1:50. My plan was to start
with the 1:30-1:40 group and try to draft off faster swimmers without getting
kicked in the face. The swim was brutal,
I’ve never been hit that much! The men
had a hard time swimming straight or they would pass me (while hitting me), get
in front of me and slow down. Or maybe I
was just doing a good job drafting. After
the first turn buoy the swimmers got more spread out and it wasn’t as
crowded. However, when I made the turn
into the canal the swimmers who wore wetsuits started to catch me. The canal was brutal. I was tired and it was crowded. During the whole swim I stayed calm and kept
a good rhythm. I only swam head up three
times because my watch strap kept coming loose.
Finally, I made it to the swim exit.
I felt great and when I looked down at my Garmin it said 1:39! I executed my plan perfectly, I was able to
draft and I still had all my teeth! I was stoked, that was 2 minutes faster
than last year when I got to wear a wetsuit.
I wasn’t even winded coming out of the water.
T1 – While I was in the changing tent I was calm and felt great. I decided to put my socks in my bike shoes
and stick them in front of my tri shorts so my hands would be free to carry my
bike. Yes, I carried my bike over my
shoulder through the mud! I felt like an
Ironman! There was a nice boy who volunteered to hold my bike while I rinsed my
feet off in the pool. When I went to put
on my socks and shoes I noticed that I had lost a sock! It was decision time, do I wear 1 sock? Or no socks?
I decided to wear the 1 sock just in case I started getting a blister on
my other foot and I could just stop and switch the sock over.
Bike – So off I went with 1 sock! Haha!
Thankfully I had purchased new tri specific bike shoes and going
sockless was no problem. I put 2 bottles
of Perform and 2 bottles of water on my bike.
I started drinking the Perform right off the bat. I was determined to pee at least twice on the
bike (last year I didn’t pee the entire race).
Around mile 8 I passed Kasey who had a flat, I asked if she needed help
but she said she was fine. My plan was
to take it easy the first half because we would have a head wind coming back
in. I was going fast but I wasn’t
pushing hard and a ton of people were flying by me. I felt good on the bike, the last 20 miles
were hard, but I felt way better than I did last year. I also used the bathroom 3 times. Around mile 80 the Gatorade started making me
feel yucky; the orange flavor was just too sweet. I started taking salt tablets instead. Before I knew it I was at the dismount line.
I was so happy because I felt so much better than last year and my time was
better. It was 7:13 compared to 7:54
from last year.
T2 - Then I hit the transition area that stunk badly and I started
throwing up uncontrollably. I was in
shock, I’m never sick to my stomach. I
mean, I’ve only had the stomach virus once my entire life! Another athlete stopped and got me stand back
up and start walking. I made it to the
changing tent and I felt fine. I had a
small bottle of Coca-Cola in my run bag and a volunteer got me some ice. I felt good and my stomach had calmed
down. Thankfully, I had also put another
pair of socks in my bag. I changed tops
and applied lots of Body Glide before heading out. I was concerned about being sick but I decided
to try to get through a couple of aid stations, take in some Gatorade and Cola,
and see if I could keep it down.
Run – I saw John, Andrea, and Ginger and when I stopped to
talk to them I got sick again. They gave
me some water to rinse my mouth out and I carried on. I wasn’t sick again and I was able to drink
Gatorade and Cola. I also started taking
in salt. It was getting very hot and I was
just plain miserable. Early into my
first loop I found Alan, he’s a local and he was kinda of like a tour guide. Even though we were on the most miserable
tour ever, he kept me entertained! We would walk and run, I felt good. Andrea also walked about 4-5 miles with
me. She would make sure I took in plenty
of fluids/nutrition at the aid stations.
The run was the most miserable I have ever been. It was so humid, I put ice down my pants, in
my bra, and under the towel I had on my neck.
During the run I was focused to beat my time from last year. I was about an hour ahead. Then it all fell apart. I don’t even remember what happened. I remember walking with a medic and she was
talking to me. I stumbled and fell then
a guy starting talking about pulling me off the course. He sat me down and shined a light in my
eyes. That is the last thing I remember
about the race. I was at mile 18.6 when I
was pulled.
Post-race – I was taken to Memorial Hermann hospital and it was
determined that my sodium levels were dangerously low (Hyponatremia). The doctors
were concerned that I would start having seizures or my brain would start
swelling. I was also very agitated and confused. I tried to take off all the monitors and IV, ride
my bike and finish the race for hours while I was in the ER. The doctors would ask me where I was and I would
tell them that I was at Ironman. I was
also still very nauseous. My family and
friends were so scared. Finally, I started
to get back to normal and I was moved into ICU around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. I had to stay in ICU until Tuesday
afternoon. I never knew that I had such
a great family and group of friends until this unfortunate event. Everyone wasn’t just concerned about my
physical health but my mental health. It
didn’t bother me (well maybe just a little) that I didn’t finish because I knew
that I had given it everything. Heck, to
me I finished that Ironman in the ER!
Now it’s two weeks later and I’m
starting to get emotional. I know that I’m
an Ironman (I finished last year) and I gave it my all. I didn’t stop because I was tired or
miserable. Before the race I had already
made up my mind that I wasn’t doing IMTX next year because I missed racing
shorter races. But it’s still there,
DNF. I’m OK with my performance but I’m
not satisfied. But, it’s something I’m going
to have accept and learn from, no matter what I will never get to finish that
race. I think the hardest thing is that
it was out of my control. Through this
journey I have learned a lot about myself.
I like to go fast, pass people, and compete for age group awards. I enjoy working out but this year the
training for Ironman was grueling and it wasn’t as magical as last year. I was no longer an Ironman virgin, but a
jaded veteran who knew what was about to transpire on race day. Ironman is the toughest thing I’ve ever done,
physically but especially mentally.
During that 17 hours you are having this one long continuous conversation
with yourself. I said it last year and I
will say it again, you find out what you are truly made of.
Just yesterday a fellow athlete posted
this quote on Facebook: “We embrace the
hand we’ve been dealt because we know the dealer and he never deals badly.” –
John Piper
Now it’s time to put this behind me,
move on and use my new found hunger to get fast!
