Day before...
Race number pick up burst my bubble. I was pretty excited to pick up my number and sign in for my big day but when I was there I saw that the Vineman, a full ironman distance race, was the same day as my race. I guess I knew that this was happening, but I did not think we would be on the same course. I thought that it was happening at the same time, not at the same EXACT place. So this burst my bubble of accomplishment before I had even accomplished anything. I felt like I was being lazy with what I signed up for. You would too if you saw the cars with shoe polish writing all over them about their travels to the Vineman. Oh well
Race Day...
For some reason I was really calm. No nervous energy. I slept fine the night before and I even slept in the car on the way to the race. I had decided that I did not want to get to the race really early, like I had in races past, because I did not want to sit around and have the chance to think about what I was about to get into. So I got there in plenty of time to set up, stand in a really long line for the bathroom and watch a few of the people that were doing the
full Vineman that day.
I saw the first Vineman guy get out of the water - the ironman gets me so emotional I almost cried right there. To think of all this guy will accomplish today. Ryan and I sometimes watch the coverage from Ironman Kona and I always cry. Such inspiring stories. If I ever signed up for an Ironman I might cry the last few miles of the run. It really pushes me over the edge emotionally. Then, after seeing the male leader of the Vineman come out of the water, I saw a lady (racing Barb's race with me, a cancer benefit race) with a shirt that said "I am racing for my son who is kicking leukemia in the butt" with this sweet little picture of her son maybe 5 yrs old with his arms raised in accomplishment on the back of her shirt. And to top off my emotions for the morning there was a woman that got in the water right before me for the half
aquabike she only had one leg. It was so inspiring to see her out there. Here is a picture Ryan snapped of her getting out of the water. I later saw her on the bike course riding along without any prosthetic. What an amazing lady she must be!!!
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| Inspiration to not focus on what you are told you cannot do |
So with all of this going on I heard the announcer says 'One minute until the blue caps swim.' I was so caught up I almost missed my start. So I said my goodbye to my supportive family that was there to watch and jumped in the water.
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| That is me in the pink - Nice shot Ryan! |
The swim was really fun! No kicking or scratching. We just all swam down the river for .6 miles and then headed back. Easy sighting, no current pushing us off course. Since I could not see the turnaround so it seemed like it was forever, but it was a fun forever. I could see the rocks on the bottom, which is better to look at then the normal darkness and the thought of a looming sharks. There were people who got tired and just stood up and walked (I did not) so everyone felt safe in the water. It was really great!
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| Out of the water |
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| T1 |
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| Clipping in to start the ride |
Out of the water and onto the bike. It was colder than I expected, but I did have a jacket packed so I was able to stay warm enough. (Since I just swim in my tri suit I feel I am wetter than everyone else getting on the bike) Again the bike was wonderful. 56 miles of beautiful country. Through the vineyards on rolling hills. I really could not have asked for anything better from the bike. There were people all along the course cheering. At one point there was a man on the road cheering so hard for the person in front of me. When I came by he did not even clap. I was so put off by him. But a few second later, when I caught up to who he was cheering for, it was the athlete that only had one leg. There she was to inspire me again! What a lady she was! It was like I just had a gu, she gave me that much of a push. (So did a lady later on that said my back looked awesome in my shirt - energy of a gu in a compliment) The bike course had a hill at mile 45 that we had been warned of. But when I did it it was no big deal. There were people all along the hill cheering with cow bells. It was a climb, but with all the cheering and writing on the cement it was just fun. Shortly after that is when I saw my family on the side of the road with signs, cheering. Madeline even made a shirt of encouragement for Samara to wear! The sun was finally coming out and I was have a great time. By the end of the ride I was feeling that I had done some work, but was feeling good going into the run.
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| That is me in the back |
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All of the fun came to a screeching halt. The run was good for a mile or so, then it was terrible, I mean painfully awful. It was hot (Remember I live in Pacifica, we barely have warm days), hilly, my knee hurt, blah. This girl in front of me in the picture was full of energy and cute as hell going into the run since she was the run leg of a relay. This just rubbed in my face how tired I was after a mile or two of running. I saw this little ball of energy headed back my way after the first turnaround and was thrilled that I was almost to the turnaround. Nope, she is cute, spunky, probably really nice and FAST. I had a long way to go to get to the turnaround. It was not any fun. Not for even a second. Normally the run in the tri it is what I look forward to. This time it was really slow and painful. Even when I came in to finish I just wanted to walk (I technically was still jogging but it was as slow a jog as is possible before walking). Normally you get a little burst of energy to cross the finish line. Not me, I wanted to be carried across it.
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| Barely jogging! |
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| I finished! |
I did it. I did not finish pretty, but I finished. Crazy enough it just makes me want to do a full distance. All the suffering I went through, just makes me want to do more. I got to see the Vineman leader on the bike being escorted by motorcycles and again on the run. It is amazing what they are doing and seeing it in person makes me what to give it a go.
