I want to be there and then I'd understand;
Know I'm right and do it right--
Could I get to be like that?
I'll know what I don't know with nothin more to gain.
Will I get better or stay the same?
I find I always move too slowly."
--Guster, "Two Points for Honesty."
"You are... AN IRONMAN!"
Around 7:11 PM on the evening on Saturday, October 17th, I crossed the finish line at Ironman Maryland with a final time of 11 hours, 28 minutes, and 59 seconds. That was about a half hour faster than my *super-secret* time goal of 12 hours. The minor asterisk is that due to TERRIBLE WINDS and a SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY on Saturday morning, the race was delayed by about 45 minutes so the officials could set up a slightly short (sad face) more safe (happy face) swim course. My coach did the math and applied my average swim pace to the usual Ironman swim distance, and came up with a "distance-adjusted" finish time of 11:45:00.
I'll take it. I'll also take 7th place in my Age Group. Woop woop!
I won't bore you with the minute by minute details of the race, but I'll share some highlights, since you have followed this far!
Friday debacles galore, from minor bike damage in transport, to re-mounting (boyfriend)'s Garmin so I could see my power data in a better eye-line, to losing my athlete wristband. "Better to get all the bullish*t out of the way today!" I joked. The forecast was pretty awful, with a high of 58, morning lows in the 40's, with clouds and wind. "Better to take a few extra minutes putting more clothes on in transition than to get hypothermia and have to pull out of the race." I packed almost everything I had and delivered my transition bags. My sis et al arrived in time for dinner, and my ritualistic single glass of red wine was consumed (quickly). Sleep wasn't too elusive, either.
Saturday, oatmeal and coffee o'clock was 3:45 AM, and my chauffeur, err, sister, delivered (boyfriend) and me to the race site at 5:15 AM. With bags packed and bike set, there isn't really all that much to do on Ironman morning compared with other triathlons... so by 6:00 AM I was heading out of transition and a little short on activity to occupy my brain. I went for my warm up run at 6:15 to prime my asthmatic lungs and calm my anxious brain. Family arrived and found me just in time for the announcement that the swim would be shortened. I said a bad word in front of my nephew.
"You will still be an Ironman," the announcer said. "We still have Kona slots." These are important words to an anxious crowd about to race. (Boyfriend) distracted me by making me take photos for my sponsors, Hincapie Sportswear. By the time the new swim course was set, the winds had calmed, and the new distance was extended from 1.2 miles to 3000 meters, just short of 2 miles. Okay, whatever, let's just start the party already!!
The order of my strengths in triathlon events is decisively in this order: bike, run, swim. I'm not last out of the water, but I'm certainly not first, and I've had attacks of hyperventilation in open water more than twice. For me to say "the swim was really fun" and likely the event that was LEAST impacted by the ridiculous winds from the north... you know what's coming next. This was definitely the most crowded swim I've done, and the chop was quite noticeable by the finish, but it was easy to sight the buoys, and I swam strong and consistently. Getting out of the 63-degree water into the 47-degree air was a wake up call.
Swim time: 1:01:44
Place after swim: 31
Transition to bike time: 14:07 (sweet baby deity)
The women's changing tent was hilarious. Lots of freezing, wet, unclothed women trying to pull on layers and layers of clothing before heading out for several hours of cold windy riding... yeah. I was thrilled I decided to add a base layer and knee warmers to my T1 bag that morning. I wore a full Hincapie cycling kit with arm warmers, gloves, knee warmers, and toe covers. And... I was still freezing. We headed out south with a tail wind, and it was fun to see 26 mph and 110 watts on the computer, but that lasted about 8 miles, and then we were smacked with crosswinds and headwinds and crosswinds. I tried to maintain 20 mph average, but when I popped watts too often, I remembered the wise words of a friend who reminded me to be patient with my race and to keep the demons at bay. I cursed at the wind. I told it to F-off. "You won't ruin my race, you demon wind!" I yelled. Because "Plan A is: it's all about the run." And so is Plan B. And Plan C. And... Plan Q.
"Marathon legs," I told myself. "You have to get off this bike with marathon legs." I dialed back the gears, picked up the cadence, and let the miles per hour fall a bit, if reluctantly.
Memorable moments from the bike:
Multiple compliments on my socks (neon and teal stripes, shout out to my stylist(boyfriend)).
Guy on bike as I'm passing him: "Wow, I'm actually getting chicked right now." Me: "I hear that happens sometimes."
Me, to guy I'm passing at mile 105, heading due north into the wind at the SUPER SPEEDY pace of.... 13.8 miles per hour. "How about another hundred-and-five miles of headwind? Does that sound like a plan?" Guy: "I MEAN F*CK THIS!"
SHOUT OUT to Rebecca Allyn who returned the hug I gave her in Bike Special Needs at Ironman Arizona 2014. Along with the hug, my salt and vinegar potato chips and a Starbucks iced coffee hit the spot.
By the time I got back to transition, my cheer squad had been waiting close to 45 minutes. The Ironman tracking went haywire for most of the bike, so they arrived for my earliest possible dismount. Turns out only one woman in my Age Group went under 5:30 that day, so I don't feel too terrible about it. I had hoped for a slightly speedier bike time, but I stuck to the plan, stayed patient with my race, and ate a lot and drank a lot. And then it was marathon time!
Bike time: 5:47:54
Place after bike: 12
I did a complete change in T2. See previous: "I drank a lot." I was a wee bit over-hydrated on the bike. Pun intended. Interpret what you will. It's a badge of honor, and I will never deny it. ;)
Transition to run time: 10:05 (sheesh, really?)
Being able to run the marathon with healthy hips was a huge goal of mine this season, considering where I was 2 years ago. Having to walk 26.2 miles on a femoral stress fracture was... humbling. This time it was indeed ALL ABOUT THE RUN.
The Ironman Maryland marathon was FULL OF LOVE... oh, and headwinds. I saw my family and (boyfriend) coming out of transition, and then Ed Moser and Adam and Holli--good friends from DC Tri Club! Then I high fived Mackenzie, who was a few miles ahead of me. Then HUGS from bestie Heather at the Annapolis Tri Club aid station at Mile 2. I make it a point to spread the love around on the run, so I lovingly smacked the bums of people who had slowed down to walk in those first 5 miles, telling them "You got this." A 62-year-old guy almost lost it when I did that. Then more HUGS from Heather back through the aid station. Then flying hugs for Adam and Holli. Then cheers from Cat Myung in a Hot Dog costume and Robin Myers about a mile before the corner where my family camped out (high fives from the kiddo and a kiss for my honey)! The 2.5-loop course meant high-fiving Hugh three times, getting different signs and cheers every time I passed my family, and then at mile 21, seeing PAMELA who had literally just gotten off a plane at Dulles from Hawaii where she had been supporting our friend Bryan at world championships. She ran with me through about half of mile 24 and said she had to speed to get there because I was going too fast. When I passed my family at the corner at Mile 25, and yelled at them to get their butts to the finish line. :)
Entertaining details: I completely threw my nutrition plan out the window. I forgot to grab my handheld bottle out of T2 (duh) which forced me to walk through almost all of the MANY aid stations. For some reason, potato chips and bananas and water seemed like a good idea, and a few bites of each and quick sips held me through the first 13 miles. I've learned to let my brain make nutrition decisions (and NOT my stomach), so when I got to the second half, I alternated Pepsi and watermelon GU Chomps with chicken broth and potato chips from every other aid station, and that worked really well. It sounds disgusting, I know. I mean, artificial watermelon is about the most foul flavor on earth (second only to artificial "green apple" which tastes absolutely nothing like an apple). Folks unfamiliar with Ironman on-course nutrition will probably be grossed out by the chicken broth concept, but it works. The aid station at mile 20 had SWEDISH FISH, my all-time FAVORITE CANDY, and so I grabbed a giant handful of those, no shame.
The funny thing about racing is that the closer you get to the finish, the more damaged your brain is, and the more likely you are to attempt complex math to figure out "Just how fast do I have to run to make my goal time...? Divide by 6, carry the 1... Wait. Start over." When I looked at my watch with just about 3.5 miles to go and I was still under 11 hours... I thought, "Well, shoot. I could walk and still beat 12 hours." But I didn't walk anymore after that.
On my last turn around the corner where my cheer squad was parked, (boyfriend) said, "Get it!" He had done the math, too. And he was in on the secret goal. As I made the final turn through town, I heard some athletes talking about how they were going to space themselves out so they could each get their names called as they came through the chute. I thought, "Well I'll just run faster and go first to get out of your way." So I did. ;)
Run time: 4:15:09
Place after run: 7
Ohhhhhkay that was more detail than I planned. Hope I didn't bore you.
Thank you for your constant love and support! I'm announcing my OFFICIAL RETIREMENT from the FULL IRONMAN DISTANCE, on account of, I LOVE YOU ALL and I LOVE MY LIFE. The "half Iron" distance is a bit more manageable, fun, and sane, and Ironman70.3 races will be my focus. I'll be racing Ironman70.3 Boulder on June 11, 2016 and Ironman70.3 World Championships in Australia on September 4, 2016, and enjoying life and riding my bicycle with (boyfriend) in between.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.
Love,
Abby
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